Game Table Reading System

Abstract

To discriminate RFID tags in a plurality of adjacent reading areas.SOLUTION: A game table reading system 1 comprises: a game table 2 having a plurality of reading ares including at least a plurality of bet areas; a plurality of reading antennas for reading RFID tags incorporated in substitute coins 5 for a game arranged in the corresponding reading area; a reading limit antenna 11 for limiting that the RFID tags incorporated in the substitute coins 5 for the game are read by the reading antenna corresponding to the other adjacent reading area; a reading control device 9 for controlling the plurality of reading antennas; and a reading limit control device 12 for controlling the plurality of reading antennas 11. The reading control device 9 makes the plurality of reading antennas sequentially perform reading, and makes the plurality of reading limit antennas 11 corresponding to the plurality of reading ares adjacent to the reading area corresponded with the reading antenna made to perform reading by the reading control device 9 perform limiting in reading, synchronously with the reading control device 9.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 table, betting objects are drawn by lines or colors, and players place bets on the betting objects by placing gaming tokens on the betting objects drawn on the game table. For example, a baccarat table has a plurality of play positions, and on each play position, betting objects such as player, banker, tie, etc. are drawn by lines or colors.

[0003] Meanwhile, recently, RFID tags storing information such as the identification information (chip ID) of the gaming token are embedded in the gaming token for the purposes of preventing fraud or mistakes by players or dealers, understanding bet amounts, redemption amounts, and recovery amounts for use in casino management, and tracing the movement of the gaming token within the casino. Furthermore, multiple antennas for reading the RFID tags are provided on game tables and the like. The management control device obtains the information of the RFID tags read from 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 on a certain gaming table, but also in which play position it is on and furthermore in which bet object it is placed on in order to achieve the above-mentioned objective more highly. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In order to grasp the precise location of the gaming tokens on the game table, it is effective to use many narrow-range reading antennas. However, if such reading antennas are located close to each other, a problem occurs in that the RFID tags of gaming tokens in the reading ranges covered by other reading antennas may be read beyond the intended reading range of each reading 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 game table reading system according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a game 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 the 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 the gaming tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas by the reading antennas corresponding to other adjacent reading areas. The reading control device is configured to cause the multiple read antennas to perform reading in sequence, and the read limiting control device is configured to synchronize with the reading control device and cause the multiple read limiting antennas corresponding to the multiple read areas adjacent to the reading area corresponding to the reading antenna being read by the reading control device to perform reading restriction.

[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 areas in which the reading antenna performs reading are 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 reading antennas so that the reading antennas corresponding to the adjacent reading areas do not perform reading simultaneously.

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

[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 performing reading to perform reading restriction.

[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 is read from the reading antenna that is currently performing 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 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 depending on the intensity set by the reading intensity setting unit.

[0016] With this configuration, reading can be restricted to a necessary range according to 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 in which 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 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 a plurality of reading areas simultaneously using a plurality of reading antennas while avoiding reading RFID tags in reading areas other than the reading area corresponding to the reading antenna.

[0021] In the above game table reading system, the reading control device may, after all of the part of the plurality of reading antennas have completed reading, cause another part of the plurality of reading antennas to simultaneously perform 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] With this configuration, it is possible to read the necessary reading areas depending on the progress of the game.

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

[0026] This configuration makes it possible to prevent the read restriction 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 in a loop shape, 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] With this configuration, it is possible to read information from the RFID tag embedded in the gaming token bet in the side bet area in the 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 differently 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 makes it possible to read the RFID tag 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 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] With this configuration, the member's card can be read on the game table.

[0038] In the above-mentioned game table reading system, the multiple 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 areas 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 game table reading system, the multiple reading areas may include a pay area for reading the gaming tokens paid out by the dealer to winning players, 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 performing reading.

[0041] With this configuration, when reading the pay area, it is possible to prevent reading RFID tags in other surrounding reading areas.

[0042] In the above game table reading system, the multiple betting areas may include a player area and a bunker 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 bunker area of ​​the play position restricts reading, and when the reading antenna corresponding to the bunker area of ​​a certain play position is reading, the read restriction antenna corresponding to the player area of ​​the play position restricts reading.

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

[0044] In the above game table reading system, the adjacent reading areas may be separated by one or two lines and 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 the 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 description of the drawings]

[0046] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a game table reading system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a betting area according to the first embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 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. [Diagram 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 a configuration of a game table reading system according to the second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a 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 a 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 a 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 the game tokens and 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 for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna in 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 in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18A] FIG. 18A is a diagram for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18B] FIG. 18B is a diagram for explaining switching of driving of the read antenna and the read limiting antenna in 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 in 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 in 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 in the sixth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example of the layout of a 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 a 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 arrangement of antennas according to the eighth embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 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. [Diagram 25] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing a configuration of a table reading system according to the ninth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0047] In the following, a game table reading system for reading an RFID tag on a game table will be described. In the following embodiment, a game table is a baccarat table for playing a baccarat game, but the present invention is not limited to the baccarat table and can be applied to any game table.

[0048] (First embodiment) FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a game table reading system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The game table reading system 1 includes a game table 2 having a roughly oval shape. 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 upper 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 the player 3 places a bet by placing his / her gaming token 5. On the dealer position side of the game table 2, a chip tray 6 is provided for placing the dealer's gaming token 5. Although not shown for ease of viewing, each betting area 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, each of the betting areas 4a to 4e of the game table 2 is 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 of the betting areas is provided with a reading antenna 71a to 75e (hereinafter, collectively referred to as the "reading antenna 7") for reading the RFID tag embedded in the gaming token 5. Specifically, the reading antenna 7 is embedded under the cover of the game table 2 at a position where the corresponding betting area 4 is partitioned. Also, a reading antenna 8 is provided in the chip tray 6.

[0050] In the following, each area where a reading antenna is installed may be called 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. 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 ease of viewing, but the reading antennas other than the reading antenna 71e are also provided in each bet area 4 and are further connected to the reading control device 9 in the same manner 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] In addition to the reading antennas 71a to 75e, each of the betting areas 4a to 4e of the game table 2 is provided with a reading restriction antenna 101a to 105e (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "read restriction antenna 10"). The reading restriction antenna 10 has a function of restricting the RFID tag embedded in the gaming token 5 placed in the reading area corresponding to each antenna from being read by the reading antenna 7 corresponding to another adjacent reading area. Like the reading antenna 7, the reading restriction antenna 10 is embedded under the lashing of the game table 2 at a position where the corresponding betting area 4 is partitioned. In addition, a reading 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 each of the read limit antennas and controls the read limit.

[0054] The read control device 9 causes the read antennas 7 to perform reading in sequence, and the read restriction control device 12, in synchronization with the read control device 9, causes the read restriction antenna 10 corresponding to the read area adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna 7 being read by the read control device 9 to perform reading restriction.

[0055] The specific reading process will be explained with reference to Fig. 2. For example, when reading in the Thai area, the reading antenna 73a reads, and the reading restriction antenna 102a in the Bunka Pair area adjacent to the Thai 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] Also, 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 limit. 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 limit. 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 one device. These devices may be devices that control an antenna board called an RFID reader.

[0057] This configuration makes it possible to accurately distinguish between the player area and the bunker area that are present in 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 areas in which the reading antenna 7 performs reading, it becomes possible to appropriately read RFID tags for 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 limiting antenna 10 within a predetermined distance from the reading antenna 7 performing reading may be configured to limit reading.

[0060] That is, for example, when reading the bunker area in FIG. 2 using the reading antenna 75a, not only the reading restriction antenna 104a in the player area adjacent to the bunker area but also the reading restriction 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 performing reading even if it is not adjacent to the reading area performing reading.

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

[0063] In the drawings, the reading antenna 7 in the reading area is shown on the outside, followed by the read restriction antenna 10, but this arrangement is not necessarily required, and the antennas may be arranged in any configuration. The same applies below.

[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 need to be read separately for the player pair area, the banker pair area, the tie area, the player area, and the banker area, and may be read in their entirety.

[0066] Furthermore, a side bet area is provided for each play position, which is an area where a player plays. In Fig. 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 for each play position at a position corresponding to each play position on the game table 2. In addition, in principle, one player plays at one play position. However, when all play positions are filled, a player (back bet player) who bets on the betting area 4 assigned to the sitting player appears behind the player (sitting player) who is playing at the play position, and such betting is permitted depending on the casino or game table 2. By the back bet, a plurality of gaming tokens 5 with different user IDs are bet on the same betting area. The game table reading system of this example makes it possible to distinguish between the gaming tokens 5 even in such a case. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 4.

[0069] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a modified example of the bet area in the first embodiment. In this example, in addition to the configuration of the bet 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 objects in 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] In Fig. 4, the betting area of ​​each play position is divided into two areas, but it may be divided into three or more areas. In addition, 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 the reading antenna 7 and the reading restriction antenna 10 may be provided in multiple in the same reading area as shown in Fig. 4.

[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 (the banker area is illustrated in the example of FIG. 5), and a plurality of read-restricted antennas 10 are also provided corresponding to each reading antenna 7. This allows the gaming tokens 83 to be read separately in the same betting area. This allows the stacks to be read by separate reading antennas 7 even when there are a plurality of stacks of gaming tokens 83 in the same betting object, such as when a back bet is made, and therefore allows the plurality of stacks in the same betting area to be read separately. By recognizing and identifying the player who bets each stack, it becomes possible to link and manage the user ID and the information of the bet chips or payout chips for the main player (sitting player) and the back bet player.

[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 a 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 addition, 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] It should be noted that 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 reading intensity setting unit 17 in the reading control device 9. Generally, electromagnetic waves are used to read RFID tags. The reading intensity setting unit 17 sets the intensity of the electromagnetic waves for reading by the reading antenna 7. Furthermore, the reading restriction control device 12 determines the reading restriction antenna 10 that will restrict reading according to the intensity set by the reading 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 to have some of the multiple reading antennas read simultaneously, and the read restriction control device 12 restricts reading by a read restriction antenna located between the multiple reading antennas that read simultaneously. This will be explained below with reference to FIG. 8.

[0082] Fig. 8 shows only the reading antenna 7 and the read restriction antenna 10 necessary for the explanation, with the betting areas 4a, 4b, and 4c extracted from the game table 2 in Fig. 1. For example, when reading the player pair area of ​​the betting area 4a and the player pair area of ​​the betting area 4c at the same time, the reading antennas 71a and 71c are made to read, and the reading restriction antennas 102a to 105a, 101b to 105b, and 102c to 105c located between those areas are made to restrict reading.

[0083] Although the above describes a configuration in which each area within multiple betting areas 4 (specifically, the player pair area of ​​betting area 4a and the player pair area of ​​betting area 4c) is read simultaneously, it may also be a configuration in which the entire multiple 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 a plurality of reading areas simultaneously by 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 the above embodiments may also be configured to perform the above-mentioned simultaneous multiple reading.

[0086] When reading multiple reading areas simultaneously in this way, if the system moves to the next reading even though reading has not been completed for all of the multiple reading antennas 7 that are simultaneously reading, there is a possibility that a reading error will occur. Therefore, the game table reading system of the present invention has the reading control device make another part of the multiple reading antennas 7 read simultaneously after all of the part of the multiple reading antennas 7 that are simultaneously reading have completed reading. In this way, it is possible to prevent adjacent reading areas from being read simultaneously.

[0087] In this way, in the game table reading system of this embodiment, the read limit control device 12 determines the read limit antenna 10 that performs the read limit according to the size of the area that is read by the read control device 9. Specifically, the larger the area that is read simultaneously, the more read limit antennas 10 are made to perform the read limit. For example, when each bet area 4 has the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the entire bet area 4 may be read as a read area by simultaneously using multiple read antennas 71 to 75 corresponding to a certain bet area 4, and such reading may be performed for each bet area. In this case, since the entire relatively wide bet area becomes the read area, at this time, the more read limit antennas 10 around this read area may be made to perform the read limit. Also, all the read control devices 9 may be made to read all the bet areas simultaneously. In this case, the read limit control device 12 makes all the read limit antennas 10 corresponding to areas other than the bet area 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, the areas that should be read early in order to smoothly progress through the game (for example, 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 a function of controlling the restriction of reading by the read restriction antenna 10 so that reading and restriction of reading are not performed simultaneously in the same reading area.

[0091] (Fifth embodiment) FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of the 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 in which RFID tags placed there are read, and similar to the reading areas already described, reading antennas 22a to 22e (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "read antennas 22") and reading restriction antennas 23a to 23e (hereinafter, collectively referred to as "read restriction antennas 23") are provided in each pay area. Although not shown for ease of viewing, reading antennas other than the reading antenna 22e are also provided in each pay area 21, and are further connected to the reading control device 9 in the same manner as the 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] By providing the pay area 21 in this manner 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, while the reading control device 9 is causing the reading antenna 8 of the chip tray 6 to perform reading, the reading restriction control device 12 has a function of causing the reading restriction antennas (i.e., the reading restriction antenna 10 and the reading restriction antenna 23) corresponding to the reading areas other than the chip tray 6 to perform reading restriction.

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

[0095] In addition, when the game table reading system 20 performs reading in the pay area 21, the read limit control device 12 has the function of restricting reading on the read limit antennas (i.e., the read limit antenna 10 and the read limit antenna 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 pay area 21.

[0097] In FIG. 10, the pay areas 21 are configured to be 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 game table 2 may have two or more reading control devices 9 and two or more reading restriction control devices 12, or may have one provided for each reading area.

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

[0101] In particular, when multiple reading areas are read simultaneously using multiple reading antennas and the multiple reading areas for such simultaneous reading are switched in sequence, the next multiple reading areas may be read after no new information is read in the multiple reading areas for simultaneous reading. This makes it possible to prevent the inconvenience of reading adjacent reading areas simultaneously being read by changing the combination of multiple reading antennas for simultaneous reading.

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

[0103] In the above embodiments, all the above read antennas and read restriction antennas output electromagnetic waves during reading and read restriction. The strength of the electromagnetic waves needs to be controlled so that they do not reach areas that should not be read. Therefore, the game table reading system in all the embodiments of the present invention is equipped with a shielding member that shapes the magnetic field so that the strength of the magnetic field generated by the read antenna is weakened outside the reading area corresponding to the read antenna. Also, 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 are located 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 in a form 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 betting target. The betting areas 41 are drawn on the upper 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 close, and the shortest distance is 0 to 15 cm, which is smaller than the diameter of the gaming token 83, for example.

[0109] Although not shown in the figure, the betting areas 41a to 41e of each play position are provided close to each other so as not to overlap each other, and 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 being tied, 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. 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 divided by not providing a line between them, and by painting adjacent betting areas in different colors from each other, or by painting the betting areas in a color different 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 divided by not providing a line between them, and 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 divided by not providing a line between them, and 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 close, 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 close, 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 the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 placed in the betting areas 41a to 41e, the pay areas 42a to 42e are provided with reading antennas 521a to 521e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "reading antennas 521") for reading the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 placed in the pay areas 42a to 42e, and the chip tray 51 is provided with a reading antenna 531 for reading the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 accommodated 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 restriction antennas 512a to 512e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read restriction antennas 512") for restricting or preventing 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 of other areas, the pay areas 42a to 42e are provided with read restriction antennas 522a to 522e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read restriction antennas 522") for restricting or preventing 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 of other areas, and the chip tray 51 is provided with a read restriction antenna 532 for restricting or preventing the RFID tags 831 embedded in the gaming tokens 83 stored in the chip tray 51 from being read by the reading antennas of other areas.

[0113] In this embodiment, the read antenna 511 and the read limit antenna 512 of the bet area 41 are shaped to follow the outer edge of the bet 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. In addition, 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 cross each other in a plan view. In addition, multiple read limit antennas may be provided for one read antenna, and 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 card. The card dealing device 58 judges the game result according to the rules of the baccarat game based on at least the rank of the drawn card. The card dealing device 58 displays the judged 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 judgment 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 the player and a camera for photographing the gaming tokens 83 on the table 6004 may be provided separately.

[0116] The card reader 53 scans the member's card 81 held by a registered player (member) to read information stored in the member's card 81. The member's card 81 has an RFID tag built in, and the RFID tag stores at least the user ID given 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 a play position and a cancel instruction.

[0117] When a player 81 plays baccarat at the table 6004 as described above, the player 82 first sits at any 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 a gaming token 83 in any of the betting areas of 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 distribution 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 bet chips bet on the player pairs are collected by the dealer 91 into the chip tray 51. If no banker pair is formed at this point, the bet chips bet on the banker pair are collected by the dealer 91 into the chip tray 51.

[0119] The dealer 91 draws the fifth and subsequent cards as necessary according to 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 the game 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 game tokens 83 in the pay area 42 of the play position where the bet chips 83 to be paid out have been bet, and then places the game tokens 83 to be paid out next to the bet chips 83. The winning player receives the game tokens (payout chips) placed next to the bet chips 83 in this way together with the bet chips. When starting the next game (i.e., when starting to bet 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 draws out four cards and, in some cases, the player squeezes, and before the chips bet on the player pair and the banker pair are collected. It is also preferable that reading is completed at the same timing for all the gaming tokens 83 bet. For this reason, it is necessary to read the entire betting area within a few seconds. Also, by reading the betting chips multiple times, it is possible to recognize changes. For example, after the bet is closed and the first card is drawn from the card distribution device, the player is prohibited from making an additional bet, withdrawing the gaming tokens 83 that have been bet, and changing the bet object, so multiple readings can be performed to check whether there is any change in the gaming tokens 83 bet during the above period. Furthermore, reading may be performed constantly. In this case, the results of the betting chips read before the betting is closed may be recorded as undetermined betting 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 distribution 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 the 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, the player is identified by the face recognition system including the camera 52 and the face recognition device 502, and the player can also be identified by reading the member's card 81 using the card reader 53, but the 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, during the period from the end of a game to the next game, during betting, etc.) to the management control device 56 based on button operation and the rank of the drawn card that was read, and also outputs the game result (player's hand wins, banker's hand wins, tie, player's hand is a pair, banker's hand is a pair, 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 according to 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 the RFID tags in a plurality of reading areas in order. The management control device 56 updates the database 57 by storing the information read from the RFID tag by the reading antenna in association with the player identified by the player identification system 555. Each of the reading antennas 511, 521, 531 is assigned with 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 reading antennas 511, 521, and 531 are loop-shaped with a portion open in the corresponding reading area, and one end and the other end of each of the open ends are connected to a reading control device 561. The reading control device 561 forms an electromagnetic field (magnetic field) in the reading area by passing a current through the reading antenna, 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 the read areas where reading is not performed, thereby opening the loops 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 the electromagnetic field generated by the read antennas 511, 521, 531 in other adjacent read areas.

[0129] The read limit 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. The read limit control device 562 opens and closes the switches 521s, 522s, 532s. The read limit antennas 512, 522, 532 perform the function of limiting reading when the switches 521s, 522s, 532s are closed to form a closed loop (short circuit), and do not limit reading when the switches 521s, 522s, 532s are opened to open the loop.

[0130] 13 is a cross section of the bet area 41b and the bet area 41c which are the reading areas. Under the surface 6004a of the table 6004, a board 401 for arranging the read antennas 511 and 521 and a board 402 for arranging the read restriction antennas 512 and 522 are provided in a stacked manner. In this embodiment, the board 401 is provided under the board 402, but the installation order can be changed as appropriate. In addition, 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 for 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 due to an 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) the reading of the game token 83c placed in the adjacent read area 41c by the read antenna 511b. That is, 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 opposite to 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, FIG. 13 shows 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] As shown in Fig. 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, by closing the switch of the reading restriction antenna 512c in the adjacent betting area 41c, an induced current flows in the reading restriction antenna 512c, which generates 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 to be sufficiently small and flattened in the adjacent betting area 41c, like the electromagnetic field of the intensity distribution 5112b. This makes it possible to prevent the reading antenna 511b from reading the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83c in the betting area 41c.

[0134] Aluminum tapes 513b and 513c are attached to the substrate 402 as a shielding member or shielding means for shielding electromagnetic waves from adjacent reading areas. The shielding member may be in a form other than tape, for example, a plate, a film, a sheet, a coating film, a foil, etc. The material of the shielding member may be other than aluminum, for example, silver, gold, copper, nickel, etc., or may contain aluminum, silver, gold, copper, or nickel. Furthermore, the shielding member may be in a mesh shape. In addition to the read limiting antennas 512b and 512c, the shielding member can also limit reading by the reading antenna of the adjacent reading area.

[0135] 13, the shielding member is provided on the board 402 for arranging the read limiting antennas 512b and 512c, but the shielding member may be provided on 401 for arranging the read antennas 511 and 521. Alternatively, the shielding member may be provided on the board 402 on the opposite side to the read limiting antennas 512b and 512c, or on the board 401 on the opposite side to the read antennas 511b and 511c. Alternatively, the shielding member may be provided on a different plane from the boards 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 of the RFID tag 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 of the RFID tag read by the reading antennas 511, 521, 531 and the betting area 41, the betting area 42, and the chip tray 51 that are the reading areas where the RFID tag was read. In this way, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 for managing the gaming tokens 83 with the information of the RFID tag of the gaming tokens 83 read in each reading area of ​​the game table 6004.

[0137] Hereinafter, the management of the gaming token 83 by the database 57 will be described. 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 an RFID tag 831 built in. The RFID tag 831 stores a chip ID 573. 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 a user who possesses the gaming token, and location information 576 indicating the location of the gaming token 83. Note that the price information 574 does not change for the chip ID 573, but 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, a certain amount of past user ID 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 the user: value information 574 of gaming tokens owned by the user, bet information 577 indicating the history of bets made by the user in games, and location information 576 indicating the location of the user. 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, in the database 57, in addition to the latest value information, bet information, and location information, certain past value information, bet information, and location information may be stored for the user ID 575, or only the latest value information, bet information, and location information may be stored.

[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 of reading the information. In this embodiment, the management control device 56 grasps the status of the game by obtaining information on the game status (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 has won the game. The management control device 56 also updates the chip management table 571 of the database 57 so that the chip ID of the gaming token 83 bet by a user who has lost a game is associated with the user ID assigned to the dealer. This makes it possible to identify the gaming token held by each user by referring to the database 57, even if the holder of the gaming token 83 changes as a result of the gaming token 83 being used in a game.

[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 manner, it is possible to reflect in the database 57 the change in the holder from the dealer to the user due to the payout.

[0145] Furthermore, the management control device 56 updates the user management table 572 so that, in the user management table 57 of the database 57, 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, the management control device 56 updates the database 57 so that, when the chip ID of the gaming token 83 to be dispensed is read in the pay area 42, 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 paid out 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 paid out is associated with the user ID associated with the gaming token 83 bet in the betting area 41. This makes it possible to update the database 57 so that the holder of the betted gaming token 83 and the holder of the gaming token 83 paid out for the betted gaming token 83 are the same.

[0148] Furthermore, when all play positions are used and there is a player placing a back bet, that is, 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 the two users who are 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 who are simultaneously playing at the same play position and cannot identify the user identification information of the other user, 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 that is 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 that is 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 each location in the casino facility. In this case, the reading control device 561 may be provided at each location in the casino facility, and the management control device 56 may be capable of communicating with the plurality of 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 together 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, a table number, a chip tray number, a gate number, etc. for identifying a cage, a table, a chip tray, a 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 allows the location of each gaming token 83 and the location of each user to be known by referring to the database 57. Also, by storing past information as location information in the chip management table 571 and the user management table 572, the movement history of the gaming token 83 and users can be known.

[0152] In addition, the management control device 56 acquires information on the user ID of the user playing at each play position from the player identification system 55, and when a gaming token 83 is placed in the betting area 41 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 the 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 by each user, i.e., the betting amount, can be managed in the database 57. The betting amount may be managed as a corresponding incentive point.

[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 the information of the RFID tag 831, the management control device 56 collates the information with the database 57, and if the information is not in the database 57, i.e., if the collation is unsuccessful, the management control device 56 determines that the gaming token 83 is defective or fraudulent. When the management control device 56 determines that the gaming token 83 is defective or fraudulent, it outputs a warning. In this way, it is 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 defectiveness or fraud is determined) in a form that can be perceived visually or audibly, or may be recorded in a recording device together with information on the situation when the fraud or defect occurred (table number, date and time, etc.).

[0155] Fig. 15 is a diagram showing another example of the reading antenna and the reading 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 and pair. As shown in Fig. 15, each bet area 41 has a plurality of bet 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 provided adjacent to each play position.

[0156] A read antenna and a read restriction antenna are provided in each of the betting areas, which are read areas, 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 in 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 a plurality of reading areas are densely packed as shown in FIG. 15, the game table reading system 100 can read the RFDI tag 831 for each of these reading areas. The management control device 56 can determine which player at which play position has won the game, that is, which play position should be paid out, from the information on the game result in the card distribution device 58 and the information on the betting object 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 the read restriction antenna. Fig. 16 shows only the bet areas 41b, 41c, and 41d and their corresponding pay areas 42b, 42c, and 42d. In this example, a plurality of read restriction antennas are provided in one read area, that is, the bet area. These plurality of read restriction antennas each shape the electromagnetic fields generated by the read antennas of the other adjacent read areas.

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

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

[0161] In this manner, 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 the present embodiment, when a plurality of reading areas are set on the game table 6004 at relatively close intervals, it is possible to distinguish which reading area the RFID tag 831 is in. 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 in the adjacent betting area 41 or pay area 42. Also, even when a pay area 42 is provided corresponding to each of the plurality of betting areas 41 and a reading antenna is provided therein, it is possible to prevent the RFID tag 831 in the adjacent pay area 42 or betting area 41 from being read.

[0163] In the sixth embodiment, the read limit antennas 512, 522, and 532 generate an electromagnetic field for interfering with reading of 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 of this, the electromagnetic field for interfering may be generated by passing a current from the read limit control device 562. Also in this case, the read limit 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 the switching of the drive of the read antenna and the read limit antenna by the read control device 561 and the read limit control device 562. In Fig. 17A and Fig. 17B, only the read antennas 511a to 511e and 521a to 521e of the bet area 41a to 41e and the pay area 42a to 42e and the read limit antennas 512a to 512e and 522a to 522e are shown. In Fig. 17A and Fig. 17B, the read antenna and the read limit antenna shown by the thin solid line indicate that the loop is open and that they are not driven (not active), the read antenna shown by the thick solid line indicates that they are reading, and the read limit antenna shown by the broken line indicates that they are performing read limit (jamming).

[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 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] In the second state of FIG. 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 shorted to perform read restriction. In this way, for the read areas above, below, left, and right of the read area read by the read antenna in the first and second states, the read restriction antennas are shorted to perform read restriction, so that multiple read areas can be read simultaneously while restricting the reading of the RFID tag 831 in the read area other than the read area covered by each read antenna. In this way, a group is formed with multiple read areas, and the read control device 561 and the read restriction control device 562 can efficiently and quickly read all read areas by switching the read area to be read for each group.

[0167] In the example of FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B, the multiple reading areas including the bet areas 41a to 41e and the pay areas 42a to 42e are divided into two groups, but the multiple reading areas may be divided into three or more groups. Also, the multiple reading areas to be grouped according to the game situation may be limited to some of the reading areas. For example, when making a payout, only the pay areas 42a to 42e may be divided into multiple groups, and the reading group may be switched in order to read all of the pay areas 42a to 42e. Also, there may be a group consisting of only one reading area. The collection and payment of chips are performed in order from the rightmost play position to the left, or from the leftmost play position to the right, respectively, so that the areas where collection or payment is likely to be performed may be read with emphasis.

[0168] Also, 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 may be the same for each reading antenna or each group, 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] The management control device 56 may also store a combination table that specifies, for each read area, a combination of the read area or a read antenna corresponding to the read area, and a read area in which read restriction should be performed when reading is performed in the read area or a read restriction antenna corresponding to such a read area. When the management control device 56 determines the read area in which reading is to be performed, it may instruct the read control device 561 to that effect, and may refer to the combination table to specify the read area in which read restriction should be performed or the read restriction antenna that will perform 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 an instruction 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 in which 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 of the reading area in the case where reading is performed simultaneously in multiple reading areas. In this example, instead of forming a fixed group as in the examples of Fig. 17A and Fig. 17B, the reading area in which reading is performed 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, read areas 41a and 41c are read, then read areas 41b and 41d are read as shown in Fig. 18B, then read areas 41c and 41e are read as shown in Fig. 18C, then read areas 41d and 41a are read as shown in Fig. 18D, then read areas 41e and 41b are read as shown in Fig. 18E, and then read areas 41a and 41c are read again as shown in Fig. 18A, and this is repeated. In this way, multiple read areas may be read simultaneously without fixing the combination of read 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 the game table in this embodiment. Six play positions are provided on the game table 40. The play positions are given play position numbers 1 to 7 (excluding 4). A player area 411 and a banker area 412 are arranged in each play position. The side bets of tie, player pair, and banker pair are not arranged in each play position, but are 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, a reading antenna and a read restriction antenna are provided in each small area of ​​the play position of the tie area 403, the player pair area 404, and the banker pair area 405, and these small areas are treated 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, and they read the RFID tags for each area. Even with such an 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 the 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 of the same play position number in the tie area 403, the player pair area 404, and the banker pair area 405, and may perform reading restrictions on small areas of all other play position numbers, and sequentially switch the play position numbers of the small areas to be read.

[0177] Also, as shown in FIG. 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 photographing 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 bands of different colors on their sides depending on the type so that the type 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 techniques such as neural networks and pattern matching.

[0178] The management control device 56 uses the recognition result by the chip recognition device and the reading result obtained from the reading control device 561 to grasp what type of gaming tokens are placed, how many, and where. At this time, if the recognition result by the chip recognition device and the reading result obtained by the reading 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 reading 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] In the sixth embodiment, the database 57 is updated by grasping which chip ID the gaming token 83 has 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 grasping which chip ID the gaming token 83 has and which position on the table 6004 the gaming token 83 has. In this fraud detection system, the management control device 56 may determine that fraud has occurred, for example, when the gaming token 83 increases or decreases in the betting area 41 or the gaming token 83 moves 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. In the following FIGS. 20 to 24, the wiring from the reading antenna to the reader and the switch of the reading restriction antenna are omitted. In the example of FIG. 20, one reading antenna 61a to 60e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "read antenna 61") is provided for each of the betting areas 60a to 60e (hereinafter collectively referred to as "betting area 60") of the player positions. In addition, external reading restriction antennas 62a to 62e are provided in the betting areas 60a to 60e of the player positions so as to surround the reading antennas 61a to 61e. These external reading restriction antennas 62a to 62e are always closed and always exert a jamming effect. In particular, for example, when the reading antenna 61a is reading in the betting area 60a, the external read-limited antenna 62a of the 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 separated, 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 the external read-restricted antennas 62a to 62e that are always closed and surround the reading antennas 61a to 61e with sufficient spacing therebetween. Note that, in this embodiment, the reading antenna 61 is wired in an area 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 an antenna at one player position in the seventh embodiment of the present invention. All antennas are drawn in FIG. 21(a), and FIG. 21(b) to FIG. 21(e) show the betting area 60a and the board 66a, as well as the reading antenna 61a (FIG. 21(b)), the reading restriction antenna 63a (FIG. 21(c)), the reading restriction antenna 64a (FIG. 21(d)), and the reading restriction antenna 65a (FIG. 21(e)). As shown in FIG. 21, one board 66a is provided for the betting area 60a, and one external reading restriction antenna 62a is provided to surround the board 66a. One reading antenna 61a and multiple reading 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 inside of the betting area 60a, which is the reading area. The read-restriction antenna 63a is wired in the upper half area of ​​the betting area 60a, the read-restriction antenna 64a is wired in the lower half area 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 easily affected, the read-restriction antennas 65a are wired to be located at the left and right of the center.

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

[0185] In this manner, in this embodiment, the entire bet area 60a is divided into small areas by the multiple read-restricted antennas 63a-65a to perform jamming. Note that when the read antennas 61b, etc. of other bet areas 60b, etc. are reading, the read-restricted antennas 63a-65a are switched to a closed circuit and perform the jamming function. When the read antenna 61a of the bet area 60a is reading, the read-restricted antennas 63a-65a of the bet area 60a are switched to an open state and do not function as jamming antennas. The read-restricted antennas 63a-65a of the bet area 60a are opened only when the bet area 60a is being read, and when reading is being performed in an area other than the bet area 60a, the switches are closed to form a closed circuit. Note that, as in the above embodiment, two bet areas that are sufficiently distant from each other, for example, the bet area 60a and the bet area 60c, may be read simultaneously.

[0186] When the reading of the bet area 60a is completed by the reading antenna 61a, the reading of the other reading area, bet area 60b, is performed next. In this case, specifically, when the 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 reading restriction antennas 63a to 65a of the bet area 60a are closed (jamming function is turned on), and (3) the switch of the reading 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 such a procedure, the jamming of the bet area 60a can be surely activated before starting reading of the bet area 60b, and reading errors when switching the reading area can be prevented.

[0187] A single read area (single read antenna) is judged to have completed reading the read area (read antenna) when the read is stabilized after multiple reads by repeating reading multiple times. At this time, the RFID reader as a read control device that performs reading specifies the identification information of RFID tags 831 that have already been read in multiple reads as having been read, so that only new RFID tags 831 are read. Thus, when the RFID reader is no longer reading new RFID tags 831 after repeating reading, it judges that the read is stable and that the read area (read antenna) is completed. Alternatively, a read 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 multiple times, it determines that reading of the reading area (reading antenna) is complete when the reading result is obtained a predetermined number of times in succession (e.g., 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-76e are shown corresponding to a plurality of betting areas 70a-70e provided corresponding to a plurality of player positions. In the example of Fig. 23, the boards 76a-76e are arranged very close to each other or in contact with each other. Also, in the example of Fig. 23, the boards 76-76e are slightly larger than the betting areas 70a-70e.

[0189] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing betting areas in the eighth embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 23, the betting area 70a is shown as a representative, but the betting areas 70b to 70e are similar. In the 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 part, a relatively large banker area 704a is arranged in the middle part, and a relatively large player area 705a is arranged in the lower part. In other words, the player pair, tie, and banker pair, which are called side bets, are arranged in positions 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 bet areas in the eighth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 24 also shows the bet area 70a, but the bet areas 70b to 70e are similar. 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, each of which is also referred to as a "bet object") of the bet area 70a. That is, reading antennas that are independently controlled are provided for each bet object of the bet area 70a of each player position.

[0191] In addition, the board 76a is provided with read-restricted antennas 731a-741a that are controlled independently for each of the 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 four read-restricted antennas 738a-741a are provided for each of the relatively large banker area 704a and player area 705a. Note that the switches of 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 tag 831 of the gaming token 83 placed on each bet object for each of the bet objects 701-705 assigned to the bet areas 70a-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 to turn on the jamming function. This reduces the possibility that the reading antenna for the certain bet object will read the RFID tag of the gaming token 83 placed on the other bet objects.

[0193] When the reading area covered by the reading antenna is relatively wide, 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 the player is betting on, but the antenna power applied to each reading antenna can be relatively weak, and the possibility of erroneously reading other betting objects that are relatively close, and in turn the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 831 placed in the adjacent betting area, is reduced. In this embodiment, a sufficient jamming effect can be obtained by providing multiple independent read-limiting antennas for the relatively wide banker area 704 and player area 705. For the relatively small betting objects of side bets, the antenna power of the reading antenna is weak, and the limit of the number of gaming tokens 83 that can be stacked and read is smaller than that of the relatively wide 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 bet area from reading simultaneously, and to avoid reading multiple bet objects in adjacent bet areas. For example, when any of the reading antennas 721a to 725a in the bet area 70a performs reading, other reading antennas in the bet area 70a and any of the reading antennas 721b to 725b in the adjacent bet area 70b do not read at the same timing, and for example, reading is performed by the reading antenna in the bet area 70c. 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 bet area 70a, reading is performed by any 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 reading antennas that are relatively large and have strong antenna power operating simultaneously.

[0195] In this embodiment, the RFID reader that controls the reading antennas 721 to 725 and the read-restricted antennas 731 to 741 may be controlled in synchronization with the RFID reader that controls the reading antenna provided on the chip tray. For example, when the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 stored in the chip tray is read using the reading antenna of the chip tray, the reading antenna of any of the betting areas may not be read. For example, when settlement including collection of losing chips and redemption to winning chips is being performed after the game result is determined, the reading antenna of the chip tray may be controlled to repeatedly read the RFID tag 831 of the gaming token 83 stored in the chip tray. Also, the reading antenna of the betting area may be configured to repeatedly read while changing the reading position during the period from when settlement is completed and the player is 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), monitor whether there is any unauthorized movement of the gaming token 83 (pinching, capping, late betting, etc.), and after the game result is determined, monitor whether the settlement by the dealer has been performed correctly.

[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. On the dealer position side, a chip tray 51 is provided. 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 tag 831 of the gaming token 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-mentioned 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 token 83 taken out from the chip tray 51 when the dealer 91 pays out the gaming token 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 simultaneously read so that adjacent reading areas are not simultaneously read. 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 sequentially read, and during settlement, the multiple betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90 may be sequentially read.

[0200] The gaming table 6005 of this embodiment further includes a metal wire 6010, which also serves as a decoration for the gaming table, surrounding all of the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90. The metal wire 6010 forms a closed loop surrounding all of the betting areas 80a to 80e and the dealer area 90. The chip tray 51 is located outside the 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. In addition, 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, the reading antennas are prevented from reading the RFID tags 831 of the gaming tokens 83 in the chip tray 51.

[0202] In addition, a cloth may be stretched inside the metal wire 6010, and the outside of the metal wire 6010 may be a cushion. 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 any 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, so that it is possible to grasp where the RFID tag is located on the plane. In a game table, betting objects are determined by the positions of game tokens, and each area defining the betting object is arranged close to each other. Furthermore, even if it is attempted to shield between each area in a game table, such a shielding member cannot be provided on the surface of the game table. Therefore, as in the present embodiment, by appropriately arranging a reading control antenna for preventing 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 the reading control by the reading control antenna, it is possible to appropriately read the multiple reading areas even when the multiple reading areas are crowded together. [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 Tray 7, 71a~75e Reading antenna 8 Reading antenna 9 Read control device 10, 101a~105e Read restriction antenna 11 Read-only antenna 12 Read limit control device 14 Member's 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 Database 58 Card distribution device 60 Betting Area 61 Reading antenna 62 External read limit antenna 63~65 Read Restriction Antenna 66 Substrate 70 Betting Area 721~725 Reading antenna 731~741 Read Restriction Antenna 76 Substrate 81 Member's Card 82 Player 83 Substitute coins for games 90 Dealer Area 91 Dealer 92 Reading antenna 93 Read-only antenna 511, 521, 531 Reading antenna 512, 522, 532 Read-only antenna 561 Reading control device 562 Read limit control device 831 RFID Tags 6004, 6005 Game Table 6010 Metal Wire

Claims

1. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform read restriction; the read restriction control device causes the read restriction antennas within a predetermined distance from the reading antenna performing reading to perform reading restriction; A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

2. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform read restriction; the read control device starts reading from the next read antenna when a predetermined time has elapsed since no new information is read from the read antenna that is performing reading. A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

3. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform read restriction; the read control device includes a read intensity setting unit that sets the intensity of an electromagnetic wave for reading by the read antenna, the read limit control device determines the read limit antenna for limiting reading according to the strength set by the read strength setting unit; A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

4. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform read restriction; the read restriction control device determines a read restriction antenna for restricting reading according to the size of an area in which reading is performed by the read control device; A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

5. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform read restriction; the read control device causes a part of the plurality of read antennas to simultaneously read; the read restriction control device causes the read restriction antenna located between the plurality of read antennas that simultaneously perform reading to perform reading restriction; A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

6. 6. The game table reading system according to claim 5, wherein the reading control device causes 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.

7. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform read restriction; A game status determination system for determining a game progress status is further provided, the reading control device causes the reading antenna selected according to the game progress status determined by the game status determination system to perform reading; A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

8. The game table reading system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the reading control device controls 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.

9. the game table is a table for a baccarat game, The plurality of reading areas include a plurality of side bet areas provided for each play position and arranged adjacent to each other. A game table reading system according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform reading restriction; the game table has a plurality of playing positions; The plurality of reading areas are provided for each of the play positions, the plurality of reading areas include a player area and a bunker area provided adjacent to each other for each of the play positions, A gaming token game table reading system, wherein the player area and the banker area are divided into a plurality of reading areas.

11. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform reading restriction; The RFID tag is embedded in a member's card given to a user who plays at the game table, The plurality of reading areas includes a card reading area for placing the membership card. A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

12. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform reading restriction; the plurality of reading areas includes a chip tray area for a dealer to store the gaming tokens; When the read control device causes the read antenna corresponding to the chip tray area to perform reading, the read restriction control device causes the read restriction antenna corresponding to the read area other than the chip tray area to perform reading restriction. A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

13. a game 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 RFID tags embedded in game tokens placed in the corresponding reading areas; a read restriction antenna that is installed corresponding to each of the plurality of read areas and restricts an RFID tag embedded in a gaming token placed in a corresponding read area from being read by the read antenna corresponding to another adjacent read area; a read control device connected to the plurality of read antennas and controlling the plurality of read antennas; a read limit control device connected to the plurality of read limit antennas and controlling the plurality of read limit antennas; Equipped with The read control device causes the plurality of read antennas to sequentially read the data; the read restriction control device, in synchronization with the read control device, causes a plurality of read restriction antennas corresponding to a plurality of read areas adjacent to the read area corresponding to the read antenna being read by the read control device to perform reading restriction; the plurality of reading areas includes a pay area for reading the gaming tokens to be paid out from a dealer to a winning player; the read restriction control device, when the read antenna corresponding to the pay area is performing reading, causes the read restriction antennas corresponding to the other read areas around the pay area to perform reading restriction. A gaming table reading system for gaming tokens.

14. the plurality of betting areas include a player area and a banker area provided for each of a plurality of play positions, The game table reading system of claim 10, wherein the read restriction control device controls 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 bunker area of ​​the certain play position is restricting reading, and when the reading antenna corresponding to the bunker area of ​​a certain play position is reading, the read restriction antenna corresponding to the player area of ​​the certain play position is restricting reading.

15. 11. The game table reading system according to claim 10, wherein the adjacent reading areas are separated by one or two lines and are adjacent to each other at a distance smaller than the size of the gaming token.

16. a camera that captures an image of a gaming token placed in the reading area and generates an image; an image recognition device that analyzes the image generated by the camera to identify a reading area in which the gaming tokens are placed and the type and number of the gaming tokens; 11. The game table reader system of claim 10, further comprising:

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