Game table reading system

Abstract

To distinguishably read RFID tags with respect to a plurality of adjacent reading areas.SOLUTION: A game table reading system comprises: a game table 2 having a plurality of reading areas including at least a plurality of betting areas 4; a plurality of reading antennas 71 provided corresponding to each of the plurality of reading areas and configured to read RFID tags embedded in gaming tokens 5 placed in the corresponding reading areas; a plurality of reading limiting antennas 11 provided corresponding to each of the plurality of reading areas and configured to limit RFID tags embedded in the gaming tokens 5 placed in the corresponding reading areas from being read by the reading antennas 71 corresponding to other adjacent reading areas; a reading controller 9 connected to the plurality of reading antennas 71 and configured to control the plurality of reading antennas 71; and a reading limiter controller 12 connected to the plurality of reading limiting antennas 11 and configured to control the plurality of reading limiting antennas 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a game table reading system for reading RFID tags on a game table used for table games. [Background technology]

[0002] Casinos use game tables. On the game tables, betting targets are depicted by lines or colors, and players place bets on the betting targets by placing gaming tokens on the betting targets depicted on the game table. For example, a baccarat table has multiple play positions, and on each play position, betting targets such as player, banker, and tie are depicted by lines or colors.

[0003] Meanwhile, recently, gaming tokens are equipped with RFID tags that store information such as the gaming token's identification information (chip ID) in order to prevent fraud or mistakes by players or dealers, to keep track of bet amounts, redemption amounts, and recovery amounts to use in casino management, and to trace the movement of gaming tokens within the casino. Furthermore, gaming tables and the like are provided with multiple antennas for reading RFID tags. A management control device acquires information about the RFID tags read by the multiple antennas and determines where the gaming token is located based on which antenna detected which RFID tag.

[0004] At a gaming table, it is effective to determine the location of the gaming token in more detail in order to grasp the movement of the gaming token. For example, it is effective to grasp not only that the gaming token is at a certain gaming table, but also in which play position it is at and furthermore in which bet object it is placed on in order to achieve the above-mentioned objective more effectively. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In order to grasp the precise location of gaming tokens on a gaming table, it is effective to use multiple reader antennas with narrow reading ranges. However, if such reader antennas are located close to each other, a problem arises in that the RFID tags of gaming tokens within the reading ranges of other reader antennas may be read beyond the intended reading range of each reader antenna.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a game table reading system that alleviates the problem that multiple reading antennas on a game table may read RFID tags within the reading range of other reading antennas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] A gaming table reading system according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a gaming table having a plurality of reading areas including at least a plurality of betting areas for positioning gaming tokens having built-in RFID tags, a plurality of reading antennas installed corresponding to each of the plurality of reading areas for reading the RFID tags built in gaming tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas, and a plurality of reading antennas installed corresponding to each of the plurality of reading areas for reading the RFID tags built in gaming tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas by the reading antennas corresponding to other adjacent reading areas. a read restriction antenna that restricts the number of read areas to be read by the read control device; a read control device that is connected to the plurality of read restriction antennas and controls the plurality of read restriction antennas; and a read restriction control device that is connected to the plurality of read restriction antennas and controls the plurality of read restriction antennas, wherein the read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to perform reading in sequence, and the read restriction control device is configured to synchronize with the read control device and restrict reading by the plurality of read restriction antennas that correspond to the plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna that the read control device is performing reading on.

[0008] With this configuration, reading is restricted in multiple reading areas adjacent to the reading area in which the reading antenna performs reading, and the reading area in which the reading antenna performs reading is changed in sequence, so that even when multiple reading areas are adjacent to each other and the reading areas are densely packed, RFID tags can be appropriately read for each of those reading areas.

[0009] In the above game table reading system, the reading control device may control the plurality of reading antennas so that the plurality of reading antennas corresponding to the plurality of adjacent reading areas do not perform reading simultaneously.

[0010] With this configuration, adjacent reading areas are controlled not to be read at the same time, so that the reading of the plurality of reading areas can be performed more reliably.

[0011] In the above game table reading system, the read restriction control device may cause the read restriction antennas within a predetermined distance from the reading antenna that is currently reading to restrict reading.

[0012] This configuration makes it possible to limit reading to a reading area that is not adjacent to the reading area in which reading is being performed but that is read by the reading antenna.

[0013] In the above game table reading system, the reading control device may start reading from the next reading antenna when a predetermined time has elapsed since no new information was read from the reading antenna that is currently performing the reading.

[0014] With this configuration, reading can be performed with high time efficiency while preventing any RFID tags from being left unread, even when there are many RFID tags in the reading area and reading takes a long time, or when there are only a few RFID tags in the reading area or when there are no RFID tags in the reading area and reading can be completed in a short time.

[0015] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the reading control device may be equipped with a reading intensity setting unit that sets the intensity of the electromagnetic waves for reading by the reading antenna, and the reading restriction control device may determine the reading restriction antenna that will restrict reading according to the intensity set by the reading intensity setting unit.

[0016] With this configuration, reading can be restricted to a necessary range depending on the strength of the electromagnetic waves from the reading antenna.

[0017] In the above game table reading system, the read limitation control device may determine a read limitation antenna for limiting reading depending on the size of an area where reading is performed by the read control device.

[0018] With this configuration, when reading is performed simultaneously using multiple reading antennas, the read limiting antenna that limits reading can be different depending on whether reading is performed over a wide area or only reading a relatively narrow area.

[0019] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the reading control device may cause a portion of the plurality of reading antennas to perform reading simultaneously, and the reading restriction control device may cause the reading restriction antenna located between the plurality of reading antennas that perform reading simultaneously to perform reading restriction.

[0020] This configuration makes it possible to read RFID tags in a plurality of reading areas simultaneously using a plurality of reading antennas while avoiding the reading of RFID tags in reading areas other than the corresponding reading area of ​​the reading antenna.

[0021] In the above game table reading system, the reading control device may cause another part of the plurality of reading antennas to simultaneously perform reading after all of the part of the plurality of reading antennas have completed reading.

[0022] This configuration makes it possible to prevent adjacent reading areas from being read simultaneously.

[0023] The above-mentioned game table reading system may further include a game status determination system that determines the progress of the game, and the reading control device may cause the reading antenna selected according to the progress of the game determined by the game status determination system to perform reading.

[0024] This configuration allows reading to be performed on the required reading area depending on the progress of the game.

[0025] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the read restriction control device may control the reading restriction by the multiple read restriction antennas so that the reading antenna and the read restriction antenna corresponding to the same reading area do not perform reading and reading restriction at the same time.

[0026] This configuration can prevent the read-restricted antenna from interfering with reading by the read antenna corresponding to the same read area.

[0027] In the above game table reading system, the reading antenna may be loop-shaped, and the reading control device may open the loop of the reading antenna in the reading area where reading is not performed.

[0028] In the above game table reading system, the game table may be a table for a baccarat game, and the plurality of reading areas may include a plurality of side bet areas provided for each playing position and arranged adjacent to each other.

[0029] This configuration makes it possible to read information from the RFID tag embedded in the gaming token bet in the side bet area in a baccarat game.

[0030] In the above game table reading system, the game table may have a plurality of play positions, and the plurality of reading areas may be provided for each of the play positions.

[0031] This configuration allows RFID tags to be read separately for each playing position.

[0032] In the above game table reading system, the plurality of reading areas may include a player area and a banker area provided adjacent to each other for each playing position.

[0033] This configuration allows RFID tags to be read separately for each playing position and each betting object.

[0034] In the above game table reading system, the player area and the banker area may be divided into a plurality of reading areas.

[0035] With this configuration, even when different users place bets in the same betting area, each stack of gaming tokens can be read separately.

[0036] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the RFID tag may be embedded in a membership card given to a user playing at the game table, and the multiple reading areas may include a card reading area where the membership card is placed.

[0037] This configuration allows the member's card to be read on the game table.

[0038] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the plurality of reading areas may include a chip tray area in which the dealer stores the gaming tokens, and when the reading control device causes the reading antenna corresponding to the chip tray area to perform reading, the reading restriction control device may cause the reading restriction antenna corresponding to the reading area other than the chip tray area to perform reading restriction.

[0039] With this configuration, even if the reading antenna corresponding to the chip tray area uses electromagnetic waves with a relatively high intensity, it is possible to prevent the RFID tag in the bet area from being read by the electromagnetic waves.

[0040] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the plurality of reading areas may include a pay area for reading the gaming tokens paid out by the dealer to the winning player, and the reading restriction control device may cause the reading restriction antennas corresponding to the other reading areas around the pay area to restrict reading when the reading antenna corresponding to the pay area is reading.

[0041] This configuration makes it possible to prevent RFID tags in other surrounding reading areas from being read when reading the pay area.

[0042] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the multiple betting areas may include a player area and a banker area provided for each of multiple play positions, and the read restriction control device may control the multiple read restriction antennas so that when the reading antenna corresponding to the player area of ​​a certain play position is reading, the read restriction antenna corresponding to the banker area of ​​the play position is restricting reading, and when the reading antenna corresponding to the banker area of ​​a certain play position is reading, the read restriction antenna corresponding to the player area of ​​the play position is restricting reading.

[0043] This configuration makes it possible to distinguish between the play area and the bunker area at the same play position.

[0044] In the above game table reading system, the adjacent reading areas may be separated by one or two lines and may be adjacent to each other at a distance smaller than the size of the gaming token.

[0045] The above-mentioned game table reading system may further include a camera that photographs gaming tokens placed in the reading area to generate an image, and an image recognition device that analyzes the image generated by the camera to determine the reading area in which the gaming tokens are placed, and the type and number of gaming tokens. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0046] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a betting area according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of the betting area according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a modified example of the betting area according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another modified example of the betting area according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a betting area according to the third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a betting area according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a betting area according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a bet area which is a reading area in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the data structure of gaming tokens and a database according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the read antenna and the read restriction antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 16] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing another example of the limited read antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17A] FIG. 17A is a diagram illustrating switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 17B] FIG. 17B is a diagram for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18A] FIG. 18A is a diagram illustrating switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18B] FIG. 18B is a diagram illustrating switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18C] FIG. 18C is a diagram for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18D] FIG. 18D is a diagram for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18E] FIG. 18E is a diagram for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of the layout of the game table according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of an antenna arrangement according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the configuration of an antenna at one player position in the seventh embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an antenna arrangement according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing a betting area according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 24] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing the relationship between the substrate, antenna, and bet area according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing the configuration of a table reading system according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0047] The following describes a game table reading system that reads RFID tags on a game table. In the following embodiment, the game table is a baccarat table for playing a baccarat game, but the present invention is not limited to a baccarat table and can be applied to any game table.

[0048] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The game table reading system 1 includes a roughly oval game table 2. A player 3 is positioned on one side (the lower side of FIG. 1) of the game table 2, and a dealer (not shown) is positioned on the opposite side. On the top surface of the game table 2, betting areas 4a to 4e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "betting areas 4") are partitioned for each of a plurality of play positions. The betting area 4 is an area where a player 3 places a bet by placing their gaming token 5. A chip tray 6 is provided on the dealer position side of the game table 2 for placing the dealer's gaming token 5. Although not shown for clarity, each of the betting areas 4a to 4e is divided into a player pair area, a banker pair area, a tie area, a player area, and a banker area.

[0049] As described above, the betting areas 4a to 4e of the game table 2 are divided into a player pair area, a banker pair area, a tie area, a player area, and a banker area. FIG. 2 illustrates the betting area 4a. Furthermore, each betting area is provided with a reading antenna 71a to 75e (hereinafter collectively referred to as a "reading antenna 7") for reading the RFID tag embedded in the gaming token 5. Specifically, each reading antenna 7 is embedded under the cover of the game table 2 at a position where the corresponding betting area 4 is partitioned. In addition, a reading antenna 8 is also provided in the chip tray 6.

[0050] In the following, each area where a reading antenna is installed may be referred to as a reading area. That is, the player pair area, banker pair area, tie area, player area, banker area, and chip tray 6 each correspond to a reading area.

[0051] The reading antenna 7 and the reading antenna 8 are connected to the reading control device 9. Note that in FIG. 1, only the broken line indicating the reading antenna 71e and the line connecting it to the reading control device 9 are shown, and the broken lines indicating the reading antennas other than the reading antenna 71e and the lines connecting them to the reading control device 9 are omitted for clarity of the figure, but reading antennas other than the reading antenna 71e are also provided in each betting area 4 and are further connected to the reading control device 9 in the same way as the reading antenna 71e. The same applies to the following drawings. The reading control device 9 distinguishes each reading antenna and controls reading.

[0052] Each betting area 4a to 4e of the gaming table 2 is provided with read antennas 71a to 75e as well as read restriction antennas 101a to 105e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read restriction antennas 10"). The read restriction antennas 10 have the function of restricting the RFID tags embedded in gaming tokens 5 placed in the corresponding reading area from being read by the read antennas 7 corresponding to other adjacent reading areas. Like the read antennas 7, the read restriction antennas 10 are embedded under the cover of the gaming table 2 in a position where the corresponding betting area 4 is partitioned. In addition, a read restriction antenna 11 is also provided in the chip tray 6.

[0053] The read limit antennas 101a to 105e and the read limit antenna 11 are connected to a read limit control device 12. The read limit control device 12 distinguishes between the read limit antennas and controls the read limit.

[0054] The reading control device 9 causes the reading antennas 7 to read in order, and the reading restriction control device 12 synchronizes with the reading control device 9 and causes the reading restriction antenna 10 corresponding to the reading area adjacent to the reading area corresponding to the reading antenna 7 that the reading control device 9 is causing to read to perform reading restriction.

[0055] The specific reading process will be explained using Figure 2. For example, when reading in the tie area, the reading antenna 73a reads, and the reading restriction antenna 102a in the bank pair area adjacent to the tie area and the reading restriction antenna 104a in the player area restrict reading. In this way, reading of each area is performed in order.

[0056] Furthermore, the betting area 4 includes a player area and a banker area, but these are not read at the same time. In FIG. 2, when the reading antenna 74a in the player area performs reading, the read limit control device 12 causes the read limit antenna 105a in the banker area to perform reading restriction. Similarly, when the reading antenna 75a in the banker area performs reading, the read limit control device 12 causes the read limit antenna 104a in the player area to perform reading restriction. Note that in the example of FIG. 1, the read control device 9 and the read limit device 12 are separate devices, but they may be configured as a single device. These devices may be devices that control an antenna board called an RFID reader.

[0057] This configuration allows accurate identification of the player area and the banker area that are present at the same playing position.

[0058] With the above configuration, by restricting reading in multiple reading areas adjacent to the reading area in which the reading antenna 7 performs reading and by sequentially changing the reading area in which the reading antenna 7 performs reading, it becomes possible to appropriately read RFID tags in each reading area even when multiple reading areas are adjacent to each other and the reading areas are densely packed.

[0059] Even in non-adjacent reading areas, the read restriction antenna 10 within a predetermined distance from the reading antenna 7 that is currently reading may be configured to restrict reading.

[0060] That is, for example, when reading the bunker area using the reading antenna 75a in FIG. 2, not only the read-restricted antenna 104a in the player area adjacent to the bunker area but also the read-restricted antenna 103a in the tie area may be made to function.

[0061] This configuration makes it possible to restrict reading in a reading area that may be read by the reading antenna 7 that is currently reading, even if it is not adjacent to the reading area in which reading is currently being performed.

[0062] The read restriction control device also controls the read restriction by the multiple read restriction antennas so that the read antenna 7 and the read restriction antenna 10 corresponding to the same read area do not simultaneously perform reading and read restriction.

[0063] In the drawing, the reading antenna 7 in the reading area is shown on the outside, followed by the read-restricted antenna 10, but this arrangement is not necessarily required, and the antennas may be arranged in any configuration.

[0064] Furthermore, the area divisions within the betting area may be configured such that the player pair area and the banker pair area are arranged side by side, as shown in FIG.

[0065] Furthermore, the betting areas do not necessarily have to be read separately for the player pair area, banker pair area, tie area, player area, and banker area, and may be read in their entirety.

[0066] Furthermore, a side bet area is provided for each play position, which is the area where the player plays. In Figure 2, the player pair area and the banker pair area correspond to the side bet areas. Reading may be performed for each side bet area.

[0067] The above configuration makes it possible to read RFID tags for each playing position and each side bet area separately.

[0068] In baccarat, as described above, a plurality of play positions are provided on the game table 2, and a betting area 4 is provided at each play position on the game table 2 at a position corresponding to each play position. In principle, one player plays at each play position. However, when all play positions are filled, a player (back bet player) may appear behind the player (sitting player) playing at the play position and place a bet in the betting area 4 assigned to the sitting player. Depending on the casino or game table 2, such a bet may be permitted. A back bet results in multiple gaming tokens 5 with different user IDs being bet in the same betting area. The game table reading system of this example is capable of distinguishing between gaming tokens 5 even in such cases. The following description will be made with reference to FIG. 4.

[0069] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a modified example of the betting area in the first embodiment. In this example, in addition to the configuration of the betting area shown in Fig. 2, each area is further divided into a plurality of areas. The reading antenna 7 and the read restriction antenna 10 are also provided separately for each area.

[0070] With the above configuration, it is possible to distinguish between bet targets within a play position, and even when different users (such as back bet players) bet on the same bet area, it is possible to distinguish between stacks of gaming tokens 5.

[0071] 4, the betting area for each play position is divided into two areas, but it may be divided into three or more areas. Also, the game table 2 is configured such that one banker area, one player area, one tie area, one banker pair area, and one player pair area are provided for each play position as shown in FIG. 2, but a plurality of reading antennas 7 and reading restriction antennas 10 may be provided in the same reading area as shown in FIG.

[0072] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another modified example of the betting area in the first embodiment. In this example, a plurality of reading antennas 7 are provided in the betting area (in the example of FIG. 5, a banker area is illustrated), and a plurality of read-restricted antennas 10 are also provided corresponding to each reading antenna 7. This allows gaming tokens 83 to be read differently within the same betting area. As a result, even when there are multiple stacks of gaming tokens 83 for the same betting object, such as when a back bet is placed, these stacks can be read by separate reading antennas 7, and therefore, multiple stacks in the same betting area can be read differently. By recognizing and identifying the player who bet on each stack, it becomes possible to link and manage the user IDs of the main player (sitting player) and the back bet player with information on bet chips or payout chips.

[0073] (Second embodiment) FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system used in the second embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the game table reading system 1 of the first embodiment, a player identification system is introduced into the game table reading system 13. The player identification system includes a card authentication system consisting of a member's card 14 and a card reading area 15. The member's card 14 is given to a user (member) who plays at the game table 2. An RFID tag is embedded in the member's card 14, and information on the member's card 14 is read by placing the member's card 14 in the card reading area 15. Identification information (user ID) for uniquely identifying the player is stored in the RFID tag of the member's card 14.

[0074] This configuration makes it possible to read the member's card 14 on the game table 2.

[0075] In FIG. 6, the card reading area 15 is located in one place on the game table 2, but the game table 2 may be configured to have multiple card reading areas.

[0076] Furthermore, a card reading area 15 may be provided at each play position on the game table 2. Also, the betting area 4 for each play position may also serve as the card reading area 15 for each play position. In this case, the reading antenna 7 provided corresponding to the betting area 4 reads the RFID tag of the member's card 14.

[0077] With this configuration, the member information stored in the member's card 14 is read at the play position, so the member does not need to hand the member's card 14 to the dealer, and the dealer does not need to operate the member's card 14, and the game table reading system 13 can grasp which member is at which play position.

[0078] The reading area referred to below also includes the card reading area 15.

[0079] (Third embodiment) FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system used in the third embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the game table reading system 1 of the first embodiment, the game table reading system 16 includes a read intensity setting unit 17 in the read control device 9. Generally, electromagnetic waves are used to read RFID tags. The read intensity setting unit 17 sets the intensity of the electromagnetic waves for reading by the read antenna 7. Furthermore, the read limitation control device 12 determines the read limitation antenna 10 that will limit reading, depending on the intensity set by the read intensity setting unit 17.

[0080] This configuration makes it possible to restrict reading within a necessary range according to the strength of the electromagnetic waves from the reading antenna 7. When the strength of the electromagnetic waves from the reading antenna 7 is high, the range of the reading area where reading is restricted is widened, and conversely, when the strength of the electromagnetic waves from the reading antenna 7 is low, the range of the reading area where reading is restricted is narrowed, thereby enabling more accurate reading.

[0081] In the game table reading system used in the first, second, and third embodiments, it has been described that one reading area is read at a time, but it may be configured to read multiple reading areas at a time. In other words, it may be configured so that some of the multiple reading antennas perform reading simultaneously, and the read restriction control device 12 performs reading restriction on the read restriction antenna located between the multiple reading antennas that perform reading simultaneously. This will be explained below using Figure 8.

[0082] Figure 8 shows only the betting areas 4a, 4b, and 4c from the game table 2 in Figure 1, and illustrates only the reading antenna 7 and the read restriction antenna 10 necessary for the explanation. For example, when simultaneously reading the player pair area of ​​betting area 4a and the player pair area of ​​betting area 4c, reading is performed by reading antenna 71a and reading antenna 71c, and reading restriction antennas 102a to 105a, 101b to 105b, and 102c to 105c located between those areas are used to restrict reading.

[0083] The above describes a configuration in which multiple areas within multiple betting areas 4 (specifically, the player pair area of ​​betting area 4a and the player pair area of ​​betting area 4c) are read simultaneously, but it may also be a configuration in which multiple entire betting areas 4 (for example, the entire betting area 4a and the entire betting area 4c) are read simultaneously.

[0084] This configuration makes it possible to read RFID tags in a plurality of reading areas simultaneously using a plurality of reading antennas 7 while avoiding the reading of RFID tags in reading areas other than the corresponding reading area of ​​the reading antenna 7.

[0085] The game table reading systems used in all of the above embodiments may also be configured to perform the above simultaneous multiple reading.

[0086] When reading multiple reading areas simultaneously in this way, if the system moves on to the next reading before all of the multiple reading antennas 7 currently reading have finished reading, there is a possibility of a reading error occurring. Therefore, the game table reading system of the present invention has the reading control device cause a different portion of the multiple reading antennas 7 to simultaneously read after all of the multiple reading antennas 7 currently reading have finished reading. This makes it possible to prevent adjacent reading areas from being read simultaneously.

[0087] As described above, in the game table reading system of this embodiment, the read limit control device 12 determines the read limit antenna 10 that will perform the read limit depending on the size of the area read by the read control device 9. Specifically, the larger the area to be read simultaneously, the more read limit antennas 10 are allowed to perform the read limit. For example, when each betting area 4 has the configuration shown in FIG. 2, multiple read antennas 71-75 corresponding to a certain betting area 4 may be used simultaneously to read the entire betting area 4 as the read area, and such reading may be performed for each betting area. In this case, since the entire relatively large betting area becomes the read area, more read limit antennas 10 around this read area may be allowed to perform the read limit. Alternatively, all read control devices 9 may read all betting areas simultaneously. In this case, the read limit control device 12 causes all read limit antennas 10 corresponding to areas other than the betting area to perform the read limit.

[0088] (Fourth embodiment) 9 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system used in the fourth embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the game table reading system 1 of the first embodiment, the game table reading system 18 is provided with a game status determination system 19 that determines the progress of the game. The reading control device 9 causes the reading antenna 7 selected according to the progress of the game determined by the game status determination system 19 to perform reading.

[0089] This configuration makes it possible to determine, depending on the progress of the game, which areas should be read first in order to progress smoothly in the game (for example, by reading pairs first), and to read the necessary reading areas.

[0090] In addition, in the first to fourth embodiments described above, in all reading operations described above, the read restriction control device 12 has the function of controlling the read restriction by the read restriction antenna 10 so that reading and read restriction are not performed simultaneously in the same reading area.

[0091] (Fifth embodiment) FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system used in the fifth embodiment. In addition to the configuration of the game table reading system 1 of the first embodiment, the game table reading system 20 is provided with pay areas 21a to 21e (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "pay areas 21"). The pay areas 21a to 21e are reading areas where RFID tags placed there are read. As with the reading areas already described, each pay area is provided with reading antennas 22a to 22e (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "read antennas 22") and read-restricted antennas 23a to 23e (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "read-restricted antennas 23"). Although not shown for clarity, reading antennas other than reading antenna 22e are also provided in each pay area 21 and are connected to the reading control device 9 in the same way as reading antenna 22e. Further, read limit antennas other than the read limit antenna 23e are also provided in each pay area 21, and are further connected to the read limit control device 12 in the same manner as the read limit antenna 23e.

[0092] In this way, by providing the pay area 21 and reading the RFID tags of the gaming tokens 5 separately from the betting area 4, the RFID tags of the gaming tokens 5 dispensed from the chip tray 6 can be read quickly.

[0093] 10, the reading area on the game table 2 is roughly divided into a chip tray 6, a bet area 4, and a pay area 21. In the game table reading system 20 of this embodiment, when the reading control device 9 causes the reading antenna 8 of the chip tray 6 to perform reading, the reading restriction control device 12 has the function of causing the reading restriction antennas corresponding to the reading areas other than the chip tray 6 (i.e., the reading restriction antenna 10 and the reading restriction antenna 23) to perform reading restriction.

[0094] This configuration makes it possible to prevent RFID tags on the game table other than the chip tray 6 from being mistakenly read, even when the reading antenna 8 corresponding to the chip tray 6 uses relatively strong electromagnetic waves.

[0095] In addition, when the game table reading system 20 performs reading in the pay area 21, the read restriction control device 12 has the function of restricting reading on the read restriction antennas (i.e., the read restriction antennas 10 and 11) corresponding to the areas surrounding the pay area 21.

[0096] This configuration makes it possible to prevent RFID tags in other surrounding reading areas from being mistakenly read when reading the pay area 21.

[0097] In Figure 10, the pay areas 21 are configured to exist in the same number as the betting areas 4, but the number may be less (for example, one pay area 21 for betting areas 4a and 4b, or one pay area 21 for betting areas 4a to 4e).

[0098] In the game table reading system used in the first to fifth embodiments, one reading control device 9 and one reading restriction control device 12 are provided on each game table 2, but the reading control device 9 and the reading restriction control device 12 may be provided in two or more units on each game table 2, or may be provided for each reading area.

[0099] In the game table reading system used in the first to fifth embodiments, the reading control device 9 starts reading from the next reading antenna when a predetermined time has elapsed since no new information is read from the reading antenna that is performing the reading, and the reading restriction control device 12 switches the reading restriction antenna that performs the reading restriction in synchronization with this switching of the reading antenna in the reading control device 9.

[0100] This configuration makes it possible to perform reading with high time efficiency while preventing any RFID tags from being left unread, even when there are many RFID tags in the reading area and reading takes a long time, or when there are only a few RFID tags in the reading area or when there are no RFID tags in the reading area and reading can be completed in a short time.

[0101] In particular, when multiple read areas are read simultaneously using multiple read antennas and the multiple read areas are sequentially switched, the next multiple read areas may be read after new information is no longer read in the multiple read areas being read simultaneously, thereby preventing the inconvenience of simultaneous reading in adjacent read areas due to a change in the combination of multiple read antennas that read simultaneously.

[0102] The game table reading system used in the first to fifth embodiments has a function of not allowing reading and restriction of reading to be performed simultaneously in the same area.

[0103] In the above embodiments, all of the reading antennas and reading restriction antennas output electromagnetic waves during reading and reading restriction. The strength of the electromagnetic waves needs to be controlled so that they do not reach areas where reading should not be performed. Therefore, the game table reading system in all embodiments of the present invention is provided with a shielding member that shapes the magnetic field so that the strength of the magnetic field generated by the reading antenna is weakened outside the reading area corresponding to that reading antenna. In addition, the magnetic field is dome-shaped.

[0104] The shielding member is an aluminum plate, tape, film or sheet, and is provided on the same plane as the reading antenna.

[0105] (Sixth embodiment) FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a game table according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention. The game table (hereinafter simply referred to as "table") 6004 has a roughly elliptical or semicircular shape. One side of the table 6004 is a dealer position (a position facing a chip tray 51, described later) where the dealer is located, and the other side is provided with a plurality of play positions where players can be positioned when playing a game. In the example of FIG. 11, five play positions are provided on the lower side of the table 6004.

[0106] At the dealer position, a chip tray 51 for storing gaming tokens 83 held by the dealer is provided, and is embedded in the table 6004. The chip tray 51 is of a two-tiered type, and the upper tier can be removed to replenish or remove gaming tokens 83 from the lower tier.

[0107] An RFID tag 831 is embedded in the gaming token 83 (see FIG. 4). The RFID tag 831 stores at least chip identification information (hereinafter also referred to as "chip ID") for uniquely identifying the gaming token. The RFID tag 831 may further store information indicating the value of the gaming token.

[0108] Each play position is provided with betting areas 41a to 41e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "betting areas 41") where a player playing at that play position can place a bet by placing a gaming token 83 as a bet target. The betting areas 41 are drawn on the top surface of the table 6004. Adjacent betting areas 41 are separated by one or two lines. The distance between adjacent betting areas 41 is relatively short, and the shortest distance is 0 to 15 cm, which is, for example, smaller than the diameter of the gaming token 83.

[0109] Although not shown in the figure, the betting areas 41a-41e for each play position include a player pair betting area for betting on the player's hand forming a pair, a banker pair betting area for betting on the banker's hand forming a pair, a tie betting area for betting on the player's hand and the banker's hand tying, a player betting area for betting on the player's hand winning, and a banker betting area for betting on the banker's hand winning. These betting areas are located close to each other but do not overlap. Hereinafter, these player pair betting areas, banker pair betting area, tie betting area, player betting area, and banker betting area are each referred to as a "betting area." Adjacent betting areas are separated by one or two lines. Alternatively, adjacent betting areas may be separated by no lines between them, but by painting the adjacent betting areas in different colors or a different color from the background. The distance between adjacent betting areas is relatively short, and the shortest distance is 0 to 10 cm, which is smaller than the diameter of the gaming token 83, for example.

[0110] Each play position is provided with pay areas 42a to 42e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "pay areas 42") for reading payout chips when the dealer pays out gaming tokens 83 to the player. The pay areas 42 are drawn on the upper surface of the table 4. Adjacent pay areas 42 are separated by one or two lines. Alternatively, adjacent pay areas 42 may be separated by not providing a line between them, but by painting the adjacent pay areas 42 in different colors, or by painting the pay areas 42 in a color different from the background. Also, adjacent pay areas 42 and betting areas 41 are separated by one or two lines. Alternatively, adjacent pay areas 42 and betting areas 41 may be separated by not providing a line between them, but by painting the adjacent pay areas 42 and betting areas 41 in different colors, or by painting the pay areas 42 and betting areas 41 in a color different from the background between them. The distance between adjacent pay areas 42 is relatively short, and the shortest distance is 0 to 10 cm, which is smaller than the diameter of the gaming token 83. The distance between the pay area 42 and the betting area 41 at each play position is also relatively short, and the shortest distance is 0 to 15 cm, which is smaller than the diameter of the gaming token 83.

[0111] The betting areas 41a to 41e are provided with reading antennas 511a to 511e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "reading antennas 511") for reading RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 placed in the betting areas 41a to 41e, respectively, the pay areas 42a to 42e are provided with reading antennas 521a to 521e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "reading antennas 521") for reading RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 placed in the pay areas 42a to 42e, respectively, and the chip tray 51 is provided with a reading antenna 531 for reading RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 stored in the chip tray 51. As described above, the chip tray 51 is of a two-tiered type, but the reading antenna 531 may be provided, for example, on the back side of the upper tray.

[0112] In addition, the betting areas 41a to 41e are provided with read-restricted antennas 512a to 512e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read-restricted antennas 512") to restrict or prevent the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 placed in the betting areas 41a to 41e from being read by the reading antennas in other areas, the pay areas 42a to 42e are provided with read-restricted antennas 522a to 522e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read-restricted antennas 522") to restrict or prevent the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 placed in the pay areas 42a to 42e from being read by the reading antennas in other areas, and the chip tray 51 is provided with a read-restricted antenna 532 to restrict or prevent the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 stored in the chip tray 51 from being read by the reading antennas in other areas.

[0113] In this embodiment, the read antenna 511 and the read limit antenna 512 of the betting area 41 are shaped to follow the outer edge of the betting area 41, the read antenna 521 and the read limit antenna 522 of the pay area 42 are shaped to follow the outer edge of the pay area 42, and the read antenna 531 and the read limit antenna 532 of the chip tray 51 are shaped to follow the outer edge of the chip tray 51, but the antenna shapes are not limited to these. Also, in the example of FIG. 11, the read limit antenna is provided inside the read antenna, but the positional relationship between the read antenna and the read limit antenna is not limited to this, and the read limit antenna may be provided outside the read antenna, or the read limit antenna and the read antenna may intersect in a plan view. Also, multiple read limit antennas may be provided for one read antenna, or conversely, one read limit antenna may be provided for multiple read antennas.

[0114] A card dealing device 58 is placed on the table 6004. The card dealing device 58 stores multiple decks of cards. The dealer 91 can draw cards one by one from the card dealing device 58. The card dealing device 58 has a function of reading the suit and rank of the drawn cards. The card dealing device 58 determines the game result in accordance with the rules of the baccarat game based on at least the rank of the drawn cards. The card dealing device 58 displays the determined game result with a lamp or the like, and outputs data indicating the game result to the outside. In this way, the card dealing device 58 also functions as a game result determination device.

[0115] The table 6004 is further provided with a camera 52 and a card reader 53. The camera 52 photographs the face of a player 82 playing at a play position and the gaming tokens 83 on the table 6004. Note that a camera for photographing the face of a player and a camera for photographing the gaming tokens 83 on the table 6004 may be provided separately.

[0116] The card reader 53 reads information stored in the member's card 81 by scanning the member's card 81 held by a registered player (member). The member's card 81 has a built-in RFID tag, and the RFID tag stores at least the user ID assigned to the corresponding player. The card reader 53 has an operation unit (not shown) with which the dealer 91 specifies a play position. The dealer 91 specifies a play position when scanning the member's card 81 with the card reader 53. As a result, a combination of the play position and the user ID is output from the card reader 53. The card reader 53 also has a cancel operation unit (not shown). When the player 82 leaves the table, the dealer 91 specifies a play position and operates the cancel operation unit. As a result, the card reader 53 outputs the play position and a cancel instruction.

[0117] When a player 81 plays baccarat at the table 6004 described above, the player 82 first sits at one of the play positions at the table 6004 and hands his / her member's card 81 to the dealer 91. The dealer 91 scans the member's card 81 using the card reader 53. The player 81 bets by placing gaming tokens 83 in any of the betting areas, namely, the player area, the banker area, the tie area, the player pair area, and the banker pair area, of the betting area 41 provided at the player's play position.

[0118] When all players 82 have placed their bets, the dealer 91 closes the bets and draws cards one by one from the card dealing device 58. In baccarat, four cards are first drawn in the following order: player's hand, banker's hand, player's hand, and banker's hand. If no player pairs are formed at this point, the dealer 91 collects the bet chips bet on the player pairs into the chip tray 51. If no banker pair is formed at this point, the dealer 91 collects the bet chips bet on the banker pair into the chip tray 51.

[0119] The dealer 91 draws the fifth and subsequent cards as necessary in accordance with the rules of baccarat. When the game result is finally determined, the dealer 91 collects the bet chips 83 of the losing player into the chip tray 51 according to the game result, and then pays out gaming tokens 83 from the chip tray 51 to the bet chips 83 of the winning player. When making this payout, the dealer 91 first temporarily places the gaming tokens 83 in the pay area 42 of the play position where the bet chips 83 to be paid out were bet, and then places the gaming tokens 83 to be paid out next to the bet chips 83. The winning player receives the gaming tokens (payout chips) placed next to the bet chips 83 in this way, along with the bet chips. When starting the next game (i.e., when starting betting on the next game), the dealer 91 presses a game start button provided on the card distribution device 58.

[0120] Therefore, the game table reading system must read at least the gaming tokens 83 bet on the player pair and the banker pair after the dealer has drawn four cards, and after the player has squeezed, if necessary, and before the chips bet on the player pair and the banker pair are collected. It is also preferable that reading be completed for all betted gaming tokens 83 at the same time. For this reason, it is necessary to read the entire betting area within a few seconds. Furthermore, by reading the bet chips multiple times, changes can be recognized. For example, after betting is closed and the first card is drawn from the card dealing device, players are prohibited from making additional bets, withdrawing the betted gaming tokens 83, or changing the bet target. Therefore, multiple readings can be performed to check whether there have been any changes in the gaming tokens 83 bet during the above period. Furthermore, reading may be performed constantly. In this case, the results of the bet chips read before the bet is closed may be recorded as undetermined bet chip data together with time data.

[0121] 12 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game table reading system according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The game table reading system 100 includes a card dealing device 58, a player identification system 55, a reading control device 561, a reading restriction control device 562, a management control device 56, a database 57, reading antennas 511, 521, 531, and reading restriction antennas 512, 522, 532.

[0122] The player identification system 55 includes a camera 52, a card reader 53, and a face recognition device 502. The face recognition device 502 authenticates a player based on an image of the player's face captured by the camera 52. The face recognition device 502 may perform face recognition using machine learning technology. The face recognition device 502 also identifies the position of the authenticated player, i.e., the playing position of the authenticated player, based on the position of the player's face. In this embodiment, a player is identified by a face recognition system including the camera 52 and the face recognition device 502, and can also be identified by reading the member's card 81 using the card reader 53. However, a player may be identified by any of these means.

[0123] The card distribution device 58 outputs the progress of the game (i.e., during dealing, the period from the end of one game to the next, betting, etc.) to the management control device 56 based on button operations and the rank of the drawn card that has been read, and also outputs the game result (player's hand wins, banker's hand wins, tie, player's hand is paired, banker's hand is paired, etc.) to the management control device 56.

[0124] The read control device 561 reads the RFID tag 831 in the read area corresponding to the read antenna by controlling the read antennas 511, 521, and 531. The read restriction control device 562 controls the read restriction antennas 521, 522, and 523 to prevent the RFID tag in the read area corresponding to the read restriction antenna from being read by the read antennas corresponding to other read areas.

[0125] The management control device 56 refers to information stored in the database 57 as necessary in accordance with the progress of the game from the card distribution device 58, and controls the reading control device 561 and the reading restriction control device 562 to read RFID tags in multiple reading areas in order. The management control device 56 updates the database 57 by storing information read from the RFID tags by the reading antennas in association with the players identified by the player identification system 555. Each of the reading antennas 511, 521, 531 is assigned antenna identification information (antenna ID) for uniquely identifying the reading antenna.

[0126] The reading control device 561 transmits a set of information read by the reading antennas 511, 521, and 531 and the antenna ID of the reading antenna to the management control device 56. Note that a reading control device 561 may be provided for each reading antenna, and in that case, reader identification information (reader ID) for uniquely identifying each reading control device 561 may be transmitted to the management control device 56 instead of the antenna ID.

[0127] 12, the read antennas 511, 521, and 531 are loop-shaped with a portion open in the corresponding read area, and one end and the other end of the open end are both connected to a read control device 561. The read control device 561 applies a current to the read antenna to form an electromagnetic field (magnetic field) in the read area, and reads the RFID tag.

[0128] One end and the other end of the read antennas 511, 521, 531 are connected via a switch (not shown) in the read control device 561. The read control device 561 controls the opening and closing of this switch. Specifically, the read control device 561 opens the switch for the read antennas 511, 521, 531 in a read area where reading is not performed, thereby opening the loop of the read antennas 511, 521, 531 and preventing an induced current from flowing in the read antennas 511, 521, 531 that are not performing reading due to an electromagnetic field generated by the read antennas 511, 521, 531 in other adjacent read areas.

[0129] The read restriction antennas 512, 522, 532 have a loop shape surrounding the corresponding read area and have switches 521s, 522s, 532s that close or open the loop. A read restriction control device 562 opens and closes the switches 521s, 522s, 532s. The read restriction antennas 512, 522, 532 perform the function of restricting reading when the switches 521s, 522s, 532s are closed to form a closed loop (short circuit), and do not restrict reading when the switches 521s, 522s, 532s are opened to open the loop.

[0130] 13 is a cross-section of the betting area 41b and the betting area 41c, which are the reading areas. A board 401 for mounting the read antennas 511 and 521 and a board 402 for mounting the read restriction antennas 512 and 522 are provided one above the other under the surface 6004a of the table 6004. In this embodiment, the board 401 is provided under the board 402, but the order of installation can be changed as appropriate. Furthermore, the vertical distance between the read antennas 511 and 521 and the read restriction antennas 521 and 522 is appropriately set based on the strength of the electromagnetic waves, the shapes of the read antennas 511 and 521 and the read restriction antennas 521 and 522, and the like. Furthermore, the read antennas 511 and 521 and the read restriction antennas 512 and 522 may be provided on the same board.

[0131] When reading is being performed on the read area 41b, in the read area 41c adjacent to the read area 41b, the switch 512s of the read restriction antenna 512c is closed to form a closed loop. In the read restriction antenna 512c, a restricting (interfering) electromagnetic field (magnetic field) is formed by an induced electromotive force caused by the electromagnetic field (magnetic field) formed by the read antenna 511b of the adjacent read area 41b, and this restricting electromagnetic field shapes the electromagnetic field of the read antenna 511b, thereby restricting (interfering with) the reading of the gaming token 83c placed in the adjacent read area 41c by the read antenna 511b. In other words, the electromagnetic field formed by the read antenna 511b is dome-shaped, and the electromagnetic field formed by the read restriction antenna 512c is dome-shaped, the opposite of the electromagnetic field formed by the read antenna 511b, so that reading is restricted only in the read area 41c corresponding to the read restriction antenna 512c. The gaming token 83b placed in the reading area 41b corresponding to the energized reading antenna 41b is read by the reading antenna 41b.

[0132] 13 shows an intensity distribution 5111b of the electromagnetic field for reading the bet area 41b generated by the read antenna 511b and an intensity distribution 5111c of the electromagnetic field generated by the read restriction antenna 511c when reading the bet area 41b. Also shown in FIG. 13 is an intensity distribution 5112b when the electromagnetic field generated by the read antenna 511b is weakened by the electromagnetic field generated by the read restriction antenna 512c of the adjacent bet area 41c, and an intensity distribution 5112c when the electromagnetic field generated by the read antenna 511c is weakened by the electromagnetic field generated by the read restriction antenna 512b of the adjacent bet area 41c.

[0133] 13, even when the reading antenna 511b generates an electromagnetic field having an intensity distribution 5111b for reading the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83b in the betting area 41b, closing the switch of the read-restricted antenna 512c in the adjacent betting area 41c causes an induced current to flow in the read-restricted antenna 512c, thereby generating an electromagnetic field for reading interference, and as a result, the electromagnetic field of the intensity distribution 5111b generated by the reading antenna 511b is shaped so as to be sufficiently small and flattened within the adjacent betting area 41c, like the electromagnetic field of the intensity distribution 5112b. This prevents the reading antenna 511b from reading the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83c in the betting area 41c.

[0134] Furthermore, aluminum tapes 513b and 513c are attached to the substrate 402 as shielding members or blocking means for blocking electromagnetic waves from adjacent reading areas. The shielding members may be in a form other than tape, such as a plate, film, sheet, coating film, or foil. The material of the shielding members may be other than aluminum, such as silver, gold, copper, or nickel, or may contain aluminum, silver, gold, copper, or nickel. Furthermore, the shielding members may be mesh-shaped. In addition to the read restriction antennas 512b and 512c, these shielding members can also restrict reading by the reading antennas of adjacent reading areas.

[0135] 13, the shielding member is provided on the substrate 402 on which the read limiting antennas 512b and 512c are to be disposed, but the shielding member may be provided on 401 on which the read antennas 511 and 521 are to be disposed. Alternatively, the shielding member may be provided on the surface of the substrate 402 opposite to the surface on which the read limiting antennas 512b and 512c are disposed, or on the surface of the substrate 401 opposite to the surface on which the read antennas 511b and 511c are disposed. Alternatively, the shielding member may be provided on a plane different from the substrates 401 and 402.

[0136] The game table reading system 100 of this embodiment manages the gaming tokens 83 using a database 57. The database 57 stores information on the RFID tags embedded in the gaming tokens 83 in association with predetermined related information. The management control device 56 updates the database 57 based on the relationship between the information on the RFID tags read by the reading antennas 511, 521, and 531 and the reading areas from which the RFID tags were read, that is, the betting area 41, the betting area 42, and the chip tray 51. In this way, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 for managing the gaming tokens 83 using the information on the RFID tags of the gaming tokens 83 read in each reading area of ​​the game table 6004.

[0137] Management of the gaming token 83 by the database 57 will be described below. Fig. 14 is a diagram showing the data structure of the gaming token 83 and the database 57. As described above, the gaming token 83 has a built-in RFID tag 831. A chip ID 573 is stored in the RFID tag 831. The database 57 has two types of tables including a chip management table 571 for managing the gaming token 83 and a user management table 572 for managing users.

[0138] In the chip management table 571, for each gaming token 83, the following related information is associated with the chip ID 573 of the gaming token 83: price information 574 of the gaming token 83, user identification information (user ID) 575 for uniquely identifying the user who owns the gaming token, and location information 576 indicating the location of the gaming token 83. Note that while the price information 574 for the chip ID 573 does not change, the user ID 575 and location information 576 associated with the chip ID 573 change when the gaming token 83 is used in a casino. Therefore, in the database 57, for the chip ID 573, certain past user IDs and location information may be stored in addition to the latest user ID and location information, or only the latest user ID and location information may be stored.

[0139] In the user management table 572, for each user, the following related information is associated with the user ID 575 of that user: value information 574 of gaming tokens owned by that user, bet information 577 indicating the user's bet history on games, and location information 576 indicating the user's location. The value information 574, bet information 577, and location information 576 associated with the user ID 575 change when the gaming token 83 is used in a casino. Therefore, the database 57 may store, for the user ID 575, certain past value information, bet information, and location information in addition to the latest value information, bet information, and location information, or may store only the latest value information, bet information, and location information.

[0140] The game table reading system 100 manages the gaming tokens 83 by updating the chip management table 571 and the user management table 572 in the database 57 based on the information of the RFID tag 831 read by the reading antenna.

[0141] In the following description, the management control device 56 updates the database 57, and the management control device 56 updates the database according to the information of the RFID tag 831 read by each reading antenna and the status of the game at the time the information was read. In this embodiment, the management control device 56 grasps the status of the game by obtaining information on the status of the game (in game, betting, settlement, pause, etc.) from the card distribution device 58.

[0142] First, the management control device 56 updates the chip management table 571 of the database 57 so that the chip ID of the gaming token 83 paid out to a user who has won a game is associated with the user ID of the user who won the game. The management control device 56 also updates the chip management table 571 of the database 57 so that the user ID assigned to the dealer is associated with the chip ID of the gaming token 83 bet by a user who has lost the game. As a result, even if the holder of the gaming token 83 changes as a result of the gaming token 83 being used in a game, the gaming token held by each user can be identified by referring to the database 57.

[0143] Furthermore, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 so as to associate the chip ID of the gaming token 83 read in the pay area 42 with the user ID of the user playing at the play position corresponding to the pay area 42. The user ID of the user playing at each play position can be identified by the player identification system 55 according to the above embodiment.

[0144] Specifically, the management control device 56 records the user ID of the user who is at the play position in the pay area 42 in the chip management table 571 of the database 57 for the record of the chip ID of the gaming token 83 read in the pay area 42. By updating the database 57 in this way, it is possible to reflect in the database 57 the change in the holder from the dealer to the user due to payout.

[0145] Furthermore, the management control device 56 updates the user management table 572 of the database 57 so that the value of the gaming token 83 paid out to a user who has won a game is added to the value information 574 associated with the user ID 575 of the user who has won the game, and the value of the gaming token 83 collected by a user who has lost the game is subtracted from the value information 574 associated with the user ID 575 of the user who has lost the game. By updating the database 57 in this way, the value of the gaming token 83 possessed by each user, i.e., the amount of money possessed, can be managed in the database 57.

[0146] In addition, when the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be dispensed is read in the pay area 42, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 so that the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be dispensed is associated with the user ID associated with the gaming token 83 bet in the bet area 41 corresponding to the pay area 42.

[0147] Alternatively, when the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be dispensed is read in the betting area 41, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 so that the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be dispensed is associated with the user ID associated with the gaming token 83 bet in the betting area 41. This allows the database 57 to be updated so that the holder of the betted gaming token 83 and the holder of the gaming token 83 to be dispensed for the betted gaming token 83 are the same.

[0148] Furthermore, when all play positions are in use and there is a player placing a back bet, i.e., when multiple players are betting on one play position, the management control device 56 manages the gaming tokens 83 as follows. That is, when the player identification system 55 can identify the user IDs of both of two users simultaneously positioned at the same play position, the management control device 56 manages the gaming tokens 83 for each user in the same manner as described above. However, when the player identification system 55 identifies the user ID of one of the two users simultaneously playing at the same play position but cannot identify the user identification information of the other, the dealer makes a payout according to an operation rule that payout is made first to the player whose user ID is identified. The management control device 56 updates the database 57 so as to associate the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be paid out first to that play position with the user ID identified by the player identification system 55. The management control device 56 associates "unknown" as the user ID with the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be paid out later.

[0149] The reading antenna and the reading control device 561 for reading the RFID tag 831 embedded in the gaming token 83 may be provided at various locations within the casino facility. In this case, the reading control device 561 may be provided at various locations within the casino facility, and the management control device 56 may be able to communicate with the multiple reading control devices 561. As described above, the reading control device 561 transmits to the management control device 56 the antenna ID of the reading antenna or the reader ID of the reading control device 561 along with information on the RFID tag 831 read by the reading antenna. The management control device 56 has a table in which each antenna ID or each reader ID is associated with information on the location of the corresponding reading antenna (location information, for example, a cage number, table number, chip tray number, gate number, etc. for identifying a cage, table, chip tray, gate, etc.).

[0150] When the management control device 56 receives the antenna ID (or reader ID) together with the read chip ID from the reading control device 561, the management control device 56 accordingly updates the location information 474 associated with the chip ID in the chip management table 571 of the database 57. The management control device 56 also similarly updates the location information 576 associated with the chip ID in the user management table 572.

[0151] This makes it possible to know where each gaming token 83 is located and where each user is located by referring to the database 57. Furthermore, by storing past information as location information in the chip management table 571 and the user management table 572, it is possible to know the movement history of the gaming token 83 and the user.

[0152] Furthermore, the management control device 56 acquires, for each play position, information on the user ID of the user playing there from the player identification system 55, and when a gaming token 83 is placed in the betting area 41 and bet is made during betting, acquires a chip ID, which is information on the RIFD tag, from the reading antenna 511 of each play position. The management control device 56 uses this user ID and chip ID to update the user management table 572 of the database 57. Specifically, the management control device 56 refers to the chip management table 571 to acquire value information 574 of the acquired chip ID 573, and adds the value of the value information 574 to the betting information of the acquired user ID in the user management table 572.

[0153] In this way, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 so as to add the value of the gaming token 83 read by the reading antenna 511 of the betting area 41 to the betting information 577 associated with the user ID 575 of the user identified for the play position corresponding to the reading antenna 511. By updating the database 57 in this way, the value of the gaming token 83 bet, i.e., the bet amount, can be managed for each user in the database 57. Note that the bet amount may also be managed as corresponding incentive points.

[0154] The information stored in the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83, i.e., the chip ID 573, is also used to determine the authenticity of the gaming token 83. When the reading antenna reads information from the RFID tag 831, the management control device 56 verifies the information with the database 57. If the information is not found in the database 57, i.e., if the verification is unsuccessful, the management control device 56 determines that the gaming token 83 is defective or fraudulent. If the management control device 56 determines that the gaming token 83 is defective or fraudulent, it outputs a warning. This makes it possible to output a warning when a fraudulent gaming token 83 is used at the game table 6004. The output warning may be output in real time (i.e., at the time when the defect or fraud is determined) in a visually or audibly perceptible format, or may be recorded in a recording device together with information about the situation when the fraud or fraud occurred (e.g., table number, date and time).

[0155] 15 is a diagram showing another example of a reading antenna and a read restriction antenna. In this example, a reading antenna is provided for each play position and each bet object, i.e., for each player, banker, and side bet such as tie or pair. As shown in FIG. 15, each betting area 41 has a plurality of betting object areas including a player area 411, a banker area 412, a tie area 413 as a side bet area, a player pair area 414, and a banker pair area 415, which are provided adjacent to each play position.

[0156] A read antenna and a read restriction antenna are provided in each betting area, which serves as a reading area, so that each betting area can be read. That is, a read antenna 5111 and a read restriction antenna 5112 are provided in the player area 411, a read antenna 5121 and a read restriction antenna 5122 are provided in the banker area 412, a read antenna 5131 and a read restriction antenna 5132 are provided in the tie area 413, a read antenna 5141 and a read restriction antenna 5142 are provided in the player pair area 414, and a read antenna 5151 and a read restriction antenna 5152 are provided in the banker pair area 415.

[0157] In this way, by treating each betting object area at each play position as a separate reading area and providing a reading antenna for each, it is possible to determine which betting object the player has bet the gaming token 83 on at each play position. In this way, in this example, even if multiple reading areas are closely spaced as shown in FIG. 15 , the game table reading system 100 can read the RFDI tag 831 for each reading area. The management control device 56 can determine which player at which play position has won the game, i.e., which play position a payout should be made to, based on the game result information from the card dealing device 58 and the betting object information obtained from each play position. If this determination result does not match the actual payout, the management control device 56 can detect this and output a warning.

[0158] Fig. 16 is a diagram showing another example of a read restriction antenna. Fig. 16 shows only bet areas 41b, 41c, and 41d and their corresponding pay areas 42b, 42c, and 42d. In this example, multiple read restriction antennas are provided in one read area, that is, the bet area. These multiple read restriction antennas each shape the electromagnetic fields generated by the read antennas of multiple other adjacent read areas.

[0159] Specifically, for example, the betting area 41c, which is a reading area, is provided with three read-limited antennas 512c1, 512c2, and 512c3 in addition to a read antenna 511c that reads the entire betting area 41c. The read-limited antenna 512c1 prevents the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 placed in the betting area 41c from being read by the read antenna 511d of the adjacent betting area 41d on the right. The read-limited antenna 512c2 prevents the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 placed in the betting area 41c from being read by the read antenna 511b of the adjacent betting area 41b on the left. The read-limited antenna 512c3 prevents the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 placed in the betting area 41c from being read by the read antenna 521c of the adjacent pay area 42c on the upper side.

[0160] When the read control device 561 controls the read antenna 511d to read the betting area 41d, the read limit control device 562 closes the switch of the read limit antenna 512c1 of the betting area 41c to cause the read limit antenna 512c1 to generate electromagnetic waves to prevent the read antenna 511d from reading the RFID tag 831 of the betting area 41c. When the read control device 561 controls the read antenna 511b to read the betting area 41b, the read limit control device 562 closes the switch of the read limit antenna 512c2 of the betting area 41c to cause the read limit antenna 512c2 to generate electromagnetic waves to prevent the read antenna 511b from reading the RFID tag 831 of the betting area 41c. In addition, when the reading control device 561 controls the reading antenna 521c to read the pay area 42c, the reading restriction control device 562 closes the switch of the reading restriction antenna 512c3 of the betting area 41c, causing the reading restriction antenna 512c3 to generate electromagnetic waves that prevent the reading antenna 521c from reading the RFID tag 831 in the betting area 41c.

[0161] In this way, the read limit control device 562 closes the switch of the corresponding read limit antenna in synchronization with the read control device 561 sequentially driving the read antennas to perform reading, thereby generating an interfering electromagnetic wave.

[0162] As described above, according to the game table reading system 100 of this embodiment, when a plurality of reading areas are set on the game table 6004 at relatively close intervals, it is possible to read in which reading area the RFID tags 831 are located. Specifically, even when a plurality of betting areas are set close to each other, by providing a reading antenna in each betting area 41, it is possible to prevent the reading antenna from reading the RFID tag 831 of an adjacent betting area 41 or pay area 42. Furthermore, even when a pay area 42 is provided corresponding to each of a plurality of betting areas 41 and a reading antenna is provided therein, it is possible to prevent the RFID tag 831 of the adjacent pay area 42 or betting area 41 from being read.

[0163] In the sixth embodiment, the read restriction antennas 512, 522, and 532 generate an electromagnetic field for interfering with reading in the corresponding read area by an induced current due to an electromagnetic field generated by the read antennas 511, 521, and 531 in the adjacent read area, but instead, the interfering electromagnetic field may be generated by flowing a current from the read restriction control device 562. Also in this case, the read restriction antennas 512, 522, and 532 may be provided with a switch for interrupting the loop, and when the read antennas 511, 521, and 531 installed in the same read area perform reading, the switch may be opened to open the loop.

[0164] 17A and 17B are diagrams for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limit antenna by the read control device 561 and the read limit control device 562. Only the read antennas 511a to 511e and 521a to 521e of the bet areas 41a to 41e and the pay areas 42a to 42e, and the read limit antennas 512a to 512e and 522a to 522e are shown in Fig. 17A and 17B. Furthermore, in Fig. 17A and 17B, the read antennas and the read limit antennas shown by thin solid lines indicate that the loops are open and not driven (not active), the read antennas shown by thick solid lines indicate that reading is being performed, and the read limit antennas shown by dashed lines indicate that read restriction (jamming) is being performed.

[0165] The reading control device 561 and the reading restriction control device 562 alternately repeat the state of Fig. 17A (first state) and the state of Fig. 17B (second state) to read all of the bet areas 41a to 41e and the pay areas 42a to 42e. Specifically, in the first state of Fig. 17A, the reading antennas 511a, 511c, 511e, 521b, and 521d are driven to read the bet areas 41a, 41c, and 41e and the pay areas 42b and 42d, and the reading restriction antennas 512b, 512d, 522a, 522c, and 522e are short-circuited to perform reading restriction.

[0166] 17B, ​​the read antennas 511b, 511d, 521a, 521c, and 521e are driven to read the bet areas 41b and 41d and the pay areas 42a, 42c, and 42e, and the read restriction antennas 512a, 512c, 512e, 522b, and 522d are short-circuited to perform read restriction. In this way, in the first and second states, the read restriction antennas are short-circuited to perform read restriction for the read areas above, below, left, and right of the read area read by the read antenna. This allows multiple read areas to be read simultaneously while restricting the reading of RFID tags 831 outside the read area covered by each read antenna. In this way, multiple read areas are grouped, and the read control device 561 and the read restriction control device 562 switch the read area to be read for each group, allowing all read areas to be read efficiently and quickly.

[0167] In the examples of FIGS. 17A and 17B, the multiple reading areas including the bet areas 41a to 41e and the pay areas 42a to 42e are divided into two groups. However, the multiple reading areas may be divided into three or more groups. Furthermore, the multiple reading areas may be grouped only for a portion of the reading areas depending on the game situation. For example, when paying out, only the pay areas 42a to 42e may be divided into multiple groups, and all of the pay areas 42a to 42e may be read by sequentially switching the groups to be read. Furthermore, there may be a group consisting of only one reading area. Since chip collection and payment are performed sequentially from the rightmost play position to the left or from the leftmost play position to the right, respectively, areas where collection or payment is likely to occur may be focused on being read.

[0168] Furthermore, when the reading antennas for reading are switched in sequence, the reading time may be fixed for each reading antenna or each group. In this case, the reading time for each reading antenna or each group may be the same or may be set individually. For example, when three groups are created, with the reading area for reading in the first state of FIG. 17A as the first group, the reading area for reading in the second state of FIG. 17B as the second group, and the chip tray 51 as the third group, the reading time for the third group may be set longer than the reading times for the first and second groups.

[0169] Furthermore, the management control device 56 may store a combination table that defines, for each reading area, a combination of the reading area or a reading antenna corresponding to the reading area, and a reading area in which reading restriction should be imposed when reading in the reading area, or a read restriction antenna corresponding to such a reading area. When the management control device 56 determines a reading area in which reading is to be performed, it may instruct the reading control device 561 to that effect, and may also refer to the combination table to identify the reading area in which reading restriction should be imposed or the read restriction antenna that will impose the read restriction, and instruct the read restriction control device 562.

[0170] In this case, the management control device 56 may determine the reading area to be read based on instructions from an operator (e.g., a dealer). The management control device 56 may also determine the reading area to be read based on an image obtained by the camera 52. For example, the management control device 56 may analyze the image obtained by the camera 52, and determine to read the reading area where it is determined that there has been a change in the gaming token 83 as a result of the analysis.

[0171] 18A to 18E are diagrams showing another example of switching the reading area when reading is performed simultaneously in multiple reading areas. In this example, instead of forming fixed groups as in the examples of Figures 17A and 17B, the reading area to be read is switched in sequence by shifting the positions of multiple reading areas that do not interfere with each other.

[0172] In this example, as shown in Fig. 18A, for bet areas 41a to 41e, reading areas 41a and 41c are read, then reading areas 41b and 41d are read as shown in Fig. 18B, then reading areas 41c and 41e are read as shown in Fig. 18C, then reading areas 41d and 41a are read as shown in Fig. 18D, then reading areas 41e and 41b are read as shown in Fig. 18E, and then reading areas 41a and 41c are read again as shown in Fig. 18A, and this process is repeated. In this way, multiple reading areas may be read simultaneously without fixing the combination of reading areas to be read simultaneously.

[0173] In the above embodiment, adjacent reading areas may be adjacent to each other with a single line between them as the boundary, or there may be an area that is not a reading area between adjacent reading areas, with two lines between the adjacent reading areas.

[0174] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of the layout of a game table according to this embodiment. Six play positions are provided on the game table 40. The play positions are assigned play position numbers 1 to 7 (excluding 4). A player area 411 and a banker area 412 are arranged at each play position. The side bets of tie, player pair, and banker pair are not assigned to each play position, but are instead arranged together as a tie area 403, a player pair area 404, and a banker pair area 405, respectively. That is, the tie area 403, the player pair area 404, and the banker pair area 405 are all divided into small areas for each play position.

[0175] In this case, too, a reading antenna and a read restriction antenna are provided in each small area of ​​each play position in the tie area 403, player pair area 404, and banker pair area 405, and these small areas are used as reading areas to read the RFID tags for each play position. Also, a reading antenna and a read restriction antenna are provided in the player area 411 and the banker area 412, respectively, to read the RFID tags for each area. Even with this antenna arrangement, the reading control device 561 and the read restriction control device 562 switch the reading antenna for reading and the read restriction antenna for reading so that each reading antenna reads only the RFID tags in its assigned reading area and does not read RFID tags in other reading areas.

[0176] For example, the reading control device 561 and the reading restriction control device 562 may simultaneously read small areas with the same play position number in the tie area 403, player pair area 404, and banker pair area 405, impose reading restrictions on small areas with all other play position numbers, and sequentially switch the play position numbers of the small areas to be read.

[0177] 11, a camera 52 may be provided on the table 6004, and the gaming tokens 83 placed on the table 6004 may be photographed by the camera 52. In this case, a chip recognition device may be further used that recognizes the position (which reading area), type, and number of the gaming tokens 83 by performing image recognition on the image obtained by the camera 52. The camera 52 photographs the gaming tokens 83 placed on the table 6004 from diagonally above. The gaming tokens 83 have different colored stripes on their sides depending on the type so that their types can be visually determined when the side is observed. The chip recognition device recognizes the position, type, and number of the gaming tokens 83 by appropriately combining image recognition technologies such as neural networks and pattern matching.

[0178] The management control device 56 uses the recognition result by the chip recognition device and the read result obtained from the read control device 561 to determine what type of gaming tokens are placed, how many of them are placed, and where they are placed. At this time, if the recognition result by the chip recognition device and the read result obtained by the read control device 561 do not match, the management control device 56 may record or output a warning. In particular, if the information on the gaming token 83 recognized by the chip recognition device cannot be obtained by the read control device 561, this means that there is a gaming token 83 that does not have a valid RFID tag 831, and in this case a warning may be output that there is an illegal gaming token.

[0179] Furthermore, in the sixth embodiment, the database 57 is updated by determining which gaming token 83 has which chip ID and which position on the table 6004 the gaming token 83 is placed, and the movement of the gaming token 83 is tracked, but the purpose of employing the technology of this embodiment is not limited to this, and for example, a system may be constructed that detects fraud by determining which gaming token 83 has which chip ID and which position on the table 6004 the gaming token 83 is placed. In this fraud detection system, the management control device 56 may determine that fraud has occurred, for example, when there is an increase or decrease in the gaming token 83 in the betting area 41 or there is a movement of the gaming token 83 in the betting area 41 from the start of card withdrawal to the end of settlement.

[0180] (Seventh embodiment) FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of antenna arrangement in the seventh embodiment of the present invention. Note that in the following FIGS. 20 to 24, the wiring from the read antenna to the reader and the switch of the read restriction antenna are omitted. In the example of FIG. 20, one read antenna 61a to 60e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read antenna 61") is provided for each bet area 60a to 60e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "bet area 60") of the player position. In addition, external read restriction antennas 62a to 62e are provided in the bet areas 60a to 60e of each player position so as to surround the read antennas 61a to 61e. These external read restriction antennas 62a to 62e are always closed, and have a constant jamming effect. In particular, for example, when the reading antenna 61a is reading in the betting area 60a, the external read-limited antenna 62a in that betting area 60a generates a disturbing magnetic field by induced current so that the reading antenna 61a does not read the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 placed in other adjacent betting areas 60b, etc. Since the reading antenna 61a and the external read-limited antenna 62a are sufficiently far apart, this disturbing magnetic field does not prevent the reading antenna 61a from reading the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 in the corresponding betting area 60a.

[0181] In this way, when the betting areas 60a to 60e as a plurality of reading areas are arranged sufficiently apart from each other, it is effective to provide external read-restricted antennas 62a to 62e that are always closed and surround the reading antennas 61a to 61e at sufficient intervals from each other. In this embodiment, the reading antenna 61 is wired over a range larger than the betting area 60, so that the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 placed slightly away from the betting area 60 can also be reliably read.

[0182] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing the configuration of antennas at one player position in the seventh embodiment of the present invention. All antennas are depicted in FIG. 21(a), and FIGS. 21(b) to 21(e) show the betting area 60a and the board 66a, as well as the read antenna 61a (FIG. 21(b)), the read restriction antenna 63a (FIG. 21(c)), the read restriction antenna 64a (FIG. 21(d)), and the read restriction antenna 65a (FIG. 21(e)). As shown in FIG. 21, one board 66a is provided for the betting area 60a, and one external read restriction antenna 62a is provided surrounding the board 66a. One read antenna 61a and multiple read restriction antennas 63a to 65a are provided on the board 66a.

[0183] The multiple read restriction antennas 63a to 65a are antennas that are opened and closed by a switch, and are provided at positions corresponding to the interior of the betting area 60a, which is the reading area. The read restriction antenna 63a is wired in the upper half of the betting area 60a, the read restriction antenna 64a is wired in the lower half of the betting area 60a, and the read restriction antenna 65a is wired in the central left and right areas of the betting area 60a. In this way, the read restriction antennas 63a to 65a are arranged to cover the entire betting area 60a, which is the reading area, but the read restriction antennas are arranged locally in areas that are easily read by other reading antennas. Specifically, since the left and right of the center are more likely to be affected, the read restriction antennas 65a are wired to be located on the left and right of the center.

[0184] An RFID reader (not shown) controls the reading of the read area by the read antenna 61 and the on / off of the jamming function by opening and closing the switches of the read restriction antennas 63 to 65. When multiple read areas are read simultaneously using multiple read antennas 61, more RFID readers than the number of simultaneous read areas may be provided, and these multiple RFID readers may synchronize with each other to control the timing of reading and the on / off of the jamming function.

[0185] In this embodiment, the entire betting area 60a is divided into small areas and jammed by the multiple read-restricted antennas 63a-65a. These read-restricted antennas 63a-65a perform jamming by closing their switches to form a closed circuit when the reading antennas 61b, etc. of other betting areas 60b, etc. are reading. When the reading antenna 61a of the betting area 60a is reading, the read-restricted antennas 63a-65a of that betting area 60a are switched open and do not function as jamming antennas. The read-restricted antennas 63a-65a of the betting area 60a are opened only when the betting area 60a is being read. When reading is being performed in an area other than the betting area 60a, their switches are closed to form a closed circuit. As with the above embodiment, two betting areas spaced a sufficient distance apart, such as the betting area 60a and the betting area 60c, may be read simultaneously.

[0186] When the reading antenna 61a completes reading of the bet area 60a, it then reads another reading area, bet area 60b. In this case, specifically, when reading of the bet area 60a is completed, first, (1) the power supply to the reading antenna 61a of the bet area 60a is turned off, then (2) the switches of the read restriction antennas 63a-65a of the bet area 60a are closed (jamming function is turned on), and (3) the switch of the read restriction antenna 63 of the bet area 60b is opened (jamming function is turned off), and then (4) the power supply to the reading antenna 61b of the next reading area, bet area 60b, is turned on. By following this procedure, it is possible to reliably activate the jamming function of the bet area 60a before starting reading of the bet area 60b, and it is possible to prevent reading errors when switching reading areas.

[0187] One read area (one read antenna) is repeatedly read multiple times, and when the reading becomes stable after the multiple readings, it is determined that reading of that read area (read antenna) is complete. At this time, the RFID reader, which serves as a read control device that performs reading, designates the identification information of RFID tags 831 that have already been read in the multiple readings as having been read, so that only new RFID tags 831 are read. Therefore, when the RFID reader no longer reads new RFID tags 831 after repeated readings, it determines that reading has become stable and that reading of that read area (read antenna) is complete. Alternatively, a read completion flag may be set for the RFID tags 831 that have already been read to avoid duplicate reading. Alternatively, when the RFID reader reads the RFID tag repeatedly during multiple readings, it determines that reading of the reading area (reading antenna) is complete when the reading results are obtained a predetermined number of times in a row (for example, two or three times).

[0188] (Eighth embodiment) Fig. 22 is a diagram showing the arrangement of antennas in the eighth embodiment of the present invention. In the example of Fig. 23, antenna boards 76a to 76e are shown corresponding to a plurality of betting areas 70a to 70e provided corresponding to a plurality of player positions. In the example of Fig. 23, the boards 76a to 76e are arranged very close to each other or in contact with each other. In addition, in the example of Fig. 23, the boards 76 to 76e are slightly larger than the betting areas 70a to 70e.

[0189] Figure 23 is a diagram showing betting areas according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. In Figure 23, betting area 70a is shown as a representative, but betting areas 70b to 70e are similar. In betting area 70a, a relatively small player pair area 701a, a tie area 702a, and a banker pair area 703a are arranged side by side in the upper section, a relatively large banker area 704a is arranged in the middle section, and a relatively large player area 705a is arranged in the lower section. In other words, the player pair, tie, and banker pair, which are called side bets, are arranged relatively far from the players and are designed to be relatively small.

[0190] Fig. 24 is a diagram showing the relationship between the board, antennas, and betting areas in the eighth embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 24 also illustrates the betting area 70a, but the same applies to the betting areas 70b to 70e. In this embodiment, the board 76a is provided with reading antennas 721a to 725a corresponding to the player pair area 701a, tie area 702a, banker pair area 703a, banker area 704a, and player area 705a (hereinafter, also referred to as "betting objects") of the betting area 70a. In other words, reading antennas that are controlled independently of each other are provided for each betting object in the betting area 70a of each player position.

[0191] Furthermore, the board 76a is provided with independently controlled read-restricted antennas 731a-741a corresponding to the respective bet objects 701a-705a. Specifically, one read-restricted antenna 731a-733a is provided for each of the relatively small side bet bet objects 701a-703a, and four read-restricted antennas 734a-737a and 738a-741a are provided for the relatively large banker area 704a and player area 705a, respectively. Note that the switches for the read-restricted antennas 731a-741a are not shown in FIG. 24.

[0192] With this configuration, the game table reading system of this embodiment can read the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 placed on each bet object for each of the bet objects 701 to 705 assigned to the bet areas 70a to 70e of each play position. Specifically, when reading the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 for a certain bet object in one bet area, the switch of the read restriction antenna for other bet objects in the same bet area is closed and the jamming function is turned on. This reduces the possibility that the reading antenna for the certain bet object will read the RFID tags of the gaming tokens 83 placed on other bet objects.

[0193] When the reading area covered by the reading antenna is relatively large, as in the seventh embodiment where the entire betting area of ​​each player position is read, the antenna power must be strong. However, when the betting area is divided into betting objects and reading is performed as in this embodiment, not only can it be determined which betting object a player is betting on, but the antenna power applied to each reading antenna can be relatively weak, reducing the possibility of erroneously reading the RFID tag 831 of other betting objects that are relatively close, or even of gaming tokens 831 placed in adjacent betting areas. In this embodiment, a sufficient jamming effect can be achieved by providing multiple independent read-limited antennas for the relatively large banker area 704 and player area 705. For relatively small side bet betting objects, the antenna power of the reading antenna is weak, and the limit on the number of gaming tokens 83 that can be stacked and read is smaller than for the relatively large banker areas 704 and 705.

[0194] In this embodiment, when multiple reading areas are read simultaneously, control is performed to avoid multiple reading antennas in the same betting area from reading simultaneously, and to avoid reading multiple betting objects in adjacent betting areas. For example, when one of the reading antennas 721a to 725a in the betting area 70a performs reading, other reading antennas in the betting area 70a and any of the reading antennas 721b to 725b in the adjacent betting area 70b do not read at the same time, and reading is performed, for example, by the reading antenna in the betting area 70c. Even in this case, when reading is performed by the relatively large reading antennas 724a and 725a among the reading antennas 721a to 725a in the betting area 70a, reading is performed by one of the relatively small reading antennas 721c to 723c among the reading antennas 721c to 725c in the reading area 70c. This control reduces the possibility of interference caused by multiple relatively large reading antennas with strong antenna power operating simultaneously.

[0195] In this embodiment, the RFID reader controlling the read antennas 721-725 and the read-restricted antennas 731-741 may be controlled in synchronization with the RFID reader controlling the read antenna provided on the chip tray. For example, when the read antenna on the chip tray is used to read the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 stored in the chip tray, the read antennas on any of the betting areas may not read the RFID tag. For example, when settlement including the collection of losing chips and redemption for winning chips is being performed after the game result is determined, the read antenna on the chip tray may be controlled to repeatedly read the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 stored in the chip tray. Furthermore, the read antenna on the betting area may be configured to repeatedly read the RFID tag 831 while changing the read position from the time when settlement is completed and players are able to bet for the next game until the game result is determined. By this reading, the table reading system can identify the bet object on which the gaming token 83 has been bet in each betting area 70a to 70e and the bet amount, and after an NMB (no more bet), it can monitor for any unauthorized movement of the gaming token 83 (pinching, capping, late betting, etc.), and after the game result has been determined, it can monitor whether the dealer has properly settled the transaction.

[0196] (Ninth embodiment) 25 is a diagram showing the configuration of a table reading system according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. A gaming table 6005 has a player position where a player 82 is located and a dealer position where a dealer 91 is located. On the player position side, a plurality of betting areas 80a to 80e are laid out on the table surface of the gaming table 6005. A chip tray 51 is provided on the dealer position side. A dealer area 90 is laid out on the table surface of the gaming table 6005 between the chip tray 51 and the plurality of betting areas 80a to 80e.

[0197] The chip tray 51 is provided with a reading antenna for reading the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 stored in the chip tray 51. Also, each of the betting areas 80a to 80e is provided with a reading antenna and a read-restricted antenna according to any one of the above embodiments. In this embodiment, the dealer area 90 is also provided with a reading antenna 92 ​​and a read-restricted antenna 93.

[0198] The dealer area 90 is an area for temporarily placing the gaming tokens 83 taken out from the chip tray 51 when the dealer 91 pays out the gaming tokens 83 from the chip tray 51 to the player 82 who has won the game. By reading the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 with the reading antenna 92 ​​of the dealer area 90, it is possible to identify the gaming token 83 to be paid out to the player 82 who has won the game. The reading antenna 92 ​​of the dealer area 90 does not read other nearby betting areas at the same time.

[0199] Specifically, the reading area to be read may be switched by sequentially reading the betting areas 80a to 80e and then reading only the dealer area 90, or multiple reading areas including the multiple betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90 may be read simultaneously so that adjacent reading areas are not read simultaneously. Alternatively, the dealer area 90 may be read at a timing according to the progress of the game. That is, while betting and during game play, the multiple betting areas 80a to 80e may be read sequentially, and during settlement, the multiple betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90 may be read sequentially.

[0200] The gaming table 6005 of this embodiment further includes a metal wire 6010, which also serves as a decoration for the gaming table, arranged to surround all of the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90. This metal wire 6010 forms a closed loop that surrounds all of the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90. The chip tray 51 is located outside this closed loop.

[0201] With this configuration, the metal wire 6010 functions as a read restriction antenna for restricting the reading of the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 in the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90 by the reading antenna of the chip tray 51. Therefore, in this embodiment, reading by the reading antenna of the chip tray 51 can be performed at any timing asynchronous with the above-mentioned betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90. Furthermore, since the metal wire 6010 functions as a read restriction antenna, even when reading the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90, these reading antennas are prevented from reading the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 in the chip tray 51.

[0202] It is also possible to attach a cloth to the inside of the metal wire 6010 and use a cushion on the outside of the metal wire 6010. In this way, the metal wire 6010 can be installed on the gaming table 6005 as a decoration provided at the boundary between the cushion and the cloth, without creating a sense of incongruity. In addition to or instead of the metal wire 6010 functioning as such a read-restricted antenna, a shield may be provided between the chip tray 51 and the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90 to prevent mutual reading interference.

[0203] As described above, according to the game table reading system 100 of the present embodiment, for RFID tags placed on the same plane, i.e., the surface of a game table, multiple reading antennas are arranged parallel to the plane, and RFID tags are read for each position on the plane, making it possible to determine the location of the RFID tag on the plane. On a game table, betting targets are determined by the position of gaming tokens, and the areas defining the betting targets are located close to each other. Furthermore, even if shielding between the areas is attempted, it is not possible to provide such a shielding member on the surface of the game table. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, by appropriately arranging a reading control antenna to prevent the reading antenna from reading a reading area that should not be read, and appropriately controlling the timing of reading by the reading antenna and reading control by the reading control antenna, it is possible to appropriately read multiple reading areas even when the multiple reading areas are closely spaced. [Explanation of symbols]

[0204] 1, 13, 16, 18, 20, 100 Game Table Reading System 2 Game Tables 3 players 4, 4a~4e Betting Area 5 Substitute coins for games 6 chip trays 7, 71a~75e Reading antenna 8 Reading antenna 9 Reading control device 10, 101a~105e Read Restriction Antenna 11 Read-only antenna 12 Read limit control device 14 Membership Card 15 Card reading area 17 Reading strength setting section 19 Game Situation Judgment System 21, 21a~21e Pay Area 22, 22a to 22e Reading antenna 23, 23a~23e Read restriction antenna 41 Betting Area 42 Pay Area 51 Chip Tray 52 Camera 53 Card Reader 56 Management control device 57 Databases 58 Card distribution device 60 Betting Area 61 Reading antenna 62 External read limit antenna 63~65 Read-restricted antenna 66 PCB 70 Betting Area 721~725 Reading antenna 731~741 Read Restriction Antenna 76 PCB 81 Member's Card 82 Player 83 Substitute coins for games 90 Dealer Area 91 Dealer 92 Reading antenna 93 Read Restriction Antenna 511, 521, 531 reading antenna 512, 522, 532 read-only antenna 561 Reading control device 562 Reading restriction control device 831 RFID tags 6004, 6005 Game Tables 6010 Metal Wire

Claims

1. A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens with embedded RFID tags, comprising: a game table having a plurality of betting areas for betting the gaming tokens and a chip tray area in which a dealer can store the gaming tokens; a plurality of betting area reading antennas that are respectively installed in the plurality of corresponding betting areas and that read RFID tags embedded in the gaming tokens placed in the corresponding betting areas; a plurality of bet area read restriction antennas each installed in a corresponding one of the plurality of read areas to restrict reading; at least one chip tray reading antenna configured to read RFID tags of the gaming tokens in the chip tray area where a dealer can store the gaming tokens; a first control device connected to the plurality of betting area reading antennas and controlling reading by the plurality of betting area reading antennas; a second control device connected to the plurality of bet area read restriction antennas and configured to control the plurality of bet area read restriction antennas in synchronization with the control of the plurality of bet area reading antennas by the first control device, thereby controlling the bet area read restriction antennas so as to restrict reading by the bet area reading antennas of one or more bet areas adjacent to the bet area reading antenna of the bet area being read while the corresponding bet area reading antenna of each of the bet areas is being controlled to read during reading by the plurality of bet area reading antennas; A game table reading system comprising: a third control device connected to at least one of the chip tray reading antennas and controlling the at least one chip tray reading antenna to perform reading at any timing asynchronous with the control of the multiple bet area reading antennas by the first control device.

2. 2. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the first control device is configured to control the plurality of betting area reading antennas so that the plurality of betting area reading antennas corresponding to adjacent betting areas do not read simultaneously.

3. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the second control device is configured to restrict the reading of the bet area reading restriction antennas that are within a predetermined distance from the bet area reading antenna that is performing the reading.

4. 2. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the first control device is configured to start reading by the next betting area reading antenna after a predetermined time has elapsed since new information was read by one of the betting area reading antennas.

5. the first control device is configured to set the intensity of an electromagnetic wave for reading by the bet area reading antenna, 2. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the second control device is configured to select which of the betting area read restriction antennas will perform read restriction depending on the strength set by the first control device.

6. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the second control device is configured to select the bet area read restriction antenna that performs reading restriction according to the size of the reading target area, in accordance with the control by the first control device.

7. the first control device is configured to cause some of the plurality of bet area reading antennas to simultaneously read, 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the second control device is configured to restrict reading of the read-restricted antennas located between the betting area reading antennas that perform reading simultaneously.

8. The game table reading system according to claim 7, wherein the first control device causes a part of the plurality of betting area reading antennas to simultaneously read after all of the part of the plurality of betting area reading antennas have completed reading.

9. 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the first control device is configured to select one or more of the plurality of betting area reading antennas to perform reading depending on the progress of the game.

10. the game table is a table for a baccarat game, 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of betting areas include a plurality of side betting areas provided for each playing position and arranged adjacent to each other.

11. the game table has a plurality of playing positions; 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of betting areas are provided for each of the playing positions.

12. 12. The game table reading system according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of betting areas include a player area and a banker area arranged adjacent to each other for each of the playing positions.

13. 13. The game table reading system according to claim 12, wherein the betting area reading antenna is provided in each of the player area and the banker area.

14. 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the game table further includes a card setting area where a member's card having an embedded RFID tag can be set.

15. the game table further includes a pay area for reading the gaming tokens to be paid from a dealer to a winning player; 2. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the second control device is configured to restrict reading by the bet area read restriction antennas corresponding to other bet areas around the pay area when the bet area read restriction antenna corresponding to the pay area is performing reading.

16. the game table has a plurality of playing positions; In the playing position, the plurality of betting areas include a player area and a banker area adjacent to each other, The second control device When the bet area reading antenna corresponding to the player area is reading, the bet area reading restriction antenna corresponding to the banker area of ​​the play position restricts reading, When the betting area reading antenna corresponding to the banker area is reading, the betting area reading restriction antenna corresponding to the player area of ​​the play position restricts reading, The game table reading system according to claim 1 , further comprising: a plurality of betting area read restriction antennas for controlling said plurality of betting area read restriction antennas;

17. 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the pair of adjacent betting areas is separated by one or two lines, and the distance between the pair of betting areas is smaller than the size of the gaming token.

18. an image recognition device including a camera and a processor; The camera photographs the gaming token placed in the reading area to generate an image, 2. The game table reading system of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to analyze the image generated by the camera and identify a reading area in which the gaming tokens are placed, the type of the gaming tokens, and the number of the gaming tokens.

19. 2. The game table reading system according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of betting area reading restriction antennas are configured to restrict reading by the plurality of betting area reading antennas in the corresponding reading areas, respectively.

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