JP2007061647A - Failure diagnosing system of game machine - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a failure diagnosing system of a game machine that can swiftly and suitably take measures against any failure of the game machine and can easily grasp the weak points specific to each device. <P>SOLUTION: The system is composed of a server device SV connected to an Internet connection NET, a WEB database DB1 which can be accessed from the server device SV, and a management device M1 which obtains required data from WEB database DB1 and updates the content of a management database DB2. The failure diagnosing method is recorded in a group of files linked by link information, the failure diagnosing process is proceeded with while reading the group of files by a laptop computer PC connected to the Internet connection NET, and after the repair is completed, the information which outlines the procedures up to this point is transmitted to the server device SV. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a failure diagnosis system for gaming machines using the Internet technology, and is particularly used for failure diagnosis of pachinko machines, swivel-type gaming machines, arrange ball machines, sparrow ball gaming machines, and the like.

  Generally, when a malfunction occurs in a gaming machine at each gaming hall, the hall employee refers to the manual booklet for troubleshooting, or the manufacturer's salesperson who receives the malfunction report goes to the hall. The cause of the problem was investigated and repaired by referring to the manual booklet.

  Also, if a countermeasure could not be found even after referring to the description in the manual, a salesman handled the problem by communicating with the manufacturer's engineer over the phone. Furthermore, when parts need to be replaced, orders were placed through salespeople who dealt with the problems.

  However, the above-described handling method has a big problem in terms of appropriateness of handling of the defect. In other words, salesmen are generally not familiar with the technical contents, so they have to deal with the instructions of the engineers over the phone etc., and it is virtually impossible to take prompt actions as the game hall expects. Met. Although it is possible to create a detailed and careful repair manual that anyone can understand, it is not appropriate as a countermeasure due to the fact that new game machines are being introduced one after another.

  In addition, engineers can be dispatched for repairs, but even if the measures can be taken promptly, the engineers need to return to the company to collect the contents of the troubles and create a database. However, there is a complexity of having to perform data input processing.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a gaming machine diagnosis system that can quickly and appropriately deal with malfunctions of gaming machines and can easily grasp weak points unique to each device. The issue is to provide.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the failure diagnosis system for gaming machines according to the present invention, a failure diagnosis method is described in a group of files combined by link information, and the group of files is read by the computer device PC. The failure diagnosis process is advanced and repairs are performed, and information summarizing the procedures is collected and stored in the central information management unit. Here, the computer device is preferably portable.

  The present invention preferably acquires server device SV connected to the Internet line NET, WEB database DB1 accessed from the server device SV, and necessary data from the WEB database DB1, and stores the contents of the management database DB2 It is comprised with the management apparatus M1 to update. The server device in the present invention is a concept excluding an external storage device, and means a main body part that accesses the WEB database DB1 and the like.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a gaming machine diagnosis system that can quickly and appropriately deal with malfunctions of gaming machines and can easily grasp weak points unique to each device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the diagnostic system according to the present invention will be described based on examples. As shown in FIG. 1, the diagnostic system of the embodiment is a server device SV connected to the Internet line NET, a WEB database DB1 accessed from the server device SV, and a WEB database DB1 periodically polled and newly registered. And a management apparatus M1 that acquires the member data and failure diagnosis result data and updates the contents of the management database DB2.

  Since the diagnosis system of this embodiment is used for failure diagnosis of a faulty pachinko machine, the client device PC is connected to the Internet line NET through a mobile communication device such as PHS. Here, specifically, the client device is a notebook personal computer possessed by a sales person on the manufacturer side who deals with a failure of the pachinko machine or an attendant on the hall side, and is equipped with a WWW browser. The management apparatus M1 is also connected to other terminal devices Mn... Mn via an in-house LAN, and in response to a request from an arbitrary terminal apparatus Mn, reads the contents of the management database DB2 and constructs an appropriate tabulation list. It is like that.

  The server device SV not only transmits a corresponding HTML file in response to a request from the client device PC, but also activates a corresponding CGI program in response to a request from the client device PC, Processing for creating HTML files for users, failure analysis processing for analyzing processing procedures of each user, and the like are performed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the CGI program operating on the server device SV is roughly divided into a user authentication processing program and an initial processing program TOP. CGI and a diagnostic processing program SHINDAN. That functions at the time of transmission of each HTML file thereafter. CGI and a final processing program END. And CGI.

  The user authentication process is a known process in which the user ID and password transmitted from the client device PC are collated with the registration data in the WEB database DB1. If the data does not match the collation data, an HTML file requesting correct data re-input is transmitted to the client device PC. If the collation data matches, the subsequent processing is initialized by the initial processing program TOP. Transfer to CGI.

<Initial processing program (TOP.CGI)>
The initial processing program assigns a unique entry number corresponding to a series of processes after login to the authenticated user, and secures a conversation log table area in relation to the entry number and the user ID. To do. The entry number is determined by a counter that is sequentially incremented, and a number that is currently unused is assigned. Prior to this processing, the initial processing program compares the final date and time data of each conversation log table (FIG. 3) with the current date and time, and when a time (for example, 4 hours) greater than a predetermined value has elapsed, The conversation log table is deleted, and the use of the entry number is released to other users. Such a process is performed because the logged-in user may abandon the subsequent process in the middle of the failure diagnosis process.

  The initial processing program also reads the basic data for the transmission page from the WEB database DB1, assigns an entry number, generates an HTML file unique to the login user, and sends it to the corresponding client device PC through the WWW server. At this time, the page number for specifying the sent HTML file and the transmitted date / time data are stored in the conversation log table corresponding to the entry number (FIG. 3).

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the conversation log table, in which the page number of the HTML file sent to the client device PCi and the transmission date and time are stored in association with each other. In the example shown in the figure, for the user assigned the entry number 0200, in the order of 0000 page → 0001 page → 0003 page → ..., January 4, 2001 23: 30: 45 → 31: 20: 31 It shows that the HTML file was sent at the same time of 31 minutes 50 seconds →.

  Further, the conversation log table has a replacement member information column. This field is filled in by the diagnostic processing program, and if replacement parts are used in response to a response from the HTML file (screen) immediately before being presented to the user, the information is described. Is done. The contents of the conversation log table, including information on the replacement member, are referred to by the final processing program (END.CGI) after the user has completed a series of processing, and are processed when analyzing the user's failure repair procedure. It becomes.

  As described above, the initial processing program reads the basic data for the transmission page from the WEB database DB1 and assigns an entry number to generate an HTML file specific to the login user. This is a conceptual illustration of basic data. The CGI program (TOP.CGI, SHINDAN.CGI, END.CGI) reads the basic data as shown in the figure, inserts the entry number into the blank part (□), and completes the HTML file. For example, the HTML file that the initial processing CGI program (TOP.CGI) completes based on the basic data of 0000 pages has the contents as shown in FIG. 5A. In this example, the TOP page is given the entry number 200. Has been completed.

  The number following the entry number means the page number of the HTML file linked to the HTML file. In the example of FIG. 5A, the HTML file of the TOP page (0000 page) has been received. When the client device PC presses the yes button, it is linked to page 0002, and when the no button is pressed, it is linked to page 0001. More specifically, according to the button operated on the client device PC, data “0200022” or “0200011” is stored in the diagnostic processing program SHINDAN. Since it is passed to the CGI, the diagnostic processing program can know that there is a request for page 0002 or page 0001 from the user with the entry number 200.

<Diagnostic processing program (SHINDAN.CGI)>
As described above, since the diagnostic processing program receives the user entry number and the information of the request page from the client device PC, first, it is determined whether or not the conversation log table corresponding to the entry number exists. If the corresponding conversation log table does not exist, an HTML file for inputting authentication data is sent to the client device. The case where the conversation log table does not exist is typically a case where a subsequent page is directly requested without undergoing user authentication processing based on a past HTML file in the middle of processing remaining in the client device PC. It is. In this embodiment, in such a case, the conversation log table is reconstructed by returning the subsequent processing to the user authentication processing.

  On the other hand, if there is a conversation log table corresponding to the entry number, the basic data shown in FIG. 4 is read based on the requested page number following the entry number, and the entry number is assigned to generate an HTML file for transmission. . FIG. 5B illustrates the contents of an HTML file generated by the diagnostic processing program in response to a request from the user with the entry number 200. This HTML file requests the diagnosis processing program (SHINDAN.CGI) to send page 0011 when the “no” button is pressed on the client device PC, but when the “yes” button is pressed, the final processing program (END. Data (= 9999) indicating the completion of repair is sent to CGI).

<Final processing program (END.CGI)>
For example, the final processing program that has received the data 02009999 can recognize from the received data 9999 that the repair process for the user with the entry number 200 has been completed. Therefore, the final processing program first analyzes the conversation log table of the user. As described above, in the conversation log table, the page number of the HTML file sent to the user is stored in time sequence together with the information on the replacement member. By analyzing the procedure until the repair is completed, It is possible to grasp what kind of failure has occurred in which part of which model, and how to deal with it and complete the repair.

  The final processing program that has completed the above analysis organizes the analysis results in a simplified manner and generates an HTML file that realizes a display such as “It was a failure as described above. . This HTML file is a screen that allows the number of devices that can be confirmed to have the same symptom as the repaired pachinko machine to be input together with the hall ID of the pachinko hall. When the number of replacement members analyzed on the server side is different, a screen for accepting correction is set. Then, as in the case of FIG. 5, an entry number is assigned and transmitted to the corresponding client device PC.

  Since the subsequent reply from the client device is passed to the end routine of the final processing program, the end routine sends back an HTML file displaying a processing completion message, and the failure analysis result of the previously analyzed data is returned. Store in a table. FIG. 6 shows an example of a failure diagnosis result table in which a hall ID, model ID, date, symptom ID, number of failures, replacement member ID, user ID, and the like are entered. In the failure diagnosis result table, an unprocessed flag is set at the creation stage. This unprocessed flag is searched by a polling process by the management apparatus M1, and after necessary data is registered in the management database DB2, the unprocessed flag is not processed. The flag is reset.

  Next, based on the above contents, specific contents of the fault diagnosis of the pachinko machine will be described. First, the salesperson or the hall staff in front of the failed device starts up the WWW browser of the client device PC and inputs the URL of the failure diagnosis home page. After that, follow the links on the screen and follow the links, and a screen that displays a list of pachinko machines will appear. Therefore, when a model having a problem is selected, the process proceeds to a page as shown in FIG. 7 and an image of the pachinko machine is displayed.

  A JAVA (registered trademark) applet is written in the HTML file displaying this screen on the WWW browser so that the coordinate position of the mouse pointer at the moment of the click operation can be detected. Then, in response to the user's click operation, the page is linked to a handling page related to the defective member. For example, when there is an abnormality in the launch of the game ball, if the mouse is placed on the launch handle portion on the screen and the mouse is clicked, it will proceed to the trouble handling page related to the launch of the game ball. Similarly, when there is an abnormality in payout of the game ball, if the pointer is clicked on the lower plate portion on the screen and the mouse is clicked, it proceeds to a trouble dealing page related to payout.

  On the other hand, if the fault location cannot be clearly identified or if the fault location does not correspond to a member displayed on the screen, select the corresponding location in the fault symptom list displayed in the right column of FIG. Will proceed to. The processing up to this point is realized exclusively by the WWW server and the WWW browser. However, when the normal processing as described above reaches a page corresponding to the defective portion of the failed model, the server device SV The user ID and password are requested for the first time at this stage.

  Specifically, the WWW server transmits an authentication screen for inputting a user ID and a password, but the input user ID and password are passed to a user authentication processing program and an authentication process is executed. If the data matches the collation data in the WEB database DB1, the login of the top page is permitted, and the HTML file having the contents illustrated in FIG. 5A is transmitted through the WWW server. This process is performed in accordance with the processing program TOP. As described above, it is realized by CGI, and at this stage, an entry number is assigned and a conversation log table is also constructed.

  In the following description, for the sake of convenience, a case where there is an abnormality in paying out the game balls will be described as an example. Subsequent processing is mainly performed by the diagnostic processing program SHINDAN. 8 and 9 is performed under the control of the CGI, and an HTML file with page numbers 0000 to 0027 is transmitted according to a user operation. For example, a page of 0000 is displayed on the client device PC as shown in FIG. 10. Here, if the YES button is pressed, page 0002 is requested, and if the NO button is pressed, page 0001 is diagnosed. It will be required by the program.

To supplement the flowcharts in FIGS. 8 and 9, page 0007 is “Please check or deal with tanks and dispensing cassettes.”
“If this is the first time you are dealing with, please click the [Finish] button after taking action.”
“If you have already done so, click the button [I just dealt with].”
The screen looks like this.

  The same applies to the pages 011, 012, 013, 014, 021, 024, 025, 026, and 027, and the action displayed on the client device PC is performed this time and the [Done] button is pressed or the displayed action is completed. The link destination is changed depending on whether the [I handled it earlier] button is pressed. In this way, in the repair of a pachinko machine, it is necessary to return to power-on if some processing is performed, and the same page is transmitted multiple times, but in this embodiment the user's operation history is saved, so the final page In particular, it is possible to grasp in the final processing program how to deal with or what has been exchanged and the failure has been repaired. It is also possible to grasp the replaced member and number. Of course, in order to grasp whether the member in question has only been checked or whether the member has actually been replaced, response data is transmitted as necessary.

  In this way, inspecting each member of the pachinko machine as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 according to the guidance from the server device, it is required to replace the member. I usually don't have it. Therefore, in such a case, the same member of the adjacent pachinko machine operating normally is removed and attached to the faulty pachinko machine.

  When the processing proceeds in the procedure of FIG. 8, the image of page 010 as illustrated in FIG. 11 is eventually displayed on the client device PC. The HTML file of page 010 has, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 5B, and when the yes button is pressed, the subsequent processing is the end processing program END. The failure repair contents are analyzed based on the data in the conversation log table, passed to the CGI, and after the user is asked to confirm the analysis contents and replacement parts, failure diagnosis result data is constructed.

  Then, the necessary replacement member can be automatically ordered, and then the failure content and the failure repair method can be attached and handed over to a salesman or hall staff. In the case of this embodiment, the user ID and password are input at an early stage. However, the contents of the failure repair are analyzed, and the user ID and the like are analyzed until the user is requested to confirm the analysis contents and replacement members. The check may be suspended. In such a system, if the last answer (YES / NO), user ID, and password are not entered, management information cannot be determined. However, this system is significant in that it allows trial use of this system.

  In any case, in this system, it is possible to proceed with processing the symptoms of the malfunction of the pachinko machine while checking the status of each member, and it is possible to present an appropriate countermeasure. In addition, it is possible to grasp what coping path has finally led to the resolution of the problem.

  In the above description, the server device SV grasps the procedure of the same person based on the entry number assigned by itself, but is not limited to this method. For example, the server device SV is not limited to this method. You may manage by an address and other methods.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the procedure history is grasped by the CGI program process from the middle of the diagnosis process, but it is not necessary to be limited to this method, and the procedure history may be advanced from the beginning by the control of the CGI program. Needless to say, not only CGI but also any similar mechanism can be used.

  From the standpoint of simplicity, all HTML files are fixedly prepared in the WEB database DB1, and most processing is borne by the WWW server. After the repair is completed, general information is input together with the user ID and the like. You may make it let it. In this case, after confirming the user ID and password, it is possible to create failure diagnosis data as shown in FIG. 6 simply by editing the input information.

  Further, when such an embodiment is adopted, necessary data and programs may be downloaded to the client device at the stage where the failed model and the details of the failure can be identified, and thereafter, the work may be performed in an offline state. Then, after the repair is completed, general information may be input together with the user ID and the like, and the information may be collected by connecting to the Internet line.

  Furthermore, when a salesperson carries a laptop computer with data and programs installed to carry out a series of processes, and after completing repairs, he / she enters general information together with the user ID, etc., and connects to the Internet line. Information can also be collected. In addition to the portable computer, a client computer such as a desktop computer may be used as the client device.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure explaining the processing procedure of a CGI program. It is a conceptual diagram of the conversation log table which a CGI program registers. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the basic data which a CGI program reads. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the content of the HTML file which a CGI program produces | generates. It is a conceptual diagram which shows the failure diagnosis result table which a CGI program produces | generates. It is an example of a display screen of a client device. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation content of a server apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the operation content of a server apparatus. It is an example of a display screen of a client device. It is an example of a display screen of a client device.

Explanation of symbols

NET Internet line SV Server equipment PC Client equipment (computer equipment)

Claims (10)

  The failure diagnosis method is described in a group of files combined by link information, and the failure diagnosis process is carried out while reading the group of files by the computer equipment PC, and repair is performed. A fault diagnosis system for gaming machines, which is collected and stored in a management unit.   A server device SV connected to the Internet line NET, a WEB database DB1 accessed from the server device SV, and a management apparatus M1 that acquires necessary data from the WEB database DB1 and updates the contents of the management database DB2. The failure diagnosis system according to claim 1, which is configured.   The fault diagnosis system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the server device SV generates the general information based on its own analysis processing.   The fault diagnosis system according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the server device SV allows the user to confirm whether the comprehensive information is appropriate and stores the confirmed information in the central information management unit.   The fault diagnosis system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the server device SV obtains the general information from the portable computer device PC.   The failure diagnosis system according to claim 1, wherein the comprehensive information includes customer information, model information, diagnosis date and time, failure content information, and replacement member information.   The failure diagnosis system according to claim 6, wherein when receiving information on the replacement member, the server device or the device on the central management unit functions to automatically execute an ordering process.   The failure diagnosis according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the server device assigns an ID to a logged-in user and sequentially records its processing contents in a log table associated with the ID. system.   The failure diagnosis system according to claim 8, wherein a processing date and time is recorded in the log table.   The failure diagnosis system according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the server device constructs a file for each login user corresponding to the dynamic ID.

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