MXPA99007566A - Portableelectronic device and entertainment system - Google Patents

Abstract

Se describe un dispositivo electrónico portátil que tiene un conector para conectarse a una unidad maestra en la que se ejecuta un juego de vídeo, medios de control que tienen una memoria de programa para almacenar un programa de juego que se ha bajado de la unidad maestra, para controlar la ejecución del programa, medios de presentación visual para mostrar información de conformidad con el programa ejecutado, medios de entrada para operar el programa y una batería para proveer energía a cada uno de estos medios, en donde el dispositivo electrónico portátil ejecuta el juego, en base al programa bajado de la unidad maestra, en un estado en el que se corta del suministro de energía de la unidad maestra.

Description

PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE AND ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM FIELD OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a portable electronic device used as an auxiliary storage device, such as a memory card inserted in the master unit of the information equipment, as well as an entertainment system, such as a video game station having a function. to store the game data or the like in an auxiliary storage device.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION A portable or slave electronic device that serves as an auxiliary storage device, such as a conventional memory card used when inserted into the master unit of the information equipment, such as a video game machine, is equipped with an interface to make a connection with the console (master unit) of the information equipment and a non-volatile storage element for storing data. Figure 60 (a) illustrates an example of the arrangement of the main components of the memory card, which is an example of such a portable electronic device according to the prior art. A memory card according to the prior art has a control means 1 1 for controlling the operation of the memory card, a connector 12 for making a connection to a terminal provided in a slot of the information equipment or the like, and a non-volatile memory 16 for storing data. The connector 12 and the non-volatile memory 16 are connected to the control means 11. The control means 1 1 is constituted by a microcomputer, by way of example. An instantaneous memory, such as an EEPROM, for example, is used as the non-volatile memory 16. There are also examples in which the interface for connecting to the information equipment or the like employs a microcomputer as a means of control to interpret the protocols. Figure 60 (b) illustrates the elements controlled by the control means 1 1 of the conventional memory card 10. As illustrated, the memory card has only one console connection interface for connection to the console of the equipment of information or the like, and a memory interface for input and output of data to and from non-volatile memory. In addition, the conventional video game station, such as a home television game station has a function for storing the game data and the like in an auxiliary storage device. The video card mentioned above is also used as an auxiliary storage device of said video game station. Figure 61 illustrates an example of a conventional video game station employing a memory card as an auxiliary storage device. This conventional video game station 1 has a console 2 accommodated within a substantially quadrangular box and is constituted by a mounting unit with disc in the center 3, in which an optical disc is mounted which serves as a recording medium in which was recorded the application program of a video game, a reset switch 4 to restart the game at will, a power supply switch 5, a disk operation switch 6 manipulated to mount the optical disk, and two slots 7A and 7B, by way of example. The memory card 10 used as an auxiliary storage device is inserted into the slots JA, 7B so that, for example, the results of a game that was executed in the video game station 1, are sent from the control means (CPU) 19 and written to the non-volatile memory 16. Also, an arrangement can be adopted in which a plurality of control devices (controllers) (not shown) are connected to the slots 7A, 7B, thereby enabling a plurality of users to play competing games with each other at the same time. The fact of providing a slave has been considered, which is connected using the memory card slot of a video game station or the like that serves as the master unit, not only with the storage function of an auxiliary storage device, but also with a function for executing programs, for example games. Said slave can also be used as a portable electronic device as such, and by facilitating communication with other equipment a wider range of applications can be achieved. This, in turn, can stimulate new demand. The present invention, which has been designed in view of these circumstances, aims to provide a portable electronic device and an entertainment system, characterized in that the portable electronic device can be connected to a master unit, can be used even as an isolated slave and can communicate easily with other elements of the team.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A portable electronic device, in accordance with the present invention is equipped with an interface for making a connection to a master unit having a program execution function, the portable electronic device comprises a program storage means for storing a program, the control method for controlling the execution of the program, a display means for displaying the information in accordance with the executed program, an operating input means for operating the program, and a means of supplying power to supply the power to each of the means mentioned above, wherein the execution that accompanies the information of a program through the master unit is transferred and the program that was stored in the storage medium of the program is executed through the control means on the basis of the information transferred. Therefore, the portable electronic device of the invention has not only the function of the memory card used for the present invention and with the function of the conventional memory card used as an auxiliary storage device of the information equipment or the like, but also as a means of operating input to operate a stored program, a display means for displaying varied information in accordance with the program, and a battery or the like to supply power to each of these units. As a result, it is possible to provide a memory card that not only stores data, but also executes an independently downloaded application program and performs a cooperative operation while exchanging the results of program execution with other information equipment. Furthermore, in accordance with the present invention, a memory card with the ability to independently download and execute an application program, and to exchange the results of program execution with other information equipment, is used as an auxiliary storage device. in a video game station having a function for storing the game data or the like in the auxiliary storage device. As a result, it is possible to provide a video game station that performs a cooperative operation, such as implementing a game by incorporating the results of the game played independently by means of a memory card. In addition, an entertainment system in accordance with the present invention comprises a master unit having a program that executes a function and a slave equipped with an interface to make a connection to the master unit, wherein the master unit has the means of control to transfer the information that accompanies the execution of the program with the slave and to read in the information from the slave, and the slave has a storage medium of program to store a program, a means of control to control the execution of the program, a display means for displaying the information in accordance with the executed program, a means of operating input to operate the program, and a means of supplying power to supply the energy to each of the means mentioned above. Accordingly, the entertainment system not only has the conventional relationship between a master unit and a slave serving as a memory card, but is constituted by a master unit and a slave having an operating input means for operating a slave. stored program, a screen means to display diverse information in accordance with the program, and a battery or the like to supply energy to each of these units. As a result, it is possible not only to store data, but also independently execute a loaded application program and perform the cooperative operation while the results of the execution program are exchanged with another information equipment. further, in accordance with the present invention, a memory card with the ability to load an application program, to run the program independently and to exchange the execution results of the program with other information equipment, is used as a device of an slave with an auxiliary storage. As a result, it is possible to perform a cooperative operation, such as the instrumentation of a game by incorporating the results of a game played independently by means of the memory card.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a plan view illustrating the appearance of a video game station that serves as a master unit in which a portable electronic device is used as a slave in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a rear view showing the appearance of the slots in the video game station that serves as a master unit. Figure 3 is an external perspective view showing the appearance of the video game station that serves as a master unit.

Figure 4 is a block diagram illustrating a specific example of the layout of the main components of the video game station that serves as a master unit. Figure 5 is a plan view illustrating the appearance of a modality of the portable electronic device in accordance with the present invention. Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the modality of the portable electronic device in accordance with the present invention. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing a cover member in the open position in the embodiment of the portable electronic device in accordance with the present invention. Figure 8 is a front view showing the appearance of a modality of the portable electronic device in accordance with the present invention. Figure 9 is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the main components of the modality of the portable electronic device in accordance with the present invention. Figure 10 is a diagram useful in describing a wireless communication function of the portable electronic device mode in accordance with the present invention. Figure 11 is a diagram useful in describing the cooperative operation between a slave, which is a mode of the portable electronic device, in accordance with the present invention and the console of the video game station that serves as the master unit. Figure 12 is a diagram showing the flow of the program data downloaded from the console of the video game station (master unit) to the portable electronic device (slave). Figure 13 is a flow chart showing the procedure for downloading a program of Figure 12. Figure 14 is a diagram showing another flow of program data, downloaded from the console of the video game station (unit master) to the portable electronic device (slave). Fig. 15 is a flow diagram showing the procedure of loading a program shown in Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit in a box in where a subsequent lesson is created based on the results of a review test. Figure 17 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the slave side in a box where a subsequent lesson is created based on the results of a review test. Figure 18 is a flow chart illustrating a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit in a box where only the results of a review examination are totaled.

Figure 19 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the slave side in a box where only the results of a review examination are totaled. Figure 20 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit in a box where the problems of a day are sent without giving lessons. Figure 21 is a flow chart illustrating a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit in a box where the problems of a day are sent without giving lessons. Figure 22 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit in a box where a subsequent lesson is created based on the results of a review test and one day's problems are sent to the slave without giving lessons. Figure 23 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the slave side in a box where a subsequent lesson is created based on the results of a review examination and one day's problems are sent to the slave without givelessons. Fig. 24 is a diagram showing a specific example of a portable map displayed on a screen. Fig. 25 is a diagram showing a specific example of a message indicating the position of a post office on the portable map.

Figure 26 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit in relation to the portable map. Figure 27 is a flow diagram illustrating a series of steps executed on the slave side in relation to a portable map. Fig. 28 is a flow chart illustrating a series of steps executed on one side of transmission of the slave and one side of reception of the slave in relation to a portable map. Fig. 29 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed by the master unit with respect to the selective transfer according to the slave. Figure 30 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed by the slave with respect to the selective transfer according to the slave. Figure 31 is a flow chart showing a series of steps executed by the master unit with respect to an operation that is related to the transfer of a high score. Figure 32 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed by the slave with respect to an operation related to the transfer of a high score. Fig. 33 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed by the master unit with respect to a memory card having a time limit.

Fig. 34 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed by the slave with respect to a memory card having a time limit. Fig. 35 is a flow chart showing a series of steps executed by the master unit with respect to setting an ID. Figure 36 is a diagram showing a display screen of the slave. Figure 37 is a plan view illustrating the slave whose display shows a name. Fig. 38 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps for converting a registered name to an ID number. Fig. 39 is a flow diagram showing the flows of the processing executed by the master unit and the slave, as well as the content of the communication between the master unit and the slave. Fig. 40 is a flow diagram showing the steps through which a command message, which conforms to the state of a game, is sent from the master unit to the slave. Figure 41 is a flow diagram illustrating a command interruption processing. Figure 42 is a flow chart illustrating a processing of the time limit cycle. Figure 43 is a diagram showing a time limit command table.

Figure 44 is a perspective view showing an example of a way in which the operation is performed by the slave in response to the commands. Figure 45 is a block diagram showing a circuit that makes possible the execution of an artificial life game. Figure 46 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps of an artificial life game. Figure 47 is a block diagram showing a circuit that makes possible the execution of the interaction between the slaves. Figure 48 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps of an interactive game. Fig. 49 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps related to the generation of a game ID, an ID of game events and a coin ID. Figure 50 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps with respect to a video game machine, which can be held between hands, applied to an artificial life. Fig. 51 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed on the slave side with respect to a video game machine, which can be held between hands, applied to an artificial life. Figure 52 is a flowchart showing the processing executed on the slave side in a stand-alone mode.

Figure 53 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps with respect to to transmission / reception. Fig. 54 is a flow chart showing a series of steps of reception performed by the master unit. Fig. 55 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps with respect to processing on the side of the master unit. Figure 56 is a diagram showing the display screen of a television receiver. Fig. 57 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps with respect to processing on the slave side. Fig. 58 is a flow diagram showing a series of steps executed on the side of the master unit with respect to a game of the type in which the game is played while the user experiences an artificial world on a screen. Fig. 59 is a flow chart showing a series of steps executed on the slave side with respect to a game of the type in which the game is played while the user experiences an artificial world on a screen. Figure 60 is a diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the main components of a conventional memory card.

Fig. 61 is a diagram showing an example of a video game station employing a memory card as an auxiliary storage device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES A preferred embodiment in accordance with the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A portable electronic device representing the embodiment of the present invention can be used as a memory card used in an entertainment system, such as a video game station, which serves as the master unit. The portable electronic device can also be used separately as a gaming machine that can be held between hands. It should be noted that the master unit is not limited to a video game station and that the portable electronic device that serves as a slave does not at all need to have a memory card function. In the following description, the present invention is described with respect to a video game station, which is an example of a master unit in which a portable electronic device representing the embodiment of the present invention is employed as a slave. The figural shows the appearance of a video game station that serves as the master unit into which the electronic device included in the embodiment of the present invention is inserted. The video game station 1 serves to read a game program that was recorded on an optical disc or the like, and to execute the program in accordance with the commands of a user (the game player). The execution of the game mainly means to make the game continue and control the video and audio that fit the content of the game. The video game station 1 has a console 2 accommodated within a substantially quadrangular housing and is constituted by a disk mounting unit arranged at the center 3 on which an optical disk is mounted, such as a CD-ROM that serves as a recording medium for providing an application program for a video game or the like, a reset switch 4 for restarting the game at will, a power supply switch 5, a disk operation switch 6 manipulated to mount the optical disk , and two slots 7A and 7B, by way of example. It should be noted that the recording medium for supplying the application program is not limited to an optical disc. In addition, a provision may be adopted in which the application program is provided by a communication line. Two controllers 20 can be connected to slots 7A, 7B so that two users can play competitive games or similar to each other. The memory card mentioned above or the portable electronic device comprising the embodiment of the present invention can be inserted into the slots 7A, 7B. Although Figure 1 exemplifies a structure having slots 7A, 7B of two systems, the number thereof is not limited to both. The controller 20 has first and second control portions, 21, 22, as well as a left button 23L, a right button 23R, a start button 24, and a selection button 25. In addition, the controller has control portions 31, 32 with capability for analog control, a power switch mode selection 33 with ability to select the mode of operation of the control portions 31, 32, and a display portion 34 to show the selected operating mode. The controller 20 has a vibration-emitting mechanism that is not illustrated. Figure 2 shows the appearance of the slots 7A, 7B disposed at the front end of the console 2 of the video game station 1. According to this embodiment, the slots 7A, 7B are each formed to have 2 levels. The upper levels of the respective slots have insertion portions for memory card 8A, 8B, for inserting the aforementioned memory card 10 or a portable electronic device 100, described below, in the lower levels of the respective slots have controller connection portions (sets) 9A, 9B, for connecting a terminal Connection (connector) 26 of the controller 20. Structurally, the insertion hole (slots) of each of the insertion portions of the memory card 8A, 8B is constructed to have a transverse elongated rectangular shape, and the corners at both ends of the The lower end thereof is more rounded than the corners at both ends of the upper end so that a memory card is not inserted in the wrong direction. The insertion portions of the memory card 8A, 8B have shutters that protect the connection terminals that have insertion portions of the memory card in order to obtain an electrical connection. Structurally, the controller connection portions, 9A, 9B, on the other hand, each have an insertion hole of a transverse elongated rectangular shape, and the corners at both ends of the lower end thereof are more rounded than the corners of both ends at the upper end, so that the Connection terminal 26 of controller 20 will not be connected in the wrong direction. The insertion portions of the memory card 8A, 8B are structured to have insertion holes of different shapes, such that a memory card is not inserted by mistake. Figure 3 shows a state in which the portable electronic device 100 (described below) comprised in the embodiment of the present invention was inserted into the insertion portion of the memory card 8A of the slot 7A at the front end of the video game station 1.

Figure 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an example of the circuitry of the main components of the video game station described above 1. The video game station 1 has a control system 50 comprising a central processing unit (CPU) 51 and its peripherals; a graphics system 60, comprising a graphics processing unit (GPU) 62, etc., for drawing graphics in a frame buffer 63 a sound system 70 comprising a sound processing unit (SPU) 71, etc., to generate music and sound effects, etc .; an optical disk controller 80 for controlling an optical disk in which an application program was recorded; a communications controller 90 for controlling the input and output of data to and from the memory card 10, which stores signals and game settings from the controller 20 for which the user commands are the input, or the portable electronic device 100, described below; and a bus highlighted as a BUS to which each of the previous components are connected. The control system 50 has the CPU 51, a peripheral controller 52 for carrying out the control, such as interrupt control and control of direct memory access transfer (DMA), a main memory 53 comprising a random access memory (RAM); and a read-only memory (ROM) 54 that stores a program, called an operating system that controls the main memory 53, the graphics system 60 and the sound system 70. The main memory mentioned herein refers to a memory in which the programs can be executed. The CPU 51, which carries out the overall control of the video game station 1 by executing the operating system that was stored in the ROM 54, by a 32-bit RISC-CPU, by way of example. When the energy is introduced to the video game station 1, CPU 51 or control system 50 executes the operating system stored in ROM 54, whereby the CPU 51 controls the graphics system 60 and the sound system 70, etc. Furthermore, when the operating system is executed, the CPU performs the initialization of the global video game station 1, as, the verification of the operation thereof, and then handles the optical disk controller 80 to execute an application program , like a game that was recorded on an optical disc. In response to the execution of a program, such as a game, the CPU 51 controls the graphics system 60 and the sound system 70, etc., in accordance with the inputs from the controller 20, whereby the display is controlled of images and the generation of sound and music effects. The graphics system 60 has a geometry transfer engine (GTE) 61 to execute the coordinated and similar transformation, the GPU 62 for the graphics of drawings in accordance with a drawing command of the CPU 51, a frame buffer 63 for storing an image drawn by the GPU 62, and an image decoder 64 for decoding the data of the image that was compressed and encoded by an orthogonal transformation, such as a discrete cosine transformation. The GTE 61, which has a parallel operation mechanism for executing a plurality of arithmetic operations in parallel, has the ability to execute a coordination transformation, a light source calculation and a vector or matrix operation, etc., to high speed in response to a request for operation of the CPU 51. More specifically, in the case of a calculation where a polygon of a triangular shape is subject to a flat shading so that color is present therein, the GTE 61 has the ability to calculate the coordinates of a maximum of 1, 500,000 polygons in one second. As a result, the video game station has the ability to reduce the load on the CPU 51 and calculate the coordinates at high speed. The GPU 62 draws polygons and the like in the frame buffer 63, in accordance with a drawing command of the CPU 51. The GPU 62 has the ability to draw a maximum of 360,000 polygons in one second. The frame buffer 63, comprising a dual port RAM has the ability to simultaneously perform the transfer of drawing data from the GPU 62 or from the main memory and read to show what was drawn. The frame buffer 63, which has the capacity of 1 MB, is treated as a 16-bit array composed of 1024 pixels in the horizontal direction and 512 pixels in the vertical direction. Furthermore, apart from a screen area from which the data is output as video, the frame buffer 63 has a CLUT area in which a color table (CLUT) is stored, which is referred to when the GPU 62 draws polygons or similar, and a texture area in which the texture is stored subject to coordinated transformation at the time of drawing, and then inserts (maps to) the polygon drawings by GPU 62. CLUT area and the texture area change dynamically according to a change, etc., in the screen area. In addition to performing the aforementioned flat shading, the GPU 62 has the ability to execute the shading of Gouraud, which decides the color in a polygon by interpolating from the colors in each of the polygons, and the texture mapping in which the texture that was stored in the texture area is mapped to the polygons. In a case where Gouraud shading or texture mapping is carried out, GTE 61 has the ability to calculate the coordinates of a maximum of 500,000 polygons in one second. Further, under the control of the CPU 51, the image decoder 64 decodes the image data that still represents or moves the images stored in the main memory 53, and stores the decoded data in the main memory 53. In this way, the data of the reproduced image is stored in the frame buffer 63 via the GPU 62, whereby the image data has the ability to be used as the background of the image drawn by the GPU 62. The sound system 70 has an SPU 71 for generating music and sound effects based on a command of the CPU 51, a sound buffer 72 in which the data, in the form of waves are stored by the SPU 71, and a speaker 73 for output to music and sound effects, etc., generated by SPU 71. SPU 71 has an ADPCM decoder function to reproduce audio data obtained by differential adaptive PCM (ADPCM), using audio data. io of 16 bits as a 4-bit differential signal, a reproductive function for generating sound effects and the like by reproducing data in the form of waves that were stored in the sound buffer 72, and a modulating function for modulating and reproducing the data in the form of waves that were recorded in the sound buffer 72. The arrangement of these functions enables the sound system 70 to be used as what is called a sample sound source, which generates music and sound effects based on the data in the form of waves, recorded in the sound buffer 72, in response to a command from the CPU 51. The optical disk controller 80 has an optical disk device 81 for reproducing programs, data and the like that were recorded on an optical disk, a decoder 82 for decoding programs, data and the like that were recorded after the assignment of, for example, error correction codes (ECC) for them, and a buffer 83 wherein the data of the optical disk device 81 is temporarily stored, whereby the reading of data from the optical disk is accelerated. A subordinate CPU 84 is connected to the decoder 82. In addition to the ADPCM data, called CPM data, which is the result of the clamping of an audio signal to a digital analogue conversion, they are an example of audio recorded on the optical disc and are read by the optical disc device 81. With respect to the ADPCM data, the audio data that was recorded using 4 bits to express, for example, a digital data differential of 16 bits is decoded by the decoder 82, after the Decoded data is supplied to SPU 71. Here, the data is subject to processing, such as an analog / digital conversion and then used to address the horn 73. Regarding the PCM data, the audio data that was recorded as, for example, example, 16-bit digital data is decoded by the decoder 82 and then output to the horn 73. The communication controller 90 has a communication controller 91 for control The communication with the CPU 51 via the bus highlighted as BUS is extended. The communication controller 91 has 9A controller connecting portions, 9B, to which the controller 20, for inputting user commands, is connected, and with the insertion portions of the memory card 8A, 8B, to which the memory card 10 or the electronic device is connected. portable 100, described below, serve as an auxiliary storage device for storing game setting data and the like. The controller 20 connected to the connection portions of the controller 9A, 9B has, say, 16 instruction keys so that the user can enter the commands. In accordance with a command of the communication controller 91, the controller 20 transmits the states of these instruction keys to the communication controller 91 in a cycle of 60 times per second by synchronous communication. The communication controller 91 transmits the states of the instruction keys of the controller 20 to the CPU 51. As a result, the user's command enters the CPU 51 which, in the base of the game program, etc., runs in that moment, execute the processing that is in accordance with the user's command. It requires a large amount of image data to be transferred at high speed when reading, image display and drawing of program graphics, etc., are executed between main memory 53, GPU 62, decoder 64 and the decoder 82. Accordingly, the video game station is so adapted to the so-called DMA transfer it can be performed for the direct transfer of data between the main memory 53, the GPU 62, the image decoder 64 and the decoder 82 by control from the peripheral controller 52 without the intervention of the CPU 51. As a result, the load on the CPU 51 that accompanies the data transfer may be lightened and high-speed data transfer may be performed. When it is necessary to store the fixation data of a game that is currently running, the CPU 51 transmits the data that will be stored in the communication control circuit 91. Upon receiving the data sent from the CPU 51, the controller communication 91 writes the data to the memory card 10 or to the portable electronic device 100 that was inserted in the slot of the insertion portion for the memory card 8A or 8B. It should be noted that the communication controller 91 has an integrated protection circuit to prevent electrical destruction. The memory card 10 and the portable electronic device 100 that are separated from the bus, highlighted as BUS, can be inserted and removed in a state in which the console of the video game station has a power supply. Therefore, in situations where the storage capacity of the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 is no longer adequate, a new memory card can be inserted without interrupting the power to the console. As a result, game data that requires power backup will not be lost; a new memory card can be inserted and the necessary data can be written to the new memory card.

A parallel I / O interface (PlO) 96 and a serial I / O interface (SIO) 97 are interfaces for connecting the memory card 10 and the portable electronic device 100 to the video game station 1. The portable electronic device comprised in the embodiment of the present invention will now be described. It is further assumed that the portable electronic device 100 in accordance with the present invention is employed as a slave upon insertion into the video game station described above, which serves as the master unit. The portable electronic device 100 serving as the slave is inserted into the insertion portions for the memory card 8A, 8B provided in the slots 7A, 7B, respectively, of the video game station 1 which serves as the master unit. Portable electronic devices can also be used as single memory cards corresponding to a plurality of connected controllers 20. For example, in an example where two users (game players) play, the two portable electronic devices 100 function so that the results of the game of individual users are taxed on the two respective portable electronic devices. The connector of the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 is so adapted that the conductor of the connection terminal for the power supply or for the ground is constructed to be larger than the other terminals, in such a way that the power supply terminal or the ground terminal will first form an electrical connection when the memory card 10 or the portable electronic device 100 are inserted into the insert portions for the memory card 8A, 8B. This is to guarantee the safety and stability of the electrical operation. A provision may be adopted in which the connection conductors of the insertion portions of the memory card 8A, 8B, provided in the video game station 1, are constructed to be larger, or in which both conductors are built to be bigger. In addition, the connector portions are formed to have a left / right asymmetry to prevent erroneous insertion. Figures 5 to 7 illustrate the appearance of the portable electronic device 100 comprised in the embodiment of the present invention, in which Figure 5 is a plan view of the portable electronic device 100, Figure 6 is a perspective view in which the member of the cover 1 10 for protection of the connector portion appears closed, and figure 7 is a perspective view showing the member of the cover 1 10 open. As shown in Figures 5 to 7, the portable electronic device 100 in accordance with the present invention has a housing 101. The housing 101 has an operating section 120 having one or a plurality of operating elements 121, 122 for entering events and performing various choices, a display section 130 comprising a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and a window 140 for performing wireless communication, by wireless or infrared communication means, described below.

The housing 101 comprises an upper shell 101 a and a lower shell 101 b and encloses a substrate 151 for mounting the memory devices and the like. The housing 101 has the ability to be inserted into the slots 7A, 7B in the console of the video game station 1. The base end of the housing has a side surface that has a connector portion 150 formed to have a rectangular shaped opening . The window 140 is at the other generally semicircular end of the housing 101. The display section 130 is in a position proximate the window 140 at the upper end of the housing 101 and occupies an area that is approximately half from the top end. The operating section 120 is on a portion opposite the window 140 on the upper side of the housing 101 and occupies an area that is approximately half the upper surface. The operating section 120 has a substantially quadrangular shape and is constituted by a cover member 1 10 having pivot supports in the housing 101 and having one or a plurality of operating elements 121, 122, and switch drivers 102, 103 located in an open and closed position by the cover member 1 10 in the housing 101. The operating elements, 121, 122 are arranged by passing through the cover member 1 10 from the side superior to the lower side. The operating elements 121, 122 are supported on the cover member 110 in such a way that they are movable in a direction in which they recede from the upper side of the cover member 110. The breaker impellers 102, 103 have momentum elements held at the housing 101 such that they are movable in a direction in which they recede from the upper side of the housing of the cover 101. By pressing the impulse elements from above, the pressure switches are pressed, like the diaphragm switches arranged in the housing. the substrate 151 in the housing 101. The switch drivers 102, 103 are arranged in the positions corresponding to the positions of the operating elements 121, 122 when the cover member 110 is closed. More specifically, when the operating elements 121, 122 are pressed from above in a direction in which they retract from the upper side of the cover member 110 in the closed position, the operating elements 121, 122 push the corresponding impulse switches in the housing 101 by the pulse elements of the corresponding switch drivers 102, 103. As shown in Fig. 8, the signal and power terminals 152 are disposed on the substrate 151 in the window of the connector portion 150. The form, the measurements, etc. of the connector portion 150 are common with respect to those of the ordinary memory card 10 used with the video game station 1.

Figure 9 (a) is a block diagram showing an example of the arrangement of the main components of the portable electronic device. In a manner similar to the ordinary memory card 10 described above, the portable electronic device 100 has a control means 41 for controlling its operation, a connector 42 for making a connection to the slot of the information equipment or the like, and a non-volatile memory 46 that serves as a device for storing data. The control means 41, which is constituted by, say, a microcomputer, has a program memory placed therein 41 a. A semiconductor memory device in which the state of recorded data remains intact even when the power is interrupted, as in the manner of a flash memory, is used as the non-volatile memory 46. It should be noted that the reason why of the electronic device portable 100, in accordance with the present invention is configured, to be equipped with a battery 49, as will be described below, a static random access memory (SRAM) capable of outputting / entering high-speed data can be used as the memory non-volatile 46. The portable electronic device 100 differs from that, in addition to the aforementioned components, have operation input means (event) 43, such as operation buttons to operate a stored program, display means 44, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) device that serves as a visual presentation medium to display diverse confo information With the aforementioned program, wireless communication means 48 for sending data and receiving data to and from another memory card or the like by infrared radiation, and a battery 40 for supplying power to each of the aforementioned components. The portable electronic device 100 internally accommodates a miniature battery 49 as a means of power supply. This means that the portable electronic device is capable of operating independently even if it was removed from the slots 7A, 7B of the video game station 1 that constitutes the master unit. A secondary rechargeable cell can be used as the battery 49. It is arranged in such a way that the power is supplied from the video game station 1 which serves as the master unit when the portable electronic device 100 serving as the slave was inserted into the slots 7A, 7B of the video game station 1 serving as the master unit. That is, a power supply terminal 50 is connected to the connection terminal of the battery 49 via the diode 51 to prevent a reverse current. When the portable electronic device was connected by insertion into the slot of the master unit as the video game station 1, power is supplied from the master unit to the slave. In addition, in a case where the secondary cell is being used, secondary cell loading also occurs. The portable electronic device 100 further includes a clock 45 and a horn 47 which serves as a sound generating means for generating sounds in accordance with the program. It should be noted that the components mentioned above are connected to the control means 41 and operate in accordance with the control exercised by the control means 41. Figure 9 (b) illustrates the elements controlled by the control means 41. Although the only intees with which the ordinary memory card 10 is equipped are the intee through the connection to the information equipment console and the intee of memory for input / output of the data with respect to the memory, the portable electronic device 100 of this embodiment has, in addition to these intees, a screen intee, an operation input intee, an audio intee, an intee of wireless communication, a clock intee and a program transfer intee. In this way, the intees (controllers) for the administration of the functions added by the present method are arranged in the control means (microcomputer) 41 independently of the console connection intee (master unit) and independently of the administration of the control unit. non-volatile memory, which are the conventional functions. For this reason, compatibility with conventional functions can be retained. Further, since the portable electronic device 100 has an input means 43, such as a button switch, for operating a executed program and the display means 44 via the liquid crystal display (LCD) device or the like, the device portable electronic 100, has the ability to be used as a gaming machine that is held between hands to execute a game application. Furthermore, since the portable electronic device 100 has a function for storing the application programs, which are transferred from the console to the video game station 1, in the program memory 41a in the microcomputer 14, the application programs can run on the portable electronic device 100. The stored application programs and the various types of driver software can be easily altered. The portable electronic device 100 according to this embodiment can be controlled independently from the video game station 1, as described above. On the side of the portable electronic device 100, therefore, the data which is based on an application program which was stored in the program memory 41a which serve as the storage medium of the program can be created independently of the application software in question. the side of the video game station 1, by exchanging this data with the video game station 1, the portable electronic device 100 and the video game station 1 have the cooperative (linked) operation capability. In addition, the fact that the portable electronic device 100 is equipped with the clock 45 makes it possible for the time data to be shared with the video game station 1. In other words, not only are mutual time data made to coincide, but the video game station and the portable electronic device also share data destined to control, in real time, the progress of the games that are executed in them independently. A specific example of the cooperative operation between the video game station 1 and the portable electronic device 100 will be described later. Figure 10 schematically illustrates the manner in which wireless communication is made between the portable electronic devices 100 in accordance with the present invention, thus utilizing the wireless communication means 48, the portable electronic device 100 can exchange internal data with a plurality of of memory cards sending and receiving data through window 140, which is a wireless communication window for performing wireless communication via infrared or similar. Internal data also includes data that has been transferred from the side of the information team, such as the video game station, and stored in the storage medium on a memory card. In the aforementioned embodiment, the portable electronic device 100 is described as being used as an auxiliary storage device of a video game station. However, the object of the application is not limited to a video game station, and the device is of course applicable to, for example, the retrieval of varied information. The invention will now be described with respect to the cooperative operation between the portable electronic device 100 and the video game station 1 which serves as the master unit. As mentioned above, the portable electronic device 100 and the video game console 1 can share game data generated by the microcomputer 41 which serves as control means, time data obtained by the clock 45 on the memory card and data generated by another memory card and obtained by the wireless communication means 48, etc. Figure 11 schematically illustrates the manner in which the video game station 1 serving as the master unit and the portable electronic device 100 serving as the slave performs a cooperative operation. Described below as an example of such cooperative operation is the case in which an optical disc (CD-ROM) which is a recording medium in which an application software program was recorded, was transferred into the game station of video 1 serving as the master unit, and the reading of the disk program is transferred to the portable electronic device 100 which serves as the slave inserted in any of the slots 7A, 7B of the console of the video game station 1.

The transfer of a program on the assumption that it is to effect a cooperative operation will be discussed before giving a specific description with respect to the cooperation operation. Figure 12 illustrates the flow of the data in an example in which the application program of the video game supplied from an optical disk (CD-ROM), etc., mounted in the disk mounting unit 3 of the The master video game station 1 is directly loaded (transferred) to the program memory 41a which serves as a storage medium for the program in the microcomputer 41, which is the control means of the portable electronic device 100 that serves as the slave, by the control means (CPU) 51 of the video game station 1. Figure 13 illustrates the transfer procedure of the figure 12. In step ST1, the application program of a video game running on the microcomputer in the portable electronic slave device 100 (hereinafter referred to as "slave") is read as data from the CD-ROM that it was mounted on the disk mounting unit 3 of the master video game station 1 (hereinafter referred to to simplify as "master unit"). As mentioned before, this application program is usually different from those executed in the master video game station 1. Next, in step ST2, the CPU 51 which serves as the control means of the unit The master sends a "program transfer request command" to the microcomputer 41 which serves as the control means of the portable electronic slave device 100. The CPU 51 performs the polling to accept the "program transfer authorization status" from the microcomputer 41. The survey mentioned here refers to a method to carry out a service by requesting it as if the service was requested or not. The microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 serving as the slave accepts the "program transfer request command" of the CPU 51 of the master unit in step ST3. When the microcomputer 41 at the end of the slave ends the routine that is being processed at that moment and a state in which the transfer of the program can be executed, the microcomputer sends "program transfer authorization status" back to the CPU 51 of the master unit in step ST4. Then, by accepting the "program transfer authorization status" from the computer 41 at the end of the slave in step ST5, the CPU 51 of the master unit loads (transfers) and writes the program, which was read from the CD -ROM in the step ST1 to the memory of the program 41 to serve as the storage medium of the program of the portable electronic device 100. The CPU 51 performs polling to accept the "state of program start authorization" from the microcomputer 41. The memory address of the program 41a in which the transferred data is described is administered by the microcomputer 41 of the slave at this time. In the description given above, an example is taken in which the program transferred from the master unit is stored in the program memory 41a in the microcomputer 41. However, an arrangement can be adopted in which the program is stored in a storage device, like a SRAM that has the ability to input and output data at high speed. The microcomputer 41 of the memory card accepts as a data the program that was transferred from the master unit and writes this data to the program memory 41a in step ST6. From the point of view of the CPU 51 of the master unit, it appears that the program data is being written directly from the program memory 41 a of the portable electronic device 100 serving as a slave. In addition, the address of the program memory 41a is administered by the microcomputer 41. By accepting the final program data from the master unit and then establishing an environment in which the program can be executed, the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 sends the "program start authorization status" returned to the CPU 51 of the console in step ST7. CPU 51 of the master unit accepts the "program start authorization state" from the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 and issues a "program start command" in step ST8. Upon receipt of the "program start command" of the CPU 51 of the master unit, the microcomputer 31 of the portable electronic device 100 begins to execute the program from a predetermined start address. By the above procedure, the application program is directly loaded (transferred) from the master video game station 1 to the program memory 41a in the microcomputer 41 of the portable device 100 that serves as the slave, which was inserted. As mentioned above, the medium that supplies the application program is not limited to a storage medium, such as the optical disk, and an arrangement in which it is supplied via a communication line can be adopted. Only step ST1 would be different in the procedure described above in that case. It should be noted that the above transfer procedure was described for a case in which the application program is transferred directly from the video game station 1 of the master unit to the program memory 41a in the microcomputer 41 which serves as the slave control means of the portable electronic device 100 that was inserted. In contrast, there is also a case in which the CPU 51 of the master unit transfers the data from an application program to the non-volatile memory 46 in the portable electronic slave device 100, after which this data is copied to the memory of the program 41 a on the microcomputer 41, where the program is then executed. Figure 14 illustrates the flow of the data in said case. Specifically, the application program of a video game supplied from an optical disk or the like mounted on the disk mounting unit 3 of the master video game station 1 is loaded (transferred) into the non-volatile memory 46 in the portable electronic device 100 which serves as the slave by the CPU 51 which serves as the control means of the video game console 1, after the program is copied into the program memory 41a in the microcomputer 41 as the means control and it runs. Figure 15 illustrates the transfer procedure. In step ST11, the application program of a video game running on the microcomputer in the portable electronic device 100 that serves as the slave is read as data from the CD-ROM that was mounted on the disk mounting unit 3 of the video game station 1 which serves as the master unit. Then, in step ST12, the CPU 51 of the master unit loads (transfers the program data read from the CD-ROM to the non-volatile memory 46 of the portable electronic device serving as the slave.) This procedure is similar to of the case where the data is backed up in the conventional video game station.

Then, in step ST13, by means similar to those of conventional data backup, the microcomputer 41 which serves as the control means of the portable electronic device 100 accepts as data the application program that was transferred from the CPU 51 of the master unit and write this data into non-volatile memory 46. Then step ST14 where, the receiving of a "program start request command" of the CPU 51 of the master unit, the microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 copies the data of a designated size from an address of the non-volatile memory 46 designated by the command mentioned with Priority in the program memory 41a in the microcomputer 41. The microcomputer 41 of the portable electronic device 100 executes the program, which was copied into the program memory 41 a, from the starting address of this memory. By the above procedure, the application software program is transferred (loaded) as data, by non-volatile memory 46, from the master video game station 1 in the program memory 41a to the microcomputer 41 of the electronic device Portable 100 that was inserted. It should be noted that the application program downloaded from the video game station 1 to the portable electronic device 100 is generally different from that running in the master video game station 1. Of course, the aforementioned application program can be one that is executed in the video game station 1 and in the portable electronic device 100. In such a case, however, the disadvantage is that the CPU at the end of the video game station 1 and the microcomputer at the end of the portable electronic device 100 are identical processors. Next, the cooperative operation performed while the application software that was downloaded from the master video game station 1 through the above procedure is executed in the portable electronic slave device 100 independently and the result of the execution is returned to interchange with the video game station 1. Here, the attribute data of the characters appearing in the so-called game with characters running in the video game station 1 of the master unit is downloaded to the portable electronic device 100 of the slave. Attribute data is data that represents the degree of growth, personality, etc. By feeding the characters that appear in the program executed by the microcomputer 41 in the portable electronic device slave 100, the attributes thereof are changed independently of the program executed by the console of the video game station 1 that serves as the united teacher. The portable electronic device 100 that is comprised in this embodiment of the present invention is configured to operate independently and is also small in size and easy to carry. As a result, the characters making an appearance that is attributed to the program executed on the portable electronic device 100 can be carried from one side to the other and fed by the user (the game player) at any time. The attributes of the characters that appear, fed under the care of the user can also be transferred (uploaded) of the portable electronic device 100 to the console of the video game station 1 by the user. In this case, the characters that appear, whose attributes have been changed can be incorporated into the program that is running on the master video game station 1 and have them act in the program. In this way, as described above, it is possible to implement a video game in which the cooperative operation can be performed by sharing attribute data of the characters and the like with the video game station 1 which constitutes the master unit and the portable electronic device 100 that constitutes the slave, and causing the attribute to change in each of these devices. Then, a game played by the aforementioned video game station 1 serving as the master unit and the portable electronic device 100 that serves as the slave will be described in detail. For the sake of simplicity, the video game station 1 will be referred to as the "master unit" and the portable electronic device 100 as the "slave" below.

A learning tool will first be described using a master unit and a slave connected to it, namely a master gaming machine and a slave gaming machine connected to it. The content of the lessons was recorded in the master gaming machine. A player takes lessons using the master unit and a television receiver at home and presents a confirmation test on the content of the lessons. As a result of the confirmation exam on the content of the lessons, a review examination for the slave is created based on problems for which the correct answer was not given and other elements. The exam problems are recorded in the slave and the player reviews the problems while carrying the slave from one side to the other. The results of the problems worked using the slave are transferred to the master unit again. The learning tool will be described in detail below. The contents of the lessons are stored on the CD-ROM of the master unit. The player takes the lessons using the master unit and a television receiver at home and presents a confirmation test on the content of the lessons. As a result of the confirmation test, a revision test for the slave is created by the master unit based on the problems for which the correct answer was not given and other elements that the player does not remember. The master unit transmits the revision test to the slave. The player extracts the slave and presents the review exam using the slave while not at home, for example. In addition to presenting an exam, the player can study vocabulary and spelling in English, etc. Upon returning home, the player connects the slave to the master unit and transmits the results of the revision test to the master unit. Based on the result of the review test and the next element of the curriculum stored on the CD-ROM, the master unit creates the content of the next lesson and returns to the beginning. Next we will describe a series of steps to create the next lesson based on the result of a review test. A series of steps executed in the master unit is illustrated by a flow diagram that appears in figure 16. Specifically, the master unit creates an initial lesson in an initial step S101, gives the lesson on a TV monitor in the Next step S102 and then totalize the test results in step 104. Then the control proceeds to step S105. The master unit determines in step S105 whether the responses of the confirmation test given in step S103 contain an error. A decision "YES" is presented and the control proceeds to step S106 if there is an incorrect answer, and a decision of "NO" is presented and control proceeds to step S109 if there are no incorrect answers. The master unit creates practice problems for the slave in step S106, transmits the problems to the slave in step S107, receives the totalized score of the slave practice problems in step S108, and creates a new lesson based on the score. totalized in step S109.

Then the control proceeds to the next step S1 10. The processing with respect to whether the lessons were completed or not forks to step S1 10. A decision of "NO" is presented and the control returns to step S102 if all the lessons were completed , and a decision "Sl" is presented and is exited from this series of steps if all the lessons were completed. A series of steps executed in the slave is illustrated in the flow diagram of Fig. 17. Specifically, the slave receives the revision problems from the master unit in step S11 1, responds the problems using a unit of screen and buttons in step S112, totalize the results in step S1 13 and transmit the total score of the problem to the master unit in step S114. This series of steps is taken out in step S114. Next we will describe the learning tool through which lessons are not given at home. When reading the day problems from the CD-ROM, the master unit transmits these problems to the slave as such. All learning is done through the slave. The master unit totals the results of the study and transmits the problems of the next day to the slave one more time. A series of steps executed by the master unit and the slave in a case in which the results of a review test are then totalized will be described with reference in the flow diagrams. As illustrated in the flow diagram Figure 18 the series of steps in the master unit includes the creation of the content of the lessons from a CD-ROM in the initial step S121, taking the lessons by means of a TV monitor in the Step S122, present a confirmation test using the TV monitor in step S123 and total the answers for the confirmation test in step S124. Then the control proceeds to the next step S125. The processing branches to step S125 depending on whether there is an incorrect response. Specifically a decision of "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S126 if there is an incorrect answer, and a decision of "NO" is presented and control proceeds to step S129 if there are no incorrect answers. The master unit creates revision problems for the slavic in step S126, transmits the problems to the slave in step S127, receives a total score of the revision problems of the slave in step S128 and totalizes the results of the study and the results of the revision problems in step S129. Then control proceeds to the next step S130.

The processing with respect to whether the lessons have been completed or not bifurcated in step S130. That is, a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S121 if all the lessons were completed, and a decision of "SI" is presented and is exited from this series of steps if the lessons were completed. As illustrated in the flow diagram of Figure 19 the series of steps in the slave includes the reception of the revision problems from the master unit in the initial step S131, the response to the problems using a display unit and buttons in step S132, the totalization of the score of the problems reviewed in step S133 and the transmission of the total score of the problems to the master unit in step S124. Then you get out of this series of steps. The steps through which problems of a day are sent to the slave without giving lessons will be described with reference in the flow diagrams. As shown in the flow diagram of Figure 20, the steps executed by the master unit include reading the day problems from the CD-ROM in step S141, transmitting the problems to the slave in step S142 and the reception of a total score of problems from the slave. Then the control proceeds to the next step S144. Processing is bifurcated to step S144 defending if all problems were completed. A decision "NO" is presented and the control returns to step S141 if all the problems were not completed, and a decision of "Sl" is presented and is exited from this series of steps if all the problems were completed. As shown in the flow diagram of Figure 21, the series of steps in the slave includes the reception of the revision problems from the master unit in the initial step S151, the response to the problems using a display unit and buttons in step S152, the totalization of the results of the responses in step S153 and the transmission of the total score of the problems to the master unit in step S154. Then you get out of this series of steps. Then, a series of steps in a case where the next lesson is created based on the results of a review review and one day's problems are sent to the slave without giving the lessons will be described with reference in the flow diagrams . As illustrated in Figure 22, the steps executed by the master unit include the creation of the content of the initial lessons in an initial step S161, the transmission of the problems to the slave in step S162, the reception of the totalization results of the score of the practice problems in step S163 and the creation of new lessons based on the results of the totalization of the score of the practice problems in step S164. Then control proceeds to step S165. The processing is bifurcated in step S165 depending on whether all the lessons were completed. A decision of "NO" is presented and the control returns to step S161 if all the lessons were completed, and a decision of "YES" is presented and is exited from this series of steps if all the lessons were completed. As illustrated in the flow chart of Figure 23, the series of steps in the slave includes the reception of problems from the master unit in the initial step S171, the response of the problems using a display unit and buttons in step S172, the totalization of the results of the responses in step S173 and the transmission of the total score of the problem to the master unit in step S174. Then you get out of this series of steps. The learning tool described above is a portable tool for the so-called education with the help of computers (CAE). The learning is done through the education software of the master unit, and the program evaluates, from the answers that the user enters using the controller, the degree to which the study content was dominated and transfers important elements to the slave. By carrying the slave from one side to another the user can use the slave to emphasize the studies in which he is failing. For example, the use of software for the study of English at the conversation level, the user can use the master unit at home to automatically transfer the unknown vocabulary during the studies to the slave, and the user can then take the slave from one side to another in place of a work notebook.

Next, a portable map will be described in which a map with which the slave counts appears on the visual display of the slave. The portable map contains maps of the current cities stored in the CD-ROM of the master unit. When viewing a map using the television receiver of the master unit, the player manipulates a character to create "route data", primarily data indicating a route. When this data is transmitted to the slave and the slave is dismounted from the master unit and carried from one side to the other, the routes can be reproduced using the display unit and slave buttons.

In addition, by transmitting route data to another slave, one can teach another person the way to his house or the location of a meeting point. The portable map will be described in greater detail with reference to the drawings. A map of the type illustrated for example in Figure 24 is shown on the portable map screen. Specifically, an intersection is shown approximately in the center of a display 200 in figure 24. A post office 202 appears to the lower right of the intersection, a vegetable store 203 to the upper left and a house 204 to the lower left. A character 201 appears in the approximate center of the intersection in figure 24.

If the user goes to the post office 202 shown in figure 24 and the character is located at the intersection shown, then a message appears indicating the position of the post office shown in figure 25. A series of Steps related to portable map will be described with reference in the flow chart illustrated in Figure 26. The master unit first displays a map on the monitor and initializes the route data in step S181, enters a starting point on the map in step S182, it shows a character at the starting point and records this position in the route data in step S183 and moves the character according to a path traced on the map in response to the key address entries in step S184. Then the control proceeds to the next step S185. The processing is bifurcated in step S185 depending on whether the character has turned a corner. A decision of "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S186 if the character has turned a corner, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S187 if the character did not go around the corner. The position of the corner is recorded in the route data in step S186 and the control then proceeds to step S187. The processing is bifurcated in step S187 depending on whether a position storage button was pressed. A decision "Sl" is presented and control proceeds to step S188 if the position storage button was pressed, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S189 if the position storage button was not pressed . The processing is bifurcated in step S189 depending on whether the goal was achieved. A decision of "Sl" is presented and control proceeds to step S190 if the goal was achieved, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S184 if the goal was not achieved. The route data is transmitted to a memory card in step S190 and out of this series of steps. A series of steps of the flow diagram executed by the slave will be described with reference to the flow diagrams of Figure 27. The slave receives the route data from the master unit in the initial step S191, the slave is separated from the unit master in step S192 and a start point appears in step S193. The control then proceeds to step S 194. The processing is bifurcated in step S194 depending on whether an "OK" button was pressed. Specifically, a decision "YES" is presented and the control proceeds to step S195 in the case of having pressed the "OK" button, and a decision "NO" is presented and the control proceeds to step S196 in the case of not having pressed the "OK" button. The following elements of the routing data, i.e. parts and signals, are shown in step S195. Then the control proceeds to the next step S196.

The processing is bifurcated in step S196 depending on whether the "redo" button has been pressed (redo). That is, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S197 in the case of having pressed the "redo" button, and presents a decision "NO" and the control proceeds to step S198 in the case of not having pressed the "redo" button. The above data of the routing data, ie, parts and previous marks, are displayed on the screen in step S197. Then the control proceeds to step S198. Processing is bifurcated in step S198 depending on whether the objective has been achieved. That is, a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S194 if the objective has not yet been achieved, and a "Sl" decision is presented and this step series is exited if the objective has already been achieved. A series of steps will be described for communication between a master transmit side and a slave receive side with reference to the flow diagram shown in FIG. 28. The processing is forked from the slave transmit side in step S201 depending on the that the transmission start button has been pressed. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S202 in the case of having pressed the transmission start button, and a "NO" decision is presented and this step series is exited in the case of no having pressed the transmission start button.

The routing data is transmitted to the slave receiving side via IrLED in step S202. With this concludes this series of steps. On the other hand, the processing on the slave transmission side is forked in step S203 depending on whether the reception waiting button has pressed. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S204 in the event that the reception waiting button has been pressed, and a "NO" decision is presented and this step series is taken out in which if the reception waiting button has not been pressed. The receiving side is prepared for the IrLED reception in step S204, awaits the transmission of an IrLED signal in step s205 and receives routing data via IrLED in step S206. Then the control proceeds to the next step S207. The processing is bifurcated in step S207 depending on whether the received data is incorrect. A decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S208 in the event that the received data is incorrect, and a "NO" decision is presented and this step is taken out in case the received data is not wrong. The received data is discarded and this series of steps is exited in step S208. The above is a description of a portable map that uses a master unit and a slave. The portable map uses a master map that is placed on a master unit or on a CD-ROM mounted on the master unit. The user transfers an external location to the slave in advance and obtains geographic information through the slave's display unit. It should be noted that the IrLED that is used in the transfer of information in this portable map is an IrLED standard of infrared signal transmission that is used as a signal medium of a so-called remote control, which is an appliance article. IrLED presents infrared radiation using an infrared LED and receives infrared radiation through the use of a photodiode. Pulse position modulation (PPM) is used in the modulation method and uses a predetermined transmission code. Next, the selective transfer of attributes to another slave will be described. A map acquires attributes of the master unit depending on the game signal. The attributes can be selectively transferred according to the progress of a game and saved as data in the slave to another slave through the master unit. Therefore, it is possible to provide a password transfer function in which a transfer can only be made to a good friend, and the control can be carried out in such a way that an exchange of characters between slaves can not be performed, unless a certain level of play has been achieved. A series of steps on selective transfer in a base per slave will be described with reference to the flow diagrams.

As shown in the flowchart of Fig. 29, the procedure on the side of the master unit includes the creation of an attribute in an initial step S211 based on the circumstances of game progress, the transfer of a character with this attribute to a slave in the next step S212, and then the output of this series of steps. As shown in the flow diagram of Fig. 30, the procedure executed by slave A, which is one of the slaves, includes the transfer of attributes from one character to another slave map in an initial step S221 and then awaits reception in step S222. Then the control proceeds to step S223. The processing is bifurcated in step S223 depending on whether the received data is "OK". A decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S224 if the data that was received is "OK". If the data that was received is "NG" a "NO" decision is presented and the NG screen (no game) is displayed in step S225a, which after this series of steps is output. The character is transmitted to another slave in step S224, the "OK" screen is displayed in step S225a, after which this series of steps is output. We will now describe a procedure that is executed by slave B, which is the other slave. In the initial step S226, the attribute of a character transferred from slave A is received, and slave B compares the attribute transferred with the attribute of his own character. When the attribute of its own character of slave B matches the transferred attribute, an "OK" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S227. In the case where the character attribute of slave B does not match the transferred attribute, a "NO" decision is presented and "NG" is transmitted to slave A. Slave B waits reception in step S227, receives a character in step S228 and display "OK" in step S229, after this series of steps, it is exited. The transfer of a high score from the master unit to the slave will now be described. The high score of a game is transferred from the master unit to the slave in such a way that the high score can be visualized from the slave's display device. A high score comparison can be made from the school, even when the master unit is not present. Next, a series of steps regarding the transfer of a high score with reference to the flow diagrams will be described. As shown in the flowchart of Figure 31, the side steps of the master unit include the acquisition of a high score in the game and the time when the high score was reached in step S230 as well as the transfer to the slave at step S231 of the high score and the time it was reached, after which this series of steps goes out. As shown in the flow diagram of Figure 32, the procedure on the side of a slave A, which is one of the slaves, includes the selection of a high score for a specific game in an initial step S241, the shutdown of a high scoring screen in step S242, the transmission of high score data to slave B in step S243 and the reception of a correspondence indication from slave B in step S244. Then the control proceeds to step S245. The processing is bifurcated in step S245 depending on the result of the correspondence of the game types. That is, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S246 if the game types match, and in the case that the game types do not coincide a "NO" decision is presented and this series of steps is exited. Slave A receives the result of the high scoring contest from slave B in step S246. Then the control proceeds to the step S247. The processing is bifurcated from step S247 depending on whether slave A has won the high scoring contest. Specifically, a "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S248 if the slave won, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S249 if slave A did not win. An image with victory pose with fanfare accompaniment is shown in step S248. On the other hand, step S249 shows a lost pose accompanied by sad music.

This series of steps comes after both steps S248 and S249. The steps with reference to slave B, which is the other slave, include selecting the highest score of a contest, the same as for slave A in step S251, turning off a high score screen in step S252 and the reception of high score data from the slave map A in step S253. Then the control proceeds to step S254. The processing is bifurcated in step S254 depending on the match of the game types. Specifically, a decision is presented "Sl" and the control proceeds to step S255 if the game types match, and a "NO" decision is presented and this series of steps comes out if the game types do not match. Slave B transmits the match indication to slave A in step S255 and processing branches in step S256 depending on whether the high score is greater than its own high score. That is, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S258 in case the high score of slave B is higher, and a decision "NO" is presented and the control proceeds to step S257 if the high score of the Slave map B is not bigger. The slave map B transmits the result of the high score contest to slave A, both in step S257 and in step S258. The control proceeds from step S257 to step 260 and from step 258 to step S259. An image with victory pose is shown with a fanfare accompaniment in step S259. On the other hand, In step S260 an image with loss pose accompanied by sad music is shown. This series of steps comes out after both steps S259 and S260. A method to implement a selective exchange of characters was described above. Specifically, the data that was stored in a slave by a master unit is transferred selectively to another slave. This transfer makes it possible to transfer a character only to a good friend. In addition, a password function can be provided, and control can be performed in such a way that an exchange of characters between slaves can not take place, unless a certain level of play has been achieved. Next, a memory card having a time limit is described, where the content that has been stored in a slave is erased, unless a goal of the game is achieved in a specific period. The memory card with time limit uses the fact that the slave clock runs independently, even after the slave has been separated from the master unit. A voice prompt is presented from the speaker of the slave when a period has passed since the last time the data was saved. Some examples of the voice announcement are "Please continue soon" and "There are data that have not been used in 6 months. Do you want to delete them?", Etc. A series of steps will be described on this memory card with time limit with reference to the flow diagrams.

As shown in the flowchart of Figure 33, steps on the side of the master unit include saving game data in an initial step S261 and adding more (relative) time until the data is erased or time (absolute ) in which the data was erased in the data saved in step S262, after which, this series of steps is output. On the steps on the slave side, as shown in the flow diagram of Fig. 34, the processing is bifurcated in step S271 depending on whether there is a time limit on the saved data. A decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S272 if there are saved data with a time limit, and a "NO" decision is presented and this series of steps is output if there is no saved data with a time limit. Processing is bifurcated in step S272 depending on whether relative data exists. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S273 if the relative data exists, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S274 if the relative data does not exist. The time in which the data is saved and the relative time is added to step S273, the current time and the planned erase time are compared in step S274 and the control proceeds to step S275. The processing is bifurcated in step S275 to evaluate if the time has run out.

An "IF" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S276 if the time is up, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S277 if the time is not over. The deletion is performed in step S276, after which the series of steps is output. The processing is bifurcated in step S277 depending on whether the time limit is within n days. A decision is presented "YES" and the control proceeds to step S278 if the time limit is in n days, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S271 if the time limit is not found in n days. A warning message is displayed in step S278 and the control proceeds to step S271. Next, the establishment of an ID in a slave map will be described. The establishment of an ID has to do with the fact that the user has to establish any ID only once after buying the slave. The user identifies himself when transmitting his ID. More specifically, when communication is made between a master unit and a slave, or between slaves, an ID number is required for individual identification. In the case where a specific hardware ID has not been established in a slave at the time of shipment from the factory, then the user sets any name on the slave when it is purchased and turned on for the first time.

The set ID can be used as the name of the character that appears in a game or for identification purposes of the player in games where a large number of people participate. In addition, a destination can be assumed by name when a communication is made between slaves. The establishment of an ID will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 35. The display, conversion and display of the screen are developed in the initial step S281 and then the control proceeds to step S282. The processing is bifurcated in step S282 depending on whether "OK" was chosen. That is, a decision "Sl" is presented and this series of steps goes out if "OK" was chosen, and a decision "NO" is presented and the control proceeds to step S283 if "OK" was not chosen. The processing is bifurcated in step S283 depending on whether the entry of a name has been completed. A "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S283 if the entry of a name was not completed, and a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S284 if a name entry has already been completed. The name that has been accessed is subjected to a conversion established in step S284, the converted name is saved in step S285 and then, this series of steps is output.

A screen 300 is illustrated in FIG. 36. Characters in uppercase letters "ABC ..." of the alphabet are shown in the lower part of the screen.

The user can access a string of characters by selecting the desired characters from these letters of the alphabet using a designated screen 303. A "D" character selected in the top left of the screen is displayed. Figure 37 schematically illustrates an entire slave with the display screen 300, which shows a name. This slave has a substantially rectangular display screen 300 on the upper portion of the main side, the cursor keys 307 on the lower left side, and the ENTER (enter) key 308 on the lower right side. The name "TARO" is displayed at the top of the screen 300, "OK" on the left side under the name, and "BAD" on the right side under the name. The user chooses either "OK" or "BAD" on a designated screen of the display screen 300 using the cursor keys 307 and then press ENTER key 308 to make an entry. Next, a series of steps for converting an accession name to an ID number will be described, with reference to the flow diagram shown in Fig. 38. A name is accessed in an initial step S291. In this case it is accessed in the name "ABC". Then the control proceeds to the next step S292.

The accessed name "ABC" is shown in ASCII code in step S292. The accessed name "ABC" becomes "41, 42, 43" in terms of ASCII codes. Then the control proceeds to step S293 In step S293 a string of random numbers is generated, the number of which is the same as the characters in the name. Here you get "95, 13, 50" as an example of the string of random numbers. Then the control proceeds to step S294. In step S294 the accession string is added "41, 42, 43" in ASCII form and the string of random numbers, the number of these is the same as that of the characters in the name. Here you get "136, 55, 93" as a result of the addition. Then the control proceeds to step S294. The numbers in the string of random numbers "95, 13, 50", the number of which is the same as that of the characters in the name, and the numbers in the string of numerals "136, 55, 93" obtained by addition are accommodated in an alternate manner in step S294. The string of numbers "95, 136, 13, 55, 50, 93" is obtained. Then, this series of steps comes out. As indicated above, this ID facility is an interface through which the user is able to access an ID by entering a name in the slave only the first time after purchasing it, then the name is converted to an ID and saved . By setting such an ID it is possible to initially assign a favorite name to the slave. The ID can be used to allow or prohibit communication between slaves. Next, a game will be described, the first to respond, which is played among several participants using slave devices. This game is played by a number of participants. All participants start the game at the same time using miniature game machines, and the sooner the game is completed, the more points won. The flow of the processing that runs the master and slave units, as well as the communication content between the master unit and the slave will be described with reference to the flow diagram shown in figure 39. The steps on the side of the unit master include receiving the ID of the participating slave in an initial step S301, transmitting the game type to the slave in step S302, transmitting a game start signal to the slave in step S303, waiting for all the players to finish the game in step S304, make a survey on the proper execution of the game by the slave and obtain the state of the game, make a total of game results in step S305 and show the results of the game total in step S306. Then the control proceeds to step S307. In step S307 the decision is made to continue the game or finish it. In the event that the game continues, a "continue" decision is presented and the control returns to step S302, and if the game ends, this series of steps comes out. The steps on the slave side include transmitting an ID to the master unit in an initial step S308, waiting for the reception of the game type from the master unit in step S309, selecting the game and waiting in step S310 for the communication to start of the game from the master unit, and start the time count in step S311, properly execute the game and send back the state of the game in step S312 in response to the survey of the master unit that it issued in step S304, finish the time count in step S313, and transmit the state over the required time and transmit the results of the game in step S314 in response to the survey of the master unit. The control then returns to step S309. What was described above is a set of parts, that is, a game first responding. The first responder game consists of a plurality of slaves and a master unit, and the game is answered by manipulating a slave. The master unit checks the signals and IDs from the slaves and adds a point to each slave that responded first when sending a signal. When totalizing the times in which the users completed their games using their slaves, a game is first instrumented in completing. As this game is played using the slaves, it can be used as a minigame or similar.

Next, a game is described that is executed in the operative association with a domestic air conditioner or the like through IrLED using a slave linked to a game execution by the master unit. This real game is enjoyed at home. As shown in Figure 40, the master unit sends a command message to a slave that conforms to the state of a game. More specifically, in the flow diagram of the figure 40, Q discrimination is made in step S322, which follows processing P in step S321. Depending on the discrimination Q, control continues with an A command in step S323 or discrimination R in step S324. If the control proceeds to step S323, the control proceeds to step S324 after executing the command A. Depending on the discrimination that is made in step S324, the control proceeds to a command B in step S325 or with processing S in step S326. If the control proceeds to step S325, the B command is executed. The slave refers to an IrLED command table that has been registered in advance and presents the Registered IrLED command in case the time of issuance is zero. If the time of emission was established, the time obtained by adding the real-time emission time is recorded in the command table together with the IrLED emission command. This registration is carried out by sorting in order of time.

Next, a command generation program on the slave side will be described with reference to a flow diagram. The interruption processing of the command will be described. As shown in the flow diagram of Figure 41, the corresponding data is acquired from the IrLED command table in an initial step S331 and the processing is bifurcated in the next step S332 in accordance with the "airtime", which it is the time in which the command is presented. That is, if the condition "emission time = 0" is satisfied, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S334. If this condition is not satisfied, a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S333. The IrLED command is recorded (classified) in a time limit time (time) command table obtained by the addition of "time to broadcast" to the real time (Real Time) in step S333. This series of steps then comes out. The IrLED command is issued in step S334, after which this series of steps is output. The processing of the time limit cycle will now be described.

As shown in Figure 42, the data is acquired from the upper part of the time-bound command table in an initial step S341, and the processing is bifurcated in the next step S342 with respect to the condition "Time = Real time". " That is, a "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step 743 if the condition is met. The control returns to step S341 if the condition was met. A registration command is issued in step S343. Then control returns to step S341. The IrLED command table is constructed from (IrLED command no.) (Issue time) with respect to command A, as shown in A in figure 43. Similarly, the IrLED command table is constructed to from (command number IrLED.) (transmission time) with respect to command B and from (command number IrLED) (transmission time) with respect to command C. The time limit command table is build using (Time): command as the constituent units, as shown in B in Figure 43. The record of the IrLED command table is done as follows. First, the IrLED command data is acquired. The acquisition of IrLED command data involves the acquisition of data from the database on a CD-ROM such as a CD set or a special-purpose CD database, and the selection can be made by the manufacturer, the machine model and the command. In addition, the acquisition of IrLED data can be done by selecting directly from a corresponding remote control in response to a remote learning mode.

Next, with respect to the correlation with the command messages, the IrLED command patterns acquired by the technique described above in the game program of the master unit and the command messages may be correlated by the operation of the user or by a user. automatic establishment program. In the case where the acquisition of the IrLED command data is B, the data is loaded from the slave, correlated and then lowered. Furthermore, with respect to the correlation with the command messages, the correlation between the game command messages and the IrLED command data is carried out by means of a correlation program that is downloaded from the master unit to the slave. The data acquisition of the remote learning control is developed while the correlation with the game command messages is made by this method. Depending on the game, control of the air conditioner and lighting can be performed depending on the state of the game, and the power supply can be diverted by means of a time limit command after the game is finished. Next, an example of an operation mode that develops in a slave in accordance with the commands referenced in Fig. 44 will be described below. Here, with a slave device 302 inserted in a master unit 301, an IrLED signal is received from a 303 ordinary remote control or the game controller 304.

The game described above is executed in operative association with a domestic air conditioner or the like through IrLED of a slave linked to a game executing the master unit. The game is executed in operative association with a domestic air conditioner or the like through IrLED of a linked slave in game running the master unit or a character game, such as an adventure game. This makes it possible to enjoy a real game at home. Next, an artificial life game will be described in which an IrLED signal is received, as an infrared signal, from the remote control of a domestic television receiver or an air conditioner and artificial life grows in dependence on the signal. In this artificial life game, the way in which artificial life grows changes when TV channels are frequently changed. The way in which artificial life grows also changes depending on the TV manufacturer. This artificial life game will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in Fig. 45. A slave executing the artificial life game comprises a light receiver 251 for receiving an infrared communication according to the IrLED standard from a control external infrared remote 261, a frequency-band demodulator and frequency filter 252 constructed as an integral part of the light receiver 251, a PPM 256 modulation demodulator to which the on / off pulses enter from the scrambler filter and frequency band useful 252, and a command table 254 to which the demodulator 256 relates by pulse position modulation (PPM) communication. The light receiver 251 is a light receiving element that receives infrared light in accordance with the IrLED standard from the external infrared remote control 261 and converts the infrared light into electric current. The scrambler filter and frequency band 252 comprises a demodulator for demodulating the signal that is obtained by the reception of light IrLED in the light receiver 251, and a filter for selectively passing signals having a bandwidth of 30 to 60 kHz . The modulation demodulator PPM 256 is a circuit in which, in the case of an ordinary process, demodulates a PPM signal comprising the on / off pulses from the filter demodulator and frequency band useful 252. A command table 254 stores commands that refer to when a signal is demodulated by the PPM 256 modulation demodulator. In addition, the slave has an artificial life program associated with the infrared light it receives in accordance with the IrLED standard that is received from the infrared remote control external 261, and a clock 260. The artificial life program 257 has a program body 258, which is the execution portion of the artificial life program, and a parameter table 259, which stores parameters to which the program body 258 refers when necessary.

The clock generates a clock signal in a certain period. The clock signal is provided to the program body and functions as a reference for the execution timing of the program. The ordinary process to receive a signal from the infrared remote control includes the reception of an infrared signal, which has been modulated by the frequency of a carrier of 30 to 60 kHz, by the light receiver and modulating the signal in pulses of ignition / off by the frequency band useful filter. An infrared remote control for domestic use uses PPM modulation based on IrLED. Usually the infrared remote compares these on / off pulses with the data in the command table and encodes them to a command. In terms of artificial life, the on / off pulses are used as food, captured as the external environment and used as a parameter of the growth program. An example of correspondence with the parameters of the artificial life growth program is illustrated. The correspondence example involves the counting of a nutrition parameter by means of on / off pulses, countdown of a nutrition parameter by means of an internal timer, counting and countdown of a health status parameter by means of a specific command, and counting and countdown of the health status parameter by a specific pattern of pulses. A series of steps of the artificial life game will be described with reference to a flow chart shown in Figure 46.

The processing is bifurcated in an initial step S351 depending on the presence or absence of an infrared signal. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S360 if an infrared signal is present, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S352 if an infrared signal is absent. The pulse data is acquired in step S360 and the processing is bifurcated in step S361 depending on whether the pulse data matches a specific pattern P1. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and control proceeds to step S362 if the pulse data matches the specific pattern P1, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S363 if the pulse data does not match with the specific pattern P1. A disease indicator is turned on in step S362 and the control proceeds to the next step S363. The processing is bifurcated in step S363 depending on whether the pulse data matches a specific pattern P2. Specifically, a "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S364 if the pulse data matches the specific pattern P2, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S365 if the pulse data does not match with the specific pattern P2. The disease indicator goes off in step S362 and the control proceeds to the next step S365. The pulses are counted if the nutrition parameter is added to the value of the count in step S365, after which the control proceeds to the next step S354. The processing is bifurcated in step S354 depending on whether the condition "nutrition parameter &Threshold Th" is satisfied. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to the step S355 if the condition is satisfied, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S356 if the condition is not satisfied. The disease indicator is turned on and an alarm is issued in step S355. Then the control proceeds to the next step S356. The processing is bifurcated in step S356 depending on whether the disease indicator is on. Specifically, the control proceeds to step S357 if the disease indicator is on and to step S358 if the disease indicator is not lit. The nutrition parameter decreases in step S357 and the control then proceeds to the next step S358. The processing is bifurcated in step S358 depending on which condition "nutrition parameter <.0"is satisfied." Specifically, a decision "YES" is presented and the control proceeds to step S359 if the condition is satisfied, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S351 if the condition is not satisfied. The character dies and the game ends ("GAME OVER", end of game) in step S359, then this series of game steps comes out.

In this way, as described above, the game is an artificial life game in which an internal IrLED signal, that is, an infrared remote control signal is received and artificial life is increased in dependence on the signal. More specifically, in accordance with the artificial life game, an infrared remote control signal is received to control an appliance such as an air conditioner, fan or TV and the artificial life grows in dependence on the infrared signal. For example, when changing TV channels frequently, the way in which artificial life grows changes. The way in which artificial life grows also changes depending on the TV manufacturer. Next, a game in which an artificial conversation is developed together with a plurality of slaves and between a master unit and a slave will be described. In this game, an IrLED signal is sent from a slave device A to a slave B in dependence on the key operation sequence of slave A, and the slave B converses using the corresponding speech pattern, ie, it emits a pattern of voice of the person speaking to you. The interaction between the slaves of the two players will be described, ie the basic configuration of this interactive game with reference to figure 47. The slave A that uses a player A has a loudspeaker 294 to output the voice, a glass screen liquid 291 for displaying characters and images, a voice generator processor 295 for creating a voice signal applied to speaker 294, and a screen / animation processing circuit 292 that directs the liquid crystal display. The loudspeaker 294 is a voice output unit for voice output to be provided by a speech signal provided by the speech generating processor 295. The speech generating processor 295 subordinates a signal applied to the processing necessary to drive the loudspeaker 294 and then applied the processed signal to loudspeaker 294. The character display / animation processing circuit 292 subordinates a signal applied to the processing that is needed to direct the liquid crystal display 291 and then the processed signal is applied to the liquid crystal display 291. The slave A further includes a receiver 297 for receiving the infrared radiation applied externally in accordance with the IrLED standard, a reception processor 296 for processing the signal from the receiver 297, a transmitter 299 for externally emitting the infrared radiation in accordance with the IrLED standard, and a 298 transmission processor for the processing that is applied to a applied to the transmitter 299. The transmission processor 298 subordinates the signal emitted by the slave A to a prescribed conversion and then the signal is applied to the transmitter 299. The transmitter 299 externally transmits the infrared radiation in accordance with the IrLED standard based on the signal from the transmission processor 298. The slave A also includes a button interruption unit 301 having a plurality of switches, and an input processor 300 for processing an input from the interruption unit 301. The interruption unit 301 has an "angry" switch 302, a "sadness" switch 303, a "pleasure" switch 305, a "joy" switch 304 and a "voice" switch 306, which corresponds to the voice generation. Switches 302 through 306 accept inputs when pressed. Operating elements 121 correspond to these "joy", "anger", "sadness", and "pleasure" button switches, and operator element 122 corresponds to the "voice" button switch. The input processor 300 applies a prescribed process to the content that has been accessed by the button switch unit 301. The slave A has a main interactive game program 293, which is the body that runs the interactive game. The main program of the interactive game 293 controls each component of the slave device A, when the interactive game is executed.

More specifically, the program outputs signals to the generator processor 295, a character / animation display processing circuit 292 and a transmission processor 298.

Reciprocally, the signals from the reception processor 296 and the button interruption unit 361 are applied to the program.

Next, the slave B in which the interactive game is executed with slave A being the other part will be described. Since slave B has a construction similar to that of slave A described above, it will be briefly described. The slave B using a player B has a loudspeaker 274 for voice output, a generator processor 275 for controlling the loudspeaker 274, a liquid crystal display 271 for displaying characters and images, and a character display / animation processor circuit 272 that controls the liquid crystal display. The slave B further includes a transmitter 277 for externally emitting infrared radiation in accordance with the IrLED standard, a transmission processor 276 for applying the prescribed processing to a signal applied to the transmitter 277, a receiver 279 for receiving the applied infrared radiation. external manner in accordance with the IrLED standard, and a reception processor 278 for applying the prescribed processing to the signal from the receiver 279. The slave B further includes a button interruption unit 281, which have a button, of "anger" 282, a "sadness" button 283, a "pleasure" button 285, a "joy" button 284 and "vocalization" button 286, and an entry processor 280 to apply the prescribed processing to signals from the switch of button 281.

The operating elements 121 correspond to these "joy", "anger", "sadness" and "pleasure" switches and the operator element 122 corresponds to the "voice" switch. Slave B has a main interactive game program 273, which is the body that executes the interactive game. The main interactive game program 273 outputs signals to the generator processor 275, a character display / animation processing circuit 272 and a transmission processor 276. The signals from the reception processor 278 and input processor 280 are applied to the program. Slaves A 290 and B 270 are used together in the interactive game. That is, the receiver 277 of the slave B receives the infrared radiation according to the IrLED standard from the transmitter 299 of the slave A, the receiver 297 of the slave A receives an infrared radiation according to the IrLED standard from the transmitter 279 of the slave B The interactive game has the construction described above.

Specifically, the interactive game has voice button switches and correspond to the emissions of joy, anger, sadness and pleasure, and a voice generation process corresponding to those emotions of joy, anger, sadness and pleasure is executed. The following can be mentioned as an example of a record of voice signals indicative of joy, anger, sadness and pleasure: "Joy" corresponds to a loud, high-pitched sound, the envelope of which is a large one. "Anger" corresponds to a strong sound, tone under the envelope of this is somehow large. "Sadness" corresponds to a silent, high-pitched sound that has a somewhat attenuated envelope, and "pleasure" corresponds to a low, low-pitched sound that somehow has a diminished envelope. Ten to several dozen words are produced by simple key operation patterns such as Morse key patterns.

Simple emotive signs and expressive words that correspond to these emotions are shown at the same time. Some examples of emotional signs that can be mentioned are a heart, sparkling light, smoke, an exclamation point and a question mark. In this interactive game, the reception status, ie if the interactive state is on or off, is expressed by the appearance / exit of characters and by vocalized animation. New words or names are recorded. The words are generated and verified by the button switches and then transferred using the voice button. This interactive game is set up in such a way that two individuals can play using two slaves, an individual can play in interaction with an artificial character using the master unit, and a number of individuals can play directly using the unit's communication function teacher. A series of interactive game steps will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 48.

In the initial step S371 an indicator from another part is off, an existence or presence signal is transmitted in step S372, a signal is received in step S373. The control then proceeds to step S374. The processing is bifurcated in an initial step S374 with respect to the absence of a determined or constant time signal.

Specifically, a "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to the step S375 if there is no constant time signal, and a decision is presented "NO" and the control proceeds to step S377 if a constant time signal exists. The processing is bifurcated in step S375 depending on whether the indicator of another part is on. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S376 if the indicator of another party is on, and a decision "NO" is presented and the control returns to step S372 if the indicator of another party is not on. The other party's indicator goes off and an animation showing the other party is shown in step S376. The control then returns to step S373. Processing is bifurcated in step S377 depending on whether the presence signal is present. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S372 if the indicator of the other party is on, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S379 if the indicator of another party is not on .

The indicator of another part is turned on and the animation processing for the appearance of the other part is executed in step S379.

Then the control returns to step S372. The processing is bifurcated in step S380 depending on the presence or absence of a voice signal. Specifically, a "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S381 if a voice signal is present, and a "NO" decision is presented and control proceeds to step S384 if there is no signal voice. The processing is bifurcated in step S381 depending on whether the indicator of the other party is on. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S382 in the event that the indicator of the other party is on, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to the step of S383 if the indicator of another part is not on. The speech processing is executed and the animation processing for the conversation with another part is executed in step S382. The indicator of another part is on, the animation for the appearance of the other part is executed and in this same way the voice processing in step S383. The control proceeds to step S385 from both steps, S382 and S383. In the event that the input processing button switch is executed in step S384, the speech signal processing is executed as well as the speech signal transmission processing for a speech animation. The control then proceeds to step S385. The conversation game processing is executed in step S385, after which the control returns to step S372. In the game described above, an artificial conversation takes place between a plurality of slaves. An IrLED signal is sent to slave B depending on the key operation sequence of slave A, and slave B converses using the corresponding voice pattern. Next, a passport will be described, as well as a common coin between games, in which a game program that has been loaded into a master unit transfers specific information to a slave and the information can be verified from the slave's display unit or from an IrLED command. When a specific game is purchased or the target is achieved, a specific image can be displayed on a slave. As a result, the game becomes a passport to an event that takes place in the outside world that can only be attended by the person who buys the game or the winner. In other words, the game becomes a passport to a real event. The passport is also used with respect to a common currency between games, in which when the support software is purchased, points are added and transferred to the slave.

The current points of the common currency can be checked in the position shown in the display unit of the slave. With respect to the common currency, a bonus service is received in the form of a character that can be used in a game, this service is granted according to the number of points. The points of the common currency can expire within a certain period of time that the slave's clock takes. The common currency resembles electronic cash, the balance of which is shown on the screen. The image data, IrLED pattern data, binary numbering data and the like are transferred to the slave, together with an image screen and a command issuance program, as well as the game ID, event ID and currency ID, etc., in the events of the game as an event of goal achievement of the game, purchase of the event and temporary event using the master unit. According to the event, the ID of the game within the slave, ie the ID of the slave, an event ID and numerical binary data after a currency check are added or deleted. An example of generating a game ID will now be described. In the case where a game ID does not exist inside a slave when a game is started in the master unit, an encoding is performed to create the game ID using the ID number assigned to the CD-ROM package, the name of the game. Accessed user or the connected slave ID and the common code of the game, and the ID of the game is recorded in the slave. If someone has the key to the code, the name of the slave (username) and a specific ID for the CD-ROM can be generated from the game ID.

An ID of the event is generated when a game event is carried out, and the ID of the game and the ID of the event in the slave are verified and recorded. The currency ID is also generated by a current processing event in a manner similar to the event ID, game ID in the slave and the currency ID is verified and this is recorded. As for the event process, a wireless PC that receives an IrLED signal transferred from a slave, or a master unit that has an attached slave, allows admission and permission to play the game of success at the site where it is developed. A confirmation can be made using a screen pattern. From the IrLED signal comprising the ID of the game transmitted from a slave that is contained in a visitor to the event, using the key for the common code, the specific ID for the CD-ROM and the user name, that is, the ID of slave, are extracted, a comparison is made with the ID of the event transmitted at the same time, and the event, such as admission and participation in the game, are allowed. The currency and points of the game are exchanged and transferred between slaves and between a slave and a master unit by means of ID verification and comparison described above. A series of steps will be described to create a game ID, game event ID and currency ID with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 49.

The processing is bifurcated in an initial step S371 depending on the presence or absence of a slave. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S372 if the slave is absent, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S373 if the slave is present. In step S372, the prescribed processing is executed as a help when a slave does not exist. The data is read from the slave in step S373. Then the control proceeds to step S374. The processing is bifurcated in step S374 depending on the presence or absence of a game ID. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S378 if a game ID is present, a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S375 if a game ID is absent. A menu screen for inputting a specific ID number for a CD-ROM is presented and the input processing is executed in step S375. The specific ID number for the CD-ROM and the slave ID are encoded by a common game key in step S376, the encoded data is transferred to the slave as well as the game ID in step S377, and the control then proceeds to step S378. The game starts at step S378. In the following steps, the game continues while communication with the slave develops. The control then arrives at the step S379. The processing is bifurcated in an initial step S379 depending on whether a game event is developed. Specifically, an "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S380 if a game event was carried out, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S381 if the game event was not developed. The event ID of the slave is compared to a parameter from step S380, after which the game event ID and a new parameter are transferred to the slave. Then the control proceeds to the next step S381. An additional step may be included between the player of the master unit and the slave while the game progresses between steps S379, S380 and step S381. The processing is bifurcated in step S381 depending on whether a currency event occurs. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S382 if a competition has been submitted, and a "NO" decision is presented and this series of steps is issued if a currency event has not been presented. The currency ID of the slave is compared to a parameter in step S382, after which the currency ID and new currency parameters are transferred to the slave. This series of steps then comes out. In the game described above, a game program that must be loaded into a master unit transfers specific information to a slave, and the information can be verified from a slave display unit. When a specific game is purchased or the objective of the game is obtained, a specific image on the slave can be displayed on the screen.

As a result, the game becomes a passport to a real event that can only be attended by the person who bought the game or who achieved the goal. In other words, a passport is provided for an event and a common currency between games by transferring specific information from a master unit to a slave. Next, a portable video game using artificial life will be described, in which the characters that grow in the game are executed in the master unit and transferred successively to a slave, the characters go from one side to the other through the slave and can Communicate and transfer between slaves using an IrLED. A series of steps on a portable video game using artificial life will now be described with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 50. In the initial step S391 a CD-ROM is read, a program is started in the next step S392 and the processing is bifurcated in step S393 depending on the menu that loads the data. Specifically, the control proceeds to step S394 if data has been loaded and to step S396 if data has not been loaded. A load request is sent to slave A in step S394. The control proceeds to step S395 if the load is satisfactory and returns to step S393 if the load fails.

The data is loaded from slave B in step S395. A game G1 is executed in step S396 and then the control proceeds to step S397. Processing is bifurcated in step S397 depending on the menu for saving data. That is, the control proceeds to step S398 if data will be saved. This series of steps is output if no data has been saved. A save request is sent to slave A in step S398. The control proceeds to step S399 if the data has been successfully saved and return to step S397 if the saving fails. The processing performed on the slave side will be described with reference to the flow diagram shown in Fig. 51. The processing branches into an initial step S401 depending on whether the slave is connected to the master. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S402 if the slave has been connected to the master unit, and a "NO" decision is presented and the transition is made to a stand-alone mode if the slave has not been connected to the master unit. The slave waits to obtain contact from the master unit in step S402. If a contact is received from the master unit A, the master unit is contacted in step S403 and the control proceeds to step S404. Processing is bifurcated in step S404 depending on whether there is a load request. Specifically, an "IF" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S405 if a load request exists, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S406 if there is no load request. The data is loaded into the master unit in step S405 and the control then proceeds to step S406. Processing is bifurcated in step S406 depending on whether there is a request to save. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S405 if there is a request to save, and a decision "NO" is presented and the control returns to step S402 if there is no request to save. The data from the master unit is saved in step S407. Then control returns to step S402. The processing executed on the slave side in stand-alone mode will now be described with reference to the flow chart shown in Fig. 52. The processing is bifurcated into an initial step S411 in dependence on a main menu. Specifically, the control proceeds to step S412 in case of "game", to step S415 in case of "sending" and to step S416 in case of "reception". A game G2 is executed in step S412 and the processing is bifurcated in step S413 depending on whether the result of the game is saved. Specifically, a "YES" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S414 if the results of the game will be saved, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control flies to step S411 if the game results will not be saved. The game results are saved in step S414 and then the control returns to step S411. The data is transmitted to slave B in step S415 and then the control returns to step S411. The data is received from slave B in step S416 and then the control returns to step S411. The transmit / receive details will now be described with reference to a flow diagram shown in Fig. 53. First, with respect to the transmission on the slave side, a transmission request is sent to slave B in step S421. The control proceeds to step S422 if the transmission request is successful and this series of steps is terminated in the event that the transmission request fails. This slave sends its own data to slave B in step S422 and then this series of steps comes out. The reception details in the slave will be described with reference to a flow diagram shown in Fig. 54. The slave waits for a transmission request from slave B in an initial step S431. If a transmission request is received, the control proceeds to step S432. If a transmission request is not received, this indicates a failure or a suspension and, therefore, this series of steps goes out. This slave responds to slave B in step S432 and transfers the data of slave B to itself in step S433. Then this series of steps comes out. The game described above is a portable miniature game machine connected to a gaming machine for domestic use, ie a portable video game in which a character used in the execution of the game in the master gaming machine is transferred to a portable game machine constituting the slave, only the slave goes from one side to another after the transfer and the character of the game can be transferred between slaves using infrared communication. An example is described below in which information from a TV program is distributed through a CD-ROM and this program is used when transferring from a master unit to a slave. The TV programs are distributed by a CD-ROM or similar, the master unit reads the TV program and the user transfers a desired program to be registered on the screen to a slave. The slave refers to its internal clock, communicates with the video equipment through IrLED in the required time and controls the video equipment. First, a series of steps on the side of the master unit will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 55. The CD-ROM is controlled in the initial step S441, a database is read in step S442 and the schedule of each TV show is shown in step S443. Then the control proceeds to step S444.

Processing is bifurcated in step S444 depending on whether a schedule has been chosen that is shown in step S443.

Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to the step S445 if a schedule was chosen, and a "NO" decision is presented and control returns to step S443 if a schedule was not chosen. A preview of the chosen TV program is shown in step S445 and the control then proceeds to step S446. The processing is bifurcated in step S446 depending on which has been decided on the TV program to be chosen. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S447 if it was decided on the TV program to be chosen, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S443 if it was not decided on the program of TV to choose. The chosen TV program data is transferred to the slave in step S447 and the control then proceeds to step S448. Processing is bifurcated in step S448 depending on whether this series of steps will come out. A decision "Sl" is presented and this series of steps is exited if "EXIT" has been chosen, and a decision "NO" is presented and the control returns to step S443 if "EXIT" has not been chosen. . A screen will now be described with reference to a screen shown in Figure 56. The latter illustrates a screen of a television receiver. A generally rectangular program display window 231 opens to the left of the screen 200, a rectangular preview window 233 is generally open in the upper right part of the screen 200, and the program information sale 234 opens in bottom right of the screen 200. Programs are shown in a time sequence for each television channel in the program window 231. A program is shown in the program screen window 231 and may be subjected to a prescribed operation such as recording after making the choice. A selected program is indicated on screen 232. A preview image of the chosen program is displayed in the preview window 233, and the prescribed information about the chosen program is shown in the information window of program 234. A series of steps on the slave side will now be described with reference to a flow chart shown in Figure 57. Processing bifurcates in an initial step S451 depending on whether the slave is connected to a master unit. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S452 if the slave was connected to the master, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control proceeds to step S453 if it was not connected to the slave master unit. The data is saved in step S452 in response to a command from the master unit. This series of steps then comes out. The time is read on the clock in step S453 and the stored information of the TV program is searched in step S454. Then the control proceeds to step S455.

The processing is bifurcated in step S455 depending on whether the start time coincides with the current time. Specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S456 if the start time coincides with the current time, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S453 if the start time is not the same as the start time. current time. The equipment to be operated is read from the data stored in step S456, the content of the operation is read in step S457 and a signal for operation of the equipment is transmitted by IRLED of infrared radiation in step S458. Then control returns to step S453. In this way, as described above, the TV program information is distributed by means of a CD-ROM, the master unit reads this information and the user transfers the desired program that will be recorded on the screen to a slave. The slave refers to its internal clock, communicates with the video equipment through IrLED at the required time and controls the video equipment. Next, the use of a real event using a slave during a game will be described. The use of a real event during a game links the transfer of information to the slave if the game that is running on the master unit requests a certain event. More specifically, the user pulls out the slave and, in accordance with an image that is displayed on the slave's display unit, actually searches for an external city, for example, a city in Shibuya. The user accesses a keyword. Which is obtained in a specific location, inside the slave. At the same time, information is accessed from the slave of another party, which is an associated party. Finally, the user takes the slave home, makes a transfer to the master unit and can proceed with the game in the master unit when it has been confirmed that the objectives of all the events have been obtained. This is a game that continues while the user experiences a combination of real and artificial worlds. A series of steps running on the side of the master unit will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in Figure 58. A set G1 is executed in an initial step S461, the control then proceeds to step S462. Instructions are presented on a screen and the corresponding data / program is transferred to the slave in step S462, the master unit waits for the slave to be removed from the master unit in step S463, the master unit waits for the slave to be inserted in the master unit in step S464, the master unit reads the content that has been saved in the slave and performs a test to see if the result it read matches the password in step S465. If the result of the test matches, a decision is presented "OK" and the control proceeds to step S466. If the test result does not match, a decision "NG" is presented (no game) and the control returns to step S462.

A game G2 is executed in step S466. Now we will describe a series of steps that are executed on the side of the slave with reference to the flow diagram shown in the Figure 59. The slave waits for the loading of a program in an initial step S471, starts the program loaded in the next step S472 and waits for it to be removed from the master unit in step S473. Then the control proceeds to step S474. On the screen instructions indicative of a destination or the like are shown in step S474, the slave waits for an entry in step S475, and the processing is bifurcated in step S476 depending on whether the input is what I expected. More specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S477 if the input is the one expected, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S474 if the input is not what was expected . Instructions such as instructions on a communication part are displayed on the screen in step S477, an input from an external infrared device awaits in step S478, and the processing is bifurcated in step S479 depending on whether the entry is as expected. More specifically, a decision "Sl" is presented and the control proceeds to step S480 if the input is the one expected, and a "NO" decision is presented and the control returns to step S477 if the entry is not what was expected . A password is stored in a non-volatile memory within the slave in step S480. This series of steps comes out at that moment. It should be noted that there is a plurality of steps between step S479 and step S480. The example described above is a combination of the so-called character game (RPG). More specifically, the information is transferred to a slave in the event that the game running on the master unit requests a certain event. The user removes the slave and in accordance with an image that is displayed on the slave's display unit, actually searches for a city in Shibuya, etc. The user accesses a keyword that is obtained in a specific location, in the slave. At the same time, the information is accessed from the slave of another party, which is an associated party. Finally, the user takes the slave home, makes the transfer to the master unit and can continue with the game in the master unit when he has confirmed that all the objectives of all the events were achieved. This is a game that continues as long as the user experiences a combination of real and artificial world.

Claims (6)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. - A portable electronic device equipped with an interface for making a connection to a master unit having a program execution function, characterized in tit comprises: program storage means for storing a program; control means for controlling the execution of said program; means of visual presentation to show information in accordance with the executed program; operating input means for operating said program; and means of supplying energy to supply energy to each of the mentioned means; wherein the information taccompanies the execution of a program by the master unit is transferred, and the program thas been stored in said program storage means is executed by the control means mentioned on the basis of the information transferred.

2. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further characterized in tthe program thas been stored in said program storage means is executed with the portable electronic device disconnected from said master unit.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further characterized in tthe connected master unit is a video game station, a program is downloaded from the master unit connected to said storage means, and this program is executed by means of said control means.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, further characterized in tit comprises wireless communication means for carrying out at least one data transmission and one data reception with another device.

5. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, further characterized in tthe information obtained with the execution of the program thas been stored in said storage means is transferred to another portable electronic device via said wireless communication means.

6. An entertainment system comprising a master unit having a program execution function and a slave equipped with an interface to make a connection to the master unit, further characterized in t said master unit has control means for transferring information to accompany the execution of said program to said slave and to read information of said slave; and said slave has: program storage means for storing a program; control means for controlling the execution of said program; means of visual presentation to show information in accordance with the executed program; operating input means for operating said program; and means of supplying energy to provide energy to each of said means. .- The entertainment system according to claim 6, further characterized in tsaid master unit is a video game station and a program is downloaded from said master unit to the storage means of said slave; and said slave further has wireless communication means for carrying out at least one data transmission and a data reception with another device, wherein the information obtained with the execution of the program thas been stored in said program storage means. it is transferred to another portable electronic device via said wireless communication means.