Game monitoring system

Abstract

To monitor a game in a real table game.SOLUTION: Identifying a chip ID of a gaming chip when the gaming chip to which the chip ID is assigned is in a betting area on a game table, capturing a player playing a game at the game table and the gaming chip on the game table to generate an image, detecting the player from the image, detecting the gaming chip from the image, and associating the detected player with the detected gaming chip as a player who wagered the gaming chip; The chip ID of the specified gaming chip and the player associated with the gaming chip are associated with each other, and a set of the chip ID of the gaming chip and the image of the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip is recorded.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a game monitoring system for monitoring a game.

[0002] Conventionally, in games played at casinos etc., game play by players is monitored to detect cheating, patron ratings, etc. By conducting the games, betting by players, settlement of bets, etc. electronically, the results of the games, betting by players, wins and losses of players, and the amounts of bets can be obtained as electronic information. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2022 / 085706 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Similarly, in real table games using physical game tables, playing cards, and gaming chips, there is a demand to monitor the games and keep track of players' bet amounts, winnings, losses, etc. To achieve this, conventional game monitoring systems embed RFID tags in gaming chips and read the RFID tags in the betting area or chip tray of the game table to monitor the movement of gaming chips at the game table, and also require players to present their membership cards to identify the players.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide a game monitoring system for monitoring a real table game. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A first aspect of the game monitoring system includes a chip ID identification means for identifying the chip ID of a gaming chip when the gaming chip, to which a chip ID is assigned, is located in a predetermined area on a game table; a photographing means for photographing a player playing a game at the game table and the gaming chips on the game table to generate an image; a player detection means for detecting the player from the image; a chip detection means for detecting the gaming chip from the image; a first association means for associating a player detected by the player detection means as a player who bet the first gaming chip with a first gaming chip detected by the chip detection means; a second association means for associating the chip ID of the first gaming chip identified by the chip ID identification means with the player associated with the first gaming chip by the first association means; and a recording means for recording a pair of the chip ID of the first gaming chip and an image of the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means.

[0007] With this configuration, for gaming chips in a predetermined area on the game table, the chip ID is associated with the player who bet that gaming chip and this is recorded, so that real table games can be monitored.

[0008] The game monitoring system of the second aspect is the game monitoring system of the first aspect, further comprising a storage means for storing the chip ID of the gaming chip in association with its owner, and a comparison means for comparing the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means with the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means, and outputting a signal indicating a mismatch if the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means does not match the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means.

[0009] With this configuration, if the person stored as the owner of a gaming chip placed in a specified area of ​​the gaming table does not match the person identified based on an image as the player who bet the gaming chip, this fact can be reported.

[0010] A third aspect of the game monitoring system is the game monitoring system of the second aspect, wherein the players are assigned player IDs, and further comprises a player ID identification means for identifying the player ID of the player detected by the player detection means, wherein the storage means stores the chip ID of the gaming chip in association with the player ID of the player who owns it, and the comparison means is configured to compare the player ID of the owner associated in the storage means with the chip ID of the first gaming chip with the player ID identified by the player ID identification means for the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means, and to output a signal indicating a mismatch if the ID of the owner associated in the storage means with the chip ID of the first gaming chip and the player ID of the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means do not match.

[0011] With this configuration, if the ID of the person stored as the owner of a gaming chip placed in a designated area of ​​the game table does not match the ID of the person identified based on an image as the player who bet the gaming chip, it can be reported to that effect.

[0012] A fourth aspect of the game monitoring system is the game monitoring system of the second aspect, wherein the storage means stores the chip ID of the gaming chip in association with the facial information of its owner, and the comparison means compares the facial information associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means with facial information extracted from the image of the player associated with the first gaming chip by the second association means, and outputs a signal indicating a mismatch if the facial information associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means does not match with the facial information extracted from the image of the player associated with the first gaming chip by the second association means.

[0013] With this configuration, if the facial information of the person stored as the owner of a gaming chip placed in a specified area of ​​the game table does not match the facial information of the person identified based on an image as the player who bet the gaming chip, it can be reported to that effect.

[0014] A fifth aspect of the game monitoring system is the game monitoring system of the second aspect, further comprising a control means for, when the comparison means determines that the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means does not match the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means, rewriting the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means to the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means.

[0015] This configuration allows the owner stored in association with the chip ID of the gaming chip to be rewritten to the correct owner.

[0016] The sixth aspect of the game monitoring system is configured in the second aspect of the game monitoring system, further comprising an update means for rewriting the owner associated with the chip ID of the payout gaming chip paid out by the dealer in the storage means to the player associated with the payout gaming chip by the second association means.

[0017] With this configuration, the owner stored in association with the chip ID of the gaming chip paid out by the dealer can be rewritten to the player who received the gaming chip.

[0018] The seventh aspect of the game monitoring system is the game monitoring system of the second aspect, further comprising an update means for rewriting the owner associated with the chip ID of the payout gaming chip paid out by the dealer in the storage means to the player associated with the first gaming chip that moved from the specified area together with the payout gaming chip by the second association means.

[0019] With this configuration, the owner stored in association with the chip ID of the gaming chip paid out by the dealer can be rewritten to the player who bet the gaming chip that was the subject of the payout of the gaming chip.

[0020] The game monitoring system of the eighth aspect is a game monitoring system of any of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the gaming chip is equipped with an RFID tag that stores the chip ID, and the chip ID identification means is configured to identify the chip ID of the gaming chip by reading the chip ID from the RFID tag.

[0021] This configuration allows the chip ID to be identified by RFID.

[0022] A ninth aspect of the game monitoring system is a game monitoring system according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, wherein the gaming chip has a chip ID written on its side, and the chip ID identification means is configured to detect the gaming chip from an image in which the gaming chip appears and decode the chip ID on the side of the detected gaming chip, thereby identifying the chip ID of the gaming chip.

[0023] This configuration allows the chip ID to be identified by the markings on the side.

[0024] A tenth aspect of the game monitoring system is the game monitoring system of the first aspect, wherein the player detection means detects the player's hand, and the first association means associates the player's hand detected by the player detection means with the gaming chip detected by the chip detection means based on the positional relationship between the two.

[0025] With this configuration, the chip ID of the gaming chip can be associated with the player based on the positional relationship between the hand and the gaming chip.

[0026] The game monitoring system of the eleventh aspect is configured such that, in the game monitoring system of the first aspect, the chip ID identification means detects the gaming chip from a first image generated by the photographing means and identifies the chip ID of the detected gaming chip, the chip detection means detects the gaming chip from a second image generated by the photographing means that is different from the first image, and the second association means identifies the gaming chip in the same position as the first gaming chip based on the relationship between the position of the gaming chip detected by the chip ID identification means in the first image and the position of the gaming chip detected by the chip detection means in the second image.

[0027] With this configuration, gaming chips that are in the same position in the two images can be identified as the same gaming chip.

[0028] A twelfth aspect of the game monitoring system is the eleventh aspect of the game monitoring system, wherein the photographing means comprises a first camera for generating the first image and a second camera different from the first camera for generating the second image, and the second association means is configured to identify the gaming chip located in the same position as the first gaming chip by converting the position of the gaming chip in the first image detected by the chip ID identification means and the position of the gaming chip in the second image detected by the chip detection means into a common coordinate space.

[0029] With this configuration, by mapping the gaming chips in one of the two images onto the other image, gaming chips in the same position can be identified as the same gaming chip.

[0030] A thirteenth aspect of the game monitoring system is configured such that, in the first aspect of the game monitoring system, the chip ID identification means identifies the position on the game table of the gaming chip whose chip ID has been identified, the chip detection means identifies the position on the game table of the gaming chip detected from the image, and the second association means identifies the gaming chip in the same position as the first gaming chip based on the position identified by the chip ID identification means and the position identified by the chip detection means.

[0031] With this configuration, gaming chips at the same position can be identified as the same gaming chip based on the positions of the gaming chips on the gaming table in the two images.

[0032] A fourteenth aspect of the game monitoring system is configured such that, in the game monitoring system of the first aspect, the chip ID identification means identifies the timing when the gaming chip whose chip ID has been identified was placed on the game table, the chip detection means identifies the timing when the gaming chip detected from the image was placed on the game table, and the second association means identifies the gaming chip placed on the game table at the same timing as the first gaming chip based on the timing identified by the chip ID identification means and the timing identified by the chip detection means.

[0033] With this configuration, it is possible to identify that the gaming chip identified by the chip ID identifying means and the gaming chip identified by the chip detecting means are the same gaming chip based on the timing at which the gaming chip is placed on the game table. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0034] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a game table to which a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a side view of the gaming chip according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a plan view of the gaming chip according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of association performed by the first associating unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0035] However, the embodiments described below are merely examples, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below. Furthermore, elements of multiple embodiments can be combined in any manner.

[0036] 1 is a diagram showing a game table to which a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, a game monitoring system 100 according to the present embodiment can be applied to a game table 110 in a casino or the like.

[0037] The game table 110 has a roughly oval tabletop 111. A dealer is positioned on one side of the tabletop 111, and player positions for multiple players are provided on the opposite side. Each player position is provided with a betting area 112 for that player position. In this embodiment, the game table 110 is a baccarat game table. The betting area 112 includes betting areas for player, banker, tie, player pair, and banker pair.

[0038] A first camera 11 and a second camera 12 are installed on the game table 110. The angle of view and direction of the first camera 11 are set so that it can photograph the betting area 112, the gaming chips (betting chips) bet on the betting area 112, and the players playing at the game table 110. The angle of view and direction of the second camera 12 are set so that it can photograph the betting area 112 and the gaming chips (betting chips) bet on the betting area 112, and so that the gaming chips appear larger than those of the first camera 11. The first camera 11 and the second camera 12 are attached to poles 113 and 114 provided on the game table 110. Note that a plurality of first cameras 11 and a plurality of second cameras 12 may be provided to share the photographing range.

[0039] Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a side of a gaming chip according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a plan view of the gaming chip according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, a center line 51 is provided at the center of the thickness direction on the side of the gaming chip 50. The color of the center line 51 represents the type (value) of the gaming chip 50. Therefore, by observing the side of the gaming chip 50, the value of the gaming chip 50 can be known from the color of the center line 51.

[0040] A chip ID for identifying the gaming chip 50 is written as code information on the center line 51. In the gaming chip 50 of this embodiment, the code information representing the chip ID is represented by the presence or absence of multiple dots arranged in two rows, one above the other. That is, two bits of information are represented by the presence or absence of dots above and below each column, and five bytes of information are represented by a group of 20 columns of dots. The multiple dots representing the chip ID may be printed on the side of the gaming chip 50 with ink that is invisible to the naked eye under natural light but becomes visible when irradiated with infrared or ultraviolet light.

[0041] 3, a number representing the value is printed on the front and back of the gaming chip 50. Naturally, this number corresponds to the color of the center line on the side.

[0042] 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a game monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition to the first camera 11 and second camera 12 described above, the game monitoring system 100 includes an information processing device 20 and a database 40. The first camera 11 and second camera 12 are each connected to the information processing device 20 so as to be able to communicate with each other. The information processing device 20 is also connected to the database 40 so as to be able to communicate with each other.

[0043] An information processing device 20 may be provided for each game table 110, or a first camera 11 and a second camera 12 provided at each of the multiple game tables 110 may be connected to one information processing device 20. A database 40 may be provided at each of the multiple game tables 110, or one database 40 may be provided for the multiple game tables 110. The database 40 may be provided on the cloud.

[0044] The first camera 11 and the second camera 12 each take a photograph and generate an image at the time when the player places the gaming chip 50 in the betting area 112 of the game table 110 or at the time when the gaming chip 50 is placed in the betting area 112 and the game starts (i.e., the time when the gaming chip 50 is no longer permitted to be moved).

[0045] The information processing device 20 is a computer that includes a memory used as a temporary storage area, a processor that performs calculations according to input signals in accordance with the information processing program of this embodiment, and a storage device that stores various data. The database 40 includes a storage device and a processing device that performs processes such as searching and updating the information stored in the storage device.

[0046] By executing the information processing program of this embodiment, the information processing device 20 has various functions shown in Fig. 4. Specifically, the information processing device 20 includes a chip detection unit 21, a chip ID identification unit 22, a player detection unit 23, a player ID identification unit 24, a first association unit 25, a second association unit 26, a comparison unit 27, a recording unit 28, a rewrite control unit 29, and an update unit 30.

[0047] The chip detection unit 21 acquires an image captured by the first camera 11 (hereinafter referred to as the "first image") and detects a chip group area including a chip group from this first image. When gaming chips 50 to be bet on the betting area 112 of the game table 110 are stacked and placed on the betting area 112, the chip detection unit 21 detects the area including this stack of bet chips as a chip group area (chip stack area). Specifically, the chip detection unit 21 detects a rectangular frame including the chip group as the chip group area.

[0048] The chip detection unit 21 detects chip areas corresponding to individual gaming chips from the detected chip group area. At this time, the chip detection unit 21 may detect individual chip areas using the center line 51 on the side of the gaming chip 50. That is, the chip detection unit 21 may determine the position and size of the chip area according to the position and length of the center line 51.

[0049] The chip ID identifying unit 22 acquires an image captured by the second camera 12 (hereinafter referred to as the "second image"). Then, similar to the chip detection unit 21, the chip ID identifying unit 22 detects the chip group area and the chip area from this second image. The chip ID identifying unit 22 performs code recognition on the detected chip area and decodes the code information of each gaming chip 50. As a result, the chip ID identifying unit 22 identifies the chip ID of each chip area, and in this way, identifies all chip IDs included in each chip group area. At this time, the chip ID identifying unit 22 may detect the center line 51 of the gaming chip 50 and perform code recognition in the area of ​​the detected center line 51.

[0050] Alternatively, the chip ID identification unit 22 may be an RFID system that identifies the chip ID of a gaming chip placed in the betting area 112 by RFID. In this case, an RFID tag that stores the chip ID of the gaming chip is built into the gaming chip. The RFID system includes an antenna and a reader. The antenna is embedded under the table top 111 at a position corresponding to each betting area 112. The reader is connected to the antenna and acquires the chip ID from a signal read by the antenna.

[0051] The chip detection unit 21 specifies the position of the detected chip group area and specifies the timing when the chip group area was detected. In addition to this, or instead of this, the chip ID identification unit 22 specifies the position on the game table of the gaming chip 50 whose chip ID has been identified. The chip ID identification unit 22 also specifies the timing when the gaming chip 50 whose chip ID has been identified was placed on the game table.

[0052] The player detection unit 23 detects a player from the first image obtained by photographing with the first camera 11. At this time, the player detection unit 23 detects the entire player, including the face, upper body, arms, and hands, from the first image as the player, and extracts a skeleton model consisting of the player's facial area and each key point of the upper body, arms, and hands. The player detection unit 23 recognizes the facial area and skeleton model of the same player or multiple key points that make up the same as belonging to one player.

[0053] The player ID identification unit 24 identifies the player ID by performing face authentication on the face area of ​​the first image detected by the player detection unit 23. The player identified by the player ID identification unit 24 is registered in advance with an image of his or her face and assigned a player ID, and the player ID identification unit 24 determines which registered player the face in the face area belongs to by using face authentication technology. Note that, if the face authentication result does not determine that the face belongs to any of the registered players, the player ID identification unit 24 determines that the player in the face area, i.e., the player shown in the player area, is an unregistered player.

[0054] A player may be registered by his / her player ID, or may be registered by his / her facial information. If a player is registered by his / her player ID, the player ID identification unit 24 identifies the player ID of the player whose facial area is detected from the first image. If a player is registered by his / her facial information, the player ID identification unit 24 identifies the facial information of the player whose facial image is detected from the first image. Here, the facial information may be the facial image of the player, or may be feature amounts extracted from the facial image of the player.

[0055] The first associating unit 25 associates the player detected by the player detection unit 23 as the player who bet the first gaming chip with the first gaming chip detected by the chip detection unit 21. Specifically, the first associating unit 25 associates the player's hand detected by the player detection unit 23 with the gaming chip 50 detected by the chip detection unit 21 based on the positional relationship between the two.

[0056] 5 is a diagram showing an example of association by the first associating unit in the embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the chip detection unit 21 detects chip group areas c1 and c2, and the player detection unit 23 detects players P1 and P2 from the same image, the first image 90, captured by the first camera 11. The first associating unit 25 determines combinations of hands and chip group areas, and ultimately combinations of players and chip group areas, based on the distances between the hands p11 and p21 of players P1 and P2 detected by the player detection unit 23 and the chip group areas c1 and c2.

[0057] 5, the distance between the reference point cp1 of the chip group area c1 and the hand p11 of the player P1 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, so the first associating unit 25 associates this chip group area c1 with the player P1. Also, the distance between the reference point cp2 of the chip group area c2 and the hand p21 of the player P2 is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold, so the first associating unit 25 associates this chip group area c2 with the player P2. The reference point may be the center of the bottom side of the rectangular frame that constitutes the chip group area.

[0058] As described above, the player detection unit 23 recognizes the facial areas f1, f2 and skeleton models sm1, sm2 including multiple key points of the same player as belonging to the same player, so the first association unit 25 can associate the chip group area with any of the facial areas and skeleton models or each key point.

[0059] The second associating unit 26 associates the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 identified by the chip ID identifying unit 22 with the player associated with the gaming chip 50 by the first associating unit 25. Specifically, the second associating unit 26 first identifies the gaming chip 50 detected by the chip detecting unit 21 and the gaming chip 50 whose chip ID is detected and identified by the chip ID identifying unit 22. To this end, based on the relationship between the position of the gaming chip 50 detected by the chip ID identifying unit 22 in the first image and the position of the gaming chip 50 detected by the chip detecting unit 21 in the second image, the second associating unit 26 identifies gaming chips 50 located in the same position as the same gaming chip 50.

[0060] More specifically, the second associating unit 26 converts the positions of the chip group areas detected by the chip detection unit 21 in the first image into positions in the second image, thereby identifying chip group areas located in the same position as the same gaming chip 50. Alternatively, the second associating unit 26 may instead convert the positions of the chip group areas detected by the chip ID identification unit 22 in the second image into positions in the first image, thereby identifying chip group areas located in the same position as the same gaming chip 50. Alternatively, the second associating unit 26 may convert both the positions of the chip group areas detected by the chip detection unit 21 in the first image and the positions of the chip group areas detected by the chip ID identification unit 22 in the second image into a common coordinate space, thereby identifying chip group areas located in the same position as the same gaming chip 50.

[0061] In this way, the second association unit 26 identifies gaming chips 50 located in the same position as the same gaming chip 50 based on the position identified by the chip detection unit 21 and the position identified by the chip ID identification unit 22. Alternatively, the second association unit 26 may identify gaming chips 50 placed on the game table 110 at the same time as the same gaming chip 50 based on the timing at which the gaming chip is detected by the chip detection unit 21 and the timing at which the gaming chip 50 is identified by the chip ID identification unit 22.

[0062] The second associating unit 26 associates the chip ID of the gaming chip identified by the chip ID identification unit 22 with the player associated with the gaming chip by the first associating unit 25. Specifically, when a player is registered with a player ID, the second associating unit 26 associates the chip ID of the gaming chip identified by the chip ID identification unit 22 with the player ID of the player associated with the gaming chip by the first associating unit 25. Furthermore, when a player is registered with face information, the second associating unit 26 associates the chip ID of the gaming chip identified by the chip ID identification unit 22 with the face information of the player associated with the gaming chip by the first associating unit 25.

[0063] The recording unit 28 records a pair of the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 and an image of the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 by the second associating unit 26. At this time, the recording unit 28 may further record the chip ID and the player ID of the player associated therewith, as will be described later, or may record the chip ID and facial information of the player associated therewith. As in the present embodiment, the recording unit 28 associates the chip ID identified by the chip ID identifying unit 22 with the image of the player, but not the player ID for identifying the player associated with the chip ID, thereby preventing the personal information of the player from being recorded and maintaining the privacy of the player.

[0064] The database 40 stores the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in association with its owner. Specifically, when a player is registered with a player ID, the database 40 stores the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in association with the player ID of the player who owns it. Alternatively, when a player is registered with facial information, the database 40 stores the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in association with the facial information of the player who owns it.

[0065] The comparison unit 27 compares the owner associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 with the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 by the second associating unit 26. If the owner associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 does not match the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 by the second associating unit 26, the comparison unit 27 outputs a signal indicating a mismatch.

[0066] Specifically, when a player is registered with a player ID, the comparison unit 27 compares the player ID associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 with the player ID identified by the player ID identification unit 24 for the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 by the second associating unit 26. In this case, when the player ID of the owner associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 does not match with the player ID of the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 by the second associating unit 26, the comparison unit 27 outputs a signal indicating a mismatch.

[0067] When the database 40 stores the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in association with the face information of its owner, in addition to or instead of the above specific example, the comparison unit 27 compares the face information associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 with the face information extracted from the image of the player associated with the gaming chip by the second associating unit 26. In this case, when the face information associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 does not match the face information extracted from the image of the player associated with the gaming chip 50 by the second associating unit 26, the comparison unit 27 outputs a signal indicating a mismatch.

[0068] The above-mentioned function of the comparison unit 27 makes it possible to output a signal indicating a discrepancy when a player other than the original owner operates a gaming chip 50 on the game table 110, thereby warning of such a discrepancy.

[0069] When the comparison unit 27 determines that the owner associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 in the database 40 does not match the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip by the second association unit 26, the rewrite control unit 29 rewrites the owner associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip in the database 40 to the player associated with the chip ID of the gaming chip by the second association unit 26.

[0070] When a gaming chip 50 is incorrectly associated with a player, the rewrite control unit 29 can correct this and associate the gaming chip 50 with the correct player. Furthermore, when a chip ID that is not associated with any player is identified, the rewrite control unit 29 rewrites the player associated with the chip ID by the second associating unit 26 as the owner of the chip ID.

[0071] When a player wins a game and receives gaming chips 50 from the dealer, the owner of the gaming chips related to the payout (hereinafter referred to as "payout gaming chips") should be changed by the dealer or casino to the player who won the game. Therefore, the update unit 30 rewrites the owner associated with the chip ID of the payout gaming chip paid out by the dealer in the database 40 to the player associated with the payout gaming chip by the second association unit 26. For this purpose, the first camera 11 and the second camera 12 take a photograph when the gaming chip 50 is paid out, the first association unit 25 associates the chip group area of ​​the payout gaming chip with the player who is trying to take the payout gaming chip, and the update unit 30 updates the database 40 in accordance with this association.

[0072] Alternatively, the update unit 30 rewrites the owner associated with the chip ID of the payout gaming chip paid out by the dealer in the database 40 to the player associated with the gaming chip 50 moved from the bet area 112 together with the payout gaming chip by the second associating unit 26. As a result, the chip ID of the payout gaming chip 50 is stored in the database 40 in association with the player ID of the player who received it.

[0073] In addition, if the gaming chip 50 has an RFID tag that stores a chip ID built in, and the chip ID identification unit 22 reads the chip ID from the RFID tag of the gaming chip 50 in the betting area 112, the chip ID may be identified by reading the RFID tag of the paid-out gaming chip in the paid-out betting area 112, and the player ID to be associated with it may be updated.

[0074] In the above embodiment, the first camera that captures the first image and the second camera that captures the second image are separate cameras, but they may be a single camera. In this case, both the first image and the second image are generated by the single camera. In this case, the capture conditions (angle of view, resolution, capture direction, etc.) may be different when capturing the first image and when capturing the second image.

[0075] As described above, in the game monitoring system 100 of this embodiment, the first associating unit 25 associates the gaming chips 50 (chip stack) on the game table 110 detected from the first image by the chip detection unit 21 with the player detected from the first image by the player detection unit 23, and the chip ID identifying unit 22 identifies the chip ID of the gaming chip 50 based on the second image, and the second associating unit 26 associates the player with the chip ID. This makes it possible to determine which player's gaming chips 50 on the game table 110 belong to, and enables game management such as cheating detection and patron rating.

[0076] As mentioned above, the method of identifying the chip IDs of the gaming chips 50 on the gaming table 110 is not limited to using an image, but may also be using an RFID tag and an RFID reading system. Since the above embodiment allows association of gaming chips with the players who operate those gaming chips, for example, when a player bets gaming chips 50 in a betting area 112 other than the betting area in front of his / her player position, or when gaming chips 50 are bet by a back better who is not at a player position, it is possible to determine which player bet those gaming chips based on an image.

[0077] In addition, the information processing device 20 may further recognize the position, type, and number of gaming chips 50 bet on the game table 110 based on the first image or the second image, or may recognize the position, type, and number of gaming chips 50 bet on the game table 110 by incorporating an RFID tag that stores at least the type information into the gaming chip 50 and embedding multiple antennas in the game table 110 to read the RFID tags of the gaming chips 50. [Explanation of symbols]

[0078] 100 Game Surveillance System 110 game tables 111 Tabletop 112 Betting Area 11 Camera 1 12 Second Camera 20 Information processing equipment 21 Chip detection unit 22 Chip ID identification section 23 Player detection unit 24 Player ID Identification Unit 25 First Association Section 26 Second Association Section 27 Comparison section 28 Recording Section 29 Rewrite control unit 30 Update section 40 databases

Claims

1. a chip ID specifying means for specifying the chip ID of a gaming chip when the gaming chip to which the chip ID is assigned is in a predetermined area on the game table; an image capturing means for capturing an image of a player playing a game at the game table and the gaming chips on the game table to generate an image; player detection means for detecting the player from the image; chip detection means for detecting the gaming chips from the image; a first associating means for associating a player detected by the player detecting means as a player who has bet the first gaming chip with the first gaming chip detected by the chip detecting means; second associating means for associating the chip ID of the first gaming chip specified by the chip ID specifying means with the player associated with the first gaming chip by the first associating means; a recording means for recording a set of the chip ID of the first gaming chip and the image of the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second associating means; A game monitoring system with

2. a storage means for storing the chip ID of the gaming chip in association with its owner; a comparison means for comparing an owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means with a player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means, and outputting a signal indicating a mismatch when the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means does not match the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second association means; The game monitoring system of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The player is assigned a player ID, further comprising a player ID specifying means for specifying the player ID of the player detected by the player detection means, the storage means stores the chip ID of the gaming chip in association with the player ID of the player who owns the chip; 3. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, wherein the comparison means compares the player ID of the owner associated in the storage means with the chip ID of the first gaming chip with the player ID identified by the player ID identification means for the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second associating means, and outputs a signal indicating a mismatch if the ID of the owner associated in the storage means with the chip ID of the first gaming chip with the player ID associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second associating means does not match.

4. the storage means stores the chip ID of the gaming chip in association with face information of its owner; 3. The game monitoring system of claim 2, wherein the comparison means compares the facial information associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means with the facial information extracted from the image of the player associated with the first gaming chip by the second association means, and outputs a signal indicating a mismatch if the facial information associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means does not match the facial information extracted from the image of the player associated with the first gaming chip by the second association means.

5. 3. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising a control means for, when the comparison means determines that the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means does not match the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second associating means, rewriting the owner associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip in the storage means to the player associated with the chip ID of the first gaming chip by the second associating means.

6. 3. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising an update means for rewriting the owner associated with the chip ID of a payout gaming chip paid out by a dealer in the storage means to the player associated with the payout gaming chip by the second association means.

7. 3. The game monitoring system according to claim 2, further comprising an update means for rewriting the owner associated with the chip ID of the payout gaming chip paid out by the dealer in the storage means to the player associated with the first gaming chip that moved from the specified area together with the payout gaming chip by the second association means.

8. the gaming chip includes an RFID tag that stores the chip ID; 2. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the chip ID identifying means identifies the chip ID of the gaming chip by reading the chip ID from the RFID tag.

9. The gaming chip has a chip ID written on a side thereof, 2. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the chip ID identification means detects the gaming chip from an image showing the gaming chip and identifies the chip ID of the gaming chip by deciphering the chip ID on the side of the detected gaming chip.

10. the player detection means detects the player's hand; 2. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the first associating means associates the player's hand detected by the player detection means with the gaming chip detected by the chip detection means based on a positional relationship between the two.

11. the chip ID specifying means detects the gaming chip from the first image generated by the photographing means and specifies the chip ID of the detected gaming chip; the chip detection means detects the gaming chip from a second image different from the first image, which is generated by the photographing means; 2. The game monitoring system of claim 1, wherein the second association means identifies the gaming chip located in the same position as the first gaming chip based on the relationship between the position of the gaming chip detected by the chip ID identification means in the first image and the position of the gaming chip detected by the chip detection means in the second image.

12. the photographing means includes a first camera for generating the first image and a second camera different from the first camera for generating the second image; The game monitoring system described in claim 11, wherein the second association means identifies the gaming chip located in the same position as the first gaming chip by converting the position of the gaming chip in the first image detected by the chip ID identification means and the position of the gaming chip in the second image detected by the chip detection means into a common coordinate space.

13. the chip ID specifying means specifies the position on the game table of the gaming chip whose chip ID has been specified; the chip detection means identifies the position of the gaming chip detected from the image on the gaming table; 2. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the second associating means identifies the gaming chip located at the same position as the first gaming chip based on the position identified by the chip ID identifying means and the position identified by the chip detecting means.

14. the chip ID specifying means specifies the timing when the gaming chip with the specified chip ID is placed on the game table; the chip detection means identifies the timing at which the gaming chip detected from the image was placed on the game table; 2. The game monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the second associating means identifies the gaming chip placed on the game table at the same timing as the first gaming chip based on the timing identified by the chip ID identifying means and the timing identified by the chip detecting means.

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