JP7465750B2 - Amusement Park Systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system for amusement parks.

In conventional amusement arcades, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a system is known in which the remaining deposit amount to be used for lending gaming media and the number of balls won through play are recorded on a card, and when a player leaves the arcade, the remaining deposit amount recorded on the card is refunded and the number of balls won is exchanged for prizes.
Specifically, a settlement device and a prize exchange device are installed at a prize exchange counter located in one section of the amusement parlor, and the information on the card received by an employee from the player is read by the settlement device (when settling the remaining deposit) and the prize exchange device (when exchanging held balls for prizes), and the employee is then configured to carry out the prescribed settlement operations and prize exchange operations.

JP 2017-144111 A

Recently, in order to reduce the burden on staff, attention has been focused on a self-exchange system in which players themselves perform settlement and prize exchange operations without the involvement of staff.
However, while such a self-exchange system can certainly reduce the burden on employees, it has been pointed out that it is difficult to reliably collect the cards used by players, since the players must separately operate the settlement device and the prize exchange device. In other words, although the cards that have been settled and exchanged for prizes should be collected by the gaming parlor, there have been cases where players have maliciously or carelessly taken the cards home, resulting in losses for the gaming parlor.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an amusement arcade system that can reliably collect recording media with the deposit balance and number of gaming media initialized, even in a system where the player settles the deposit balance recorded on the recording medium and exchanges the number of gaming media for prizes by operating the recording medium themselves, without the intervention of an employee.

According to the invention of claim 1, the settlement device receives a recording medium by a recording medium reading means and reads the deposit information and game medium information recorded on the recording medium, executes a payout process by a currency payout means to pay out currency based on the deposit information read by the recording medium reading means, executes a game medium information transmission process by a game medium information transmission means to transmit the game medium information read by the recording medium reading means to the prize exchange device, initializes the deposit information and game medium information recorded on the recording medium in response to the execution of the payout process and the game medium information transmission process by a recording medium initialization means, and collects the recording medium initialized by the recording medium initialization means by a collection means. This ensures that recording media with no deposit balance or held balls can be collected.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of an amusement park system according to one embodiment; Front view of a pachinko game machine and a counting rental unit Functional block diagram of the counting unit Perspective view of the prize exchange counter Functional block diagram of settlement device Perspective view of a POS terminal Functional block diagram of POS terminal Front view of a leftover coin exchange ticket FIG. 13 shows a standby screen of the settlement device. FIG. 13 shows a card reading screen of a settlement device. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a payment dispensing screen of the payment device. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a prize exchange confirmation screen of the settlement device. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a screen for transmitting ball information on a POS terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a special prize quantity confirmation screen of a POS terminal. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a final confirmation screen of a POS terminal.

Hereinafter, an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of the game arcade system, and the game arcade system is configured as a part of the game arcade system. A number of game machines 1 are installed in the game arcade, and a counting/lending unit 2 and a game information display device 3 are installed corresponding to each game machine 1. A number of each of the game machines 1, the counting/lending unit 2, and the game information display device 3 are connected to a relay device 4. The relay device 4 is connected to a management device 6 via a LAN 5.

The management device 6 receives game signals transmitted from gaming machine side equipment such as the gaming machine 1 and the counting rental unit 2, and manages game data for each gaming machine 1 and personal data for each registered member player.
Although detailed illustration is omitted, for example, several hundred gaming machines are installed in an amusement facility, and multiple gaming machine islands with different rental prices (rental unit prices) of gaming media are formed. In Fig. 1, a 4 yen pachinko island with a rental price of balls as a gaming medium of 4 yen and a 1 yen pachinko island with a rental price of 1 yen are shown as examples.

Cards for identifying the gaming value acquired by a player include the general card 9 (recording medium) shown in FIG. 3, which is a general recording medium, and the membership card 10, which is a membership recording medium. The general card 9 is issued to an unspecified number of players as a card that is valid only for that day. The IC chip 9a built into the general card 9 records a general ID that can identify the card 9, as well as deposit balance information that can identify the deposit information showing the deposit balance deposited in the counting and lending unit 2, and earned value information that can identify the number of balls held, i.e., the gaming value acquired by the player during that day, for each lending price.

The member card 10 is a card that is valid until a preset expiration date (e.g., three years) and is issued to a player who has registered as a member in advance. The number of balls held and the number of balls saved corresponding to the member card 10 are stored for each loan price in the member's account of the management device 6. The IC chip 10a built into the member card 10 records the deposit balance information and a member ID that can identify the member of the card 10 as information that can identify the gaming value of the member's account.

The management device 6 is equipped with a control unit including a CPU and a memory unit (not shown), a transmission/reception unit, output units such as a monitor 13 and a printer (not shown), and operation units such as a keyboard 14 and a mouse (not shown), and manages the operating status of various devices in the gaming facility, such as the gaming machine equipment, the POS terminal 7 (prize exchange device, exchange prize identification means, prize information transmission means), and the settlement device 8 (currency dispensing means, recording medium reading means, gaming medium information transmission means, recording medium initialization means, collection means), and manages the amount of gaming value and deposit balance for each player based on various signals received from the various devices.

The gaming machine 1 shown in FIG. 2 is a CR pachinko machine, and has an operating handle 16, an upper tray 17, and a lower tray 18 that constitute a launching device that launches balls onto the board 15, and also has a liquid crystal display unit 19, a starting hole 20, and a big prize hole 21 on the board 15. When a player operates the operating handle 16, a ball is launched onto the board 15, and if the ball enters the starting hole 20, a number of balls corresponding to the winning is paid out and a big prize lottery is held. In the big prize lottery, a pattern change is performed on the liquid crystal display unit 19 using so-called special patterns, and a big prize occurs when the pattern displayed in a stopped state is a big prize pattern. When a big prize occurs, the big prize hole 21 is opened for, for example, 15 rounds.

The equipment on the gaming machine outputs various gaming signals according to the progress of the game, such as when the player shoots balls into the starting port 20 and the big prize port 21, such as an out signal that can identify the number of out balls indicating the number of gaming media inserted into the gaming machine 1, a safe signal that can identify the number of safe balls indicating the number of gaming media paid out from the gaming machine 1 due to winning, and a status signal that can identify the big win state that has occurred on the gaming machine 1.

The counting and lending unit 2 has a status display 22 that shows the current operating status, a bill insertion slot 23 through which bills are inserted, a touch panel type liquid crystal display 24 that accepts operation input from the player and displays various data such as the deposit balance, the number of balls held, and the number of balls stored, a payout button 25 for paying out one unit of balls (equivalent to 500 yen), a payout nozzle 26 through which the paid out balls pass, a remote control light receiving section 27 that receives (receives light from) a signal from a remote control carried by an employee, a card insertion slot 28 through which a general card 9 or a member card 10 is inserted, and a counting tray 29 that is detachably connected to the lower tray 18 of the gaming machine 1. The counting and lending unit 2 is capable of detecting the operation of a lending button 30 and a return button 31 provided on the gaming machine 1.

Figure 3 shows a functional block diagram of the counting and lending unit 2. The counting and lending unit 2 is configured with a control unit 32 consisting of a microcomputer having a CPU 32a, ROM 32b, RAM 32c, and I/O 32d, and peripheral units connected to the control unit 32. The peripheral parts include an I/F section 33 that transmits and receives various signals and information between the management device 6 and the gaming machine 1, a bill processing section 34 that determines the authenticity of bills inserted into the bill insertion slot 23, a liquid crystal display section 24, a touch panel 35 provided on the liquid crystal display section 24, a card R/W 36 that reads and writes various information recorded on the general card 9 or member card 10 inserted into the card insertion slot 28, a card stock section 37 that can stock up to 10 general cards 9, a remote control light receiving section 27, a payout button 25, a payout section 38 that pays out one unit of balls (e.g., 500 yen) from the payout nozzle 26 when the payout button 25 is operated, and a counting section 39 that counts the balls flowing in from the counting tray 29.

The counting and lending unit 2 has the following functions.
(1) When a bill is inserted into the bill insertion slot 23, the denomination of the inserted bill (in units of 1000 yen) is stored, and the inserted amount (deposit balance) is displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24.
(2) When the loan button 30 of the gaming machine 1 is operated, a loan process is performed in which the number of balls equivalent to one time (500 yen) is paid out from the payout unit 38 within the range of the deposit balance in response to the operation of the loan button 30. If the counting loan unit 2 is installed on a 4-yen pachinko island, 125 balls are paid out, and if the counting loan unit 2 is installed on a 1-yen pachinko island, 500 balls are paid out. At this time, a signal indicating that one time worth of balls has been paid out is transmitted from the gaming machine 1 to the counting loan unit 2, so that one time worth of balls (500 yen) is subtracted from the deposit balance displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 24, and a sales signal indicating the number of loaned balls, which can be specified, is transmitted to the management device 6. This sales signal is transmitted as one pulse each time one time worth of balls is paid out, so that the management device 6 specifies one pulse as the sales amount of 500 yen.

(3) When the balls that fall from the lower tray 18 of the gaming machine 1 are received in the counting tray 29, the balls received in the counting tray 29 flow into the counting section 39, whereby a counting process is performed to count the balls, which are gaming media (gaming value), and the counted number of balls held is displayed on the LCD display section 24.
(4) When the payout button 25 is operated, a number of balls equivalent to one time (500 yen) is paid out from the payout section 38 within the range of the number of balls held or the number of saved balls (in the case of the membership card 10) depending on the operation of the payout button 25.

(5) When the return button 31 of the gaming machine 1 is operated, the deposit balance and the number of balls held at that time are recorded on the general card 9 according to the operation of the return button 31, and the general card 9 is issued. If the member card 10 is inserted into the card insertion port 28, the deposit balance is recorded on the member card 10, and the number of balls held is sent to the management device 6 on the condition that the PIN number is entered, and the member card 10 is issued. When the general card 9 or member card 10 is issued, an issuance signal that can identify the information recorded on these cards 9, 10 (deposit balance and number of balls held) is sent to the management device 6 along with the general ID and member ID, so that the management device 6 also stores and manages the information recorded on the cards 9, 10. If neither of the cards 9, 10 is inserted into the card insertion port 28, one of the general cards 9 stocked in the card stock section 37 is paid out, and the deposit balance and number of balls held are recorded by the card R/W 36 and issued.

(6) When a general card 9 is inserted into the card insertion slot 28, the card R/W 36 reads out the deposit balance and the number of balls held recorded on the general card 9 and displays them on the LCD display 24. When the general card 9 is accepted, the loan/return process is performed within the range of the deposit balance and the number of balls held recorded on the general card 9.

(7) When the member card 10 is inserted into the card insertion slot 28, the card R/W 36 reads out the remaining balance recorded on the member card 10 and displays it on the LCD display 24. If the PIN is entered, the number of balls held and the number of balls saved stored in the member's account in the management device 6 are also displayed. When the member card 10 is accepted, the loan/return process is performed within the range of the remaining balance recorded on the member card 10 and the number of balls held and the number of balls saved in the member's account.

Incidentally, although the general card 9 needs to be collected when the player finishes playing, in the case of a self-service system, there is a risk that a player may maliciously or carelessly take home the general card 9, resulting in a loss for the gaming facility.
For these reasons, in this embodiment, even in a self-service system, the general card 9 is reliably collected. As for the member card 10, since it is not necessary to collect it even in a self-service system, the payment process and the gift exchange process are performed by the conventional payment device 8 and POS terminal 7 (not shown).

A configuration for reliably allowing the general card 9 to be collected even in a self-service system will be described below.
A prize exchange counter 40 shown in Fig. 4 is installed in one corner of the game center. This prize exchange counter 40 is used for performing settlement processing and prize exchange processing for general cards 9, and is configured by combining a settlement device 8, a POS terminal 7, a prize payout device 41, and a leftover prize corner 42 (see Fig. 1). In the case of this embodiment, the POS terminal 7 and the prize payout device 41 are stored in a single housing 43 and are configured as an integrated unit, and the leftover prize corner 42 is arranged on the housing 43.

1, the POS terminal 7, the settlement device 8, and the prize payout device 41 are connected to the management device 6 via a LAN 5. The POS terminal 7 and the prize payout device 41 are directly connected, and the settlement device 8 and the POS terminal 7 are directly connected.
First, a description will be given of the settlement device 8. As shown in Fig. 4, the settlement device 8 is provided with a touch panel type display unit 44, a card insertion slot 45, a bill return slot 46, and a coin return slot 47.

As shown in FIG. 5, the settlement device 8 includes a control unit 48 configured by a microcomputer having a CPU 48a, a ROM 48b, a RAM 48c, and an I/O 48d, a display unit 44 connected to the control unit 48, a touch panel 49 arranged on the display unit 44, a banknote dispensing unit 50 that dispenses banknotes to the banknote return slot 46, a coin dispensing unit 51 that dispenses coins to the coin return slot 47, an alarm lamp unit 52 that notifies the state or abnormality of the settlement device 8, a card R/W 53 that reads information from a general card 9 inserted into the card insertion slot 45, a stock unit 54 that collects the general card 9 located on the card R/W 53, and an I/F unit 55 that transmits and receives various signals and information between the management device 6 and the POS terminal 7.

When the general card 9 is inserted into the card insertion port 45, the settlement device 8 reads the deposit balance recorded on the inserted general card 9 with the card R/W 53, displays the read deposit balance on the display unit 44, and executes a settlement process to return the amount in cash such as bills and coins from each return port 46, 47, and then collects the general card 9 into the stock unit 54. At this time, if the number of balls held is recorded on the inserted general card 9, the settlement device 8 executes a transmission process (game medium information transmission process) to send held ball information (game medium information) indicating the number of balls held (number of game media) to the POS terminal 7 before collecting the card. Note that when the settlement device 8 handles the deposit balance and held balls recorded on the general card 9, it processes them after comparing them with the deposit balance and held balls previously stored by the management device 6 corresponding to the general card 9.

Next, the configuration of the POS terminal 7 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in Figure 6, the POS terminal 7 is composed of a main body unit 56 and a touch panel type display unit 57 that can communicate with the main body unit 56. The display unit 57 displays the information necessary for prize exchange and executes a predetermined prize exchange process in response to touch operations by the player.

Figure 7 shows a functional block diagram of the POS terminal 7. The POS terminal 7 includes a control unit 58 consisting of a microcomputer having a CPU 58a, ROM 58b, RAM 58c, and I/O 58d, a display unit 57 connected to the control unit 58, a touch panel 59 arranged on the display unit 57, and an I/F unit 60 that transmits and receives various signals and information between the management device 6, the settlement device 8, and the prize payout device 41.

The POS terminal 7 identifies the type and number of special prizes based on the held ball information sent from the settlement device 8, and instructs the prize payout device 41 to pay out the special prizes. The prize payout device 41 stores multiple types of special prizes in a prize stock section (not shown) inside the main body, and automatically pays out special prizes in response to a payout instruction from the POS terminal 7. The special prizes are resin cards with built-in IC chips, and come in three denominations: 5,000 yen, 1,000 yen, and 200 yen. If any leftover balls are generated when the prize exchange is completed, a leftover ball exchange ticket 61 shown in Figure 8 is issued. The leftover ball exchange ticket 61 is printed with leftover ball exchange information indicating the unit amount of leftover balls and their number (amount), and a message indicating the types of leftover ball prizes that can be selected within the amount range and their number.

Next, the operation method when a player wishes to perform the settlement process and prize exchange process for the general card 9 will be explained. The player first moves to the settlement device 8 that constitutes the prize exchange counter 40. The settlement device 8 displays the standby screen shown in FIG. 9 on the display unit 44. This standby screen displays a message encouraging the insertion of the general card 9.

When a player inserts a general card 9 into the settlement device 8, the settlement device 8 reads the deposit balance recorded on the inserted general card 9 and displays the card reading screen of Fig. 10. This card reading screen displays the deposit balance and settlement amount (= deposit balance) read from the general card 9, and if there are balls recorded on the general card 9, a message indicating that there are balls is displayed, and further displays a "Cancel" button 62 and a "Settlement" button 63.
If the read general card 9 does not have a credit balance recorded, the message "No credit balance" is displayed.

When a player touches the "Settlement" button 63, the settlement device 8 executes a settlement process to pay out the remaining deposit amount in coins to the player and displays the settlement payout screen of FIG. 11. This settlement payout screen displays the remaining deposit amount, the settlement amount, and the payout amount (= settlement amount), as well as a message warning the player not to forget to take the settlement amount. If the read general card 9 does not record any held balls, the deposit balance recorded on the general card 9 is initialized to 0 and then collected into the stock section 54.

Next, if the read general card 9 has balls recorded on it, the settlement device 8 displays a message encouraging the player to exchange for a prize, as shown on the prize exchange confirmation screen of Figure 12, and also displays a "Cancel" button 62 and a "Prize exchange" button 64.
When the player touches the "prize exchange" button 64, a transmission process is executed to read the number of balls held from the general card 9 and transmit it to the POS terminal 7, and the deposit balance and number of balls held recorded on the general card 9 are initialized to 0 before being collected into the stock section 54. Then, a message prompting an operation on the POS terminal 7 is displayed, as shown in the held ball information transmission screen of Fig. 13. The held ball information transmission screen of Fig. 13 is automatically erased in 10 seconds, and the standby screen of Fig. 9 is displayed.

As described above, if a player who has completed the settlement process at the settlement device 8 wishes to continue with the prize exchange, he or she moves to the POS terminal 7. The POS terminal 7 displays the special prize number confirmation screen of FIG. 14 based on the held ball information sent from the settlement device 8. This special prize number confirmation screen displays a message prompting the player to confirm the number of balls, held ball/end ball information indicating the unit price of the balls, held balls and end balls, special prize information indicating the number of each exchangeable special prize, a "call attendant" button 65, and a "confirm" button 66.

A large special prize is worth 5,000 yen, a medium special prize is worth 1,000 yen, and a small special prize is worth 200 yen. An example of how to calculate the number of special prizes is as follows: 4 yen pachinko = 1,915 balls (7,660 yen) = 1,250 balls x 1 + 250 balls x 2 + 50 balls x 3 + 15 balls = large special prize (5,000 yen) x 1 + medium special prize (1,000 yen) x 2 + small special prize (200 yen) x 3 + extra balls (60 yen).

When the player presses the "Confirm" button 66, the POS terminal 7 displays the final confirmation screen of FIG. 15. This final confirmation screen displays a message urging the player to confirm, prize information indicating the number of each exchangeable special prize and each end ball prize, and also displays a "Confirm" button 67 instead of the "Confirm" button 66.

When the player touches the "Confirm" button 67, the POS terminal 7 executes a prize information transmission process that transmits prize information to the prize payout device 41. The prize payout device 41 executes a payout process that pays out the corresponding number of special prizes identified based on the prize information transmitted from the POS terminal 7, and issues a leftover ball exchange ticket 61 as shown in Figure 7 if there are leftover balls.

When a player receives the leftover ball exchange ticket 61, he or she proceeds to the leftover ball prize corner 42 and selects the desired leftover ball prize corresponding to the information recorded on the leftover ball exchange ticket 61. The leftover ball prize corner 42 is unmanned, and players are free to choose prizes within the exchangeable range and take them home. The leftover ball prizes include miscellaneous goods and sweets, and are displayed on shelves categorized by price (A to E). The leftover ball prizes are categorized as follows: A is a 100 yen general prize, B is a 50 yen general prize, C is a 10 yen general prize, D is a 5 yen general prize, and E is a 1 yen general prize.
In this manner, the player can settle the remaining deposit amount at the settlement device 8, exchange the balls acquired at the POS terminal 7 for special prizes, and exchange the end balls for end ball prizes at the end ball prize corner 42.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
The settlement device 8 settles the deposit balance recorded on the inserted general card 9, and if held balls are recorded, it transmits the held ball information to the POS terminal 7, and then initializes and collects the general card 9. Therefore, even in a system in which the deposit balance is settled and prizes are exchanged by a self-service method without the intervention of an employee, it is possible to reliably collect a general card 9 with no deposit balance or held balls.

The POS terminal 7 identifies the type and number of special prizes based on the held ball information sent from the settlement device 8 and sends prize information indicating them to the prize payout device 41, and the prize payout device 41 pays out the special prizes based on the prize information sent from the POS terminal 7, so that prize exchange can be carried out without reading the held balls from the general card 9.

Other Embodiments
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows, or each modified example can be combined with the above-described embodiment, or each modified example can be combined.
The settlement device 8 is designed to always perform settlement processing when there is a deposit balance, but it may be configured to not perform settlement processing depending on the player's selection (selection means), and to only exchange for prizes by sending the ball information to the POS terminal 7. In this case, since it is necessary to update the ball information recorded on the card in response to the prize exchange processing, the ball information at the end of the prize exchange processing is received from the POS terminal 7, the ball information on the card is rewritten, and the card is returned.

The settlement device 8 may be configured to accept a membership card and to execute settlement processing and prize exchange processing. In this case, the membership card is always returned to the player regardless of the deposit balance and the number of balls held.
As in the past, a separate prize exchange counter that can be operated by employees may be provided.
The settlement device 8, POS terminal 7, and prize dispensing device 41 may be housed in a single housing and configured as an integrated unit.

The extra prizes are given out in a so-called buffet style, allowing players to freely take home prizes of their choice, but employees may also hand them out to players according to their wishes.
Although the types of prizes are limited to two types, special prizes and end-of-lot prizes, prizes other than the end-of-lot prizes may be prepared.
The type of the special prize is not limited to that in the present embodiment, and may be of any shape and amount. Similarly, the type of the end prize may be of any shape and amount.
A prize payout device may be installed to automatically pay out end prizes in the same way as special prizes.

The rental unit price of the gaming medium can be set arbitrarily by the gaming arcade within the range stipulated by the rules. The rental unit price is not limited to two types, and may be three or more types.
Although a gaming machine of the type that pays out actual gaming media in response to winning has been exemplified, an enclosed gaming machine of the type that awards points instead of paying out gaming media may also be used.
Although a pachinko machine is exemplified as the gaming machine, a slot machine may be used. Also, although balls are exemplified as the gaming medium, medals may be used.

In the drawing, 7 is a POS terminal (prize exchange device, exchange prize identification means, prize information transmission means), and 8 is a settlement device (currency dispensing means, recording medium reading means, game medium information transmission means, recording medium initialization means, collection means).

Claims (3)

In an amusement facility system, a recording medium capable of recording deposit information indicating the deposit balance for receiving loaned gaming media and gaming media information indicating the number of gaming media acquired through play is issued to a player, and a settlement device capable of executing a settlement process to pay out currency based on the deposit information recorded on said recording medium, a prize exchange device capable of executing a prize exchange process based on the gaming media information recorded on said recording medium, and a prize payout device capable of executing a payout process to pay out prizes that have been exchanged in the exchange process to the player are arranged in parallel,
The settlement device includes:
a recording medium reading means for receiving the recording medium and reading the deposit information and the game medium information recorded on the recording medium;
a money dispensing means for executing a dispensing process for dispensing money based on the deposit information read by the recording medium reading means;
a game medium information transmitting means for executing a game medium information transmitting process for transmitting the game medium information read by the recording medium reading means to the prize exchange device;
a recording medium initializing means for initializing the deposit information and the gaming medium information recorded on the recording medium in response to execution of the payout process and the gaming medium information transmission process;
a recovery means for recovering the recording medium initialized by the recording medium initialization means;
A system for an amusement park comprising: The prize exchange device includes:
an exchangeable prize specifying means for specifying the type and the number of exchangeable prizes based on the game medium information transmitted by the game medium information transmitting means;
and a prize information transmission means for executing a prize information transmission process for transmitting prize information indicating the type and number of exchangeable prizes identified by the exchange prize identification means to the prize payout device,
2. The amusement arcade system according to claim 1, wherein the prize payout device executes a payout process for paying out prizes specified by the prize information transmitted from the prize information transmission means. The settlement device includes:
A selection means is provided for allowing a player to select to execute only the prize exchange process without executing the settlement process,
The amusement park system according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that when the selection means is operated, the game medium information transmission means executes a game medium information transmission process without executing the settlement process.

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