JP7476774B2 - Gaming Machine Management System - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a gaming machine management system, and more specifically, to a gaming machine management system that has the function of notifying a player that a gaming machine that can be used at the player's desired rate has become available.

Enclosed gaming machines that use multiple balls enclosed inside and circulate them are known as gaming machines used in gaming establishments such as pachinko parlors (Patent Document 1). In enclosed gaming machines, players can select their preferred rate from multiple rates by selecting the rate. The rate refers to the unit price of the gaming balls provided to players when lending balls (4 yen, 2 yen, 1 yen, etc.).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-90018

Gaming establishment operators may consider restricting the number and ratio of gaming machines that allow low rates (relatively low rates such as 1 yen rates) in consideration of sales. However, if the number and ratio of gaming machines that allow low rates are restricted, customers who wish to play at low rates will not be able to play as they wish, and it is expected that they will leave without playing or will not be able to play comfortably.

The present invention was made in consideration of this situation, and its purpose is to enable gaming establishments that have gaming machines that allow players to select game rates to notify players that a gaming machine that allows them to play at their desired game rate has become available.

The present invention is a gaming machine management system that manages a plurality of gaming machines for which a player can select a rate, the gaming machine management system having: a set number storage means for storing the set number of the gaming machine for each rate; an operating number storage means for storing the operating number of the gaming machine for each rate; an operation means for receiving input of a predetermined operation by the player; a determination means for determining whether a rate can be selected based on the set number and the operating number in response to the input of a rate selection operation by the player from the operation means; a first display means for displaying first information indicating that the selection is not possible when the determination means determines that a rate selection is not possible; and a second display means for displaying second information indicating that the selection is possible when the determination means determines that a rate selection is possible due to a decrease in the operating number after the first information is displayed by the first display means.

According to the present invention, in an amusement facility that has gaming machines that allow players to select game rates, it is possible to notify players that a gaming machine that allows them to play at their desired game rate has become available.

1 is a diagram showing a system configuration and a schematic operation of a gaming system including a gaming machine management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the gaming machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the inter-machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control configuration of a management device. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of operation of a gaming machine management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<Configuration and general operation of gaming system>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the system configuration and general operation of a gaming system including a gaming machine management system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This gaming system 100 includes n gaming machines 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-n (here, n is an integer equal to or greater than 3), n spaced machines 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n, a management device 3, and a network NW. The n spaced machines 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n, the management device 3, and the network NW constitute a gaming machine management system.

The gaming machines 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-n are gaming machines that allow players to select the rate, such as enclosed pachinko machines or slot machines. The inter-machine machines 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n are installed adjacent to the gaming machines 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-n, respectively, and are devices that monitor the gaming machines 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-n when players play on the gaming machines 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-n. The management device 3 is a server installed inside the gaming establishment. Hereinafter, when there is no distinction between the gaming machines 1-1, 1-2, ..., 1-n, they will be referred to as gaming machine 1, and when there is no distinction between the inter-machine machines 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n, they will be referred to as inter-machine machine 2.

The gaming machine 1 and the inter-machine machine 2 are connected to each other via their respective connection parts, and data communication is possible via these connection parts. In addition, data communication is possible between the inter-machine machine 2 and the management device 3 via a network NW such as a LAN.

The gaming machine 1 transmits the model information of the gaming machine 1 stored inside to the inter-machine machine 2. The gaming machine 1 also transmits game information that represents the operation of the gaming machine 1 generated as the player plays, such as information representing the operation of the reels, the number of spins (the number of balls that enter the winning slots), and wins (big win/small win/none, etc.) to the inter-machine machine 2.

The interleaving machine 2 transmits the interleaving machine number stored internally as identification information of the interleaving machine 2, the model information received from the gaming machine 1, and the card ID read from the membership card held by the player as player identification information to the management device 3 via the network NW. By transmitting this information to the management device 3, the gaming machine 1 enters a logged-in state, and the player can use the gaming machine 1 to play games.

The inter-machine machine 2 also transmits the game information received from the gaming machine 1 to the management device 3 via the network NW. Furthermore, the inter-machine machine 2 generates a rate selection request notification in response to the player's input of a rate selection operation, and transmits it to the management device 3.

The management device 3 stores the model information and rate information received from the inter-machine 2 in association with each other. The management device 3 also stores the game history information generated based on the game information received from the inter-machine 2 in association with the card ID. Details of the game history information will be described later using specific examples.

When the management device 3 receives a rate selection request notification from the inter-machine 2, it determines whether the requested rate can be selected, and if so, sends a rate selection permission notification, and if not, sends a rate selection unavailable notification. After sending the rate selection unavailable notification, when a vacancy occurs in the rate requested for selection, the management device 3 sends a rate vacancy notification to the inter-machine 2. Details of these operations will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

Players can select a rate at the start of play and during play. However, since rate selection during play is a change to the rate selected at the start of play, in the following explanation, for rate selection during play, the rate selection operation, rate selection request notification, rate selection permission notification, and rate selection not possible notification will be referred to as a rate change operation, rate change request notification, rate change permission notification, and rate change not possible notification, respectively.

<Control configuration of gaming machine>
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the gaming machine.
The gaming machine 1 comprises a control unit 10, an operation unit 11, a ball/medal processing unit 12, a presentation unit 13, a memory unit 14, a speaker unit 15, a segment display unit 16, and an inter-machine connection unit 17, which are all connected to the control unit 10.

The control unit 10 is a processor (CPU) that controls the operation of each unit and operates the gaming machine 1 by processing the programs stored in the memory unit 14. The operation unit 11 is composed of handles, buttons, levers, etc., and is operated by the player. The ball/medal processing unit 12 processes the insertion and withdrawal of game balls/medals. The presentation unit 13 is provided on the gaming board, frame, LCD screen, and operation unit 11 of the gaming machine 1, and provides presentation such as sound, vibration, operation of gimmicks, and display on the LCD screen.

The memory unit 14 is made up of ROM, RAM, etc., and stores the presentation program, model information as identification information for the gaming machine 1, the progress of the lottery results by the control unit 10, etc. The speaker unit 15 generates sound as part of the presentation. The segment display unit 16 is made up of LEDs, and displays the results of the lottery such as a jackpot performed by the control unit 10. The machine connection unit 17 is an interface for connection to the machine 2.

<Control configuration of inter-machine>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the inter-machine.
As shown in the figure, the inter-machine machine 2 has a control unit 20, a memory unit 21, a communication unit 22, a gaming machine connection unit 23, an operation unit 24, a display unit 25, and a card insertion unit 26, all of which are connected to the control unit 20.

The control unit 20 functions as a communication control unit 201, a game control unit 202, an operation control unit 203, a display control unit 204, and a card control unit 205 by processing the programs stored in the memory unit 21. Details of each of these units will be described later.

The memory unit 21 is made up of ROM, RAM, etc., and stores various programs and data processed by the control unit 20. The communication unit 22 is a communication interface for sending and receiving information to and from the management device 3, and includes, for example, a LAN controller. The gaming machine connection unit 23 includes an interface for linking with the gaming machine 1.

The operation unit 24 has, for example, operation buttons as a device for the player to operate, and functions as the operation means according to the present invention. The operation unit 24 may have a touch panel provided on top of the display unit 25. The display unit 25 is, for example, a liquid crystal display, and displays various information to be notified to the player, and functions as the first display means and second display means according to the present invention. The card insertion unit 26 processes the inserted member card or game card of the player.

The communication control unit 201 performs data communication with the management device 3 via the communication unit 22. The gaming control unit 202 monitors the gaming machine 1 by performing data communication with the gaming machine 1 via the gaming machine connection unit 23.

The operation control unit 203 acquires information indicating the operation content performed on the operation unit 24 from the operation unit 24, and notifies each unit of the control unit 20 related to the operation content based on the acquired information. The display control unit 204 causes the display unit 25 to display various types of information.

The card control unit 205 reads information from a card, which is a storage medium, inserted into the card insertion unit 26, and writes information to the card.

<Control Configuration of Management Device>
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control configuration of the management device.
As shown in the figure, the management device 3 has a control unit 30, and a storage unit 31, an operation unit 32, a display unit 33, and a communication unit 34, which are each connected to the control unit 30.

The control unit 30 is, for example, a CPU, and controls the entire management device 3 by executing a program stored in the storage unit 31. In this embodiment, the control unit 30 also functions as a determination means. Details of the determination means will be described later with reference to FIG. 5.

The storage unit 31 is a storage medium such as a ROM, a RAM, or a hard disk. The ROM stores control programs and fixed data necessary for operating the management device 3. The RAM stores programs being executed by the control unit 30 and data necessary for executing these programs. The hard disk stores large amounts of information. Here, the operation information 311 and game history information 312 of the gaming machine 1 are illustrated as the information to be stored. The contents of the operation information 311 and game history information 312 will be described later.

The operation unit 32 is a device that accepts operations by a user (such as a staff member at an amusement arcade), such as a keyboard and a mouse. The display unit 33 is a display that displays information input from the operation unit 32 and information obtained from the inter-machine machine 2.

The communication unit 34 is a communication interface for transmitting and receiving data between the machine 2 via the network NW, and is configured, for example, by a LAN controller.

The operation information 311 is a link between the set number for each rate (maximum number available for use) and the operating number (number of uses) and the machine type information. In other words, the operation information is information that indicates the set number and operating number for each rate for each machine type. The set number is set by the manager or staff of the gaming establishment. The operating number is, for example, the number of rate selection permission notifications sent, and is a value subtracted from the operating number when a signal is received that the membership card has been discharged after the end of the game. Here, for machine A, the set number for the 4 yen rate is 80, the operating number is 70, the set number for the 1 yen rate is 20, and the operating number is 20. In other words, 10 more machines can be used for the 4 yen rate (selected by the player), but no new use is possible for the 1 yen rate. The same is true for machine B and machine C. In the following explanation, the 4 yen rate may be referred to as the high rate and the 1 yen rate as the low rate.

Game history information 312 links the game history of each card ID, in other words each player, to the time information of the occurrence of an event (start of game, end of game, etc.). Here, it shows that for a player with card ID 101001, it became impossible to play at the 1 yen rate on machine A at 17:10 (a rate change impossible notification was sent in response to a rate change request notification from the 4 yen rate to the 1 yen rate), and that he started playing at the 1 yen rate on machine B at 17:16, and that for a player with card ID 101002, he started playing at the 4 yen rate on machine A at 10:00, and ended that game at 14:00.

<Operation of Gaming Machine Management System>
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of operation of the gaming machine management system. This operation is an example of the operation when a player inputs an operation to change the rate to a low rate from the operation unit 24 of the inter-machine machine 2 attached to the gaming machine 1 operating at a high rate, in other words, when a player selects a high rate and starts playing, and inputs an operation to change the rate to a low rate during the game. In this figure, the inter-machine machine 2A is an inter-machine machine attached to a gaming machine of type A, and the inter-machine machine 2B is an inter-machine machine attached to a gaming machine of type B. The following will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 4.

The gaming machine of model A is operating at a high rate, and the player wishes to play at a low rate, so he inputs a rate change operation from the operation unit 24. When the player inputs the rate change operation to the inter-machine machine 2A (step S1), the inter-machine machine 2A sends a rate change request notice to the management device 3 (step S2). This rate change request notice includes the model information of the gaming machine 1 (here, model A) obtained from the gaming machine attached to the inter-machine machine 2A, the inter-machine machine number as its own identification information, and the card ID (here, 101001) read from the player's membership card.

The management device 3 receives the rate change request notification (step S21) and determines whether the rate change request is possible (step S22). This determination is made in the following procedure. The control unit 30 refers to the operation information 311, and determines that if there is an available number of uses for the 1 yen rate of model A, which is the model of gaming machine added to the rate change request, then the rate can be changed, and if there is no available number, then the rate cannot be changed.

Here, the operation information 311 for model A is as shown in Figure 4. That is, for the 1 yen rate, the number of available machines is 20, and the number of operating machines is 20. Therefore, when a player of a gaming machine set to a 4 yen rate performs an operation to change the rate to 1 yen, the management device 3 determines that the rate cannot be changed, and sends a rate change impossible notification as a determination result to the inter-machine machine 2A (step S23). Then, the fact that the player was unable to use the lower rate on the gaming machine of model A is saved as gaming history information 312 (step S24). The saved gaming history information 312 is shown in Table 1 below.

The inter-machine device 2A receives the notification that the rate cannot be changed (step S3), displays it (step S4), and ends the process shown in this figure.

When the player learns that he cannot play at a low rate on gaming machine A because of the display of the rate change impossibility notification, he moves to gaming machine B and starts playing at a low rate (step S11). That is, although not shown in the figure, the following steps are taken between inter-machine machine 2B and management device 3: the player inputs a rate selection operation for a low rate, inter-machine machine 2B sends a rate selection request notification, management device 3 receives the rate selection request notification, management device 3 determines whether the rate can be selected or not, management device 3 sends a rate selection permission notification, inter-machine machine 2B receives the rate selection permission notification, and then the player starts playing at the low rate.

The inter-machine machine 2B transmits a game start notification to the management device 3 (step S12). This game start notification is generated, for example, from game information that is first transmitted from the gaming machine to the inter-machine machine 2 when a player starts playing on an adjacent gaming machine of model B. The management device 3 receives the game start notification (step S25) and saves the fact that the player has started playing at a low rate on the gaming machine of model B as game history information 312 (step S26). By executing step S26, the game history information 312 becomes as shown in Table 2 below. Note that a game in progress notification may be used instead of the game start notification.

Then, the management device 3 periodically refers to the operation information 311, and repeats the process of determining whether or not an empty slot has been determined at the low rate of the gaming machine of model A until it determines that an empty slot has occurred (step S27: NO → step S27). Then, if it determines that an empty slot has occurred (step S27: YES), it retains the fact that an empty slot has occurred at the low rate of the gaming machine 1 of model A (step S28). More specifically, for example, information indicating that an empty slot has occurred at the low rate of the gaming machine 1 of model A is linked to the card ID of the player received in step S21 and stored in the memory unit 31. The information indicating that an empty slot has occurred at the low rate of the gaming machine 1 of model A may be added to the playing history information 312 saved in step S26.

Here, the occurrence of vacancies at the low rate of gaming machine type A is determined by a decrease in the number of operating low rate gaming machines of model A. That is, for example, this is determined by a decrease in the operating information of gaming machine type A from "20", which is the number of operating 1 yen rate machines in the operating information 311 shown in FIG. 4, to "19" as shown in Table 3 below.

Next, the management device 3 sends a notification to the space-between machine 2B, i.e., the space-between machine 2 attached to the gaming machine 1 where a player with a membership card having a card ID of 101001 is playing at a low rate, that a vacancy has occurred at a low rate on the gaming machine of model A (hereinafter, a "model A low rate vacancy notification") (step S29).

Inter-machine 2B receives the "Model A low rate vacancy notification" (step S13), displays it (step S14), and ends the process shown in this figure. By looking at the above display, the player can know that a vacancy has occurred at a low rate on the gaming machine of model A, in other words, that it is now possible to play the gaming machine of model A at a low rate.

Next, the management device 3 determines whether or not the player with card number 101001 has started playing at a low rate on the gaming machine of model A within a specified time after it has been detected that an available slot has become available at a low rate on the gaming machine of model A (step S30).

If it is determined that the process has not started (step S30: NO), the low-rate vacancy of model A that was held is released (step S31), and the process shown in this figure is terminated. If it is determined that the process has started (step S30: YES), the process shown in this figure is terminated as is.

In other words, the player with card number 101001 has reserved use of gaming machine type A at a low rate for a specified time after it is determined that a vacancy has occurred, and if the player does not start playing within the specified time, the reservation will be canceled.

The procedure for requesting a rate change described above with reference to Figures 4 and 5 is an example of a case where a request to change from a high rate to a low rate is not possible, but the same procedure applies to cases where a request to change from a relatively low rate to a high rate is not possible, such as a request to change from a 1 yen rate to a 2 yen rate, or from a 2 yen rate to a 4 yen rate.

As described above in detail, the gaming machine management system according to the embodiment of the present invention has the following advantages (1) and (2).
(1) It is possible to notify a player that a gaming machine that can be played on the model and rate desired by the player (hereinafter referred to as the desired conditions) has changed from a fully available state to a fully available state.
(2) A player who is unable to play under his/her desired conditions because a gaming machine that meets his/her desired conditions is not available can use the gaming machine that meets his/her desired conditions on a priority basis, since the gaming machine is reserved for use for a specified time from the time a gaming machine that meets his/her desired conditions becomes available.

In addition to the above embodiment, the present invention includes the following modified examples (1) to (4).
(1) In the case where multiple players were unable to play under the desired conditions, the order of notification (reservation priority) is set according to the desired rate, not according to the oldest playing history (earliest start time of play). An example is shown in Table 4 below.

In the case of this table, priority is given to notifying (reserving) the player with card ID: 101002 who has a higher desired rate, rather than the player with card ID: 101001 who has an older playing history. By being able to give priority to players with higher desired rates, the profit margin of the gaming facility can be increased.

(2) Only players who have requested the "low-rate availability notification for model A" are notified. That is, for example, after step S4, the player inputs a request for notification (display) that an available gaming machine of model A that can be played at a low rate has become available at the space-between machine 2A, and the management device 3 receives the notification of the request, or the player inputs the above request at the space-between machine 2B before step S11, and the management device 3 receives the notification of the request, on the condition that the management device 3 executes step S28 and subsequent steps. By notifying only players who have requested the "low-rate availability notification for model A," the number of notifications sent can be reduced compared to when notifications are sent regardless of whether or not the player requests the notification.
(3) If the operating rate of a high rate machine is equal to or higher than a predetermined value (e.g., 90%), the "low-rate vacancy notification for model A" is not sent. By processing in this manner, it is possible to prevent a decrease in the operating rate of a gaming machine operating at a high rate, thereby increasing the profit margin of the gaming facility.
(4) The gaming machine management systems of multiple gaming facilities are connected via a public communication network, and the management device 3 refers to the operation information of all gaming facilities and notifies the mobile terminals of players and the inter-machine machines 2 of gaming facilities where they can play under the desired conditions. By processing in this way, it is expected that overcrowding can be avoided by dispersing the number of players.

1...gaming machine, 2...machine-to-machine machine, 3...management device, 24...operation unit, 30...control unit, 31...storage unit, 100...gaming system, 311...operation information, 312...gaming history information.

Claims (4)

A gaming machine management system for managing a plurality of gaming machines for which a player can select a rate, comprising:
A setting number storage means for storing a setting number of the gaming machine for each rate;
an operating number storage means for storing the operating number of the gaming machine for each rate;
An operation means for receiving a predetermined operation input by a player;
a determination means for determining whether or not a rate can be selected based on the set number and the number of operations in response to a rate selection operation input by the player from the operation means;
a first display means for displaying, when the determining means determines that a rate selection is impossible, first information indicating that the rate selection is impossible;
a second display means for displaying, when the determination means determines that a rate selection is possible due to a decrease in the number of operating machines after the first information is displayed by the first display means, second information indicating that the selection is possible;
A gaming machine management system having the above configuration. 2. The gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
The second display means displays the second information on the condition that an operation requesting the display of the second information is input from the operation means in response to the display of the first information. 3. The gaming machine management system according to claim 1,
A gaming machine management system having a means for, when the determination means determines that rate selection is possible due to a decrease in the number of operating machines after first information is displayed by the first display means, linking and retaining information indicating that rate selection is possible to identification information of the player who input the rate selection operation. In the gaming machine management system according to claim 3,
a gaming machine management system having means for releasing the stored information when a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the storage;