JPH0847561A - Data tabulator for game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely and efficiently tabulate game data transmitted from plural game machines by a main control unit. CONSTITUTION:A master control unit 2 tabulates the game data sent from plural slot machines. Slot machine control units 11a, 11b,... which control the progression of a game and slave units 6a, 6b, 6c, which function as relay units are incorporated in the slot machines 5a, 5b,.... The slave units 6a, 6b, 6c,... are connected in series to the master control unit 2 via communication channels 10a, 10b. Each of the slave units 6a, 6b, 6c,... incorporates a microprocessor, and communicates with the master control unit 2 by transferring the game data between corresponding slot machine control units 11a, 11b,..., and also, transfers the game data from the slave unit of the slot machine in a front stage to the slave unit of the slot machine in a rear stage.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data totaling device for a game machine, such as a slot machine, which uses coins and tokens (hereinafter, simply referred to as coins) to play a game.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Many game machines for playing games using coins are installed in game centers and casinos. A system is adopted in which a number of such gaming machines are grouped one by one, and a privilege is given to each group unit when a game is successful or when a prize is won. For example, in a typical slot machine as a game machine using coins, an example is known in which about 20 to 30 slot machines are grouped into one group, and jackpot (hereinafter referred to as JP) processing is performed in a progressive manner for each group. ing.

In the progressive JP processing, for example, 30 slot machines are grouped into one group by one main control unit (master control unit) and coins are inserted into each slot machine belonging to this group. , Pool some of the input amount into the master control unit all at once. Then, when a JP hit occurs in any of the slot machines in this group, the number of coins corresponding to the pooled amount is paid out. Therefore, the master control unit updates and stores the payout amount at the time of a JP hit or the coin payout number each time a coin is inserted into each slot machine in the group. Further, the payout amount at the time of the JP hit is displayed on the display so that the player can have a great interest at the time of the JP hit.

In order to carry out such JP processing, it is necessary for the master control unit to total the number of coins inserted into each of the grouped slot machines as game data. Therefore, conventionally, each of the grouped slot machines has a built-in relay board dedicated to data communication, and the signal line from each relay board is connected to a management computer used as a master control unit. Then, the game data obtained for each slot machine is sent to the management computer via the relay board.

[0005]

However, the relay boards used so far have only the function of simply transferring the game data obtained for each slot machine to the management computer, for example, an error check function or an error check function. , The management computer does not have a function of processing game data into a data type that is easy to process. Therefore, when various game data are simultaneously sent from a plurality of slot machine machines, the management computer may mistakenly recognize the game data. When such a relay board is used, each slot machine must be connected to the master control unit, which has a disadvantage that the work for changing the model becomes very complicated. It was

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and game data from a plurality of game machines can be efficiently and accurately collected by a master control unit. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with a first microprocessor, a game machine control unit which is built in each game machine and which controls a game operation according to game data. The relay unit controls the game data, and the main control unit having at least one second microprocessor collectively manages the game data transmitted from each relay unit. Each relay unit and the main control unit are connected in series by a communication line, and the relay unit also has a function of transferring game data sent from another relay unit to the main control unit.

As the game data, there is a game value input for each game machine. This is basic information that is sequentially obtained for each individual gaming machine, and is one of the most efficient and accurate information processed by the data aggregating apparatus of the present invention.
This value information is represented by the number of coins inserted into the gaming machine prior to the game. Under the control of the main control unit, this is so that the game data can be easily confirmed by the manager side, and in the case of progressive type JP processing, the game side can also be easily observed. It is effective to display on a separate display device. Further, it is advantageous to improve the function of the main control unit by configuring the second microprocessor used in the main control unit with the main microprocessor and the sub microprocessor.

[0009]

According to the above structure, the relay unit communicates the game data with the game machine control unit for each game machine by the built-in first microprocessor, and the predetermined data for the required game data is exchanged. After processing into a format, the data is sent to the main main control unit via the communication line and the adjacent relay unit in sequence. The main control unit incorporates the second microprocessor, and can collectively manage the game data transmitted from each gaming machine in a predetermined format accurately.
In addition, when replacing or adding game machines, a new game machine may be connected via a relay unit between the game machines connected in series or between the game machine and the main control unit.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1 showing an example of a data totalizing device of a slot machine using the present invention, a master control unit 2 is provided with a pair of input / output ports 3 and 4 which perform exactly the same functions. These I / O ports 3,
4 has a transmission terminal and a reception terminal, respectively. .., 5y, 5z controlled by the master control unit 2 are slave units (slave units) 6a, 6b, ..., 6y as relay units for game data exchange. ，
6z is connected, and each slave unit has a transmission terminal,
It has a pair of sending / receiving ports 7 and 8 equipped with receiving terminals.

The input / output port 3 of the master control unit 2 and one transmission / reception port 7 of the slave unit 6a are connected via a pair of communication lines 10 consisting of a transmission line 10a and a reception line 10b, and The other transmission / reception port 8 of the slave unit 6a has the same communication line 1
It is connected to the transmission / reception port 7 of the slave unit 6b of the next stage via 0. Thus, the slave units 6a of the slot machines 5a, 5b, ...
, 6z are connected in series via the communication line 10, and the transmission / reception port 8 of the slave unit 6z at the final stage is connected to the other input / output port 4 of the master control unit 2 by the communication line 10. To be done. Thus
Master control unit 2 and slave unit 6
, 6z form a loop communication network together with the communication line 10.

The individual operations of the slot machines 5a, 5b, ..., 5z are controlled by the slot machine control units 11a, 11b ,. The slot machine control units 11a, 11b, ..., 11z perform data communication and command transmission / reception with the corresponding slave units 6a, 6b, ..., 6z. A display device 13 is connected to the master control unit 2, and a coin payout amount at the time of a JP hit, which is paid out by a progressive system, is displayed.
It can be observed by a player playing any of a, 5b, ..., 5z.

As shown in FIG. 2, the master control unit 2 comprises a communication processing system section M1 and a JP processing system section M2. Each system unit has a main microprocessor unit (hereinafter referred to as main MPU).
15) and a sub-microprocessor unit (hereinafter referred to as a sub-MPU) 25 are built in. These microprocessor units 15, 25 are respectively built in the slave units 6a, 6b ,. 1
The second microprocessor is configured with respect to the microprocessor.

The communication processing system unit M1 includes the above MPU1.
5, a first communication unit 16 including a transmitter 16a and a receiver 16b, a transmitter 17a, and a receiver 17
b, a second communication unit 17, an output monitoring unit 18 for monitoring the reception outputs of the first and second communication units 16, 17, and first and second output units according to the output from the output monitoring unit 18. A switching unit 19 for selectively switching the communication units 16 and 17, a program memory 22 and a RAM 23.
It consists of and.

These communication units 16 and 17 respectively include light emitting diodes 20a and 21a for transmission and photodiodes 20b and 21b for reception. Each of the transmission line 10a and the reception line 10b is composed of an optical fiber cable, and the ends thereof are connected to the input / output ports 3 and 4 through a well-known fiber connector (not shown), and the end faces of the respective light emitting diodes 20a and 21a. It is fixed so as to face the photodiodes 20b and 21b.

An execution processing program required for data communication and command transmission / reception is stored in the program memory 22, and the communication units 16 and 17 and the output monitoring unit 18 are operated at appropriate timing via the main MPU 15. Further, the RAM 23 is provided in each of the receiving devices 16b and 17b.
It is used for temporary storage of data input from, and storage of history data while the slot machines 5a, 5b, ... Are operated, and the main MPU 15 rewrites and reads data.

The JP processing system unit M2 is the main MPU1.
It is equipped with a sasab MPU 25 controlled by a command from the S. The sub MPU 25 stores the amount data proportional to the coin number data input from the main MPU 15 in the display data storage unit 26 and the storage data storage unit 27.
The a% of the amount data corresponding to the coin number data from the main MPU 15 is first calculated by the calculator 28. Then, the a% amount data is divided into x% and y% by the arithmetic unit 29, and the (a * x)% amount data is converted into the display data storage unit 26 via the adders 31 and 32, respectively.
Further, the amount data of (a * y)% is accumulated and stored in the storage data storage unit 27.

The values of a, x, and y are preset in the total addition rate setting section 34 and the storage rate setting section 35 according to the key input from the keyboard 33. These a, x, y
When the value of is set to "1", "40", "60", respectively, for example, if a coin of "10 $" is inserted into any of the slot machines 5a, 5b, ... The total amount of data stored in the units 26 and 27 is calculated as “10 ¢” by the calculation notation 28, and
The calculation 29 allocates “¢” to “4 ¢” and “6 ¢”. As a result, in the display data storage unit 26, the amount data of "4 ¢" is accumulated for each coin insertion of "10 $", and the amount data of "6 ¢" is accumulated in the storage data storage unit 27.

The initial value setting unit 36 is provided to set the initial value of the storage data storage unit 27 by inputting from the keyboard 33. Details will be described later, but JP
When a hit occurs, coins are paid out according to the amount information accumulated in the display data storage unit 26. When the payout is completed, the amount data in the display data storage unit 26 is once cleared to "0". The amount data accumulated in the storage data storage unit 27 is transferred to the display data storage unit 26. Then, the amount data of the storage data storage unit 27 is updated to the set value of the initial value setting unit 36. The value of this set value is determined based on the probability of a JP hit occurring in the grouped slot machines 5a, 5b, ... And the payout rate.
Since the amount data corresponding to the inserted amount of coins is added to this initial value each time, it is not necessary to set an extremely large amount.

The maximum value setting unit 37 is provided in the display data storage unit 2
6 and the maximum amount of money data accumulated in the storage data storage unit 27 are determined, and the value can be changed by key input from the keyboard 33. The monitor 38 is used to display the set values of the total addition rate 34, the storage rate setting section 35, the initial value setting section 36, and the maximum value setting section 37. The JP occurrence confirmation unit 39 confirms whether or not the signal from the main MPU 15 is a JP code. The processing sequence of the sub MPU 25 as described above is stored in the program memory 40. Reference numeral 24 denotes a display drive unit that drives the display device 13 provided separately from the master control unit 2 under the control of the sub MPU 25.

FIG. 3 shows the outline of the configuration of the slave unit 6a provided for each slot machine, and the other slave units 6b, 6c, ..., 6z have exactly the same configuration. The slave unit 6a contains a microprocessor unit (MPU) 45. The MPU 45 functions as a first microprocessor with respect to a second microprocessor including a main microprocessor unit 15 and a sub microprocessor unit 25 built in the master control unit 2.

The slave unit 6a further includes a receiving device 46a and a transmitting device 46b provided on the connector 7 side.
Receiver 47a and transmitter 4 provided on the connector 8 side
7b, a self-address setting unit 48 for assigning a unique address to the slave unit 6a, and a ROM
49, a RAM 50, and a data check unit 51. The ROM 49 has a built-in sequence processing program for the slave unit 6a.
Works.

Further, the data check unit 51 determines whether or not the data input from the slot machine control unit 11a satisfies a predetermined model. The slot machine control unit 11
a controls the game processing procedure of the slot machine 5a,
As will be described later, data necessary for performing the progressive JP processing, for example, data such as the number of inserted coins is input to the slave unit 6a.

Photodiodes 52a and 53b are connected to the receiving devices 46a and 47b, and the transmitting devices 46b and 47b.
The light emitting diodes 52b and 53a are connected to a. The photodiodes 52a and 53b and the light emitting diodes 52b and 53a are the photodiodes 20b and 2b used in the master control unit 2.
1a and the light emitting diodes 20a and 21b having the same specifications are used, and the transmission line 10 connected to the connectors 7 and 8
Optical signals are exchanged between a and the receiving line 10b.

Slot machine control unit 11
a, 11b, ..., 11z are coin insertion and coin number detection, slot machine start lever operation, slot machine reel start / stop, presence / absence of prize, determination of prize type, coin payout processing at prize winning, etc. , Controls the processing required for slot machine games. Then, when coins are inserted at the start of the game, coin information indicating the number of inserted coins is sent to the corresponding slave unit. This coin information is, for example, a serial binary signal of several bytes, a start code is provided in the first 1 byte, an end code is provided in the last 1 byte, and the coin number data is sandwiched between these intermediate parts. Has become.

The operation of the above configuration will be described. In FIG. 3, the slot machine control unit 11
When the coin information is input to the data check unit 51 from a, the data check unit 51 checks whether or not the predetermined type is satisfied, and only when it is normal, the coin information in the coin information is checked. The number data is stored in the RAM 50. Information that does not satisfy the prescribed model is MPU.
If it is input to 25, the MPU 45 does not accept the information by collating with the data check unit 51.

FIG. 4 shows how data is communicated between the slave unit 6a and the slot machine control unit 11a. The slave unit 6a sends a normal reception code to the slot machine control unit 11a when it receives normal coin information. It is supposed to be returned. When the error reception code is returned from the slave unit 6a to the slot machine control unit 11a, the slot machine control unit 11
a retransmits the same coin information to the slave unit 6a. Furthermore, after the coin information is sent to the slave unit 6a, the coin information is retransmitted again even when the normal reception code is not fed back even after a lapse of a certain time Δt _x .

Such data communication is similarly performed between the slave units 6b, 6c, ..., 6z and the slot machine control units 11a, 11b. Each of the slot machines 5a, 5b, ...
.. The data of the number of coins inserted in 5z is stored.

Data communication between the slave unit 6a and the communication processing system section M1 of the master control unit 2 is performed according to the time chart shown in FIG. The data and commands to be communicated are constructed according to the basic format shown in FIG. That is, start code (STX) -address code (AD
R) -command code (CMD) -text (TXT)
-Checksum (CHS) -End code (EXT) is serially connected. These are all 2
Expressed by a combination of value signals "1" and "0",
Items other than "TXT" are each composed of 8 bits.

FIG. 7 shows a command table for data communication, in which the upper 4 bits are arranged horizontally and the lower 4 bits are arranged vertically. According to this, the hexadecimal number 02 (& H0
2) is the start code, & H03 is the end code, & H
It can be seen that 20 is assigned to the data request command and & H 30 is assigned to the coin information. For "CHS", from "STS" to "TXT", the data in which the most significant bit (7th bit) is set to "1" is obtained after XOR (exclusive OR) of the lower 7 bits is taken. It is stored and used to confirm that the communication data contains no errors. Thus, by always setting the most significant bit of "CHS" to "1", "C
After the code of "MD" or "TXT" ends, "CH
It becomes possible to identify that the transmission of "S" data has started.

The communication processing system section M1 sends a data request signal to the slave unit 6a at regular time intervals according to the sequence program in the program memory 22. The structure of the data request signal is conceptually shown in FIG.
It looks like (A). The same figure (B) is the actual 2
A value signal is represented, and the light emitting diode 20a for transmission of the master control unit 2 is driven to be turned on at a time corresponding to "1" of the binary signal. And
The data request signal becomes a blinking light signal and the transmission line 1
0a, and the photodiode 32a of the slave unit 6a receives it.

When the address 5 is assigned as the self address of the slave unit 6a, the MPU 25
Recognizes that its own address, address 5, is specified by subtracting & H30 from the address code & H35 of the data request signal, accepts this data request signal, and stores the data stored in the RAM 50, that is, the slot machine control unit. The coin information sent from 11a is fed back to the communication processing system unit M1 via the transmission device 46b.

When the coin information is transmitted to the communication processing system unit M1 in this way, the communication processing system unit M1 transmits a coin information confirmation signal for confirming whether or not the coin information is authentic to the slave unit 6a. To do. Then, the slave unit 6a collates the number of coins included in the coin information confirmation signal with the data in the RAM 50 again, and when the coincidence is confirmed, the slave unit 6a transmits a normal signal to the communication processing system unit M1 and also to the RAM 50. Clear the stored data. When they do not match, the slave unit 6a sends an abnormal signal to the communication processing system unit M1, and the communication processing system unit M1 receives this abnormal signal and sends the data request signal again to the slave unit 6a.

The slave unit 6a also transmits the data request signal from the communication processing system unit M1 as it is to the slave unit 6b in the subsequent stage via the transmitter 47a. Since the signals thus transmitted do not have the same address code, they are transmitted to the slave units 6c, ..., 6y, 6z in the subsequent stages as they are and reach the communication unit 17 of the communication processing system unit M1. Become. Then, even when the first communication unit 16 is enabled for data communication, the reception device 17b of the second communication unit 17 is enabled, so that the output monitoring unit 18 monitors this received output. Thus, it is always possible to check whether or not the communication line 10a is normal.

FIG. 9 conceptually shows an example of the coin information signal. Following the code & H30 indicating the coin information, the coin number data & H31 indicating the number of coins & H31, in the TXT area.
& H35 is included. This coin number data indicates that the number of coins inserted into the slot machine 5a is 15, and this coin information becomes a blinking signal of the light emitting diode 52b by the transmitting device 46b, and the transmission line 10
It is sent to the photodiode 20b of the communication processing system unit M1 through b.

In this way, when the coin information from the slave unit 6a at the address 5 is fed back to the communication processing system unit M1, the number data in the coin information is RA.
It is stored in M23. Further, this number data is changed to the amount data by the main MPU 15, and then the sub M
It is also transferred to the JP processing system unit M2 via the PU25. The amount data transferred in this way is calculated by the calculator 2
After being processed in 8 and 29, they are added to the display data storage section 26 and the storage data storage section 27 via the adders 31 and 32. At this time, the set value a preset in the total addition rate setting unit 34 is "1", and the set values x and y preset in the storage rate setting unit 35 are "40" and "6", respectively.
If the transferred amount information is 10 $, the display data storage unit 26 stores “4 ¢” (= a *).
x%), “6 ¢” (= a * y) in the storage data storage unit 27.
%) Is added.

The collection of the coin information and the process of accumulating and storing the amount data are performed by the slave units 6b, 6c, while changing the address code by the communication processing system unit M1.
·······················, 5z, by sending a data request signal to the 6z. Then, when coin information is sent from each slave unit 6a, 6b, ..., 6z, the data in the display data storage unit 26 and the storage data storage unit 27 are updated each time based on these information. become.

Note that FIG. 10 shows a process when data communication cannot be performed due to a disconnection or the like at one location of the communication line 10. When the output monitoring unit 18 identifies that no response is obtained even after a lapse of a certain time Δt _Y after the data request signal is issued from the communication processing system unit M1, the switching unit 1
9 activates and the other second communication unit 17 is activated instead of the first communication unit 16 previously used. Then, exactly the same data request signal is transmitted by the transmitter 17b.

On the input / output port 4 side, slave units 6z, 6y, ... Are connected via a transmission line 10a and a reception line 10b.
.., 6a are connected in the reverse direction, so that the data request signal containing the predetermined address code propagates in the reverse direction in this loop communication network and reaches the corresponding slave unit, from which coin information is transmitted. Is received by the receiving device 17a on the input / output port 4 side. This allows the communication processing system unit M1 to collect information from all slave units even if there is a failure such as a disconnection in one place of the loop communication network. The fixed time Δt _Y is the time from when a data request signal is issued in one direction from the communication processing system unit M1 to when a response is obtained from the slave unit at the final stage,
Or it is set higher.

Further, a display device for indicating which one of the input / output ports 3 and 4 of the communication processing system unit M1 is being used is installed. One of them is used as a normal side and the other is used as a spare side, and a spare is provided due to a failure. When the side is used, if the faulty part is repaired and the side is always manually switched to the normal side, the communication network can be used without suspension.

As described above, the slot machines 5a,
While no JP hit occurs in any of 5b, 5c, ..., 5z, when a coin is inserted into each slot machine, 0.4% of the inserted amount is displayed data storage unit 26.
, And 0.6% is added to the storage data storage unit 27. Then, the accumulated amount of money in the display data storage unit 26 is displayed on the display device 13 via the display drive unit 24. This amount display is made by the slot machines 5a, 5 grouped by the master control unit 2.
Indicates the coin amount paid out when a JP hit is obtained in any of b, ..., 5z.

In general, the probability of occurrence of a JP hit is set to be extremely low, so that the amount data accumulated in the display data storage unit 26 and the storage data storage unit 27 becomes considerably high. Therefore, the player can enjoy the game with great interest while looking at the high-priced display on the display device 13 and having a great sense of expectation. The maximum value setting unit 37 limits the upper limit of the amount data accumulated in the display data storage unit 26 to, for example, “5000 $”, and the amount data is not accumulated after reaching the amount data.

When a JP hit occurs in the slot machine 5a in the course of digesting the game in this way, a JP code is generated from the slot machine control unit 11a as shown in FIG. 5, and this is stored in the RAM 50 of the slave unit 6a. Is stored. Then, this JP code waits for a data request signal from the communication processing system unit M1 and conceptually shows the JP code as shown in FIG.
The code signal is fed back to the communication processing system unit M12. A code signal “& H31” representing a JP code is commonly input to CMD and TXT. The communication processing system unit M1 compares the JP code signal with the JP code stored in the JP occurrence confirmation unit 39, and when the confirmation is obtained, outputs a JP processing instruction to the sub CPU 25. As a result, the JP processing system unit M2 starts the JP hit processing.

When the JP hit process is executed, first, the amount data accumulated and stored in the display data storage unit 26 is transferred to the main CPU 15 via the sub CPU 25. If the amount data is, for example, "2550 $", as shown in FIG. 12, "&H21" is added to the CM.
The JP data signal designated as D is returned to the corresponding slave unit 6a together with the address code. The payout amount data is contained in TXT in this JP data signal, and the number of digits of this TXT is set corresponding to the number of digits of the amount data of the display data storage unit 26.

This JP data signal is the slave unit 6
slot machine control unit 11a via a
Then, the slot machine control unit 11a confirms with the master control unit 2 whether or not the JP data is authentic. This JP data confirmation signal includes & H33 which means “JP response” shown in FIG. 7 in the CMD, and also includes amount data read from the supplied JP data signal. & H32 is used as a code representing.

When the communication processing system unit M1 receives the JP data confirmation signal, the communication processing system unit M1 inquires of the JP processing system unit M2 whether or not the amount data included in the signal is authentic, and the display data storage unit 26 stores the data. When it is confirmed as appropriate as a result of collation with the amount data, a JP confirmation command is sent to reconfirm whether a JP hit has occurred in the slot machine 5a. When a JP hit is confirmed by the slot machine control unit 11a, the JP hit is fed back to the master control unit 2 so that the master control unit 2 finally confirms the occurrence of the JP hit.

Thus, the master control unit 2
When the JP hit is confirmed in, the JP processing command is sent to the slave unit 6a, and the slot machine control unit 11a is changed to the master control unit 2
The coin payout process for the JP hit is executed based on the amount data transmitted from. By this payout process, the number of coins satisfying the amount data of the display data storage unit 26 is paid out, and the number of coins is calculated by the slot machine control unit 11a.

When the coin payout process for the JP hit is completed, the slot machine control unit 11a sends a JP reset signal to the master control unit 2 via the slave unit 6a. & H34 is used as CMD for the JP reset signal. When the communication processing system M1 receives this JP reset signal, it sends a JP reset confirmation signal to the slot machine control unit 11a via the slave unit 6a. When the response is confirmed, the JP processing completion signal is output from the main MPU 15 to the sub MPU 25.

When the JP processing completion signal is supplied to the JP processing system unit M2, the sub MPU 25 temporarily clears the amount data in the display data storage unit 26 to "0", and then is accumulated in the storage data storage unit 27. The amount data is transferred to the display data storage unit 26. In addition, the storage data storage unit 27
As for, also, after the amount data accumulated until then is cleared to “0”, a certain amount data preset in the initial value setting unit 36, for example, “1000 $”.
Is set and the JP processing is completed.

According to the above processing, even after the JP hit occurs and the payout of coins is completed, the amount data accumulated in the storage data storage unit 27 for the next JP hit is used. Even after the occurrence of, the player's interest will not be sharply cut down. Further, as in the above embodiment, the storage rate setting unit 35 sets “x <y”.
If it is determined that the increase rate of the amount data of the storage data storage unit 27 is larger than the increase rate of the display data storage unit 26, the payment amount for the next JP hit will be higher, so On the other hand, it becomes possible to give a new interest.

In the above embodiment, when the system is started up, "0" is set in the display data storage unit 26 and "10" is set in the initial value setting unit 36 in the storage data storage unit 27.
Although the display device 13 starts from "0", the display device 13 starts to output "0 $", and the display data storage unit 26 also receives "1000" by giving a pseudo-JP processing completion signal to the sub MPU 25. You can set "$". Further, the value of a set by the total addition rate setting unit 34, the values of x and y set by the storage rate setting unit 35, and the amount data preset in the initial value setting unit 36 are operated by the keyboard 33. It can be changed arbitrarily.

As described above, the slave units 6a, 6 built in as a relay unit for each slot machine.
Each of b, ..., Equipped with an MPU 45, exchanges game data with the slot machine control units 11a, 11b, ..., and exchanges game data with the master control unit 2. By performing the control under the control of the MPU 45, it is possible to accurately control not only the error check of the game data but also the timing of the communication of the game data with the master control unit 2. Therefore, even when game data is transmitted from a plurality of slot machines at the same time, it is possible to accurately send to the master control unit 2 what game data is transmitted from which slot machine.

Furthermore, when a JP prize is generated in any slot machine in the group, the information is transmitted while being relayed by the slave units of other slot machines, so the purpose is to go through the master control unit 2. Even without doing so, it is possible to make the individual slot machines recognize the information, and for example, it is possible to quickly perform processing such as turning on the indicator lights provided to the individual slot machines all at once when a JP prize is generated.

[0054]

As described above, according to the data totalizing device for the gaming machine of the present invention, the game data from the gaming machine control unit for controlling the progress of the game based on the gaming data is used as the first microprocessor. It is designed to be transmitted to the main control unit via a relay unit containing a. Moreover, since the relay unit is connected in series to the main control unit that incorporates the second microprocessor, error check and data type adjustment are performed when game data is exchanged between the relay unit and the gaming machine control unit. Can be done accurately,
Further, the reliability when exchanging game data between the main control unit and individual gaming machines can be significantly improved.

Since the relay unit can also function as a game data transfer means under the control of the first microprocessor, by connecting the individual game machines in series to the main control unit. ,
Compared with the conventional device, the number of communication lines can be greatly reduced, and the work when adding or replacing a game machine is also simplified. Furthermore, it becomes possible to send game data between game machines without going through the main control unit. Then, in addition to the main microprocessor for exchanging game data, the main control unit collects game data,
By incorporating a sub-microprocessor for processing, various processing can be added to the game data transmitted from the grouped gaming machines, and the versatility can be significantly improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a master control unit and each slot machine are connected.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a master control unit using the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a slave unit.

FIG. 4 is a time chart showing signal transmission / reception between a slave unit and a slot machine control unit.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing signal transmission / reception among a master control unit, a slave unit, and a slot machine control unit.

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram of a basic format of a signal.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram of a command table.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of a data request signal.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of coin information.

FIG. 10 is a time chart showing the port switching operation of the master control unit.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a JP code signal.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of a JP data signal.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 master control unit M1 communication processing system section M2 JP processing system section 3,4 transmission / reception port 5a, 5b, ..., 5z slot machine 6a, 6b, ..., 6z slave unit 10 communication line 11a, 11b, ... , 11z Slot machine control unit 13 Display device 15 Main MPU 25 Sub MPU 27 Storage data storage unit 28, 29 Computing unit 34 Total addition rate setting unit 25 Storage rate setting unit 36 Initial value setting unit 45 MPU

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. After a game value is input and a game is played, a plurality of game machines that pay out the game value according to the result of the game are collectively managed, and game data from each game machine is stored. In a data totaling device of a gaming machine for totaling, the data totaling device is provided for each gaming machine, and the gaming machine control unit for controlling the gaming operation of the gaming machine according to the gaming data input to each gaming machine, the gaming machine A relay unit including a first microprocessor that receives and transmits game data from the control unit, and at least one second microprocessor that collectively manages game data from the relay unit are provided. It consists of a main control unit, and connecting said main control unit and each relay unit in a serial manner via a communication line Data collection apparatus for a game machine, wherein the door. 2. The data totaling device for a game machine according to claim 1, wherein the game data is a game value input to the game machine. 3. The data totaling device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the entered game value is the number of coins inserted. 4. The data totaling device for a gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the game data from the main control unit is displayed by a display device provided separately. 5. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the second microprocessor of the main control unit comprises a main microprocessor for performing communication processing and a sub-microprocessor for processing game data. Data aggregation device.