JPH09293165A - Point card adjustment machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a point card adjustment machine by which a customer can learn a present possessed point and a point necessary for gift exchange only by means of inserting a card and inputting the code of a gift which the customer desires and in which a remaining point is recorded in the card, it is converted and an adjustment processing is automatically executed. SOLUTION: A magnetic card reader/writer 1 for reading the point from the inserting point card C, rewriting or eliminating the point, a present possessed point display part 31 displaying the point which is read from the point card C, an input part 2 for inputting the code of the gift which is desired to be exchanged, an exchange point display part 32 displaying the point corresponding to the inputted code, an operation part reducing the exchanged point from the present possessed point, a decision key 22b for starting an operation processing and a control part 5 for executing an operation based on the operation of the decision key, recording the remaining point being the operation result in the card C and returning the card are provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a point card settlement machine. More specifically, when a player receives a point card that records points according to the amount paid as a ball lending fee or a coin lending fee when playing a game such as a pachinko or slot machine, it is recorded on the point card. It is related to the payment machine for exchanging the points that are present and the prize that the customer desires.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There have been spots at amusement halls that employ a service system that gives a privilege of a prize exchange claim right when the amount of a game fee paid by a player exceeds a predetermined amount. As a method of giving such a privilege to the player, first, it is necessary to record information corresponding to the paid game fee of the player on a recording medium.

In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-155458, a receipt printed with information corresponding to the ball lending amount is issued every time a ball (pachinko ball) corresponding to a predetermined ball lending amount is discharged to a pachinko machine. A ball lending machine that does this is disclosed.

[0006] When the player uses the acquired privilege, for example, when requesting the exchange of food and drink or a gift such as a cigarette for smoking during the game, the issued receipt is exchanged as a gift. When you bring it to the counter etc. and hand it to the clerk, the clerk visually confirms the ball lending amount recorded on each receipt, calculates the total amount with a calculator etc., and based on the predetermined conversion rate the total amount It is converted to the number of balls, and the number of balls of the prize that the customer desires to exchange is reduced from the number of balls to settle.

[0005]

As described above, conventionally, not only is it very time-consuming to count the number of receipts received from customers and collect the ball lending amount and to store the receipts, but also to increase the number of receipts and the ball lending. It is easy to make an error in totaling the amount of money, and it is not easy to subtract the number of balls corresponding to the prize from the number of balls converted from the ball lending amount. There is a problem that the introduction will increase the burden on stores and staff.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a player with points corresponding to a paid ball lending amount or a coin lending amount in an inter-mountain ball lending machine or a coin lending machine. If you bring the recorded point card to the prize exchange counter and submit it to the clerk, the clerk can insert the card and enter the code of the gift that the customer wants to exchange, and the existing points of the customer and the gift You can know the points necessary for exchange corresponding to and after the exchange,
It is to provide a point card settlement machine in which the remaining points are recorded on the card and the settlement process is automatically performed.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a point card settlement machine according to the present invention includes a magnetic card reader / writer for reading points from an inserted point card and rewriting or erasing the points. , The existing point display section that displays the points read from the point card, the input section that inputs the code of the prize that is desired to be exchanged, and the points necessary for the exchange that correspond to the prize code input from the input section are stored An exchange point display unit for reading and displaying the exchange point, an arithmetic unit for subtracting the exchange point read from the storage unit from the existing points read by the magnetic card reader / writer, and a determination key for activating the arithmetic processing by the arithmetic unit. , The remaining points which are the calculation results of the calculation unit based on the operation of the exchange determination key By being recorded on the point card by the reader-writer, it is characterized by a control unit to return the point card.

It is desirable that the input section is composed of a handy scanner for reading a bar code attached to a prize.

Further, the input section may be composed of a keyboard for inputting a predetermined code for each prize, or the keyboard and a handy scanner for reading a bar code attached to the prize.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the illustrated examples. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the same embodiment, FIG. It is a flow chart explaining operation of total business.

As shown in FIG. 2, the point card settlement machine PCA is generally provided with a card reader / writer 1, an input unit 2, a display unit 3, a printer 4, a control unit 5, and a storage unit 6. And a communication unit 7.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the card reader / writer 1 is provided with a card insertion / ejection port 11 opening on the outer surface of the main body of the settlement machine, and a card detector 12 for detecting the inserted card C. Conveying mechanism 1 that conveys a card to a predetermined position and, when instructed, to a card insertion / ejection port
3 and a read / write head 1 provided in the middle of the card transport path
4 and a printer 15.

The input unit 2 is composed of a bar code reader 21 for reading a bar code set in advance for a prize the customer desires to exchange for points, preferably a bar code reader 21 using a handy scanner, and a keyboard 22. There is. On the keyboard 22, a ten-key 22a for manually inputting a prize code, a decision key 22b for inputting that the code input of a prize to be exchanged has been completed, or the intention to exchange has been decided, and to cancel the intention to exchange. Has a cancel key 22c.

The display unit 3 includes a current point display unit 31 for displaying the points read by the card reader / writer 1 from the inserted point card, and a storage unit based on the prize code input from the input unit 2. An exchange point display unit 32 for displaying the read exchange points. Each of the display units 31 and 32 is composed of a 3-digit seven-segment liquid crystal display or the like.

The display unit 3 is provided on the clerk side surface (the surface shown in FIG. 1) as well as on the customer side surface (the back surface in FIG. 1). Both the staff and the customer can easily confirm the points and the points (exchange points) required for exchanging the prize designated for exchange, which is preferable. In addition, a printer 4 is provided in the main body of the settlement machine, and a paper discharge port 41 for discharging the recording paper after printing is opened on the staff side. This printer 4
After the settlement processing for the inserted point card is completed, the original points (current points), the points used for the exchange (exchange points) and the remaining points are printed on the sheet and discharged to the sheet discharge port 41. The clerk can pull the discharged sheet upward or downward to cut it out by a cutter provided at the sheet discharge port and hand it to the customer.

A control unit 5, a storage unit 6, and a communication unit 7 are also provided in the main body of the settlement machine. The storage unit 6 stores a system program for the point card settlement machine to execute required operations in a predetermined order, and exchange points set in advance for each prize in the ROM, and is also configured by a RAM. In addition, the first storage area 61 for temporarily storing the point (X) read from the card and the first storage area 61 for temporarily storing the exchange point (y) read based on the code input when designating the prize. It has two storage areas 62 and a third storage area 63 for temporarily storing the type and number of prizes that have been shipped for exchange.

The communication unit 7 is a terminal device (not shown) installed in the amusement hall of the POS system that mainly manages the receipt, delivery, and current status of all the prizes of the amusement hall under centralized control. No.), and transfers the data on the type and number of prizes exchanged for points to the terminal.

The control unit 5 controls each of the above-mentioned units, and includes a conveyance control unit 51, a read / write control unit 52, a calculation unit 53, a display control unit 54, and a read control unit 55.
And communication control means 56. The operation of each control means will be clarified in the description of the operation of the present point card settlement machine.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In addition,
The point card settled using the point card settling machine of the present invention has at least a store code indicating the amusement hall, a card number pre-assigned when the point card is issued, and points are magnetically recorded. . The work performed by this settlement machine includes a settlement work, which is the main work, and a totaling work, which is the backward work. The settlement mode or the aggregation mode can be set by inserting a predetermined key into the keyhole 8 provided on the clerk-side surface of the adjustment machine body and rotating the key to a predetermined position.

In the settlement operation, as shown in FIG.
Whether or not the card is detected is constantly checked (S1), and when the clerk receives the point card C received from the customer into the card insertion / ejection port 11 of the card reader / writer 1, the card is conveyed based on the detection output of the card detector 12. While the control unit 51 causes the transport mechanism 13 to transport the card, the read / write control unit 52 reads the existing point (X) recorded on the card via the read / write head 14 (S2). Is stored in the first storage area 61, and then the read control means 5
5, and the display control means 54 causes the current point display section 31 to display the current point (X) recorded on the card (S3).

If the existing points (X) are insufficient for the points required for exchanging the prize designated by the customer, the intention to exchange may be canceled. In this case, the cancel key 22c is pressed. Therefore, after displaying the existing points, it is checked whether or not the cancel key is pressed (S4). If not, whether or not the prize to be exchanged is designated, that is, the input unit 2
Input the data read by the barcode reader 21 of
Or, it is checked whether or not the prize code is input by the ten key 22a of the keyboard 22 (S5), and when the prize is designated,
The exchange point (y) corresponding to the input prize code is read from the storage unit 6 (S6).

Subsequently, the read exchange point (y)
Is added to the exchange point (Y) read in correspondence with the previously entered prize code (S7), and the addition result is
That is, the points (Y) of all the prizes designated so far are stored in the second storage area 62, and are displayed on the exchange point display section 32 by the display control means 54 (S8).

Next, it is checked whether or not the enter key 22b has been pressed (S4). If not pressed, steps S4 to S4.
In S8, the reading of the exchange points from the prize code, the addition to the exchange points already read, and the display of the exchange points after the addition are repeated until the determination key is pressed.

The clerk inquires whether the customer has designated all the prizes he / she desires to exchange, and if so, the enter key 22b.
When is pressed, all the prize codes input so far are stored in the third storage area 63 as shipping information (S1).
0). This warehousing information will be stored in the P
It is transferred to the OS system terminal. Also, enter key 2
After 2b is pressed, the calculation means 53 performs a calculation for subtracting the designated exchange points (Y) of all the prizes from the existing points (X) read from the card, and the calculation result (X-Y), that is, , Remaining points in the first storage area 6
1 is temporarily stored (S11).

Then, the remaining points are read out by the read control means 5
5 is read by the read / write control means 52 and the points recorded on the point card through the card reader / writer 1 are rewritten to the remaining points (S12).
The remaining points may be 0 or 1 or more. 0
In case of, you may record the code that means invalid,
You only need to erase the recorded points.

When the card reader / writer 1 is provided with the printer 15, it is possible to print remaining points (if 0, "invalid" characters may be printed) on the point card. In this way, the point card for which the settlement process has been completed is magnetically recorded or magnetically recorded and printed on the remaining points, and returned to the customer (S13). The returned point card can be reused when the customer uses the gaming machine again. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the amount of card consumption and reduce the costs associated with the introduction of the point service system at the amusement hall.

Next, at the end of business at the game arcade, the key of the main body of the settlement machine can be rotated to another predetermined angle to perform the totaling work. At the time of aggregating work, execution of the aggregating program is started by setting the aggregating mode, and as shown in FIG.
3rd time each time you finish the settlement of one point card
All the prize codes stored in the storage area 63 are read by the read control means 55 (S14), and transferred by the communication control means 56 to the host computer of the POS system of the game hall via the communication section 7 (S15). . Based on the completion of reading and communication (Y in S16), the counting operation is completed.

As described above, the store code and the card number are recorded on the point card used in the point card settlement machine. This allows the customer in possession of the card to use it at a particular playground. Therefore, based on the store code and card number of the point card, it is effectively used to manage the behavior pattern of the customer in the amusement hall, or the customer with a large amount of ball lending (or the customer with a large number of settlements) or the visit It is possible to further increase the return of profits to customers by executing the addition of a privilege to customers who have a large number of times.

For example, the point card settlement machine accumulates exchange points for each card number, and when the accumulated number reaches a predetermined multiple of 100 which is the upper limit value, bonus points are added to the point card. Service salaries such as returns can be paid. If the point card settlement machine has a limited storage capacity and management capacity, it is possible to use the computer of the POS terminal to which the point card settlement machine is connected.

In addition, a store checker machine is installed at the entrance of a game arcade, etc., and a store visit management function for each card number provided in the store checker machine is provided. Regarding the card number read from the card inserted by the customer, It is possible to increase the number of visits to the same customer by recording the data and adding the predetermined points to the points recorded on the card and returning the data only at the first insertion of the day, for example. . Also in this case, the store checker machine can simply read and write information on the point card, and manage, process, and store the data by the host computer of the game hall or the computer of the POS terminal.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the player only has to submit one point card to the prize exchange counter or the like, both the player and the amusement hall side can
Handling of the recording medium is much easier than before. In addition, the clerk can insert the card, the points recorded on that card will be displayed, and the customer can enter the code of the prize to be exchanged via the barcode reader or the keyboard, Corresponding points that need to be exchanged are displayed, so you can see at a glance whether or not the card can be settled.

When the enter key is pressed, the points corresponding to the prize to be exchanged are automatically reduced from the point card, and after the remaining points are recorded, the card is returned to the customer. Accidental settlement based on, for example, is prevented, and quick and accurate point settlement without trouble can be realized. Further, the returned point card can be reused for point recording in the subsequent game, so that it is highly economical. Therefore, it is expected that the introduction of the point service system using the point card will gain momentum.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an external appearance of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a point card settlement machine in a settlement operation.

FIG. 4 is likewise a flowchart for explaining the operation in the counting operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

 PCA point card payment machine 1 card reader / writer 2 input section 3 display section 31 existing point display section 32 replacement point display section 4 printer 5 control section 6 storage section 7 communication section

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masahiko Kudo 4-3 Jouchi, Hanamaki City, Iwate Prefecture Shinko Seisakusho Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic card reader / writer for reading a point from an inserted point card and rewriting or erasing the point, and an existing point display section for displaying the point read from the point card, which is desired to be replaced. An input section for inputting the code of the given prize, an exchange point display section for reading out and displaying an exchange point corresponding to the code input from the input section from the storage section, and a point read by the magnetic card reader / writer for the exchange point. An arithmetic unit that subtracts the exchange points corresponding to the code input from the input unit, a determination key that activates the arithmetic processing by the arithmetic unit, and the arithmetic unit that performs arithmetic operation based on the operation of the determination key
A point card settlement machine, comprising: a control unit for recording the remaining points, which is the calculation result, on the point card by the magnetic card reader / writer and returning the point card. 2. The point card settlement machine according to claim 1, wherein the input unit is a handy scanner that reads a bar code attached to the prize. 3. The input unit comprises a keyboard for inputting a predetermined code for each prize, or the keyboard and a handy scanner for reading a bar code attached to the prize. The point card settlement machine according to item 1.