JP7804422B2 - Amusement park systems - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a system for amusement parks.

In amusement arcades, players take turns playing, so there are cases where the previous player has finished playing but leaves a small amount of valuables behind, and this often makes the next player hesitant to play.
Anticipating such a case, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes that if the so-called balance or balls held do not reach a standard value, a forced settlement process be carried out, such as calling an employee and having the employee clear the balance or balls held.

On the other hand, the following tendency is seen in gaming parlors, with the following tacit understanding: For example, in the case of slot machines, a maximum of three medals can be used in one game, but if there are fewer than three medals, some gaming machines are designed specifically for three-coin play, so players may leave the medals in their credits and walk away, or in the case of pachinko machines, for example, they may walk away without noticing that a small number of balls remain in the upper tray. In such cases, since gaming devices such as so-called lending devices cannot identify the acquired value of the credits or the balls and medals remaining in the upper tray, there is a tendency for the next player to see from the display on the gaming device that there is no gaming value and continue playing.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-52907

However, in the case of so-called enclosed gaming machines such as those shown in Patent Document 1 above, information that can identify the earned value is communicated from the gaming machine to the gaming device, so it is possible for the gaming device to display that a small amount of earned value has been acquired, and there is a risk that players will see this display and hesitate to play.
In this case, for example, if an employee is called in to dispose of the money as described above, there will be no problem with the remaining balance, but if the remaining earned value is only within the scope of tacit understanding, there is a concern that calling in an employee will increase the employee's burden, and even if such earned value is cleared over time, there is a risk of trouble if the previous player happens to be taking a break in the above-mentioned state.

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an amusement arcade system that can be used appropriately when only a small amount of earned value is available.

The invention of claim 1 is a gaming facility system having a gaming device provided in one-to-one correspondence with each of a plurality of gaming machines,
The gaming device is provided with an earned value specifying means (e.g., control unit 40) for specifying earned value (e.g., held balls) which is the gaming value a player has acquired through play and which is the sum of gaming machine earned value (e.g., gaming balls) managed on the gaming machine side and device earned value (e.g., held balls) managed on the gaming device side, and a display means (e.g., LCD unit 36 and control unit 40 which controls the display) which is provided on each of the gaming devices and is capable of displaying a first screen (e.g., standby screen 52 or general card screen 53) showing the earned value specified by the earned value specifying means, and when the earned value has not reached a predetermined reference value but remains and a predetermined period has passed without play being performed on the corresponding gaming machine, the display means switches from the first screen showing the earned value to a non-earned value screen (e.g., standby screen 51) which does not show the earned value, or a second screen which is a value element screen (e.g., held ball screen 55 or gaming ball screen) which shows either the gaming machine earned value or the device earned value of the earned value.

According to the invention of claim 1, a first screen showing the remaining earned value is displayed, and if a predetermined period of time passes without the game being played and the earned value has not reached a predetermined reference value, the display switches to a non-earned value screen that does not show the remaining earned value, or a second screen that is a value element screen that shows either the gaming machine earned value or the device earned value of the earned value, thereby making it possible to respond appropriately to cases where there is only a small amount of earned value.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of an amusement park system according to one embodiment; Front view of the gaming machine and gaming device Electrical block diagram showing the gaming device A diagram showing example spec values by mode FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a screen including a first screen and a second screen displayed on a gaming device. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a guide display for a clearing process. A diagram showing the process flow for clearing and switching displays

An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an amusement arcade system. A large number of gaming machines 1 are installed in the amusement arcade, and each gaming machine 1 is provided with a gaming device 2 and an information display device 3 in one-to-one correspondence.
Two gaming machines 1, two gaming devices 2, and two information display devices 3 are connected to a relay device 4, and the relay device 4 is connected to a management device 6 via a LAN 5. The management device 6 receives gaming information indicating the gaming status of each gaming machine 1, thereby managing the gaming information for each gaming machine 1. In this case, the gaming information for each gaming machine 1 is received by the management device 6 from the gaming machine 1 via the gaming device 2 and the relay device 4 in this order. Meanwhile, various setting information for the gaming device 2, which will be described later, that is set in the management device 6 is received by the gaming device 6 from the management device 6 via the relay device 4.

The amusement center is also equipped with a prize exchange terminal (hereinafter referred to as POS) 7 and an adjustment machine (not shown), which are connected to the management device 6 via a LAN 5 .
The POS 7 executes a prize exchange process based on the game value of the balls held and the saved balls, etc., specified by an IC card 10 (see FIG. 3), such as a member card 10a or a general card 10b, issued by the gaming device 2. When executing the prize exchange process, the POS 7 reads the balls and medals held by the player from the IC card 10, or specifies the member who wishes to exchange for a prize and then obtains online from the management device 6 the saved value (saved balls and medals) that the player as that member has deposited in the gaming facility, thereby specifying the game value that can be exchanged for a prize.

Although not shown in the figures, when an IC card 10 is inserted into a card insertion slot, the settlement machine accepts the inserted IC card 10, reads the deposit balance (monetary value, hereafter abbreviated as "balance") recorded on the IC card 10 using a card reader (not shown), and returns bills and coins corresponding to the read deposit balance through a return slot. The settlement machine also has a bill insertion slot into which bills can be inserted, and the inserted amount can be added to the deposit balance recorded on the IC card 10.

As IC cards 10, the member card 10a and the general card 10b each have an IC chip (not shown) built in, and are recording media capable of identifying at least one valuable value, either gaming value or monetary value. Of these, the general card 10b is a general recording media issued to an unspecified number of general players, and is distinguished from the member card 10a, which is issued to members who have registered in advance. For ease of explanation, the following reference to "card 10b" will refer to the general card 10b (the IC card 10 will be explained mainly with reference to the general card 10b).

The management device 6 shown in FIG. 1 is installed in, for example, an office in the gaming center, and is connected to a keyboard 14 operated by the manager of the gaming center, a monitor 15, a printer (not shown), and the like.
1, for example, several hundred gaming machines 1 are actually managed by the management device 6. The management device 6 manages the operating status of the gaming machines 1, gaming devices 2, POS 7, payment machines, etc. installed in the gaming facility.

Next, the gaming machine 1 and the gaming device 2 will be described.
The gaming machine 1 of this embodiment is a so-called sealed-type pachinko machine. The gaming machine 1 is a management gaming machine that stores and manages the remaining balance, held balls, and game balls converted from saved balls owned by the player, and mainly manages the increase and decrease of the game balls, supplying the internal pachinko balls to a launching device and launching them onto the board, provided that the stored game balls remain, and when the player wins a prize and acquires game balls, the game balls are added to the data as acquired balls without being paid out.
In each gaming machine 1, gaming balls, which are gaming value acquired by a player through play and are primarily managed on the gaming machine 1 side, are also referred to as gaming machine acquired value, and held balls, which are gaming value primarily managed on the gaming device 2 side, are also referred to as device acquired value. In this embodiment, the gaming machine acquired value and device acquired value combined (the sum of gaming balls and held balls) are also referred to as acquired value.

As shown in Figure 2, gaming machine 1 has a face 1a from which pachinko balls are fired, an operating handle 16 that constitutes the firing device, a loan button 17 for converting the balance into game balls, a return button 18 for issuing a membership card 10a or a general card 10b, a balance display 19 that displays the balance, a counting button 20 for converting game balls into held balls, and a game ball display 21 that displays the number of game balls. Face 1a also has a regular game display 22, a regular game reserve display 23, a special game display 24, a regular game winning slot 25, regular winning slots 26 and 27, a first reserve number display 28, a second reserve number display 29, a first start slot 30, a second start slot 31, and a special prize slot 32. Additionally, a decorative panel 33 is provided below the counting button 20 and game ball display 21.

The gaming machine 1 operates as follows.
(1) The first starting slot 30 is a winning slot (a so-called center winning slot) whose winning rate does not fluctuate, and the second starting slot 31 is a winning slot (a so-called electric chute) whose winning rate fluctuates. A jackpot lottery is held according to the winning (start winning) at each starting slot 30, 31, and the lottery result is notified by a pattern change (unit game) performed on the special symbol display unit 24, and a jackpot is awarded according to the result of the change.
(2) If a start win occurs during the pattern change, the pattern changes are cumulatively reserved up to a predetermined reserved upper limit (for example, 4 each), and the reserved pattern changes will start after the pattern change ends. Note that if a start win occurs when the number of reserved pattern changes (reserved number) is at the upper limit, the pattern change will not be reserved.

(3) There are six gaming machine setting values (modes). As illustrated in the mode-specific specification values in Figure 4, these modes allow adjustment of the winning probability (jackpot probability) of the jackpot lottery for the normal game state (normal state, normal) and the special probability state (special probability state, special probability). The special probability rate, which is the percentage of jackpots that subsequently become special probability jackpots (special probability jackpots), is also set (for example, 66%, common to all modes). Furthermore, the jackpot probability for the normal state and special probability state is set higher the higher the setting, but while the jackpot probability remains constant depending on the mode, it is sufficient that at least one of the jackpot probability for the normal state and special probability state, the special probability rate, and the round allocation rate (described below) be adjustable depending on the mode, so that the special probability rate can be adjusted.

(4) When a jackpot occurs, the jackpot opening 32 is opened for the corresponding round (R). The maximum number of winnings per round is 10, and the maximum opening period is 30 seconds. One round ends when either the maximum number of winnings or the maximum opening period is reached. The corresponding round is also drawn in the same way as the jackpot lottery, and the distribution rate is as follows: if the first starting round 30 is won, 2R is 10%, 8R is 50%, and 15R is 40%. If the second starting round 31 is won, 8R is 10% and 15R is 90%. The priority for consuming reserved symbol changes corresponding to winnings is set higher for the second starting round 31 than for the first starting round 30.

(5) During the probability mode, the probability of winning increases and the game enters a time-saving state (time-saving) in which the winning rate of the second starting port 31 increases. Furthermore, if a jackpot that is not a probability mode (normal jackpot) occurs, the game enters a time-saving state that is not a probability mode (single time-saving state) after the jackpot, and the game continues to play until the pattern changes a predetermined number of times (for example, 100 times) for the time-saving period or until a jackpot occurs. If the pattern changes a predetermined number of times for the time-saving period without a jackpot occurring, the game returns to the normal state.

(6) When the normal symbol (normal symbol) that changes in response to winning at the normal symbol winning port 25 is a winning symbol, the second starting port 31 enters an open state with a higher winning rate than in the normal state. In this case, the period for one normal symbol to change is 30 seconds in the normal state and 3 seconds in the time-saving state. The opening period is also 0.3 seconds in the normal state and 5 seconds in the time-saving state. In other words, while the normal symbol change period is shorter in the time-saving state compared to the normal state, the longer opening period makes it easier for the second starting port 31 to enter the open state, and the winning rate of the second starting port 31 increases.

(7) Because the big prize slot 32 and second starting slot 31 are located on the right side of the board 1a, so-called right-hand shots are made during time-saving or jackpot periods, aiming for the right side of the board 1a. The above explanation uses model A as an example, but the values exemplified will vary depending on the model, such as the round allocation being different for model B, and the gameplay will also differ. In addition, the configuration of the gaming machine 1 can be modified as appropriate, such as by providing a return button 18 on the gaming device 2 side that is operated when a card 10 is issued.

The gaming machine 1 outputs the following data items as the game progresses, such as when the player shoots balls into the starting holes 30, 31 and when starting winnings occur.
・Out = A signal indicating the consumed (used, inserted) value (out) in units of one ball since the last time data was sent.
・Safe = A signal indicating the winning value (safe) awarded in units of one ball according to winnings since the last time data was sent.

・S winning (number of times) = A signal indicating the number of starting winnings (S winnings) since the last time data was sent, in units of one.
Start (number of times) = A signal indicating the start (number of symbol changes, number of symbol operations, number of unit games) of the special symbol display unit 24 that operates (changes) due to S winning since the previous data transmission. It is counted at the time of confirmation, but it may also be counted at the time of start.
- In operation (state) = A signal that indicates ON if the reel is in operation, such as when the pattern is changing, at the time the data is sent, and OFF if it is not in operation, and the period from when it turns ON to when it turns OFF is identified as when the reel is in operation.

Jackpot (number of times) = A signal indicating the number of jackpots that have occurred since the last data transmission in units of one. It is counted when it occurs, but it can also be counted when it ends.
- Jackpot (state) = A signal that is ON if a jackpot state is occurring at the time of data transmission, and OFF if no jackpot state is occurring, and the period from when it turns ON to when it turns OFF is identified as the jackpot state.

・Sweet state (state) = When data is transmitted, this signal is ON if a special state (sweet state) or jackpot state is occurring, and OFF otherwise. The period from when it turns ON to when it turns OFF is identified as sweet state or jackpot state. For example, if sweet state (state) is ON, and jackpot (state) is ON, it is identified as jackpot state, and if it is OFF, it is identified as sweet state. Also, if both jackpot (state) and sweet state (state) are OFF, it is identified as normal state. Note that sweet state does not necessarily have to be ON during a jackpot. Sweet state corresponds to special states such as the time-saving and probability change states mentioned above, and sweet state or jackpot state is equivalent to special prize state.

Number of game balls = The number of game balls stored in the game machine 1, and is a signal that indicates the number of game balls that can be used for playing on the game machine 1 in units of one ball.
The game signal, which is the above-mentioned data item, is transmitted as an identifiable data signal, such as a telegram, from the gaming machine 1 to the gaming device 2 at regular intervals (for example, every 200 milliseconds) as cumulative data (update data) from the previous transmission, and fraudulent information other than the above-mentioned data items is also output.

As shown in Figure 2, the gaming device 2 has a status indicator light 34 that indicates the gaming status of the gaming machine 1 and the status of the gaming device 2, a coin slot 35 into which coins (monetary value) are inserted, a touch-panel LCD display 36 that accepts operational inputs from the player and displays various gaming data (described below), a game button 37 for paying out held balls (including saved balls if the player is a member), a card insertion slot 38 into which a member card 10a or a general card 10b is inserted, a camera 39 (only the protective cover is shown in Figure 2) that photographs the upper body including the player's face, and a remote control receiver 41 that receives signals from an employee remote control 42 (see Figure 1) carried and operated by an employee.

3 mainly shows the configuration of the gaming device 2. The control unit 40 of the gaming device 2 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having a CPU 40a, a ROM 40b, a RAM 40c, an I/O 40d, etc.
The peripheral parts connected to the control unit 40 include the LEDs that make up the above-mentioned status indicator light 34, the liquid crystal display unit 36 and the touch panel 36a provided on the display unit 36, the game buttons 37, and the remote control light receiving unit 41, as well as an I/F unit 40e that sends and receives various signals and data between the management device 6 and the gaming machine 1, a banknote processing unit 35a that determines the authenticity of banknotes inserted into the coin insertion slot 35, a card RW (reader/writer) 38a that reads and writes various information recorded on cards 10a, 10b inserted into the card insertion slot 38, and a card stock unit 38b that can store up to 10 general cards 10b.

The gaming device 2 operates as follows.
(1) When currency is accepted (currency acceptance process), the amount of the deposit is added to the balance and displayed on both the gaming machine 1 and the gaming device 2, and when the loan button 17 on the gaming machine 1 is pressed (loan operation) while there is a balance, one loan unit (for example, 125 balls) is paid out from the gaming machine 1 as loan balls (loan process, compensation process), and the compensation amount according to the gaming rate is deducted from the balance. Note that currency corresponding to multiple compensation processes can be accepted (for example, up to 10,000 yen).

(2) Gaming machine 1 manages gaming balls, subtracting gaming balls as balls are shot (used) onto board 1a and adding gaming balls as winnings occur. Gaming device 2 manages held balls, and although held balls cannot be used directly for games, it performs a granting process (replay process) to convert held balls for one payout unit into gaming balls in response to pressing game button 37 (replay operation, grant operation). In this case, a separate conversion rate is set (the same applies to the counting process below).

(3) When the number of game balls in the gaming machine 1 increases in response to play, a counting process is performed to convert the game balls into held balls in response to pressing the counting button 20 on the gaming machine 1 (counting operation). In this case, one ball is converted per press, but if the button is continued to be pressed, the conversion becomes continuous and accelerated. In this way, the game balls and held balls are updated, and when an issuing operation such as pressing the return button 18 on the gaming machine 1 is performed while there is a balance or held balls remaining in the gaming device 2, a general card 10b that can identify the balance and held balls is issued (issuance process).

(4) When the return button 18 is pressed while a general card 10b is inserted in the insertion slot 38, the balance and balls held are recorded on the general card 10b inserted in the insertion slot 38 and a new card is issued. When the return button 18 is pressed while a general card 10b is not inserted in the insertion slot 38, the card 10b stored in the card stock section 38b is advanced to the card RW 38a side, the balance and balls held are recorded (associated), and the card is advanced to the outside of the insertion slot 38 and issued as a general card 10b (issuance process). When a general card 10b is issued, issuance information including information that can identify the device 2 (gaming device ID), information that can identify the issued general card 10b (card ID), and the balance and balls held information recorded on the general card 10b is sent to the management device 6. It is also possible to issue a partial card, in which only a portion of the balance or balls is to be issued.

(5) The issuing process has an issuing condition according to the game balls in the gaming machine 1. For example, the issuing condition for the general card 10b is met when there is a balance or the number of balls held reaches the issuing reference value (for example, 25 balls) and the number of game balls remaining does not reach (remain) the remaining reference value (for example, 1 ball).
As an exception to the issuance conditions, when a card is issued in installments, the issuance of a general card 10b is permitted even if game balls remain. Also, the issued general card 10b can be accepted by the gaming device 2, provided that the number of game balls in the corresponding gaming machine 1 has not reached a predetermined number (for example, 50 balls).

(6) The gaming information transmitted from the gaming machine 1 also includes information indicating that the number of gaming balls has reached "0" due to use in gaming or counting processing, etc. (information related to the number of gaming balls), which enables the gaming device 2 to determine whether the issuance conditions have been met and to identify (manage) the gaming balls and the total number of held balls, including the gaming balls. Regarding the fact that held balls are primarily managed by the gaming device 2, it is possible to clear held balls or subject them to issuance processing by issuing commands from the management device 6 or employee remote control 42 or by inputting operations to the gaming device 2 itself, but it is not possible to clear gaming balls or subject them to issuance processing.

(7) Through serial communication with the relay device 4, the management device 6 can identify various information such as currency acceptance processing, value award processing, balance, balls held, number of loaned balls, number of converted (converted) balls, deposit amount, number of counted balls, number of loaned balls, sales amount in exchange for loaned balls, and acceptance and issuance processing of ball tickets (card 10b). However, this information can also be identified using a pulse signal (for example, one pulse for every 1,000 yen deposited, one pulse for every 100 yen in sales, etc.).

(8) The remote control light receiving unit 41 receives (receives light) commands from the employee remote control 42 and executes various processes (such as clearing errors) according to the command content.
As described above, the control unit 40 of the gaming device 2 functions as earned value specifying means for specifying the owned balls, which are the sum of the gaming balls (gaming machine earned value) and the held balls (device earned value) managed by the corresponding gaming machine 1. In addition, the control unit 40, card RW 38a, card insertion slot 38, and coin insertion slot 35 are provided in each gaming device 2, and function as receiving means capable of specifying the value by receiving the card 10b or monetary value, and as balance specifying means for specifying the balance indicating the monetary value owned by the player.

In the case of the enclosed gaming machine 1 described above, since information that can identify the retained balls is transmitted to the gaming device 2, the gaming device 2 can display on the LCD display 36 that there are a small number of retained balls, and there is a risk that players will see this display and hesitate to play. In this case, as mentioned in the "Background Art" section, if an employee were to be called when the remaining retained balls are only within the scope of tacit understanding, there are concerns that this would increase the burden on the employee.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when the number of retained balls has not reached a predetermined reference value but remains, and a predetermined period of time has passed without a game being played on the corresponding gaming machine 1, the liquid crystal display unit 36 of the gaming device 2 switches from the first screen showing the retained balls (see, for example, screens 52 and 53 in FIG. 5) to a non-earned value screen or the like (such as screen 51 in the same figure) that does not show the retained balls. In this case, the control unit 40 and liquid crystal display unit 36 of the gaming device 2 function as display means capable of displaying the first screen or the like showing the earned value identified by the earned value identification means. The determination of remaining balls may be made by comparing the retained balls, balance, etc. with the remaining reference value (which does not necessarily have to be 1 if they are considered to be no remaining balls), but it may also be made simply by the presence or absence of balls.
In the following, "1. Display screen and switching display on the display unit" will be described in detail with reference to Figure 5, with the LCD display unit 36 as the display means referred to as the "display unit 36" and the control unit 40 as its control entity simply referred to as the "gaming device 2".

<1. Display screen and switching display on the display unit>
FIG. 5 shows various screens 51 to 55 displayed on the display unit 36 of the gaming device 2.
In the figure, the screen 51 shown on the left side shows a standby screen 51 before the start of play when the gaming device 2 has no balance and no balls in it, such as at the time of opening, and is waiting for a new player to play. The standby screen 51 has a column 51a showing the type of the gaming device 2, "4 yen loan," and the unit number of balls to be awarded, "125 balls," and a column 51T showing an image of "You can insert banknotes" and inserting coins into the insertion slot 35.
In this way, the standby screen 51 is an example of a non-earned value screen in which there are no remaining balls and no earned value is displayed, and is displayed to wait for the next game. When coins are inserted into the insertion slot 35 while the standby screen 51 is displayed and this is identified as the balance, the gaming device 2 transitions from the standby screen 51 to the general card screen 53 (see arrow α).

In contrast, the standby screen 52 shown to the right of standby screen 51 is the first screen 52 that is displayed when there is no balance and only a small number of balls in the gaming device 2. In other words, even if the total of the balls in play and the game balls does not reach the predetermined standard value, if even a small number of balls remain in the game, it cannot be said that play has ended. In such cases, the standby screen 52 is displayed to wait for the current player to play. It can be said that standby screen 52 corresponds to a state in which there is only a small amount of value that is unlikely to lead to a complaint from the player that the balls have been disposed of to allow the next player to play, based on the traditional tacit understanding.

Therefore, when the gaming device 2 determines that the number of balls held has not reached a preset reference value (for example, 15 balls (or 3 balls in the case of a medalless gaming machine, as described below)) and that there are only a small number of balls, it displays a standby screen 52. This standby screen 52 has a column 51a indicating the type and number of units awarded, as well as a column 52H indicating the number of balls held (1 ball in the figure), a column 52b explaining that "balls are counted using the counting button on the gaming machine," and a column 52d indicating that "held balls can be paid out."

The general card screen 53 is a screen that indicates, along with the balls held, that a game is in progress when there is a balance or when the number of balls held is not considered small. When this screen 53 is displayed, the gaming device 2 associates general cards 10b with value, such as balances and balls held. For example, when transitioning from the standby screens 51 and 52 to the general card screen 53 (see arrows α and β), the card 10b stored in the card stock section 38b is advanced to the card RW 38a and associated with value. On the other hand, when transitioning from the general card screen 53 to the standby screens 51 and 52, the general card 10b is no longer in the card RW 38a (either because an issuance process has been performed or because the value has not reached the reference value due to play and the card 10b has been withdrawn to the card stock section 38b).

Therefore, the general card screen 53 is displayed as the first screen having columns 51a, 52b, 52d showing the type, number of units awarded, etc. shown in Figure 5, as well as column 53c showing the "general card" and column 53H showing the balance as the "deposit balance" and the "held balls (1,000 balls in the figure)."
When a call process for calling an employee is performed while the general card screen 53 is being displayed, the gaming device 2 transitions from the screen 53 to the next call screen 54 (see arrow γ).

In addition to the display fields 51a, 52b, 52d, 53c, and 53H that are the same as those on the general card screen 53, the call screen 54 has a field 54Y at the bottom of the screen that displays a pop-up message saying "Calling staff."
The "Calling staff" display field 54Y can be displayed below the corresponding screen 51, 52 even when a call process is performed while another screen such as the standby screen 51, 52 is displayed.

Here, the call processing of this embodiment is executed when a well-known call button (not shown) on the information display device 3 is pressed, as well as when a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being performed on the corresponding gaming machine 1 while there is a remaining balance on the gaming device 2.
Specifically, for example, the gaming device 2 (call means) has a preset balance reference value (100 yen) and a preset ball reference value (100 balls), and when the balance and balls (both of which have value) displayed on the general card screen 53 have not reached their respective reference values but there is still a balance remaining, and a predetermined period of time (for example, 3 minutes) has elapsed, a call process is executed to call an employee.

In this case, as explained in more detail in the flowchart of Figure 7, the call processing includes a display process that transitions from the general card screen 53 to the call screen 54 when the gaming device 2's internal timer (the call timer of the control unit 40) times out after the predetermined period has elapsed since activation, and a notification process that notifies the employee of this. The notification process is performed by notifying the machine number of the gaming machine 1 in question via a well-known public address system (not shown) or an intercom device worn by the employee.

In this way, when an instruction to organize the machines is given via the remote control receiver 41 of the gaming device 2 by the staff member operating the remote control 42, the gaming device 2 performs a ball clearing process to clear to zero any balls that have not reached 100 and that are associated with the card 10b, and a balance clearing process to clear to zero any balance that has not reached 100 yen, stores the card 10b in the card stock section 38b, and displays the standby screen 51. Alternatively, while the call screen 54 is displayed, the staff member may operate the remote control 42 to issue a cancellation instruction to return to the original general card screen 53, and after this cancellation instruction is given, the issuing process of the card 10b may be executed. In this case, the call screen 54 will also transition to the standby screen 51 (via the general card screen 53).
5, if a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being made and there is a remaining balance, a call process including a transition to the call screen 54 allows for a prompt response using the employee's remote control 42. Note that the call process may be performed without necessarily requiring that the balance or the number of balls held have reached their respective reference values, as long as it is performed when a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being made and there is a remaining balance.

5, the screen 55 on the far right shows the balls held screen 55 to which the screen transitions when the "held balls" tag button Mb on the screen 52 is touched while the standby screen 52 is displayed. The balls held screen 55 has the same columns 51a, 52b, 52d as the standby screen 52, which show the type and number of units awarded, and a column 55M showing the held balls (0 balls in the figure) instead of the column 52H showing the held balls.
In other words, the gaming device 2 not only displays the held balls managed by the device 2 as in the conventional case, but also allows for selective display of held balls and retained balls in response to touch operation of tag buttons Mb and Hb (see arrow δ), and by touch operation of tag button Hb for "retained balls" on the held ball screen 55, it is possible to transition to the standby screen 52 showing the retained balls.

In this way, the player can keep track of both the balls they have and the balls they have in stock. For example, if they have balls in stock but no game balls (they cannot be played), they can press the game button 37 to perform a replay process that converts the balls they have into game balls. Of course, if there are remaining balls, they can press the loan button 17 to perform a loan process that converts the balance into game balls. On the other hand, if there are game balls but no remaining balls, the issuance process cannot be performed, but they can press the counting button 20 to perform a counting process that converts game balls into held balls, and when a card is issued in installments, they are allowed to issue a general card 10b even if game balls remain.

Therefore, in the gaming device 2, in accordance with processes that increase or decrease the value, such as replay processing, lending processing, counting processing, and installment issuance processing, one of the screens 51 to 53, 55 in Figure 5 is displayed depending on the value remaining after the process.
Although the button 17 for the lending operation and the button 37 for the replay operation are separate and different, for example, the buttons 17 and 37 may be configured to be one common button provided on the gaming device 2. In this configuration, by operating the common button, processing may be performed according to conditions (for example, in order of priority such as held balls → balance → replay, with the valuable value with the highest priority being processed first).

The gaming device 2 displays the standby screen 52 or general card screen 53 as the first screen described above, and when it determines that a predetermined period of time has passed without any game being played on the corresponding gaming machine 1, with the remaining balls remaining but not reaching a predetermined standard value, for example, when the number of balls remaining has not reached the predetermined standard value of 15 balls but there are still balls remaining (for example, 5 balls), it activates the standby timer, which is an internal timer that is reactivated when the game information is updated, and when the standby timer times out after a predetermined period of time (for example, 1 minute) has passed, it transitions from the standby screen 52 or general card screen 53 showing the retained balls to the standby screen 51, which is a non-earned value screen that does not show the retained balls (see arrows ε and α).
In other words, in the gaming device 2, when the number of held balls displayed on the standby screen 52 or the general card screen 53 is small and no play has been performed for a predetermined period of time, the held ball columns 52H, 53H are not displayed by switching from the first screen 52, 53 to the standby screen 51. It is desirable that the predetermined reference value be a value (e.g., 15 balls) smaller than the reference value (e.g., held ball reference value of 100 balls) referenced when the balls are cleared by an employee operating the remote control 42, such as in the held ball clearing process described above.

Alternatively, when the waiting timer on the gaming device 2 times out, the display may switch from the waiting screen 52 showing the held balls or the general card screen 53 to a held ball screen 55 (value element screen) showing the held balls among the held balls, or to a game ball screen (value element screen not shown) showing the game balls among the held balls. When switching to such a held ball screen 55 or game ball screen, the conditions for switching display include that there are no held balls or game balls remaining on the gaming device 2 (see "0 held balls" on screen 55), and the display will switch to the value element screen with no remaining balls.

The above-mentioned standby screen 52 and general card screen 53 correspond to the first screen, while the standby screen 51 as a non-acquired value screen and the held ball screen 55 and game ball screen as value element screens all correspond to the second screen. Therefore, the above-mentioned switching display can be achieved by a screen transition from the first screen 52, 53 to the second screen 51, 55, etc., but the following description will focus on the screen transition from the first screen 52 to the second screen 51, i.e., from the standby screen 52 to the standby screen 51.

Furthermore, when the gaming device 2 is displaying the standby screen 51, if the value is identified from the card 10b inserted into the card slot 38 or the coin inserted into the coin slot 35, the standby screen 51 is switched to the general card screen 53, and a clearing process is executed for the remaining value from before the card 10b or coin was accepted (see S1-S3 in Figure 7). In "2. Clearing Process and Guidance Display" below, the clearing process and the guidance display related to the clearing process will be explained.

<2. Clearing process and guidance display>
Of the held balls, the ones that are subject to the clearing process are the held balls that are managed by the gaming device 2 and can be cleared, while the game balls that are managed by the gaming machine 1 cannot be cleared by the gaming device 2. Therefore, when clearing the held balls that remain before the reception of the card 10b or the like, or clearing the held balls via the employee's operation of the remote control 42, the game balls are included in the targets to be cleared, so the procedure is to sequentially execute a counting process (no additional operation required) that converts them into held balls, and then a clearing process that clears the converted held balls.

In addition to clearing held balls, the clearing process also includes clearing the balance via an employee's operation of the remote control 42, and the management device 6 records the held balls and balance cleared by this process as miscellaneous income after the store closes. In other words, this valuable value should be included in future miscellaneous income due to the expiration of the special relief deadline, but the valuable value cleared by the clearing process is tallied and confirmed as miscellaneous income for the day after the store closes. The reason for confirming this as miscellaneous income for the day after the store closes is to ensure that any subsequent declarations from players that "I actually forgot my card" will not be accepted, but to ensure that the held balls and balance that were subject to the clearing process can be returned if a player reports this during the day after the clearing process and actual settlement is required.

For example, when returning the balance declared by a player, an employee operates the LCD display (not shown) on the settlement machine to perform the actual settlement, and when returning the balls held, the balls can be exchanged for prizes at the POS 7 or added to the number of game balls lent after a new deposit. When dealing with the actual settlement of the balance or the return of the balls held, it is possible to confirm whether the player who declared the balance is the real player by comparing it with the player's facial image managed by the management device 6 (a facial image captured by the camera 39 of the corresponding gaming device 2).

The gaming device 2 has set the following prerequisites for executing the clear process: the standby screen 51 is displayed as the second screen (clear condition 1); and the value is identified by the reception means when the card 10b is inserted into the insertion slot 38 or coins are inserted into the insertion slot 35 (clear condition 2). In addition to these, clear condition 3 requires that the remaining value before the card 10b or coins are received does not reach a predetermined value reference value. This value reference value is set in accordance with the display conditions for the standby screen 52, for example, when there is no balance and the remaining held balls do not reach the predetermined reference value (15 balls, 3 balls; hereinafter, sometimes referred to as "extra balls").

In this way, in this embodiment, the clear process is performed when clear conditions 1 to 3 are met, such as when coins or the like are accepted while the standby screen 51 is displayed. However, if the process to clear the held balls is not performed even if coins or the like are accepted while the held ball screen 55 is displayed, it is also possible to avoid clearing the held balls by displaying the held ball screen 55 when the player pauses play. Of course, depending on the needs of the gaming facility, the configuration may also be such that whether or not to clear the held balls when coins or the like are accepted while the held ball screen 55 is displayed can be switched depending on the settings.

In addition, in this embodiment, in order to avoid trouble with the player due to the clear process, when at least some of the clear conditions 1 to 3 are met, a guidance display regarding the clear process is displayed on screen 61 in Figure 6.
That is, there is an implicit understanding that the balls held will be cleared after the player has left, but since there is a risk of trouble if the balls held are cleared even though the player intends to continue playing and the player himself has inserted coins, the guide screen 61 of Figure 6 is displayed on the display unit 36 of the gaming device 2.

Guide screen 61 in FIG. 6 has the same columns 51a, 52H, and 52d as screen 52 in FIG. 5, showing the type, number of units awarded, and held balls, but instead of explanation column 52b for the "count button," it has a "Caution" message column 61A stating, "If you leave the machine with only a small number of held balls, you will return to the standby screen (51), but if you touch the standby screen (51), you will return to the held balls display." Therefore, even if the gaming device 2 displays standby screen 51 once, if you perform a switching operation by touching screen 51 (see S23 in FIG. 7), standby screen 52 will be displayed, and the held balls will not be cleared even if coins are inserted, and they can be used for play together with the held balls added by the subsequent lending process.

To avoid trouble with the player, a guide screen 62 may be displayed instead of the guide screen 61. The message field 62A of the guide screen 62 displays, "If you leave a small number of balls in your possession, they may be disposed of for the next player." This explicitly indicates the implicit understanding that if a player leaves a small number of balls in their possession, the next player will play, and by indicating that the balls will be settled, trouble with the player can be reduced. It is desirable to display such guide screens 61 and 62 when, for example, clear condition 3 is met, i.e., when the standby screen 52 is displayed.
The display of the guide screen 61 in the following flowchart is performed by displaying a "Note" column 61A instead of the explanation column 52b for the "Count button" on the standby screen 52.

<3. Processing flow for clearing process and switching display>
7 shows the flow of processing repeatedly executed at a predetermined interval by the gaming device 2, with S1, S2, ... indicating each step. It should be noted that the gaming device 2 is set to execute the clear processing when all of the clear conditions 1 to 3 are met.

As a standby flow, the gaming device 2 executes processing to determine whether a deposit has been made by inserting coins into the coin slot 35 (S1: NO), whether a lending operation, replay operation, or counting operation has been performed (S7: NO), whether game information has been updated (S9: NO), whether an issuance operation has been performed (S10: NO), whether the standby screen 52 is being displayed (S16: NO), whether the general card screen 53 is being displayed (S19: NO), or whether there are balls in possession and the standby screen 51 is being displayed (S22: NO).

Here, when the gaming device 2 determines that a deposit has been made by inserting coins into the coin insertion slot 35 (S1: YES), it determines whether or not the standby screen 51 is being displayed (S2). When the gaming device 2 determines that the standby screen 51 is being displayed (S2: YES), it executes a process to clear the held balls.
That is, in this case, the value is determined by the deposit (YES in S1: clear condition 2), and the second screen, standby screen 51, is displayed (YES in S2: clear condition 1). Furthermore, standby screen 51 is not only displayed when there is no balance and there are no retained balls (S12: NO, S13: NO, S18), but is also the screen to which standby screen 52 transitions when there is no balance and the retained balls have not reached the end balls (value reference value, for example, 15 balls) but remain (S12: NO, S13: YES) and a predetermined period has passed (S17: YES), and the display conditions for standby screen 52 include clear condition 3, which requires that there is no balance and the remaining retained balls are equal to or less than the end balls, i.e., the value remaining before the deposit has not reached the predetermined value reference value (see S12 to S18).

Therefore, the gaming device 2 executes a process to clear the remaining balls if all of the clear conditions 1 to 3 are met in S3. Note that if there are no remaining balls when S3 is executed, the clear process does not have to be executed.
Next, the gaming device 2 transitions from the standby screen 51 to the general card screen 53 (S4), and determines whether the balance and the number of balls held have reached the balance reference value (100 yen) and the number of balls held (100 balls), respectively (S5).

In this case, if the gaming device 2 determines that neither the balance nor the number of held balls has reached their respective reference values (S5: YES), it starts the operation of the call timer (S6).
As a result, if the call timer is started, or if it is determined that either the balance or the number of balls held has reached the reference value (S5: NO), or if it is determined in S1 that no deposit has been made (S1: NO), it is determined whether any of the following operations has been performed: lending operation, replay operation, or counting operation (S7).

When any of the lending operation, replay operation, or counting operation is performed (S7: YES), the gaming device 2 executes the lending process, replay process, or counting process as the corresponding process according to the operation (S8).
In addition, when the gaming device 2 determines that game information such as out or safe has been updated by a signal from the gaming machine 1 (S9: YES), or when an issuance operation has been performed (S10: YES) and an issuance process such as a split issuance that may leave a balance or retained balls (S11) is executed, it determines whether there is a balance or the retained balls exceed the end balls (S12).

Here, S12 corresponds to the display conditions for the general card screen 53, and S12 and S13 correspond to the display conditions for the standby screen 52. If there is a balance or the held balls have reached the end balls (S12: YES), the process returns to S4 and the general card screen 52 is displayed; if there is no balance and the remaining held balls have not reached the end balls (S12: NO, S13: YES), the standby screen 52 is displayed (S14); if there is neither a balance nor held balls (S12: NO, S13: NO), the standby screen 51 is displayed.
Although the value of the "end balls" in S12 corresponds to the standard value of valuables, it is sufficient if it can be used as an indicator for determining that there is only a small amount, and it can be set to 5 balls, for example, and can be changed appropriately depending on the rate, etc.

Then, when the gaming device 2 displays the standby screen 52 in S14, it starts the operation of the standby timer (S15). In this case, if the state continues in which the game information has not been updated (S9: NO) and the issuing operation has not been performed (S10: NO), when the standby timer times out after a predetermined period (for example, one minute) has elapsed while the standby screen 52 is being displayed (S16: YES) (the predetermined period has elapsed without any game being played on the corresponding gaming machine 1) (S17: YES), the gaming device 2 switches the standby screen 52 to the standby screen 51, which is the second screen, while leaving the balls held (S18), and returns to S1.
If a value such as a balance or game information changes while the standby timer or call timer is running (S9: YES or S10: YES), the timer is reset and restarted (S15). Also, although the standby timer is restarted when an issuing operation is performed because an issuing operation is indirectly considered to have been performed on the gaming machine 1, the standby timer may be restarted only when game information is updated, or may be restarted when it is possible to indirectly identify that a game has been performed, such as through a lending operation, a counting operation, or the like.

On the other hand, if the call timer times out after a predetermined period of time (e.g., 3 minutes) has elapsed (S20: YES) while the general card screen 53 is being displayed (S19: YES), the gaming device 2 executes a call process (S20). Examples of call processes include a display process that switches from the general card screen 53 to the call screen 54, and a notification process that notifies the employee of this. When the call screen 54 is displayed, the balance has not yet reached 100 yen and the number of held balls has not yet reached 100 (see S5, S6), so it is possible to process such balance and held balls via the employee's operation of the remote control 42.

On the other hand, when there are balls in possession and the standby screen 51 is being displayed (S22: YES), the gaming device 2 determines whether or not a switching operation (for example, a touch operation on the screen 51) has been performed (S23). If the gaming device 2 determines that a switching operation on the screen 51 has been performed (S23: YES), it displays the standby screen 52 and starts the standby timer (S24, 25), and ends this process (returns to S1).
Therefore, even if the waiting screen 51 is displayed on the gaming device 2 with balls remaining in the player's possession, the player can switch the screen 51 to display the waiting screen 52, and the balls in the player's possession will not be cleared even if the player inserts coins, and the balls in the player's possession will be used for games together with the balls in the player's possession that are added by the subsequent lending process.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects are achieved.
When the number of retained balls as acquired value has not reached a predetermined standard value but remains, and a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being performed on the corresponding gaming machine 1, the display means of the gaming device 2 switches the display from the standby screen 52 showing the retained balls to a standby screen 51 which is a non-acquired value screen which does not show the retained balls, or to a second screen which is a gaming ball screen or held ball screen 55 which is a value element screen which shows either gaming balls (gaming device acquired value) or held balls (device acquired value) of the retained balls, thereby reducing the risk that the next player will refrain from playing due to concerns about the remaining retained balls when there are only a small number of retained balls, and can respond appropriately.

The second screen is a non-acquired value screen, and the non-acquired value screen is a standby screen 51 that is displayed when there are no more balls remaining and the player is waiting for the next game. Therefore, when the number of balls remaining is small and has not reached the specified standard value, the standby screen 51 is displayed, reducing the risk of the next player feeling uncomfortable.

The gaming device 2 is configured as a call means that executes call processing, including, for example, notification processing to call an employee and display processing of the call screen 54, when a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being performed on the corresponding gaming machine 1 while the balance identified by the balance identification means remains. Therefore, for example, if there is no balance remaining but there are balls remaining, processing can be performed without involving an employee, and if there is a balance remaining, processing can be performed via an employee, thereby meeting the needs of such gaming facilities.

The gaming device 2 is configured as a clearing means that, when the second screen (e.g., standby screen 51) is displayed on the display means and the value is identified from the card 10b or coins accepted by the acceptance means, executes a clearing process targeting the remaining value before the acceptance. This prevents the occurrence of an incident that may cause a new player to feel uncomfortable, such as when coins are accepted while there are remaining balls in the player's possession, and the general card screen 53 displays balls that the player does not recognize.

Regarding the above-mentioned clearing process, there is a risk of trouble if, for example, the player intends to continue playing and the player's held balls are cleared even though the player himself has inserted coins. In this regard, the display means of the gaming device 2 displays a guide message regarding the clearing process (for example, display of guide screens 61, 62) when, for example, at least some of the clearing conditions 1 to 3 are met. This allows the player to use the guide message to prevent the held balls from being cleared unintentionally, reducing the risk of trouble.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be modified or expanded as follows.
Although the present invention has been described using an enclosed gaming machine 1 and its gaming device 2 as an example, it can also be applied to other modes than those exemplified, such as a so-called medalless gaming machine and its gaming device.

Although the general card screen 53 and the waiting screen 52 are shown as examples of the first screen, either one of them may be used. Similarly, the waiting screen 51, the ball holding screen 55, and the game ball screen are shown as examples of the second screen, but either one of them may be used.
Although the example has been given in which the retained balls are settled (cleared) when the card 10b or coins are accepted while the retained balls remain and the second screen is displayed, it is not necessary to settle the retained balls. Similarly, the example has been given in which the first screen is displayed when a switching operation is performed while the retained balls remain and the second screen is displayed (S22 to S25 in FIG. 7), but it is not necessary to switch.

Although the example of the acquired value is the retained balls, which indicates the sum of the game balls and the owned balls, any acquired value may be used, such as either one, as long as the value is acquired by the player. Also, although the gaming machine acquired value and the device acquired value are expressed as game balls and owned balls, it goes without saying that they may also be other acquired values, such as medals or credits.
Although the switching operation is exemplified by touching the display unit 36, the switching operation may also be the pressing of a button that doubles as a button corresponding to some processing, such as the count button 20, or the pressing of a separately provided button (not shown). The same applies to other operations such as lending operations and issuing operations.

In the flowchart of Figure 7, the processing flow is such that the screen does not switch when a lending process or a replay process is performed.This is because there is no change in the balance or the balls held when a replay process or counting process is performed, and the balls held do not reach the end of the table when a lending process is performed, so the screen is not subject to switching.However, it is possible that the conditions for switching the screen are met when it is not possible to identify the game balls, as in the case of conventional payout systems, for example, and therefore it is also possible to determine whether the conditions for switching the screen are met.
The clearing condition 3 when displaying the guide regarding the clearing process may be changed to another clearing condition, or a clearing condition other than the above-mentioned clearing conditions 1 to 3 may be set.

Furthermore, as described above, various corresponding processes may be handled in the same way as game information updates in order to reactivate various timers.
Although the example has been given in which the standby screen 52 is not displayed when there is a balance, the standby screen 52 may also be displayed when the reference value (for example, 50 yen) has not been reached, as with the acquired value. In other words, the balance may be included as a valuable value to be referenced when the standby screen 52 is displayed. Also, while the example has been given in which the held balls are cleared, the balance may also be the target. In other words, although the predetermined reference value and the valuable value reference value are both set to the same 15 balls, the predetermined reference value may not include the balance, and the valuable value reference value may include the balance. Also, even if both only target held balls, different values may be set.

Each setting value may be set by an administrator through manual input, may be set in advance by the manufacturer of the management device 6, or may be set by downloading setting information from an external server (for example, the headquarters of a chain store). In this case, the setting value is also input through manual input on the server. Of course, past gaming information may also be set as a reference value.
All of the game information exemplified above may be determined directly by the input signal or indirectly by using an arithmetic expression. Furthermore, although data signals are exemplified as game signals, other signals such as pulse signals may also be used.

The numerical values, number of digits, items, etc. are examples, and any numerical values may be used. Furthermore, the identification output may be in any output form, such as adding symbols other than those shown in the examples, and at least printing and display output are envisioned.
Either "above" or "exceeds" can be used, and expressions such as "reached" correspond to either "above" or "exceeded." The same is true for "below" and "below," and expressions such as "did not reach" correspond to both.

The use of the word "value" as in "game value" is intended to express the concept as including the acquired value managed by data such as in this example.
Some of the processing performed by the management device 6 may be performed by the relay device 4, the gaming device 2, etc., and any other configuration may be used. Furthermore, the configurations illustrated as examples may be combined in any way, including modified examples, and configurations that are not adopted may be provided as appropriate.

In the drawing, 1 is a gaming machine, 2 is a gaming device (earned value identification means, display means, balance identification means, calling means, reception means), 10a is a membership card (recording medium), 10b is a general card (recording medium), 35 is a coin insertion slot (balance identification means, reception means), 36 is a display unit (display means, calling means), 38 is a card insertion slot (balance identification means, reception means), 38a is a card RW (balance identification means, reception means), 40 is a control unit of the gaming device (earned value identification means, display means, balance identification means, calling means, reception means), 51 is a standby screen (second screen, non-earned value screen), 52 is a standby screen (first screen), 53 is a general card screen (first screen), and 55 is a ball holding screen (second screen, value element screen).

Claims (5)

In a gaming facility system having a gaming device provided in one-to-one correspondence with each of a plurality of gaming machines,
an earned value specifying means for specifying a game value acquired by a player through a game, the earned value being a sum of a gaming machine earned value managed by the gaming machine side and a device earned value managed by the gaming device side;
a display means provided in each of the gaming devices, capable of displaying a first screen showing the earned value identified by the earned value identifying means;
The display means is an amusement park system that, when the earned value has not reached a predetermined standard value but remains and a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being played on the corresponding gaming machine, switches the display from the first screen showing the earned value to a non-earned value screen that does not show the earned value, or to a second screen which is a value element screen that shows either the gaming machine earned value or the device earned value among the earned values, with the remaining earned value remaining . the second screen is the non-earned value screen,
2. The gaming facility system according to claim 1, wherein the non-earned value screen is a standby screen that is displayed when the earned value has run out and the player is waiting for the next game. a balance specifying means for specifying a balance indicating a monetary value owned by a player;
3. The gaming parlor system according to claim 1, further comprising: a calling means for executing a calling process to call an employee when a predetermined period of time has passed without any play being performed on the corresponding gaming machine while the balance identified by the balance identifying means remains. a recording medium capable of identifying a value, which is at least one of a gaming value and a monetary value, or a receiving means capable of identifying the value by receiving the monetary value, the recording medium being provided in each of the gaming devices;
An amusement park system as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a clearing means that, when the value is identified from the recording medium or the monetary value accepted by the acceptance means while the second screen is being displayed on the display means, executes a clearing process targeting the remaining value before the acceptance. The clearing process is executed under the clearing conditions that the second screen is displayed, the value is specified by the receiving means, and the remaining value before the reception does not reach a predetermined value reference value,
5. The gaming arcade system according to claim 4, wherein the display means displays a guide regarding the clearing process when at least some of the clearing conditions are met.