Gaming system, information management device, terminal device, and method for providing gaming information

Abstract

The objective is to provide information that helps customers decide whether or not to play games on gaming machines. [Solution] The management device 50 transmits the operating status of the gaming machines in the gaming store as operating data to the information management device 80 (S1). The information management device 80 converts the received operating data into slump data (S2) and stores it in the slump data. If the mobile terminal 90 notifies a prediction request for a target machine (S3), the information management device 80 converts the operating data of the target machine into slump data and extracts similar data from the slump data (S4). The information management device 80 calculates the difference in balls fluctuation ratio using the extracted similar data and notifies the mobile terminal 90 (S5). If the mobile terminal 90 receives the difference in balls fluctuation ratio, it displays it (S6).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a gaming system, an information management device, a terminal device, and a gaming information providing method that can present information serving as a basis for determining whether a player plays a game on a gaming machine or not.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a game arcade, a slump graph is often displayed on a pedestal lamp provided above a gaming machine. A conventional slump graph is a graph with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the number of acquired balls. Recently, there is also a gaming system that allows a player to check a slump graph on a mobile terminal the player possesses.

[0003] [[ID=I6]]While referring to this slump graph, a player predicts, such as "a big win is likely to occur soon" or "a big win is unlikely to occur for a while," and determines whether to continue playing the game. However, even if a player makes a prediction intuitively from a past slump graph, the gaming machine does not always change as predicted. For this reason, a technique of displaying a past slump graph together with the current slump graph as a reference for a player's prediction is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004] <000OO24>

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, since the one in Patent Document 1 above displays a slump graph of the same model as in the past, there is a problem that it is difficult for a player to use it as a reference for prediction. As a player, information that can be a basis for prediction as much as possible is sought.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the problems (issues) of the above-mentioned prior art, and aims to provide a gaming system, information management device, terminal device, and gaming information provision method that can present information that serves as a basis for a player to decide whether or not to play a game on a gaming machine. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a gaming system comprising an in-store management device installed in a gaming parlor to manage gaming machine information relating to gaming machines, and an information management device capable of communicating with a terminal device held by a gaming customer, wherein the information management device includes a storage means for storing a plurality of slump information, with a predetermined number of consecutive waves as the horizontal axis and the number of gaming media acquired in each wave as the vertical axis, with the period from the start of the game or the end of a jackpot to the end of the increase in the number of gaming media acquired being considered as one wave, the period from the start of the game or the end of a jackpot being defined as one wave, the period from the start of the game to the end of the increase in the number of gaming media acquired being defined as one wave, the horizontal axis and the vertical axis the number of gaming media acquired in each wave being defined as one wave being defined as one wave, the information management device comprising a storage means for storing a plurality of slump information relating to a gaming machine to the end of the game, the start of the game, and the generation means for generating target slump information for a gaming machine to be predicted as soon as a prediction request is received from the terminal device.

[0008] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the information management device further comprises a jackpot information storage means for storing past jackpot information for a plurality of gaming machines installed in the gaming parlor, and a conversion means for converting the past jackpot information for each gaming machine stored in the jackpot information storage means into slump information.

[0009] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the calculation means selects a plurality of slump pieces of information stored in the storage means such that the sum of the distances for each wave between them and the target slump piece of information is within a predetermined threshold, and calculates the rate of change in the number of game pieces acquired by the target game machine after the prediction request based on the change in the number of game pieces acquired after the prediction request.

[0010] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, the calculation means calculates the percentage change in the number of acquired game media after the prediction request for the target game machine, based on the change in the number of acquired game media from the time after the prediction request for a plurality of selected slump information until a predetermined time.

[0011] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized in that, in the above invention, if the terminal device receives the percentage change in the number of acquired game media after the prediction request for the target game machine from the information management device, it displays the percentage change in the number of acquired game media on a predetermined display unit.

[0012] Furthermore, the present invention is characterized by comprising: an in-store management device installed in a gaming parlor for managing gaming machine information related to gaming machines; an information management device capable of communicating with a terminal device held by a gaming customer, which stores a plurality of slump information with a predetermined number of consecutive waves on the horizontal axis and the number of gaming media acquired in each wave on the vertical axis, with each wave defined as the period from the start of play or the end of a jackpot to the end of the increase in the number of gaming media acquired as one wave; a generation means that generates target slump information for a target gaming machine when it receives a prediction request for the target gaming machine from the terminal device; a calculation means that calculates the rate of change in the number of gaming media acquired after the prediction request based on the target slump information for the target gaming machine and the plurality of slump information stored in the storage means; and a notification means that notifies the terminal device of the rate of change in the number of gaming media acquired after the prediction request for the target gaming machine calculated by the calculation means.

[0013] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a terminal device that communicates with an information management device which is connected to a store management device installed in a gaming parlor and which manages gaming machine information relating to gaming machines, and is characterized by comprising: prediction request means for making a prediction request to the information management device for the number of gaming media acquired in a target gaming machine; receiving means for receiving the percentage change in the number of gaming media acquired in the target gaming machine after the prediction request, which is notified by the information management device in response to the prediction request; and display control means for displaying the percentage change in the number of gaming media acquired in the target gaming machine after the prediction request, which is received by the receiving means, on a predetermined display unit.

[0014] Furthermore, the present invention relates to a method for providing game information in a game system comprising an in-store management device installed in a game parlor for managing game machine information relating to game machines, and an information management device capable of communicating with a terminal device held by a game player, wherein the information management device stores in a storage unit a plurality of slump information, with the horizontal axis representing a predetermined number of consecutive waves, and the vertical axis representing the number of game media acquired in each wave, defined as one wave from the start of the game or the end of a jackpot until the end of the increase in the number of game media acquired; a generation step in which, if the information management device receives a prediction request for a target game machine from the terminal device, generates target slump information for the target game machine; a calculation step in which the information management device calculates the rate of change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request based on the target slump information for the target game machine and the plurality of slump information stored in the storage unit; and a notification step in which the information management device notifies the terminal device of the rate of change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request for the target game machine, calculated in the calculation step. [Effects of the Invention]

[0015] According to the present invention, it is possible to present information that serves as a basis for a player to decide whether or not to play a game on a gaming machine. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the overview of the gaming system. [Figure 2] Figure 2 shows the system configuration of the gaming system. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows the external configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine and gaming machine shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine shown in Figure 2. [Figure 5] Figure 5 shows an example of the device status data and card data shown in Figure 4. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the gaming machine shown in Figure 2. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the management device shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of card management data, device management data, and member management data shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of operation data shown in FIG. 7. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the information management device shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of device management data, member management data, and operation data shown in FIG. 10. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of slump data and predicted slump data shown in FIG. 10. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of similar extraction threshold data, difference ball fluctuation threshold data, and difference ball fluctuation data shown in FIG. 10. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of display on a mobile terminal. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure related to the calculation of the difference ball fluctuation ratio. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the information management device.

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0017] Hereinafter, embodiments of the game system, information management device, terminal device, and game information providing method according to the present embodiment will be described in detail based on the drawings.

[0018] In this specification, "balls held" refers to data indicating the gaming media acquired by a player during gameplay, which can only be used again for gameplay on the same day (before the closing time of the gaming parlor). "Number of balls held" refers to the number of gaming media acquired by a player through gameplay. "Stored balls" refers to data indicating the gaming media deposited by a player with the gaming parlor, which can be used again for gameplay on subsequent days (after the closing time of the gaming parlor). "Number of stored balls" refers to the number of gaming media deposited by a player with the gaming parlor. Balls held can be used by both general and member players, and are used when moving to a different gaming machine, etc. Stored balls can, in principle, only be used by member players, and are used when acquiring gaming media to play on a gaming machine on subsequent days. "Number of balls managed by the gaming machine" refers to the number of balls managed by the gaming machine that a player can use for gameplay.

[0019] <Overview of the gaming system> First, let's explain the overview of this gaming system. Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the overview of this gaming system.

[0020] As shown in Figure 1, in this gaming system, a management device 50 installed in the gaming parlor transmits the operating status of the gaming machines in the parlor as operating data to an information management device 80 (S1). The information management device 80 converts the received operating data into slump data (S2) and stores it in the slump data.

[0021] If the mobile terminal 90 notifies a prediction request for the machine to be predicted (S3), the information management device 80 converts the operating data of the machine to be predicted into slump data and extracts data similar to this data from the slump data (S4).

[0022] The information management device 80 calculates the ball difference fluctuation ratio using the extracted similar data and notifies the mobile terminal 90 (S5). The ball difference fluctuation ratio is a prediction of the future fluctuation of the ball difference of the target machine, and indicates the proportion of future fluctuations that will increase, remain flat, or decrease. In this specification, the categories of increase, remain flat, and decrease are referred to as "ball difference fluctuation categories".

[0023] If the mobile terminal 90 receives the percentage change in net winnings, it displays it (S6). For example, it displays a graph showing that for each category of net winnings change, 20% are increasing, 36% are staying flat, and 44% are decreasing.

[0024] In this way, the gaming system acquires operational data from gaming machines in a gaming parlor, converts each piece of data into slump data, and stores it. Then, it extracts data from the slump data that is similar to the operational data of the target gaming machine that has been converted into slump data, and uses this extracted data to calculate the percentage of change in the number of tokens won. This configuration allows the system to present information that can help customers decide whether or not to play a game on a gaming machine.

[0025] <System Configuration> Next, the system configuration of this gaming system will be explained. Figure 2 is a diagram showing the system configuration of this gaming system. As shown in Figure 2, a gaming parlor is equipped with multiple gaming machines 20 and inter-machine card processing machines 10, each of which is provided in conjunction with a gaming machine 20.

[0026] The inter-machine card processing machine 10 is connected to the store's network, which is a communication line, via the island controller 30. The island controller 30, management device 50, prize management device 60, and settlement machine 70 are connected to the communication line.

[0027] Furthermore, the management device 50 is connected to the internet, which is an external network. The information management device 80 and the mobile terminal 90 are connected to the internet.

[0028] The gaming machine 20 is a device that allows players to play by launching game balls, which are sealed inside the device, onto the game board. These game balls are physical "balls" used in the game and are different from "game balls" that the gaming machine 20 handles as data. The game board of the gaming machine 20 is provided with multiple prize areas (prize slots), and a predetermined number of game balls are awarded as prizes based on when a game ball passes through these prize areas. The game board is also provided with a predetermined number of starting areas (start slots), and a predetermined lottery is conducted based on when a game ball passes through these starting areas. If the lottery is a jackpot, predetermined movable parts are activated to improve the probability of the game ball passing through the aforementioned prize areas or other starting areas, thereby providing an advantage in the game. There may also be areas that serve as both starting areas and prize areas.

[0029] The prize-winning areas are equipped with prize-winning sensors to detect when a game ball passes into them. The prize-winning sensors detect when a game ball is played into a prize-winning area (i.e., wins a prize). The control unit of the gaming machine 20 also has a prize-winning memory that stores how many game balls are awarded as prizes for each prize-winning area, and a game ball count memory that shows the total number of game balls managed by the gaming machine. The control unit of the gaming machine 20 also periodically transmits the total number of game balls managed by the gaming machine to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.

[0030] When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a deposit from a player, it associates the prepaid value corresponding to the deposit amount with the identification information (card ID) of the card stored inside the machine. This prepaid value can be used to dispense game balls. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 can also accept the insertion of cards associated with prepaid value, held balls, stored balls, etc. At the end of the game, it ejects the card associated with the prepaid value, held balls, stored balls, etc., and returns it to the player. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 also transmits the history of operations such as deposit, card insertion, and card ejection to the management device 50.

[0031] The gaming machine 20 transmits out data to the inter-machine card processing unit 10 when a predetermined number of game balls have been launched onto the game board. The gaming machine 20 also transmits safe data to the inter-machine card processing unit 10 when a game ball passes through the winning area (so-called winning) and a predetermined number of prize balls have been added to the game balls. Furthermore, if a special state such as a jackpot occurs as a result of the game, the gaming machine 20 transmits special prize data indicating the occurrence of such a state to the inter-machine card processing unit 10.

[0032] Out data corresponds to the number of balls played by the player onto the game board. Safe data corresponds to the number of balls awarded for winning. Special prize data indicates the status of the game machine 20, such as a jackpot. Each piece of data is transmitted to the management device 50 via the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and the management device 50 can obtain a history of the game machine 20's operation by accumulating the out data, safe data, and special prize data.

[0033] The inter-machine card processing machine 10 accepts deposits, dispenses game balls, communicates with the management device 50, and communicates with the game machines 20. When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives banknotes inserted by a player, it sends a deposit notification including the deposit amount to the management device 50, adding the equivalent prepaid value to the prepaid value managed by the management device 50. Then, when a predetermined ball dispensing operation is performed, it sends a ball dispensing request to the management device 50, deducting the prepaid value managed by the management device 50, notifying the game machine 20 of the number corresponding to the deducted prepaid value, and adding it to the game machine's managed ball count.

[0034] When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a card insertion notification, it sends a card insertion notification to the management device 50. Furthermore, when the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives the balance of prepaid value, held balls, or stored balls from the management device 50, it stores the balance. If it receives and stores the balance of held balls, it sends a ball deduction request to the management device 50, thereby clearing the balance (number of balls) of held balls managed by the management device 50 to zero.

[0035] When the inter-machine card processing unit 10 receives a request to replay held balls, it subtracts a predetermined number of balls from the number of balls it manages, notifies the gaming machine 20 of the number of balls corresponding to the subtracted number, and adds it to the number of balls managed by the gaming machine. Also, when the inter-machine card processing unit 10 receives a request to replay stored balls, it sends a request to the management device 50 to replay stored balls, causing the management device 50 to subtract a predetermined number of stored balls, notifies the gaming machine 20 of the number of balls corresponding to the subtracted number, and adds it to the number of balls managed by the gaming machine.

[0036] When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a card return operation, it sends a request to the management device 50 to add the number of balls held, and after the management device 50 adds the number of balls held, it sends a card ejection notification to the management device 50 and controls the ejection of the card. If a counting operation is received from the gaming machine 20 before the card return operation, the number of balls managed by the gaming machine is added to the number of balls held.

[0037] The inter-machine card processing unit 10 has the function of obtaining a game machine ID from the game machine 20 and authenticating the game machine 20 using the obtained game machine ID and the authentication key received from the management device 50. This authentication is performed during opening procedures, etc., and the game machine 20 becomes playable only if the authentication is successful.

[0038] The island controller 30 is a device that bundles a group of gaming machines 20 and inter-machine card processing machines 10 installed on a gaming island, and relays various information to the management device 50.

[0039] When the management device 50 receives a card insertion notification from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it manages the identification information of the inserted card (hereinafter referred to as "card ID") in association with the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and transmits the prepaid value and balance of tokens associated with the card ID to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. Furthermore, if the card ID indicated in the card insertion notification is the card ID of a member card, it transmits the token replay data to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.

[0040] Furthermore, when the management device 50 receives a request to deduct balls from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it clears the balance of balls to zero, and when it receives a request to add balls from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it adds the number of balls indicated in the ball addition request to the balance of balls.

[0041] Furthermore, when the management device 50 receives a ball dispensing request from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it subtracts a predetermined value from the prepaid value associated with the card ID and transmits permission to dispense balls to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. When it receives a request to replay stored balls, it transmits stored ball replay data to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.

[0042] Furthermore, if the management device 50 receives a card ID from the prize management device 60, it notifies the prize management device 60 of the number of balls associated with this card ID. In addition, if it receives a card ID from the payment machine 70, it notifies the payment machine 70 of the prepaid value associated with this card ID.

[0043] Furthermore, the management device 50 obtains the gaming machine ID from the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and manages the gaming machines 20 installed in its own store as device management data. It then obtains the authentication key for authenticating the gaming machines 20 set up in its own store from an authentication key management center (not shown) outside the gaming store and distributes it to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. If the device management data is updated, this device management data is transmitted to the information management device 80.

[0044] Furthermore, the management device 50 manages the membership management data of members registered with the amusement parlor. Specifically, it manages the number of balls stored, points, PIN, and name, etc., in association with the membership card ID issued to the member. When the membership management data is updated, this data is transmitted to the information management device 80.

[0045] When the management device 50 receives a card insertion notification from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it transmits to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 stored ball replay data, including the balance of stored balls and the PIN corresponding to the card ID indicated in the card insertion notification. Also, when the management device 50 receives a stored ball replay request from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it subtracts a predetermined number of stored balls associated with the card ID indicated in the stored ball replay request, and transmits to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 stored ball replay data, including the remaining stored ball balance after the subtraction.

[0046] Furthermore, if the management device 50 receives an inquiry from the prize management device 60 regarding the number of stored tokens, it notifies the prize management device 60 of the balance of stored tokens corresponding to the specified card ID.

[0047] Furthermore, when the management device 50 receives out data, safe data, or special prize data from the gaming machine 20 from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it stores it as operational data associated with the time and gaming machine ID. Then, at a predetermined time (for example, when closing procedures begin), it transmits the stored operational data to the information management device 80.

[0048] The information management device 80 is a device that calculates the percentage change in the number of balls for the target machine and provides the calculation results to registered members (hereinafter referred to as the "slump watcher service"). When the information management device 80 receives device management data or operation data from the management device 50, it stores the received data. In addition, when the information management device 80 receives member management data from the mobile terminal 90, it stores the received data.

[0049] Furthermore, the information management device 80 performs slump conversion on each piece of operational data at a predetermined time each day (for example, at the start of closing procedures). Specifically, it extracts the 25 most recent waves, performs slump conversion on these 25 waves, and stores the result as slump data. Details of slump conversion will be described later. In this specification, the period from the end of one jackpot to the end of the next jackpot is referred to as a "wave," the first wave of the period is called "wave 1," the second wave is called "wave 2," and the nth wave is called "wave n."

[0050] Furthermore, the information management device 80 uses the end of the 10-wave slump conversion as the starting point (hereinafter referred to as the "variable difference ball count starting point"), identifies the point in time when the cumulative value of the number of balls output since the variable difference ball count starting point exceeds a predetermined number of balls (for example, 15,000 balls), calculates the difference in balls from the variable difference ball count starting point to the identified point, and stores it as the variable difference ball count.

[0051] Furthermore, when the information management device 80 receives a prediction request from the mobile terminal 90, it extracts data corresponding to this prediction request from the operational data, performs a slump conversion on the most recent 10 waves, and stores the resulting lower limit difference in ball count and upper limit difference in ball count as the prediction source slump data, respectively.

[0052] Furthermore, the information management device 80 extracts data from the slump data that corresponds to the machine model of the source slump data. Then, it performs a similarity determination using the source slump data and the lower limit and upper limit of the difference in ball count for each wave from wave 1 to wave 10 of the extracted data. Details of the similarity determination will be described later.

[0053] Furthermore, if the information management device 80 determines that the data is similar, it determines the ball difference category based on the ball difference variation threshold for the ball difference variation number corresponding to the determined data. After determining the ball difference category for all data extracted from the slump data as data corresponding to the machine models of the predicted source slump data, it calculates the number and percentage of gaming machines determined for each determination result and notifies the mobile terminal 90 of this calculation result as the ball difference variation percentage.

[0054] The mobile terminal 90 is carried by the player and is used to request predictions regarding the target machine and to display the percentage change in the number of tokens. When the mobile terminal 90 receives a prediction request that includes the store ID, machine number, and model name, it notifies the information management device 80 of this prediction request. When the mobile terminal 90 receives the percentage change in the number of tokens from the information management device 80, it displays this percentage change.

[0055] The prize management device 60 is a terminal device for prize exchange located next to the prize exchange counter inside the amusement store, and it processes the exchange of acquired balls, stored balls, and held balls for prizes. The prize management device 60 is connected to a card reader that reads the card ID of a card and a prize dispensing device that dispenses prizes. When the prize management device 60 reads a card ID from a general card or a membership card, it transmits the card ID to the management device 50 and requests the balance of balls held for that card ID. Also, when exchanging stored balls for prizes, it requests the balance of stored balls from the management device 50.

[0056] The payment machine 70 is a device for settling the balance of prepaid value associated with a card. When a card with associated prepaid value is inserted into the payment machine 70, it transmits the card ID of the card to the management device 50, retrieves the prepaid value associated with the card, and dispenses cash equivalent to the retrieved prepaid value.

[0057] Next, the ball dispensing process in this gaming system will be explained. When a player performs a ball dispensing operation on the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 sends a message addressed to the local address of the management device 50. This message includes the card ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processing machine 10, an address or arbitrary identification information that identifies the inter-machine card processing machine 10 as the sender, and a ball dispensing request.

[0058] When the management device 50 receives a message containing a request to borrow balls, it updates the card management data by subtracting a predetermined value (for example, 5 units representing 500 yen if 1 unit is 100 yen) from the prepaid value associated with the card ID in the message, and sends a ball lending permission to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 that sent the message. Upon receiving the ball lending permission, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 sends an addition signal to the gaming machine 20 requesting the addition of a number (for example, "125") corresponding to the subtracted prepaid value to the number of balls managed by the gaming machine.

[0059] Upon receiving the addition signal, the gaming machine 20 adds to the number of balls managed by the gaming machine and transmits the added number of balls to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 compares the sum of the number of balls managed by the gaming machine before addition and the number of balls lent with the added number of balls to determine whether the addition of the number of balls managed by the gaming machine was performed correctly.

[0060] Next, the process for replaying held tokens in this gaming system will be explained. When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives the insertion of a general card or a member card, it sends a message to the local address of the management device 50. This message includes the card ID of the card inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10, an address or arbitrary identification information that identifies the sending inter-machine card processing machine 10, information to identify the rate of the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and a card insertion notification.

[0061] When the management device 50 receives a card insertion notification from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it notifies the inter-machine card processing machine 10 of the remaining balance of balls held at the rate specified in the message, from among the balls held that are associated with the card ID in the message.

[0062] The inter-machine card processing machine 10 stores the remaining balance of the player's balls received from the management device 50. It then sends a message to the management device 50 containing information identifying the card ID and rate, as well as a request to deduct the remaining balls. If the management device 50 receives a request to deduct the remaining balls, it clears the remaining balance of the player's balls, identified by the card ID and rate, to zero. Furthermore, if the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a request to replay the remaining balls, it deducts a certain number of balls from the remaining balance, notifies the gaming machine 20 of the corresponding number, and has it added to the gaming machine's ball count.

[0063] When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a management transfer request from the gaming machine 20 to transfer the management of the gaming machine's managed balls to the inter-machine card processing machine 10's ball holdings, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 adds the gaming machine's managed balls indicated in the management transfer request to its own ball holdings. Subsequently, upon receiving a card return operation, it sends a message to the management device 50 including a request to add to the ball holdings. This message includes the card ID of the card to be ejected, an address or arbitrary identification information that identifies the inter-machine card processing machine 10 as the sender, information to identify the rate of the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the balance of the balls held, and the request to add to the ball holdings.

[0064] If the management device 50 receives a request to add to the number of balls held, it updates the balance (number of balls held) of the balls associated with the card ID in the message for the rate specified in the message with the received value. Subsequently, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 sends a card ejection notification to the management device 50 and controls the ejection of the card.

[0065] Next, the process for replaying stored tokens in this gaming system will be explained. When the inter-machine card processing machine 10 receives a member card, it sends a message to the local address of the management device 50. This message includes the card ID of the card inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10, an address or arbitrary identification information that identifies the sending inter-machine card processing machine 10, information to identify the rate of the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and a card insertion notification.

[0066] The management device 50 transmits to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 stored ball replay data, which includes the PIN associated with the card ID in the message and the balance of stored balls at the rate specified in the message.

[0067] The inter-machine card processing machine 10 stores the received stored ball replay data, and if the balance of stored balls indicated in the stored ball replay data is equal to or greater than the number of game balls dispensed in stored ball replay (stored ball replay unit number; for example, "125 balls"), it accepts the stored ball replay operation.

[0068] After storing the stored ball replay data, the inter-machine card processing machine 10, upon receiving the first stored ball replay operation, prompts the player to enter a PIN and verifies whether the entered PIN matches the PIN shown in the stored ball replay data.

[0069] The inter-machine card processing machine 10 sends a message to the local address of the management device 50 when the PIN matches. This message includes the card ID of the card inserted in the inter-machine card processing machine 10, an address or arbitrary identification information that identifies the sending inter-machine card processing machine 10, information to identify the rate of the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and a request for replay of stored tokens.

[0070] The management device 50 subtracts a predetermined amount from the balance of stored balls associated with the card ID in the message, specifically those at the rate specified by the message, and transmits the stored ball replay data, including the remaining balance, to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.

[0071] The inter-machine card processing unit 10 receives stored ball replay data, updates the stored ball balance, and notifies the gaming machine 20 of the number corresponding to the stored ball replay unit, adding it to the gaming machine's managed ball count. It also determines whether the updated stored ball balance is less than the stored ball replay unit. If the updated stored ball data balance is equal to or greater than the stored ball replay unit, it can accept another stored ball replay operation, and if it accepts the stored ball replay operation, it sends a stored ball replay request. For the second and subsequent stored ball replay operations, verification of the PIN is not required. If the updated stored ball data balance is less than the stored ball replay unit, it will not accept a stored ball replay operation.

[0072] Next, we will explain the transfer from held balls to stored balls during the closing process. The management device 50 checks the balance of held balls in the card management data during the closing process, and if there are held balls with a balance greater than "0", it adds the balance of those held balls to the stored ball balance and updates it. After that, the management device 50 clears the balance of those held balls to zero.

[0073] <External configuration of the inter-machine card processing unit 10 and the gaming machine 20> Next, the external configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and gaming machine 20 shown in Figure 2 will be described. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the external configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and gaming machine 20 shown in Figure 2. The diagram shows an inter-machine card processing machine 10 that accepts only banknotes, but a unit that can accept electronic money can also be provided.

[0074] As shown in Figure 3, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is equipped with a status display unit 11 that indicates the status of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 by the illumination or flashing of a lamp of a predetermined color, a banknote slot 12a for accepting various banknotes, a display operation unit 13 such as a touch panel display, and a card slot 14a for accepting cards associated with a card ID.

[0075] The gaming machine 20 is equipped with a game board, a handle 21 used to dispense the enclosed game balls onto the game board, and a counting button 22.

[0076] The counting button 22 is an operation button for transferring the management of the number of playable balls from the gaming machine 20 to the inter-machine card processing machine 10 by subtracting the number of playable balls managed by the gaming machine 20 and adding the corresponding number to the number of playable balls held by the inter-machine card processing machine 10. In the case of an open-type gaming machine 20 where physical playable balls are dispensed upon winning, this management transfer corresponds to the counting process in which the inter-machine card processing machine 10 counts the dispensed playable balls and adds them to its hold.

[0077] <Configuration of the inter-unit card processing machine 10> Next, the configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 shown in Figure 2 will be described. Figure 4 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 4, the inter-machine card processing machine 10 has a banknote transport unit 12, a display operation unit 13, a reader / writer 14, a communication unit 15, a storage unit 16, a control unit 17, and a game management unit 18.

[0078] The banknote transport unit 12 is a transport unit that transports banknotes inserted through the banknote insertion slot 12a to a banknote storage unit (not shown) while determining the denomination and authenticity of the banknotes. The display and operation unit 13 is an input / output device such as a touch panel display that displays various information such as monetary value and accepts various operations such as ball dispensing operations.

[0079] The reader / writer 14 is a reading unit that reads the card ID from the card inserted into the card slot 14a. The card inserted into the card slot 14a is then stored in a card storage unit (not shown) via the reader / writer 14. The communication unit 15 is an interface unit for data communication with the management device 50 via the island controller 30.

[0080] The storage unit 16 is a storage device consisting of a hard disk drive, non-volatile memory, etc. The storage unit 16 stores its own device status data 16a and card data 16b.

[0081] The self-device status data 16a is data indicating the status of the inter-machine card processing machine 10. This self-device status data 16a includes the inter-machine card processing machine ID, gaming machine ID, game type, etc. The inter-machine card processing machine ID is identification information for uniquely identifying the inter-machine card processing machine 10 within the gaming establishment. The game type is data indicating the rate set in the inter-machine card processing machine 10. When handling gaming balls of multiple rates within the gaming establishment, a game type name is set and managed for each rate, such as "Ball 1" for 4-yen rate gaming balls, "Ball 2" for 2-yen rate gaming balls, and "Ball 3" for 1-yen rate gaming balls. The inter-machine card processing machine 10 selects the rate to be used for the game from these game types and stores it as the game type. The game type may be fixed for each section in which the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is installed, or it may be changeable by the player.

[0082] Card data 16b is data relating to the card being used by the player. Card data 16b includes card ID, PIN, prepaid value, balls held, stored balls, etc. The card ID is the card ID read by the reader / writer 14. When a card is transported from a card storage unit (not shown) to the card slot 14a and then ejected, card data 16b is updated with the card ID read by the reader / writer 14 during this transport. Similarly, when a card is transported from the card slot 14a to a card storage unit (not shown), card data 16b is updated with the card ID read by the reader / writer 14 during this transport. Prepaid value indicates the remaining balance of prepaid value usable for ball dispensing, and balls held and stored balls indicate their respective balances.

[0083] The game management unit 18 is a processing unit that performs authentication and communication with the gaming machine 20. It is desirable that this game management unit 18 be formed on a different circuit board from the control unit 17. The game management unit 18 includes an authentication processing unit 18a, an authentication key management unit 18b, and a gaming machine state management unit 18c. In practice, these programs are loaded into the CPU (Central Processing Unit) and executed, causing the authentication processing unit 18a, the authentication key management unit 18b, and the gaming machine state management unit 18c to execute the processes corresponding to them, respectively.

[0084] The authentication processing unit 18a performs authentication of the gaming machine 20 using the authentication key received from the management device 50. If authentication is successful, the authentication processing unit 18a sends permission to operate to the gaming machine 20. If authentication fails, the authentication processing unit 18a prohibits the use of the gaming machine 20. However, even if authentication fails, the system may be configured to send permission to operate to the gaming machine 20 if it is within a predetermined period since the last successful authentication, and not send permission to operate to the gaming machine 20 after the predetermined period has elapsed since the last successful authentication, thereby prohibiting the use of the gaming machine 20.

[0085] The authentication key management unit 18b is a processing unit that manages authentication keys. Each authentication key has a set usage time, and when the cumulative operating time of the gaming machine 20 reaches the usage time of the authentication key, the authentication key becomes unusable. Specifically, the authentication key management unit 18b uses the power-on time of the circuit board on which the gaming management unit 18 is formed as the operating time of the gaming machine 20 and manages the usage time of the authentication key. If an authentication key becomes unusable, the authentication key management unit 18b obtains a new authentication key from an authentication key management center outside the store via the management device 50 and updates the authentication key.

[0086] The gaming machine status management unit 18c is a processing unit that communicates with the gaming machine 20 and manages the status of the gaming machine 20. Specifically, the gaming machine status management unit 18c obtains the gaming machine ID from the gaming machine 20, sends a request to add to the gaming machine's managed ball count by dispensing balls, sends a request to transfer management from the held balls to the gaming machine's managed ball count by replaying held balls, sends a request to add to the gaming machine's managed ball count by replaying stored balls, receives game results such as the number of balls played and the number of balls awarded at the gaming machine 20, and receives a request to transfer management from the gaming machine's managed ball count to the held balls by counting. Communication between the inter-machine card processing unit 10 and the gaming machine 20 uses encrypted communication with a predetermined encryption method.

[0087] Furthermore, the gaming machine state management unit 18c acquires the current state of the gaming machine 20, including the number of balls managed by the gaming machine, the start time, the number of jackpots, the type of jackpot, and the number of draws. It is desirable that the time interval at which the gaming machine state management unit 18c acquires the state of the gaming machine 20 be set shorter than the interval at which gaming balls are launched (used) in the gaming machine 20. Also, once the gaming machine state management unit 18c has acquired the number of balls managed by the gaming machine 20, it hands over the number of balls managed by the gaming machine to the control unit 17.

[0088] Furthermore, the timing for the gaming machine status management unit 18c to acquire a new gaming machine ID from the gaming machine 20 is not limited to before opening. The gaming machine ID can be acquired or the determination of whether to replace the gaming machine 20 can be made when the inter-machine card processing unit 10 is turned on or off, during periodic communication, when processing related to the number of balls managed by the gaming machine (ball dispensing, replay, counting, etc.) is performed, or when the system returns from an offline state. These timings may also be used in combination.

[0089] The control unit 17 is a control unit that performs overall control of the inter-unit card processing machine 10 and has a data management unit 17a. In practice, by loading this program into the CPU and executing it, the process corresponding to the data management unit 17a is executed.

[0090] The data management unit 17a is a processing unit that manages the card data 16b. When a card is inserted, the data management unit 17a sends a card insertion notification to the management device 50, which includes the card ID and the inter-machine card processing machine ID. Furthermore, when the data management unit 17a receives data from the management device 50 that includes the value (at least one of prepaid value, held balls, and stored balls) and the PIN, it updates the card data 16b with the received value and PIN.

[0091] Furthermore, when a banknote is inserted into the banknote slot 12a, the data management unit 17a sends a deposit notification to the management device 50, which includes the amount of the inserted banknote, the card ID, and the inter-machine card processing machine ID.

[0092] Furthermore, when a player performs a ball dispensing operation, the data management unit 17a transmits a ball dispensing request, including the card ID and the inter-machine card processing machine ID, to the management device 50. Upon receiving permission to dispensing balls in response to this request, the data management unit 17a instructs the game management unit 18 to subtract the prepaid value of the card data 16b and add a predetermined number of balls to the game machine management ball count of the game machine 20.

[0093] Furthermore, if the data management unit 17a receives a request to replay the remaining balls, it instructs the game management unit 18 to subtract and update the number of balls in the card data 16b, and to add the corresponding number of balls to the game machine management ball count of the game machine 20.

[0094] Furthermore, if the balance of stored balls shown in the card data 16b is equal to or greater than the number of stored ball replay units, the data management unit 17a displays a stored ball replay button on the display operation unit 13, making it possible to accept a stored ball replay operation. When a player performs a stored ball replay operation, the data management unit 17a transmits a stored ball replay request, including the card ID and the inter-machine card processing machine ID, to the management device 50. Upon receiving stored ball replay data in response to this stored ball replay request, the data management unit 17a updates the balance of stored balls in the card data 16b and instructs the game management unit 18 to add the number of balls corresponding to the number of stored ball replay units to the number of balls managed by the game machine 20. Note that for the first stored ball replay operation, the player is required to enter a PIN, and the condition for transmitting the stored ball replay request is that the PIN matches the one shown in the card data 16b.

[0095] Furthermore, when the game management unit 18 receives a request from the game machine 20 to transfer game balls, the data management unit 17a adds the number of balls instructed by the game management unit 18 to the number of balls held in the card data 16b and updates it.

[0096] Furthermore, when the data management unit 17a receives a card return operation, it sends a request to the management device 50 to add to the remaining balls, including the card ID, the inter-machine card processing machine ID, and the remaining ball balance. After clearing the card data 16b, it sends a card ejection notification to the management device 50 and ejects the card.

[0097] Next, an example of data stored in the storage unit 16 of the inter-unit card processing machine 10 shown in Figure 4 will be described. Figure 5 shows an example of the self-device status data 16a and card data 16b shown in Figure 4.

[0098] The self-device status data 16a shown in Figure 5(a) indicates that the ID of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is "A101", the game machine ID of the connected game machine 20 is "B201", and "Ball 1" is set as the game type for the inter-machine card processing machine 10.

[0099] The card data 16b shown in Figure 5(b) indicates that the ID of the card inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is "2001". Here, the first digit of the card ID indicates the type of card; a card with the first digit "1" is a general card, and a card with the first digit "2" is a membership card. The card data 16b also indicates that the PIN for replaying stored tokens is "1234" and the prepaid value is "3000" units. Here, one unit of prepaid value is equivalent to 100 yen.

[0100] Furthermore, card data 16b indicates the following state: as held balls, Ball 1 has a balance of "1500" balls, Ball 2 has a balance of "2500" balls, and Ball 3 has a balance of "0" balls; as stored balls, Ball 1 has a stored ball balance of "500" balls, Ball 2 has a stored ball balance of "0" balls, and Ball 3 has a stored ball balance of "0" balls.

[0101] <Configuration of the gaming machine 20> Next, the configuration of the gaming machine 20 shown in Figure 2 will be described. Figure 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the gaming machine 20 shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 6, the gaming machine 20 has a communication control unit 23, a performance control unit 24, a game control unit 25, and a game ball control unit 26. The communication control unit 23 is a control unit for controlling data communication with the inter-machine card processing machine 10. Communication with the inter-machine card processing machine 10 uses encrypted communication using a predetermined encryption method.

[0102] When the gaming machine 20 is started, the communication control unit 23 reads identification information from the control CPU provided in the gaming control unit 25 and / or the gaming ball control unit 26, checks whether the identification information is appropriate, and if it is appropriate, establishes communication with the inter-machine card processing unit 10 and enters a standby state. In the standby state, if it receives permission to operate from the inter-machine card processing unit 10, it starts the performance control unit 24, the gaming control unit 25 and the gaming ball control unit 26, making the machine ready for play.

[0103] The game control unit 25 is a control unit that controls the game played by the gaming machine 20. In practice, the process is executed by loading a program corresponding to the game control unit 25 into the CPU and executing it.

[0104] Specifically, the game control unit 25 controls the launch of game balls onto the game board based on handle operation detection, detects game balls that have entered the winning slots on the game board, acquires and draws random numbers (within a predetermined range of 0 to 65535, each number is assigned to a jackpot, a minor win, or a loss) based on game balls that have entered the starting slot (special symbols and regular symbols), controls movable members (such as tulips) on the game board, controls the display of special symbol display devices on the game board, and detects abnormalities that may indicate fraud (such as the front frame being open or vibration being detected) and notifies the higher-level device.

[0105] The game board is fitted with numerous obstacle pins, and when the game ball is launched onto the game board by operating the handle, it falls between the obstacle pins and either enters a prize entry hole or a start hole, or is ejected from the game board through an out hole without entering a prize. If the game ball enters the start hole, a lottery is held, and if a jackpot is won, a jackpot game is played in which the designated prize entry holes on the game board are controlled to open multiple times, making it easier for the game ball to enter these entry holes, and thus awarding prize balls to the player.

[0106] Furthermore, there are jackpot games with bonuses, which grant players a predetermined bonus game after the jackpot game ends. Bonus jackpot games include probability variation jackpots and time-saving jackpots. Probability variation jackpots and time-saving jackpots grant probability variation games and time-saving games as bonus games after the jackpot, respectively. Time-saving games are bonus games that increase the number of draws per unit time and increase the probability of winning a jackpot per unit time by shortening the variation time (time from the start of the draw process to the display of the result) of the normal symbol draw (the draw for opening and closing the movable member described above) and / or special symbol draw (the draw for winning a jackpot by winning the game ball described above). These bonus games may include normal symbol probability variation, which increases the probability of winning a normal symbol. Time-saving games due to time-saving jackpots end when the number of draws for special symbol draws has been performed a predetermined number of times after the jackpot. Probability variation games will be described later.

[0107] The game control unit 25 has a probability variation function. The probability variation function is a function that controls the random number range used for the next draw (generally by about 10 times) when the lottery result falls within a particularly defined random number range for a jackpot. Probability variation game is a special symbol lottery that uses this changed probability. Probability variation game continues until the next jackpot is won. In addition, probability variation game and time-saving game may be added at the same time. However, in order to prevent unforeseen losses to the amusement parlor, if the player acquires a certain amount of game media after the start of probability variation game or time-saving game, the game may be stopped (the card is ejected once, and the player is requested to exchange for a prize or move to another machine). In this case, the number of game media after entering the probability variation game state is counted by the game machine 20, and when this counted value reaches a predetermined value, game stop control is performed, such as stopping the launch of game balls.

[0108] The performance control unit 24 is a control unit that controls the performance during gameplay, and includes a performance symbol lottery unit 24a and a performance lottery unit 24b. In practice, by loading these programs into the CPU and executing them, the performance symbol lottery unit 24a and the performance lottery unit 24b are made to execute the processes corresponding to them, respectively.

[0109] The performance symbol lottery unit 24a performs a lottery for performance symbols (symbols to be displayed on the performance symbol display device, such as a display device on the game board) based on the special symbol lottery in the game control unit 25 (specifically, whether to stop the display at 7, 7, 7, etc.).

[0110] The performance lottery unit 24b performs a lottery to determine the type of performance to be performed before displaying the lottery result based on the performance symbols (such as a character appearing and a reach performance). The performances selected are set to differ depending on the main lottery result.

[0111] The performance control unit 24 stores performance data for each performance. Furthermore, the performance control unit 24 controls the display of the performance symbol display device, and when a performance is executed, it overlays the performance data on the background symbol data to display the performance. In addition, during probability fluctuations, it sets background color data different from the normal state.

[0112] The game ball control unit 26 is a control unit that controls the number of game balls managed by the game machine. In practice, the process is executed by loading a program corresponding to the game ball control unit 26 into the CPU and executing it. The game ball count management unit 26a is a management unit that manages the number of game balls, i.e., the number of game balls managed by the game machine.

[0113] Specifically, the game ball control unit 26 stores the number of game balls managed by the game machine in the game ball count memory, deducts "1" from the game machine's managed game ball count each time a game ball is launched, and adds the number of prize balls obtained through winning to the game machine's managed game ball count. In addition, when the number of balls is notified by the inter-machine card processing unit 10, the notified number of balls is added to the game machine's managed game ball count and a confirmation signal is sent to the inter-machine card processing unit 10 indicating that the number of balls has been added to the game machine's managed game ball count. Furthermore, the game ball control unit 26 can also perform cleaning control of the game balls (circulating balls) sealed in the game machine 20.

[0114] Furthermore, the game ball control unit 26 periodically transmits the number of game balls managed by the game machine, stored in the game ball memory, to the inter-machine card processing unit 10. In this case, the game ball control unit 26 transmits the number of game balls managed by the game machine at the time of data acquisition to the inter-machine card processing unit 10 while continuing to update the number of game balls managed by the game machine according to the game state, without resetting the contents of the game ball memory to zero.

[0115] Furthermore, the gaming machine 20 is equipped with a counting button 22, and a signal indicating that this counting button 22 has been pressed is input to the game ball control unit 26. The game ball control unit 26 detects the pressing operation of the counting button 22, and if the time from the rising edge to the falling edge of the detection signal is less than a certain period of time, it sends a management transfer request to the inter-machine card processing unit 10 along with data on the number of game balls managed by the gaming machine in fixed increments (for example, 100 balls per operation). The number of balls that have been transferred to the management of the inter-machine card processing unit 10 is then subtracted (invalidated) from the number of game balls managed by the gaming machine. In addition, if the pressing operation of the counting button 22 is detected and no falling edge is detected for a predetermined time or longer after the detection signal rises, a management transfer request is sent to the inter-machine card processing unit 10 along with data on the number of game balls managed by the gaming machine in fixed increments (for example, 200 balls every 5 seconds) each time the detection signal remains in a rising state for a certain period of time. Then, the number of balls that have been transferred to the management of the inter-machine card processing machine 10 is subtracted (invalidated) from the number of balls managed by the gaming machine. When subtracting from the number of balls managed by the gaming machine, methods such as decrementing the value to be subtracted from a value of 1 stored in memory, or updating the value stored in memory with the value after subtraction and deleting or logically deleting the value before subtraction to invalidate it can be considered, but there is no particular limitation as long as the value after subtraction is in a state where it can be identified.

[0116] The game control unit 25 and the game ball control unit 26 are each configured on separate circuit boards. The game control board on which the game control unit 25 is configured and the game ball control board on which the game ball control unit 26 is configured each have a unique ID. The gaming machine 20 combines the ID of the game control board and the ID of the game ball control board and uses them as the gaming machine ID.

[0117] <Configuration of the control device 50> Next, the configuration of the management device 50 shown in Figure 2 will be described. Figure 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the management device 50 shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 7, the management device 50 is connected to a display unit 51 and an input unit 52, and has an external network communication unit 53, a store network communication unit 54, a storage unit 55, and a control unit 56.

[0118] The display unit 51 is a display device such as an LCD panel or a display device. The input unit 52 is an input device such as a keyboard or mouse. The external network communication unit 53 is an interface unit for data communication with the information management device 80 and an authentication key management center (not shown) via an external network. The store network communication unit 54 is an interface unit for data communication with the island controller 30, prize management device 60 and settlement machine 70 within the gaming store via a communication line.

[0119] The storage unit 55 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or non-volatile memory, and stores card management data 55a, device management data 55b, member management data 55c, and operation data 55d.

[0120] Card management data 55a is data that associates the card ID with the balance of prepaid value, the balance of held tokens, etc. Device management data 55b is data related to the devices installed in the amusement parlor. This device management data 55b includes the inter-machine card processing machine ID, installation location, game machine number, game machine ID, and game machine model data 20, etc.

[0121] Member management data 55c is data that associates the card ID of the membership card issued to the member with the member's name, stored tokens, etc. Operation data 55d is data that shows the operation history of the gaming machine 20.

[0122] The control unit 56 is a control unit that performs overall control of the management device 50 and includes a card management unit 56a, an equipment management unit 56b, a member management unit 56c, and an operational data management unit 56d. In practice, by loading these programs into the CPU and executing them, the card management unit 56a, the equipment management unit 56b, the member management unit 56c, and the operational data management unit 56d are made to execute the processes corresponding to them.

[0123] The card management unit 56a is a processing unit that manages the card management data 55a. The card management unit 56a communicates with the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the prize management device 60, and the settlement machine 70 to update the prepaid value and balance of tokens associated with the card ID. In addition, when the card management unit 56a receives a card insertion notification from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it notifies the card management unit 56a of the value and balance of tokens associated with the card.

[0124] The device management unit 56b is a processing unit that manages the device management data 55b. Based on the inter-machine card processing unit ID, installation location, and gaming machine ID obtained from the inter-machine card processing unit 10, the device management unit 56b generates and updates the device management data 55b. After updating the device management data 55b, it adds the store ID to the device management data 55b and transmits it to the information management device 80.

[0125] The member management unit 56c is a processing unit that manages the member management data 55c. When the member management unit 56c receives information about a member from the input unit 52, it stores this information in the member management data 55c. The member management unit 56c communicates with the inter-machine card processing machine 10 and the prize management device 60 to update the balance of stored tokens associated with the card ID.

[0126] Here, the processing of stored balls for replay by the member management unit 56c will be explained. When the member management unit 56c receives stored ball replay request data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it deducts the amount of stored balls associated with the card ID in the stored ball replay request data that matches the payout rate, and recalculates the number of available stored balls for replay. Then, it transmits stored ball replay data, including the balance after the deduction and the number of available stored balls for replay, to the inter-machine card processing machine 10.

[0127] The operational data management unit 56d is a processing unit that manages the operational data 55d. When the operational data management unit 56d receives special prize data for the gaming machine 20 from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, it stores the time, gaming machine ID, and operational category (jackpot or probability variation) in the operational data 55d.

[0128] Furthermore, after receiving special prize data from the inter-machine card processing machine 10, the operational data management unit 56d determines the end of the special prize state of the gaming machine 20 based on the reception status of the out data and safe data. If it determines that the special prize state has ended, it then accumulates the number of balls corresponding to the out data and safe data received after this determination.

[0129] Furthermore, if the operational data management unit 56d receives special prize data from the inter-machine card processing unit 10, it stores the number of balls in the out data and safe data accumulated after the most recent special prize state termination determination in the operational data 55d, associating it with this special prize data.

[0130] Furthermore, if the operational data management unit 56d receives special prize data from the inter-machine card processing unit 10, it accumulates the number of balls corresponding to the out data and safe data received after the special prize data is received. Then, if it determines that the special prize state has ended, it stores the accumulated number of balls for the out data and safe data in the operational data 55d, associating them with the special prize data related to the determination of the end of the special prize state.

[0131] Furthermore, the operational data management unit 56d transmits operational data 55d to the information management device 80 at a predetermined time (for example, when closing procedures begin).

[0132] Next, an example of data stored in the storage unit 55 of the management device 50 shown in Figure 7 will be described. Figures 8 and 9 show examples of card management data 55a, device management data 55b, member management data 55c, and operation data 55d shown in Figure 7.

[0133] The card management data 55a shown in Figure 8(a) associates card ID "1001" with a prepaid value of "0", a balance of "0" balls for each rate, and a usage ID of "A101". In other words, the card with card ID "1001" is inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10 with device ID "A101", and the management of the balls held has been transferred to the inter-machine card processing machine 10. Therefore, the balance of balls held for each rate is zero.

[0134] Furthermore, the card management data 55a associates card ID "2001" with a prepaid value of "300" units, and the balance of balls held is as follows: ball 1 has a balance of "1500" balls, ball 2 has a balance of "2500" balls, and ball 3 has a balance of "0" balls. However, the destination ID is not associated. In other words, the card with card ID "2001" is not inserted into the inter-machine card processing machine 10, and the management of balls is handled by the management device 50.

[0135] The device management data 55b shown in Figure 8(b) associates the inter-machine card processing machine 10 with ID "A101" with the following conditions: its installation location is "Island 1-1", its game machine number is "11", the ID of the connected game machine 20 is "B201", the game type is "Ball 1", the model of game machine 20 is "EV01", the model type is "Middle", and the serial number is "a". It also indicates that this game machine 20 is in use.

[0136] Furthermore, the device management data 55b associates the inter-machine card processing machine 10 with ID "A201" with the following conditions: its installation location is "Island 2-1", its gaming machine number is "21", the ID of the connected gaming machine 20 is "B506", the game type is "Tama 3", the model of gaming machine 20 is "DX03", the model type is "Light", and the serial number is "g". It also indicates that this gaming machine 20 is in use.

[0137] The member management data 55c shown in Figure 8(c) associates card ID "2005" with the following conditions: the name is "Taro Toka", the balance of stored balls in "Ball 1" is "1500", the balance of stored balls in "Ball 2" is "200", and the balance of stored balls in "Ball 3" is "0".

[0138] The operational data 55d shown in Figure 9 associates the date and time "2025 / 01 / 20 11:10:14" with the following conditions: the game machine ID is "B201", the operational category is "jackpot", the number of balls output until the jackpot is "50", the number of balls safe until the jackpot is "10", the number of balls output during the jackpot is "40", and the number of balls safe during the jackpot is "320".

[0139] Furthermore, operational data 55d associates the date and time "2025 / 01 / 20 11:10:30" with the following conditions: the game machine ID is "B201", the operational category is "probability variation", the number of balls output until a jackpot is "60", the number of balls safe until a jackpot is "60", the number of balls output during the jackpot is "40", and the number of balls safe during the jackpot is "310".

[0140] Furthermore, operational data 55d associates the date and time "2025 / 01 / 20 11:11:45" with the following conditions: the game machine ID is "B201", the operational category is "probability variation", the number of balls output until a jackpot is "90", the number of balls safe until a jackpot is "90", the number of balls output during the jackpot is "100", and the number of balls safe during the jackpot is "1500".

[0141] Furthermore, operational data 55d associates the date and time "2025 / 01 / 20 15:10:30" with the following conditions: the game machine ID is "B201", the operational category is "jackpot", the number of balls output before the jackpot is "1400", the number of balls safe before the jackpot is "240", the number of balls output during the jackpot is "70", and the number of balls safe during the jackpot is "360".

[0142] Furthermore, operational data 55d associates the date and time "2025 / 01 / 20 15:11:30" with the following conditions: the game machine ID is "B201", the operational category is "probability variation", the number of balls output until a jackpot is "50", the number of balls safe until a jackpot is "50", the number of balls output during the jackpot is "60", and the number of balls safe during the jackpot is "330".

[0143] <Configuration of Information Management Device 80> Next, the configuration of the information management device 80 shown in Figure 2 will be described. Figure 10 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the information management device 80 shown in Figure 2. As shown in Figure 10, the information management device 80 is connected to a display unit 81 and an input unit 82, and has a communication unit 84, a storage unit 85, and a control unit 86.

[0144] The display unit 81 is a display device such as an LCD panel or a display device. The input unit 82 is an input device such as a keyboard or mouse. The communication unit 84 is an interface unit for data communication with the management device 50 and the mobile terminal 90 via an external network.

[0145] The memory unit 85 is a storage device such as a hard disk drive or non-volatile memory, and stores device management data 85a, member management data 85b, operation data 85c, slump data 85d, prediction source slump data 85e, similarity extraction threshold data 85f, difference ball fluctuation threshold data 85g, and difference ball fluctuation data 85h.

[0146] Device management data 85a is data showing information about gaming machines installed in each amusement parlor. Member management data 85b is data showing information about members of the Slump Watcher service. Operation data 85c is data showing the operation data of each amusement parlor in chronological order.

[0147] Slump data 85d is data that shows the result of slump conversion of operational data 85c at a predetermined time (for example, at the start of closing procedures). Prediction source slump data 85e is data that shows the result of slump conversion of data related to the machine to be predicted in operational data 85c at the time the prediction request is received from the mobile terminal 90.

[0148] The similarity extraction threshold data 85f is data that indicates the threshold used when extracting data similar to the prediction source slump data 85e from the slump data 85d. The difference ball fluctuation threshold data 85g is data that indicates the threshold used when determining the difference ball fluctuation category, and is divided into "Middle, Light Middle" and "Light, Sweet Digital, Other". The difference ball fluctuation data 85h is data that shows the proportion of each difference ball fluctuation category in the prediction of the difference balls of the target machine. The difference ball fluctuation data 85h includes the number of machines and the proportion of each difference ball fluctuation category.

[0149] The control unit 86 is a control unit that performs overall control of the information management device 80, and includes a device management unit 86a, a member management unit 86b, an operation data management unit 86c, a slump conversion unit 86d, a prediction reception unit 86e, a similarity determination unit 86f, a ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g, and a notification unit 86h. In practice, by loading these programs into the CPU and executing them, the processes corresponding to the device management unit 86a, the member management unit 86b, the operation data management unit 86c, the slump conversion unit 86d, the prediction reception unit 86e, the similarity determination unit 86f, the ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g, and the notification unit 86h are executed, respectively.

[0150] The device management unit 86a is a processing unit that manages the device management data 85a. When the device management unit 86a receives device management data from the management device 50, it stores the received data in the device management data 85a.

[0151] The member management unit 86b is a processing unit that manages the member management data 85b. When the member management unit 86b receives member management data from the mobile terminal 90, it stores the received data in the member management data 85b.

[0152] The operational data management unit 86c is a processing unit that manages the operational data 85c. When the operational data management unit 86c receives operational data from the management device 50, it stores the received data in the operational data 85c.

[0153] The slump conversion unit 86d is a processing unit that performs slump conversion on the operational data 85c and manages the slump data 85d. The slump conversion unit 86d performs slump conversion on each piece of operational data 85c at a predetermined time each day (for example, at the start of closing processing) and stores the result in the slump data 85d.

[0154] Now, let's explain slump conversion. In slump conversion, the following process is performed for each gaming machine in each store using the operational data 85c. For each gaming machine stored in the device management data 85a, data related to this gaming machine (for example, store ID "ABC123" and gaming machine ID "B506") is extracted from the operational data 85c, and the 26th special prize (jackpot) is identified by working backward from the most recent data.

[0155] The point at which the jackpot triggered by the specified special prize ends is used as the starting point (hereinafter referred to as the "slump conversion starting point"), and using the data from this slump conversion starting point onward, the difference in the number of balls and the number of balls out are calculated from the end of the jackpot to the next special prize (jackpot), and from this special prize (jackpot) to the end of that jackpot.

[0156] For each wave, the difference in the number of balls at the time of the special prize (jackpot) (hereinafter referred to as the "lower limit difference in balls") and the difference in the number of balls at the end of this jackpot (hereinafter referred to as the "upper limit difference in balls") are calculated. This process is performed for waves 1 through 10 from the slump conversion starting point, and the lower limit difference in balls and the upper limit difference in balls for each wave are stored in the slump data 85d.

[0157] Furthermore, using the end of wave 10 as a starting point, the system identifies the point at which the cumulative value of the number of balls output since this starting point exceeds a predetermined number (for example, 15,000 balls), and calculates the difference in balls from the starting point to the identified point. The calculated difference in balls is then stored as the difference in balls in the slump data 85d.

[0158] Furthermore, the machine data and machine type corresponding to the gaming machine ID are identified from the device management data 85a and stored in the slump data 85d.

[0159] The prediction reception unit 86e is a processing unit that receives prediction requests and manages the prediction source slump data 85e. When the prediction reception unit 86e receives a prediction request from the mobile terminal 90, it uses the store ID and game machine number included in the prediction request to identify the game machine ID from the device management data 85a.

[0160] Furthermore, the prediction reception unit 86e extracts data related to the store ID and identified gaming machine ID included in the prediction request from the operational data 85c, and identifies the 11th special prize (jackpot) by working backward from the most recent data. Starting from the point when the jackpot caused by the identified special prize (jackpot) ends, it performs slump conversion from wave 1 to wave 10 from this starting point, and stores the resulting lower limit difference in balls and upper limit difference in balls in the prediction source slump data 85e. At this time, the machine data and machine type corresponding to the gaming machine ID are identified from the device management data 85a and stored in the prediction source slump data 85e.

[0161] The similarity determination unit 86f is a processing unit that determines the similarity between the data in the slump data 85d and the source slump data 85e. If the source slump data 85e is updated by the prediction reception unit 86e, the similarity determination unit 86f extracts data from the slump data 85d that corresponds to the machine data of the source slump data 85e. The unit then performs a similarity determination using the source slump data 85e and the lower limit and upper limit of the difference in balls for each wave from wave 1 to wave 10 of the extracted data. If it determines that they are similar, it passes the machine type and the difference in balls of the extracted data to the ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g.

[0162] In the similarity determination process, similarity is determined if the sum of the Euclidean distances between the predicted slump data 85e and the extracted data at the lower and upper limits of the difference in ball count is less than or equal to the similarity extraction threshold data 85f. Details of this similarity determination process will be described later.

[0163] Furthermore, in the process of extracting data corresponding to the machine data of the prediction source slump data 85e from the slump data 85d, if there is no more data corresponding to this machine data, the similarity determination unit 86f passes an extraction completion notification to the difference in ball fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g.

[0164] The ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g is a processing unit that calculates the ball difference fluctuation ratio and manages the ball difference fluctuation data 85h. When the ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g receives the machine type and the number of fluctuating ball differences from the similarity determination unit 86f, it identifies a threshold corresponding to this machine type from the ball difference fluctuation threshold data 85g, and determines the ball difference fluctuation category of the fluctuating ball differences based on this identified threshold. Then, it adds 1 to the number of machines in the ball difference fluctuation data 85h corresponding to the determined ball difference fluctuation category and updates it.

[0165] Furthermore, when the ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g receives an extraction completion notification from the similarity determination unit 86f, it calculates the ratio for each ball difference fluctuation category from the total number of machines in the ball difference fluctuation data 85h and stores it. Then, it sends a calculation completion notification to the notification unit 86h.

[0166] Furthermore, if the ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g receives a transmission completion notification from the notification unit 86h, it will clear and update the ball difference fluctuation data 85h to zero.

[0167] The notification unit 86h is a processing unit that transmits the ball difference fluctuation data 85h. When the notification unit 86h receives a calculation completion notification from the ball difference fluctuation ratio calculation unit 86g, it transmits the ball difference fluctuation data 85h to the mobile terminal 90 that received the prediction request.

[0168] Furthermore, once the notification unit 86h has completed the transmission process of the ball difference data 85h, it sends a transmission completion notification to the ball difference ratio calculation unit 86g.

[0169] Next, an example of data stored in the storage unit 85 of the information management device 80 shown in Figure 10 will be described. Figures 11 to 13 show an example of the device management data 85a, member management data 85b, operation data 85c, slump data 85d, prediction source slump data 85e, similarity extraction threshold data 85f, difference ball fluctuation threshold data 85g, and difference ball fluctuation data 85h shown in Figure 10.

[0170] The device management data 85a shown in Figure 11(a) associates the store ID "ABC123" and game machine number "11" with the state where the game machine ID is "B201", the model data is "EV01", and the model type is "Middle", and associates the store ID "ABC123" and game machine number "21" with the state where the game machine ID is "B506", the model data is "DX03", and the model type is "Light".

[0171] The member management data 85b shown in Figure 11(b) associates the member ID "SK001" with the status that the member's name is "Taro Patent," and associates the member ID "SK002" with the status that the member's name is "Hanako Development."

[0172] The operational data 85c shown in Figure 11(c) associates the store ID "ABC123" and the date and time "2025 / 01 / 20 11:10:14" with the following conditions: the game machine ID is "B201", the operational category is "jackpot", the number of balls output until the jackpot is "50", the number of balls safe until the jackpot is "10", the number of balls output during the jackpot is "40", and the number of balls safe during the jackpot is "320".

[0173] Furthermore, operational data 85c associates store ID "ABC123" and date / time "2025 / 01 / 20 11:10:30" with the following conditions: game machine ID "B201", operation type "probability change", number of balls output until a jackpot "60", number of balls safe until a jackpot "60", number of balls output during a jackpot "40", and number of balls safe during a jackpot "310".

[0174] Furthermore, operational data 85c associates store ID "ABC123" and date / time "2025 / 01 / 20 11:11:45" with the following conditions: game machine ID "B201", operation type "probability change", number of balls output until a jackpot of "90", number of balls safe until a jackpot of "90", number of balls output during a jackpot of "100", and number of balls safe during a jackpot of "1500".

[0175] Furthermore, operational data 85c associates store ID "ABC123" and date / time "2025 / 01 / 20 15:10:30" with the following conditions: game machine ID "B201", operation category "jackpot", payout until jackpot "1400" balls, safe until jackpot "240" balls, payout during jackpot "70" balls, and safe during jackpot "360" balls.

[0176] Furthermore, operational data 85c associates store ID "ABC123" and date / time "2025 / 01 / 20 15:11:30" with the following conditions: game machine ID "B201", operation type "probability change", number of balls output until a jackpot "50", number of balls safe until a jackpot "50", number of balls output during a jackpot "60", and number of balls safe during a jackpot "330".

[0177] The slump data 85d shown in Figure 12(a) corresponds to the machine data "EV01" and machine type "Middle" as follows: Wave 1 has a lower limit of "-1100" balls and an upper limit of "200" balls; Wave 2 has a lower limit of "-2100" balls and an upper limit of "1300" balls; Wave 10 has a lower limit of "100" balls and an upper limit of "2400" balls; and the difference in the number of balls is "6500".

[0178] Furthermore, slump data 85d associates the machine data "DX03" and machine type "Light" with the following conditions: the lower limit of wave 1 is "-400" balls and the upper limit is "-100" balls; the lower limit of wave 2 is "-600" balls and the upper limit is "200" balls; the lower limit of wave 10 is "-800" balls and the upper limit is "-300" balls; and the difference in the number of balls is "-2800".

[0179] Furthermore, slump data 85d associates the machine data "HZ09" and machine type "Amadeji" with a state where the lower limit of wave 1 is "-300" balls and the upper limit is "100" balls, the lower limit of wave 2 is "-400" balls and the upper limit is "300" balls, the lower limit of wave 10 is "-200" balls and the upper limit is "500" balls, and the difference in the number of balls is "1200".

[0180] The prediction source slump data 85e shown in Figure 12(b) associates the store ID "ABC123" and the gaming machine ID "B201" with the following conditions: the machine data is "EV01", the machine type is "Middle", the lower limit of wave 1 is "-800" balls and the upper limit is "100" balls, the lower limit of wave 2 is "-1900" balls and the upper limit is "1200" balls, and the lower limit of wave 10 is "500" balls and the upper limit is "2800" balls.

[0181] The similarity extraction threshold data 85f shown in Figure 13(a) represents a state where the similarity extraction threshold is "20000".

[0182] The ball difference fluctuation threshold data 85g shown in Figure 13(b) associates the machine type "Middle / Light Middle" with states where the threshold for increase is "5000 balls or more", the threshold for flatness is "-4999 balls to 4999 balls", and the threshold for decrease is "-5000 balls or less".

[0183] Furthermore, the 85g ball difference fluctuation threshold data associates the following states with the machine type "Light / Sweet Digital / Other": an upward threshold of "2500 balls or more," a flat threshold of "-2499 balls to 2499 balls," and a downward threshold of "-2500 balls or less."

[0184] Note that the threshold values ​​for the 85g ball difference fluctuation threshold data are not fixed and can be changed. For example, the same thresholds may be used regardless of the machine type. Specifically, for the machine type "Middle / Light Middle," the threshold for increase may be "2500 balls or more," the threshold for flatness may be "-2499 balls to 2499 balls," and the threshold for decrease may be "-2500 balls or less."

[0185] The net payout fluctuation data 85h shown in Figure 13(c) associates the net payout fluctuation category "increase" with a state where there are "10" machines and a percentage of "20%", the net payout fluctuation category "flat" with a state where there are "18" machines and a percentage of "36%", and the net payout fluctuation category "decrease / increase" with a state where there are "22" machines and a percentage of "44%".

[0186] <Procedure for determining similarity> Next, the procedure for similarity determination will be explained. As described above, the information management device 80 determines the similarity of the data extracted from the prediction source slump data 85e and the slump data 85d by summing the Euclidean distances between them at the lower limit or upper limit of the difference in the number of balls for each wave.

[0187] Euclidean distance is the distance between two points on a coordinate system, and these two points are P(x1, x2, ..., x n ) and Q(y1,y2,···,y n If we assume this, it can be expressed by the following formula.

number

[0188] In the similarity determination in the information management device 80, the Euclidean distance between the lower limit and upper limit of the difference in ball count for each wave from wave 1 to wave 10 is calculated using (Equation 1). For example, using the data corresponding to the machine data "EV01" in the prediction source slump data 85e and slump data 85d shown in Figure 12, the Euclidean distance is calculated as follows.

[0189] Furthermore, the data from the prediction source slump data 85e will be denoted as point P, and the data from the slump data 85d will be denoted as point Q. The lower limit and upper limit of the difference in ball count for each wave will be numbered "1, 2, ..., 20" in chronological order, and these will be represented as subscripts for x and y. Specifically, P(x1, x2, ..., x n ) is (-800, 100, ..., 2800), and Q(y1, y2, ..., y n ) is (-1100, 200, ..., 2400).

[0190] The Euclidean distance between points P and Q is:

number

[0191] <An example of display on mobile device 90> Next, an example of a display on the mobile terminal 90 will be described. Figure 14 is a diagram showing an example of a display on the mobile terminal 90.

[0192] As shown in Figure 14(a), the mobile terminal 90 displays the game status of a specified gaming machine 20 by specifying the store name and the gaming machine number. For example, it displays the data for machine number 222 at the store name "Parlor XYZ," showing that the number of big wins is 6, the number of probability variation rounds is 2, and the maximum continuation is 3.

[0193] Pressing the "Slump Watcher" button on the screen shown in Figure 14(a) displays the Slump Watcher screen shown in Figure 14(b). Specifically, the slump graph up to the present and the predicted change in the number of winning balls in the future are displayed in graph form. For example, the predicted change may show a state where the percentage of increase is "20%", the percentage of flat is "36%", and the percentage of decrease is "44%".

[0194] <Processing procedure for calculating the percentage of change in net winnings> Next, we will explain the processing procedure for calculating the percentage change in the number of balls. Figure 15 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure for calculating the percentage change in the number of balls.

[0195] As shown in Figure 15, if the information management device 80 receives a prediction request from the mobile terminal 90 (step S101: Yes), it extracts data related to the target machine from the operation data 85c and performs slump conversion from wave 1 to wave 10 (step S102).

[0196] Data similar to the slump-transformed data is extracted from the slump data 85d (step S103). In this process, similarity is determined by calculating the Euclidean distance using the lower limit and upper limit of the difference in ball count for each wave from wave 1 to wave 10 of the data in the slump data 85d, as well as the slump-transformed data.

[0197] The ball difference fluctuation category in the extracted data, which is considered similar, is identified using the ball difference fluctuation threshold data 85g, and the ball difference fluctuation ratio for all extracted data is calculated (step S104). The calculated ball difference fluctuation ratio is then notified to the mobile terminal 90 (step S105), and the process ends.

[0198] <An example of hardware configuration for information management device 80> Next, we will explain the correspondence between the main hardware configuration of the information management device 80 and the computer. Figure 16 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration related to the information management device 80.

[0199] Generally, a computer consists of components such as a CPU 101, ROM 102, RAM 103, and non-volatile memory 104, connected by a bus 105. A hard disk drive may be provided instead of the non-volatile memory 104. For the sake of clarity, only the basic hardware configuration is shown.

[0200] Here, the ROM 102 or non-volatile memory 104 stores programs necessary for starting the operating system (hereinafter simply referred to as "OS"), and the CPU 101 reads and executes the OS program from the ROM 102 or non-volatile memory 104 when the power is turned on.

[0201] On the other hand, various application programs executed on the OS are stored in non-volatile memory 104, and the CPU 101 executes the application programs using RAM 103 as main memory, thereby executing the processes corresponding to the applications.

[0202] The ball difference rate calculation program for the information management device 80 is also stored in non-volatile memory 104, etc., just like other application programs, and the CPU 101 loads and executes this program. In the case of the information management device 80, the ball difference rate calculation program, which includes routines corresponding to the device management unit 86a, member management unit 86b, operation data management unit 86c, slump conversion unit 86d, prediction reception unit 86e, similarity determination unit 86f, ball difference rate calculation unit 86g, and notification unit 86h shown in Figure 10, is stored in non-volatile memory 104, etc. When the ball difference rate calculation program is loaded and executed by the CPU 101, the ball difference rate calculation process corresponding to the device management unit 86a, member management unit 86b, operation data management unit 86c, slump conversion unit 86d, prediction reception unit 86e, similarity determination unit 86f, ball difference rate calculation unit 86g, and notification unit 86h is generated.

[0203] As described above, this gaming system acquires operational data from gaming machines in a gaming parlor, converts each piece of data into slump data, and stores it. Then, it extracts data from the slump data that is similar to the operational data of the target gaming machine, and uses this extracted data to calculate the percentage of change in the number of tokens won. This configuration allows the system to provide information that can help customers decide whether or not to play a game on a gaming machine.

[0204] In the above embodiment, the present invention was described in relation to a smart pachinko machine that uses game balls as the game medium. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be configured to be applied to a type A smart pachislot machine. For example, in a type A smart pachislot machine, there is a setting in which wins continue for up to 100 times after a BIG or REG win. By considering this continuous state as a wave, the present invention can also be applied. The game machine is not limited to smart pachinko or smart pachislot machines; it may also be a game machine capable of dispensing game mediums to the outside.

[0205] Furthermore, while the above embodiment describes a configuration in which the percentage change in balls is calculated using all data determined to be similar based on the similarity determination between the predicted slump data and the slump data, the present invention is not limited thereto. If the data determined to be similar reaches a predetermined upper limit (for example, 50 data), the system can also be configured to calculate the percentage change in balls using the number of data corresponding to that upper limit.

[0206] Furthermore, the configurations illustrated in the above embodiments are functionally schematic and do not necessarily have to be physically represented as shown. In other words, the form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to those shown, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit according to various loads and usage conditions. [Industrial applicability]

[0207] The gaming system, information management device, terminal device, and gaming information provision method according to the present invention are suitable for presenting information that serves as a basis for a player to decide whether or not to play a game on a gaming machine. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0208] 10-unit card processing machine 11 Status display section 12. Banknote transport section 12a Banknote slot 13 Display operation section 14 Reader / Writer 14a Card slot 15 Communications Department 16 Memory section 16a Device status data 16b Card Data 17 Control Unit 17a Data Management Department 18 Gaming Management Department 18a Authentication Processing Unit 18b Authentication Key Management Department 18c Gaming Machine Status Management Department 20 Gaming machines 21 Handle 22 Counting buttons 23 Communication Control Unit 24 Production Control Unit 24a Performance Symbol Lottery Section 24b Production Lottery Department 25 Game Control Unit 26. Game Ball Control Unit 26a Game Ball Count Management Department 30 Island Controllers 50 Management device 51 Display section 52 Input section 53 External Network Communication Unit 54 Store Network Communications Department 55 Storage section 55a Card Management Data 55b Device Management Data 55c Member Management Data 55d Operational Data 56 Control Unit 56a Card Management Department 56b Equipment management department 56c Membership Management Department 56d Operational Data Management Department 60 Prize Management Device 70 Payment machine 80 Information management device 81 Display section 82 Input section 84 Communications Department 85 Storage section 85a Device Management Data 85b Member Management Data 85c Operating Data 85d Slump Data 85e Prediction source slump data 85f Similarity Extraction Threshold Data 85g Ball Difference Fluctuation Threshold Data 85h Ball Difference Fluctuation Data 86 Control Unit 86a Equipment management department 86b Membership Management Department 86c Operation Data Management Department 86d Slump Conversion Unit 86e Prediction Reception Department 86f Similarity judgment part 86g Ball Difference Fluctuation Ratio Calculation Unit 86h Notification section 90 Mobile devices 101 CPU 102 ROM 103 RAM 104 Non-volatile memory 105 Bus

Claims

1. A gaming system comprising an in-store management device installed in a gaming parlor to manage gaming machine information related to gaming machines, and an information management device capable of communicating with terminal devices held by gaming customers, The aforementioned information management device is A storage means for storing multiple slump information, with a predetermined number of consecutive waves on the horizontal axis and the number of game tokens acquired in each wave on the vertical axis, where one wave is defined as the period from the start of gameplay or the end of a jackpot until the end of the increase in the number of acquired game tokens. If a prediction request for a target gaming machine is received from the terminal device, the generation means generates target slump information for the target gaming machine, A calculation means that calculates the rate of change in the number of game tokens acquired after a prediction request, based on the target slump information of the game machine to be predicted and the plurality of slump information stored in the storage means, Notification means for notifying the terminal device of the percentage change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request for the target game machine, calculated by the calculation means, A gaming system characterized by having the following features.

2. The aforementioned information management device is A jackpot information storage means for storing past jackpot information for multiple gaming machines installed in the aforementioned gaming parlor, A conversion means that converts past jackpot information for each gaming machine stored in the jackpot information storage means into slump information. The gaming system according to claim 1, further comprising the features described above.

3. The calculation means is The gaming system according to claim 1, characterized in that, from among the plurality of slump information stored in the storage means, a plurality of slump information is selected such that the sum of the distances for each wave between it and the target slump information is within a predetermined threshold, and the rate of change in the number of game media acquired by the target gaming machine after the prediction request is calculated based on the change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request is made for the selected plurality of slump information.

4. The calculation means is The gaming system according to claim 2, characterized in that it calculates the percentage change in the number of acquired gaming media after the prediction request for the target gaming machine, based on the change in the number of acquired gaming media from the time after the prediction request for a set of selected slump information until a predetermined time.

5. The aforementioned terminal device is The gaming system according to claim 1, characterized in that, if the information management device receives the percentage change in the number of acquired gaming media after the prediction request for the target gaming machine, it displays the percentage change in the number of acquired gaming media on a predetermined display unit.

6. An in-store management device installed in a gaming parlor to manage gaming machine information related to gaming machines, and an information management device that can communicate with terminal devices held by gaming customers, A storage means for storing multiple slump information, with a predetermined number of consecutive waves on the horizontal axis and the number of game tokens acquired in each wave on the vertical axis, where one wave is defined as the period from the start of gameplay or the end of a jackpot until the end of the increase in the number of acquired game tokens. If a prediction request for a target gaming machine is received from the terminal device, the generation means generates target slump information for the target gaming machine, A calculation means that calculates the rate of change in the number of game tokens acquired after a prediction request, based on the target slump information of the game machine to be predicted and the plurality of slump information stored in the storage means, Notification means for notifying the terminal device of the percentage change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request for the target game machine, calculated by the calculation means, An information management device characterized by being equipped with the following features.

7. A terminal device that communicates with an information management device that is connected to an in-store management device installed in a gaming parlor and manages gaming machine information related to gaming machines, A prediction request means for making a prediction request to the information management device for the number of game media acquired in the target game machine, A receiving means that receives the percentage change in the number of game media acquired for the target game machine after the prediction request, which is notified by the information management device in response to the prediction request, A display control means that displays on a predetermined display unit the percentage change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request for the target game machine, which has been received by the reception means. A terminal device characterized by being equipped with the following features.

8. A method for providing game information in a gaming system comprising an in-store management device installed in a gaming parlor to manage game machine information related to gaming machines, and an information management device capable of communicating with terminal devices held by gaming customers, The aforementioned information management device includes a storage step in which it stores multiple slump information in a storage unit, with each wave defined as the period from the start of the game or the end of a jackpot to the end of the increase in the number of acquired game media, and a predetermined number of consecutive waves on the horizontal axis, and the number of acquired game media in each wave on the vertical axis. If the information management device receives a prediction request for a target gaming machine from the terminal device, it performs a generation step to generate target slump information for the target gaming machine, The information management device performs a calculation step of calculating the percentage change in the number of game tokens acquired after a prediction request, based on the target slump information of the game machine to be predicted and the plurality of slump information stored in the storage unit. The information management device performs a notification step in which it notifies the terminal device of the percentage change in the number of game media acquired after the prediction request for the target game machine, which was calculated in the calculation step. A method for providing game information, characterized by including the following.

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