JPH11285582A - Game machine monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make preventable an illegal action by surely detecting a game program forge. SOLUTION: In the game machine monitoring system for inspecting and monitoring a game program P1 in a game machine, a game controller 3 and a game machine monitoring device 1 are provided, the device 1 transmits communication information D to the controller 3 and also executes a hash function operation by putting the previously stored game program P2 and communication information D together and the controller 3 executes the hash function operation by putting the program P1 and transmitted communication information D together and also transmits the arithmetic result S1 to the device 1. The device 1 compares the arithmetic result Sa from the controller 3 which the arithmetic result Sb in the device 1, adopts the game program as the normal one at the time of coincidence, judges the existence of an illegality in the game program at the time of non-coincidence and executes a prescribed illegality countermeasure processing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a game program in a game machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, gaming machines such as pachinko machines have been widely computerized and controlled by computers, and the contents of the games have been diversified by incorporating "big hits". Interest in games is also increasing. The game content is in accordance with a game program stored in a ROM, which is a nonvolatile memory.

[0003]

However, in the above-described computer-controlled gaming machine, the game program can be replaced by replacing the ROM and the game content can be changed, so that the game content is advantageous to the player. A new fraudulent act of replacing and tampering has been introduced. And once the game program is tampered with,
The damage that a gaming shop suffers, such as an abnormally large number of “big hits”, will be insignificant compared to the past. In addition, due to such misconduct, the soundness of the game is impaired, and the trust of the player is lost.

[0004] The present invention has been proposed in view of the above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming machine monitoring system capable of reliably detecting tampering with a game program and preventing fraudulent acts.

[0005]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a gaming program in a gaming machine, the gaming machine being provided in each gaming machine. A game control device that controls the operation of the game machine in accordance with a game program, and a game machine monitoring device that transmits and receives information to and from the game control device, wherein the game machine monitoring device sends communication information to the game control device. And performs a hash function operation on both the game program stored in advance and the communication information, and the game control device performs a hash function on both the game program and the transmitted communication information. Performs the calculation and sends the calculation result to the gaming machine monitoring device. The gaming machine monitoring device calculates the calculation result from the game control device and the calculation result in the gaming machine monitoring device. Comparing the game program is to be normal if they match, when they do not match performs predetermined illegal corresponding process as being illegal in the game program, and characterized in that.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a gaming machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a gaming program in a gaming machine, a game control provided in each gaming machine and controlling the operation of the gaming machine in accordance with the gaming program. The game control device has a game machine monitoring device that exchanges information with the game control device, and the game machine monitoring device performs a hash function operation on a game program stored in advance and performs a first The calculation result is stored in advance, the communication information is transmitted to the game control device, the first calculation result is given as an initial value of the hash function, and the hash value calculation is performed on the communication information to perform the second calculation result. The game control device performs a hash function operation on both the game program and the transmitted communication information, and sends the calculation result to the game machine monitoring device. The gaming machine monitoring device compares the calculation result from the game control device with the second calculation result in the gaming machine monitoring device. If they match, the game program is determined to be normal. It is characterized in that a predetermined fraud handling process is performed on the assumption that the program is fraudulent.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a gaming machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a gaming program in a gaming machine, wherein the gaming control is provided for each gaming machine and controls the operation of the gaming machine in accordance with the gaming program. The game control device includes a gaming machine monitoring device that transmits and receives information by communication, and a management control device that integrally manages each of the gaming machine monitoring devices. The gaming machine monitoring device includes a game control device. The communication information is transmitted to both the device and the management control device, and the game control device performs a hash function operation on both the game program and the transmitted communication information, and outputs the calculation result to the game machine monitoring device. The management control device performs a hash function operation on both the game program stored in advance and the communication information, and transmits the calculation result to the game machine monitor. The gaming machine monitoring device compares the calculation result from the game control device with the calculation result from the management control device, and determines that the game program is normal if they match. It is characterized in that a predetermined fraud handling process is performed on the assumption that the program is fraudulent.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. First, a first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3. FIG.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a gaming machine monitoring system according to the present invention. In the figure, the gaming machine monitoring system of the present invention is a system in which the gaming machine monitoring device 1 verifies and monitors the gaming program P1 of the gaming machine 300, and is provided in each gaming machine 300 and controls the operation of the gaming machine 300. A game control device 3 that controls according to P1, and the game control device 3 includes a gaming machine monitoring device 1 that exchanges information by communication. The gaming machine monitoring device 1 verifies the game program P1, controls the imaging of the television camera 4, obtains detection data of a magnetic sensor and a radio wave sensor (not shown), and uses the data. In addition, various kinds of fraudulent acts performed on the gaming machine 300 are monitored.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing each internal configuration of the game control device and the game machine monitoring device. In the figure, the game control device 3 is mainly configured with a microcomputer 30. The microcomputer 30 includes a CPU 31, a RAM 32, and a ROM 3
3 which are commonly connected to a common bus 34 for addresses and data. In addition, an I / O port 35 that controls input and output with an external device is connected to a common bus 34.

[0011] The CPU 31 which performs the main arithmetic processing function includes:
The game program P1 is read from the ROM 33 by power-on or reset, and the game program P1 is sequentially executed based on the input timing of the clock signal from the clock generation circuit 36. At this time, data and the like necessary for control are written in the RAM 32. Then, detection signals from various sensors and the like are transmitted to the interface circuit 37 and the I / O
The game program P1 is received while receiving the signal via the port 35, and referring to the detection signal, and the control signal obtained as a result is sent to the variable winning device (not shown) via the I / O port 35 and the interface circuit 37. Output, and sequentially executes predetermined game control according to the game state.

The gaming machine monitoring device 1 is provided, for example, above a frame in which the gaming machine 300 is installed, corresponding to the gaming control device 3 described above.
It is configured around 0. The microcomputer 10 includes a media access (MAC) CPU 11, a network CPU
12, three CPUs of the application CPU 13, R
AM14, EEPROM15 and ROM16 are built in, and these are a common bus 1 for addresses and data.
7 are connected in common. A program as a control procedure for operating the gaming machine monitoring device 1 is previously written in the ROM 16, and the gaming machine 300 is stored in the EEPROM 15.
The same program P2 as the game program P1 is written in advance.

A network communication port 18 and an I / O port 19 for inputting and outputting to and from external devices are connected to a common bus 17. The interface circuit 21 is connected to the game control device 3, a ball lending device (not shown), and the like, and includes an electric circuit suitable for communication and control with these devices.

The three CPUs 11, 12, and 13 read out the program by turning on or resetting the power, and sequentially execute the program based on the input timing of the clock signal output from the clock generation circuit 20. At this time, data and the like necessary for control are written in the RAM 14. By using the RAM 14 as a shared memory, the three CPUs 11, 12, and 13 can exchange data with each other. For example, when the application CPU 13 captures various data via the I / O port 19 and writes the data into the application buffer (RAM 14), the network CPU 12
Reads this data by referring to this application buffer and writes it to the network buffer (RAM 14). The data written in the network buffer can be referred to from the MAC CPU 11, and the MAC CPU 11 outputs the data to the outside via the network communication port 18. By following the reverse route, the network communication port 18
Writes data read from the network via the application buffer to the application buffer,
43 refers to and reads the data, and the I / O port 19
And it can also be output to the game control device 3 via the interface circuit 21.

In the gaming machine monitoring system having the above configuration,
The application CPU 13 of the gaming machine monitoring device 1 verifies the gaming program P1 of the gaming machine 300 according to the following procedure, and monitors fraud.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a game program verification procedure executed by the gaming machine monitoring system of the present invention. In the figure, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 sends several bytes of communication data D to the game control device 3 via the interface circuits 21 and 37, and also stores a several kilobytes of game program P2 stored in advance and the communication program D2. A hash function operation is performed on both the data D and the data D to obtain an operation result Sb of several bytes. Note that the communication data D is newly generated by the application CPU 13 every time it is transmitted using a random number table or the like.

The hash function is a function for converting a message of an arbitrary length into short data of a predetermined length.
Can be expressed by the following equation (1) using a hash function h. Sb = h (P2 + D) (1)

The game control device 3 includes a game program P1 and
A hash function operation is performed together with the transmitted communication data D to obtain an operation result Sa (= h (P1 + D)), and the operation result Sa is transmitted to the interface circuit 3.
The information is sent to the gaming machine monitoring device 1 via the devices 7 and 21.

The game machine monitoring device 1 compares the calculation result Sa from the game control device 3 with the calculation result Sb of the game machine monitoring device 1, and if they match, determines that the game program P1 is normal and starts the game. A predetermined normal process such as permission is performed, and if they do not match, a predetermined fraud handling process is performed assuming that the game program P1 is fraudulent. The fraud handling process in this case is a process of, for example, reporting the result to a higher-level computer or stopping the game in the gaming machine 300. In the latter game stopping process, the power of the game control device 3 is Forcibly turn off the game machine 3
00 are stopped.

As described above, in the embodiment according to the present invention, the game program P1 of the gaming machine 300 is
Since it can be verified and monitored by the gaming machine monitoring device 1 provided separately from 0, tampering of the game program can be reliably detected, and damage due to illegal acts can be reliably prevented beforehand.

Further, even if the hash function is decrypted, the communication data D which is newly updated every time is added to the target data P1, so that the tampering of the game program P1 can be almost completely detected, and the game program P1 can be detected. Verification will be extremely reliable.

In the above description, the gaming machine monitoring device 1
And the game control device 3 previously store one and the same hash function h in each memory area, and calculate with the one hash function h. h2,..., a selection code for selecting which hash function is to be embedded in the communication data D, and the hash function to be used may be appropriately changed. With this configuration, the possibility of decrypting the hash function is further reduced, and the reliability of the game program verification can be further improved.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a view for explaining a game program verification in the second embodiment. In the second embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment include:
The same reference numerals are given and the description is omitted.

In the second embodiment, the procedure for obtaining the hash function operation result Sd in the gaming machine monitoring apparatus 1 is different. In the first embodiment, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 performs the hash function operation on both the game program P2 and the communication data D. However, in the second embodiment, the game program P2 Is subjected to a hash function operation, and the operation result Sc (= h (P
2)) is stored in the memory area. At the time of game program verification, the operation result Sc stored in the memory area
Is given as the initial value of the hash function, and the communication data D
To obtain a second operation result Sd. The gaming machine monitoring device 1 compares the calculation result Sd with the calculation result Sa from the game control device 3,
Perform verification.

That is, the second embodiment focuses on the fact that h (P + D) = h (D) | initial value h (P) holds in a certain kind of hash function operation. In the gaming machine monitoring device 1, the hash function operation result Sc (= h (P2)) for the game program P2 is obtained in advance, and the operation result Sc is given as an initial value of the hash function at the time of the subsequent game program verification. A hash function operation may be performed on the short communication data D of this time. Therefore, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 can reduce the time required for each verification, and can quickly perform the game program verification.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this third embodiment,
The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an entire configuration according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, in the gaming machine monitoring system, a large number of unit systems 100 each including a gaming machine 300 and a gaming machine monitoring device 1 are networked. Have been. Each unit system 100 is connected to a communication line 9 via a network communication port 18 of the gaming machine monitoring device 1 and constitutes an information network as a whole. In this case, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 serves as a terminal of the hall computer 6. Also, it has a function of transmitting various information collected from the gaming machine 300 to the hall computer 6.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a game program verification procedure in the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, in the above network configuration, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 first transmits the communication data D to both the game control device 3 and the hall computer 6. The game control device 3 performs a hash function operation on both the game program P1 and the transmitted communication data D in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and outputs the operation result Sa to the game machine monitoring device 1 Send to

On the other hand, the hall computer 6 performs a hash function operation on both the game program P2 stored in advance and the communication data D together, and transmits the operation result Se to the gaming machine monitoring apparatus 1. Note that all types of game programs are stored in the hall computer 6 in advance, and the corresponding game programs are sent from the hall computer 6 to the respective gaming machines 300. In addition, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 transmits the
The authentication code of the CPU 31 used in the gaming machine 300 to be verified is embedded in the communication data D transmitted to the game computer 300. The hall computer 6 uses the authentication code to execute the game program P2 of the gaming machine, A game program as a transmission source can be selected.

The gaming machine monitoring device 1 compares the calculation result Sa from the game control device 3 with the calculation result Se in the hall computer 6, and if they match, determines that the game program P1 is normal. A predetermined fraud handling process is performed on the assumption that the gaming program P1 has fraud.

As described above, in the third embodiment, the hash function operation that causes a relatively large load is not performed by the gaming machine monitoring device 1 but by the hall computer 6. Is configured to determine only the calculation result, so that the gaming machine monitoring device 1 can be downsized,
The cost can be reduced, and the installation space can be easily secured. Further, since the gaming machine monitoring device 1 is provided for each gaming machine, a large number of the gaming machine monitoring devices 1 are provided, and a large cost reduction can be realized as a whole.

In the third embodiment, the gaming machine monitoring device 1 is installed between the hall computer 6 and each of the gaming machines 300, or the installation position of the gaming machine monitoring device 1 is There is no particular limitation as long as it is a place other than the gaming machine 300 (or a place other than the game control device 3). For example, the hall computer 6 may be configured to have the same function as the gaming machine monitoring device 1. Can also.

In each of the above embodiments, the calculation is performed using a hash function. However, the calculation may be performed using an encryption function instead of the hash function.

[0034]

Since the present invention has the above-described configuration,
The following effects can be obtained. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the game program of the gaming machine can be verified and monitored by the gaming machine monitoring device provided separately from the gaming machine, so that tampering of the gaming program can be reliably detected. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent damages caused by wrongdoing.

Also, even if the hash function is decrypted, since the communication data which is newly updated every time is added to the target data, almost all tampering of the game program can be detected, and the verification of the game program is extremely high. It will have reliability.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the gaming machine monitoring device acquires a hash function operation result for the game program in advance, and gives the operation result as an initial value of the hash function at the time of the subsequent game program verification. Since the hash function operation may be performed on the short communication information of this time, the gaming machine monitoring device can reduce the time required for each verification and can quickly perform the game program verification.

Further, in the invention according to claim 6, the hash function operation with a relatively large load is performed not by the gaming machine monitoring device but by the management control device. Since only the result is determined, the gaming machine monitoring device can be reduced in size and cost, and the installation space can be easily secured.
Further, since a plurality of such gaming machine monitoring devices are provided for each gaming machine, a large number of such gaming machine monitoring devices are provided, and as a whole, significant cost reduction can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a gaming machine monitoring system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing each internal configuration of a game control device and a game machine monitoring device.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a game program verification procedure executed by the gaming machine monitoring system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a game program verification in the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing an overall configuration according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a game program verification procedure in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Gaming machine monitoring device 10 Microcomputer 11 MACCPU 12 Network CPU 13 Application CPU 14 RAM 15 EEPROM 16 ROM 17 Common bus 18 Network communication port 19 I / O port 20 Clock generation circuit 21 Interface circuit 3 Game control device 30 Microcomputer 31 CPU 32 RAM 33 ROM 34 Common bus 35 I / O port 36 Clock generation circuit 37 Interface circuit 100 Unit system 300 Amusement machine 4 TV camera 6 Hall computer P1, P2 Game program h Hash function Sa, Sb, Sc, Sd, Se Hash function calculation result

Claims (6)

[Claims] In a gaming machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a gaming program in a gaming machine, a gaming control device provided in each gaming machine and controlling the operation of the gaming machine in accordance with the gaming program; A gaming machine monitoring device that transmits and receives information by communication, the gaming machine monitoring device transmits communication information to a game control device, and combines both a game program stored in advance and the communication information with each other. The game control device performs a hash function operation by combining both the game program and the transmitted communication information, and transmits the calculation result to the game machine monitoring device, The device compares the calculation result from the game control device with the calculation result from the gaming machine monitoring device, and if they match, it determines that the game program is normal and does not match. And performing a predetermined fraud handling process when the game program has fraud. 2. The gaming machine monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine monitoring device is provided corresponding to each gaming machine. 3. The game control device stores a plurality of hash functions, and performs a hash function operation by selecting a hash function corresponding to a hash function selection code embedded in the communication information. The gaming machine monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The gaming machine according to claim 1, wherein the communication information is newly generated in the gaming machine monitoring device each time before the communication information is transmitted from the gaming machine monitoring device. Machine monitoring system. 5. A gaming machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a gaming program in a gaming machine, wherein the gaming control device is provided in each gaming machine and controls the operation of the gaming machine in accordance with the gaming program. A gaming machine monitoring device for transmitting and receiving information by communication, wherein the gaming machine monitoring device performs a hash function operation on a game program stored in advance, and stores the first calculation result in advance. Transmitting the communication information to the game control device, giving the first operation result as an initial value of a hash function, and performing a hash function operation on the communication information to obtain a second operation result. A hash function operation is performed together with both the game program and the transmitted communication information, and the calculation result is transmitted to the game machine monitoring device. , Comparing the calculation result from the game control device with the second calculation result in the gaming machine monitoring device,
A gaming machine monitoring system, characterized in that if they match, the game program is normal, and if they do not match, it is determined that the game program is fraudulent and a predetermined fraud handling process is performed. 6. A gaming machine monitoring system for verifying and monitoring a gaming program on a gaming machine, comprising: a gaming control device provided in each gaming machine for controlling an operation of the gaming machine in accordance with the gaming program; A gaming machine monitoring device that transmits and receives information by communication, and a management control device that integrally controls each of the gaming machine monitoring devices, wherein the gaming machine monitoring device is used as both a gaming control device and a management control device. Transmitting the communication information, the game control device performs a hash function operation together with both the game program and the transmitted communication information, and transmits the calculation result to the gaming machine monitoring device; Performing a hash function operation on both the game program stored in advance and the communication information together, and transmitting the calculation result to the game machine monitoring device; The viewing device compares the calculation result from the game control device with the calculation result from the management control device, and if they match, determines that the game program is normal. A gaming machine monitoring system for performing a corresponding process.