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 at an amusement parlor where gaming machines such as pachinko machines and slot machines are installed, players touch the handles of pachinko machines and the start levers and stop buttons of slot machines. Because these handles, start levers, and stop buttons are touched by an unspecified number of players, they are not considered hygienic and may lead to the spread of epidemics and infectious diseases. For this reason, amusement parlor employees prepare special tags to inform players that each gaming machine has been cleaned, promoting safety and security for players. However, in today's labor shortage, the work of employees preparing and attaching special tags to each gaming machine and disinfecting all of the special tags places a heavy burden on employees. 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" message indicating that the gaming machine has been cleaned. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-146429 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 opening time, an employee must patrol the arcade, clean all gaming machines, and then operate the employee remote control, which is not practical and does not fully reduce the burden on employees. For these reasons, there is a need for a system that can provide an environment in which players can play games 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) that is provided in correspondence with a gaming machine (e.g., gaming machine 2) and has a display unit (e.g., liquid crystal display unit 28) that displays gaming information received from the gaming machine. By performing a simultaneous display process on all machines (e.g., the simultaneous display process on all machines shown in FIG. 11) just before the store opens, a ``cleaned'' display is displayed to indicate that the gaming machine has been cleaned (e.g., the ``cleaned'' display 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'' display is stopped. By performing a simultaneous display process on all machines just before the store opens, it is possible to appropriately reduce the burden on employees and appropriately provide an environment where players can play with peace of mind. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] Overall configuration diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] A diagram showing the reel arrangement of a gaming machine [Figure 3] A diagram showing the role settings of a gaming machine [Figure 4] A diagram showing the pay lines of a gaming machine [Figure 5] FIG. 1 shows an internal winning setting table for 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] Employee management information diagram (part 1) [Figure 10] Employee management information diagram (part 2) [Figure 11] Flowchart showing the simultaneous display process for all machines [Figure 12] Flowchart showing a process for identifying a non-operating state [Figure 13] Flowchart showing non-operation notification start determination process [Figure 14] Flowchart showing non-operation notification end determination process [Figure 15] Flowchart showing non-operation notification resumption determination process DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of an amusement facility system. A plurality of gaming machines, such as slot machines and pachinko machines, are installed in an amusement facility where an amusement facility system 1 is installed. A rental device 3 and an information display device 4 are attached to each gaming machine 2. Two of these gaming machines 2, rental devices 3, and information display devices 4 are connected to a relay device 5. The relay device 5 is connected to a management device 7 via a LAN 6 and transmits (relays) game signals transmitted from devices on the gaming machine 2 side, such as the gaming machines 2 and rental 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 counting means, a clearing operation means, a management means, and a measurement means.

[0009] The management device 7 is installed, for example, in an office within the gaming facility, and manages the gaming information of the gaming machines 2. The gaming information managed by the management device 7 is displayed on, for example, a monitor 8. In such a gaming facility, for example, several hundred gaming machines 2 are installed, and are managed by the management device 7. In addition, the gaming facility is also equipped with a POS (not shown) for exchanging games for prizes and a balance adjustment machine (not shown) for adjusting the balance recorded on a general card or a membership card, and these POS and balance adjustment 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 its front, through which a player can view the symbols on the reels 10 provided inside. As shown in FIG. 2, the symbols are drawn on the circumferential surfaces of the left, center, and right reels, and when each reel is stopped, they are 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, three types of roles are set in the gaming machine 2: a bonus role, a small role, and a replay role. Two types of bonus roles are set: a BB (big bonus) role and an RB (regular bonus), and four types of small roles are set: a 15-coin role, a 1-coin role A, a 1-coin role B, and a 2-coin role. In the gaming machine 2, the number of medals used in one game (the number of medals inserted, or the bet number) is set to three medals (3 bets) in the normal state, and to two medals (2 bets) in the bonus state.

[0012] As shown in Figure 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 a winning symbol aligns on any of the winning lines, the corresponding win occurs.

[0013] Below the display window 9 are a MAXBET button 11 for inserting credit medals, a credit settlement button 12 for settling credit medals, and a medal slot 13 for inserting medals. Below these are a start lever 14 and three stop buttons 15. When the credit settlement button 12 is operated with one or more credits, medals equal to the number of credits are paid out. The gaming machine 2 is provided with a tray 16 at the bottom and a lamp unit 17 at the top. The gaming machine 2 is provided with setting values ​​for setting the internal winning probability of a winning combination, for example, on a six-level scale from "1" to "6," and one of these setting values ​​is activated. The higher the setting value, the more advantageous the setting is for the player, and the lower the setting value, the less advantageous the setting is for the player. The payout rate of the gaming machine 2 is adjusted based on the setting value.

[0014] The gaming machine 2 operates as follows. (1) When a game is started by operating the start lever 14 with a medal inserted, one of the random numbers generated between 0 and 65,535 is selected, and the selected 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, when the setting value is 1, 11 random numbers are assigned to the single BB combination in the normal state, and the theoretical internal winning probability is 11 / 65,536. Similarly, 11 random numbers are assigned to the single RB combination, 1,301 to the 1-piece combination A, 5,384 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 8,978 to the replay combination. Furthermore, in the BB or RB state, 65,535 random numbers are assigned to the single 15-piece combination, which is set to increase the probability of the single 15-piece combination becoming an internal winning combination.

[0015] (2) After determining the internal winning combination and starting the reels 10, stop control including so-called pull-in control (slip control) is executed according to the player's operation of each stop button 15 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, or 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 number of medals. Within 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 game transitions to the normal state when the bonus state ends.

[0017] (4) It is possible to generate a so-called AT state (AT), and in the AT, the operation order of the stop button 15 is navigated when an internal win of 15-piece role + 1-piece role B (hereinafter referred to as AT role) occurs. If the operation is performed as guided, the 15-piece role will be won, but if the operation is not performed as guided, the 1-piece role B will be drawn in, and if the 1-piece role B is within the draw-in range, the 1-piece role will be won, but if it is not within the draw-in range, no win will be won. Of course, the conditions for generating the AT can be made different depending on the setting values ​​described above, but in this embodiment, the difference due to the setting 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 as the player plays the game. OUT signal = a signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. Assuming that medals in the bet state have been consumed in response to the start operation, pulses are output for the number of medals in the bet state (3 medals), so 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 value consumed in response to the game). Incidentally, the corresponding amount is also transmitted when a replay is performed.

[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 becomes safe (game information indicating the amount of the game value awarded to the player according to the winning prize value, the number of paid out media, and the game value awarded to the player depending on the game). When a replay combination is won, 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 identified as the AT state.

[0021] The above 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 is equipped with 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 dispensing medals, a return button 21 for issuing cards, a touch panel type liquid crystal display 22 that displays various information, a remote control light receiving unit 24 that receives remote control signals transmitted from an employee remote control 23 carried by the employee, a payout nozzle 25 that pays out medals into the 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 rental device 3 operates as follows. (1) When currency is deposited into 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 lending button 20 is pressed (lending operation, granting operation), one lending unit (for example, 1,000 yen) of lending medals (value of the given value) is dispensed from the dispensing nozzle 25 (value granting process), and the value is deducted from the balance. In this case, currency corresponding to multiple lending processes (for example, up to 10,000 yen) can be accepted.

[0024] (2) Each machine is equipped with a so-called counting function, and can accept medals won by players by inserting medals into the slot 26. The medals inserted into the slot 26 are counted by a counting unit built into the machine 3, and the counted value is stored in a memory unit as the balls in hand (number of counted medals). This makes it possible to process a refund (value-granting process) using the balls in hand as payment, and when a refund is made, the payment (the same number as the medals paid out) is subtracted from the balls in hand. When the return button 21 is pressed (issue operation) while there are remaining balls or a balance, a card that can identify the balls in hand and the balance is issued from the card insertion slot 19. When the card is accepted, the balls in hand and the 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 currency acceptance processing, payment processing, balance, balls held, number of balls lent, number of balls paid out, amount deposited, number of counted balls, number of lent balls, sales amount in exchange for lent balls, and card acceptance and issuance processing. However, these may also be identified by a pulse signal (for example, one pulse for every 1,000 yen deposited, one 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 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, an LCD display unit 28, an operation switch group 29 including a call button for calling an employee and a switch button for switching the type of game information displayed on the LCD 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 LCD display 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 shown in FIG. 6, the telop display area 28a displays the model name, the information display area 28b displays the total number of BB and RB occurrences, the first data display area 28c displays the number of BB occurrences, and the second data display area 28d displays the number of RB occurrences. The total number of BB and RB occurrences, the number of BB occurrences, and the number of RB occurrences are displayed for the current day, one day ago, and two days ago by business day, respectively. The third data display area 28e displays the number of starts, which is the number of games executed since an initialization condition was met, such as when business hours began or a special state ended, and the fourth data display area 28f displays a start history graph that graphs the number of games played per bonus unit.

[0028] As explained above in the section [Problem that the invention aims to solve], 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 facility performs an opening operation to switch the system of the amusement facility to an open state, the management device 7 transmits an opening operation signal indicating this to all information display devices 4 in the amusement facility. In addition, when the manager of the amusement facility performs a clearing operation to clear the compiled gaming information, the management device 7 transmits a clearing operation signal indicating this to all information display devices 4 in the amusement facility.

[0030] The information display device 4 starts displaying the "cleaned" message when it receives an opening operation signal from the management device 7 and subsequently receives a clear signal. The "cleaned" message indicates that an employee has finished cleaning the gaming machine 2, and indicates that the gaming machine 2 has been cleaned. As a form of the "cleaned" message, the information display device 4 displays the "cleaned" message in a portion of the telop display area 28a of the LCD display unit 28, as shown in FIG. 7, or displays the "cleaned" message across the entire LCD display unit 28, as shown in FIG. 8. When displaying the "cleaned" message across the entire LCD display unit 28, the information display device 4 may alternately display and hide the "cleaned" message so that the player can confirm the game information. By alternately displaying and hiding the "cleaned" message so that the player can confirm the game information, the provision of game information to the player is not hindered, and information useful for machine selection can be appropriately provided 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 cleaning completion 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, for example, an OUT signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. When the time from the reception of the last OUT signal to the reception of the next OUT signal reaches a certain time, 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 also display that the corresponding gaming machine 2 has not been cleaned. Furthermore, in addition to the information display device 4 turning on 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 an employee of the machine number of the gaming machine 2 that has transitioned to a non-operating state via an in-store announcement, intercom, or the like.

[0032] In this case, if an employee cleans a gaming machine 2 corresponding to an information display device 4 that is notifying that it is out of operation before the player starts playing the machine, and the employee operates the employee remote control 23, and the remote control light receiving unit 30 receives a cleaning completion signal transmitted from the employee remote control 23, the information display device 4 ends the out-of-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 a cleaning completion signal to the management device 7, it also transmits the associated ID at the same time. On the other hand, if a player starts playing the gaming machine 2 corresponding to an information display device 4 that is notifying that it is out of operation before the employee starts cleaning the machine, the information display device 4 simply ends the out-of-operation notification and does not resume the cleaning completion display.

[0033] As described above, when the information display device 4 issues a non-operation notification, the conditions for ending the non-operation 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, as employee management information, whether or not an employee has responded to the non-operation notification.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 9, the management device 7 manages the employee management information by storing the following items as one record: No., time, employee ID, machine number, response time, and player release. NO = Indicates the order in which non-operational notifications occurred. Time = Indicates 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 started to when it ended. Player Cancellation = If the non-operation notification is terminated because the player started playing, "O" is recorded, and if the non-operation notification is terminated because an employee performed cleaning work, "X" is recorded. Player Cancellation is information that can identify whether the cause of the termination of the non-operation notification was that the corresponding gaming machine 2 was determined to be in an operating state or that the employee remote control 23 was operated.

[0035] In the employee management information, the response time when a player release is "x" indicates whether the employee responded promptly to the non-operational notification; the shorter the response time, the more prompt the employee responded. The average and total represent the average and total for the entire gaming facility. In the example shown in Figure 9, three employees with employee IDs "001," "002," and "003" are assumed. If the total number of non-operational notifications is "32," the average is "11." If the total response time is "23:16," the average is "00:43." If the total number of player releases is "4," the average is "1.33." As shown in Figure 10, the management device 7 may manage employee management information by employee ID. In the example of FIG. 10, an employee with employee ID = "001" is dealing with 10 occurrences of non-operating 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 passed since the last cleaning operation by managing the time at which the cleaning completion signal is 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 Figures 11 to 15. The information display device 4 performs simultaneous display processing on all machines at a predetermined cycle just before opening, and performs processing to identify non-operating states, processing to determine whether to start non-operating notification, processing to determine whether to end non-operating notification, and processing to resume 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 to start 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). If 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 operation timer is running (S12), and if it determines that the operation timer is not running (S12: NO), it starts the operation timer (S13), and if it determines that the operation timer is running (S13: YES), it restarts the operation timer (S14), ends the specific processing in the non-operating state, and waits for the timing for starting 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 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 for the non-operating state and waits for the start timing of the next specific processing for 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 the non-operating state (S16), ends the specific processing for the non-operating state, and waits for the start timing of the next specific processing for the non-operating state.

[0041] (3) Non-operational notification start determination process The non-operation notification start determination process will be described with reference to FIG. 13. When the timing for starting 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 a non-operation notification is being issued (S21). If the information display device 4 determines that a non-operation notification is not being issued (S21: NO), it determines whether or not the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S22). If 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 timing to start the next non-operation notification start process. If the information display device 4 determines that a non-operation notification is being issued (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 timing to start 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). If 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). If 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 completion signal from the employee remote control 23 (S32: NO), it determines whether the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S35). When the information display device 4 determines that the corresponding gaming machine 2 is in an operating state (S35: YES), it ends the non-operating notification (S36), ends the non-operating notification completion determination process, and waits for the start timing of the next non-operating notification completion determination process.

[0044] (5) Non-operation notification resumption decision process The non-operation notification restart determination process will be described with reference to Fig. 15. When the timing for starting 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 period of time has elapsed since the end of the previous non-operation notification (S42). If the information display device 4 determines that a certain period of time has elapsed since the end of the previous non-operation notification (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 being issued (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 gaming parlor system 1, when the manager of the gaming parlor performs an opening operation to switch the gaming parlor system to an open state and a clear operation to clear the compiled gaming information, a "cleaned" message is displayed on the gaming machine 2, indicating that the gaming machine 2 has been cleaned. This allows players who visit the parlor to be notified that the gaming machine 2 has been cleaned without the need for an employee to patrol the parlor and operate the employee remote control 23 for every gaming machine. Furthermore, by continuing to display the "cleaned" message for a certain period of time immediately after opening, not only players who visit immediately after opening but also players who visit some time after opening can be notified. This appropriately reduces the burden on employees and appropriately provides an environment where players can play with peace of mind.

[0047] Furthermore, when an employee has finished cleaning and operates the employee remote control 23, a "cleaned" message is displayed on the gaming machine 2 to indicate that the machine has been cleaned. This means that even during business hours, players who come to the store can be notified 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] Furthermore, when a gaming machine 2 is in an inoperable state, an inoperable notification is issued, so that employees can easily identify gaming machines 2 that require cleaning work, and can provide appropriate support for employees' cleaning work.

[0049] Furthermore, when it is determined that the gaming machine 2 corresponding to the information display device 4 that is notifying that it is not in operation is in operation, the non-operation notification is terminated and the gaming information is displayed. This prevents 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, thereby appropriately reducing the burden on employees.

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

[0051] Furthermore, an ID corresponding to the 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. This makes it possible to manage whether cleaning work is being done promptly on an employee-by-employee basis, and to appropriately manage the status of cleaning work. It is also possible to identify whether the cause of the non-operation notification was terminated because the gaming machine 2 was in an operating state or because an employee performed cleaning work.

[0052] Furthermore, when a certain amount of time has elapsed since an employee performed cleaning work, if the corresponding gaming machine is in an out-of-operation state, 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. Furthermore, the configurations illustrated in the examples, including modified examples, may be combined in any manner, or may not be adopted as appropriate.

[0054] Although the configuration in which it is determined whether a 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 also be determined whether the gaming machine 2 is in an operating state or a non-operating state based on other gaming signals such as a safe signal transmitted from the gaming machine 2. Furthermore, 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 example shows a configuration in which the employee operates the employee remote control 23 to display the "cleaned" status, the configuration may also be such that the employee holds an IC card over the information display device 4, or that a dedicated operation button is provided for displaying the "cleaned" status, and the employee operates the operation button to display the "cleaned" status. Also, the management device 7 may be configured to display information that can identify whether or not each machine number has been cleaned.

[0056] The certain period of time that serves as the standard for issuing a non-operation notification when 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 employee workload on that business day. That is, if the employee workload excluding cleaning work is relatively light, it is expected that the employee will be able to secure a certain amount of time to spend on cleaning work, so the certain period of time may be set relatively short and the non-operation notification cycle may be set relatively short. On the other hand, if the employee workload excluding cleaning work is relatively heavy, it is expected that the employee will not be able to secure a certain amount of time to spend on cleaning work, so the certain period of time may be set relatively long and the non-operation 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 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 like 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 certain time can be set to shorten that time.

[0057] Furthermore, the certain period of time that is the standard for issuing a non-operation notification when the gaming machine 2 is in a non-operating state may be variable depending on the frequency of machine replacement, which is the frequency at which players are replaced. That is, for a gaming machine 2 where machine replacement is relatively frequent, if the certain period of time is set relatively short, issuing a non-operation notification may discourage the next player from playing. That is, if priority is given to operating the gaming machine 2 over keeping it clean, the certain period of time 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 period of time 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 can be varied on a business day or time period basis depending on the workload of employees on the business day, as described above, or depending on the frequency of machine changes, and can also be varied taking into account various factors such as a gaming island or model.

[0059] Although a slot machine is used as an example of the target gaming machine, the present invention can also be applied to pachinko gaming machines, etc. Furthermore, the present invention can also be applied to so-called enclosed slot machines and pachinko gaming machines, which manage gaming media only by data. In consideration of the so-called enclosed type, gaming media will be expressed as gaming value as necessary.

[0060] Each setting value may be set by an administrator through manual 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 setting value is also input through manual input on the server. Of course, past game information may also be set as a reference value.

[0061] All of the game information exemplified above may be determined directly by the input signal or indirectly by using an arithmetic expression. Also, although pulse signals are used as game signals, other signal inputs such as data signals via 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 park 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, clearing 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 all gaming machines to indicate that they have been cleaned by performing simultaneous display processing on all machines immediately before opening, 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 information display device is provided in correspondence with a target gaming machine, which is a management gaming machine that manages gaming media by data.

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