JP7320408B2 - Game management system and game management method - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game management system and a game management method, each of which is provided with a game machine for performing a game using game media and has each machine for performing processing related to the game media.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, amusement arcades provide games through game media. For example, in a pachinko game, game balls are used as game media, and the game is played by hitting the game balls onto the game board surface. A plurality of prize-winning areas (award-winning openings) are provided on the game board surface, and a predetermined number of game balls are provided as prize balls based on the game balls passing through the prize-winning areas. In this way, the number of game media increases or decreases depending on the result of the game, and the player can exchange the obtained game media for prizes.

A gaming machine is generally provided with each machine. Each machine accepts the deposit and lends out the game medium. In addition, each machine manages the number of game media acquired through a game as the number of game media, and performs replay processing to subtract the number of game media and pay out game media (see, for example, Patent Document 1). .).

If a player temporarily leaves the gaming machine for a break or the like while playing a game using game media paid out in the lending or replaying process, the player will be called to the store clerk and asked to take a break. and request that the gaming machine be secured so that it will not be used by other players. Upon receipt of the request, the clerk secures the gaming machine by placing a display on the gaming machine indicating that it is resting, or putting each machine in a resting state. A player who has returned from a break can restart the game by notifying the clerk of the end of the break.

In addition, in order to make it easier to take a rest, each machine may be made to be in a resting state by the player's operation. In this case, the player sets a personal identification number when starting the resting state, and requests the input of the personal identification number when canceling the resting state, thereby preventing use by other players.

JP 2011-131037 A

However, the conventional technology has the problem that the player's operation is complicated and the convenience is lowered. Specifically, requesting the setting of a personal identification number each time the pause state is started imposes a burden on the player. In particular, if confirmation is required when setting a PIN in order to prevent input errors, the PIN must be entered twice each time the user takes a break, and then another PIN must be entered to cancel the sleep mode. Become.

For these reasons, it has been an important issue how to reduce the burden on the player and improve the convenience when the game player enters the pause state by the player's operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a game management system and a game management method that can reduce the burden on players in the paused state of a game and improve convenience. With the goal.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a game management system that is installed in a game machine that performs a game using a game medium, and that has a device for each machine that performs processing related to the game medium. a pause processing means for temporarily pausing the game; and when the pause state is started in a value-free state where the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard, the value is associated with the game medium. release medium ejecting means for controlling ejection of a storage medium as a suspend release medium without associating a value with a possible storage medium; It is characterized by comprising a pause canceling means for canceling the pause state and a value imparting means for imparting the value to the pause canceling medium .

In the present invention, in the above-described invention, the value giving means sets release information when giving the value to the pause canceling medium, It is characterized in that when it is used, authentication of the information for cancellation is a condition.

Further, the present invention is a game management system which is installed in a gaming machine for performing a game using a game medium and has each machine for performing processing related to the game medium, wherein the game is temporarily suspended. Pause processing means, and when the pausing state is started in a valueless state where the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard, associates the value with the storage medium to which the value can be associated. release medium ejecting means for performing ejection control of the storage medium as a medium for suspend release without suspending, and suspend release means for releasing the suspend state when the corresponding suspend release medium is received in the suspend state. and, when the hibernation state is started in a valuable state in which the value is equal to or higher than a reference, the release medium ejecting means controls ejection of the storage medium associated with the value as a hibernation release medium and outputs release information. is set, and authentication of the release information is a condition when the pause release medium is used in a device other than the device to be released.

Further, according to the present invention, in the above invention, when the release medium ejecting means starts the pause state in a state in which the member storage medium associated with the identification information of the member player is received, the member storage It is characterized in that the medium is controlled to be discharged as a pause release medium.

In the above-described invention, the present invention further comprises hibernation management means for canceling the hibernation state of the device to be canceled when the hibernation cancellation medium is used in a device other than the device to be canceled. Characterized by

The present invention also provides a game management method for a game management system that is installed in a game machine for performing a game using a game medium and has each machine for performing processing related to the game medium, the game management method comprising: a pause operation receiving step for accepting an operation to enter a pause state; and a memory capable of associating the value when the pause state is started in a state where the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard. A release medium ejecting step of controlling ejection of the storage medium as a medium for suspend release without associating a value with the medium, a hibernation start step of starting the hibernation, and a corresponding hibernation release in the hibernation. and a value giving step of giving the value to the pause canceling medium .
The present invention also provides a game management method for a game management system that is installed in a game machine for performing a game using a game medium and has each machine for performing processing related to the game medium, the game management method comprising: a pause operation receiving step for accepting an operation to enter a pause state; and a memory capable of associating the value when the pause state is started in a state where the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard. a release medium ejecting step of controlling ejection of the storage medium as a hibernation release medium without associating a value with the medium; and a suspension release step of releasing the suspension, wherein the release medium ejecting step removes the storage medium associated with the value from the suspension release medium when the suspension state is started in a valuable state in which the value is equal to or greater than a reference value. and information for release is set, and authentication of the information for release is set as a condition when the medium for suspend release is used in a device other than the device to be released.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden on the player in relation to the pausing state of the game and improve the convenience.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the concept of the game management system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the game parlor. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the appearance of an inter-machine card processing machine. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the storage unit of the inter-machine card processing machine. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the card management device shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the storage unit of the card management device. (Part 1) FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the storage unit of the card management device. (Part 2) FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure related to the start of hibernation. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when the inter-machine card processing machine cancels its own sleep state. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when the inter-machine card processing machine cancels the hibernation state of another device. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of the interface of the inter-machine card processing machine. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an inter-stand card processing machine that can be shared between a pachinko game and a slot game. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of fixing the frame. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of pausing in an enclosed game machine. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of countermeasures against fraud in the dormant state.

Preferred embodiments of the game management system and game management method according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In this specification, "balls in possession" refers to game media acquired by a player in a game or data indicating the number of such game media, which can be used again in the game only during the day (time before the store closes). Say what you can. Accumulated balls refer to game media acquired by a player in a game or data indicating the number of such game media, which can be used again in a game from the next day onwards (hours after the store closes). Possessed balls can be used by both general players and member players, and are used when the gaming machine used for the game is changed (so-called machine movement). The accumulated balls are normally usable only by the member players, and are used when the obtained game media are used in the game from the next day onwards. A predetermined fee may be charged for use of accumulated balls.

First, the concept of the game management system according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the concept of the game management system according to this embodiment. A plurality of game machines 20 are installed in the game parlor, and each game machine 20 is provided with an inter-machine card processing machine 10 which is a device for each machine.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 performs game ball lending processing, processing for replaying owned balls and stored balls, and counting processing for counting acquired game balls and adding them to owned balls based on the operation of the player. Perform various processing related to Also, when the player ends the game and operates a return button provided on the gaming machine, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 discharges the card after associating the number of balls managed by itself with the card.

Further, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 can temporarily suspend the game. In the dormant state, the processing associated with increasing or decreasing the value used when making the game ball usable is suppressed. Specifically, some or all of the processing such as deposit, ball rental processing, replay processing of owned balls and stored balls, counting processing of counting acquired game balls and adding them to owned balls, card insertion, card ejection, etc. prohibited.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 ejects the canceling card when starting the resting state, and cancels the resting state when the discharged canceling card is inserted. As this release card, the card that has been used in the game until then is used. At this time, if the prepaid value and balls are both zero and the card used is a general card, the general card with no associated prepaid value and balls is discharged as a release card. will be

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, when both the prepaid value and the ball in hand are in a valueless state (S1) and an operation to start a resting state is received (S2), the inter-machine card processing machine 10 discharges a general card with no associated prepaid value and balls as a release card (S3), and starts the dormant state (S4). In FIG. 1, the release card is a general card having a card ID of "1002", a prepaid value of "0", and a ball of "0".

When this card for canceling the valueless state is inserted into the original inter-machine card processing machine 10, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 cancels the resting state. Also, if a card for canceling the valueless state is inserted into another inter-machine card processing machine 10, the resting state of the original inter-machine card processing machine 10 is cancelled, but the details of this operation will be described later.

Here, when a valueless release card is inserted into a card issuing machine and a prepaid value is purchased, the purchased prepaid value is associated with the inserted release card, resulting in a valued release card. The card issuing machine sets a password as the release data when the valueless release card becomes valuable.

When the canceling card in the valuable state is inserted into the original inter-machine card processing machine 10, the dormant state is canceled without password authentication. On the other hand, if the canceling card in the valuable state is inserted into another inter-machine card processing machine 10, the use of the card is permitted after password authentication, and the resting state of the original inter-machine card processing machine 10 is cancelled. .

In this way, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 can temporarily suspend the game, and the value (prepaid value and balls held) used when making the game medium usable does not meet the standards. When the dormant state is started in the state, the card, which is a storage medium to which value can be associated, is controlled to be ejected as a release card without associating value. Then, when the corresponding canceling card is accepted in the hibernation state, the hibernation state is canceled. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the player in relation to the paused state of the game, and improve the convenience.

Next, the system configuration of the game parlor will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the system configuration of the game parlor. As shown in FIG. 2, the game parlor is provided with a plurality of gaming machines 20 and inter-machine card processors 10 provided corresponding to the respective gaming machines 20 . The inter-machine card processing machine 10 is connected via an island controller 30 to a communication line, which is a network within the store. An island controller 30, a card management device 40, a member management device 50, a prize management device 60, a checkout machine 80, and a card issuing machine 90 are connected to the communication line.

The game machine 20 is a device for playing a game by hitting game balls onto a game board. A plurality of winning areas (award winning openings) are provided on the game board surface of the gaming machine 20, and a predetermined number of game balls are awarded as prize balls based on the game balls passing through the winning areas. It's becoming A predetermined number of starting areas (starting openings) are provided on the game board surface, and a predetermined lottery is conducted based on the passage of game balls through the starting areas. If the lottery results in a big hit, an operation that is advantageous in terms of the game is performed by operating a predetermined movable member, etc., such as improving the probability of the game ball passing through the winning area or another starting area. The result of the lottery by the ball passing through the starting port is displayed on a special pattern display device for displaying the lottery result. The display of the lottery results on the special symbol display device is performed in a manner in which a fixed display is performed after a predetermined period of variable display. In addition, the game board is provided with a decorative pattern display device that variably displays decorative patterns such as predetermined numbers based on the result of the lottery. , 7), etc., are displayed and notified. It is also possible to provide an area that serves as both the starting area and the winning area.

The winning area is provided with a winning sensor for detecting the passage of game balls into the winning area. It's becoming The control unit of the gaming machine 20 also has a prize memory that stores the number of game balls to be awarded as prizes for each prize area.

Therefore, when the winning sensor detects that the hit game balls have passed through the specific winning area, the gaming machine 20 determines from the stored contents of the winning ball memory and the number of game balls that have passed through the winning area. It is possible to determine the number of prize balls and perform payout processing for the determined number of prize balls. Moreover, regardless of whether or not the hit game balls have passed through the winning area, the game balls are finally discharged from the back side of the game board to the outside of the game machine. The game balls discharged to the outside of the gaming machine are detected by an out ball detection device attached to each gaming machine.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives payment, lends out game balls, and communicates with the card management device 40 . When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 accepts the banknotes inserted by the player, it transmits payment notification data including the amount of the banknotes to the card management device 40, and stores the amount in the prepaid value managed by the card management device 40. Add the number corresponding to When a predetermined ball lending operation is performed, a ball lending request is transmitted to the card management device 40, the prepaid value managed by the card management device 40 is subtracted, and the number of games corresponding to the subtracted prepaid value is played. Payout processing of balls is performed.

Further, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits card insertion notification data to the card management device 40 when the insertion of the card is accepted. Further, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives data including the prepaid value, the number of owned balls, and the number of accumulated balls from the card management device 40, it stores the received prepaid value, the number of owned balls, and the number of accumulated balls. After storing the number of balls held, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits the ball possession subtraction request data to the card management device 40, thereby setting the number of balls managed by the card management device 40 to zero. clear.

In addition, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 accepts the replay operation of the owned balls, it subtracts a predetermined number from the number of owned balls stored in its own device, and pays out a number of game balls corresponding to the subtracted number of owned balls. conduct. In addition, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a collected balls replay operation, the collected balls replay request data is transmitted to the member management device 50 via the card management device 40, whereby the member management device 50 manages the data. A predetermined number is subtracted from the accumulated number of balls, and a payout process of the number of game balls corresponding to the subtracted accumulated number of balls is performed.

Further, when receiving the card return operation, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits to the card management device 40 ball-in-hand addition request data including the number of balls-in-hand managed by itself, After adding the number, the card ejection notification data is transmitted to the card management device 40 to control card ejection.

The island controller 30 is a relay device for bundling a group of gaming machines 20 and inter-machine card processing machines 10 provided on a game island.

The card management device 40 is a device that manages the prepaid value of the card, the number of balls held, etc. as card data. Upon receiving the card insertion notification data from the inter-machine card processor 10, the card management device 40 associates the card ID of the inserted card with the device ID of the inter-machine card processor 10 and manages the card ID. to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. Further, when the card ID indicated in the card insertion notification data is the card ID of the membership card, the card management device 40 transmits the card insertion notification data to the membership management device 50 and receives the card insertion notification data from the membership management device 50. The accumulated ball replay data is transmitted to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.例文帳に追加

Further, when the card management device 40 receives the ball-on-hand subtraction request data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it clears the number of balls-on-hand to zero. Further, when the card management device 40 receives the ball-in-hand addition request data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the number of balls-in-hand included in the ball-in-hand addition request data is changed to the number of balls-in-hand managed by the card management device 40. to add.

Further, when the card management device 40 receives the ball lending request data from the inter-machine card processor 10, the card management device 40 subtracts a predetermined value from the prepaid value associated with the card ID, and transfers the ball lending permission data to the inter-machine card processor 10. Send to When the accumulated ball replay request data is received, the accumulated ball replay request data is transmitted to the member management device 50, and when the member management device 50 outputs the accumulated ball replay data, the accumulated ball replay data is sent to the machine. Send to card processing machine 10 .

Further, when the card ID is received from the prize management device 60, the card management device 40 notifies the prize management device 60 of the number of balls associated with the card ID. Furthermore, when the card ID is received from the payment machine 80, the payment machine 80 is notified of the prepaid value associated with this card ID.

The member management device 50 is a management device that manages member management data of members registered as members of the amusement arcade. Specifically, the number of stored balls, the number of points, the personal identification number, the name, etc. are managed in association with the membership card ID issued to the member.

When the member management device 50 receives the card insertion notification data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the member management device 50 generates accumulated ball replay data including the number of accumulated balls and a password associated with the card ID indicated in the card insertion notification data. It is transmitted to the interim card processing machine 10 . When the member management device 50 receives the accumulated ball replay request data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the member management device 50 subtracts a predetermined number from the number of accumulated balls associated with the card ID indicated in the accumulated ball replay request data, Collected ball replay data including the number of accumulated balls after subtraction is transmitted to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.例文帳に追加Communication between the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and the member management device 50 is performed via the card management device 40 .

Further, when the member management device 50 receives an inquiry about the number of stored balls from the prize management device 60, the member management device 50 notifies the prize management device 60 of the number of stored balls corresponding to the designated card ID.

The prize management device 60 is a prize exchange terminal installed at a prize exchange counter in the amusement arcade, and performs prize exchange processing for exchanging acquired balls, the number of stored balls, and the number of owned balls for prizes. A card reader for reading a card ID from a card and a prize payout device for paying out prizes are connected to the prize management device 60 . When the prize management device 60 reads a card ID from a general card or a membership card (or reads identification data corresponding to the card ID from a mobile terminal or the like), the prize management device 60 transmits the card ID to the card management device 40. to request the number of balls possessed by the card ID. When exchanging the number of accumulated balls for a prize, the number of accumulated balls is requested from the member management device 50 . The prize management device 60 does not request the number of accumulated balls to the member management device 50, but the membership management device 50 receives notification of the card ID from the prize management device 60, and returns the number of accumulated balls (and PIN) as a prize. It may be configured to notify the management device 60 .

When the card associated with the prepaid value is inserted, the fare adjustment machine 80 transmits the card ID of this card to the card management device 40 and receives the response data to acquire the prepaid value associated with the card. and pays out money according to the acquired prepaid value. Then, the settlement machine 80 initializes the prepaid value of the inserted card.

The card issuer 90 is a device that issues a general card associated with a prepaid value. The card issuing machine 90 stocks valueless general cards inside, and when receiving a new card issuing operation and cash input, the card issuing machine 90 controls discharge in association with the prepaid value corresponding to the amount of money that has been input. Also, if cash is accepted after acceptance of a general card or a membership card, discharge control is performed in association with the prepaid value for the amount of money that was put into the accepted card. Here, if the received card is a general card with no value, the card issuer 90 sets a password as data for unlocking. A valueless general card is considered to be used as a release card in any one of the inter-machine card processing machines 10 . If this release card is inserted into the original inter-machine card processing machine 10, it can be assumed that the use is valid. However, if the release card is inserted into another inter-machine card processor 10, the player stops the game on the inter-machine card processor 10 which has been placed in a resting state and starts the other inter-machine card processor 10. There is a possibility that other players who unfairly obtained the unlocking card may be trying to use the value without necessarily wanting to use it. Therefore, by setting the release data when the release card is in a valued state and permitting the use of the card under the condition of authentication by the release data, it is possible to prevent the value from being used unfairly.

Next, the ball lending process of the gaming system shown in FIG. 2 will be described. When a player performs a ball lending operation to the inter-machine card processor 10, the inter-machine card processor 10 transmits ball lending request data to the card management device 40. - 特許庁This ball lending request data includes the card ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and an address or arbitrary identification data for specifying the inter-machine card processing machine 10 that is the sender.

Upon receiving the ball lending request data, the card management device 40 subtracts a predetermined value from the prepaid value associated with the card ID of the ball lending request data. Then, the card management device 40 transmits ball lending permission data to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 as the transmission source. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 that has received the ball lending permission data performs payout processing of the number of game balls corresponding to the subtracted prepaid value.

Next, a description will be given of the ball replay process when the ball is replayed in the gaming system shown in FIG. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits card insertion notification data to the card management device 40 when the insertion of a general card or a membership card is accepted. This card insertion notification data consists of the card ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processor 10, the address or arbitrary identification data specifying the inter-machine card processor 10 that is the sender, and the inter-machine card processor. and data to specify the 10 rates.

When the card management device 40 receives the card insertion notification data from the inter-machine card processor 10, the card management device 40 sends the inter-machine card processor 10 the number of balls at each rate associated with the card ID in the card insertion notification data. Notice.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 stores the number of balls received from the card management device 40 . Then, it transmits to the card management device 40 the card ID, the data specifying the rate, and the ball-on-hand subtraction request data indicating that the number of balls on hand is to be cleared to zero. Upon receiving the ball-on-hand subtraction request data, the card management device 40 clears the number of balls on each rate specified by the card ID to zero. Further, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 accepts the replay operation of the balls and replays the balls, the card processing machine 10 subtracts a predetermined number from the stored number of the balls and performs payout processing of the corresponding number of the game balls. . When performing payout processing, payout processing is performed by transmitting a payout instruction to the gaming machine for multiples of the unit that can be paid out by the gaming machine (for example, 25 balls), and for the rest (for example, less than 25 balls), payout processing is performed by the machine itself. The dispensing process is performed by dispensing from the nozzle unit 18a.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits ball-in-hand addition request data to the card management device 40 when the card return operation is accepted. This ball-in-hand addition request data includes the card ID of the card to be returned, an address or arbitrary identification data specifying the inter-machine card processing machine 10 that is the sender, and the number of balls in each rate. .

When receiving the ball-in-hand addition request data, the card management device 40 adds the number of balls-in-hand contained in the ball-in-hand addition request data to the number of balls-in-hand for each rate associated with the card ID. Thereafter, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits card discharge notification data to the card management device 40 and controls card discharge.

Next, the stored ball replay processing in the gaming system shown in FIG. 2 will be described. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits card insertion notification data to the card management device 40 when the card ID is read from the member card or the mobile terminal that can be used as the member card. This card insertion notification data consists of the card ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processor 10, the address or arbitrary identification data specifying the inter-machine card processor 10 that is the sender, and the inter-machine card processor. and data to specify the 10 rates.

The card management device 40 transmits the card insertion notification data received from the inter-machine card processing machine 10 to the member management device 50 . When the member management device 50 receives the card insertion notification data, the personal identification number associated with the card ID in the card insertion notification data and the number of accumulated balls at the rate specified by the card insertion notification data. Then, stored ball replay data including the number of possible replays of stored balls is transmitted to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. - 特許庁The number of replayable stored balls indicates the number of stored balls that can be replayed. The possible number of replays of stored balls is a multiple of the number of payout units of game balls in the replay of stored balls. If an upper limit is set for the number of accumulated balls to be replayed, the maximum value within the range between the number of accumulated balls and the upper limit is the possible number of replays of the accumulated balls. Instead of the possible number of replays of the stored balls, the number of times the stored balls can be replayed may be used as the replay frequency of the stored balls. The replay frequency of accumulated balls corresponds to the quotient obtained by dividing the number of accumulated balls by the number of payout units of game balls in the replay of accumulated balls. However, when an upper limit is set for the replay of accumulated balls, the number of replays of accumulated balls is limited by this upper limit.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 stores the received ball replay data, and makes it possible to accept the accumulated ball replay operation when the number of possible ball replays indicated in the accumulated ball replay data is 1 or more.

After storing the accumulated ball replay data, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 requests the player to enter a personal identification number when receiving the accumulated ball replay operation for the first time. It is determined whether or not it matches the personal identification number shown in .

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 transmits accumulated ball replay request data to the card management device 40 when the personal identification numbers match. This stored ball replay request data includes the card ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processor 10, the address or arbitrary identification data specifying the inter-machine card processor 10 that is the sender, and the inter-machine card processing data. data for specifying the rate of aircraft 10;

The card management device 40 transmits accumulated ball replay request data to the member management device 50 . Upon receiving the accumulated ball replay request data, the member management device 50 subtracts a predetermined value from the balance of the accumulated balls at the rate specified by the electronic message among the accumulated balls associated with the card ID in the accumulated ball replay request data. and recalculate the number of possible replays of accumulated balls. Then, stored ball replay data including the balance after subtraction and the possible number of stored ball replays are transmitted to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 .

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 updates the number of stored balls to be stored, and performs payout processing for the number of game balls corresponding to the number of payout units for replaying the stored balls. Also, it is determined whether or not the number of possible replays of accumulated balls after updating is 1 or more. If the number of possible replays of accumulated balls is 0, the operation of replaying accumulated balls is not accepted. If the number of possible replays of accumulated balls after updating is 1 or more, the operation of replaying accumulated balls can be accepted again. In the second and subsequent replays of the accumulated balls, confirmation of the personal identification number is unnecessary. In addition, you may make it confirm a personal identification number every time. Further, here, the case where the inter-machine card processing machine 10 performs the game ball payout process after the member management device 50 subtracts the balance of the accumulated balls has been exemplified, but the game ball payout process is performed based on the accumulated ball replay request. After doing so, the balance of the accumulated balls may be subtracted. This is because the stored ball replay data before the stored ball replay request indicates the possible number of stored ball replays, and the shortage of the balance will not be found after receiving the stored ball replay request.

Next, a description will be given of the transition from ball possession to ball storage in the closing process. The card management device 40 checks the number of balls in the card management data at the time of the closing process, and if there is a record associated with the number of balls greater than zero, the number of balls in the record is displayed together with the card ID and rate. The member management device 50 is notified. The member management device 50 adds the number of owned balls notified from the card management device 40 to the number of stored balls specified by the card ID and the rate. After that, the card management device 40 clears the number of possessed balls to zero.

Next, the appearance of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the appearance of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. As shown in FIG. Note that FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the inter-machine card processor 10 connected to the gaming machine 20 as the inter-machine card processor 10 . Also, the gaming machine 20 installed side by side is illustrated with a dashed line. In addition, although FIG. 3 illustrates the inter-machine card processing machine 10 that accepts only banknotes, a unit having a function of accepting electronic money or coins associated with a mobile terminal or card can also be provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 has a state display portion 11, a banknote slot 12a, a display operation portion 13, a card slot 14a, a holding portion 14b, a nozzle unit 18a and a counting unit 18b.

The status display unit 11 is composed of, for example, multicolor LEDs, and displays the status of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 by lighting or blinking in a predetermined color. The banknote insertion slot 12a is an insertion slot for various banknotes necessary for lending game balls. The display/operation unit 13 is configured by, for example, a full-color touch-panel liquid crystal display or the like, and is a device that displays operation buttons and receives input operations using the operation buttons. Although detailed illustration is omitted in FIG. 3, the display operation unit 13 has a flat plate shape with the long side on the side of the corresponding game machine 20 pivotally supported by the inter-machine card processing machine 10. The configuration is such that the angle formed by the front panel of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and the display surface of the display/operation unit 13 can be changed.

The card insertion slot 14a is an insertion slot for a card owned by a player. The holding portion 14b is a portion where the portable terminal used for member registration is held up. When the portable terminal is held over the holding portion 14b, data such as the unique ID (for example, IDm) of the portable terminal is read from the portable terminal. The nozzle unit 18 a is a mechanism for ejecting game balls to the gaming machine 20 . The nozzle unit 18a is composed of a cylindrical nozzle that is horizontally rotatable on the front surface of the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and the tip of the nozzle can be positioned in the storage section of the game machine. there is A game medium is supplied to the nozzles from a ball supply device in the inter-stand card processing machine that receives game media from a replenishment mechanism on the island where the inter-stand card processing machine 10 is installed. The counting unit 18b is a mechanism for counting game balls dropped from the lower tray of the gaming machine 20. As shown in FIG. The counting unit 18b includes a receiving tray for receiving game balls, a counting section provided in the lower part of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 for counting the game balls with a counting sensor, and a counting section for passing game media from the receiving tray to the counting section. It consists of a passage part. The receiving tray and the counting passage can be integrally removed from the inter-machine card processing machine 10 based on a predetermined operation (for example, an employee's remote control operation). Further, the counting section has a unit structure, and by removing the counting section, the tray section, and the counting passage section, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 can be operated without the counting function.

Next, the configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4 , the inter-machine card processing machine 10 includes a banknote transport unit 12 , a display operation unit 13 , a reader/writer 14 , a holding unit 14 b , a communication unit 15 , a storage unit 16 , and a control unit 17 . , a nozzle unit 18a, and a counting unit 18b.

The banknote transport unit 12 is a transport unit that determines the denomination and authenticity of a banknote inserted from the banknote insertion slot 12a and transports the banknote to a banknote storage unit (not shown). The display operation unit 13 has a function of specifying and displaying various information such as the prepaid value that can be used for ball lending, the number of balls held, the number of stored balls, etc. from the accepted card etc., and displays other information not related to the card etc. It is an input/output device such as a touch panel type liquid crystal display having a function and a function of accepting various operations such as a ball lending operation. In addition to the display described above, the display operation unit 13 also has a function of displaying excess or deficiency regarding the number of stored cards, and displaying the communication status (online/offline, etc.) with the host device.

The reader/writer 14 is a device for reading a card ID from a card inserted into the card slot 14a. A card inserted into the card insertion slot 14a passes through the reader/writer 14 and is stored in a card storage section (not shown). The holding unit 14b is an interface unit that reads various information such as a unique ID (for example, IDm) of the mobile terminal through short-range wireless communication when the mobile terminal or the like is held up. In addition, the reader/writer 14 has a function of associating value data such as balls and prepaid value shown in the card data 16b with the card stored in the card storage unit in response to the player's returning operation, and issuing a new card. also have However, if the prepaid value shown in the card data 16b is 0 and the number of balls held is less than a certain number (minimum number of held balls), the card is controlled not to be returned even if there is a return operation. This is a control to prevent the loss of the amusement arcade due to the discarding of cards associated with a small number of balls. The same applies to cards (excluding membership cards). As the fixed number, for example, it is possible to set the value obtained by multiplying the number of balls in possession by the rental unit price per ball to be the value of the card or the lowest price prize in the amusement arcade, but this is not limitative. It can be freely set according to the policy of the store. In addition, when controlling so as not to return the card even if there is a return operation, it is possible to process the payout of the stored ball, but display that the card cannot be returned and/or replay the ball. A prompt may be displayed.

The communication unit 15 is an interface unit for performing data communication between the gaming machine 20 and the island controller 30 . The nozzle unit 18a is used to pay out some or all of the game balls when the game balls are paid out by ball lending or replay. The counting unit 18b is a unit that counts game balls.

The storage unit 16 is a storage device such as a hard disk device or a nonvolatile memory. The storage unit 16 stores own device state data 16a, card data 16b, and sleep state data 16c.

The own device state data 16a is data indicating the state of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. FIG. The device status data 16a includes the device ID of the inter-machine card processing machine and game settings. The device ID of the inter-machine card processor is identification data for uniquely identifying the inter-machine card processor 10 within the amusement arcade. The game settings are data indicating game types and the like set in the inter-machine card processing machine 10 . When handling game balls with multiple rates in the amusement arcade, "Ball 1" for game balls with a rate of 4 yen, "Ball 2" for game balls with a rate of 2 yen, and "Ball 3" for game balls with a rate of 1 yen. In this way, a game type name is set and managed for each rate. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 selects a rate to be used for a game from these game types and stores it as a game setting.

The card data 16b is data relating to the card being used by the player. The card data 16b includes a card ID, prepaid value, owned balls, accumulated balls, the number of accumulated balls that can be replayed, and the like. There is data for each game type (rate) for the balls held and stored. The card ID is the card ID read by the reader/writer 14 . When a card is transported from a card storage unit (not shown) to the card insertion slot 14a and ejected, the card data 16b is updated by the card ID read by the reader/writer 14 during transport. Further, when the card is conveyed from the card insertion slot 14a to a card storage section (not shown), the card data 16b is updated by the card ID read by the reader/writer 14 during this conveyance.

The hibernation data 16c is data relating to hibernation. Specifically, the dormant state data 16c indicates whether or not the device is in the dormant state, and if it is in the dormant state, further indicates the start time of the hibernation, the card ID of the release card, and the release data.

The control unit 17 is a control unit that controls the entire inter-machine card processing machine 10, and has a data management unit 17a, a counting processing unit 17b, a pause processing unit 17c, a release card ejecting unit 17d, and a pause canceling unit 17e.

When the card is inserted, the data management unit 17a transmits card insertion notification data including the device ID of the own device status data 16a and the card ID of the card data 16b to the card management device 40. FIG. Further, when the data management unit 17a receives data including value data (at least one of the prepaid value, the number of balls held, and the number of stored balls) from the card management device 40, the data management unit 17a updates the card data 16b with the received value data. . The data management unit 17a appropriately controls the display operation unit 13 to display the prepaid value, the number of owned balls, and the number of stored balls indicated in the card data 16b.

Further, when a banknote is inserted into the banknote insertion slot 12a, the data management unit 17a transmits payment notification data including the amount of the inserted banknote, the card ID, and the inter-machine card processing machine ID to the card management device 40 .

Further, the data management unit 17a transmits ball lending request data including the card ID and the device ID to the card management device 40 when the player performs the ball lending operation. When ball lending permission data is received as a response to the ball lending request data, the data management unit 17a performs payout processing of a predetermined number of game balls.

Further, when the player replays the balls held, the data management unit 17a subtracts a predetermined number from the number of balls held indicated in the card data 16b, and performs payout processing of the corresponding number of game balls. conduct.

Further, when the number of possible replays of accumulated balls indicated in the card data 16b is 1 or more, the data management unit 17a displays a replay button of accumulated balls on the display operation unit 13, and can accept the operation of replaying accumulated balls. and The data management unit 17a transmits accumulated ball replay request data including the card ID and the inter-machine card processing machine ID to the member management device 50 when the player performs the accumulated ball replay operation. When the accumulated ball replay data is received as a response to the accumulated ball replay request data, the number of accumulated balls in the card data 16b is updated, and the game ball payout process of the payout unit number of the accumulated ball replay is performed. In addition, when the accumulated balls replay operation is performed for the first time, the input of the personal identification number is requested, and the accumulated balls replay request data is transmitted on the condition that the personal identification number matches the personal identification number indicated in the card data 16b.

Further, when the player performs a card return operation, the data management unit 17a transmits to the card management device 40 ball-in-hand addition request data including the card ID, the device ID, and the number of balls-in-hand, and collects the card data 16b. is cleared to zero, card discharge notification data is transmitted to the card management device 40, and the card is discharged.

In addition, the data management unit 17a subtracts the number of owned balls shown in the card data 16b when the player performs the operation to transfer stored balls while the member card is inserted, and the data management unit 17a By transmitting the accumulated ball addition request data to the management device 50, the owned balls are transferred to the accumulated balls. It is also possible to transfer accumulated balls using a portable terminal instead of using a membership card. Specifically, if the number of balls held is equal to or greater than a predetermined number and the portable terminal is held over the holding unit 14b after a predetermined operation is performed, the data management unit 17a displays the number of balls shown in the card data 16b. By subtracting the number and transmitting the accumulated ball addition request data including the IDm read by the holding unit 14b, the owned balls are transferred to the accumulated balls.

The data management unit 17a can also perform processing related to the wagon service. The wagon service is a service in which a game clerk puts goods such as drinks and cigarettes in a wagon and goes around the amusement arcade to sell them to players who are playing games. In this wagon service, it is possible to pay with cash or the like, as well as with balls held or saved. When paying for the wagon service with balls or stored balls, a game clerk can issue an instruction to the inter-stand card processor 10 through a clerk terminal (for example, a remote control terminal), and the inter-stand card processor 10 can be used to settle the wagon service. state. Then, information capable of specifying the number of owned balls and stored balls to be subtracted as consideration is input to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 . This input processing is performed by inputting numerical values through the display/operation unit 13 of the inter-machine card processing machine or the operation unit of the clerk's terminal. When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives the input, it waits for an employee recording medium (for example, a wagon card) to be used for the wagon service. When the wagon card is accepted, the data management unit 17a subtracts the input number of balls and stored balls from the number indicated by the card data 16b, and discharges it in association with the employee recording medium. In addition, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives an employee recording medium without receiving an input of information that can specify the number of held balls or stored balls to be subtracted as consideration, settlement of the wagon service is performed. A process of returning the employee recording medium is performed without doing so. In addition, when accepting input of information that can specify the number of balls and accumulated balls to be subtracted as consideration during payment for the wagon service, the operation of replaying the held balls and accumulated balls and the operation of returning the recording medium are accepted. In this case, conflict between the two processes is suppressed by restricting the replay operation/return operation by rejecting it, or by canceling the settlement of the wagon service.

When game balls are thrown into the counting unit 18b, the counting processing unit 17b causes the counting unit 18b to count the game balls, and performs a process of adding the counting result to the number of balls in the card data 16b.

The pause processing unit 17c is a processing unit that temporarily pauses the game. Specifically, when the pause processing unit 17c receives a pause state start operation from a player, the pause processing unit 17c causes the release card ejection unit 17d to eject the release card, and stores the pause start time and the release card in the pause state data 16c. Register your ID. Moreover, when the data for cancellation is set, the data for cancellation is also registered in the hibernation data 16c. Then, the hibernation processing unit 17c updates the hibernation state of the hibernation data 16c to "dormant", transmits the hibernation data 16c to the card management device 40, and starts the hibernation.

The pause processing unit 17c prohibits the processing that accompanies the increase/decrease of the value used when making the game ball usable in the pause state. Specifically, some or all of the processing such as deposit, ball rental processing, replay processing of owned balls and stored balls, counting processing of counting acquired game balls and adding them to owned balls, card insertion, card ejection, etc. prohibited.

The release card ejection unit 17d is a processing unit that ejects a release card when the sleep state starts. When the dormant state is started in a valueless state, the release card ejecting unit 17d does not associate a value with a card that can be associated with a value, and controls ejection of the card as a release card. The valueless state is a state in which the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet the standard, for example, a state in which both the prepaid value and the number of balls held are "0". On the other hand, a state in which either the prepaid value or the balls in possession is not "0" is called a valuable state.

The release card ejection unit 17d controls ejection of a card associated with a value as a release card when the pause state is started in the valuable state. Specifically, the prepaid value and the balls in the card data 16b are associated with the card indicated in the card data 16b and discharged. When a general card with value is ejected as a release card, the release card ejection unit 17d sets a password as release data. Specifically, the game player is requested to enter a password, and confirmation input of the entered password is accepted to determine the password.

Further, when the membership card is accepted, that is, when the card ID of the card data 16b is the card ID of the membership card, the cancellation card discharge unit 17d controls discharge of the membership card as a cancellation card. At this time, the prepaid value and balls in the card data 16b are discharged in association with the membership card. If the membership card is used as a cancellation card,
A password is set as data for unlocking, regardless of whether it has value or not. A new password may be set as the release data, or a password preset in the membership card may be used.

The hibernation cancellation unit 17e is a processing unit that cancels the hibernation state. If the self device is in the sleep state, the sleep release unit 17e refers to the sleep state data 16c when the card is inserted into the reader/writer 14 to determine whether the inserted card is the release card of the self device. determine whether If it is the card for cancellation of its own device, the hibernation state is canceled and the cancellation of the hibernation state is registered in the card management device 40 . On the other hand, if the inserted card is not the unlocking card of the device itself, the card is returned and the process ends.

Further, when the card management device 40 instructs to cancel the hibernation state, the hibernation canceling unit 17e cancels the hibernation state of its own device.

Furthermore, the hibernation canceling unit 17e can cancel the hibernation of other devices when its own device is not in the hibernation. Specifically, if the response to the card insertion notification indicates that the card is for release from another device, the pause release unit 17e determines whether or not the release data is present, and determines whether the release data is set. If not, a request is made to the card management device 40 to release the hibernation state of the original device, and use of the card is permitted. Further, if the release data is set, the card management device 40 requests the player to input the release data, and releases the original device from the sleep state when the proper release data is input. to authorize the use of the card.

It should be noted that, when a predetermined time has passed since the start of the hibernation, the release of the hibernation by the release card may be restricted, and an operation by the game clerk may be required. Further, when the pause is not canceled even after a predetermined period of time has passed since the start of the pause, the game clerk may be notified.

Next, an example of data stored in the storage unit 16 of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 will be described. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an example of data stored in the storage unit 16 of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. As shown in FIG.

The own device state data 16a shown in FIG. 5(a) indicates a state in which the ID of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is "3001" and "ball 1" is set as the game type of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. ing.

The card data 16b shown in FIG. 5(b) indicates that the ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is "1001". Here, the first digit of the card ID indicates the type of card, a card with the first digit "1" is a general card, and a card with the first digit "2" is a membership card. Also, the card data 16b indicates a state where the prepaid value is "2000 points". Here, one degree of the prepaid value is equivalent to 1 yen. Further, the card data 16b indicates that the number of balls held by ball 1 is "375 balls", the number of balls held by ball 2 is "500 balls", and the number of balls held by ball 3 is "2000 balls". showing.

The card data 16b can store a personal identification number, the number of replayable accumulated balls, and the number of accumulated balls of each game type as data related to accumulated balls. Therefore, these data are marked with "-" to indicate not applicable. Although the number of replayable balls is stored as the replayable number here, the number of replayable balls may be stored as the replay frequency. Although not shown, the card management device 40 also stores ON/OFF of a "lock" flag indicating validity/invalidity of the card in addition to the balls held, stored balls, and prepaid value in association with the card ID. , is turned ON by an employee's operation when the theft of the card is detected. These data are also included in the card data 16b and stored. Furthermore, this "lock" flag can be set for each function ("use of accumulated balls", "boarding", etc.). , can also be used to prevent erroneous operations. In this specification, the term "entering" means converting the number of game media at a certain rate into the number of game media at another rate based on the ratio of the unit price of the game media. In a specific example, in the inter-machine card processing machine 10 associated with the 4-yen rate, using the number of balls X of the 1-yen rate, the number of balls X×(1-yen/4-yen)=X/4 can be exemplified. This "boarding" function can be enabled/disabled by the member management device 50 according to the management policy of the store.

The dormant state data 16c shown in FIG. 5C is data in which the dormant state of the own device, the dormancy disclosure time, the release card ID, and the release data are associated with each other. In FIG. 5C, the hibernation state is "dormant", the hibernation start time is "12:28", the release card ID is "1002", and the release data is "-" indicating unset.

Next, the configuration of the card management device 40 shown in FIG. 2 will be described. FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of card management device 40 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6 , the card management device 40 has a display section 41 , an input section 42 , an external network communication section 43 , a store network communication section 44 , a storage section 45 and a control section 46 .

The display unit 41 is a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. The input unit 42 is an input device such as a keyboard and mouse. The external network communication unit 43 is an interface unit for data communication via a network outside the game arcade. The store network communication unit 44 is an interface unit for data communication with the island controller 30, the member management device 50, the prize management device 60, the payment machine 80 and the card issuing machine 90 via communication lines in the amusement arcade.

The storage unit 45 is a storage device such as a hard disk device or a non-volatile memory, and stores game type setting data 45a, card management data 45b, device management data 45c, and hibernation state management data 45d.

The game type setting data 45a is data in which the lending rate and the display name are associated with the game type. The card management data 45b is data that associates the prepaid value, the number of balls for each game type, and the device ID of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 into which the card is inserted with the card ID. be. The device management data 45c is data relating to the devices arranged in the amusement arcade. The device management data 45c includes the device ID of the inter-machine card processor, the address of the inter-machine card processor 10, the installation location, the gaming machine ID of the installed gaming machine, and model data.

The rest state management data 45d is data for managing the rest state of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. FIG. Specifically, the hibernation management data 45d associates a device ID, operating status, hibernation start time, release card ID, and release data.

The control unit 46 is a control unit that controls the entire card management device 40, and has a game type setting management unit 46a, a card management unit 46b, a device management unit 46c, and a rest state management unit 46d. In practice, programs corresponding to these functional units are stored in a ROM or non-volatile memory (not shown), and these programs are loaded into a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executed. 46a, the card management unit 46b, the device management unit 46c, and the hibernation state management unit 46d are caused to execute corresponding processes.

The game type setting management unit 46a is a processing unit that associates game types used in the game parlor, rates, and display names, and manages them as game type setting data 45a.

The card management unit 46b is a processing unit that manages the card management data 45b. Specifically, when the card management unit 46b receives the card insertion notification data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the card management unit 46b replaces the card ID shown in the card insertion notification data with the card insertion notification data. Assume that the device ID is indicated in the data. In addition, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is notified of the prepaid value associated with the card ID indicated in the card insertion notification data and the number of balls at each rate as value data. If the inserted card is a membership card, it transmits card insertion notification data to the membership management device. When receiving the ball-in-hand subtraction request data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the card management unit 46b clears the number of balls-in-hand at the rate indicated in the ball-in-hand subtraction request data to zero.

Further, when the card management unit 46b receives the ball lending request data including the card ID from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it determines whether or not the prepaid value associated with the card ID is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. . When the prepaid value is equal to or greater than the predetermined value, the card management unit 46b subtracts the predetermined value from the prepaid value stored in the card management data 45b, and stores the updated prepaid value in the inter-machine card processing machine 10. Send ball lending permission data. On the other hand, when the prepaid value is less than the predetermined value, the card management unit 46b notifies the inter-machine card processing machine 10 of ball lending prohibition data.

Further, when the card management unit 46b receives payment notification data including the amount of money inserted from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the card ID, and the device ID, the card management unit 46b receives payment notification for the prepaid value associated with the card ID. Add the prepaid value for the amount shown in .

When the card management unit 46b receives the accumulated ball replay request data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the card management unit 46b transfers the accumulated ball replay request data to the member management device 50. FIG. In addition, the response data from the member management device 50 to the stored ball replay request data is also transferred to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 .

Further, when receiving the ball addition request data, the card management unit 46b adds the number of balls included in the ball addition request data to the number of balls of the corresponding rate. Further, when the card management unit 46b receives the card ejection notification data, the card management unit 46b deletes the destination device ID of the card ID.

Further, when the card ID is received from the prize management device 60, the card management unit 46b notifies the prize management device 60 of the number of balls for each rate associated with this card ID. Further, when the card ID is received from the payment machine 80, the card management unit 46b notifies the payment machine 80 of the prepaid value associated with this card ID.

The device management unit 46c is a processing unit that manages the device management data 45c. The device management unit 46c generates and updates the device management data 45c based on the device ID acquired from the inter-machine card processor 10, the address of the inter-machine card processor 10, the installation location, and the gaming machine ID.

When the dormant state management unit 46d receives a dormant state data registration request from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the dormant state management unit 46d registers the dormant state data in the dormant state management data 45d. Similarly, when a registration request for canceling the dormant state is received from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the dormant state management data 45d is updated.

Further, when the card insertion notification data is received, the dormant state management unit 46d refers to the dormant state management data 45d, and if any device has a release card, responds to that effect. Then, when receiving a request for canceling the hibernation, it instructs the original device to cancel the hibernation.

Next, an example of data stored in the storage unit 45 of the card management device 40 shown in FIG. 6 will be described. 7 and 8 are explanatory diagrams for explaining an example of data stored in the storage unit 45 of the card management device 40. FIG.

The game type setting data 45a shown in FIG. 7A associates the game type name "ball 1" with the rate "4 yen" and the display name "4 pachi". The game type setting data 45a associates the game type name "Tama 2" with the rate "2 yen" and the display name "2 Pachi". The game type setting data 45a associates the game type name "ball 3" with the rate "1 yen" and the display name "1 pachi".

In the card management data 45b shown in FIG. 7(b), the card ID "1001" has a prepaid value of "2500", the number of balls held by ball 1 is "1500", the number of balls held by ball 2 is "2300", and the number of balls held by ball 3 is "2300". is associated with the number of possession balls "0". That is, the card with the card ID "1001" is not inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and the card management device 40 manages the balls in hand.

In the card management data 45b shown in FIG. 7(b), the card ID "1002" is associated with the prepaid value "0", the number of balls held for each rate "0", and the destination device ID "3004". That is, the card with the card ID "1002" is inserted into the inter-machine card processor 10 with the device ID "3004", and the management of the number of balls held is transferred to the inter-machine card processor 10. FIG. Therefore, the number of balls at each rate is zero.

In the card management data 45b shown in FIG. 7B, the card ID "2002" is associated with the prepaid value "2000", the number of balls held at each rate "0", and the device ID "3001". That is, the card with the card ID "2002" is inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10 with the device ID "3001", and the management of the ball is transferred to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. FIG. Therefore, the number of balls at each rate is zero.

Further, in the card management data 45b shown in FIG. 7B, the prepaid value is associated with the purchase method, and the balance for each purchase method is indicated. Specifically, the prepaid value of card ID "1001" is "2500", which is the sum of "1000" purchased in cash and "1500" purchased in cashless P1. Similarly, the prepaid value of card ID "2002" is "2000", which is the sum of the purchase amount "1000" for the cashless P1 and the purchase amount "1000" for the cashless P2.

In the device management data 45c shown in FIG. 7(c), the network address of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 with the ID "3001" is "AB.CD.EF.GH" and the installation location is "Island 1-1. ”, the ID of the connected gaming machine 20 is “P001”, the game type is “BALL 3”, and the model of the connected gaming machine 20 is “EV01”. It also indicates that this gaming machine 20 is in use.

The hibernation management data 45d shown in FIG. 8(d) associates the device ID, operating status, hibernation start time, release card ID, and release data. Specifically, in FIG. 8D, for the device ID "3004", the operation state is "suspended", the suspension start time is "12:28", the release card ID is "1002", and the release data is not set. is associated with "-" indicating

Next, a processing procedure for starting the hibernation state will be described. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure related to the start of hibernation. When the pause processing unit 17c receives a pause state start operation (step S101), the release card ejecting unit 17d determines whether the card in use is valuable (step S102). If there is no value (step S102; No), it is determined whether the card in use is a membership card (step S104).

If the card in use has value (step S102; Yes), the release card ejecting unit 17d associates the card in use with value (step S103), sets release data (step S105), Use it as a release card.

If the card in use is a worthless membership card (step S104; Yes), the release card ejecting unit 17d sets the card in use with release data (step S105) to use it as a release card. .

If the card in use is a normal card with no value (step S104; No), the release card discharge unit 17d does not set any release data in the card in use, and treats it as a release card.

The hibernation processing unit 17c stores the hibernation start time, card ID for cancellation, etc. in the hibernation data 16c, updates the hibernation to "dormant", and stores the data (step S106). Then, the dormant state data 16c is registered by being transmitted to the card management device 40 (step S107).

Then, the release card ejection unit 17d ejects the release card (step S108), the pause processing unit 17c starts the pause state (step S109), and the processing ends.

Next, a processing procedure when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 cancels its own sleep state will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 cancels its own sleep state. First, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 in the sleep state receives a card (step S201), the sleep release unit 17e refers to the sleep state data 16c to determine whether the inserted card is the release card of its own device. (step S202).

If it is the card for canceling the own device (step S202; Yes), the dormancy cancellation unit 17e cancels the dormancy (step S204) and registers the cancellation of the dormancy in the card management device 40 (step S205). , terminate the process. On the other hand, if the inserted card is not the release card of its own device (step S202; No), the pause release unit 17e returns the card (step S203) and ends the process.

Next, a processing procedure when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 cancels the sleep state of other devices will be described. FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a processing procedure when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 cancels the hibernation state of another device. First, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 which is not in the sleep state receives a card (step S301), the sleep release unit 17e acquires the sleep state management data for the inserted card (step S302). This dormant state management data is obtained as a response to the card insertion notification.

If the hibernation management data indicates that the inserted card is not a release card for another device (step S303; No), the hibernation canceling unit 17e permits use of the card (step S304). , terminate the process.

If the hibernation management data indicates that the inserted card is a release card for another device (step S303; Yes), the hibernation release unit 17e determines whether there is release data (step S305). ). If the cancellation data is not set (step S305; No), the hibernation canceling unit 17e requests the card management device 40 to cancel the hibernation state of the original device (step S306), thereby canceling the use of the card. Permission is given (step S304), and the process ends.

If the release data is set (step S305; Yes), the pause release unit 17e requests the player to input the release data. Then, on the condition that proper release data has been received (step S307; Yes), a request is made to the card management device 40 to release the hibernation state of the original device (step S306), and use of the card is permitted. (step S304), and the process ends. If proper data for canceling is not input (step S307; No), the pause canceling unit 17e returns the card (step S308) and terminates the process.

Next, a modification of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 will be described. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a modification of the interface of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. As shown in FIG. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 is installed so as to be sandwiched between the gaming machines 20.例文帳に追加Generally, in a pachinko game, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is associated with the gaming machine 20 on the right side. On the other hand, in the slot game, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is associated with the gaming machine on the left side. As described above, since it is different which side of the gaming machine is associated with the game machine, a situation occurs in which the player mistakenly operates the inter-machine card processing machine 10 on the opposite side.

Therefore, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 shown in FIG. 12 prevents erroneous operations by using a housing cover that is inclined in the direction of the associated gaming machine. Further, by making the housing cover exchangeable, it is possible to switch which side of the game machine the same inter-machine card processing machine 10 is associated with.

FIG. 12 shows a housing cover 10a used when matching the gaming machine on the left side and a housing cover 10b used when matching the gaming machine on the right side. By using these housing covers, it is possible to prevent bills from being inserted from the opposite side of the bill insertion slot 12a. In addition, the display operation unit 13 is provided on the housing cover, which can hinder viewing and operation from the opposite side.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an inter-machine card processing machine 10 that can be shared between a pachinko game and a slot game. Since pachinko games and slot games have different table shapes, there is a difference in maintainability. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13(a), for pachinko machines, the stand is opened for maintenance, and for slot machines, the inter-stand card processing machine 10 is opened for maintenance. This is because it is not possible to access the inter-machine card processing machine 10 from the side by opening the machine for slots.

In order to cope with such a difference in table shape, as shown in FIG. Maintenance of wiring becomes possible.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of fixing the frame. As shown in FIG. 14(a), if the frame of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is to be directly fixed to the game island, it is difficult to fix it with high precision, and a skillful technique is required each time the device is replaced. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14(b), the frame fixing member is fixed to the game island in advance, and the inter-stand card processing machine 10 is slid and fitted into the frame fixing member. 10 can be replaced easily.

Next, a description will be given of pausing in an enclosed game machine. FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of pausing in an enclosed game machine. The enclosed type game machine circulates and uses the enclosed game balls inside, and the player never touches the game balls. Therefore, when performing ball lending or replaying, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 does not pay out game balls, but adds the number of possible games managed by the gaming machine. Also, the number of possible games is transferred to the balls held in the inter-machine card processing machine 10 by a counting operation.

The inter-machine card processing machine 10 can suppress the counting of the actual game balls in the resting state, but cannot suppress the shift from the number of playable balls to the balls in possession. Therefore, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 automatically shifts from the number of balls held to the number of balls held when the number of balls held is changed to the number of balls held in the idle state.

In FIG. 15(a), the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is in a resting state, the number of balls held is "0", and the number of possible games of the gaming machine 20 is "1000". When the counting operation is accepted in this state, as shown in FIG. becomes "1000". However, since the inter-machine card processing machine 10 in the resting state automatically pays out the number of balls increased by counting, as shown in FIG. It becomes "1000". Therefore, it is possible to avoid a situation in which the number of possible games is illegally acquired in the pause state.

Next, countermeasures against fraud in the dormant state will be described. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of countermeasures against fraud in the dormant state. A person who tries to fraudulently acquire value from the inter-machine card processing machine 10 in a resting state behaves so as to leave before the legitimate players return, so the possibility of fraud can be discriminated by detecting such behavior. .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 16, possible fraudulent situations include "returning cards without playing a game after canceling hibernation", "counting operation after canceling hibernation and short time to return cards". ', 'a short period of time from the start of sleep to the release of sleep', and 'not seated at the time of release of sleep or counting'.

When these situations are detected, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 takes measures such as "notify the clerk" and "delay the operation for the counting operation until the limit for canceling the pause".

As described above, in the present embodiment, when the hibernation state is started in a value-free state in which the value used when making the game medium available does not meet the standard, value is controlled to eject the storage medium as a medium for canceling hibernation, and the hibernation state is canceled when the corresponding medium for canceling hibernation is received in the hibernation state. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the burden on the player in relation to the paused state of the game, and improve the convenience.

In addition, in this embodiment, a value can be added to the storage medium whose discharge is controlled as the medium for suspend release. In addition, release information can be set when giving value to a pause release medium, and authentication of the release information can be made a condition when the pause release medium is used in a device other than the device to be released.

In addition, when starting the dormant state in a state where the value is equal to or higher than the standard, it is possible to control the discharge of the storage medium associated with the value as the medium for releasing the dormancy. Also, when the hibernation state is started in a valuable state where the value is equal to or higher than the standard, the release information is set, and when the hibernation release medium is used in a device other than the device to be released, the release information is authenticated. It can be used as a condition.

In addition, when the member's storage medium associated with the member player's identification information is received and the hibernation state is started, it is possible to control the ejection of the member's storage medium as the medium for releasing the hibernation.

Further, according to this embodiment, when the hibernation release medium is used in a device other than the device to be released, the hibernation state of the device to be released can be released.

In this embodiment, even for a release card in which release data is set, when the original inter-machine card processing machine 10 releases the hibernation state, a request for the release data is not made as an example. , the cancellation data may also be authenticated when the original inter-machine card processing machine 10 cancels the hibernation state.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a detailed description of the form of the card, which is the medium associated with the number of game media, has been omitted, but such cards include magnetic cards, IC (Integrated Circuit) cards, and the like. For convenience of explanation, a "card" is used as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to non-contact chips, sticks, portable terminals, etc. with built-in ICs.

Also, in the above-described embodiment, the case of using game balls as game media has been described as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to the case of using medals for slot machines.

Also, the present invention may be applied to an enclosed game machine that uses game balls that are enclosed in the game machine. In closed-type gaming machines, the number of game balls that can be thrown onto the game board is managed as the number of possible games, and when lending balls or replaying, the actual game balls are paid out. Instead, the number of possible games is added.

Also, each illustrated configuration is a functional schematic, and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the form of distribution/integration of each device is not limited to the illustrated one, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed/integrated in arbitrary units according to various loads and usage conditions. Can be configured.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described above, the game management system and the game management method according to the present invention are suitable for alleviating the burden on the player in the pausing state of the game and improving the convenience.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 inter-machine card processing machine 10a, 10b housing cover 11 status display unit 12 banknote transport unit 12a banknote insertion slot 13 display operation unit 14 reader/writer 14a card insertion slot 14b holding unit 15 communication unit 16, 45 storage unit 16a own device state Data 16b Card data 16c Hibernation data 17, 46 Control unit 17a Data management unit 17b Count processing unit 17c Pause processing unit 17d Release card ejection unit 17e Pause cancellation unit 18a Nozzle unit 18b Counting unit 20 Game machine 30 Island controller 40 Card management device 41 display unit 42 input unit 43 external network communication unit 44 store network communication unit 45a game type setting data 45b card management data 45c device management data 45d hibernation state management data 46a game type setting management unit 46b card management unit 46c device management unit 46d pause Status Management Unit 50 Membership Management Device 60 Prize Management Device 80 Payment Machine 90 Card Issuing Machine

Claims (7)

A game management system that is installed alongside a gaming machine that performs a game using a game medium, and that has each machine device that performs processing related to the game medium,
Pause processing means for temporarily pausing the game;
When the idle state is started in a valueless state in which the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard, the value is stored without associating the value with a storage medium to which the value can be associated. release medium ejecting means for controlling ejection of a medium as a pause release medium;
hibernation canceling means for canceling the hibernation state when a corresponding hibernation cancellation medium is received in the hibernation state ;
a value imparting means for imparting the value to the pause release medium;
A game management system comprising: The value giving means sets release information when giving the value to the pause release medium,
2. A game management system according to claim 1 , wherein authentication of said release information is a condition when said pause release medium is used in a device other than a device to be released. A game management system that is installed alongside a gaming machine that performs a game using a game medium, and that has each machine device that performs processing related to the game medium,
Pause processing means for temporarily pausing the game;
When the idle state is started in a valueless state in which the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard, the value is stored without associating the value with a storage medium to which the value can be associated. release medium ejecting means for controlling ejection of a medium as a pause release medium;
a hibernation cancellation means for canceling the hibernation state when a corresponding hibernation cancellation medium is received in the hibernation state;
with
When the hibernation state is started in a valuable state in which the value is equal to or higher than a reference, the release medium ejecting means controls ejection of the storage medium associated with the value as a hibernation release medium and outputs release information. Set,
Authentication of the release information is a condition when the suspension release medium is used in a device other than the release target device.
A game management system characterized by: The release medium ejecting means controls ejection of the member storage medium as a suspension release medium when the suspension state is started in a state in which the member storage medium associated with the identification information of the member player is received. The game management system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , characterized in that: 5. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , further comprising hibernation management means for canceling the hibernation state of the device to be canceled when the hibernation cancellation medium is used in a device other than the device to be canceled. 1. The game management system described in 1. A game management method for a game management system that is installed in a game machine that performs a game using a game medium and has each machine that performs processing related to the game medium, comprising:
a pause operation receiving step for accepting an operation to temporarily pause the game;
When the idle state is started in a valueless state in which the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard, the value is stored without associating the value with a storage medium to which the value can be associated. a release medium ejection step of controlling ejection of the medium as the pause release medium;
a hibernation initiation step for initiating the hibernation;
a hibernation cancellation step of canceling the hibernation state when a corresponding hibernation cancellation medium is received in the hibernation state ;
a value giving step of giving the value to the pause release medium;
A game management method comprising: A game management method for a game management system that is installed in a game machine that performs a game using a game medium and has each machine that performs processing related to the game medium, comprising:
a pause operation receiving step for accepting an operation to temporarily pause the game;
When the idle state is started in a valueless state in which the value used when making the game medium usable does not meet a standard, the value is stored without associating the value with a storage medium to which the value can be associated. a release medium ejection step of controlling ejection of the medium as the pause release medium;
a hibernation cancellation step of canceling the hibernation state when a corresponding hibernation cancellation medium is received in the hibernation state;
including
The release medium ejecting step controls ejection of the storage medium associated with the value as a suspend release medium and outputs release information when the hibernation state is started in a valuable state in which the value is equal to or higher than a reference value. Set,
Authentication of the release information is a condition when the suspension release medium is used in a device other than the release target device.
A game management method characterized by:

Images