Information display device

Abstract

To provide an environment in which a player can perform a game with a feeling of safety while reducing burdens on employees.SOLUTION: In a system for a game parlor, an information display device 4 executes a cleaning-finished display indicating that cleaning has been finished in game machines 2 by performing all-machines-simultaneous-display processing immediately before the opening of the game parlor. For example, character information of "cleaning-finished" is displayed in a part of a telop display area 28a of a liquid crystal display part 28, or the character information of "cleaning-finished" is displayed in the whole area of the liquid crystal display part 28 as a mode of the cleaning-finished display. By performing all-machines-simultaneous-display processing immediately before the opening of the game parlor, an environment in which a player can perform a game with a feeling of safety while appropriately reducing burdens on employees can be provided appropriately.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an information display device. [Background technology]

[0002] When playing games in an amusement parlor where gaming machines such as pachinko machines and slot machines are installed, players touch the handle of the pachinko machine and the start lever and stop button of the slot machine to play. These handles, start levers, and stop buttons are touched by an unspecified number of players, so they are not hygienic and may lead to the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases. For this reason, employees of the amusement parlor prepare special tags to inform players that each gaming machine has been cleaned, and to promote safety and security for players. However, in these days of labor shortages, the work of employees preparing special tags and attaching them to each gaming machine and disinfecting all of the special tags places a heavy burden on employees to thoroughly respond. Therefore, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which an employee operates an employee remote control on a gaming machine to display a "cleaned" display indicating that the gaming machine has been cleaned. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2013-146429 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in order to display a "cleaned" sign on all gaming machines in an arcade at the time of opening, etc., an employee must patrol the arcade, clean all gaming machines, and then operate the employee remote control, which is not practical and does not sufficiently reduce the burden on employees. For these reasons, there is a demand for a configuration that can provide an environment in which players can play with peace of mind while appropriately reducing the burden on employees.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide an information display device that can appropriately reduce the burden on employees while providing an environment in which players can play with peace of mind. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The invention of claim 1 is an information display device (e.g., information display device 4) provided in correspondence with a gaming machine (e.g., gaming machine 2) and having a display unit (e.g., liquid crystal display unit 28) that displays gaming information received from the gaming machine, which performs simultaneous display processing for all machines (e.g., simultaneous display processing for all machines shown in FIG. 11) immediately before the store opens, thereby displaying a "cleaned" message indicating that the gaming machine has been cleaned (e.g., a "cleaned" message as shown in FIG. 7 or FIG. 8, which indicates that an employee has finished cleaning the gaming machine), and when the corresponding gaming machine transitions from a non-operating state to an operating state, the "cleaned" message ends. By performing simultaneous display processing for all machines immediately before the store opens, it is possible to appropriately reduce the burden on employees and appropriately provide an environment in which players can play with peace of mind. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention [Diagram 2] A diagram showing the reel arrangement of a gaming machine. [Diagram 3] A diagram showing the role settings of a gaming machine [Figure 4] A diagram showing the winning lines of a gaming machine [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 shows an internal winning setting table of a gaming machine. [Figure 6] Front view of information display device [Figure 7] Diagram showing how to display "cleaned" (part 1) [Figure 8] Diagram showing how to display "cleaned" (part 2) [Figure 9] Diagram showing employee management information (part 1) [Figure 10] Diagram showing employee management information (part 2) [Figure 11] Flowchart showing the process of displaying all devices at once [Figure 12] Flowchart showing a process for identifying a non-operating state [Figure 13] Flowchart showing a process for determining whether or not to start a non-operating notification [Figure 14] Flowchart showing a process for determining whether or not to end a non-operating notification [Figure 15] Flowchart showing a process for determining whether or not to resume non-operating notification DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an outline of the overall configuration of the gaming center system. In the gaming center where the gaming center system 1 is installed, a plurality of gaming machines, such as slot machines and pachinko gaming machines, are installed. A lending device 3 and an information display device 4 are attached to each gaming machine 2. These gaming machines 2, lending devices 3, and information display devices 4 are connected to a relay device 5, two by two. The relay device 5 is connected to a management device 7 via a LAN 6, and transmits (relays) game signals transmitted from the gaming machine 2 side devices such as the gaming machine 2 and the lending devices 3 to the management device 7. The information display device 4 corresponds to a display means, an operation determination means, and a notification means. The management device 7 corresponds to an opening operation means, a tallying means, a clearing operation means, a management means, and a measurement means.

[0009] The management device 7 is installed, for example, in an office in the gaming center, and manages the gaming information of the gaming machines 2. The gaming information managed by the management device 7 is displayed and output, for example, on a monitor 8. In such a gaming center, for example, several hundred gaming machines 2 are installed, and are managed by the management device 7. In addition, in the gaming center, a POS (not shown) for exchanging prizes and a balance settlement machine (not shown) for settling the balance recorded on a general card or a membership card are also installed, and these POS and balance settlement machines are also connected to the management device 7 via the LAN 6.

[0010] In this embodiment, a slot machine is assumed as the gaming machine 2. The gaming machine 2 has a display window 9 on the front, and a player can view the symbols on the reels 10 provided inside through the display window 9. As shown in FIG. 2, each symbol is drawn on the circumferential surface of the left reel, center reel, and right reel, and when each reel is stopped, it is displayed corresponding to the upper, middle, and lower rows of the display window 9. That is, a symbol display area for a total of nine symbols is formed in the display window 9, with three symbols on each reel.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 3, the gaming machine 2 has three types of roles: bonus role, small role, and replay role. Two types of bonus roles, BB (big bonus) role and RB (regular bonus), and four types of small roles, 15-coin role, 1-coin role A, 1-coin role B, and 2-coin role, are set. In the gaming machine 2, the number of medals used in one game (the number of medals inserted, or the number of bets) is set to 3 medals (3 bets) in the normal state, and 2 medals (2 bets) in the bonus state.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 4, the display window 9 has a total of five winning lines: one horizontal line corresponding to the middle row (solid line indicated by "1" in the figure), two diagonal lines corresponding to the top, middle, and bottom rows (solid lines indicated by "2" and "3" in the figure), and two horizontal lines corresponding to the top and bottom rows (solid lines indicated by "4" and "5" in the figure). When the winning symbols line up on any of the winning lines, the corresponding prize is awarded.

[0013] Below the display window 9, there are provided a MAXBET button 11 for inserting credit medals, a credit settlement button 12 for settling credit medals, and a medal insertion slot 13 for inserting medals, and below these are provided a start lever 14 and three stop buttons 15. When the credit settlement button 12 is operated with the number of credits being 1 or more, medals corresponding to the number of credits are paid out. The gaming machine 2 is provided with a receiving tray 16 at the bottom and a lamp section 17 at the top. In addition, the gaming machine 2 is provided with setting values ​​for setting the internal winning probability of a role in six stages, for example, from "1" to "6", and one of the setting values ​​is enabled. The higher the setting value, the more advantageous the setting is for the player, and the lower the value, the more disadvantageous the setting is for the player. The payout rate of the gaming machine 2 is adjusted according to the setting value.

[0014] The gaming machine 2 operates as follows. (1) When the game is started by operating the start lever 14 with the medals inserted, for example, one of the random numbers generated between 0 and 65535 is extracted, and the extracted random number is compared with a winning random number table (not shown) to determine the internal winning combination. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, if the set value is 1, in the normal state, 11 random numbers for selection are allocated to the single BB combination, and the theoretical internal winning probability is 11 / 65536. Similarly, 11 random numbers for selection are allocated to the single RB combination, 1301 to the 1-piece combination A, 5384 to the 15-piece combination + 1-piece combination B, 128 to the single 2-piece combination, 5 to the BB combination + 2-piece combination, 5 to the RB combination + 2-piece combination, and 8978 to the replay combination. Also, in the BB or RB state, 65535 random numbers for selection are allocated to the single 15-piece combination, and it is set so that the probability of the single 15-piece combination becoming the internal winning combination is high.

[0015] (2) After the internal winning combination is determined and the reels 10 are started, stop control including so-called pull-in control (slip control) is executed according to the operation of each stop button 15 by the player and the internal winning combination. The pull-in control is a control that can pull in and stop symbols within a predetermined pull-in range (up to a maximum of four symbols) on the winning line from the time when the operation of each stop button 15 is detected. Then, a win occurs when the symbol corresponding to the combination stops on the winning line.

[0016] (3) In the normal state, when a small role (15 coin role, 1 coin role A, 1 coin role B, 2 coin role) is won, the corresponding number of medals is paid out. Also, when a replay role is won, the game can be played again without inserting new medals. In the bonus state, as described above, the number of bets is reduced to 2 bets, and the probability that a single 15 coin role will become an internal winning role is increased, making it possible to win a large amount of medals. In the bonus state, the BB state ends when more than 315 medals are paid out, for example, and the RB state ends when more than 105 medals are paid out, for example, and the end of the bonus state transitions to the normal state.

[0017] (4) It is possible to generate the so-called AT state (AT), and in the AT, the operation sequence of the stop button 15 is navigated when an internal win of 15 coin role + 1 coin role B (hereinafter, AT role) occurs. If the operation is performed according to the navigation, the 15 coin role will be won, while if the operation is not performed according to the navigation, the 1 coin role B will be pulled in, and if the 1 coin role B is within the pull-in range, the 1 coin role will be won, but if it is not within the pull-in range, it will not be won. Of course, the conditions for generating the AT may be made different depending on the above-mentioned set values, but in this embodiment, the difference due to the set values ​​is adjusted by setting the internal winning rate of the BB role, etc. to different values.

[0018] The gaming machine 2 transmits the following gaming signals according to the progress of the player's game. OUT signal=a signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. Since the number of medals in the bet state (3 medals) is pulse-outputted in response to the start operation assuming that the medals in the bet state have been consumed, the number of OUT signals x 1 becomes OUT (game information indicating the amount of game value consumed according to the consumption value, number of media used, and game). In addition, the corresponding amount is also transmitted when replaying.

[0019] Safe signal = a signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. One pulse is output each time one medal is awarded (paid out), so the number of safe signals x 1 is the safe (game information indicating the amount of the game value awarded to the player according to the winning award value, the number of paid out media, and the game value awarded to the player according to the game). Note that when a replay role is awarded, the number of medals used in that game is also transmitted.

[0020] BB or RB signal=a signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. Since a level is output during the corresponding bonus state (BB, RB), the signal reception period is specified as the bonus state. AT signal=a signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. Since a level is output during AT, the signal reception period is specified as the AT state.

[0021] The above-mentioned configuration is an example of a general configuration of a so-called AT machine, and may be any gaming machine with any specifications, including pachinko gaming machines in which balls (not shown) are used as gaming value.

[0022] The lending device 3 comprises a coin insertion slot 18 through which the player deposits coins, a card insertion slot 19 through which the player inserts a card, a lending button 20 for paying out medals, a return button 21 for issuing cards, a touch panel type liquid crystal display unit 22 for displaying various information, a remote control receiver 24 for receiving remote control signals transmitted from an employee remote control 23 carried by the employee, a payout nozzle 25 for paying out medals into the receiving tray 16 of the gaming machine 2, an insertion slot 26, etc. The employee remote control 23 corresponds to the cleaned operating means.

[0023] The lending device 3 operates as follows. (1) When currency is deposited in the currency insertion slot 20, the currency is accepted (currency acceptance process) and the balance is displayed on the liquid crystal display 22. When the loan button 20 is pressed (loan operation, grant operation), one loan unit (e.g., 1,000 yen) of loan medals (value granted) is paid out from the payout nozzle 25 (value grant process), and the value is deducted from the balance. In this case, currency can be accepted in an amount corresponding to multiple loan processes (e.g., up to 10,000 yen).

[0024] (2) Each machine is equipped with a so-called counting function, and can accept medals won by players by inserting medals into the insertion slot 26. The medals inserted into the insertion slot 26 are counted by a counting unit built into the machine 3, and the counted value is stored in the memory unit as the held balls (number of counted medals). This makes it possible to perform a payout process (value-granting process) using the held balls as payment, and when a payout is made, the payment amount (the same number as the paid-out medals) is subtracted from the held balls. When the return button 21 is pressed (issuance operation) while there are remaining held balls or a balance, a card that can identify the held balls and balance is issued from the card insertion slot 19. When the card is accepted, the held balls and balance are carried over.

[0025] (3) The sales signal transmitted via serial communication through the relay device 5 enables the management device 7 to identify various information such as the currency acceptance process, the value granting process, the balance, balls held, number of balls lent, number of balls paid out, amount deposited, number of counted balls, number of lent balls, the sales amount that is the value of the lent balls, and card acceptance and issuance processes. However, these may also be identified by a pulse signal (for example, 1 pulse for every 1,000 yen deposited, 1 pulse for every 100 yen in sales, etc.).

[0026] The information display device 4 displays various types of game information received from the gaming machines 2 via the relay device 5, and displays various types of game information received from the management device 7. As shown in Fig. 6, the information display device 4 is equipped with an LED display unit 27, a liquid crystal display unit 28, a group of operation switches 29 including a call button for calling an employee and a switch button for switching the type of game information displayed on the liquid crystal display unit 28, and a remote control light receiving unit 30 that receives a remote control signal transmitted from the employee remote control 23.

[0027] The liquid crystal display unit 28 can display various game information in response to the operation of the operation switch group 29, and is divided into a telop display area 28a, an information display area 28b, a first data display area 28c, a second data display area 28d, a third data display area 28e, and a fourth data display area 28f. In the example of FIG. 6, the telop display area 28a displays the model name, the information display area 28b displays the total number of occurrences of BB and RB, the first data display area 28c displays the number of occurrences of BB, and the second data display area 28d displays the number of occurrences of RB, and the total number of occurrences of BB and RB, the number of occurrences of BB, and the number of occurrences of RB are displayed in business days for the current day, one day ago, and two days ago, respectively. The third data display area 28e displays the number of starts, which is the number of games executed after the establishment of an initialization condition due to the opening of business hours or the end of a special state, and the fourth data display area 28e displays a start history graph in which the number of games per bonus unit is graphed.

[0028] As explained above in [Problem to be solved by the invention], amusement arcades are required to have a configuration that can provide an environment in which players can play with peace of mind, and in this regard, the present embodiment adopts the configuration shown below.

[0029] When the manager of the amusement arcade performs an opening operation to switch the system of the amusement arcade to an open state, the management device 7 transmits an opening operation signal indicating the same to all information display devices 4 in the amusement arcade. In addition, when the manager of the amusement arcade performs a clearing operation to clear the compiled game information, the management device 7 transmits a clearing operation signal indicating the same to all information display devices 4 in the amusement arcade.

[0030] When the information display device 4 receives an opening operation signal from the management device 7 and then a clear signal, it starts displaying "cleaned". The "cleaned" display is a display indicating that an employee has finished cleaning the gaming machine 2, and is a display indicating that the gaming machine 2 has been cleaned. As a form of the "cleaned" display, the information display device 4 displays the text information "cleaned" in a part of the telop display area 28a of the liquid crystal display unit 28 as shown in FIG. 7, or displays the text information "cleaned" on the entire liquid crystal display unit 28 as shown in FIG. 8. When the information display device 4 displays the text information "cleaned" on the entire liquid crystal display unit 28, it may repeatedly display and hide the text information "cleaned" so that the player can check the game information. By repeatedly displaying and hiding the text information "cleaned" so that the player can check the game information, it is possible to appropriately provide the player with information useful for machine selection without impeding the provision of game information to the player. When a player starts playing on the corresponding gaming machine 2 and the corresponding gaming machine 2 transitions from a non-operating state to an operating state, the information display device 4 ends the "cleaned" display.

[0031] The information display device 4 determines whether the gaming machine 2 is in an operating state or a non-operating state based on an out signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2, and when the time from when the last out signal is received until the next out signal is received, i.e., the time during which no out signal is received, reaches a certain time, the information display device 4 determines that the gaming machine 2 has transitioned from an operating state to a non-operating state, lights up the LED display unit 27 in a predetermined lighting pattern, and starts a non-operating notification to have an employee clean the corresponding gaming machine 2. Note that instead of or in addition to lighting up the LED display unit 27 in a predetermined lighting pattern, the information display device 4 may display that the corresponding gaming machine 2 has not been cleaned. In addition to the information display device 4 lighting up the LED display unit 27 in a predetermined lighting pattern, the management device 7 may identify the gaming machine 2 that has transitioned from an operating state to a non-operating state, and notify the employee of the machine number of the gaming machine 2 that has transitioned to a non-operating state by an in-store announcement, an intercom, or the like.

[0032] In this case, when an employee cleans the gaming machine 2 corresponding to the information display device 4 that is notifying the non-operation state before the player starts playing the game, and the employee operates the employee remote control 23, and the cleaning completion signal transmitted from the employee remote control 23 is received by the remote control light receiving unit 30, the information display device 4 ends the non-operation notification, resumes the cleaning completion display, and transmits the cleaning completion signal to the management device 7. An ID corresponding to the employee is associated with the employee remote control 23 in advance, and when the information display device 4 transmits the cleaning completion signal to the management device 7, it also transmits the associated ID at the same time. On the other hand, when a player starts playing the gaming machine 2 corresponding to the information display device 4 that is notifying the non-operation state before the employee performs the cleaning work, the information display device 4 simply ends the non-operation notification, and does not resume the cleaning completion display.

[0033] As described above, when the information display device 4 issues a non-operational notification, the conditions for ending the non-operational notification are when an employee performs cleaning work before the player starts playing, and when the player starts playing before the employee performs cleaning work. In this regard, the management device 7 manages whether or not an employee has responded to the non-operational notification as employee management information.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 9, the management device 7 manages the employee management information with the following items as one record: No., time, employee ID, machine number, handling time, and player release. NO=Indicates the order in which non-operational notifications occurred. Time=The time when the non-operation notification started. Employee ID=Indicates the ID associated with the employee remote control 23 that transmitted the cleaning end signal. Machine number=Indicates the machine number of the gaming machine 2 corresponding to the information display device 4 that has started the non-operation notification. Response time=the time from when the non-operation notification starts to when it ends. Player release = When the non-operation notification is ended by the player starting to play, "O" is recorded, and when the non-operation notification is ended by the employee performing cleaning work, "X" is recorded. Player release is information that can identify whether the cause of the non-operation notification ending was the corresponding gaming machine 2 being determined to be in operation or the employee remote control 23 being operated.

[0035] In the employee management information, the response time when the player release is "x" is an index showing whether the employee responded promptly to the non-operational notification, and the shorter the response time, the more prompt the employee responded. The average and total show the average and total for the entire gaming facility. In the example of FIG. 9, three employees with employee IDs "001", "002", and "003" are assumed, so if the total number of non-operational notification occurrences is "32 cases", "32 cases" is divided by "3" to get the average "11 cases". If the total response time is "23:16", "23:16" is divided by "32" to get the average "00:43". If the total number of player releases is "4 cases", "4 cases" is divided by "3" to get the average "1.33 cases". As shown in FIG. 10, the management device 7 may manage the employee management information for each employee ID. In the example of FIG. 10, an employee with employee ID="001" is dealing with 10 occurrences of non-working notifications.

[0036] The management device 7 displays the employee management information managed in this way on the monitor 8 etc. The management device 7 also measures the time that has elapsed since the last cleaning operation was performed by managing the time at which the cleaning end signal was received from the employee remote control 23, and when the elapsed time reaches a certain time, issues a non-operation notification on the condition that the gaming machine 2 is in a non-operational state.

[0037] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to Fig. 11 to Fig. 15. The information display device 4 performs simultaneous display processing for all machines at a predetermined cycle just before opening, and performs identification processing of non-operating states, start determination processing of non-operating notification, end determination processing of non-operating notification, and restart processing of non-operating notification, each at a predetermined cycle, during business hours.

[0038] (1) Simultaneous display processing for all units The all-machine simultaneous display process will be described with reference to FIG. 11. When the timing for starting the all-machine simultaneous display process arrives, the information display device 4 starts the all-machine simultaneous display process and waits to receive an opening operation signal from the management device 7 (S1). When the information display device 4 determines that it has received an opening operation signal from the management device 7 (S1: YES), it waits to receive a clear operation signal from the management device 7 (S2). When the information display device 4 determines that it has received a clear signal from the management device 7 (S2: YES), it starts displaying that cleaning has been completed (S3) and ends the all-machine simultaneous display process. When the information display device 4 determines that it has not received an opening operation signal from the management device 7 (S1: NO) or has not received a clear operation signal from the management device 7 (S2: NO), it ends the all-machine simultaneous display process and waits for the next timing for starting the all-machine simultaneous display process.

[0039] (2) Identifying non-operating states The specific processing in the non-operating state will be described with reference to Fig. 12. When the timing for starting the specific processing in the non-operating state arrives, the information display device 4 starts the specific processing in the non-operating state and determines whether or not an OUT signal has been received from the corresponding gaming machine 2 (S11). When the information display device 4 determines that an OUT signal has been received from the corresponding gaming machine 2 (S11: YES), it determines whether or not the operating timer is operating (S12), and when it determines that the operating timer is not operating (S12: NO), it starts the operating timer (S13), and when it determines that the operating timer is operating (S13: YES), it restarts the operating timer (S14), ends the specific processing in the non-operating state, and waits for the start timing of the next specific processing in the non-operating state.

[0040] When the information display device 4 determines that it has not received an out signal from the corresponding gaming machine 2 (S11: YES), it determines whether or not the operation timer is running (S15). When the information display device 4 determines that the operation timer is running (S15: YES), it ends the specific processing of the non-operating state, and waits for the start timing of the next specific processing of the non-operating state. When the information display device 4 determines that the operation timer is not running (S15: NO), it determines that the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in a non-operating state (S16), ends the specific processing of the non-operating state, and waits for the start timing of the next specific processing of the non-operating state.

[0041] (3) Non-operation notification start determination process The non-operation notification start determination process will be described with reference to FIG. 13. When the start timing of the non-operation notification start determination process arrives, the information display device 4 starts the non-operation notification start determination process and determines whether or not the non-operation notification is in progress (S21). When the information display device 4 determines that the non-operation notification is not in progress (S21: NO), it determines whether or not the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S22). When the information display device 4 determines that the gaming machine 2 is not in an operating state but in a non-operating state (S22: NO), it starts the non-operation notification (S23), ends the non-operation notification start determination process, and waits for the start timing of the next non-operation notification start process. When the information display device 4 determines that the non-operation notification is in progress (S21: YES) or that the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S22: YES), it ends the non-operation notification start determination process and waits for the start timing of the next non-operation notification start process.

[0042] (4) Processing to determine the end of non-operation notification The non-operation notification end determination process will be described with reference to Fig. 14. When the timing for starting the non-operation notification end determination process arrives, the information display device 4 starts the non-operation notification end determination process and determines whether or not a non-operation notification is in progress (S31). When the information display device 4 determines that a non-operation notification is in progress (S31: YES), it determines whether or not a cleaning end signal has been received from the employee remote control 23 (S32). When the information display device 4 determines that a cleaning end signal has been received from the employee remote control 23 (S32: YES), it ends the non-operation notification (S33), resumes displaying that cleaning has been completed (S34), ends the non-operation notification end determination process, and waits for the start timing of the next non-operation notification end determination process.

[0043] When the information display device 4 determines that it has not received a cleaning end signal from the employee remote control 23 (S32: NO), it determines whether or not the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in operation (S35). When the information display device 4 determines that the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in operation (S35: YES), it ends the non-operation notification (S36), ends the non-operation notification end determination process, and waits for the start timing of the next non-operation notification end determination process.

[0044] (5) Processing to determine whether to resume non-operation notification The non-operation notification restart determination process will be described with reference to Fig. 15. When the start timing of the non-operation notification restart determination process arrives, the information display device 4 starts the non-operation notification restart determination process and determines whether or not a non-operation notification is in progress (S41). If the information display device 4 determines that a non-operation notification is not in progress (S41: NO), it determines whether or not a certain amount of time has elapsed since the end of the previous non-operation notification (S42). If the information display device 4 determines that a certain amount of time has elapsed since the end of the previous non-operation notification has elapsed (S42: YES), it determines whether or not the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S43).

[0045] When the information display device 4 determines that the corresponding gaming machine 2 is not in an operating state but in a non-operating state (S43: NO), it resumes the non-operating notification (S44), ends the non-operating notification restart determination process, and waits for the start timing of the next non-operating notification restart determination process. When the information display device 4 determines that the non-operating notification is in progress (S41: YES), determines that the elapsed time since the end of the previous non-operating notification has not reached a certain time (S42: NO), or determines that the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S43: YES), it ends the non-operating notification restart determination process and waits for the start timing of the next non-operating notification restart determination process.

[0046] According to the present embodiment described above, the following advantageous effects can be obtained. In the game arcade system 1, when the manager of the game arcade performs an opening operation to switch the game arcade system to an open state and a clear operation to clear the collected game information, a "cleaned" display is displayed on the game machine 2 to indicate that the game machine 2 has been cleaned. This makes it possible to inform players who come to the arcade that the game machine 2 has been cleaned without an employee having to go around the arcade and operate the employee remote control 23 for all the game machines. Furthermore, if the "cleaned" display is continued for a certain period of time immediately after the arcade opens, not only players who come to the arcade immediately after the arcade opens, but also players who come to the arcade after a certain period of time has passed since the arcade opens. This makes it possible to appropriately provide an environment in which players can play games with peace of mind while appropriately reducing the burden on employees.

[0047] In addition, when an employee has finished cleaning and operates the employee remote control 23, in this case too, a "cleaned" message is displayed on the gaming machine 2 to indicate that the machine has been cleaned. Therefore, even during business hours, visiting players can be informed that the gaming machine 2 has been cleaned, and an appropriate environment can be provided in which players can play with peace of mind.

[0048] In addition, when a gaming machine 2 is in a non-operating state, a non-operating notification is issued, so that employees can easily identify gaming machines 2 that require cleaning, and can provide appropriate support for the employees' cleaning work.

[0049] Furthermore, when it is determined that the gaming machine 2 corresponding to the information display device 4 that is reporting a non-operation state is in operation, the non-operation report is terminated and the gaming information is displayed. This makes it possible to prevent employees from needlessly heading to a gaming machine 2 that has transitioned from a non-operational state to an operating state, i.e., a gaming machine 2 that no longer requires cleaning work, and appropriately reduces the burden on employees.

[0050] Furthermore, if the "cleaned" display is on while the player is playing a game, the player may feel uncomfortable; however, if it is determined that the gaming machine 2 corresponding to the information display device 4 displaying "cleaned" is in operation, the "cleaned" display is ended and game information is displayed. Therefore, by ending the "cleaned" display, it is possible to prevent the player from feeling uncomfortable.

[0051] Moreover, an ID corresponding to an employee is transmitted to the management device 7, and the management device 7 manages the cleaning completion display status based on the operation history of the employee remote control 23, so it is possible to manage whether the cleaning work is being performed promptly on an employee-by-employee basis, and the status of the cleaning work can be appropriately managed. Also, it is possible to identify whether the cause of the non-operation notification being terminated is the game machine 2 being in operation or an employee performing cleaning work.

[0052] In addition, when a certain amount of time has elapsed since an employee performed cleaning work, if the corresponding gaming machine is out of operation, an out-of-operation notification is issued again, thereby providing appropriate support for regular cleaning work.

[0053] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified or expanded as follows. In addition, the configurations shown in the examples may be combined in any manner, including modified examples, or may not be adopted as appropriate.

[0054] Although the configuration in which it is determined whether the gaming machine 2 is in an operating state or a non-operating state based on an OUT signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2 has been exemplified, it may be determined whether the gaming machine 2 is in an operating state or a non-operating state based on another gaming signal such as a SAFE signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. Also, for example, an imaging device may be provided in the lending device 3 or the information display device 4, and the presence or absence of a player may be determined by analyzing an image captured by the imaging device, thereby determining whether the gaming machine 2 is in an operating state or a non-operating state.

[0055] Although the above embodiment shows a configuration in which an employee operates the employee remote control 23 to display the "cleaned" status, the "cleaned" status may be displayed by the employee holding an IC card over the information display device 4, or by providing a dedicated operation button for displaying the "cleaned" status and the employee operating the operation button. The management device 7 may also be configured to display information that can identify whether or not each machine number has been cleaned.

[0056] The certain time period that is the standard for issuing a non-operational notification on the condition that the gaming machine 2 is in a non-operational state may be variable, for example, on a business day or time period basis depending on the load of employees on the business day. That is, if the load of employees excluding cleaning work is relatively light, it is assumed that employees can secure a certain amount of time to spend on cleaning work, so the certain time period may be set relatively short and the non-operational notification cycle may be set relatively short, whereas if the load of employees excluding cleaning work is relatively heavy, it is assumed that employees cannot secure time to spend on cleaning work, so the certain time period may be set relatively long and the non-operational notification cycle may be set relatively long. In other words, the non-operation notification is a notification to have employees clean the gaming machine 2, but at the same time, it is also a notification to let players know that the machine has not been cleaned from the player's perspective, and it can be said to be a notification that may discourage players who prefer cleanliness from playing.Therefore, the shorter the time between the end of the previous cleaning work and the issuance of the non-operation notification, the better the impression it will make on players, so a fixed time can be set to shorten that time.

[0057] Also, the certain time period that is the standard for issuing a non-operation notification on the condition that the gaming machine 2 is in a non-operational state may be variable according to the frequency of machine replacement, which is the frequency at which players who play the game are replaced. In other words, in a gaming machine 2 in which machine replacement is relatively frequent, if the certain time period is set relatively short, there is a risk that issuing a non-operation notification will discourage the next player from playing the game. In other words, if priority is given to operating the gaming machine 2 over keeping it clean, the certain time period may be set relatively long and the frequency of issuing a non-operation notification may be set relatively low. On the other hand, if priority is given to keeping the gaming machine 2 clean over operating it, the certain time period may be set relatively short and the frequency of issuing a non-operation notification may be set relatively high.

[0058] Furthermore, the certain period of time that serves as the standard for issuing a non-operational notification when gaming machine 2 is in a non-operational state may be variable on a business day or time period basis depending on the workload of employees on that business day, as described above, or may be variable depending on the frequency of machine changes, and may also be variable taking into account various factors such as amusement island or machine type.

[0059] Although a slot machine is shown as an example of a target gaming machine, the present invention can also be applied to pachinko gaming machines, etc. Also, the present invention can be applied to so-called sealed slot machines and pachinko gaming machines in which gaming media are managed only by data. In addition, taking into consideration the so-called sealed type, gaming media will be expressed as gaming value as necessary.

[0060] Each set value may be set by an administrator through operation input, may be set in advance by the manufacturer of the management device 7, or may be set by downloading setting information from an external server (such as the headquarters of a chain store). In this case, the set value is also input through operation input at the server. Also, past game information may be set as a reference value.

[0061] All of the game information shown as examples may be directly determined by the input signal or indirectly determined by using an arithmetic expression. In addition, although a pulse signal is shown as an example of the game signal, other signal inputs such as a data signal by serial communication may also be used. A part of the information processing performed by the information display device 4 may be performed by the relay device 5 or the management device 7, and similarly, a part of the information processing performed by the management device 7 may be performed by the information display device 4 or the relay device 5. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] In the drawing, 1 is an amusement arcade system, 2 is an amusement machine, 4 is an information display device (display means, operation determination means, notification means), 7 is a management device (opening operation means, tallying means, clear operation means, management means, measurement means), and 23 is an employee remote control (cleaned operation means).

Claims

1. An information display device having a display unit provided corresponding to a gaming machine and displaying game information received from the gaming machine, This information display device displays a "cleaned" message on each gaming machine to show that the machine has been cleaned by performing a simultaneous display process on all machines just before the store opens, and ends the "cleaned" message when the corresponding gaming machine transitions from a non-operating state to an operating state.

2. 2. The information display device according to claim 1, wherein the gaming machine is a managed gaming machine that manages gaming media by data.

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