JPH11203127A - Program management system and control method for terminal management system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a program management system which sets, updates and changes the usage expiration of a game program, the difficulty of a game, a progress state, etc., by letting each terminal perform data communication with a management device and a control method for a terminal management system. SOLUTION: An information service center 7 stores the address data, the identification number data of used game software, set game level data, contract term data, etc., in contractor memory of every pager 5 and when the address data and contract term extension data of the pager 5 are received, it updates contact term data that corresponds to the contractor memory and also sends contract term updation data to the pager 5. The pager 5 updates and sets the contract term of the game software based on the contract term updation data received through a paging center 3. Also, a game level is changed in the same manner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a program management system and a control method of a terminal management system suitable for a communication system represented by a radio paging (hereinafter referred to as "paging") system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a mobile communication system, for example, a PHS (Personal Handyph) for transmitting and receiving voice information has been known.
One paging system and a wireless paging system for exchanging character information are known. In such a mobile communication system, the number of subscribers is rapidly increasing due to a decrease in usage fees and a reduction in the size of terminals with the development of mobile communication technology in recent years.

Under these circumstances, in order to further enhance the service contents, for example, in a radio paging system, an advanced radio paging system (RCR-ST) is used.
D43 standard), enabling large-capacity data exchange and message display in Chinese characters, etc., and a paging receiver (hereinafter abbreviated as a pager) based on time correction information periodically transmitted from a base station. Higher functionality has been achieved, such as the ability to correct the time of the internal clock in ()).

[0004]

However, such a conventional paging system has the following problems.

[0005] That is, with the spread of mobile phones and PHS, users of paging systems are becoming younger, and information and functions required by users for paging services are shifting from business use to personal use. . These younger users do not simply request pagers to enhance their functions as business tools, but rather as additional elements or a kind of communication tool for communicating information between friends, etc. We demand playful elements from businesses.

[0006] In response to this, for example, on the information service side, the business operator regularly transmits fortune-telling information, ski slope information, and the like, but always provides new services and new functions of pagers. If not, there was a concern that these young users would leave.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and includes a use period of a program to be executed on each terminal, a difficulty level of a game, a progress status, and the like when the program is a game program. A communication device for setting, updating, and changing the expiration date, the difficulty level of the game, the progress status, and the like by performing data communication with the management device. The purpose is to provide a control method.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A program management system comprising a communication terminal and a management system that manages an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal, wherein the management system includes a program executed by the communication terminal and an execution range of the program. First storage means for storing the execution range change request information of the program from the information transmitted from the communication terminal, and execution range change request information by the first detection means. When the request information is detected, the first
First control means for changing the execution range of the program stored in the storage means, and transmitting the execution range change information of the program to the communication terminal, wherein the communication terminal Second storage means for storing an execution range; second detection means for detecting reception of the execution range change information of the program; and detecting the execution range change information of the program by the second detection means. Execution range changing means for changing the execution range by limiting the maximum execution range of the program stored in the second storage means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a program management system comprising a communication terminal and a management system for managing an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal, wherein the management system includes the communication terminal. The program executed by the terminal and the execution range of the program are stored in the first storage means in association with each other, and the first detection means determines the execution range change request information of the program from the information transmitted from the communication terminal. Upon detection, the first control means changes the execution range of the program stored in the first storage means, transmits the execution range change information of the program to the communication terminal, and the communication terminal The maximum execution range of the program is stored in the second storage means, and when the reception of the execution range change information of the program is detected by the second detection means, Range changing means changes the limit the maximum execution range execution range of the program stored in the second storage means.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a terminal management system comprising a communication terminal and a management device for managing an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal. A program used in the communication terminal, and a management memory for storing an execution range of the program, and when receiving execution range change request information for changing the execution range of the program from the communication terminal, the management memory While changing the execution range of the stored corresponding program, transmitting execution range change information to the communication terminal, the communication terminal is set in advance to be able to execute the program in all execution ranges, Upon receiving the execution range change information transmitted from the management device, the execution range set in the program is changed. That.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a terminal management system comprising a communication terminal and a management device for managing an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal, wherein the management device is A program used in the communication terminal, and a management memory for storing an execution range of the program, and when receiving execution range change request information for changing the execution range of the program from the communication terminal, the management memory While changing the execution range of the stored corresponding program, transmitting execution range change information to the communication terminal, the communication terminal is set in advance to be able to execute the program in all execution ranges, When the execution range change information transmitted from the management device is received, the execution range set in the program is changed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the program management system according to the first aspect, the management system comprises:
It is characterized by further comprising third storage means for storing an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal and billing information to an owner of the communication terminal executing the program in association with each other.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the management system associates an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal with billing information to an owner of the communication terminal executing the program. And a third storage unit for storing data.

Therefore, according to the first, second and seventh aspects of the present invention, the terminal management system can manage the program currently used in each communication terminal and the expiration date of the program. So, for example,
At the time of a program download service, charging can be performed according to the usage period of the downloaded program, and a fee for the service can be collected, thereby enriching the service form. In addition, the use status of each program can be grasped in the terminal management system.

According to the first, second, and seventh aspects of the present invention, the request for updating the expiration date of the program to the terminal management system (transmission of the identification data of the own communication terminal and the request for updating the expiration date) is transmitted, for example, by the communication The user of the terminal sends a manual transmission to the terminal management system via the communication line.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the program management system according to the first or second aspect, the program is a game program, and the execution range is a degree of difficulty of achieving a game by the game program. It is characterized by.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the program is a game program, and the execution range is the degree of difficulty of achieving a game by the game program.

Therefore, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the management system can manage the game program used in each communication terminal and the current difficulty level of the game. It is possible to grasp the usage status of the game program, the progress status of the game executed on each communication terminal, and the like. Also, for example, in a software house that is a game program development and sales source, a difficulty change request (communication terminal identification data and difficulty change) is sent to the management system based on information (game progress, etc.) obtained from the management system. (Request data transmission), it is possible to provide more detailed user support for the sold game software, such as adjusting the difficulty of the game executed on each terminal.

In the third aspect of the present invention,
It is also possible for the user of the communication terminal to make a game difficulty change request (transmission of the identification data of the own communication terminal and the difficulty change request data) to the management system. In this case, the user may manually transmit the identification data of the owned communication terminal and the difficulty change request data to the management system via the communication line.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the program management system according to the first or second aspect,
The program is application software used by the communication terminal alone, and the execution range is version information of the application software.

According to the invention described in claim 4, the program is application software used by the communication terminal alone, and the execution range is version information of the application software.

Therefore, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the management system can manage the application programs used in each communication terminal and the version thereof, and the management system uses the application programs. Also, it is possible to grasp the version of the application used in each communication terminal. In addition, for example, in a software house that is a developer and distributor of application programs, a version change request (transmission of communication terminal identification data and application program data to be upgraded) to the management system based on version information obtained from the management system.
By doing so, it is possible to provide more detailed user support for the sold application, such as adjusting the version of the application program used in each terminal.

In the invention according to claim 4,
It is also possible for the user of the communication terminal to make a request for version upgrade of the application program to the management system (transmission of identification data of the owned communication terminal and information of the application in use). In this case, the user may manually transmit the identification data of the owned communication terminal and the upgrade request data to the management system via the communication line.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the program management system according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the program stored in the second storage means is limited by flag information. Thus, the execution range can be changed in a plurality of stages, and the information for changing the execution range of the program is information for changing the flag information.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the program stored in the second storage means can be changed in an execution range in a plurality of steps by being restricted by the flag information.
The information for changing the execution range of the program is information for changing the flag information.

Therefore, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the management system can manage the programs used in each communication terminal and the current usage level of the programs. It is possible to grasp the usage status of the program, the progress status of the program executed in each communication terminal, and the like. Also, in the software house that is the developer and distributor of the program, a request for changing the usage level is issued to the management system based on information (such as the progress of the game software) obtained from the management system. It is possible to provide more detailed user support for the sold program, for example, to adjust the difficulty of the program.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the program management system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second storage means is detachably provided in the communication terminal. Good.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the program can be provided to each communication terminal via a storage medium.

[0029]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In the first and second embodiments described below, the paging system conforms to the advanced paging system (RCR-STD43 standard).

First, FIG. 45 shows a data format in the advanced wireless paging system. In the figure, A is 1
1 shows a cycle configuration of data transmitted in a time cycle,
As a cycle of 4 minutes, No. from "0" to "14"
A total of 15 cycles are transmitted.

B indicates the frame structure of one cycle, and one cycle corresponds to N from "0" to "127".
o. And 128 frames in total. That is, one frame is 1.875 seconds,
32 frames are transmitted per minute.

Further, as shown in C, the one frame is divided into eight data areas in accordance with the data contents thereof, and the synchronizing unit 1 (S1) C1 and the frame information (FI) C
2. Synchronization unit 2 (S2) C3, block information (BI) C
4, address field (AF) C5, vector field (VF) C6, message field (MF) C
7 and an idle block (IB) C8.

As can be seen with reference to the block configuration shown in D, the above-mentioned eight data areas are the first three data areas, namely, the synchronization section 1 (S1) C1, the frame information (FI) C2, And a synchronization section 2 (S2) C3, which is transmitted at 115 milliseconds, followed by five data areas, that is, block information (B
I) C4, address field (AF) C5, vector field (VF) C6, message field (M
F) consists of C7 and an idle block (IB) C8, each of which has a total of 11 blocks (160 milliseconds) (#
0 to # 10), which is roughly divided into an interleaved block unit D2 transmitted in 1.76 seconds and interleaved with word data of a plurality of phases.

The synchronizing unit 1 (S1) C1 outputs a binary FSK (Fr
modulation scheme and 1600 BPS
, And stores the 112-bit data transmitted at the transmission rate of
Of the following four types of frames (modulation scheme and transmission rate) are stored. Binary FSK / 1600 BPS Binary FSK / 3200 BPS Quaternary FSK / 3200 BPS Quaternary FSK / 6400 BPS

The frame information (FI) C2 is a binary FSK
, And 32 bits of data transmitted at a transmission rate of 1600 BPS.
o. , Cycle N of the cycle including this frame
o. In the case of multiple transmissions, frame data defining the number of transmissions is stored.

The synchronization unit 2 (S2) C3 is connected to the synchronization unit 1
(S1) Data for adjusting the reception timing of the receiver is stored in the data of the interleave block unit D2 transmitted in the frame type specified by C1.

The block information (BI) C4 is stored in an address field (AF) C5 and a vector field (VF) in the interleave block section D2 of this frame.
It stores data defining the word number, the number of words, and the like, which are the starting points of C6. Also, at a predetermined frame interval, time correction information for correcting the clock function of the receiver as a time correction service is stored in a frame number of each cycle. 0 in the corresponding block information (BI) C4.

The address field (AF) C5 contains 32
Bit or 64-bit address data of the receiver of the call destination is stored. Vector field (VF) C
6 is a pair with the address field (AF) C5, and is a vector data (vector) that defines the word number and the number of words which are the starting points of the message field (MF) C7, the length and data type of the message data, and the like. (Including type data).

The message field (MF) C7 stores message data in the data format specified by the vector field (VF) C6. The idle block (IB) C8 is an unused block, and when a vacancy occurs in this frame, a bit pattern continuous with “0” or “1” is inserted.

The data format shown in FIG. 45 is interleaved and transmitted in time series in four independent phases a, b, c, and d. That is, if this advanced wireless paging method is adopted, the paging service company can multiplex one frame of data having different contents and transmit it at one time using the above four phases.

Further, in the paging system adopting the advanced paging system, in addition to the basic paging service, a message number is added to the call from the center-side equipment for each pager address and transmitted. On the center side, there is a "message serial number service" for managing transmission messages to which the message number is added, and an "information service" for transmitting various information messages such as exchange rates and weather information to a pager.

The user of the pager corresponding to such an advanced paging system can select to enjoy these additional services in addition to the basic services.
For example, when the “information service” is selected, the user can enjoy various information messages from an information provider (information service center) via a pager.

In the case where the present invention is applied to a paging system employing the above-described advanced wireless paging method,
This will be described below with reference to FIGS.

(First Embodiment) First, the configuration will be described. FIG. 1 shows a paging system 10 to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of the embodiment.

The paging system 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a telephone 1, a public line network 2, a paging center 3, a transmitting antenna 4, a pager 5 (5A, 5B, 5C), and an information service center 7.

The telephone 1 is a terminal device such as a push phone connected to the public line network 2, and is connected to the paging center 3 and the information service center 7 via the public line network 2. In addition, a public switched telephone network (PSTN: Public S)
The witched Telephone Network 2 is connected to the telephone 1, the paging center 3, and the information service center 7. The public line network 2 is an ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network).
ork).

A transmission antenna 4 is connected to the paging center (central base station) 3, and an information service center 7 is connected via a dedicated line 8. The paging center 3 transmits a radio signal (data format is shown in FIG. 45 described above) via the transmitting antenna 4 based on call destination data and message data input from the telephone 1 or pager 5 via the public line network 2. The message data is transmitted to the pager 5 of the calling destination.

Further, in the paging center 3, based on the call destination data (call number data for the 4th address) input from the information service center 7 via the dedicated line 8 and the data for the information service, the transmitting antenna 4 The data for information service is transmitted to the pager 5 of the call destination by a wireless signal via the.

The transmitting antenna 4 is connected to the paging center 3
And radiates a radio signal frequency-modulated in the 280 [MHz] band under the control of the paging center 3.

The pager 5 (5A, 5B, 5C) is a wireless communication terminal provided with its own address data (identification data), and transmits a wireless signal transmitted from the paging center 3 via the transmission antenna 4 to the wireless communication terminal. It receives and performs incoming notification processing and message display processing. The pager 5 is connected to the telephone 1 by acoustic connection so that the DTMF
It has a so-called dialer function that enables data transmission to the paging center 3 and the information service center 7 by a (Dual Tone Multi-Frequency) signal.

Further, the pager 5 responds to the game software download request to the information service center 7 based on the game software downloaded to the pager 5 by a radio signal from the information service center 7 via the paging center 3. The game can be played for a predetermined contract period.

The information service center 7 is connected to the paging center 3 via a dedicated line 8, and comprises a data supply system 71 and a database 72. In the information service center 7, various information messages, such as exchange rates, news, flea market information, etc., are sent to the contract pager 5 of the "information service" via the paging center 3 and the transmission antenna 4 by radio signals. Send.

The information service center 7 provides the contract user 6 with a download service of the game software executable on the pager 5 owned by the user and as a part of the "information service", and the expiration date of the game ( It also manages the contract term and progress (clear level).

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the paging center 3 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the paging center 3 includes an input / output circuit 301,
Switching section 302, call number collating section 303, subscriber memory 3
04, voice response circuit 305, transmission data memory 306,
It comprises a control unit 307, a message register 308, a vector register 309, an address register 310, a block information storage memory 311, a time clock circuit 312, and a transmission signal control unit 313.

The input / output circuit 301 is connected to the public line network 2, and outputs call destination data and message data inputted from the telephone 1 via the public line network 2 to the switching unit 302. In the input / output circuit 301, the voice response circuit 305
Is transmitted to the telephone 1 connected to the line.

The switching unit 302 sends the call destination data (call number data) to the call number collating unit 303 according to the switching control from the control unit 307 for the call destination data and message data input from the input / output circuit 301. These circuits output message data to the control unit 307, respectively.

Call number collating section 303 stores call number data input from switching section 302 in subscriber memory 304 in advance.
And outputs the matching result to the control unit 307.

The subscriber memory 304 stores, for each contract subscriber,
Call number data of the pager 5 owned (1st to 4t)
h address) and its address data (32 bits)
Are stored in association with each other.
The reading and writing are controlled by.

The voice response circuit 305 has a function of generating voice guide data under the control of the control unit 307, outputting the voice guide data to the telephone 1 connected to the line via the input / output circuit 301, and responding by voice. Have.

When transmitting the message data with the message number data to the pager 5 subscribed to the “message serial number service”, the transmission data memory 306 stores the message data with the message number data. Stored in association with call number data,
It has a memory area to manage.

The control unit 307 controls the entire operation of the paging center 3 and, in response to a pager call request from the telephone 1 or the pager 5 having a dialer function, a series of paging operations when calling the pager 5 to be called. It has a function to control processing. The control unit 307
Is connected to the information service center 7 via a dedicated line, and is transmitted to the call destination pager 5 based on call destination data and information service data input from the information service center 7 via the dedicated line 8. It has a function of controlling a series of paging processes when transmitting data relating to various information services (including a game software download service).

The message register 308 is provided in the control unit 30
7 is configured to store the transmission message data input from the control unit 7 and output the data to the transmission signal control unit 313. In the present invention, the information service center 7
Transmission data for the information service inputted from the user via the dedicated line 8 (for example, in the present embodiment, game program data described later, a block data table (see FIG. 12), game display control program data, game management A table (see FIG. 15), contact telephone number data, contract expiration date data, contract expiration date update data, level update data, and the like are also stored. The message data (including data for the information service) stored in the message register 308 is data stored in the message field (MF) C7 of the frame configuration C shown in FIG.

The vector register 309 includes a control unit 307
, And stores the vector data input from the transmission signal control unit 313. The vector data stored in the vector register 309 is data stored in the vector field (VF) C6 of the frame configuration C shown in FIG.

The address register 310 includes a control unit 307
And stores the address data and the frame data of the pager 5 of the call destination input from the server, and outputs the data to the transmission signal control unit 313. The address data and frame data stored in the address register 310 correspond to the address field (AF) C5 and the frame information (FI) of the frame configuration C in FIG.
Data stored in C2.

The block information storage memory 311 is a storage medium for storing setting information for setting the block information (BI) C4 of the frame configuration C in FIG. 45 by the control unit 307, and includes an address field (AF) C5. And data such as a word number serving as a starting point of the vector field (VF) C6.
7 controls reading and writing.

The time clock circuit 312 is a circuit for clocking the current time, and outputs clock data to the control unit 307.

The transmission signal control unit 313 includes a control unit 307,
It is connected to the message register 308, the vector register 309, and the address register 310, and reads message data, vector data, address data, and frame data from the message register 308, the vector register 309, and the address register 310, respectively, under the control of the control unit 307. The transmission data of the data format shown in FIG. 45 is formed. Then, this transmission data is output to the transmission antenna 4 under the control of the control unit 307, and wirelessly output to the pager 5 of the call destination.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information service center 7 shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the information service center 7 includes a data supply system 71 and a database 72. The data supply system 71 includes a data input / output unit 710, a contractor memory 7
11, main frame 712, and data output unit 713
It consists of.

The data input / output unit 710 is connected to the public line network 2 and includes call number data for a first address for personal authentication, which will be described later, transmitted from the calling telephone 1 or pager 5 connected to the line. Upon receiving the contract term extension data, the clear level data, and the like, these data are output to the mainframe 712. The data input / output unit 710 sends voice announcement data input from the main frame 712 to the telephone 1 connected to the line.

As shown in FIG. 4, the contractor memory 711 stores contractor name data for each contractor who has contracted for “information service” with the information service center (information providing company) 7. , Personal information data for customer management (address,
Contact information, occupation, place of work (school), age, birthday, transfer account number, etc., contracted pager data, call number data (for 1st address), and address data for this 1st address (32 bits) , Call number data for information service (for 4th address), address data for this 4th address (32 bits), game software identification number data, and clear level data (game execution range) indicating the progress of the game. ) And contract expiration date data of the game software are stored in association with each other, and reading and writing of these data are controlled by the main frame 712.

In the contractor memory 711,
In the “game software identification number” item, the “clear level” item, and the “expiration date” item, data is stored only for a contractor who has contracted a game software download service with the information service center 7 concerned. You.

The above two call number data (1st
The call number data for the first address of the telephone 1 or the pager 5 when the contractor makes a game software download request, a contract term extension request, a clear / next level shift request, or the like. Is input to the information service center 7 from
It is set for specifying whether or not the caller of the various requests (caller pager 5) is a contractor of the game software download service (contract pager 5), that is, set for personal authentication. Data.

The main frame 712 includes a CP (not shown).
U (Central Processing Unit), RAM (Random Acc
ess memory), a hard disk (including an OS, a data communication driver, etc.), a speech synthesis circuit for announcement, a display, and the like, and a timer 712a.

The announcement speech synthesis circuit generates speech announcement data under the control of the CPU, and outputs the speech announcement data to the telephone 1 connected to the line via the data input / output unit 710. In addition, the timer 712a
Clocks the current time and outputs the time data to a work area (not shown) in the main frame 712.

The main frame 712 controls the operation of the entire information service center 7 and executes a system control process (see FIG. 24) described later.

In this system control processing, the mainframe 712 calls the 4th address of the caller pager 5 to be downloaded in response to a game software download request from the caller telephone 1 or pager 5. Number data and programs and data related to game software to be downloaded, that is, in the present embodiment, game program data, block data table (see FIG. 12), game display control program data, and game management table (FIG. 15),
The contact telephone number data and the contract term data are transmitted to the paging center 3 via the dedicated line 8. Further, the mainframe 712 responds to a request for extension of the contract term or a clear / next level shift request from the telephone 1 or the pager 5 of the caller, and the call number data for the 4th address of the pager 5 of the caller; The contract expiration date update data or the level update data is transmitted to the paging center 3 via the dedicated line 8.

The data output unit 713 is connected to the paging center 3 via the dedicated line 8, and transmits transmission data (call destination data and data for information service) input from the main frame 712 to the dedicated line 8. Output to the paging center 3 via

On the other hand, the database 72 is connected to the data supply system 71, and as shown in FIG. 5, for each storage address, game software identification number data, game name data, contact telephone number data, game software Data (for example, in the present embodiment, the game software data includes game program data described later, a block data table (see FIG. 12), program data for game display control, and a game management table (see FIG. 15). ) And the note data are set and stored in association with each other, and the reading and writing of these data are controlled by the main frame 712 of the data supply system 71. The "remarks" column stores game usage data and the like.

The operation of setting and registering the various data in the database 72 is performed by the operator of the information service center 7. For example, when the operator registers new game software data at the next storage address and inputs game name data, game software identification number data and contact telephone number data are automatically set, and these data are stored in the database 72. be registered.

The contact telephone number data is telephone number data for establishing a line connection with the information service center 7, and, for example, numerical data of the last digit differs for each game software. This contact phone number data is stored in the pager 5 when downloading the game software.
The information service center 7 uses the contact telephone number data used for the line connection in the pager 5 at the time of the request for extension of the contract term or the request for clearing / next level transfer from the pager 5. You can identify which game you are playing.

Next, FIG. 6 shows the pager 5 shown in FIG.
3A is a front view, and FIG. 3B is a rear view. As shown in FIG. 6A, the pager 5 has a display unit 501 made of a liquid crystal display or the like facing a display window 500a opened on the front side of the main body casing 500.
Is provided.

Further, a speaker 510 is provided below and to the left of the display section 501 so as to face the sound window 500b, and further below the display section 501 except for the game mode (for example, when displaying a message). To move the cursor in the up, down, left, and right directions, and in the game mode, to move the block falling from the top of the screen to the left, right, and lower directions. A cross key 504 for instructing UP) is provided.

In addition, below and on the right side of the display unit 501, a release key 505 for instructing switching between the incoming call waiting mode and the game mode, and for canceling or canceling other than the game mode, an incoming call waiting mode And a memory key 506 for instructing the start or temporary stop of the game in the game mode, and instructing to move the cursor to the left and right in modes other than the game mode. , A cursor key 507 for instructing the rotation of the falling block.

An LED 509 is provided above and to the right of the display unit 501 to blink the light when a call is received or when a DTMF signal is emitted to notify the user that a call is being received or data is being transmitted. I have.

Further, on the left side of the main body casing 500, a reset operation is instructed by a pressing operation, and power ON / OFF switching is performed by a sliding operation up and down.
A main switch 502 for instructing a transition to the incoming call notification setting mode, and a dialer key 503 for instructing a start of DTMF signal output (dialer output) by a pressing operation are provided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, on the back side of the main body casing 500, a DT is provided facing the sound emission window 500c.
A dialer speaker 5 that emits an MF signal at a predetermined volume
08, a storage cover 513 for storing a memory backup battery (button-type battery) in the main body is provided below the main body casing 50 by a screw 514.
Locked to zero.

When the storage lid 513 is opened, a memory reset switch (not shown) for resetting the storage contents of a ROM 520 (formed of an EEPROM) and a RAM 521 to an initial state is provided therein. I have.

A storage lid 511 for storing a battery (primary battery or secondary battery) serving as a power supply for driving the pager 5 in the main body casing 500 is provided with a push-slid button on the rear side and lower portion. It is locked to the main body casing 500 by 512.

Next, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the pager 5. As shown in FIG. In the figure, the pager 5 is
The display unit 501 and the dialer speaker 5 shown in FIG.
08, LED 509, speaker 510, antenna 515, receiver 516, decoder 517, CPU5
18, ID-ROM 519, ROM 520, RAM 52
1, transmission data memory 522, deinterleave circuit 5
23, buffer memory 524, BHC decoder 52
5, a driver 526, 527, a key input unit 528, a transmission buffer 529, a DTMF signal conversion unit 530, and an amplifier 531. Each unit is a bus 532.
Connected by

The antenna 515 receives a radio signal (data format is as shown in FIG. 45 described above) transmitted from the paging center 3 shown in FIG. 1 via the transmitting antenna 4 and outputs it to the receiving unit 516. I do.

The receiving section 516 is connected to the decoder 517, intermittently drives under the control of the decoder 517, and demodulates the above-mentioned four types of frame type (modulation system and transmission rate) radio signals input from the antenna 515. After that, the received data is output to the decoder 517.

The decoder 517 determines the frame type of the received data based on the frame type data stored in the synchronization section 1 (S1) C1, and controls the drive of the receiving section 516 according to the determination result. Also, the decoder 517
Converts the demodulated and detected serial data (received data) of the self-frame supplied from the receiving unit 516 into 8-bit parallel data, and sequentially outputs the parallel data to the buffer memory 524.

The decoder 517 includes a CPU 518.
The address data of the received data stored in the address field (AF) C5 by the ID-ROM 51
9, after receiving the detection signal output from the CPU 518 to the decoder 517 at the time of matching after matching with the address data registered in the address field registered in the own frame vector field (VF) C of the own frame including the matched address data.
6 and instructs the receiving unit 516 to continuously receive the message field (MF) C7.

CPU (Central Processing Unit) 51
Reference numeral 8 denotes a central processing unit that controls each unit of the pager 5 according to various control programs stored in the ROM 520, and includes a clock circuit 518a that measures the current time and a timer circuit 518b. Specifically, the CPU 51
8 executes a main control process (see FIG. 16 and FIG. 17) described later when the power is turned on by sliding the main switch 502.

In this main control process, the CPU 518
Executes a basic paging process, a message readout control process (see FIG. 19) set as a subroutine of the main control process, and a game control process (FIGS. 22
), A game data rewrite control process (see FIG. 25), and a contract term management process (see FIG. 26).

In these series of processes, the CPU 518
Stores the received data (1st to 3rd addresses) addressed to itself in the message memory (MM) 521a (see FIG. 14) of the RAM 521, and sets the value of the flag A to "1" from the stored received data addressed to itself. And the flag B
Is retrieved, that is, received message data that has been read and has not yet been converted into block number data, and the number of dial digits of the message data and the destination address are retrieved. Based on the bonus level (BL) data, the added number of block number data for setting the continuation range of the game executed by the pager 5 is calculated, and the added number data is stored in the game management memory (GCM) 521b. "Number of blocks" in the completed game management table (see FIG. 15)
Add to the item.

When detecting a program or data related to the game software from the received data (4th address) addressed to itself, the CPU 518 stores the program stored in the game function area 520B of the ROM 520 and the game management memory (GCM) 521b of the RAM 521. Or data (game software) is rewritten to the received game software. At this time, the CPU 518 stores the contact telephone number data received as data relating to the game software in an ID.
-Stored in the "contact telephone number" item of the ROM 519.

Further, upon detecting contract expiration data or contract expiration update data from the received data (4th address) addressed to itself, the CPU 518 stores the contract expiration data or contract expiration update data in the game management table based on the contract expiration data or contract expiration update data. Set or update the data of the "contract term" item. Also, the CPU 518 sends the received data (4t
When the level update data is detected from the (h address), the data of the “current level” item stored in the game management table is updated based on the level update data.

The CPU 518 determines whether or not a predetermined condition provided for each game level has been cleared during the game and the user has instructed to shift to the next game level. The call number data and the clear level data for the first address of the pager 5 are dial-tone output in response to the pressing operation of the dialer key 503, and the line is connected via the telephone 1 and the public line network 2 by the contact telephone number data. The call number data and the clear level data for the first address are sent to the information service center 7. Furthermore, CP
When the user instructs to extend the contract term of the game software, U518 sends the contact telephone number data, the call number data for the first address of the pager 5 and the contract term renewal data similarly to the dialer key 503.
The dial tone is output in response to the pressing operation, and the call number data for the first address and the contract expiration date update data are transmitted to the information service center 7 connected to the line.

ID-ROM (Identification code RO)
M) 519 is an EEPROM (Electrical Erasable Pr
As shown in FIG. 8, four types of incoming addresses (1st address, 2nd address (for dual call), 3rd address (for serial number service), 4th address (information Service (for games)))
The 32-bit address data (#A, #X) set in the pager 5 and v2, v1, v set in the vector field (VF) C6 of the data configuration C in FIG.
This memory stores a combination of 0 and 3 bits of vector type data.

The address data #A is 32-bit address data set in the pager 5 for individual calling. In the case of a normal calling contract, the address data #A and the vector type data "011 (standard numeral) 8) and call number data (12 in FIG. 8).
34-56-7890) is written by the paging center 3 as the first address (for basic call).

When "dual call" is set as an additional service, the address data #A, vector type data "100 (special format numeric vector)", and call number data (999 in FIG. 8)
9-99-9999) and the paging center 3 as the second address (for dual call).
Is written.

When "message serial number service" is set as an additional service, the address data #
A, vector type data "111 (numbered number vector)", and call number data (987 in FIG. 8).
6-54-3210) is written by the paging center 3 as a 3rd address (for serial number service).

The address data #A is dedicated to the NP (numerical paging) service (numerical message, free word, fixed phrase). Also, 1s
It is assumed that the call number data for the t address can be output as a dialer for personal authentication of the owner of the pager 5.

In this embodiment, the address data #X is 32-bit address data set in the pager 5 for an information service (game).
When a download service of game software is contracted as an additional service, the address data #X, the vector type data “000 (maintenance vector)”, and the call number data (11111-22-333 in FIG. 8)
3) are associated with each other and written by the paging center 3 as a 4th address (for information service (game)).

The maintenance vector is vector type data provided for the business operator (the paging center 3 or the information service center 7) to control the pager 5, and the program vector and the control data for the pager 5 are provided. This is set in the vector field (VF) C6 when data such as data is transmitted.

The ID-ROM 519 stores contact telephone number data (00 in FIG. 8) corresponding to the downloaded game software in correspondence with the 4th address.
00-00-0001) is written by the information service center 7.

[0108] Bonus level (BL) data is set in each of the first to third addresses. The BL data sets the conversion ratio of the number of dropped blocks to the number of dial digits according to the incoming address of the received message data when calculating the number of dropped blocks during a game from the number of dial digits of received message data described later. Data.

A ROM (Read Only Memory) 520 stores
As shown in FIG. 9, a pager function area 520A for storing programs and data related to a basic paging function and a game function area 520B for storing programs and data related to downloaded game software are configured by an EPROM. It is roughly divided.

The pager function area 520A includes a program memory (PM) 520a, a character generator memory (CG) 520b, a dial data conversion table memory (DT) 520c, a free word conversion matrix memory (FM) 520d, and a paging processing program memory (PP). ) 520e, and a display control program memory (DC) 520f, and the game function area 520B is a block data memory (BM) 520.
g, Configuration data memory (CF) 520
h, and a game program memory (GM) 520i.

First, the memories 520a to 520f constituting the pager function area 520A will be described.
The program memory (PM) 520a is a memory area for storing various control programs for performing basic control of each section of the pager 5.

Character generator memory (CG) 5
Reference numeral 20b denotes a memory area for storing character data such as kana, alphanumeric characters, kanji, and symbols displayed on the display unit 501.

Dial data conversion table memory (D
T) 520c indicates the message field (MF) C7 when the destination address is the 1st to 3rd address.
Message data (bit data) stored in
Into four bits (B3, B2, B1,
B0) is a memory area for storing a dial data conversion table for converting the message data into dial data corresponding to the corresponding numeric data, and for converting the message data into dial data in order to calculate the number of dial digits of the message data.

Free word conversion matrix memory (F
M) 520d converts the message data (numerical data) after the free word start code “−−” (dial input “* 2 * 2”) from the message data converted into the numeric data by the dial data conversion table. 11 is a memory area for storing a free word conversion matrix for converting into a corresponding free word every two digits (row, column) as shown in FIG.

Paging processing program memory (PP)
520e are various control programs related to the paging function, for example, a main control process described later (FIGS. 16 and 1).
7), a message reading control process (see FIG. 19) executed as a subroutine of the main control process, and a game data rewriting control process (see FIG. 2).
5), and a memory area for storing programs such as a contract term management process (see FIG. 26).

Display control program memory (DC) 520
f is a memory area for storing a display control program for controlling display of the display unit 501 in a mode other than the game mode, that is, when displaying data related to the paging function.

In the pager 5 according to the present embodiment,
In the game mode, as shown in FIG.
01 is used as a portrait screen (game mode screen 501B), and when the mode is not the game mode (for example, when displaying a message), the display unit 501 is displayed as shown in FIG.
Is used as a landscape screen (paging mode screen 501A).

Therefore, the display control program memory (DC) 520f stores a display control program for performing various displays such as message display using the display section 501 as a horizontally long screen. At the time of display, the information is read out and executed by the CPU 518.

Next, each of the memories 520g to 520i constituting the game function area 520B will be described.

A block data memory (BM) 520g, a configuration data memory (CF) 520h, and a game program memory (GM) 520i, which constitute the game function area 520B, are stored in a block data table and a game display control, respectively. The program and the game program data are transferred from the information service center 7 to the pager 5 via the paging center 3 in response to a download request for the game software.
The data is wirelessly transmitted at the th address and stored in the corresponding memories 520g to 520i by a game data rewrite control process (see FIG. 25) described later.

In the block data memory (BM) 520g, the game downloaded to the pager 5 in the present embodiment, that is, blocks of various shapes falling one after another from the upper part of the screen are moved left and right, or As shown in FIG. 12, for a game (see FIG. 23) in which the game is rotated and piled up without gaps, as shown in FIG. 12, the level data from “1” to “6” set in the game and the A block data table is stored, which is stored in association with the shape pattern data (block pattern data) of the block to be dropped.

In this block data table, as the numerical value of the level data increases (1 → 6), the shape pattern of the block to be dropped becomes more complicated, and the difficulty of the game increases. In this block data table, four block pattern data are stored at each level, but blocks that are dropped from above the screen during the game are, for example, those whose current game level is “3”. In some cases, levels "1" to "3"
CPU from 12 types of block pattern data
518 is randomly selected. In other words, the higher the level, the more types of blocks you can drop,
Its shape becomes complicated.

Configuration
A game display control program for controlling display of the display unit 501 in the game mode is stored in the data memory (CF) 520h.

As described above, the pager 5 according to the present embodiment uses the display section 501 as a portrait screen in the game mode as shown in FIG. In the game screen shown in FIG. 23, the height (H) and width (W) of the block stacking area 501i are changed according to the game level (the higher the level (1 → 6), the higher the height (H)). Is reduced, and the width (W) is reduced). The configuration data memory (CF) 520h stores a game display control program for displaying the display section 501 as a vertically long screen and displaying a block stacking area 501i corresponding to each level of the game. The display control program is executed by the CPU when the game is executed.
Read and executed by 518.

Game program memory (GM) 520i
Stores game program data for controlling the game. For example, in the present embodiment, a program for a game control process (see FIGS. 20 to 22) described later is stored.

RAM (Random Access Memory) 521
Is a message memory (MM) 5 as shown in FIG.
21a and a game management memory (GCM) 521b.

The message memory (MM) 521a is a memory area for storing received message data (1st to 3rd addresses) addressed to itself. As shown in FIG. 14, for each storage address, incoming address data and message data are stored. , Incoming date and time data, dial digit number data, flag A, and flag B are stored in association with each other.

The message data is displayed on the display unit 50.
The dial number data is data indicating the number of push-phone operations (dial operations) required to create the message data. The value of the dial digit number data is calculated from the received message data using the dial data conversion table (see FIG. 10) stored in the dial data conversion table memory (DT) 520c of the ROM 520.

The value of the flag A is a flag set to determine whether the received message data has been read (= “1”) or unread (= “0”).
When displayed at 01, "1" is set. The value of the flag B is a flag set to determine whether or not the value of the dial digit number data of the corresponding message data has been converted into the number of falling blocks during the game. If "1" has not been converted yet, "0" is set.

The game management memory (GCM) 521b stores a game management table (see FIG. 15) among programs and data related to the game software downloaded to the pager 5.

As shown in FIG. 15, the game management table includes game software identification number data, game name data, current level data, contract expiration date data, clear stage number data, block number data relating to the downloaded game software. This is a table for storing and managing display control information, configurations and the like at each level, and managing the current configuration and the like of the game by flags.

In the game management table, current level data and contract expiration date data are transmitted by a radio signal transmitted from the information service center 7 via the paging center 3 in response to a contract expiration date extension request or a clear / next level shift request. Rewritten.

The current level data is data indicating the current clear level of the game, and the clear step number data is data indicating the number of steps cleared when the game is executed. At the start of the game, the minimum value corresponding to the current level is set as an initial value from the numerical range data of the number of clear steps provided for each level described later at the start of the game.

The block number data is data indicating the remaining number of blocks to be dropped from above the screen when the game is executed. When the game is started, the flag A is set by referring to the message memory (MM) 521a.
“1” and the flag B = “0”, that is, the number of dial digits of the received message data that has been read and not yet converted × the bonus level (B
L) is calculated and set, and when the game is executed, the value is sequentially decremented (−1) in accordance with the drop of the block.

The “display control information” item includes a time when the game being executed is temporarily interrupted (for example, when the memory key 506 is pressed during the game, when the number of blocks “0” is detected, when the message reception is detected, etc.). ) Stores the game screen information.

In the game management table shown in FIG. 15, the shape pattern (block pattern) of the block to be dropped and the height (H) and width (H) of the block stacking area 501i are associated with each level of the game. W) and the configuration such as the drop speed (S) of the block are set. Furthermore, in correspondence with each of the above levels,
Numerical range data of the number of clear stages for each level is set.

The flag C is a flag set for managing a block pattern to be dropped according to the clear level of the game, and the flag D is a block stacking area 501i according to the clear level of the game.
Is a flag set to manage the height (H) and width (W) of the game and the falling speed (S) of the block. The flag E is a numerical range data of the number of clear steps according to the clear level of the game. This is a flag set to manage.

For example, in the game management table shown in FIG. 15, the value of the current level data is set to “2”.
"76-175" (stage) is set, the level 1 and level 2 block patterns are set to be used in the game by the value of the flag C, and the height of the block stacking area 501i is set by the value of the flag D. (H) is "2
8 ", the width (W) is set to" 20 ", and the block drop speed (S) is set to the level" 2 ".

The game management memory (GCM) 521b
The values of the flags C, D, and E in the CPU 5 are used in a game data rewriting control process (see FIG. 25) described later.
18 is rewritten.

The transmission data memory 522 forms a memory area for storing message data created in the message creation / transmission mode and a plurality of call number data.

The deinterleave circuit 523 separates and restores one frame of parallel data sequentially input from the buffer memory 524 for each phase according to the frame type data stored in the synchronization unit 1 (S1) C1. (Interleave recovery) and convert to serial data.

In this deinterleave circuit 523, interleave recovery is performed only for 16-bit 3200 BPS (binary / 4-value) and 32-bit 6400 BPS (quaternary) 32-bit data interleaved from paging center 3. That is, 160
In the case of 0 BPS (binary), since there is no need to perform deinterleaving at the stage of conversion to parallel data in the decoder 517, interleave recovery is not performed.

The buffer memory 524 stores a maximum of one frame in its own frame (interleave block unit D).
A memory area for temporarily storing the data of 2) in block units until the termination of the incoming call processing is formed. Also, the interleave recovery by the deinterleave circuit 523 and the CPU
This memory is used as a work area when performing error correction processing, address collation, and the like according to 518.

The BHC decoder 525 performs error correction on the 1-block data using the 10-bit BCH code and the even-number parity bits included in the 1-block data restored by the deinterleave circuit 523.
The number of error bits is output to the CPU 518.

The driver 526 is composed of a driving circuit for controlling the driving of the display section 501, a display buffer, and the like. The display unit 501 includes a liquid crystal display or the like, and displays a message content based on received or created message data, a game screen, or the like.

The driver 527 is a driving circuit for controlling the driving of the LED 509 and the speaker 510. L
The ED (Light Emitting Diode) 509 is a driver 52
Based on the drive signal from, when the data arrives at the pager 5 or when the dialer is output, the light flashes to notify the user that the incoming call or data is being transmitted.

The speaker 510 outputs a predetermined notification sound at the time of data arrival based on the driving signal from the driver 509 to notify the user of the incoming call, and at the time of the game mode, various sound effects and melody sounds. Output.

The key input section 528 includes the main switch 502, dialer key 503, cross key 504, release key 505, memory key 506, and cursor key 50 described above.
7 and a memory reset switch (not shown).
Output to PU518.

The transmission buffer 529 stores the call number data and the message data designated to be transmitted, or the contact telephone number data and the 1st of the pager 5 following the data.
A memory area for temporarily storing transmission data such as call number data for address, contract term extension data, and clear level data is formed.

The DTMF signal converter 530 converts the transmission data (numerals (0 to 9)) stored in the transmission buffer 529.
, And a symbol (*, #)) are sequentially fetched one digit at a time from the beginning, and a DTMF signal corresponding to the fetched one digit data is sequentially generated and output to the amplifier 531.

The amplifier 531 includes a DTMF signal converter 53
DTMF signals sequentially input from 0 are amplified at a predetermined amplification rate and sequentially output to the dialer speaker 508. The dialer speaker 508 is connected to the DTMF from the amplifier 531.
A dial tone is emitted at a predetermined volume based on the signal. The above is the configuration of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.

Next, the operation will be described. First, the main control process executed by the CPU 518 of the pager 5 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.
This will be described based on the display example shown in FIG. When the main switch 502 is slid and the power is turned on, the CPU 518 reads a program related to the main control process stored in the paging process program memory (PP) 520e of the ROM 520 and starts the process.

In this main control process, CPU 518
First, after performing initialization processing such as initialization (step A1), it is determined whether or not the date has been changed by referring to the timekeeping data by the timekeeping circuit 518a (step A2). Executes the contract expiration date management process (see FIG. 26) set as a subroutine of the main control process (step A3).

Further, the CPU 518 determines in step A2
If it is determined that the date has not been changed, the synchronization unit 2 (S2) C3 of the data structure C shown in FIG.
The synchronization of the reception timing is measured based on the data stored in the memory (step A4). When the synchronization of the reception timing is established (step A5), thereafter, only the own frame and the frame including the time correction information are intermittently transmitted. The respective sections of the pager 5 relating to data reception are controlled so as to receive the data, and the mode is shifted to the intermittent reception mode (step A6).

In this intermittent reception mode, CPU 518
First, it is determined whether or not the memory key 506 is pressed (step A7). If the memory key 506 is pressed, a message reading control process (described later) set as a subroutine of the main control process is performed (step A7). (See FIG. 19) (step A8). That is, the mode shifts to the message reading mode.

Further, the CPU 518 executes the processing in the step A7.
If it is determined that the memory key 506 has not been pressed in step, it is then determined whether or not the release key 505 has been pressed (step A9).
Is pressed, a game control process (described later with reference to FIG. 2) set as a subroutine of the main control process is performed.
0 to FIG. 22) (step A10). That is, the mode shifts to the game mode.

The CPU 518 executes the processing in the step A9.
If it is determined that the release key 505 has not been pressed in step, it is then determined whether or not the own frame has been detected (step A11). If the own frame has not been detected, the process returns to step A6.

Also, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step A1
If it is determined in step 1 that the own frame has been detected,
The data of the own frame (for one frame) is sequentially received (including demodulation, detection, parallel data conversion, interleave recovery, and error correction processing) (step A1).
2) Then, the address data stored in the address field (AF) C5 and the vector field (V
F) It is determined whether or not the combination with the vector type data stored in C6 matches one of its own incoming addresses (1st to 4th) stored in ID-ROM 519 (step A13).

If the CPU 518 determines that the incoming address of the received data does not match any of its own incoming addresses, the CPU 518 discards the received data for one frame (step A14), and returns to step A6. .

Also, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step A1
If it is determined in step 3 that the incoming address of the received data matches one of its own incoming addresses, then
It is determined whether the incoming address of the received data is the 4th address (step A15).
If the address is the th address, a game data rewriting control process (see FIG. 25), which is set as a subroutine of the main control process, is executed (see FIG. 25).
6).

Also, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step A1
If it is determined in step 5 that the incoming address is not the 4th address, the received data (incoming address data, message data, and incoming date and time data) is stored in the message memory (MM) 521a (see FIG. 14) of the RAM 521 (step A17). . At this time, the values of the flags A and B are both set to “0”.

Next, the CPU 518 calculates dial digit number data of the received message data by referring to the dial data conversion table (see FIG. 10) stored in the dial data conversion table memory (DT) 520c. The dial digit number data is stored in the message memory (MM) 521a (step A18).

Thereafter, the CPU 518 reads out and starts the display control program stored in the display control program memory (DC) 520f, sets the message display screen (step A19), and then sets the timer circuit 51.
8b is started to start measuring a predetermined time (step A20).

Then, the CPU 518 controls the driver 527
Drive the LED 509 and the speaker 510 via
Incoming call notification is performed in a preset incoming call notification mode (step A21). Then, in steps A22 and A23, any one of the keys 502 to 507 is pressed within a predetermined time measured by the timer circuit 518b. It is determined whether a reset operation has been performed (steps A22 and A23).

If CPU 518 determines that the reset operation has been performed within a predetermined time, it sets the value of flag A of the corresponding received message data to "1" (read) in message memory (MM) 521a. After that, the timer circuit 518b is reset (step A
24). Thereafter, the CPU 518 stops the notification of the incoming call, reads out the corresponding received message data from the message memory (MM) 521a, and executes the driver 52
6 is driven to display the received message on the display unit 501 (step A25), and the process returns to step A6.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a display example of a message based on the received message data. As shown in the figure, when displaying a message, the CPU 518 sets the display unit 501 as a landscape screen (paging mode screen 501A) based on the display control program stored in the display control program memory (DC) 520f, and displays the message memory ( Based on the received message data stored in the MM) 521a, the incoming address is displayed in the incoming address display area 501b, the incoming date and time is displayed in the incoming date and time display areas 501c and 501d, and the message content is displayed in the message display area 501e. . In the figure, reference numeral 501a denotes an electric field strength mark indicating the level of the received electric field strength.

On the other hand, the CPU 518 determines in step A2
2 and A23, if it is determined that the reset operation has not been performed within the predetermined time, the message memory (M
M) In 521a, the value of the flag A of the corresponding received message data is kept at "0" (unread) (step A26), the incoming call notification is stopped, and the message is not displayed (step A27). Return to A6. The above is the CP of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.
It is an operation procedure of a main control process executed by U518.

The data intermittent receiving operation includes message reading control processing (see FIG. 19), game control processing (see FIGS. 20 to 22), game data rewriting control processing (see FIG. 25), and contract expiration management processing which will be described later. (See FIG. 26) and so on. When an incoming data addressed to the pager 5 is detected, an interrupt signal forcibly forcibly waits for an incoming signal in the main control process (a series of steps after step A6). Processing), data reception and incoming call notification processing are performed.

Next, a message reading control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. CP
In U518, step A is executed in the main control process.
At step 8, the program related to the message read control process stored in the paging process program memory (PP) 520e of the ROM 520 is read and the process is started.

In this message reading control process, the CPU 518 firstly sets the message memory (MM) 52
Regarding the received message data stored in 1a,
A search is started in descending order (larger order) of the storage address data (step B1), and the value of the flag A is set to "0", that is, it is detected whether unread received message data is stored (step B2). ).

When detecting the received message data in which the value of the flag A is "0" (unread), the CPU 518 sets the value of the flag A to "1" (step B3), The message data (unread) is read from the message memory (MM) 521a and displayed on the display unit 501 (step B4).

Next, the CPU 518 sets the cursor key 5
It is determined whether or not the next message display has been instructed by pressing the key 07 (step B5).
If has not been pressed, the process returns to step B4, and the display of the received message (unread) is continued. If the CPU 518 determines that the cursor key 507 has been pressed, the process returns to step B1.

On the other hand, the CPU 518 determines in the step B2
If it is determined that there is no received message data in which the value of the flag A is "0" (unread), then the received message data stored in the message memory (MM) 521a is stored in descending order of the storage address data. The received message data (read) is read (step B6), and the received message (read) is displayed on the display unit 501.
(Step B7).

After that, the CPU 518 sets the cursor key 5
It is determined whether or not the next message display has been instructed by the pressing operation of the button 07 (step B8).
Is pressed, the process returns to step B6, and the next received message data (read) is read out in the descending order of the storage address data and displayed on the display unit 501.

Also, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step B8.
If it is determined that the cursor key 507 has not been depressed in the step (3), then it is determined whether or not the memory key 506 has been depressed (step B9). Returning to B7, the display of the received message (read) is continued. If the CPU 518 determines that the memory key 506 has been pressed in step B9, the CPU 518 terminates the message reading control process, returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode. The above is the operation procedure of the message reading control process executed by the CPU 518 of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.

Next, before describing the game control processing executed as a subroutine of the main control processing, the contents of the game executed by the pager 5 in this embodiment will be described.

This game is a game in which blocks of various shapes falling one after another from the top of the screen are moved left and right or rotated to compete for stacking without gaps. An example of the game screen is shown below. As shown in FIG.

At the time of executing the game, the CPU 518 controls the display unit 5 based on the game display control program stored in the configuration data memory (CF) 520h.
01 is used as a portrait screen (game mode screen 501B). Then, as shown in the figure, even during the game, the electric field strength mark 501a is displayed above and on the left end of the screen, and the current date and time is displayed in a current date and time display area 501f provided above and on the right end of the screen. .

In the next block display area 501g,
The block to be dropped next is displayed, and the score display area 50 is displayed.
In 1h, the current score is displayed. The block stacking area 501i provided below the next block display area 501g and the score display area 501h is a display area where the game is actually performed.
01g next block display area 501g from the upper center in 01i
Are sequentially dropped one by one.

The shape pattern of the falling block is as follows:
520 g of block data memory (BM) as described above
Are set in association with each level data in the block data table (see FIG. 12). As the game level increases, the shape pattern increases and the shape becomes complicated. In addition, the drop order of the blocks is determined by the CPU 51 from a plurality of blocks set at each level.
8 is set at random.

The user moves the falling block left and right by pressing the cross key 504 left and right, and rotates the block by pressing the cursor key 507 to stack the blocks. They are stacked without gap from below the area 501i.

At this time, if blocks are stacked in one or more horizontal rows in the block stacking area 501i, the number of columns is counted as the number of clear steps, and the block display of that row is erased in the block stacking area 501i. At the same time, points corresponding to the number of cleared columns are added.

When the counted number of clear steps exceeds the maximum value in the numerical range of the number of clear steps of the level set in the game management table (see FIG. 15), the game level increases by one. When the game level rises, as described above, the shape pattern of the falling block increases, and the shape becomes complicated. Further, the falling speed of the block is increased, and the block stacking area 5
01i height (H) decreases or its width (W)
And the difficulty of the game increases. Note that the game is over if the blocks are stacked up to above the block stacking area 501i.

A game control process for controlling the above-described game will be described below with reference to flowcharts shown in FIGS. This game control process is executed as a subroutine of the main control process. When the CPU 518 proceeds to step A10 in the main control process, the CPU 518 executes a program related to the game control process stored in the game program memory (GM) 520i of the ROM 520. Read and start the process.

First, the CPU 518 checks the contract expiration date with reference to the contract expiration date data stored in the game management table (see FIG. 15) of the game management memory (GCM) 521b (step C1). It is determined whether or not it is (step C2).

If the CPU 518 determines that the contract has expired, it displays a message to that effect on the display unit 501 (step C3), and then determines whether or not the release key 505 has been pressed. (Step C
4) If the release key 505 is not pressed, the process returns to step C3, and the message display is continued. If the CPU 518 determines that the release key 505 has been pressed in step C4, the CPU 518 ends the game control process, returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode.

On the other hand, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step C2
If it is determined that the contract has not expired, the value of the flag A is "1" for the received message data stored in the message memory (MM) 521a, and
The received message data with the value of the flag B being “0”, that is, the received message data that has been read and has not yet been converted into the block number data is searched (step C5).
It is determined whether the received message data is stored (step C6).

If the CPU 518 determines that the corresponding received message data is not stored, the process shifts to step C10. If the CPU 518 determines that the corresponding received message data is stored, the CPU 518 reads out the dial digit number data of the received message data from the message memory (MM) 521a and sets a bonus level corresponding to the incoming address data. The (BL) data is read from the ID-ROM 519, and the addition number data of the block number data is calculated according to the following equation (step C7). Addition number data of block number data = Dial digit number data x BL data

Next, the CPU 518 sets the value of the flag B of the corresponding received message data to "1" in the message memory (MM) 521a (step C8), and stores the added number data calculated in step C7 in the game memory. It is added to the "number of blocks" item in the management table (step C9).

The series of block number data addition processing shown in steps C5 to C9 is performed for each of the received message data when a plurality of the corresponding received message data exist in the message memory (MM) 521a. Shall be

Thereafter, the CPU 518 reads out the game display control program from the configuration data memory (CF) 520h and starts the program (step C10), and refers to the game management table to execute the configuration according to the current level (step C10). For example, the block pattern, the height (H) and width (W) of the block stacking area 501i, the falling speed of the block (S), etc.)
Is set (step C11).

Then, the CPU 518 reads the display control information from the game management table, displays the game screen at the time of the previous interruption on the display unit 501 (step C).
12) Read out the block number data from the game management table and display it on the display unit 501 (step C1).
3).

Next, the CPU 518 sets the release key 505
It is determined whether or not has been pressed (step C14).
When the release key 505 is pressed, the game control process is terminated, the process returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode.

If the CPU 518 determines that the release key 505 has not been pressed, the CPU 518 then determines whether or not a game start has been instructed by pressing the memory key 506 (step C15). 5
If No. 06 has not been pressed, step C13
And the display of the number of blocks is continued.

On the other hand, CPU 518
If it is determined that the button 6 has been pressed, the game is started (step C16), and on the game screen shown in FIG. 23, the block that falls in response to the pressing operation of the cross key 504 in the horizontal direction is moved in the horizontal direction. (Cross key 504
The downward pressing operation increases the drop speed of the block), and the block is rotated in accordance with the pressing operation of the cursor key 507. In addition, the CPU 518 sequentially decrements (−1) the value of the block number data stored in the game management table in accordance with the drop of the block, and also performs a horizontal 1
When the blocks are piled up more than the number of columns, the number of columns is added to the clear stage number data stored in the game management table (step C17).

Next, the CPU 518 determines whether or not the game is over (step C18). If the game is over, the value of the clear step number data stored in the game management table is set to the initial value of the game level. After resetting (step C19), the above step C13
Return to

The CPU 518 executes the processing in the step C1.
If it is determined in step 8 that the game is not over, then it is determined whether or not the value of the block number data in the game management table is "0" (step C20), and the value of the block number data is "0". In this case, the game is interrupted (step C21), the game screen information at the time of the interruption is stored as display control information in the game management table (step C22), and the process returns to step C13.

Further, the CPU 518 determines in the step C2
If it is determined that the value of the block number data is not "0" at 0, then it is determined whether or not a temporary stop of the game is instructed by a pressing operation of the memory key 506 (step C23), and the memory key 506 is pressed. If the operation has been performed, the process described in steps C21 and C22 is performed, and the process returns to step C13.

Further, the CPU 518 determines in the step C2
If it is determined in step 3 that the memory key 506 has not been pressed, then it is determined whether the value of the clear step number data of the game management table has exceeded the maximum value of the clear step number numerical range set for the game level. No, that is, it is determined whether or not the level has been cleared (step C24). If the level has not been cleared,
Returning to step C17, the game is continued. Also,
When determining that the level has been cleared, the CPU 518 interrupts the game (step C25) and stores the game screen information at the time of the interruption in the game management table as display control information (step C26).

Next, CPU 518 displays a level clear display on display portion 501 and displays a message asking whether or not to raise the level (step C27), and then determines whether or not a level operation has been instructed by a key operation. Is determined (step C28). And CP
If U518 determines that the level up has not been instructed, it resets the value of the clear step number data stored in the game management table to the initial value of the game level (step C29), and then proceeds to step C11. Return.

Further, the CPU 518 determines in the step C2
8, it is determined that the level up has been instructed, the contact telephone number data and the call number data for the first address of the pager 5 from the ID-ROM 519, and the current level data (clear level data) from the game management table. ) Is read, and the read contact telephone number data, the call number data for the first address, and the clear level data are transferred to the transmission buffer 529 (step C30), and the process shifts to a standby state (step C31).

Next, the CPU 518 executes the dialer key 5
03 is pressed (step C32), the contact telephone number data stored in the transmission buffer 529 is stored in the DTM.
The signal is converted into a DTMF signal by the F signal conversion unit 530, and a dial tone is output via the amplifier 531 and the dialer speaker 508 (step C33).

[0203] The dial tone of the contact telephone number data emitted from dialer speaker 508 is transmitted to an exchange (not shown) via telephone 1 and public line network 2 which are acoustically connected. Is telephone-connected to the information service center 7 having the contact telephone number data (step C34).

Next, when the dialer key 503 is pressed again (step C35), the CPU 518 similarly stores the call number data for the first address and the clear level data stored in the transmission buffer 529 in the DTM.
The signal is converted into an F signal, and a dial tone is output from the dialer speaker 508 (step C36).

Thereafter, the CPU 518 displays a message indicating that the game is interrupted until the level data rewriting process is completed by the information service center 7.
01 (step C37), and then a release key 505
It is determined whether or not is pressed (step C38),
If the release key 505 has not been pressed, the process returns to step C37, and the message display is continued. If the CPU 518 determines that the release key 505 has been pressed, the game control process ends, the process returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode. The above is the description of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.
7 is an operation procedure of a game control process executed by the CPU 518 of FIG.

Next, the system control processing executed in the information service center 7 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The mainframe 712 executes the following system control processing based on a program related to the system control processing stored in a hard disk (not shown) in the mainframe 712.

In this system control processing, the main frame 712 first holds a line connection waiting state (standby state) (step D1), and then determines whether a new line connection has been detected (step D2). If no new line connection is detected, the process returns to step D1.

If the main frame 712 determines that a new line connection has been detected in step D2, the newly connected line is called by the contact telephone number data and connected to the line. It is determined whether or not there is (step D3).

When the main frame 712 determines that the newly connected line is not the line connected by calling based on the contact telephone number data (ie, the common telephone set for rewriting the game software). If it is determined that the line is connected by calling based on the number data), an announcement voice synthesizing circuit (not shown) in the main frame 712 indicates "Rewrite game software. Phone number of pager (1st Please input dialing number data for address by dialing. "And transmit it to the calling telephone 1 via the data input / output unit 710 (step D4).

Next, when the main frame 712 receives the call number data for the first address of the pager 5 input by the dial operation from the calling telephone 1 in response to the voice announcement (step D5),
Call number data for the st address is stored in the subscriber memory 711.
(Step D6).

The main frame 712 determines that the call number data for the first address from the caller matches the call number data for any one of the first addresses stored in the subscriber memory 711, and It is determined whether or not the subscriber has subscribed to the game software download service (step D7). If the caller has not subscribed to the game software download service, the announcement voice synthesizing circuit indicates "the applicable contract is There is none."
Is generated and transmitted to the calling telephone 1 via the data input / output unit 710 (step D8), and the process returns to step D1.

[0212] If it is determined in step D7 that the caller has subscribed to the game software download service, the main frame 712 determines which game software among the plurality of game software stored in the database 72. Voice announcement data asking whether software is to be downloaded is generated by the voice synthesis circuit for announcement, and transmitted to the telephone 1 of the caller (step D9).

When the mainframe 712 recognizes the game software to be downloaded based on the number data input by the dialing operation from the calling telephone 1 in response to the voice announcement (step D10), the mainframe 712 reads the corresponding game software from the database 72. Game software data (game program data, block data table (FIG. 12)
), The game display control program data, and the game management table (see FIG. 15), and the contact telephone number data, and the call number data for the 4th address of the pager 5 of the calling source to be downloaded. From the contractor memory 711. Further, contract term data of the game software is created.

Then, the main frame 712 is
Outputs call number data for the th address and programs and data related to game software (game program data, block data table, game display control program data, game management table, contact telephone number data, and contract expiration date data) The packet is transmitted to the unit 713 and transmitted to the paging center 3 via the dedicated line 8 (step D11).

[0215] Thus, the paging center 3 transmits the calling pager 5 via the transmitting antenna 4 on the basis of the call number data for the 4th address input from the information service center 7 and the program and data related to the game software. The program and data relating to the game software are wirelessly output at the 4th address.

Thereafter, the main frame 712 stores, in the contractor memory 711, item data (game software identification number data,
After rewriting the clear level data and the contract term data (step D12), the process returns to step D1.

On the other hand, if the main frame 712 determines in step D3 that the newly connected line is the line connected by calling based on the contact telephone number data, the main frame 712 transmits the call from this connected line. The destination telephone number data is specified (step D13), and the contact telephone number data is collated with the database 72 (step D1).
4) Identify the game used at the caller. Next, the mainframe 712 collates the call number data for the first address of the pager 5 input from the pager 5 of the caller with the subscriber memory 711 (step D15).

Then, the main frame 712 determines whether the game used by the caller has been specified and whether the caller has subscribed to a game software download service (step D16). If one or more of the conditions is not satisfied, the above-described step D7
After performing the processing described in (1), the process returns to step D1.

If the game to be used is specified in step D16 and it is determined that the caller has subscribed to a game software download service, the mainframe 712 then proceeds to the pager 5 of the caller. Then, the data inputted subsequent to the call number data for the first address is analyzed (step D17), and it is determined whether or not the subsequent data is contract term extension data (step D18).

If the mainframe 712 determines that the subsequent data is contract term extension data, the main frame 712 updates the contract term data in the contractor memory 711 based on the contract term extension data (step D19). The call number data for the 4th address of the caller pager 5 and the updated contract term data (contract term update data) are read from the contractor memory 711 and sent to the data output unit 713, and paging is performed via the dedicated line 8. After transmitting to the center 3 (step D20),
Return to 1.

When the mainframe 712 determines in the step D18 that the subsequent data is not the contract term extension data, it determines that the subsequent data is the clear level data, and updates the clear level data in the contractor memory 711 (step D18). D21), the caller data for the 4th address of the pager 5 of the caller and the updated clear level data (level update data) are stored in the subscriber memory 71.
1, the data is sent to the data output unit 713 and transmitted to the paging center 3 via the dedicated line 8 (step D22), and the process returns to the step D1.

At the paging center 3, based on the call number data for the 4th address and the contract expiration date update data or the level update data input from the information service center 7, the pager of the caller is transmitted via the transmitting antenna 4. 5, wirelessly outputs the contract term update data or the level update data at the 4th address. The above is the operation procedure of the system control process executed by the mainframe 712 of the information service center 7 in the present embodiment.

Next, a game data rewriting control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. C
When the PU 518 proceeds to step A16 in the main control process, the PU 518 reads a program related to the game data rewrite control process stored in the paging process program memory (PP) 520e of the ROM 520 and starts the process.

In the game data rewriting control process, the CPU 518 firstly sets the message field (M
F) It is determined whether or not the received data stored in C7 is level update data (step E1). If not, the process proceeds to step E10.

Further, the CPU 518 executes the processing in the step E1.
When it is determined that the received data is the level update data, the game management table (FIG. 1) in the game management memory (GCM) 521b is determined based on the level update data.
5), the current level data stored in the game management table is updated (step E2).
The configuration (for example, the block pattern, the height (H) and width (W) of the block stacking area 501i, the drop speed (S) of the block, etc.) according to the updated current level data is indicated by flags C, D, Set by E (step E3).

Thereafter, the CPU 518 sets the timer circuit 5
18b is started to start measuring a predetermined time (step E4). Then, the CPU 518 transmits the LED 509 and the speaker 510 via the driver 527.
To display an alarm,
01 is displayed (step E5).

Next, CPU 518 determines whether or not any of keys 502 to 507 has been pressed to perform a reset operation (step E6). If the reset operation has not been performed, then a timer circuit is executed. 518
It is determined whether or not the predetermined time counted by b has elapsed (step E7). If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step E5, and the message display is continued.

In addition, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step E7
When it is determined that the time has expired, that is, when it is determined that the reset operation has not been performed within the predetermined time, the timer circuit 518b is reset and the alarm notification is stopped, and the data rewriting is completed. Is always displayed on the display unit 501 until a reset operation is performed (step E8), the game data rewriting control process is terminated, the process returns to step A6 of the main control process, and the mode shifts to the incoming call waiting mode. I do.

Further, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step E6.
If it is determined that the reset operation has been performed in step, that is, if it has been determined that the reset operation has been performed within a predetermined time, the timer circuit 518b is reset (step E9), and the game data rewrite control process is terminated. Returning to step A6 of the main control process,
Move to the incoming call waiting mode.

On the other hand, the CPU 518 executes the processing in the step E1.
If it is determined that the received data is not the level update data in step E10, the process proceeds to step E10, where it is determined whether the received data is contract expiration date update data (step E1).
0), if not contract expiration date update data, step E12
Move to

Further, the CPU 518 executes the processing in the step E1.
If the received data is determined to be contract expiration date update data at 0, the contract expiration date data stored in the game management table is updated based on the contract expiration date update data (step E11), and the process proceeds to step E4. Then, after performing the series of processes described in steps E4 to E9, the game data rewriting control process ends, the process returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode.

Further, the CPU 518 executes the processing in the step E1.
If it is determined that the received data is not the contract expiration date update data at 0, it is determined that the game software is to be downloaded (rewritten) (step E12).
Then, the storage contents of the game function area 520B and the game management memory (GCM) 521b of the RAM 521 are erased (step E13).

After that, the CPU 518 stores the game program data included in the received data in the game program memory (GM) 520i of the ROM 520, the block data table in the block data memory (BM) 520g,
The game display control program data is stored in the configuration data memory (CF) 520h, and the game management table is stored in the game management memory (GCM) 52 of the RAM 521.
1b (step E14).

Next, the CPU 518 stores the contract term data included in the received data in the game management table (step E15), and sets the current level data to “1” (initial value) in the game management table. (Step E16). Then, the configuration according to the current level data is set by the flags C, D, and E (step E17).

Thereafter, the CPU 518 stores the contact telephone number data contained in the received data in the ID-ROM 519.
(Step E18), the process proceeds to Step E4, and performs a series of processes described in Steps E4 to E9. Then, the game data rewriting control process is terminated, and a step of the main control process is performed. Return to A6,
Move to the incoming call waiting mode. The above is the operation procedure of the game data rewriting control process executed by the CPU 518 of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.

Next, the contract term management process executed as a subroutine of the main control process will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. When the CPU 518 proceeds to step A3 in the main control process, the CPU 518 reads out a program related to the contract term management process stored in the paging process program memory (PP) 520e of the ROM 520 and starts the process.

In this contract expiration date management process, the CPU 51
8 first compares the current date data clocked by the clock circuit 518a with the contract expiration date data stored in the game management table of the game management memory (GCM) 521b (step F1). It is determined whether or not the date matches the term data (step F2).
If the current date data does not match the contract expiration date data, the contract expiration date management process is ended, the process returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode.

In addition, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step F2
If it is determined that the current date data coincides with the contract expiration date data, the timer circuit 518b is activated to start measuring a predetermined time (step F3). Then, the CPU 518 drives the LED 509 and the speaker 510 via the driver 527 to perform alarm notification, and displays a warning message indicating that the contract expiration date has expired on the display unit 501 (step F4).

Next, CPU 518 determines whether or not a reset operation has been performed (step F5). If the reset operation has not been performed, then the predetermined time counted by timer circuit 518b is timed out. It is determined whether or not the process has been performed (step F6). If the time has not elapsed, the process returns to step F4, and the display of the warning message is continued.

Further, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step F6.
When it is determined that the time has expired, that is, when it is determined that the reset operation has not been performed within the predetermined time, the timer circuit 518b is reset and the alarm notification is stopped, and it is determined that the contract expiration date has expired. The displayed warning message is constantly displayed on display unit 501 until a reset operation is performed (step F7). Thereafter, the CPU 518 stores the game management memory (GCM) 5
After erasing the data of the game management table stored in 21b (step F8), the contract term management process ends, the process returns to step A6 of the main control process, and shifts to the incoming call waiting mode.

[0241] In step F8, since the control configuration is such that only the game management table is deleted, if the contract for reusing the game software is made after the contract expiration, the information service center 7 The game software can be reused only by downloading the new contract term data and the game management table only to the pager 5.

On the other hand, the CPU 518 determines in the step F5
If it is determined that the reset operation has been performed in step, that is, if it is determined that the reset operation has been performed within a predetermined time, the timer circuit 518b is reset and the alarm notification is stopped (step F9).

Then, as shown in FIG. 27A, the CPU 518 displays a message on the display section 501 asking whether the contract term is to be extended (step F10).
It is determined whether the extension of the contract term is instructed by a key operation (step F11). If the extension of the contract term is not instructed, the process described in step F8 is performed, and then the contract term management process is performed. And returns to step A6 of the main control process to shift to the incoming call waiting mode.

In addition, the CPU 518 executes the processing in step F1.
If you are instructed to extend the contract period in 1,
As shown in FIG. 27B, an extension period setting screen is displayed on the display unit 501 (step F12).

Then, the CPU 518 sets an extension period of the contract term by key operation (step F1).
3) The extension time data of the set contract term (contract term extension data), the contact telephone number data read out from the ID-ROM 519, and the 1st of the pager 5
After transferring the call number data for the address to the transmission buffer 529 (step F14), the process shifts to a standby state (step F15).

Next, the CPU 518 sets the dialer key 5
03 is pressed (step F16), the contact telephone number data stored in the transmission buffer 529 is stored in the DTM.
The signal is converted into an F signal, and dial tone is output from the dialer speaker 508 (step F17).

The telephone 1 to which the pager 5 is acoustically connected is connected to the information service center 7 having the contact telephone number data by the telephone number of the contact telephone emitted from the dialer speaker 508. (Step F18) Again, dialer key 503
Is pressed (step F19), the CPU 518 is pressed.
Similarly converts the call number data for the first address and the contract term extension data stored in the transmission buffer 529 into a DTMF signal and outputs the dial tone from the dialer speaker 508 (step F20). And returns to step A6 of the main control process to shift to the incoming call waiting mode. The above is the operation procedure of the contract term management process executed by the CPU 518 of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.

The game control process (see FIGS. 20 to 22) described in the present embodiment is for receiving data during a game by the following control structure and continuing the game. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the block number data can be compensated.

FIG. 2 shows a modification of the game control process.
This will be described based on the flowchart shown in FIG. In this modification, a series of processes described below is added between step C15 and step C16 of the game control process described above.

First, the CPU 518 performs a series of processing up to step C15 of the game control processing described above.
In response to the pressing operation of the memory key 506 (step C1
5) Start the game (step G1).

Then, the CPU 518 moves or rotates the falling block on the game screen according to the pressing operation of the cross key 504 or the cursor key 507 to the left or right. In addition, the value of the block number data is sequentially decremented (−1) in accordance with the drop of the block, and when the blocks are stacked without less than one horizontal row, the number of rows is counted as clear stage number data (step G2). ).

Next, the CPU 518 determines whether or not it has received the message data addressed to itself (1st to 3rd addresses) (step G3). The process moves to step C18 of the process. If the CPU 518 determines that message data addressed to itself has been received,
The game is interrupted (step G4), and the game screen information at the time of the interruption is stored as display control information in the game management table (step G5).

Thereafter, CPU 518 performs an incoming call notification for a predetermined time (step G6), and displays a message indicating that there is incoming data or a mark on display unit 501 (step G7).

Then, the CPU 518 operates the memory key 5
06 is pressed or not (step G).
8) If the memory key 506 is pressed, a message indicating that there is incoming data or a mark display is always displayed at the corner of the screen of the display unit 501 until a reset operation is performed (step G9). Then, the process shifts to step C18 in the game control process described above.

In addition, the CPU 518 determines in step G8
If it is determined that the memory key 506 has not been pressed in the step (3), then it is determined whether or not the release key 505 has been pressed (step G10).
If the button 5 has not been pressed, the process returns to step G7, and the message display or the mark display is continued. If the CPU 518 determines that the release key 505 has been pressed, the CPU 518 reads out and starts the display control program stored in the display control program memory (DC) 520f, performs screen setting for message display, and performs display setting. 501 is switched from the game mode screen 501B to the paging mode screen 501A (step G1).
1).

Next, CPU 518 displays the received message data stored in message memory (MM) 521a on display unit 501 (step G12), and sets both the values of flags A and B corresponding to the received message data to “ It is set to 1 "(step G13). And
Based on the number of dial digits of the received message data and the bonus level (BL) corresponding to the incoming address, the added number data of the block number data is calculated and added to the "block number" item of the game management table (step G14). .

After that, the CPU 518 sets the release key 505
Is determined to have been pressed to return to the game mode (step G15). If the release key 505 has not been pressed, the process returns to step G3. If the CPU 518 determines that the release key 505 has been pressed, the CPU 518 reads out and starts the game display control program stored in the configuration data memory (CF) 520h, and performs game screen settings.
The display unit 501 is switched from the paging mode screen 501A to the game mode screen 501B (step G1).
6).

Then, the CPU 518 reads out the display control information from the game management table, displays the previously interrupted game screen on the display unit 501 (step G).
17), read out the block number data from the game management table and display it on the display unit 501 (step G1)
8).

Next, the CPU 518 sets the memory key 5
It is determined whether or not the game start has been instructed by the pressing operation of 06 (step G19). If the memory key 506 has not been pressed, the process returns to step G18 and the display of the number of blocks is continued. Also, the CPU 518
If it is determined that the memory key 506 has been pressed, the process proceeds to step C16 of the game control process described above to start the game. Thereafter, a series of processes after step C16 of the game control process are executed.
The above is the description of the CPU 51 of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.
8 is a modification example of the game control process executed by the game control process 8.

With such a control configuration, the user sends a message to the pager 5 (self) during the game, so that the block number data is supplemented in order to continue the game. Can be.
The above is the description of the first embodiment.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, a case will be described in which the pager 5 in the above-described first embodiment downloads game software different from that of the first embodiment.

That is, in the second embodiment, the basic hardware configuration of the paging system and the telephone, public line network, paging center, transmitting antenna, pager, information service center, etc. constituting the paging system are as follows. This is the same as the first embodiment described above. Therefore, each component is assigned the same reference numeral as in the first embodiment, and only a part unique to this embodiment will be described.

First, the contents of the game downloaded to the pager 5 in this embodiment will be described. In this game, blocks consisting of two blocks of various shapes falling one after another from the top of the screen are moved left and right or rotated and stacked, and three blocks of the same shape are stacked vertically or horizontally. This is a game in which the points are added by aligning the above, and an example of the game screen is shown in FIG.

In the figure, the next block display area 501
The block to be dropped next is displayed in g, and the current score is displayed in the score display area 501h. Further, a block stacking area 501i provided below the next block display area 501g and the score display area 501h is a display area where a game is actually played, and from the upper central portion of the block stacking area 501i to the next block display area 5i.
The blocks displayed on 01g sequentially fall one by one.

The falling block is set in the block data table (see FIG. 29) described later stored in the block data memory (BM) 520g in association with each dial data. The drop order of each block is set by block appearance order data of a game management table (see FIG. 31) described later stored in a game management memory (GCM) 521b.

The user moves the falling block left and right by pressing the cross key 504 left and right, and rotates the block by pressing the cursor key 507 to stack the blocks. They are stacked from below the region 501i.

At this time, if three or more block pieces having the same shape are aligned in the block stacking area 501i in the vertical or horizontal direction, a score corresponding to the number of the aligned block pieces is counted as a clear score. The display of the aligned block pieces is deleted in the stacking area 501i.

When the counted number of clear points exceeds the maximum value of the numerical range of the number of clear points of the level set in the game management table (see FIG. 31) described later.
One game level up. When the game level goes up,
As the falling speed of the block increases, the height (H) of the block stacking area 501i decreases, or
The difficulty of the game increases, for example, the width (W) becomes narrow. If the blocks are stacked above the block stacking area 501i, the game is over.

Although the game downloaded in the present embodiment uses a block composed of two block pieces, the number of block pieces constituting the block is not limited to two. . In addition, the block pieces may have different configurations, instead of different shapes.

The case where the above-described game is downloaded to the pager 5 will be described below. The pager 5 requests the information service center 7 to download game software.
Can be downloaded from a plurality of game software stored in the database 72.

When a download request for the game software of the above-described game contents is made, the information service center 7 executes the system control process (see FIG. 24) executed by the main frame 712 to make the pager through the paging center 3. 5, programs and data relating to the game software, that is, in the present embodiment, game program data, a block data table (see FIG. 29), game display control program data, a game management table (see FIG. 31), The contact telephone number data and the contract term data are transmitted at the 4th address.

The pager 5 receives programs and data related to the game software, and executes game data rewrite control processing (see FIG. 25) to store the game program data in the game program memory (GM) of the ROM 520.
520i, a block data table in a block data memory (BM) 520g, and game display control program data in a configuration data memory (CF).
At 520h, the game management table is stored in the game management memory (GCM) 521b of the RAM 521, respectively.
Further, the contract term data is stored in the game management table, and the contact telephone number data stored in the ID-ROM 519 is rewritten.

The block data memory (B
As shown in FIG. 29, the M) 520g stores a block data table that stores each dial data and a block pattern including two block pieces having various shapes in association with each other.

In the block data table, the block corresponding to the dial data “*” is a bonus block. When the blocks are stacked in the game, this bonus block and one block piece adjacent to the bonus block are connected. Erased unconditionally.

The configuration data memory (C
F) At 520h, the display unit 501 in the game mode is displayed.
Is a portrait screen, and a game display control program for displaying a block stacking area 501i corresponding to each level of the game is stored.

Game program memory (GM) 520i
Stores game program data for controlling a game, for example, a program for a game control process (see FIGS. 32 to 34) described later in the present embodiment.

Message memory (MM) of RAM 521
521a is the received message data addressed to itself (1st to
3rd address).

FIG. 30 shows the memory configuration of the message memory (MM) 521a. The memory configuration shown in FIG.
Although the memory configuration of the message memory (MM) 521a in the first embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the "number of dial digits" item does not store the number of dial digits of the received message data. Dial data forming the received message data is stored in order.

For example, when the message data is “Omedeto” (free word), the dial data “* 2 * 215574440” is included in the “number of dial digits” item.
44513 * 8 "are stored in order. By the way, from the beginning," * 2 * 2 "is a free word start code,
“1574440444513” is a free word code of “meditation”, and “* 8” is a free word end code. The dial data is converted from the received message data (bit data) using a dial data conversion table (see FIG. 10) stored in a dial data conversion table memory (DT) 520c.

As shown in FIG. 31, in the game management memory (GCM) 521b, game software identification number data, game name data, current level data, contract expiration date data, clear score data relating to the downloaded game software are stored. In addition to storing and managing block number data, display control information, block appearance order data, configurations and the like at each level, a game management table for managing the current configuration and the like of the game by flags is stored.

In this game management table, the clear score data is data indicating the current score when the game is executed. As the value of the clear score data, a minimum value corresponding to the current level is set as an initial value from the numerical value data of clear scores provided for each level described later at the start of the game.

The block number data is data indicating the remaining number of blocks to be dropped from above the screen when the game is executed, and is data indicating the number of dial data stored in the “block appearance order” item described later. is there.

The block appearance order data (dial data) stored in the “block appearance order” item is data for setting the order of blocks to be dropped from above the screen during the game, and is described later in the game control process (FIG. 32 to FIG. 32). FIG.
), The order of the blocks to be dropped is set according to the order of the dial data of the received message data stored in the “block appearance order” item.

For example, as shown in FIG. 31, dial data "* 2 * 2157444" is added to the "block appearance order" item.
445513 * 8... ”Is stored in FIG.
As can be seen by referring to the block data table shown in FIG.
Blocks corresponding to “2”, blocks corresponding to “*”, blocks corresponding to “2”, blocks corresponding to “1”,... Are dropped in this order.

In the game management table shown in FIG. 31, the height (H) and width (W) of the block stacking area 501i, the falling speed (S) of the block, and the like are associated with each level of the game. Configuration has been set. Further, numerical range data of clear points for each level is set in association with each level.

The flag D is a flag set for managing the height (H) and width (W) of the block stacking area 501i and the falling speed (S) of the block according to the clear level of the game. , Flag E is a flag set for managing the numerical range data of the clear score according to the clear level of the game.

Next, the operation will be described. Pager 5 and information service center 7 in the present embodiment
Executes various control processes basically similar to those of the pager 5 and the information service center 7 in the first embodiment described above.

However, in the present embodiment, the operation of the game control process differs due to the download of game software different from that of the first embodiment. Therefore, the game control process will be described below with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

The description of the same control components as in the game control process (see FIGS. 20 to 22) in the first embodiment will be omitted.

In this game control process, CPU 518
Is the message memory (MM) 5 in step H6.
Regarding the received message data stored in 21a, the value of the flag A is "1" and the value of the flag B is "0", that is, the received message data is converted into read and still data of the number of blocks. It is determined whether there is no received message data stored (step H6). If the corresponding received message data is not stored, the process proceeds to step H10.

If CPU 518 determines that the corresponding received message data is stored, it reads out the dial data of the received message data from message memory (MM) 521a and sets a bonus corresponding to the received address data. The level (BL) data is read from the ID-ROM 519, and the dial data of the received message data is stored in the "block appearance order" item of the game management table (see FIG. 31) for the BL data (step H7).

For example, if the dial data of the received message data is “123456890” and the BL data corresponding to the destination address is “× 2”,
In the “block appearance order” item, dial data “12”
That is, in the "block appearance order" item, the dial data of the corresponding received message data is repeatedly stored for the BL data.

Next, the CPU 518 sets the value of the flag B of the corresponding received message data to "1" in the message memory (MM) 521a (step H8), and stores it in the "block appearance order" item in step H7. The data of the item "number of blocks" of the game management table is added by the number of the dial data (step H9).

The series of block number data addition processing shown in steps H6 to H9 is performed for each of the received message data when a plurality of the corresponding received message data exist in the message memory (MM) 521a. Shall be.

If it is determined in step H16 that the memory key 506 has been pressed, the CPU 518 starts the game (step H16) and returns to the state shown in FIG.
In the game screen shown in FIG. 5, the block that falls in response to the pressing operation of the cross key 504 in the left and right direction is moved in the left and right direction (the pressing operation of the cross key 504 in the downward direction increases the falling speed of the block). , Cursor key 5
The block is rotated according to the pressing operation of 07. Also,
The CPU 518 sequentially decrements (−1) the value of the block number data stored in the game management table in accordance with the drop of the block, and sequentially dials the dial data stored in the “block appearance order” item from the beginning.
Erase one by one. Further, when three or more block pieces having the same shape are aligned in the vertical or horizontal direction in the block stacking area 501i, the CPU 518 calculates a score corresponding to the number of the aligned block pieces in the clear score data stored in the game management table. (Step H17).

Also, in the processing after step H18, the game control processing in the first embodiment (FIGS.
Compared to the processing after step C18 in FIG.
Since there is no difference except that the clear stage number data is changed to the clear point number data (steps H19 and H29), the description is omitted. The above is the operation procedure of the game control process executed by the CPU 518 of the pager 5 in the present embodiment.

The game control processing is a modification of the game control processing in the first embodiment (see FIG. 28).
As shown in the above, the configuration may be such that data reception is performed during the game, and the block number data for continuing the game can be compensated. The above is the description of the second embodiment.

In the first and second embodiments, the pager 5 includes a transmission data memory 522, a transmission buffer 529, a DTMF signal converter 530, an amplifier 531 and
And dialer speaker 508 have been deleted, ie
A paging receiver without a data transmission function may be used.

In this case, the request for extension of the contract term and the request for clearing / next level shift from the pager 5 to the information service center 7 are made by manual transmission by the user as in the case of the game software download request. That is, at the time of the contract term extension request or the clear / next level shift request, the display unit 501 of the pager 5 displays the contact telephone number data and the call number data for the first address of the pager 5, the contract term extension data, or The clear level data is displayed. The user makes a line connection to the information service center 7 by the telephone 1 according to the contact telephone number data, and according to a voice announcement from the information service center 7, one of the pagers 5
The call number data for the st address, the contract term extension data, or the clear level data are transmitted to the information service center 7 by dialing the telephone 1.

Also, in the first and second embodiments, the pager 5 requests the information service center 7 to perform a clear / next level shift request only when a predetermined condition provided for each game level is cleared during a game. However, the control configuration may be such that a clear / next level shift request can be made to the information service center 7 at any time by the user. The same applies to the request for extension of the contract term.

As described above, according to the paging system 10 in the first and second embodiments, the mainframe 712 of the information service center 7 (management system) converts the data received by the data input / output unit 710 into a pager. When the call number data for the 4th address of 5 (communication terminal) and the contract term extension data (execution range change request information) are detected, the corresponding contract term data stored in the contractor memory 711 (first storage means) is stored. At the same time, the data output unit 713 transmits the contract expiration date update data (execution range change information) to the pager 5 via the paging center 3 and the CPU of the pager 5
518 (execution range changing means) includes an antenna 515, a receiving unit 516, a decoder 517, a CPU 518, an ID-R
When the contract expiration date update data is detected from the data received by the data receiving unit including the OM 519, the deinterleave circuit 523, the buffer memory 524, the BHC decoder 525, etc., the contract expiration date stored in the game management table of the game management memory (GCM) 521b. Update data.

Therefore, the information service center 7 can manage the game software currently used by each pager 5 and the contract expiration date. In the paging system 10, for example, when the game software download service is performed, Billing is performed according to the usage period of the downloaded game software, and a fee for the service can be collected. Information service center 7
In, the usage status of each game software can be grasped.

According to the paging system 10 in the first and second embodiments, the main frame 712 of the information service center 7 (management system) uses the pager 5 of the transmission source based on the data received by the data input / output unit 710. When the call number data for the 4th address of the (communication terminal) and the contract term extension data (execution range change request information) are detected, the corresponding contract term data stored in the contractor memory 711 (first storage means) is updated. Along with
The data output unit 713 transmits the contract expiration date update data (execution range change information) to the transmission source pager 5 via the paging center 3 and the CPU of the pager 5
Upon detecting the contract expiration date update data from the data received by the data receiving unit, 518 (execution range changing means) updates the contract expiration date data stored in the game management table of the game management memory (GCM) 521b.
When an update of the contract period of the game software is instructed by the key input unit 528, the CPU 518, the transmission data memory 522, the transmission buffer 529, the DTMF signal conversion unit 53
0, an amplifier 531, a dialer speaker 508, etc., to transmit the call number data for its own 4th address and the contract term extension data to the information service center 7 via the telephone 1 and the public line network 2.

Therefore, it is possible to automatically request the information service center 7 to extend the contract term of the game software from the pager 5 (terminal).
Compared with the case where the user sends the request manually, the labor and time required for the request can be greatly reduced.

According to the paging system 10 of the first and second embodiments, the CPU 518 of the pager 5 (communication terminal) has a game management memory (GCM).
When it is detected that the contract expiration date of the game software has expired based on the date and time data clocked by the timing circuit 518a, the game expiration date is referred to by referring to the contract expiration date data stored in the game management table (third storage means) of the game management table 521b. Various control data for controlling a game based on the game software stored in the management table is deleted.

Therefore, the pager 5 cannot execute the game software whose contract has expired by erasing the storage contents of the game management table storing various control data for controlling the game based on the game software. Can be controlled. Also, at this time, by adopting a control configuration in which only the storage contents of the game management table are deleted, if the contract for reusing the game software is made after the expiration of the contract period, the information service center 7 issues a new contract. By downloading only the contract term data and the game management table to the pager 5, the game software can be re-used, and there is no need to download programs and data related to other game software. The burden of communication costs can be reduced.

According to the paging system 10 of the first and second embodiments, the RO of the pager 5
Game function area 520B of M520 (block data memory (BM) 520g, configuration data memory (CF) 520h, and game program memory (GM) 520i) and game management memory (GCM) 521b of RAM 521 (second storage means) Stores programs and data related to game software.

Therefore, the information service center 7 can manage the game software currently used by each pager 5 and the contract expiration date, and the paging system 10 charges the game software according to the usage period of the downloaded game software. , And a playable element as a communication tool can be provided to the subscriber, for example, a download service of game software that collects a fee for the service can be provided to each pager 5.

According to the paging system 10 in the first and second embodiments, the main frame 712 of the information service center 7 (management system) uses the pager 5 of the transmission source based on the data received by the data input / output unit 710. Upon detecting call number data and clear level data for the 4th address of the (communication terminal), the subscriber memory 7
11 (first storage unit), the corresponding clear level data (execution range) is changed, and the data output unit 713 (first transmission unit) transmits the pager 5 of the transmission source via the paging center 3. To send the level update data (execution range change information) to the pager 5
When the CPU 518 (execution range changing unit) detects the level update data from the data received by the data receiving unit, the current level data (execution range change information) stored in the game management table of the game management memory (GCM) 521b. ), And when the change of the game level is instructed by the key input unit 528, the data transmission unit sends the information service center 7 to the information service center 7 via the telephone 1 and the public line network 2 for its own 4th address. To transmit call number data and clear level data.

[0310] Therefore, the information service center 7 can manage the game software used by each pager 5 and the current game level of the game. The progress of the game being executed on each pager 5 can be grasped. Further, a game level change request to the information service center 7 can be automatically made from the pager 5 (terminal), and the labor and time required for the request can be reduced as compared with the case where the request is transmitted manually by the user. It can be largely omitted.

According to the paging system 10 in the first and second embodiments, the mainframe 712 of the information service center 7 (management system) uses the pager 5 based on the data received by the data input / output unit 710.
When the call number data for the 4th address of the (communication terminal) and the game software designation data are detected, a program and data (game program) related to the corresponding game software are read from the database 72 based on the game software designation data, and a contract is made. Memory 711 (first
The corresponding game software identification number data and clear level data (execution range) stored in the storage means are changed, and the data output unit 713 relates to the pager 5 via the paging center 3 to the read out game software. Send a program or data to the pager 5
When the CPU 518 (execution range changing means) detects a program or data related to the game software from the data received by the data receiving unit, the game function area 520B of the ROM 520 and the game management memory (GCM) 521b (the second Rewriting the game software stored in the storage means) with the received game software.

[0312] Therefore, the pager 5 can download game software from the information service center 7, and the paging system 10 can provide a game software download service to each pager 5.

(First Modification) Next, a first modification of the first and second embodiments described above with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first modified example, the same components as those of the paging system 10 and the pager 5 in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a paging system 10 'according to the first modification. In addition,
The paging system 10 'in the first modification also follows the above-mentioned advanced radio paging method.

The paging system 10 'shown in FIG.
It comprises a telephone 1, a public line network 2, a paging center 3, a transmitting antenna 4, a pager 5 '(5A'), an information service center 7, and a software house 9.

[0316] The pager 5 '(5A') is a radio communication terminal provided with its own address data (identification data).
, And performs an incoming call notification process, a message display process, and the like. The pager 5 ′ has a so-called dialer function that can transmit data to the paging center 3 and the information service center 7 by a DTMF signal by acoustically connecting to the telephone 1.

Further, in this pager 5 ', a cassette (described later in detail) as a storage medium storing programs and data relating to game software is stored in the pager 5'.
After the user registration of the game software is performed with the information service center 7, a game based on the game software stored in the cassette can be performed.

Software house (software development and sales company) 9
Are connected to the information service center 7 via the public line network 2, and have already been sold according to the game software usage data and the progress data of each user sent from the information service center 7. The difficulty of the software can be adjusted by a radio signal via the information service center 7 and the paging center 3.

FIG. 37 shows the pager 5 'shown in FIG.
(A) is a front view, (b) is a rear view,
(C) is a side view. As shown in FIG. 37 (c), the pager 5 ′ is provided on the right side of the main body casing 500.
A cassette insertion port 542 for mounting the cassette 543 shown in FIG. 37 (a) to the main body is provided.
An eject button 5 for ejecting the cassette 543 inserted into the cassette insertion slot 542 and mounted on the main body.
41 are provided.

FIG. 38 shows the pager 5 'shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of FIG. In the figure, a pager 5 'is a display unit 501, a dialer speaker 508, and L of the pager 5 shown in the first embodiment.
ED509, speaker 510, antenna 515, receiving unit 516, decoder 517, CPU 518, ID-R
OM 519, ROM 520, RAM 521, transmission data memory 522, deinterleave circuit 523, buffer memory 524, BHC decoder 525, driver 52
6,527, a key input unit 528, a transmission buffer 529,
The DTMF signal converter 530 and the amplifier 531 and the cassette 543 and the input / output interface 544 shown in FIG.
2 are connected.

[0321] The cassette 543 is a storage medium storing game software, and is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. This cassette 54
3 includes programs and data corresponding to the game program data, the block data table, the game display control program data, the game management table, and the game software identification number data described in the first and second embodiments. , Is stored.

The input / output interface 544 outputs programs and data stored in the cassette 543 to each section of the pager 5 ′ via the bus 532.
The difficulty data rewritten by the
3 is an interface for storing the information.

Next, an outline of service contents in the first modification will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the first
In the modified example, since the contractor 6 'purchases the cassette 543 in which the game software is stored, basically,
The following description will be made assuming that the concept of the contract term described in the first and second embodiments does not exist.

The contractor 6 ′ sets the paging center 3 in advance.
And a contract for using the 4th address for the game has been completed (of course, a normal calling contract is also made), and the ID-ROM 519 of the pager 5 ′ owned by the user has 1s.
It is assumed that address data for the t and 4th addresses, call number data for each of them, and vector type data have been written. The contractor memory 711 of the information service center 7 stores personal information data of the contractor 6 ′, 1
It is assumed that address data for the st and 4th addresses and call number data for each of them are written.

The software house 9 informs the information service center 7 before selling the new game cassette 543.
Contact In response, the information service center 7 sets and stores the game software identification number data for the game, the game name data, the contact telephone number data, and the remarks data in association with the database 72.
Then, the game software identification number data set in the database 72 is notified to the software house 9, and the software house 9 stores the game software identification number data in the game cassette 543 and sells the game cassette 543.

The contractor 6 'purchases the game cassette 543 from the software house 9 through a retail store. In the game stored in the cassette 543, a plurality of game levels are set, and when a predetermined clear condition is satisfied, the game can shift to the next level. Also, in this game, a plurality of levels of difficulty, for example, V
E (Very Easy), E (Easy), N (Normal), H (Har
d), a difficulty level of five levels of SH (Super Hard) is set.

[0327] The game level and the difficulty level are managed by flags, and information on the difficulty level of the game is not disclosed to the user, and the user cannot naturally change the difficulty level. This difficulty level is set to N (Normal) at the time of shipment.

[0328] First, the contractor 6 'purchases the cassette 5
43 is set on the pager 5 '. At the time of initial setting, a message indicating that user registration is to be performed on the information service center 7 is displayed. In response to this, the contractor 6 ′ establishes a line connection from the telephone 1 to the information service center 7 via the public line network 2. And as a user registration,
It sends out call number data and game software identification number data for the first address.

[0327] In response to this, the information service center 7 confirms that the caller is the contractor, and then receives the game software identification number received in the "game software identification number" item of the corresponding contractor in the contractor memory 711. After storing the number data, the contact phone number data corresponding to the game software identification number data is read out from the database 72, and is wirelessly transmitted to the caller's pager 5 'via the paging center 3 and the transmitting antenna 4. .

[0330] When the pager 5 'receives the contact telephone number data, the pager 5' transmits the contact telephone number data to the ID.
-Write to ROM 519. As a result, the user registration is completed, and programs and data related to the game software stored in the cassette 543 are transferred to the input / output interface 54.
4 and transferred to and stored in a corresponding memory such as the ROM 520 or the RAM 521, and the game can be played with the pager 5 '.

The level clear / next level shift request from the pager 5 'is made as described in the first and second embodiments, whereby the information service center 7 "clears" the contractor memory 711. The data of the "level" item is updated according to the progress of the game of each terminal user.

In the information service center 7, based on the data stored in the “game software identification number” item and the “clear level” item of the contractor memory 711,
It generates game usage data, game progress data, etc., and generates such information and personal information data (name, address, contact information, occupation, work ( Attending school) location, age, birthday, etc.)
Is periodically sent to the software house 9.

In the software house 9, based on such information, for example, if the difficulty of the game is too simple and many users easily advance to the next level, or conversely, the difficulty of the game is When it is too difficult for many users to proceed to the next level, a difficulty change request is made to the information service center 7. In response, the information service center 7 transmits the difficulty change data to the pager 5 ′ via the paging center 3 by a radio signal of the 4th address.

[0334] The difficulty level of the game may be changed for all users of the game at once or individually for each user. Also, 10
It may be performed for each age group, such as a user in their twenties or a user in their twenties, or may be performed in consideration of gender or the like.

[0335] When the pager 5 'receives the difficulty level change data, the pager 5' stores the RAM based on the difficulty level change data.
In addition to changing the game difficulty data stored in the game management memory (GCM) 521b of the game 521, the game server also changes the game difficulty data stored in the cassette 543 via the input / output interface 544.

With the above configuration, the download of the game software does not have to be performed by wireless communication, so that the burden of communication costs on the contractor 6 'can be reduced. In addition, traffic concentration in the paging system 10 'can be prevented.

On the other hand, in the software house 9, the information service center 7 uses the game, the progress of the game,
The personal information of the purchaser of the cassette 543 can be obtained. Note that the game stored in the cassette 543 cannot be executed without user registration.
User registration is much more accurate than conventional mail or personal computer communication, and the software house 9 can more accurately grasp the sales of the game and the purchaser. In addition, such information can be used for sales strategies and the next game software development.

Further, in the software house 9, it is possible to adjust the difficulty level of the game software that has already been sold based on the information from the information service center 7, and to provide more detailed user support. it can.

[0339] Also, ID number data is assigned to each cassette 543, and the subscriber memory 7 of the information service center 7 is allocated.
11, the ID number data is also managed, and the ID number data is transmitted to the information service center 7 together with the call number data for the first address and the game software identification number data at the time of user registration. 7 to check for duplication of ID number data.
It is possible to prevent fraudulent use such as rental use. The above is the outline of the service contents in the first modified example.

In the first modification, the game software is supplied to the pager 5 'by the cassette 543. However, the cassette 543 is constituted by a magnetic or optical recording medium or a semiconductor memory. Storage media, for example, floppy disk, C
Any form such as a D-ROM and an IC memory card may be used.

In the first modification, the description has been made on the assumption that there is no concept of the contract term described in the first and second embodiments. However, a constitution in which a contract period is provided may be adopted. In this case, since the software house 9 can obtain a certain game usage fee from the user via the information service center 7 during the contract period, the selling price of the game cassette 543 can be set to an extremely low price. The game cassette 543 can be advantageously sold.

As described above, according to the paging system 10 'in the first modification, the main frame 712 of the information service center 7 (management device) is connected to the pager 5' (communication terminal) by the data input / output unit 710. )
When the clear level data (execution range change request information) is detected, the corresponding clear level data (effective range) stored in the contractor memory 711 (first storage unit) is changed, and paging is performed by the data output unit 713. The level update data (execution range change information) is transmitted to the pager 5 ′ via the center 3, and the CPU 518 (execution range change means) of the pager 5 ′ transmits the antenna 515, the receiving unit 516, the decoder 517, and the CPU 51.
8, ID-ROM 519, deinterleave circuit 52
3. When the level update data is detected from the data received by the data receiving unit including the buffer memory 524 and the BHC decoder 525, the game management memory (GCM)
The current level data (game difficulty data) stored in the game management table 521b is changed.

Therefore, the information service center 7 can manage the game software used by each pager 5 ′ and the current game level of the game. , The progress of the game being executed by each pager 5 'can be grasped. In addition, the software house 9 which is a game software development / sales source issues a game level change request to the information service center 7 based on the information (such as the progress of the game) obtained from the information service center 7 so that It is possible to provide more detailed user support for the sold game software, such as adjusting the difficulty of the game executed by the pager 5 '.

According to the paging system 10 'of the first modification, the ROM 52 of the pager 5'
The game software stored in the game function area 520B and the game management memory (GCM) 521b in the RAM 521 is supplied to the pager 5 ′ by a cassette 543 (second storage unit), and the cassette 543 is stored in the pager 5 ′. It is removable.

Therefore, the game software is loaded on the cassette 54.
3 (storage medium) to each pager 5 '.

(Second Modification) Next, a second modification of the above-described first and second embodiments will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second modified example, the wireless communication system 101 and the wireless communication terminal 5A "having a paging function will be described in detail, but the same components as those of the first modified example described above as the present invention are the same. Numbers are assigned and explanations are omitted.

FIG. 39 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a wireless communication system 101 according to the first modification.

[0348] The wireless communication system 101 shown in the figure is substantially the same as the paging systems 10 and 10 'described in the first and second embodiments described above, and includes the telephone 1, the public line network, and the like. 2, a communication service center 3 ', a transmitting antenna 4, a wireless communication terminal 5 "(5A"), and a user support service center 7'.

The wireless communication terminal 5 ″ (5A ″) is a notebook personal computer that can be connected to a cellular network, including a paging function. In the figure, the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ (5A ″) transmits a wireless signal transmitted from the communication service center 3 ′ via the transmitting antenna 4. The signal is received, and in the case of a paging service, data processing such as incoming call notification processing and message display is performed. Also, the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ is a telephone 1 (modular jack).
Has a function of transmitting data to the communication service center 3 'and the user support service center 7' by directly connecting to the communication service center 3 '.

Further, the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ stores application software such as word processing software and spreadsheet software in the main body thereof, and by using these software, the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ alone can be used. Document creation processing and spreadsheet processing can be performed.

In FIG. 40, contractor memory 711 ′
Is the contractor name data and the personal information data for customer management (address, address, etc.) for each contractor who has contracted for "user support service" of application program software with the user support service center 7 '. Contact information, occupation, work (school) place, age, birthday, transfer account number, etc., model information data of the wireless communication terminal to be contracted, and call number data used for paging function (for the first address) Address data for the first address (32 bits), call number data for the user support service (for the 4th address),
Storage for storing address data (32 bits) for the th address, application software identification number data, version data (execution range) of the application software, contract term data of the application software, and billing content data in association with each other. The medium is a medium, and reading and writing of these data are controlled by the mainframe 712.

In the contractor memory 711 ′, the “application software identification number” item, “version” item, “contract expiration” item, and “billing content” item include information between the user support center 7 ′. Data is stored only for the contractor who has subscribed to the application software upgrade service.

The above two call number data (1st
The call number data for the 1st address among the addresses for the 4th address) is transmitted from the telephone 1 or the portable communication terminal 5 ″ to the user support when the contractor makes a request for upgrading the application software or extending the contract term. This data is input to the service center 7 ', and the caller of the various requests (the caller's wireless communication terminal 5 ") is a contractor of the application software upgrade service (the contracted wireless communication terminal 5"). ), That is, data set for personal authentication.

In the "Charging content" column, the charging content is determined on a monthly basis in accordance with the type and version of the application software to be used, and the contractor charges based on this information.

On the other hand, the database 72 'is connected to the data supply system 71, and as shown in FIG.
Software attribute data, contact telephone number data, application software data (for example, in this embodiment, the application software data is for the purpose of document creation / editing), and remarks data are set in association with each other; These data are stored in a storage medium, and the reading and writing of these data are controlled by the main frame 712 of the data supply system 71. The “remarks” column stores the usage status of the application software data.

The operation of setting and registering the various data in the database 72 'is performed by the operator of the user support service center 7'. For example, when the operator registers new application software at the next storage address and inputs the application software identification number data, contact telephone number data is automatically set, and these data are registered in the database 72 '.

The contact telephone number data is telephone number data for establishing a line connection with the user support service center 7 '. For example, the numerical data of the last digit differs for each application software. This contact telephone number data is stored in the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ when the application software is installed online.
The user support center 7 ′ sends the caller's wireless communication terminal 5 based on the contact telephone number data used for the line connection when the contract term extension request or version upgrade request is made from the wireless communication terminal 5 ″. "Can be used to identify the application software used.

In the wireless communication terminal 5 ″, the ROM
(Read Only Memory) 520 'is composed of an EEPROM, and has a pager function area 520A for storing programs and data related to a paging function and an application program memory area 520C for storing application software, as shown in FIG. Separated.

Since the pager function area 520A is the same as that of the first and second embodiments, the application program memory area 520A is used.
C will be described.

The application program memory area 520C is wirelessly transmitted from the user support service center 7 ′ to the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ via the communication service center 3 ′ at the 4th address in response to a request for upgrading the application software. Is stored by the same processing as the game data rewriting control processing.

In the application program memory area 520C, a "professional use edition" (version 3) having all optional functions in application software such as document creation software and spreadsheet software is installed in advance.

A RAM (Random Access Memory) 521 '
Is a message memory (MM) 5 as shown in FIG.
21a and application software management memory (AC
M) 521c.

The message memory (MM) 521a is the same as in the first and second embodiments described above, and will not be described.

[0364] Application software management memory (AC
The M) 521c stores a function management table (see FIG. 43) related to the program contents related to the application software installed in the wireless communication terminal 5 ″.

As shown in FIG. 43, the function management table includes application software identification number data, software attribute data, application version data, and contract expiration date data of the application software installed in the application program memory 520C. The number of files created and stored using the application software, the file name used most recently, and the function identification number and function are stored in association with each other, and used in the application software according to the flag information. And a table for managing possible functions in three stages.

Of these, application software identification number data, version data, software attribute data, and contract expiration date data that are the same as those managed by the user support service center 7 'are stored. It is rewritten by a radio signal transmitted from the user support service center 7 'via the communication service center 3' in response to a request for extension of the term or a request for version upgrade.

[0367] The version is data indicating the execution control level of the application software at the present time. The version 1 is "Easy Edition", the version 2 is "Standard Edition", and the version 3 is "Professional Use". -It is divided into three stages according to the type of functions that can be used with "Edition".

[0368] The number of stored files stores the number of files created by using the application software.

As the latest file name, a file name created or updated using the application software is stored.

In the table shown in FIG. 44 for managing functions usable in the application software in three stages, function identification numbers are set in correspondence with the functions of the application software. Further, the functions that are permitted to be used are set for each version in association with each version.

The flag F is a flag set according to the function of the application software. For example, FIG.
In the table shown in FIG. 4, since the value of the current version is set to “1” (Easy Edition), of the 12 types of functions, the function that can be used depending on the value of the flag F is “memo creation function”. , "Letterhead, postcard, fax address writing function", "page number setting function", and "spell check / document style check function".

The value of the flag F is set in the game data rewrite control process (FIG. 2) in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
5) is rewritten by the CPU 518 by the same control operation as in the case of FIG.

According to the wireless communication system 101 of the second modified example having the above configuration, the user support service center 7 'manages the application software used in each wireless communication terminal 5 "and its version. The user support service center 7 'can check the usage status of each application software, the version of the application software used in each wireless communication terminal 5 ", and the like.
Therefore, the user support service center 7 'can change the version of the application software according to the request of the contractor 6 only by transmitting the data for changing the version.

As described above, the present invention has been specifically described based on the first and second embodiments, and first and second modified examples thereof. It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the first modified example and the second modified example, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist thereof.

For example, in the first and second embodiments, the score data of the game can be transmitted from each pager 5 to the information service center 7. Information services such as creating score ranking information for each game based on the score data and distributing the score ranking information to each pager 5 may be provided. Furthermore,
A service such as giving out prizes to the top prize winners in this score ranking may be provided.

The software supplied by the cassette is not limited to game software. In such a case, according to the data amount of the received data and the number of times of data reception, a control function may be added such that a function usable in processing based on the software is newly added or the function level of the function is increased. Good.

In the first and second embodiments and the first and second modifications thereof, the case where the present invention is applied to a paging receiver compatible with the advanced radio paging system has been described. However, this is not limited to the paging receiver. For example, F that can receive teletext can be used.
M for teletext multiplex broadcasting receivers, teleterminal systems, etc.
PDAs (Pers) used in CA data communication systems
onal Digital Assistant) and mobile phones, PHSs, and smartphones (SmartPhone) with data communication functions
The present invention may be applied to the above.

[0378]

According to the first, second and seventh aspects of the present invention, the terminal management system can manage the program currently used in each communication terminal and its expiration date. For example, at the time of a program download service, charging can be performed according to the usage period of the downloaded program, and a fee for the service can be collected, thereby enriching the service form. In addition, the use status of each program can be grasped in the terminal management system.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the management system, it is possible to manage the game program used in each communication terminal and the current difficulty level of the game. It is possible to grasp the usage status, the progress status of the game executed on each communication terminal, and the like. Also, for example, in a software house that is a game program development and sales source, a difficulty change request (communication terminal identification data and difficulty change) is sent to the management system based on information (game progress, etc.) obtained from the management system. (Request data transmission), it is possible to provide more detailed user support for the sold game software, such as adjusting the difficulty of the game executed on each terminal.

According to the invention described in claim 4, in the management system, it is possible to manage the application programs used in each communication terminal and the version thereof, and in the management system, the usage status of each application program, It is possible to know the version of the application used in the communication terminal. Also,
For example, a software house that is a developer and distributor of application programs issues a version change request (transmission of communication terminal identification data and application program data to be upgraded) to the management system based on version information obtained from the management system. As a result, it is possible to provide more detailed user support for sold applications, such as adjusting the version of the application program used in each terminal.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the management system, it is possible to manage the programs used in each communication terminal and the current usage level of the programs, and the usage status of each program in the management system Also, it is possible to grasp the progress of a program executed in each communication terminal. Also, program development and
The software house, which is the distributor, requests the management system to change the usage level based on information obtained from the management system (such as the progress of the game software), thereby reducing the difficulty of the program executed on each communication terminal. It is possible to provide more fine-grained user support for the sold program, for example, to make adjustments.

According to the invention described in claim 6, the program can be provided to each communication terminal by a storage medium.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a paging system 10 to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a paging center 3 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the information service center 7 of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a memory configuration of a contractor memory 711 in FIG. 3 and data stored therein.

5 is a diagram showing an example of a memory configuration of a database 72 of FIG. 3 and data stored therein.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are external views of the pager 5 of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 6A is a front view and FIG. 6B is a rear view.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of the pager 5 of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of an ID-ROM 519 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of a ROM 520 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a dial data conversion table stored in a dial data conversion table memory (DT) 520c of FIG.

11 is a diagram illustrating a free word conversion matrix stored in a free word conversion matrix memory (FM) 520d of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a block data memory (BM) 520 shown in FIG. 9;
It is a figure showing about a block data table stored in g.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of a RAM 521 in FIG. 7;

14 is a message memory (MM) 521a of FIG.
3 is a diagram showing a memory configuration of FIG.

15 is a game management memory (GCM) 521 shown in FIG.
It is a figure showing about a game management table stored in b.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart (part 1) of a main control process executed by a CPU 518 in FIG. 7;

FIG. 17 is a flowchart (part 2) of a main control process executed by CPU 518 in FIG. 7;

18 is a diagram showing a display example of a message displayed on the display unit 501 based on received message data in the main control processing shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG.

19 and FIG. 1 by the CPU 518 of FIG.
8 is a flowchart of a message reading control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process shown in FIG.

20 and FIG. 1 by the CPU 518 of FIG.
9 is a flowchart (part 1) of a game control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process shown in FIG.

21 and FIG. 1 by the CPU 518 of FIG.
9 is a flowchart (part 2) of a game control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process shown in FIG.

22 and FIG. 1 by the CPU 518 of FIG.
9 is a flowchart (part 3) of a game control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process shown in FIG.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a game executed by the pager 5 by the game control process shown in FIGS. 20 to 22.

24 is a flowchart of a system control process executed by the main frame 712 in FIG.

25 and FIG. 1 by the CPU 518 of FIG.
8 is a flowchart of a game data rewrite control process executed as a subroutine of the main control process shown in FIG.

26 and FIG. 1 by the CPU 518 of FIG.
8 is a flowchart of a contract term management process executed as a subroutine of the main control process shown in FIG.

27 is a diagram showing a screen display example displayed on the display unit 501 when the contract term is updated by the contract term management process shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a modified example of the game control process shown in FIGS. 20 to 22.

FIG. 29 is a diagram showing a block data table stored in a block data memory (BM) 520g in the second embodiment.

FIG. 30 is a diagram illustrating a memory configuration of a message memory (MM) 521a according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 31 is a diagram showing a game management table stored in a game management memory (GCM) 521b in the second embodiment.

FIG. 32 is a flowchart (part 1) of a game control process executed by a CPU 518 in the second embodiment.

FIG. 33 is a flowchart (part 2) of a game control process executed by a CPU 518 in the second embodiment.

FIG. 34 is a flowchart (part 3) of a game control process executed by CPU 518 in the second embodiment.

FIG. 35 in the second embodiment, FIGS.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a screen display example of a game executed by the pager 5 by the game control process shown in FIG.

FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a paging system 10 ′ in a first modification of the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 37 is an external view of the pager 5 ′ of FIG. 36;
(A) is a front view, (b) is a rear view, and (c) is a side view.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a circuit configuration of a pager 5 ′ of FIG. 37.

FIG. 39 is a diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a wireless communication system 101 in a second modification of the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 40 is a diagram showing an example of a memory configuration of a contractor memory 711 ′ and data stored in the contractor memory 711 ′ in the second modification of the first and second embodiments.

FIG. 41 is a diagram showing an example of a memory configuration of a database 72 ′ in FIG. 39 and data stored therein.

FIG. 42 is a diagram showing the R of the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ in the second modification.
It is a figure showing the memory composition of OM520 '.

FIG. 43 is a diagram showing the R of the wireless communication terminal 5 ″ in the second modification.
It is a figure showing the memory composition of AM521 '.

FIG. 44 is a diagram showing storage information stored in an application software management memory (PCM) 521c of a RAM 521 ′.

FIG. 45 is a diagram showing a data format in the advanced wireless paging system.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Telephone 2 Public line network 3 Paging center 4 Transmitting antenna 5 (5A, 5B, 5C), 5 '(5A') Paging receiver 500 Main body casing 500a Display window 500b, 500c Sound window 501 Display section 501A Paging mode screen 501a Electric field strength mark 501b Incoming address display area 501c, 501d Incoming date and time display area 501e Message display area 501B Game mode screen 501f Current date and time display area 501g Next block display area 501h Score display area 501i Block stacking area 502 Main switch 503 Dialer key 504 Cross key 505 Release key 506 Memory key 507 Cursor key 508 Dialer speaker 509 LED 510 Speaker 511 Battery storage lid 512 Push slide Button 513 Memory backup battery storage cover 514 Screw 515 Antenna 516 Receiver 517 Decoder 518 CPU 518a Clocking circuit 518b Timer circuit 519 ID-ROM 520 ROM 520A Pager function area 520B Game function area 520a Program memory (PM) 520b Character generator memory ( CG) 520c Dial data conversion table memory (D
T) 520d Free word conversion matrix memory (F
M) 520e Paging processing program memory (PP) 520f Display control program memory (DC) 520g Block data memory (BM) 520h Configuration data memory (C)
F) 520i Game program memory (GM) 521 RAM 521a Message memory (MM) 521b Game management memory (GCM) 522 Transmission data memory 523 Deinterleave circuit 524 Buffer memory 525 BHC decoder 526, 527 Driver 528 Key input section 529 Transmission buffer 530 DTMF signal conversion unit 531 Amplifier 532 Bus 541 Eject button 542 Cassette insertion slot 543 Cassette 544 Input / output interface 7 Information service center 71 Data supply system 710 Data input / output unit 711 Contractor memory 712 Main frame 712a Clock unit 713 Data output unit 72 Database 8 Dedicated line 9 Soft house 10, 10 'Paging system

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI // A63F 9/22 H04B 7/26 103C

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A program management system comprising: a communication terminal; and a management system for managing an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal, wherein the management system comprises: a program executed by the communication terminal; A first storage unit for storing the execution range of the program in association with the first execution unit; a first detection unit for detecting the execution range change request information of the program from information transmitted from the communication terminal; When the execution range change request information is detected by the means, the first control means changes the execution range of the program stored in the first storage means and transmits the execution range change information of the program to the communication terminal. Wherein the communication terminal comprises: a second storage means for storing in advance a maximum execution range of the program; and an execution range change information of the program. Second detecting means for detecting the reception of the information, and when the second detecting means detects the execution range change information of the program, the maximum execution range of the program stored in the second storage means is limited. A program management system comprising: an execution range changing unit that changes an execution range. 2. The storage system according to claim 3, wherein the management system stores an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal and billing information to an owner of the communication terminal executing the program in association with each other. The program management system according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The program management system according to claim 1, wherein said program is a game program, and said execution range is a difficulty level of achievement of a game by said game program. 4. The program management system according to claim 1, wherein the program is application software used by the communication terminal alone, and the execution range is version information of the application software. 5. The program stored in said second storage means can have its execution range changed in a plurality of stages by being restricted by flag information, and the information for changing the execution range of said program can be obtained by changing said flag information. The program management system according to claim 1, wherein the information is information to be changed. 6. The communication device according to claim 1, wherein said second storage means is detachably provided to said communication terminal.
The program management system according to any one of the above. 7. A control method for a terminal management system, comprising: a communication terminal; and a management device that manages an execution range of a program executed by the communication terminal, wherein the management device is used in the communication terminal. Program, and a management memory for storing the execution range of the program. Upon receiving execution range change request information for changing the execution range of the program from the communication terminal, executing the corresponding program stored in the management memory. While changing the range, transmitting the execution range change information to the communication terminal, the communication terminal is set in advance so that the program can be executed in the entire execution range, the execution range transmitted from the management device A control method for a terminal management system, comprising: upon receiving change information, changing an execution range set in the program.