CN116600865A - Management system - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a management system capable of determining the position of a medal having a cheating RFID tag. The management system (100) is provided with: a camera (21) for capturing a plurality of game pieces each of which has an RFID tag stored with first information and whose surface is marked with second information, and generating an image; an RFID reading device (31) for reading the RFID tags of the plurality of game coins and acquiring first information of the plurality of game coins; an image analysis unit (123) that acquires, based on the image, the positions of the plurality of tokens and second information; and a comparison determination unit (110) that determines the location of the cheating medal by comparing the first information of the plurality of medals acquired by the RFID reader (31) with the second information of each of the plurality of medals acquired by the image analysis unit (123).

Description

Management system

Cross-reference to related applications

In the present application, the benefits of japanese patent application nos. 2020-207691 at 12/15/2020 and 2021-015270 at 2/2021 are claimed, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to a management system for managing medals with RFID in a gaming establishment (e.g., casino) using medals.

Background

Among a plurality of table games played in casinos such as casinos, there is a card game. In casinos, tokens are used in such games.

In a casino, the RFID tag is incorporated in a token to confirm whether or not the payout amount and the payout amount in the game are correct, or to grasp and manage the location of the token or the owner of the token. A game piece with RFID is known, for example, from international application publication No. WO 2008/120749.

Disclosure of Invention

The RFID tag of the RFID-equipped medal stores, for example, identification information for specifying the medal or information indicating the value, the type, the casino used, etc. of the medal. By using the information stored in the RFID tag, the authenticity of the token can be determined. For example, when the information is not read when the game piece is read by the RFID reader, it is determined that the RFID tag has failed or that the game piece has been counterfeited without the RFID tag.

The RFID reader is capable of simultaneously reading RFID tags of a plurality of RFID-bearing tokens (e.g., a plurality of RFID-bearing tokens housed in a dealer token tray of a gaming table). Thus, the RFID has an advantage that a plurality of tokens can be simultaneously checked together without checking tokens one by one. In contrast, with the RFID reader, it is difficult to read a plurality of RFID-equipped medals located nearby.

In the case of simultaneously reading RFID tags of a large number of medals, in the case of a medal having a cheating RFID tag (i.e., an RFID tag failure, no RFID tag, incorrect information stored in the RFID tag, etc.), even if a medal having a cheating RFID tag is known to exist among such a large number of medals, it is difficult to determine which medal has such a problem. If a problematic token is to be determined from a large number of tokens, for example, the RFID tags of tokens need to be read one by a checking device, and such checking takes a long time.

In addition, when the medals are read one by the inspection device, the RFID tags may be read normally, but when the medals are read on a table or a medal tray that is actually used, the RFID tags may not be read correctly. In this case, even if tokens are inspected one by using the inspection device, tokens having such a problem cannot be identified. There are also the following cases: in the case of a failure of an RFID tag or without an RFID tag, it is not even possible to grasp the presence of such a game piece.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a management system capable of determining cheating, broken or cheating medals with these possibilities of RFID tags, or cheating medals with the possibility of cheating or cheating of the table.

A management system according to an aspect of the present invention is configured as follows: a shooting device for shooting a plurality of game coins which are internally provided with RFID tags and the surfaces of which are marked with second information, and generating images, wherein the RFID tags store the first information; a reading device that reads the RFID tags of the plurality of medals, and acquires the first information of the plurality of medals; an image analysis device that acquires the respective positions of the plurality of medals and the second information based on the image; and a control device that determines a position of the RFID tag or the cheating medal that is cheated, broken or has such possibility, or the cheating medal that is indicated as cheating or has possibility, by comparing the first information of the plurality of medals acquired by the reading device and the second information of each of the plurality of medals acquired by the image analysis device.

In the above management system, the control device may determine the position of the cheating token using the token in which the second information not corresponding to the first information is indicated.

In the above management system, the control device may determine the position of the cheating token using the token in which the second information is recorded but the corresponding first information cannot be acquired as the cheating token.

In the above management system, the control device may determine a position of the cheating game piece using the game piece having the RFID tag storing the first information not corresponding to the second information.

In the above management system, the control device may determine the position of the cheating game piece as the game piece having the RFID tag storing the first information but not acquiring the corresponding second information.

In the above management system, the control device may determine whether or not any of the RFID tag and the token is cheating using information other than the first information and the second information of the cheating token.

In the above management system, the medal may have an appearance capable of specifying the kind of the medal, the image analysis device may determine the respective kinds of the plurality of medals based on the image, and the control device may determine whether or not any of the RFID tag and the token is cheated based on the kind determined by the image analysis device for the cheating medal.

In the above management system, the medals may have an appearance capable of determining a kind of the medal, the second information of each of the kinds may be unique, the image analysis means may acquire the second information for each of the plurality of medals based on the image and determine the kind, and the control means may compare the first information, and a combination of the second information and the kind of information.

In the above management system, the medal may have an appearance capable of specifying a kind of the medal, the image analysis device may acquire the second information for each of the plurality of medals based on the image and determine the kind, and the control device may specify the second information using the kind of information determined by the image analysis device and compare the specified second information with the first information when the second information is not read and when it is determined that the cheating medal exists.

In the above management system, the medal may have an appearance capable of determining the kind of the medal on a side surface of the medal.

The management system may further include a storage mechanism capable of storing the plurality of tokens, and the imaging device may be configured to image the plurality of tokens stored in the storage mechanism.

In the above management system, the storage means may be configured to store the plurality of medals in a row.

In the above management system, the storage means may be a medal tray mounted on the gaming table.

In the above management system, the photographing device may be fixed to the game table.

In the above management system, the second information may be expressed in a side surface of the medal.

In the above management system, the second information may be information represented by any one of a matrix pattern, a dot pattern, a bar code, a digital column, and a text column, and the image analysis device may acquire the second information by decoding the matrix pattern, the dot pattern, or the bar code, or by decoding the digital column or the text column.

In the above management system, the first information may be a unique ID for uniquely determining the medal.

In the above management system, the second information may be the same unique ID as the first information.

In the above-described management system, the first information and the second information may be different information, and the management system may further include a database in which a combination of the first information and the second information is recorded for each of the medals, and the control device may perform the comparison by referring to the database.

In the above management system, the second information may be repeated in a part of the plurality of tokens, and when a plurality of identical second information is acquired and the number of identical second information is greater than the number of first information corresponding to the second information, the control device may determine the positions of the plurality of cheating tokens with the plurality of tokens on which the second information is expressed as the cheating tokens.

In the above management system, the second information may be repeated in a part of the plurality of tokens, and when a plurality of identical second information is acquired and the number of identical second information is greater than the number of first information corresponding to the second information, the control device may determine the area of the plurality of cheating tokens by using the plurality of tokens in which the second information is indicated as the cheating token.

In the above management system, the second information may be repeated in a part of the plurality of medals, and the control means may determine the plurality of candidates of the first information in a case where the plurality of candidates of the first information are present and the corresponding second information cannot be acquired.

The management system may further include a display device for displaying the position of the cheating game piece.

In the above management system, the display device may superimpose and display the position in the image.

The management system may further include a storage mechanism that is capable of storing the plurality of tokens at a predetermined storage position, the imaging device may be configured to image the plurality of tokens stored in the storage mechanism, and the display device may be configured to display a number address of the storage position of the cheating token in the storage mechanism.

The management system may further include: a housing mechanism capable of housing the plurality of medals in a row; and a light irradiation device that irradiates light on a specified token among the plurality of tokens stored in the storage mechanism, wherein the imaging device is capable of imaging the plurality of tokens stored in the storage mechanism, and wherein the control device is capable of controlling the light irradiation device to irradiate light on the cheating token whose position is determined.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a management system comprising: a shooting device for shooting a plurality of game coins which are internally provided with RFID tags and the surfaces of which are marked with second information, and generating images, wherein the RFID tags store the first information; a reading device that reads the RFID tags of the plurality of medals, and acquires the first information of the plurality of medals; an image analysis device that acquires the respective positions of the plurality of medals and the second information based on the image; and a control device for determining a position of the second information corresponding to the first information when the first information of the plurality of medals acquired by the reading device has specific first information.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a gaming table to which a management system of an embodiment is applied;

fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image obtained by processing an image captured by the camera of the embodiment;

FIG. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a game piece of the embodiment;

FIG. 3B is a diagram showing another example of the medal of the embodiment;

fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by the camera of the embodiment;

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to an embodiment;

fig. 6 is a diagram showing a comparison determination process performed by the comparison determination unit according to the embodiment;

fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a monitor screen according to the embodiment;

fig. 8 is a diagram showing another example of a monitor screen according to the embodiment;

fig. 9 is a diagram showing a comparison determination process performed by the comparison determination unit according to the embodiment;

fig. 10 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to another embodiment;

fig. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a monitor screen according to the embodiment;

fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of a management system according to another embodiment;

fig. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to another embodiment.

Detailed Description

(first embodiment)

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing a game table to which the management system according to the first embodiment is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the gaming table 50 has a generally rectangular tabletop. Dealer D is located on one side of gaming table 50 and player P participating in the game is located on the other side.

In addition, the table top is laid out with a placement area corresponding to the kind of game. In the example of fig. 1, the gaming table 50 is laid out with a layout for a card game. For each of the plurality of player positions, the table top is divided into placement areas 531 to 536 including a B area, a P area, and a sum area, and is further provided with placement areas for side placement of P pairs, B pairs, and the like. The player P can participate in the game by placing the medal for placement on the placement object (P area, B area, etc.) at the player position.

A medal tray 51 is provided on the dealer side of the game table 50, and the medal tray 51 accommodates medals held by the dealer. The top of the game table 50 houses electronic shoes 52, and the electronic shoes 52 are used to draw out game cards one by one. Further, the game table 50 is provided with a camera 21, a camera 22, and a monitor 40.

The camera 21 is designed to take an image of the medal stored in the medal tray 51 by its optical axis direction, angle of view, and the like. In the example of fig. 1, the camera 21 is fixedly set on the game table 50 so as to capture the medal tray 51 from obliquely above. Fig. 2 is an example of an image obtained by performing a trapezoidal correction or the like on an image captured by the camera 21.

The token tray 51 has a token floating table constituted by a plurality of vertical columns. Each of the columns is capable of accommodating a plurality of medals stacked in the thickness direction thereof and arranged along the column. The vertical bars are formed in a substantially horizontal direction, and the upper half is formed in an open half-pipe shape. The side face of the medal stored in the vertical column can be viewed from the upper side of the medal tray 51.

Fig. 3A is a diagram showing an example of a medal according to the embodiment, and fig. 3B is a diagram showing another example of a medal according to the embodiment. As shown in fig. 3A and 3B, the medal C and the medal C' are side-surface-marked with side IDs as identification information. In the example of fig. 3A, the side IDs are represented by the presence or absence of a plurality of dots (dot matrix pattern). In this example, the side ID is represented by the presence or absence of a dot in a dot sequence composed of 8 dots, and therefore, information to the power of 8 of 2 can be represented. In the example of fig. 3B, the side IDs are represented by digital columns. In this example, since it is represented by 8-bit numbers, information to the power of 10 can be represented. The side ID may be represented by a matrix pattern, a bar code, or a text string. The side ID mark is in the range of 1/6 or less of the circumferential direction of the side face of the medal. A plurality of side IDs are indicated on the side surface of the medal at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction.

The side ID may be a unique ID for uniquely identifying each token, or may be information indicating a group (for example, a value) to which each token belongs, that is, information which can be repeated with other tokens. In particular, in the case where the side ID is represented by a number column, the side ID may be a unique ID, and in the case where the side ID is represented by a dot matrix pattern (dot sequence), the side ID may be information of the group to which the side ID belongs.

The side surface of the medal C is divided into 3 layers in the thickness direction. In the present embodiment, the first layer and the third layer are different colors according to the value of the medal, and the second layer (center line) in the center is a color (for example, black color) common to medals of any value regardless of the value of the medal. The side ID can be represented by printing or laser inscription.

The game currency is internally provided with an RFID tag. The RFID tag records at least information for uniquely identifying the unique ID of the token and the group (for example, value) to which the token belongs. In the present embodiment, the unique ID stored in the RFID tag and the unique ID indicated as the side ID are the same ID, but they may be different IDs, and these two IDs attached to the same token may be associated in the database.

The game chip is provided with a cartridge, and the RFID tag is accommodated in the cartridge. Further, an applique is attached to the outside of the housing compartment, and the applique indicates information on the value of the medal, information on a casino using the medal, and the like. The holding compartment is printed with a unique ID for uniquely identifying the game piece. The unique ID printed on the housing compartment may be the same as or different from the unique ID stored on the RFID tag. In the case where the unique IDs printed in the accommodation compartment are different from the unique IDs stored in the RFID tag, these unique IDs may be stored in association in the database. The unique ID may be printed on the surface of the token under the decal. In addition, the unique ID may be printed on the surface of the medal by invisible ink such as UV ink or infrared absorbing ink.

Returning to fig. 1, the camera 22 is fixedly provided on the game table 50 so as to capture the medals placed in the placement areas 531 to 536. In the present embodiment, all of the placement areas 531 to 536 are imaged by 1 camera 22, but these multiple placement areas 531 to 536 may be imaged in parallel with the imaging by multiple cameras.

Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image captured by the camera 22. In the example of fig. 4, a plurality of stacks of medals placed in a plurality of placement areas are shown. The side face of the medal can be observed even in the image of the camera 22.

Returning to fig. 1, the monitor 40 is configured to display information to the dealer. The monitor 40 may be a display panel, or may be a touch-operable display panel (touch panel).

The electronic shoe 52 is configured to draw cards one by a dealer's operation, and to acquire information on the card face value of the drawn card by reading information from the drawn card. The electronic shoe 52 determines game results (P win, B win, game play, etc.) based on the read card face values and rules of the card game.

The player P plays a game by placing medals on the placement object in the placement area, receives medals paid out from the medal tray 51 by the dealer in the case of winning the game, and collects and stores the placed medals in the medal tray 51 by the dealer in the case of losing the game. In this way, the medals held by the player are stored in the medal tray 51 or the medals stored in the medal tray 51 are paid out to the player according to the game result and the placement content.

Accordingly, it is desirable that the medals stored in the medal tray 51 be able to detect RFID cheating, broken or medals having such possibility, or medals with the possibility of cheating or showing cheating (hereinafter, simply referred to as "cheating medals"). Further, it is also desirable to be able to find cheating tokens with respect to tokens placed in the placement areas 531 to 536. Accordingly, in the present embodiment, a management system is provided that can present information to a dealer that can specify the location of a cheating game piece.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to an embodiment. The medal tray 51 of the game table 50 is provided with the antennas 32, the antennas 331 to 336 are provided so as to correspond to the respective placement areas 531 to 536, and the RFID reader 31 for controlling the antennas 32 and the antennas 331 to 336 is provided. A control device 10 is also provided which controls the overall management system 100.

The control device 10 includes an image analysis unit 123, a comparison determination unit 110, and a comparison result output unit 140. The image analysis unit 123, the comparison determination unit 110, and the comparison result output unit 140 may be realized by executing a specific computer program by a general-purpose information processing device. The computer program may be supplied to the information processing apparatus via a non-transitory storage medium or via a network, and installed in the information processing apparatus.

The image analysis unit 123 receives the captured images generated by the cameras 21 and 22, and performs image analysis on the images to identify information of at least the position, the type, and the side ID of each of the plurality of medals. The image analysis section 123 performs image recognition at least partially using an image recognition engine of the neural network.

For example, in the captured image of the camera 22, since the bundle of tokens exists at an arbitrary place, the image analysis section 123 first extracts the bundle of tokens (or 1 token) from the captured image using a neural network. The image analysis unit 123 extracts the center lines of the plurality of tokens from the extracted portion of the stack using another neural network.

Further, the image analysis unit 123 determines the value of each medal based on the color of the extracted upper and lower sides of the center line. Further, the image analysis unit 123 reads the side ID from the center line portion, decodes the dot pattern to obtain the side ID information in the case of fig. 3A, and interprets the number to obtain the side ID information in the case of fig. 3B.

As shown in fig. 4, the image analysis unit 123 superimposes the information of the recognized value and the side ID on the captured image of the camera 22, and outputs the superimposed information to the comparison determination unit 110. That is, the identified value and side ID are displayed in the captured image, whereby information indicating the position of the identified value and side ID is displayed.

On the other hand, in the captured image of the camera 21, as long as the relationship between the positions and the postures of the camera 21 and the medal tray 51 is fixed, and the medals are accommodated in the vertical columns of the medal tray 51 in a row, the positions (slots) where the medals appear in the captured image are fixed. Thus, the image analysis unit 123 determines the presence or absence of a medal in each slot in the captured image, extracts the center line, determines the value, and acquires the side ID for the slot in which the medal is present, in the same manner as described above.

The same image recognition engine may be used partially or entirely for image recognition of the captured image of the camera 21 and the captured image of the camera 22. In particular, the image recognition engine for extracting the center line, determining the value, and acquiring the side ID may use a common image recognition engine for the captured image of the camera 21 and the captured image of the camera 22.

Each slot in the captured image of the camera 21 is attached with a number address composed of a column number and a segment number. Thus, the image analysis unit 123 outputs the identification list of the side IDs and the representation values identified by the column numbers and the segment numbers to the comparison determination unit 110 for each slot. The column numbers are 1, 2, & gt, and the section numbers are 1, 2, & gt, and 2, & lt, respectively, in order from the left side.

The RFID reader 31 controls the antennas 32, 331 to 336, respectively, and periodically reads the RFID tag at predetermined times or at predetermined time intervals. As described above, in the reading of the RFID tag by the RFID reader 31, each antenna can read a plurality of tokens at once. The RFID reader 31 outputs the value and unique ID read from the RFID tag to the comparison and determination unit 110 for each antenna.

The imaging by the camera 21 and the camera 22 and the reading of the RFID tag by the RFID reading device 31 can be performed synchronously by the control device 10. However, these do not have to be performed exactly at the same time, and the same plurality of medals may be photographed and read at the same time when the medals do not move to the same extent.

The comparison and judgment unit 110 acquires information on the position, value, and side ID of each of the plurality of tokens from the image analysis unit 123, and acquires information on the value and side ID read by each antenna from the RFID reader 31. The comparison and judgment unit 110 acquires information on the position, value, and side ID of the medal in each placement area from the image analysis unit 123 in association with the captured image of the camera 22, and acquires information on the position, value, and side ID of the medal in the medal tray 51 obtained from the captured image of the camera 21.

The comparison and judgment unit 110 acquires information on the value and unique ID of each of the plurality of medals read in each of the medal tray 51 and the placement areas 331 to 336 from the RFID reader 31.

The comparison and judgment unit 110 compares a plurality of unique IDs (hereinafter, referred to as a "first unique ID group") obtained by the RFID reader 31 with a plurality of unique IDs (hereinafter, referred to as a "second unique ID group") obtained by the camera 21 and the image analysis unit 123 for a plurality of tokens in the token tray 51. The comparison determination unit 110 determines, among the unique IDs of the second unique ID group, the following unique IDs: the unique ID does not have a unique ID corresponding to the first unique ID group. That is, the comparison and determination unit 110 extracts unique IDs that do not correspond to any unique ID in the first unique ID group from the plurality of unique IDs in the second unique ID group.

If all of the RFIDs of the medals are normal, such unique ID is not present, but if a medal having a cheating RFID (the correct unique ID is not recorded, the RFID tag itself is not present, or the like) is present, the unique ID of the cheating medal is determined from the second unique ID group. Since each unique ID of the second unique ID group has information (column number and segment number) of its position, the comparison and judgment unit 110 determines the position of the cheating token.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a process of comparison determination by the comparison determination unit 110. In this fig. 6, an example is shown in which the unique ID stored by the RFID tag in the same medal is the same as the unique ID of the side ID. In this example, the unique ID "890123" in the second unique ID group derived from the side ID does not have a unique ID corresponding to the first unique ID group. Therefore, it is possible to determine that the token is a cheating token in which RFID is problematic.

Further, since the unique ID is associated with the position information (column number and segment number), the comparison and judgment unit 110 can determine the position of the cheating token. The comparison determination unit 110 outputs the position information of the cheating token to the comparison result output unit 140. The comparison result output unit 140 generates a monitor screen indicating the position by using the position information obtained from the comparison determination unit 110.

Fig. 7 is a diagram showing an example of the monitor screen generated in the comparison result output unit 140. The comparison result output unit 140 generates a monitor screen 410 indicating the position of the cheating token. The monitor screen 410 is the following screen: for an image obtained by performing image processing such as trapezoidal correction on the captured image generated by the camera 21, a mark 411 indicating a cheating token is superimposed on a position corresponding to the position information of the cheating token.

In the example of fig. 7, the monitor screen is generated by superimposing a mark on the captured image generated by the camera 21, but alternatively, a mark may be added at the position of the cheating medal in the image (the image of the real shot image or the computer graphic image) of the medal tray prepared in advance, thereby generating the monitor screen indicating the position of the cheating medal. In the case of using the computer graphic image, in order to represent the position of the cheating game piece, all the recognized game pieces are drawn at positions corresponding to the real objects through the computer graphic image, and on the basis of this, marks are drawn on the cheating game pieces.

The comparison and judgment unit 110 compares, for each of the plurality of tokens placed in the placement area, a plurality of unique IDs (first unique ID groups) obtained by the RFID reader 31 with a plurality of unique IDs (second unique ID groups) obtained by the camera 22 and the image analysis unit 123. The comparison determination section 110 determines, for each placement area, a unique ID that does not have a unique ID corresponding to the first unique ID group, that is, a unique ID that does not correspond to any unique ID in the first unique ID group, from the unique IDs of the second unique ID group.

If all of the RFID tags of the tokens are normal, such unique ID is not present, but if a cheating token is present, the unique ID of the cheating token is determined from the second unique ID group. The comparison determination unit 110 outputs the information of the specified cheating token to the comparison result output unit 140.

Fig. 8 is a diagram showing an example of the monitor screen generated by the comparison result output unit 140. Since the unique IDs of the second unique ID group are superimposed on the captured image, the comparison result output unit 140 generates the monitor screen 420, and a mark is added to the unique ID superimposed on the captured image on the monitor screen 420. In the example of fig. 8, since the unique ID "833234" is a unique ID that does not exist in the first unique ID group, a box 421 indicating the unique ID becomes a thick line in the monitor screen 420.

The monitor 40 displays the monitor screen 410 or the monitor screen 420 generated by the comparison result output unit 140. The dealer D checks the monitor screen 410 to determine which of the physical medals in the medal tray 51 or the placement areas 531 to 536 is the cheating medal.

If the first unique ID group obtained by the RFID reader 31 does not correspond to the second unique ID group obtained by the camera 22 and the image analyzer 123, but the number of unique IDs of the first unique ID group matches the number of unique IDs of the second unique ID group, the cheating token, which causes such a non-correspondence, is specified on the monitor screen. The determined cheating game chip stores a unique ID in the RFID tag, and the side IDs are indicated on the side surface, so that it is possible to determine which is correct by determining the unique ID printed on the housing compartment built in the cheating game chip. The comparison result output unit 140 obtains the unique ID printed in the storage compartment, and thereby determines which of the unique ID stored in the RFID tag and the side ID indicated on the side is correct and which is cheat.

(second embodiment)

In the above embodiment, the unique IDs are recorded in the RFID tag and the side ID, respectively, and the comparison and determination unit 110 compares the first unique ID group obtained from the RFID tag with the second unique ID group obtained from the side ID to determine unique IDs that do not correspond to each other, in particular, unique IDs of the second unique ID group that do not have unique IDs corresponding to the first unique ID group. In the present embodiment, if information on the group (type) to which the medal belongs is recorded in the side ID, the cheating medal is specified.

That is, in the present embodiment, the side ID of a certain token overlaps another token among the plurality of tokens. Such side IDs are typically value information of the game piece. The value of the medal is, for example, 10 points, 50 points, 100 points, 1000 points, or the like. The image analysis unit 123 analyzes the side IDs based on the captured image, and thereby determines the group (value) of each medal.

Fig. 9 is a diagram illustrating a process of the comparison determination unit 110 in the present embodiment. In the example of fig. 9, information of 3 pieces of 10 medals, 2 pieces of 50 medals, 2 pieces of 100 medals, and 2 pieces of 1000 medals is obtained from the RFID reader 31. On the other hand, the image analysis unit 123 obtains the position information of each of 3 medals 10, 3 medals 50, 2 medals 100, and 2 medals 1000.

As described above, the comparison and determination unit 110 acquires information of the same group, and in the example of fig. 9, the number (3) of side IDs of the group of 50 points is larger than the number (2) of RFIDs of the group of 50 points. In this case, the comparison and judgment unit 110 determines the positions of all tokens having a side ID of 50 points as the cheating tokens, respectively.

In practice, not all of the 3 50-point tokens determined by the side IDs are cheating tokens, but some of them exist. Therefore, in the present embodiment, all of the plurality of tokens that may be cheating are handled as cheating tokens, and the positions of the tokens are determined.

The comparison determination unit 110 outputs information of the group of cheating tokens (in the example of fig. 9, information of 50 points) to the comparison result output unit 140. The comparison result output unit 140 generates a monitor screen indicating the position of the cheating token based on the information. In the monitor screen, the same mark as in the first embodiment may be added to all the tokens belonging to the group individually, or in the case where the tokens of the group are adjacent, the mark may be added to the area where the tokens of the group exist. For example, as shown in fig. 4, in the case where there are a bundle of 100 points game chips and a bundle of 10 points game chips, a mark may be attached to the bundle where there are cheating game chips.

(other embodiments)

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a management system according to another embodiment. In this example, the gaming table is provided with a laser pointer 61, and the laser pointer 61 irradiates laser light to the medal tray 51. The laser pointer 61 is driven by a driving device 62, and can change the laser irradiation direction.

When the comparison result output unit 140 acquires information on the position of the cheating token from the comparison determination unit 110, it generates a drive signal and transmits the drive signal to the drive device 62 so that the laser pointer 61 irradiates the position with laser light. The driving device 62 drives the laser pointer 61 to change its orientation to change the laser irradiation direction of the laser pointer 61 according to the driving signal.

The device for irradiating the cheating medal with light is not limited to the laser pointer 61, and may be another light irradiation device.

Fig. 11 is a diagram showing another example of a monitor screen. In the monitor screen 430, the number address (slot) of the position of the cheating token obtained by the comparison and judgment unit may be represented by characters representing the column number and the segment number. In the example of FIG. 11, the vertical column number of the cheating game chips is "4", and the segment number is "13". By such a monitor screen 430, the dealer can determine which of the plurality of physical medals present on the medal tray 51 is the cheating medal.

Fig. 12 is a diagram showing an example of still another management system. In this example, each slot of the coin tray 51' is provided with an indicator light. These indicator lamps are turned on or off by a driving device not shown. The comparison result output unit 140 outputs information of the serial number address of the cheating token to the drive device. The driving device drives the indicator lamp to turn on only the indicator lamp of the number address designated by the comparison result output section 140.

According to this example, the dealer D can specify the position of the cheating medal by visually confirming the lighting of the indicator lamp provided to the medal tray 51'.

Fig. 13 is a diagram showing a configuration of a management system according to another embodiment. In this example, the RFID tag records a unique ID, with the side ID representing information of value. The management system 100' is provided with a database 200. In the database 200, a unique ID is stored in association with a value for each token.

The comparison and judgment unit 110 can acquire information of the corresponding value by referring to the database 200 for the unique ID obtained by the RFID reader 31. The comparison and judgment unit 110 obtains information on the value and the position indicated by the side ID from the image analysis unit 123. Thus, the positions of the plurality of cheating tokens can be determined by the same method as that described with respect to fig. 9.

In the above embodiment, the case where the position of the RFID-problematic cheating token is specified has been described, but conversely, there is a case where the RFID tag is read but the corresponding side ID cannot be acquired. That is, when the RFID and the side ID are unique IDs (see fig. 6), the following unique IDs exist among the unique IDs of the first unique ID group: the unique ID does not have a unique ID corresponding to the second unique ID group. For example, the side ID cannot be acquired from the captured image by image analysis.

In this case, the comparison and determination unit 110 detects the presence of such a medal, and reports the detected medal to the comparison result output unit 140. The comparison result output unit 140 receives the report and generates a monitor screen in the case where such a medal exists, and displays the monitor screen on the monitor 40.

Even when the comparison and determination unit 110 compares the information of the group to which the medal belongs (see fig. 9), the number of RFIDs read by the RFID reading device 31 may be larger than the number of side IDs. For example, the RFID knows that there are 3 tokens for 50 points, but only 2 tokens for 50 points are identified by the side ID. In this case, since a group (for example, 50 points) in which such a problem occurs can be specified, the comparison result output unit 140 can generate a monitor screen indicating the position or area of the group.

In the above embodiment, the side ID is information indicating a unique ID or information indicating a type (value), and for example, the side ID may be allowed to be a unique ID between tokens of the same value and be the same ID as tokens of different values. In this case, the image analysis unit 123 can determine the value based on the colors of the first layer and the third layer on the side surface of the token (that is, based on information other than the side ID grasped by the image), and can uniquely identify the token by identifying the side ID.

In this case, the database 200 stores RFID, side ID, and value information in association with each other for each game piece. The comparison and determination unit 110 refers to the database 200 to determine a unique ID corresponding to the combination of the side ID and the value, and compares the determined unique ID with the unique ID read from the RFID tag.

Further, in the above embodiment, when the side IDs are overlapped in a part of the plurality of tokens, as shown in fig. 9, although one piece of cheating token is known to exist, the one piece of cheating token cannot be specified, and therefore, all the tokens having the possibility of cheating are handled as the cheating tokens, and similarly, the value is judged based on the colors of the first layer and the third layer on the side face of the token, and the number of the tokens having the possibility of cheating can be reduced.

For example, when the side ID indicates any of 256 types of identification numbers by 8 dots, and the RFID tag also records the same identification number as the side ID and also records the value of the medal, if the number (for example, "012") of certain identification numbers read from the RFID tag is smaller (for example, 2 pieces) than the number (for example, "012") of the identification numbers read from the side ID (for example, 3 pieces), all of the 3 medals having the identification numbers are determined as the cheating medals according to the above embodiment.

Therefore, the comparison and determination unit 110 can reduce the possibility of the cheating by further referring to the information of the value of the medal determined by the image analysis unit 123, thereby determining the number of medals to be the cheating medals. For example, if 2 tokens having the identification number "012" read from the RFID tag have values of 10 points and 100 points, and the image analysis unit 123 judges that 3 tokens having the identification number "012" have values of 10 points, 50 points, and 100 points based on the colors of the first layer and the third layer, it can be judged that there is a cheat in the RFID of the token having a value of 50 points among the 3 tokens.

In this way, when the side ID is allowed to be repeated with the side IDs of other medals, the comparison and determination unit 110 reduces the number of candidates for the cheating medals based on the information other than the side IDs obtained by the image analysis unit 123, or uniquely determines the number of cheating medals as in the above example.

In this example, the same identification number may be repeatedly present in a plurality of medals of the same value. For example, any one of the "001" to "256" identification numbers is assigned to a plurality of medals of the same value, and as a result, the medal tray may include a plurality of medals of the same value and the same identification number. Even in this case, the candidates for the cheating tokens can be reduced in value, and if there are a plurality of tokens with possibility of cheating, the dealer may be presented with the result that all of the plurality of tokens are handled as cheating tokens and the positions thereof are determined.

Further, in the case where the side ID is not completely read and in the case where it is determined that there is a cheating medal, the side ID may be determined using the value information of the medal. For example, when there are 10 medals with a side ID of "120" and 100 medals with a side ID of "121" and there are no medals with a side ID of "122" to "129", the comparison and judgment unit 110 sets the side ID of the medal to "120" and compares the side ID with the RFID when the side ID is "12X" (X is indeterminate) and the value is judged to be 10.

In addition, in the case of detecting a cheating game piece in which the side ID does not correspond to the RFID, it is possible to determine which of the side ID and the unique ID is cheating using the value information. In this case, the database 200 stores the side ID, RFID, and value information in association with each other for each medal. In the database 200, when the value associated with the side ID having no unique ID corresponding to the first unique ID group read from the RFID tag matches the value determined by the image analysis unit 123 for the medal having the side ID, the comparison determination unit 110 determines that the side ID is correct, and the RFID tag is cheating. In the database 200, if the value associated with the RFID having the side ID corresponding to the second unique ID group matches the value determined by the image analysis unit 123 for the medal having the side ID, the comparison and determination unit 110 determines that the RFID is correct and that the side ID is cheat.

In the above embodiment, the position of the cheating token is determined, but it is also possible to specify any specific unique ID by using the configuration of the management system 100 described above, and determine the position of the token having the unique ID. Specifically, in such a management system, when a specific unique ID exists among the unique IDs (first unique ID group) of the plurality of tokens acquired by the RFID reading device 31, the comparison determination unit 110 determines the position of the token having the side ID corresponding to the unique ID.

In the above embodiment, the system for managing medals on the gaming table was described, but the management system may be applied to a place other than the gaming table. For example, the management system may be applied in the back office of a casino, counter, etc.

In the above embodiment, the system for managing tokens has been described, but the system can be applied to other game items in which RFID can be incorporated.

In the above embodiment, the camera 21 for capturing the medals stored in the medal tray 51, the camera 22 for capturing the medals placed in the placement areas 531 to 536, and the monitor 40 for displaying information to the dealer are fixed to the game table 50, respectively. Some or all of the cameras 21, 22, and the monitor 40 may not be fixed to the game table. For example, the camera 22 and the monitor 40 may be mounted on a hand-held information processing terminal such as a tablet computer or a smart phone.

For example, in the case where the information processing terminal is a tablet pc, the camera 22 is provided on the back surface of the tablet pc, and the front surface thereof serves as the monitor 40 as a touch panel. The tablet computer is connected with the control device 10 by wire or wirelessly. It should be noted that even the functions of the control device 10 may be installed in the tablet computer. In this case, the tablet computer may be connected to the RFID reading device 31 by wire or wirelessly.

If the dealer or casino personnel holds the tablet computer on the medal tray 51 and orients the camera 22 toward the medal tray 51, the captured images of the medal tray 51 and the medals received therein are displayed on the monitor 40. The image analysis unit 123 analyzes the captured image, the comparison determination unit 110 compares the information read by the RFID reader 31 with the information recognized by the image analysis unit 123, and the comparison result output unit 140 superimposes the comparison result on the captured image to generate a display image and outputs the display image to the monitor 40.

According to the structure, the comparison result is displayed on the touch panel of the tablet computer. The capturing of the image may be performed in response to an operation of the capture button, or may be performed continuously. In the case of capturing images continuously, a screen on which the comparison result is superimposed is displayed on the monitor 40 in real time.

In the above embodiment, the medal having the unique ID obtained by the image analysis of the image analysis unit 123 but not obtained by the RFID reading device 31 is determined as the cheating medal. If the RFID tag is not incorporated in the game piece or if the RFID tag incorporated in the game piece is damaged, the RFID reader cannot read the unique ID of the RFID tag, and the RFID reader 31 may not read the RFID tag stably due to degradation or partial failure of the placement mode of the game piece.

Accordingly, the RFID reading device 31 can repeatedly read the RFID tag at prescribed time intervals. In the case of unstable reading, there are cases where the unique ID can be read from the RFID tag and cannot be read in repeated reading. In this case, the comparison and determination unit 110 may treat the medal whose unique ID is read once as a normal medal, or treat the medal having the unique ID read unstably as a cheating medal. The comparison determination unit 110 and the comparison result output unit 140 can treat the token whose unique ID is not stably read as a cheating token, and can distinguish the token whose unique ID is not completely read from the token whose unique ID is not stably read, and can output the comparison result.

In the case of reading an RFID tag of a large number of medals with 1 antenna, unstable reading as described above may occur. According to the above example, it is possible to determine a medal having an RFID tag that is unstable in reading from among a large number of medals.

Symbol description:

10. control device

21. Video camera

22. Video camera

31RFID reader

32. 331-336 antenna

40. Monitor

50. Game table

51. Game coin tray

52. Electronic boot

100. Management system

110. Comparison and determination unit

123. Image analysis unit

140. Comparison result output unit

200. Database for storing data

531-536 placement areas

C game coin

D dealer

P players.

Claims (27)

1. A management system is provided with:

a shooting device for shooting a plurality of game coins which are internally provided with RFID tags and the surfaces of which are marked with second information, and generating images, wherein the RFID tags store the first information;

a reading device that reads the RFID tags of the plurality of medals, and acquires the first information of the plurality of medals;

an image analysis device that acquires the respective positions of the plurality of medals and the second information based on the image; and

and a control device that determines a position of the RFID tag or a cheating medal that is or has a possibility of cheating by comparing the first information of the plurality of medals acquired by the reading device with the second information of each of the plurality of medals acquired by the image analysis device.

2. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

The control device may determine a position of the cheating token using the token in which the second information not corresponding to the first information is indicated as the cheating token.

3. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the control device determines the position of the cheating game piece by using the game piece on which the second information is recorded but the corresponding first information cannot be acquired as the cheating game piece.

4. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the control device determines a position of the cheating game piece as the game piece having the RFID tag storing the first information which does not correspond to the second information.

5. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the control device determines the position of the cheating game piece by using the game piece having the RFID tag storing the first information but not acquiring the corresponding second information as the cheating game piece.

6. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

for the cheating game chip, the control device determines whether or not any of the RFID tag and the token is cheating using information other than the first information and the second information of the cheating game chip.

7. The management system of claim 6, wherein,

the medal has an appearance capable of determining the kind of the medal,

the image analysis means determines respective kinds of the plurality of medals based on the image,

for the cheating game piece, the control device determines whether or not any of the RFID tag and the token is cheating based on the type determined by the image analysis device.

8. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the medal has an appearance capable of determining the kind of the medal,

the second information of each of the categories is unique,

the image analysis means acquires the second information for each of the plurality of medals based on the image and determines the kind,

the control means compares the first information and the combination of the second information and the kind of information.

9. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the medal has an appearance capable of determining the kind of the medal,

the image analysis means acquires the second information for each of the plurality of medals based on the image and determines the kind,

When the second information is not read and it is determined that the cheating game piece exists, the control device determines the second information by using the type of information determined by the image analysis device, and compares the determined second information with the first information.

10. The management system according to any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein,

the medal has an appearance capable of determining the kind of the medal on the side face of the medal.

11. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

further comprises a storage mechanism capable of storing the plurality of game coins,

the image pickup device picks up images of the plurality of medals stored in the storage means.

12. The management system of claim 11, wherein,

the storage mechanism has a structure in which the plurality of medals are stored in a row.

13. The management system of claim 11, wherein,

the storage mechanism is a game coin tray assembled on the game table.

14. The management system of claim 13, wherein,

the shooting device is fixed on the game table.

15. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

The second information is expressed on the side of the game coin.

16. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the second information is information represented by any one of a matrix pattern, a dot pattern, a bar code, a digital column, and a text column,

the image analysis device decodes the matrix pattern, the dot matrix pattern, or the barcode, or decodes the digital string or the text string, thereby acquiring the second information.

17. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the first information is a unique ID for uniquely determining the game.

18. The management system of claim 17, wherein,

the second information is the same unique ID as the first information.

19. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the first information and the second information are different information,

the management system further includes a database in which a combination of the first information and the second information is recorded for each of the medals,

the control means performs the comparison by referring to the database.

20. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

In a portion of the plurality of tokens, the second information is repeated,

when a plurality of identical pieces of second information are acquired and the number of identical pieces of second information is greater than the number of pieces of first information corresponding to the pieces of second information, the control device determines the positions of the plurality of cheating medals using the plurality of medals on which the pieces of second information are indicated as the cheating medals.

21. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

in a portion of the plurality of tokens, the second information is repeated,

when a plurality of identical pieces of second information are acquired and the number of identical pieces of second information is greater than the number of pieces of first information corresponding to the pieces of second information, the control device determines the areas of the plurality of cheating medals by using the plurality of medals on which the pieces of second information are indicated as the cheating medals.

22. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

in a portion of the plurality of tokens, the second information is repeated,

in the case where there are a plurality of candidates of the first information and the corresponding second information cannot be acquired, the control device determines the plurality of candidates of the first information.

23. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

and a display device for displaying the position of the cheating game currency.

24. The management system of claim 23, wherein,

the display device displays the position in the image in a superimposed manner.

25. The management system of claim 23, wherein,

further comprises a storage mechanism capable of storing the plurality of medals in a predetermined storage position,

the shooting device shoots the plurality of game coins stored in the storage mechanism,

the display device displays the serial number address of the storage position of the cheating game currency in the storage mechanism.

26. The management system of claim 1, wherein,

the management system further includes:

a housing mechanism capable of housing the plurality of medals in a row; and

a light irradiation device for irradiating light to a specified game piece among the game pieces accommodated in the accommodating mechanism,

the shooting device shoots the plurality of game coins stored in the storage mechanism,

the control device controls the light irradiation device to irradiate light to the cheating game piece for which the position is determined.

27. A management system is provided with:

a shooting device for shooting a plurality of game coins which are internally provided with RFID tags and the surfaces of which are marked with second information, and generating images, wherein the RFID tags store the first information;

a reading device that reads the RFID tags of the plurality of medals, and acquires the first information of the plurality of medals;

an image analysis device that acquires the respective positions of the plurality of medals and the second information based on the image; and

and a control unit configured to determine a position of the second information corresponding to the first information when the first information of the plurality of medals acquired by the reading unit has specific first information.