Entertainment table system and system

Abstract

The invention provides a gaming table system, which can read game coins on a gaming table by utilizing the reading of RFID tags and the recognition of images and effectively utilizing the advantages of the RFID tags and the recognition of the images. A gaming table system (100) is provided with: a camera (40) that captures a game currency bundle placed on a gaming table (10) and generates an image; an image recognition unit (81) that recognizes the position of the bundle of game coins and the type and number of game coins (70) by analyzing the image; a plurality of antennas ANT (1)-ANT (9) for reading the RFID tag of the game coin (70); and a game currency determination unit (82) that associates the results of reading the RFID tag (72) by each of the plurality of antennas ANT (1)-ANT (9) with the results of identifying the bundle of game currency by the image identification unit (81).

Description

[0001] Divisional application

[0002] This application is a divisional application of the patent application with the application date of April 26, 2024, application number: 202410514330.6, and invention name: Game table system and system. Technical Field

[0003] The present invention relates to a gaming table system for reading gaming coins with built-in RFID tags on a gaming table, and a system for reading objects with built-in RFID tags at a specified location. Background Art

[0004] In the past, a camera system is known that, on a gaming table where a game using gaming coins is played, captures gaming coins used in the game and generates an image, and performs image recognition processing on the image to read the gaming coins used in the game. Since the type (value) of gaming coins can be determined based on their appearance, the type of gaming coins used in the game can be determined by image recognition processing. In addition, various areas based on the game rules are defined on the gaming table, and image recognition processing can also be used to identify in which area the gaming coins are placed.

[0005] The area defined on the gaming table includes, for example, a placement area for placing game coins placed by players during the game. The camera system can recognize how many game coins are placed in which placement area by identifying game coins placed in the placement area (placed game coins), especially a game coin pile formed by stacking multiple game coins in the placement area (placed game coin pile).

[0006] On the other hand, an RFID system is also known, in which an RFID tag is built into a game coin, the type (value) of the game coin and the game coin identification information are stored in the RFID tag, and the game coins placed on the gaming table are identified by providing an antenna on the gaming table for wirelessly communicating with the RFID tag in the game coin and a reader that uses the antenna to read the information stored in the RFID tag. Summary of the invention

[0007] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0008] In the camera system, it is possible to read which type of game coin is placed in which area (position) based on the image, but it is difficult to read more detailed information about each game coin. For example, the game coin identification information is marked on the outer side of the game coin, and it can also be considered to be read by the camera, but the marking of such game coin identification information has to be a small mark, so it is not easy to read correctly.

[0009] On the other hand, an RFID system reads the information of each game coin by reading an RFID tag. Therefore, by pre-storing various information in the RFID tag, detailed information related to the game coin can be obtained. However, in the RFID system, since electromagnetic waves are used to read the RFID tag, even if it is desired to perform separate readings using multiple antennas set in each area, it is difficult to strictly set the reading range of each antenna, and there is a situation where an antenna for reading a certain area also reads the RFID tag of a game coin in an adjacent area, making it difficult to correctly identify in which area the game coin with the RFID tag read by each antenna is located.

[0010] In addition, in the RFID system, even if there are game coins with damaged RFID tags or without RFID tags, such cheating RFID game coins cannot be detected.

[0011] Therefore, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide a gaming table system that uses an RFID tag built into a game coin to assist a camera system and effectively utilizes the advantages of both to read the game coins on the gaming table.

[0012] Means for solving the problems

[0013] A gaming table system according to one embodiment of the present invention is a gaming table system for reading gaming coins with built-in RFID tags on a gaming table. A placement area is arranged on the gaming table, and the placement area includes the plurality of placement object areas arranged close to or adjacent to each other. The gaming table system is configured to include: a reading mechanism, which includes a plurality of antennas, and the plurality of antennas are arranged at a plurality of positions on the gaming table, and are used to read the RFID tags of the gaming coins within a reading range, wherein the reading ranges of the antennas adjacent to each other in the plurality of antennas overlap with each other, thereby the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas cover the plurality of placement object areas; a photographing mechanism, which photographs the placement area on the gaming table including the plurality of placement object areas arranged close to or adjacent to each other, thereby generating an image of a gaming coin stack consisting of one or more gaming coins placed in the placement area; and an image recognition mechanism, which analyzes the image to thereby Identify the position of the game coin stack on the gaming table, and the type and number of the game coins constituting the game coin stack; and a game coin determination mechanism, which can infer, based on the reading results of the RFID tag by each of the multiple antennas of the reading mechanism, the area corresponding to the reading range of which of the multiple antennas within the placement area the game coin is placed and which area within the reading range of the corresponding antenna, and based on the inferred result and the recognition result of the game coin stack by the image recognition mechanism, correspond the game coin stack identified by the image recognition mechanism to the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

[0014] According to this configuration, it is possible to associate a coin stack identified by image recognition with a reading result of an RFID tag built into a coin in the coin stack.

[0015] In the above-mentioned game table system, since the reading ranges of the adjacent antennas overlap with each other, the placement area may include one or more areas, and the RFID tags of the game coins placed in the one or more areas are read by multiple antennas. The game coin determination mechanism can infer, based on the combination of the reading results of the multiple antennas, that an area smaller than the reading range of the multiple antennas is the area where the game coins are placed.

[0016] According to this configuration, an area smaller than the reading range of the antenna can be estimated as an area where medals are placed.

[0017] In the above-described amusement table system, the reading mechanism can repeatedly read using the plurality of antennas, the imaging mechanism can repeatedly take pictures to generate continuous images, and the game coin determination mechanism can, based on the reading result and the recognition result at the moment when a stack of game coins is newly placed in the placement area, correspond the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism to the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

[0018] According to this structure, in the placement stage of the stack of game coins, it is possible to repeatedly perform the correspondence between the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism and the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

[0019] In the above-described amusement table system, the reading mechanism can repeatedly read using the plurality of antennas, and the game coin determination mechanism can recognize a plurality of game coins that have the RFID tags read by the same antenna at the same time as one stack of game coins, and recognize a plurality of game coins that have the RFID tags read by the same antenna at different times as a stack of game coins different from the one stack of game coins.

[0020] According to this structure, it is possible to perform separate reading of each stack of game coins based on the time when the reading mechanism performs reading.

[0021] The above-described amusement table system may further include an owner determination mechanism that determines the owner of the game coin based on the reading result of the RFID tag of the game coin by the reading mechanism, and the game coin determination mechanism can recognize, as one stack of game coins, a plurality of the game coins that are determined by the owner determination mechanism to be held by the same owner among the plurality of game coins placed in the presumably same area.

[0022] According to this structure, it is possible to recognize a stack of game coins by determining the owner based on the reading of the RFID tag.

[0023] In the above-described amusement table system, the content stored in the RFID tag built in the game coin may include game coin identification information for uniquely determining the game coin, and the game coin determination mechanism can correspond the game coin identification information of the game coins included in the stack of game coins to the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism.

[0024] According to this structure, it is possible to associate the game coin identification information read from the RFID tag with the stack of game coins recognized by image recognition.

[0025] The above-described gaming table system having the holder determination mechanism may further include a holder update mechanism that rewrites the holder information of the game coins paid by the dealer for the game coins that have won the game based on the result of the game using the game coins to the holder information of the game coins that have won the game.

[0026] According to this structure, it is possible to rewrite the holder information of the game coins paid by the dealer to the holder information of the game coins placed.

[0027] In the above-described gaming table system, a stack of game coins composed of one or more game coins placed in the placement area may be a stack of game coins for which the game has been placed. For the stack of game coins for which the game has been placed, the game coin determination mechanism may correspond the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism to the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

[0028] According to this structure, it is possible to correspond the image recognition result to the reading result of the RFID tag for the placed stack of game coins.

[0029] In the above-described gaming table system, a stack of game coins composed of one or more game coins placed in the placement area may be a stack of game coins for which the game has been placed and for which the dealer has paid the stack of game coins that have won the game. For the stack of game coins for which the payment has been made, the game coin determination mechanism may correspond the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism to the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

[0030] According to this structure, it is possible to correspond the image recognition result to the reading result of the RFID tag for the paid stack of game coins.

[0031] In the above-described gaming table system, the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas may cover the entire placement area on the gaming table.

[0032] According to this structure, it is possible to read the stack of game coins in the entire placement area.

[0033] In the above-described gaming table system, when the number of game coins placed in the area estimated based on the reading result of the RFID tag is less than the number of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism as placed in the area, the game coin determination mechanism may determine that there are cheating game coins including RFID tags that are cheating in the stack of game coins in the area.

[0034] According to this structure, it is possible to determine that there are cheating game coins for which the RFID tag has not been read.

[0035] In the above-described amusement table system, when the number of game coins placed in the area deduced based on the reading result of the RFID tag is greater than the number of game coins recognized as placed in the area by the image recognition mechanism, the game coin determination mechanism may determine that there are game coins in this area that are in the blind spot of the imaging mechanism and not recognized by the image recognition mechanism.

[0036] According to this structure, it is possible to determine the area including game coins that are in the blind spot of the imaging mechanism and not recognized by the image recognition.

[0037] In the above-described amusement table system, type determination information for determining the type of the game coin may be stored in the RFID tag built in the game coin. For the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism, when the type and number of game coins shown in the reading result of the RFID tag are different from the type and number of game coins in the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism, the game coin determination mechanism may determine that this stack of game coins includes cheating game coins.

[0038] According to this structure, when the reading result of the RFID tag does not match the image recognition result in terms of the type and number of game coins, it is possible to determine that there are cheating game coins.

[0039] In the above-described amusement table system, type determination information for determining the type of the game coin may be stored in the RFID tag built in the game coin. The game coin determination mechanism may also determine the stack of game coins including the cheating game coins in the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism based on the type and number of game coins shown in the reading result of the RFID tag and the type and number of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism.

[0040] According to this structure, it is possible to use the information on the type and number of game coins shown by the reading result of the RFID tag and the image recognition result respectively to determine the stack of game coins including cheating game coins.

[0041] In the above-described amusement table system, when it is impossible to determine that the stack of game coins including the cheating game coins is one, the game coin determination mechanism may determine multiple stacks of game coins with a possibility of including cheating game coins above a specified reference value as stacks of game coins including cheating game coins.

[0042] According to this structure, even when it is impossible to determine that the stack of game coins including cheating game coins is one, it is possible to determine the stack of game coins with the possibility of cheating.

[0043] In the above-described gaming table system, variety determination information for determining the variety of the game coin may be stored in the RFID tag incorporated in the game coin. The variety of the game coin may correspond to the amount of the game coin, and the game coin determination mechanism may determine the amount of the game coin stack based on the variety determination information.

[0044] According to this configuration, it is possible to determine the amount of the game coin stack based on the read result of the RFID tag.

[0045] In the above-described gaming table system, a player determination mechanism may also be provided. The player determination mechanism determines the player who plays the game on the gaming table, and the game coin determination mechanism may also determine the player corresponding to the game coin stack identified by the image recognition mechanism.

[0046] According to this configuration, it is possible to determine the player corresponding to the game coin stack placed on the gaming table.

[0047] In the above-described gaming table system, game coin identification information for uniquely determining the game coin may be stored in the RFID tag incorporated in the game coin. The placement area may include placement areas provided for a plurality of players. The above-described gaming table system may also have the following configuration: a database that stores the game coin identification information in association with player identification information for identifying a player; a player determination mechanism that determines the player identification information of the player who plays the game at the plurality of player positions; and an alarm mechanism that outputs an alarm when the player identification information determined by the player determination mechanism is not associated with the game coin identification information of the game coin determined to be present at the player position where the player plays the game in the database.

[0048] According to this configuration, when a game coin is held by a player different from the player who should hold it and is used on the gaming table, an alarm can be output.

[0049] A system according to an aspect of the present invention is a system for reading an article with an RFID tag embedded therein at a specified location. The specified location is provided with a plurality of partitions arranged close to or adjacent to each other. The system is configured to include: a reading mechanism including a plurality of antennas provided at a plurality of positions in the specified location and configured to read the RFID tag of the article within the reading range, wherein the reading ranges of adjacent antennas among the plurality of antennas overlap each other, whereby the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas cover the plurality of partitions; a photographing mechanism configured to generate an image including an article group composed of one or more articles placed in the specified location by photographing the plurality of partitions arranged close to or adjacent to each other in the specified location; an image recognition mechanism configured to recognize the position of the article group in the specified location and the types and numbers of the articles constituting the article group by analyzing the image; and a determination mechanism configured to be able to estimate the area in the specified location where the article is placed corresponding to the reading range of which antenna among the plurality of antennas and which area within the reading range of the corresponding antenna based on the reading results of the RFID tags by the respective antennas of the reading mechanism, and to correspond the article group recognized by the image recognition mechanism to the reading results of the RFID tags by the reading mechanism based on the estimated results and the recognition results of the article group by the image recognition mechanism.

[0050] According to this configuration, it is possible to correspond the article group recognized by image recognition to the reading results of the RFID tags of the articles embedded in these article groups.

[0051] A game table system according to an aspect of the present invention is a game table system for reading game coins with RFID tags embedded therein on a game table. In the game table system, a placement area including a plurality of placement target areas arranged close to or adjacent to each other is provided on the game table. The game table system is configured to include: a reading mechanism including a plurality of antennas provided at a plurality of positions on the game table and configured to read the RFID tags of the game coins within the reading range; and a game coin determination mechanism configured to estimate the position where the game coin is placed based on the reading results of the respective RFID tags by the plurality of antennas of the reading mechanism. The reading ranges of adjacent antennas among the plurality of antennas of the reading mechanism overlap each other, whereby the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas cover the plurality of placement target areas in the placement area on the game table. The game coin determination mechanism estimates the area where the game coin is placed with a resolution smaller than the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas based on the combination of the reading results of the plurality of antennas.

[0052] According to this structure, it is possible to estimate the area where the game coins are placed at a resolution smaller than the reading ranges of these antennas by combining the reading results of a plurality of antennas whose reading ranges overlap each other.

[0053] One embodiment of the game table system of the present invention is a game table system that reads game coins with RFID tags built therein on a game table. In the game table system, a placement area is arranged on the game table, and the placement area includes a plurality of placement target areas arranged close to or adjacent to each other. The game table system is configured to include: a reading mechanism including a plurality of antennas that are arranged at a plurality of positions on the game table and are used to read the RFID tags of the game coins within the reading range; and a game coin determination mechanism that estimates the position where the game coins are placed based on the respective reading results of the plurality of antennas of the reading mechanism. In the game table system, the reading mechanism repeatedly reads using the plurality of antennas, and the game coin determination mechanism identifies a plurality of game coins that are read by the same antenna at the same time as game coins belonging to one group, and identifies a plurality of game coins that are read by the same antenna at different times as game coins belonging to a group different from the one group.

[0054] According to this structure, it is possible to group a plurality of game coins placed within the same reading range based on the reading time of the reading mechanism. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0055] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a game coin used in the game table system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0056] Figure 2 is a view showing a game table on which the game table system according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed;

[0057] Figure 3 is a view showing an example of an image captured by a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0058] Figure 4 is a view showing an example of an image captured by a camera according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0059] Figure 5 is a view showing the arrangement of antennas in the game table system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0060] Figure 6 is a view showing the intensity distribution of electromagnetic waves formed by one antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0061] Figure 7is a block diagram showing the structure of a gaming table system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0062] Figure 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between an antenna on a gaming table and game coins according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0063] Figure 9 is showing Figure 8 a table of the RFID tag reading results in the case of;

[0064] Figure 10 is a table showing an example of a stack of game coins recognized by an image recognition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0065] Figure 11 is a table showing the determination results of a game coin determination unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0066] Figure 12 is a diagram showing a modified example of the antenna configuration in a gaming table system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Embodiments

[0067] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are examples of implementing the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the specific structures described below. When implementing the present invention, appropriate specific structures corresponding to the embodiments can be adopted.

[0068] Figure 1 is a perspective view of a game coin used in a gaming table system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The game coin 70 has a disc shape. Numbers indicating the type (value) of the game coin 70 are marked on the flat surfaces of the front and back. A center line 71 of a different color according to the type is shown on the side. Even when the game coins 70 are stacked and only the sides can be observed, the type of the game coin 70 can be identified by this center line 71.

[0069] It should be noted that the side of the game coin 70 may not have a center line. In this case, the type of the game coin 70 can be identified by making the color of the side different according to the type.

[0070] An RFID tag 72 is built into the game coin 70. The RFID tag 72 is composed of an antenna and an IC chip. The RFID tag 72 communicates wirelessly with an antenna described later in a passive manner. The RFID tag 72 is enclosed in a chamber for protecting it, and the chamber can be built into the game coin 70. It should be noted that the game coin can be a rectangular plate.

[0071] The RFID tag 72 stores information for determining the identification information (game coin ID), type (value), manufacturing date, and the casino where it is intended to be used, etc., of the game coin. Among them, the game coin identification information (game coin ID) is used to uniquely identify the game coin 70.

[0072] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing a gaming table of a gaming table system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The gaming table system 100 is provided on each of a plurality of gaming tables 10 provided in a casino and reads the game coins 70 on the gaming table 10. The gaming table 10 is generally oval. The dealer is located on one side of the gaming table 10, and a plurality of player positions for a plurality of players are provided on the side opposite to the side where the dealer is located. The gaming table 10 of the present embodiment is a table for playing a certain card game.

[0073] A game coin tray 30 for storing the game coins 70 of the dealer is provided on the dealer side of the gaming table 10. In addition, a card shoe 50 is placed on the gaming table 10, and the card shoe 50 houses multiple decks of game cards so that the game cards can be drawn from the card shoe. The game cards used for the game and stored in the card shoe 50 are marked with codes indicating their face values. The codes are printed on the front of the game cards with an ink that can be visualized by invisible light. The card shoe 50 is provided with an invisible light source and a sensor for reading the codes of the drawn cards. Further, a display 60 is embedded on the dealer side of the gaming table 10.

[0074] Each player position is provided with player-divided placement areas 201 to 205. The plurality of player-divided placement areas 201 to 205 for a plurality of players are arranged horizontally and together form a placement area 21. As placement target areas, each of the player-divided placement areas 201 to 205 is provided with a player area "P" for placing a player win, a banker area "B" for placing a banker win, a tie area "T" for placing a tie, a player pair area "PP" for placing a player pair, and a banker pair area "BP" for placing a banker pair. These placement target areas are arranged in a manner that they are close to or adjacent to each other. A tie, a player pair, and a banker pair are called side placements, and these placement target areas are called side placement areas. A plurality of antennas are embedded in the placement area 21. The antennas will be described later.

[0075] It should be noted that the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by players may also be provided with, for example, a side placement object area called "Lucky 6" or "Super 6" for placing bets on the banker's win of 6. In addition, the side placement may not be provided in each of the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by players, but multiple placement areas for player positions may be centrally arranged in the central part of the gaming table 10 according to the types of side placement. In addition, a player's hand area 22 for arranging game cards as the player's hand and a banker's hand area 23 for arranging game cards as the banker's hand are laid out on the gaming table 10.

[0076] Players participate in (place) the game by placing their game coins 70 in any of the placement object areas in the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by players. The placed game coins of the players who lose in the game are collected by the dealer and returned to the game coin tray 30. For the placed game coins of the players who win in the game, the dealer pays out game coins 70 from the game coin tray 30.

[0077] On both sides of the dealer side of the gaming table 10, columns are respectively erected, and each column is equipped with a camera 40 and a camera 41. The viewing angles and shooting directions of the two cameras 40 and 41 provided on the same column are different from each other. The camera 40 is used to shoot the game coins 70 (placed game coins) placed in the placement area 21, and the camera 41 is used to shoot the placed game coins and the players. In this embodiment, the viewing angle of the camera 41 is larger than that of the camera 40.

[0078] The cameras 40 and 41 shoot and generate images. Both the right camera 40 and the left camera 40 shoot in such a way that the entire placement area 21 including multiple placement object areas is included in the shooting range. As a result, the camera 40 generates an image showing a stack of game coins (placed game coin stack) composed of multiple game coins 70 stacked in the placement area 21. Both the right camera 41 and the left camera 41 shoot in such a way that the entire placement area 21 and the upper bodies of the players located at the player positions are included in the shooting range. As a result, the camera 41 generates an image showing the players who place the game coins 70 in the placement area 21 and the placed game coins 70.

[0079] As Figure 2As shown, a plurality of placement areas 201 to 205 divided by player are arranged along the length direction of the gaming table 10. In each of the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by player, a plurality of placement object areas are arranged and configured along the direction from the player towards the dealer. That is, the plurality of placement object areas are configured in a two-dimensional direction on the gaming table 10. The cameras 40 and 41 photograph the placement area 21 in which the placement object areas are configured in a two-dimensional direction from an oblique upper direction. Thus, the images generated by the cameras 40 and 41 show the stack of placed game coins photographed from an oblique upper direction.

[0080] The cameras 40 and 41 photograph the stack of placed game coins from an oblique upper direction, so that the image includes the position information of the stack of placed game coins, the side (value) information of the placed game coins included in the stack of placed game coins, and the number information of the placed game coins. Therefore, by analyzing this image, it is possible to identify the position of the stack of placed game coins, the types and numbers of the placed game coins included in this position. That is, if the stack of placed game coins is photographed from the front side, information on the value and the number can be obtained, but it is not clear which of the placement object areas configured in a two-dimensional direction the stack of placed game coins is located in. In addition, if the stack of placed game coins is photographed from directly above, the position of the stack of placed game coins can be clearly grasped, but only the type of the placed game coin located at the top of the stack of game coins can be identified, and it is not clear how many placed game coins of which type are included in the stack of placed game coins.

[0081] Figure 3 FIG. is an example of an image photographed by the camera 40 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera 40 photographs a stack of placed game coins composed of one or more game coins 70 placed in the placement area 21 of the gaming table 10 and generates an image. The shooting ranges of the left camera 40 and the right camera 40 overlap at least partially with each other, and the game coins 70 placed in the placement area 21 are photographed by the left camera 40 and the right camera 40 from different directions.

[0082] Figure 4 FIG. is an example of an image photographed by the camera according to an embodiment of the present invention. The camera 41 photographs in such a way as to include the players playing games on the gaming table 10 and the placed game coins and generates an image. The shooting ranges of the left camera 41 and the right camera 41 overlap at least partially with each other, and the players playing games on the gaming table 10 and the game coins 70 placed in the placement area 21 are photographed by the left camera 41 and the right camera 41 from different directions. It should be noted that the camera 41 also photographs a post-placer who stands and places from behind instead of sitting in the player position.

[0083] Figure 5FIG. is a diagram showing the arrangement of antennas in a gaming table system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The gaming table 10 is provided with nine antennas ANT1 to ANT9. The nine antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are arranged side by side in sequence in a placement area 21 extending in the horizontal direction. At this time, adjacent antennas overlap each other partially in the left-right direction, whereby the reading ranges of adjacent antennas overlap each other. With such an arrangement of the nine antennas ANT1 to ANT9, the entire placement area 21 is covered, so that the RFID tag 72 of the game coin 70 within the placement area 21 is read by at least one antenna (in some cases, two or three antennas).

[0084] In Figure 5 In the example, the antennas ANT1, ANT3, ANT5, ANT7, and ANT9 respectively correspond to the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by player, and ANT2, ANT4, ANT6, and ANT8 are respectively arranged in the middle of these antennas. The sizes of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are approximately the same as the sizes of the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by player. However, the sizes and arrangements of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 may not correspond to the placement areas 201 to 205 divided by player.

[0085] Figure 6 FIG. is a diagram showing the intensity distribution of electromagnetic waves formed by one antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 FIG. is a view observed from the top-down direction of a loop formed by an antenna. The electromagnetic wave becomes stronger on the wire of the antenna, becomes slightly weaker toward the center within the loop, and becomes weaker as it moves away from the antenna outside the loop. The intensity of this electromagnetic wave is approximately proportional to the reading ability of the antenna.

[0086] In the present embodiment, as Figure 5 shown, such antennas are arranged overlapping each other. Suppose these multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 perform reading simultaneously, that is, if electromagnetic waves with an intensity distribution as Figure 6 shown are output, the electromagnetic waves will interfere with each other. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are controlled so that at least the interfering antennas do not perform reading simultaneously.

[0087] Figure 7FIG. 0 is a block diagram showing the structure of a gaming table system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The gaming table system 100 includes a plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT9, a reader 24, a plurality of cameras 40 and 41, a card shoe 50, a display 60, an information processing device 80, a game coin database 90, and a player database 91. The antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are connected to the reader 24, and the reader 24, the cameras 40 and 41, the card shoe 50, the display 60, the game coin database 90, and the player database 91 are connected to the information processing device 80. The information processing device 80 is composed of a computer including an arithmetic processing device and a storage device. The information processing device 80 functions as an image recognition unit 81, a game coin determination unit 82, and a player determination unit 83 by reading and executing a program stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium.

[0088] For each game coin 70, the game coin database 90 stores information such as game coin identification information (game coin ID), type (value), manufacturing date, information for determining a predetermined casino to be used, activation status (valid, invalid, etc.), and historical information of the holder. For each player, the player database 91 stores information such as player identification information (player ID), personal information of the player (facial photo, name, nationality, contact information, etc.), placement history information, and status (VIP, attention required, etc.).

[0089] The card shoe 50 stores a game result determination algorithm based on the rules of a certain card game, and determines the game result (player wins, dealer wins, draw, player pair, dealer pair, etc.) by applying the read result obtained by reading the face value of the game card drawn to the game result determination algorithm. The card shoe 50 has a display (not shown), and the read result and the game result are displayed on the display. The card shoe 50 also includes a game start button, and operating the game start button cancels the display of the game result and starts the next game.

[0090] The progress stage of the game can be recognized by using the card shoe 50. That is, if it is detected that the game start button is pressed, the card shoe 50 can recognize that the placement stage of the next game has started. If it is detected that the game card is first drawn after the game start button is pressed, the card shoe 50 can recognize that the placement stage has ended and the card trading stage has started. In addition, if the game result is determined based on the read result of the drawn game card, it can be recognized that the card trading stage has ended and the settlement stage has started. If it is further detected that the game start button is pressed, it can be recognized that the settlement stage has ended and the placement stage of the next game has started. The card shoe 50 reports these recognized progress stages of the game to the information processing device 80.

[0091] The reader 24 controls the reading of multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9. The reader 24 causes an antenna selected from the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 to output electromagnetic waves, receives a reading signal of the RFID tag 72 from the antenna, and outputs the reading result to the information processing device 80. At this time, the reader 24 transmits electromagnetic waves to the RFID tag 72 of the game coin 70 via the antennas ANT1 to ANT9, and receives the information stored in the RFID tag 72 and the received signal strength (RSSI) as the reading result. By sequentially switching the antennas for reading by the reader 24, the reading results of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are sequentially obtained. The multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 and the reader 24 constitute a reading mechanism for the RFID tag 72 on the gaming table 10.

[0092] The cameras 40 and 41 output the images obtained by shooting to the information processing device 80. The image recognition unit 81 recognizes the position where the stack of game coins is placed, the types and the number of the game coins 70 included in the stack of game coins by analyzing the image from the camera 40. For this purpose, the image recognition unit 81 uses a convolutional neural network having a deep learning structure to recognize the stack of game coins placed in the image from the camera 40, and further recognizes the game coins 70 from the recognized stack of game coins placed.

[0093] Since images are respectively generated by the left and right cameras 40, the image recognition unit 81 can basically recognize the same game coins 70 from the two images by analyzing the respective images. However, there are cases where a game coin 70 hidden in another stack of game coins placed exists in the image of one of the cameras 40, and the hidden game coin 70 is shown in the image of the other camera 40. In such a case, there are cases where a game coin 70 not recognized in the image of one of the cameras 40 is recognized by the image of the other camera 40. The image recognition unit 81 finally recognizes the game coins 70 placed on the gaming table 10 by synthesizing the results of image recognition obtained from the images of the left and right cameras 40.

[0094] In addition, the image recognition unit 81 recognizes (detects) the stack of game coins placed by analyzing the image from the camera 41. Further, the image recognition unit 81 correlates the stack of game coins placed recognized from the image from the camera 41 with the stack of game coins placed recognized from the image from the camera 40. As will be described later, since the stack of game coins placed recognized from the image from the camera 41 corresponds to the player determined by the player determination unit 83, ultimately, the stack of game coins placed recognized from the image from the camera 40 corresponds to the player determined by the player determination unit 83, and further which player made what placement is recognized.

[0095] The player determination unit 83 analyzes the images from the camera 41 to identify the player's left and right shoulders, left and right elbows, left and right wrists, left and right eyes, left and right ears, and nose, thereby generating a bone model of the player. In addition, the player determination unit 83 extracts the player's face area from the images from the camera 41 and performs image recognition on it to determine player identification information (player ID) for uniquely determining the player. By having the player register their face image in advance, such a player can be determined.

[0096] The player determination unit 83 uses a convolutional neural network with a deep learning structure to generate such a bone model and determine the player through the face image. It should be noted that for players who have not been registered in advance, the player determination unit 83 determines them as unidentified players or visitors.

[0097] Based on the reading results of each of the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 for the RFID tag 72, the game coin determination unit 82 estimates the area within the placed placement area where the game coin 70 is placed and which area within the reading range of which antenna among the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 corresponds to it. Further, based on this estimation result and the recognition result of the image recognition unit 81 for the stacked game coins placed, the game coin determination unit 82 corresponds the stacked game coins recognized by the image recognition unit 81 with the reading results of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 for the RFID tag 72.

[0098] As described above, the reading ranges of the adjacent antennas ANT1 to ANT9 overlap each other. Thus, the placement areas 201 to 205 include the areas where the RFID tags 72 of the game coins 70 placed on the placement areas 201 to 205 are read by the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9. For example, the game coin 70 placed in the overlapping area of antenna ANT1 and antenna ANT2 is read by antenna ANT1 and antenna ANT2. Or, for example, the game coin 70 placed between antenna ANT1 and antenna ANT3 is read by antenna ANT1, antenna ANT2, and antenna ANT3. The game coin determination unit 82 estimates the area where the game coin 70 is placed as a smaller area than the reading ranges of the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 based on the combination of the reading results of the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9.

[0099] The game coin determination unit 82 also determines, based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 and the image recognition result of the image recognition unit 81, the placed game coin stack that includes cheating game coins without normal RFID tags 72 among the placed game coin stacks recognized by image recognition. Game coins 70 without RFID tags 72 and game coins 70 with malfunctioning RFID tags 72 are both determined as game coins 70 without normal RFID tags 72. When there is a mismatch between the reading result of the RFID tag 72 and the image recognition result of the image recognition unit 81, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there are cheating game coins. More specifically, when there are game coins 70 that are recognized by image recognition but not included in the reading result of the RFID tag 72, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there are cheating game coins.

[0100] Specifically, when the number of game coins 70 in the area where placement is presumed based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 is less than the number of game coins 70 recognized as placed in this area by the image recognition unit 81, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there are cheating game coins with cheating RFID tags 72 in the placed game coin stack in this area. Conversely, when the number of game coins 70 in the area where placement is presumed based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 is more than the number of game coins 70 recognized as placed in this area by the image recognition mechanism, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there are game coins 70 in the blind spot of the camera 40 that are not recognized by the image recognition unit 81 in this area.

[0101] When the game progress state is in the placement stage, the information processing device 80 controls the reader 24 to repeatedly read the RFID tag 72 of the game coin 70. At this time, as described above, the reader 24 makes the readings of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 in sequence. In addition, when the game progress state is in the placement stage, the information processing device 80 controls the camera 40 to continuously take pictures and continuously obtains images from the camera 40. The image recognition unit 81 analyzes the images continuously sent from the camera 40 one by one to recognize the game coin 70. In this way, the game coin determination unit 82 corresponds the placed game coin stack recognized by the image recognition unit 81 with the reading result of the RFID tag 72 based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 and the result of image recognition at the moment when a placed game coin stack is newly placed in the placement area 21. That is, in the placement stage, the reader 24 reads the RFID tag 72 and the image recognition recognizes the game coin 70 in real time. Thereby, cheating game coins can be detected in the placement stage, and cheating game coins can be discovered before entering the card trading stage.

[0102] However, immediately after the player places the game coins 70 on the gaming table 10, it may happen that the game coins 70 are blocked by the player's hand, so that the RFID tag 72 is recognized but the corresponding game coins 70 are not recognized in the image. For example, in Figure 4 In the situation shown, for the game coins 70 placed by the male, it may be the case that the game coins 70 cannot be detected by image recognition, but the RFID tags 72 of these game coins 70 can be read. However, in such a case, the male will anyway place the game coins 70 in the placement area 21 and then move his hand away from the game coins 70. Therefore, the game coin determination unit 82 may be configured such that it does not immediately determine that there is a cheating game coin after finding that the result of image recognition does not match the result of reading the RFID tag 72, but rather determines that there is a cheating game coin when such a mismatch continues for a specified time (e.g., 3 seconds).

[0103] Figure 8 FIG. is a diagram showing the relationship between the antenna on the gaming table and the game coins according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 9 It shows Figure 8 A table of the RFID tag reading results in the case of. In Figure 8 It shows the type (dot) of each game coin 70 and the game coin identification information (#), and in Figure 9 It shows the received signal strength (RSSI) of the game coin identification information of each game coin 70 by each antenna ANT1 to ANT9 in the range of 0 to 100.

[0104] The game coin determination unit 82 estimates the small area within the placement area 21 where each game coin 70 is placed based on the reading results of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9. Since the reading ranges of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 overlap, this small area is smaller than the reading range of one antenna. Since the reading ranges of the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 overlap, one game coin 70 can be read by multiple antennas. For each game coin 70, the game coin determination unit 82 estimates the small area where the game coin 70 is located based on the reading intensity of each antenna ANT1 to ANT9.

[0105] As Figure 9 shown, even for multiple game coins 70 located at the same position, the signal strength may not be the same. Thus, the received signal strength of the RFID tag 72 has ambiguity. In addition, as Figure 6 shown, the intensity distribution of the electromagnetic waves of each antenna ANT1 to ANT9 is also in a complex shape. Therefore, it is difficult to determine where the game coin 70 is only based on the received signal strength of the RFID tag 72. However, the game coin identification information read from the RFID tag 72 does not have such uncertainty, and as long as the game coin 70 has a normal RFID tag 72, the read content is correct.

[0106] For each game coin 70, based on the received signal strengths of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9, the game coin determination unit 82 estimates the possibility of existence in each small area within the range of 0 to 100. The game coin determination unit 82 has an arithmetic expression or a table for obtaining the possibility of existence in each small area according to the received signal strengths of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9. The game coin determination unit 82 obtains the possibility of existence in each small area by applying the actual received signal strength of each game coin 70 to this arithmetic expression or table.

[0107] For each game coin 70, similarly based on the received signal strengths of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9, the game coin determination unit 82 estimates the possibility of existence in each player-divided placement area 201 to 205 within the range of 0 to 100. The game coin determination unit 82 has an arithmetic expression or a table for obtaining the possibility of existence in each player-divided placement area 201 to 205 according to the received signal strengths of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9. The game coin determination unit 82 obtains the possibility of existence in each player-divided placement area 201 to 205 by applying the actual received signal strength of each game coin 70 to this arithmetic expression or table.

[0108] In this way, based only on the reading result of the RFID tag 72, it is only possible to obtain the probability of each game coin 70 existing in which small area or player-divided placement area 201 to 205, and it is impossible to determine them. On the other hand, as described above, the image recognition unit 81 can recognize the position of each placed game coin stack, and the type and number of game coins 70 included in the placed game coin stack. Therefore, the game coin determination unit 82 associates each game coin 70 (each game coin identification information in the reading result) for which the RFID tag 72 has been read with the placed game coin stack obtained from the result of image recognition.

[0109] Figure 10 This is a table showing an example of a placed game coin stack recognized by the image recognition unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image recognition unit 81 assigns an ID to each recognized placed game coin stack, and for each placed game coin stack, recognizes the type (value) of the game coins 70 included therein and their positions (player position, placement target area).

[0110] The game coin determination unit 82 is based on Figure 9 the reading result of the RFID tag 72 shown in Figure 10The result of the image recognition shown assigns the read result of the RFID tag 72 to any of the stacks of game coins obtained through image recognition. Since the placement areas 201 to 205 and the placement target areas divided by player where each stack of placed game coins is located are determined based on the result of the image recognition, the game coin determination unit 82 assigns the read result of the RFID tag 72 (game coin identification information, type (value), etc.) to the placement areas 201 to 205 and the placement target areas divided by player.

[0111] Figure 11 It is a table showing the determination result of the game coin determination unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. Within the range where the possibility of each game coin 70 existing in each small area based on the read result of the RFID tag 72 is not less than a specified reference value (threshold), the game coin determination unit 82 determines in which stack of placed game coins each game coin 70 exists. At this time, when, based on the read result of the RFID tag 72, within the range of the threshold, the number of RFID tags 72 (game coin identification information) assigned to the stack of placed game coins is inconsistent with the number of game coins 70 included in each stack of placed game coins identified by image recognition, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there is a cheating game coin in such a stack of placed game coins. It should be noted that, conversely, when determining in which stack of placed game coins each game coin 70 exists in a manner that matches the number of each stack of placed game coins in the image recognition result, when the probability obtained based on the read result of the RFID tag 72 through such determination is lower than the threshold, the game coin determination unit 82 may determine that there is a cheating game coin in the stack of placed game coins having such a read result of the RFID tag 72.

[0112] It should be noted that in Figure 11 In the example, when, based on the read result of the RFID tag 72, within the range of the threshold, the number of RFID tags 72 (game coin identification information) assigned to the stack of placed game coins is inconsistent with the number of game coins 70 included in each stack of placed game coins identified by image recognition, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there is a cheating game coin in such a stack of placed game coins. Although the type of the game coin 70 is not considered, the game coin determination unit 82 may also consider the type of the game coin 70 to determine in which stack of placed game coins each game coin 70 exists. That is, as described above, the RFID tag 72 built in the game coin 70 stores information (type determination information) for determining the type of the game coin 70, and the center line 71 on the side of the game coin 70 also shows the type of the game coin 70. The image recognition unit 81 determines the type of the game coin 70 based on the center line 71.

[0113] Therefore, the game coin determination unit 82 can also allocate the read RFID tag 72 (game coin identification information) to any one of the placed game coin stacks identified by the image recognition unit 81 based on the type of the game coin 70 determined according to the reading result of the RFID tag 72 and the type of the game coin 70 recognized by the image recognition unit 81, so that, for each type, within the range of the threshold, the number of RFID tags 72 (game coin identification information) allocated to the placed game coin stacks is consistent with the number of game coins 70 included in each placed game coin stack identified by image recognition. And, when there is a placed game coin stack with inconsistent numbers, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that this placed game coin stack includes cheating game coins. That is, in the case of judgment only by the number without considering the type, when it is impossible to determine the placed areas 201 to 205 divided by players where the game coins 70 are placed as one based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72, there are also cases where, by considering the type, it is possible to determine in which placed game coin stack the information of the RFID tag 72 read by the reader 24 exists. Therefore, the game coin determination unit 82 can consider the type information in the reading result of the RFID tag 72 and the type information recognized by the image recognition unit 81, and allocate the read RFID tag 72 (game coin identification information) to any one of the placed game coin stacks identified by the image recognition unit 81.

[0114] It should be noted that, before performing the above processing, the game coin determination unit 82 can first compare the number of game coins 70 shown in the reading result of the RFID tag 72 with the number of game coins 70 recognized by the image recognition unit 81 for the entire placed area 21. When the two are inconsistent, as described above, by performing the process of corresponding the information obtained by reading the RFID tag 72 to the placed game coin stack identified by image recognition, it is determined in which placed game coin stack such an inconsistency occurs. In other words, in the entire placed area 21, when the number of game coins 70 shown in the reading result of the RFID tag 72 is consistent with the number of game coins 70 recognized by the image recognition unit 81, the game coin determination unit 82 can omit the above processing.

[0115] In addition, in a case where the image recognition result does not match the reading result of the RFID tag 72, there is a situation where it is impossible to determine that there is one placement area divided by player that causes such a mismatch, and only two placement areas divided by player can be locked. In this case, for the two determined stacks of placed game coins, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that there is a possibility of including counterfeit game coins. That is, in a case where it is impossible to determine that there is one stack of placed game coins including counterfeit game coins, the game coin determination unit 82 determines multiple stacks of placed game coins with the possibility of including counterfeit game coins being above the threshold as stacks of placed game coins including counterfeit game coins.

[0116] As described above, the image recognition unit 81 recognizes the type of each game coin 70. Thus, for each small area, when the type and number of game coins 70 shown in the reading result of the RFID tag 72 are different from the type and number of game coins 70 in the stack of placed game coins recognized by the image recognition unit 81, the game coin determination unit 82 can determine that the stack of placed game coins includes counterfeit game coins.

[0117] In a case where it is determined that there are counterfeit game coins, the game coin determination unit 82 uses the information of the player determined by the player determination unit 83 to determine the player who placed the counterfeit game coin. For this purpose, the game coin determination unit 82 associates the stack of game coins photographed by the camera 41 with the player determined by the player determination unit 83. That is, the game coin determination unit 82 determines the player who placed the stack of placed game coins in the placement area 21.

[0118] For this purpose, the image recognition unit 81 extracts the stack of game coins 70 (stack of placed game coins) from the image photographed by the camera 41 at the end of the placement stage (that is, when the placement is determined). And the game coin determination unit 82 determines the image (frame) in which the stack of placed game coins is first recognized at the extraction position of the stack of placed game coins among the continuous multiple images (frames) obtained by the camera 41 through continuous shooting during the placement stage. The game coin determination unit 82 determines the player with the wrist closest to the stack of placed game coins in this image (frame) as the player who placed the stack of placed game coins.

[0119] Assuming that whenever a game coin 70 is recognized during the placement stage, the player with the wrist closest to the game coin 70 is associated with the game coin 70, then during the placement stage, the association process between the game coin 70 and the player must be carried out at all times. Not only does the processing burden increase, but also in a case where a player changes the placement content during the placement stage (which is legal in itself), chaos will occur. In contrast, according to the method of the present embodiment, the final association between the stack of placed game coins and the player can be performed, and it is not necessary to perform the association between the placed game coin and the player at all times during the placement stage, which can reduce the processing burden.

[0120] In this way, the game coin determination unit 82 associates the placement of the stack of game coins with the player who placed the stack of game coins placed,

[0121] That is, the player who placed the stack of game coins placed is determined. Therefore, in the case where the stack of game coins placed includes counterfeit game coins, the player who placed the stack of game coins placed including such counterfeit game coins can be determined.

[0122] In addition, since the position where the stack of game coins is placed and the type and number of game coins 70 included in the stack of game coins placed can be recognized from the image from the camera 40, the game coin determination unit 82 can recognize the player, the position of the stack of game coins placed by the player, and the type and number of game coins 70 included in the stack of game coins placed. As described above, the type of the game coin 70 corresponds to its price. Therefore, for each stack of game coins placed, the game coin determination unit 82 also calculates the amount of the stack of game coins placed based on the type and number of game coins 70 included therein. And the information processing device 80 records the amount of the stack of game coins placed as the placement amount of the player in the player database 91, or updates the record in the player database 91.

[0123] In addition, as described above, the type of the game coin 70 can be determined according to its appearance, but the information for uniquely determining the game coin 70 cannot be obtained from the appearance. That is, even if the image obtained by photographing the game coin 70 is analyzed, the game coin identification information of the game coin 70 cannot be obtained. On the other hand, as described above, the game coin identification information is stored in the RFID tag 72. Therefore, the game coin determination unit 82 determines which game coin 70 with which game coin identification information is included in which stack of game coins placed in the image by corresponding the reading result of the RFID tag 72 with the result of image recognition. If the game coin identification information of the game coins 70 included in each stack of game coins placed is determined, the information processing device 80 uses the game coin identification information to query the game coin database 90 and obtains the information of the game coin 70 from the game coin database 90. And, for example, for the queried game coin identification information, the information processing device 80 determines whether the activation information is valid in the game coin database 90.

[0124] The display 60 displays various results of the information processing performed by the information processing device 80. In particular, the display 60 can be used to Figure 10The method of comparing the number of game coins 70 in each player-divided placement area 201-205 obtained based on image recognition and the number of game coins 70 in each player-divided placement area 201-205 finally determined by the game coin determination unit 82 considering the reading result of the RFID tag 72 is used for display. Assuming that there is a placement game coin stack including cheating game coins, the player-divided placement areas 201-205 where the placement game coin stack is placed are erroneously displayed. This erroneous display functions as an alarm for the dealer, and at this time, the display 60 functions as an alarm device.

[0125] In addition, the information processing device 80 queries the game coin database 90 for the game coin identification information read from the RFID tag 72. If the result is a problem (for example, if the activation information is "invalid"), in response to this problem, the display 60 is caused to perform an erroneous display.

[0126] In addition, the display 60 can, in combination with the above, display information (such as the name of the player) for determining the player who placed the game coins 70 in the player-divided placement areas according to each player-divided placement area 201-205.

[0127] As described above, according to the gaming table system 100 of the present embodiment, the game coins 70 can be identified based on the image obtained by the photographing of the camera 40, and the reading result of the RFID tag 72 is assigned (mapped) to the identification result, so as to determine a placement game coin stack including cheating game coins that do not have a normal RFID tag 72.

[0128] (Modification Example 1)

[0129] In the above embodiment, the game coins 70 that do not have a normal RFID tag 72 are defined as cheating game coins, and a placement game coin stack including cheating game coins is determined. The cheating game coins are not limited to this. The gaming table system 100 can use the game coins 70 involved in cheating placement as cheating game coins to determine the existence of such cheating game coins. Specifically, the game coin determination unit 82 can use the game coins 70 involved in the additional placement (delayed placement) of the placed game coins that have been determined to win or will win after the start of the card trading phase, or the game coins 70 involved in the stealing of the placed game coins that have been determined to lose or will lose after the start of the card trading phase as cheating game coins, and determine a placement game coin stack including such cheating game coins.

[0130] In order to detect such cheating game coins, the image recognition unit 81 recognizes the position of the stack of game coins 70 placed and the type and number of game coins 70 included in the stack of placed game coins for the images respectively captured at the first moment and the subsequent second moment. In addition, the information processing device 80 acquires the reading results of the RFID tags 72 by the reader 24 through each of the plurality of antennas ANT1 to ANT9 at the first moment and the second moment.

[0131] And, the game coin determination unit 82 determines the stack of placed game coins including cheating game coins in the stack of placed game coins recognized by the image recognition unit 81 based on the respective reading results of the RFID tags 72 at the first moment and the second moment and the recognition results of the stacks of placed game coins in the respective images at the first moment and the second moment by the image recognition unit 81. Specifically, the game coin determination unit 82 determines the type and number of the stacks of placed game coins in the respective placement areas 201 to 205 divided by players based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 at the first moment and the image recognition result at the first moment, and determines the type and number of the stacks of placed game coins in the respective placement areas 201 to 205 divided by players based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 at the second moment and the image recognition result at the second moment. When there is a mismatch in the determined types and numbers, it is determined that there are cheating game coins.

[0132] More specifically, for the stack of placed game coins with more game coins 70 at the second moment than at the first moment, the game coin determination unit 82 determines that it includes cheating game coins related to additional placement cheating, and for the stack of placed game coins with fewer game coins 70 at the second moment than at the first moment, it is determined that it includes cheating game coins related to stealing cheating.

[0133] In particular, if the first moment is set as the end of the placement stage (i.e., the start of the card trading stage), and the second moment is set as the end of the card trading stage (i.e., the start of the settlement stage), then cheating in increasing or decreasing the placed game coins can be detected during the card trading stage where players are not allowed to increase or decrease the placed game coins. It should be noted that the first moment and the second moment are not limited to this example, but the start and end of any period during which increasing or decreasing the placed game coins is prohibited can be set as the first moment and the second moment.

[0134] (Variant Example 2)

[0135] As described above, in order for the amusement table system 100 to determine the placed coin stacks including cheating game coins and to determine the players who have placed such placed coin stacks, the game coin determination unit 82 associates the game coins 70 included in the placed coin stacks recognized by the image recognition unit 81 with the players determined by the player determination unit 83. In addition, the game coin determination unit 82 calculates the amount of placed game coins (placed amount) based on the types and numbers of the game coins 70 in each placed coin stack. The information processing device 80 stores the placed amount of the player in the player database 91 or updates the cumulative placed amount of the player in the player database 91 based on the placed amount of the player.

[0136] As described above, the information processing device 80 associates the information read from the RFID tag 72 with each placed coin stack, and the placement areas 201 to 205 and the placement target areas divided by player where the placed coin stack is placed. The amusement table system 100 can also use the information on the game results from the card shoe 50 to determine, for each player, the amount of winnings and losses and store them in the player database 91 in association with the player identification information together with the placed amount.

[0137] Furthermore, as described above, since the game coin identification information for uniquely determining the game coin 70 is stored in the RFID tag 72 of the game coin 70, the game coin identification information can also be associated with the player identification information. By storing the game coin identification information and the player identification information in the game coin database 90 in association with each other, the information processing device 80 can grasp which game coin 70 each player holds.

[0138] In this case, for the game coins 70 placed on the amusement table 10, it is possible to detect a situation where the player who placed the game coin 70 does not match the player stored in the game coin database 90 as the latest holder of the game coin 70. In addition, for example, when exchanging the game coins 70 held by a player at the cashier's office, it is possible to detect a situation where the player stored in the game coin database 90 as the latest holder of these game coins 70 does not match the player who requests the exchange. The amusement table system 100 may include an alarm device that outputs an alarm when such a mismatch is detected. When such a mismatch is detected on the amusement table 10, the display 60 can be used as the alarm device. Thereby, illegal acts such as theft can be detected.

[0139] (Modification Example 3)

[0140] Note that, in the above-described embodiment, the amusement table system 100 repeatedly reads the RFID tag 72 of the game coins 70 in the placement area 21 during the placement phase. Also, the cameras 40 and 41 continuously capture images and sequentially output the images to the information processing device 80 during the placement phase. The image recognition unit 81 recognizes the position of the stacked game coins to be placed, as well as the types and quantities of the game coins 70 included therein, from the images sent from the cameras 40 and 41. The game coin determination unit 82 assigns the reading result of the RFID tag 72 to the stacked game coins to be placed based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 and the image recognition result. As a result, in the case of cheating, the stacked game coins including the cheating game coins are identified.

[0141] That is, the amusement table system 100 detects cheating game coins in real time during the placement phase and outputs an alarm using the display 60. Thereby, it is possible to detect cheating game coins without a normal RFID tag 72 before the card transaction starts, and it is possible to avoid playing a game using cheating game coins.

[0142] However, it is not limited thereto. The amusement table system 100 may perform the above-described detection of cheating game coins at the time point when the placement phase ends, that is, when the placement content is determined (No More Bet) and the card transaction phase starts.

[0143] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the amusement table system 100 determines which stacked game coins to be placed the game coin identification information read from the RFID tag 72 is present in, based on the image recognition result and the reading result of the RFID tag 72. However, the same process may be performed on the payout game coins paid by the dealer to the player who wins the game. Thus, similar to the above-described embodiment, not only can it be determined whether the payout game coins include cheating game coins and to which player the payout game coins are paid, but the information processing device 80 can also determine whether the payout amount is correct by grasping the amount of the payout game coins, and further, in combination with the placement amount and the game result, it can also be determined which player holds the game coins 70 with which game coin identification information.

[0144] (Variant Example 4)

[0145] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 send the received signal strength for each RFID tag 72 to the reader 24, and the game coin determination unit 82 uses the information on these received signal strengths to estimate in which small area the game coins 70 read by the multiple antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are located. However, the RFID tag 72 may not send the received signal strength to the reader 24, but only send the information stored in the RFID tag 72 or a part thereof to the reader 24. In this case, instead of Figure 9 , a table indicating whether reading is successful (1 or 0) is obtained as the value representing the reading results of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9.

[0146] Even in such a case, the game coin determination unit 82 distributes the information read from the RFID tag 72 to any of the placed game coin stacks obtained by image recognition based on the reading results of the respective antennas ANT1 to ANT9 for the RFID tag 72.

[0147] (Modification Example 5)

[0148] In the above-described embodiment, in the placement area 21, the player-divided placement areas 201 to 205 are arranged in the player position arrangement direction (horizontal direction), and the antennas ANT1 to ANT9 are also arranged horizontally. On this basis, or alternatively, by arranging the multiple antennas in the direction from the player to the dealer (vertical direction), it is possible to estimate in which of the vertically divided small areas the game coin 70 that has read the RFID tag 72 exists based on the reading results of such multiple antennas for the RFID tag 72.

[0149] Figure 12 FIG. is a diagram showing a modification example of the arrangement of antennas in the gaming table system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 12 the example, in the placement area 21, in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, nine antennas are arranged so as to overlap each other in the horizontal direction, and three antennas are also arranged so as to overlap each other in the vertical direction.

[0150] It should be noted that, in the above-described embodiment and this Figure 12 modification example, the multiple antennas are arranged so that the adjacent antennas (the formed loops) overlap each other, but the loops formed by the antennas do not necessarily need to overlap, as long as the reading ranges of the respective antennas overlap each other. Thus, for any game coin 70 placed at any position within the placement area 21, it is ensured that its RFID tag 72 can be read by any antenna.

[0151] In this case, the game coin determination unit 82 can assign the information read from the RFID tag 72 to the game coin stacks identified by image recognition based on the reading results of the RFID tags 72 obtained respectively in the vertical and horizontal directions.

[0152] (Modification Example 6)

[0153] In the above-described embodiment, the information processing device 80 includes an image recognition unit 81, a game coin determination unit 82, and a player determination unit 83, and each of these parts can be provided in different devices. In this case, the devices can be communicable via a network. For example, the image recognition unit 81 is provided in a device in a casino, and the game coin determination unit 82 and the player determination unit 83 can be provided in a device on a cloud that can communicate with the device in the casino.

[0154] (Modification Example 7)

[0155] The game coin determination unit 82 can recognize a plurality of game coins 70 whose RFID tags 72 are read by the same antenna at the same time as one game coin stack or a group of game coin stacks, and recognize a plurality of game coins 70 whose RFID tags 72 are read by the same antenna at other times as a game coin stack or a group of game coins 70 different from the above-mentioned one game coin stack or a group of game coins. In particular, for the placed game coins, a plurality of placed game coins read by the same antenna at the same time can be recognized as game coins placed by the same player.

[0156] (Modification Example 8)

[0157] Furthermore, the information processing device 80 of the gaming table system 100 can also include an owner determination unit that determines the owner of the game coin 70 based on the reading result of the RFID tag 72 of the game coin 70. In this case, the game coin determination unit 82 recognizes a plurality of the game coins 70 placed in the same area and determined by the owner determination unit to be held by the same owner as one game coin stack. The owner determination unit determines the owner of the game coin 70 based on the game coin identification information (game coin ID) read from the RFID tag 72 of the game coin 70 and referring to the game coin database 90.

[0158] Furthermore, the information processing device 80 of the gaming table system 100 can also include an owner update unit that rewrites the owner information of the game coin 70 paid by the dealer to the game coin 70 that won the game based on the result of the game using the game coin 70 as the owner information of the game coin 70 that won the game. Thus, the owner information will be appropriately updated for the game coins 70 paid by the dealer to the player.

[0159] (Modification Example 9)

[0160] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the gaming table system 100 for identifying the gaming coins 70 on the gaming table 10 is described, but the present invention can be more widely applied to general items. That is, the present invention can be applied to a system for reading items with built-in RFID tags at a specified location. In this case, a plurality of partitions arranged in a manner close to or adjacent to each other are arranged at the specified reading location for reading. The system includes a reading mechanism, which is arranged at a plurality of positions at the reading location and includes a plurality of antennas for reading the RFID tags of items within the reading range. The reading ranges of the antennas adjacent to each other among the plurality of antennas overlap with each other, whereby the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas cover the plurality of partitions.

[0161] The system further comprises: a photographing mechanism that generates an image of an article group consisting of one or more articles placed in the reading place by photographing a plurality of partitions of the reading place that are arranged in a manner close to or adjacent to each other; and an image recognition mechanism that recognizes the position of the article group in the reading place and the type and number of articles constituting the article group by analyzing the image. The system comprises a determination mechanism that can estimate, based on the reading results of the RFID tags by each of the plurality of antennas of the reading mechanism, the area corresponding to the reading range of which of the plurality of antennas in the reading place where the article is placed and which area within the reading range of the corresponding antenna, and based on the estimated result and the recognition result of the article group by the image recognition mechanism, the article group recognized by the image recognition mechanism is matched with the reading result of the RFID tags by the reading mechanism.

[0162] (Variant 10)

[0163] According to the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications, the following techniques are also provided.

[0164] The game table system has:

[0165] a reading mechanism disposed at a plurality of locations on the gaming table and comprising a plurality of antennas for reading the RFID tags of the gaming coins within a reading range; and

[0166] a gaming coin determination mechanism that estimates the position where the gaming coin is placed based on the reading results of the RFID tag by each of the plurality of antennas of the reading mechanism,

[0167] The reading ranges of the antennas adjacent to each other in the plurality of antennas of the reading mechanism overlap with each other, so that the reading ranges of the plurality of antennas cover the plurality of placement object areas of the placement area on the game table.

[0168] The game coin determination mechanism estimates the area where the game coin is placed based on the combination of the reading results of the multiple antennas, with a resolution smaller than the reading range of the multiple antennas.

[0169] The gaming table system includes:

[0170] A reading mechanism that is arranged at multiple positions of the gaming table and includes multiple antennas for reading the RFID tags of the game coins within the reading range; and

[0171] A game coin determination mechanism that estimates the position where the game coin is placed based on the reading results of the multiple antennas of the reading mechanism,

[0172] The reading mechanism repeatedly performs readings using the multiple antennas,

[0173] The game coin determination mechanism identifies multiple game coins that are read by the same antenna at the same time as a group of game coins, and identifies multiple game coins that are read by the same antenna at other times as game coins of a group different from the said group.

[0174] Symbol Explanation:

[0175] 10 Gaming table

[0176] 21 Placing area

[0177] 30 Game coin tray

[0178] 40, 41 Cameras

[0179] 50 Card boot

[0180] 60 Display

[0181] 70 Game coin

[0182] 71 Center line

[0183] 72 RFID tag

[0184] 80 Information processing device

[0185] 81 Image recognition unit

[0186] 82 Game coin determination unit

[0187] 83 Player determination unit

[0188] 90 Game coin database

[0189] 91 Player database

[0190] 100 Gaming table system

[0191] Placement areas 201 to 205 divided by player.

Claims

1. A gaming table system for reading gaming coins with built-in RFID tags on a gaming table, wherein: The gaming table is provided with a placement area including a plurality of object placement areas. The game table system has: A reading mechanism, comprising a plurality of antennas, the plurality of antennas being arranged at a plurality of positions of the gaming table and being used to read the RFID tags of the gaming coins within a reading range, wherein the reading ranges of mutually adjacent antennas of the plurality of antennas have mutually overlapping areas, whereby the RFID tags of the gaming coins placed in the overlapping areas are read by the plurality of antennas involved in the overlapping areas; A camera mechanism that captures the placement area on the gaming table including the plurality of placement object areas, thereby generating an image of a game coin stack consisting of one or more game coins placed in the placement area; An image recognition mechanism that recognizes the position of the game coin stack on the gaming table and the type and number of the game coins constituting the game coin stack by analyzing the image; and A game coin determination mechanism, which, when the same RFID tag is read by multiple antennas, estimates the area where the game coins with the built-in RFID tag are placed based on a combination of the reading results of the multiple antennas, and based on the estimated results and the recognition results of the game coin stack by the image recognition mechanism, matches the game coin stack identified by the image recognition mechanism with the reading results of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

2. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: The medal determination unit estimates, based on a combination of the reading results of the plurality of antennas, an area smaller than the reading range of the plurality of antennas as an area where the medal is placed.

3. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: The reading mechanism uses the multiple antennas to perform repeated reading. The coin determination mechanism associates the coin stack recognized by the image recognition mechanism with the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism, based on the reading result by the reading mechanism and the time information of the reading.

4. The gaming table system according to claim 3, wherein: The reading mechanism uses the multiple antennas to perform repeated reading. The game coin determination mechanism identifies multiple game coins whose RFID tags are read by the same antenna at the same time as one game coin pile, and identifies multiple game coins whose RFID tags are read by the same antenna at different times as a game coin pile different from the one game coin pile.

5. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: The RFID tag built into the game coin stores type identification information for identifying the type of the game coin. The game coin determination mechanism also matches the game coin stack identified by the image recognition mechanism with the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism based on the type and number of the game coins shown by the reading result of the RFID tag and the type and number of the game coins identified by the image recognition mechanism.

6. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a holder determination mechanism, which determines the holder of the game coin based on the reading result of the RFID tag of the game coin by the reading mechanism, The coin determination unit recognizes, as one coin pile, the coins that are placed in the estimated same area and that are determined by the holder determination unit to be held by the same holder.

7. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: When the same RFID tag is read by a plurality of antennas, the gaming coin determination mechanism estimates the area where the gaming coin having the built-in RFID tag is placed based on a combination of the reading strengths of the plurality of antennas.

8. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: The placement area includes a placement area divided by player set for each player position of the plurality of player positions, The placement object area includes a side placement area, Regardless of whether the side placement area is set in the placement area divided by players, or the side placement areas for the multiple player positions are centrally configured according to the type of side placement, the game coin determination mechanism estimates the area where the game coin is placed, and estimates in which side placement area the game coin is placed.

9. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: The content stored in the RFID tag built into the game coin includes game coin identification information for uniquely identifying the game coin. The coin determination mechanism associates the coin identification information of the coin included in the coin stack with the coin stack identified by the image recognition mechanism.

10. The gaming table system according to claim 5, wherein: The game card system further includes a holder updating mechanism for rewriting the holder information of the game coin paid by the dealer to the game coin that wins the game as a result of the game using the game coin into the holder information of the game coin that wins the game.

11. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein: The game coin stack composed of one or more game coins placed in the placement area is a game coin stack for placing the game. The coin determination means associates the coin stack recognized by the image recognition means with the result of reading the RFID tag by the reading means with respect to the placed coin stack.

12. The gaming table system of claim 1, wherein: The game coin stack composed of one or more game coins placed in the placement area is a game coin stack that is placed for the game and the dealer pays the game coin stack that wins the game. For the stack of game coins for which payment has been made, the game coin determination mechanism makes the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism correspond to the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

13. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein, The reading ranges of the plurality of antennas cover the entire placement area on the gaming table.

14. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein, In a case where the number of game coins placed in the area deduced based on the reading result of the RFID tag is less than the number of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism as being placed in that area, the game coin determination mechanism determines that there are cheating game coins with the RFID tag included in the stack of game coins in that area.

15. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein, In a case where the number of game coins placed in the area deduced based on the reading result of the RFID tag is more than the number of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism as being placed in that area, the game coin determination mechanism determines that there are game coins that are in the blind spot of the imaging mechanism and not recognized by the image recognition mechanism in that area.

16. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein, Type determination information for determining the type of the game coin is stored in the RFID tag built into the game coin, For the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism, in a case where the type and number of game coins shown in the reading result of the RFID tag are different from the type and number of game coins of the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism, the game coin determination mechanism determines that the stack of game coins includes cheating game coins.

17. The gaming table system according to claim 14, wherein, Type determination information for determining the type of the game coin is stored in the RFID tag built into the game coin, The game coin determination mechanism also determines the stack of game coins including the cheating game coins in the stack of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism based on the type and number of game coins shown in the reading result of the RFID tag and the type and number of game coins recognized by the image recognition mechanism.

18. The gaming table system according to claim 14, wherein, In a case where it is impossible to determine that there is only one stack of game coins including the cheating game coins, the game coin determination mechanism determines the stacks of game coins with the possibility of including cheating game coins being equal to or more than a specified reference value as the stacks of game coins including cheating game coins.

19. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein, Type determination information for determining the type of the game coin is stored in the RFID tag built into the game coin, The type of the game coin corresponds to the amount of the game coin, The game coin determination mechanism determines the amount of the stack of game coins based on the type determination information.

20. The gaming table system according to claim 1, wherein, A player determining mechanism is also provided, the player determining mechanism determining a player playing a game at the gaming table, The coin determination unit further specifies a player corresponding to the coin stack recognized by the image recognition unit.

21. The gaming table system of claim 1, wherein: The RFID tag built into the game coin stores game coin identification information for uniquely identifying the game coin. The placement area includes placement areas set for multiple player positions, The gaming table system also features: a database storing the game coin identification information in association with player identification information for identifying the player; a player determining mechanism that determines the player identification information of players playing games at the plurality of player locations; as well as An alarm mechanism outputs an alarm when the player identification information determined by the player determination mechanism is not associated in the database with the coin identification information of the coin determined to be present at the player position where the player plays the game.

22. A system for reading an object with an RFID tag built in at a specified location, wherein: The specified place is configured with multiple partitions, The system has: a reading mechanism including a plurality of antennas, the plurality of antennas being disposed at a plurality of locations in the predetermined place and configured to read the RFID tags of the items within a reading range, wherein the reading ranges of mutually adjacent antennas of the plurality of antennas have mutually overlapping areas, whereby the RFID tags of the items placed in the overlapping areas are read by the plurality of antennas involved in the overlapping areas; a photographing mechanism for photographing the plurality of partitions of the predetermined place to generate an image of a group of objects consisting of one or more objects placed in the predetermined place; an image recognition unit that recognizes the position of the group of articles in the predetermined location and the types and number of the articles constituting the group of articles by analyzing the image; and A determination mechanism, which, when the same RFID tag is read by multiple antennas, estimates the area where the article with the built-in RFID tag is placed based on a combination of the reading results of the multiple antennas, and, based on the estimated result and the recognition result of the article group by the image recognition mechanism, matches the article group recognized by the image recognition mechanism with the reading result of the RFID tag by the reading mechanism.

Images