Monitoring system, game machine and device management system

• US 7,780,524 B2
• Filed: 08/08/2003
• Issued: 08/24/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/09/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyomaru Sangyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Toyomaru Sangyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): McClellan; James S
• Application Number:
  US10/515,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20050116049A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,573 Days
• Field of Search: 463/16, 463/20, 463/24, 463/29, 463/40, 463/42, 463/43, 705/22, 705/28, 705/29
• US Class Current: 463/29
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/552 involving long-term monitoring or reporting
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/86 Secure or tamper-resistant housings
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/2101 Auditing as a secondary aspect
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/0875 Itemisation or classification of parts, supplies or services, e.g. bill of materials

Abstract

A board box 80 includes an upper lid portion 80a made of transparent resin, and a lower lid portion 80c made of transparent resin. A main control board 41 for performing main control to a pachinko game machine 1 is provided on the lower lid portion 80c. A thin and rectangular IC tag 86 is provided at the backside of the upper lid portion 80a. A coil-shaped antenna 68 for making RF transmission and reception with the IC tag 86 is provided at the lower right end portion of the main control board 41. The distance between the antenna 68 and the IC tag 86 is set to about 3 mm in the state that the upper lid portion 80a and the lower lid portion 80c are assembled. A R/W unit always polls the IC tag 86 via the antenna 68. If the upper lid portion 80a is opened and the distance between the antenna 68 and the IC tag 86 exceeds about 5 mm, the communication becomes unavailable and a fact that the upper lid portion 80a has been opened is immediately detected.

Claims

1. A gaming system monitoring system comprising:

an IC tag, and

an IC tag monitoring device that communicates with the IC tag, wherein said IC tag stores identification data that is used for distinguishing the IC tag from other IC tags, and said IC tag monitoring device includes;

a transmission circuit that transmits a calling wave for calling said IC tag,

a reception circuit that receives a reflected wave returned from said IC tag,

an antenna that is connected to said transmission circuit and said reception circuit,

determination means for determining that an abnormality has occurred if said reception circuit does not receive the reflected wave within a specified period of time since said transmission circuit transmits the calling wave and the IC tag monitoring device is unable to communicate with the IC tag, or if said identification data contained in said reflected wave differs from registered data that is registered beforehand, and

storage means for storing a result of a determination made by said determination means, and for storing monitoring history data containing at least one of a time of disappearance that is the point of time at which a communication available state in which said reception circuit can receive said reflected wave has changed into a communication unavailable state in which said reception circuit cannot receive said reflected wave, a time of recovery that is the point of time at which said communication unavailable state has changed into said communication available state, and a time of ID abnormality that is the point of time at which identification data different from the registered data that has been registered beforehand was received,

wherein said storage means does not store said determination result and said monitoring history data when the result of the determination made by said determination means is normal continuously from a most recent determination result, and said storage means does store said determination result and said monitoring history data when the result of the determination made by said determination means is abnormal continuously from the most recent determination result.

2. The gaming system monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said reception circuit cannot receive said reflected wave if a distance between said IC tag and said antenna changes to a value exceeding a specified threshold value.

3. The gaming system monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said transmission circuit transmits the calling wave to said IC tag, and transmits the calling wave to said IC tag again immediately after said determination means has made determination and said storage means has made storage.

4. The gaming system monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein said IC tag monitoring device comprises output means for outputting to the outside said determination result and said monitoring history data that said storage means has stored.

6. The gaming system monitoring system according to claim 4, wherein said transmission circuit transmits the calling wave to said IC tag, and transmits the calling wave to said IC tag again immediately after said determination means has made determination and said output means has made output.

5. A gaming system monitoring system comprising:

an IC tag, and

an IC tag monitoring device that communicates with the IC tag, wherein said IC tag stores identification data that is used for distinguishing the IC tag from other IC tags, and said IC tag monitoring device includes;

a transmission circuit that transmits a calling wave for calling said IC tag,

a reception circuit that receives a reflected wave returned from said IC tag,

an antenna that is connected to said transmission circuit and said reception circuit,

determination means for determining that an abnormality has occurred if said reception circuit does not receive the reflected wave within a specified period of time since said transmission circuit transmits the calling wave and the IC tag monitoring device is unable to communicate with the IC tag, or if said identification data contained in said reflected wave differs from registered data that is registered beforehand, and

output means for outputting to the outside a result of a determination made by said determination means, and monitoring history data containing at least one of a time of disappearance that is the point of time at which a communication available state in which said reception circuit can receive said reflected wave has changed into a communication unavailable state in which said reception circuit cannot receive said reflected wave, a time of recovery that is the point of time at which said communication unavailable state has changed into said communication available state, and a time of ID abnormality that is the point of time at which identification data different from the registered data that has been registered beforehand was received,

wherein said storage means does not store said determination result and said monitoring history data when the result of the determination made by said determination means is normal continuously from a most recent determination result, and said storage means does store said determination result and said monitoring history data when the result of the determination made by said determination means is abnormal continuously from the most recent determination result.