JP5036344B2 - GAME MEDIA LENDING DEVICE AND GAME MEDIA LENDING METHOD - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is connected to a management device that stores and manages a valuable value in association with identification information recorded on a game recording medium, and allows money to be accepted when communication with the management device is impossible. Game medium lending device and game medium lending method for restricting to a low amount of money and performing a game medium lending process based on the low amount of money, and a game medium lending device for lending a game medium based on a predetermined low amount of money And a game medium lending method.

  Conventionally, as a game medium lending machine for lending game media such as pachinko balls and medals, a card processing unit that lends game media based on the value of the inserted game recording medium (prepaid card) (hereinafter referred to as “CR” Unit ”) is well known (see Patent Document 1).

  The remaining amount of the prepaid card inserted into the CR unit is the identification information stored in the prepaid card in a management device (hereinafter referred to as “prepaid card management T / C” as appropriate) connected to the CR unit. It is managed in association with a prepaid card ID).

  In this way, the remaining amount management of the prepaid card is performed by the prepaid card management T / C, which is a higher-level device of the CR unit. Therefore, the communication between the CR unit and the prepaid card management T / C is interrupted for some reason. The remaining amount cannot be managed when it falls into a state (offline state).

  In order to cope with this offline state, when a predetermined low-value bill (for example, a thousand-yen bill) is accepted, a technique for avoiding the remaining amount management of the prepaid card by throwing out all the game media equivalent to the bill It has been known.

  Also, a ball lending system that accepts only low-value banknotes and pays out game media corresponding to the value in a lump is known as a normal operation, not a reduced operation when offline (see Patent Document 2).

  On the other hand, in recent years, a low-cost corner has been newly established to lend gaming media at a low lending rate (for example, 1 yen per ball), which is a reduction in general gaming media lending rate (for example, 4 yen per ball). Tend to.

  These low-priced corners are promoted so that the gaming machine can be widely accepted, and are being considered for full-scale introduction in order to collect information on the decision to make a full-scale introduction based on impressions and customers. This is a corner for trying out a new game model (for example, a new game model or a retrospective game model). It may also be provided with the intention of enjoying a long game at a low charge.

JP 2000-14394 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-7016

  However, in the CR unit represented by the above-described conventional technology, all the game media corresponding to the predetermined low-value banknotes are thrown out, so that the lower the loan rate is, the more game media are thrown out. Various throwing errors such as game media overflowing from the storage unit (upper and lower plates) of the gaming machine, supply of gaming media to the gaming machine cannot catch up, and game media to be thrown out are insufficient. There was a problem of causing.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems (problems) caused by the prior art, and various types of throwing off-line when a low-priced lending rate is employed as a gaming medium lending rate. An object of the present invention is to provide a game medium lending device and a game medium lending method capable of preventing errors.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the gaming medium lending device according to the invention of claim 1 is a management device that stores and manages a valuable value in association with identification information recorded on a gaming recording medium. A game medium lending device that is connected and limits the money that is accepted when communication with the management device is impossible to a predetermined low money, and performs a game medium lending process based on the low money Lending rate storage means for storing the lending rate of the game medium, communication enable / disable determining means for determining whether communication with the management device is possible, and association of the value with the game recording medium. Correspondence limiting means for restricting, throwing control processing means for performing throwing control processing of the game medium corresponding to the valuable value, and setting the quantity value of the valuable value used for the throwing control processing corresponding to the low money A throwing setting switching means for switching between a full throwing setting to be set for a quantity and a partial throwing setting to be set for a quantity corresponding to a part of the low value money; a storage means for storing the valuable value; and the predetermined value If the loan rate storage device stores a loan rate in which the number of gaming media equivalent to the low-value money exceeds the allowable storage range on the gaming machine side, the throw-out setting switching unit selects the partial throw-out setting. And a throwing setting switching control unit, and when the communication availability determination unit is set to be able to communicate with the management device, the throwing without the restriction by the association restriction unit When the throwing control is performed by the restriction processing unit and it is determined by the communication availability determining unit that communication with the management device is impossible, the throwing control is performed in the state where the restriction by the association limiting unit is performed. Departure According quantity setting by switching means that performs control for storing a negotiable value corresponding to the remaining quantity was not thrown out after conducting a dispensing control of the game medium by the dispensing control processing means to said memory means Features.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a game medium lending apparatus according to the above invention, wherein the game medium lending process is divided into a plurality of times based on the value managed by the value management means. Is further provided.

  The game medium lending device according to the invention of claim 3 is the above invention, wherein the game medium lending device or the gaming machine has lending operation accepting means for accepting a lending operation of the game medium, The lending processing unit performs the gaming medium lending process when the lending operation accepting unit accepts the gaming medium lending operation.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the game medium lending device according to the above invention, wherein the lending processing means is capable of communicating with the management device every time the game medium is lending. Control is performed so that the same number of game media as the number of loans is thrown out.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the game medium renting device according to the above invention, wherein the game medium renting device or the gaming machine has a return operation receiving means for receiving a return operation of the game recording medium. When the return operation accepting unit accepts a return operation of the game recording medium when the communication enable / disable determining unit determines that communication with the management device is impossible, the game The return of recording media for use is prohibited.

The gaming medium lending method according to the invention of claim 6 is connected to a management device that stores and manages value in association with identification information recorded on the game recording medium, and cannot communicate with the management device. A game medium lending method for use in a game medium lending apparatus for restricting the money allowed to be accepted to a predetermined low amount money and lending the game medium based on the low amount money, wherein the game medium is lent A lending rate storage step for storing a rate in a lending rate storage means, a communication availability determination step for determining whether communication with the management device is possible, and a limitation on the association of the valuable value with the game recording medium An association restriction step, a dispensing control processing step for performing a dispensing control process of a game medium corresponding to the valuable value, and a quantity setting of a valuable value used in the dispensing control process for the low value money. A throwing setting switching step for switching to a total throwing setting to be set for a total amount to be set, and a partial throwing setting to be set to an amount corresponding to a part of the low-value money, and a storing step for storing the valuable value in a storage means And the lending rate storage means stores a lending rate in which the number of gaming media equivalent to the predetermined low-value money exceeds a permissible storage range on the gaming machine side in the lending setting storage step, the partial throwing A setting for selecting a setting to be switched, and when it is set that communication with the management device is possible by the communication availability determination step, the restriction by the association restriction step is not performed. performs dispensing control by the dispensing limiting process step, when said by the communication possibility determining step is determined to be impossible to communicate with the management apparatus, the line limited by the associated limiting step In the state, the storage means stores the valuable value corresponding to the remaining quantity that has not been thrown out after performing the gaming medium throwing-out control by the throwing control processing step according to the quantity setting by the throwing setting switching step. It is characterized by performing control stored in the memory .

According to the present invention, a lending rate storage unit that stores a lending rate of a game medium, a communication availability determination unit that determines whether or not communication with a management device is possible, and association of a valuable value to a game recording medium The association restriction means for restricting the value, the throwing control processing means for performing the throwing control processing of the game medium corresponding to the valuable value, and the quantity setting of the valuable value used for the throwing control processing are set to the total amount corresponding to the low money. A throwing setting switching means for switching between all throwing settings and a partial throwing setting set to an amount corresponding to a part of the low money, a storage means for storing a valuable value, and a game medium equivalent to a predetermined low money A loan setting switching control means for causing the investment setting switching means to select a part of the investment setting when a loan rate exceeding the allowable storage range on the gaming machine side is stored in the loan rate storage means; Communication possibility judgment If it is set that communication with the management device is possible by the means, the throwing control by the throwing restriction processing means is performed without performing the restriction by the association restriction means, and the communication availability determination means is used to communicate with the management device. When it is determined that communication is impossible, the game medium is controlled to be thrown out by the throwing control processing means in accordance with the quantity setting by the throwing setting switching means while being restricted by the association restricting means. In addition, since it is controlled to store the valuable value corresponding to the remaining quantity that has not been thrown into the storage means, it is not necessary to throw out all the game media in such a situation. If lending is divided into multiple times, an appropriate amount of lending game media can be thrown into the storage unit of the gaming machine, and a low lending rate is adopted as the lending rate of the game media It is possible to prevent the various dispensing error at the time of off-line.

  Further, according to the present invention, since the gaming medium lending process is performed in a plurality of times based on the managed value, it is possible to throw out an appropriate amount of the rented gaming medium to the storage unit of the gaming machine. In the case where a low loan rate is adopted as the game medium lending rate, it is possible to obtain a game medium lending device capable of preventing various throwing errors when offline.

  In addition, according to the present invention, since the gaming medium lending process is performed when the gaming medium lending operation is accepted, the lending gaming medium that is exceptionally performed offline is not automatically thrown out. As in the case of online, it is possible to designate a game medium borrowing opportunity, and there is an effect that a game medium lending device capable of playing a game without causing the player to feel uncomfortable is obtained.

  In addition, according to the present invention, every time game media lending processing is performed, control is performed so as to throw out the same number of game media as the number of loans when communication with the management device is possible. A game medium lending device that can eliminate the difference in the number of loans regardless of whether the communication with the management device is in an online state or an offline state, and can cause the player to play a game without feeling uncomfortable The effect that is obtained.

  In addition, according to the present invention, when it is determined that communication with the management device is impossible, even if a return operation for the game recording medium is accepted, the return of the game recording medium is prohibited. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a game medium lending device capable of avoiding the operation of the game recording medium in a situation where communication with the management device is in an offline state.

  Exemplary embodiments of a game medium lending device (game medium lending method) according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following, a game medium lending device according to the present invention (in this embodiment, a card processing unit having a reading function of a game recording medium (for example, a prepaid card or an IC coin) will be described as an example) Is described as a first embodiment, and then another embodiment included in the present invention is described as a second embodiment.

  In the following first embodiment, the outline and features of the card processing unit (hereinafter collectively referred to as “CR unit”) according to the first embodiment, the configuration of the CR unit, and the flow of processing will be described in order. In this embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a game system for pachinko games will be described. However, the present invention is also applied to a game system further including pachislot games or a game system only for pachislot games. The invention can be applied as well.

[Outline and Features (Example 1)]
First, the system configuration of the gaming system including the CR unit according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, and the positioning of the CR unit in the gaming system will be clarified, and then the first embodiment will be described. The outline and features of the CR unit will be described. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a system configuration of the gaming system according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the features of the CR unit according to the first embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a gaming system 1 installed in a gaming store is referred to as a management device for managing the remaining number of times associated with a prepaid card, a terminal controller (hereinafter referred to as prepaid card management T / C). ) With 10 as the apex, the island controller 20 and the card issuing machine 50 provided for each group called “island” are connected. Further, the island controller 20 is connected to a CR unit 30 provided in each of the plurality of CR pachinko machines 40 installed on each island.

  In this gaming system 1, a prepaid card PC (issued to the player by the CR unit 30 and the card issuing machine 50, and the identification information of the issuing store, the card-specific identification code, the issue amount, the card type, etc. is recorded) Can be used as a game recording medium.

  The CR unit 30 has a main function of performing a pachinko ball lending process with the remaining number of times associated with the prepaid card PC (hereinafter referred to as the remaining number) as an upper limit, and is installed in a game store. One set is prepared for each of a plurality of CR pachinko machines 40, and is installed so as to be sandwiched between the CR pachinko machines 40. Both of these are pachinko machines that are “cash machines”. It is interfaced so that it can communicate with each other.

  This CR unit 30 holds a pachinko ball lending rate as a ball lending setting in order to realize lending of pachinko balls at different lending rates, and lends pachinko balls based on such lending rates. For example, if a lending rate of 4 yen per ball is set, 25 pachinko balls will be lent out per time, and if a lending rate of 1 yen per ball is set One hundred pachinko balls will be rented out once. In the first embodiment, for convenience of explanation, a lending rate of 4 yen per ball, which is common in pachinko games, is referred to as a “general lending rate”, and a lower lending rate is referred to as a “low lending rate”. The “low lending rate” will be described with a lending rate of 1 yen per ball as an example.

  The CR pachinko machine 40 is a device in which a player plays a pachinko ball and plays a game. As an operation to cooperate with the CR unit 30, when a ball throwing instruction is received from the CR unit 30, After a pachinko ball is thrown from the internal ball throwing mechanism and it is confirmed that the pachinko ball has been thrown normally, a “ball lending process” is performed in which a ball throwing completion notification is returned to the CR unit 30.

  In the first embodiment, when the CR unit 30 issues a ball throwing instruction (ball lending instruction) once between the CR unit 30 and the CR pachinko machine 40, the CR pachinko machine 40 receives 25 pachinko balls. It is prescribed to throw out. For example, when a lending rate of 4 yen per ball is set in the CR unit 30, a ball lending instruction is given once in order to throw out "25 pieces" of pachinko balls for once, When a lending rate of 1 yen per ball is set, a ball lending instruction is performed 4 times in order to throw out “100” pachinko balls for several times.

  The card issuing machine 50 has, as main functions, an issuance process for a prepaid card PC associated with a valuable value (frequency) according to the deposit amount and an addition process for the frequency associated with the prepaid card PC when cash is deposited. There are several units installed at amusement stores.

  The player inserts the prepaid card PC issued from the card issuing machine 50 into the CR unit 30 to perform the pachinko ball lending operation, and also inserts cash into the CR unit 30 so that the CR unit alone When the prepaid card PC is issued, a pachinko ball can be borrowed and a pachinko game can be performed.

  The CR unit 30, the CR pachinko machine 40, and the card issuing machine 50 are under the control of a management device called a prepaid card management T / C 10 through an island controller 20 provided on each island.

  The prepaid card management T / C 10 is a device that stores and manages prepaid card identification information (prepaid card ID) and the remaining number of prepaid cards. For example, when a large bill is inserted in the CR unit 30, the amount of the inserted bill is received from the CR unit 30 together with the prepaid card ID of the built-in card to be issued, and the amount of the inserted bill is entered in the prepaid card ID. After the value is added, a “value complete notification” is returned to the CR unit 30. In this embodiment, from the viewpoint of preventing fraud such as falsification of magnetic data recorded on the card, a configuration is adopted in which only the identification information of the prepaid card is recorded on the prepaid card without recording “frequency”. I decided to.

  Here, the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment stores the pachinko ball lending rate as a ball lending setting, determines whether communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is possible, and prepaid It is determined that communication with the card management T / C is impossible, and a lending rate in which the number of pachinko balls equivalent to a predetermined low-value money exceeds the allowable storage range on the CR pachinko machine 40 side is stored as a ball lending setting. In this case, the main feature is to manage the valuable value of money received after communication with the prepaid card management T / C10 is interrupted, and this series of processing adopts a low loan rate as a pachinko ball lending rate. In this case, it is possible to prevent various throwing errors when offline.

  That is, in the conventional CR unit, when communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted, if a predetermined low-value banknote (for example, a thousand-yen bill) is accepted, all game media equivalent to the low-value banknote is thrown. Prepaid card management T / C10 avoids prepaid card balance management, but the storage (upper and lower plates) of the CR pachinko machine 40 has a general lending rate (4 yen per ball). When a pachinko ball is lent out, it is configured so that it can accept the loaned ball in addition to the residue at that time. In general lending rates, it is common to throw out pachinko balls “125” for 5 times or “250” for 10 times in one ball lending operation.

  For this reason, if a low amount of lending rate (1 yen per ball) is adopted, and if all of the gaming media equivalent to low-value banknotes are thrown out, the number of pachinko balls to be thrown out will be larger than the general lending rate. Therefore, the rental balls overflow from the storage part (upper plate and lower plate) of the CR pachinko machine 40, and are connected to the back of the CR pachinko machine 40, and the CR pachinko machine is connected through the connection part. The ball supply mechanism that supplies prize balls and lending balls thrown by 40 cannot secure the required amount of pachinko balls, and various throwing errors such as shortage of pachinko balls to be thrown by the CR pachinko machine 40 occur. There is a problem.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when communication with the prepaid card management T / C is interrupted when a low loan rate is set, if an insertion operation of a low-value banknote “Thousand-yen bills” is subsequently accepted, While accepting a thousand yen bill into the unit, “1000 pieces” of pachinko balls equivalent to a thousand yen bill are thrown out of the CR pachinko machine 40. For this reason, in the CR pachinko machine 40, with a general lending rate of 4 yen per ball, at most 250 lending balls are placed on the upper plate and the remaining balls remaining on the upper plate and the lower plate at the time of lending. A low lending rate of 1 yen per ball will be thrown into the lower plate, and 1000 lending balls will be thrown into the upper and lower plates, and the above-mentioned various throwing errors can be avoided. Absent.

  Therefore, in the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment, if communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted when the low loan rate is set, the remaining amount management of the prepaid card is performed in the CR unit 30. In order to act on behalf, the value of money received after communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted is managed.

  In other words, if communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted when a low loan rate is set, the CR unit 30 accepts the bill into the unit if a bill insertion operation is subsequently accepted. Rather than throwing out all the pachinko balls equivalent to a predetermined low-priced bill as in the conventional CR unit, the pachinko balls can be lent out in multiple times by storing and managing the frequency equivalent to the inserted bills. I can do it.

  For example, in the example of FIG. 2, when the insertion operation of the bill “Thousand-yen bill” is accepted, the thousand-yen bill is accepted in the unit, and the frequency equivalent to 1,000 yen is stored in the storage unit 36 described later. Then, every time a lending operation is performed, 2 times are subtracted from the remaining number stored and managed by the CR unit 30, and in exchange for this, “200” pachinko balls corresponding to the 2 times are thrown from the CR pachinko machine 40. For this reason, in the CR pachinko machine 40, an appropriate amount of pachinko balls are thrown onto the upper plate and the lower plate, so that the above-described various throwing errors can be prevented. In the first embodiment, the pachinko balls are lent out by two times. However, it is possible to rent out the pachinko balls by dividing an arbitrary frequency out of the value (frequency) equivalent to the inserted bill into two or more arbitrary times. it can.

  Therefore, unlike the conventional technology described above, when a low loan rate is set and communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted, not all pachinko balls equivalent to a predetermined low money bill are thrown out. Since the value of the money received after the communication with the prepaid card management T / C10 is interrupted is managed, it is not necessary to throw out all the money even under such circumstances. For example, pachinko balls can be rented multiple times If divided, an appropriate amount of lending balls can be thrown into the storage part of the CR pachinko machine 40. If a low lending rate is adopted as the lending rate of the pachinko balls, various throwing errors when offline are made. It becomes possible to prevent.

[Configuration of CR unit 30]
Next, the configuration of the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment will be described. Here, after describing the (1) external configuration of the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment, the (2) internal configuration of the CR unit 30 will be described.

(1) External Configuration FIG. 3 is a front view showing an external appearance of the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment. As shown in the figure, the CR unit 30 is configured as a vertically long rectangular parallelepiped casing, and in the upper part of the front surface of the main body, the state display lamp 301 and the card state display are sequentially arranged downward. An LED 302, a remote control light receiving unit 310, and a depositable display LED 303 are attached.

  The status display lamp 301 is a lamp that indicates whether or not the CR unit 30 can be operated by switching the lighting color. For example, the status display lamp 301 indicates that the CR unit 30 can be operated by “green lighting” and cannot be operated by “red lighting”. It expresses that.

  The card status display LED 302 is an LED that indicates whether or not the prepaid card built in the CR unit 30 needs to be replenished or collected by lighting / flashing. For example, “lit” indicates that the prepaid card needs to be replenished. “Flashing” indicates that collection of the prepaid card is necessary, and “Lights off” indicates that replenishment and collection of the prepaid card is unnecessary.

  The remote control light receiving unit 310 receives infrared rays emitted from a dedicated remote controller (not shown), and performs various operations on the CR unit 30 (for example, replenishment operation and collection operation of a prepaid card) through infrared rays emitted from the remote control. Accept.

  The depositable display LED 303 is an LED that indicates whether or not banknotes can be deposited in the CR unit 30 by lighting / flashing. For example, it indicates that banknotes can be deposited by “lighting”. "Flashing" indicates that banknotes cannot be deposited.

  In addition, a bill insertion slot 308 for inserting a bill including a large amount of bills (for example, “10,000 yen”, “5,000 yen”, “2,000 yen”, etc.), a prepaid card or a member is inserted in the center of the front surface of the main body. A card insertion slot 309 for inserting various cards such as cards is provided.

  Further, a 7SEG display unit 304, a mode display unit 305, various button groups, and a lending button 306 and a return button 307 are provided at the bottom of the front surface of the main unit in order downward.

  The 7SEG display unit 304 is a display unit formed of 7-segment LEDs, and displays characters, numbers, codes, and the like by lighting the combined segments. For example, when the amount of inserted bills, the remaining number of prepaid cards, the number of stored balls, the number of replays and points are displayed, or when a prepaid card replenishment operation or collection operation is performed with a dedicated remote control, replenishment The number of sheets to be collected or the number of sheets to be collected is displayed.

  The mode display unit 305 displays which mode information is displayed on the 7SEG display unit 304. For example, it is indicated by turning on the corresponding lamp whether any information among “remaining number”, “number of stored balls”, “number of replays”, or “points” is displayed on the 7SEG display unit 304.

  The lending button 306 is an operation button for accepting a ball lending request by a player. When the lending button 306 is pressed, a “ball lending process” is performed in a ball lending processing unit 37a described later. The return button 307 is an operation button for accepting a return request for a prepaid card by the player. When the return button 307 is pressed, the prepaid card being inserted is returned from the card insertion slot 309.

(2) Internal Configuration Next, the internal configuration of the CR unit 30 shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the CR unit 30 includes an operation unit 31, a display unit 32, an IF unit 33, a BV unit unit 34, a card reader (C / R) 35a, a card storage unit 35b, A transport / feeding mechanism unit 35c, a storage unit 36, and a control unit 37 are provided.

  Of these, the operation unit 31 is a generic term for various button groups, the lending button 306, the return button 307, and the like shown in FIG. 3, and the display unit 32 is the status display lamp 301, card status display shown in FIG. LED 302, depositable LED 303, 7SEG display unit 304, mode display unit 305, and the like are generic terms.

  The IF unit 33 controls various communications between the CR unit 30 and other devices (for example, devices such as the prepaid card T / C 10, the island controller 20, the CR pachinko machine 40, and the card issuing machine 50). Interface.

  The BV unit 34 is a banknote discriminator for identifying the denomination (1000 yen, 2000 yen, 5000 yen and 10000 yen) of the banknote inserted into the banknote insertion slot 308, and the control unit controls the denomination of the identified inserted banknote. To 37. Moreover, when the inserted banknote is a forged banknote, the banknote is returned.

  The C / R 35a is a card reader that reads information recorded on various cards such as a prepaid card and a membership card inserted into the card insertion slot 309. Specifically, the prepaid card identification information and members are read from these various cards. The card identification information is read, and the read information is output to the control unit 37.

  The card storage unit 35b is a storage unit that stores a prepaid card whose remaining number is not valued. In order to enable a player to play with cash even if the player does not bring a prepaid card, a plurality of prepaid cards are used in advance. Is stored. For example, when a banknote is inserted by a player, a stored prepaid card that is closest to the transport / feed-out mechanism unit 35c is a target of frequency association with cash.

  The transport / feed-out mechanism unit 35c is a mechanism unit that transports / feeds out various cards. Specifically, the prepaid card inserted from the card insertion slot 309 is transported to the C / R 35a, the prepaid card held in the C / R 35a is transported to the card storage unit 35b, and the card storage unit 35b. The built-in prepaid card stored in the card is fed out to the C / R 35a, or the prepaid card held in the C / R 35a is fed out to the card insertion slot 309.

  The storage unit 36 is a storage unit (storage unit) that stores data and programs necessary for various processes by the control unit 37, and stores lending rate information 36a and remaining frequency information 36b as information related to the present invention. Yes.

  Among these, as the loan rate information 36a, either “general lending rate” of 4 yen per ball or “low loan rate” of 1 yen per ball is stored, and ball lending processing based on these lending rates. The “ball lending process” is performed by the unit 37a. Further, as the remaining frequency information 36b, “low loan rate” is set (registered) in the loan rate information 36a, and communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted (offline state). Only in this case, the valuable value of the inserted bill or the remaining valuable value after use is stored as the remaining frequency.

  The control unit 37 is a control unit that controls the overall control of the CR unit 30, and particularly those closely related to the present invention include a ball lending processing unit 37a, a communication availability determination unit 37b, a card information management unit 37c, and a valuable value. A management unit 37d is provided.

  Among these, the ball lending processing unit 37a is a processing unit that performs a “ball lending process” for lending a pachinko ball. Specifically, depending on the contents of the lending rate information 36a (that is, “general lending rate” or “low amount lending rate”) and the availability of communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 (that is, online state or offline state). Although the processing operations are different, the cases of “general lending rate” and “online”, “general lending rate” and “offline”, and “low loan rate” and “online” are already existing The present invention is intended for “low loan rate” and “offline state”, and the processing operation in this case is different from the existing one.

  For example, in the case of “general lending rate” and “online state”, when a lending operation is performed by a player with a prepaid card having a remaining number inserted (for example, accepting pressing of the lending button 306) The card information management unit 37c, which will be described later, subtracts the remaining number of prepaid cards by a predetermined number (for example, 5 degrees), and then issues a ball lending instruction to the CR pachinko machine 40 five times. The pachinko balls “125” for 5 degrees are thrown out from the internal ball throwing mechanism.

  Further, in the case of “general loan rate” and “offline state”, even if all 250 pachinko balls equivalent to a predetermined low-priced money (for example, a thousand yen bill) are thrown out, the storage part of the CR pachinko machine 40 Therefore, the remaining number management by the prepaid card management T / C 10 is prohibited. For this reason, the BV unit 34 allows only acceptance of a predetermined low-priced banknote (for example, a thousand-yen bill), and all the received pachinko balls “250” corresponding to the low-priced banknote “1000 yen” are stored in the CR pachinko machine 40. Throw out.

  In addition, in the case of “low loan rate” and “online state”, when a loan operation is performed by a player with a prepaid card having a remaining number inserted (for example, accepting the pressing of the loan button 306) The card information management unit 37c, which will be described later, subtracts the remaining number of prepaid cards by a predetermined frequency (for example, 2 times) and then issues a ball lending instruction to the CR pachinko machine 40 eight times. Two hundreds of pachinko balls “200” are thrown out from the internal ball throwing mechanism.

  On the other hand, in the case of “low loan rate” and “offline state”, the remaining frequency management by the prepaid card management T / C 10 is not performed, but the remaining value management is performed by the valuable value management unit 37d described later. For this reason, after the remaining frequency information 36b in the storage unit 36 is subtracted by a predetermined frequency (for example, 2 times) by the valuable value management unit 37d, a ball lending instruction is given to the CR pachinko machine 40 eight times, and the inside of the pachinko machine 40 is The ball throwing mechanism throws out “200” pachinko balls for several times (see FIG. 2).

  In this way, in the case of “low lending rate” and “offline state”, the same number of lending balls as “online state” are thrown out, and communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is online. Or in any of the offline states, it is possible to eliminate the difference in the number of loans, and it is possible to play a pachinko game without causing the player to feel uncomfortable. In the first embodiment, the same number of pachinko balls are thrown even when the CR unit 30 is in the “online state” or “offline state”, but this is not always necessary, and various throwing errors occur. You may change the number of "offline" loans within the specified range.

  The communication availability determination unit 37b is a processing unit that determines whether or not the CR unit 30 can communicate with the prepaid card management T / C 10. Specifically, the communication connection with the prepaid card management T / C 10 at an arbitrary timing such as an operation timing of specific processing (for example, cash acceptance processing, card acceptance processing, ball lending processing, etc.) or other irregular or fixed period If the communication connection is established between the two, it is determined that it is “online”, and the communication connection is established between the two. If not, it is determined to be “offline state”.

  The card information management unit 37 c is a processing unit that manages information on prepaid cards used in the CR unit 30. Specifically, in cooperation with the prepaid card management T / C 10, the amount of the inserted banknote is valued to the prepaid card built in the card storage unit 35 b, or the prepaid card being inserted is determined as a rental price for the pachinko ball. Number of counts (for example, “general lending rate” refers to the frequency of lending with a single lending operation as “5 times”, and “low loan rate” refers to the frequency of lending as a single lending operation with “2 times”) When the prepaid card is accepted via the card insertion slot 309, the remaining number corresponding to the prepaid card ID read through the C / R 35a is inquired and acquired.

  The valuable value management unit 37d is in a state (offline state) in which “low loan rate” is set in the loan rate information 36a and communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted by the communication availability determination unit 37b. When it is determined that there is, it is a processing unit that manages the valuable value of money received thereafter. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, when a bill “thousand-yen bill” is accepted through the BV unit 34 in the case of “low loan rate” and “offline state”, the remaining frequency “ 10 times "is stored, and then a predetermined frequency (for example, 2 times) is subtracted every time a lending operation by the player is performed (that is, every time the lending button 306 is pressed). The ball lending processing unit 37a is requested to throw out the pachinko balls.

  As described above, even when communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is in an offline state, lending a pachinko ball on the occasion of accepting a lending operation by a player, an exceptionally performed lending ball when offline Without the automatic throwing out, it is possible to specify the opportunity to borrow a pachinko ball as in the online mode, and it is possible to play a pachinko game without causing the player to feel uncomfortable.

  Here, in the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment, the remaining value management is performed by the valuable value management unit 37d, but this is local remaining number management without the prepaid card management T / C10, and the valuable value management. To manage both the remaining number and the prepaid card ID in the section 37d, and let the other CR unit 30 know the remaining number of the prepaid card even if the prepaid card having the prepaid card ID is returned to the player Communication between both CR units 30 needs to be secured, and communication between the pre-paid card management T / C 10 is in an offline state and communication between the CR unit 30 after the transfer and after the transfer Is not always possible. In addition, from the purpose of avoiding the situation where the exception is that the remaining number is transferred between the CR units 30 although the remaining number is centrally managed in the prepaid card management T / C 10 is the original form, It is not preferable to permit the operation of the prepaid card in a situation where the communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is offline.

  Therefore, in the valuable value management unit 37d, even if the prepaid card return operation is accepted when the communication availability determination unit 37b determines that the communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is offline, A function for prohibiting the return is added, so that the operation of the prepaid card can be avoided in a situation where the communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is in an offline state. In addition, this makes it possible to secure the lending of all pachinko balls equivalent to the inserted bills, and it is also possible to improve the sales of the amusement store.

  In the first embodiment, for the purpose of avoiding the operation of the prepaid card in the situation where the communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is in the offline state, it is stored when the “offline state” is returned to the “online state”. When the frequency remains in the remaining frequency information 36b of the unit 36, all the pachinko balls corresponding to the remaining frequency are thrown out by the ball lending processing unit 37a.

[Process flow]
Next, the flow of various processes of the CR unit according to the first embodiment will be described. Here, after explaining (1) online ball lending processing performed by the CR unit 30, main features (2) offline ball lending processing will be explained.

(1) Online ball lending process As described above, the online ball lending process according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of ball lending processing at the time of online according to the first embodiment. This process is a process that is performed recursively as long as the power of the CR unit 30 is ON. When the communication availability determination unit 37b determines that the communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is online. This process is performed only for

  As shown in the figure, when a bill is inserted from the bill insertion slot 308 (Yes in step S501), the transport / feeding mechanism unit 35c feeds the built-in prepaid card stored in the card storage unit 35b to the C / R 35a. After the card information management unit 37c gives the value of the inserted banknote determined by the BV unit 34 to the prepaid card (step S502), the remaining number corresponding to the amount valued to the prepaid card is displayed in 7 SEG. The information is displayed on the unit 304 (step S503). Note that “value” here refers to the prepaid card ID of the built-in prepaid card and the remaining number corresponding to the amount of the inserted bill to the prepaid card management T / C 10, and the prepaid card management T / C 10 This refers to the process of storing the remaining number in association with the prepaid card ID.

  In this case, since the remaining frequency of the prepaid card is not “0” (Yes at step S504), the card information management unit 37c waits for the lending operation reception standby state in which the lending button 306 is pressed. (Step S505).

  When a prepaid card is inserted from the card insertion slot 309 (Yes at step S506), the card information management unit 37c inquires the prepaid card management T / C10 about the remaining number corresponding to the prepaid card ID of the inserted prepaid card. (Step S507), the remaining frequency obtained by this inquiry is displayed on the 7SEG display unit 304 (Step S503).

  At this time, if the remaining number of the prepaid card is not “0” (Yes in step S504), the card information management unit 37c shifts to a lending operation reception standby state in which the lending button 306 is depressed. (Step S505) If the remaining number of prepaid cards is “0” (No at Step S504), the prepaid card with no remaining number is stored in the card storage unit 35b in the transport / feed-out mechanism unit 35c (Step S504). S508), the process is terminated.

  Here, when a lending operation by a player is accepted, for example, when a depressing operation of the lending button 306 is accepted (Yes at Step S505), the card information management unit 37c is caused to subtract a predetermined frequency from the prepaid card being inserted, The ball lending processing unit 37a performs “ball lending processing” in which pachinko balls corresponding to the subtraction frequency are thrown to the CR pachinko machine 40 (step S509). As a result, the remaining frequency of the prepaid card being inserted becomes “0”. If not (No at Step S504), the prepaid card having no remaining number is stored in the card storage unit 35b in the transport / feeding mechanism unit 35c (Step S508), the process is terminated, and the remaining number of prepaid cards being inserted is stored. If “0” is not “0” (Yes at Step S504), the process shifts again to the lending operation acceptance standby state (Step S505).

  In addition, when a pressing operation of the return button 307 is accepted, that is, when a prepaid card return request is accepted (Yes in step S509), the card information management unit 37c returns the prepaid card to the transport / payout mechanism unit 35c. An instruction is given, the prepaid card is fed out to the card insertion slot 309 (step S511), and the process is terminated.

(2) Ball lending process at offline time Next, the ball lending process at offline time according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the ball lending process during offline according to the first embodiment. This process is a process performed only when communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is determined to be in an offline state by the communication availability determination unit 37b.

  As shown in the figure, when a predetermined low-value banknote (for example, a thousand yen bill) is accepted (Yes at Step S601), if the loan rate information 36a stored in the storage unit 36 is “general loan rate” (Step S602). No), the ball lending processing unit 37a throws out all the pachinko balls equivalent to the accepted low-value banknotes to the CR pachinko machine 40 (step S603).

  On the other hand, if the loan rate information 36a stored in the storage unit 36 is “low loan rate” (Yes in step S602), the valuable value management unit 37d stores the accepted banknote value in the remaining frequency information 36b of the storage unit 36. Then (step S604), it shifts to a lending operation reception standby state in which it waits for the depressing operation of the lending button 306 to be performed (step S605).

  Here, when the lending operation by the player is accepted, for example, when the pushing operation of the lending button 306 is accepted (Yes at Step S605), the valuable value management unit 37d stores the remaining frequency information 36b stored in the storage unit 36. A predetermined frequency (for example, 2 times) is subtracted from the ball (step S606), and the ball lending processing unit 37a has a pachinko ball corresponding to the subtraction frequency, that is, a pachinko ball corresponding to the same frequency as online (in this example, one ball 1 The CR pachinko machine 40 is instructed to throw out pachinko balls “200 pieces” for two times at the “low loan rate” of yen (step S607).

  At this time, if the remaining frequency information 36b stored in the storage unit 36 becomes zero (Yes in step S608), the loan consideration is lost, and the process is terminated, and the remaining frequency information 36b stored in the storage unit 36 is zero. If not (No at Step S608), the process again shifts to the lending operation acceptance standby state (No at Step S608), and repeats the processing from Step S605 to Step S608 until the remaining frequency information 36b stored in the storage unit 36 becomes zero. Do. If the remaining frequency information 36b of the storage unit 36 remains when the communication availability determination processing unit 37b determines that the “offline state” has returned to the “online state”, the ball lending processing unit 37a All pachinko balls equivalent to the remaining frequency will be thrown out.

  As described above, according to the CR unit 30 according to the first embodiment, when the “low loan rate” is set and communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 is interrupted, the prepaid card management T / As it is configured to manage the valuable value of money received after the communication with C10 is interrupted, there is no need to throw all the money even under such circumstances. For example, if pachinko balls are rented in multiple times It is possible to throw an appropriate amount of lending balls into the storage part of the CR pachinko machine 40, and to prevent various throwing errors when offline when a low lending rate is adopted as the lending rate of the pachinko balls. Is possible.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, the present invention may be implemented in various different forms other than the embodiments described above. Therefore, another embodiment included in the present invention will be described below.

  For example, in the present invention, when the communication with the prepaid card management T / C 10 returns from the “offline state” to the “online state”, the remaining frequency managed by the valuable value management unit 37d when offline, that is, the storage unit The remaining number information 36b of 36 may be added to the remaining number of prepaid cards received after the return. In other words, this does not necessarily return all remaining number of remaining degrees without being digested when offline as a pachinko ball after returning to the online state, but returns to the online state the remaining number remaining without being digested when offline. The prepaid card management T / C 10 can be operated later.

  In the first embodiment, only the remaining number is managed by the valuable value management unit 37d. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the prepaid card stored in the card storage unit 35b is not limited thereto. The remaining number may be managed in association with the prepaid card ID. As described above, if the remaining value and the prepaid card ID are managed by the valuable value management unit 37d, the prepaid card is returned when the prepaid card return operation is accepted (that is, when the return button 307 is pressed). Can be returned, and after returning from the “offline state” to the “online state”, it can be inserted into the CR unit 30 attached to another CR pachinko machine 40 and played, or by a card checkout machine (not shown) It is also possible to allow the remaining number to be settled.

  Further, in the first embodiment described above, when the frequency remains in the remaining frequency information 36b of the storage unit 36 when returning from the “offline state” to the “online state”, the remaining number is equivalent to the ball lending processing unit 37a. Although an example in which all the pachinko balls are thrown out has been described, it is not always necessary to return the remaining number managed by the valuable value management unit 37d when returning online, and the remaining number information 36b of the storage unit 36 is not returned when returning online. Depending on the number of remaining degrees stored, all the pachinko balls for the remaining number are thrown out, or the remaining number and the prepaid card ID are associated and stored in the prepaid card management T / C 10 You may return the prepaid card later.

  That is, the pachinko balls need not be thrown out beyond the allowable acceptance range in the CR pachinko machine 40. For example, all pachinko balls corresponding to the remaining number stored in the storage unit 36 are thrown out when returning online. In this case, if the allowable acceptance range of the storage unit of the CR pachinko machine 40 is exceeded, the prepaid card management T / C 10 manages the remaining frequency in association with the prepaid card ID, and then returns the prepaid card. If the allowable acceptance range of the storage part of the CR pachinko machine 40 is not exceeded, all the pachinko balls corresponding to the remaining number are thrown out to prevent various throwing errors and return processing at the time of online return Can be simplified.

  In the above-described first embodiment, the example in which the valuable value management unit 37d manages the valuable value of the accepted banknote when the “low loan rate” and the “offline state” are described has been described. The present invention is not limited, and the present invention can also be applied when a specific coin is accepted. For example, if a coin such as a 500 yen coin is accepted in a case of “low loan rate” and “offline state”, 500 balls are thrown out, exceeding the allowable storage range of the storage part of the CR pachinko machine 40 Therefore, the same problem occurs in coins, but the same effect as in Example 1 can be obtained by storing and managing the valuable value equivalent to the coins and lending the pachinko balls in multiple times. The problem can be solved.

  Further, as in the first embodiment, the present invention can be applied not only to “degenerate operation when offline” but also to a ball lending system (lending device) in which normal operation is “one thousand yen lending”. .

  In addition, among the processes described in this embodiment, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed. All or a part can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, the processing procedure, control procedure, specific name, and information including various data and parameters shown in the above-described document and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified.

  Further, each component of each illustrated apparatus is functionally conceptual, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution / integration of each device is not limited to that shown in the figure, and all or a part thereof may be functionally or physically distributed or arbitrarily distributed in arbitrary units according to various loads or usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured. Further, all or any part of each processing function performed in each device may be realized by a CPU and a program analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware by wired logic.

  As described above, the gaming medium lending device and the gaming medium lending device according to the present invention can prevent various throwing errors when offline when a low lending rate is adopted as a gaming medium lending rate. It is suitable for a game medium lending device and a game medium lending method.

1 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a system configuration of a gaming system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the characteristic of CR unit which concerns on Example 1. FIG. It is the front view which showed the external appearance of CR unit which concerns on Example 1. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of a CR unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of ball lending processing at the time of online according to the first embodiment. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a ball lending process during offline according to the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

1 gaming system 10 prepaid card management T / C
20 Island controller 30 Card processing unit (CR unit)
31 Operation section 32 Display section 33 IF section 34 BV unit section 35a Card reader (C / R)
35b Card storage unit 35c Transport / feeding mechanism unit 36 Storage unit 37 Control unit 37a Ball lending processing unit 37b Communication availability determination unit 37c Card information management unit 37d Valuable value management unit 40 Game machine (CR pachinko machine)
50 card issuing machine

Claims (6)

Connected to a management device that stores and manages valuable value in association with identification information recorded on the game recording medium, and allows money to be accepted when communication with the management device is impossible to a predetermined low-priced money A game medium lending device for restricting and performing a game medium lending process based on the low-priced money,
Lending rate storage means for storing the lending rate of the game medium;
Communication availability determination means for determining whether communication with the management device is possible;
Association limiting means for limiting the association of the value with the game recording medium;
A dispensing control processing means for performing a dispensing control process of a game medium corresponding to the valuable value,
Switch between a full-throw setting for setting the quantity value of the valuable value used for the throw-out control processing to the total amount corresponding to the low-value money and a partial-throw setting for setting an amount corresponding to a part of the low-value money. Throwing setting switching means,
Storage means for storing the valuable value;
When the lending rate in which the number of gaming media equivalent to the predetermined low-value money exceeds the allowable storage range on the gaming machine side is stored in the lending rate storage means, the partial throwing setting is set in the throwing setting switching means. A projection setting switching control means to be selected;
Have
If it is set by the communication permission determination means that communication with the management device is possible, without performing the restriction by the association restriction means, perform the throwing control by the throwing restriction processing means,
When it is determined that communication with the management device is impossible by the communication availability determination unit, the state is limited by the association limitation unit, and according to the quantity setting by the throwing setting switching unit, A game medium lending apparatus for controlling the storage of the valuable value corresponding to the remaining quantity that has not been thrown out after the game medium is thrown out by the throwing control processing means .   2. The game medium lending apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising lending processing means for performing lending processing of the game medium in a plurality of times based on the valuable value managed by the valuable value managing means. The gaming medium lending device or the gaming machine has a lending operation accepting unit for accepting a lending operation for the gaming medium,
The lending processing means includes
The gaming medium lending device according to claim 2, wherein the gaming medium lending process is performed when the lending operation accepting unit accepts the gaming medium lending operation. The lending processing means includes
4. The control according to claim 2, wherein control is performed so that the same number of game media as the number of loans when communication with the management device is possible is performed each time the game media is lent. The described game medium lending device. The gaming medium lending device or the gaming machine has a return operation receiving means for receiving a return operation of the game recording medium,
Even if the return operation accepting unit accepts a return operation of the game recording medium when it is judged by the communication enable / disable judging unit that communication with the management device is impossible, the game recording medium The game medium lending device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the return of the game medium is prohibited. Connected to a management device that stores and manages valuable value in association with identification information recorded on the game recording medium, and allows money to be accepted when communication with the management device is impossible to a predetermined low-priced money A game medium lending method for use in a game medium lending device that restricts and lends a game medium based on the low-priced money,
A lending rate storage step of storing the lending rate of the game medium in a lending rate storage means;
A communication availability determination step for determining whether communication with the management device is possible;
An association restriction step for restricting the association of the value with the game recording medium;
A dispensing control process step for performing a dispensing control process of a game medium corresponding to the valuable value;
Switch between a full-throw setting for setting the quantity value of the valuable value used for the throw-out control processing to the total amount corresponding to the low-value money and a partial-throw setting for setting an amount corresponding to a part of the low-value money. A dumping setting switching process;
A storing step of storing the valuable value in a storage means;
When the lending rate in which the number of gaming media equivalent to the predetermined low-value money exceeds the allowable storage range on the gaming machine side is stored in the lending rate storage means, the partial throwing setting is performed in the throwing setting switching step. A discharge setting switching control process to be selected;
Including
When it is set that communication with the management device is possible by the communication availability determination step, without performing the restriction by the association restriction step, perform the throwing control by the throwing restriction processing step,
When it is determined that communication with the management device is impossible by the communication availability determination step, in a state in which the restriction by the association restriction step is performed, according to the quantity setting by the throwing setting switching step, A gaming medium lending method comprising: controlling the storage means to store a valuable value corresponding to a remaining quantity that has not been thrown out after performing a gaming medium dispensing control by a dispensing control processing step .

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