Intelligent crane game machine

Abstract

To provide an intelligent crane game machine for automatically adjusting a control parameter.SOLUTION: The intelligent crane game machine includes a crane unit 3 having a catcher portion 32, a sensing unit 4 for sensing a prize caught by the catcher portion 32 to generate reference data, and a control unit 5 signally connected to the catcher portion 32 of the crane unit 3 and the sensing unit 4 and configured to adjust at least one changeable parameter of the catcher portion 32 according to the reference data.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an amusement machine, and more particularly to an intelligent crane game machine. [Background technology]

[0002] An example of a conventional crane game machine is described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 1 shows an example of a conventional crane game machine. As shown, the crane game machine 1 has a showcase 10 defining an interior space 100 suitable for placing a plurality of prizes (not shown), a catcher unit 11 disposed within the interior space 100 suitable for catching the prizes, and an operation interface 12 connected to the showcase 10 suitable for operating the catcher unit 11. During the game, a player inserts a coin and then operates the catcher unit 11 via the operation interface 12, thereby catching and obtaining a prize that has been placed within the interior space 100 by an operator of the crane game machine 1.

[0003] The operator of the crane game machine 1 must maintain the crane game machine 1, and in particular must arrange the prizes and make corresponding adjustments to the catcher section 11 according to conditions such as the type, size, and weight of the prizes to be arranged.

[0004] Depending on what prizes are placed in the crane game machine 1, players can be enticed to actually play, but if the difficulty of playing is too high, players will give up and stop putting coins in. Therefore, while placing attractive prizes to lure players, the operator of the crane game machine 1 must ensure that the cost that players may incur to obtain the prizes exceeds the cost to the operator in a balanced manner, otherwise the operation will become unviable.

[0005] On the other hand, there are many types of prizes placed in the interior space 100 of the crane game machine 1, and the prizes placed in the interior space 100 of the crane game machine 1 may change periodically. In addition, the catcher unit 11 itself may deteriorate over a long period of operation and may no longer function as planned by the operator of the crane game machine 1. For this reason, the operator of the crane game machine 1 must not only select the prizes to be placed, but also constantly adjust the operation of the catcher unit 11 according to the number of prizes acquired and the skill of the player. Furthermore, the operator may encounter players with advanced skills, which may lead to results that the operator did not anticipate.

[0006] Therefore, operating the crane game machine 1 is extremely difficult, and operators of the crane game machine 1 in particular may be forced to adjust the difficulty of the game flexibly according to the situation. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] JP 2023-138754 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an intelligent crane game machine that automatically adjusts control parameters using automatic learning technology. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] In order to achieve the above object, a showcase is provided which defines a prize placement space suitable for placing prizes that can be caught, and which has a prize discharge port which communicates with the prize placement space and discharges the prizes; a crane means disposed within the prize placement space, the crane means having a movement control section and a catcher section movably connected to the movement control section and for catching the prize; sensing means disposed away from the catcher portion of the crane means and adapted to sense the prize caught by the catcher portion and generate reference data; and a control means, which is signally connected to the catcher portion of the crane means and the sensing means, and is used to adjust at least one changeable parameter of the catcher portion based on the reference data. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] As described above, in the intelligent crane game machine of the present invention, the crane means is operated by the player, and reference data is generated based on the situation in which the catcher unit catches the prize, and the control unit uses this as the basis for automatic adjustment. This gives the intelligent crane game machine of the present invention an automatic learning function that makes adjustments according to the player's playing situation, and thereby allows automatic adjustment of at least one changeable parameter of the catcher unit. This objective real-time adjustment function allows the operator to automatically adjust the difficulty of winning a prize without having to make adjustments himself. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of a conventional crane game machine. [Figure 2] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of the intelligent crane game machine of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10 is a graph showing how the sensing means in this embodiment senses the process of the catcher part of the crane means catching the prize when the sensing means is an optical sensor. [Figure 4] 10 is a graph showing how the sensing means in this embodiment senses the process of the catcher part of the crane means catching the prize when the sensing means is a distance sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] In order to more clearly describe the objectives, technical means and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention, the following will clearly and completely describe the technical means in the embodiments of the present invention in combination with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention. It is clear that the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present invention, and are not all of the embodiments. Generally, the components of the embodiments of the present invention depicted and shown in the accompanying drawings can be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 2, one embodiment of the intelligent crane game machine of the present invention comprises a showcase 2 defining a prize placement space 200 suitable for placing catchable prizes, a crane means 3 disposed within the prize placement space 200 and having a catcher portion 32, a sensing means 4 disposed apart from the catcher portion 32 of the crane means 3, and a control means 5 signally connected to the catcher portion 32 of the crane means 3 and the sensing means 4.

[0014] The showcase 2 has a prize outlet 21 that communicates with the prize placement space 200 and is suitable for discharging prizes, and a sensor 22 that is arranged at the prize outlet 21 and is used to determine the passage of a prize. The sensor 22 can be configured as an optical sensor, which generates a discharge signal that can be used as a reference to indicate that a prize has been discharged when the prize passes through the prize outlet 21.

[0015] The crane means 3 has a movement control unit 31 that is placed at an upper position within the prize placement space 200, and the above-mentioned catcher unit 32 that is movably connected to the movement control unit 31 and is suitable for catching prizes. Here, by adopting a configuration for the catcher unit 32 that adjusts the drive coil according to differences in power parameters, it is possible to adjust the force with which the catcher arm of the catcher unit 32 operates, in particular the output when the catcher unit 32 grabs and lifts a prize.

[0016] The sensing means 4 is disposed at a location distant from the catcher section 32 of the crane means 3 and is used to sense a prize caught by the catcher section 32 and generate reference data. Specifically, the sensing means 4 may be configured as an optical sensor, and the reference data is data indicating whether the catcher section 32 has successfully caught the prize. Alternatively, the sensing means 4 may be configured as a distance sensor, and in this case the reference data is data indicating the distance between the catcher section 32 and the prize.

[0017] The control means 5 is used to adjust at least one changeable parameter of the catcher unit 32 based on the reference data. Specifically, the control means 5 can be configured as software, hardware, firmware, or a machine that outputs a control command to the crane unit 3 through automatic calculation based on the numerical value of the reference data. Here, the control means 5 can achieve the desired function by writing a logic program, or it can be combined with an artificial intelligence (AI) system to receive the reference data multiple times and output control commands multiple times, thereby building a more precise and perfect control logic through automatic learning.

[0018] Referring to Figure 3 together with Figure 2, the vertical axis of the graph shown in Figure 3 indicates whether the catcher section 32 has caught the prize, with 1 corresponding to a caught state and 0 corresponding to an uncaught state. The horizontal axis is the time axis, which displays the data detected by the sensing means 4. The graph in Figure 3 shows the prize being dropped after a predetermined movement time t1 has elapsed since the catcher section 32 descended to grab the prize. In addition, whether the catcher section 32 has moved to the prize discharge port 21 and the prize has been discharged can be determined based on whether a discharge signal has been received from the sensor 22 or whether the movement time t1 exceeds a predetermined threshold.

[0019] In this embodiment, an example will be described in which at least one changeable parameter adjusted by the control means 5 is the output of the catcher portion 32 when catching the prize, i.e., the clamping force. Using reference data output by the sensing means 4, specifically the length of the movement time t1, if the movement time t1 is too short, it is determined that the output of the catcher portion 32 is too weak, causing the catcher portion 32 to drop the prize immediately after catching it, and if the movement time t1 is too long, it is determined that the output of the catcher portion 32 is too strong, causing the catcher portion 32 to hold the prize for too long, in which case the prize may easily be carried to the prize outlet 21. In this way, the control means 5 adjusts the output of the catcher portion 32 while determining the output status of the catcher portion 32 each time a player plays, thereby achieving the effect of automatically adjusting the difficulty of the game immediately and appropriately.

[0020] Furthermore, at least one changeable parameter adjusted by the control means 5 can be a time related to the output of the catcher section 32, for example, the time for which the catcher section 32 maintains a predetermined clamping force. As a result, the above effect can also be achieved by adjusting the time for which the catcher section 32 maintains an output that allows it to hold the prize, i.e., the travel time t1 from when the catcher section 32 descends to grab the prize until the prize is dropped from the catcher section 32. Of course, the operator can use an algorithm that reflects the experience gained from previous manual adjustments for the control of output and time performed by the control means 5 when making adjustments.

[0021] Referring to Figure 4 together with Figure 2, the graph in Figure 4 shows the situation in which the sensing means 4 is used to detect the distance between the catcher section 32 and the prize. The vertical axis of the graph shown in Figure 4 represents the distance between the catcher section 32 and the prize, and the horizontal axis represents time. By clearly detecting the distance between the catcher section 32 and the prize, the timing at which the catcher section 32 descends and the timing at which the prize drops from the catcher section 32 can be clearly determined, which is more useful as a reference than simply detecting whether the catcher section 32 has reliably caught the prize. By outputting this detection result to the control means 5 as reference data, the control means 5 can perform more precise and finer control.

[0022] As shown in Figure 2, in another embodiment of this example, an image recognition system is used as the sensing means 4, and images of the process in which the catcher section 32 catches the prize are output to the control means 5 as reference data, allowing the automatic learning function of the control means 5 to analyze and learn more information, such as how the prize is dropped, the time it takes for the prize to be dropped, the situation at the time the catcher section 32 comes into contact with the prize, or how the prize is discharged from the catcher section 32 through the prize discharge outlet 21, which is beneficial to the operation of the crane game machine and is expected to bring more profit than manual adjustments.

[0023] To sum up, the control means 5 of the intelligent crane game machine of the present invention can automatically adjust the catcher section 32 in real time using the reference data from the sensing means 4, which can greatly support the operation of the crane game machine and ensure the achievement of the object of the present invention.

[0024] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0025] 2. Showcase 200 Prize Placement Space 21 Prize outlet 22 sensors 3 Crane means 31 Movement control unit 32 Catcher Club 4 Sensing means 5. Control measures t1 Travel time

Claims

1. a showcase defining a prize placement space suitable for placing prizes that can be caught, and having a prize discharge port communicating with the prize placement space and for discharging the prizes; a crane means disposed within the prize placement space and having a movement control section and a catcher section movably connected to the movement control section and for catching the prize; sensing means disposed away from the catcher portion of the crane means and adapted to sense the prize caught by the catcher portion and generate reference data; and control means, signally connected to the catcher portion of the crane means and the sensing means, and used to adjust at least one changeable parameter of the catcher portion based on the reference data.

2. 2. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 1, wherein said sensing means is an optical sensor, and said reference data is data indicating whether said catcher section has reliably caught said prize.

3. 2. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 1, wherein said sensing means is a distance sensor, and said reference data is data indicating the distance between said catcher portion and said prize.

4. 2. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 1, wherein the sensing means is an image recognition system, and the reference data is an image of the process in which the catcher catches the prize.

5. 5. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 1, wherein the at least one changeable parameter adjusted by the control means includes a gripping force of the catcher portion.

6. 6. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 5, wherein the at least one changeable parameter adjusted by the control means includes a time period during which the catcher section maintains a predetermined clamping force.

7. 6. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 5, wherein the showcase further comprises a sensor disposed at the prize outlet and used to determine whether the prize has passed through.

8. 7. The intelligent crane game machine according to claim 6, wherein the showcase further comprises a sensor disposed at the prize outlet and used to determine whether the prize has passed through.

Images