JPH10201942A - Ball counting machine and system for it - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a ball counting machine and a system for it, with which it is possible to read easily and quickly the contents stored in a built-in non- volatile memory in the event of any trouble such as power failure. SOLUTION: The body 100 of a ball counting machine counts the number of balls flowing in from a receipt hole 115, and the obtained value is stored from time to time in a built-in non-volatile memory. A connector 105 for connection of external apparatus is connected electrically with the non-volatile memory so that supply of the power to the memory and read of the contents therefrom can be made from a portable read device 200 which is connected through the connector 105. In this manner, the stored contents can be read from the external apparatus without requiring removal of the memory at each time, which should simplify the reading operation in the event of failure occurrence to a great extent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ball counter and a ball counting system for receiving and counting the number of balls held by a player.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a gaming machine such as a pachinko machine, a ball paid out as a prize ball or the like is stored in a front plate and a lower plate provided on the front of the gaming machine, and a ball that cannot be completely stored therein is stored. It is designed to be transferred to a portable ball box and stored near the player.

When exchanging balls obtained by a player for prizes or the like corresponding to the number of balls, usually, all of the obtained balls are transferred to a ball box, and a prize ball counter arranged at a predetermined position in a game hall is usually used. It is carried to the aircraft, where the number of balls is counted.

In recent years, small prize ball counters have tended to be installed for each pachinko machine in order to avoid heavy labor of transporting a large number of ball boxes to a prize ball counter in a game arcade. There is also a prize ball counter that directly collects a ball that has almost overflowed from the lower plate during a game in order to save the trouble of transferring the ball stored in the lower plate to a ball box.

In this prize ball counter, the number of balls collected during a game is counted, and the collected balls are treated as virtual balls possessed by a player. The number of balls that are temporarily held is stored in the premium ball counter.

When a payout instruction is received from a player by pressing a payout button or the like, the prize ball counter pays out real balls to a front plate or the like up to the virtually held number. The stored number of virtual spheres is subtracted by the number paid out. Further, when the settlement button or the like is pressed, and the player has received an instruction to finish the game and make a settlement, all the balls remaining on the front plate and the bottom plate are collected and counted, and at this time, The total of the number of balls virtually held and the number of balls finally held by the player are recorded on a receipt or the like and output.

[0007] In these various prize ball counters, the number of virtually held balls and the number of balls being counted are stored in a nonvolatile manner so that the stored contents are not destroyed in the event of a power failure or some kind of failure. It is stored in memory.

[0008]

Since such a conventional prize ball counter uses a non-volatile memory, even if a failure such as a power failure occurs, the number of spheres held virtually is displayed. Data and the like are not destroyed. However, in order to read out the contents stored in the non-volatile memory inside the prize ball counter, it is necessary to wait until the power failure is corrected or to remove the non-volatile memory from the prize ball counter and set it in another reading device. In addition, there is a problem that the waiting time of the player is long, and the reading operation by another reading device is complicated.

Therefore, in order to simplify the work of removing the nonvolatile memory, a card-type nonvolatile memory is employed, or the nonvolatile memory is mounted on a small circuit board which can be attached and detached by a connector. Such measures are effective in the case of failures that occur individually, but when a failure occurs simultaneously in a number of prize ball counters, such as when a power failure occurs, the nonvolatile memory that should be removed Therefore, there is a problem that the measures for facilitating the removal are not enough to reduce the amount of work sufficiently and give a player unpleasant feeling.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the conventional technology, and when a failure such as a power failure occurs, the stored contents of a built-in nonvolatile memory can be read out more quickly and easily. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ball counting machine and a ball counting system which can perform the counting.

[0011]

The gist of the present invention to achieve the above object lies in the following inventions. [1] In a ball counter (100) for receiving and counting the number of balls held by a player, a receiving port (115) for receiving the balls, and the number of balls flowing from the receiving port (115). Counting means (152), a non-volatile memory (120) for storing the count value of the counting means (152), and a connector for connecting an external device (200). An external device connection connector () electrically connected to the non-volatile memory (120) so that power can be supplied to the non-volatile memory (120) and the stored content can be read from the external device (200). 105), and a ball counter (100) characterized by comprising:

[2] In a ball counter (100) for receiving and counting the number of balls possessed by a player, a receiving port (115) for receiving the balls and an inflow from the receiving port (115). Counting means (152) for counting the number of balls, a non-volatile memory (120) for storing the number of balls received from the reception port (115), and a non-volatile memory for receiving a payout instruction from a player (12
Payout means (1) for paying out the balls to the player up to the number stored in the non-volatile memory (0) and subtracting the number of the balls stored in the nonvolatile memory (120) by the paid out number.
60) and a settlement means (130, 109) for outputting the number of recording media stored in the non-volatile memory (120) when receiving a settlement instruction from the player;
A connector for connecting an external device (200), said nonvolatile memory (120) when a failure occurs
An external device connection connector (105) that is electrically connected to the nonvolatile memory (120) so that power can be supplied to the external device and the stored content can be read from the external device (200). A ball counter (100), characterized in that:

[3] In a ball counting system (10) for receiving and counting the number of balls possessed by a player, a receiving port (115) for receiving the balls and an inflow from the receiving port (115). Counting means (152) for counting the number of balls, a non-volatile memory (120) for storing the number of balls received from the reception port (115), and a non-volatile memory for receiving a payout instruction from a player (12
Payout means (160) for paying out the balls to the player up to the number stored in 0) and subtracting the number of balls stored in the nonvolatile memory (120) by the number of paid out balls; Settlement means (130, 109) for outputting the number of recording media stored in the non-volatile memory (120) when a settlement instruction is received from a player
And when the failure occurs, the non-volatile memory (120)
The nonvolatile memory (1) so that the power supply to the nonvolatile memory (1) and the reading of the stored content can be performed from the external device (200).
A ball counter body (100) having an external device connection connector (105) electrically connected to the external device connection connector (105); a connection connector (212) connected to the external device connection connector (105); A data reading means (220) for supplying power to the non-volatile memory (120) in the ball counter body (100) through the connection connector (212) and reading the stored contents thereof; and the data reading means (220) ), The nonvolatile memory (1)
And a recording medium output means (210) for outputting a recording medium recording the number of balls read from the ball counting device (20).
00), and a sphere counting system (10).

[4] The storage content reading device (200)
Is configured to be portable [3]
The sphere counting system as described (10).

[5] The storage content reading device (200)
Is driven by a built-in battery (201), wherein the ball counting system (1) is described in [3] or [4].
0).

[6] The storage content reading device (200)
Initializes the storage contents of the nonvolatile memory (120) when the output of the recording medium recording the number of balls read from the nonvolatile memory (120) is completed [3]. The ball counting system (10) according to [4] or [5].

The present invention operates as follows. The ball counter (100) counts the number of balls flowing from the receiving port (115) by the counting means (152), and the non-volatile memory (120) stores the count value of the counting means (152). . For example, the nonvolatile memory (1
If the storage contents of 20) are sequentially updated, the count immediately before the occurrence of a failure such as a power failure is stored in the nonvolatile memory (120).

An external device connection connector (105) of the ball counter (100) has a function of supplying power to the non-volatile memory (120) and reading the storage contents thereof by an external device (105) connected via the connector. 200), it is electrically connected to the non-volatile memory (120). Therefore, when a failure such as a power failure occurs, by connecting a predetermined external device (200) through the connector. The contents stored in the nonvolatile memory (120) are read from the external device (200).

As described above, the contents of the nonvolatile memory (120) can be stored in the external device (20) without removing it one by one.
0), the reading operation when a failure occurs can be greatly simplified.

When a payout means (160) of the ball counter (100) receives a payout instruction from the player, the payout means (160) sends the ball to the player up to the number stored in the nonvolatile memory (120). At the same time as the payout, the number of balls stored in the nonvolatile memory (120) is subtracted by the paid number.

Further, the settlement means (130, 109) of the ball counter (100), when receiving a settlement instruction from the player, counts the number of balls stored in the non-volatile memory (120) on a predetermined recording medium. Record and output to When a failure occurs, power is supplied to the nonvolatile memory (120) from the external device (200) connected via the external device connection connector (105), and the external device (200)
Is read out from the nonvolatile memory (120).

In the case where the number of balls that have not been paid out among the balls received as described above is stored until the game is over, the count value must be stored for a long period of time. There are many opportunities where data cannot be read. Therefore, the contents stored in the nonvolatile memory (120) can be transferred to the external device (200) through the connector.
The fact that reading can be performed directly from the storage device is more effective in simplifying the reading operation.

A storage content reading device (200) as an external device (200) for reading the storage content of the non-volatile memory (120) is formed separately from the ball counter main body (100). ) And a connector (10) for connecting an external device provided in the ball counter body (100).
The storage content reading device (200) and the ball counter main body (100) are electrically connected via 5).

The data reading means (220) of the storage content reading device (200) is connected to the nonvolatile memory (12) in the ball counter body (100) through the connection connector (212).
0) and supply power to the non-volatile memory (12).
Read out the stored contents of 0). Recording medium output means (21
0) records the number of balls read from the non-volatile memory (120) by the data reading means (220) on a predetermined recording medium, for example, a receipt or a magnetic card, and outputs it.

By making the storage content reading device (200) portable, for example, the ball counter body (10)
0) is installed for each gaming machine,
Since it is possible to go to the place where a failure has occurred, read out data on the spot, and output a receipt or the like, it is possible to give a sense of security to the player and to proceed with the reading operation quickly.

Further, since the storage content reading device (200) is driven by the built-in battery (201), it is not necessary to secure a power source of the storage content reading device (200) itself from a power line or the like, and a failure occurs. The reading operation can be performed more quickly. Further, even in the case of a power failure, there is no need to separately prepare a generator or the like, and the reading operation can be performed more smoothly.

When the storage content reading device (200) finishes outputting the recording medium having the number of balls read out from the nonvolatile memory (120), the storage content of the nonvolatile memory (120) is output. Is initialized. This prevents receipts and the like from being issued twice.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Each drawing shows one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a ball counting system 10 according to the present invention includes a ball counting machine main body 100 provided in parallel with a pachinko machine 20 and a ball counting machine main body 1 when a failure occurs.
And a portable reading device 200 for reading the data stored in the internal memory 00. The ball counting machine main unit 100 includes a narrow box-shaped ball rental unit 100a provided beside the pachinko machine 20 and a ball receiving unit 100b mounted on a front lower top plate of the pachinko machine 20. It is composed of

The ball counter main unit 100 functions as a ball lending machine that pays out balls according to the amount of money input, and collects these balls in the machine instead of transferring and storing real balls in a ball box. A virtual storage function for virtually storing the ball, and a settlement function for counting the number of balls possessed by the player when the game is over, recording the ball on a receipt or the like, and discharging the ball.

The ball lending unit 100a has a bill insertion slot 101, a coin insertion slot 102, a display 103, a payout nozzle 104, an external device connection connector 105, and a prize house card insertion slot 106 on its front surface. Have. A bill validator 107 (FIG. 2) for identifying whether or not the inserted bill is genuine and the amount of money is arranged behind the bill insertion slot 101. Coin insertion slot 1
A coin discriminator 108 for judging the authenticity and the amount of the inserted coin is provided at the back of 02.

The display 103 has a function of displaying the inserted amount of money and the like, and is composed of seven-segment LEDs (light emitting diodes). The payout nozzle 104 is a payout port for paying out balls to the upper plate 21 of the pachinko machine 20, and the paid out balls are supplied from a storage tank (not shown) in the gaming machine island.

The external device connection connector 105 is a connector for connecting the portable reading device 200.
Usually, it is covered with a resin lid. Behind the prize house card insertion slot 106 is a prize house card reading / writing device 10 for reading and writing the inserted prize house card.
9 (FIG. 2) are arranged.

The ball receiving section 100b has a member card insertion slot 110, a counting display 111, a payout switch 171, a settlement switch 172, and a break switch 17 on its front surface.
3 is provided. At the center of the upper surface of the ball receiving portion 100b, a receiving port 115 for receiving a ball from the lower plate 22 of the pachinko machine 20 is provided. On the right side of the receiving port 115, a ball storage replay switch 174 and a numeric key switch 175 are provided. Are located. Behind the member card insertion slot 110, a member card reader 11 for reading and writing the inserted member card and identifying the authenticity of the card is provided.
7 (FIG. 2) are arranged.

The lower plate 22 is provided with an openable and closable electromagnetic shutter at the bottom. The shutter at the bottom is opened by pressing an open / close button (not shown) so that the ball in the lower plate 22 falls to the receiving port 115. It has become. In addition, entrance 1
After counting the number of balls flowing in from 15, the balls are collected in a storage tank in the gaming machine island.

The balls themselves received from the receiving port 115 are collected into a storage tank, but instead of transferring the balls overflowing from the lower plate 22 to a ball box and storing them, the ball counter main body 1
00, which is a ball virtually held by the player. Therefore, the ball counter main unit 1
00 stores the number of balls virtually held by the player (the number of virtual storages) in the non-volatile memory 120, and when a payout is requested by the player, the actual balls are placed on the upper plate 21 up to the virtual storage number. To pay out to.

The payout switch 171 is a switch for inputting a request to pay out the virtually held ball as a real ball into the upper plate 21. The checkout switch 172 is
This is a switch for receiving a request to record and output the number of virtually held balls on a magnetic card or the like. At the prize exchange, exchange for prizes is performed according to the number of balls recorded on the magnetic card. Counting display 1
Reference numeral 11 denotes a portion for displaying the number of balls collected and virtually stored inside the ball counter main body 100, and is constituted by 7-segment LEDs.

The portable reading device 200 reads data stored in the non-volatile memory 120 built in the ball counter main body 100 when a failure occurs in the ball counter main body 100 or when a power failure occurs. This is a device for recording and outputting on a receipt or the like. The portable reading device 200
It has a box-like shape large enough to fit in the palm of the hand, and a battery 201 (FIG. 3) as a drive power supply source.
Built-in.

On a front panel of the portable reading device 200, a power switch 202 and a start switch 203 are provided.
, Recording medium outlet 204, data display unit 205
Are provided. A media recording unit 210 (FIG. 3) for recording data read from the non-volatile memory 120 on a recording medium is provided behind the recording medium outlet 204. Here, a receipt is output as a recording medium. In addition, a magnetic card may be used as a recording medium.

A lead wire 211 having a length of about 1 meter extends from the upper side surface of the portable reading device 200, and a connection connector 212 connected to the external device connection connector 105 is attached to the end thereof. I have. The lead wire 211 has a combination of a power supply line for supplying power to the nonvolatile memory 120, an address line for supplying an address signal, and a data line for transmitting data read from the nonvolatile memory 120. It is a multi-core cable.

FIG. 2 shows an outline of a circuit configuration of the ball counter main body 100. The ball counter main unit 100 has a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 130 that performs a central function of various controls.
It has. Various circuit devices are connected to the CPU 130 through various buses 131 such as a data bus and an address bus.

The ROM (Read Only Memory) 132 is a read-only memory that stores programs executed by the CPU 130 and various fixed data. R
The AM (random access memory) 133 is a working memory for storing data temporarily required for executing a program. The input / output interface 134 is an input / output circuit provided to transfer data between a circuit board on which the CPU 130 is mounted and various circuit devices arranged at a distant place without error.

The input / output interface 134 includes various switches such as the above-described bill validator 107, coin validator 108, premium house card reader / writer 109, counting display 111, member card reader 117, and payout switch 171. The provided operation switch unit 170 is connected. In addition, the input / output interface 134
A ball receiving unit 150 for detecting and counting the balls received from the receiving port 115 and a payout control unit 160 for controlling the payout of the balls from the payout nozzle 104 are connected.

The ball receiving section 150 has a receiving ball detection sensor 151 for detecting the inflow of a ball from the receiving port 115, and a receiving ball counter 152 for counting the number of the flowing balls. As the receiving ball detection sensor 151, besides a mechanical switch, various sensors such as an optical sensor that detects inflow due to light being blocked by a ball and a magnetic sensor that detects a change in a magnetic field due to passage of a ball are used. Can be. The received ball counter 152 is a counter circuit that counts the number of balls that have flowed in based on the output signal of the received ball detection sensor 151.

The payout control section 160 sequentially feeds the balls supplied from the storage tank in the gaming machine island one by one to the payout nozzle 104.
And a payout ball counter 162 that counts the number of balls that have been sent out. When the payout control unit 160 receives a ball delivery instruction from the CPU 130, the payout control unit 160 drives the ball delivery unit 161 to repeatedly perform the ball delivery operation until the designated number is reached.

The nonvolatile memory 120 is connected to the bus 131 via the first input / output buffer 135. A signal line 136 for transmitting an address signal and a data signal to the nonvolatile memory 120 is connected to the nonvolatile memory 120.
And a first input / output buffer 135, and is connected to the external device connection connector 105 via the second input / output buffer 137.

Power supply line 1 to which power is supplied from portable reading device 200 through external device connection connector 105
Numeral 38 denotes a power supply detection circuit 139 for detecting whether or not power is supplied from the portable reading device 200, and a power supply circuit 140 built in the ball counter main body 100 or a nonvolatile reading device from any of the portable reading device 200. Each of them is connected to a power supply switching circuit 141 for switching whether to supply power to the memory 120.

The power supply detection circuit 139 includes a voltage detection circuit (not shown),
5, while the power is being supplied from the portable reading device 200, the switching signal 142 is set to a low level. The switching signal 142 output from the power supply detection circuit 139 is input to the power switching circuit 141 and the second input / output buffer 137, and the signal 1
42 is input to the first input / output buffer 135 after being inverted by the inverting circuit 143. The switching signal 142 is connected to the power supply circuit 140 via the pull-up resistor 144.

When the switching signal 142 is at a low level, the power supply switching circuit 141 supplies power to the nonvolatile memory 120, the first input / output buffer 135, and the second input / output buffer 137 from the external device 200 side. , Switching signal 142
When is not low level, power is supplied from the power supply circuit 140 to the nonvolatile memory 120 and the like.

The power supply detection circuit 139 is connected to the portable reading device 20 through the external device connection connector 105.
0, and when no power is supplied from the portable reading device 200, the signal level of the switching signal 142 is set to the power of the power supply circuit 140 connected via the pull-up resistor 144. It is maintained at a high level depending on the voltage.

When the switching signal 142 is at a low level, the second input / output buffer 137 is in a state of electrically connecting the nonvolatile memory 120 and the external device connection connector 105, and the switching signal 142 is at a high level. This is a buffer circuit that functions to disconnect the electrical connection when the level is at the level. First
Is input after the switching signal 142 is inverted by the inverting circuit 143, so that when the switching signal 142 is at the high level, the nonvolatile memory 120
And the bus 131 are electrically connected, and when the switching signal 142 is at a low level, the electrical connection is cut off.

FIG. 3 shows an outline of a circuit configuration of the portable reading device 200. Portable reading device 20
0 includes a CPU 220, which is connected to a ROM 222, a RAM 223,
I / O buffer 224, I / O interface 225
Is connected. The ROM 222 is a read-only memory that stores a program representing a control procedure of the portable reading device 200 and various fixed data. RAM 223
Is a working memory for temporarily storing various data required for executing the program.

The input / output interface 225 includes a medium recording unit 210 for printing out a receipt, a data display unit 205 for displaying the contents of data read from the nonvolatile memory 120, and a start for starting a reading process. The switch 203 is connected. Here, a liquid crystal display panel is used as the data display unit 205.

The portable reading device 200 has a built-in battery 201 composed of a battery.
Power is supplied via the power supply. The connection connector 212 receives an address signal and a data signal of the CPU 220 from the input / output buffer 224 and the lead wire 211.
Connected through. Also, the power switch 202,
The connection connector 212 and the battery 201 are connected via the lead wire 211.

Next, the operation of the ball counter main body 100 in a normal state in which a failure such as a power failure has not occurred will be described. During normal operation, power is not supplied from the portable reading device 200 through the external device connection connector 105, so that the output of the power supply detection circuit 139 is in an undefined state.
Therefore, the switching signal 142 becomes high level depending on the output voltage of the power supply circuit 140 connected via the pull-up resistor 144.

Therefore, the power supply switching circuit 141 serves as the power supply circuit 140 as a power supply source for the nonvolatile memory 120 and the like.
Select Further, since the switching signal 142 becomes high level, the second input / output buffer 137 stores the nonvolatile memory 12
0 and the external device connection connector 105 are disconnected. Further, the first input / output buffer 135 is in a state where the nonvolatile memory 120 and the bus 131 are electrically connected. As a result, the nonvolatile memory 120 becomes readable and writable by the CPU 130.

It should be noted that even when the ball counter main body 100 is operating normally, the external device connection connector 10 can be used.
5, the non-volatile memory 120 receives power from the external device connection connector 105 side and receives the address of the non-volatile memory 120 from the external device connection connector 105 side. A signal line or the like is connected.

FIG. 4 shows a ball counter main unit 1 in a normal state.
00 shows the flow of the operation performed by the program 00. When money is inserted from the bill insertion slot 101 or the like via cash or a magnetic card (step S301; Y), the CPU 130 drives the payout control unit 160 to pay out the number of balls corresponding to the inserted amount. The pachinko machine 20 pays out into the upper plate 21 through 104 (step S302). This allows
The player starts the game with the pachinko machine 20.

When the number of prize balls increases during the game and it becomes impossible to store the balls in the upper plate 21 and the lower plate 22, the player opens the shutter at the bottom of the lower plate 22 and moves the balls in the plate to the ball counter body. Drop it to the unit 100 and collect it. Ball counter main unit 100
Increases the count value of the accepted ball counter 152 each time the accepted ball detection sensor 151 detects the acceptance of one ball (step S303; Y), and furthermore, the virtual storage number stored in the non-volatile memory 120. Are sequentially updated (step S304). That is, every time one ball is accepted, the value of the virtual storage number stored in the nonvolatile memory 120 is updated. Thereafter, the display of the virtual storage number on the counting display 111 is updated (step S30).
5).

When the payout switch 171 is pressed and the player receives a request to pay out the virtually held ball to the upper plate 21 as a real ball (step S306; Y), the ball is counted. The machine main unit 100 is a payout control unit 1
By driving 60, the designated number of balls are paid out with the virtual storage number as a limit (steps S107 to S109). At this time, every time one ball is paid out, the value of the virtual storage number stored in the non-volatile memory 120 is subtracted by “1” and updated sequentially. As a result, even if a power failure or the like occurs during the payout, the number of spheres virtually stored in the nonvolatile memory 120 is accurately stored.

When the settlement switch 172 is pressed to receive an instruction from the player to perform settlement (step S310; Y), the ball counter main body 100 opens the shutter at the bottom of the lower plate 22 (step S310). S311), the process of collecting the balls in the dish is started. The CPU 130 increases the virtual storage number stored in the nonvolatile memory 120 by “1” each time the acceptance ball detection sensor 151 detects the acceptance of one ball (step S312; Y), and sequentially stores the contents. Update (step S313).

When the inflow of the balls has stopped for a certain period of time or more (step S114; Y), it is determined that the collection of all the balls has been completed, and the virtual storage number stored in the non-volatile memory 120, that is, the point of time when the game ends. A value representing the number of all the balls held by the player is stored in a recording medium such as a magnetic card and output (step S315). afterwards,
The virtual storage number stored in the non-volatile memory 120 is initialized to “0” (step S316), and the display content of the counting display 111 is updated (step S30).
5). As described above, the non-volatile memory 120 stores an accurate value of the number of balls virtually held by the player.

If any trouble or power failure occurs in the ball counter main body 100 while the player is playing the game, the external device connection connector 105 of the ball counter main body 100 is used. Then, the connection connector 212 of the portable reading device 200 is connected to the portable reading device 200, and the content stored in the non-volatile memory 120 is read from the portable reading device 200, and the receipt is issued.

FIG. 5 shows a flow of the operation performed by the portable reading device 200. When a failure or power failure occurs, the connection connector 212 is connected to the external device connection connector 10.
5 and the power switch 202 of the portable reading device 200 is turned on, power is supplied from the battery 201 of the portable reading device 200 to the nonvolatile memory 120 of the ball counter main body 100 and the like.

When the start switch 203 is depressed in this state (step S401; Y), the CPU 220 of the portable reading device 200 sends a predetermined address signal to the nonvolatile memory 120, and the nonvolatile address such as the virtual storage number. Read the contents stored in the memory 120 (step S40)
2). After displaying the read data on the data display unit 205 (step S403), the value is recorded on a recording medium such as a receipt and output (step S404). When the output of the recording medium on which the read content is recorded is completed, the CPU
220 initializes the storage contents of the non-volatile memory 120 and changes the virtual storage number to “0” (Step S40)
5).

As described above, even when a failure or power failure occurs on the ball counter main body 100 side, the portable reading device 200 is connected to the ball counter main body 100 via the connector. Alone, the contents stored in the nonvolatile memory 120 can be read.
It is not necessary to remove each of the 0s, and the reading operation can be performed quickly and easily.

As a result, the work of the arcade staff can be reduced, the waiting time until the data in the nonvolatile memory 120 is read out can be reduced, and the discomfort given to the player can be reduced. In addition, since the reading operation can be performed in front of the player, a sense of security can be given to the player.

In the embodiment described above, the data read from the non-volatile memory 120 is printed on the receipt and output in the portable reading device 200, but the read data is recorded on the magnetic card. Is also good. If recorded and output on a magnetic card, in the case of a failure that occurs independently other than a power failure, another normal gaming machine or the same game after repair can be used based on the data recorded on the magnetic card. The game can be resumed with k.

In the embodiment, the ball counter main unit 10
Although the external device connection connector 105 is arranged alone on the front of the device 0, the entrance of various media such as a membership card, a receipt, or a prize house card is used as an insertion port of the connection connector 212 of the portable reading device 200. You may make it double. In this case, instead of inserting the connection connector 212 deeply from the entrance of each medium, the contact terminal may be attached inside the vicinity of the entrance.

FIG. 6 shows a card reader 500 provided with a contact terminal 501 for electrically connecting to an external device near the inside of the insertion slot, and a card-type connector 510 inserted into the card reader. The card-type connector 510 has a card-like shape having the same size as a magnetic card normally inserted into the card reader 500.
An electrode 511 is provided at a position facing the contact terminal 501 with the card 10 inserted into the card reader 500.

As described above, since the insertion slot for a medium such as a magnetic card is also used as the insertion slot for the connector of the portable reading device 200, the front panel of the ball counter main body 100 can be compared with the case where the connector is arranged independently. Can be effectively utilized.

In the embodiment, the ball counter main body 10
Although the ball held by the player is virtually stored within 0, it is not always necessary to provide such a function. For example, a prize sphere counter having only a function of counting the number of spheres installed at a prize exchange may be provided with a connector for connecting an external device. If the contents stored in the non-volatile memory can be read out from the external device via the external device connection connector, if a failure or power failure occurs while counting thousands of spheres, already counted spheres can be read. Can be read out quickly and easily, and the settlement operation can proceed smoothly.

[0072]

According to the ball counter and the ball counting system according to the present invention, the contents of the nonvolatile memory storing the number of balls flowing from the receiving port are stored in the external memory via the external device connection connector. So that it can be read from
The reading operation at the time of failure can be quickly and easily performed without removing the non-volatile memory one by one.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of an installation form of a ball counting system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a ball counter main unit 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a portable reading device 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation performed by the ball counter main body 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a flow of an operation performed by the portable reading device 200 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing an example of a card reader provided with a contact terminal for electrically connecting to an external device near the inside of an insertion slot and a card-type connector inserted into the card reader.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Ball counting system 20 ... Pachinko machine 21 ... Upper plate 22 ... Lower plate 100 ... Ball counter main unit 100a ... Ball lending unit 100b ... Ball receiving unit 101 ... Bill insertion slot 102 ... Coin insertion slot 103 ... Display 104 ... Dispensing nozzle 105 ... Connector for external device connection 106 ... Premium house card insertion slot 107 ... Bill note discriminator 108 ... Coin discriminator 109 ... Gift house card reading / writing device 110 ... Member card insertion slot 111 ... Counter display 115 ... Reception entrance 117 ... Member card reader 120 Non-volatile memory 130, 220 CPU 131, 221 Bus 132, 222 ROM 133, 223 RAM 134, 225 Input / output interface 135 First input / output buffer 136 Signal line 137 2 input / output buffers 138 ... power supply line 139 ... power supply detection circuit 140 ... power supply circuit 141 ... power supply switching circuit 142 ... switching signal 143 ... inversion circuit 144 ... pull-up resistor 150 ... ball receiving unit 151 ... receiving ball detection sensor 152 ... receiving ball counter 160 ... payout control unit 161 ... ball sending unit 162: payout ball counter 170: operation switch unit 171: payout switch 172: settlement switch 173 ... rest switch 174 ... ball storage replay switch 175 ... numeric key switch 200 ... portable reading device 201 ... battery 202 ... power switch 203 ... start switch 204: Recording medium take-out port 205: Data display unit 210: Medium recording unit 211: Lead wire 212: Connector 224: Input / output buffer 500: Card reader 501: Contact terminal 510: Card connector 511: Electrode

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A ball counter for receiving a ball held by a player and counting the number of the ball, a receiving port for receiving the ball, a counting means for counting the number of balls flowing from the receiving port, A non-volatile memory for storing a count value of the counting means, and a connector for connecting an external device, wherein when a failure occurs, power supply to the non-volatile memory and reading of the stored content are performed by the external device And a connector for external device connection electrically connected to the non-volatile memory so as to be able to perform from above. 2. A ball counter for receiving and counting the number of balls held by a player, a receiving port for receiving the balls, a counting means for counting the number of balls flowing from the receiving ports, A non-volatile memory for storing the number of balls received from the reception port; and when receiving a payout instruction from the player, paying out balls to the player up to the number stored in the non-volatile memory, Means for subtracting the number of balls stored in the non-volatile memory by the number paid out, and when receiving a settlement instruction from the player, a predetermined recording medium in which the number stored in the non-volatile memory is recorded. A settlement unit for outputting, and a connector for connecting an external device, wherein when a failure occurs, power supply to the nonvolatile memory and reading of the stored content are performed from the external device. Sphere counting machine, characterized by comprising the nonvolatile memory electrically connected to the external device connection connector so as have a. 3. A ball counting system for receiving and counting the number of balls held by a player, a receiving port for receiving the balls, a counting means for counting the number of balls flowing from the receiving ports, A non-volatile memory that stores the number of balls received from the reception port, and when receiving a payout instruction from the player, pays out balls to the player up to the number stored in the non-volatile memory, Means for subtracting the number of balls stored in the non-volatile memory by the number of paid-out balls, and a predetermined record in which the number stored in the non-volatile memory is recorded when a settlement instruction is received from the player. A settlement unit for outputting a medium; and an electric device for electrically connecting the non-volatile memory so that power can be supplied to the non-volatile memory and the stored contents can be read from an external device when a failure occurs. A ball counter main body having an external device connection connector connected to the; a connection connector connected to the external device connection connector; and a power supply to the nonvolatile memory in the ball counter main body through the connection connector. The sphere having data reading means for supplying and reading the storage content thereof, and recording medium output means for outputting a predetermined recording medium on which the number of spheres read from the nonvolatile memory by the data reading means is recorded. A sphere counting system, comprising: a memory content reading device formed separately from a counting machine main body. 4. The ball counting system according to claim 3, wherein the storage content reading device is configured to be portable. 5. The ball counting system according to claim 3, wherein the storage content reading device is driven by a built-in battery. 6. The storage content reading device initializes the storage content of the nonvolatile memory when the output of a recording medium recording the number of balls read from the nonvolatile memory is completed. The ball counting system according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein