JP2688701B2 - Amusement equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a gaming facility using a gaming device such as a pachinko machine, an arrange ball, or a slot machine, and is particularly effective when used as a measure against a power-off state in the gaming facility. Related Art [Prior Art] In recent years, a card-type pachinko game system has been proposed as a typical example of playing a game using a card-shaped storage medium. The card method has the advantage that the player only needs to carry the card, which is a storage medium, and can reduce the burden of carrying a large number of pachinko balls that are easy to fall. Conventionally proposed card-type pachinko gaming systems are roughly divided into the following two types.

In the first method, when issuing a card, the number of balls held corresponding to the purchase amount is stored in the card, a pachinko game is performed within the range of the number of balls held, and the number of balls held is increased or decreased in the game process. (See JP-B-47-42227).

The second method of the card method is to issue a card in which only the code number is recorded at the time of card purchase, store the number of balls held in a central management device, and insert the card into a card reader of a pachinko machine. The stored number of balls is called so that a game can be played. In such a case, when the card is issued, all the purchase amount is converted to possessed balls, and the number of possessed balls is stored in the management device side (Japanese Utility Model 61-61).
No. 32709, JP-B-51-17106).

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional game equipment using a real ball, the player cannot continue the game even if a power failure occurs, and the player can supply the ball that the player purchased or the ball obtained by the game as it is. The player is not likely to suffer so much damage because it remains on the plate or the like. However, in the card-type game equipment, if a power outage occurs during business, the previously stored data will be lost, and even if the power outage is restored, the entire game equipment including pachinko machines will be restored to the state before the power outage. I can't. This not only gives distrust to the players but also an important issue for the managers regarding the credibility of the hall, so that the hall cannot be operated at ease. Therefore, it is conceivable to back up the power supply of the entire gaming facility including the pachinko machine, but to back up all the equipment requires a huge space and a huge cost.

In addition, even if the pachinko machine employee inadvertently turns off the power of a specific pachinko machine even if the power failure as described above does not occur, the data of the pachinko machine may be lost.

Further, not only the power is cut off, but also the control device of the pachinko machine may run away due to the generation of static electricity or the data in the memory inside the control device may be destroyed, so that the stored data cannot be completely trusted. was there.

In such a gaming facility using cards, it is important to manage the card and the data associated with the card, but regardless of the card system, the protection of the data associated with the card, the maintenance of the entire gaming facility, and the gaming It is very important that measures for equipment recovery are taken.

An object of the present invention is to protect the operating information of the gaming device and improve the reliability of the gaming facility even if an abnormality occurs due to a power-off state.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention is directed to a storage medium having valuable data (card C
Storage medium reader that can read D) (card reader 1
80) which allows a game to be played in association with valuable data of the inserted storage medium (for example, a pachinko machine including a gaming machine main body 110 and a control unit 160).
100) and a management device (400) including at least a storage device (for example, a main storage device M-MEM) for storing operation information of the game device, the game device and the management device are transmitted. Means (eg data transmission line 50
0) data transmission is possible, and the management device includes at least data collection means (regular data collection processing) for collecting operation information of the gaming device and storing it in the storage device, and at least to the storage device. Power cutoff state detection means for detecting the power cutoff state (for example, power failure flag)
And an auxiliary storage device (for example, a hard disk storage device 403) for storing the operation information collected based on the detection signal from the power cut-off state detection means as protection data.

Further, the auxiliary storage device may be configured to store valuable data included in the storage medium.

Furthermore, the data collection means may be configured to periodically collect the operation information of the gaming device and store it in the storage device.

Further, the management device may include an operation information restoring means for returning the operation information stored in the auxiliary storage device to the gaming device.

[Operation] According to the above-mentioned means, even if a power cutoff or a power cutoff due to carelessness occurs, the auxiliary storage device causes the data collection means to detect the power cutoff state based on the detection signal of the power cutoff state by the power cutoff state detection means. The collected operation information can be stored and protected as protected data, and the emergency operation information can be collectively processed as protected data by the management device.

Moreover, the operation information collected by the data collection means is stored in the auxiliary storage device only when the power cutoff state detection means detects the power cutoff state. By storing the operation information, it is possible to reduce the load on the management device and the like.

[Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a pachinko game system to which the present invention is applied.

The pachinko gaming system of this embodiment is a pachinko machine 100 as a gaming device and issuance as a storage medium issuing device for issuing a card CD as a storage medium having a local valuable value for starting a game in each pachinko machine. Machine 200, a prize machine ball obtained as a result of the game and a settlement machine 300 as a storage medium settlement device for settling the remaining purchase amount not used in the game, and centrally managing the above various terminals, A management device 400 for controlling, and a data transmission path as a transmission means for organically coupling the management device 400 and each terminal.
500 and these constitute an organic conjugate. The organic combination can be interposed only by the card CD, and the operation of the card and the conversion of valuable data as its value can be performed only by the organic combination. Therefore, the pachinko machine 100, the issuing machine 200, the settlement machine 300, and the management device 400, which are the components of the organic combination, are provided with card drivers (card readers and card writers), respectively, and the card information and The information of each terminal is stored in the form of a file in the storage device of the management device 400.

Next, before a detailed description of each component of the organic conjugate, a card used in the system of the present embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, for example, the card CD used in the system of the present embodiment can be used in an available area, that is, a game store name HALL, a purchase amount AM, and a card insertion direction DI.
Information necessary for the player, such as R, date of issue, DATE, etc., and an issue serial number, n, etc. necessary for the recovery of the damaged card are printed on the surface of the card CD. Further, when the purchase amount is used up and the number of balls held as the number of game media becomes zero, a card invalidation display such as an X mark is also printed.

On the other hand, the back surface of the card CD is a magnetic surface coated with a magnetic material over the entire surface. The magnetic surface is provided with three blocks BL1, BL2, and BL3 along the card insertion direction. The same information is redundantly recorded in each of them, and data is determined based on the majority rule at the time of reproduction. In addition, the information recorded on the magnetic surface of the card of this embodiment is an appropriate function based on the identification code for specifying the use area of the card, the issue date for indicating the validity period of the card, and the issue serial number n. Alternatively, only the card number as an identification code obtained by using the conversion method and the check code for error detection are used, and the purchase amount and the number of balls are not recorded. These are configured to be able to be extracted in real time from the data file of the management device 400 by the card number. This prevents fraud by copying the card and minimizes the damage caused by fraud. In other words, even if the card is copied, there is no more damage than the high deposit amount and the number of balls acquired in the data file, so copying the card is a completely useless act.

In addition, the card is disposable, so that card collection equipment is not required, simplifying the system and facilitating card management. 54mm standard and paper is selected as card material.

 FIG. 3 shows a configuration example of the card issuing machine 200.

The card issuing machine 200 of this embodiment includes a bill identifying device 210 for identifying bills for card purchase, and a card writer 22 for printing an amount corresponding to the purchase amount and recording a card number.
0, a balance payout device 230 for discharging change, various indicators 241 to 245, a control unit 250 for controlling the entire issuing machine 200, and the like.

Corresponding to the bill validator 210, the panel 201 is provided with a bill insertion slot 211, a purchase amount selection switch group 212 and an amount indicator 213. Therefore, the player first inserts the bill from the bill insertion slot 211, and the selection switch group 2
Press the switch corresponding to the desired purchase price from 12. Then, the inserted amount is displayed on the amount display 213, and the card corresponding to the desired purchase amount is displayed on the card writer 22.
It is issued from the 0 card exit 202. Further, each of the above-mentioned amount selection switch groups 212 is composed of a switch with a built-in lamp, and when the switch is operated, the corresponding built-in lamp is turned on. Then, the inserted bill is collected in the bill storage tank 214.

The card writer 220 takes out blank cards stored in the card tank 221 one by one, and prints the purchase amount, the issue date and the issue serial number n given by the management device 400 on the front side. , The card number and identification code (store code) calculated by the control unit 250 on the magnetic surface of the back of the card, the issue date code,
The check code is recorded and ejected from the card ejection port 202 provided on the front panel 201. Issuing serial number n
When the management device 400 receives a card purchase application from the card issuing machine 200, the management device 400 determines the issue serial number n in the order of acceptance for purchase applications from a plurality of card issuing machines under its own control, and issues each card. This is a number given to the machine, and in order to prevent fraud due to copying of the card, the magnetic surface of the card is operated by using a predetermined function f (n) with respect to the issued serial number n or rearrangement of bits, etc. The code obtained by performing the code conversion process is recorded as a card number. In order to be able to calculate the card number from the issue serial number n, the function f (n) or the code conversion procedure is given in advance to the control program of the management device 400, and the card number read from the card is used. An inverse function or inverse conversion procedure for confirming the match with the issue serial number n is prepared.

FIG. 4A schematically shows the structure of the card writer 220.

That is, the card writer 220 includes a card take-out device 222 for taking out cards one by one from the card tank 221, a conveyance motor 223, card sensors 224a and 224b for detecting the position of the card, and a magnetic head for recording a card number or the like. 225
And a printing device (marking device) 226. Further, the card writer of the embodiment has a reproducing head 227 in order to perform a verify function, that is, to check write data, and each of the above driving means is controlled by a control board (controller) 228 based on a detection signal of a sensor. Then, recording, printing, and discharging on the card are performed.

On the other hand, when inserted from the bill insertion slot 211, the purchase amount is determined by the amount selection switch 212, and when a balance is generated, the balance payment device 230 for repaying the balance includes a bill tank 231 for stocking the bills. The bill corresponding to the balance is billed to the bill outlet 2 provided on the front panel 201.
It is configured to discharge by 32.

Further, on the front panel 201 of the card issuing machine 200,
Issue lamp 24 indicating that the card can be issued
1.Issuance stop lamp 242 indicating that the card cannot be issued, a bill pool over display 243 indicating that the tank 214 is full of bills inserted from the bill insertion slot 211, and unissued cards in the card tank 221 are empty. Card shortage indicator 244 that informs that the money has become empty, and the bill tank 231 of the balance dispenser.
A change shortage indicator 245 is provided to notify that the stock bills have run out. Further, in order to detect the above state and turn on the corresponding indicator, the bill tank 214,
Sensors 261, 262, and 263 are provided in the 231 and the card tank 221, respectively.

Further, in the card issuing machine 200 of this embodiment, the management device 400 can identify the issuing machine that issued the specific card by distinguishing each of the plurality (several tens) of issuing machines 200 installed in the game arcade. A device number setting device 205 is provided inside the device so that the device number set by the device 205 is transmitted to the management device 400 to generate a transmission address for data communication and to issue each device. Is used to create a data file.

Although not particularly limited, the same number as the machine number set by the setting device 205 is displayed on a name plate 206 attached to an upper portion of the front panel 201 of the issuing machine.

FIG. 5 shows a card issuing machine 200 configured as described above.
Of the control system of FIG.

In the drawing, reference numerals L1 to L5 denote lamps built in the purchase amount selection switch group 212, and the lamp corresponding to the turned on switch is turned on to illuminate the operation button from behind. It is supposed to.

In this system, a card writer shown in FIG.
Each component of the 220 is controlled by a controller 228 such as a CPU (microcomputer). The controller 228 and various sensors and indicators provided on the issuing machine, the bill validator 210, and the balance payout device 230 are also microcontrollers. It is controlled by a unit controller 251 in a control unit 250 composed of a computer.

The unit controller 251 performs the card issuing process by controlling the above-mentioned components and receiving the card number, collects the operation data, and transmits the operation data in the unit memory 270 as a parallel communication unit including a dual port memory. Write to data area SDA. The operation data written in the unit memory 270 is transmitted to the management device by a transmission controller and a network control unit (NAU), which will be described later, by data communication with the management device 400 via a transmission cable (network). The data sent from the management device 400 is also temporarily stored in the unit memory 2.
The data is written to the reception data area RDA in 70, and the unit controller 251 reads the data to receive data. The unit memory 270 is provided with a shared data area CDA in which commands and status information for transmitting the transmission data and the reception data in the memory to the other controller are stored.

Tables 1, 2, and 3 show the unit memory 27, respectively.
5 shows a configuration example of a transmission data area SDA, a reception data area RDA, and a shared data area in 0.

Regarding the hot codes shown in Table 1 above, the management apparatus writes a code, for example, a binary code 1010010101011010 corresponding to hexadecimal A55A, in the transmission area of the unit memory 270 at the time of system startup, and then periodically. RA by the noise such as static electricity
By checking whether or not M data has been destroyed, it is possible to quickly detect abnormalities in transmitted data.

Note that the monitor information 1 shown in Table 1 above corresponds to Table 4
As shown in the figure, a bit indicating that a test is being executed at system startup, a bit indicating initial value setting / unset, a bit indicating a hot code error, and a bit indicating a local network (transmission cable 500) error (for low and high layers) 2 bits), a bit indicating an issuer abnormality, and the like.

Further, as shown in Table 5, the monitor information 2 indicates a bit indicating an abnormality of the card writer, a bit indicating presence / absence of a card, a bit indicating a state in the banknote tank, a bit indicating a banknote jam, and a forcible withdrawal of the banknote. It comprises a bit, a bit indicating the state of the balance dispenser in the bill tank, a bit indicating an abnormality of the balance dispenser, and the like.

This monitor information is used by the unit controller 251 to stop the operation of the entire issuing machine or a part of the device such as a card writer at its own discretion, and to notify the management device of the forced termination or the abnormal occurrence of the monitor information. It

Next, a configuration example of the pachinko machine 100 as a game device that provides the original game will be described with reference to FIG.

The pachinko machine 100 as a gaming machine of this embodiment is mounted on an island facility or the like above the gaming machine main body in a one-to-one correspondence with the gaming machine main body 110, and mainly processes cards and operates during the game. Control unit 16 for data collection
0.

The control unit 160 is configured separately from the gaming machine main body 110 in this embodiment, and displays a card insertion / ejection slot 161, an amount display 162 for displaying the amount of money of the card, and the number of balls held by the player in digital numbers. It has a ball display 163, an analog display 164 in which a plurality of lamps are arranged in a line, a call switch 165 for calling a clerk, and the like. The analog display 164 is used to display the number of balls held in a game in an analog manner, and to display a hit state or a free state by simultaneous blinking and moving blinking.

In addition, although not particularly limited, a safe lamp 166 for displaying a prize ball, a game display lamp 167 for indicating that the game is being played, and a sound effect sound, which are conventionally provided on the main body of the pachinko machine, are provided on the front of the control unit 160. Further, a speaker 168 for generating a warning is provided. Further, the pachinko machine 10 is located at a position located inside the island facility on the side of the control unit 160.
0 is separated from the management device 400, a test switch 171 for enabling a game operation using a test card, which will be described later, and a name plate 172 on the front of the unit that clearly indicates a machine number given to the pachinko machine. Are provided respectively.

Then, inside the control unit 160, a card reader 180 as a storage medium reading device corresponding to the card insertion / ejection port 161, and a unit number setting switch 173 behind the unit number name plate 172 are further provided. Each unit controller 190 that controls the entire control unit 160 is provided. The unit controller 190 uses the transmission line 191 such as an optical fiber or a coaxial cable to connect the gaming machine main body 1
It is connected to 10 control devices 150 and to the management device 400 via a transmission controller and a local network (transmission cable) described later. The card reader 180 has substantially the same configuration as the card writer 220 for the issuing machine shown in FIG. 4A (see FIG. 4B), omitting the card tank 221 and the recording head 225, and removing the card ejecting device. Instead of 222, a forced ejection device 181 is provided.

On the other hand, the game machine main body 110 of the present embodiment is configured as a closed-type game machine that circulates and uses game balls sealed in the machine, and has a circulation device 120 that circulates the sealed balls.
In addition, at the lower part of the gaming machine main body 110, a launching device 111 for launching the above enclosed balls one by one into the gaming area and its operation dial 1
There are provided a purchase switch 113, an end switch 114, and an interruption switch 115 for enabling a game procedure using the card. The configuration of the game area is the same as the conventional one. The purchase switch 113 is connected to the card slot 161
This is an instruction switch for converting a game ball into a game ball in a unit of 200 yen or the like within a range of the amount of money of the card on the assumption that the card is inserted into the game ball.
The number of possessed balls is displayed on the possessed ball indicator 163, and the number of possessed balls is decremented by one each time one game ball is fired by the hit ball launching device,
When a prize ball is generated, it is added and displayed for the number of prize balls.
The end switch 114 is turned on at any time when the player wants to end the game (including the case where the player wants to change the game table), so that the control unit 16 of the card being used can be changed.
It can be discharged from zero. At that time, the unit controller 190 registers the number of balls held by the player (sum of purchased balls and acquired balls) in the file of the management device 400 at that time, and then ejects the card from the insertion / ejection opening 161. Further, the interruption switch 115 is a switch used to temporarily stop the game for a break although the player does not intend to stop the game at the game machine currently playing, and when this switch is operated. The unit controller 190 once ejects the card and waits until the same card is inserted again, during which time no other cards are accepted. Of the above switches, the purchase switch 113 and the interruption switch 115 are of a built-in lamp type.
The lamp in 3 flashes, and when the interruption switch 115 is pressed, the built-in lamp is turned on until the interruption is released.

 FIG. 7 shows a configuration example of the back surface of the gaming machine main body 110.

A prize ball collecting gutter 122 covering a plurality of prize ball derivation holes 121 formed to penetrate the game board corresponding to a prize area provided in a game area on the front of the game board 101, Installed. The bottom wall of the prize ball collecting gutter 122 is inclined downward toward the center to be guide shelves 122a and 122b,
The first introduction trough 123 is connected to the lower end of the flow, and the winning balls that have flowed into the winning ball collecting trough 122 flow down onto the guide shelves 122a and 122b and are collected to flow down the first guiding trough 123. It is detected by the safe sensor 131 on the way. Further, a collecting gutter 124 is provided on the back surface of the game board corresponding to the out hole 102 provided at the lower part of the game area, and the end of the collecting gutter 124 is provided at the end of the first guiding gutter 123. Have joined. Further, in this embodiment, a large-sized variable winning device provided in the game area is provided with a second guide gutter 125 for collecting the game balls won, and the end of the second guide gutter 125 is the above-mentioned collection gutter 124.
Is joined at the end of. Recovery gutter 124 and second
The guide gutter 125 is provided with an out sensor 132 and a safe sensor 133, and detects a game ball that has flown into it. By providing the first guiding gutter 123 and the second guiding gutter 125, it is possible to provide the player with different numbers of prize balls obtained by winning the respective winning regions.

The confluence of each of the gutters is communicated at a communication port 127 in the middle of a guide gutter 126 for guiding the collected game balls to the hitting ball firing device 111.

As shown in FIG. 8, the guide gutter 126 has a foul ball intake 104 provided in the middle of an arc-shaped guide rail 103 for guiding a game ball fired by the hit ball firing device 111 to an upper part of the game area. A foul ball, a safe ball (winning ball) and an out ball are all finally collected by the guide gutter 126, and the hitting ball launcher 111
Is guided until. In the middle of the guide gutter 126, a foul sensor 134 for detecting game balls collected from the foul ball intake 104, a ball narrator 105 for aligning the game balls collected in the guide gutter, and a box for extracting the enclosed ball to the outside. Ball lever 106
Is provided. The ball detected by the foul sensor 134 is subtracted from the shot ball, and the number of hit balls actually hit in the game area is accurately counted. Also, guide rail 10
At the start end of 3, firing sensors 135 and 136 for detecting a hit ball fired by the hit ball firing device 111 are provided, so that an empty hit is not counted as a firing ball,
The number of shots is counted by the movement of the hit ball from the firing sensor 135 side to the firing sensor 136 side. On the other hand, when the movement of the hit ball from the firing sensor 136 side to the 135 side is detected as the reverse, it is counted as a return ball (a foul ball). The ball pulling lever 106 prevents the rotation of the rotatable rotating plate 107 provided so as to constitute a part of the bottom wall of the guide gutter 126 to supply the game ball to the hitting ball firing device side, and When the sliding plate 107 is slid upward as shown in FIG. 9 (A), the rotating plate 107 is rotated downward by its own weight to discharge the game balls in the guide gutter 126.

On the other hand, a ball feed 128 having a ball receiving portion 128a is swingably attached to the lower end of the guide gutter 126 as shown in FIG. 9 (B).
The game balls inside are separated one by one and moved to the firing start position of the guide rail 103. Ball feed 128
Is rotated upward in conjunction with the firing rod 111a of the hit ball firing device 111. A separation wall 109 is formed at the boundary between the guide gutter 126 and the start end of the guide rail 103. When the ball feed 128 is rotated upward, the game ball engaged with the ball receiving portion 128a at the tip end By moving over only one of the separation walls 109, the ball moves. A cylindrical weight 128 is built in the ball feed 128, and the rotation of the ball feed 128 is smoothly returned by the weight of the weight.

FIG. 10 shows a configuration example of a control system of the pachinko machine 100.

In this system, the card sensor 224, the reproducing head 227, the marking device 226, and the transport motor 223, which are the respective components of the card reader 180, are connected to a controller 188.
Is controlled by Then, various switches 165 and 17 provided in the controller 188 and the control unit 160 are provided.
1,173, displays 162,163,164,166,167, speaker 168,
Also, it is controlled by a unit controller 190 composed of a microcomputer.

Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, a control device 150 of the game machine main body 110, various sensors, a display, and the like are connected to the unit controller 190 via an optical cable 191. In order to enable communication using an optical fiber cable, a parallel-to-serial converter for converting parallel data and serial data and an optical-to-optical converter for converting electrical signals and optical signals are used.
Optical multiplexed data links (interfaces) 192 and 193 including electrical converters and the like are provided between the unit controller 190 and the optical fiber cable 191 and between the optical fiber cable and the control device 150.

In addition, by using the optical fiber cable 191 for data communication between the unit controller 190 and the control device 150 of the pachinko machine, a large number of wirings that have been complicatedly arranged on the back surface of the pachinko machine can be cleared, Maintenance and management can be facilitated, and incorrect wiring connection can be prevented.

FIG. 11 shows a configuration example of a control system of the gaming machine main body 110.

Under the control of the unit controller 190 via the optical multiplex data link 193 and the optical cable 191, together with the control device 150, the hitting ball launching device 111 and the purchase switch 113
A built-in purchase enable indicator lamp 113a and a built-in interrupt indicator 115a built into the interrupt switch 115 are installed via a driver 195. Also, a purchase switch 113, a game end switch 114,
The signal from the interruption switch 115 is transmitted to the unit controller 190 via the optical multiplex data link 193 and the optical fiber cable 191.

The control device 150 is also configured by a microcomputer, and the control device 150 includes emission sensors 135 and 136.
The detection signals from the safe sensors 131 and 133, the foul sensor 134, and the out sensor 132 are input, and a winning ball, a far ball, an out ball, and the like are determined based on these signals and the unit controller 190 is notified.

On the other hand, the unit controller 190 calculates operation data such as the number of payout balls, the number of outgoing balls, the number of possessed balls, the sales amount, etc., based on the detection signals relating to these game balls, the signals from the purchase switch 113, and the like. It generates operation information (game state), monitor information, and the like regarding the machine, and writes them into the transmission data area SDA of the unit memory 170 composed of a dual port memory.

The operation data and the like written in the unit memory 170 are as follows:
The data is transmitted to the management device by data communication with the management device 400 by a transmission controller described later. Also a management device
The data sent from 400 is also once written to the reception data area RDA in the unit memory 170, and the unit controller 190 reads this to receive data. Unit memory 170 is provided with a shared data area CDA in which commands and status information for notifying the other controller that transmission data and reception data are in the memory are stored.

Tables 6, 7 and 8 show the unit memory 17 respectively.
2 shows a configuration example of a transmission data area SDA, a reception data area RDA, and a shared data area CDA in 0.

The monitor information 1 shown in Table 6 includes a bit indicating that a test is being executed at system startup, a bit indicating whether an initial value is set / not set, a bit indicating a hot code error, and a local network, as shown in Table 9. Bits (2 for low-rise and high-rise) indicating abnormalities of (transmission cable 500)
Bit), a bit indicating a gaming machine abnormality, and the like. Further, the monitor information 2 has bits indicating an abnormality of the card reader as shown in Table 10.

Further, the operation information includes a bit indicating a stop state as shown in Table 11, a bit indicating that a game is interrupted, a bit indicating a forced termination state by a management device or a controller based on a communication error or fraud detection, etc. The bit includes a bit indicating that there is a game machine, a bit indicating that the gaming machine is in a free state without a player, and the like.

From the above Table 11, the actual state of the pachinko machine is represented by the free state, 0000000000000001 during the game, 0000000000000010 at the time of the forced termination reception, 0000000000000100 at the time of interruption, and 0000000000001000 at the time of the occurrence of the stop, 0000000000010000.

 FIG. 12 shows a configuration example of the above-described settlement machine 300.

The settlement machine 300 of this embodiment is a card reader 310 for reading the card number of the inserted card CD, and a balance dispensing device 320 for refunding the amount of unpurchased amount that remains unused for the card, It is composed of a printer 330 for issuing a receipt in which the number of balls acquired by the game is printed, various display devices 340 to 342, a control unit 350 for controlling the entire settlement machine 300, and the like.

Corresponding to the card reader 310, the front panel 301 has a card insertion slot 311, a ball number display 312 for displaying the number of acquired prize balls (the number of balls held), and an amount display 313 for displaying an unpurchased amount. Is provided. When a player first inserts a card from the card insertion slot 311, the card reader 310 reads the card number recorded on the magnetic surface on the back of the card, sends the card number to the management device 400, and receives data related to the card. Then, while the unpurchased amount is displayed on the amount display 313, the acquired number of balls is displayed on the number-of-balls display 312,
After the inserted card is printed or punched with an invalid mark by the marking device, the card storage tank
Collected (confiscated) in 314.

This prevents the misused card from being abused. The configuration of the card reader 310 is the same as that of the card writer
This is almost the same as 220 (see FIG. 4 (A)), and includes a card tank 221, a card ejection device 222, and a magnetic head for recording.
225 is unnecessary (FIG. 4 (C)).

The printer 330 pulls out the blank sheet stocked in a roll state, prints the date of issue, the number of balls acquired, the amount of unused money, and the card history on the surface, and discharges it from the receipt issuing port 331. I do.

At the same time, the amount corresponding to the unpurchased amount is paid out as a balance from the bill payout device 320 and the coin payout device 326. The bill dispensing device 320 includes a bill tank 321 for storing bills and a bill outlet 322. In addition, since a fraction of less than 1000 yen is generated at the time of settlement, a coin dispensing device 326 including a coin tank 324 for storing coins in units of 100 yen and a coin payout port 325 is provided.

Further, on the front panel 301 of the settlement machine 300, a settlement lamp 341 indicating that the card is being settled, a settlement stop lamp 342 indicating that the card cannot be settled, and a tank 313 with a card inserted from the card insertion slot 311. A card overflow indicator L11 and a cash-out device 3 that indicate that the battery is full
A bill shortage indicator L12 that indicates that the stock bills in the 20 bill tanks 321 have run out, a coin shortage indicator L13 that indicates that the stock coins in the coin tank 324 of the coin dispenser have run out, and a roll paper in the printer 330 There is provided a monitor display lamp group 340 including a paperless indicator L14 and the like for indicating that the battery has run out. In addition, sensors 361, 362, 363, and 364 are provided in the card tank 314, the bill tank 321, the coin tank 324, and the printer 330, respectively, in order to detect the above states and turn on the corresponding indicators. The coin dispensing device 326 has a coin removal switch 3
27 are provided.

Further, the settlement machine 300 of this embodiment has a stand for distinguishing each of the plurality of settlement machines installed in the amusement store and allowing the management device 400 to recognize the settlement machine that has performed the settlement of the specific card. A number setting device 305 is provided inside, and the machine number set by the setting device 305 is sent to the management device 400 to generate a transmission address for data communication and to create a data file for each settlement machine. Provided.

Although not particularly limited, the same number as the unit number set by the setting unit 305 is the front panel 301 of the checkout machine.
Is displayed on a nameplate 306 attached to the upper part of the label.

FIG. 13 shows a configuration example of a control system of the payment machine 300 configured as described above.

Note that, in the figure, reference numerals L11 to L14 denote lamps constituting the monitor display lamp group 340.

In this system, the card sensors 224a, 224b, the reproducing head 227, the marking device 22
6 and the transport motor 223 are controlled by a controller 319 including a CPU (microcomputer), and various sensors and indicators provided in the controller 319 and the settlement machine, a bill dispenser 320, a coin dispenser 326, a printer
330 is controlled by a unit controller 351 in a control unit 350 also composed of a microcomputer.

The unit controller 351 controls the above components, checks the card number, receives and displays the card data, executes the settlement processing, collects the operation data, and stores it in the unit memory 370 including a dual port memory. Write to the transmission data area SDA. The operation data written in the unit memory 370 is sent to the management device by data communication between the transmission controller and the management device 400 via the transmission cable. Also, data sent from the management device is once written in the reception data area RDA in the unit memory 370, and the unit controller 351 reads the data to receive data. The unit memory 370 is provided with a shared data area CDA for storing received data and commands and status information for transmitting to the controller of the other party that the received data is in the memory.

Tables 12, 13, and 14 show the unit memory 37, respectively.
2 shows a configuration example of a transmission data area SDA, a reception data area RDA, and a shared data area CDA in 0.

As shown in Table 13, in this embodiment, the history data of the card is also received, and by printing this together with the time data on the receipt and ejecting it, it is possible to impress the player with the highly reliable settlement data. it can. However,
The history data is data of up to 20 times in the card file.

Note that the monitor information 1 shown in Table 12 above corresponds to Table 15
As shown in the figure, a bit indicating that a test is being executed at system startup, a bit indicating initial value setting / unset, a bit indicating a hot code error, and a bit indicating a local network (transmission cable 500) error (for low and high layers) , 2 bits), a bit indicating an abnormality of the payment apparatus, and the like.

The monitor information 2 includes a bit indicating a printer error, a bit indicating a card reader error as shown in Table 16,
A bit indicating the state in the coin tank, a bit indicating a coin jam of the coin dispensing device 326, a bit indicating an abnormality of the coin dispensing device 326, a bit indicating the state in the bill tank of the bill dispensing device 320, an abnormality of the coin dispensing device 326 Is configured by a bit or the like.

Next, the pachinko machine 100, the card issuing machine 200, and the payment machine 300 configured as described above are collectively controlled, and operation data is collected in real time. A description will be given of a management device 400 that restores the data state, resumes the operation of each part of the system, and enables the totalization of data necessary for the management of the game store.

FIG. 14 shows a specific configuration of the management device 400, and FIG. 15 shows a system configuration of the management device.

The management device 400 has substantially the same configuration as an office computer. That is, a control box 401 in which a main storage device M-MEM as a storage device including a central processing unit CPU and a semiconductor memory (RAM), a timer (including a calendar), a TMR, a communication control device SCC, and the like are stored, and this control A floppy disk storage device 402, a hard disk storage device 403 as an auxiliary storage device provided at the top of the box 401, a printer 404 for printing collected data and the like, and a CRT for displaying messages and collected data.
By the display device 405 and the console 406 for the operator to give commands and setting data to the central processing unit,
The management device 400 is configured.

The printer 404 includes a buffer 404a for temporarily storing data to be printed in order to improve the throughput of the management device 400.

Furthermore, this management device 400 is unique to the pachinko gaming system, and is a "stop" that occurs in the card writer 407 that issues a test card as a medium that causes the system to take action from each terminal and the pachinko machine.
For example, an auxiliary printer 408 for printing emergency information generated in the system in real time is provided above the control box 401.

Further, the power-off state is detected by the power-off state detection means (power failure flag = 1), and all terminals volatilely held in the main storage device M-MEM as a storage device when a power failure state occurs or the like. In order to transfer the operating data as machine operating information and all issued card CD data to the hard disk storage device 403 as an auxiliary storage device so that it can be protected as protected data, the management device must be operated for at least about 10 minutes. Auxiliary power supply 409 to enable operation
Is provided below the control box 401.

In this embodiment, a system mainly comprising a pachinko machine, a card issuing machine, a checkout machine, and a management device will be described, but the present invention relates to an in-store broadcasting device as shown by broken lines X, Y, and Z in FIG. A premium exchange device, a vending machine, and the like can also be extended to a system in which the prize exchange device and the vending machine are controlled by the management device 400. In particular, the prize exchange device may easily apply a method of directly exchanging with the prize without using the card to pass the settlement machine 300.

Further, the console 406 configuring the management device 400 also has a unique key configuration most suitable for the pachinko game system of the present embodiment.

FIG. 16 shows a configuration example of the console 406. FIG. 1B shows the upper surface, that is, the panel surface of the console, and FIG. 1A shows the rear surface of the console.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 421 denotes a store opening switch for instructing the start of business for each terminal of the system, and reference numeral 422 denotes a store close switch for instructing the end of business.
After the 421 is turned on, the card can be operated in each terminal until the store closing switch 422 is turned on. Further, 423 stores the operation data of all terminals in the floppy disk storage device 402 after the end of business, and an end switch for instructing the management device to stop the operation, and 424 for instructing the recovery process of the damaged card. It is a card revival switch.

The four switches of the store opening switch 421, the store closing switch 422, the end switch 423, and the card resurrection switch 424 are particularly important switches for the present system, and in order to prevent the system from being easily operated during the operation of the system, Key switch (upper in the figure)
It is linked to 420, and unless the key switch 420 is turned on, the switches 421 to 424 cannot be operated to be turned on.

Reference numerals 425, 426, and 427 denote ten keys, a return key, and a delete key similar to those provided on a console of a normal personal computer or the like.

On the other hand, reference numeral 428 denotes a display menu switch for giving an instruction to display data relating to the card and operation data of each terminal on the screen of the CRT display device 405, and reference numeral 429 denotes a CRT clear switch for requesting deletion of data displayed on the CRT display device. It is. Reference numeral 430 denotes a print menu switch for giving a command to cause the printer 404 to print data related to the card, operation data of each terminal, and the like. Reference numeral 431 denotes a print stop switch for requesting the printer 404 to stop printing. 432 is a setting switch for requesting settings such as the number of hits and the hitting mode in the pachinko machine, and 433 is a prize ball of the set hit number is dispensed and hitting, that is, the game cannot be continued. The stop cancel switch for giving a cancel command for canceling the stop state of the pachinko machine, 434, when normal control data collection is disabled due to an abnormality in the communication network, or when a player's fraud is found Is a forced termination switch for requesting forced termination of a specific terminal or all terminals, 435 is an termination release switch for releasing the termination of the terminal that has been forcibly stopped, and 439 is a date and time setting switch. Further, the console 406 of the embodiment is provided with a buzzer 440 that generates a sound that prompts the operator to wake up in the event of an emergency such as a pachinko machine hit and a buzzer stop switch 436 that instructs to stop sounding. Have been.

Of the above switches, the switches 421 to 424 and 432 to 436 indicated by double frames in the figure are switches with built-in lamps. Lights up. However, the lamp in the buzzer stop switch 436 is linked with the buzzer, lights up while the buzzer is sounding, and the stop switch 43
Turns off when 6 is pressed.

Further, the console 406 of this embodiment has a test card switch 437 for giving a test card issuance command on the back thereof, an exchange rate of purchased balls, a store code, a total number of terminals, and a prize ball 1 when the system is introduced. A built-in switch 438 is provided for making a setting request such as the number of prize balls per piece. These switches 437 and 43
8 is a switch that is rarely used unlike other switches, and is a specific person (such as a manager of a game store).
Is a switch that only needs to know its presence, so it is provided on the back of the console.

Here, the test card will be described. As is clear from the configuration already described, the gaming system of this embodiment includes all terminals (pachinko machines, card issuing machines,
The settlement machine is under the control of the management device, and shifts to an operable state by exchanging card numbers and the like, and cannot be operated by the terminal alone. However, since pachinko machines are frequently used, ball jams and so-called tulips and other accessories often break down, and it is necessary to adjust nails in the game area in order to adjust the payout rate. In that case, a trial driving is performed after repair or nail adjustment, but it is very inconvenient to start up the entire system and operate the pachinko machine only with a purchase card. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the test switch 171 in the control unit 160 of each pachinko machine described above is turned on, and a special test card issued by the management device is inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 161 of the control unit 160. Then, a certain number of balls is given, and the pachinko machine is configured to be able to execute the game operation alone.

The card writer 407 provided in the management device 400 has substantially the same configuration as the card writer 220 in the card issuing machine shown in FIG. 4A (see FIG. 4D). However, unlike the card issuing machine, the card tank 221 and the card take-out device 222 do not have a blank card inside and record a predetermined code by inserting a blank card from the outside.
I do not have. Further, since the test card and the resurrection card issued by the management device 400 do not necessarily need to specify the use date, number, and the like unlike other general cards, the marking device 226 is also omitted. However, the reproducing head 227 for verification is provided.

As described above, the terminals 100, 200, 300 of this embodiment are all under the control of the third management device 400, and as a general rule, cannot operate independently unless the management device 400 is activated. Therefore, when the system is started up, the management apparatus 400 gives setting values to all terminals and initializes them. In addition, prior to this initialization, the unit numbers are picked up from each terminal for enabling data transmission to form each transmission address. During operation of the system, operation data of all terminals is collected in real time and stored in the main storage M-MEM.

As described above, in this embodiment, the amount of data handled by the management device 400 is enormous. Therefore, in the embodiment, these data are organized by file management to facilitate handling.

Table 17 shows a file configuration example of data managed by the management device 400.

These files are recorded in the main storage device M-MEM as a normal storage device, but when the power interruption state is detected by the power interruption state detection means (power interruption flag = 1), and when a power interruption occurs, It is saved as protected data in the hard disk storage device 403 as an auxiliary storage device. Further, the data files relating to the terminals, that is, the pachinko machine files (hereinafter referred to as P machine files), the issuing machine files and the settlement machine files are stored in the floppy disk storage device 402 at the end of business hours, and are provided for monthly operation data totaling and the like. You.

Further, Table 17 also shows the power failure flag which is provided in the main memory M-MEM and is saved in the hard disk memory 403 together with these files at the time of power failure.

Next, each file shown in Table 17 will be described in more detail.

The setting value file FL1 in the table depends on the characteristics and configuration of the system such as the exchange rate of purchased balls, the store code, the number of terminals, the number of prize balls, the number of hits, etc. Is a setting value that fluctuates. This setting value file is normally loaded from the hard disk HDD to the main storage device at the start of business.
The set value file FL1 can be updated from the console by pressing a built-in switch when replacing a pachinko machine or the like.

 Table 18 shows a configuration example of the setting value file FL1.

In the table, the exchange rate of purchased balls is the number of balls lent, ie, the number of initially held balls, per unit of purchase amount (for example, 200 yen), and the number of NAUs is the connection between the high-layer network and the low-layer network as a data transmission system. The total number of network adapter units (communication control devices) provided in the unit. Further, the number of prize balls from a certain pachinko machine to a certain pachinko machine is set in a table indicated by a symbol i. Two types of prize balls can be set for each prize ball. In addition, as shown by i = 1 to 16, in this embodiment, all the pachinko machines of the game arcade are divided into 16 groups, and the number of two prize balls of main and sub can be set separately. ing. However, consecutive machine numbers are given to pachinko machines having the same set value, and the target range is specified by the start number and end number.

Further, the number of hits is set in the table indicated by j, and the hitting mode is set in the table indicated by k. Here, the hit mode indicates a method of calculating the number of hits (arithmetic formula). For example, a mode in which hitting is performed when the number of payout prize balls reaches the hit number, or the number of payout prize balls. There is a mode in which, when the number of hit balls is subtracted from the number of hits reaches the number of hits, hitting is performed when the hitting number is reached. Although not particularly limited, in this embodiment, as shown by i = 1 to 16 and k = 1 to 16, the number of hits and the hitting mode can be set independently for each of 16 groups.

Table 19 shows a configuration example of a transmission address file FL2 used for data transmission.

In Table 19, the type flag is a flag for indicating the type of terminal. "1" indicates a pachinko machine, "2" indicates a card issuing machine, "4" indicates a checkout machine, and "0" indicates a terminal. Indicates the absence of each. Vehicle number and serial number are "4"
And the serial number of the terminal created except for "9", and the unit number is the number of each terminal placed under one NAU (network adapter unit) regardless of the type of terminal, The channel number is a number that is the address of each terminal as viewed from the management device.

The NAU number and the unit number are set by the setting switches (1
73, 205, 305, 561). In the case of a pachinko parlor, it is a skip number given by a number excluding "4" and "9". Here, the fact that "4" and "9" are not used indicates that an octal representation is possible. Therefore, using the conversion table shown in Table 20, the unit number displayed in decimal notation is set to 0.
Expressed only with numbers from 7 to 7. According to this, for example, "25
The number "8" is written as "247".

If this is represented by a binary code in a binary octal system, it will be "010/100/111". This code indicates “167” in decimal notation, whereby the pachinko machine numbers missing “4” and “9” are consecutive numbers.
On the other hand, the lower 6 bits of the above code are taken, and this is regarded as a code “10 · 0111” expressed in a binary coded decimal system, and this is “27H” when expressed in HEXA. In this embodiment, this is used as the unit number. Further, “NAU number + unit number” in which an NAU number is prefixed to the unit number is used as a channel number. According to such a method, in the custom of a pachinko game store having a number that does not use “4” and “9”, efficient address processing that matches the characteristics of a microcomputer that performs data processing using only the binary system Becomes possible.

The file is created for all terminals based on the response data of the unit table request by the management device after the line test.

Table 21 shows a configuration example of the card file FL3. The card file FL3 contains information for each card.

In the table, the card number is a number obtained from the issuing serial number n by using the function f (n), and the number of balls held and the amount of money, and the card status indicate the current status of the card specified by the issuing serial number and the card number. Information, in this example referred to below as card text. Here, the card status is, as shown in Table 22, a bit indicating a free status that is not used in a game, a bit indicating a game, a bit indicating a pause temporarily leaving the gaming machine, A bit indicating that the card has been settled, a bit indicating that both the number of balls held and the balance of the card have become zero, a bit indicating that one or more hits have occurred in the past, It is composed of a bit indicating that the card is used in the pachinko machine, a bit indicating that the card has been restored, and the like.

On the other hand, returning to Table 21, in the card file FL3, a terminal serial number indicating the position of the terminal where the card is currently present and a terminal number are registered. Since pachinko machine gaming stores do not use the numbers “4” and “9” as unit numbers as a convention, two types of terminal numbers, back and front, are generated.

Further, in Table 21, the i counter indicates the number of times the card has performed an action, that is, the number of times the card has been ejected from the system that is an organic combination, and the table at that time corresponds to this number. Card information such as number, number of balls, amount of money, and time, that is, card history is recorded.
Statistically, most players play with less than 20 pachinko machines per day. Therefore, in this embodiment, the card history is recorded up to 20 times. However, when the number of times exceeds 20, the information is recorded in a form updating the table indicated by i = 20. In the above case, the i counter does not count the interruption of the game. That is, each card information is recorded in a new area at the time of interruption, but the value of the i-counter is substantially updated by recording the card information in the same area without updating the counter when the game end switch is turned on after the interruption is released, and recording the card information in the same area. The number is matched.

Here, the state and action of the card and the registration of the card information in the card file FL3 will be described with reference to FIG.

First, when a card is issued in the card issuing machine 200, the card is ejected and the card shifts from the unissued (blank) state SS0 to the free state SS1. then,
When the card is inserted into the desired pachinko machine 100, the gaming state S
Move to S2. Here, when the ball and the amount of money of the card become zero by the game, the card is ejected and the state is returned to zero return SS3
Move on to Further, when the interruption switch 115 is pressed during the game, the card is ejected, and the state shifts to the interruption state SS4, and returns to the game state SS2 again by reinserting the same card. Then, when the end switch 114 is pressed to end the game during the game, the card is ejected and the state shifts to the free state SS1. The card is ejected by the forced termination or hitting by the CPU, and the game state SS2 is shifted to the free state SS1.
When the user goes to the checkout machine 300 with the card in the free state and performs the checkout process, the card is collected after an invalid mark is added, and the state is shifted to the settled state SS5. In the system of this embodiment, it is also possible to go to the checkout machine 300 without returning to the pachinko machine with the card in the interrupted state SS4 and perform the checkout process.In that case, the state shifts from the interrupted state SS4 to the settled state SS5. .

In the state transition diagram described above, an action accompanied by recording of card information in the card file FL3 is indicated by a circle in the arrow indicating the transition direction. In each block, the code indicated by XXH represents the corresponding state in hexadecimal using the code indicating the card state in Table 22 (HE
XA expression).

 Next, Table 23 shows a configuration example of the P machine file FL4.

In the figure, items from the machine number to the card status are as follows:
These are data held in the transmission data area shown in Table 6, which are sampled once a second by the management device 400 and registered in a file. In addition, the number of main prize balls, the number of sub prize balls, the number of hits, and the hit mode,
Setting value files shown in Table 18 at system startup
It is registered in the P machine file FL4 based on FL1.

Table 24 and Table 25 show the issuing machine file FL5 and the checkout machine file FL6, respectively. The data items shown in Table 24 are shown in Table 1.
The data stored in the transmission data area of the issuing machine shown in Table 25 and the data items shown in Table 25 match the data stored in the transmission data area shown in Table 12. These are sampled by the management device once per second.

In Tables 23 to 25, data marked with a circle in the save column is data saved on the floppy disk FDD at the end of business.

Next, the card issuing machine 100 as a terminal configured as described above, the pachinko machine 200, the settlement machine 300, and a management device 400 that performs centralized control of those terminals are organically connected to perform data transmission and card transfer. A data transmission path (local area network) that enables operation will be described. FIG. 18 shows a configuration example of a pachinko game system using a hierarchical data transmission path.

That is, 100 to 1000 terminals are grouped by 20 to 40 in units such as an island facility of a game shop, and each group of terminals is a token that travels at high speed on a ring-shaped transmission path. A network adapter unit (hereinafter referred to as NAU) by a token-passing low-layer network (token bus) 510 in which a node (terminal) that has acquired an access right has a right to transmit data in the form of a packet. ) Connected to 530.

A plurality of NAUs 530 that control each low-layer network (token bus) 510 are connected to the management device 400 via a high-level network 520 of the CSMA / CD system.

The low-layer network 510 is 2.5Mbps (megabit /
Second) and have a high-speed network 520
Is controlled to have a transmission rate such as 10 Mbps,
The NAU530 acts as a buffer that absorbs the difference between the two transmission rates and enables smooth data transmission,
The burden on the management device 400 is reduced, and a large amount of operation data can be collected.

In FIG. 18, the symbol P indicates a pachinko machine as a terminal, the symbol H indicates a card issuing machine, and the symbol S indicates a checkout machine.

Each of the terminals P, H, and S is connected to a branch line branched from the low-layer network 510 by a cable branch circuit 540 as shown in FIGS. 3, 6, and 12. At the end of each branch line, control units 160, 250 and 3 of each terminal
50 is connected. In FIG. 18, a reference unit U indicates a control unit of each terminal.

FIG. 19 shows a configuration example of a control unit common to each terminal.

That is, a unit memory 170 (27, 27) as parallel communication means is provided between the unit controller 190 (251, 351) for controlling each terminal and the low-layer network 510.
0,370), a data transmission controller 551 for transmitting and receiving data without disturbing the operation of the unit controller 190 (251,351), and a buffering packet memory 552 for holding transmission / reception data in the form of packets for speeding up data transmission. A communication controller 553 for establishing transmission and reception rights in the low-layer network (token bus) 510, converting parallel data to be transmitted to serial data, and converting received serial data to parallel data, A level conversion circuit 554 for performing signal level conversion and a cable branch circuit 540 for separating and coupling a transmission signal and a reception signal are connected. Each of the controllers 551 and 553 is constituted by a microcomputer, and the packet memory 552 includes:
Like the unit memory 170, it is configured by a dual port memory. However, there is no shared data area in which a command is stored in the packet memory 552, and transmission / reception requests between the data transmission controller 551 and the network controller 553 are directly exchanged between the controllers.

FIG. 20 shows a circuit configuration example of the NAU (network adapter unit) 530 that buffers data transmission between the low-layer network 510 and the high-layer network 520.

The NAU 530 of this embodiment includes a low-layer network controller 533 that establishes a transmission / reception right in the low-layer network 510 and performs serial-parallel conversion of data, and a high-layer network that establishes a transmission / reception right and serial-parallel conversion of data in a CSMA / CD high-layer network. Network controller 537
And a data transmission controller 535 for controlling data transfer between these network controllers 533 and 537. Among the above controllers, the low-layer network controller 533 is composed of a communication LSI dedicated to token passing, and the high-layer network controller 537 and the data transmission controller 535 are composed of general-purpose microcomputers. Then, between the controllers 533 and 535 and between the controllers 533 and 537, buffer packet memories 534 and 5 for absorbing the difference in data transmission rate between the low layer network 510 and the high layer network 520 are provided.
36 and 36 are connected respectively. Packet memory 53
4,536 is composed of a dual port memory and has a transmission data area and a reception data area. Between the low-layer network controller 533 and the low-layer network (talks bus) 510, a branch circuit 531 for separating and coupling a transmission signal and a reception signal, and a level conversion circuit 532 for converting the level of a transmission / reception data signal are provided. It is connected. Similarly, a level conversion circuit 538 and a branch circuit 539 are connected between the higher layer network controller 537 and the higher layer network 520.

Further, the NAU 530 of this embodiment includes a NAU number setting unit 561 for setting a number for distinguishing a plurality of connected NAUs from each other, and a terminal existing on the low-layer network 510 under the control of each NAU 530. And a number setting device 563 for setting the number of terminals existing on the low-layer network. The set value of each setter 561 to 563 is input to the data transmission controller 535 in the NAU 530, and the NAU number is used to form the transmission address of each NAU in the higher layer network 520. In addition, a transmission add cell of each terminal in the low-layer network 510 is formed by the minimum unit number and the number.

In the hierarchical local network 500 (FIG. 8), when the system starts up, the management device 400 performs a line test through each NAU 530 and sets a set value for each terminal. Is used to collect operation data from the terminals P, H, and S once per second and store the data in its own memory. The accumulated data is stocked in the data file in the management device 400 from each NAU 530 through the high-layer network 520 once a second in response to a request from the management device 400.

As described above, the communication network has a hierarchical structure with the NAU 530 as a buffer, and the high-layer network 520 has a transmission speed four times as high as the transmission speed of 2.5 Mbps of the low-layer network 510. Even in a system having terminals, a large amount of operation data as shown in Tables 1, 6 and 12 can be collected from each terminal to the management apparatus once per second.

Table 26 shows the types of packets used in the above data transmission system, that is, the types of messages from CPU to CPU.

In the table, a unit is a terminal (pachinko,
Card issuing machine, checkout machine)
For example, when a packet "unit table request" is sent from the management device 400 to each NAU (network adapter unit) 530, the NAU receives the packet and manages the unit number etc. sucked up from the terminal under self-control. After returning to the device, the management device knows the transmission address based on this and forms and holds the address file.

In addition, when a card is inserted into the control unit 160 of the pachinko machine 100, the “card-in” packet described in Table 26 indicates information “card text” related to the card to the management apparatus 400 from the unit side. This is a packet for requesting Here, the card text is the card number, the number of balls, the amount of money (unused), and the card status.
It is a text containing one piece of information. The packet “return to zero” is used to transmit the card text from the pachinko machine control unit 160 to the management device 400 when both the number of balls held and the amount of the card become zero during a game with a certain pachinko machine. Packet.

On the other hand, the packet of `` interruption end '' is when the player presses the interruption switch 115, receives the card, leaves the pachinko machine, and then inserts the card into the checkout machine without returning to the suspended pachinko machine and performs the settlement Is a packet for issuing a command for canceling the suspended state of the pachinko machine that is being suspended by the management device. As a result, the player can return to the pachinko machine that has been interrupted and can perform the settlement without pressing the game end switch 114.

Further, regarding the packets ACK and NAK, when a transmission request is received between the management device 400 and the network adapter unit 530, there is a response to the other party that the request is accepted and a response that the request is not accepted. In the case of a packet to be used, the requested data such as card text may be added when the ACK is returned. Further, in this embodiment, a line test, a monitor error,
Based on the judgment of the management device 400 based on the token bus abnormality, etc.,
Along with the "Forced termination request" packet for giving a command to stop the operation of each terminal individually or for each type, the control unit side of each terminal determines, for example, that the terminal under its own control cannot be controlled. In such a case, a "forced termination notification" packet is prepared to stop the control and notify the management apparatus of the suspension.

In addition, packet coat 8OH ~ 8AH shown in Table 26.
Is displayed in hexadecimal, and it goes without saying that the code is an example and is not limited to this.

Next, the format of the packet used in the data transmission system (local network) is
“Regular data request” and its response “Regular data transmission”
And "card in" as an example.

Fig. 21 (A) shows the structure of a "timed data request" packet for pachinko machines (common to other terminals), and Fig. 21 (B) shows the "ACK" that sends the operating data collected by the NAU from the pachinko machines. The packet structure is shown. With these packets, periodic data can be collected, and the operating state of each terminal can be grasped in real time.

Further, FIGS. 22 and 23 show the structures of the “line test” packet and the “restart (type)” packet sent from the management device 400 to the control unit of each terminal, and FIG. 24 shows the control of each terminal. The structures of "monitor abnormality" packets sent from the units 160, 250, 350 to the management device 400 are shown respectively.

Then, in Table 27, the definition of the unique data laid out in the head portion of each packet is listed.

In FIG. 21, HHD is a packet head used in the higher layer network 520, and LHD is a packet head used in the lower layer network 510.

Data transmission between the management device 400 and the NAU 530 in the high-layer network 520 is performed using the packet head HHD, and data transmission between the NAU 530 and each terminal in the low-layer network 510 is performed using the packet head LHD. This is performed using

Data transmission from the management apparatus 400 to each terminal via the NAU 530 is performed using two packet heads HHD and LHD. In this case, the network adapter to which the transmission destination terminal belongs is specified by the upper packet head HHD, and when a packet is captured therein, the upper packet head HHD is removed and the lower packet head LHD is removed.
The packet is sent out onto the low layer network 510 with only the head as the head, and the packet is transmitted to the designated terminal.

On the other hand, when transmitting data from each terminal to the management device 400, first, the terminal attaches only the packet head LHD for the low-layer network to the head of the data and sends out the data to the low-layer network 510. Then, the packet is fetched by the NAU 530, where the packet head LHD is further attached with a packet head HHD for a high-layer network, sent out over the high-layer network 520, and transmitted to the management device 400.

Further, the portion "PADDING" added to the end of each packet in FIGS. 21 to 24 is a dummy data field added to match the length of the packet data with a predetermined length.

Also, in the response packet corresponding to the scheduled data request shown in FIG. 21 (B), the upper packet head
Below the HHD, the operation data of all pachinko machines belonging to one NAU530 are linked. The head and data shown in * 1 are for the first pachinko machine, and the head and data shown in * 2 are Regarding the second pachinko machine, data for all pachinko machines continues in the same way.

It should be noted that the packets shown in FIGS. 21 to 24 are not the whole of the original packet placed on each network but only the main part, and the source address field indicating the transmission source and the destination indicating the transmission destination. There is a header part composed of a nation address and the like, and a check code part for error detection. These are the control unit of each terminal and the network controller 55 in the network adapter unit.
3,533,537 (see FIGS. 19 and 20) are automatically generated and added.

Next, the operation of the system by data transmission using a representative packet related to the present invention among the packets shown in Table 26 will be described.

FIG. 25 shows the flow of the procedure for the initialization of each terminal and the network line test by the management device 400.

When the system is powered on, the management device 400
First, clear all files FL1 to FL6 in the main memory to zero, then read the set values such as the number of terminals, number of prize balls, number of hits, etc. from the hard disk (auxiliary memory 1) The setting value file FL1 as shown is established, the number of NAU530 is read from the setting value file FL1, the NAU address is calculated, and then the line test process is performed using this NAU address (S2501 to S2505). That is, a "line test" packet as shown in FIG. 22 is transmitted to each NAU 530 using the high-layer network 520, and a message "line test" is displayed on the CRT display 405 of the management device (S2506, S2507). ). For the "line test" packet, the date and identification code (store number) obtained from a timer together with the packet head HHD for high-layer networks
Is added and transmitted.

On the other hand, when the power is turned on, the NAU530 first sets the set values (NAU number, minimum unit number,
(Number of terminals) to calculate the transmission address of each terminal to create a unit address table, and recognize the transmission address of each unit (terminal) and NAU itself (S2511-
S2514). The NAU address recognized here based on the setting value from the setting device matches the NAU address recognized from the data of the setting value file FL1 by the management device 400 in step S2504. Recognition of the same address enables each other to communicate with each other.

After that, when the "line test" packet is sent from the management device 400, the NAU 530 confirms the reception of the packet and then sends the "ACK" packet as a response signal. This “AC
When the communication control unit SCC of the management device 400 receives K ", it can be recognized that there is no line abnormality with the corresponding NAU, and by repeating the above procedure (S2507 to S2510) by the number of NAUs. After checking all the lines, the unit table request processing S2601 (FIG. 26) is performed.

On the other hand, when the power supply of the control units 160, 250, 350 of each terminal is turned on, the data transmission controller 551 in the unit first clears all the data areas of the unit memories 170, 270, 370 and then puts an interrupt command in the shared area to make a start request. (S2521 to S2523). Then, the unit controller 190, 251, 351 of each terminal confirms the start request, reads the set value (unit number) from the unit number setter, calculates the lower order of the serial number and channel number, and then sends it to the transmission data of the unit memory. By writing in the area and reading it by the data transmission controller 551, the unit address is recognized on the control unit side (S2524 to S2528). This enables data transmission between the NAU 530 and each terminal using the token bus.

After that, the data (date and identification code) which the NAU530 has already received from the management device 400 for each unit (terminal).
When a "line test" packet is added to the packet head part LHD for the low-layer network, the data transmission controller 551 on the unit side confirms the reception of the "line test", and then the data obtained in step S2528 along with the received data. Number, serial number and channel number (lower order) are added and sent to the NAU, which the NAU confirms (S2531 to S25
34). By repeating this for all units, the line test of the lower layer network 510 is completed.

Then, the NAU530 calculates a transmission address from the received unit number and the like, creates a unit table for a unit (terminal) under its control, and then transmits a unit table transmission process S2 in response to a unit table request from the management device 400.
Move to 604. In this unit table, process S2531
The result of the reception confirmation, that is, the monitor information 1 shown in Table 4, Table 9, and Table 15 is also included. On the other hand, the unit-side transmission controller 551 that received the "line test" packet from the NAU 530 writes a command indicating "line test" to the command register CR2 in the shared data area in the unit memory (S2551). This is read by the unit controllers 190, 251, 351 of the respective terminals to confirm that the line is properly connected (S2552), and the initial value setting process S2701
Move to.

FIG. 26A shows a procedure for creating a transmission address file in the management device 400. When creating the transmission address file, the management device 400 first starts the unit table request process, and the communication control device SCC sends a "unit table request" packet (Table 26) to each NAU 530 (S2602). Then, NAU530 receives the packet (S26
03) and put “AC in the PACKET $ TYPE section as shown in FIG. 26 (B).
Next to the head HHD containing K "(= 08H), the NAU number and NAU
Status (Token bus error, Opening code received,
"ACK" consisting of the number of units and the data of the unit table (unit number and type flag, unit number, serial number, channel number and monitor information 1) of the unit table described above. The packet is transmitted (S2604).

When the management device 400 receives this unit table,
After creating the transmission address file FL2 as shown in Table 17, see the monitor information 1 formed by the reception recognition (S2534) of the received data from each terminal in the line test of FIG. 25, and check the line monitor. It is confirmed (S2607), and if there is no abnormality, the process proceeds to initial value setting processing (S2701). Then
Here, if the monitor information 1 sent from each terminal device shows an abnormality, the abnormal terminal is displayed on the screen of the CRT display device 405.

FIG. 27 shows a management device 40 to be performed after the completion of the line test.
The procedure for setting the initial values from 0 to the control units 160, 250, 350 of each terminal will be described.

When setting the initial value, the central processing unit CPU of the management device 400 first reads the setting value file FL1 created in the processing S2502 of FIG. 25 from the main storage device M-MEM to read the communication control device.
It is passed to the SCC, and in the data section of the "Initial value setting" packet, the initial values such as date, identification code, purchased ball exchange rate, number of main prize balls, number of sub prize balls, number of hits, hit mode, etc. Then, a hot code (a code for confirming the reliability of the data in the unit memory later) is inserted, and the high-layer network head section and the low-layer network head section are attached to the head of the packet and transmitted (S2701, S2702).

Then, the NAU530 receives the packet, removes the head part for the high-layer network, sends out the "initial value setting" packet on the low-layer network, and sends the response signal "ACK" packet to the high-layer network (S2703). , S2704). When the management device 400 receives this "ACK", it returns from S2705 to the process of S2701 again, changes the transmission destination address, repeats the procedures of S2701 to S2705, and transmits the initial values to the control units of all terminals. .

On the other hand, on the low-layer network 510 side, the designated control unit receives the packet transmitted from the NAU530, writes the initial value setting command in the command register CR2 in the unit memory (170,270,370), and receives it in the received data area. Write the value (S2711, S2712).
Then, the unit controllers 190, 251, 351 read the commands and data in the unit memories 170, 270, 370 to confirm receipt of the initial value, and at the same time, specify the date and identification code in the card reader ( 180, 220, 310 (including a card writer), and the control device on the card reader side stores this (S2713, S2714).

Separately from the above process, when the initial value setting switch 432 on the console 406 of the management device 400 is turned on and the setting value updating process (S2720) is executed, the setting is made on the screen DSP of the CRT display device 405. While the value is displayed, the setting value file FL1 in the main memory M-MEM is updated, the setting value is read from this file, and a new initial value is set according to the above steps S2701 to S2714.

FIG. 28 shows the procedure of the data collecting means for periodically collecting operation data from each terminal after the start of business.

When the transmission controller 551 in the control unit 160, 250, 350 of each terminal confirms the fixed time, for example, every 1 second by interruption from its own timer, the transmission data 551 written in the transmission data area SDA in the unit memories 170, 270, 370 is read. Read it out, put it in the “scheduled data transmission” packet, put it on the low-layer network 510,
Send to AU530 (S2801-S2803). Upon receiving the scheduled data from each unit, the NAU 530 updates a data table formed in its memory for storing operation data for each unit (S2804, S2805). The periodic data collected by the NAU 530 is obtained by the unit controllers 190, 251, and 351 of each terminal downloading the operation data of the terminal in real time and sequentially storing the unit memories 170, 290, and 370.
It is written in.

On the other hand, also on the management device 400 side, the central processing unit CPU confirms the regular time every second by interruption from its own timer, starts the regular data request processing, and executes the communication control device SC.
C transmits a “periodic data request” packet to each NAU 530 (S2811 to S2813). Then, the specified NAU530
Receives the packet and adds an “ACK” packet to the
~ Insert and send the data table collected in the procedure of S2805 (S2814, S2815). The management device 400 receives this and updates the files FL4 to FL6 of the corresponding terminals shown in Tables 23 to 25 (S2816, S2817).

In Fig. 29, when the control by the unit controller is disabled on the terminal side or a trouble such as a bus abnormality is detected, the terminal unit operation is forcibly terminated at the judgment of the control unit 160, 250 or 350. The procedure of the processing in the case of making it shown is shown.

In this case, the control unit 160, 250 or 350 of each terminal
When the unit controller 190, 251 or 351 determines that a forced termination factor has occurred (S4301, S4311, S4321), it disables the card reader 180, 220, 310 from accepting or issuing cards (S4302, S4312, S4322), and the pachinko machine 100 When is playing, the card is ejected by the card reader 180 (S4303), and the analog display lamp 164 is turned off. Further, the issuing machine 200 disables the receipt of bills by the bill validator 210, and the issuing stop lamp 2
Turn on 42. Further, in the settlement machine 300, the settlement stop lamp 342 is turned on. And unit memory 170,270,370
Write the message "Forced end notification" to the command register CR1 inside, and set the forced end bit of the operation information (see Table 11) in the transmission data area to "1" to monitor information 1 or 2 (Table 9, Table Set "1" to the bit corresponding to the cause of the error occurrence (see 10) (S4304, S4314, S432).
Four). Then, the data transmission controller 551 reads it out, forms a "forced termination notification" packet, and puts the operation information and the monitor information 1 and 2 in the unit memory into it and transmits it (S4305, S4315, S4325). The structure of the "forced termination notification" packet is the same as that of the "monitor error" packet in FIG. 24, and only the packet code in the PACKET $ TYPE column is different. NA
When the U530 receives this packet, it attaches the high-layer network head to the head of the packet and sends it to the management device 400, and when the management device 400 receives this packet and confirms the "forced termination notification", it appears on the screen of the CRT display device 405. After displaying the interrupt message on the printer and printing the details by the printer 404, a response “ACK” packet is transmitted to the NAU (S4331).
~ S4337).

As described above, in the system of the embodiment, the management device 400 side can perform the forced termination for each terminal, and each terminal can stop the operation at its own discretion. In addition, since the operation information and the monitor information are added to the forced termination notification and transmitted, the cause can be easily grasped on the management device side.

FIG. 30 shows that when the data is not obtained by the regular data collection, or when the management device 400 checks whether the hot code in the collected operation data of the terminal matches the initially set value, the unit side When an abnormality in the data is detected, the operating data in the control unit of each terminal is discarded, and instead, the data just before the abnormality occurrence registered in the file of the management device 400 is sent to the terminal. The data recovery processing procedure for recovering the data in (1) or recovering the data saved in the auxiliary storage device 403 to the original terminal when a power failure occurs is shown.

When the CPU of the management device 400 detects an abnormality in the unit (terminal), the file related to the unit is directly stored in the main machine M-MEM as the P machine file FL4 and the issue machine file.
Read from FL5 or settlement machine file FL6 to form a "unit recovery data" packet, and set the above operating data and date, identification code, etc. read from the file in the next data field of the head HHD and HLD. Value data (hereinafter referred to as restoration data) is included and transmitted (S4401,
S4402).

On the other hand, when power is restored after a power failure, first the auxiliary storage device 40
After moving the files FL1 to FL5 and the power failure flag in 3 to the main storage device, the same "unit restoration data" packet as above is formed and transmitted for all units.

Then, the designated NAU 530 sends it, removes the head for the high-layer network, and sends it out on the low-layer network 510, and the data transmission controller 551 of the corresponding terminal.
Receives the packet, writes a message called "unit restoration data" to the command register CR2 in the unit memory 170, 270 or 370, and receives the data
Is written with the recovery data (S4403 to S4405). It is read by the unit controller 190, 251 or 351 to stop the operation of the terminal and the card reader 180, 22
0,310 is given a date and an identification code and stored (S44)
06-S4408). In a pachinko machine, a card may be ejected from a card reader during a game at the time of executing an operation stop command.

After that, the unit controller 190, 251 or 351
Write the "unit recovery data" message in the command register CR1 in the unit memory 170, 270, 370 and the operating data of the received recovery data in the transmission data area SAD, and the data transmission controller 551 reads it to form an "ACK" packet. , Operation data is put in the next data field of the head LHD and transmitted (S4409,
S4410). Then, the NAU 530 that receives the packet transmits it with the high-layer network head attached to the head, and when the management device 400 receives it, the P
The machine data FL4, the issuing machine file FL5, or the settlement machine file FL6 are read to read the operation data of the corresponding terminal device, and the operation data is compared with the received operation data (S4411 to S44).
3).

As a result, if the contents match, restart processing S4501
(See Fig. 31).

In addition, when the operating data of all terminals is destroyed due to a power failure or accidentally turning off the power switch, data recovery to all terminals is performed by using this "unit recovery data" packet. Processing S4401 ~ S4413
Is repeated for each unit. In this case, the CPU of the management device 400 remembers from the flag that there was a power failure, and automatically recovers data for all units after the power is turned on according to the program.

Next, the procedure of the restart process for instructing the unit to restart the operation after the data recovery process of the unit will be described. This restart process can be performed for each terminal individually, or by the type of terminal (pachinko machine, issuing machine,
It can also be done for each payment machine.
FIG. 31 shows the restart processing procedure of each type.
Further, FIG. 32 shows a restart processing procedure for each terminal.

Unit data recovery process S440 shown in FIG. 30
When 1 to S4413 are completed, the CPU of the management device 400 starts the restart processing program, and first, a "restart (type)" packet (type 23) in which the type code is entered in the column CSL indicating the type
(See the figure) and send it to the corresponding NAU530 (S4501,
S4502). In this case, the target unit is different NAU53
If you straddle the lower network 510 below 0,
The same packet is sent to all applicable NAUs. N
When the AU530 receives this packet, it removes the high-layer network head and drops the low-layer network packet head LHD.
Is added to the corresponding unit and a response “ACK” packet is transmitted to the management device 400 (S4503 to S4506).

On the other hand, in the control unit 160, 250 or 350 that has received the packet transmitted from the NAU530, the data transmission controller 551 writes a message of "type restart" in the command register CR2 in the unit memory 170, 270, 370 (S4511, S4512, S4521, S4522). ). Then, the unit controller 190, 251 or 3 that was in the restart waiting state
51 reads it, checks it, and resumes operation (S4513,
S4514, S4523, S4524). At this time, in the pachinko machine 100 and the settlement machine 300, the card readers 220 and 310 are instructed to reread the information recorded on the card (S4515), and the operation is restarted after receiving the card number from the card reader. It is like this.

On the other hand, the individual restart processing of Fig. 32 that restarts the operation of the units (terminals) that have been subjected to the data recovery processing is
It is almost the same as the process shown in FIG. The only difference is that a "restart (individual)" packet is used as a packet transmitted from the management device 400, and that a message is individually transmitted to one target unit. Moreover, the configuration of the "restart (individual)" packet may be such that the low layer network head LHD is inserted in place of the type column CSL of the "restart (type)" packet in FIG. Therefore, the same type of packet is transmitted on the token bus for both individual restart and type restart.

FIG. 33 shows a procedure of monitor abnormality processing for notifying the management device 400 of an abnormality detected when the signals of various switches and sensors are monitored on the terminal side.

The unit controller 190, 251 or 351 of the terminal is a signal such as a switch or sensor or a card reader 180, 220,
If the monitor information from the 310 is monitored and an abnormality is detected, a message “monitor abnormality” is displayed in the command register CR1 in the unit memory 170, 270 or 370, and monitor information 1 and 2 and operation information are displayed in the transmission data area. Write (S4601, S4602). Then, the data transmission controller 551 reads this, forms a “monitor abnormality” packet, and sends the monitor information 1 and 2 and operation information in the packet, and the NAU 530 receives the packet and the upper layer at the head. Attach the network head and send to the management device 400 (S4603, S
4604). When the management device 400 receives the "monitor error" packet and confirms it, it displays an interrupt message and the unit number of the unit on the screen of the CRT display 405, and the printer
Print a statement describing the details of the error using 404 (S46
05 to S4608). At the same time, the management device 400 updates the monitor information 1 and 2 and the operation information among the data of the corresponding files in the P machine file FL4, the issuing machine file FL5 or the settlement machine file FL6, and sends them to the NAU530 which sent the packet. A response “ACK” packet is sent to the server (S4609 to S461).
1).

The "monitor abnormality" packet allows the management device 400 to always know the state of each terminal during system operation.

Figure 34 shows the low-rise network 510 (token bus).
The procedure of the process is shown when the NAU 530 and the data transmission controller 551 of each terminal detect that the communication between the NAU 530 and each unit is disabled due to an abnormality such as disconnection.

In this case, when the NAU530 detects an abnormality of the token bus, it forms a "token bus abnormality" packet, attaches a high-layer network head to it, and in the data section, operating information and monitor information about the unit that normally has an abnormality 1, 2
And send it to the management device 400 (S4701, S470
2). Then, the management device 400 receives this packet, confirms the abnormality of the token bus, displays the interrupt message and the terminal number of the abnormal terminal on the screen of the CRT display device 405, and describes the abnormality content by the printer 404. Print the statement (S4703 to S4706). At the same time, the management device 400 updates the monitor information 1 and 2 and the movement information among the data of the corresponding files in the P machine file FL4, the issuing machine file FL5 or the settlement machine file FL6, and sends them to the NAU530 which sent the packet. A response “ACK” packet is sent to the server (S4
707-S4709).

On the other hand, the data transmission controller 551 on the terminal side which has detected the abnormality of the token bus puts the above-mentioned “individual forced termination request” message in the command register CR2 in the unit memory 170, 270 or 370, and sends it to the unit controller 19
0,251 or 351 is notified to stop the operation of the terminal (S4711 to S4713).

The communication abnormality on the high-layer network can be detected by the communication control device SCC in the management device.

As described above, the data transmission system according to the present embodiment has a hierarchical structure of the high-layer network 520 and the low-layer network 510, and the low-layer network is controlled by the dedicated NAU 530. Even in a system to which terminals are connected, the burden on the management device 400 does not increase so much and a large amount of data can be transmitted at high speed. Therefore, for example, once a second, operation data of each terminal should be collected. You will be able to do something with plenty of time.

Also, by preparing a large number of communication packets suitable for the pachinko gaming system and exchanging messages and data with the management device 400, the terminal device can be operated, and no effective operation can be executed by the terminal device alone. Since it is composed of an organic combination, for example, if one person obtains only one terminal and uses it to make a fraud (copying a card), no benefit can be obtained. Therefore, it does not allow any intervention of fraudulent activity, and collects the operating data every one second so that the management device 400 can back it up. Data can be restored, the system can be started up, and a highly reliable system can be obtained.

FIG. 35 shows an example of processing for protection of operating data and maintenance of the system by the management device 400.

When the power of the device is turned on, the central processing unit CPU in the management device 400 first reads the data of each file shown in Table 17 such as the setting value file and the power failure flag from the auxiliary storage device 403 and stores them in the main storage device M-MEM. Hold (routine R1). Then, the system initialization and line test are executed according to the procedure shown in FIG. 25 (routine R2).

Next, in routine R3, check the power failure flag indicating whether or not there was a power failure before turning on the power. Power failure flag is usually "0"
It has been cleared to, and the routine proceeds from R3 to R4 except when the power is turned on again after the power failure is recovered.

In the routine R4, after the transmission address file is created according to the procedure shown in FIG. 26 and FIG. 27 and the initial value is set for all the terminals using it, for example, in the above embodiment, the “opening code” is set. "By sending a packet, the operation of the terminal is started.

As a result, each terminal is put into an operating state and executes a process corresponding to the operation of the player.

On the other hand, the management device 400 proceeds from routine R4 to R5, and periodically collects the operation data that changes with the start of operation of the terminals according to the procedure shown in FIG. 28 to check the operation status of all terminals. Understand in real time.

In the next routine R6, it is checked whether or not there is a terminal device that cannot collect the regular data due to the disconnection of the transmission line or the failure of the communication device such as the transmission controller. The communication incompatibility state due to the disconnection of the transmission line or the failure of the transmission controller can be known by detecting that communication from a specific terminal has not been performed for a certain period of time, and there is no communication error due to noise on the high-layer network. , NAU530 can detect it by checking the data string in the packet sent by NAU530 with CRC (cyclic code check). Then, when there is a terminal for which the regular data collection is impossible, the routine is shifted to the routine R14, the "line test" packet is sent to the abnormal terminal, and the routine R15 checks whether or not there is a response. Then, if there is no response, the routine R15 determines the line abnormality and shifts to the routine R16.
After the line abnormality is interrupt-displayed on the screen of the CRT display device 405, the routine proceeds to the routine R7.

On the other hand, if there is a response, the routine proceeds from R15 to R17, the collected data immediately before the abnormality detection is sent using the "unit restoration data" packet to restore the operating data of the terminal, and then restart (individual ) ”Send a packet (routine R18). Then, the terminal receiving the packet fetches the above-mentioned restoration data stored in the reception area of the unit memory and replaces it with the original data to continue the subsequent processing ( Or start).

After that, proceed to Routine R8 and collect the operation data collected in Routine R5 related to terminals other than abnormal terminals.
The data is stored in the data files FL4 to FL6 in the main memory and the original data is updated. Then, the process proceeds to routine R9, and for example, a power failure occurs by monitoring the switching signal to the auxiliary power supply device 409 output from the power supply voltage detection circuit in the auxiliary power supply device that detects that the power supply voltage has dropped below a certain level. It is determined whether or not.

If no power failure has occurred, the routine returns to routine R5 and repeats the above procedure.

On the other hand, when a power failure occurs, the routine goes to the routine R19, sets the power failure flag to "1", and then, together with the files FL1 to FL6 shown in Table 17, the main memory M-MEM.
To the hard disk device 403 as an auxiliary storage device.

Then, when the main power supply of the management device 400 is turned on again after recovering from the power failure state, the routine R1 starts execution again. After the power failure is recovered, the power failure flag is "1".
Therefore, the routine moves from the routine R3 to the routine R11, the file saved in the auxiliary storage device 403 is read here, and the operation data and the set value data are put in the “unit recovery data” packet and transmitted. After returning the terminal to the state before the power failure, a "restart (type)" packet is transmitted to restart the operation of the terminal and clear the power failure flag to "0" (routines R12 and R13).

The subsequent processing procedure is the same as the procedure when the power is first turned on (when the store is opened).

In the above embodiment, the operation data and the like collected immediately after the occurrence of the power failure is saved in the auxiliary storage device, but in recent years, the power company's facilities have improved, and power failure over a long period of time is often very small. It recovers within 30 minutes, so if the auxiliary power supply has a capacity that can back up the management device for 30 minutes or more, instead of saving the data immediately after the power failure occurs, a certain time (for example, 30
It may be possible to evacuate when (minutes) has elapsed. In addition,
In the above embodiment, only the identification code is stored in the card as the storage medium, and the data such as the number of balls held for the card is applied to the game facility in which the identification code is used to be stored in the file of the management device. Although the present invention is not limited to this, the present invention is not limited to this, data such as the number of balls held (value) as valuable value is stored in the card, and the operation information of each terminal device is stored in the file of the management device. Alternatively, the identification code of the card may be stored as in the above embodiment, and the data such as the number of balls held may be stored in the management value file using the identification code, and in parallel with the card itself. Can also be applied to a game facility in which data such as the number of balls held is stored.

Further, the setting value of each terminal device is not limited to the method of transmitting the setting value from the management device when the gaming facility starts up, and may be set in advance in the ROM or the like in each terminal device.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention is provided with a storage medium reading device capable of reading a storage medium having valuable data, and a game in which a game is possible in relation to the valuable data of the inserted storage medium. In a gaming facility comprising a device and a management device having at least a storage device for storing operation information of the gaming device, the gaming device and the management device are configured to be capable of transmitting data by a transmission means, and the management device is also provided. The data collection means for collecting at least the operating information of the gaming device and storing it in the storage device, the power cutoff state detection means for detecting at least the power cutoff state to the storage device, and the power cutoff state detection means Since an auxiliary storage device that stores the above-mentioned operating information collected based on the detection signal of the Even if a power cutoff situation occurs due to the power cutoff state, the auxiliary storage device stores and protects the operation information collected by the data collection means as protection data based on the detection signal of the power cutoff state by the power cutoff state detection means. It is possible,
There is an effect that operating information in an emergency can be collectively processed by the management device as protected data.

Moreover, since the operation information collected by the data collection means is stored in the auxiliary storage device only when the power cutoff state detection means detects the power cutoff state, the operation information is stored in the storage device during normal operation. There is an effect that the load on the management device can be reduced by storing the information.

When the auxiliary storage device is configured to store the valuable data in the storage medium, the valuable data in the storage medium that causes the most trouble between the game store and the player is stored in the auxiliary storage device. Since the minimum protection is possible, valuable data in the storage medium is lost even in the event of a power outage or the like, and there is an effect that troubles between the game store and the player can be prevented.

Furthermore, when the data collection means is configured to periodically collect the operation information of the gaming device and store it in the storage device, even if an unexpected abnormal situation such as a power failure occurs, the latest There is an effect that the operation information can be stored.

Further, when the management device is provided with operation information restoring means for returning the operation information stored in the auxiliary storage device to the game device, even if an unexpected abnormal state such as a power failure occurs, The management device can store the collected operating information, can restore the operating information before the abnormal state occurs to the gaming device promptly after the abnormal state is recovered, and can reliably protect the operating information as protected data. It is possible to prevent loss of valuable data of the player and damage to the player, improve the reliability of the game equipment, and prevent troubles between the game store and the player. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the overall configuration of a pachinko gaming system to which the present invention is applied, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are front views showing the configuration of cards used in the system according to the present invention; Rear view, FIG. 3 is a front view showing a configuration example of a card issuing machine used in the system according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a configuration example of a card reader. B) is a schematic diagram of a card reader for a pachinko machine, (C) is a card reader for a checkout machine, and (D) is a schematic configuration diagram of a card reader for a management device. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a control system of the card issuing machine. 6A is a front view showing a configuration example of a pachinko machine, FIG. 6B is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a control unit of the pachinko machine, and FIG. 7 is a rear view showing a configuration example of a back surface of the pachinko machine. Fig. 8 is a rear view showing an example of the configuration of a sealed ball circulation device on the back of a pachinko machine. FIG. 9 (A) is an enlarged view showing details of a ball removing portion of the enclosed ball circulating device, FIG. 9 (B) is a perspective view showing details of a ball feeding portion of the enclosed ball circulating device, and FIG. 10 is a pachinko machine. FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a pachinko machine control device, FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a configuration example of a checkout machine, and FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a checkout machine. FIG. 14 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the entire management apparatus, FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing an example of the system configuration of the management apparatus itself, and FIG. 16 is a block diagram of the console of the management apparatus. This shows a configuration example.
(A) is a plan view, (B) is a rear view, FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a state transition of a card in the gaming system of the present invention, and FIG. 18 is a configuration example of a transmission system in the gaming system of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control unit that controls data transmission and reception between a unit controller of each terminal and a transmission line (network). FIG. 20 is a block diagram showing data on a network. NA that performs transfer control
A block diagram showing a configuration example of U (network adapter unit), FIGS. 21 to 24 show a configuration example of a typical packet used in the network, and FIG. 21 shows a “scheduled data request” packet. Block diagram, Fig. 22 is a block diagram of "line test" packet, Fig. 23 is a block diagram of "restart (type)" packet, Fig. 24 is a block diagram of "monitor error" packet, and Fig. 25 is management. FIG. 26 (A) is a system flow chart showing a procedure for creating a transmission address file in the management device, and FIG. 26 (B) is a “table”. Fig. 27 is a block diagram of the response packet to the "request" packet. A system flow chart showing the procedure for the scheduled data collection from each terminal by the device, Fig. 29 is a system flow chart showing the processing procedure when the forced termination factor occurs on the terminal side, and Fig. 30 is the management device System flow chart showing the data recovery processing procedure when abnormal data is detected, Fig. 31 and Fig. 32 are system flow chart showing the processing procedure when restarting after the data recovery processing for each terminal, Fig. 33 is A system flow chart showing the processing procedure when a monitor abnormality is detected on the terminal side, FIG. 34 is a system flow chart showing the processing procedure when a low layer network abnormality is detected, and FIG. 35 is a system monitoring in the management device 9 is a flowchart showing an example of a procedure of operation data recovery processing. 100: Pachinko machine, 110: Gaming machine body, 120: Enclosed ball circulation device, 160: Control unit, 170: Unit memory, 180: Card reader, 190: Unit controller, 200: Card issue Machine, 210 ... Bill validator, 220
…… Card writer, 230 …… Balance dispenser, 250 …… Control unit, 300… Checkout machine, 310 …… Card reader, 320…
... Bill dispenser, 330 ... Printer, 350 ... Control unit, 400 ... Management device, 510 ... Low-layer network, 520
…… High-layer network, 530 …… NAU (network adapter unit).

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] Claims: 1. A gaming device having a storage medium reading device capable of reading a storage medium having valuable data, in which a game can be played in association with the valuable data of the inserted storage medium, and at least operating information of the gaming device. In a gaming facility including a management device having a storage device for storing, the game device and the management device are configured to be capable of data transmission by a transmission means, and the management device has at least operation information of the gaming device. Data collecting means for collecting and storing in the storage device, a power cutoff state detection means for detecting at least a power cutoff state to the storage device, and the above-mentioned data collected based on a detection signal from the power cutoff state detection means. A game facility provided with an auxiliary storage device for storing operating information as protected data. 2. The game facility according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary storage device is configured to store valuable data in the storage medium. 3. The data collecting means is configured to periodically collect the operation information of the gaming device and store it in the storage device.
The gaming facility according to item or item 2. 4. The management device comprises operating information restoring means for restoring the operating information stored in the auxiliary storage device to the gaming device, according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The gaming facility according to any one of items.