JP4533600B2 - Device for detecting unauthorized operation of gaming machines - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an unauthorized operation detection device for detecting an act of obtaining a game medium such as a prize ball by an unauthorized operation in a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine or a slot machine.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, a piano wire or the like is allowed to enter the machine, and a variable winning device is forcibly opened to make it easier to win game balls illegally, or a prize ball paying device is operated forcibly. In order to prevent fraudulent attempts to deprive the ball, a fraud prevention device that monitors these movements with sensors has been conventionally considered. In Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, a prize ball dispensing device is provided with a ball discharge sensor capable of detecting the above-described unauthorized operation. Patent Document 3 below attempts to prevent fraud by electromagnetic wave transmission by providing a sensor for detecting electromagnetic waves.
[0003]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-6-7511 [Patent Document 2]
JP 2002-113217 A [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-317117
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
By the way, in the conventional fraud prevention device, it is necessary to provide some kind of sensor such as a sensor for detecting the movement of the variable winning device or a sensor for detecting the discharge ball. For this reason, there is a problem that the cost is high, an appropriate installation space may not be obtained, and further, it is not possible to cope with a situation where the sensor fails or is intentionally destroyed.
Accordingly, the present invention is intended to provide an unauthorized operation detection device that can detect such an unauthorized operation more reliably.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
For this purpose, the unauthorized operation detection device of the present invention is provided with a switching circuit in a power circuit of the electromagnetic actuator in a gaming machine that controls an electromagnetic actuator such as a solenoid or a motor in an activated state or a non-activated state by an output signal from a microcomputer. The electromagnetic actuator is controlled to be inactivated by the output signal from the microcomputer , and at the same time, the switching circuit is switched in accordance with the output signal from the microcomputer and the electromagnetic actuator is connected to the inductance detection circuit. In addition, an abnormal change in the inductance of the electromagnetic actuator is detected by allowing the output signal of the inductance detection circuit to be input to the microcomputer.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a tamper detection device according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a pachinko machine game board, and a solenoid 2 is excited so that a plunger 3 resists the elasticity of a coil spring 4 and exerts a magnetic force on the solenoid 2. This is a well-known variable winning device that is constructed so as to make it easy for a game ball that is sucked to move the operating rod 5 to open the opening / closing piece 6 and flow down on the game board. 7 is a microcomputer provided on the game control board of this pachinko gaming machine, 8 is a switching circuit provided in the power supply circuit of the solenoid 2 for switching operation in accordance with an output signal from the microcomputer, 9 is an output from the microcomputer A driver for supplying an operating current to the solenoid 2 via the switching circuit in accordance with a signal to excite the solenoid; an inductance detecting circuit provided so that the inductance of the solenoid 2 can be detected via the switching circuit; 11 is an oscillation circuit provided in the detection circuit 10 to the alternating current (sine wave) through the sections circuit 8 is applied to the solenoid 2 for detecting the inductance of the solenoid 2.
[0007]
FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of the unauthorized operation detection device. As shown in the figure, the driver 9 is formed by connecting the output terminal 12 of the microcomputer 7 to the gate of the field effect transistor FET. The switching circuit 8 includes a pair of relays RY1 and RY2 and a transistor TR1 that operates the relay according to an output signal from the output terminal 13 of the microcomputer 7. The detection circuit 10 includes an operational amplifier P1, a diode D1, and a comparator P2. Then, both ends of the power circuit of the solenoid 2 are connected to the switching contacts S1 and S2 of the relays RY1 and RY2, respectively. In the state shown in the figure, one end of the power circuit of the solenoid 2 is connected to the output stage of the driver 9 via the switching contact S1. And the other end of the power supply circuit is grounded via the switching contact S2. When the coils of the relays RY1 and RY2 are excited, the switching contacts S1 and S2 are switched, and one end of the power circuit of the solenoid 2 is connected to the input stage of the operational amplifier P1, and the other end is connected to the output stage. become. The comparator P2 outputs a signal to the input terminal 14 of the microcomputer 7 when the output voltage of the operational amplifier P1 exceeds the reference voltage.
[0008]
In this apparatus, when the output voltage of the output terminal 13 of the microcomputer 7 is “L”, the switching contacts S1 and S2 of the relays RY1 and RY2 are in the illustrated state, and at that time, the output voltage of the output terminal 12 of the microcomputer 7 Becomes "H", the field effect transistor FET is turned on, and the power supply voltage Vcc is applied to the solenoid 2 through the switching contacts S1 and S2, so that the solenoid is excited and attracts the plunger 3 to attract the magnetic force. Establish. When the output voltage of the output terminal 12 of the microcomputer 7 becomes “L”, the field effect transistor FET is turned off, the solenoid 2 is demagnetized, and the plunger 3 is returned to the original state by the elasticity of the coil spring 4 to close the opening / closing piece 6. Let At the same time, the output voltage of the output terminal 13 of the microcomputer 7 is controlled to "H", the transistor TR1 is turned on, the coils of the relays RY1 and RY2 are excited, the switching contacts S1 and S2 are switched, and the power circuit of the solenoid 2 Is connected to the input stage of the operational amplifier P1 and the other end is connected to the output stage, so that the alternating current output from the oscillation circuit 11 flows to the solenoid 2.
[0009]
In this situation, when the plunger 3 is forcibly moved by some external force and the inductance of the solenoid 2 fluctuates, the fluctuation of the inductance is amplified by the operational amplifier P1, and when the output voltage exceeds the reference voltage of the comparator P2, the pulse signal is converted to the microcomputer. 7 to the input terminal 14.
[0010]
For this reason, when the plunger 3 moves and the inductance of the solenoid 2 fluctuates even though the signal for opening the opening / closing piece 6 of the variable winning device 1 is not output from the microcomputer 7, the input of the microcomputer 7 is immediately changed. The signal is output to the terminal 14. Therefore, the microcomputer 7 senses such an abnormal situation, and notifies the gaming machine or the central control room or the like of the occurrence of the abnormality by voice, a lamp or the like. Accordingly, an unauthorized operation that forcibly opens the opening / closing piece 6 using a piano wire or the like is reliably detected, and an illegal act can be prevented in advance.
In addition, when an abnormality is detected in this way, if it is a variable winning device provided on the game board surface, for example, if the signal of the sensor that detects the gaming ball winning is cut off, it can be processed as an out ball, so an illegal ball acquisition Can be completely prevented. Further, in the case of a solenoid for a prize ball payout device, various processes or notifications can be made, such as providing a switching valve below the prize ball payout device and controlling the change to the ball removal side.
[0011]
Thus, in the unauthorized operation detection device of the present invention, it is possible to detect an abnormal movement of a variable winning device or the like without adding a sensor or the like for detecting the movement of the opening / closing piece 6. For this reason, it is possible to cope with the case where there is no appropriate space for mounting the sensor as well as not requiring the mounting cost of the sensor, and the sensor is broken or deliberately destroyed and not used as a detection device. It is possible to reliably detect an abnormality without such a situation.
Further, since the switching circuit 8 is provided so that the power supply voltage is not applied to the solenoid during the inductance detection, the fluctuation of the inductance can be detected with high sensitivity.
[0012]
In addition, although this embodiment demonstrated the solenoid provided in the variable prize-winning apparatus of the pachinko machine, electromagnetics, such as a stepping motor etc. which operate | move by exciting a solenoid coil similarly to the solenoid which operates a prize ball payout apparatus etc. It is also possible to detect the unauthorized operation by providing the actuator with this unauthorized operation detection device. FIG. 3 shows an example provided in the stepping motor. In the case of such a rotating magnetic field motor, the electromagnetic coil L1 among the plurality of electromagnetic coils L1 to L4 arranged around the rotor R as shown in FIG. To detect the fluctuation of the inductance of the electromagnetic coil L1. In this way, in the case of a motor, it is possible to detect that the motor is forcibly rotated by an external force and an abnormality has occurred only by detecting a variation in the inductance of one electromagnetic coil.
[0013]
In addition, the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 illustrates a circuit diagram that enables an abnormality of a plurality of electromagnetic actuators provided in one pachinko machine to be detected by a single inductance detection circuit including an operational amplifier and a comparator. It is. That is, in this embodiment, COIL1 to COIL3 of the three electromagnetic actuators are connected to relay contacts LS1 to LS3 that are switched according to commands from the microcomputer, respectively, and when each electromagnetic actuator is inactive, A variation in the inductance of the COIL 3 is detected. In this case, the reference voltage is preferably adjusted to the electromagnetic actuator having the smallest inductance variation.
[0014]
The present invention can also be applied to detecting abnormality of electromagnetic actuators such as solenoids and motors used not only in pachinko machines but also in other gaming machines such as slot machines and detecting the unauthorized operation thereof. In addition, since the measured value of the inductance of the electromagnetic actuator fluctuates even when exposed to strong electromagnetic waves, the unauthorized operation detection device of the present invention can also prevent unauthorized acts due to electromagnetic wave transmission.
[0015]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the inductance detection circuit is connected to the power supply circuit of an electromagnetic actuator such as a solenoid or a motor for operating the variable winning device, the game medium payout device, etc. via the switching circuit, and the electromagnetic actuator is inactivated. The electromagnetic actuator is connected to the inductance detection circuit to detect a variation in the inductance of the electromagnetic actuator, so that an abnormal movement of the electromagnetic actuator can be detected without providing a sensor or the like, and a variable winning device It is possible to detect that the game medium payout device or the like has been illegally operated. For this reason, it is possible to deal with the case where there is no appropriate space for mounting the sensor as well as not requiring the mounting cost of the sensor, and the sensor is broken or deliberately destroyed and cannot be used as a detection device. In addition, there is a remarkable effect that an abnormality can always be reliably detected.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an unauthorized operation detection device for a gaming machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an electric circuit diagram of an unauthorized operation detecting device for a gaming machine showing an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an unauthorized operation detection device for a gaming machine showing another embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is an electrical circuit diagram of an unauthorized operation detection device for a gaming machine showing another embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Variable winning apparatus 2 Solenoid 3 Plunger 6 Opening / closing piece 7 Microcomputer 8 Switching circuit 9 Driver 10 Inductance detection circuit 11 Oscillation circuit

Claims (1)

In a gaming machine that controls an electromagnetic actuator such as a solenoid or a motor in an activated state or a non-activated state by an output signal from a microcomputer, a switching circuit is provided in a power circuit of the electromagnetic actuator, and the electromagnetic actuator is output by an output signal from the microcomputer At the same time that the switching circuit is switched in accordance with the output signal from the microcomputer so that the electromagnetic actuator is connected to the inductance detection circuit, and the output of the inductance detection circuit An apparatus for detecting an unauthorized operation of a gaming machine, wherein an abnormal fluctuation in inductance of the electromagnetic actuator is detected by allowing a signal to be input to the microcomputer.

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