JP2008093235A - Game history management system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a game history management system which manages the game history of each player by authenticating the player using the face image of the player. <P>SOLUTION: The game history management system 1 is composed of: a Pachinko machine 2; a face image capturing device 3 mounted to the Pachinko machine 2 for capturing the face image of the player playing presently; and a management device 4 which collects game machine information (such as the number of out balls, the number of prize balls, the number of times of special prizes, the number of times of probability variation, the price of sales, the number of times of starting) of the Pachinko machine 2, identifies the player from the face image of the player captured by the face image capturing device 3, calculates the game history of each player from the game machine information, and manages the game history for each identified player. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a game history management system capable of managing a game history for each player by authenticating the player.

  A gaming machine (for example, a pachinko machine) installed in a game hall or the like is a management electronic device ("hall computer") installed in a specific place (such as a management room where only an administrator can enter). This hall computer supervises and manages a large number of pachinko machines installed in the amusement hall, and manages and operates game information such as the output data of each pachinko machine. A gaming machine represented by such a pachinko machine is configured to output only a signal limited for management by a hall computer in order to prevent unauthorized operation from the outside (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

JP 2001-170246 A

  In this way, game information (such as pitching information) of each gaming machine can be collected by the hall computer, but such information is configured to be collected and managed for each gaming machine. There is a problem that game information (game history) cannot be obtained for each player who has performed. For example, it is possible to identify a player by issuing a membership card for managing the storage of the ball and having the gaming machine read the membership card. However, the reading operation of the membership card is cumbersome. This operation cannot be forced. Further, there is a problem that even if a membership card is read and identified, a player other than a member, that is, a player who does not have a membership card cannot be identified.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object thereof is to provide a game history management system capable of managing a game history for each player by authenticating using a player's face image. And

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a game history management system according to the present invention includes a gaming machine (for example, the pachinko machine 2 in the embodiment) and an image photographing unit that photographs an image of a player playing a game on the gaming machine. (For example, the face image photographing device 3 in the embodiment) and gaming machine information of the gaming machine (for example, the number of out balls, the number of prize balls, the number of special prizes, the number of probability changes, the amount of sales, and the number of starts) The player is identified from the image of the player photographed by the image photographing means, the game history for each player is calculated from the gaming machine information, and this game history is obtained for each identified player. Management means for managing (for example, the management device 4 in the embodiment).

  In such a game history management system according to the present invention, the management means is extracted from the gaming machine information collection means (for example, the hall computer 10 in the embodiment) for collecting gaming machine information of gaming machines and the player's image. The feature point management means (for example, the face information database 17 in the embodiment) that manages the feature points associated with the image identification information of the player (for example, the face information ID in the embodiment) and the image photographing means. A feature point is extracted from the image of the player, and an identification information extraction unit (for example, the face authentication device 12 in the embodiment) that extracts image identification information having the feature point from the feature point management unit, and a game for each player A game history management means (for example, the game history database 18 in the embodiment) that manages the history in association with the image identification information, and a gaming machine information collection means From the collected gaming machine information, the start and end of the player's game in the gaming machine is detected, and the player's game using the gaming machine information collected by the gaming machine information collecting means between the start and end It is preferable to have a game history storage unit (for example, the face authentication device 12 in the embodiment) that calculates a history and stores it in the game history management unit in association with the image identification information.

  At this time, when the feature information extracted from the image of the player photographed by the image photographing means is not managed by the feature point managing means, the identification information extracting means issues new image identification information, It is preferable that the point is registered in the feature point management means in association with the new image identification information.

  In addition, such a game history management system according to the present invention includes image photographing means for photographing a player's image (for example, the face image photographing device 19 in the embodiment), and the player photographed by this image photographing means. When a feature point is extracted from the image, and this feature point is not managed by the feature point management means, new image identification information is issued, and the feature point is associated with the new image identification information. It is preferable to have a terminal device (for example, the reception kiosk terminal device 5 in the embodiment) registered in the management means.

  At this time, it has attribute information management means (for example, the member master database 14 in the embodiment) for managing the attribute information of the player in association with the registrant identification information (for example, the member master ID in the embodiment), and the terminal The apparatus is configured to extract attribute information from the attribute information management means using the registrant identification information input by the player as a key, and register the attribute information in the feature point management means in association with the image identification information. It is preferable.

  In the game history management system according to the present invention, it is preferable that the image is an image including a player's face.

  When the game history management system according to the present invention is configured as described above, the player is identified by the feature points extracted from the image of the player (for example, a captured image of the face). This player can be specified without any operation, and the game history can be managed for each player. Even if the player's confidence is not registered, if the feature point is not registered in the feature point management means (face information database 17), image identification information (face image ID) is automatically issued. Since the leverage points are managed, the game histories of all the players can be acquired for each player. That is, it is possible to collect game histories of all the players and manage them in association with image identification information and feature points without requiring any special operations on the players.

  By managing the player's attribute information together with the feature points, it is possible to realize a service that provides the player with the game history stored in the game history management means (game history database 18), and the player's attribute information. Since these game histories can be analyzed, it is possible to provide more attractive games and improve profits. At this time, the game history that is already managed in association with the image identification information and the feature points is also directly associated with the player's attribute information. Therefore, the game history before this association is also performed with the player's attribute information. Can be analyzed.

  In addition, the image taken to identify the player is an image including the player's face, so that feature points can be easily extracted from the face portion, and the player can be accurately identified. It can be carried out.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration of the game history management system 1 according to the present invention will be described using FIG. 1 and FIG. In addition, in a present Example, the case where this game history management system 1 is applied to a pachinko machine as a game machine is demonstrated. The gaming history management system 1 collects gaming machine information in the pachinko machine 2, the face image photographing device 3 attached in association with each pachinko machine 2, and the pachinko machine 2, and is photographed by the face image photographing device 3. The management device 4 that identifies a player from the player's face image and manages the gaming history for each player using the gaming machine information, the reception kiosk terminal device 5 that registers the player, and the gaming machine 2 It is comprised from the game media rental apparatus 6 attached to the left side part. The face image photographing device 3 includes a camera 3a for photographing a player's face image and a capture device 3b for capturing an image photographed by the camera 3a. The camera 3a does not interfere with the game, And it is attached to the position where a player's face picture can be taken clearly, for example, the upper part of game media rental device 6.

  The management device 4 includes a platform terminal device 8, an island management device 9, a hall computer 10, a data exchange gateway device 11, and a face authentication device 12. The pachinko machine 2 is in the state of the gaming machine, that is, when the award ball is paid out, when a special prize (big hit) is obtained, when it is in a probable state, or when the gaming ball is won at the start opening. The pulse signal is output from the signal line 7 to the outside when the fluctuation of the signal starts, and this information is output to the hall computer 10 via the base terminal device 8 and the island management device 9. . Further, when a bill or coin is inserted into the game medium lending device 6 and a game ball is lent (when sales are made), the information is transferred to the hall computer 10 via the base terminal device 8 and the island management device 9. Is output. Furthermore, the out balls discharged from the pachinko machine 2 as played balls are counted on the island side and output to the hall computer 10 via the platform terminal device 8 and the island management device 9. These pieces of information (the number of prize balls, the number of special prizes, the number of probability changes, the number of starts, the amount of sales, and the number of out balls, which will be referred to as “gaming machine information” in the following description) It is read by the hall computer 10 at a predetermined time interval (for example, 1 minute cycle) and stored in the gaming machine information database 13 for each pachinko machine 2. The gaming machine information database 13 uses the identification information of the pachinko machine 2 (here, a number is assigned to each pachinko machine 2 and is referred to as a “unit number”) as a key, and the above gaming machine information is recorded as one record. It is managed, and this record is updated by the read gaming machine information.

  The hall computer 10 has a member master database 14. This member master database 14 stores storage ball information and member attribute information (name, address, age, gender, etc.) in association with information for identifying a member (here, referred to as “member master ID”). ing. In the present embodiment, the management of the stored ball information is out of the scope of the present invention, so the description thereof will be omitted, and the member master ID and member attribute information are registered in the member master database 14 in advance. It will be explained as a thing.

  The data exchange gateway device 11 is connected to the hall computer 10 and the face authentication device 12 and makes the gaming machine information database 13 and the member master database 14 managed by the hall computer 10 available to the face authentication device 12. It is. Specifically, the data exchange dateway device 11 has a gaming machine information database (copy) 15 and a member master database (copy) 16, and the hall computer 10 stores the contents of the gaming machine information database 13. Is copied to the gaming machine information database (copy) 15 in a cycle of 1 minute, for example, and the contents of the member master database 14 are copied to the member master database (copy) 16 in a cycle of 30 minutes, for example. By configuring in this way, the gaming machine information database 13 and the member master database 14 managed by the hall computer 10 are not directly accessed from the face authentication device 12, and security can be improved.

  The face authentication device 12 is a device that identifies a player from a face image of a player who is playing with the pachinko machine 2 (an image in the vicinity including the face), and collects and manages the game history of the player. . To identify the player, the camera 3a of the face image photographing device 3 takes a face image of a player who is sitting in front of the pachinko machine 2 and playing the game, and captures it with the capture device 3b. A feature portion of the player's face (information for authenticating the individual player, referred to as “feature point” in the following description) is extracted. Then, the identification information of the feature point (information for uniquely identifying the feature point and referred to as “face information ID” in the following description) is searched from the face information database 17 in which the feature point is managed. The game history is totaled using the gaming machine information database (copy) 15 managed by the data exchange gateway device 7 and stored in the gaming history database 18 for each face information ID.

  The player face authentication and game history storage processing in the face authentication device 12 will be described with reference to FIG. The face authentication device 12 retrieves the gaming machine information database (copy) 15 managed by the data exchange gateway device 11 at a predetermined interval (for example, every one minute), and the previously retrieved gaming machine information and the gaming machine retrieved this time. The gaming machine 2 that is different from the information is monitored (step S100). Then, when the difference is detected, it is determined whether the game is started or ended in the pachinko machine 2 (step S101). As this determination method, for example, when the number of out balls in the gaming machine information starts to increase, it is determined that the game starts, and when the increase of the number of out balls stops, it is determined that the game ends. Alternatively, regarding the start of the game, the time when the sales amount of the gaming machine information increases can be used as a criterion.

  When it is determined in step S101 that the game is started, first, a captured image of the player's face is obtained from the face image photographing device 3 (step S102). Then, feature points are extracted from the captured image (step S103), the face information database 17 is searched using the feature points as keys (step S104), and information having the feature points is registered in the face information database 17. It is determined whether or not there is (step S105). If the feature point extracted from the captured image is registered in the face information database 17, the face information ID is extracted (step S106). On the other hand, if this feature point is not registered, a new face information ID (referred to as “temporary ID”) is issued, and the issued temporary ID is associated with the extracted feature point in the face information database. 17 (step S107). Then, the extracted face information ID or temporary ID, the machine number when the state change is detected in step S100, and the previously extracted gaming machine information are associated and temporarily stored as starting gaming machine information ( Step S108).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S101 that the game is over, the machine number and gaming machine information at that time are associated with each other and temporarily stored as gaming machine information at the end (step S109). Of the temporarily stored starting gaming machine information, the difference between the starting gaming machine information corresponding to this machine number and the ending gaming machine information temporarily stored in step S109 is calculated, and the face information ID or The machine number and this difference are stored in the game history database 18 in association with the temporary ID. That is, by taking the difference between the starting game machine information and the ending game machine information, the game history for each player authenticated from the captured image of the face image (the machine number of the pachinko machine 2 that played the game, the start to the end) The number of game balls thrown in between, the number of prize balls, the number of special prizes, the number of probable changes, the amount of sales, the number of starts, etc.) can be acquired. Every time) is accumulated in the game history database 18.

  In this way, the player can be identified without performing a special operation by performing the player's identification using the feature points extracted from the player's face image (capture image). Can be managed for each player. Even if the player's confidence is not registered, if the feature point is not registered in the face information database 17, the temporary ID of the face image ID is automatically issued to manage this feature point. Furthermore, since the game history is managed in association with the temporary ID, the game history of all the players can be acquired for each player.

  As described above, in the game history management system 1 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to acquire a game history for each player even if the player does not register. If the service of the game hall is improved by providing it to the player, registration of player information is required. As described above, in such a game hall, the member master database 14 is provided in the hall computer 10 and the attribute information of the member registered as a member is managed in the member master database 14, and the member ID (the member master ID described above) is managed. ) Is stored, and a system for storing game balls acquired by using the magnetic card has been developed. By linking with this system, the game history management system 1 The member information (information managed in the member master database 14) can be linked to the information managed in (the feature points of the face image, the face information ID, and the game history).

  The member master ID registered in the member master database 14 (actually the member master database (copy) 16) is associated with the member information and the face information ID using the reception kiosk terminal device 5 described above. . Now, a process of associating member information with authentication information based on a face image will be described with reference to FIG. The reception kiosk terminal device 5 is provided with a device 19 similar to the above-described face image photographing device 3 in order to photograph a face image of a player to be used for the first time (FIG. 1 shows only the camera, (The capture device is omitted.) Further, as described above, it is assumed that the member master ID and member information are registered in the member master database 14 of the hall computer 10 in advance, and the user stores the member card in which the member master ID is stored in order to identify the member. The explanation will be made assuming that

  First, the user (the above-mentioned player who intends to register) selects member registration on the user interface of the reception kiosk terminal device 19 (step S200). For example, the reception kiosk terminal device 19 is selected by operating a touch panel display or the like. And member master ID is input into the reception kiosk terminal device 5 (step S201). As described above, in this embodiment, since the user owns the member card, the user kiosk terminal device 5 reads it and inputs the member master ID. Then, the face image capturing device 19 captures and captures the face image of the user operating in front of the reception kiosk terminal device 5 (step S202). Then, feature points are extracted from the captured image (step S203), the face information database 17 is searched using the feature points as keys (step S204), and it is checked whether or not the feature points are registered (step S205). )

  If it is determined in step S205 that this feature point has already been registered in the face information database 17, the feature point is identified as a player who plays the pachinko machine 2 in step S107 of the face authentication and game history storage process described above. Since it is registered together with the temporary ID, it is checked whether or not it is a temporary ID (step S206). If it is a temporary ID (that is, when no member master ID is associated), the face information database 17 In the record indicated by the temporary ID, the member master ID read from the member card in step S201 is stored, and the temporary ID is set as a fully registered ID (step S207). If it is not a temporary ID, it is already registered in association with the member master ID, so the process is terminated as it is.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S205 that the feature point is not registered in the face information database 17, a new face information ID is issued, and the feature point extracted in step S203 described above and the step S201 are added to this face information ID. The member master ID read out from the member card is associated with the face information database 17 (step S208).

  In step S207 and step S208 described above, when the member master ID is registered in the face information database 17, the member master database (copy) 16 of the data exchange gateway device 11 is searched using the member master ID as a key. It is preferable that the attribute information of the user (member) is read out and registered in the face information database 17.

  In this way, by managing the information of the member master database 14 already managed by the hall computer 10 in association with the face information ID of the face information database 17, the game history stored in the game history database 18 is managed by the game. Since the service provided to the user can be realized and the game history can be analyzed based on the attribute information of the user, a more attractive game can be provided and the profit can be improved. At this time, when the temporary ID of the face information ID has already been issued and the feature point is associated, and the game history is managed in association with the temporary ID, the game history is also directly used as the member master ID (attribute) of the player. Information), the game history before this association can be provided to the player, and the player's attribute information can be analyzed. In addition, although the above example demonstrated the case where matching with face information ID and member master ID was performed with the reception kiosk terminal device 5, the face image acquisition apparatus 3 attached to the pachinko machine 2 was used. It is also possible to do this.

  As described above, the game history management system 1 according to the present invention is configured to extract and authenticate a feature point of the user from the captured image of the face image without the user himself / herself registering as a member. Therefore, the usage history can be acquired for each pachinko machine 2 and for each player. Therefore, for example, it is calculated from the history stored in the game history database 18 how many players have played a game with a certain pachinko machine 2, and the members and non-members who have been authenticated on that day (member master database 14). The number of visitors to the store) is stored, and the number of players per customer and the visitor constant to the store are calculated and transmitted to the hall computer 10. Then, the hall computer 10 can obtain the customer unit price by the following equation (1) based on the data, and can obtain the average operating time by the equation (2).

Price per customer = Total sales / Number of customers visiting the store (1)
Average operating time = (out ball / 100) / number of players per car (2)

  In the above embodiment, the case where the management device 4 configuring the game history management system 1 is configured by a plurality of devices (such as the hall computer 10) has been described. However, these devices are configured by a single device. It is also possible.

  Moreover, although the case where it applied to the pachinko machine 2 as a gaming machine was demonstrated in the above Example, this invention is not limited to this Example, For example, it can also apply to a slot machine. In this case, as gaming machine information output from the slot machine, information when a medal is paid out or when various bonuses (regular, big, challenge, middle bonus, etc.) are output. The information from the out medal and the game medium lending device 6 is the same as in the case of the pachinko machine 2 described above.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the game history management system which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows a face authentication and game history storage process. It is a flowchart which shows a member information matching process.

Explanation of symbols

1 Game history management system 2 Pachinko machine (game machine)
3 face image photographing device (image photographing means)
4 management device (management means)
5 reception kiosk terminal device (terminal device)
10 hall computer (game machine information collection means)
12 Face authentication device (identification information extraction means, game history storage means)
14 Member master database (attribute information management means)
17 Face information database (feature point management means)
18 game history database (game history management means)
19 Face image photographing device (image photographing means)

Claims (6)

With gaming machines,
Image photographing means for photographing an image of a player playing a game on the gaming machine;
Collecting gaming machine information of the gaming machine, identifying the player from the image of the player photographed by the image photographing means, calculating a gaming history for each player from the gaming machine information, A game history management system comprising management means for managing the game history for each identified player. The management means is
Gaming machine information collecting means for collecting gaming machine information of the gaming machine;
Feature point management means for managing the feature points extracted from the image of the player in association with the image identification information of the player;
Identification information extraction means for extracting the feature points from the image of the player photographed by the image photographing means, and extracting the image identification information having the feature points from the feature point management means;
Game history management means for managing the game history for each player in association with the image identification information;
From the gaming machine information collected by the gaming machine information collecting means, the start and end of the game of the player in the gaming machine is detected and collected by the gaming machine information collecting means between the start and end The game history management system according to claim 1, further comprising: a game history storage unit that calculates the game history of the player using the gaming machine information and stores the game history in association with the image identification information. . The identification information extracting means is
When the feature point extracted from the image of the player photographed by the image photographing means is not managed by the feature point management means, the image identification information is issued, and the feature point is The game history management system according to claim 2, wherein the game history management system is configured to be registered in the feature point management means in association with new image identification information.   An image photographing means for photographing a player's image, extracting feature points from the player's image photographed by the image photographing means, and when the feature points are not managed by the feature point managing means; The terminal apparatus which issues the said new image identification information and matches the said feature point with the said new image identification information, and registers it in the said feature point management means. Game history management system. Having attribute information management means for managing player attribute information in association with registrant identification information;
The terminal device extracts the attribute information from the attribute information management means using the registrant identification information input by the player as a key, and associates the attribute information with the image identification information to the feature point management means The game history management system according to claim 4, wherein the game history management system is configured to register with the game history.   The game history management system according to claim 1, wherein the image is an image including a face of the player.

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