JP5203853B2 - Game equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention counts the number of game media provided in a one-to-one correspondence with a gaming machine and acquired in a game in the corresponding gaming machine, and balls within the counted number of acquired game media. A game medium counting device communicable with a management device that manages the number of acquired game media in association with member identification information that can individually identify each member player who has been registered as a member in the game arcade and pays the number to the corresponding game machine A general-purpose recording medium on which game value specifying information capable of specifying the magnitude of the game value that can be used for a game in a gaming machine is recorded, or the member identification information and the game value specifying information One of the member recording media recorded with the above is received, and the game value specified by the game value specifying information recorded on the received general recording medium or member recording medium is small. When Using some relates to an apparatus for a game which performs processing for lend game media corresponding to the magnitude of the value for a game to the use.

  Conventionally, for each pachinko machine installed in a game hall, a ball lending machine to which the prize ball counter is connected as a gaming apparatus having a prize ball counter for counting the prize balls acquired by the pachinko machine The hall management terminal is connected to the hall management terminal, and the number of prize balls counted by the prize ball counter is managed by the hall management terminal, and the counted number of prize balls is recorded on a recording medium (card). Some of them are discharged from a recording medium inlet / outlet provided in a prize ball counter (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, for a member player registered as a member in the game hall, the number of pachinko balls, which are game media acquired in the game, is associated with the member ID recorded on the member card issued to the member player. There is one that can be managed by the management device and the number of pachinko balls specified from the membership card can be used again in the game (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-10-127911 (page 7, FIG. 6) JP 2007-000522 A (page 3, FIG. 3)

  In order to eliminate the trouble of these member players having the recording medium of Patent Document 1 in addition to the membership card, it is conceivable to use the member card as the recording medium of Patent Document 1, As shown, the membership ID is recorded on these member cards without recording the number of prize balls, and the number of prize balls is managed in association with the member ID recorded on the membership card in the management device. If the communication status between the hall management terminal and the prize ball counter is in a disconnected (offline) state, the number of prize balls counted will not be managed in the hall management terminal, There was a problem of causing damage.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such problems, and it is intended to provide a gaming apparatus in which a member player does not suffer damage even if the communication state becomes a disconnected (offline) state. Objective.

In order to solve the above-described problem, a gaming apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention provides:
The game machine (pachinko machine 2) is provided in a one-to-one correspondence and counts the number of game media (acquired balls) acquired by the game in the corresponding game machine, and the obtained acquired game media The number of acquired game media (mochitama) is associated with member identification information (member ID) that can be used to identify each member player who has been registered as a member in the game hall by paying out game media within a range of numbers to the corresponding game machine. The game medium counting device (counting / payout unit 4) that can communicate with the management device (management computer 150) that manages the number),
General-purpose recording medium (visitor card) on which game value specifying information (prepaid balance data, (member) card ID) that can specify the value of game value (prepaid balance) that can be used for gaming in a gaming machine is recorded Or any one of the member recording media (member cards) on which the member identification information and the game value specifying information are recorded and recorded on the received general recording medium or member recording medium. Recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327) for reading at least the game value identification information that is present;
General recording medium storage means (card storage unit 370) for storing the newly issued general recording medium so as to be supplied to the recording medium processing means;
In order to lend a game medium corresponding to the magnitude of the game value to be used by using at least a part of the magnitude of the game value specified from the game value specifying information read by the recording medium processing means Game media lending means (control unit 328, lending processing),
Counting device communication means (communication unit 335) for communicating with the game medium counting device;
The connection received from the gaming medium counting device by the counting device communication means as to whether the communication state between the gaming medium counting device and the management device is a connected (online) state or a non-connected (offline) state. A connection state specifying means (control unit 328) for specifying based on information (higher system connection notification, higher system disconnection notification);
A specification processing means (control unit 328) for performing specification processing (counting corresponding processing) for enabling the number of acquired game media to be specified by the general recording medium or the member recording medium;
A gaming device comprising:
When the recording medium processing unit accepts the general recording medium, the specification processing unit determines the number of acquired game media as the specification processing regardless of the communication state specified by the connection state specifying unit. When the recording medium processing means records the (number of holding balls) on the general recording medium, and the recording medium processing means accepts the member recording medium, it is specified by the connection state specifying means If the communication state is a connected state, at least the member identification information read from the member recording medium by the recording medium processing means is transmitted to the game medium counting device, and the acquired game medium is associated with the member identification information. If the communication state specified by the connection state specifying means is in a non-connected state while managing the number (the number of holding balls) with the management device, The member recording medium is returned to the recording medium processing means, and the number of acquired game media (number of possessed balls) is recorded on the general recording medium stored in the general recording medium storage means. It is characterized by being recorded and discharged by a medium processing means.
According to this feature, when the communication state specified by the connection state specifying means is not connected, in addition to returning the member recording medium being accepted, a general recording medium in which the number of acquired game media is recorded is issued Therefore, even if the communication state becomes a non-connected (offline) state, it is possible to eliminate the damage to the member player.

The gaming device of means 1 of the present invention is the gaming device according to claim 1,
When the general recording medium is received by the recording medium processing means, the specification processing means performs the counting of the game medium by performing counting of the game medium in the game medium counting device as the specification processing. Every time the number of acquired game media (the number of balls) transmitted from the device is received, a process for recording the received number of acquired game media on the general recording medium being received by the recording medium processing means is performed. It is characterized by.
According to this feature, since the number of acquired game media is sequentially recorded on the general-purpose recording media in accordance with the count of game media in the game media counting device, the game when there is a problem in connection with the game media counting device In addition to reducing the player's disadvantage, the general recording medium can be quickly ejected in response to the player's operation to eject the general recording medium.

The gaming apparatus of means 2 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to claim 1 or means 1 , wherein
A discharge operation detecting means (control unit 328, Sb5) for detecting a discharge operation for discharging the general recording medium (visitor card) or the member recording medium (member card);
The specification processing means (control unit 328) determines the number of acquired game media (number of possessed balls) based on the count in the game media counting device (counting / payout unit 4) as the specification processing (counting correspondence processing). Processing for recording on a general recording medium (visitor card) being received by the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327),
The counting of the started gaming media is completed from the time when the counting start notification transmitted from the gaming media counting device is received in response to the counting of gaming media (pachinko balls) being started in the gaming media counting device. In response to this, by receiving a count end notification that can specify the number of acquired game media based on the count transmitted from the game media counting device, the number of acquired game media specified from the count end notification is generally used. General-purpose recording according to the detection of the discharge operation by the discharge operation detecting means until a count end response that can specify that the specification process for recording on the recording medium is completed is returned to the game medium counting device It is characterized by prohibiting media discharge.
According to this feature, before the recording of the number of acquired gaming media specified from the count end notification to the general recording medium is completed, the player's disadvantage is caused by the general recording medium being discharged. It can be avoided.

The gaming apparatus of means 3 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to means 2 ,
When the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327) receives the member recording medium (member card) and receives a count end notification from the game medium counting device (counting / payout unit 4), the counting ends. The counting completion response is returned without recording the number of acquired game media specified from the notification on the member recording medium being accepted.
According to this feature, the transmission / reception contents with the game medium counting device are the same at the time of receiving the member recording medium and the general recording medium, so that a different communication program is provided for each type of the recording medium. Since there is no need to develop or use a different communication program, the development cost and program capacity can be reduced.

A gaming apparatus of means 4 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein
A discharge operation detecting means (control unit 328, Sb5) for detecting a discharge operation for discharging the general recording medium (visitor card) or the member recording medium (member card);
The specification processing means (control unit 328) determines the number of acquired game media (number of possessed balls) based on the count in the game media counting device (counting / payout unit 4) as the specification processing (counting correspondence processing). Processing for recording on a general recording medium (visitor card) being received by the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327),
While receiving the recording medium processing unit (card reader / writer 327) receiving the general recording medium (visitor card) in which the number of acquired gaming media (number of possessed balls) is received, the gaming medium counting device (counting / dispensing unit) In response to the payout operation from the time when a payout start notification (count payout start notification) that can specify that the game medium payout operation (operation of the payout button 401) has been performed in 4) is received from the game medium counting device. The subtraction process for updating and recording the newly acquired number of game media (number of possessed balls) obtained by subtracting the number of game media paid out (number of unit payout balls) in the game media counter is completed. Until the point of time when the subtraction end notification (count deduction completion notification) that can be specified is returned to the game medium counting device, the general record corresponding to the detection of the discharge operation by the discharge operation detecting means (Sb5) It is characterized by prohibiting the discharge of the body.
According to this feature, it is possible to avoid the disadvantage of the player or the playground due to the general recording medium being discharged before the subtraction process is completed.

A gaming device according to means 5 of the present invention is the gaming device according to means 4 ,
While receiving the member recording medium (member card) in the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327), a payout start notice (count payout start notice) is received from the game medium counting device (counting / payout unit 4). In this case, the subtraction end notification (count payout end response) is returned without executing the subtraction process.
According to this feature, the transmission / reception contents with the game medium counting device are the same at the time of receiving the member recording medium and the general recording medium, so that a different communication program is provided for each type of the recording medium. Since there is no need to develop or use a different communication program, the development cost and program capacity can be reduced.

A gaming apparatus of means 6 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein:
The game medium counting device (counting / dispensing unit 4) on condition that the number of general recording media (visitor cards) stored in the general recording medium storage means (card storage unit 370) is zero. On the other hand, it is characterized by transmitting count prohibition information (stock card status notification) for prohibiting counting in the game medium counting device.
According to this feature, it is possible to prevent the number of acquired game media based on the count in the game media counting device from being recorded and issued on a general-purpose recording medium.

A gaming device according to means 7 of the present invention is the gaming device according to any one of claims 1 and 1 to 6 ,
The player is provided with a leaving operation receiving means (IR light receiving unit 315) for receiving a leaving operation for interrupting the game, and the game medium counting device (counting / dispensing) according to the acceptance of the leaving operation. Counting game media (pachinko balls) in the game media counting device by transmitting to the unit 4) an absence mode start notification (seating mode notification (start)) that can specify that the absence mode is to be started. In addition, the general recording medium or member read out from the general recording medium (visitor card) or the member recording medium (member card) received by the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327) is prohibited. Recording medium identification information ((member) card ID) capable of specifying the recording medium is stored, the general recording medium or the recording medium for the member is ejected, and general recording The recording mode identification information read from the recording medium for general use or the recording medium for members received during the leaving mode is prohibited. The game medium counting device sends a leaving mode end notification (seating mode notification (end)) that can specify that the leaving mode is to be ended on condition that the recording medium identification information stored at the start of the mode matches. And the prohibition of the counting of the game media and the payout is canceled, and the prohibition of the operation is canceled and the away mode is ended.
According to this feature, by sending a notice of start of the away mode to the game medium counting device, in cooperation with the away mode in which operations other than receiving the general recording medium or the member recording medium are prohibited, Counting and payout in the game medium counting device can be prohibited, and the player only has to hold the general recording medium or the member recording medium at the time of leaving the seat, and the convenience of the player can be improved.

The gaming device according to claim 2 of the present invention is:
Each member game that is provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the gaming machine (pachinko machine 2) and that has acquired the number of acquired game media (number of possessions) as a member of the game hall. Can be communicated with a management device that manages the user in association with member identification information (member ID) that can identify each person individually,
General-purpose recording medium (visitor card) on which game value specifying information (prepaid balance data, (member) card ID) that can specify the value of game value (prepaid balance) that can be used for gaming in a gaming machine is recorded Or any one of the member recording media (member cards) on which the member identification information and the game value specifying information are recorded and recorded on the received general recording medium or member recording medium. Recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327) for reading at least the game value identification information that is present;
General recording medium storage means (card storage unit 370) for storing the newly issued general recording medium so as to be supplied to the recording medium processing means;
In order to lend a game medium corresponding to the magnitude of the game value to be used by using at least a part of the magnitude of the game value specified from the game value specifying information read by the recording medium processing means Game media lending means (control unit 328, lending processing),
Game medium counting means (acquired ball counter 407) for counting the number of game media (acquired balls) acquired in the game in the corresponding gaming machine;
Payout means (ball cutout unit 402) for paying out game media in the range of the number of acquired game media (number of possessed balls) counted by the game media counting means to a corresponding gaming machine;
Management device communication means (second communication unit 409) for communicating with the management device;
Connection state monitoring means (control unit 410) for monitoring whether the communication state with the management device by the management device communication means is a connected (online) state or a non-connected (offline) state;
A specification processing means (control unit 328) for performing specification processing (counting corresponding processing) for enabling the number of acquired game media to be specified by the general recording medium or the member recording medium;
A gaming device comprising:
When the recording medium processing unit accepts the general recording medium, the specification processing unit is not limited to the acquired game medium regardless of the communication state monitored by the connection state monitoring unit. When the recording medium processing means receives the member recording medium in the recording medium processing means, the connection state monitoring means is monitored. If the communication state being connected is a connection state, the member identification information read from the member recording medium by the recording medium processing means and the number of acquired game media are transmitted to the management device to correspond to the member identification information In addition, while managing the number of acquired gaming media (the number of possession balls), if the communication state monitored by the connection state monitoring means is a non-connection state, The member recording medium attached is returned to the recording medium processing means, and the number of acquired game media (number of possessed balls) is recorded on the general recording medium stored in the general recording medium storage means. It is characterized by being recorded and discharged by a medium processing means.
According to this feature, when the communication state monitored by the connection state monitoring unit is in the non-connection state, in addition to returning the member recording medium being accepted, the general recording medium in which the number of acquired game media is recorded Since it is issued, even if the communication state becomes a non-connected (offline) state, it is possible to eliminate the damage to the member player.

The gaming apparatus of means 8 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, and means 1 to 7 ,
A discharge operation detecting means (control unit 328, Sb5) for detecting a discharge operation for discharging the general recording medium (visitor card) or the member recording medium (member card), and a discharge operation by the discharge operation detecting means. And a special operation receiving means (IR light receiving unit 315) for receiving a special operation operated when the communication state is a disconnected state,
The specification processing means (control unit 328) performs the specification processing in response to detection of the discharge operation by the discharge operation detection means, and the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327) performs the recording for the member. When a discharge operation is detected by the discharge operation detecting means while the medium is being received and the communication state is a disconnected state, the special operation is received by the special operation receiving means (according to the trouble mode operation). The recording medium processing means executes the return of the member recording medium and the discharge of the general recording medium on which the number of acquired game media is recorded on the condition that the predetermined infrared signal is received).
According to this feature, a special operation is required, so that the member recording medium and the general recording medium in which the number of acquired game media are recorded are discharged by a general discharging operation. Forgetting to remove the recording medium can be reduced.

The gaming device of means 9 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, and means 1 to 8 ,
The specifying processing means (control unit 328) is accepting the member recording medium (member card) in the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327), and the communication state is in a disconnected (offline) state. When the discharge operation is detected by the discharge operation detecting means (Sb5), the completion of recording of the number of acquired game media (the number of possessed balls) to the general recording medium (visitor card) is waited for, The recording medium processing means is made to return the member recording medium.
According to this feature, the member recording medium and the general recording medium on which the number of acquired game media are recorded are discharged almost simultaneously, so that it is possible to reduce forgetting to remove the general recording medium.

The gaming device of means 10 of the present invention is the gaming apparatus according to any one of claims 2, 8, and 9 ,
The specification processing means (control unit 328) performs a game medium (pachinko ball) in the game medium counting means (acquisition ball counter 407) as a specification process (counting corresponding process) for the general recording medium (visitor card). ), A process for recording the number of acquired game media (the number of possessed balls) based on the count on the general recording medium being received by the recording medium processing means (card reader / writer 327) is performed. It is characterized by that.
According to this feature, the number of acquired game media is sequentially recorded on the general-purpose recording medium according to the count of the game media, so that the general-purpose recording medium can be quickly detected in accordance with the player's discharge operation of the general-purpose recording medium. Can be discharged.

  Examples of the present invention will be described below.

  An embodiment of a gaming system to which the gaming apparatus of the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings. First, FIG. 1 shows a card unit 3 as a gaming apparatus of the present invention and a counting / payout as a gaming medium counting apparatus. FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the configuration of a gaming system of the present embodiment including a unit 4, and is a card reader pachinko machine that is a gaming machine arranged in parallel on each gaming island (not shown) arranged in the gaming hall (Hereinafter abbreviated as “pachinko machine”) 2 and a prepaid function that is installed in a one-to-one correspondence with the pachinko machine 2 at a predetermined lateral position of the pachinko machine 2 and serves as a general recording medium of the present invention. A card unit 3 that receives a visitor card and a member card as a member recording medium and performs a process for renting a pachinko ball as a game medium, and provided adjacent to each card unit 3 A counting / payout unit 4 for counting pachinko balls acquired in a game in the pachinko machine 2 corresponding to the card unit 3 and paying out pachinko balls within the counted number of pachinko balls; A system controller 100 that manages the visitor card and membership card used in the unit 3 and the card unit 3, and the number of saved balls and visitor cards that the member player who owns the membership card can use for replaying The management computer 150 that manages the number of possessed balls recorded in the game, and the prize exchange POS terminal 170 that is provided in the prize counter in the game hall and exchanges prizes.

  The system controller 100 and the card unit 3 are connected to each other via a hub (HUB) 7 and a communication cable 8 so that bidirectional data communication is possible. A local IP address is assigned to each connected device. A local area network (LAN) is formed, and each device connected to the local area network (LAN) is assigned a device ID that can individually identify the device. By having an IP address table in which a device (unit) ID and a local IP address are associated, a unit management table (see FIG. 11) described later, and the like, each local IP address specified from the device (unit) ID is Data can be sent and received by sending and receiving data with transmission data It has become the jar.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the system controller 100 of the present embodiment can individually identify each card stored in the membership card or visitor card used in the game hall. A member card table and a visitor card table for storing the prepaid balance remaining on the member card or visitor card in association with the card ID (member), and each member card and each visitor card are stored in each card table. The prepaid balance (game value) remaining on the card is managed.

  The system controller 100 of this embodiment is connected to a management server 12 installed in a card management company outside the game hall that manages member cards and visitor cards via a communication line 11 so that bidirectional data communication can be performed. Therefore, the card management company can grasp the sales by the membership card and the visitor card of each game hall, the error status of the system controller 100, etc. at the management server 12.

  The management computer 150, the counting / dispensing unit 4 and the gift exchange POS terminal 170 are also connected to each other by a hub (not shown) so that bidirectional data communication is possible, and the local area network between the system controller 100 and the card unit 3 is connected. (LAN) is a separate local area network (LAN), and each device connected to the local area network (LAN) is assigned a device ID that can individually identify the device. In addition, since each device has an IP address table in which device (unit) IDs are associated with local IP addresses, each local IP address specified by the device (unit) ID is assigned to transmission data. Send and receive data to each other by sending and receiving You have me.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the card unit 3 and the pachinko machine 2 are connected so as to be able to send and receive various data (lending-related data) associated with the lending of the pachinko balls, and output from the pachinko machine 2 The jackpot signal, the probability changing signal, the hour / medium signal, the winning ball signal, and the starting signal, which will be described later, are connected to be input.

  Further, the card unit 3 is connected to the counting / dispensing unit 4 through a communication unit 335 including, for example, a serial communication interface so that bidirectional data communication is possible, so that various information and data can be transmitted and received. Yes. That is, the communication unit 335 forms counting device communication means for communicating with the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device), and the number of acquired balls acquired by the game in the corresponding pachinko machine 2 ( It is possible to communicate with the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) for counting the number of balls within the range of the counted number of acquired balls (number of game media) to the corresponding pachinko machine 2 It is said that.

  First, the pachinko machine 2 which is a gaming machine used in the present embodiment will be briefly described below. The pachinko machine 2 has a glass door frame 22 formed in a frame shape as shown in FIG. There is a hitting ball supply tray 23 on the lower surface of the glass door frame 22. An operation unit 14 is provided at a predetermined position on the upper surface of the hitting ball supply tray 23, and a lower tray 24 that stores pachinko balls overflowing from the hitting ball supply tray 23 is provided below the hitting ball supply tray (upper plate) 23. A hitting operation handle (hereinafter referred to as an operation knob) 25 for emitting a hitting ball is provided.

  A game board 26 is detachably attached to the rear side of the glass door frame 22. A game area 27 is provided in front of the game board 26. A special figure variable display section 28 in which a plurality of types of identification information called “special symbols” are variably displayed in a lower area on the right side of the game area 27, and a plurality of types called “effect symbols” in the vicinity of the center thereof. Is provided with an effect display unit 29 on which the identification information is variably displayed and an effect image is displayed, and a variable display device 30 on which a plurality of types of identification information called “ordinary symbols” are variably displayed. The game board 26 is provided with a plurality of winning holes 44, a passing gate 31, a starting winning hole 34, and a variable winning ball device 36. A recovery outlet 46 is formed.

  When a hitting ball is won in each of the winning openings, a winning ball corresponding to each winning opening is paid out by a ball cutting / dispensing device (not shown) and also according to the number of winning balls paid out by the ball cutting / dispensing device. A prize ball signal (1 pulse per 10 balls) is output to the outside, so that the number of prize balls is notified to the outside.

  A hit ball fired by a hammer (not shown) that is swung by the operation of the hitting operation knob 25 enters the game area 27 through the hitting rail, and then flows down the game area 27. At this time, pachinko balls whose launch momentum is too weak to reach the game area 27 are circulated to the lower plate 24 through a circulation path (not shown).

  In addition, when the ball that has been driven into the game area 27 passes through the passing gate 31, the normal symbol that is stopped and displayed on the variable display device 30 is variably started.

  When the display result after the variable display operation of the variable display device 30 is a predetermined display result (for example, ◯), the movable piece 35 provided at the start winning opening 34 is opened for a predetermined time and the player This is an advantageous state.

  When a pachinko ball is won in the start winning opening 34, all special symbols start variable display (variable display) in the special figure variable display section 28, and the effect display starts in the effect display section 29. After that, when the special symbol in the special figure variable display unit 28 is stopped and the stop display result is a specific display mode determined in advance, the left, middle and right effect symbols in the effect display unit 29 are displayed. The variable display is also stopped, and the display mode of the effect symbol is also set to a predetermined specific display mode (for example, 777), so that a specific gaming state (big hit state) is generated and a big hit signal is output. As a result, the occurrence of the jackpot is notified to the outside.

  Further, when the special symbol on the special symbol variable display unit 28 is stopped, a start signal having a predetermined pulse width is output, and the special symbol variable display (variable display) is performed on the special symbol variable display unit 28. Will be notified.

  When the big hit state occurs in this way, the opening / closing plate 40 provided in the variable winning ball apparatus 36 is opened, and a first state advantageous to the player is obtained. This first state ends when a predetermined period (for example, 30 seconds) or a predetermined number of hit balls (for example, 10) wins, whichever comes first, and then for the player This is a disadvantageous second state.

  If a hit ball that has entered the large winning opening of the variable winning ball apparatus 36 in the first state wins a specific winning area (V pocket) and is detected by a V count switch (not shown), Waiting for the end of the first state, repeated continuation control is performed to control the second state to the first state. The upper limit number of the repeated continuation control is set to 15 times, for example.

  When the display result of the special figure variable display unit 28 and the display result of the effect symbol of the effect variable display unit 29 are stopped and displayed with a combination of predetermined jackpot symbols, a big hit occurs as described above. A reach state may occur in a state before the stop display.

  When the special symbol variably displayed on the special figure variable display unit 28 and the production variable display unit 29 and the production symbol are stopped and displayed with a combination of symbols corresponding to a predetermined probability variation symbol type, After the completion of ”, the probability variation state in which the probability of a big hit again becomes a higher probability state than the normal probability state becomes a probability variation state. In the probability variation state after the end of the probability variation jackpot, the probability variation state signal is output, and the occurrence of the probability variation state is notified to the outside.

  Further, when the special symbol variably displayed on the special symbol variable display unit 28 and the production variable display unit 29 and the production symbol are stopped and displayed with a combination of symbols other than the predetermined probability variation symbol, the “big hit” by the repeated continuation control is performed. The special symbol and effect variable display part in the special figure variable display part 28 until the variable display reaches the predetermined number of times or the next big hit occurs in the special figure variable display part 28 and the effect variable display part 29. When the variable display time (variation time) of the effect symbol in 29 is shortened compared to the normal gaming state, it becomes a short state, and during these short states, the short and medium signal is output, The occurrence of a short time condition is notified to the outside.

  The pachinko machine 2 of this embodiment is equipped with an information output board (not shown) for outputting these signals externally, and the information output board and the card unit 3 are connected via a signal cable (not shown). From the information output board, an external output signal consisting of a big hit signal, a probability changing signal, a short time signal, a start signal, and a winning ball signal is output to the card unit 3 via a signal cable.

  Here, the big hit signal is a signal that is in the output state during the big hit state period, the probability changing signal is a signal that is in the output state only during the probability changing state period, and the short and medium time signal is the period in the short time state The start signal is a pulse signal of a predetermined width that is output when the variable display is completed after all the display results of the special figure variable display section 28 are derived and displayed. The ball signal is a pulse signal having a predetermined width that is output every time a predetermined number of balls (10 balls in this embodiment) is paid out.

  Next, the card unit 3 according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7. The front surface of the card unit 3 according to the present embodiment is composed of full-color LEDs as shown in FIG. Various display units such as a multi-function lamp 301 that can notify the state of the card unit 3 and the like by lighting in a plurality of colors, a bill insertion slot 302 for inserting bills, and a device front side protruding from the front of the device The formed protrusion 305 and a card insertion slot 309 for inserting a membership card or a visitor card are provided.

  A card insertion slot 309 provided on the front surface of the card unit 3 is connected to a card slot 392 of a card reader / writer 327 (see FIG. 4) built in a lower position of the card unit 3, and this card insertion slot 309. The visitor card and the membership card can be inserted into the card slot 392 through the.

  The visitor card and membership card used in this embodiment are a non-volatile memory for storing various data, and rewriting and reading out the recorded information, and contactless with an external reader / writer device. An IC card having an IC chip having a control unit that performs communication is used. The visitor card and the membership card include a card ID that can identify each card, specifically, a visitor card. The card ID starting with VC is stored in advance, and the member card ID starting with KC is stored in advance in the member card, the type of which can be identified from the card ID, and the prepaid balance data that can specify the prepaid balance Various data are stored. The visitor card of this embodiment is purchased and issued by an issuing machine (not shown) installed in the amusement hall and also issued by the card unit 3.

  In other words, in this embodiment, each member player who is registered as a member of the game hall is information that is managed by associating the number of possessed balls, which is not recorded as the number of acquired game media of the present invention. A member card (member recording medium) in which a member ID serving as member identification information that can be individually identified is recorded, and the member ID (member identification information) is not recorded, and the number of possessed balls (number of acquired game media) is Visitor cards (general recording media) to be recorded are used.

  A protruding portion 305 is provided on the front surface of the card unit 3 so as to protrude forward. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, on the surface of the protruding portion 305 facing the player, a display unit 312 capable of displaying various information, a menu button 316 for displaying a main menu screen, a table When a table data button 318 for displaying data and a member card is received, a replay game using the member card ID recorded on the member card and the number of balls specified by the member ID is performed. Replay button 319, replay display unit 320 for notifying that the operation of replay button 319 is effective, and an infrared signal from a remote control (not shown) possessed by an attendant of the game hall are An IR light receiving unit 315 that converts and outputs a signal is provided, and each display item displayed on the display unit 312 is provided on the surface of the display unit 312. Transparent touch panel 314 to be input is provided by touching with a finger.

  In addition, a liquid crystal display 313, which will be described later, and a switch corresponding to each button, display control of the liquid crystal display 313, input position detection by the transparent touch panel 314, and the like are performed inside the protrusion 305. A display control board 329 on which a display control microcomputer or the like is mounted is stored.

  At the upper position in the card unit 3, a banknote inserted in the banknote insertion slot 302 is connected, and a bill inserted into the banknote insertion slot 302 is taken to identify its authenticity and banknote type. A banknote identification unit 321 that outputs to a control unit 328, which will be described later, provided in the unit is provided. In the banknote identification unit 321, various banknotes (10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, 2,000 yen, 1,000 yen each) (Banknotes) can be accepted.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the card unit 3 of this embodiment. The card unit 3 provides various functions of the card unit 3 by performing control of each part of the bill recognition unit 321, the card reader / writer 327, the display control board 329, and the card unit 3 by a control program. The bill recognition unit 321, the card reader / writer 327, and the display control board 329 are connected to the control unit 328 so that various data can be transmitted and received.

  The card reader / writer 327 reads and writes recorded information such as a (member) card ID, a member ID (member card only), and prepaid balance data recorded on the member card and visitor card inserted from the card insertion slot 309. I do.

  That is, the card reader / writer 327 of this embodiment has prepaid balance data that can specify the size of the prepaid balance (game value) that can be used for games in the pachinko machine 2, and (member) card ID (game value specification information). ) Recorded membership card (member recording medium), visitor card (general recording medium), received membership card, prepaid balance data recorded on the visitor card, (member) card ID (game) Utility value specifying information) is read out, and the card reader / writer 327 forms the recording medium processing means of the present invention.

  The configuration of the card unit 327 used in the present embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 4. Inside the card reader / writer 327, a member card or a visitor card is inserted from the card insertion port 309 and a member is inserted. An insertion sensor 397 for detecting that a card or a visitor card is being inserted, a new membership card or a visitor card from the card insertion slot 309 during the issuance / payment process described later or during the insertion of a membership card or a visitor card A shutter solenoid 399 for moving the shutter to prevent the insertion of the card, a guide rail 398 extending from the card insertion slot 309 and allowing a membership card or a visitor card to slide, and the guide rail 398 between the guide rail 398 The membership card or visitor card inserted in the card slot 392 And the drive motor 386 ′ for driving the take-in / discharge roller 387 ′ and the take-in / discharge roller 387 ′ for taking out the membership card and the visitor card from the card insertion slot 309. Then, the movement of the membership card or visitor card taken in the card slot 392 on the guide rail 398 by the take-in / discharge roller 387 ′ is driven and rotated by the drive motors 386 and 393. A transport mechanism comprising transport rollers 387 and 388 and a transport belt 391 stretched on one side of the transport rollers 387 and 388, and a stop pin for stopping the transported membership card or visitor card at a predetermined position. Power supply to the solenoid 389 that moves in and out, and membership cards and visitor cards that are stopped in place A communication head 390 that performs data communication, and a communication board 327a that is connected to the communication head 390 and controls data transmission / reception with the member card or visitor card, and the inserted member card or visitor card. Data can be read from and written to membership cards and visitor cards without contact.

  The transport roller 387 constituting the transport mechanism provided in the card reader / writer 327 of this embodiment is provided to be separated from the card insertion slot 309 by a distance substantially equal to the length dimension of one member card or visitor card. The other visitor card is stopped at a predetermined position corresponding to the communication head 390 while one member card is retained (held) between the card insertion slot 309 and the transport roller 387, and the data As described later, when the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 and the management computer 150 is offline, the member card that is staying (holding) and being accepted, The visitor card for which the number of balls has been completed can be ejected from the card insertion slot 309 continuously at almost the same time. That.

  A card storage section 370 capable of storing up to 10 visitor cards is provided at the inner terminal end position of the card unit 3 of the conveyor belt 391 provided in the card reader / writer 327 of the present embodiment. It is possible to issue visitor cards.

  Inside the card storage section 370 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of transport rollers 371 driven and rotated by a drive motor 373 and a transport belt 372 stretched around the transport rollers 371. And a visitor card for moving (accommodating and discharging) the visitor card is provided, and the visitor card stored in the card storage unit 370 is pressed toward the transfer belt 372 via the support plate 377. A pressing spring 376 is provided.

  A swing roller 375 that swings by a solenoid 374 is provided at a substantially central portion of the transport belt 372 in the transport mechanism. When the visitor card is taken into the card storage unit 370, the swing roller 375 is swung by the solenoid 374 and comes into contact with the transport belt 372, so that the central portion of the transport belt 372 protrudes and is already stored. By pressing the card or support plate 377, a gap for newly receiving the visitor card is formed between the conveyor belt 372 and the visitor card or support plate 377. Therefore, the inserted visitor card can be smoothly stored in the card storage unit 370, and after the visitor card is taken in, the swing roller 375 returns to a position where it does not contact the transport belt 372. The protrusion of the central portion of the conveyor belt 372 is eliminated, and the visitor card is stored in a state where the conveyor belt 372 contacts the entire surface of the visitor card. When the visitor card is discharged, the visitor card contacts the conveyor belt 372. The visitor card is ejected to the transport belt 391 by moving the transport belt 372 in the direction opposite to that of the take-in.

  That is, the card storage unit 370 of the present embodiment stores a newly issued visitor card (general recording medium) so as to be supplied to a predetermined reading position of the card reader / writer 327, and the card storage unit 370 The general recording medium storage means of the present invention is formed.

  In this embodiment, the card storage unit 370 is provided inside the card reader / writer 327. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the card storage unit 370 is connected to the card reader / writer 327. You may make it have outside.

  The card storage unit 370 is provided with a card replenishment detection sensor 378 that is an optical sensor that detects that the number of visitor cards stored in the card storage unit 370 is 1 or less. A card full detection sensor 379 is provided by an optical sensor that detects that the number of visitor cards stored in the card storage unit 370 has reached 10 (full). When the card replenishment detection sensor 378 detects that the number of visitor cards has become one or less due to the absence of light reflection from the visitor card, the detection signal is output to the control unit 328, whereby the control unit 328. When the multi-function lamp 301 is turned on in a predetermined lighting mode for requesting card replenishment, the store clerk is informed that there are not enough visitor cards, and the card full detection sensor 379 indicates the number of visitor cards. When it is detected that there are 10 sheets (full tank) due to light reflection from the visitor card, the detection signal is output to the control unit 328, so that the control unit 328 causes the visitor card to be stored in the card storage section. It is possible to recognize that the tank is full within 370. In this case, the visitor The visitor card without performing the recovery of over de is discharged from the card insertion opening 309.

  When the visitor card is replenished to the card storage unit 370, the visitor card with a remaining balance of 0 is sequentially inserted into the card insertion slot 309 in a state where the clerk has shifted to the card replenishment mode by operating the remote controller. These inserted visitor cards are sequentially stored in the card storage unit 370.

  Next, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment will be described. The control unit 328 transmits and receives various signals accompanying the lending of pachinko balls as described above, and a prize ball control board (not shown) provided in the pachinko machine 2. As described above, it is connected to the information output board of the pachinko machine 2 through the signal cable, so that various external output signals such as a big hit signal can be input. It is possible.

  Further, the control unit 328 is connected to the counting / dispensing unit 4 as described above, and is capable of bi-directional data communication with the counting / dispensing unit 4, and is positioned below the corresponding pachinko machine 2. Are connected to an out ball counter 16 and each count signal from the out ball counter 16 can be input. The count signal from the out ball counter 16 is input as will be described later. Addition and updating a predetermined number corresponding to the counting signal to the value of the total number of balls hit in the game information table (see FIG. 6B), and the counting end including the additional number of balls transmitted from the counting / dispensing unit 4 In response to reception of the notification, the number of balls already counted (see FIG. 5) displayed at the lower position of the display unit 312 is sequentially updated by adding and updating the number of additional balls included in the count end notification.・ Payout unit Total number of balls which are counted in 4 (if the time previously already exists number of balls that are counted in the day, lifting piece count as a the sum) is displayed as counts already piece count.

  The control unit 328 according to the present embodiment includes a central processing circuit (CPU) 328a capable of executing a control program, a visitor card being received by the card reader / writer 327, a (member) card ID of the visitor card and a prepaid balance, The control executed by the RAM 328b and the central processing circuit (CPU) 328a capable of storing various data such as the number of balls, the number of savings, the number of points visited, the data of the corresponding pachinko machine 2 and the game information of members in the game EEPROM 328c which is a non-volatile memory capable of rewriting and storing various data such as program, setting information including the device ID of the card unit 3 and (member) card ID in the absence of the seat, time information and calendar at that time It includes a real-time clock (RTC) 328d that can output information and the like, and the RAM 328b is not shown. Is backed up by a battery, even when power supply is stopped, data stored in the predetermined period is maintained.

  In the card table of the present embodiment stored in the RAM 328b, as shown in FIG. 6A, the (member) card ID and member ID (read from the visitor card or member card inserted in the card reader / writer 327 are displayed. (Member card only), (Member) card ID and prepaid balance based on prepaid balance data, card ID or (member) card ID and number of coins specified from member ID, (member) card ID and member ID The number of stored balls (members only) and the number of store visit points (members only) specified from the member ID are stored.

  Further, in the game information table of the present embodiment stored in the RAM 328b, as shown in FIG. 6B, game information for three days including today, that is, today's data, previous day's data, and previous day's data are displayed. It is remembered. The previous day data and the previous day data are also stored in the EEPROM 328c. However, when displaying the previous day data and the previous day data, the present day data and the previous day data can be processed at a higher speed than reading from the EEPROM 328c. In the embodiment, the previous day data and the previous day data read from the EEPROM 328c in advance are stored in the game information table stored in the RAM 328b.

  In the game information table of the present embodiment, the current gaming state (based on the input state to the input terminals 1 to 3 (not shown) of the big hit signal, the probability changing signal, and the short time signal output from the corresponding pachinko machine 2 ( Today's only) and the latest gaming state data (input state of input terminal 1 to input terminal 3 in order from the left bit, 0: LOW / not connected, 1: HIGH, only today) and previous gaming state data (latest (Game state data before being updated to game state data, today only), total number of hit balls from the start of business, total number of winning balls, number of difference balls (total number of hit balls-total number of winning balls), total Every time the occurrence of a big hit state is identified, the number of start times is reset and the number of start after hits that are the number of starts after the occurrence of a big hit, the number of big hits that is the number of occurrences of big hits from the start of business, The number of occurrences of the probability variation state A game consisting of a variable number of times, a short-time number of times of occurrence of a short-time state from the start of business, and a number of consecutive games that are the number of big hits that occurred from the big hit that occurred in the normal gaming state to the next normal gaming state Information is stored, and these game information is updated to the latest information based on the jackpot signal, probability change signal, time reduction signal, start signal, prize ball signal, and out ball count signal input to the input terminal. The

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, today's table data aggregated and managed in these game information tables includes a specific data header indicating that it is a transmission data string including the table data at the head, and the card unit. As a transmission data string of a predetermined format to which the device ID of 3 and the corresponding machine number of the pachinko machine 2 are assigned, in response to reception of a transmission request from a hall computer (not shown) ) Sent. The ECC in FIG. 7 is an error correction code.

  Further, in the member game information table of the present embodiment stored in the RAM 328b, as shown in FIG. 6C, game information from the time when the member card is inserted into the card reader / writer 327, that is, the insertion The game information relating to the game of the member who has the member card is stored.

  Specifically, the start time when the member started playing (member card acceptance time), the end time when the member finished playing (member card return time), the member's game time, and after the member started playing The number of start-ups, the number of jackpots that have occurred since the member started playing, the number of jackpots that have occurred since the member started playing, the number of positive changes that have occurred since the member started playing, the member has started playing The number of balls acquired from (the difference from the number of balls counted at the start of the game), the spending amount used by the member for the game, the number of replay balls used for replay after the member started the game, The number of balls used since the member started the game is updated and stored, and the game information (table data) since the member player playing the game with the corresponding pachinko machine 2 can start grasping. It is like that.

  Further, as described above, the control unit 328 includes a remaining amount indicator provided in the operation unit 14 of the corresponding pachinko machine 2, a loan button switch for detecting the operation of the loan button, a member card and a visitor being received. A return button switch for detecting the operation of the return button operated when returning the card is connected, so that the operation of the lending button and the operation of the return button can be detected, and the display control of these remaining amount indicators is performed.

  The control unit 328 outputs various information input from the display control board 329 in response to an output from the IR light receiving unit 315 according to transmission from the remote controller, operation of various buttons provided on the protrusion 305, and operation of the touch panel. The full color provided in the multi-function lamp connected to the control unit 328 in response to the currency identification information by the banknote identification unit 321, the card insertion information from the card reader / writer 327, the visitor card storage state information, etc. LED 301a and other LED lighting controls, card reader / writer 327, display control board 329 control, balance display display control, and other overall operation controls, as shown in FIG. 15, are inserted into the card insertion slot 309. Card acceptance processing to determine whether membership cards and visitor cards can be used Loan processing for lending using the prepaid balance based on the prepaid balance data read from the member card or visitor card being received, return processing for returning the member card or visitor card being accepted by operating the return button, money In response to the receipt of money, the payment to the prepaid balance remaining on the member card or visitor card being accepted, the issuance / payment processing to write and issue the prepaid balance on a new visitor card, and the replay processing using the number of stored balls In the remote control, the payout handling process for updating the count of balls according to the payout of the number of balls counted in the counting / dispensing unit 4 (including those specified by the inserted visitor card and member card) and returning a response Leave processing, counting / payment to shift to the leave mode by receiving a signal based on the leave operation Executes various processes count corresponding processing for replying updates and responses counting already balls in response to the start of counting of the pachinko balls in the unit 4.

  In addition, the control unit 328 is connected to a prize ball control board (not shown) of the corresponding pachinko machine 2, and can transmit and receive various signals accompanying the lending process with the prize ball control board. The communication unit 334 and the HUB 7 are connected so as to be able to perform data communication with the system controller 100 described above, and various data can be transmitted to and received from these computers through the communication unit 334.

  The display control board 329 connected to the control unit 328 includes a liquid crystal display 313 that forms the display unit 312, a transparent touch panel 314, various switches (a menu switch 316 a corresponding to the menu button 316, and a base data button 318. The corresponding table data switch 318a, the replay switch 319a corresponding to the replay button 319), the IR light receiving unit 315, and the electronic components such as the LED 320a provided in the replay display unit 320 are connected. Operation information on the transparent touch panel 314, operation information on various switches, and information based on the output signal output from the IR light receiving unit 315 are output to the control unit 328 via the display control board 329.

  In the display control board 329 of the present embodiment, a display driving circuit (not shown) that performs display driving of the liquid crystal display 313 and a position that is pressed based on an output signal from the transparent touch panel 314 are specified and An input position detection circuit (not shown) that outputs the specified input position information, a VDP (not shown) that performs processing related to a display image displayed on the display unit 312, a VROM that stores image data used for menu display, etc. (Not shown), VRAM (not shown) for temporarily storing display data to be displayed on the display unit 312, and determination and processing associated with inputs from various switches and touch panels, etc., independently from the control unit 328 Based on display data (page data) output from the control unit 328, etc. And it is capable of displaying on the liquid crystal display 313 constituting the display unit 312 a display screen.

  Next, the system controller 100 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 9, the system controller 100 used in the present embodiment has a data bus 101 that transmits and receives data inside a computer, a CPU 102 that performs various processes performed by the system controller 100, a work memory, and the like. RAM 103, RTC 104 that outputs time information and calendar information, storage device 105 such as a hard disk, input device 106 such as a keyboard and mouse, display device 107 that displays and outputs various screens, and prints various information A printer 108, a communication unit 109 that performs data communication with each device such as a card unit 3 (control unit 328) and a card issuing machine connected to a local area network (LAN), and a management server 12 installed in a card company Digital service unit for data communication (DSU) 110 is connected is a conventional computer.

  The storage device 105 has a membership card table (FIG. 10 (FIG. 10)) for managing prepaid balance remaining in the membership card, in addition to a processing program in which processing contents for performing various processes executed in the system controller 100 are described. a)), a visitor card table for managing the prepaid balance remaining in the visitor card (see FIG. 10B), and the card ID of each card unit 3 in association with the device ID of each card unit 3. The acceptance status, the corresponding pachinko machine 2 model and the unit management table (see FIG. 11) in which the table data are stored are stored.

  In the member card table, as shown in FIG. 10 (a), each member card is associated with a member card ID that can be individually identified, and the member ID of the member player who has been issued the member card and the prepaid The remaining amount and an unusable flag indicating whether or not the member card is unusable are stored, and the prepaid balance or the use of the member card can be used from the member card ID or member ID stored in the member card. Can be specified.

  In the visitor card table, as shown in FIG. 10B, each visitor card is associated with a card ID that can be individually identified, and the status of the visitor card (whether it is being used or stored). ), A prepaid balance and an unusable flag indicating whether or not the card is unusable. The prepaid balance and the visitor card can be used based on the card ID stored in the visitor card. It can be specified.

  In addition, in the unit management table of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, the local IP address of the card unit 3 is associated with the device ID uniquely assigned to each card unit 3 installed in the game hall. A stored local IP, an installed island in which the island number of the gaming island in which the card unit 3 is installed are stored, a situation in which the card unit 3 is waiting or being received, and Corresponding model name in which the model name of the pachinko machine 2 corresponding to the card unit 3 is stored, the corresponding model number in which the model number of the corresponding pachinko machine 2 is stored, and the card ID of the member card or visitor card being received Is stored, and the various pachinko machine data from the start of business in the corresponding pachinko machine 2 are stored. Number of big hits, number of chances of change, total number of shot balls, total number of winning balls, number of difference balls, and number of starts for special bonus variable display section 28 while each big hit occurs The number of start times 2 is stored, and these pieces of data are sequentially acquired and updated by a hall computer (not shown).

  The system controller 100 (CPU 102) of the present embodiment transmits the device ID of the card unit 3 and the received membership card or visitor transmitted from each card unit 3 in response to acceptance of the membership card or visitor card in the card unit 3. In response to receipt of a card acceptance notification including the (member) card ID read from the card and the prepaid balance, a card acceptance process is performed for determining whether or not the member card or visitor card can be used and returning the card to the card unit 3.

  Further, the system controller 100 (CPU 102) of the present embodiment is included in the received lending completion notification in response to reception of a lending completion notification (to be described later) transmitted along with the lending processing in the card unit 3 (member). A subtraction update process for subtracting and updating the tax-included use amount included in the lending completion notice from the prepaid balance stored in the member card table or visitor card table corresponding to the card ID is performed.

  Further, the system controller 100 (CPU 102) of the present embodiment is included in the received card payment notification in response to reception of a card payment notification (described later) transmitted along with the issuance / payment processing in the card unit 3 ( (Member) A deposit update process is performed in which the deposit amount included in the card deposit notification is added to the prepaid balance stored in the member card table or visitor card table corresponding to the card ID.

  Next, the counting / dispensing unit 4 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the counting / dispensing unit 4 of the present embodiment is provided at one side position of the card unit 3 and at the side position opposite to the corresponding pachinko machine 2. ing.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 has a narrow and vertically long box shape, almost the same as the card unit 3, and a game is provided on the front surface thereof when paying out the counted number of balls as shown in FIG. The pachinko balls paid out from the payout button 401 operated by the user and the ball cutting payout unit 402 stored in the counting / payout unit 4 are guided to the hitting ball supply tray (upper plate) 23 of the corresponding pachinko machine 2. A guide tube 403 is provided.

  Further, a counting ball inflow path 404 is led out from the lower end position of the front surface of the counting / dispensing unit 4 so as to cover the lower plate 24 from the lower side at a position directly below the lower plate 24 of the corresponding pachinko machine 2. The pachinko balls introduced into the charging hopper 405 from the lower plate 24 are stored in the counting / dispensing unit 4 through the counting ball inflow path 404. The acquired ball counter 407 is counted and counted.

  An inlet shutter 406 for blocking the inflow of pachinko balls from the counting ball inflow channel 404 to the acquisition ball counter 407 is provided at the lower end position of the front surface of the counting / dispensing unit 4 from which the counting ball inflow channel 404 is led out. When the card unit 3 is in a leaving mode, which will be described later, the inlet shutter 406 is closed and the inflow of the pachinko balls is blocked, so that a new pachinko by the acquired ball counter 407 is obtained. Ball counting is now prohibited.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the counting / dispensing unit 4 of this embodiment. The counting / dispensing unit 4 includes a payout button switch 401 ′ for detecting the operation of the payout button 401 described above, and a ball cutout. To communicate with the card unit 3 (control unit 328) and the control unit 410 that controls the operation of the counting / dispensing unit 4 together with the unit 402, the inlet shutter 406, and the acquired ball counter 407. The first communication unit 408 including a serial interface and the like, and the second communication unit 409 that performs communication with the management computer 150 via the local area network described above.

  The control unit 410 includes a control microcomputer (MPU), a RAM, a ROM storing a control program in which the control contents executed by the control microcomputer (MPU) are stored, and a nonvolatile memory capable of electrically rewriting and storing data. Each function of the counting / dispensing unit 4 is formed by a control microcomputer (MPU) executing a control program to control each connected unit.

  Further, the RAM stores the (member) card ID, member ID (member card only), the number of possessed balls, and the number of stored balls of the member card or visitor card being received in the corresponding card unit 3 in association with each other. .

  Note that pachinko balls are supplied to the ball cutting and dispensing unit 402 from a pachinko ball supply basket (not shown) at the upper part of the game island, and the pachinko balls counted by the acquired ball counter 407 are not shown at the lower part of the game island. By being discharged to the pachinko ball collection basket, it is reused on the amusement island.

  As described above, the counting / dispensing unit 4 of the present embodiment is provided in one-to-one correspondence with the pachinko machine 2 (game machine), and the number of acquired balls acquired by the game in the corresponding pachinko machine 2 (Number of game media) is counted, and the number of balls in the range of the number of possessed balls, which is the counted number of game media, is paid out to the corresponding pachinko machine 2 and can communicate with the management computer 150 (management device). ing.

  Next, the management computer 150 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 12, the management computer 150 used in the present embodiment has a data bus 151 that transmits and receives data inside the computer, a CPU 152 that performs various processes performed by the management computer 150, a work memory, and the like. RAM 153, RTC 154 for outputting time information and calendar information, a storage device 155 including a hard disk, an input device 156 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a display device 157 for displaying and outputting various screens, and printing various information. This is a normal computer to which a communication unit 159 for performing data communication with the printer 158, the counting / dispensing unit 4 connected to the local area network (LAN), and the gift exchange POS terminal 170 is connected.

  In the storage device 155, in addition to a processing program in which processing contents for performing various processing executed in the management computer 150 are described, on the business day, which is the number of saving balls owned by a member player possessing a membership card Recorded in the visitor card and member saving management table (see FIG. 13 (a)) for managing the number of possessions acquired by the member player and the number of stored balls acquired by the member player before the previous day of business. A visitor saving management table (see FIG. 13 (b)) for managing the number of possessed balls acquired on the day of business by the player who possesses the visitor card, and member information regarding the member player who owns the member card Is stored in the member information table (see FIG. 14A) and the member ID of each member ID that can identify the member player. A member-based game history table game history is stored comprising (see FIG. 14 (b)) are stored.

  In the member saving management table, as shown in FIG. 13A, a member ID that is member identification information that can be associated with each member card ID and that can individually identify the member player who has issued the member card. And the total number of balls acquired by the member player on that business day, which is the number of balls that are not used for game or prize exchange, and the member player acquired before the previous day of the business. The total number of balls acquired and the number of stored balls that are unused for gaming and prize exchange are stored, and the member player possesses the member card ID or member ID stored in the member card. The number of holding balls and the number of stored balls can be specified.

  In other words, the management computer 150 of this embodiment associates each member player registered as a member in the game hall with the member ID serving as member identification information that can be individually identified, and has the number of acquired game media according to the present invention. Manage numbers.

  Note that the number of balls managed in the member savings management table is managed as the number of balls held only on that business day, and the number of balls in the member savings management table in the closing process after the end of business is the number of balls After being updated, everything is reset.

  In addition, in the visitor saving management table, as shown in FIG. 13B, each visitor card is associated with a card ID that can be individually identified, and the player possessing the visitor card has acquired it on that business day. The number of balls that are the total number of balls that have been acquired and that have not been used for game or prize exchange is stored, and the number of balls that the player owns is determined from the card ID stored in the visitor card. It can be specified.

  In addition, the number of balls managed in the visitor savings management table is valid only on the day of business, and all the existing balls in the visitor savings management table are reset in the closing process after the end of business. , Disabled.

  As shown in FIG. 14 (a), the member information table is associated with the member ID of the member player who owns the member card, and the personal identification number and one day according to the reception of the member card. Membership consisting of store visit points where the predetermined store visit points are added and updated once, rank based on store visit status, member's name (last name and name), gender, age, birthday, occupation, address, e-mail address Attribute information (personal information) is registered.

  In the member-specific game history table, as shown in FIG. 14B, for each member ID, the game history of the member player, specifically, the date of visit to the store, the pachinko machine 2 where the game was played. Number, model name, game start time (time), game end time (time), game time from game start to end, number of starts, number of bonuses, number of probability fluctuations (number of probability changes), number of balls earned, expenditure A game history including the amount of money, the number of replay balls, and the number of used balls is stored. The visit date of the member-specific game history table stores the date when the game history is stored based on the calendar information output from the RTC 154, and the game start time, game end time, game time, start count, The game history of the number of bonuses, the number of chances of change, the number of balls acquired, and the amount of money spent is stored based on member game history data transmitted from the card unit 3 when the member card is returned via the counting / payout unit 4.

  Hereinafter, the processing content performed in the card unit 3 and the counting / dispensing unit 4 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the control unit 328 of the card unit 3 is activated when the power to the card unit 3 is turned on, so that the activation process of Sb1 is performed to check the connection status of each part, and to the system controller 100 and the hall computer. Transmission of the connection confirmation request, and setting of initial values and the like are performed on each setting data based on the setting information returned from the system controller 100 and the hall computer in response to the transmission of the connection confirmation request.

  Then, after the activation process is performed, the process of Sb2 to Sb10 is carried out to accept the card that is the insertion of the membership card or the visitor card into the card insertion slot 309, and the rental button by the player (member or visitor) For operations, cash acceptance by inserting banknotes from the bill insertion slot 302, return button operation by the player, replay button 319 operation (replay operation information reception from the display control board 329), payout button 401 operation In response to the reception of the counting / dispensing start notification from the counting / dispensing unit 4, the leaving operation (reception of the leaving operation information from the display control board 329) in the remote control possessed by the staff, and the insertion of the pachinko ball into the closing hopper 405 Receive counting start notification from counting / dispensing unit 4 according to counting of pachinko balls, menu button 316 Work (reception of the main menu display operation information from a display control board 329), a standby state for detecting a.

  Incidentally, the control unit 328, after the start processing of Sb1, in parallel with the normal processing shown in FIG. 15, the big hit signal, the probability changing signal output from the corresponding pachinko machine 2 or the out ball counter 16, An interrupt monitoring process (not shown) that monitors the occurrence of an interrupt accompanying the input or change of the hour / medium signal, start signal, prize ball signal, and out ball count signal is a processing task that is separate from the processing task that performs these normal processes. By performing based on the above, the occurrence of each interrupt target state is monitored, and game information update processing and counted ball count update processing associated with the occurrence of the interrupt can be sequentially performed.

  When the player inserts a visitor card or a membership card into the card insertion slot 309 in the standby state described above, insertion detection information accompanying the insertion of the visitor card or membership card is sent from the card reader / writer 327 to the control unit 328. As a result of the output, the control unit 328 determines that there is card acceptance in Sb2, proceeds to step Sb20, and performs a card acceptance process (not shown).

  In the card accepting process of this embodiment at Sb20, an instruction for taking in the membership card or visitor card inserted into the card insertion slot 309 is output to the card reader / writer 327, and the inserted membership card or visitor card is sent to the card reader. Data stored in the card slot 392 of the writer 327 and stored in the member card or visitor card, specifically, the (member) card ID and member ID (member card only) of the member card or visitor card And prepaid balance data, number-of-balls data (visitor card only), off (on) line flag (visitor card only), and the like.

  Next, the control unit 328 transmits an authentication request including the (member) card ID read from the accepted member card or visitor card, the prepaid balance data, and the device ID to the system controller 100, and the authentication result from the system controller 100 is sent. Perform the card authentication process to receive.

  In response to the reception of the authentication request, the system controller 100 determines whether the (member) card ID included in the received authentication request exists in the member card table or the visitor card table, and cannot be used in the unavailable flag “1”. ”Is stored, and if it is present and unavailable“ 1 ”is not stored, that is, if“ 0 ”is stored in the unavailable flag, the (member) card ID is stored. The prepaid balance that is stored and managed in the member card table or visitor card table in association is specified from the prepaid balance data included in the received authentication request, that is, the prepaid balance data read from the received member card or visitor card It is determined whether it matches the prepaid balance to be As a result, “authentication OK” is returned. On the other hand, when the (member) card ID does not exist in the member card table or the visitor card table, or when the unavailable flag “1” is stored in the unavailable flag, the prepaid balance is If they do not match, “authentication NG” is returned. However, if the prepaid balance does not match and the prepaid balance specified from the prepaid balance data included in the authentication request is smaller, the prepaid balance in the member card table or visitor card table is set to the small amount. In addition to renewing the amount, “authentication OK” is returned to permit use of the member card or visitor card.

  Upon transmission of this “authentication OK”, the system controller 100 updates the “status” data in the unit management table corresponding to the device ID included in the received authentication request to “accepting” and is included in the received authentication request. (Member) card ID is stored in the item “Reception ID” of the unit management table.

  When the authentication result returned from the system controller 100 is “authentication NG”, the card unit 3 outputs an instruction to eject the accepted member card or visitor card to the card reader / writer 327 and inserts the inserted member card or visitor. When the returned authentication result is “authentication OK” while the card is returned and the card acceptance process is completed, as shown in FIG. 16, the accepted member is sent to the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4. A card insertion notification including the (member) card ID, the member ID (member card only), the number of holding balls (visitor card only), and flag data (visitor card only) read from the card or visitor card is transmitted.

  Upon receiving this card insertion notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 first determines whether the inserted card is a member card or a visitor card from the leading code of the (member) card ID included in the received card insertion notification. If the card is a visitor card, the number-of-balls matching process is performed as shown in FIG. 16 (a). On the other hand, if the card is a membership card, the management is performed as shown in FIG. 16 (b). An information acquisition process for acquiring the personal identification number, the number of balls held, and the number of balls stored from the computer 150 is performed.

  Specifically, when the leading code of the (member) card ID included in the received card insertion notification is a card ID starting with “VC”, the card inserted into the corresponding card unit 3 is a visitor card. The number of balls to be checked including the card ID and the number of balls included in the received card insertion notification and flag data (online or offline) is transmitted to the management computer 150.

  In response to the reception of the number-of-balls matching request, the management computer 150 determines whether or not the card ID included in the received number-of-balls matching request exists in the visitor saving management table. The number of possessed balls stored in the visitor saving management table corresponding to the card ID is collated with the number of possessed balls included in the received number-of-balls matching request, and the collation result is returned.

  In this comparison, if the number of possessed balls does not match and the flag data is an offline flag, it is determined that pachinko balls have been counted or paid out and the card has been ejected in the offline state. Then, the number of possessed balls stored in the visitor saving management table is updated to the number of retained balls included in the received number-of-balls matching request, and it is determined that the matching is OK.

  When the returned verification result is verification OK, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) returns the card insertion result including “OK” to the card unit 3 (control unit 328) and then the received card. When the card ID and the number of possessed balls included in the insertion notification are stored and the number of possessed balls can be paid out (operation of the payout button 401 is valid), while the returned collation result is collation NG After returning the card insertion result including “NG” to the card unit 3 (control unit 328), only the card ID included in the received card insertion notification is stored, and the number of held balls cannot be paid out (payout button 401 is invalidated), and the inlet shutter 406 is closed, and the counting of new pachinko balls by the acquired ball counter 407 is prohibited.

  In response to receiving the card insertion result, the card unit 3 (control unit 328), when the received card insertion result includes “OK”, the card ID, prepaid balance, The number is stored in the card table, and the stored prepaid balance is displayed on the balance display, and then the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  On the other hand, if the received card insertion result includes “NG”, the card ID read from the receiving visitor card and the prepaid balance are stored in the card table, and NG is stored in the card table as “the number of balls”. After the stored prepaid balance is displayed on the balance display, the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  In other words, the number of held balls that do not match is not used for payout in the counting / dispensing unit 4, so that the number of held balls is treated as not existing, and only the prepaid balance that is certified is used. Allow.

  Further, when the head code of the (member) card ID included in the received card insertion notification is a member card ID starting with “KC”, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) It is determined that the inserted card is a member card, and an information acquisition request including the member card ID and the member ID included in the received card insertion notification is transmitted to the management computer 150.

  In response to receiving this information acquisition request, the management computer 150 determines whether or not the member card ID and the member ID included in the received information acquisition request exist in the member saving management table. Read the membership card ID, the number of balls and the number of balls stored in the member saving management table corresponding to the member ID, and the password stored in the member information table in association with the member ID If the membership card ID and the member ID do not exist in the member saving management table, only NG is returned.

  When the returned content includes the password, the number of balls, the number of balls, and OK, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) indicates the card insertion result including the response content to the card unit 3 (control unit). 328), the member card ID and member ID included in the card insertion notification received from the card unit 3 and the number of possessed balls and the number of accumulated balls acquired from the management computer 140 are stored in the RAM, while the reply is made. When the content is only NG, after returning the card insertion result including “NG” to the card unit 3 (control unit 328), the member card ID and the member ID included in the card insertion notification received from the card unit 3 Are stored in the card table, and the inlet shutter 406 is closed to prohibit the counting of new pachinko balls by the acquired ball counter 407.

  Upon receiving the card insertion result, the card unit 3 (control unit 328), when the received card insertion result includes “OK”, the member card ID, member ID, prepaid read from the member card being accepted. The balance, the PIN number included in the card insertion result, the number of possessed balls, and the number of stored balls are stored in the card table, and the stored prepaid balance is displayed on the balance indicator, indicating that the deposit and ball lending are possible. The password is displayed on the unit 312 to notify the member player, and a password acceptance screen including a numeric keypad and an announcement display for prompting the input of the password are displayed on the display unit 312 to accept the password.

  Then, the received personal identification number is compared with the personal identification number stored in the card table, and when both match, the verification flag in the predetermined area in the RAM 328b is updated to “1” indicating that verification has been completed, -After transmitting the password input completion notification to the payout unit 4 (control unit 410), the replay display unit 320 sets the LED 320a to the lit state on condition that the number of stored balls is equal to or greater than the predetermined number of replay unit balls. Notify that replay is possible.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) enables the payout of the number of balls (operation of the payout button 401 is valid) in response to the reception of the password input completion notification. In other words, when NG is returned from the management computer 140 described above, it is impossible to receive a password input completion notification, so the number of coins to be paid out in the counting / dispensing unit 4 is not allowed (operation of the payout button 401). Is invalid).

  If a password input completion notification is received and the number of held balls stored in the card table is not “0”, that is, if payout within the range of the number of held balls is possible, the The replay button operation designation notification (FIG. 18) including the prohibition of play is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328), thereby invalidating the replay operation and only paying out the number of balls. When the number of balls held is “0” due to the payout, a replay button operation designation notification including permission is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328). The play operation is enabled and the number of stored balls can be used.

  In other words, in this embodiment, the number of balls that are earned by the member player on the day is different from the number of balls, and the payout is carried out without the need for fees. Disabling the replay operation when there is a number, there will be a disadvantage to the member player due to the use of the number of balls that require a fee even though there is a number of balls that will not be charged Can be eliminated.

  In addition, when the received card insertion result includes “NG”, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) determines the membership card ID, the membership ID, the prepaid balance, the number of possessed balls, and the number of stored balls read from the accepted membership card. NG is stored in the card table, and the stored prepaid balance is displayed on the balance display, and then returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  In other words, when the card insertion result including “NG” is received, the counting / dispensing unit 4 does not pay out the number of possessed balls. No replay is permitted as it does not exist, and only the prepaid balance that has been authenticated is permitted.

  When the player operates the lending button after the prepaid balance is displayed on these remaining amount indicators, a signal from the lending button switch for detecting the lending button operation by the player is sent to the control unit 328. The control unit 328 determines that the operation of the lending button is present in the step Sb3 in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10, proceeds to the step Sb21, and executes the lending process.

  In this lending process, first, the prepaid balance read from the inserted member card or visitor card (including the visitor card issued by inserting the banknote) and stored in the RAM 328b (card table) is used in this embodiment. 100 yen that is a unit amount (predetermined unit amount when using the prepaid balance for lending processing) and 5 yen (a tax rate of 5% in this embodiment) that is a consumption tax amount corresponding to the unit amount used It is determined whether or not the total amount including tax is less than 105 yen, and if the prepaid balance is less than 105 yen, it is determined as “Yes” in the determination, and the lending process is terminated. If the prepaid balance is 105 yen or more while returning to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10, the process proceeds to the next step, and the prepaid balance is added to the present embodiment. Whether or not it is 525 yen or more, which is the tax-included usage amount that is the total amount of 500 yen that is set as the usage amount for the lending process and 25 yen that is the consumption tax amount corresponding to the usage amount (5% tax rate) Determine.

  When the prepaid balance is equal to or more than the tax-included usage amount, the usage amount ball lending process is performed, and when it is less than the tax-included usage amount, the display amount ball lending process is performed.

  In this use amount ball lending process, a payout instruction for the number of pachinko balls corresponding to the use amount of 500 yen, specifically, a payout instruction for 125 balls equivalent to 500 yen is given to the corresponding pachinko machine 2. To output the number of pachinko balls.

  In other words, in the lending process, the control unit 328 makes the prepaid balance (game use) specified from the prepaid balance data read by the card reader / writer 327 serving as the recording medium processing means and the (member) card ID (game value specifying information). Value) is used, and a process for lending the number of pachinko balls (game media) corresponding to the size of the prepaid balance (game value) to be used is implemented. The game medium lending means of the present invention is formed by the control unit 328 that performs processing.

  Then, 525 yen (4 yen / ball), which is a tax-included amount, is subtracted and updated from the prepaid balance (same as the prepaid balance stored in the card table of the RAM 328b) displayed on the balance indicator. After updating the prepaid balance and the prepaid balance data stored in the member card or visitor card being received to the prepaid balance data that can specify the new prepaid balance by subtracting and updating the tax-included usage amount of 525 yen, the system Send to the controller 100 a lending completion notification including the device ID uniquely given to the card unit 3, the (member) card ID of the member card or visitor card being received, and the amount of tax included Member card table or visitor card table of system controller 100 Le in to subtraction update the tax use the amount from the prepaid balance, which is stored in association with the (membership) card ID.

  Then, it is determined whether or not the accepting card is a visitor card. If it is not a visitor card, the lending process is terminated and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10, while the visitor card is being accepted. Determines whether the prepaid balance displayed on the balance display (same as the prepaid balance stored in the card table of the RAM 328b) is zero.

  If the prepaid balance is not 0 in the determination, the lending process is terminated and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10. On the other hand, if the prepaid balance is 0, the number of balls in the card table is further increased. Determine if it exists. It should be noted that the case where NG is stored in the number of holding balls is also determined to exist.

  If the number of possessed balls is present, the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10. On the other hand, if the number of possessed balls is not present, an instruction to collect a visitor card whose prepaid balance becomes 0 is output to the card reader / writer 327 Then, after collecting in the card storage unit 370 on the inner side of the card reader / writer 327, sending a collection notification including the card ID of the collected visitor card to the system controller 100 and resetting the card table, Return to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  The system controller that has received the collection notification updates the status of the visitor card table corresponding to the card ID included in the collection notification from being used to being stored.

  At this time, when the remaining number of visitor cards remaining in the card storage unit 370 changes from “0” to “1”, that is, when the empty state is resolved, the stock card state notification (remaining) Is transmitted to the counting / payout unit 4 (control unit 410), so that the control unit 410 can grasp that there is a prepaid card that can be issued to the card storage unit 370.

  In addition, when the visitor card stored in the card storage unit 370 is used for issuance and the card storage state changes from “1” to “0”, the stock card state notification (no remaining) is counted and paid out. By being transmitted to the unit 4 (control unit 410), the control unit 410 can grasp that there is no prepaid card that can be issued to the card storage unit 370 of the corresponding card unit 3, As described above, when there is no prepaid card that can be issued in the card storage unit 370, when no visitor card is received in the card slot 392, and when a membership card is being received in the card slot 392, When the communication state with the management computer 150 is offline (not connected), the control unit 410 performs the inlet shut-off. By closing 406 and prohibiting the counting of new pachinko balls by the acquired ball counter 407, it is possible to avoid that these counted balls (counted balls) cannot be recorded on the prepaid card. Yes.

  That is, the card unit 3 according to the present embodiment counts on the condition that the number of visitor cards (general recording media) stored in the card storage unit 370 (general recording medium storage means) becomes zero. A stock card status notification (count prohibition information) for prohibiting counting in the counting / payout unit 4 is transmitted to the payout unit 4 (the game medium counting device).

  On the other hand, in the display amount ball lending process, among the prepaid remaining amount displayed on the remaining amount display (same as the prepaid remaining amount stored in the card table of the RAM 328b), the used unit amount is 100 yen and the 100 yen The maximum amount that is an integral multiple of 105 yen (unit amount including tax), which is the total amount of 5 yen that is the consumption tax amount corresponding to, for example, 105 yen (unit amount including tax) if the prepaid balance is 475 yen An instruction to pay out the number of pachinko balls equivalent to 420 yen corresponding to 4 times the maximum amount of money that is an integer multiple of, specifically, it is a tax-free amount excluding 20 yen as a consumption tax amount from 420 yen An instruction to pay out 100 balls corresponding to 400 yen is output to the corresponding pachinko machine 2 to pay out the number of pachinko balls.

  Then, from the prepaid balance displayed on the balance display (same as the prepaid balance stored in the card table of the RAM 328b), 420 yen, which is the amount including tax used for pachinko ball lending, is subtracted and updated, Update the prepaid balance data in the card table and the prepaid balance data stored in the receiving membership card or visitor card to the prepaid balance data that can specify the new prepaid balance by subtracting and updating 420 yen, which includes the tax. After that, for the system controller 100, the device ID uniquely given to the card unit 3, the (member) card ID of the member card or visitor card being accepted, and 420 yen that includes the tax are included. A lending completion notification including the system controller 100 Te (members) to subtraction update the amount of 該税 inclusive from the prepaid balance, which is stored in the membership card table or visitor card table in association with the card ID.

  Then, as in the case described above, it is determined whether or not the card being accepted is a visitor card and the prepaid balance is 0. If the card is a visitor card and the prepaid balance is 0, the card is further held. After collecting the visitor card on condition that the number of balls does not exist, the lending process is terminated and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  Further, in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 described above, when a player inserts cash (banknote) from the banknote insertion slot 302, money identification information accompanying the insertion of the cash (banknote) is controlled from the banknote identification unit 321. By outputting to the unit 328, the control unit 328 determines that there is acceptance of cash in the step of Sb4, proceeds to the step of Sb22, and performs an issue / payment process (not shown).

  In this issuance / payment process, first, the amount of money inserted is specified from the input money identification information, and it is determined whether or not there is a member card or visitor card accepted by the card reader / writer 327. To do.

  When it is determined that there is no member card or visitor card being received, the control unit 328 moves the visitor card stored in the card storage unit 370 to a predetermined reading position on the card slot 392, The card ID of the visitor card is read, and an issuance request including the read card ID, the input amount, and the device ID of the card unit 3 is transmitted to the system controller 100.

  In response to receiving this issuance request, the system controller 100 determines whether or not the card ID included in the received issuance request exists in the visitor card table, and if it exists, the visitor corresponding to the card ID. While updating the “status” of the card table to “in use”, the received input amount is stored in the “remaining amount” as a prepaid remaining amount, while “unit” in the unit management table corresponding to the device ID included in the received issuance request is stored. “Status” is updated to “Receiving”, and the received card ID is stored in “Reception ID”, and then “Issuance permission” is returned to the card unit 3 that sent the issue request. If the received card ID does not exist in the visitor card table, “Issuance impossible” is returned.

  In response to receiving this “issue permission”, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) writes and stores the prepaid balance corresponding to the inserted amount in the visitor card moved to the card slot 392 and stores the visitor card in the visitor card. After storing the card ID of the card and the prepaid balance corresponding to the inserted amount, and displaying the prepaid balance on the balance display, the issuing / paying process is terminated and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  In addition, when "Issuance is impossible" is received from the system controller 100 and when a visitor card is not stored in the card storage unit 370, the cash (banknote) inserted from the banknote insertion slot 302 is returned, An error notification process for turning on the multi-function lamp 301 in a predetermined error notification mode is performed until the error state is eliminated, thereby notifying the occurrence of an error.

  On the other hand, if there is a member card or visitor card being accepted in the card slot 392 at the time of cash (banknote) insertion, the amount specified above is stored in the member card or visitor card being received and the card table. After adding the prepaid balance specified from the stored prepaid balance data and updating each of the prepaid balance data to the prepaid balance data that can be specified, the deposit amount (to the input amount) is updated. The same) and the device ID of the card unit 3 and the (member) card ID of the member card or visitor card being received are transmitted to the system controller 100, and the member card table of the system controller 100 or At the visitor card table, the (member) card The said input money amount of money to be added update the prepaid balance, which corresponds to the de-ID are stored.

  Then, the remaining amount of the prepaid displayed on the remaining amount display is updated and displayed as a new amount after the addition update, the deposit process is terminated, and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  Further, when the player operates the return button in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 described above, a signal from the return button switch for detecting the operation of the return button by the player is output to the control unit 328. As a result, the control unit 328 determines that there is an operation of the return button in Sb5, proceeds to Sb23, and performs return processing.

  That is, in step Sb5 performed by the control unit 328, a discharge operation for discharging a member card (member recording medium) or a visitor card (general recording medium) is detected, and the control unit that executes Sb5 328 forms the discharge operation detecting means of the present invention.

  In this return process, first, it is determined whether or not there is a member card or visitor card being accepted by the card reader / writer 327, and if it does not exist, the operation is invalidated. Whether or not the accepted card is a member card or a visitor card is determined based on whether or not a member ID is stored in the card table.

  In this determination, if the accepted card is a membership card, as shown in FIG. 23, the cash accepting, lending button operation, and replay button 319 operation are invalidated, so that the lending process and issue・ Prohibit deposit processing and replay processing. Regarding the card acceptance, when a member card is inserted, the shutter solenoid 399 causes the shutter to be opened at the card insertion slot 309, so that new card acceptance is already prohibited.

  Then, a card discharge notification is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) to notify that a return operation has been performed.

  In response to the reception of the card discharge notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) invalidates the operation of the payout button 401 and closes the inlet shutter 406, thereby paying out the number of balls and a new pachinko ball. And the member card ID and member ID data stored in the RAM are erased, and then the card discharge result (OK) is returned. However, at this time, if the communication state with the management computer 150 is offline, different processing is performed as shown in FIG.

  In response to receiving the card discharge result (OK), the card unit 3 (control unit 328) outputs a discharge instruction to the card reader / writer 327 to discharge the member card being received from the card insertion slot 309, and to play the member game After the member game information data stored in the information table is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) together with the member card ID and member ID stored in the card table (not shown), the card table is reset. To do.

  As described above, the member game information data transmitted to the counting / payout unit 4 (control unit 410) is relayed to the management computer 150 and stored in the member-specific game history table. The history is managed by the management computer 150.

  Further, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) updates the lighting mode of the multi-function lamp 301 to a lighting state of a predetermined lighting color indicating that the card can be received, and the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit). 410), after the discharge completion notification is transmitted, the prohibition of payment is canceled and the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 is returned.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) can count the pachinko balls by releasing the closing of the inlet shutter 406 in response to the reception of the discharge completion notification. However, when the remaining number of visitor cards that can be issued to the corresponding card unit 3 is 0, as described above, pachinko balls cannot be counted.

  On the other hand, in the above-described determination, when the card being received is a visitor card, whether or not a setting for paying out an end ball less than a predetermined number of automatic payout balls (125 balls in this embodiment) is set in advance. Determine whether.

  In the case where the end ball payout setting is not set, the control unit 328 prohibits the lending process and the issuance / payment process by invalidating the operation of the cash accepting and lending button as shown in FIG. As for the card acceptance, when the visitor card is inserted, the shutter solenoid 399 causes the shutter at the card insertion slot 309 to be in the opened state, so that new card acceptance is already prohibited.

  Then, a card discharge notification is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) to notify that a return operation has been performed.

  In response to the reception of the card discharge notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) invalidates the operation of the payout button 401 and closes the inlet shutter 406, thereby paying out the number of balls and a new pachinko ball. And the card discharge result (OK) is returned after erasing data such as the card ID and the number of balls stored in the RAM.

  Upon receiving this card ejection result (OK), the card unit 3 (control unit 328) sends a higher-level system disconnection notification and a higher-level system connection notification, which will be described later, transmitted from the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410). Based on this, the connection state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) and the management computer 150 is specified. If the specified connection state is online (connected), the online flag is written and recorded on the visiting visitor card. If the specified connection status is offline (not connected), the offline flag is written and recorded in the accepting visitor card, and then a discharge instruction is output to the card reader / writer 327 to insert the accepting visitor card into the card. The card table 309 is discharged and the card table is reset.

  Further, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) updates the lighting mode of the multi-function lamp 301 to a lighting state of a predetermined lighting color indicating that the card can be received, and the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit). 410), after the discharge completion notification is transmitted, the prohibition of payment is canceled and the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 is returned.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) can count the pachinko balls by releasing the closing of the inlet shutter 406 in response to the reception of the discharge completion notification. However, when the remaining number of visitor cards that can be issued to the corresponding card unit 3 is 0, as described above, pachinko balls cannot be counted.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 22, the control unit 328 invalidates the acceptance of cash and the operation of the lending button when the end ball payout setting is set, as in the case where the payout setting is not set. This prohibits the lending process, issuance / payment process, and determines whether the number of balls counted at that time (the number of possessed balls) is less than the predetermined number of automatically paid balls (125 balls in this embodiment). judge.

  If the counted number of balls (the number of balls held) is not less than the number of automatically paid balls, the process proceeds to the step of sending a card discharge notification to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410), thereby While the same processing is performed as when the payout setting is not set, if the counted number of balls (the number of held balls) is less than the number of automatically paid balls, the payout of the counted number of balls (the number of held balls) Is sent to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410).

  In response to the reception of the fraction ball payout request, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) invalidates the operation of the payout button 401 and closes the inlet shutter 406, thereby paying out the number of balls and creating a new pachinko machine. After counting the number of balls and returning a response to paying out the fraction balls, a count payout start notification including the number of balls stored in the RAM, for example, 124 balls is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328).

  In response to the reception of the count payout start notification, the control unit 328 determines that the number of held balls included in the count payout start notification is the number of held balls stored in the card table (the counted balls displayed on the display unit 312). The same as the number), and after returning a count payout start response (OK) on the condition that they are the same, the number of balls held in the card table and displayed on the display unit 312 The number of balls that have been counted is updated to “0”, and the number of balls that have been updated is updated and recorded on the visitor card being received, so that the number of balls can be specified by the visitor card. The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) sends a count withdrawal completion notification including the number of possessed balls (124 balls) subtracted in accordance with the completion of the update record and the new number of retained balls “0” after the subtraction update. Send to.

  In response to receiving the count withdrawal completion notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) starts paying out the 124 pachinko balls, which is the number of balls, from the ball cutting and paying unit 402, and paying out all 124 balls. Is completed, the payout is terminated, and the management computer 150 transmits a ball count update request including the card ID stored in the RAM and the new ball count “0” to the management computer 150. In the visitor saving management table, the number of possessed balls stored corresponding to the card ID is updated to “0”.

  Then, a count payout completion notification including the updated number of held balls “0” (the number of stored balls is uniquely “0” because of the visitor card) is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328).

  In response to reception of the count payout end notification, the control unit 328 determines whether the number of balls included in the count payout end notification is “0”, which is the number of balls updated and recorded in the receiving visitor card. A check payout completion response (OK) is returned on the condition that it is also “0”.

  Then, after the fractional payout is completed in this way, the process proceeds to a step of transmitting a card discharge notification to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410), and the above-mentioned roundout payout setting is not set. By performing the same processing as in the case, the visiting visitor card is ejected from the card insertion slot 309.

  That is, in the return processing performed by the control unit 328 of the present embodiment, the prepaid balance that becomes the game value specifying information of the present invention in accordance with the detection of the discharge operation in the step Sb5 that is the discharge operation detecting means of the present invention. Member card (member recording medium) or visitor card (recording medium for member) being received by the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means) that has been subjected to the counting corresponding process that is the specifying process for specifying the number of possessed balls. General-purpose recording media).

  Further, when the player operates the replay button 319 in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 described above, the replay operation information is transmitted from the display control board 329 that has detected the operation of the replay button 319 to the control unit. By being input to 328, the control unit 328 determines that the replay button 319 is operated in Sb6, proceeds to Sb24, and performs a replay process (not shown).

  In this replay process, first, it is determined whether or not the collated flag indicating whether or not the PIN number stored in the RAM 328b has been collated is “1” indicating that the collation has been completed, and is not “1”. In the case (if not already verified), the player is not a member and the replay process is terminated and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10. It is determined whether or not the LED 320a is in a lit state, that is, whether or not the number of stored balls is equal to or more than a predetermined number of replay unit balls. If the LED 320a is in a lit state, the stored balls stored in the card table The replay unit ball number is subtracted and updated from the number, and the replay display unit 320 (LED 320a) is turned off, and then the replay ball lending process is performed. In the replay ball lending process of this embodiment, the number of pachinko balls corresponding to the number of replay units (135 balls), specifically, 125 pachinko balls excluding the fee from the number of replay units (135 balls). A ball payout instruction is output to the corresponding pachinko machine 2 to pay out the number of pachinko balls.

  In addition, when the number of stored balls after subtraction update of the number of replay unit balls is equal to or more than the number of replay unit balls, the replay display unit 320 (LED 320a) is turned on again after the replay ball lending process is completed. State.

  Then, with respect to the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410), the replay including the member card ID and the member ID stored in the card table and the number of replay units subtracted from the number of stored balls (135 balls). After transmitting the play completion notification, the replay process is terminated and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  The replay completion notification transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) is relayed to the management computer 150 by the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410), and in the member saving management table in the management computer 150, The number of replay units (135 balls) is subtracted and updated from the member card ID included in the replay completion notification and the number of stored balls associated with the member ID.

  Further, when a player acquires a pachinko ball by a game in the pachinko machine 2 and enters the input hopper 405 from the lower plate 24 in order to count the acquired pachinko balls, the player enters the input hopper 405. As the pachinko balls thus obtained are supplied to the earned ball counter 407 through the counting ball inflow path 404 and counted, the pachinko ball from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) is shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. A count start notification is sent to the card unit 3 (control unit 328) to notify that the counting of balls has started.

  The reception of the count start notification transmitted in this manner is detected in Sb9 in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 described above, and the process proceeds to Sb27, where the count handling process is performed.

  As the processing corresponding to the counting, different processing is performed when the card being received by the card reader / writer 327 is a visitor card and when the card is a membership card, and when the receiving card is a visitor card, When the process shown in FIG. 17 is performed and the accepted card is a membership card, the process shown in FIG. 18 is performed.

  First, if the receiving card is a visitor card, as shown in FIG. 17, the cash receiving, lending button operation, and return button operation are invalidated, thereby issuing / paying processing, lending processing, In addition to prohibiting the return process, the card ID and member ID (not a visitor card) read from the accepted visitor card and stored in the card table, and OK indicating that the prohibition of the operation has been completed are included. Returns a count start response.

  If the counting start response is not returned, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) determines that an abnormality has occurred in the corresponding card unit 3, closes the inlet shutter 406, and counts pachinko balls. Is stopped and the counting start response is returned, the pachinko balls are continuously counted with the inlet shutter 406 opened, and the count value of the acquired ball counter 407 is set to a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds). ) The end of counting is judged by no change.

  Then, when it is determined that the counting is finished, the card unit 3 (control unit 328), the newly counted number of pachinko balls, and the number of balls held before the count Including the number of new coins added to the transaction number, the transaction serial number assigned to the transaction on the day, and the card ID and member ID (not a visitor card) included in the received counting start response A count end notification is returned.

  In response to reception of the count end notification, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) includes the new number of balls included in the count end notification in the count end notification in the number of held balls stored in the card table. And confirming that the number of balls in the card table is updated to the new number of balls, and displaying the counted number of balls displayed on the display unit 312. Update to a new number of balls.

  Further, after the new number of balls is updated and recorded in the visitor card being received by the card reader / writer 327, the transaction sequence number included in the received count end notification is sent to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410). And a count end response including the visitor card ID and member ID (not a visitor card), and then canceling the prohibition of each of the processes performed in response to reception of the count start notification. Return to the standby state of .about.Sb10.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) that has received the counting end response indicates that the card ID, member ID (in the case of a visitor card) included in the counting end response, and the transaction serial number are the cards in the counting end notification. Judgment including ID, member ID (None for visitor card) and transaction serial number, including card ID, member ID (none for visitor card), additional number of balls and new number An addition request is transmitted to the management computer 150, and the additional number of balls is added to the number of possessed balls stored in association with the card ID in the visitor saving management table in the management computer 150, and a new Update to the number of possessions.

  At this time, if the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) and the management computer 150 is offline, these card ID, member ID (no visitor card) and additional number of balls And the new number of possessed balls are stored in the EEPROM as a retained ball addition history, and when the communication state with the management computer 150 returns to the online state, the retained ball addition history is transmitted to the management computer 150, and these The number of possessed balls in the visitor saving management table is updated based on the accumulated ball addition history.

  On the other hand, if the card being accepted is a membership card, as shown in FIG. 18, it is issued by invalidating cash acceptance, lending button operation, return button operation, and replay button 319 operation.・ Deposit processing, loan processing, return processing, and replay processing are prohibited, and the member card ID and member ID that are read from the accepted member card and stored in the card table, and that the operation prohibition has been completed are shown. A count start response including OK is returned.

  If the counting start response is not returned, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) determines that an abnormality has occurred in the corresponding card unit 3, closes the inlet shutter 406, and counts pachinko balls. Is stopped and the counting start response is returned, the pachinko balls are continuously counted with the inlet shutter 406 opened, and the count value of the acquired ball counter 407 is set to a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds). ) The end of counting is judged by no change.

  Then, when it is determined that the counting is finished, the card unit 3 (control unit 328), the newly counted number of pachinko balls, and the number of balls held before the count A count end notification including the number of new balls added to the transaction number, the transaction sequence number that is a serial number assigned to the transaction of the day, and the card ID and member ID included in the received count start response is returned.

  In response to reception of the count end notification, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) includes the new number of balls included in the count end notification in the count end notification in the number of held balls stored in the card table. And confirming that the number of balls in the card table is updated to the new number of balls, and displaying the counted number of balls displayed on the display unit 312. Update to a new number of balls.

  Then, the counting end including the transaction serial number included in the received counting end notification, the membership card ID of the membership card being accepted by the card reader / writer 327, and the membership ID to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410). After returning the response, the prohibition of each of the processes performed in response to the reception of the count start notification is canceled and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  That is, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment is configured to count and pay out the unit 4 (game medium counting device) while receiving a member card (member recording medium) in the card reader / writer (recording medium processing means) in the count handling process. When a count end notification is received from, a count end response is returned without recording the number of possessed balls (number of acquired game media) specified from the count end notification on the receiving membership card (member recording medium). ing.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 18, when the number of possessed balls changes from “0” to “XXX”, the number of possessed balls can be paid out in the counting / dispensing unit 4. As described above, the replay button operation designation notification including the prohibition of replay is transmitted from the payout unit 4 (control unit 410) to the card unit 3 (control unit 328). 3, the operation of the replay button 319 is invalidated, so that the replay process is prohibited.

  In addition, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) that has received the counting end response receives the membership card ID, member ID, and transaction serial number included in the counting end response, and the membership card ID and member ID in the count end notification. After confirming that it matches the transaction serial number, it sends to the management computer 150 a request for adding a ball including the member card ID, the member ID, the number of additional balls, and the new number of balls, and the management computer 150 In the member saving management table, the number of additional balls is added to the number of balls stored in association with the member card ID and the member ID, and updated to a new number of balls.

  At this time, if the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) and the management computer 150 is offline, the member card ID, the member ID, the number of additional balls, and the new number of balls Are stored in the EEPROM as a holding ball addition history, and when the communication state with the management computer 150 returns to the online state, the holding ball addition history is transmitted to the management computer 150, and based on these holding ball addition history The number of possessed balls in the member saving management table is updated.

  That is, in the count handling process of the present embodiment, the number of balls (acquired game media) included in the count end notification received from the count / payout unit 4 (game media count device) by the communication unit 335 (counter communication means). Number) can be specified by the member card (member recording medium) or the visitor card (general recording medium) being received by the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means), and the count corresponding processing is performed. The control unit 328 forms the specialization processing means of the present invention.

  Further, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment performs counting from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) by counting pachinko balls (game media) in the count corresponding processing that is the specification processing of the present invention. Each time a count end notification including the number of possessed balls (acquired game media) to be transmitted is received, the card reader / writer 327 (recording media processing means) accepts the received number of possessed balls (acquired game media). Recorded on a visitor card (general recording medium).

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 17, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment counts and pays out in response to the start of counting pachinko balls (game media) in the count / payout unit 4 (game media counting device). The ball based on the count transmitted from the counting / dispensing unit 4 in response to the counting of the started pachinko ball (game medium) being completed from the time when the count start notification transmitted from the unit 4 is received. Counting correspondence for recording the number of balls (acquired number of game media) included in the count end notification on the visitor card (general recording medium) by receiving the count end notification including the number (number of acquired game media) The visitor call according to the detection of the discharge operation in the step of Sb5 until the end of the counting completion response that can specify that the processing (specifying processing) is completed is returned to the counting / dispensing unit 4. It prohibits the discharge of de (OTC recording medium).

  When the player operates the payout button 401 of the counting / dispensing unit 4 in order to use the updated counted number of balls (the number of balls) in the pachinko machine 2 again, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control Unit 410) transmits to the card unit 3 (control unit 328) a count payout start notification including a predetermined number of automatic payout balls (125 balls in this embodiment) as shown in FIGS.

  The reception of the count payout start notification transmitted in this way is detected in Sb7 in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 described above, and proceeds to Sb25, where the payout handling process is performed.

  This payout handling process is different in processing when the card being received by the card reader / writer 327 is a visitor card and when it is a membership card, and when the card being received is a visitor card, 19, the process shown in FIG. 20 is performed when the receiving card is a membership card.

  First, when the receiving card is a visitor card, the card unit 3 (control unit 328), as shown in FIG. 19, invalidates cash acceptance, lending button operation, and return button operation, The issuance / payment processing, lending processing, return processing is prohibited, and a count payout start response including OK indicating that the prohibition of operation is completed is returned, and the received count is obtained from the number of balls stored in the card table. The automatic payout ball number (125 balls in this embodiment) included in the payout start notification is subtracted and updated, and the counted ball number displayed on the display unit 312 is updated to the new holding ball number after the subtraction update. .

  Further, after the new number of possessed balls after the subtraction update is recorded on the visitor card being received by the card reader / writer 327, the number of retained balls (subtracted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410)) ( (Same as the number of automatically paid-out balls) and a count withdrawal completion notification including the new number of held balls after the subtraction update are transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410).

  In response to the reception of the count withdrawal completion notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) starts paying out the pachinko balls of the automatic paying-out number of balls (125 balls in this embodiment) from the ball cutting and paying unit 402, When all the 125 balls have been paid out, the payout is completed, and the card ID stored in the management computer 150 in the RAM, the number of automatically paid out balls, and the number of new held balls after subtraction update are included. A ball number update request is transmitted to update the number of balls stored in association with the card ID in the visitor saving management table of the management computer 150 to the new number of balls after subtraction update.

  At this time, if the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) and the management computer 150 is offline, these card ID, member ID (in the case of a visitor card), and automatic payout ball The number and the new number of balls are stored in the EEPROM as a ball deduction history, and when the communication state with the management computer 150 returns to the online state, the ball deduction history is transmitted to the management computer 150, The number of possessed balls in the visitor saving management table is updated based on the retained ball subtraction history.

  Then, a count payout completion notification (the number of stored balls is uniquely “0” because of a visitor card) including the new number of possessed balls after the subtraction update is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328).

  In response to reception of the count payout end notification, the control unit 328 checks whether the number of held balls included in the count payout end notification is the number of balls updated and recorded in the receiving visitor card. After returning the count payout end response (OK) on condition that there is, the prohibition of each of the processes performed in response to the reception of the count payout start notification is canceled and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  That is, in the payout handling process of this embodiment, the control unit 328 accepts a visitor card (general recording medium) in which the number of possessed balls (the number of acquired game media) is recorded in the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means). In the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device), the counting / dispensing unit 4 provides a payout start notification that can specify that the operation of the payout button 401, which is a payout operation of a pachinko ball (game medium), has been performed. From the point of time received from the game, a new number of balls (number of acquired game media) obtained by subtracting the number of unit paid-out balls, which is the number of game media to be paid out in the counting / payout unit 4, in accordance with the operation (payout operation) of the payout button 401 ) Is recorded in the received visitor card (general recording medium). Subtraction completion notification (count withdrawal completion notification) that can specify that the subtraction process has been completed is counted and delivered. Until such time as the reply to knit 4 prohibits the discharge of visitors card in response to detection of the discharge operation by the step (eject operation detecting means) Sb5 (OTC recording medium).

  On the other hand, when the accepted card is a membership card, as shown in FIG. 20, it is issued by invalidating cash acceptance, lending button operation, return button operation, and replay button 319 operation.・ Prohibit deposit processing, lending processing, return processing, and replay processing, and return a count payout start response including OK indicating that the prohibition of operation has been completed, and from the number of possessed balls stored in the card table, While subtracting and updating the number of automatic payout balls (125 balls in this embodiment) included in the received count payout start notification, the number of balls already counted displayed on the display unit 312 as the new number of held balls after the subtraction update Update.

  Then, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) counts the count withdrawal completion notification including the subtracted number of balls (same as the number of automatically paid out balls) and the new number of held balls after the subtraction update. This is transmitted to the payout unit 4 (control unit 410).

  That is, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment starts counting out from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) while receiving a member card (member recording medium) in the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means). When a notification (payout start notification) is received, a count withdrawal completion notification (subtraction end notification) is returned without performing a subtraction process for recording the number of possessed balls after subtraction on the member card.

  In response to the reception of the count withdrawal completion notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) starts paying out the pachinko balls of the automatic paying-out number of balls (125 balls in this embodiment) from the ball cutting and paying unit 402, When all the 125 balls have been paid out, the payout is completed, and the membership card ID and the member ID stored in the RAM with respect to the management computer 150, the number of automatically paid out balls, and the new number of held balls after the subtraction update. Is sent to the member saving management table of the management computer 150, and the number of possessed balls stored in association with the member card ID and the member ID is newly updated. Update to the number of balls.

  At this time, if the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) and the management computer 150 is offline, the membership card ID, the member ID, the number of automatically paid out balls, and the new holding ball The number is stored in the EEPROM as a holding ball subtraction history, and when the communication state with the management computer 150 returns to the online state, the holding ball subtraction history is transmitted to the management computer 150 and is stored in the holding ball subtraction history. Based on this, the number of possessed balls in the member saving management table is updated.

  Then, a count payout completion notice including the new number of balls after subtraction update and the number of stored balls stored in the RAM is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328).

  In response to the reception of the count payout end notification, the control unit 328 returns the count payout end response (OK) without checking the number of holding balls, and then performs each of the above processes performed in response to the reception of the count payout start notification. The prohibition is canceled and the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 is returned.

  Further, when a player wants to leave his / her seat for his / her purpose, it is necessary to call an attendant and have the remote control carried by the attendant perform the leaving operation to shift to the away mode.

  When a remote control operation is performed on the remote controller, a predetermined infrared signal corresponding to the remote control operation is output from the remote control, so that the infrared signal can be specified by the IR light receiving unit 315. By being converted into a predetermined electrical signal and output to the display control board 329, the display control board 329 outputs to the control unit 328 the leaving operation information indicating that the leaving operation has been performed.

  In other words, in the IR light receiving unit 315 of the present embodiment, an infrared signal transmitted by a player leaving the seat with a remote control for interrupting the game is received, and the IR light receiving unit 315 accepts the seat leaving operation according to the present invention. Means are formed.

  The output of the leaving operation information is detected in Sb8 in the above-described standby state of Sb2 to Sb10, so that it is determined that there is a leaving operation, and the process proceeds to Sb26 to perform the leaving process as shown in FIG. .

  In this leaving process, the control unit 328 first invalidates all operations and transmits a card ejection notice (seating) to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410).

  In response to the receipt of this card discharge notice (seating), the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) invalidates the operation of the payout button 401 and closes the inlet shutter 406, thereby paying out the number of balls. After prohibiting the counting of new pachinko balls, a card discharge result (OK) indicating that the new payout and the prohibition of counting have been completed is returned.

  In response to receiving the card discharge result (OK), the card unit 3 (control unit 328) notifies the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) of a leaving mode notification (start) that will shift to the leaving mode. By transmitting to the control unit 410, the control unit 410 determines that the card unit 3 is in the away mode, and the (member) card ID and the member ID (member only) stored in the RAM at that time Data such as the number of held balls and the number of stored balls (members only) are stored in the EEPROM and backed up. At the same time, the absence mode notification (release) and card insertion that are sent when the started away mode is canceled Until the notification is received, the operation of the payout button 401 is disabled and the closing of the inlet shutter 406 is continued.

  After sending the away mode notification (start), the card unit 3 (control unit 328) sets the (member) card ID and the member ID (member card only) and the number of possessions being received by the card reader / writer 327 to a long time. Even if the card data in the RAM 328b is lost due to power interruption or the like, these (member) card IDs and member IDs are stored in a predetermined storage area of the EEPROM 328c, and then a discharge instruction is output to the card reader / writer 327. The member card or visitor card being accepted is ejected from the card insertion slot 309, and the card insertion prohibition instruction is not output to the card reader / writer 327. The card insertion slot 309 can be To migrate to Away mode to allow the insertion of the card only.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, since the RAM 328b of the control unit 328 is backed up by a battery, the (member) card ID and the member ID (member only) are cards that are subject to cancellation of the away mode. As information, it may be stored again in a predetermined area in the RAM 328b, or, as in the present embodiment, the (member) card ID and the member ID (only the member card) are stored in the card table when the member card or visitor card is received. ) Is already stored, the new (member) card ID and member ID are not stored, and the (member) card ID and member ID (member) already stored in the card table are omitted. (Card only) may be used.

  The player may leave his / her seat by bringing the membership card or visitor card discharged from the card insertion slot 309.

  When the player finishes his job and resumes the game, the member card or visitor card discharged at the time of leaving the seat may be inserted into the card insertion slot 309, and the member card or visitor card is inserted. In this case, the control unit 328 reads the (member) card ID and the member ID (member card only) from the inserted member card or visitor card, and stores the (member) card ID and member ID (member ID (only the member card) in the predetermined storage area of the EEPROM 328c. (Membership card only).

  If the (member) card ID and the member ID (member card only) do not match, the inserted member card or visitor card is ejected and the away mode is continued, while the (member) card ID and member ID ( In the case of a match, the absence mode notification (cancellation) is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410), and the (member) card ID and member ID (member card only) And a card insertion notification including the number of holding balls.

  In response to reception of this absence mode notification (cancellation) and card insertion notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) receives the (member) card ID and member ID (member card only) included in the card insertion notification. After confirming that the number of possessed coins matches the (member) card ID stored in the EEPROM and the member ID (member card only) and the number of possessed balls, the card insertion result (OK) is displayed in the card unit 3 (control unit). 328), the stored data in the EEPROM is erased, the operation of the payout button 401 is disabled, and the closing of the inlet shutter 406 is released.

  In response to receiving the card insertion result (OK), the card unit 3 (control unit 328) erases the (member) card ID and the member ID (only the member card) stored in the predetermined storage area of the EEPROM 328c, By canceling all the prohibitions of the operations performed in the transition to the away mode, the normal mode is shifted from the away mode, and the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 is returned.

  In other words, in the away processing of the present embodiment, the IR light receiving unit 315 receives the infrared signal transmitted in response to the away operation on the remote controller, and the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) is received. A member mode or a visitor card (a member card or a visitor card) that is being received by the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means) is transmitted by transmitting a leave mode notification (start) that becomes a leave mode start notification that can specify the start of the leave mode. The member card ID or card ID (recording medium identification information) that can be used to identify the member card or visitor card read from the general recording medium) is stored, the member card or visitor card is discharged, and the member card or visitor card is discharged. Operations other than accepting a card are prohibited and the leave mode is started. On the condition that the member card ID or card ID (recording medium identification information) read from the visitor card matches the member card ID or card ID (recording medium identification information) stored at the start of the away mode. Sends away mode notification (end), which is an end mode notification that can be specified to end the seat mode, to the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device), and cancels the prohibition of operation and leaves the seat. The mode has been terminated.

  In addition, when the player who has left the seat does not return even after a long time, the leave mode can be forcibly canceled. In this way, the release mode is forcibly released. In this case, the clerk only has to operate a forced release button provided on the remote controller that he / she owns, and by operating the forced release button, a predetermined response corresponding to the operation of the forced release button (forced release operation) from the remote controller is obtained. By outputting the infrared signal, the infrared light signal unit 315 converts the infrared signal into a predetermined electrical signal that can specify the forcible release operation, and outputs the signal to the display control board 329. To the control unit 328, the forced release operation information indicating that the forced release operation has been performed is output.

  When the forced release operation information is input during the away mode, the control unit 328 transmits the away mode notification (forced release) to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410).

  When the absence mode notification (forced release) is received, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) stores the data stored in the backup in the EEPROM in another predetermined area of the EEPROM as the forced release history data. After memorizing and erasing the backup data, erasing the data such as (member) card ID, member ID (member only), number of balls and number of stored balls (member only) stored in the RAM, The closing of the inlet shutter 406 is released.

  On the other hand, after transmitting the absence mode notification (forced release), the control unit 328 counts the (member) card ID, the member ID (member card only), and the number of balls held in the predetermined storage area of the EEPROM 328c. Similar to the payout unit 4 (control unit 410), after the forced release history data is stored in another predetermined area of the EEPROM 328c, the data is deleted and the card table is reset.

  Then, by canceling all prohibition of operations performed in the transition to the away mode, the transition from the away mode to the normal mode returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10, and a new member card or visitor card and banknote Acceptance is made possible.

  At this time, if there are uncounted pachinko balls in the corresponding pachinko machine 2, the inflow shutter 406 is opened in response to reception of the away mode notification (forced release), so that Uncounted pachinko balls are counted, and the number of balls after counting is stored as forced release history data.

  Further, the forced release history data is transmitted to the system controller 100 and the management computer 150 in response to a transmission request from the system controller 100 and the management computer 150 or in a closing process at the end of business, and the system controller 100 and the management computer 150 Even if there is a complaint from a person who is away, the forced release history data stored and managed in the system controller 100 or the management computer 150 allows the system controller 100 or the management computer 150 to Even if a failure occurs in any of the above, it is possible to reliably guarantee the number of balls possessed by the person away from the seat.

  When the player operates the menu button 316 in the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10 described above, the main menu display operation information is received from the display control board 329 that has detected the operation of the menu button 316 from the control unit 328. , The control unit 328 determines that the menu button 316 is operated in Sb10, proceeds to Sb28, and performs a menu display process (not shown).

  In this menu display process, the control unit 328 first determines whether or not the player who is playing the game with the corresponding pachinko machine 2 is a member based on the data stored in the card table (whether the member ID is stored). If the player is not a member (if the member ID is not stored), the menu items of “table data”, “ranking”, and “notification” that do not include member-specific menu items The visitor main menu (see FIG. 5) including only the visitor main menu is displayed on the display unit 312 by outputting a visitor main menu display instruction to the display control board 329. On the other hand, if the player is a member, The member main menu shown in FIG. 5 further including menu items “point display” and “replay” as menu items is changed to a member main menu. It is displayed on the display unit 312 by outputting the over display instruction to the display control board 329.

  Each menu item displayed on the display unit 312 can be selected by the player, and if any menu item is not selected within a predetermined time, a menu display end instruction is displayed on the display control board 329. After the display of the main menu is terminated by outputting, the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10. On the other hand, if any menu item is selected within a predetermined time, it corresponds to the selected menu item. After executing the process, the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  When the “replay” menu in the main menu is selected, the replay process of Sb24 described above is executed.

  In addition, when the “device data” menu is selected, each data of today stored in the game information table is displayed. When the “ranking” menu is selected, the type of ranking, specific Specifically, a submenu screen for selecting the starting ball ranking, jackpot ranking, consecutive house ranking, etc. is displayed, and the ranking data of the type selected on the submenu screen is acquired from the hall computer and displayed on the display unit 312. Is done.

  When the menu of “point display” is selected, the number of points of the store points stored in the card table (if the store points are not stored, the store point acquisition request is sent to the counting / payout unit 4. When the store visit point acquisition request is relayed to the management computer 150, the store visit point number is acquired from the management computer 150 via the counting / dispensing unit 4). When the “Notification” menu is selected, the notification information stored in the RAM 328 b is displayed on the display unit 312.

  In addition, unlike the main menu, the display of the “counted number of balls” below the display unit 312 is always displayed below the display unit 312 so that the player can always display the number of counted balls. It can be confirmed.

  Next, processing contents when the management computer 150 and the counting / dispensing unit 4 are offline will be described with reference to FIG.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) of the present embodiment determines whether or not the communication state with the management computer 150 depends on whether or not the communication status information transmitted from the management computer 150 is received every predetermined time interval (for example, 10 seconds). , Whether an online (connected) state or an offline (connected) state is monitored, and if an offline (connected) state occurs in the monitoring, as shown in FIG. Is transmitted to the card unit 3 (control unit 328).

  In response to the reception of the higher system disconnection notification, the control unit 328 updates the upper system disconnection flag stored in the RAM 328b from “1” indicating the online (connected) state to “0” indicating the offline (connected) state. To do.

  That is, the control unit 328 specifies whether the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 is online (connected) or offline (connected) with the management computer 150 by the host system disconnection flag. .

  In other words, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment is configured so that the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) and the management computer 150 (management device) is either a connected (online) state or a non-connected (offline) state. Is determined based on the host system disconnection flag based on the host system connection notification and host system disconnection notification (connection information) received from the counting / dispensing unit 4 by the communication unit 335 (counter communication means), The control unit 328 forms connection state specifying means of the present invention.

  When the upper system disconnection flag is “0” which is an offline (connected) state, the inserted pachinko balls are counted by the acquired ball counter 407 when the pachinko balls are inserted into the inserting hopper 405. When the count start notification is transmitted from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410), cash reception, lending button operation, and return button are received in the same manner as when the count start notification is received online. Is invalidated (and replay button 319 is also operated when a membership card is being accepted), thereby prohibiting issue / payment processing, lending processing, and return processing (replay processing). The prohibition of operation is completed with the (member) card ID and member ID (member only) read from the visitor (member) card and stored in the card table It returns a count start response including an OK indicating that was.

  Then, when it is determined that the counting is finished, the card unit 3 (control unit 328), the newly counted number of pachinko balls, and the number of balls held before the count A count end notification including the new number of possessed balls added to the transaction number, the transaction serial number assigned to the transaction on the day, and the card ID and member ID (member only) included in the received count start response Send back.

  In response to reception of the count end notification, the card unit 3 (control unit 328) includes the new number of balls included in the count end notification in the count end notification in the number of held balls stored in the card table. And confirming that the number of balls in the card table is updated to the new number of balls, and displaying the counted number of balls displayed on the display unit 312. Update to a new number of balls.

  When the visitor card card is being received, the new number of held balls is further recorded in the visitor card being received by the card reader / writer 327.

  Next, a counting end response including the transaction serial number included in the received counting end notification, the card ID of the visitor card, and the member ID (member only) is returned to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410). Thereafter, the prohibition of each of the processes performed in response to reception of the count start notification is canceled, and the process returns to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) that has received the counting end response indicates that the card ID, member ID (in the case of a visitor card) included in the counting end response, and the transaction serial number are the cards in the counting end notification. It is confirmed that the ID, the member ID (none in the case of a visitor card) and the transaction serial number match, but since the communication state with the management computer 150 is offline, it is not possible to send a coin addition request and the management computer 150 Since the number of possessed balls managed in the visitor saving management table is different from the number of retained balls recorded on the visitor card, the number of retained balls cannot be directly recorded on the membership card. Will remain unreflected in the member savings management table.

  These (member) card ID, member ID (member only), the number of additional balls, and the new number of balls are stored as the ball addition history as described above, and when the communication state returns to the online state. To the management computer 150.

  In such a state, when the player holding the receiving visitor card operates the return button, the processing shown in FIG. 21 or FIG. 22 is performed in the same manner as in normal online. In this case, an offline flag is recorded on the visitor card to be ejected.

  In addition, as described above, when a member player who holds a member card being accepted operates the return button in a state where the number of possessed balls is not reflected in the management computer 150, The lending process, the issuance / payment process, and the replay process are prohibited (not shown) and the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) ) To send a card ejection notification.

  In response to the reception of the card discharge notification, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) prohibits the payout of the number of balls and the counting of the new pachinko balls as described above, and the communication state with the management computer 150 is changed. A card discharge result (NG) is returned in response to being offline.

  In response to the return of the card discharge result (NG), the control unit 328 changes the lighting state of the multi-function lamp 301 to a predetermined lighting indicating that the member card has been returned when the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 is offline. As a lighting state of color (for example, pink) (high-speed blinking lighting), it is notified that a membership card return error has occurred due to the counting / dispensing unit 4 being offline.

  An attendant who recognizes that a membership card return error has occurred due to the lighting state of the multi-function lamp 301 goes to the card unit 3 and presses the “trouble mode” button provided on the remote controller he has. The operation is performed in a state where the remote control is directed to the IR light receiving unit 315 provided in the protruding portion 305 of the card unit 3.

  By this operation, a predetermined infrared signal corresponding to the operation of the “trouble mode” button (trouble mode operation) is output from the remote controller, so that the infrared light signal can identify the trouble mode operation in the IR light receiving unit 315. By being converted into a predetermined electrical signal and output to the display control board 329, trouble mode setting information based on the trouble mode operation is output from the display control board 329 to the control unit 328.

  That is, in the card unit 3 of this embodiment, the detection operation of the discharge operation by the step Sb5 (discharge operation detection means) performed by the control unit 328 is offline when the communication state between the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 and the management computer 150 is offline. There is provided an IR light receiving unit 315 for receiving an infrared signal corresponding to a trouble mode operation which is a special operation operated in the (non-connected) state, and the IR light receiving unit 315 is a special operation receiving means of the present invention. It corresponds to.

  In response to the reception of the trouble mode setting information, the control unit 328 terminates the error notification by the multi-function lamp 301 and starts displaying the trouble mode and the card processing on the display unit 312. The trouble mode (start) indicating that the trouble mode is started is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410).

  In response to the reception of the trouble mode (start), the control unit 410 reconfirms the communication state with the management computer 150 at that time, and when the offline state continues, the control unit 410 notifies the host system disconnection notification and the count start notification. Send back.

  The control unit 328 which has confirmed that the offline state with the management computer 150 of the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 is continued by receiving the higher system disconnection notification, outputs a discharge reservation instruction to the card reader / writer 327, The membership card being received at a predetermined reading position in the card slot 392 is moved to a position in the vicinity of the card insertion slot 309 in the card slot 392 to retain the discharge, and the card is stored at the predetermined reading position in the card slot 392. The visitor card stored in the section 370 can be moved.

  Then, the display during the card processing on the display unit 312 is terminated, and the issued card reading instruction is output to the card reader / writer 327 to read the visitor card stored in the card storage unit 370 in the card slot 392 for a predetermined amount. After being set to the position, the process shifts to a reception waiting state for a count start notification from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410).

  In addition, when the count start notification is received from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) before the visitor card is set, the control unit 328 returns a count start response (NG). In response to receiving the count start response (NG), the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) transmits a repeated count start notification.

  The control unit 328 outputs a reading instruction to the card reader / writer 327 when receiving the counting start notification in the counting start notification waiting state, and the visitor card set at a predetermined reading position in the card slot 392 is output. After reading the card ID, a card insertion notification including the card ID is returned to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) to notify the card ID of the visitor card to be issued.

  Upon reception of this card insertion notification, the control unit 410 stores the number of balls in association with the card ID included in the card insertion notification, so that when the card enters the online state from the offline state, the control unit 410 retains the card ID. The trouble mode processing history including the number of balls can be transmitted to the management computer 150, and a card insertion result (OK) is returned as the completion of storage of the card ID of the visitor card to be issued.

  In response to the return of the card insertion result (OK), the control unit 328 sends a count start response (OK) corresponding to the above-described count start notification indicating that the visitor card issuance preparation is completed. Is transmitted to the control unit 410), and is issued after writing and recording the number of balls in the visitor card set in the card slot 392 on condition that the count end notification corresponding to the count start response (OK) is received. A count completion response indicating that recording of the number of balls in the visitor card has been completed and a card discharge notification requesting permission to discharge the visitor card are transmitted.

  The control unit 328 writes and records an offline flag on the visitor card to be issued on condition that the card discharge result (OK) is received from the counting / payout unit 4 (control unit 410) in response to the transmission of the card discharge notification. After that, the membership card that has been reserved is first ejected from the card insertion slot 309, and the visitor card is immediately ejected in response to the ejected membership card being removed from the card insertion slot 309. So, the membership card and the visitor card are discharged almost continuously at the same time. By doing so, it is difficult to forget to take away the visitor card on which the number of issued balls is recorded. Has been.

  That is, the control unit 328 of the present embodiment is accepting a member card (member recording medium) in the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means), and the corresponding counting / dispensing unit 4 and the management computer 150 When the communication state is offline (not connected) and the discharge operation is detected in step Sb5 (discharge operation detecting means), the IR light receiving unit 315 (special operation receiving means) responds to the trouble mode operation. On the condition that the specified infrared signal has been received (special operation has been accepted), the member card (membership card) will wait for the completion of recording of the number of possessions (number of acquired game media) to the visitor card (recording medium for general use) The recording medium) is returned to the card reader / writer 327 and the visitor card in which the number of possessed balls (the number of acquired game media) is recorded. And the discharge of de (OTC recording medium) is carried in the card reader-writer 327.

  After the membership card and the visitor card are discharged, the trouble mode (cancellation) is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) to notify the completion of the trouble mode processing and reset the card table. To do. The counting / dispensing unit 4 can count pachinko balls in response to reception of the trouble mode (release). However, when the remaining number of visitor cards that can be issued to the corresponding card unit 3 is 0, as described above, pachinko balls cannot be counted.

  The control unit 328 updates the lighting state of the multifunction lamp 301 to a lighting state of a predetermined lighting color indicating that the card can be received, and among various operations performed by operating the return button, Cancel the deposit prohibition and return to the standby state of Sb2 to Sb10.

  That is, when the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means) receives a visitor card (general recording medium), the control unit 328 serving as the specifying processing means of the present invention performs the count corresponding process (specifying process). Regardless of the communication state specified based on the host system disconnection flag, the card reader / writer 327 performs a process of recording the number of possessed balls (number of acquired game media) on the visitor card by the card reader / writer 327 (recording medium processing means). ), When the member card (member recording medium) is received, if the communication state specified based on the host system disconnection flag is online (connected), at least the member card is read by the card reader / writer 327 Counting member ID (member identification information) / payout unit 4 (game media) The number of possessed balls (number of acquired game media) is managed by the management computer 150 in association with the member ID, and the communication state specified based on the host system disconnection flag is offline (not connected) If so, the received member ID (member identification information) is returned to the card reader / writer 327 and a visitor card (general recording medium) stored in the card storage unit 370 (general recording medium storage means). ), The number of possessed balls (the number of acquired game media) is recorded by the card reader / writer 327 and discharged.

  When the visitor card is returned together with these membership cards, the member player brings the visitor card together with the membership card to the gift exchange POS terminal 170, and the member card and the visitor card are subjected to a predetermined operation by an attendant. Accordingly, by inserting it into the gift exchange POS terminal 170, the membership card ID recorded in the membership card in the membership saving management table of the management computer 150 and the number of balls stored in association with the membership ID are It is updated to the number of possessed balls read from the visitor card. The number of possessed balls is updated when the above-described trouble mode processing history is not stored in the management computer 150, that is, even when the communication state between the management computer 150 and the counting / dispensing unit 4 remains offline. The

  If the communication state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 and the management computer 150 becomes online after issuing the visitor card together with the membership card, as shown in FIG. 25, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control Section 410) transmits a higher system connection notification to card unit 3 (control unit 328), so that the higher system disconnection flag indicates an online (connected) state from "0" indicating an offline (connected) state. While being updated to “1”, a trouble mode processing history including the card ID of the visitor card issued together with the membership card during the trouble mode and the number of possessed balls recorded on the visitor card is transmitted to the management computer 150 If a visitor card issued by a member player is accidentally lost, The number of possessed balls can be specified, and the above-mentioned retained ball addition history and retained ball subtraction history are transmitted to the management computer 150, so that the number of retained balls can be determined according to the number of changes in the number of retained balls in the offline state. The number of possessions in the savings management table or the visitor savings management table is updated. However, if the number of balls has already been updated with the number of balls recorded in the issued visitor card, it is natural that the number of balls is updated based on the history of adding and subtracting the number of balls. Is not implemented.

  In this way, when the communication state recovers to the online (connected) state by storing the accumulated ball addition history and the accumulated ball subtraction history in the offline (non-connected) state, the accumulated ball addition history and the accumulated ball subtraction By sending the history and updating the number of possessions in the management computer 150, the membership card returned together with the visitor card in which the number of possessions is recorded is brought to the gift exchange POS terminal 170. In addition, when the communication state between the counting / payout unit 4 corresponding to the card unit 3 that has returned the membership card and the management computer 150 remains in an offline (not connected) state, the count in another online state・ For the number of balls that have been inserted into the card unit 3 corresponding to the payout unit 4 and the difference in the number of balls based on the accumulated ball addition history or the accumulated ball subtraction history is not reflected. Even if the addition or subtraction has been updated, the difference in the number of balls based on the number of balls that have been added or subtracted can be quickly reflected in the number of balls that have been updated. It may cause a disadvantage for the game hall (if the difference in the number of balls based on the possession ball addition history or the possession ball subtraction history is negative, it becomes impossible to subtract the difference) Although the invention can be eliminated as much as possible, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the management computer 150, the (member) card ID included in the number-of-balls matching request and the information acquisition request is being received. In response to the discharge of the member card and the visitor card, the discharge completion notification including the (member) card ID is received in response to the reception of the discharge completion notification from the card unit 3. Is received from the counting / dispensing unit 4 and deleted from the accepted card ID table to manage the membership card and the (member) card ID of the visitor card being accepted in the card unit 3, and to newly add When the verification request and the information acquisition request are received, when the (member) card ID included in the number-of-balls verification request and the information acquisition request is already stored in the accepting card ID table, NG is returned. By sending a card insertion result (NG) from the counting / dispensing unit 4 to the card unit 3, the membership card and the visitor card may be returned so that they cannot be used.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the management computer 150 and the counting / dispensing unit 4 are offline (not connected), in addition to returning the member card (member recording medium) being accepted, Since a visitor card (general recording medium) on which the number of acquired game media) is recorded is issued, it is possible to eliminate damage to the member player even if the communication status is disconnected (offline).

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the number of held balls as the number of acquired game media in accordance with the count of pachinko balls (game media) in the counting / dispensing unit 4 serving as a game media counting device is sequentially changed to a visitor card (general record). Medium), it is possible not only to reduce the player's disadvantage when the connection between the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) and the card unit 3 is defective, but also to operate the return button. The visitor card (general recording medium) can be quickly discharged in response to detection of (discharge operation).

  Further, according to the present embodiment, from the time when the counting start notification is received until the time when the counting end response is returned to the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device), the return button operation (discharge operation) is detected. Since the return process to eject the visitor card (general recording medium) is prohibited, recording of the number of balls (acquired game media) specified from the count end notification to the visitor card (general recording medium) is completed It is possible to avoid the disadvantage of the player due to the visitor card (general recording medium) being discharged before the game.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, when a count start notification is received from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device), the contents of transmission / reception with the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) are the membership card ( It is necessary to develop a different communication program or use a different communication program for each type of the recording medium because it is the same at the time of receiving the member recording medium) and the visitor card (general recording medium). As a result, development costs and program capacity can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, from the time when the count payout start notification (payout start notification) is received to the time when the count withdrawal completion notification that becomes the subtraction end notification is returned to the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device), Return processing to eject the visitor card (general recording medium) in response to detection of the return button operation (ejection operation) is prohibited, so the number of pachinko balls to be paid out in the counting / payout unit 4 (game media counting device) Before the recording of the new number of possessed balls (the number of acquired game media) reduced to the visitor card (general recording medium) is completed, the player card (general recording medium) is discharged. Alternatively, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of a disadvantage in the game hall.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, when a payout start notification is received from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device), the contents transmitted / received to / from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) are the membership card ( It is necessary to develop a different communication program or use a different communication program for each type of the recording medium because it is the same at the time of receiving the member recording medium) and the visitor card (general recording medium). As a result, development costs and program capacity can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the stock card status notification is transmitted to the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device), so that the visitor card (general recording medium) stored in the card storage unit 370 is stored. Since the count / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) is notified that the number has become 0, the number of held balls based on the count in the count / payout unit 4 (when the visitor card that can be issued does not remain) The number of acquired game media) can be prevented from being recorded and recorded on the visitor card.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, a membership card (member recording medium) and a visitor card (general recording medium) are transmitted by sending a leaving mode start notification to the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device). ) In conjunction with the away mode of the card unit 3 where operations other than accepting are prohibited, the pachinko ball counting and payout in the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) can be prohibited, and the player Therefore, it is only necessary to have a membership card (member's recording medium) and a visitor card (general recording medium) when leaving the seat, and the convenience of the player can be improved.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the return button is operated (discharge operation) when the management computer 150 and the counting / dispensing unit 4 are offline (not connected), a special member card can be returned. By requiring the “trouble mode” button operation on the remote control owned by the staff in charge, the member card and the visitor card with the number of balls held are discharged by the normal return button operation (discharge operation). As compared with the case of doing so, forgetting to take the visitor card can be reduced.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, since the discharge of the membership card is reserved until the recording of the number of balls held on the visitor card is completed, the reserved membership card and the visitor card on which the number of balls held is recorded. Since it is discharged almost simultaneously, it is possible to reduce forgetting to take the visitor card.

  In addition, when the game hall introduces each pachinko machine 2 such as this embodiment that can count the number of pachinko balls acquired by the pachinko machine 2, it has already been introduced. When the card unit does not have a connection function with the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) like the card unit 3 which is the gaming apparatus of the present invention, the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium) In addition to the introduction of the counting device, it is necessary to change the control unit for connecting to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game media counting device), as in the card unit 3 of this embodiment. If a device having a connection function with the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game medium counting device) has been introduced in advance, only the counting / dispensing unit 4 (game media counting device) is newly introduced. Since it is possible to construct a system of individual car count at a low cost.

  Moreover, even if there is no specific plan for building a system for counting each unit when a card unit is newly introduced, the card unit 3 (game device) of the present invention can be used in the future. Therefore, it is possible to construct a system for counting each vehicle at a low cost.

  Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and modifications and additions within the scope of the present invention are included in the present invention. It is.

  For example, in the embodiment, the card unit 3 that does not include the counting / payout unit 4 exemplifies a form corresponding to the gaming apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this. Instead, the card unit 3 including the counting / dispensing unit 4 corresponds to the gaming apparatus according to claim 9 of the present invention. In this case, the acquired ball counter included in the counting / dispensing unit 4 The game medium counting means corresponding to 407, the payout means corresponding to the ball cutting payout unit 402, the management device communication means corresponding to the second communication unit 409, and the connection state monitoring means applicable to the control unit 410 are used for gaming of the present invention. The device will have.

  That is, in the embodiment, the card unit 3 and the counting / dispensing unit 4 are illustrated as separate devices. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the front view of FIG. 26 and FIG. As shown in the block diagram, these may be one device (unit) 3 ′. In this case, as shown in FIG. 27, the control unit 328 also serves as the control unit 410, and the control unit 328 ( Every time the acquisition ball counter 407 (game medium counting means) counts pachinko balls (game media), the specifying processing means) calculates the number of balls (acquired game media) based on the count to the card reader. Recording is performed on the visitor card (general recording medium) being received by the writer 327 (recording medium processing means).

  In the above-described embodiment, the member ID as the member identification information and the prepaid balance data as the game value identification information are recorded on the member card as the member recording medium. Is not limited to this. For example, only the membership card ID is recorded on the membership card as membership identification information and game value identification information, and the membership player ID can be specified by the membership card ID. The prepaid balance that is managed in association with the member card ID in the system controller may be specified by the member card ID. Thus, the member identification information and the game value identification information are the same information. There may be.

  In the above embodiment, in response to receiving the count start notification from the count / payout unit 4 (game media counting device), the count start including the member card being accepted and the (member) card ID read from the visitor card is started. By returning the response, the management computer 150 can specify the number of possessed balls after counting from the (member) card ID, but the present invention is not limited to this, and in these counting start responses Returns a count start response not including the (member) card ID, and the (member) card ID included in the card insertion notification may be stored and used as these (member) card IDs. .

  In the embodiment, before the pachinko balls are paid out in the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device), the number of balls held in the visitor card is subtracted and updated. It is not limited, and the subtraction update of the number of possessed balls is performed in response to the reception of the count payout completion notification that the payout of the pachinko balls in the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) is completed. Anyway.

  Further, in the above embodiment, when the return operation is performed when the communication state between the counting / payout unit 4 (game media counting device) and the management computer 150 is offline, the membership card is discharged and the visitor card is reserved. By waiting for completion of writing of the number of balls to be released, the membership card and the visitor card are discharged, so that it is possible to prevent forgetting to take the visitor card as much as possible, but the present invention is not limited to this, these The membership card is discharged from the card insertion slot 309 without reservation, and for example, a notification on the display unit 312 and a voice that the visitor card is further discharged is notified to prevent the visitor card from being forgotten. Anyway.

  In the above embodiment, the member card (member recording medium) and the visitor card (general recording medium) are both inserted and ejected from the common card insertion slot 309. However, the present invention is not limited to this. However, the membership card (member's recording medium) and the visitor card (general recording medium) may be inserted into and ejected from individual insertion ports. In this case, When the return operation is performed when the communication state between the counting / payout unit 4 (game medium counting device) and the management computer 150 is offline, the membership card waits for completion of writing the number of balls to the visitor card. And the visitor card may be discharged from the separate insertion slot.

  In the above embodiment, the membership card (recording medium for membership) and the visitor card (recording medium for general use) are both illustrated in the same shape, but the present invention is not limited to this. Rather, these visitor cards (general recording media) are medal-shaped recording media equipped with non-contact ICs that can be read and written in a non-contact manner by a reader / writer of a membership card (member recording medium). May be.

  In the above-described embodiment, the count end notification including the transaction serial number is transmitted from the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) to the card unit 3 (control unit 328) and accepted by the card unit 3 (control unit 328). After the number of balls held in the visitor card is updated and recorded, a count end response including the transaction number of the transmitted count end notification is sent from the card unit 3 (control unit 328) to the counting / payout unit 4 (control unit 410). Therefore, when these count end notifications are transmitted, the communication connection state between the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) and the card unit 3 (control unit 328) is not connected (offline). Even when the disconnection (offline) is resolved, the count end response including the transaction serial number is sent to the card unit 3 (control unit 3 8) The counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410) is disconnected (offline) after the count end notification is reached, depending on whether or not it is transmitted to the counting / dispensing unit 4 (control unit 410). Whether or not it occurred before the count end notification arrives, that is, whether or not the card unit 3 has been updated to record the number of balls by the arrival of the count end notification. It is preferable because it is possible to determine whether it is necessary to transmit the count end notification and to carry out the update recording of the number of possessed balls, but the present invention is not limited to this, and as a configuration not using these transaction serial numbers Also good.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the update record of the number of balls in the visitor card is carried out for every counting and every paying out in the counting / payout unit 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, It is possible to reduce the number of rewrites to the visitor card by recording the number of balls that have been updated based on the counted number of balls and the number of balls that have been paid out (counted number of balls) on the visitor card only when the card is returned. Anyway.

It is a system configuration figure showing the whole picture of the game system in the example of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the pachinko machine 2, the card unit 3, and the counting / payout unit 4 used for the game system of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention. It is top view sectional drawing which shows the structure of the card reader / writer 327 used for the card unit 3 of the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the protrusion part 305 of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the card table of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows the game information table of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention. (C) is a figure which shows the member game information used in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the transmission data sequence transmitted from the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the counting / payout unit 4 used in the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the system controller 100 used in the Example of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the membership card table in the system controller 100 used in the Example of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows a visitor card table. It is a figure which shows the unit management table in the system controller 100 used in the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the management computer 150 used in the Example of this invention. (A) is a figure which shows the member saving management table in the management computer 150 used in the Example of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows a visitor saving management table. (A) is a figure which shows the member information table in the management computer 150 used in the Example of this invention, (b) is a figure which shows the game history table classified by member. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content implemented in the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is an exchange figure which shows the processing content of the card unit 3 used in the Example of this invention, and the counting / payout unit 4. FIG. It is a front view which shows the other form of the game apparatus of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the other form of the game apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

2 Pachinko machine 3 Card unit 4 Counting / dispensing unit 16 Out ball counter 100 System controller 102 CPU
105 Storage Device 106 Input Device 107 Display Device 109 Communication Unit 150 Management Computer 152 CPU
155 Storage device 156 Input device 157 Display device 170 Free gift exchange POS terminal 309 Card insertion slot 312 Display unit 314 Transparent touch panel 315 IR light receiving unit 321 Bill recognition unit 327 Card reader / writer 328 Control unit 334 Communication unit 335 Communication unit 370 Card storage unit 401 Dispensing button 402 Ball cutting / dispensing unit 403 Guide tube 404 Counting ball inflow path 405 Loading hopper 406 Inlet shutter 407 Acquired ball counter 408 First communication unit 409 Second communication unit 410 Control unit

Claims (2)

The number of game media provided in a one-to-one correspondence with the gaming machine and acquired in the game in the corresponding gaming machine is counted, and game media within the range of the counted number of acquired game media are handled. It is possible to communicate with a game medium counting device communicable with a management device that manages the number of acquired game media in association with member identification information that can be individually identified for each member player who has paid out to the game machine and registered as a member in the game hall Yes,
A general recording medium on which game value specifying information capable of specifying the magnitude of game value usable for gaming in a gaming machine is recorded, or a member on which the member identification information and the game value specifying information are recorded A recording medium processing means for accepting any one of the recording media for recording and reading at least the game value specifying information recorded on the received general recording medium or membership recording medium;
A general recording medium storage means for storing the newly issued general recording medium so as to be supplied to the recording medium processing means;
In order to lend a game medium corresponding to the magnitude of the game value to be used by using at least a part of the magnitude of the game value specified from the game value specifying information read by the recording medium processing means Game media lending means,
Counting device communication means for communicating with the game medium counting device;
A connection that specifies whether the communication state between the game medium counting device and the management device is a connection state or a non-connection state based on connection information received from the game medium counting device by the counting device communication means State identification means;
A specification processing means for performing specification processing for enabling the number of acquired game media to be specified by the general recording medium or the member recording medium;
A gaming device comprising:
When the recording medium processing unit accepts the general recording medium, the specification processing unit determines the number of acquired game media as the specification processing regardless of the communication state specified by the connection state specifying unit. Is recorded on the general recording medium by the recording medium processing means, and when the recording medium processing means accepts the member recording medium, the communication state specified by the connection state specifying means is a connection state. If so, at least the member identification information read from the member recording medium by the recording medium processing means is transmitted to the game medium counting device, and the number of acquired game media is associated with the member identification information and the management device On the other hand, if the communication state specified by the connection state specifying means is not connected, the member description received The medium is returned to the recording medium processing means, and the number of acquired game media is recorded on the general recording medium stored in the general recording medium storage means by the recording medium processing means and discharged. A gaming device. Member identification information that is provided in a one-to-one correspondence with each gaming machine and that can individually identify each member player who has registered as a member in the game hall the number of acquired game media acquired in the game at the corresponding gaming machine. Can communicate with a management device managed in association with
A general recording medium on which game value specifying information capable of specifying the magnitude of game value usable for gaming in a gaming machine is recorded, or a member on which the member identification information and the game value specifying information are recorded A recording medium processing means for accepting any one of the recording media for recording and reading at least the game value specifying information recorded on the received general recording medium or membership recording medium;
A general recording medium storage means for storing the newly issued general recording medium so as to be supplied to the recording medium processing means;
In order to lend a game medium corresponding to the magnitude of the game value to be used by using at least a part of the magnitude of the game value specified from the game value specifying information read by the recording medium processing means Game media lending means,
Game medium counting means for counting the number of game media acquired in a game in a corresponding gaming machine;
A payout means for paying out game media within the range of the number of acquired game media counted by the game media count means to a corresponding gaming machine;
Management device communication means for communicating with the management device;
Connection state monitoring means for monitoring whether the communication state with the management device by the management device communication means is a connected state or a non-connected state;
A specification processing means for performing specification processing for enabling the number of acquired game media to be specified by the general recording medium or the member recording medium;
A gaming device comprising:
When the recording medium processing unit accepts the general recording medium, the specification processing unit is not limited to the acquired game medium regardless of the communication state monitored by the connection state monitoring unit. The recording medium processing means records the number on the general recording medium, and when the recording medium processing means accepts the member recording medium, the communication status monitored by the connection status monitoring means is If connected, the member identification information read from the member recording medium by the recording medium processing means and the number of acquired game media are transmitted to the management device, and the acquired game is associated with the member identification information. While managing the number of media, if the communication status monitored by the connection status monitoring means is not connected, the member The recording medium is returned to the recording medium processing means, and the number of acquired game media is recorded on the general recording medium stored in the general recording medium storage means by the recording medium processing means and discharged. A gaming device characterized.

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