JP5608272B2 - Game control computer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a game control computer used in a game arcade.

  In recent game halls, as game machine information, the game information of the game machine on today, the previous day, and the day before, such as the number of big hits of the game machine and the number of times the variable display device is started, The game information is displayed on a display device provided and provided as reference information when a player selects a gaming machine.

  In addition, with the recent diversification of gaming rules such as time services that allow multi-functionality of gaming machines and “unlimited” and “continuous gaming” at amusement halls, information such as explanations of gaming methods for these gaming machines and games In order to make it possible for a player to easily obtain rule information and the like, there is one that displays each of these pieces of information together with the game information by appropriately switching to a display device.

  In addition, for example, a gaming machine or a recording medium (card) type gaming machine in which a gaming medium counting device is provided for each gaming machine that has been studied in large numbers in recent years. Based on the viewpoint of improving service to the player, in addition to the game information, the player is provided with valuable value such as pachinko balls, coins, and points acquired by the game via the display device, etc. The information provided is increasing.

  For this reason, when providing such a large amount of information, each information is appropriately switched and displayed on a display device. Therefore, in order to provide each of these pieces of information, a change in the display order of each information or information has been added. It is necessary to revise the processing program sequentially and update and store a new processing program in each game display device, but these processing programs are repeatedly revised, and many game machines are used in a normal game hall. Since there are a large number of game display devices corresponding to these gaming machines, there is a problem that excessive time and labor are required for the update processing of all these game display devices. .

  Therefore, the present invention has been made paying attention to the above-described problems, and provides a display device for games that can eliminate the need for excessive time and labor when providing a large amount of information. The purpose is to do.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the game control computer of the present invention includes:
Each of the plurality of display terminals provided corresponding to the gaming machine and capable of displaying at least the gaming information of the corresponding gaming machine and information other than the gaming information is connected in data communication, and the gaming information for each gaming machine is A gaming control computer to manage,
For each of a plurality of display contents other than the game information, a display order of the display contents, a display switching time until the display contents are switched to the next display contents, and a display terminal that displays the display contents A setting means that allows an operator to set a target display terminal,
According to the display order and display switching time set by the setting means, the display data of each display content is transmitted to the target display terminal set by the setting means for the display content, so that the display of the target display terminal Display switching means for switching and displaying the display content only on the display screen;
It is characterized by having.
According to this feature, it is possible to eliminate the necessity of excessive time and labor when providing a large amount of information.

The display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected is
Control means for controlling the operation of the display terminal, storage means for storing at least processing program in which processing contents executed by the control means are described, and revision information of the processing program, and the control means The present invention is characterized in that control for displaying the revision information of the processing program is performed based on a predetermined operation.
According to this feature, since the revision information of the processing program is displayed on the display screen by performing the predetermined operation, the contents of the processing program currently stored in the display terminal are confirmed. It becomes possible to do.

The display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected is characterized in that the predetermined operation is a start-up operation by turning on the power.
According to this feature, the revision information of the processing program is automatically displayed when the power is turned on, and the contents of the processing program at the present time can be easily confirmed.

The display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected is a nonvolatile memory in which the storage means can rewrite data, and the control means includes the processing program stored in the storage means It is characterized by comprising a program update means capable of rewriting the revised information with the new processing program and the revised information.
According to this feature, by providing these program update means, it is not necessary to carry out the update processing of the processing program and the revision information of the processing program by removing the memory etc. It can be carried out easily.

In the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected, the processing program is composed of a plurality of blocks stored in a predetermined address area corresponding to the storage means, and the program update means It is characterized in that rewriting can be performed in block units.
According to this feature, rewriting can be performed in units of blocks, and it is possible to avoid rewriting up to blocks that do not require rewriting, so that these rewriting processes can be performed efficiently.

The display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected includes a rewrite level input unit to which a predetermined rewrite level is given to each block and the rewrite level can be input, and the control means Is characterized in that the processing program of each block is rewritten based on the rewrite level input from the rewrite level input unit.
According to this feature, since the blocks that can be rewritten are limited by the rewrite level input from the rewrite level input unit, for example, by giving a high rewrite level to a highly important program block, It is possible to prevent inadvertent rewriting of these highly important program blocks.

The game control computer of the present invention is characterized in that the processing program of each display terminal and its revision information can be rewritten.
According to this feature, the update processing of the processing program stored in the storage means of each display terminal can be centrally performed by the game control computer.

The game control computer of the present invention is characterized in that the rewriting execution unit can be designated for each display terminal unit or each game island unit.
According to this feature, the update processing of the processing program can be performed in units of display terminals or game islands, and the operability in the update processing can be improved.

The game control computer according to the present invention is configured such that when the revision information of the processing program registered in the game control computer is different from the revision information of the processing program in each display terminal, It is characterized by rewriting and updating the revised information.
According to this feature, even if, for example, a display terminal in which a different version of the processing program is stored is installed at the time of installation or the processing program and its revision information are damaged in the display terminal due to an unexpected situation, the display terminal By registering the desired processing program to be executed on the terminal and its revision information in the distribution computer, the processing program registered in the distribution computer and the update processing to the revision information are automatically performed. Will come to be.

The control means of the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected, when rewriting the processing program, changes the display state of the display screen to a display state predetermined according to each state of rewriting. Or a control for outputting predetermined data predetermined in accordance with each rewrite state to the distribution computer via the communication means.
According to this feature, it is possible to confirm at which stage the rewriting progress is in progress, the presence / absence of a failure of the communication means, and the like based on the display state of the display screen and the output predetermined data.

The control means of the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected is characterized in that after the rewriting is completed, the control means displays or outputs revision information of the rewritten new processing program. Yes.
According to this feature, it can be confirmed that rewriting by the data update processing has been completed without any problem.

It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the game island in the Example of this invention. It is a front view which shows the unit type game island stand used for the game island in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the internal structure of the unit type game island stand used for the game island in the Example of this invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the display terminal in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the attachment condition of the display terminal in the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the connection condition of the display apparatus for games and other apparatuses in the Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the game island stand in the present Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the display terminal in a present Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the computer for distribution in the present Example of this invention. (A), (b) is an external appearance front view which shows the display condition in the display unit in the present Example of this invention. It is an external appearance front view which shows the display condition in the display unit in the Example of this invention. It is an external appearance front view which shows the change of the display condition at the time of data button operation in the Example of this invention. It is an external appearance front view which shows the display condition change at the time of the display switch button operation in the Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the display condition in the split screen display state of the display unit in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the setting content by the dip switch of the display terminal in the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the starting process in the display terminal of the Example of this invention. It is a memory map which shows the memory structure inside EEPROM used for the display terminal of the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing content of the update process in the display terminal of the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the schedule setting screen of the computer for delivery in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the text setting screen of the computer for distribution in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display terminal initial setting screen of the computer for distribution in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the data processing setting screen of the distribution computer in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the serial number setting screen of the computer for distribution in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the program transfer screen of the computer for distribution in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the display condition at the time of the program transfer on the program transfer screen in the Example of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the content of the starting process of the computer for distribution in the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the other arrangement | positioning condition of the display terminal of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, a pachinko gaming machine is shown as an example of a gaming machine, but the gaming machine according to the present invention is not limited to these pachinko gaming machines, and a pachinko ball that is a gaming medium cannot be touched. It may be a sealed encapsulated pachinko machine, a pachinko ball or a game machine with a game board surface formed by an image, a coin game machine or slot machine using coins as a game medium, and further using these coins The present invention can also be applied to a slot machine or the like that can execute a game without being played.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing the appearance of the gaming island 1 in this embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a unit type gaming island base 1 ′ used for the gaming island 1 in this embodiment. 3 is a diagram showing the internal structure of the unit type game island base 1 ′ used for the game island 1 in this embodiment, and FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing the display terminal constituting the game display device in this embodiment. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the installation status of the display terminal of this embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the connection status between the game display device of this embodiment and each device, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a unit type game island base 1 ′ used for the game island 1 in this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the game display device of this embodiment. FIG. 9 shows the configuration of the distribution computer 49 constituting the game display device of this embodiment. Is a block diagram showing the.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the gaming island 1 of the present embodiment has a predetermined number (four in this embodiment) of pachinko machines 2 and the pachinko machines 2 on the front and rear surfaces (the rear surface is not shown). The card units 3 provided in a one-to-one manner can be mounted, and all appropriate devices such as the pachinko ball lifting device 26 and the polishing device 41 necessary for operating these pachinko machines 2 are accommodated in the card unit 3. A plurality of game islands 1 ′ having a single independent unit configuration are connected and formed in a horizontally long shape.

  This gaming island stand 1 ′ is adjacent to the waist plate 7 covering the lower part of the gaming island stand 1 ′, the pachinko machine 2 as a gaming machine arranged on the waist board 7, and the pachinko machine 2 in a one-to-one correspondence. The card unit 3 provided, the curtain plate 6a covering the upper part of each pachinko machine 2 of the game island stand 1 ′, the lamp board 6b, and the lamp board 6b are called one by one for each pachinko machine 2. A call lamp 8 having a button 17, and a display unit 9 constituting the game display device of the present embodiment is provided at a side position of the call lamp 8, and the pachinko machine In the lower position of 2, a counting device 4 is provided for each pachinko machine 2.

  The counting device 4 is fixed so that a ball tray 35 constituting a part of the ball counting device 4 covers a discharge port (not shown) provided in the lower plate 5 of each pachinko machine 2 from below. The pachinko balls acquired by the game are appropriately inserted from the lower plate 5 into the ball receiving plate 35 and counted by the counting device 4 by operating the slide lever 34, and then provided below the inside of the game island 1 '. The pachinko balls are returned to the collected recovery unit 40 (see FIG. 3).

  Further, on the front surface of the card unit 3, as shown in FIG. 2, the card unit 3 has a payout button 13 for paying out a desired number of pachinko balls from the counted number of pachinko balls. , A guide 14 for guiding the discharged balls to the upper plate of the pachinko machine 2 is provided, and the player can use the pachinko balls counted once by operating the payout button 13 again. A card insertion slot 10 into which a prepaid card in which a predetermined game value is recorded can be inserted is provided. 2 is an operation lamp for informing that the card unit 3 is in operation, and 11 is an indicator for informing the return by blinking when the prepaid card is returned.

  In the present embodiment, the curtain plates 6a and 6b are provided so as to be openable forward. By opening the curtain plate, as shown in FIG. 3, the curtain plates 6a and 6b are provided at an upper position in the game island 1 '. A ball clog generated in a delivery pipe 28 for supplying balls to the ball cutting and discharging unit 33 in the card unit 3 and supply pipes 29 and 30 for supplying balls to each pachinko machine 2. In addition, maintenance of each electrical unit can be easily performed from the outside.

  Further, a 7-segment LED display panel 38 is provided between the curtain plate 6b and the pachinko machine 2 for displaying the total number of balls acquired by the counting device 4. In addition, next to the 7-segment LED display panel 38, an all-settlement button 19 that is operated when all the counted balls are used for settlement, and end balls generated in exchange for predetermined special prizes are returned. There are provided an operation button consisting of an edge adjustment button 20 that is operated at the time of payment, and a leaving button 21 that is operated at the time of leaving (game interruption). A receiving window 23 for receiving an infrared signal and a receiving unit 24 are provided so as to face the receiving window 23. Furthermore, a rewrite card which is a recording medium issued at the time of payment and at the time of leaving (game interruption) is provided at the middle position of the two pachinko machines 2 arranged side by side on the other side of the 7-segment LED display panel 38. A magnetic card reader / writer 39 capable of recording and reading information on the card is installed so that the card insertion / issuance port 37 is exposed. Each of these operation buttons 19, 20, 21 and the receiving window 23 and the receiving unit The 24 and 7 segment LED display panels 38 and the card insertion issuance port 37 are provided on the same electrical panel 18.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, at the lower position of the game island stand 1 ′ of the present embodiment, the pachinko ball is connected to the recovery basket 40 by the lifting motor 25 through the lifting rod 27 and is supplied to the supply rod. In the path leading to the supply rod 36, a polishing device 41 for polishing pachinko balls is provided, and the pachinko balls are placed in the game island stand 1 ′. As shown in FIG. 7, in the space below the recovery rod 40, the entire game island platform 1 ′ is controlled by being connected to each portion of the game island platform 1 ′. A control unit 42 is provided.

  The control unit 42 provided for each of these game islands 1 'is a memory for storing an input / output unit for exchanging signals and data with each unit constituting the game island 1', status data of each unit, etc. And a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that executes a control process by executing a predetermined control program, etc., and these control units 42 transmit data to a management computer 47 (to be described later) via a communication unit 45 and a communication cable. In the management computer 47, the number of storage balls for each game island stand 1 'and the number of replenishment balls for each pachinko machine by a replenishment ball counter provided for each pachinko machine Each data such as the number of balls based on the number of balls out by the ball counting machine and the number of balls counted by each counting device 4 is collected and managed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the pachinko machine 2 and the card unit 3 are respectively connected to the control unit 42 via an interface, and read from the inserted prepaid card from the card unit 3. The card remaining frequency data and the input of the payout button 13 are output, and the card remaining frequency data is also output to the pachinko machine 2 via the interface, and the card remaining frequency data is provided at the front part of the upper plate of the pachinko machine 2. The frequency display unit 22 is displayed. When there are remaining frequencies in the frequency display unit 22, the number of pachinko balls corresponding to the predetermined frequency is lent out from the pachinko machine 2 by operating the lending button 16 provided on the side of the frequency display unit 22. In addition, a predetermined frequency is subtracted and updated from the frequency displayed on the frequency display unit 22.

  Further, when the return button 15 provided at the other side position of the frequency display unit 22 is operated, the remaining frequency data of the frequency display unit 22 at that time is obtained as new remaining frequency data via the interface. Output from the pachinko machine 2 to the card unit 3, and new remaining frequency data is recorded and returned to the prepaid card by the magnetic card reader / writer 44 connected to the card insertion slot 10.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the lifting device 26 and the polishing device 41 are connected to the control unit 42 so that the operation thereof is appropriately controlled, and the 7-segment LED display is performed. The panel 38 is connected to the control unit 42 via a display driver 43 that controls the display operation, and the number of balls counted by the counting device 4 is displayed on the 7-segment LED display panel 38. Yes.

  The control unit 42 is connected with a magnetic card reader / writer 39 connected to the card insertion / issuing port 37. When the all-settlement button 19 is operated, the number of balls acquired at that time is recorded. When the adjustment card 20 is operated, the adjustment card 20 is issued with an adjustment card in which the number of balls obtained by subtracting the edge balls generated in exchange for a predetermined special prize is issued, and the release card is released. When the seat button 21 is operated, a leaving card in which a predetermined identification code is recorded as leaving (game interruption) information is issued. When the player resumes the game, the issued release card is issued. By inserting the seat card into the card insertion / issuing slot 37, the identification code recorded on the leaving card is collated, so that the withdrawal of the ball by the operation of the payout button 13 or the like. Player is enabled to implement the game again become possible.

  In the operation of the leave button 21, when a player informs a staff member who has a predetermined remote controller (not shown) that the purpose of leaving is a meal, the staff member is provided on the remote controller. By operating a button corresponding to a meal, the control unit 42 is input that the absence is a meal, and the control unit 42 outputs to the corresponding control unit 100 that the meal is being eaten. It has become.

  Further, the control unit 42 is provided with a communication unit 110 connected via a communication cable 102 to the control unit 100 of the display terminal constituting the game display device of the present embodiment. On the other hand, the obtained ball count data counted by the counting device 4, issuance information that a checkout card or a leaving card is issued, operation information that the pachinko machine 2 is in operation, and the separation A pachinko machine to which the control unit 42 is connected, with information indicating that the seat button 21 has been operated to leave (game interrupted) information, meal information indicating that the seat is a meal, and the control unit 42. 2, error output due to prepaid card clogging or return ball clogging in the card unit 3, or error output output from the feeding device 26 or polishing device 41. Based on said error output based on the remaining number of cards clogging and issuing cards "0" in the magnetic card reader writer 39 to beauty, these error content is to be outputted.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the pachinko machine 2 and the card unit 3 are connected via the control unit 42. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the card unit 3 is connected to the pachinko machine 2. And the control unit 42 may be connected to perform processing relating to the prepaid card and processing relating to the ball payout.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the display terminals provided on a one-to-one basis for each pachinko machine 2 that constitutes the game display device of this embodiment are the call lamps 8 on the lamp plate 6b. The display unit 9 is mounted at a side position, and the control unit 100 is provided separately from the display unit and includes a control board 70 connected to the display unit 9 by a connection cable 71.

  In this manner, the display terminal 9 having a display function as a separate housing and having the display function and the control unit 100 for controlling the display unit 9 is exposed to the front surface of the lamp plate 6b. This is preferable because the thickness and weight of the display unit 9 can be reduced by removing the control board 70 from the display unit 9 arranged in this manner, and the installation of these display units 9 can be improved, but the present invention is limited to this. Instead, the control board 70 may be provided in the display unit 9 so that the display unit 9 and the control unit 100 are formed in the same casing.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the display unit 9 has a structure in which a display substrate 60 is accommodated in a housing that includes a base body 80 and a cover body 50 that covers the top of the base body 80. 50, the engaging claw portions 81 erected at the both end portions of the base body 80 are integrated by engaging with the engaging holes 54 formed in the side surface of the cover body 50. , 82 in the figure are columnar protrusions for fixing the four corners of the display substrate 60 with screws.

  An opening 51 is formed on the front surface of the cover body 50 so that the entire surface of the display screen 66 formed by the LED display module 61 mounted on the display substrate 60 is visible from the outside. 51 is covered with a cover material 52 that can preferentially transmit red light emitted from the LED display module 61. Also, at a lower position near the opening 51, there are a data button 55 and a display switching button 56 that can be operated by the player, and a receiving window 57 that transmits infrared rays from a corresponding remote controller (not shown). A data switch 62 and a display switch 63 corresponding to the data button 55 and the display switch button 56 and a receiving unit 65 for receiving an infrared signal from the remote control are formed on the upper surface 60a of the display substrate 60. Has been implemented.

  Thus, providing the data button 55 and the display switching button 56 in the vicinity of the opening 51 where the display screen 66 is formed means that the display screen 66 is displayed as will be described later by operating these buttons 55 and 56. Since the state is sequentially changed, it is preferable that the player can operate the buttons 55 and 56 while confirming the change state of the display state. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the buttons are not limited thereto. 55 and 56 may be formed at other positions, for example, on the electrical panel 18, on the card unit 3 provided on the side of the pachinko machine 2, or on the pachinko machine 2 that is a gaming machine. The arrangement positions of the buttons 55 and 56 may be appropriately selected.

  On the upper surface of the display substrate 60 of this embodiment, as described above, a predetermined number (16 in this embodiment, 16 horizontal and 16 horizontal) of independently lit red LED elements are arranged in a matrix. LED display modules 61 are arranged in a horizontal row as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10 to form a dot matrix LED panel of 16 × 48 dots (pixels) and mounted on the lower surface 6 b of the display substrate 60. When the display driver 64 performs the lighting control of these pixels based on the external input, not only numbers as shown in FIG. 10B but also letters (symbols) as shown in FIG. Etc. can be displayed, and the display driver 64 (to be described later) performs control for sequentially shifting the LED elements to be lit in a predetermined direction based on an instruction from the control microcomputer 79 (to be described later). As shown in FIG. 11, so that can be displayed by scrolling the sentences long sentence. In the present invention, the scroll display means that one continuous message sentence or figure is displayed while being moved or a predetermined display section is switched, and the moving direction when the display is moved is as follows. It may be a vertical direction or a horizontal direction. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the LED element is red, but the present invention is not limited to this, and these LED elements are a combination LED element capable of emitting green and red, or green, red and blue. May be a combination LED element capable of emitting various colors by appropriately adjusting the green, red, and blue light emission.

  The receiving unit 65 receives an infrared signal transmitted from a remote controller (not shown) operated by a game hall clerk, for example, a predetermined signal corresponding to “exchange”, “continuous”, or “unlimited”, and By converting the received signal into a predetermined data string and outputting it to the control microcomputer 79 to be described later, the control microcomputer 79 can be selected from the “remote control”, “continuous” or “unlimited”. The display to be displayed is displayed on the display unit 9.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 10B, the contents of each menu of “number of balls” at the center of the upper side and “big hit” and “start” are printed near both ends of the lower side, as shown in FIG. 10B. In addition, the display portion facing the menu corresponding to each display content is lit in a bar shape, so that the player can easily understand what the currently displayed data corresponds to.

  The display driver 64, the data switch 62, the display changeover switch 63, and the receiving unit 65 are led out from the lower surface 60b of the display substrate 60 and pulled out through an opening 83 formed in a substantially central portion of the base body 80. The connection cable 71 is connected to the control board 70.

  The mounting state of the display unit 9 and the control unit 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. The display unit 9 includes a hole portion through which the connection cable 71 can be inserted into the position of the side of the calling lamp 8 of the lamp plate 6b. A fixing cable 71 is provided on the surface of the lamp plate 6b so as to communicate with the opening 83 of the base body 80, and a connection cable 71 inserted through the hole is provided in the vicinity of the hole on the inner surface of the lamp plate 6b. The control unit 100 is fixed to the inner surface of the lamp plate 6b so as to be connectable.

  Further, the control unit 100 is connected to the pachinko machine 2 and outputs a jackpot signal, a probability variation (probability change) signal, and a start signal from the pachinko machine 2, and the game island stand Data obtained from the control unit 42 that performs the control of 1 ', the number of balls obtained by the counting device 4, payment and leaving card issuance information, pachinko machine 2 operation information, leaving information (game interruption) information, meal (Game interruption) It is connected to a distribution computer 49 via a communication cable 102 for outputting information and the like and a branch terminal (DMC) 46 provided for each gaming island 1 described later. A communication cable 103 from which character data and the like are sequentially output is derived.

  The connection status between the game display device and each part of this embodiment and the configuration of the game display device will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8. First, the control board 70 housed in the control unit 100 of the game display device. Is provided with a communication unit 72, which is connected to the control unit 42 of the game island stand 1 'via the communication cable 102 as described above. Information such as payment card issue information and leave card issue information, pachinko machine 2 operation information, leave information and meal information is output.

  The control board 70 is provided with five signal input sections 78a to 78e. In this embodiment, the signal input sections 78a, 78b, and 78c are each a jackpot signal line of the signal line 101, probability variation (probability variation). ) The signal line and the start signal line are connected to each other, and by detecting these signals output from the pachinko machine 2, the game information on the number of big hits, the probability variation number and the start (start) number of the pachinko machine 2 is totaled. , Can be memorized. In this embodiment, only the signal input units 78a, 78b, and 78c are used. However, the signal input units 78d and 78e are associated with coin insertion and ejection when the connected gaming machine is a slot machine. An input unit to which each signal is input.

  In addition, the control board 70 is provided with a communication unit 73 connected to a branch terminal (DMC) 46 provided for each gaming island 1, and the branch terminals (DMC) 46 of these gaming islands 1 are The control unit 100, which is each display terminal connected to the distribution computer 49, is connected to the distribution computer 49 via the branch terminal (DMC) 46 provided on each gaming island 1 for distribution. Bidirectional data communication is possible between the computer 49 and each control unit 100, and a new program transferred from the distribution computer 49 is received via the communication unit 73, and the control board 70 is received. Is output to a control microcomputer 79, which will be described later, so that the control microcomputer 79 performs an update process using these new processing programs, thereby It is adapted to program the update is made, updating means of the processing program of the present invention in these communication unit 73 and the control microcomputer 79 is formed.

  The communication unit 73 is connected to the distribution computer 49 via the branch terminal (DMC) 46 during normal operation. However, when the control unit 100 is installed, the communication unit 73 is connected. By connecting a computer for installing a processing program to the computer, it is possible to receive the processing program from the computer and install or update the processing program.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the data communication between the distribution computer 49 and each control unit 100 is a bidirectional data communication. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The data communication method may be one-way data communication from the distribution computer 49.

  In this embodiment, a maximum of 30 display terminals (control unit 100) can be connected to the branch terminal (DMC) 46, and the distribution computer 49 can have a maximum of 40 branch terminals (DMC). The data can be distributed to 46, so that the character data can be distributed to a maximum of 1200 display devices for gaming, and each branch terminal (DMC) 46 and the display terminal (control unit 100) can be distributed. Is assigned with an individual address consisting of a branch terminal number and a terminal number in the branch terminal as described above, and individually specified for each branch terminal (DMC) 46 and each display terminal (control unit 100). Character data and setting data can be distributed.

  In the present embodiment, as described above, the character data can be distributed to a maximum of 1200 display devices for games, but the number of devices is not limited to this. Furthermore, in this embodiment, as described above, a branch terminal (DMC) 46 is provided for each game island 1 so that the distribution of character data can be efficiently distributed and executed. However, the present invention is not limited to this. However, the distribution computer 49 may be directly connected to each game display device without providing these branch terminals (DMC).

  The configuration of the distribution computer 49 of the present embodiment, in which each control unit 100 is connected so as to be able to perform data communication, is a data bus 129 that transmits and receives data within the distribution computer 49 as shown in FIG. In addition, a central processing unit (CPU) 120, a RAM 124, a display device 123, a clock device 126 as a time information output unit capable of outputting date and time information, an input device 127 such as a keyboard and a mouse, a floppy disk and a CD-ROM Data of a recording medium driving device 128 that reads and writes data from a recording medium, a storage device 125 that includes a magnetic disk and a magneto-optical disk, and a branch terminal (DMC) 46 provided for each of the game islands 1 A first communication interface 121 that performs communication and a second communication interface to which the teletext receiver 48 is connected. Office 122, a normal computer that city is connected - a motor.

  Further, in the storage device 125, as shown in FIG. 19, in the distribution computer 49, the distribution order of various display contents such as information distributed to each control unit 100, the display time thereof, and the distribution destination are set. As shown in FIG. 21 and FIG. 22, the schedule database (DB) for storing the set contents, the set sentence database (DB) in which the display contents edited on the sentence setting screen are registered, as shown in FIG. The setting status database (DB) in which the initial setting contents and data processing setting contents of each control unit 100 as each display terminal are registered, and the branch terminal (DMC) 46 and the control as shown in FIG. An address on a communication network composed of the unit 100 and a game to which the display terminal which is the control unit 100 corresponds As shown in FIG. 24, software in which version data which is revision information of a program stored in each control unit 100 is registered. A database (DB), a processing program executed by the central processing unit (CPU) 120, and the like are stored, and character data as display contents set on the schedule setting screen shown in FIG. 24 is distributed to the control board 70 of the control unit 100 of each display terminal via the branch terminal (DMC) 46, displayed on the display unit 9, and on the program transfer screen shown in FIG. In addition to confirming the software version stored in the unit 100), the new software It has to be carried out in each of the display terminal unit or gaming island 1 unit or entire island unit updates to.

  Further, the distribution computer 49 of this embodiment receives a predetermined radio wave (FM character broadcast in this embodiment) on which character information (character data) has been tuned, and the various character information (characters) on which the tune has been tuned. A character broadcast receiving device 48 that constitutes a character broadcast receiving means that converts each information such as news, weather, horse racing odds, traffic information, and the like into character data by demodulation, and is connected to the character broadcast receiving device 48. The demodulated various character data are sequentially updated and recorded for each genre, and corresponding genre information is output as character data in response to an output request from the distribution computer 49.

  In the distribution computer 49, for example, weather information output from the text broadcast receiving device 48 is temporarily stored in the RAM 124, and character information such as “sunny”, “cloudy”, and “rain” is extracted. In addition, it is programmed to automatically perform editing such as replacing with a predetermined “clear mark”, “cloudy mark”, “rain mark”, etc., so that the edited data is distributed. It has become.

  Further, in the present embodiment, news, weather, horse racing odds, traffic information, and the like are exemplified as the types of information distributed to each game display device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and these contents The type or the like may be arbitrarily selected, and may be, for example, score information such as sports or stock price information. It goes without saying that the news includes various economic news such as exchange rates.

  In this embodiment, the distribution computer 49 and the management computer 47 are separated, but both of these computers may be formed by the same computer.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the control board 70 accommodated in the control unit 100 of each display terminal connected to the distribution computer 49 includes a display terminal in addition to the communication unit 72 and the communication unit 73 described above. Control microcomputer (MPU) 79 for performing various controls such as display operations and program rewriting processing, and control programs, display font data, image programs, and image programs in which the control contents performed by the control microcomputer (MPU) 79 are described Non-volatile EEPROM 76 for storing processing programs including image program rewriting programs for rewriting, the address data of each display terminal, and the game information of the pachinko machine 2 corresponding to today, the day before, the day before the day, and the like When rewriting, the processing program is temporarily stored, or the control unit The RAM 75 that temporarily stores the number of balls acquired from 2 and the like, the DIP switch 77 that inputs the initial setting in the display terminal, and the game hall staff or the like set the rewrite level when the processing program is rewritten. The control microcomputer (MPU) 79 is provided with a display driver and data switch 62 on the display substrate 60, a display changeover switch 63, a receiving unit 65, and the connection. They are connected via a cable 71.

  In the present embodiment, the processing program stored in the EEPROM 76 as described above is composed of a plurality of (five in the present embodiment) blocks having different roles. This processing program is stored in the EEPROM 76 in FIG. As shown, each block is individually stored in a predetermined memory address area, and the control program (main program) is stored in the control program area (0000H to 4BFFH) as version data which is revision information of the processing program. Is displayed in the program version data area (4C00H to 4CFFH), and the image display data used for display on the display screen is displayed in the image program area (4C00H to 4CFFH) in the font (numbers and numbers used for display on the display screen). Character) Data is Shift JIS phone In the data area (8000H to EFFFH), the image program rewriting program used when updating the image program is stored in the image program rewriting program area (F000H to FFFFH), and the rewriting level is stored in each memory address area. “0” or “1” is given, and whether or not rewriting is possible is determined by the control microcomputer (MPU) 79 by setting of a slide switch 74 described later.

  Also, in this embodiment, when the power of the display terminal (control unit 100) is turned off / on, the game information for the current day is automatically updated on the previous day and the game information for the previous day is automatically updated the day before. The execution / non-execution of the automatic update can be individually set for each island or each display terminal in the distribution computer 49 as shown in FIG.

  Further, as described above, the dip switch 77 is mounted on the control board 70 of this embodiment, and as shown in FIG. 15, the type of the corresponding gaming machine (pachislot machine or pachinko machine), the jackpot and the number of start times are displayed. Presence / absence, display of today's game information based on the operation of the data button 55 / or selection based on the default state without the operation of the data button 55, game based on the operation of the data button 55 Depending on the operation of the display switching button 56, selection of whether information is displayed by switching the display for each operation and / or switching to be performed continuously after a predetermined time (about 5 seconds) as will be described later. Selection of valid / invalid transition to the split display, selection of the position of the fixed display area in the split display, and the control unit of the game island stand 1 ′ used in this embodiment Display / non-display selection of each information of the game island stand 1 ′ outputted from the game 42, and the display contents when the ball count data counted by the counting device 4 outputted from the control unit 42 exists are counted Selection of only the number display or counting ball count and other information, selection of valid / invalid operation of the display switching button 56, selection of valid / invalid operation of the data button 55, in the information Selection of execution / non-execution of big hit number display, business display such as “replacement”, “continuous” and “unlimited” can be performed / cannot be performed by remote control, and start number display in information is performed / not performed In the distribution computer 49, as shown in FIG. 21, the same settings as those of the DIP switch 77 are set. It can have and is capable of implementation.

  Further, in the setting in the distribution computer 49, as shown in FIG. 21, setting contents capable of setting which one of the setting of the DIP switch 77 or the setting in the distribution computer 49 is valid are provided in item 1. In addition, it is possible to set the time (separation is 5 minutes, meal is 10 minutes in this example) that can be said to leave (game interruption) and meal (game interruption), respectively. If the game interruption is not canceled even after this time, “time over” is displayed on the display unit 9.

  In addition, the control board 70 according to the present embodiment has a slide switch that is exposed on the surface of the control unit 100 that is exposed by opening the curtain plate 6b so that a game attendant or the like can operate. 74 is provided. By setting the slide switch 74 to the “normal” position, “0” is set as the rewrite level. By setting the slide switch 74 to the “program” position, “1” is set as the rewrite level. Is set.

  When the display terminal of this embodiment is turned on and started up, a reset circuit (not shown) provided on the control board 70 operates upon turning on the power to operate the control microcomputer (MPU). ) 79 is reset, and at the same time, the control microcomputer (MPU) 79 reads (boots) the control program stored in the predetermined address area (control program area) of the EEPROM 76, and the control program The start processing routine in the control program shown in FIG. 16 is executed at the time of start-up.

  In this activation processing routine, as shown in FIG. 16, first, a display screen initialization instruction is output to the display driver 64 to initialize the display screen (Sa1), and from the program version data area of the EEPROM 76. The version data of the processing program is read (Sa2), and the read version data, for example, “SP-P2.0” in this embodiment is displayed on the display screen for a predetermined time (about 10 seconds in this embodiment). 66 (Sa3, Sa4, Sa5).

  As described above, in this embodiment, the version data which is the revision information of the processing program stored in the control unit 100 which is the display terminal at the time of activation is displayed. Although it is preferable that the version data is automatically displayed at the time of start-up without performing the operation, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the display of the version data is performed by the data button 55, for example. And the display switching button 56 may be displayed by pressing them simultaneously, and a predetermined operation for displaying these version data may be selected as appropriate.

  Hereinafter, a display state when the data button 55 and the display switching button 56 are operated after the activation will be described. In the following explanation, an example of display is shown and explained. However, the display contents and the like are appropriately changed in accordance with the respective settings such as the initial settings and the contents of the distribution data. However, the present invention is not limited to the display contents used for the explanation.

  First, FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a change state of display contents when the data button 55 is operated in a normal full screen display state. At this time, setting is made so that the input operation of the data button 55 is valid in the setting contents on the side where the setting of the distribution computer or the DIP switch 77 is valid.

  In the non-operation situation (at the time of default) in which the data button 55 is not operated, for example, only the game information for today as shown in FIG. 10B is appropriately switched and displayed with other information. When the player operates the data button 55 once, the game information of the previous day stored in the EEPROM 76 is displayed on the display unit 9 for a predetermined time (about 5 seconds), and within the predetermined time (about 5 seconds). By operating the data button 55 again, the game information of the day before last stored in the EEPROM 76 is displayed. The display of the game information of the previous day is controlled by the control microcomputer 79 so that the data button 55 is operated again or the display of the game information of the current day is automatically returned after a predetermined time (about 5 seconds). Has been.

  In the setting on the effective side of the DIP switch 77 or the distribution computer 49, when continuous display is selected as the data display method, when the player operates the data button 55 once, a predetermined time After the display (about 5 seconds in this embodiment), the game information of the previous day and the game information of the previous day are automatically switched and displayed for about 5 seconds.

  In addition, in the example of the game information display by the data button 55, the explanation is made in the case where the display setting of the game information (today) is fixed display in the setting on the effective side of the dip switch 77 or the distribution computer 49. However, when the button operation is selected in the setting, when the default data button 55 is not operated, today's game information is not displayed, and when the data button 55 is operated once, the current date is displayed. The game information of the previous day is displayed, and by operating the data button 55 again within the predetermined time (about 5 seconds), the game information of the previous day is operated again, and the data button 55 is operated again within the predetermined time (about 5 seconds). The game information of the day before will be displayed.

  Next, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a change state of the display screen 66 when the display switching button 56 is operated. The operations of the display switching button 56 are effective only when the operation of the display switching button 56 is set in the setting on the effective side of the dip switch 77 or the distribution computer 49. In the non-operating situation where the display switching button 56 is not operated (at the time of default), the display based on the character data distributed from the distribution computer 49 is performed on the entire screen, and the character data distributed in the distribution computer 49 is performed. 16 is sequentially changed based on the setting contents of the schedule setting screen in FIG. 16, so that the full screen normal display in which the display contents of the display unit 9 are sequentially switched and displayed is performed. When the display switching button 56 is operated once in this state, the number of today's big hits and the number of times of today's start, which are game information of the corresponding pachinko machine 2, continue to be displayed on the entire screen. Further, when the display switching button 56 is operated twice, the display screen 66 has a large scroll display area composed of the two LED display modules 61, as shown in FIG. The display screen 66 is divided into the fixed display area 2 which is a small display area composed of the LED display module 61, and the scroll display area is displayed based on the character data distributed from the distribution computer 49. The fixed display area 2 shifts to a split screen display in which the big hit count and the start count, which are game information of the corresponding pachinko machine 2, are displayed. Further, when the display switching button 56 is operated three times, the full screen normal display is restored.

  The transition to the split screen display is not performed when the split display setting is invalid in the setting on the valid side of the dip switch 77 or the distribution computer 49, and the display switching button 56 is pressed. If it is operated twice, it returns to the full screen normal display.

  Next, operations such as settings and transfer of programs in the distribution computer 49 will be described below based on the display screens shown in FIGS. 19 to 24 displayed on the display device 123 of the distribution computer 49.

  First, FIG. 19 is a diagram showing a schedule setting screen displayed on the display device 123 of the distribution computer 49. The schedule setting screen of this embodiment mainly includes a schedule table window 130, a registered sentence list window 131, a teletext list window 132, a display confirmation window 134, and a current time display registration that is selected and input when setting or changing the current time. A button part 133; a schedule deletion button part 135 that is selectively input when deleting a registered schedule; a schedule registration button part 136 that is selectively input when registering a new schedule or a changed schedule; An execution button portion 137 that performs distribution based on the contents in the schedule table window 130, a temporary stop button portion 138 that is selected and input when the distribution is temporarily stopped, an end button portion 139 that is selectively input when the distribution ends. And are provided.

  First, each sentence registered in the registered sentence list window 131 can be registered and edited on the sentence setting screen shown in FIG. When a new sentence is set on this sentence setting screen, when the new registration button part 140 is selected and input, “new sentence 1” is displayed in the title input part 142, and the cursor blinks in the display content input part 143. Wait for input.

  In this state, when the operator operates the keyboard as the input device 127 and inputs, for example, “Thank you very much for coming to the store today”, the input content is displayed in the display confirmation window 141. If there is no problem after confirming these display contents, the title (registered name) of the input sentence is displayed in the title input section 142 where the “new sentence 1” is displayed, for example, “Thank you for visiting us. 1 ”is entered.

  Next, the display switching time selection input unit 147 selects, for example, “20 seconds” for the display time during which this sentence is displayed, and further displays the input sentence only on a predetermined game island 1 An island setting input unit 148 and a table setting input unit 149 are provided so that only the pachinko machine 2 can display them, and the display time and the setting contents of the displayed islands and tables are registered. Is selected and input, and is registered in the sentence database (DB) in association with the input title and sentence data, and each sentence data registered in the sentence database (DB) is registered for each title as a registered name. Are displayed in the registered sentence list window 131.

  In the text setting screen of the present embodiment, when the display panel 61 used in the display unit 9 is formed of a combination LED element capable of emitting not only red light but also red and green, A character color setting unit 146 that can set the display color for each character is provided, and the color of these characters can be confirmed in the display confirmation window 141. Since only red light is emitted, these color designations cannot be changed.

  On the right side of the registered sentence list window 131, as shown in FIG. 19, there is provided a character broadcast list window 132 in which contents of character information obtained from the character broadcast receiving device 48 are registered. By selecting information (contents) to be distributed to each display terminal from the broadcast list window 132, an output request for character data of the selected genre is output to the character broadcast receiving device 48, and character data of the corresponding content is obtained. Has been delivered.

  The setting status of the display schedule in the schedule table window 130 will be described. First, when changing or newly setting the display schedule, the temporary stop button 138 or the end button 139 is selected and input to temporarily distribute the distribution. Stop or stop.

  Next, when a new schedule is set, “new setting” is selected from the pop-up window of the registered file name input section, and no initial contents are selected in the schedule table window 130 by the “new setting”. Transition to the state.

  In this state, the operator inputs, for example, “opening setting 1” to the registered file name input unit, and at a predetermined period when the display according to the set schedule is to be performed, for example, from 10:00 to 12:00 when opening the store Set like time. It should be noted that it is not necessary to set the predetermined period during which the display based on the set schedule is to be performed. In this case, the display based on the schedule does not correspond to the current time and does not end or stop due to the operation. Unless otherwise specified, display according to the schedule is performed.

  Next, the operator moves the contents to be displayed on the display unit 9 as a display terminal from the registered sentence list window 131 and the text broadcast list window 132 to the schedule table window 130 using the input device 127 such as a mouse as appropriate. The display order of the selected display contents is arranged in a desired order. Corresponding to the selected display contents, the display switching time and the contents of the island or pedestal setting registered on the sentence registration screen are automatically set in the switching time, island designation, and pedestal designation items of the schedule table window 130. The displayed contents can be appropriately changed on the schedule table window 130, and the schedule set in this way is appropriately edited into a desired schedule.

  When these edits are completed, the operator operates the schedule registration button unit 136 so that the setting contents of the schedule table window 130 are associated with the registered file name in the schedule database in the storage device 125. Registered in (DB). In the case of deleting a schedule that has already been registered, after selecting the registration file name of the schedule to be deleted in the pop-up window of the registration file name input unit, if the schedule deletion button unit 135 is selected and input, The schedule contents are deleted from the schedule database (DB).

  In the above description, the predetermined period in which the schedule to be registered is displayed is exemplified as 10 o'clock to 12 o'clock, and in this embodiment, the time is output from the clock device 126 displayed at the upper position of the setting screen. When the current time corresponds to the predetermined period, the schedule corresponding to the current time is automatically selected and executed, and further, the predetermined period is set from 12:00 to 16 One registration file is appropriately combined with a plurality of registration files that are schedules for each time period in which the predetermined period is set, such as 16:00 to 21:00 and 21:00 to 22:00. Can also be made. Also, these daily schedules may be set for each day of the week and set as a weekly registration schedule.

  Each display content displayed in the schedule table window 130 by selecting and inputting the execution button portion 137 after selecting the registered schedule or the already registered schedule in the pop-up window of the registered file name input portion. Are distributed to the specified island or platform in accordance with the order and time, and the currently distributed display content is displayed in black and white inversion (current time display) as shown in FIG. In the window 134, “the current time is 11:03”, which is the same display content as that displayed on the display unit 9 based on the currently distributed character data. "Is reproduced, so that the operator can confirm the display state on the display unit 9.

  The distribution status of the distribution computer 49 based on the schedule registered in the schedule table window 130 in FIG. 19 will be described. The display contents registered in No. 1 are “today's visit store shown in FIG. "Thank you very much." And the text data of these "Thank you very much for your visit today" is the specific address data indicating that the delivery destination is the control unit 100 that is all display terminals. , Given to the head of the message and transmitted.

  Based on this, all the control units 100 determine that the distributed data is intended for itself because the specific address data given to the head of the distribution data corresponds to itself. Then, by displaying the distributed character data on the display unit 9, the above-mentioned “Thank you for coming to our store today” is displayed on all the display units 9. These distribution data are temporarily stored in the RAM 75 provided in the control unit 100, and the display is repeated for "about 20 seconds" until the corresponding next distribution data is received. To be implemented.

  Next, as described above, the display “Current time is 11:03” is distributed as the current time display, and the display is displayed on all the display units 9 for 10 seconds.

  Next, distribution of information 1 (morning) for each island, which is the predetermined display content, is performed. This island-specific information 1 (morning), which is the predetermined display content, is used in the case where it is desired to simultaneously distribute different contents for each island. Although there are many cases where unlimited games are possible, there are islands where there are always unlimited models on each island, and there are also islands where game machines of models that do not perform unlimited games are installed. Therefore, in the display corresponding to each island, for example, in the registered text list window 131 “text setting for island 1”, the text “Unlimited for Morning Service” is set. In “Sentence setting for 2”, the sentence “This platform is unlimited all day” is also set for each island like island 3, island 4. For each island When Report 1 (Morning) is implemented, the text corresponding to each of these islands is given the address of the DMC 46 provided on the corresponding island, and the DMC 46 is given its own address. By relaying and distributing the distributed data to the display terminals in the islands connected to each DMC 46, different display contents are displayed on the display unit 9 for each island.

  Next, the weather information (Kanto) is distributed to the whole island. The text data of these weather information (Kanto) is sequentially updated to the latest information in the text broadcast receiving device 48, and the latest weather information updated by the distribution computer 49 from the text broadcast receiving device 48 ( Kanto) character data is acquired and given address data indicating that the delivery destination is the control unit 100, which is all display terminals, is sent to the display unit 9. It is displayed for a predetermined time (about 20 seconds).

  Next, “Thank you very much for your visit today. Thank you for your visit. Today ’s jackpot number is ** times” is registered. This distribution is performed for all the tables, and the number of hits for today of the corresponding pachinko machine 2 is displayed by “** times” in the sentence by the control unit 100 of each distribution destination. At this time, if the jackpot display setting in the information is set to not display in the setting on the effective side of the DIP switch 77 or the distribution computer 49, thank you for your visit to the store today. Only "is displayed and the number of jackpots is not displayed.

  Next, “event information” in which texts such as “○ 月 △ 日 、 □ 時 新装 开店” and “○ 月 △ 日 is Thanksgiving Day” are distributed and displayed on each display terminal.

  Next, “Today's lucky table” in which the text “This table is today's lucky table” is displayed on the display unit 9 corresponding to each pachinko machine specified in the table designation in the schedule table window 130. Is done. In this way, in this embodiment, the distribution computer 49 is shown in FIG. 23 by inputting the number of the pachinko machine 2 corresponding to the display unit 9 to be displayed in the table designation of the schedule table window 130. As described above, the recording device 125 has the island number database based on the island and the unit number setting in which the address of each display terminal (control unit 100) and the corresponding unit number of the pachinko machine 2 are registered. Therefore, by assigning the address corresponding to the designated machine number to the distribution data and transmitting it, only the control unit 100 corresponding to the assigned address displays the distribution data, and the “ This display is today's lucky table "is displayed only on the display unit 9 corresponding to the designated pachinko machine. The “event information” is continuously displayed on the display unit 9 connected to the control unit 100 that does not correspond to the assigned address.

  Next, “Thank you very much for your coming today. The current start count is XX times” is registered, and “Thank you for your visit. 4” is distributed. This distribution is carried out for all the tables, and the “XX times” in the sentence indicates the number of times the corresponding pachinko machine 2 is started (started) at that time by the control unit 100 of each distribution destination. . At this time, if the start display setting in the information is set to not display in the setting on the effective side of the DIP switch 77 or the distribution computer 49, “Thank you very much for coming to the store today. "Is displayed, and the number of start (start) is not displayed.

  Next, news (general) is distributed to the whole island. The text data of these news (general) is sequentially updated to the latest information in the teletext receiver 48, as with the weather information described above, and the distribution computer 49 is updated from the teletext receiver 48. The latest news (general) text data is obtained and distributed to each display terminal, and displayed for a predetermined time (about 60 seconds).

  Next, in this embodiment, an island that can be moved to another stand with the ball acquired in the game hall is provided, and “This island is free to move the stand with the ball”. In order to display the “table changeable display” only on the predetermined islands 1 and 3, “1, 3” is designated in the island designation, and as a result, the delivery destination islands 1 and 3 The address of the DMC 46 provided in is assigned, and only the display unit 9 provided on the corresponding island 1 and island 3 displays “This island is free to move with the ball.” The news (general) is continuously displayed on the display units 9 of other islands.

  In addition, when different displays are made on the individual display terminals in this way, the display confirmation window 134 reproduces what is not continuously displayed or the display state on the preselected display terminal. It has come to be.

  As described above, when the display is completed, the display returns to the top “Thank you for your visit. 1” again, and the display switching based on the contents of the schedule table window 130 is repeated.

  Further, the distribution computer 49 of the present embodiment is provided with a display terminal initial setting screen on which an initial setting which is a function setting in each display terminal connected to the distribution computer 49 can be performed. In the display terminal initial setting screen, each setting similar to the DIP switch 77 provided on the control board 70 of the display terminal is performed by selecting the setting unit in the island unit or the unit unit in the setting unit selection input unit 151. The number corresponding to each setting item on the setting table window 150 is changed to the island number or the unit number, and the setting in units of islands or units can be switched appropriately.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 22, the distribution computer 49 of this embodiment can instruct or set the contents of the game information update process in each display terminal in units of islands or a predetermined number of units. It has become. In this embodiment, as the item of update processing of game information that can be instructed or set, the special award data (the number of jackpots) of the corresponding pachinko machine 2 collected by the control unit 100 that is each display terminal at that time An instruction item to be cleared, an item for returning the special award data for one day (previous day → today), and an item for advancing the special award data for one day (today → tomorrow) are provided. When a special gaming machine is installed, the special prize signal is incorrectly input to the display terminal, or the power supply to the display terminal is interrupted and the special prize data is updated. It is now possible to make corrections, and by performing these corrections in units of bases or islands, the labor required for these corrections can be reduced.

  In addition, as an item of game information update processing, an item of whether or not the special data is automatically updated by turning on / off the power is provided. By setting this automatic update, the control unit 100 which is a display terminal is set. The power supply in the game island supplied to is normally turned on once a day before opening in the morning and then turned off after closing in the evening. The data is automatically transferred from today to the previous day.

  In addition, when a new gaming machine is installed as described above, the power supply to the display terminal may be interrupted. In such a situation, the special prize data is automatically updated. By setting the item not to be performed, it is possible to prevent the special prize data from being erroneously updated due to the intermittent power supply.

  In addition, display / non-display of “exchange”, “continuous”, “unlimited” sales information displayed by operation of a remote controller (not shown) corresponding to the display terminal, or “replacement” display, “continuous” ”And“ Unlimited ”can be set individually. In this way,“ Continuous ”and“ Unlimited ”are displayed due to incorrect operation of the remote control in models that are all“ Replaced ”. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

  Each setting and instruction content of the initial setting and data processing setting of FIG. 21 and FIG. 22 are transmitted with the address of the setting unit island or table added to the head of the setting data or instruction data, Only the control unit 100 corresponding to the address receives the setting data or instruction data and executes the setting update process, so that the setting for each island or each unit can be performed.

  Next, rewriting of the processing program of the display terminal on the program transfer screen of FIG. 24 will be described. First, on the program transfer screen of the present embodiment, a transfer menu selection input unit 160 for selecting a program to be rewritten, and a rewriting execution unit can be selected for each island, each island, or each unit. Transfer unit selection input unit 164, file selection input unit (pop-up window) 161 for selecting a new processing program file to be rewritten, and processing program version data stored in each display terminal are registered. A version table window 168 in which the version of the processing program in each display terminal is displayed based on the contents of the program DB, and a confirmation button 165 that is input after the rewrite execution unit selection input in the transfer unit selection input unit 164 And the transfer button that is input when rewriting And 166, and end button portion 167 that is an input operation at the completion of rewriting, is provided. Note that reference numeral 163 in the figure denotes a reference button portion that is selected and input when a file of the transfer program selected in the file selection input portion (pop-up window) 161 is selected.

  As an example of rewriting, based on the processing flow diagram of FIG. 18 showing the update processing of the control microcomputer 79 of the control unit 100 that is the display terminal, as shown in FIG. Among the processing programs of each control unit 100 installed on the game island 1, the image program and control program data stored in the image program area (rewrite level 0) and the control program area (rewrite level 0) are revised. An example of rewriting to a new version of the processing program “SP-2.1” will be described.

  First, when rewriting to a new processing program “SP-2.1”, for example, a floppy disk in which the new processing program “SP-2.1” is recorded is stored in advance in the recording medium driving device 128. The file name of the new processing program is displayed on the file selection input unit (pop-up window) 161 by appropriately operating the reference button unit 163.

  Next, “image + control program”, which is a corresponding menu, is selected and input from the transfer menu selection input unit 160, and island setting is selected and input in the transfer unit selection input unit 164, and a “first” pop-up window 1 is selected, and the last pop-up window is set to 1, and game island 1 is selected. Based on the selection input of the transfer unit selection input unit 16, the display area corresponding to the island number 1 in the version table window 168 is displayed in black and white.

  At this time, when the processing program to be rewritten is only the image program or only the control program, if “transfer image program” or “control program transfer” is selected in the selection of the transfer menu selection input unit 160, Only the image program or the control program is updated.

  In addition, in the above description, since the rewriting target is the display terminal installed on the game island 1 with the island number 1, the island setting is selected and the number is set in the transfer unit, but the transfer is performed in units of units. In the case where it is desired to select and input the stand setting, and set the stand number of the gaming machine corresponding to the display terminal to be transferred, only the display terminal is updated. If the target is all display terminals, the entire island is selected and input.

  In the selection in the transfer menu selection input unit 160, when “all processing programs” is selected, that is, when rewriting of the rewrite level 1 area stored in the EEPROM 76 of the control unit 100 is performed, rewriting is performed in advance. It is necessary to change the setting of the slide switch 74 provided in the control unit 100 of the display terminal that performs the “program” position, and the setting of the slide switch 74 remains “normal”. If an attempt is made to rewrite “all processing programs”, the update processing is rejected by the control microcomputer 79, as will be described later.

  When the confirmation button 165 is selected and input in the state where the black and white inversion is confirmed, each control unit 100 to be rewritten into predetermined data indicating distribution of the update program and designated data (image + control program) of the rewrite program. Is transmitted from the distribution computer 49 to each control unit 100 via the communication cable 103 and the communication unit 73.

  Each control unit 100 installed in the island number 1 corresponding to this address shifts to a rewrite processing routine shown in FIG. 18 based on reception of predetermined data indicating the distribution of the update program.

  Next, it is determined whether or not the designated data (image + control program) of the rewrite program is received in the reception (Sb1). If the designated data is not received within a predetermined time, an error is displayed on the display screen 66. ER "is displayed, and predetermined data indicating an error is assigned an address and output to the distribution computer 49 (Sb13), and the process returns to the main processing routine. If the designated data is received within a predetermined time, the rewriting level of the designated rewriting program (image + control program) is compared with the set level of the slide switch 74 (Sb2).

  Based on the output of the predetermined data indicating the error, “ER” indicating the error is displayed in the display area corresponding to the island number 1 of the version table window 168 of the distribution computer 49 as shown in FIG. Is done.

  In this comparison, when the rewriting level of the designated rewriting program is higher than the setting level of the slide switch 74, that is, the setting level of the slide switch 74 is “0; normal”, and the designated rewriting program is “0”. If it is “all programs” (including rewrite level 1) (Sb3), the control microcomputer 79 rejects the rewrite process as impossible, displays “ER” indicating an error on the display screen 66, and displays an error. The predetermined data shown is output to the distribution computer 49 (Sb13), and the process returns to the main processing routine. In the comparison, if the rewrite level of the designated rewrite program is lower than the set level of the slide switch 74, that is, as described above. In addition, the setting level of the slide switch 74 is “0; normal”. , If the specified rewriting program is the image + control program is rewritten level 0, the control microcomputer 79 proceeds to the next step Sb4 to grant the rewriting.

  In step Sb4, it is determined whether or not the rewriting program includes an image program. If the rewriting program is an image + control program as described above, the image program rewriting program stored in the EEPROM 76 is determined. Is read (Sb5). The read image program rewriting program is temporarily stored in the RAM 75, and the control program stored in the control program area to be rewritten and the image program stored in the image program area are read out and temporarily stored in the RAM 75. The data is stored and the control program area and the image program area are initialized (Sb6). At the same time, “OK” blinks on the display screen 66 (see FIG. 18), and predetermined data indicating “OK” is given an address and output to the distribution computer 49 (Sb7), and the rewrite program is received. A waiting state is entered (Sb8).

  In the display area corresponding to the island number 1 of the version table window 168 of the distribution computer 49 based on the output of predetermined data indicating the “OK” from each control unit 100 in which this rewriting is performed, FIG. As shown in a), “OK” indicating completion of preparation is displayed.

  The operator selects and inputs the transfer button unit 166 after confirming that “OK” is displayed on all the display terminals corresponding to the island number 1 in the version table window 168.

  Based on the selection input of the transfer button unit 166, the distribution computer 49 reads a new processing program “SP-2.1” from, for example, a floppy disk, and transmits the data to each control unit 100 via the communication cable 103. Send.

  Based on the reception of the new processing program “SP-2.1”, the control microcomputer 79 includes the control program and its version data in the received new processing program as the control program area and program version data of the EEPROM 76. When the image program is received, the image program rewrite program temporarily stored in the RAM 75 is executed, and the rewrite of the image program designated by the received data is temporarily stored in the RAM 75. The new image program updated on the RAM 75 is recorded in the image program area of the EEPROM 76 at the stage where the rewriting by the received data is completed (Sb9), and the processing program “SP- 2.1 "reception Accordingly, the display of “←” indicating that rewriting is being performed is scroll-displayed on the display screen 66, and predetermined data indicating that rewriting is being performed is assigned an address and output to the distribution computer 49.

  Thus, during these rewritings, as shown in FIG. 18, “←” is scrolled on the display screen, and the display area corresponding to island number 1 in the version table window 168 of the distribution computer 49 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 25C, the character being transferred is displayed.

  When the rewriting of the program based on the received data (writing to the EEPROM 76) is completed, the control microcomputer 79 erases each data temporarily stored in the RAM 75 and also displays the version data of a new processing program on the display screen 66. “SP-2.1” is displayed, and the address is assigned to the version data and output to the distribution computer 49.

  As a result, the version data “SP-2.1” is displayed at the stage where the rewriting of the processing program is completed, so that it is possible to visually confirm that the rewriting has been successfully performed, and to In the display area corresponding to the island number 1 in the version table window 168, the new version data “SP-2.1” is displayed as shown in FIG. You can also confirm that the rewriting was successful.

  As described above, when the rewriting is completed, displaying or outputting the new version data “SP-2.1” makes it possible to determine that the rewriting has been completed almost certainly. Although preferred, the present invention is not limited to this.

  After the version data is displayed for a predetermined time, the control microcomputer 79 is restarted by reset, and the updated new processing program is executed in each display terminal.

  Next, the distribution computer 49 of the present embodiment collects the version data of each display terminal at the time of activation, and when the collected version data of the terminal does not match the registered version data, The processing status of the startup processing program that has a function of automatically updating the processing program and that is executed at the time of startup and forms the automatic update function will be described below with reference to FIG.

  When this activation processing program is executed, first, the program transfer screen is displayed on the display device (display) 123 (Sc1), and “program confirmation in progress” is displayed on the display (Sc2).

  Next, a processing program stored in the program version data area of the EEPROM 76 is transmitted from the distribution computer 49 to the control unit 100 which is a display terminal in a predetermined order (in the present embodiment, the order of young machine numbers). The version data output request is transmitted together with the address (Sc3), and the reply of the version data is waited at a predetermined time (Sc4).

  If no version data is returned within a predetermined time, the terminal number of the display terminal is registered as a communication error terminal (Sc11) and the process proceeds to Sc7. If version data is returned within a predetermined time, When the returned version data is compared with the version data registered in the program DB of the storage device 125 (Sc5), if the comparison is matched, the process proceeds to Sc7, and the comparison is not matched In step S12, after rewriting the program file (data) corresponding to the version data registered in the program DB (Sc12), the process proceeds to Sc7.

  In Sc7, it is determined whether or not confirmation has been performed for all the terminals. If there are unconfirmed display terminals, the unit number of the display terminal to be confirmed is transferred to the next (Sc13), By returning to Sc3 and repeating Steps Sc3 to Sc7, the version data of all display terminals is confirmed and the rewriting process to the registered program file (data) is performed.

  If it is determined in step Sc7 that all the display terminals have been confirmed, the process proceeds to Sc8. If there is a machine number registered as the communication error, the machine number is displayed ( Sc9), a selection input waiting state of the end button portion 167 is entered (Sc10), and when the end button portion 167 is selectively input, the routine returns to the normal main processing routine.

  As described above, providing the distribution computer 49 with the function of confirming the version data of the processing program of each display terminal and the function of automatic updating means that the control unit in which a different version of the processing program is erroneously stored at the time of installation, for example Even if the processing program and its revision information are damaged in the control unit 100 due to the installation of the control unit 100 or an unexpected situation, a desired processing program to be executed by the control unit 100 and its revision information are stored in the program DB. By registering, it is preferable that the registered processing program and its update information are automatically updated, which is convenient, but the present invention is not limited to this. Absent.

  Further, in this embodiment, the version data of the processing program in each display terminal is checked when the distribution computer 49 is activated, and in this way, after the distribution computer 49 is activated. This is preferable because a processing program other than the registered version can be implemented in the control unit 100, or the inconvenience caused by the processing program of the control unit 100 being damaged and the operation of the display terminal being disabled can be avoided. The invention is not limited to this, and the confirmation of the version data may be performed sequentially based on a predetermined operation, for example, other than at the time of activation.

  As described above, the version data which is the revision information of the processing program stored in the control unit 100 which is the display terminal is displayed on the display screen 66 so as to be stored at the present time. By confirming the version data of a processing program that is present, the contents can be grasped, and efficient updating and management of the processing program can be performed.

  Each element in each of the embodiments corresponds to the present invention as follows.

  The display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected is described with a control means (control microcomputer 79) for controlling the operation of the display terminal, and the contents of processing executed by the control means (control microcomputer 79). Storage means (EEPROM 76) for storing at least a processing program and revision information (version data) of the processing program, and the control means (control microcomputer 79) is configured to update the processing program based on a predetermined operation. (Version data) is displayed.

  In the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected, the predetermined operation is an activation operation by turning on the power.

  The display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected is a non-volatile memory in which the storage means (EEPROM 76) can rewrite data, and the control means (control microcomputer 79) Program updating means (control microcomputer 79...) Capable of rewriting the processing program and its revision information (version data) stored in the means (EEPROM 76) with a new processing program and its revision information (version data). A communication unit 73).

  In the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected, the processing program is stored in a plurality of blocks (control program / image program / program) stored in a predetermined address area corresponding to the storage means (EEPROM 76). The program update means (control microcomputer 79 / communication unit 73) can be rewritten in units of each block.

  In addition, in the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected, each block (control program, image program, shift JIS font data, image program rewrite program) has a predetermined rewrite level (0 or 1). And a rewrite level input unit (slide switch 74) that can input the rewrite level (0 or 1). The control means (control microcomputer 79) includes the rewrite level input unit (slide switch 74). Based on the rewrite level (0 or 1) input from (1), the processing program of each block is rewritten.

  In addition, the game control computer of the present invention can rewrite the processing program of each display terminal (control unit 100) and its revision information (version data).

  In the gaming control computer of the present invention, the rewriting execution unit can be designated for each display terminal (control unit 100) unit or gaming island (game island 1) unit.

  Further, the game control computer of the present invention includes revision information (version data) of a processing program registered in the game control computer 49 and revision information (version) of the processing program in each display terminal (control unit 100). When the data is different from the data, the renewal update to the registered processing program and its revision information (version data) is performed.

  Further, the control means (control microcomputer 79) of the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected changes the display state of the display screen 66 according to each state of rewriting when the processing program is rewritten. And predetermined data (“OK”, “ER”, “ER”, “OK”, “ER”, “←”, etc.) or predetermined data determined in accordance with each state of rewriting One of the controls for outputting the data indicating “being transferred” or the like to the distribution computer 49 via the communication means (communication unit 73) is performed.

  In addition, the control means of the display terminal to which the game control computer of the present invention is connected performs control to display or output revision information (version data) of the rewritten new processing program after the rewriting is completed. carry out.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described in the said Example by drawing, this invention is not limited to these Examples, Even if there exists a change and addition in the range which does not deviate from the main point of this invention. It goes without saying that it is included in the present invention.

  For example, in the embodiment, each display content is distributed from the distribution computer 49 in accordance with the schedule content on the schedule setting screen shown in FIG. The distribution computer 49 has a function of distributing the display contents. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a computer for updating these processing programs may be provided independently. A communication unit that performs connection with a computer that updates these processing programs may be provided individually on the display terminal.

  In the above embodiment, the rewrite levels are “0” and “1”. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is arbitrary to set these rewrite levels to a number of levels.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the dot matrix display screen is formed using the LED display module 61 using a red LED element as a display element, this invention is not limited to this, For example, A display device formed of seven or other predetermined number of segment elements may be used, and the display screen may be a liquid crystal panel or EL display having a segment configuration or a dot matrix configuration, a CRT, or the like, at least correspondingly. Any game information can be used as long as the game information of the gaming machine can be displayed numerically.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the display unit 9 is arrange | positioned in the side part position of the calling lamp 8, this invention is not limited to this, The arrangement position of these display units 9 is a corresponding game. The pachinko machine 2 that is a machine or a pachinko machine 2 that is a gaming machine may be provided integrally therewith, and the arrangement position and form thereof are not particularly limited. Furthermore, in the said Example, although the said display terminal is provided in the pachinko machine 2 which is a game machine 1: 1, this invention is not limited to this, As shown in FIG. Is disposed at an upper position between adjacent pachinko machines 2 in the same manner as the magnetic card reader / writer 39, and a data button 55 ′ similar to the data button 55 and a display switching button 56 ′ similar to the display switching button 56. May be provided two by two, and the two adjacent pachinko machines 2 may share and use the display unit 9 ′ constituting one display terminal.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the unit type game island stand 1 'provided with the counting apparatus 4 for every pachinko machine 2 is used, this invention is not limited to this, These counting apparatuses 4 are It goes without saying that the game display device of the present invention can be applied to a normal game island that is not provided or a game island in which a pachinko ball that is a game medium is enclosed in a non-touchable manner. Furthermore, it is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to a gaming island in which a coin gaming machine or a slot machine that uses coins as a gaming medium, or a slot machine that can be played without using these coins is installed. In addition, the types of these gaming machines are not limited.

  Moreover, in the said Example, although the display unit 9 which comprises a display terminal, and the call lamp 8 provided with the call button 17 are provided separately, this invention is not limited to this, These display The display unit 9 and the call lamp 8 may be integrally provided by providing a call button or a call lamp on the unit 9 or displaying a call message on the display unit 9.

  In the embodiment, during the processing program rewriting process, “←” is displayed on the display screen 66, and “Transferring” is displayed on the display device of the distribution computer 49. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is possible to display the step number of a new processing program that is being rewritten as these displays, or to display the capacity of the processing program that has been rewritten. These display forms are arbitrary.

l Yugijima 1 'Yugijimadai 2 Pachinko machine 3 Card unit 4 Counting device
5 Lower plate 6a Curtain plate 6b Lamp plate 7 Waist plate 8 Calling lamp 9 Display unit 9 'Display unit 10 Card insertion slot 11 Indicator 12 Operation lamp 13 Discharge button 14 Guidance guide 15 Return button 16 Rental button 17 Call button 18 Electrical panel 19 Total Checkout button 20 Edge adjustment button 21 Away button 22 Frequency display 23 Reception window 24 Reception unit
25 Lifting motor 26 Lifting device 27 Lifting rod 28 Delivery tube 29 Supply tube 30 Supply tube 33 Ball cutting and dispensing unit 34 Slide lever 35 Ball receiving tray 36 Supply rod 37 Card insertion issue port 38 7-segment LED display panel 39 Magnetic card reader Writer 40 Recovery dredge 41 Polishing device 42 Control unit 43 Display driver 44 Magnetic card reader / writer 45 Communication unit 46 Branch terminal (DMC)
47 management computer 48 teletext receiver 49 distribution computer 50 cover body 51 opening 52 cover material 54 engagement hole 55 data button 55 'data button 56 display switching button 56' display switching button 57 reception window 60 display substrate 60a (display substrate) ) Upper surface 60b (Display substrate) Lower surface 61 LED display module 62 Data switch 63 Display changeover switch 64 Display driver 65 Reception unit 70 Control board 71 Connection cable 72 Communication unit 73 Communication unit 74 Slide switch 75 RAM (Random access memory)
76 EEPROM
77 DIP switch 78a Signal input section (big hit)
78b Signal input section (probability fluctuation)
78c Signal input section (start)
78d Signal input section (injection)
78e Signal input section (discharge)
79 Control Microcomputer (MPU)
80 Base 81 Engagement Claw 82 Columnar Projection 83 Opening 100 Control Unit 101 Signal Line 102 Communication Cable 103 Communication Cable 110 Communication Unit 111 Enclosed Pachinko Machine 120 Central Processing Unit (CPU)
121 First Communication Interface 122 Second Communication Interface 123 Display Device 124 RAM (Random Access Memory)
125 Storage Device 126 Clock Device 127 Input Device 128 Recording Medium Drive Device 129 Data Bus 130 Schedule Table Window 131 Registered Text List Window 132 Character Broadcast List Window 133 Current Time Display Registration Button Unit 134 Display Confirmation Window 135 Schedule Delete Button Unit 136 Schedule Registration button part 137 Execution button part 138 Temporary stop button part 139 End button part 140 New registration button part 141 Confirmation window 142 Title input part 143 Display content input part 144 Delete button part 145 Registration button part 146 Character color setting part 147 Display switching time Selection input unit 148 Island setting input unit 149 Stand setting input unit 150 Setting table window 151 Setting unit selection input unit 160 Transfer menu selection input unit 161 File selection Power unit 163 references the button unit 164 transfers the unit selection input unit 165 a confirmation button 166 transfer button unit 167 ends the button unit 168 version table window

Claims (1)

Each of the plurality of display terminals provided corresponding to the gaming machine and capable of displaying at least the gaming information of the corresponding gaming machine and information other than the gaming information is connected in data communication, and the gaming information for each gaming machine is A gaming control computer to manage,
For each of a plurality of display contents other than the game information, a display order of the display contents, a display switching time until the display contents are switched to the next display contents, and a display terminal that displays the display contents A setting means that allows an operator to set a target display terminal,
According to the display order and display switching time set by the setting means, the display data of each display content is transmitted to the target display terminal set by the setting means for the display content, so that the display of the target display terminal Display switching means for switching and displaying the display content only on the display screen;
A game control computer comprising:

Images