US-20260127934-A1 - MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

US20260127934A1US 20260127934 A1US20260127934 A1US 20260127934A1US-20260127934-A1

Abstract

A management system includes a camera configured to capture an image of a plurality of gaming chips having an RFID tag storing first information and having second information written on a surface thereof; a reading device configured to read the first information from the RFID tags of the plurality of gaming chips; an image analysis unit configured to obtain, based on the image, a location of each of the plurality of gaming chips and the second information; and a comparison and judgment unit configured to identify a location of a problem gaming chip, by comparing the first information obtained by the reading device with the second information obtained by the image analysis unit.

Inventors

Yasushi Shigeta

Assignees

Angel Group Co., Ltd.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20260105
Priority Date: 20201215

Claims (20)

1 . A management system comprising: an image capturing device configured to capture a plurality of gaming chips having a built-in RFID tag storing first information and having second information written on a surface thereof to generate an image; a reading device configured to read the RFID tags of the plurality of gaming chips to obtain the first information of the plurality of gaming chips; an image analysis device configured to obtain a location of each of the plurality of gaming chips and the second information, based on the image; and a control device configured to identify a location of a problem gaming chip whose RFID tag is fraudulent, damaged, or possibility thereof, or whose notation is fraudulent or possibly fraudulent, by comparing the first information of the plurality of gaming chips obtained by the reading device with the second information of each of the plurality of gaming chips obtained by the image analysis device.
2 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is configured to identify the location of the gaming chips having the second information not corresponding to the first information as the problem gaming chips.
3 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is configured to identify the location of the gaming chip having the second information, for which the corresponding first information is not obtained, as the problem gaming chip.
4 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is configured to identify the location of the gaming chip having the RFID tag in which the first information not corresponding to the second information is stored as the problem gaming chip.
5 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is configured to identify the location of the gaming chip having the RFID tag in which the first information for which the corresponding second information is not obtained is stored as the problem gaming chip.
6 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the control device is configured to use information other than the first information and the second information of the problem gaming chip to determine whether the problem is in the RFID tag or the notation.
7 . The management system according to claim 6 , wherein: the gaming chip has an appearance that enables identification of a type of the gaming chip, the image analysis device is configured to determine the type of each of the plurality of gaming chips based on the image, and the control device is configured to determine which of the RFID tag and the notation is wrong based on the type determined by the image analysis device.
8 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein: the gaming chip has an appearance that enables identification of a type of the gaming chip, the second information is unique for each of the types, the image analysis device is configured to obtain the second information and determine the type for each of the plurality of gaming chips based on the image, and the control device is configured to compare the first information with a combination of the second information and information of the type.
9 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein: the gaming chip has an appearance that enables identification of a type of the gaming chip, the image analysis device is configured to, for each of the plurality of gaming chips, obtain the second information and determine the type, based on the image, and the control device is configured to, in the case where the second information cannot be read, or in the case where it is determined that there is the problem gaming chip, identify the second information using the information of the type determined by the image analysis device and compare the identified second information with the first information.
10 . The management system according to claim 7 , wherein the gaming chip has an appearance on a side thereof that can identify the type of the gaming chip.
11 . The management system according to claim 1 , further comprising a housing unit configured to accommodate the plurality of gaming chips, wherein the imaging capturing device is configured to capture the plurality of gaming chips accommodated in the housing unit.
12 . The management system according to claim 11 , wherein the housing unit is configured to accommodate the plurality of gaming chips in an aligned manner.
13 . The management system according to claim 11 , wherein the housing unit is a chip tray provided on a game table.
14 . The management system according to claim 13 , wherein the image capturing device is fixed to the game table.
15 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the second information is written on the side of the gaming chip.
16 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein: the second information is information represented by a matrix pattern, a dot pattern, a barcode, a sequence of numbers, or a sequence of letters, and the image analysis device is configured to obtain the second information by decoding the matrix pattern, the dot pattern, or the barcode, or by recognizing the sequence of numbers or the sequence of letters.
17 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein the first information is a unique ID that uniquely identifies the gaming chip.
18 . The management system according to claim 17 , wherein the second information is the same unique ID as the first information.
19 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein: the first information and the second information are different information from each other, the management system further comprises a database that records a combination of the first information and the second information for each gaming chip, and the control device is configured to perform the comparison by referring to the database.
20 . The management system according to claim 1 , wherein: the second information is duplicated in some of the plurality of gaming chips, and the control device is configured to, when a plurality of identical second information is obtained, and the number of the identical second information is greater than the number of first information corresponding to the identical second information, determine the plurality of the gaming chips on which the identical second information are represented as the problem gaming chips and identify each of the locations of the plurality of problem gaming chips.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/266,926 filed Jun. 13, 2023, which is a national phase application under 35 USC § 371 of International Pat. App. PCT/JP2021/045868 filed Dec. 13, 2021, which claims the benefit of priority to JP Pat. App. 2020-207691 filed Dec. 15, 2020, and JP Pat. App. 2021-15270 filed Feb. 2, 2021. The contents of each application are hereby incorporated by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to a management system for managing RFID-equipped gaming chips in a gaming facility (e.g., a casino) that uses gaming chips. BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY Among the many table games played in casinos and other amusement facilities are baccarat and blackjack. In casinos, gaming chips are used for these games. In casinos, RFID tags are embedded in gaming chips to verify that the amounts paid and collected in games are correct, and to identify and manage the location and owner of the gaming chips. RFID-equipped gaming chips are known to the public, for example, International Publication No. WO2008/120749. SUMMARY The RFID tag of an RFID-equipped gaming chip stores, for example, identification information that identifies the gaming chip and information that indicates the value, type, and casino in which the gaming chip is used. By using the information stored in the RFID tag, it is possible to determine the authenticity of the gaming chip. For example, if the information cannot be read when a gaming chip is read by an RFID reader, it can be assumed that the RFID tag is faulty or that it is a counterfeit gaming chip that does not have an RFID tag. The RFID reader can read the RFID tags of multiple RFID-equipped gaming chips (e.g., multiple RFID gaming chips stored in the dealer chip tray of a game table) simultaneously. Therefore, RFID has the advantage that multiple gaming chips can be inspected simultaneously at once, without the need to inspect each gaming chip one by one. On the other hand, it is difficult for the RFID reader to read multiple nearby RFID-equipped gaming chips individually. If the RFID tags of a large number of gaming chips are read at the same time, even though it is possible to find that there is a gaming chip with a problem in its RFID tag (i.e., the RFID tag is faulty, the RFID tag is missing, the information stored in the RFID tag is incorrect, etc.), it is difficult to determine which specific gaming chip has such a problem. In order to identify a gaming chip with a problem from a large number of gaming chips, for example, it is necessary to read the RFID tags of gaming chips one by one with an inspection device, which is a very time-consuming process. In addition, there is a case in which, an RFID tag can be read normally when the inspection device reads the gaming chips one by one, but the RFID tag is not read properly when the reading is done on the table or in a chip tray where the gaming chips are actually used. In this case, even if the inspection device inspects the gaming chips one by one, it will not be able to identify the gaming chips with such a problem. Furthermore, if the RFID tag is faulty, or if there is no RFID tag, it may not even be possible to ascertain the existence of such a gaming chip. The present disclosure provides a management system that can identify a gaming chip with problem in RFID tag. A management system of an embodiment comprises: an image capturing device configured to capture a plurality of gaming chips having a built-in RFID tag storing first information and having second information written on a surface thereof to generate an image; a reading device configured to read the RFID tags of the plurality of gaming chips to obtain the first information of the plurality of gaming chips; an image analysis device configured to obtain a location of each of the plurality of gaming chips and the second information, based on the image; and a control device configured to identify a location of a problem gaming chip whose RFID tag is fraudulent, damaged, or possibility thereof, or whose notation is fraudulent or possibly fraudulent, by comparing the first information of the plurality of gaming chips obtained by the reading device with the second information of each of the plurality of gaming chips obtained by the image analysis device. In the management system described above, the control device may be configured to identify the location of the gaming chips having the second information not corresponding to the first information as the problem gaming chips. In the management system described above, the control device may be configured to identify the location of the gaming chip having the second information, for which the corresponding first information is not obtained, as the problem gaming chip. In the management system described above, the control device may be configured to identify the location of the gaming chip having the RFID tag in which the first informat