Inspection system, inspection device, and gaming chip

Abstract

To provide an inspection system and an inspection device capable of detecting damage to a radio tag when it is damaged.SOLUTION: An inspection system (51) inspects gaming chips having a color or display for expressing value on an outer surface while incorporating a radio tag for storing chip information in a state in which they are stored in a case (5100) for which the maximum storage number is restricted. The gaming chips are stored in the case capable of storing them piled up in a thickness direction and formed in a row, and includes a reader (5221) for reading radio tags of gaming chips within the case and acquiring chip information of the gaming chips, and a determination part (5222) for comparing the chip information acquired by the reader with the maximum storable number of the case itself, and for determining abnormality in the gaming chips within the case when the number of the gaming chips obtained from the chip information acquired by the reader differs from the maximum storable number.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 29

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] This application claims the benefit of patent application number 2016-225540, filed in Japan on November 18, 2016, and patent application number 2017-100318, filed in Japan on April 29, 2017, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. [Technical Field]

[0002] The present invention relates to an inspection system and an inspection device for inspecting gaming currency, and more particularly to an inspection system and an inspection device for inspecting gaming currency with a built-in wireless tag or counting the number of gaming currency. [Background technology]

[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art There are known gaming currencies that incorporate wireless tags that store identification information and type information (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-246103).

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-246103 discloses gaming currency with a structure that makes it difficult for the wireless tag to be removed, thereby realizing a structure that makes it difficult for the wireless tag to become defective. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, when the number of gaming coins disclosed in JP 2008-246103 A is read using a wireless tag, the number of gaming coins is calculated based on the read wireless tag information. Therefore, if the wireless tag built into the gaming coin is broken or not built in, the currency information cannot be obtained, resulting in a discrepancy between the actual number of gaming coins and the number of gaming coins calculated by reading the wireless tag, which is a problem.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an inspection system and an inspection device that can detect when a wireless tag is broken. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A first aspect of the present invention is an inspection system that inspects gaming coins that have built-in wireless tags that store currency information and have a color or marking on the outside that indicates their value while they are stored in a case with a limited maximum storage capacity, wherein the gaming coins are stored in the case that can store gaming coins stacked in the thickness direction in a row, and the inspection system is equipped with a reading device that reads the wireless tags of the gaming coins in the case and acquires the gaming coin information, and a judgment unit that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device with the maximum number of gaming coins that can be stored in the case itself, and judges that there is an abnormality in the gaming coins in the case when the number of gaming coins obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device differs from the maximum number that can be stored.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention is an inspection system of the first aspect, in which the judgment unit compares and judges the physical information of the gaming currency obtained from the physical characteristics of the case itself or a physical measuring means other than the reading device with the number of physical information pieces of the gaming currency obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device, and if the two do not match, judges that there is an abnormal gaming currency among the gaming currency contained in the case and outputs this.

[0009] A third aspect of the present invention is the inspection system according to the first aspect, wherein the physical information is the number or height obtained optically, or the weight obtained by weighing.

[0010] A fourth aspect of the present invention is an inspection system of the first or second aspect, wherein the inspection system further has a wireless tag information database that can query information from the wireless tag embedded in the gaming currency, and the judgment unit is configured to be able to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency being inspected by comparing the currency information of the gaming currency read by the reading device with the wireless tag information database.

[0011] A fifth aspect of the present invention is an inspection system of the fourth aspect, in which the judgment unit has the function of, when it judges that any of the gaming coins in the case is abnormal, comparing the information of the wireless tags of all the gaming coins in the case with a pre-registered information database of wireless tags, and identifying the presence of an abnormal wireless tag that is not present in the information database of wireless tags.

[0012] A sixth aspect of the present invention is an inspection system of the first or second aspect, in which the judgment unit has a function of, when it judges that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, identifying that one of the gaming coins in the case is an abnormal gaming coin from which information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag.

[0013] A seventh aspect of the present invention is an inspection system of the first or second aspect, in which the judgment unit has the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device and emitting a signal when two or more gaming coins with the same information obtained from the wireless tag are present in the case.

[0014] An eighth aspect of the present invention is an inspection system of the fifth aspect, wherein the wireless tag information database is an information database of wireless tags of gaming currency stored or in use within the gaming facility, and the determination unit analyzes the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device, and has the function of emitting a signal when the information obtained from the wireless tag is identical to the information of the wireless tag of gaming currency present elsewhere within the gaming facility.

[0015] A ninth aspect of the present invention is an inspection device for inspecting gaming coins that have built-in wireless tags that store currency information and have a color or marking on the outside that indicates their value, and is equipped with an inspection table that can inspect the gaming coins when they are stacked in a row in the thickness direction and the maximum stacking number is limited, a reading device that reads the wireless tags of the row of gaming coins and acquires the currency information of the row of gaming coins, and a judgment unit that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device with the maximum stackable number of the inspection table itself, and judges whether there is an abnormality in the gaming coins present on the inspection table when the number of gaming coins obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device differs from the maximum stackable number.

[0016] A tenth aspect of the present invention is an inspection device of the ninth aspect, wherein the judgment unit has the function of judging that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins present on the inspection table and outputting this when the currency information of the gaming coin obtained by the reading device does not match the physical information of the gaming coin.

[0017] An eleventh aspect of the present invention is the inspection device according to the tenth aspect, wherein the physical information is the number or height obtained optically, or the weight obtained by weighing.

[0018] A twelfth aspect of the present invention is an inspection device of the ninth or eleventh aspect, wherein the inspection device further has a radio tag information database that can query information from the radio tag built into the gaming currency, and the judgment unit is configured to be able to compare the currency information of the gaming currency read by the reading device with the radio tag information database to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency to be inspected on the inspection table.

[0019] A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is an inspection device according to the twelfth aspect, wherein the judgment unit has the function of, when it judges that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins on the inspection table, comparing the information of the wireless tags of all gaming coins on the inspection table with a pre-registered information database of wireless tags, and identifying the presence of an abnormal wireless tag that is not present in the information database of wireless tags.

[0020] A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is an inspection device of the ninth or tenth aspect, in which the judgment unit has a function of, when it judges that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, identifying that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case and that information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag.

[0021] A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is an inspection device of the ninth or tenth aspect, in which the judgment unit has the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device and emitting a signal when two or more gaming coins with the same information obtained from the wireless tag are present in the case.

[0022] A 16th aspect of the present invention is the inspection device of the 12th aspect, wherein the wireless tag information database is an information database of wireless tags of gaming currency stored or in use within the amusement facility, and the judgment unit has the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device and emitting a signal when the information obtained from the wireless tag is identical to the information of the wireless tag of gaming currency present elsewhere within the amusement facility.

[0023] The 17th aspect of the present invention is a gaming currency that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a color or marking on its exterior that indicates its value, and is a gaming currency that can be inspected using the inspection system of the 1st to 8th aspects when stored in a case that has a limited maximum number of coins that can be stored. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a game coin according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a side view of the game currency according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image obtained by photographing a plurality of game coins in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of code information in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an inspection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a case according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified case of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a plan view of a modified case according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the circulation of game currency and the usage of the inspection system in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of information stored in the usage management device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of information to be read out in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a first pass / fail determination method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating the second pass / fail determination method in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating the third pass / fail determination method in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16]FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating the fourth pass / fail determination method in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating the fifth pass / fail determination method in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a pass / fail result display screen showing the pass / fail judgment result (pass) in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a pass / fail result display screen showing the result of pass / fail judgment (fail) in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a modified example of the RFID antenna of the inspection device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a side view of a game currency according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a side cross-sectional view of a game coin according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a perspective view of a game currency according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a side view of a game currency according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a plan view of a game currency according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 26] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of an image obtained by photographing stacked game coins in the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 27] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 28] FIG. 28 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 29] FIG. 29 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 30]FIG. 30 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an inspection device according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 31] FIG. 31 is a perspective view of a case according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 32] FIG. 32 is a perspective view of a modified case of the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 33] FIG. 33 is a plan view of a modified case according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 34] FIG. 34 is a side cross-sectional view of a game coin according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 35] FIG. 35 is a diagram showing an example of an image obtained by photographing stacked game coins in the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 36] FIG. 36 is a diagram showing an example of a pass / fail result display screen showing the result (pass) of the pass / fail judgment in the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 37] FIG. 37 is a diagram showing an example of a pass / fail result display screen showing the result of pass / fail judgment (fail) in the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 38] FIG. 38 is a diagram illustrating an example of the circulation of game currency and the use of an inspection system in the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 39] FIG. 39 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection device according to another embodiment of the second embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the embodiments described below are examples of how the present invention can be implemented, and the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations described below. When implementing the present invention, specific configurations corresponding to the embodiments may be appropriately adopted.

[0026] <<First embodiment>>

[0027] The first embodiment relates to an inspection system and an inspection device that inspects game currency, and in particular to an inspection system and an inspection device that inspects a plurality of game currency stored in a case.

[0028] Gaming currency used in gaming facilities such as casinos is manufactured in a factory, transported to the gaming facility, stored in a vault, and then moved from the vault to the cashier or game tables within the facility. During this transportation, storage, and movement process, it is necessary to prevent the gaming currency from being stolen or replaced with counterfeit currency. For this purpose, a case is used to store the gaming currency. By sealing this case after storing multiple gaming currencies, it becomes possible to detect the removal of gaming currency from the case after sealing.

[0029] Known gaming currencies include those that incorporate a wireless tag that stores identification information and type information, and have optically readable code information on the side that indicates the identification information and type information (for example, JP 2009-66172 A).

[0030] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-66172 discloses a system using gaming currency. This system calculates the number of gaming currency placed on a betting board of a gaming table based on identification information stored in a wireless tag, and also calculates the number of gaming currency based on identification information attached to the side, and compares these. This makes it possible to detect if fraudulent gaming currency has been used at the gaming table.

[0031] However, the system disclosed in JP 2009-66172 A detects fraud by calculating the number of gaming coins bet (placed on the betting board), so even this system cannot inspect multiple gaming coins stored in a case while they are still stored in the case and detect fraudulent gaming coins.

[0032] Therefore, the first embodiment aims to provide an inspection system and an inspection device that can inspect multiple gaming coins stored in a case while they are still stored in the case.

[0033] The inspection system of the first aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system that inspects gaming coins having at least first currency information and second currency information, wherein the second currency information is provided on the side of the gaming coin in an optically readable form, and is equipped with a case that stores multiple gaming coins stacked together, and an inspection device that inspects the gaming coins stored in the case, and the inspection device is configured to include a first reading device that acquires the first currency information of the gaming coins stored in the case, a second reading device that optically reads the side of the gaming coins stored in the case to acquire second currency information, and a judgment unit that uses the first currency information acquired by the first reading device and the second currency information acquired by the second reading device to determine the authenticity, damage, or number of coins by value of all gaming coins present in the case, thereby judging the pass / fail of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case.

[0034] With this configuration, the first reading unit and the second reading unit both acquire the first currency information and the second currency information from the gaming currency stored in the case, so that the gaming currency can be inspected while it is stored in the case. Also, because the two pieces of information, the first currency information and the second currency information, are acquired from the gaming currency and then inspected, pass / fail determination can be made reliably.

[0035] In the second aspect of the inspection system of the first embodiment, in the inspection system of the first aspect, the first currency information and the second currency information of a common gaming currency include common information, and the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming currencies contained in the case to be unacceptable if the common information portions of the multiple first currency information acquired by the first reading device and the multiple second currency information acquired by the second reading device do not match.

[0036] With this configuration, when an illegal gaming currency in which the common information portions of the first currency information and the second currency information do not match is present in the case, the judgment unit can reject the gaming currency contained in the case.

[0037] For example, if the same identification information is recorded on the wireless tag and on the side, the product will be rejected if the multiple identification information read from the multiple wireless tags and the multiple identification information read from the multiple sides do not completely match. Also, if the value of the gaming currency is recorded on the wireless tag and on the side, the product will be rejected if the number of each value read from the wireless tag and the number of each value read from the side do not match.

[0038] A third aspect of the inspection system of the first embodiment is an inspection system of the first aspect, in which both or one of the first currency information and the second currency information includes individual identification information that individually identifies the gaming currency.

[0039] A fourth aspect of the inspection system of the first embodiment is an inspection system of the first aspect, in which the second currency information includes information expressed in a designated color that represents the value of the gaming currency, and the designated color is information that indicates the value of the gaming currency.

[0040] The inspection system of the fifth aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the third aspect, in which both the first currency information and the second currency information include individual identification information, and if the individual identification information of the multiple first currency information acquired by the first reading device does not match the individual identification information of the multiple second currency information acquired by the second reading device, the inspection system determines that the multiple gaming currencies contained in the case are unacceptable.

[0041] With this configuration, when there is an illegal gaming currency in the case where the individual identification information of the first currency information does not match the individual identification information of the second currency information, the judgment unit can reject the gaming currency contained in the case.

[0042] The inspection system of the sixth aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the first aspect, further comprising a memory unit that stores individual identification information of at least the first currency information or the second currency information of the multiple gaming coins that should be stored in the case, and the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to be unacceptable if the individual identification information of the multiple first currency information acquired by the first reading device or the multiple second currency information acquired by the second reading device does not match the individual identification information of the first currency information or the second currency information stored in the memory unit.

[0043] With this configuration, when there is an invalid gaming currency in the case, in which the first currency information or the second currency information is inaccurate, the judgment unit can reject the gaming currency contained in the case.

[0044] For example, if individual identification information expressed in letters is recorded on the wireless tag and individual identification information expressed in numbers is recorded on the side, the memory unit also stores, for each case, multiple individual identification information expressed in letters for the wireless tag and multiple individual identification information expressed in numbers for the side, and if the multiple individual identification information read from the multiple wireless tags does not match the multiple individual identification information stored in the memory unit for the wireless tags of that case, or if the multiple individual identification information read from the multiple sides does not match the multiple individual identification information stored in the memory unit for the side of that case, the case will be rejected.

[0045] The inspection system of the seventh aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the first aspect, further comprising a memory unit that stores a correspondence between the first currency information and the second currency information, and the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming currencies contained in the case to be unacceptable if the multiple first currency information acquired by the first reading device and the multiple second currency information acquired by the second reading device do not match the correspondence stored in the memory unit.

[0046] With this configuration, when game currency with an inaccurate correspondence between the first currency information and the second currency information is present in the case, it can be rejected.

[0047] For example, if identification information is recorded on a wireless tag and a value is recorded on its side, a value is assigned to each piece of identification information and stored in the memory unit, and the number of pieces of each value is calculated for multiple pieces of identification information read from multiple wireless tags by referring to the memory unit, and if the number of pieces of each value read from the side does not match this, the product is rejected. The same applies conversely, if a value is recorded on a wireless tag and identification information is recorded on its side. In these cases, the memory unit does not need to store which case contains gaming currency with which identification information.

[0048] An eighth aspect of the inspection system of the first embodiment is an inspection system of any one of the first to seventh aspects, in which the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming coins contained in the case to be unacceptable if the number of the first currency information acquired by the first reading device and the second currency information acquired by the second reading device is not a predetermined number.

[0049] With this configuration, when gaming currency is removed from the case or gaming currency is added to the case, the judgment unit can reject the gaming currency stored in that case.

[0050] For example, if the case can accommodate 100 coins, the case will be rejected if either the first currency information read from the wireless tag or the second currency information read from the side is less than 100 coins.

[0051] A ninth aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system in which, in the inspection system of any one of the first to eighth aspects, the gaming coins include color information indicating the value of the gaming coin in the second currency information, and value information identifying the value of the gaming coin in the first currency information, and the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming coins contained in the case to be unacceptable if the color information and the value information of the first currency information do not match.

[0052] The inspection system of the 10th aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the 9th aspect, wherein the second currency information further includes value information of the gaming currency in addition to the color information, and the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming currency contained in the case to be unacceptable if the value of the gaming currency based on the color information in the second currency information does not match both or either of the value information of the second currency information and the value information of the first currency information.

[0053] An inspection system according to an eleventh aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein the game currency has a wireless tag having the first currency information.

[0054] The inspection system of the 12th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system of any one of the first to 11th aspects, wherein at least one or both of the first currency information and the second currency information includes group information indicating the group to which the gaming currency belongs, and the group is a group divided according to the value, manufacturing date, manufacturer, and / or gaming facility used of the gaming currency.

[0055] The inspection system of the 13th aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the 10th aspect, in which the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming coins contained in the case to be unacceptable if the color information does not match at least one of the value information, common information, or individual identification information of the first currency information and the second currency information.

[0056] The inspection system of the 14th aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the 10th aspect, in which the judgment unit determines the number of each value of the multiple gaming currencies contained in the case, or the total value of all the gaming currencies, based on the color information or the value information of the first currency information or the second currency information.

[0057] A 15th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system in which, in the inspection system of the first aspect, the second currency information includes information expressed on the side of the gaming currency in a designated color that represents the value of the gaming currency, and the designated color is information that indicates the value of the gaming currency, and the second reading device comprises a camera that photographs the side of the multiple gaming currencies contained in the case, and an identification unit that analyzes the image photographed by the camera to identify the designated color of each of the multiple gaming currencies and identify the value of the multiple gaming currencies according to the identified designated color.

[0058] With this configuration, the judgment unit can judge pass / fail using information on the value of the gaming currency.

[0059] The inspection system of the 16th aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the 15th aspect, in which the specified color representing the second currency information is sandwiched in the thickness direction of the gaming currency on the side of the gaming currency by a common color that is commonly assigned to gaming currencies of different values.

[0060] With this configuration, even if multiple gaming coins are stacked in the case, the identification unit can identify the types of multiple gaming coins in the case by extracting the specified color sandwiched between common colors from the side image.

[0061] The inspection system of the 17th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system of the first aspect, in which the second currency information is optically readable written information on the side, and the second reading device comprises a camera that photographs the side of a plurality of gaming currencies loaded and stored in the case, and an identification unit that analyzes the image photographed by the camera to identify the written information of each of the plurality of gaming currencies and identify the second currency information of each of the plurality of gaming currencies according to the identified written information.

[0062] With this configuration, the judgment unit can judge pass / fail using the notation information on the gaming currency.

[0063] An 18th aspect of the inspection system of the first embodiment is the 17th aspect of the inspection system, wherein the written information is written in infrared-responsive ink that emits light in response to infrared rays or infrared-absorbing ink that absorbs infrared rays, and the camera is an infrared camera.

[0064] This configuration makes it possible to make the identification information attached to the side invisible under natural light.

[0065] The inspection system of the 19th aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the 17th aspect, wherein the written information is written in ink that glows in response to ultraviolet light, and the inspection device further includes an ultraviolet irradiation unit that irradiates ultraviolet light onto the sides of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case.

[0066] This configuration also makes it possible to make the identification information attached to the side surface invisible under natural light.

[0067] The inspection system of the 20th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system of the first aspect, in which the case has a seal that is destroyed when the case is opened to allow the gaming coins stored therein to be removed, and the inspection device further includes a detection unit that detects the seal when it is unbroken, and the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to be unacceptable if the detection unit does not detect the seal when it is unbroken.

[0068] With this configuration, when the seal is broken, the judgment unit can reject the gaming currency stored in the case.

[0069] The 21st aspect of the inspection system of the first embodiment is an inspection system of the first aspect, wherein the case has a light-transmitting portion, and the second reading device optically reads the side of the gaming coin stored in the case through the light-transmitting portion.

[0070] This configuration allows the second currency information to be read while the case is closed.

[0071] A 22nd aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system according to claim 21, wherein in the inspection system of the 21st aspect, the light-transmitting portion is made of a transparent material.

[0072] This configuration allows the case to have a sealed structure including the light-transmitting portion.

[0073] The inspection system of a 23rd aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the first aspect, wherein the inspection device includes a case receiving section that receives the case.

[0074] With this configuration, the first currency information and the second currency information can be read by placing the case in the case receiving section.

[0075] The inspection system of a 24th aspect of the first embodiment is the inspection system of the 21st aspect, wherein the case is portable.

[0076] This configuration allows inspection of the gaming coins in the case at any point during the process of the case moving from the factory to the table or cashier.

[0077] A twenty-fifth aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system according to the first aspect, wherein the case is a two-tiered chip float or chip tray that holds the gaming coins on a gaming table.

[0078] The inspection system of the 26th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system for inspecting gaming coins that have a designated color indicating their value and optically readable notation information on their sides, and includes a case that stores multiple gaming coins stacked together, and an inspection device that inspects the gaming coins stored in the case.The inspection device is configured to include a camera that photographs the sides of the gaming coins stored in the case, an identification unit that analyzes the images taken by the camera and identifies the designated color and notation information of each of the multiple gaming coins, and a judgment unit that judges the pass / fail of the gaming coins for each case based on the designated color and notation information identified by the identification unit.

[0079] With this configuration, the recognition unit identifies the designated color and notation information for the gaming currency stored in the case, so that the gaming currency can be inspected while it is stored in the case. In addition, since the inspection is performed by identifying the two pieces of information, the designated color and notation information, from the side of the gaming currency, it is possible to reliably determine whether the gaming currency is pass or fail.

[0080] The inspection system of the 27th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system for inspecting gaming coins that have a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and have a designated color on the side that indicates their value, and is equipped with a case that stores multiple gaming coins stacked on top of each other, and an inspection device that inspects the gaming coins stored in the case.The inspection device is configured to include a reading unit that reads the wireless tag of the gaming coin stored in the case to obtain the currency information, a camera that photographs the side of the gaming coin stored in the case, an identification unit that analyzes the image taken by the camera and identifies the designated color of each of the multiple gaming coins, and a judgment unit that judges the pass / fail of the gaming coin for each case based on the currency information obtained by the reading unit and the designated color identified by the identification unit.

[0081] With this configuration, the reading unit acquires currency information from the gaming currency stored in the case, and the identification unit also identifies the designated color of the gaming currency stored in the case, so it is possible to inspect the gaming currency while it is stored in the case. Furthermore, since the inspection is performed by identifying two pieces of information, the currency information and the designated color, from the side of the gaming currency, it is possible to reliably determine whether the gaming currency is pass or fail.

[0082] The inspection device of the 28th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection device that inspects multiple gaming coins stacked and stored in a case, and has a built-in wireless tag that stores first currency information and has optically readable second currency information attached to its side.The inspection device is configured to include a first reading device that reads the wireless tags of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to obtain the first currency information, a second reading device that optically reads the sides of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to obtain the second currency information, and a judgment unit that judges the acceptability of the gaming coins for each case based on the first currency information obtained by the first reading device and the second currency information obtained by the second reading device.

[0083] With this configuration, the first reading unit and the second reading unit both acquire the first currency information and the second currency information from the gaming currency stored in the case, so that the gaming currency can be inspected while it is stored in the case. Also, because the two pieces of information, the first currency information and the second currency information, are acquired from the gaming currency and then inspected, pass / fail determination can be made reliably.

[0084] The inspection device of the 29th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection device that inspects multiple gaming coins that are stacked and stored in a case and have designated colors representing their value and optically readable notation information on their sides, and is configured to include a camera that photographs the sides of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case, an identification unit that analyzes the images taken by the camera and identifies the designated color and notation information of each of the multiple gaming coins, and a judgment unit that judges the pass / fail of the gaming coins for each case based on the designated color and notation information identified by the identification unit.

[0085] The inspection device of the 30th aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection device that inspects multiple gaming coins stacked and stored in a case, and that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a designated color on the side that indicates value.The inspection device is configured to include a reading unit that reads the wireless tags of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to obtain the currency information, a camera that photographs the sides of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case, an identification unit that analyzes the images taken by the camera and identifies the designated color of each of the multiple gaming coins, and a judgment unit that judges the pass / fail of the gaming coins for each case based on the currency information obtained by the reading unit and the designated color identified by the identification unit.

[0086] The inspection system of the 31st aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection system for inspecting gaming coins that have built-in wireless tags that store currency information, and includes a case that stores multiple gaming coins stacked on top of each other, and an inspection device that inspects the gaming coins stored in the case.The inspection device includes a reading unit that reads the wireless tags of the gaming coins stored in the case to obtain currency information, a judgment unit that judges the pass / fail of the gaming coins for each case based on the currency information obtained by the reading unit, and a memory unit that stores the currency information of the multiple gaming coins that should be stored in the case.If the multiple pieces of currency information obtained by the reading unit do not match the currency information stored in the memory unit, the judgment unit judges the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to be pass / fail.

[0087] The inspection device of the 32nd aspect of the first embodiment is an inspection device that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and inspects multiple gaming coins that are stacked and stored in a case, and is configured to include a reading unit that reads the wireless tags of the multiple gaming coins stored in the case to obtain the currency information, and a judgment unit that judges the acceptability of the gaming coins for each case based on the currency information obtained by the reading unit.

[0088] <Inspection system configuration> 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The inspection system 1 comprises a case 100 for storing game coins in a stacked state, and an inspection device 200 for inspecting the game coins stored in the case 100 while they are still stored in the case 100.

[0089] The case 100 has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape and is made of transparent resin. The case 100 stores disc-shaped gaming coins C in a stacked state. The case 100 has five columns that store 20 gaming coins C each, allowing it to store a total of 100 gaming coins C. The case 100 is portable and can be carried around while storing gaming coins C. The case 100 consists of a separable upper part 101 and lower part 102, and by separating the upper part 101 and the lower part 102, it is possible to store gaming coins C in the case 100 and to remove gaming coins C from the case 100.

[0090] The inspection device 200 comprises a receiving section 210 and a main body section 220. The inspection device 200 can receive the case 100 in this receiving section 210. The receiving section 210 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with the top and front open as a whole, and is formed by left and right side walls 211, a bottom section 212, and a rear wall 213, and has a width, height, and depth that are just large enough to fit the case 100 inside.

[0091] The main body 220 is provided on the back side of the rear wall 213 of the receiving section 210, and includes an RFID reader 221, a computer 222, and a display section 223. The main body 220 is further provided with an infrared camera 225 and a visible light camera 226. The infrared camera 225 and the visible light camera 226 are attached to the tip of an arm 227 so as to photograph the side of the gaming currency C stored in the case 100 from the top side of the case 100 stored in the receiving section 210.

[0092] An RFID reader 221, a display unit 223, an infrared camera 225, and a visible light camera 226 are connected to the computer 222. An RFID antenna 224 is connected to the RFID reader 221. The RFID antenna 224 extends from the RFID reader 221 and spirals inside the left and right side walls 211. That is, a spiral RFID antenna 224 is installed inside each of the left and right side walls 211, and each RFID antenna 224 is connected to the RFID reader 221.

[0093] The display unit 223 is configured with a liquid crystal panel. Note that a touch sensor may be provided on this liquid crystal panel, and the display unit 223 may be configured as a touch panel.

[0094] <Composition of gaming currency> Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a gaming currency C according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a side view of the gaming currency C according to an embodiment of the present invention. The gaming currency C has a designated color layer 501 in the middle characterized by a designated color, and common color layers 502 characterized by a common color on both sides (top and bottom in Fig. 3) in the thickness direction of this designated color layer 501 in the middle, and a striped pattern (in the thickness direction) is formed on the side.

[0095] An RFID tag 503 is inserted as a wireless tag between the designated color layer 501 and one of the common color layers 502 of the gaming currency C. The RFID tag 503 stores currency information of the gaming currency C, such as individual identification information that individually identifies (uniquely identifies) the gaming currency C and value (type) information. A transparent layer 504 is provided on the outermost layer of the gaming currency C. That is, the gaming currency C has the designated color layer 501 as an intermediate layer, common color layers 502 that sandwich the designated color layer 501 from both sides, and transparent layers 504 that are the outermost layers on both sides.

[0096] The gaming currency C is formed by stacking five layers of long, thin plastic material (in the order of transparent layer 504, common color layer 502, designated color layer 501, common color layer 502, and transparent layer 504), placing RFID tags 503 at predetermined intervals between the designated color layer 501 and one of the common color layers 502, thermocompression bonding these five layers of plastic material, and then punching them out into a circle, rectangle, or the like using a press or the like so that one gaming currency C contains one RFID tag 503. When punching out using a press, the dimensions of the die and punch of the punching mold are designed so that R processing (rounded corners) is applied to the edge of the outermost transparent layer 504.

[0097] The transparent layer 504 may be formed by applying varnish to the surface after thermocompression bonding three layers consisting of the designated color layer 501 and two common color layers 502. The designated color layer 501 and the two common color layers 502 do not have to be separate members, and may be formed integrally, and then the designated color (and common color) may be applied to the side surface by inkjet printing or the like to form the designated color layer 501 and the common color layer 502.

[0098] The designated color layer 501 expresses the value (type) of the gaming currency C with a color (designated color). That is, by making the color of the designated color layer 501 different for each value of the gaming currency C (red, green, yellow, blue, etc.), the value of the gaming currency C (10 points, 20 points, 100 points, 1000 points, etc.) can be identified by checking the color of the designated color layer 501, which can be optically read from the side of the gaming currency C. A common color (common color) is assigned to the common color layer 502 for gaming currencies C of different values. The common color is preferably lighter than any of the designated colors, and is white in this embodiment.

[0099] Furthermore, on the side of the gaming currency C (specifically, on the common color layer 502 on the side), code information 505 representing the currency information of the gaming currency C is written. This code information 505 expresses information by arranging a plurality of signs (which may be called marks, and in this embodiment, square signs). While the designated color layer 501 expresses information (the value of the gaming currency C) by color, the code information 505 expresses information by signs written on the side, and therefore can be called written information. Other examples of written information include a plurality of character strings, a number string, a barcode, etc.

[0100] The code information 505 in this embodiment is repeatedly written at 60-degree intervals in the circumferential direction of the gaming currency C. As a result, the complete code information 505 is contained within a 120-degree range in the circumferential direction when the side surface of the gaming currency C is observed from any circumferential direction. Note that the repeating period of the gaming currency C is not limited to 60 degrees, and it is sufficient that the code information 505 is repeatedly written at least three times at equal intervals in the circumferential direction.

[0101] The code information 505 is written in invisible ink. In this embodiment, the invisible ink is printed by inkjet printing using infrared absorbing ink (specifically, carbon black) that absorbs infrared rays. Since only the printed portion of the code information 505 does not reflect infrared rays, the code information 505 will emerge when the side of the gaming currency C is photographed with the infrared camera 225. Note that the infrared camera 225 may be equipped with an infrared lamp to irradiate the side of the gaming currency C with infrared rays in order to clearly highlight the printed portion.

[0102] The invisible ink is not limited to infrared absorbing ink, but may be, for example, infrared reactive ink that emits fluorescence in response to infrared rays or UV ink that emits fluorescence in response to ultraviolet rays. When UV ink is used, an ultraviolet camera is used instead of the infrared camera 225, and further, a black light is used to irradiate the side surface of the gaming currency C with ultraviolet rays in order to make the UV ink fluoresce.

[0103] Furthermore, the gaming currency C has a mark m' made of UV ink or carbon black ink on the surface X of the common color layer 502. This mark m' indicates the authenticity of the gaming currency 5; when exposed to ultraviolet (or infrared) light, the mark m' becomes visible, and its shape and number combination indicate authenticity. A transparent layer 504 is thermocompressed or coated (applied) on the outermost layer to cover the game parlor-specific printing 506 (e.g., 100 points) on the surface and the mark m', and this transparent layer 504 is embossed or varnished to prevent the gaming currency C from sticking to each other and to improve slippage.

[0104] The edges of the outermost transparent layer 504, on which printing 506 (e.g., 100 points) is performed with a rounded finish (R), which prevents the surface of the common color layer 502 from deforming and appearing on the side during the punching process of the gaming coin C. It also prevents sharp edges of the gaming coin C from damaging the remaining hand or other gaming coins C. The designated color layer 501 may be formed of one or more colored layers. Furthermore, a layer within the designated color layer 501 may be embedded with metal or ceramic to increase its weight. The RFID tag 503 may also be embedded in a hollowed-out portion of the designated color layer 501, or in a space provided between the designated color layer 501 and the common color layer 502.

[0105] FIG. 4 shows an example of an image obtained by photographing a plurality of gaming coins C stored in the case 100 with the infrared camera 225 and the visible light camera 226. In this case, the case 100 may be a two-tiered chip float (particularly the movable upper tray portion of a two-tiered chip tray) or chip tray that holds the gaming coins C at a gaming table. Even if the gaming coins C are stacked vertically in the case 100 as shown in FIG. 4, the infrared camera 225 and the visible light camera 226 can photograph the code information 505. In addition, by counting the designated color layers 501 vertically, the number of gaming coins C can also be counted. Note that even if the case 100 is two-tiered, by unfolding each tier, the infrared camera 225 and the visible light camera 226 can photograph the side views of all gaming coins C stored in the case 100.

[0106] In this embodiment, code information 505 is represented by an arrangement of markers m in multiple rows and multiple columns. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of code information 505. As shown in FIG. 5, upper and lower markers m are paired to form one code element. In the example of FIG. 5, one piece of code information 505 is composed of 10-digit code elements. As shown in FIG. 5, there are four patterns of one code element formed by pairing upper and lower markers m, and one code element can represent four types of information. Therefore, code information 505 made up of 10-digit code elements can represent 4 to the power of 10 types of information. The letter Y next to the 10-digit code element is an orientation discrimination mark Y for discriminating the orientation of code information 505.

[0107] <Configuration of inspection equipment> Fig. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of inspection device 200. In addition to RFID reader 221, computer 222, display unit 223, RFID antenna 224, infrared camera 225, and visible light camera 226 shown in Fig. 1, inspection device 200 also includes a barcode reader 228 and a communication unit 229. Furthermore, computer 222 is configured by a processor, memory, etc. (not shown), and an identification unit 230 and a determination unit 231 are configured by the processor executing an inspection program.

[0108] The RFID system is made up of the RFID reader 221, the RFID antenna 224, and the RFID tag 503 embedded in the gaming currency C. The currency information of the gaming currency C stored in the RFID tag 503 embedded in the gaming currency C is read out by the RFID reader 221 in a non-contact manner and used for processing in the computer 222.

[0109] The infrared camera 225 includes an infrared transmission filter that transmits only infrared light, and captures an infrared image. The infrared image generated by the infrared camera 225 is transmitted to the computer 222 and is provided for processing by the recognition unit 230. The visible light camera 226 captures an image of light in the visible range. The visible light image generated by the visible light camera 226 is also transmitted to the computer 222 and is provided for processing by the recognition unit 230. As shown in FIG. 1 , the infrared camera 225 and the visible light camera 226 are directed toward the case 100 from above, and capture images of the sides of the multiple game currencies C inside the case 100 through the top 101 of the case 100.

[0110] The barcode reader 228 reads the barcode BC attached to the case 100 to obtain case identification information, which will be described later. The display unit 223 displays the determination result of the determination unit 231 of the computer 222. The communication unit 229 communicates data with a manufacturing management device 302 installed in the factory F and a usage management device 303 installed in the game center P.

[0111] <Case configuration> FIG. 7 is a perspective view of case 100. Case 100 is composed of upper and lower parts 101 and 102. In this embodiment, upper and lower parts 101 and 102 are made of transparent resin. As described above, in inspection device 200 of this embodiment, infrared camera 225 and visible light camera 226 (hereinafter simply referred to as cameras) are installed above receiving unit 210, so at least the top surface of case 100 needs to be light-transmitting. In other words, the portion of case 100 that is located between it and the camera when it is received in receiving unit 210 of inspection device 200 needs to be a light-transmitting portion that transmits light. Note that, in this embodiment, case 100 has a sealed structure composed of upper and lower parts 101 and 102, but the light-transmitting portion may be perforated.

[0112] As described above, the case 100 has a shape in which five parallel columns are formed, each of which can store 20 gaming coins C stacked on top of each other. In the example of Figure 7, the cross section of each column is polygonal (octagonal) so that the upper and lower parts 101 and 102 roughly conform to the shape of the gaming coins C stored therein.

[0113] FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a modified case 100', and FIG. 9 is a plan view of this case 100'. The case 100' also consists of an upper part 101' and a lower part 102 made of transparent resin. In this modified example, the top surface of the upper part 101' facing the camera is flat. By making the surface facing the camera flat in this way, as shown in FIG. 9, linear shadows caused by the corners of the polygonal cross section of the case 100' are not reflected on the camera, and information about the side of the gaming currency C can be accurately identified in image analysis of the image captured by the camera.

[0114] <Usage of the inspection system> 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of the circulation of gaming currency C and the use of the inspection system 1. The gaming currency C is manufactured by a manufacturing device 301 in a factory F (s1) and stored in a case 100 in groups of 100 (s2). After storing the gaming currency C, the case 100 is sealed with a seal at the factory F. In addition, a barcode BC indicating case identification information for uniquely identifying this case 100 is affixed to the side of the case 100 (s3).

[0115] At this time, the case identification information of the barcode BC affixed to the case 100 is input to the manufacturing control device 302 of the factory F (s4). The case 100 containing the gaming currency C is then subjected to the inspection device 200, which reads the currency information (details of which will be described later) attached to the gaming currency C and inspects whether the case passes or fails. The currency information read from the gaming currency C contained in the case 100 is then sent to the manufacturing control device 302 (s5), where it is associated with the case identification information. The manufacturing control device 302 may be a personal computer.

[0116] The cases 100 that have passed inspection by the inspection device 200 in the factory F are transported from the factory F to the amusement center P (s6). At the amusement center P, the cases 100 are first stored in a storage facility R (s7). The inspection device 200 is installed in the storage facility R, and the cases 100 that arrive from the factory F are inspected by this inspection device 200.

[0117] Meanwhile, the production management device 302 of the factory F transmits the case identification information and the associated currency information to the usage management device 303 of the gaming center P. The usage management device 303 has a memory unit that acquires the case identification information and the associated currency information from the production management device 302 for each of the multiple cases 100 containing gaming currency C, and stores them for each case 100. The usage management device 303 may be a personal computer.

[0118] Inspection by the inspection device 200 in the storage R is performed using the information stored in this usage management device 303. Cases 100 that pass inspection in the storage R are carried to the game table T (s9) or to the cashier CA (s10). The game table T and the cashier CA are also equipped with inspection devices 200, and the cases 100 containing gaming currency C are inspected by these inspection devices 200 while still sealed. In addition, inspection of cases 100 containing used gaming currency C is also performed at the game table T and the cashier CA, and the inspection device 200 is also used for this inspection. In inspections by the three inspection devices 200 in the gaming facility P, the case identification information and the currency information associated therewith that are transmitted from the manufacturing management device 302 and stored in the usage management device 303 are referenced.

[0119] <Configuration of stored information> 11 is a diagram showing an example of the contents of information generated by the manufacturing management device 302, transmitted to the usage management device 303, and stored in the usage management device 303. Information is generated for each case 100, and each case identification information (Ca1, Ca2, Ca3, ...) is associated with currency information of multiple (100 in this embodiment) gaming currencies C contained in the case 100.

[0120] As currency information, the RFID tag 503 stores information consisting of a combination of individual identification information (aa, ab, ac, ..., du, dv) that uniquely identifies the gaming currency C and information that identifies the value (type) of the gaming currency C (r, r, r, ..., b, b), the side notation information stores information consisting of a combination of individual identification information (00001, 00002, 00003, ..., 00099, 00100) that uniquely identifies the gaming currency C and information that identifies the value (type) of the gaming currency C (1, 1, 1, ..., 2, 2), and the side color information stores information that identifies the value (type) of the gaming currency C (red, red, red, ..., blue, blue).

[0121] The information stored in this RFID tag 503 is information that can be electromagnetically read by the RFID reader 221 and corresponds to the first currency information of the present invention, and the notation information and color information attached to the side is information that can be optically read and corresponds to the second currency information of the present invention.

[0122] <Configuration of information to be read> FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the content of information acquired from one case 100 by the barcode reader 228, RFID reader 221, infrared camera 225, and visible light camera 226 in the inspection device 200. The RFID reader 221 reads out an alphanumeric character string stored in the RFID tag 503 embedded in a plurality of gaming currencies C. The infrared camera 225 reads out a numeric string, which is written information written on the side. The visible light camera 226 reads out the color of the side. The identification unit 230 analyzes (the image of) the numeric string read out by the infrared camera 225, identifies the numbers, specifies information consisting of the numeric string, and specifies a specified color from the image of the side read out by the visible light camera 226.

[0123] Here, the written information and designated color information on the sides of the multiple gaming currencies C can be acquired according to the arrangement order of the gaming currencies C in the case 100, but the information acquired from the multiple RFID tags 503 cannot be acquired according to the arrangement order of the gaming currencies C. In other words, it is not possible to identify which gaming currency C the information on the RFID tag 503 was obtained from.

[0124] <Pass / fail determination method> Next, a method of determining pass / fail in the computer 222 of the inspection device 200 will be described. As described above, the recognition unit 230 identifies the currency information stored in the RFID tags 503 of the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 based on the reading results of the RFID reader 221, analyzes the infrared image obtained by the infrared camera 225 to identify the currency information indicated by the written information, and analyzes the visible light image obtained by the visible light camera 226 to identify the color of the designated color layer 501. Based on this information, the determination unit 231 determines the authenticity, damage, or number of coins by value of all gaming currencies present in the case, and determines the pass / fail of the case 100. In the following description, the currency information stored in the RFID tag 503 will be referred to as first currency information, and the written information and color information of the designated color layer 501 attached to the side of the gaming currency C will be referred to as second currency information.

[0125] (First pass / fail judgment method) In the first pass / fail determination method, the first currency information and the second currency information for the same gaming currency C are the same information, as shown in Fig. 13. In the example of Fig. 13, the first currency information is information consisting of individual identification information and value information for each gaming currency C, and the same content is written on the side as second currency information in the form of written information.

[0126] The RFID reader 221 reads out the first currency information from the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the recognition unit 230, the infrared camera 225 photographs the side of the gaming currency C, and the recognition unit 230 identifies the second currency information. In this case, the correspondence between the multiple pieces of first currency information and the multiple pieces of second currency information is unknown to the recognition unit 230.

[0127] The judgment unit 231 compares the multiple first currency information and multiple second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230, and if they correspond completely one-to-one, that is, if all of the first currency information matches any of the second currency information without any overlap, it judges the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 as pass, and if the multiple first currency information and multiple second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 do not match completely, it judges the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 as fail.

[0128] A case in which the plurality of first currency information and the plurality of second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 do not completely match may be when any of the gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 is counterfeit, or when the RFID tag 503 or side of any of the gaming currencies C is damaged. In other words, the judgment unit 231 judges the authenticity and damage of all of the gaming currencies C present in the case 100, thereby judging whether the plurality of gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 are pass or fail.

[0129] (Second pass / fail judgment method) In the second pass / fail determination method, the first currency information and the second currency information for the same gaming currency C are the same information, as shown in Fig. 14. In the example of Fig. 14, the first currency information is information on the value of each gaming currency C, and each gaming currency C is given a designated color as second currency information in the designated color layer 501 on the side.

[0130] The RFID reader 221 reads the first currency information from the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the identification unit 230, and the visible light camera 226 photographs the side of the gaming currency C, and the identification unit 230 analyzes this image and identifies the second currency information (the color of the designated color layer 501).

[0131] In this case, the correspondence between the multiple first currency information and the multiple second currency information is unclear in the recognition unit 230, and some of the multiple first currency information overlap with each other, and some of the multiple second currency information also overlap with each other. In the first currency information and second currency information in Figure 14, "r" represents red, "b" represents blue, "y" represents yellow, and "g" represents green, respectively.

[0132] The judgment unit 231 judges the item as passed if the number of each designated color (red, blue, yellow, green) in the multiple first currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 matches the number of each designated color (red, blue, yellow, green) in the multiple second currency information, and judges the item as failed if they do not match.

[0133] When the number of each designated color in the first currency information does not match the number of each designated color in the plurality of second currency information, it may be that one of the gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 is counterfeit or the side of one of the gaming currencies C is damaged. In other words, the determination unit 231 determines the pass / fail of the plurality of gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 by determining the number of each value of all gaming currencies C present in the case 100.

[0134] (Third pass / fail judgment method) In the third pass / fail determination method, as shown in Fig. 15, the first currency information and the second currency information are different for the same gaming currency C. In the example of Fig. 15, the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C stores information in the form of an alphanumeric string as the first currency information, and the side of the gaming currency C displays information in the form of a numeric string as the second currency information.

[0135] The RFID reader 221 reads out the first currency information from the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the recognition unit 230, the infrared camera 225 photographs the side of the gaming currency C, and the recognition unit 230 identifies the second currency information. In this case, the correspondence between the multiple pieces of first currency information and the multiple pieces of second currency information is unknown to the recognition unit 230.

[0136] The usage management device 303 stores first currency information and second currency information in association with the case identification information of this case 100. The determination unit 231 compares the multiple pieces of first currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 with the multiple pieces of first currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303, and determines whether there is a complete one-to-one correspondence between them. The determination unit 231 also compares the multiple pieces of second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 with the multiple pieces of second currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303, and determines whether there is a complete one-to-one correspondence between them.

[0137] The determination unit 231 determines whether the plurality of first currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 corresponds completely one-to-one with the plurality of first currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303, that is, whether the plurality of first currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 matches any of the plurality of first currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303 without overlapping, and whether the plurality of second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 corresponds completely one-to-one with the plurality of first currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303. If there is a perfect one-to-one correspondence between the multiple second currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100, i.e., if the multiple second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 matches any of the multiple second currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303 without any overlap, the multiple gaming currencies C stored in the case 100 are judged to be acceptable, and if any of the multiple first currency information does not match or any of the multiple second currency information does not match, the multiple gaming currencies C stored in the case 100 are judged to be unacceptable.

[0138] If any of the plurality of first currency information does not match the stored information, or if any of the plurality of second currency information does not match the stored information, it may be that any of the gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 is counterfeit, or that the RFID tag 503 or side of any of the gaming currencies C is damaged. In other words, the determination unit 231 determines the authenticity and damage of all of the gaming currencies C present in the case 100, thereby determining whether the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 are pass or fail.

[0139] (Fourth pass / fail judgment method) In the fourth pass / fail determination method, as shown in Fig. 16, the first currency information and the second currency information for the same gaming currency C are different information. In the example of Fig. 16, the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C stores information in the form of an English character string as the first currency information, and the designated color layer 501 on the side of the gaming currency C is colored in a designated color according to its value as the second currency information.

[0140] The RFID reader 221 reads out the first currency information from the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the recognition unit 230, and the visible light camera 226 photographs the side of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the recognition unit 230, which analyzes the photographed image to identify the designated color, which is the second currency information. In this case, the correspondence between the multiple pieces of first currency information and the multiple pieces of second currency information is unknown to the recognition unit 230.

[0141] The usage management device 303 stores first currency information and second currency information in association with the case identification information of this case 100. The determination unit 231 compares the multiple pieces of first currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 with the multiple pieces of first currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303, and determines whether there is a complete one-to-one correspondence between them. In addition, the determination unit 231 compares the number of each designated color in the multiple pieces of second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 with the number of each designated color in the multiple pieces of second currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303, and determines whether the numbers for each designated color match.

[0142] The judgment unit 231 judges the case 100 as pass if there is a one-to-one correspondence between the multiple first currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 and the multiple first currency information associated with the case identification information of the case 100 stored in the usage management device 303, and if the number of each designated color in the multiple second currency information obtained by the recognition unit 230 and the number of each designated color in the multiple second currency information associated with the case identification information of the ace 100 stored in the usage management device 303 all match, and judges the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 as fail if any of the multiple first currency information do not match or the number of any of the designated colors in the multiple second currency information do not match.

[0143] If any of the plurality of first currency information does not match the stored information, or if any of the numbers of each specified color in the plurality of second currency information does not match, it is possible that any of the gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 is counterfeit, or that the RFID tag 503 or side of any of the gaming currencies C is damaged. In other words, the determination unit 231 determines the authenticity and damage of all gaming currencies C present in the case 100 and the number of each value, thereby determining whether the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 are pass or fail.

[0144] (5th Pass / Fail Judgment Method) In the fifth pass / fail determination method, as shown in Fig. 17, the first currency information and the second currency information are different information for the same gaming currency C. In the example of Fig. 17, the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C stores individual identification information consisting of a number string as the first currency information, and information on the value of the gaming currency C is given on the side of the gaming currency C in the form of a designated color of the designated color layer 501 as the second currency information.

[0145] The RFID reader 221 reads out the first currency information from the RFID tag 503 of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the recognition unit 230, and the visible light camera 226 photographs the side of the gaming currency C and outputs it to the recognition unit 230, which analyzes the photographed image to identify the designated color, which is the second currency information. In this case, the correspondence between the multiple pieces of first currency information and the multiple pieces of second currency information is unknown to the recognition unit 230.

[0146] The usage management device 303 stores a correspondence relationship between the first currency information and the second currency information. In the example of FIG. 17, individual identification information that uniquely identifies the gaming currency C is associated with the designated color of the designated color layer 501 on the side, i.e., information on the value of the gaming currency C, so that the value of the gaming currency C can be determined by specifying the individual identification information. In this example, the usage management device 303 does not need to store a combination of the first currency information and the second currency information for each case identification information. In other words, in this example, the gaming currency C stored in the case 100 can be inspected without using the case identification information.

[0147] The determination unit 231 identifies the first currency information corresponding to the first currency information identified by the recognition unit 230 from the first currency information stored in the usage management device 303, and identifies the second currency information, i.e., the value, associated with the first currency information. By performing this for all of the first currency information identified by the recognition unit 230, the determination unit 231 can obtain the number of each value in the multiple second currency information extracted from the usage management device 303 for one case.

[0148] The determination unit 231 compares the number of each value thus obtained with the number of each value in the second currency information identified for the case 100 by the recognition unit 230. If the numbers of each value match, the determination unit 231 determines that the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 are acceptable, and if the numbers of any of the values ​​do not match, the determination unit 231 determines that the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 are unacceptable.

[0149] If the number of each value in the multiple second currency information extracted from the usage management device 303 does not match the number of each value in the second currency information identified for the case 100 by the identification unit 230, it may be that any of the gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 is counterfeit, or that the RFID tag 503 or side of any of the gaming currencies C is damaged. In other words, the determination unit 231 determines the authenticity and damage of all gaming currencies C present in the case 100 and the number of each value, thereby determining whether the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 are pass or fail.

[0150] Although not shown in the figure, even when the value of the gaming currency C is stored as the first currency information and the individual identification information of the gaming currency C is stored as the second currency information, the pass / fail determination can be made in the same manner as described above.

[0151] Although the first to fifth pass / fail determination methods have been described above, the determination unit 231 may employ a combination of the pass / fail determination methods. In addition to the pass / fail determination methods described above, the determination unit 231 may determine that the multiple gaming currencies C stored in the case 100 are unacceptable when the number of first currency information and second currency information read from the multiple gaming currencies C stored in the case 100 is not a predetermined number (100 in this embodiment).

[0152] The above-mentioned first and second pass / fail determination methods are pass / fail determination methods that can be executed without using information stored in the usage management device 303 installed in the amusement facility P and are suitable for execution by the inspection device 200 in the factory F, and the third to fifth pass / fail determination methods are pass / fail determination methods that use information stored in the usage management device 303 installed in the amusement facility P and are suitable for execution by the inspection device 200 in the amusement facility P, but the inspection device 200 in the amusement facility P may adopt the first or second pass / fail determination method. If all of the inspection devices 200 in the amusement facility P adopt a pass / fail determination method that does not use information stored in the usage management device 303, such as the first or second pass / fail determination method, the usage management device 303 can be omitted.

[0153] In addition, the inspection device 200 at the gaming center P also inspects the cases 100 containing used gaming coins C, and in this case, the first, second, or fifth pass / fail determination method can be adopted, which does not require storing information about the gaming coins that should be contained in the case.

[0154] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the gaming currency C has individual identification information and / or value information as the first currency information and / or second currency information. Here, the individual identification information is information that uniquely identifies each gaming currency C, whereas the value information is information that may be overlapped among multiple gaming currencies C, and can also be called information indicating the group to which each gaming currency belongs (group information). In this embodiment, instead of or in addition to the value, information on the manufacturing date, manufacturer, and / or gaming facility where the gaming currency is used can be adopted as the group information of the group to which the gaming currency belongs.

[0155] That is, the first currency information and the second currency information may both include individual identification information that identifies the gaming currency, the first currency information and the second currency information may both include group information that indicates the group to which the gaming currency belongs, the first currency information may include individual identification information that identifies the gaming currency and the second currency information may include group information of the group to which the gaming currency belongs, or the first currency information may include group information of the group to which the gaming currency belongs and the second currency information may include individual identification information that identifies the gaming currency.

[0156] <Displaying pass / fail results> 18 and 19 are diagrams showing examples of pass / fail result display screens that show the results of the pass / fail judgment made by judgment unit 231. These pass / fail result display screens are generated by computer 222 based on the results of the pass / fail judgment made by judgment unit 231, and are displayed on display unit 223. Fig. 18 shows an example of the display screen in the case of a pass, and Fig. 19 shows an example of the display screen in the case of a fail.

[0157] As shown in Figures 18 and 19, the pass / fail result display screen 800 includes a total detection number 801, which is the number of combinations of first currency information and second currency information read by the recognition unit 230 from the gaming currency C, the number of valid gaming currencies C 802, and the number of invalid gaming currencies C 803.

[0158] The computer 222 determines the larger of the number of first currency information and the number of second currency information as the total detection number 801. For example, if 100 gaming currencies C are stored in the case 100 but one of them does not have an RFID tag 503 built in, the recognition unit 230 will identify 100 pieces of second currency information from the multiple gaming currencies C, but will only obtain 99 pieces of first currency information. In this case, the computer 222 determines the larger of the number of first currency information and the number of second currency information, 100, as the total detection number 801.

[0159] In the case of the first or second pass / fail judgment method described above, the computer 222 determines the number of combinations of first currency information and second currency information that are judged to match each other as the number of valid gaming currencies C 802, and determines the number obtained by subtracting the number of valid gaming currencies C from the total number detected 801 as the number of invalid gaming currencies C 803.

[0160] In the case of the third or fourth pass / fail determination method described above, the computer 222 determines the number of correct gaming coins C 802 to be the smaller of the number of first currency information whose correspondence with the first currency information stored in the usage management device 303 has been confirmed and the number of second currency information whose correspondence with the second currency information stored in the usage management device 303 has been confirmed, and determines the number of incorrect gaming coins C 803 to be the number obtained by subtracting the number of correct gaming coins C from the total number detected 801.

[0161] In the case of the above-mentioned fifth pass / fail judgment method, the computer 222 determines the number of second currency information whose correspondence with the second currency information stored in the usage management device 303 is confirmed to be the number of correct gaming currency C 802, and determines the number obtained by subtracting the number of correct gaming currency C from the total detected number 801 to be the number of incorrect gaming currency C 803.

[0162] The pass / fail result display screen 800 includes a currency information display unit 804 that displays currency information read by the recognition unit 230 from the gaming currency C. When currency information stored in the usage management device 303 is read, or when the first currency information and the second currency information match, the currency information display unit 804 displays the currency information in color, and currency information that is stored in the usage management device 303 but not read is displayed in white (see FIG. 19).

[0163] In addition, if currency information that is not stored in the usage management device 303 is read, or if the first currency information and the second currency information do not match, the pass / fail result display screen 800 will display that currency information outside the currency information display section 804 as invalid currency information 805.

[0164] <Modification> (RFID antenna of inspection equipment) Fig. 20 is a diagram showing a modified example of the RFID antenna 224 of the inspection device 200. Note that the arm 227, the infrared camera 225, and the visible light camera 226 are not shown in Fig. 20. In the above embodiment, the RFID antenna 224 is built into the left and right side walls 211, but the RFID antenna 224 may also be built into the bottom 213. In this case as well, the RFID antenna 224 is arranged in a spiral shape inside the bottom 213.

[0165] (Gaming currency) FIG. 21 is a side view of a gaming coin C' of a modified example. In the gaming coin C of the above embodiment, the designated color layer 501 is sandwiched between the common color layers 502. However, in the example of FIG. 21, the gaming coin C' is configured with the common color layer 502 in the center and designated color layers 501 on both sides (top and bottom). In the example of FIG. 21, individual identification information represented by a seven-digit number string is written (printed) as code information 505' on the side of the gaming coin C'. In the example of FIG. 21, the code information 505', which is written information, is written on the central common color layer 502. In this case, the code information 505' can express 10 seven types of information.

[0166] Furthermore, both the code information 505 represented by the presence or absence of the marker m, as described for the gaming currency C of the above embodiment, and the code information 505' of the numeric string exemplified in FIG. 21 may be printed on the side of the gaming currency C. In this case, the code information 505 of the marker m and the code information 505' of the numeric string may be printed with different inks. For example, the code information 505 of the marker m may be printed with infrared-sensitive ink, and the code information 505' of the numeric string may be printed with ultraviolet-sensitive ink. In this case, an infrared camera and an ultraviolet camera may be prepared to photograph the side of the gaming currency C, and the code information 505 of the marker m may be read with the infrared camera, and the code information 505' of the numeric string may be read with the ultraviolet camera.

[0167] FIG. 22 is a side cross-sectional view of another modified gaming coin C″. The gaming coin C″ has a multilayer structure in which multiple plastic layers of different colors are laminated together, with at least a designated color layer (colored layer) 501 in the middle, and common color layers (white or light-colored layers) 502 laminated on both sides of this intermediate designated color layer 501. It is desirable that the color of the common color layer 502 is lighter than the color of the designated color layer 501. In this way, by having a multilayer structure in which the gaming coin C″ has a designated color layer 501 and the common color layers 502 laminated on both sides of this intermediate designated color layer 501, stripes are formed on the side in the layering direction, as shown in FIG. 23, and the type of gaming coin C″ (10 points, 20 points, 100 points, 1000 points, etc.) can be identified by changing the color of the designated color layer 501 (red, green, yellow, blue, etc.).

[0168] Figure 23 is a perspective view of stacked gaming coins C", Figure 24 is a side view of the gaming coin C", and Figure 25 is a plan view of the gaming coin C". As shown in Figure 23, the gaming coin C" has printing 507 (100 points, etc.) indicating the type (value) of the gaming coin C" on the surfaces (top and bottom) of the common color layer 502, a transparent layer 504 is provided as the outermost layer, and the layers are thermocompressed together to form at least a five-layer structure. These gaming coins C" are made of long, thin plastic material, and while in a long state, the layers (designated color layer 501, common color layer 502, transparent layer 504) are thermocompressed together to form a tightly adhered state (five-layer structure, etc.), and then are punched into a circle, rectangle, etc. using a press or the like. When punching out by pressing, the dimensions of the die and punch of the metal mold for punching are designed so that the edge of the outermost transparent layer 504 is rounded (rounded corners).

[0169] Furthermore, the gaming currency C'' has a mark m'' made of UV ink or carbon black ink on the surface of the common color layer 502. This mark m'' indicates the authenticity of the gaming currency C''; when exposed to ultraviolet (or infrared) light, the mark m'' becomes visible, and its shape and number combination indicate authenticity. A transparent layer 504 is thermocompressed or coated (applied) on the outermost layer to cover the print 507 and mark m'', and this transparent layer 504 is embossed to prevent the gaming currency C'' from sticking to each other.

[0170] The edges of the outermost transparent layer 504, on which printing 507 (100 points, etc.) is applied, are rounded (R), which prevents the surface of the common color layer 502 from deforming and appearing on the sides during the punching process of the gaming coin C''. In addition, the gaming coin C'' is protected from sharp edges that could damage the remaining hands or other gaming coins C''.

[0171] The designated color layer 501 may be formed of a plurality of layers (three layers in FIG. 22) colored in a designated color, as shown in Fig. 22. The plurality of layers (three layers in FIG. 22) colored in a designated color are thermocompression bonded to each other, so the three-layer structure is not visible as in Fig. 22, and for the sake of explanation, Fig. 22 shows three layers of the designated color layer 501. Furthermore, a cutout B is provided in the middle layer of the three layers of the designated color layer 501, and the RFID tag 503 is embedded therein.

[0172] As shown in Figures 2, 21, and 22, gaming coins C, C', and C'' have a stacked multi-layer structure with clearly defined stripes on the sides in the stacking direction. This makes it easier and more accurate to measure the color (type of gaming coin) and number of designated color layers 501 through image analysis than with conventional chips. Figure 26 shows an example of an image obtained by photographing stacked gaming coins. As shown in Figure 26, by photographing the side of gaming coin C with a visible light camera 226, the designated color layer 501 can be clearly identified. Furthermore, using an artificial intelligence-based computer or control system or deep learning (structure) technology for this image analysis enables more accurate image analysis and judgment. Since artificial intelligence-based computers or control systems and deep learning (structure) technology are already known and available to those skilled in the art, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0173] (Seal detection) As described above, the case 100 is sealed with a seal after storing a predetermined number of gaming coins C. The seal is broken when the case 100 is opened to allow the stored gaming coins to be removed. The inspection device 200 may be equipped with a detection unit that detects an intact seal affixed to the case 100. The detection unit may detect the seal optically or magnetically. In this case, the judgment unit 231 judges the multiple gaming coins C stored in the case 100 to be unacceptable if the detection unit does not detect an intact seal.

[0174] (Layout of components of inspection equipment) In the above embodiment, all of the components of the inspection apparatus 200 are arranged in one apparatus as shown in Fig. 6, but they may be arranged in a distributed manner. For example, some or all of the computer 222, the display unit 223, and the communication unit 229 may be realized by a personal computer connected to the inspection apparatus 200. The distributed components may be connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless connection, or may be connected via a network such as the Internet.

[0175] 27 and 28, the infrared camera 225 and / or the visible light camera 226 and the arm 227 may be provided separately from the inspection device 200, and these cameras may be connected to the computer 222. FIG. 27 shows an example in which only the infrared camera 225 or the visible light camera 226 is provided separately from the inspection device 200, while FIG. 28 shows an example in which the infrared camera 225 is provided separately from the inspection device 200 and the visible light camera 226 is provided integrally with the inspection device 200. In addition to the infrared camera 225 and the visible light camera 226, an ultraviolet camera may be provided together with an ultraviolet lamp as a third camera, or either of the cameras in FIGS. 27 and 28 may be an ultraviolet camera accompanied by an ultraviolet lamp.

[0176] (Money information) In the above embodiment, the gaming currency C has currency information stored in the RFID tag 503, code information 505 as currency information written on the side, and the designated color of the designated color layer 501 on the side is also treated as currency information indicating the value of the gaming currency C, and one gaming currency C has these three pieces of currency information, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the gaming currency C may have only two of these pieces of currency information. If the gaming currency C has two pieces of currency information, the first to fifth pass / fail judgment methods can be executed.

[0177] Furthermore, in the above first to fifth pass / fail judgment methods, two pieces of currency information are used, but if the gaming currency C has three pieces of currency information, the judgment unit 231 may make a pass / fail judgment using these three pieces of currency information.

[0178] (Display) In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the display unit 223 is composed of a liquid crystal panel, but the display unit 223 may simply be a lamp that indicates pass / fail, or may be a lamp that digitally displays only the total number of detections 801, the number of valid gaming coins C 802, and the number of invalid gaming coins C 803.

[0179] (Total value calculation) As described above, the determination unit 231 in the above embodiment can identify the number of each value of the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100. Therefore, the determination unit 231 may further calculate the total value of the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 100 based on the number of each value. The calculated total value may be displayed on a pass / fail result display screen (see FIGS. 18 and 19) displayed on the display unit 233.

[0180] <<Second embodiment>> The second embodiment relates to an inspection system and an inspection device for inspecting gaming currency, and in particular to an inspection system and an inspection device for inspecting gaming currency with a built-in wireless tag or counting the number of gaming currency.

[0181] 2. Description of the Related Art There are known gaming currencies that incorporate wireless tags that store identification information and type information (for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-246103).

[0182] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-246103 discloses gaming currency with a structure that makes it difficult for the wireless tag to be removed, thereby realizing a structure that makes it difficult for the wireless tag to become defective.

[0183] However, when the number of gaming coins disclosed in JP 2008-246103 A is read using a wireless tag, the number of gaming coins is calculated based on the read wireless tag information. Therefore, if the wireless tag built into the gaming coin is broken or not built in, the currency information cannot be obtained, resulting in a discrepancy between the actual number of gaming coins and the number of gaming coins calculated by reading the wireless tag, which is a problem.

[0184] Therefore, an object of the present embodiment is to provide an inspection system and an inspection device that can detect when a wireless tag is broken.

[0185] The inspection system of the first aspect of the second embodiment is an inspection system that inspects gaming currency that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a color or marking on the exterior that indicates value while stored in a case with a limited maximum number of coins that can be stored, The gaming coins are stored in the case that can store the gaming coins in a state where the gaming coins are stacked in a thickness direction and arranged in a row, a reader that reads the wireless tag of the gaming currency in the case and acquires currency information of the gaming currency; a determination unit that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device with the maximum number of coins that can be stored in the case itself, and determines whether there is an abnormality in the gaming coins in the case when the number of gaming coins obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device differs from the maximum number that can be stored; An inspection system comprising:

[0186] Furthermore, the judgment unit has the function of comparing and judging the physical information of the gaming currency obtained from the physical characteristics of the case itself or a physical measuring means other than the reading device with the number of physical information pieces of the gaming currency obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device, and if the two do not match, judging that there is an abnormal gaming currency among the gaming currencies contained in the case and outputting this.

[0187] Furthermore, the physical information is the number or height obtained optically, or the weight obtained by weighing.

[0188] Furthermore, the inspection system may further have a wireless tag information database that can query information from the wireless tag built into the gaming currency, and the judgment unit may be configured to be able to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency being inspected by comparing the currency information of the gaming currency read by the reading device with the wireless tag information database.

[0189] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have a function, when it determines that there is an abnormal gaming currency among the gaming currencies in the case, to compare the information of the wireless tags of all the gaming currencies in the case with a pre-registered information database of wireless tags, and identify the presence of an abnormal wireless tag that does not exist in the information database of wireless tags.

[0190] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have a function of, when it judges that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, identifying that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, and that information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag.

[0191] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag obtained by the reading device and emitting a signal when two or more gaming coins with the same information obtained from the wireless tag are present in the case.

[0192] Furthermore, the wireless tag information database is an information database of wireless tags of gaming currency stored or in use in the gaming facility, The determination unit may have the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device, and emitting a signal when the information obtained from the wireless tag is identical to the information of the wireless tag of gaming currency present in another location within the gaming facility.

[0193] The inspection device of the second aspect of the second embodiment is an inspection device that inspects game currency that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a color or marking on its outer surface that indicates its value, an inspection table capable of inspecting the gaming coins in a state where the gaming coins are stacked in a thickness direction to form a row with a maximum stacking number limited; a reader that reads the wireless tags of the lined gaming coins and acquires currency information of the lined gaming coins; a determination unit that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device with the maximum stackable number of the inspection table itself, and determines whether there is an abnormality in the gaming currency present on the inspection table when the number of gaming currency obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device differs from the maximum stackable number; It is equipped with the following.

[0194] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have a function of determining that an abnormal gaming currency is present among the gaming currencies present on the inspection table and outputting this information if the currency information of the gaming currency obtained by the reading device does not match the physical information of the gaming currency.

[0195] Furthermore, the physical information may be the number or height obtained optically, or the weight obtained by weighing.

[0196] Furthermore, the inspection device may further have a wireless tag information database that can query information from the wireless tag built into the gaming currency, and the judgment unit may be configured to be able to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency to be inspected on the inspection table by comparing the currency information of the gaming currency read by the reading device with the wireless tag information database.

[0197] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have a function, when it judges that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins on the inspection table, to compare the information of the wireless tags of all gaming coins on the inspection table with a pre-registered information database of wireless tags, and identify the presence of an abnormal wireless tag that is not present in the information database of wireless tags.

[0198] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have a function of, when it judges that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, identifying that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, and that information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag.

[0199] Furthermore, the judgment unit may have the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag obtained by the reading device and emitting a signal when two or more gaming coins with the same information obtained from the wireless tag are present in the case.

[0200] Furthermore, the wireless tag information database is an information database of wireless tags of gaming currency stored or in use in the gaming facility, The determination unit may have the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device, and emitting a signal when the information obtained from the wireless tag is identical to the information of the wireless tag of gaming currency present in another location within the gaming facility.

[0201] According to this embodiment, gaming coins are stored in a container with a fixed storage capacity and the number of coins is determined, so that an inspection can be performed that will reveal if the wireless tag is broken.

[0202] The second embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0203] <Inspection system configuration> 29 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inspection system in the second embodiment. The inspection system 51 comprises a case 5100 for storing game coins in a stacked state, and an inspection device 5200 for inspecting the game coins stored in the case 5100 while they are still stored in the case 5100.

[0204] The case 5100 has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape and is made of transparent resin. The case 5100 stores disc-shaped gaming coins C in a stacked state. The case 5100 has five columns 5100C, each storing 20 gaming coins C, so that a total of 100 gaming coins C can be stored. The case 5100 is portable and can be carried around while storing gaming coins C. The case 5100 consists of a separable upper part 5101 and lower part 5102, and by separating the upper part 5101 and the lower part 5102, it is possible to store gaming coins C in the case 5100 and to remove gaming coins C from the case 5100.

[0205] The inspection device 5200 is made up of a receiving section 5210 and a main body section 5220. The inspection device 5200 can receive the case 5100 in this receiving section 5210. The receiving section 5210 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with an open top and front, and is formed by left and right side walls 5211, a bottom 5212, and a back wall 5213, and has a width, height, and depth that are sufficient to fit the case 5100.

[0206] The main body 5220 is provided on the back side of the inner wall 5213 of the receiving section 5210 and includes a reading device 5221 , a determining section 5222 , and a display section 5223 .

[0207] A reader 5221 and a display unit 5223 are connected to the determination unit 5222. A wireless tag antenna 5224 is connected to the reader 5221. The wireless tag antenna 5224 extends from the reader 5221 and spirals inside the left and right side walls 5211. That is, a spiral wireless tag antenna 5224 is installed inside each of the left and right side walls 5211, and each wireless tag antenna 5224 is connected to the reader 5221.

[0208] The display unit 5223 is configured with a liquid crystal panel. Note that a touch sensor may be provided on the liquid crystal panel, and the display unit 5223 may be configured as a touch panel.

[0209] <Configuration of inspection equipment> Fig. 30 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an inspection device 5200. In addition to the reading device 5221, determination unit 5222, display unit 5223, and RFID tag antenna 5224 shown in Fig. 29, the inspection device 5200 is equipped with a barcode reader 5228 and a communication unit 5229. The determination unit 5222 is configured by a processor, memory, etc. (not shown), and an identification unit 5230 and an identification content determination unit 5231 are configured by the processor executing an inspection program.

[0210] The wireless tag system is made up of the reading device 5221, the wireless tag antenna 5224, and the wireless tag 5503 embedded in the gaming currency C. The currency information of the gaming currency C stored in the wireless tag 5503 embedded in the gaming currency C is read out by the reading device 5221 in a non-contact manner and used for processing in the determination unit 5222.

[0211] The barcode reader 5228 reads the barcode BC attached to the case 5100 to obtain the case identification information. The display unit 5223 displays the determination result of the identification content determination unit 5231 of the determination unit 5222. The communication unit 5229 communicates data with a manufacturing management device 5302 installed in the factory F and an information database 5303 installed in the game center P.

[0212] <Case configuration> 31 is a perspective view of case 5100. Case 5100 is configured by joining upper part 5101 and lower part 5102. In this embodiment, upper part 5101 and lower part 5102 are made of transparent resin. Note that in this embodiment, case 5100 has a sealed structure made up of upper part 5101 and lower part 5102, but the light-transmitting part may be perforated.

[0213] As described above, the case 5100 has a shape in which five columns 5100C are formed in parallel, each of which can store 20 gaming coins C stacked one on top of the other, and in the example of Fig. 31, the cross section of each column is polygonal (octagonal) so that the upper part 5101 and the lower part 5102 roughly match the shape of the gaming coins C to be stored. Each column 5100C is shaped so that it cannot store more than 21 gaming coins C.

[0214] FIG. 32 is a perspective view of a modified case 5100', and FIG. 33 is a plan view of this case 5100'. The case 5100' also consists of an upper part 5101' and a lower part 5102 made of transparent resin. In this modified example, the top surface of the upper part 5101' facing the camera is flat. By making the surface facing the camera flat in this way, as shown in FIG. 33, linear shadows caused by the corners of the polygonal cross section of the case 5100' are not reflected on the camera, and information about the side of the gaming currency C can be accurately identified in image analysis of the image captured by the camera.

[0215] (Gaming currency) 34 is a side cross-sectional view of the gaming currency C of this embodiment. The gaming currency C has a multi-layer structure in which a plurality of plastic layers of different colors are laminated, and the gaming currency C has at least a designated color layer (colored layer) 5501 in the middle, and common color layers (white or light-colored layers) 5502 laminated on both sides of this designated color layer 5501 in the middle.

[0216] As shown in Fig. 34, designated color layer 5501 may be formed of multiple layers (three layers in Fig. 34) colored in designated colors. The multiple layers (three layers in Fig. 34) colored in designated colors are thermocompression bonded to each other, so the three-layer structure is not visible as in Fig. 34, and for the sake of explanation, Fig. 34 shows three layers of designated color layer 5501. Furthermore, a partial cutout B is provided in the middle layer of the three layers of designated color layer 5501, and wireless tag 5503 is embedded therein.

[0217] The inspection system 51 inspects gaming currency C, which has a built-in wireless tag 5503 that stores currency information and has a color 5501 or marking 5507 on its outer surface that indicates value, while stored in a case 5100 with a limited maximum storage capacity. The gaming currency C is stored in the case 5100, which can store the gaming currency C in a row by stacking them in the thickness direction, and is equipped with a reading device 5221 that reads the wireless tag 5503 of the gaming currency C in the case 5100 and acquires currency information of the gaming currency C, and a determination unit 5222 that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device 5221 with the maximum number of gaming currency C that can be stored in the case 5100 itself (set to a maximum of 100 in this embodiment), and determines whether there is an abnormality in the gaming currency C in the case 5100 when the number of gaming currency C obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device 5221 differs from the maximum number that can be stored (100).

[0218] The inspection system 51 further has an information database 5303 of wireless tags 5503 that can query information on wireless tags 5503 built into gaming currency C, and the determination unit 5222 is configured to be able to compare the currency information of the gaming currency C read by the reading device 5221 with the information database 5303 of the wireless tags 5503 to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency C being inspected. The information database 5303 has information on the wireless tags 5503 of all gaming currency used in gaming parlors stored in advance.

[0219] When the judgment unit 5222 judges that there is an abnormal gaming currency C among the gaming currencies C in the case 5100, it has the function of comparing the information of the wireless tags 5503 of all the gaming currencies C in the case 5100 with the information database 5303 of pre-registered wireless tags 5503, and identifying the presence of an abnormal wireless tag 5503 that does not exist in the information database of wireless tags 5503.

[0220] When the determination unit 5222 determines that an abnormal gaming currency C exists among the gaming currencies C in the case 5100, the determination unit 5222 has a function of identifying that an abnormal gaming currency C exists among the gaming currencies C in the case 5100, and that information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag 5503.

[0221] The display unit 5223 displays the abnormality when it is determined that the abnormal game currency C as described above is present.

[0222] As shown in Figures 36 and 37, the pass / fail result display screen 5800 includes a total detection number 5801, which is the number of pieces of information from the wireless tags 5503 read by the recognition unit 5230 from the gaming currency C, and the number of fraudulent gaming currency C 5803.

[0223] 36 and 37 are diagrams showing examples of pass / fail result display screens that show the results of the determination of abnormalities of gaming currency by the identified content determination unit 5231. These pass / fail result display screens are generated by the determination unit 5222 based on the results of the determination of abnormalities of gaming currency by the identified content determination unit 5231, and are displayed on the display unit 5223. Fig. 36 shows an example of the display screen in the case of pass, and Fig. 37 shows an example of the display screen in the case of fail.

[0224] 38 is a diagram showing another modified example of an inspection device 5400. The inspection device 5400 inspects game currency C which has a built-in wireless tag 5503 storing currency information and has a color 5501 or mark 5507 on its exterior that indicates its value. The inspection table 5427 is equipped with an inspection table 5427 capable of inspecting gaming coins C when they are stacked in the thickness direction to form a row with a limited maximum stacking number, a reading device 5421 that reads the wireless tags 5503 of the row of gaming coins C and acquires currency information of the row of gaming coins C, and a judgment unit 5422 that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device 5421 with the maximum stackable number of the inspection table 5427 itself (set to a maximum of 20 in this embodiment), and judges whether there is an abnormality in the gaming coins C present on the inspection table 5427 when the number of gaming coins C obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device 5421 differs from the maximum stackable number (20).

[0225] The inspection device 5400 is provided with a number control plate 5425 that limits the maximum number of game currencies C that can be stacked in a row.

[0226] The inspection device 5400 has an optical sensor 5426 that determines the physical number of individual gaming currencies C. The determination unit 5422 has a function of determining that an abnormal gaming currency C exists among the gaming currencies C present on the inspection table 5427 and outputting this information when the currency information of the gaming currency acquired by the reading device 5421 does not match the physical information of the gaming currency C.

[0227] <Usage of the inspection system> 39 is a diagram illustrating an example of the circulation of gaming currency C and the use of the inspection system 1. The gaming currency C is manufactured by a manufacturing device 5301 in a factory F (s1) and stored in a case 5100 in groups of 100 (s2). After storing the gaming currency C, the case 5100 is sealed with a seal at the factory F. In addition, a barcode BC indicating case identification information for uniquely identifying the case 5100 is affixed to the side of the case 5100 (s3).

[0228] At this time, the case identification information of the barcode BC affixed to the case 5100 is input to the manufacturing control device 5302 of the factory F (s4). The case 5100 containing the gaming currency C is then subjected to the inspection device 5200, which reads the currency information (details of which will be described later) attached to the gaming currency C and inspects whether the case is pass or fail. The currency information read from the gaming currency C contained in the case 5100 is then sent to the manufacturing control device 5302 (s5), where it is associated with the case identification information. The manufacturing control device 5302 may be a personal computer.

[0229] The cases 5100 that have passed inspection by the inspection device 5200 in the factory F are transported from the factory F to the amusement center P (s6). At the amusement center P, the cases 5100 are first stored in a storage facility R (s7). The storage facility R is equipped with an inspection device 5200, and the cases 5100 that arrive from the factory F are inspected by this inspection device 5200.

[0230] Meanwhile, the manufacturing control device 5302 of the factory F transmits the case identification information and the associated currency information to the information database 5303 of the gaming center P. The information database 5303 has a storage unit that acquires the case identification information and the associated currency information from the manufacturing control device 5302 for each of the multiple cases 5100 containing gaming currency C, and stores them for each case 5100. The information database 5303 may be a personal computer.

[0231] Inspection by the inspection device 5200 in the storage R is performed using the information stored in this information database 5303. Cases 5100 that pass inspection in the storage R are carried to the game table T (s9) or to the cashier CA (s10). The game table T and the cashier CA are also equipped with inspection devices 5200, and the cases 5100 containing gaming currency C are inspected by these inspection devices 5200 while still sealed. In addition, the game table T and the cashier CA also inspect the cases 5100 containing used gaming currency C, and the inspection device 5200 is also used for this inspection. In inspection by the three inspection devices 5200 in the gaming facility P, the case identification information and the currency information associated therewith that are transmitted from the manufacturing management device 5302 and stored in the information database 5303 are referenced.

[0232] In the above embodiment, the gaming currency C has identification information and / or value information as wireless tag information. Here, the identification information is information that uniquely identifies each gaming currency C, whereas the value information is information that may be overlapped among multiple gaming currencies C, and can also be called information indicating the group to which each gaming currency belongs (group information). In this embodiment, instead of or in addition to the value, the group information of the group to which the gaming currency belongs can also employ, for example, information on the manufacturing date, manufacturer, and / or gaming facility where the gaming currency is used.

[0233] That is, the wireless tag information may include identification information for identifying the gaming currency, and may also include group information indicating the group to which the gaming currency belongs.

[0234] (Seal detection) As described above, the case 5100 is sealed with a seal after storing a predetermined number of gaming coins C. The seal is destroyed when the case 5100 is opened to allow the stored gaming coins to be removed. The detection device 5200 may include a detection unit that detects an unbroken seal affixed to the case 5100. The detection unit may detect the seal optically or magnetically. In this case, the identification content determination unit 5231 determines that the multiple gaming coins C stored in the case 5100 are unacceptable if the detection unit does not detect an unbroken seal.

[0235] (Layout of components of inspection equipment) In the above embodiment, all of the components of the inspection device 5200 are arranged in one device as shown in Fig. 30, but they may be arranged in a distributed manner. For example, some or all of the determination unit 5222, display unit 5223, and communication unit 5229 may be realized by a personal computer connected to the inspection device 5200. The distributed components may be connected to each other so as to be able to communicate with each other via a wired or wireless connection, or may be connected via a network such as the Internet.

[0236] (Display) In the above embodiment, an example was described in which the display unit 5223 is composed of a liquid crystal panel, but the display unit 5223 may simply be a lamp that indicates pass / fail, or may be a lamp that digitally displays only the total number of detections 5801, the number of valid gaming coins C 5802, and the number of invalid gaming coins C 5803.

[0237] (Total value calculation) As described above, the identified content determination unit 5231 of the above embodiment can identify the number of each value of the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 5100. Therefore, the identified content determination unit 5231 may further calculate the total value of the multiple gaming currencies C contained in the case 5100 based on the number of each value. The calculated total value may be displayed on a pass / fail result display screen (see FIGS. 36 and 37) displayed on the display unit 5233.

Claims

1. An inspection system that inspects gaming currency that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a color or marking on the exterior that indicates value, while the gaming currency is stored in a case that has a limited maximum number of coins that can be stored, The gaming coins are stored in the case that can store the gaming coins in a state where the gaming coins are stacked in a thickness direction and arranged in a row, a reader that reads the wireless tag of the gaming currency in the case and acquires currency information of the gaming currency; a determination unit that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device with the maximum number of coins that can be stored in the case itself, and determines whether there is an abnormality in the gaming coins in the case when the number of gaming coins obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device differs from the maximum number that can be stored; An inspection system comprising:

2. The inspection system described in claim 1, wherein the determination unit compares and determines the physical information of the gaming currency obtained from the physical characteristics of the case itself or a physical measuring means other than the reading device with the number of physical information pieces of the gaming currency obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device, and if the two do not match, determines that there is an abnormal gaming currency among the gaming currencies contained in the case and outputs this information.

3. 2. The inspection system according to claim 1, wherein the physical information is the number or height of the sheets obtained optically, or the weight obtained by weighing.

4. The inspection system according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a wireless tag information database capable of querying information on the wireless tag embedded in the gaming currency, and the judgment unit is configured to be able to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency being inspected by comparing the currency information of the gaming currency read by the reading device with the wireless tag information database.

5. The inspection system described in claim 4, wherein the determination unit has a function of, when it determines that any of the gaming coins in the case is abnormal, comparing the information of the wireless tags of all the gaming coins in the case with a pre-registered information database of the wireless tags, and identifying the presence of an abnormal wireless tag that is not present in the information database of the wireless tags.

6. The inspection system described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit has a function of, when it determines that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, identifying that one of the gaming coins in the case is an abnormal gaming coin from which information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag.

7. The inspection system described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination unit has the function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag obtained by the reading device and emitting a signal when two or more gaming coins with the same information obtained from the wireless tag are present in the case.

8. The wireless tag information database is an information database of wireless tags of gaming currency stored or in use in the gaming facility, The inspection system described in claim 5, wherein the judgment unit analyzes the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device and has the function of emitting a signal when the information obtained from the wireless tag is identical to the information of the wireless tag of gaming currency present at another location within the gaming facility.

9. An inspection device for inspecting gaming currency that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a color or marking on its exterior that indicates its value, an inspection table capable of inspecting the gaming coins in a state where the gaming coins are stacked in a thickness direction to form a row with a maximum stacking number limited; a reader that reads the wireless tags of the lined gaming coins and acquires currency information of the lined gaming coins; a determination unit that compares the currency information acquired by the reading device with the maximum stackable number of the inspection table itself, and determines whether there is an abnormality in the gaming currency present on the inspection table when the number of gaming currency obtained from the currency information acquired by the reading device differs from the maximum stackable number; An inspection device comprising:

10. The inspection device described in claim 9, wherein the judgment unit has a function of judging that an abnormal gaming currency is present among the gaming currencies present on the inspection table and outputting this when the currency information of the gaming currency obtained by the reading device does not match the physical information of the gaming currency.

11. 11. The inspection device according to claim 10, wherein the physical information is the number or height of sheets obtained optically, or the weight obtained by weighing.

12. The inspection device according to claim 9 or 11, further comprising a wireless tag information database capable of querying information on the wireless tag embedded in the gaming currency, and the judgment unit is configured to be able to detect abnormalities in the gaming currency to be inspected on the inspection table by comparing the currency information of the gaming currency read by the reading device with the wireless tag information database.

13. 13. The inspection device according to claim 12, wherein the determination unit has a function of, when it determines that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins on the inspection table, comparing the information of the wireless tags of all gaming coins on the inspection table with a pre-registered information database of wireless tags to identify the presence of an abnormal wireless tag that is not present in the information database of wireless tags.

14. The inspection device described in claim 9 or 10, wherein the determination unit has a function of, when it determines that an abnormal gaming coin is present among the gaming coins in the case, identifying that one of the gaming coins in the case is an abnormal gaming coin from which information cannot be obtained from the wireless tag.

15. The inspection device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the determination unit has a function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device and emitting a signal when two or more gaming coins having the same information obtained from the wireless tag are present in the case.

16. The wireless tag information database is an information database of wireless tags of gaming currency stored or in use in the gaming facility, The inspection device described in claim 12, wherein the determination unit has a function of analyzing the information of the wireless tag acquired by the reading device and emitting a signal when the information obtained from the wireless tag is identical to the information of the wireless tag of gaming currency present at another location within the gaming facility.

17. A gaming currency that has a built-in wireless tag that stores currency information and has a color or marking on its exterior that indicates its value, and that can be inspected by an inspection system described in any one of claims 1 to 8 while stored in a case that has a limited maximum number of coins that can be stored.

Images