JP4814368B2 - Game machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a gaming machine such as, for example, a pachinko machine or a spinning machine.

Conventionally, a pachinko machine includes various devices such as a discharge control device and a game control device equipped with a game arithmetic processing device for controlling a game on the game board. In particular, in a pachinko machine equipped with a game control device called a game processing unit called an amusement chip, a CPU core, main memory and program ROM (hereinafter referred to as “CPU core etc.”) are turned on for the amusement chip. Chip mounting (integrating a CPU core or the like on a common semiconductor substrate) makes it impossible to use a so-called back ROM (program ROM containing a modified game program) to prevent fraud. At the same time, the amusement chip itself has a game program legitimacy judgment function to take more reliable anti-fraud measures. As a game program validity judgment function, for example, when an amusement chip is activated, a game program stored in a program ROM on the chip is read and encrypted with a predetermined algorithm, and a check generated at the time of the encryption The code and the check code generated in the same procedure in advance and stored in the program ROM are compared, and if they match, it is determined that the game program is legitimate, that is, the game program has not been tampered with. One that starts execution of a game program stored in a ROM is known.
An example of such a conventional gaming machine is disclosed in the following Patent Document 1.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-4950

  However, in the pachinko machine having the above-described game program validity determination function, the game program stored in the amusement chip is determined to be correct, but the amusement chip itself is illegally exchanged (game control device). In other words, there was no way of knowing that when the machine was replaced).

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

In order to achieve the above object, a gaming machine according to the invention described in claim 1 is provided by a gaming medium lending machine that performs lending control of a gaming medium based on attachment of a recording medium on which valuable value information is recorded so as to be rewritable. In a gaming machine equipped with a discharge control unit that controls discharge of game media based on a ball lending signal,
A game control unit for controlling the progress of the game according to the game program;
The game control unit
Game program determination means for determining the legitimacy of the game program before starting control of the progress of the game, and passing the process to the game program when it is determined that the game program is legitimate;
Storage means for storing unique solid information;
Based on the management information request transmitted from the gaming medium lending machine, the unique solid information stored in the storage means, and a transmission means for transmitting the validity determination result by the gaming program determination means ,
The transmission means includes
A management information request transmitted from the game medium lending machine even when the game program determination means determines that the game program is not a valid game program, and processing is not passed to the game program and game control is stopped. The game medium lending machine ball is transmitted to the request source together with the unique solid information and the validity determination result information indicating that the game program determination means is not a valid game program. It is characterized by prohibiting lending control .

According to the present invention, the game control unit can manage from the outside even when the game program determination means determines that the game program is not a valid game program and the process is not passed to the game program, and the game control is stopped. Based on the information request, together with the required management information response (especially the validity determination result information and ID code of the game program ) , the validity determination result information indicating that the game program determination means is not a valid game program as the validity determination result information . Since the ball rental control of the game medium lending machine is prohibited by transmitting to the request source, even when the amusement chip is illegally exchanged, the event can be known.

It is a block diagram of a game device and a ball lending network. It is a block diagram of a ball rental management apparatus. It is a conceptual diagram of the information table memorize | stored in an information management part. It is a front view of a gaming machine. It is a block diagram of a ball lending machine and a gaming machine. It is a block diagram of a game control device. It is a block diagram of the arithmetic processing unit for games. It is a state transition diagram of the game arithmetic processing unit. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | movement for every block of the arithmetic processing unit for games. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the memory content of program ROM. It is a flowchart (1/3) of a ball lending control program. It is a flowchart (2/3) of a ball lending control program. It is a flowchart (3/3) of a ball lending control program. It is a flowchart (1/3) of a ball | bend rental management control program. It is a flowchart (2/3) of a ball | bend rental management control program. It is a flowchart (3/3) of a ball lending management control program. It is a time run of the polling operation performed between the ball lending management device and the ball lending machine.

In the following, the embodiment of the present invention is applied to a game hall (hereinafter referred to as “game store”) in which a large number of pachinko machines (ball game machines, hereinafter referred to as “game machines”) are installed. This will be described with reference to the drawings.
A. Overall Configuration of Game Store In FIG. 1, 1 is a game device. The gaming device 1 is composed of a gaming machine 2 (in this embodiment, a pachinko machine) and a ball lending machine (corresponding to the gaming medium lending device described in the gist of the invention) 3 attached to the gaming machine 2. In the game store, a plurality of units (a pair of the gaming machine 2 and the ball lending machine 3 is counted as one) are installed. The gaming apparatus 1 constitutes one island (pachinko island) by a predetermined number, and replenishes and collects game balls for each gaming machine 2 for each island.
In the amusement store, one ball rental management device (corresponding to the rental information management device described in the gist of the invention) 4 and the main relay device 5 are provided, and one or more cards are issued each. A machine 6, a money adding machine 7, and a sub-relay device 8 are provided. The ball lending management device 4, the main relay device 5, the card issuer 6, the money addition device 7 and the sub-relay device 8 together with the ball lending device 3 for each gaming device 1 are integrated as a prepaid card (in the gist of the invention). A ball lending network 10 for collecting and managing additional amount information and ball lending amount information according to 9 is configured.
The transmission control procedure of the ball lending network 10 is the polling / selecting method described at the beginning. The ball lending management device 4 operates as a control station of the same method, and each ball lending machine 3 operates as a terminal of the same method. That is, the ball lending management apparatus 4 collects and acquires the latest ball lending information while sequentially polling each ball lending machine 3, and selects any ball lending machine 3 as necessary. Go to set the ID code for determination.

The prepaid card 9 irradiates a voucher or other object (hereinafter referred to as “voucher or the like”) with an electromagnetic method (an electronic method, a magnetic method, or other methods that cannot be recognized by human perception, for example, invisible light rays. The value information recorded by the method for printing the record information that allows the record information to be read, that is, the amount (the amount is displayed in terms of “degrees” or other units) So-called pre-payment-type vouchers, such as vouchers issued with consideration (generally cash) in accordance with (including the number of units when it is deemed to be present), in a broad sense, the issuer of the voucher or the issuer When purchasing, borrowing, or receiving services from a person designated by the company (hereinafter referred to as “issuer, etc.”) The prepaid card 9 in the present embodiment is a game that can be used in other methods, particularly in a game hall where a game machine such as a pachinko machine or a revolving game machine is installed. It is used at the game hall to pay for the borrowing of media (game balls and coins).
There are two types of prepaid vouchers: one that can only be subtracted and updated each time the price is paid, and one that can be added and updated in exchange for appropriate payment. The prepaid card 9 in this embodiment may be of any type, but in this embodiment, it belongs to the latter type. In other words, the prepaid card 9 according to the present embodiment can update the amount recorded on the voucher etc. every time the price is paid, and add and update the amount recorded on the voucher etc. every time the payment is made. This is equivalent to the type of prepaid voucher that can be made.

In exchange for the consideration, the card issuing machine 6 issues a prepaid card 9 in which the same amount information as the consideration is recorded on a voucher or the like by an electromagnetic method. In addition, the amount adding machine 7 adds and stores the same amount information as the consideration in exchange for a new consideration to the issued prepaid card 9 (including those issued by the card issuing machine of another game store). .
The ball lending management device 4 acquires information (card identification information, issuer information, money amount information, etc.) of the prepaid card 9 issued by the card issuing machine 6 from the card issuing machine 6, although the detailed configuration will be described later. At the same time, the amount information (including card identification information and issuer information) additionally recorded on the issued prepaid card 9 by the amount adding machine 7 is acquired, and the total card sales amount of the amusement shop (card issuing machine 6) is obtained from these information. The total amount of money recorded on the prepaid card 9 issued by the amount and the total amount of money recorded additionally on the prepaid card 9 issued by the money adding device 7) information (hereinafter referred to as “total sales amount information”) ), And by acquiring ball lending information from each ball lending machine 3, the total amount of the ball lending amount of the amusement shop (hereinafter referred to as "total ball lending amount information") In addition, each ball lending machine 3 to the gaming machine 2 (more precisely, the gaming processing unit of the gaming machine 2) legitimacy information (whether a legitimate gaming processing unit is used) Or information regarding whether or not it is a gaming arithmetic processing unit equipped with a legitimate gaming program) and obtains and manages it, and if necessary, sets a determination ID code for any ball lending machine 3 Is something that can be done.

  The main relay device 5 performs data connection between the ball lending management device 4 and the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7, and the ball lending machine 3 via the sub-relay device 8. The main relay device 5 Is connected between the main relay device 5 and the sub-relay device 8, and between the sub-relay device 8 and the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7 and the ball lending machine 3. Are connected by wireless (for example, infrared rays or radio waves). The reason for the wireless connection is to increase the flexibility of the layout of the gaming device 1, the card issuing machine 6, and the money adding machine 7 in the gaming store. If the trouble of redrawing the cable due to the layout change is not taken into consideration, the main relay device 5, the sub relay device 8, the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7 and the ball lending machine 3 may be wired. Incidentally, the secondary relay device 8 is an appropriate installation position where wireless connection can be made among all the card issuing machines 6, the money adding machine 7 and the ball lending machine 3 in the amusement store, for example, secondary relay in the case of infrared communication. When there is a position where all the communication partners can see from the device 8, the number of the sub-relay devices 8 can be set to one by installing the sub-relay device 8 at that position.

B. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the ball lending management device 4. The ball lending management device 4 corresponds to a CPU (game medium lending information collecting means and determination identification information setting means described in the gist of the invention). 4a, a display unit 4b, a display control unit 4c, a key input unit 4d, a first communication control unit 4e, a second communication control unit 4f, an information management unit 4g, and a power backup unit 4h.
The CPU 4a executes a predetermined control program (a ball rental management control program described later; see FIGS. 14 to 16), a display control unit 4c, a key input unit 4d, a first communication control unit 4e, a second communication control unit 4f, and While controlling each part of the information management unit 4g, the above-mentioned total sales amount information, total sphere loan amount information, and legitimacy information are managed, and a determination ID code for any ball lending machine 3 as necessary. Set up. Under the control of the display control unit 4c, the display unit 4b displays total sales amount information, total sphere lending amount information, validity information, a warning when an error occurs, and the like, and a setting destination address when executing the ID setting mode And an ID confirmation input confirmation display and operation guidance are displayed. The key input unit 4d includes a function key for switching to the ID setting mode and an input key for inputting a setting destination address and a determination ID code. The first communication control unit 4e is, for example, a data modem that controls communication with the card company 11. The second communication control unit 4f is a communication board that controls communication with the main relay device 5, and performs transmission control of a polling / selecting method at a speed of 9600 bps (bits / second), for example. The information management unit 4g has an information management table (hereinafter referred to as “TBL1”) such as the total sales amount information, the total sphere lending amount information, and the validity information, and the key input unit 4d when executing the ID setting mode. 1 has a selecting information table (hereinafter referred to as “TBL2”) that temporarily holds the information of the setting destination address and the ID code for determination input from. The power backup unit 4h backs up the power of the information management unit 4g and retains the information even after the game shop is closed.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of TBL1 and TBL2. The TBL 1 has an address field for storing addresses i (i = 1 to 99 for convenience) of all the card issuing machines 6, the money adding machine 7 and the ball lending machine 3 installed in the game store. It has a pass / fail information field and a ball lending information field, and TBL2 is an address field and determination ID code for storing a determination destination address j of the determination ID code (j = 6 and j = 12 are shown for convenience). (In the figure, “123456” for j = 6 for convenience.
And a determination ID code field for storing a determination ID code “ABCDEF” is set at j = 12.
The ball lending management device 4 polls the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7 and the ball lending machine 3 indicated by each address i while reading the information in the address field of TBL1, and obtains from the polling destination. Information is stored in each field of TBL1. For example, the gaming machine pass / fail information and the ball rental information are acquired from the ball rental machine 3 and stored in the gaming machine pass / fail information field and the ball rental information field of TBL1. The ball lending management device 4 selects the ball lending machine 3 indicated by the setting destination address j of the TBL 2 when the determination ID code setting mode (hereinafter referred to as “ID setting mode”) is selected. And the information in the ID code field for determination of TBL2 is set in the ball lending machine 3.
The ball lending management device 4 notifies the TBL1 information (total sales amount information and total ball lending amount information) in response to access from the card company 11 (for example, access after closing the amusement store). The card company 11 manages this notification information and requests the amusement store to pay the amount indicated by the total sales amount information, while the amusement store indicates to the card company 11 in the total lending amount information. Ask for payment of the amount made. As a result, settlement is performed between the amusement store and the card company 11.

C. FIG. 4 is a view showing the gaming apparatus 1 (corresponding to an enlarged view of the gaming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1), and the gaming apparatus 1 includes the gaming machine 2 and the gaming machine 2 as described above. And a ball lending machine 3 attached to. The gaming machine 2 is provided below a frame-shaped front frame 71, a metal frame (glass frame) 72 that supports glass, a game board 73 in which a game area is formed, a front display panel 74, and a front display panel 74. The front frame 71 is supported to be openable and closable with respect to a wooden machine frame (not shown) on which the gaming machine 2 is installed, and the metal frame 72 is opened and closed to the front frame 71. Supported as possible.
One end side of the display panel 74 is supported by the front frame 71 so as to be openable and closable, and an upper plate 81 for receiving a prize ball and a rental ball is formed, and the ball of the upper plate 81 is moved to a ball storage plate (also called a tray) 82. An opening / closing lever 83 is provided for opening and closing a passage connecting the two. A balance indicator 81a for displaying the unused amount of the prepaid card 9 on the upper plate 81, a ball lending display for displaying a ball lending possible state (a state in which the prepaid card 9 has an unused amount and fraud has not been detected) 81b, a ball lending switch (corresponding to the lending operation unit described in the gist of the invention) 81c and the return of the prepaid card 9 (ball lending machine) A return switch 81d that is operated when requesting (discharge from 3) is provided.

The operation panel 75 is provided with an ashtray 84 and the above-described sphere storage tray 82, and is provided with a sphere extraction lever 85 for extracting the sphere stored in the sphere storage tray 82 downward. Further, an operation handle 86 for launching a ball is provided on the right end side of the operation panel 75. The game board 73 is formed with a game area in which a substantially circular area on the front surface is surrounded by a guide rail 88, and a plurality of rows of identification information (so-called special symbols; hereinafter referred to as “special figures”) are arranged in the game area. Special display device 89 for variable display, special variable winning device 90 having a large winning opening, special drawing starting port 91, a plurality of general winning ports 94, a plurality of hitting direction changing members 96 called windmills, and left and right side lamps 97 98, out hole 99 and the like. In addition, one of the above-described general winning openings 94 is arranged at the upper part of the special figure display device 89, and below that, four special figure start memory displays for displaying the number of special figure start memories. 105 is provided.
The special figure starting port 91 is provided with a special figure starting switch 101 (see FIG. 6 for switch symbols; the same applies hereinafter), and the plurality of general winning openings 94 are provided with a winning switch 102 for each winning opening. Yes. Further, a continuation switch 103 is provided in the continuous winning channel in the large winning opening of the special variable winning device 90, and a count switch 104 is provided in the general winning channel of the special variable winning device 90.
The special figure start switch 101 detects that a ball has won the special figure start port 91, and the win switch 102 detects that a ball has won each of the plurality of general winning ports 94. In addition, the count switch 104 detects all balls that have entered the grand prize opening of the special variable prize winning device 90, and the continuous switch 103 detects a ball that has been continuously awarded (so-called V prize) among the balls that have entered the big prize opening. .
The game area of the game board 73 is provided with a number of obstructions called unillustrated ceiling nails and armored nails, and the game board 73 is provided with various other decorative lamps, LEDs, and the like. ing. Further, in this embodiment, the types of game areas in the game board 73 are those belonging to the so-called “first type”, but other types, that is, “second type”, “third type”, or It may belong to “other species”.

  On the other hand, the ball lending machine 3 includes an infrared light receiving window 3a (provided on the front face of the transmitter / receiver 24 in FIG. 5), an insertion port 3b of the prepaid card 9 (a card insertion port of the card R / W device 26 in FIG. 5). And a display window 3c (provided on the display surface of the display unit 27 in FIG. 5) for displaying the unused amount of the prepaid card 9 and the unauthorized state.

D. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a gaming apparatus 1 including a gaming machine 2 and a ball lending machine 3. The gaming machine 2 includes a gaming control device 12 (details will be described later), and the gaming control device 12 includes An external communication terminal 13, a discharge control device (corresponding to a discharge control unit described in the gist of the invention) 14, a discharge device 15, a relay board 16, and a connection terminal 17 provided on the relay board 16. For example, a balance indicator 81a made of, for example, three-digit 7-segment elements provided on the plate 81, a ball lending possible indicator 81b made of, for example, an LED, a ball lending switch 81c, and a return switch 81d are provided. In addition to these, a power supply device, a launch unit, a launch control device, a display control device, a decoration control device, and the like are provided, but are omitted for convenience of illustration.

On the other hand, the ball lending machine 3 includes a one-chip microcomputer (equivalent to a lending control means, a game medium lending information response means, and a judging means described in the gist of the invention) 18, an oscillator 19, a nonvolatile memory 20, an output interface 21, an input An interface 22, a communication control device 23, a transceiver 24, a card R / W (read / write) control device 25, a card R / W device 26, a display 27, a chip terminal 28 and a ball lending terminal 29 are provided. In addition, the alphabetical code (ad) with a circle in a figure shows that the signal line | wire of the same code | symbol is connected.
The one-chip microcomputer 18 executes a later-described ball lending control program (see FIGS. 11 to 13) to perform a ball lending control and a fraudulent exchange determination process of an amusement chip (a game processing unit 200 to be described later). The oscillator 19 generates an operation clock for the one-chip microcomputer 19. The non-volatile memory 20 is a storage device that can hold stored contents even while the power is turned off. For example, the nonvolatile memory 20 is an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Memory) or a battery-backed volatile semiconductor memory (SRAM). Etc.), and the same ID identification code as the amusement chip individual identification information installed in the game control device 12 of the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball lending machine 3 as the amusement chip unauthorized exchange judgment reference information Information).

  The communication control device 23 controls wireless communication (in this embodiment, infrared communication but wireless communication) performed between the transmitter / receiver 24 and the sub-relay device 8. The card R / W control device 25 controls reading and writing of stored information (security information and money amount information such as card identification information and issuer information) of the prepaid card 9 inserted in the card R / W device 26. The output interface 21 and the input interface 22 are connected to the internal bus (not shown) of the one-chip microcomputer 18, the communication control device 23, and the card R / W control device 25. And the data input / output between the chip terminal 28 and the ball lending terminal 29 and the internal bus of the one-chip microcomputer 18 are controlled.

Further, the output interface 21 and the game store management device (hereinafter referred to as the “game store computer 30”) may be connected as shown in the figure to output necessary information to the game store computer 30. In this case, the required information can include ball rental information, amusement chip unauthorized exchange information, and the like.
The gaming machine 2 and the ball lending machine 3 are connected by two harnesses 31 and 32 each composed of a required number of signal lines. Connectors (connection terminals) 31 a and 31 b provided at both ends of the first harness 31 are for external communication terminals of the gaming machine 2 (external communication terminals 13 provided in the game control device 12) and chips of the ball lending machine 3, respectively. Connectors (connection terminals) 32 a and 32 b connected to the terminal 28 and provided at both ends of the second harness 32 are respectively connected to the connection terminal of the gaming machine 2 (connection terminal 17 provided on the relay board 16) and the ball rental machine 3. Are connected to the ball lending terminal 29.

The gaming machine 2 and the ball lending machine 3 having such a configuration receive the money amount information and security information of the prepaid card 9 inserted in the card R / W device 26 of the ball lending machine 3 for the control of the one-chip microcomputer 18. Below, it is read by the card R / W device 26, and in particular the amount information of the read information is sent to the gaming machine 2 via the second harness 32, and a balance indicator provided on the upper plate 81 of the gaming machine 2 81a can be displayed.
When the player confirms the display on the balance indicator 81a and presses the ball lending switch 81c, the information is transmitted to the ball lending machine 3 via the second harness 32, and the card is controlled under the control of the one-chip microcomputer 18. The amount information of the prepaid card 9 is reduced by the R / W device 26 according to the operation of the ball lending switch 81c (for example, 200 yen for each operation; this amount can be set for each amusement store) and updated. A ball lending signal corresponding to the above operation is sent to the discharge control device 14 of the gaming machine 2 via the second harness 32, and in response to a command from the discharge control device 14, a quantity corresponding to the above operation is sent from the discharge device 15. The game ball is discharged to the upper plate 81 of the gaming machine 2.
In addition, when the amount information of the prepaid card 9 becomes zero, the unused amount of the balance indicator 81a is set to zero, the prepaid card 9 is discharged from the card R / W device 26, and a ball lending display is possible. The device 81b is put in a non-ball lending state (for example, turned off). Further, even when the return switch 81d is pressed, the prepaid card 9 is discharged from the card R / W device 26 as a matter of course.

  The ball lending machine 3 has the above-mentioned ball lending function, and further has an amusement chip unauthorized exchange determination function. This determination function outputs a management information request to the game arithmetic processing unit 200 of the game control device 12 via the first harness 31, and an amusement returned from the game arithmetic processing unit 200 based on the management information request The individual identification information of the chip (ID code of the game processing device 200) and the validity determination result information of the game program executed by the game processing device 200 are acquired, and the nonvolatile memory 20 of the ball lending machine 3 is acquired in advance. The identification information for determination (determination ID code) stored in the above is compared with the ID code, and if they match, OK (determined to be a legitimate gaming machine 2; hereinafter referred to as “true”), In the case of a mismatch, it is determined NG (determined that the gaming machine 2 has been illegally exchanged; hereinafter referred to as “false”), and further, from the acquired validity determination result information of the gaming program, O (True) and NG (false) are determined, and when the OK is determined, the above-mentioned ball lending function is enabled, while when NG is determined, the above-mentioned ball lending function is disabled (that is, the ball lending function). The machine 3 is disabled) and the ball lending control is stopped.

  Further, the ball lending machine 3 responds to the information request from the ball lending management device 4 performed via the ball lending network 10 and the determination information (OK / NG) and the information related to the ball lending function (prepaid card). The amount information, security information and ball lending amount information) of the requesting ball lending management device 4 and the determination ID code transmitted from the ball lending management device 4 as necessary. 20 stored.

E. Configuration of Game Control Device FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the game control device 12. The game control device 12 divides an amusement chip (a game processing unit 200; corresponding to the game control unit described in the gist of the invention) and a high-accuracy oscillation frequency for performing an accessory control necessary for a pachinko game or the like. An oscillator 111 for generating a predetermined clock signal CLK, a power-on reset generator 112 for detecting power-on to generate a power-on reset signal PWR_RST, an input interface 113 for inputting various sensor signals, and various drive signals. An output interface 114 for output, a sound generator 115 for generating sound effects (electronic sound and synthesized sound) necessary for the game, and an effect sound signal from the sound generator 115 are amplified and provided at appropriate locations on the gaming machine 2. The amplifier 117 that outputs to the speaker 116 and the external communication terminal 13 are included. There.

The input interface 113 selectively receives signals from each winning sensor provided on the game board, that is, the special figure start switch 101, the winning switch 102, the continuation switch 103, and the count switch 104, and the arithmetic processing device 200 for gaming. The external bus interface 204 (see FIG. 7) is selected, and the selection operation is performed in accordance with chip select signals CS0 to CS7 (see FIG. 7) from the game arithmetic processing unit 200. Note that “1 to n” described in the rectangular figure representing the winning switch 102 indicates that n winning switches 102 are provided. However, n is the number of the general winning openings 94.
The output interface 114 outputs signals taken from the external bus interface 204 (see FIG. 7) of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 to each part of the gaming machine 2, that is, the external information terminal 118, the display control device 119, and the special figure start memory display. Is selectively output to the device 105, the special prize opening solenoid 121, the discharge control device 14, the decoration control device 123, and the like, and the selection operation is the same as the input interface 113, and the chip select signal from the game processing unit 200 is used. This is performed according to CS0 to CS7 (see FIG. 7). By the way, the function of each part will be described. The external information terminal 118 is for outputting game information to the game store computer 30, and the display control device 119 is for controlling display of the special figure display device 89. The figure start memory display 105 is for displaying the start memory number of the special figure, the big prize opening solenoid 121 is for opening and closing the big prize opening of the special variable prize winning apparatus 90, and the discharge control device 14 is the discharge apparatus 15. The decoration control device 123 is for performing lighting control of decoration lamps, LEDs, etc. of each part of the game board.

F. Configuration of Game Processing Unit FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the game processing unit 200. The game processing unit 200 is divided into a game block 200A for performing game control and a management block 200B for managing information. The components of each block described below are mounted on a common semiconductor substrate to form a single chip. It is an amusement chip manufactured by packaging.
The game block 200A includes components such as a CPU core 201, a program ROM 202, and a user work RAM 203, an external bus interface 204, a clock generator 205, a reset controller 206, an address decoder 207, an input / output control circuit 208, a random number generation circuit 209, It includes components such as a user periodic reset generation circuit 210 and an attribute register 211, and a CPU bus 212 that connects these components.

Although not shown, the CPU core 201 includes various register groups, arithmetic and logic units (ALU), instruction registers (IR), decoders, and program counters (PC: Program).
A Z80 architecture CPU core, for example, includes a counter, a stack pointer (SP), a data bus connecting these, an address bus, and various control units.

The program ROM 202 is a non-volatile semiconductor memory (for example, one-time PROM) in which data is written only once, and the stored contents are a game program 202a and a check code 202b as shown in FIG. The check code 202b is data generated by encrypting the game program 202a with a predetermined encryption algorithm.
The user work RAM 203 corresponds to the main memory of the CPU core 201 and is composed of, for example, a high-speed semiconductor device such as SRAM, and is used as a work area (work area) when executing processing based on the game program in the game block 200A. Is.

  The external bus interface 204 is connected to the input interface 113 and the output interface 114 of FIG. 6 with a plurality of bits (for example, 16 bits) of external address signals A0 to A15 and a plurality of bits (for example, 8 bits) of the external data signal D0. ˜D7, memory request signal MREQ, input / output request signal IORQ, memory write signal WR, memory read signal RD, mode signal MODE, and other signal interface processes.

For example, if the external data signals D0 to D7 are added from the outside while sequentially incrementing the external address signals A0 to A15 while the MODE signal is active, the writing mode to the program ROM 202 is entered, or the game machine manufacturer or A game program can be written by a third party. However, when the writing of the game program to the program ROM 202 is completed, a write end code is recorded in a predetermined area of a hardware parameter ROM 214 (abbreviated as HW parameter ROM in the figure) described later, When a write end code is recorded in the hardware parameter ROM 214, the game program cannot be written into the program ROM 202.
Further, when the WR signal is activated while the MREQ signal or the IOREQ signal is activated, the external data signals D0 to D7 can be written to a predetermined external I / O, and when the RD signal is activated, the predetermined external I / O is activated. External data signals D0 to D7 can be taken in from / O. The predetermined external I / O refers to the state of the chip select signals CS0 to CS7 and the state of the WR signal or RD signal among the ports of the input interface 113 or the ports of the output interface 114 or the sound generator 115 in FIG. One element selected according to

The clock generator 205 generates an internal clock signal iCLK based on a clock signal CLK from the outside (the oscillator 111 in FIG. 6) and supplies it to each block such as the CPU core 201 and the user periodic reset generation circuit 210.
The reset controller 206 generates a CPU reset signal CPU_RST to be applied to a reset terminal of the CPU core 201. The CPU reset signal CPU_RST is input from the outside (power-on reset generator 112 in FIG. 6) when power is turned on. In synchronization with the reset signal PWR_RST, it is also synchronized with the user periodic reset signal USR_RST periodically input from the user periodic reset generation circuit 210 after power-on.

The address decoder 207 decodes information on the address bus of the CPU bus 212 and generates an internal signal for selecting an I / O resource corresponding to the decoding result.
The input / output control circuit 208 controls the active / inactive state of the chip select signals CS0 to CS7 based on the internal signal for I / O resource selection from the address decoder 207, and controls one of the ports of the input interface 113 in FIG. One of the ports of the output interface 114 or the sound generator 115 is selected.
The random number generation circuit 209 generates a random number related to whether or not to add a game value (for example, jackpot) in the game execution process (the random number is used for determining a jackpot or determining a symbol at a stop). For example, a mathematical method for generating a uniform random number (for example, a congruent method or an M-sequence method) is used.

  The user periodic reset generation circuit 210 generates a user periodic reset signal USR_RST for the CPU core 201, and the generation interval (user periodic reset interval) is determined by the value set in the attribute register 211.

The attribute register 211 holds hardware parameter setting values such as a user periodic reset interval. The output port of the attribute register 211 is (at least) connected to the user periodic reset generation circuit 210, and the input port is connected via the management bus 221. Are connected to the management block 200B. Writing of the user periodic reset interval setting value to the attribute register 211 is performed from the management block 200B via the management bus 221, and the setting timing is determined based on the system reset (power) of the game processing unit 200. Synonymous with on-reset).
Although not shown, the CPU bus 212 includes a data bus, an address bus, and a control bus. The CPU core 201 and peripheral circuits, that is, a program ROM 202, a user work RAM 203, an external bus interface 204, a clock generator 205, a reset controller 206, and an address decoder. 207 and the random number generation circuit 209 are connected, and are also connected to some components (a boot ROM 213, a hardware parameter ROM 214, and a bus monitor circuit 216) of the management block 200B.

  Next, the configuration of a management block 200B that performs information management in the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 will be described. The management block 200B includes a boot ROM 213, hardware parameter ROM 214, management work RAM 215, bus monitor circuit 216, security memory 217, ID property RAM 218, control circuit 219, external communication control circuit 220, and management bus 221, and a game block The CPU bus 212 extends from 200A, and the CPU bus 212 is connected to the boot ROM 213, hardware parameter ROM 214, and bus monitor circuit 216.

  The boot ROM 213 stores a boot program and a self-diagnosis program for a management block (refer to the boot program etc. 213a in FIG. 10), and is executed at the time of system reset of the game processing device 200 (more precisely, immediately after the system reset). After the normalization of the initialization process of the management block 200B is completed, this boot program is started up and a game program validity determination process (details of this determination process will be described later) is performed to confirm the validity of the game program ( In other words, when it is confirmed that the game program has not been altered, the start address of the game program (a predetermined address in the address space of the CPU core 201; generally the first address 0000h of the address space; actually, the program of the CPU core 201 Return counter value to 0 ) To which is to pass the processing.

The hardware parameter ROM 214 stores a predetermined write end code and also stores hardware parameter setting information for setting in the attribute register 211 of the game block 200A at the time of system reset. The write end code is information that clearly indicates that the game program 202a has been written in the program ROM 202, as described above. The hardware parameter setting information includes the operating speed (so-called clock speed) of the CPU core 201, the used address range (address upper and lower limit values) of the program ROM 202 and the user work RAM 203, and the usage (input) of the chip select signals CS0 to CS7. For use / output) and the set value of the user periodic reset interval.
These hardware parameters are read into the control circuit 219 of the management block 200B through the CPU bus 212 and the bus monitor circuit 216 when the system of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 is reset, and are used as hardware parameter setting values necessary for game control. For example, the set value of the user periodic reset interval is set in the attribute register 211 of the game block 200A via the management bus 221.

The management work RAM 215 is a storage area for temporarily holding information of the game block 200 </ b> A read via the bus monitor circuit 216 (such as storage contents of the program ROM 202 and storage contents of the user work RAM 203).
The bus monitor circuit 216 monitors the state of the CPU bus 212, and when the CPU bus 212 is not used by the CPU core 201 (for example, the system reset period of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 or the refresh period of the user work RAM 203). If necessary, the program ROM 202 and the user work RAM 203 of the game block 200A are accessed via the CPU bus 212, and necessary data (such as the contents of the game program and the user work RAM 203) is taken into the management block 200B.

  The security memory 217 stores individual identification information of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200, that is, a unique ID code (at least all of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200) assigned in advance by a manufacturer (manufacturer of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200). In addition to this ID code, various identification information such as a game type code, a rank code, a manufacturer code, and a model are stored. Information such as codes and inspection numbers is stored in a non-rewritable manner. The game type code is information for distinguishing pachinko machines, revolving game machines, etc., for example, information indicating “P” for pachinko machines and “G” for revolving game machines. It is. The rank code is information indicating the model rank code of the gaming machine (code for distinguishing the first type, second type, third type or other type), and the manufacturer code is the gaming machine or amusement chip. Is the information representing the manufacturer ID (or manufacturer number) for identifying the manufacturer, the model code is the information representing the product code of the gaming machine set by the manufacturer, and the inspection number (or verification code) is This is information representing a number assigned to a gaming machine that has passed inspection by a third party organization.

  The ID property RAM 218 copies and stores all or a part (at least the ID code) of the stored contents of the security memory 217, and also determines the validity of the game program (shown in FIG. 9) performed during the boot process described later. The result information of step P2), that is, "game program validity determination result information" is stored, and the stored content is retained during the power-on period. Note that the copy timing is when the gaming arithmetic processing unit 200 is reset, for example, the copy is performed in the initialization process (see step C3 in FIG. 9) executed in the management block 200B immediately after the system reset. Done.

  The control circuit 219 executes a predetermined sequence to control the operation of the management block 200B. For example, when the system is reset (in the initialization process executed in the management block 200B immediately after the system reset), the security memory The contents of 217 are copied to the ID property RAM 218, the bus release period of the CPU core 201 is detected via the bus monitor circuit 216 during the game, and the contents of the program ROM 202 of the game block 200A (especially the game program) during the synchronization. In addition, the contents of the user work RAM 203 are read out and written into the management work RAM 215, and the storage contents of the management work RAM 201 and the storage contents of the ID property RAM 218 (especially the ID code) in response to the information request command from the ball lending machine 3 And legitimacy of game programs To transfer determination result information) to the outside, and set in the communication buffer (not shown) of the external communication controller 220.

  The external communication control circuit 220 performs communication between the ball lending machine 3 (see FIG. 5 or FIG. 6) and the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 performed via the external communication terminal 13 (see FIG. 6) and the first harness 31. For example, in response to a management information request from the ball lending machine 3, the contents of a communication buffer (not shown), that is, the stored contents of the management work RAM 215 and the stored contents of the ID property RAM 218 (particularly the ID code and The game program legitimacy determination result information) is read out and the read information is transmitted to the requesting ball lending machine 3 or a management information request from the ball lending management device 4 of the ball lending network 10 In response to (this request is made via the ball lending machine 3), the contents of the communication buffer (not shown), that is, the contents stored in the management work RAM 215 (particularly the game program) Is transmitted to the requesting ball lending management device 4, and when a predetermined operation stop request signal is input from the ball lending machine 3, the signal is transferred to the control circuit 219 or the operation A control signal indicating that the stop request signal has been input is transmitted to the control circuit 219.

G. System Reset Operation of Game Arithmetic Processing Device Next, an operation of system reset of the game arithmetic processing device 200 (system reset is synonymous with power-on reset of the CPU core 201 as described above) will be described. . FIG. 8 is a state transition diagram of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200. In the figure, 230 to 233 are states, and 234 to 243 are transition lines. First, when a system reset occurs due to power-on (transition line 234), an initialization process is executed in the management block 200B (state 230). If the result is NG (transition line 235), a necessary alarm is generated. If it is OK (transition lines 236, 237), the management block 200B is set in the idle state (transition line 238: standby state for management information request) and the boot stored in the boot ROM 213 The program is executed by the CPU core 201 (state 232).

If the boot result is NG (transition line 241), a necessary alarm or the like is generated to enter a standby state, and if OK (transition line 242), a boot reset (generation of a start address of the game program) is performed. The game program generated and stored in the program ROM 202 is executed by the CPU core 201 (state 233). Thereafter, the game program is repeated each time the user periodic reset signal USR_RST is generated (transition line 243).
Here, the transition line 239 input to the state 231 represents a management information request from the ball lending machine 3 (or the ball lending management apparatus 4), and the transition line 240 output from the state 240 represents a management information response to the request source. Represents. For example, if the management information request is from the ball lending machine 3, the game program validity determination result information and the ID code are returned to the ball lending machine 3 as a management information response, and the management information from the ball lending management device 4 is also returned. If so, the game program is returned to the ball rental management device 4 as a management information response.

H. Operation of Management Block and Game Block Next, details of the operation of the management block 200B and the operation of the game block 200A of the game arithmetic processing device 200 will be described. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operations of the management block 200B and the game block 200A. The operation flow of the management block 200B is shown on the left side, and the operation flow of the game block 200A is shown on the right side.
As described above in “System Reset Operation of Game Arithmetic Processing Device 200”, the two blocks (game block 200A and management block 200B) of game arithmetic processing device 200 respond to a system reset at power-on. First, the management block 200B starts operation. The operation of the management block 200B is controlled in sequence by the control circuit 219 as follows. That is, the control circuit 219 first executes the self-diagnosis of the management block 200B at step C0, and if the diagnosis result is OK, whether or not the write end code is recorded in the hardware parameter ROM 214 at step C1. judge.

  As described above, since the write end code is written in the hardware parameter ROM 214 when the writing of the game program 202a into the program ROM 202 is completed, the determination in step C1 is basically a program. It is determined whether or not the game program 202a has already been stored in the ROM 202.

  If the game program 202a is not stored in the program ROM 202, the subsequent game process cannot be executed. Therefore, the process proceeds to step C2, the process of writing the game program 202a into the program ROM 202 is executed, and the flowchart is ended. However, if the game program 202a is already stored in the program ROM 202, the stored contents of the program ROM 202 are in the state shown in FIG. When the result of the “game program validity determination process” is “OK”, the game program 202a is periodically executed by the CPU core 201 (see step P6 described later) to perform the required game control. ing.

If it is determined in step C1 that the game program has been stored, then in step C3, the initialization process of the management block 200B is executed. In this initialization processing, for example, the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RAM 218 are initialized, the data is copied from the security memory 217 to the ID property RAM 218, and the hardware parameter setting value of the hardware parameter ROM 214 is stored in the attribute register 211 of the gaming block 200A. The process of setting to etc. is performed.
When the initialization process is completed, the boot program stored in the boot ROM 213 is started in step C4 (see the state 232 in FIG. 8), and the management block 200B is idled in the “management process” in step C5 (see FIG. 8). 8 transition line 238).

  The boot program is executed by the CPU core 201 of the game block 200A. That is, thereafter, the operation of the game block 200A is started. First, the CPU core 201 performs a self-diagnosis of the game block 200A in step P0, and if the diagnosis result is OK, performs an initialization process in step P1. In this initialization process, for example, the process of initializing the user work RAM 203 and adjusting the operating conditions of the game block 200A using the hardware parameters set in the attribute register 211 is performed.

  When the initialization process is completed, a “game program validity determination process” is executed in step P2. In FIG. 10, in step P2a, the determination process uses the encryption algorithm 213b read from the boot ROM 213 to encrypt the game program 202a written in the program ROM 202, and in step P2b, the encryption process is performed. The generated check code is compared with the check code 202b written in the program ROM 202 to determine OK (legitimate game program) if they match, or NG (tampered illegal) if they do not match. Game program).

When the game program validity determination process is completed, in step P3, the game program validity determination result (OK / NG) is stored in a predetermined area of the ID property RAM 218 of the management block 200B, and then in step P4. If the result of the legitimacy determination of the game program is NG, the boot program is stopped (therefore, the game control is not performed). If OK, the process proceeds to Step P5 and the start address of the game program is set. Thereafter, the game control process of Step P6 is repeatedly executed at predetermined intervals (generation period of the user periodic reset signal USR_RST; for example, 2 ms).
When the determination result of the game program is NG, the control of the game block 200A (game control) is stopped, but the control of the management block 200B (idle state) is maintained as it is. For this reason, even if the determination result of the game program is NG, a required management information response (particularly, the validity determination result information of the game program and the ID code) is requested in accordance with the management information request from the ball lending machine 3. It can be returned to the original without any problems.

I. Next, the operation of the ball lending machine 3 will be described. FIGS. 11 to 13 are flowcharts of a ball lending control program executed by the one-chip microcomputer 18 of the ball lending machine 3. After the power is turned on, the ball lending machine 3 first executes an initialization process in step S21. In this initialization processing, for example, initialization processing of the communication control device 23, the card R / W control device 25, and the like is performed.
When the initialization process is completed, it is next determined whether or not there is an access from the ball lending management apparatus 4 in step S22. If there is an access, a process corresponding to the access type (polling / selecting) is performed in step S23. After the execution, the process proceeds to step S24. If there is no access, the process proceeds to step S24 as it is. In addition, the presence or absence of access from the ball lending management device 4 is determined by, for example, monitoring the data packet flowing through the ball lending network 10 and the address of the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball lending machine 3 at the destination of the packet. Access is included if it is included.

If there is an access, first, in step S23a, the access type code included in the access type part of the packet is checked. If the code is a code representing “selecting”, the information part of the packet is displayed in step S23b. Included determination ID code (determination ID code set in the ball lending management device 4 by a manufacturer engineer or an inspector of a third party organization, and the game machine 2 attached to the ball lending machine 3 The same ID code as that written in the game processing device 200 is written in a predetermined area of the non-volatile memory 20 of the ball lending machine 3.
On the other hand, if the access type code is a code representing “polling”, “game machine pass / fail judgment information” and “ball rental information” (these are stored in the internal memory of the one-chip microcomputer 18) (these Is transmitted to the ball rental management device 4). Note that immediately after the power supply of the ball lending machine 3 is turned on, the “gaming machine pass / fail judgment information” and the “ball lending information” are not yet stored and held in the one-chip microcomputer 18. This is because “game machine pass / fail judgment information” is stored and held when executing step S25 described later, and “ball rental information” is stored and held when executing steps S28 and S29 described later.
Therefore, if there is a polling from the ball lending management device 4 when step S25 or step S28 and step S29, which will be described later, have not been executed, effective transmission information is not stored and retained. A message (NAK signal) indicating that valid transmission information is not stored and held is transmitted to the ball rental management device 4. When receiving the NAK signal, the ball lending management device 4 ignores the information response at that time, and shifts to polling of the next ball lending machine 3.

  Next, in step S24, it is determined whether the “game machine validity determination condition” is satisfied. One of the game machine validity determination conditions is immediately after the ball lending machine 3 is powered on. That is, when the power supply of the ball lending machine 3 is turned on, the determination result of step S24 is “YES”, and the gaming machine legitimacy determination process of step S25 is executed. Another one of the game machine validity determination conditions is input of a predetermined periodic signal (periodic signal generated by dividing the oscillation signal of the oscillator 19). That is, every time a predetermined periodic signal is input (for example, every F seconds when the periodic signal is set to a period of F seconds), the determination result of step S24 becomes “YES”, and the gaming machine legitimacy determination process of step S25 is executed. To do.

In this gaming machine legitimacy determination process, first, gaming machine information is acquired in step S25a. The gaming machine information is information stored in the management work RAM 215 and the ID property RAM 218 of the gaming arithmetic processing device 200 of the gaming machine 2 provided in the ball lending machine 3, and in particular, the validity of the ID code and the gaming program. It is determination result information.
In the information acquisition procedure, first, a management information request signal is generated by the one-chip microcomputer 18, and the signal is transmitted to the management block 200B of the game processing unit 200.
When the management block 200B in the idle state receives the signal (management information request signal), it reads the information stored in the management work RAM 215 and ID property RAM 218 (particularly, the ID code and the validity determination result information of the game program). The information is returned to the requesting ball rental machine 3 as a management information response. The gaming machine information acquired in step S25a is information returned from the gaming machine 2 in this way.

When the gaming machine information is acquired, next, in step S25b, the “ID code” in the gaming machine information is compared with the determination ID code held in the nonvolatile memory 20, and they match (OK: valid). Game arithmetic processing device 200) / mismatch (NG: gaming arithmetic processing device 200 exchanged illegally). In step S25c, the determination result and the “game program validity determination result information” in the gaming machine information are stored as “gaming machine pass / fail determination information” (see step S23c) in the internal memory of the one-chip microcomputer 18. (If already stored, the stored contents are overwritten).
Next, in step S25d and step S25f, it is determined whether the ID code determination result is NG, or whether the “game program validity determination result information” in the gaming machine information is NG. Or when both are NG, an abnormality flag is set to ON (step S25e, step S25g).
Next, proceeding to step S26, when the abnormality flag is ON, the abnormality process of step S27 is executed. When the abnormality flag is not ON, the normal process, that is, the prepaid card process of step S28 and the step After executing the ball lending process in S29, the above-described step S22 and subsequent steps are repeated again.

In the abnormality process of step S27, first, an abnormality is displayed (notified) on the display 27 of the ball lending machine 3 in step S27a, and then whether or not a prepaid card is inserted in the card R / W device 26 in step S27b. Check out. If it has not been inserted, the insertion of the prepaid card is prohibited in step S27d, and the ball lending-inhibited display 81b of the gaming machine 2 is displayed, and if it has been inserted, in step S27c. After discharging the prepaid card, insertion of the prepaid card is prohibited in step S27d, and a ball lending disabling display is performed on the ball lending possible indicator 81b of the gaming machine 2.
In the prepaid card process of step S28, a prepaid card security information check process, a prepaid card amount information (unused amount) reading process, a display update process of the balance indicator 81a of the gaming machine 2, a prepaid card discharge process ( However, when the unused amount is zero or the return switch 81d of the gaming machine 2 is operated), the display processing of the ball lending possible indicator 81b of the gaming machine 2 is performed.
In the ball lending process in step S29, a signal (ball lending signal) instructing the discharge of the number of game balls is generated according to the operation of the ball lending switch 81c of the gaming machine 2 and output to the discharge control device 14 of the gaming machine 2 In addition, the amount information (unused amount) of the prepaid card is subtracted / updated according to the number of discharged game balls, and the number of discharged game balls (that is, the number of ball rentals) is converted to the amount. The stored information is stored and held in the internal memory of the one-chip microcomputer 18 as “ball rental information”.

J. et al. Example of Operation of Ball Lending Management Device FIGS. 14 to 16 are diagrams showing a preferred flowchart of a ball lending management control program executed by the ball lending management device 4. This program executes the initialization process of step S111 only once at the time of activation, and thereafter repeats the loop composed of steps S112 to S116. That is, when the program is started, the loop variable i (i is a polling address) is set to 1 in step S111 for initialization, and then the selecting process in step S112 and the polling process in step S113 are executed, and then in step S114. The loop variable i is incremented by 1, and the evaluation result of the expression “i> imax” is determined in step S115. If it is false (“NO”), the loop is repeated as it is. If true (“YES”), the loop is repeated in step S116. The variable i is returned to 1 and the loop is repeated again. Imax is the maximum value of the polling address i.
FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the selecting process in step S112. In FIG. 15, step S112a is a determination unit that determines whether or not the ID setting mode is set. In the normal mode (when not in the ID setting mode), the determination result in step S112a is always “NO”. Therefore, in the normal mode, the substantial selection process execution unit from step S112b to step S112k is passed, and the polling process of step S113 is executed without performing the selection process. The substantial selection processing execution unit will be described later.

  FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the polling process in step S113. In this polling process, first, in step S113a, if the terminal indicated by the loop variable i, for example, i = 1 and the terminal with the address 1 is the ball lending machine 3, the ball lending machine 3 is polled. Execute. Next, in step S113b, the passage of a predetermined time (the passage of a time obtained by adding an appropriate margin to the maximum delay time of the network response) or NAK (indicating that there is no information to be transmitted to the terminal or that the transmission system is not ready). Signal) reception is determined, and if the predetermined time has not elapsed and NAK has not been received, information reception from the ball lending machine 3 is awaited in step S113d. When the information is received in step S113d, the received information is recorded in TBL1 of the information management unit 4g in step S113e, and the process returns to the loop processing of FIG. 14, and no information is received even after a predetermined time has elapsed. If NAK is received even before the predetermined time has passed, polling retry is repeated n times (for example, n = 3) in step S113c, and if no information is received even after n times, The polling process to the terminal at the address indicated by the current loop variable i (currently address 1 is 1 because i = 1) is stopped, and the process returns to the loop process of FIG.

  Assuming that the address of each terminal installed in the game hall is 1 to 99, the value of the loop variable i is 1, 2, 3, ..., 88, 99, 1, 2, 3 each time the loop is repeated. , ... and change sequentially. Therefore, every time the polling process of FIG. 16 is executed, the operation of polling the terminal at address 1, polling for the terminal at address 2,..., Polling for the terminal at address 99, polling for the terminal at address 1. . As a result, as long as there is no failure in each terminal, the latest information polled from each terminal (for example, gaming machine pass / fail information and ball rental information in the case of the ball rental machine 3) is the information management of the ball rental management apparatus 4. The data is sequentially recorded in the TBL1 of the part 4g.

By the way, as explained at the beginning, when an arbitrary gaming machine 2 in the game hall is exchanged, for example, the gaming machine 2 attached to the ball lending machine 3 at the address 6 and the ball lending machine 3 at the address 12 When exchanging with the gaming machine 2 installed (of course, the addresses of 6 and 12 are convenient values), the amusement chip (the gaming processing unit 200) mounted on these gaming machines 2 The same ID code for determination as the ID code must be set in the ball lending machine 3 at address 6 and address 12. In this case, an employee of the game hall operates the ID setting start key of the key input unit 4d of the ball rental management device 4 (step S112a) to switch to the ID setting mode, and sets the setting destination addresses (Nos. 6 and 12). No.) and an ID code for determination (for example, “123456” for No. 6 and “ABCDEF” for No. 12). The ball lending management control program being executed by the ball lending management device 4 includes a portion for determining the mode change (step S112a) in the loop, and when the change to the ID setting mode is determined, A simple selecting process execution unit (steps S112b and after) is executed.
That is, when it is determined to change to the ID setting mode (“YES” determination in step S112a), first, in step S112b, an input of a selecting address and an input of a determination ID code from the key input unit 4d are accepted, and the selection is performed. Information (a determination ID code and a selection address stored as a pair as illustrated in TBL2 of FIG. 3). In the illustrated example, a determination ID code “123456” is assigned to the selection address No. 6. In addition, a determination ID code “ABCDEFG” is stored for the selecting address 12). When an input end operation (for example, operation of an ID setting end key of the key input unit 4d) is determined in step S112c, the address j and the determination ID code of the first record of TBL2 are read in step S112d, and the address is determined in step S112e. Selection of the determination ID code (“123456”) is executed for the ball lending machine 3 of j (j = 6).
In step S112f, whether a predetermined time has elapsed or NAK reception is determined. If the predetermined time has not elapsed and NAK has not been received, in step S112i, ACK (setting completion notification) reception is waited, and ACK is received. Then, in step S112j, it is determined whether or not the selection of the selection information set and stored in TBL2 has been completed (this determination is performed by detecting, for example, the EOF of TBL2). In step S112k, the TBL2 selecting information is cleared and the process returns to the loop process of FIG. On the other hand, if the selecting is not completed, the process returns to step S112d to execute the next selecting. That is, after the current record of TBL2 is advanced by one, the selection of the ID code for determination (“ABCDEF”) is executed for the ball lending machine 3 at address j (j = 12) in step S112e.
If no ACK is received in step S112i and no information is received even if a predetermined time has passed in step S112f, or if a NAK is received even before the predetermined time has passed, selecting If the ACK is not received even after repeating the retry up to n times, the required error handling (for example, a message stating “Failed to set the ID code for the address j” is displayed on the display unit 4b) in step S112h. Is displayed), the selecting process is stopped and the process returns to the loop process of FIG.

K. Summary As described above, the gaming system of the present embodiment including the ball lending management device 4 that executes the ball lending management control program is operating in the normal mode, that is, unless switching to the ID setting mode, While the selecting process is not executed, only the polling process for each terminal (the card issuing machine 6, the money adding machine 7 and the ball lending machine 3) is sequentially executed. This is because the selection processing step S112 and the polling processing step S113 are placed in a loop that is repeated while updating the polling address i, and in the normal mode (when not in the ID setting mode), the substantial selecting processing is performed. This is because the execution unit (step 112b to step S112k) is passed. When the mode is switched to the ID setting mode, after waiting for completion of one unit of polling processing (from information request to the terminal of polling address i to recording of the acquired information), a substantial selecting processing execution unit (step S112b). To Step S112k). This is because one unit of polling is completed in the same step (S113), and before performing the polling process for the terminal of the next address i, the selecting process of step S112 is performed. Because.

  Therefore, according to the gaming system of the present embodiment, since the selecting process is performed after one unit of the polling process is completed, it is possible to avoid the conflict between the two, and the information acquisition from the terminal and the accurate recording thereof can be avoided. It is possible to guarantee the reliability of setting the ID code to the ball lending machine.

  In the ball rental management control program in the above embodiment, the selection processing step S112 and the polling processing step S113 are placed in the polling loop, and the substantial selection executing unit (S112b) of the selection processing is performed in the normal mode. ~ S112k) are passed and only step S113 of the polling process is executed, but it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to this mode. In short, if the polling process for the terminal at address i is being executed (active) when the mode is switched to the ID setting mode, the collection of information from the terminal at address i and the completion of recording of the information are triggered. , The selection (setting) of the determination ID code to the ball lending machine 3 of the address j is started, and the polling process for the terminal of the next address i is waited until the selection is completed, It suffices if polling is resumed upon completion.

  The “trigger” means a so-called event activation type processing sequence or a sequence control type processing sequence. For example, in the case of an event activation type processing sequence, the above-mentioned mode is “if the terminal at the address i is active (active) when the polling process is being performed for the terminal at the address i when the mode is switched to the ID setting mode. In response to the event of completion of information collection and recording of the information, selection (setting) of the ID code for determination to the ball lending machine 3 at the address j is started, and the event of completion of the selection occurs Until the terminal i at the next address i is suspended and polling is resumed in response to a selection completion event. When the mode is switched to the setting mode, if the polling process for the terminal of the address i is being executed (active), the address i After completing the collection of information from the terminal and recording of the information, the selection (setting) of the determination ID code to the ball lending machine 3 at the address j is started and until the selection completion event occurs. It waits for the polling process for the terminal of the next address i and resumes polling after completing the selection.

In addition, although embodiment of this invention made the pachinko machine into the example, it is not limited to this. In short, any gaming device installed in a game hall that uses a prepaid card (prepaid card) to pay for the borrowing of game media such as game balls and coins may be used. Other game machines may be used.
In the embodiment of the present invention, a ball lending system using a prepaid card is taken as an example, and when the information recorded on the prepaid card is read or rewritten, the prepaid card is inserted into the card R / W device 26. Although the type (contact type) in which the information reading / writing unit (not shown) of the card R / W device 26 and the information recording unit of the prepaid card are brought into contact with each other is taken as an example, it is not limited to this. As described above, the card R / W device 26 can read the recorded information by irradiating an invisible light beam with an electronic method, a magnetic method, or other methods that cannot be recognized by human perception. Any method can be used as long as it can read and rewrite information using a method for printing the recorded information, and the prepaid card is placed on the information read / write unit as well as the contact type described above. Or a non-contact type in which the information reading unit and the information recording unit of the prepaid card are brought close to each other. The term “wearing” in the gist of the invention is used to encompass all of these types.
In addition, it should be considered that the embodiment disclosed this time is illustrative in all points and not restrictive. That is, the scope of the present invention should not be construed restrictively based on the description in the above embodiment. It is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the description of the claims and indicated by the description of the claims.

2 Game machines 3 Ball lending machines (game media lending device)
4 ball lending management device (lending information management device)
4a CPU (game medium rental information collecting means, identification information setting means for determination)
9 Prepaid card (storage medium)
14 Emission control device (emission control unit)
18 One-chip microcomputer (lending control means, game medium lending information response means, judging means)
81c Ball lending switch (lending operation part)
200 Arithmetic processing device for game (game control unit)

Claims (1)

A game having a discharge control unit for controlling the discharge of a game medium based on a ball lending signal from a game medium lending machine that controls the rental of a game medium based on the mounting of a recording medium on which valuable value information is recorded in a rewritable manner In the machine
A game control unit for controlling the progress of the game according to the game program;
The game control unit
Game program determination means for determining the legitimacy of the game program before starting control of the progress of the game, and passing the process to the game program when it is determined that the game program is legitimate;
Storage means for storing unique solid information;
Based on the management information request transmitted from the gaming medium lending machine, the unique solid information stored in the storage means, and a transmission means for transmitting the validity determination result by the gaming program determination means ,
The transmission means includes
A management information request transmitted from the game medium lending machine even when the game program determination means determines that the game program is not a valid game program, and processing is not passed to the game program and game control is stopped. The game medium lending machine ball is transmitted to the request source together with the unique solid information and the validity determination result information indicating that the game program determination means is not a valid game program. A gaming machine characterized by prohibiting lending control .

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