Game monitoring system

Abstract

The invention provides a game monitoring system for monitoring a game in a real table game. A game monitoring system (100) is provided with: a coin ID determination unit (22) for determining the coin ID of a coin (50) when the coin (50) to which the coin ID has been added is located in a placement area (112) on a game table (110); a first camera (11) that captures an image of a player playing a game on the game table (110) and the game coins (50) on the game table (110) and generates a first image; a player detection unit (23) that detects a player from the first image; a game coin detection unit (21) that detects a game coin from the first image; a first association unit (25) that associates the game currency detected by the game currency detection unit (21) with the player detected by the player detection unit (23) as the player placing the game currency; a second association unit (26) that associates the coin ID of the coin identified by the coin ID identification unit (22) with the player associated with the coin by the first association unit (25); and a recording unit (28) that records the coin ID of the coin and the image combination of the player associated with the coin ID of the coin by the second association unit (26).

Description

[0001] Divisional application

[0002] This application is a divisional application of a patent application with an application date of August 16, 2023, an application number of 202380060339.8, and an invention title of "Game Monitoring System".

[0003] Cross-reference of related applications

[0004] This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-130332, filed on August 18, 2022, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0005] The present invention relates to a game monitoring system for monitoring games. Background Art

[0006] Conventionally, in games played in casinos and the like, games played by players are monitored to detect cheating, perform customer ratings, etc. All of the game, the placement made by the player, the settlement for the placement, etc. are carried out electronically, so that the result of the game, the placement made by the player, the player's win or loss and the amount thereof can be grasped as electronic information. As an example of a document related to the prior art, WO 2022 / 085706 is cited. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In a real tabletop game using a physical game table, game cards, and game coins, there is also a desire to monitor the game and grasp the amount placed by the player, the amount won, the amount lost, etc. For this purpose, in a conventional game monitoring system, by embedding RFID in the game coins and reading the RFID in the placement area of the game table or the game coin tray, the movement of the game coins on the game table is monitored, or the player is asked to present a membership card to identify the player.

[0008] An object of the present invention is to provide a game monitoring system for monitoring games in a real tabletop game.

[0009] The game monitoring system of the first mode has the following structure, which includes: a game coin ID determination mechanism that determines the game coin ID of the game coin when the game coin with the game coin ID attached is located in a specified area on the game table; a photographing mechanism that photographs the player playing the game on the game table and the game coin on the game table and generates an image; a player detection mechanism that detects the player from the image; a game coin detection mechanism that detects the game coin from the image; a first association mechanism that associates the first game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism with the player detected by the player detection mechanism as the player who placed the first game coin; a second association mechanism that associates the game coin ID of the first game coin determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism with the player associated with the first game coin through the first association mechanism; and a recording mechanism that records the combination of the game coin ID of the first game coin and the image of the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism.

[0010] According to this structure, for the game coin located in the specified area on the game table, since the game coin ID is associated with the player who placed the game coin and recorded, it is possible to monitor the game in a real tabletop game.

[0011] The game monitoring system of the second mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the first mode, and this structure further includes: a storage mechanism that stores the game coin ID of the game coin in association with its owner; and a comparison mechanism that compares the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism with the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism, and outputs a signal indicating inconsistency when the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism and the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism are inconsistent.

[0012] According to this structure, for the game coin placed in the specified area on the game table, when the person stored as the owner of the game coin and the person determined to be the player who placed the game coin based on the image are inconsistent, this situation can be reported.

[0013] The game monitoring system of the third mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the second mode: The player is attached with a player ID, and the game monitoring system further includes a player ID determination mechanism that determines the player ID of the player detected by the player detection mechanism. The storage mechanism stores the game coin ID of the game coin in association with the player ID of the player who is the owner of the game coin. The comparison mechanism compares the player ID of the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism with the player ID determined by the player ID determination mechanism for the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism. When the player ID of the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism is inconsistent with the player ID of the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism, a signal indicating the inconsistency is output.

[0014] According to this structure, for the game coins placed in the specified area of the game table, when the ID of the person stored as the owner of the game coin is inconsistent with the ID of the person determined as the player who placed the game coin based on the image, this situation can be reported.

[0015] The game monitoring system of the fourth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the second mode: The storage mechanism stores the game coin ID of the game coin in association with the facial information of the owner of the game coin. The comparison mechanism compares the facial information associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism with the facial information extracted from the image for the player associated with the first game coin through the second association mechanism. When the facial information associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism is inconsistent with the facial information extracted from the image for the player associated with the first game coin through the second association mechanism, a signal indicating the inconsistency is output.

[0016] According to this structure, for the game coins placed in the specified area of the game table, when the facial information of the person stored as the owner of the game coin is inconsistent with the facial information of the person determined as the player who placed the game coin based on the image, this situation can be reported.

[0017] The game monitoring system of the fifth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the second mode. This structure also includes a control mechanism, which is configured to rewrite the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism as the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism when the comparison mechanism determines that the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism is inconsistent with the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism.

[0018] According to this structure, it is possible to rewrite the owner stored in association with the game coin ID of the game coin as the correct owner.

[0019] The game monitoring system of the sixth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the second mode. This structure also includes an update mechanism, which rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the paid game coin paid by the dealer in the storage mechanism as the player associated with the paid game coin through the second association mechanism.

[0020] According to this structure, it is possible to rewrite the owner stored in association with the game coin ID of the game coin paid by the dealer as the player who receives the payment of this game coin.

[0021] The game monitoring system of the seventh mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the second mode. This structure also includes an update mechanism, which rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the paid game coin paid by the dealer in the storage mechanism as the player associated with the first game coin that has moved out of the specified area together with the paid game coin through the second association mechanism.

[0022] According to this structure, it is possible to rewrite the owner stored in association with the game coin ID of the game coin paid by the dealer as the player who placed the game coin and is the object of payment of this game coin.

[0023] The game monitoring system of the eighth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of any one of the first mode to the seventh mode: The game coin is equipped with an RFID tag storing the game coin ID, and the game coin ID determination mechanism determines the game coin ID of the game coin by reading the game coin ID from the RFID tag.

[0024] According to this structure, it is possible to determine the game coin ID by RFID.

[0025] The game monitoring system of the ninth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of any one of the first mode to the eighth mode: The game coin has a mark of the game coin ID on its side, and the game coin ID determination mechanism determines the game coin ID of the game coin by detecting the game coin from the image showing the game coin and interpreting the game coin ID on the side of the detected game coin.

[0026] According to this structure, the game coin ID can be determined by the mark on the side.

[0027] The game monitoring system of the tenth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the first mode: The player detection mechanism detects the hand of the player, and the first association mechanism associates the hand of the player detected by the player detection mechanism with the game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism based on the positional relationship between them.

[0028] According to this structure, the game coin ID of the game coin can be associated with the player based on the positional relationship between the hand and the game coin.

[0029] The game monitoring system of the eleventh mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the first mode: The game coin ID determination mechanism detects the game coin from the second image generated by the photographing mechanism and determines the game coin ID of the detected game coin. The game coin detection mechanism detects the game coin from the first image different from the second image generated by the photographing mechanism. The second association mechanism determines the game coin located at the same position as the first game coin based on the relationship between the position of the game coin detected by the game coin ID determination mechanism in the second image and the position of the game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism in the first image.

[0030] According to this structure, the game coin located at the same position can be determined as the same game coin from the two images.

[0031] The game monitoring system of the twelfth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the eleventh mode. The photographing mechanism includes: a first camera for generating the first image and a second camera different from the first camera for generating the second image. The second association mechanism determines the game coin located at the same position as the first game coin by converting the position of the game coin detected by the game coin ID determination mechanism in the second image and the position of the game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism in the first image into a common coordinate space.

[0032] According to this structure, by mapping the game coins in one of the two images to the other image, it is possible to determine the game coins located at the same position as the same game coin.

[0033] The game monitoring system of the thirteenth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the first mode: the game coin ID determination mechanism determines the position of the game coin for which the game coin ID has been determined on the game table, the game coin detection mechanism determines the position of the game coin detected from the image on the game table, and the second association mechanism determines the game coin located at the same position as the first game coin based on the position determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism and the position determined by the game coin detection mechanism.

[0034] According to this structure, it is possible to determine the game coins located at the same position as the same game coin based on the positions of the game coins in the two images on the game table.

[0035] The game monitoring system of the fourteenth mode has the following structure based on the game monitoring system of the first mode: the game coin ID determination mechanism determines the moment when the game coin for which the game coin ID has been determined is placed on the game table, the game coin detection mechanism determines the moment when the game coin detected from the image is placed on the game table, and the second association mechanism determines the game coin placed on the game table at the same moment as the first game coin based on the moment determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism and the moment determined by the game coin detection mechanism.

[0036] According to this structure, it is possible to determine that the game coin determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism and the game coin determined by the game coin detection mechanism are the same game coin based on the moment when the game coin is placed on the game table. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Figure 1 is a view showing a game table of a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 2 is a view showing a side surface of a game coin according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 3 is a top view of a game coin according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 5 is a view showing an example of the association of a first association unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed implementation mode

[0042] Hereinafter, the ways for implementing the invention are described. However, the implementation modes described below are merely simple examples, and the present invention is not limited to the implementation modes described below. In addition, the elements of multiple implementation modes can be combined arbitrarily.

[0043] Figure 1 It is a diagram of a game table of a game monitoring system according to an implementation mode to which the present invention is applied. As Figure 1 shown, the game monitoring system 100 of the present implementation mode can be applied to a game table 110 in a casino or the like.

[0044] The game table 110 has a substantially oval tabletop 111. The dealer is located on one side of the tabletop 111, and a player position is provided on the opposite side. Multiple players can be located at the player position. A placement area 112 for each player position is provided at each player position. In the present implementation mode, the game table 110 is a game table for a certain card game. The placement area 112 includes placement target areas for each of the player, the banker, a tie, a player pair, and a banker pair as placement targets.

[0045] The game table 110 is provided with a first camera 11 and a second camera 12. The viewing angle and direction of the first camera 11 are set so as to be able to photograph the placement area 112, the game coins placed in the placement area 112 (placed game coins), and the players playing the game on the game table 110. The viewing angle and direction of the second camera 12 are set so as to be able to photograph the placement area 112 and the game coins placed in the placement area 112 (placed game coins), and the game coins are displayed larger compared to the first camera 11. The first camera 11 and the second camera 12 are installed on rods 113 and 114 provided on the game table 110. It should be noted that, in order to share the shooting range, multiple first cameras 11 and multiple second cameras 12 can be provided.

[0046] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing a side view of a game coin according to an implementation mode of the present invention, Figure 3 is a top view of a game coin according to an implementation mode of the present invention. As Figure 2 shown, a center line 51 is provided at the center in the thickness direction on the side of the game coin 50. The color of the center line 51 indicates the type (value) of the game coin 50. Thus, by observing the side of the game coin 50, the value of the game coin 50 can be known by virtue of the color of the center line 51.

[0047] The center line 51 indicates the game coin ID for determining the game coin 50 as code information. In the game coin 50 of the present embodiment, the code information indicating the game coin ID is represented by the presence or absence of a plurality of dots arranged in two rows up and down. That is, binary information is represented by the presence or absence of dots up and down in each column, and information of 5 bytes is represented by a dot matrix of 20 columns. It should be noted that the plurality of dots indicating the game coin ID can be printed on the side surface of the game coin 50 with an ink that cannot be visually confirmed under natural light but can be visualized by irradiating infrared rays or ultraviolet rays.

[0048] As Figure 3 shown, the surface and the back surface of the game coin 50 are marked with numbers indicating its value. Of course, the numbers correspond to the colors of the center lines on the side surface.

[0049] Figure 4 is a block diagram showing the structure of a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The game monitoring system 100 further includes an information processing device 20 and a database 40 in addition to the above-described first camera 11 and second camera 12. The first camera 11 and the second camera 12 are respectively communicably connected to the information processing device 20. In addition, the information processing device 20 is communicably connected to the database 40.

[0050] The information processing device 20 can be provided for each game table 110, or the first camera 11 and the second camera 12 respectively provided for a plurality of game tables 110 can be connected to one information processing device 20. In addition, the database 40 can be respectively provided for a plurality of game tables 110, or one database 40 can be provided for a plurality of game tables 110. In addition, the database 40 can be provided on the cloud.

[0051] The first camera 11 and the second camera 12 respectively take pictures and generate images when a player places the game coin 50 in the placement area 112 of the game table 110 until the moment when the game coin 50 is placed in the placement area 112 and the game starts (that is, from then on, the moment when the game coin 50 is not allowed to be moved).

[0052] The information processing device 20 is a computer composed of a memory serving as a temporary storage area, a processor that performs calculations corresponding to input signals according to the information processing program of the present embodiment, and a storage device that stores various data. The database 40 includes a storage device and a processing device, and the processing device performs processing such as retrieving and updating the information stored in the storage device.

[0053] The information processing device 20 has by executing the information processing program of the present embodiment Figure 4The various functions shown. Specifically, the information processing device 20 includes a game coin detection unit 21, a game coin ID determination unit 22, a player detection unit 23, a player ID determination unit 24, a first association unit 25, a second association unit 26, a comparison unit 27, a recording unit 28, a rewriting control unit 29, and an update unit 30.

[0054] The game coin detection unit 21 obtains an image captured by the first camera 11 (hereinafter referred to as the "first image"). From this first image, the game coin detection unit 21 detects a game coin group area including a game coin group. When the game coins 50 placed in the placement area 112 of the game table 110 are stacked in the placement area 112, the game coin detection unit 21 detects the area including the stack of the placed game coins as the game coin group area (game coin stack area). Specifically, the game coin detection unit 21 detects a rectangular frame including the game coin group as the game coin group area.

[0055] The game coin detection unit 21 detects a game coin area corresponding to each game coin from the detected game coin group area. At this time, the game coin detection unit 21 can use the center line 51 on the side of the game coin 50 to detect each game coin area. That is, the game coin detection unit 21 can determine the position and size of the game coin area based on the position and length of the center line 51.

[0056] The game coin ID determination unit 22 obtains an image captured by the second camera 12 (hereinafter referred to as the "second image"). And, the game coin ID determination unit 22, like the game coin detection unit 21, detects a game coin group area and a game coin area from this second image. The game coin ID determination unit 22 performs code recognition on the detected game coin areas and interprets the code information of each game coin 50. Thus, the game coin ID determination unit 22 determines the game coin ID of each game coin area, and in this way, determines all the game coin IDs included in each game coin group area. At this time, the game coin ID determination unit 22 can detect the center line 51 of the game coin 50, and further perform code recognition in the area of the detected center line 51.

[0057] As an alternative to this, the game coin ID determination unit 22 can be an RFID system that determines the game coin ID of the game coins placed in the placement area 112 through RFID. In this case, an RFID tag storing the game coin ID of the game coin is built into the game coin. The RFID system includes an antenna and a reader. The antenna is buried under the tabletop 111 at a position corresponding to each placement area 112. The reader is connected to the antenna and obtains the game coin ID from the signal read by the antenna.

[0058] The game coin detection unit 21 determines the position of the detected game coin group area and the time when the game coin group area is detected. On this basis or as an alternative thereto, the game coin ID determination unit 22 determines the position of the game coin 50 for which the game coin ID has been determined on the game table. In addition, the game coin ID determination unit 22 determines the time when the game coin 50 for which the game coin ID has been determined is placed on the game table.

[0059] The player detection unit 23 detects a player from the first image obtained by photographing with the first camera 11. At this time, the player detection unit 23 detects the entire player including the face, upper body, wrist, and hand from the first image, and extracts a bone model composed of the face area of the player and each key point of the upper body, wrist, and hand. The player detection unit 23 identifies the face area and the bone model of the same player, and even multiple key points constituting the bone model, as belonging to one player.

[0060] The player ID determination unit 24 determines the player ID by performing face authentication on the face area of the first image detected by the player detection unit 23. The player determined by the player ID determination unit 24 is previously registered with an image of his / her face and is assigned a player ID. The player ID determination unit 24 determines which registered player the face in the face area is by using face authentication technology. It should be noted that in the case where the result of face authentication does not determine which registered player it is, the player ID determination unit 24 determines the player in the face area, that is, the player displayed in the player area as an unregistered player.

[0061] A player can be registered by his / her player ID or by his / her face information. In the case where the player is registered by the player ID, the player ID determination unit 24 determines the player ID of the player whose face area is detected from the first image. In the case where the player is registered by face information, the player ID determination unit 24 determines the face information of the player whose face image is detected from the first image. Among them, the face information can be the face image of the player or can be a feature amount extracted from the face image of the player.

[0062] The first association unit 25 associates the first game coin detected by the game coin detection unit 21 with the player detected by the player detection unit 23 as the player who placed the first game coin. Specifically, the first association unit 25 associates the two based on the positional relationship between the hand of the player detected by the player detection unit 23 and the game coin 50 detected by the game coin detection unit 21.

[0063] Figure 5This is a diagram showing an example of the association of the first association unit of an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, from the same image such as the first image 90 captured by the first camera 11, the game coin detection unit 21 detects the game coin group areas c1 and c2, and the player detection unit 23 detects the players P1 and P2. The first association unit 25 determines the combination of the hand and the game coin group area based on the distances between the hands p11 and p21 of the players P1 and P2 detected by the player detection unit 23 and the game coin group areas c1 and c2, and then determines the combination of the player and the game coin group area.

[0064] In Figure 5 this example, since the distance between the reference point cp1 of the game coin group area c1 and the hand p11 of the player P1 is equal to or less than the specified threshold value, the first association unit 25 associates the game coin group area c1 with the player P1. In addition, since the distance between the reference point cp2 of the game coin group area c2 and the hand p21 of the player P2 is equal to or less than the specified threshold value, the first association unit 25 associates the game coin group area c2 with the player P2. It should be noted that the reference point may be the center of the lower side of the rectangular frame constituting the game coin group area.

[0065] As described above, since the player detection unit 23 recognizes the facial areas f1 and f2 of the same player and the bone models sm1 and sm2 including a plurality of key points as belonging to the same player, the first association unit 25 can associate the game coin group area with the facial area, the bone model, and even each key point.

[0066] The second association unit 26 associates the game coin ID of the game coin 50 determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22 with the player associated with the game coin 50 through the first association unit 25. Specifically, the second association unit 26 first determines that the game coin 50 detected by the game coin detection unit 21 is the same game coin as the game coin 50 detected and determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22. To this end, the second association unit 26 determines the game coin 50 located at the same position as the same game coin 50 based on the relationship between the position of the game coin 50 detected by the game coin ID determination unit 22 in the second image and the position of the game coin 50 detected by the game coin detection unit 21 in the first image.

[0067] More specifically, the second association unit 26 determines the game coin groups located at the same position as the same game coin 50 by converting the position of the game coin group area detected by the game coin detection unit 21 in the first image into the position in the second image. Alternatively, the second association unit 26 may determine the game coin groups located at the same position as the same game coin 50 by converting the position of the game coin group area detected by the game coin ID determination unit 22 in the second image into the position in the first image. Or, the second association unit 26 may determine the game coin groups located at the same position as the same game coin 50 by converting the coordinate space common to both the position of the game coin group area detected by the game coin detection unit 21 in the first image and the position of the game coin group area detected by the game coin ID determination unit 22 in the second image.

[0068] In this way, the second association unit 26 determines the game coins 50 located at the same position as the same game coin 50 based on the position determined by the game coin detection unit 21 and the position determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22. However, alternatively, the second association unit 26 may determine the game coins 50 placed on the game table 110 at the same time as the same game coin 50 based on the time when the game coin detection unit 21 detects the game coin and the time when the game coin ID determination unit 22 determines the game coin 50.

[0069] The second association unit 26 associates the game coin ID of the game coin determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22 with the player associated with the game coin through the first association unit 25. Specifically, when the player is registered by the player ID, the second association unit 26 associates the game coin ID of the game coin determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22 with the player ID of the player associated with the game coin through the first association unit 25. In addition, when the player is registered by the facial information, the second association unit 26 associates the game coin ID of the game coin determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22 with the facial information of the player associated with the game coin through the first association unit 25.

[0070] The recording unit 28 records the combination of the game coin ID of the game coin 50 and the image of the player associated with the game coin ID of the game coin 50 through the second association unit 26. At this time, as will be described later, the recording unit 28 may also record the game coin ID and the player ID of the player associated with it, or may record the game coin ID and the facial information of the player associated with it. Like this embodiment, the recording unit 28 only records the image of the player associated with the game coin ID determined by the game coin ID determination unit 22 without recording the player ID for determining the player associated with the game coin ID, thereby not recording the personal information of the player and protecting the privacy of the player.

[0071] The game coin ID of game coin 50 is stored in database 40 in association with the owner of game coin 50. Specifically, when a player is registered by the player ID, database 40 stores the game coin ID of game coin 50 in association with the player ID of the player who is the owner of game coin 50. Alternatively, when a player is registered by facial information, database 40 stores the game coin ID of game coin 50 in association with the facial information of the player who is the owner of game coin 50.

[0072] Comparison unit 27 compares the owner associated with the game coin ID of game coin 50 in database 40 with the player associated with the game coin ID of this game coin 50 through second association unit 26. When the owner associated with the game coin ID of game coin 50 in database 40 and the player associated with the game coin ID of this game coin 50 through second association unit 26 do not match, comparison unit 27 outputs a signal indicating non - match.

[0073] Specifically, when a player is registered by the player ID, comparison unit 27 compares the player ID associated with the game coin ID of game coin 50 in database 40 with the player ID determined by player ID determination unit 24 for the player associated with the game coin ID of this game coin 50 through second association unit 26. In this case, when the player ID of the owner associated with the game coin ID of game coin 50 in database 40 and the player ID of the player associated with the game coin ID of this game coin 50 through second association unit 26 do not match, comparison unit 27 outputs a signal indicating non - match.

[0074] When the game coin ID of game coin 50 is stored in database 40 in association with the facial information of the owner of game coin 50, on the basis of or as an alternative to the above - mentioned specific example, comparison unit 27 compares the facial information associated with the game coin ID of game coin 50 in database 40 with the facial information extracted from the image for the player associated with this game coin through second association unit 26. In this case, when the facial information associated with the game coin ID of game coin 50 in database 40 and the facial information extracted from the image for the player associated with this game coin 50 through second association unit 26 do not match, comparison unit 27 outputs a signal indicating non - match.

[0075] For game coin 50 on game table 110, when a player different from the original owner operates game coin 50, through the above - mentioned function of comparison unit 27, a signal indicating non - match can be output, and thus such non - match can be warned.

[0076] When the comparison unit 27 determines that the owner associated with the game coin ID of the game coin 50 in the database 40 is inconsistent with the player associated with the game coin ID of the game coin through the second association unit 26, the rewrite control unit 29 rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the game coin in the database 40 to the player associated with the game coin ID of the game coin through the second association unit 26.

[0077] When the game coin 50 and the player are erroneously associated, through this rewrite control unit 29, this situation can be corrected and associated with the correct player. In addition, when a game coin ID that is not associated with any player is determined, the rewrite control unit 29 rewrites the player associated with the game coin ID through the second association unit 26 to the owner of the game coin ID.

[0078] When a player wins a game and receives payment of the game coin 50 from the dealer, the owner of the game coin involved in this payment (hereinafter referred to as "payment game coin") should be changed from the dealer or the casino to the player who won the game. Therefore, the update unit 30 rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the payment game coin paid by the dealer in the database 40 to the player associated with the payment game coin through the second association unit 26. For this purpose, the first camera 11 and the second camera 12 take pictures when paying the game coin 50, and the first association unit 25 associates the game coin group area of the payment game coin with the player who intends to take away the payment game coin, and the update unit 30 updates the database 40 according to this association.

[0079] Alternatively, the update unit 30 rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the payment game coin paid by the dealer in the database 40 to the player associated with the game coin 50 that has moved out of the placement area 112 together with the payment game coin through the second association unit 26. Thus, the game coin ID of the paid game coin 50 is stored in the database 40 in association with the player ID of the player who received the game coin 50.

[0080] It should be noted that an RFID tag storing the game coin ID is built into the game coin 50. When the game coin ID determination unit 22 reads the game coin ID from the RFID tag of the game coin 50 in the placement area 112, by reading the RFID tag of the payment game coin in the payment placement area 112, the game coin ID thereof can be determined, and the player ID to be associated with the game coin ID can be updated.

[0081] In addition, in the above-described embodiments, the first camera that generates the first image by shooting and the second camera that generates the second image by shooting are different cameras, but these may also be a single camera. In this case, both the first image and the second image can be generated by this single camera. And, in this case, the shooting conditions (viewpoint, resolution, shooting direction, etc.) can be changed when shooting the first image and when shooting the second image.

[0082] As described above, in the game monitoring system 100 of the present embodiment, the first association unit 25 associates the game coins 50 (stacks of game coins) on the game table 110 detected from the first image by the game coin detection unit 21 with the player detected from the first image by the player detection unit 23, and the game coin ID determination unit 22 determines the game coin ID of the game coins 50 based on the second image. Thus, the second association unit 26 associates the player with the game coin ID. Thereby, it is possible to determine which player's game coins 50 the game coins 50 on the game table 110 are, and game management such as cheating detection and customer rating can be performed.

[0083] It should be noted that, as described above, the method for determining the game coin ID of the game coins 50 on the game table 110 is not limited to the method using images, and may also be a method using an RFID tag and an RFID reading system. Since, through the above-described embodiments, it is possible to associate the game coins with the player who operates the game coins, for example, even when the player places the game coins 50 in a placement area other than the placement area 112 in front of his own player position, or for the game coins 50 placed by a later placer who is not seated at the player position, it is possible to determine which player placed these game coins based on the images.

[0084] It should be noted that the information processing device 20 can also identify the position, type, and number of the game coins 50 placed on the game table 110 based on the first image or the second image, or by embedding an RFID tag storing at least information on the type of the game coin 50 in the game coin 50, burying a plurality of antennas on the game table 110, and reading the RFID tag of the game coin 50, so that the position, type, and number of the game coins 50 placed on the game table 110 can be identified.

[0085] Symbol Explanation:

[0086] 100 Game Monitoring System

[0087] 110 Game Table

[0088] 111 Tabletop

[0089] 112 Placement Area

[0090] 11 First Camera

[0091] 12 Second camera

[0092] 20 Information processing device

[0093] 21 Game coin detection unit

[0094] 22 Game coin ID determination unit

[0095] 23 Player detection unit

[0096] 24 Player ID determination unit

[0097] 25 First association unit

[0098] 26 Second association unit

[0099] 27 Comparison unit

[0100] 28 Recording unit

[0101] 29 Rewrite control unit

[0102] 30 Update unit

[0103] 40 Database.

Claims

1. A game monitoring system, comprising: A game coin ID determination mechanism that determines the game coin ID of the game coin when the game coin with the game coin ID attached is in a specified area on the game table; An imaging mechanism that images the players playing the game on the game table and the game coins on the game table and generates an image; A player detection mechanism that detects the players from the image; A game coin detection mechanism that detects the game coins from the image; A first association mechanism that associates a first game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism with a player detected by the player detection mechanism as the player who placed the first game coin; A second association mechanism that associates the game coin ID of the first game coin determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism with the player associated with the first game coin through the first association mechanism; And A recording mechanism that records the combination of the game coin ID of the first game coin and the image of the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism.

2. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, Wherein, The game monitoring system further comprises: A storage mechanism that stores the game coin ID of the game coin in association with its owner; and A comparison mechanism that compares the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism with the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism, and outputs a signal indicating inconsistency when the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism and the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism are inconsistent.

3. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, Wherein, The player is attached with a player ID, The game monitoring system further comprises a player ID determination mechanism that determines the player ID of the player detected by the player detection mechanism, The storage mechanism stores the game coin ID of the game coin in association with the player ID of the player who is the owner of the game coin, The comparison mechanism compares the player ID of the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism with the player ID determined by the player ID determination mechanism for the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism, and outputs a signal indicating inconsistency when the player ID of the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism and the player ID of the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism are inconsistent.

4. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, Wherein, The storage mechanism stores the game coin ID of the game coin in association with the facial information of the owner of the game coin, The comparison mechanism compares the facial information associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism and the facial information extracted from the image for the player associated with the first game coin through the second association mechanism. When the facial information associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism and the facial information extracted from the image for the player associated with the first game coin through the second association mechanism are inconsistent, a signal indicating inconsistency is output.

5. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein, the game monitoring system further includes a control mechanism configured to rewrite the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism as the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism when the comparison mechanism determines that the owner associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin in the storage mechanism and the player associated with the game coin ID of the first game coin through the second association mechanism are inconsistent.

6. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein, the game monitoring system further includes an updating mechanism that rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the payout game coin paid by the dealer as the player associated with the payout game coin through the second association mechanism.

7. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein, the game monitoring system further includes an updating mechanism that rewrites the owner associated with the game coin ID of the payout game coin paid by the dealer as the player associated with the first game coin that has moved out of the specified area together with the payout game coin through the second association mechanism.

8. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, the game coin is provided with an RFID tag storing the game coin ID, and the game coin ID determination mechanism determines the game coin ID of the game coin by reading the game coin ID from the RFID tag.

9. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, the game coin has a notation of the game coin ID on its side, and the game coin ID determination mechanism determines the game coin ID of the game coin by detecting the game coin from the image showing the game coin and interpreting the game coin ID on the side of the detected game coin.

10. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, the player detection mechanism detects the hand of the player, and the first association mechanism associates the two based on the positional relationship between the hand of the player detected by the player detection mechanism and the game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism.

11. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, The game coin ID determination mechanism detects the game coin from the second image generated by the imaging mechanism, and determines the game coin ID of the detected game coin. The game coin detection mechanism detects the game coin from a first image different from the second image generated by the imaging mechanism. Based on the relationship between the position of the game coin detected by the game coin ID determination mechanism in the second image and the position of the game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism in the first image, the second association mechanism determines the game coins at the same position as the first game coin.

12. The game monitoring system according to claim 11, wherein, The imaging mechanism includes: a first camera for generating the first image, and a second camera different from the first camera for generating the second image. The second association mechanism determines the game coins at the same position as the first game coin by converting the position of the game coin detected by the game coin ID determination mechanism in the second image and the position of the game coin detected by the game coin detection mechanism in the first image into a common coordinate space.

13. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, The game coin ID determination mechanism determines the position of the game coin for which the game coin ID has been determined on the game table. The game coin detection mechanism determines the position of the game coin detected from the image on the game table. Based on the position determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism and the position determined by the game coin detection mechanism, the second association mechanism determines the game coins at the same position as the first game coin.

14. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein, The game coin ID determination mechanism determines the time when the game coin for which the game coin ID has been determined is placed on the game table. The game coin detection mechanism determines the time when the game coin detected from the image is placed on the game table. Based on the time determined by the game coin ID determination mechanism and the time determined by the game coin detection mechanism, the second association mechanism determines the game coins placed on the game table at the same time as the first game coin.

Images