JP5817399B2 - Medal identification device and medal identification method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a medal identification device and a medal identification method that can prevent an erroneous act of disguising the insertion of a medal from being erroneously detected as a medal insertion.

  Conventionally, when a medal having a valuable value is inserted into a gaming machine such as a spinning machine, the inserted medal is identified in order to determine the number of times a player can play according to the medal. A medal identification device is installed. In such a medal identification device, for example, a plurality of sensors for detecting that a medal has passed are provided along a medal passage in the medal identification device. Each sensor has, for example, a light source such as a light emitting diode and a light receiving element such as a photodiode, and the light source and the light receiving element are opposed to each other across a passage so that light from the light source reaches the light receiving element. Installed. Therefore, only when the medal passes between the light source and the light receiving element, the light from the light source is blocked by the medal, and as a result, the amount of received light detected by the light receiving element decreases, and this sensor has passed the medal. Can be detected. Furthermore, the medal identification device can detect the passing direction of the medal according to the order in which each sensor detects that the medal has passed.

  However, in recent years, there has been a problem of fraudulent acts that disguise the insertion of medals using a so-called Clement. This jig is a plate-shaped jig that can be inserted from the medal slot of the medal identification device, and has a plurality of light emitting diodes at the tip. Then, by operating the switch on the hand side of the jig, each light-emitting diode blinks in turn at intervals similar to the time required for the medal to pass between the plurality of sensors. As a result, the jig erroneously recognizes that a medal has been inserted into the medal identification device. In order to prevent such an illegal act, when the light projecting element of the sensor is turned on, a first determination unit that determines whether or not the light receiving unit controlled in synchronization with the light receiving unit is receiving light, and when the light projecting element of the sensor is turned off A second determination unit that determines whether or not the light receiving unit is not receiving light, and outputs a light reception signal when the first and second determination units determine that the light reception / shading is appropriate multiple times. On the other hand, when the second determination unit determines that the light receiving unit is receiving light when the light projecting element is extinguished, an inserted medal sorting device is proposed in which the light projecting element is not turned on at the next timing (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2005-270621 A

  However, even in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, if the light emitting diode of the jig for fraud is blinked in synchronization with the light emission timing of the light projecting element, camouflaging of medal insertion due to fraud is completely prevented. There was a risk of not being able to. In addition, for illegal acts, a string is attached to a regular medal, and the medal is inserted into the medal slot while holding one end of the string. The act of taking out from the slot is also known. However, the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 cannot prevent such illegal acts.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a medal identification device and a medal identification method capable of preventing erroneous recognition that a medal has been inserted due to an illegal act of disguising the insertion of a medal.

  As one aspect of the present invention, a medal identification device is provided. This medal identification device is provided with a housing that forms a passage through which medals flow down, an imaging unit that generates a part of the passage as a photographing range, and generates an image of the photographing range, and the image is inserted into the passage. And a control circuit that determines that a medal has been inserted when the outer shape of the region matches the outer shape of the medal.

  In this medal identification device, it is preferable that the control circuit determines that an illegal act has been performed when the outer shape of the object does not match the outer shape of the medal.

  Further, in this medal identification device, the imaging unit generates an image in which the imaging range is captured at predetermined time intervals, and the control circuit passes from each of the first image and the second image captured at different times. A specific point on a region in which an object put in is detected, and the distance between the specific point on the first image and the specific point on the second image is the time when the first image is captured The movement direction and movement speed of the object are estimated by dividing by the difference from the time when the second image was taken, and the estimated movement direction does not coincide with the movement direction of the medals flowing down the passage. If the moving speed is not included in the reference range of the moving speed of medals flowing down the passage, it is preferable to determine that an illegal act has been performed.

  Furthermore, as another aspect of the present invention, a medal identification having a housing that forms a passage through which medals flow down and an imaging unit that is arranged so that a part of the passage is set as a shooting range and generates an image of the shooting range. A medal identification method in an apparatus is provided. In this medal identification method, a step of extracting an area in which an object put in a passage is extracted from an image, and whether or not the outer shape of the area matches the outer shape of the medal are determined. And determining that a medal has been inserted.

  The medal identification device according to the present invention has an effect that it is possible to prevent erroneous recognition that a medal has been inserted due to an illegal act of disguising the insertion of a medal.

1 is a schematic top view of a medal identification device according to one embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic rear view of a medal identification device. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the medal identification device when a cross section indicated by AA ′ in FIG. 1 is viewed from the direction of an arrow. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the medal identification device when a cross-section indicated by BB ′ in FIG. 2 is viewed from the direction of an arrow. It is a circuit block diagram of a medal identification device. (A) is a figure which shows an example of the binarized image of a medal when a part of medal is included in the imaging | photography range of an imaging part, (b) is the whole medal being included in the imaging | photography range of an imaging part. It is a figure which shows an example of the binarized image of a medal in the case. It is a figure which shows the relationship between the binarized image, the sample point used for calculation of the center point of a medal, and evaluation of circularity. It is an operation | movement flowchart of a medal identification method. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a spinning machine including a medal identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a spinning game machine including a medal identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention in a state where a front panel is opened. FIG. It is a circuit block diagram of a spinning machine.

Hereinafter, a medal identification device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The medal identification device has an imaging unit that continuously captures medals flowing down a passage in the medal identification device, and the outer shape of the subject in the image generated by the imaging unit is a regular medal outer shape. It is determined whether or not a medal has been inserted depending on whether or not it can be considered. Furthermore, this medal identification device estimates the moving direction and moving speed of medals by comparing the positions of subjects in a plurality of images taken at different times. Thereby, this medal identification device prevents medal counting by an illegal act of pulling a string attached to the inserted regular medal and taking out the medal.
In the present embodiment, the outer shape of the medal is assumed to be substantially circular.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a medal identification device 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic rear view of the medal identification device 1. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the medal identification device 1 when the cross section indicated by AA ′ in FIG. 1 is viewed from the direction of the arrow. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the medal identification device 1 when the cross-section indicated by BB ′ in FIG. 2 is viewed from the direction of the arrow. FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram of the medal identification device 1.
The medal identification device 1 includes a housing 2, a light source 3, an imaging unit 4, and a control board 5. The light source 3 and the imaging unit 4 are accommodated in the housing 2 and are connected to a control substrate 5 disposed on a substrate (not shown) provided outside the housing 2 via a signal line. Note that the control board 5 may also be housed inside the housing 2. Further, the control board 5 is connected via a signal line to a main control circuit (not shown) of a gaming machine on which the medal identification device 1 is mounted, and a signal indicating that a medal insertion has been detected. Outputs a signal indicating that fraud has been detected.

  The housing 2 has, for example, the u-axis direction shown in FIG. 1 substantially parallel to the front surface of the spinning machine, and the w-axis direction shown in FIG. 2 is the vertical direction of the spinning machine. It is attached to the rotating game machine so as to be substantially parallel. Therefore, in the following, for convenience, the u direction is referred to as the width direction and the w direction is referred to as the height direction. Further, the v-axis direction shown in FIG. 1 is referred to as a depth direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a medal slot 2 a is formed on the upper surface of the housing 2. The medal slot 2a has a length obtained by adding a predetermined offset (for example, 1 mm to 2 mm) to the diameter of the medal along the width direction of the housing 2 and has a predetermined thickness in the depth direction of the housing 2. It has a length to which an offset (for example, 0.5 mm to 1 mm) is added.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the housing 2 forms a passage 6 through which medals flow down, and houses the light source 3 and the imaging unit 4. For this purpose, the housing 2 is configured by combining a plurality of parts formed to have a desired shape by molding a resin, for example. Alternatively, the housing 2 may be formed of a metal such as iron, aluminum, or copper, or a component formed of metal and a component formed of resin may be combined.

The passage 6 formed in the housing 2 is formed along the height direction on the upper end side of the housing 2, is curved along the width direction of the housing 2 in the middle, and is formed obliquely toward the lower right. Yes. The upper end of the passage 6 is directly connected to the medal insertion port 2 a, while the lower end of the passage 6 is directly connected to the medal discharge port 2 b formed at the right end of the housing 2. Therefore, the medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 2a flow down in the casing 2 along the passage 6, as indicated by the arrows, and then go out of the medal identification device 1 from the medal discharge outlet 2b on the right side of the casing 2. Discharged. The flow direction of the medals indicated by the arrows is hereinafter referred to as the forward direction for convenience, and the direction from the medal discharge port 2b toward the medal insertion port 2a is referred to as the reverse direction.
The passage 6 has a length obtained by adding a predetermined offset (for example, 1 mm to 2 mm) to the diameter of the medal along the width direction and the height direction of the housing 2 so that the medal can flow smoothly. The length of the medal is obtained by adding a predetermined offset (for example, 0.5 mm to 1 mm) along the depth direction of 2.
In addition, in order to reduce the contact area with the medal, a plurality of grooves may be formed on the side surface of the passage 6 along the flow direction of the medal.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, below the curved portion of the passage 6, as will be described later, the housing 2 is located more than the passage 6 so that the imaging unit 4 can photograph the medal M passing through the passage 6. There is a gap on the back side. Therefore, in order to prevent the medal M from deviating from the passage 6 in this gap, below the curved portion of the passage 6, the upper end and the lower end of the passage 6 are respectively closer to the back side of the housing 2 than the passage 6. Guide members 7a and 7b for restricting the movement of medals in the depth direction are arranged. The distance between the lower end of the guide member 7a and the upper end of the guide member 7b is smaller than the diameter of the medal, and is slightly smaller than the diameter of the medal M, for example, so that the imaging unit 4 can photograph most of the medal M. For example, it is a value obtained by subtracting 1 mm to 2 mm from the diameter of the medal M.

As shown in FIG. 4, the light source 3 illuminates the medal M passing through the shooting range 4 a of the imaging unit 4 set in a section sandwiched between the guide members 7 a and 7 b of the passage 6. In the vicinity of the section, it is arranged on the front side of the housing 2 with respect to the passage 6. Furthermore, the light source 3 is configured so that, for example, one or a plurality of light emitting diodes or fluorescent lamps arranged along the lower end of the passage 6 and a light emitting element such as a fluorescent lamp can be illuminated uniformly. A plate-like diffusion sheet that diffuses light toward the passage 6 and emits the light. The diffusion sheet is formed of a material that is transparent to the wavelength of light from the light source, such as acrylic or polycarbonate. The light from the light emitting element enters the diffusion sheet from the lower end surface of the diffusion sheet facing the light emitting element, and the incident light is formed on the back side of the diffusion sheet, that is, on the front side of the housing 2. The light is diffused by the unevenness, and is emitted toward the passage 6 from the front side of the diffusion sheet, that is, the surface facing the passage 6.
The light source 3 illuminates the passage 6 while the medal identification device 1 is operating. Alternatively, the light source 3 may be controlled by the control board 5 so as to emit light only at the timing when the imaging unit 4 captures an image.

  According to the modification, the diffusion sheet may be a ground glass-like translucent sheet. In this case, the light emitting element may be arranged on the back side of the diffusion sheet, that is, on the opposite side of the surface of the diffusion sheet that faces the passage 6. Further, the light source 3 may include a light emitting element that emits surface light, such as an organic EL element, or a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a two-dimensional array. In this case, the light emitting element may be arranged so as to directly illuminate the passage 6. The diffusion sheet may be omitted.

  The imaging unit 4 shoots a medal M passing through the shooting range 4a set in a part of the passage 6, and generates an image in which the image of the medal M is reflected. Therefore, the imaging unit 4 is disposed on the back side of the passage 6 in the housing 2 so as to face the light source 3 with the passage 6 interposed therebetween, below the curved portion of the passage 6. The imaging unit 4 includes, for example, an image sensor such as a CCD image sensor or a C-MOS image sensor arranged in a two-dimensional manner, a partial section of the passage 6 included in the photographing range 4a on the image sensor, and the section thereof. An imaging optical system that forms an image of the passing medal M. Further, the imaging unit 4 has, for example, horizontal 320 × vertical 240 pixels so that the outer shape of the medal M can be identified on the image. The luminance value of each pixel is represented by, for example, 0 to 255, and the larger the luminance value, the higher the luminance. In addition, the medal identification process described later by the control board 5 is simplified, and the longitudinal direction of the shooting range 4a is substantially parallel to the passage 6 so that the passage 6 is included in the shooting range 4a as long as possible. The imaging unit 4 is disposed at an angle. Therefore, on the image generated by the imaging unit 4, the upper end and the lower end of the passage 6 are substantially parallel to the upper end and the lower end of the image.

  The imaging unit 4 continuously photographs the imaging range 4a at predetermined time intervals while the medal identification device 1 is operating. The predetermined time interval is set to, for example, an interval of 50 msec to 100 msec so that at least one image is generated while the medal inserted into the medal identification device 1 passes through the shooting range 4a. . In the present embodiment, when the medal M is flowing down in the forward direction, the image of the medal M moves from left to right on a plurality of continuously photographed images. The imaging unit 4 outputs the generated image to the control board 5 every time it captures an image.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the control board 5 includes a control circuit 51 and a memory 52. The control circuit 51 includes, for example, a processor and its peripheral circuits. The control circuit 51 analyzes the image received from the imaging unit 4 to detect the outer shape of the medal passing through the passage 6, the moving direction and the moving speed of the medal. The memory 52 includes, for example, a nonvolatile read-only semiconductor memory and a volatile read / write semiconductor memory. The memory 52 stores a medal identification process program executed by the control circuit 51, parameters used in the medal identification process, various intermediate calculation values calculated during the medal identification process, and the like. The memory 52 may store the latest plurality of images received from the imaging unit 4 or a plurality of binarized images obtained by binarizing the images.

  In the present embodiment, the light source 3 and the imaging unit 4 are arranged with the passage 6 interposed therebetween. For this reason, when the medal M is positioned within the shooting range 4 a of the imaging unit 4, the medal M blocks light emitted from the light source 3. Further, the guide members 7 a and 7 b also block light emitted from the light source 3. Therefore, on the image, the area where the image of the medal M or the guide members 7a and 7b is captured becomes dark, and the surrounding area becomes bright because the light from the light source 3 reaches the imaging unit 4.

Therefore, for example, every time an image is received, the control circuit 51 captures a set of pixels having a luminance value lower than a predetermined threshold value Th stored in the memory 52 in advance in the medal M or the guide members 7a and 7b. On the other hand, a set of pixels having a luminance value equal to or higher than the threshold value Th is binarized as a background area in which the medal M and the guide members 7a and 7b are not shown. For example, on the binarized image, the control circuit 51 sets the value of the pixel included in the subject area to “0”, while setting the value of the pixel included in the background area to “255”.
The threshold Th is obtained, for example, by acquiring in advance an image of a medal passing through the passage 6 and specifying the subject area and the background area in the image, and then distributing the luminance value of the subject area and the luminance value distribution of the background area. The two distributions are discriminated and analyzed, and the two distributions are determined as the most separated values. Alternatively, the threshold value Th may be set to any value of 1/4 to 1/2 of the maximum value that the luminance value can take, for example, 127.

FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of a binarized image when a part of a medal is included in the shooting range 4a of the imaging unit 4, and FIG. 6B shows the entire medal in the shooting range 4a. It is a figure which shows an example of the binarized image in the case of being included.
In FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the black region on the binarized image 600 is the subject region 610, while the white region is the background region 620. In the vicinity of the upper end and the lower end of the binarized image 600, there are images 611 and 612 of the guide members 7a and 7b that are substantially parallel to the upper and lower ends of the binarized image 600 and have a predetermined width in the vertical direction, respectively. Each is reflected. In FIG. 6A, a medal image 513 is shown at the left end of the binarized image 600, and the right edge of the medal image 613 is shown on the binarized image 600, but the medal image The left edge is not shown in the binarized image 600. On the other hand, in FIG. 6B, both the left and right edges of the medal image 614 can be confirmed. However, since the vicinity of the upper end and the lower end of the medal is hidden by the guide members 7a and 7b, the upper end and the lower end of the medal images 613 and 614 are the guides in both FIGS. 6 (a) and 6 (b). It is not visible by the images 611 and 612 of the members 7a and 7b. In the following, for convenience, a part of a subject area in which an object such as a medal inserted into the passage 6 is sandwiched between images of the guide members 7a and 7b on the binarized image is referred to as a medal candidate area. Call.

Next, the control circuit 51 is a binarized image in which the entire medal is likely to be captured from among the binarized images obtained sequentially, that is, a binarized image including the entire medal candidate area. Is extracted as a medal detection candidate image. In this embodiment, since the medal has a circular shape, when the entire medal is included in the shooting range 4a of the imaging unit 4, the lower guide from the lower end Y1 of the image of the upper guide member 7a. At the height near the middle of the upper end Y2 of the image of the member 7b, the width of the medal candidate area in the horizontal direction is the widest, and both the left end and the right end of the medal candidate area appear on the binarized image.
Therefore, the control circuit 51, for example, from the left end to the right end of the binarized image in order to detect the right end and the left end edge of the medal candidate region in each horizontal line in the range from Y1 to Y2 in the vertical direction. In order, the edge strength e _{x, y} in the horizontal direction is obtained according to the following equation.
Here, P _{x, y} represents the pixel value of the coordinate x in the horizontal direction and the coordinate y in the vertical direction of the binarized image. Note that the horizontal coordinate value at the left end of the binarized image is 0, and the coordinate value at the right end is W (where W> 0). Also, the vertical coordinate value of the upper end of the binarized image is 0, and the vertical coordinate value increases toward the bottom.

As described above, in the binarized image, the luminance value of the medal candidate region is set to a value smaller than the luminance value of the background region, and therefore a position where e _{x, y} > 0 on the binarized image. Is the edge point at the right end of the medal candidate area, and the position where ex _{, y} <0 is the edge point at the left end of the medal candidate area. Therefore, in each line, when both the position where the edge intensity e _{x, y} is negative and the position where the edge intensity e _{x, y} is positive are detected sequentially from the left side, the control circuit 51 determines the binary value. The converted image shows the entire medal candidate area. Therefore, the control circuit 51 sets the binarized image as a medal detection candidate image. When only a part of the medal is shown, as shown in FIG. 6A, the medal candidate area is in contact with the left end or the right end of the binarized image, so the edge point at the left end or the right end Is not detected.

  In this embodiment, the medal has a substantially circular outer shape. Therefore, in the medal detection candidate image, the medal candidate region is substantially circular. On the other hand, a fraudulent jig called a so-called Clement is a plate having a length that allows the other end to come out from the medal slot even if the tip of the jig reaches the imaging unit 4. It has become. Therefore, on the image, the shape of the medal candidate area where the jig is shown is not circular. Even if the plate-like member is formed of a transparent member such as an acrylic plate, on the image, a portion corresponding to the light source provided on the jig and its drive circuit board is a medal candidate region. Therefore, even on the medal detection candidate image, the shape of the medal candidate area is different from the circular shape.

  Therefore, the control circuit 51 determines that a medal has been inserted when the outer shape of the medal candidate area matches the outer shape of the medal, while the outer shape of the medal candidate area must match the outer shape of the medal. For example, it is determined that an illegal act has been performed. Therefore, the control circuit 51 obtains the coordinates of the center of the medal candidate area when it is assumed that the medal candidate area is circular. Then, the control circuit 51 determines whether or not a medal is shown in the medal candidate area based on whether or not the distance from the center coordinate to an arbitrary edge of the medal candidate area corresponds to the radius of the medal.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between edge points used for calculation of the center point of the medal candidate area and evaluation of the circularity.
In general, it is known that the coordinates of the center of a circle can be obtained from arbitrary three points on the circumference. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the left end of the medal candidate area 701 in the horizontal line that is one pixel above the lower end of the medal candidate area 701 on the medal detection candidate image 700 (that is, the upper end of the image of the lower guide member 7b). Edge point A1 and edge points A2 and A3 at the right and left ends of the medal candidate area 701 in a horizontal line one pixel below the upper end of the medal candidate area 701 (ie, the lower end of the image of the upper guide member 7a). The coordinates (X _B0 , Y _B0 ) of the center B0 of the medal candidate area 701 are used. In order to obtain the coordinates of the center B0 of the medal candidate area 701, any three points on the edge of the medal candidate area may be used in addition to A1 to A3. Further, in order to check whether or not the outer shape of the medal candidate area is close to a perfect circle, the four edge points B1 to B4 of the medal candidate area 701 are used. The edge points B1 to B4 are different from the edge points used for calculating the center B0 and are not hidden by the guide member (that is, the vertical coordinates are included in the range from Y1 to Y2). If it is. However, it is preferable that at least one of the edge points B1 to B4 is an edge point on the left end side of the medal candidate area, and at least one other is an edge point on the right end side of the medal candidate area. As a result, the control circuit 51 can examine the outer shapes of the left and right sides of the medal candidate area, so that even if a jig whose tip is formed in a semicircular shape is inserted into the passage 6, the jig is regarded as a medal. Misrecognition can be prevented.
The edge points A1 to A3 and B1 to B4 are obtained, for example, in order from the left end or the right end of the medal detection candidate images along the horizontal lines in the vertical coordinates of the edge points according to the formula (1). The edge strength is obtained as a position other than zero.

For example, the control circuit 51 obtains the coordinates (X _B0 , Y _B0 ) of the center B0 of the medal candidate area according to the following equation.
However, (X _Ai , Y _Ai ) (i = 1, 2, 3) represents the coordinates of the edge point A _i .

Thereafter, the control circuit 51 calculates the absolute value of the difference between the distance from the center B0 of the medal candidate area to the four edge points B1 to B4 of the medal candidate area 601 and the radius of the medal according to the following equation. _{Calculate as} η _Bn (n = 1,2,3,4).
However, (X _Bn , Y _Bn ) represents the coordinates of the edge point B _n . R _m represents the number of pixels corresponding to the radius of the medal on the medal detection candidate image. As the roundness error η _Bn (n = 1, 2, 3, 4) is smaller, the shape of the medal candidate area matches the outer shape of the medal.

The control circuit 51 compares the roundness error η _Bn for the edge points B1 to B4 with the threshold value η _A , respectively. If the roundness error η _Bn is equal to or less than the threshold value η _A for all of the edge points B1 to B4, the control circuit 51 determines that a medal is shown in the medal candidate area. On the other hand, if the roundness error η _Bn is larger than the threshold value η _A for one or more of the edge points B1 to B4, the control circuit 51 determines that the object shown in the medal candidate area is not a medal. For example, when the diameter of the medal is 25 mm, the threshold value η _A is set to the number of pixels on the medal detection candidate image corresponding to 0.5 mm.
Note that the number of edge points for _{obtaining the} roundness error η _Bn is not limited to four, but may be at least one. As the number of edge points for _{obtaining the} roundness error η _Bn increases, the control circuit 51 can accurately check whether or not the medal candidate area is close to the outer shape of the medal.

  When the control circuit 51 determines that the object shown in the medal candidate area is a medal, the control circuit 51 estimates the moving direction and moving speed of the medal. For this purpose, the control circuit 51 obtains a shift between the position of the medal candidate area shown in the medal detection candidate image and the position of the medal candidate area in another image generated before and after the medal detection candidate image. .

  In the present embodiment, the control circuit 51 captures a specific point on the medal candidate area in the medal detection candidate image determined to have a medal and the image before the medal detection candidate image or after the medal detection candidate image. The difference in the position of the specific point on the binarized image created from the processed image is obtained.

For example, referring again to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the specific point is set to the rightmost edge point C1 of the medal candidate region. For example, in the plurality of horizontal lines near the center between the lower end Y1 of the image of the upper guide member 7a and the upper end Y2 of the image of the lower guide member 7b, the control circuit 51 respectively The edge point is obtained, and the edge point located on the rightmost side is set as the edge point C1. Note that, as described above, the edge point on the right side of the medal candidate area in each horizontal line is detected as a point where the edge strength calculated according to the equation (1) is positive, for example.
The specific point may be the leftmost edge point of the medal candidate area. When a plurality of images showing more than half of medals are obtained, the specific point may be the center B0 of the medal candidate area calculated according to the equation (2).

The control circuit 51 divides, for example, the moving distance of the specific point detected from the binarized images respectively generated from the two images captured at different times by the imaging time interval between the two images according to the following equation: Thus, the moving speed V of the medal is estimated.
Here, X _{c1, t1} represents the horizontal coordinate of the specific point C1 in the binarized image created from the image taken at time t1, and X _{c1, t2} is taken at time t2 (where t2> t1) The horizontal coordinate of the specific point C1 in the binarized image created from the processed image is represented. Any one of these two images may correspond to a medal detection candidate image. d represents a distance (in mm) corresponding to one pixel on the image. _Δt represents an imaging time interval.
The sign of the medal movement speed V estimated according to the equation (4) represents the medal movement direction. In this embodiment, if the moving speed V is positive, it is estimated that the medal is moving in the forward direction. Conversely, if the moving speed V is negative, it is estimated that the medal is moving in the reverse direction. Is done.

The control circuit 51 determines whether or not the estimated moving direction matches the forward direction in which the medal flows down the passage 6, and the estimated moving speed is the moving speed when the medal actually flows down the passage 6. It is determined whether or not it is included in a reference range that is a possible range. The control circuit 51 determines that the medal is properly inserted if the estimated moving direction matches the forward direction in which the medal flows down the passage 6 and the estimated moving speed is included in the reference range. To do. On the other hand, if the estimated moving direction does not coincide with the forward direction in which the medal flows down the passage 6, or if the estimated moving speed is out of the reference range, the control circuit 51 determines that an illegal act has been performed. To do.
In order to make such a determination, for example, the control circuit 51 refers to a reference table that is stored in advance in the memory 52 and represents a relationship between a set of a moving direction and a moving speed and a determination result such as normal / incorrect. Thus, it is determined from the estimated moving direction and moving speed whether the medal has been inserted normally, or whether an illegal act of taking out the inserted medal by pulling the string attached to the medal has been performed. An example of such a reference table is shown below.
For example, in Table 1, the range of 0.5 mm / ms or more and less than 1.5 mm / ms regarding the moving speed is the reference range. If the estimated moving direction is the forward direction (that is, V> 0) and the moving speed is 1 mm / ms, the control circuit 51 refers to the reference table described above to correctly insert the medal. judge. On the other hand, if the estimated moving direction is the reverse direction (that is, V <0), if the moving speed is 1 mm / ms, the control circuit 51 refers to the above reference table to perform the illegal act. Judge that it was broken. In addition, if the estimated moving direction is the forward direction (ie, V> 0) and the moving speed is 0.2 mm / ms, the control circuit 51 refers to the above-described reference table to generate some error. It is determined that Note that the reference table may not include the range of moving speeds that are determined to be errors. In this case, if the moving speed deviates from the reference range, it is immediately determined that an illegal act has been performed.

  The control circuit 51 outputs a determination result of whether a medal has been inserted normally, whether an illegal act has been performed, or whether an error has occurred to a higher-level control device (not shown).

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the medal identification process executed by the control circuit 51. The control circuit 51 executes this medal identification process every time an image is received from the imaging unit 4.
The control circuit 51 binarizes the image (step S101). Then, the control circuit 51 extracts medal candidate areas from the binarized image (step S102). Then, the control circuit 51 determines whether or not the entire medal candidate area is included in the binarized image (step S103). If the entire medal candidate area is not included, the control circuit 51 ends the medal identification process. However, if a part of the medal candidate area is included in the binarized image, that is, if there is a medal candidate area and the medal candidate area is in contact with the right end or the left end of the binarized image, the control circuit 51 stores the acquisition time of the binarized image and the original image of the binarized image in the memory 52 so that the binarized image and the binarized image can be used when determining the moving speed and moving direction of the medal.

  When the entire medal candidate area is included in the binarized image in step S103, the control circuit 51 determines whether or not the outer shape of the medal candidate area matches the outer shape of the medal (step S104). If the outer shape of the medal candidate area does not match the outer shape of the medal, the control circuit 51 determines that an object other than the medal has been inserted into the passage 6. Then, the control circuit 51 notifies the main control circuit of the gaming machine of the illegal act (step S109).

  On the other hand, if the outer shape of the medal candidate area matches the outer shape of the medal, the control circuit 51 determines that a regular medal has been inserted into the passage 6. Next, the control circuit 51 detects a specific point of the medal candidate area on the two images (step S105). One of the two images can be a medal detection candidate image, and the other is, for example, a binarized image that includes a part of a medal candidate area stored in the memory 52. be able to.

The control circuit 51 estimates the moving direction and moving speed of the medal by dividing the distance between the specific points by the shooting time interval of the two images (step S106). Then, the control circuit 1 determines whether or not the estimated moving direction is the forward direction and the moving speed is within the reference range (step S107).
If the estimated moving direction is the forward direction and the moving speed is within the reference range, the control circuit 51 notifies the main control circuit of the gaming machine that the regular medal has been inserted (step S108). On the other hand, if the estimated moving direction is the reverse direction or the moving speed is out of the reference range, the control circuit 51 notifies the main control circuit of the gaming machine of an illegal act (step S109).
After step S108 or S109, the control circuit 51 ends the medal identification process. When only one specific point is detected among the already acquired images in step S105, the control circuit 51 receives the latest image after receiving the image from the imaging unit 4 thereafter. , Binarization, detection of medal candidate areas, and processing after step S105 may be executed.

  As described above, this medal identification device is based on an image obtained by photographing an object placed in the medal identification device, depending on whether or not the outer shape of the object matches the outer shape of the medal. It is determined whether or not is inserted. For this reason, this medal identification device can prevent a misconduct, which has a plurality of light sources and whose outer shape is different from the outer shape of the medal, from being mistakenly identified as a medal. In addition, the medal identification device estimates the moving direction and moving speed of the medal from the moving amount of the specific point of the medal reflected in each of the plurality of images. Therefore, this medal identification device can also detect an illegal act of pulling out the inserted medal from the medal identification device by pulling the string attached to the inserted medal.

In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment. For example, instead of obtaining the center and roundness error of the medal candidate area, the control circuit calculates the circularity C of the outer shape of the medal candidate area as a feature amount representing the outer shape of the medal candidate area according to the following equation: Also good.
Here, S represents the area of the medal candidate area (that is, the number of pixels included in the medal candidate area), and L represents the perimeter of the medal candidate area (that is, the number of pixels located at the outer edge of the medal candidate area). . In this modification, the control circuit may estimate the lower end of the upper guide member on the binarized image as the upper end of the medal candidate area and estimate the upper end of the lower guide member as the lower end of the medal candidate area. . If the circularity C is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (for example, 0.9), the control circuit determines that the outer shape of the medal candidate region matches the outer shape of the medal, and conversely, if the circularity C is less than the threshold. For example, it may be determined that the object shown in the medal candidate area is not a medal.

  According to another modification, the control circuit may obtain the medal candidate area by directly detecting the edge without performing the binarization process on the image. In this case, the control circuit calculates the edge strength by performing the calculation between the neighboring pixels in the horizontal direction directly on the image as in equation (1), and the absolute value of the edge strength is equal to or greater than a predetermined edge strength threshold. The pixel may be the edge of the medal candidate area. The edge strength threshold is set to, for example, 1/5 to 1/2 of the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the luminance value of the image. Also in this example, since the luminance value of the pixel in the subject area is lower than the luminance value of the pixel in the background area, if the edge intensity is positive, the pixel corresponding to the edge intensity is the medal candidate area. If it is the right edge and the edge strength is negative, the pixel corresponding to the edge strength is the left edge of the medal candidate area.

  According to still another modification, the control circuit captures a reference image that is captured when there is no object thrown into the passage within the imaging range of the imaging unit and is stored in advance in the memory of the control board, and the imaging unit. A difference calculation between corresponding pixels may be performed on the received image, and a set of pixels whose difference value absolute value is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold may be extracted as a medal candidate region. The predetermined threshold value can be set to, for example, 1/4 to 1/2 of the maximum value that the luminance value can take.

  According to still another modification, when the area of the medal candidate region in the binarized image, that is, the number of pixels included in the medal candidate region is larger than a predetermined area threshold corresponding to the medal area, the control circuit May determine that an illegal act has been performed and notify the main control circuit of the gaming machine to that effect.

  According to another modification, a sensor that detects the passage of a medal may be provided on the medal insertion slot side of the imaging range of the imaging unit. This sensor can be, for example, an optical sensor having a light source and a light receiving element arranged so as to face each other across a passage. In this case, after the sensor detects the medal, the control circuit may determine whether or not the medal is captured using only the image captured by the imaging unit. In this case, the control circuit does not estimate the moving direction and moving speed of the medal, and if the outer shape of the medal candidate area matches the outer shape of the medal, the control circuit may determine that the medal is properly inserted. Good.

According to still another modification, the light source and the imaging unit may be arranged on the same side with respect to the passage. In this case, the light from the light source is reflected by the side wall on the opposite side of the passage from the side where the medal or the light source is arranged, and reaches the imaging unit. In general, since the medal is made of metal and has a high light reflectivity, in this modification, the luminance value of the pixel included in the area where the medal is shown on the image is the pixel included in the area where the medal is not shown. It becomes higher than the luminance value. Note that light of a wavelength emitted by the light source is placed on the side wall of the passage so that the difference between the luminance value of the pixel included in the area where the medal is shown and the luminance value of the pixel included in the area where the medal is not shown is large. It is preferable that a paint having absorptivity is applied.
In addition, when the control circuit binarizes the image into the subject area and the background area, the control circuit increases the value of a pixel having a luminance value equal to or lower than the binarization threshold value than the pixel value having a higher luminance value than the binarization threshold value. Thus, the same processing as in the above embodiment is performed, and it is possible to estimate whether or not a medal is shown in the image, and the movement direction and movement speed of the medal.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a spinning game machine 100 including a medal identification device according to an embodiment or a modification of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the spinning machine 100 with the front panel opened. FIG. 11 is a circuit block diagram of the spinning cylinder game machine 100. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the spinning machine 100 includes a main body housing 101 that is a gaming machine body, light emitting drums 102 a to 102 c, a start lever 103, stop buttons 104 a to 104 c, and a front panel 105. Have
Further, the spinning machine 100 includes a medal identification device 106 attached to the back side of the front panel 105, a control box 107 in which various control circuits are accommodated, and a main control circuit 110. A medal storage / discharge mechanism 108 for temporarily storing medals in accordance with the control signal and discharging the medals is provided.
As shown in FIG. 11, in the control box 107, for example, a main control circuit 110 that controls the entire spinning game machine 100, an effect control circuit 111 that controls each part related to the effect of the game, A power supply circuit 112 that supplies power to each part of the spinning machine 100 is accommodated.

  An opening 105a is formed at the upper center of the front surface of the front panel 105, and the light emitting drums 102a to 102c are visible through the opening 105a. An opening 105c for inserting medals is formed on the upper surface of the frame 105b on the lower side of the opening 105a. The opening 105c and the medal insertion slot provided on the upper surface of the medal identification device 106 coincide with each other. In addition, a medal identification device 106 is arranged. The medal discharge port of the medal identification device 106 is connected to the medal storage / discharge mechanism 108, and medals discharged from the medal identification device 106 are collected by the medal storage / discharge mechanism 108.

  A decoration device including a plurality of light emitting diodes may be provided as a lower panel below the front panel 105. Further, a medal discharge port 105d for discharging medals is formed in the front panel 105 below the decoration device. A medal tray 105e for preventing the discharged medal from falling is attached below the medal discharge port 105d. A speaker (not shown) may be attached near the upper left end and near the upper right end of the front panel 105.

Each of the light emitting drums 102a to 102c is individually separated around a rotation axis (not shown) that is substantially parallel and substantially horizontal to the front surface of the main body housing 101 in accordance with a control signal from the effect control circuit 111. It can be rotated. The surface of each of the light emitting drums 102a to 102c is divided into a plurality of regions having substantially the same width along the rotation direction, and various designs are drawn for each region. Instead of the light emitting drums 102a to 102c, a display device such as a liquid crystal display may be provided so that the display screen is visible through the opening 105a. In this case, the display device displays an image showing a plurality of drums on the display screen in response to the control signal from the effect control circuit 111.
The start lever 103 is provided on the left side toward the front surface of the frame 105 b of the front panel 105. Further, stop buttons 104a to 104c are provided substantially at the front center of the frame 105b. The stop buttons 104a to 104c correspond to the light emitting drums 102a to 102c, respectively.

  The medal identification device 106 is a medal identification device according to the above-described embodiment or modification. When the medal is inserted into the medal slot of the medal identification device 106 through the opening 105c, the medal identification device 106 determines whether or not the inserted medal is a regular medal, and if it is a regular medal, this is indicated. Output to the main control circuit 110. Then, the main control circuit 110 determines the number of games and the like according to the inserted medal, and permits the spinning machine 100 to start the game. Thereafter, when the start lever 103 is operated, a signal indicating that the start lever 103 has been operated is transmitted to the main control circuit 110. Then, the main control circuit 110 causes the production control circuit 111 to start rotating the light emitting drums 102a to 102c. Further, the production control circuit 111 outputs a sound effect different from that when the light-emitting drums 102a to 102c are stopped to enhance the player's interest during rotation of the light-emitting drums 102a to 102c, The light emitting diode of the device may be blinked.

Thereafter, when any of the stop switches 104a to 104c is pressed, the main control circuit 110 receives a signal indicating that the switch is pressed from the pressed switch, and the light emitting drum corresponding to the pressed switch. The rotation is stopped via the production control circuit 111. Alternatively, the main control circuit 110 produces an effect on the light emitting drums in which the corresponding stop switch has not been pressed before the predetermined period elapses after the rotation starts, among the light emitting drums 102a to 102c. Is stopped via the control circuit 111.
When all the light emitting drums are stopped and the same symbol is arranged in a line across all the light emitting drums, the main control circuit 110 discharges a predetermined number of medals corresponding to the symbol through the medal discharge port. Further, in this case, the effect control circuit 111 outputs a sound effect different from that when the drum is rotated and when the same pattern is not aligned in a line across all the light emitting drums, and the light emitting diode of the decoration device is output from the speaker. It may be lit at maximum brightness.

  On the other hand, when the medal identification device 106 determines that the inserted medal is impersonated with a jig or the like, or has made an illegal movement such as moving in the reverse direction even if it is a regular medal, The main control circuit 110 is notified that an illegal act has been performed. For example, the main control circuit 110 notifies the management system of the hall in which the revolving gaming machine 100 is installed, together with the identification number of the revolving gaming machine 100, that an illegal act has been performed.

  As described above, those skilled in the art can make various modifications in accordance with the embodiment to be implemented within the scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Medal identification device 2 Housing 2a Medal insertion port 2b Medal ejection port 3 Light source 4 Imaging unit 5 Control board 51 Control circuit 52 Memory 6 Passage 7a, 7b Guide member 100 Cylinder game machine 101 Main body housing 102a-102c Rotating drum 103 Start lever 104a to 104c Stop button 105 Front panel 106 Medal identification device 107 Control box 108 Medal storage / discharge mechanism 110 Main control circuit 111 Production control circuit 112 Power supply circuit

Claims (3)

A housing that forms a passage where medals flow down,
An imaging unit that is arranged so that a part of the passage is an imaging range, and generates an image of the imaging range;
When an area in which an object placed in the passage is reflected is extracted from the image, a feature amount representing the outer shape of the region is calculated, and the feature amount satisfies a standard corresponding to the outer shape of the medal A control circuit for determining that a medal has been inserted,
I have a,
The imaging unit generates an image of the imaging range at predetermined time intervals;
The control circuit detects a specific point on a region where an object thrown into the passage is captured from each of the first image and the second image taken at different times, and The distance between the specific point of the object and the specific point on the second image is divided by the difference between the time when the first image was captured and the time when the second image was captured. The movement direction and the movement speed are estimated, and the estimated movement direction does not coincide with the movement direction of the medal flowing down the passage, or the estimated movement speed is the movement speed of the medal flowing down the passage. If it is not included in the reference range, the medal identification device determines that an illegal act has been performed .   The medal identification device according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit determines that an illegal act has been performed when the feature amount does not satisfy the criterion. A medal identification method in a medal identification device having a housing that forms a passage through which medals flow down, and an imaging unit that is arranged so that a part of the passage is set as a shooting range and generates an image of the shooting range. ,
Generating, by the imaging unit, an image of the imaging range captured at predetermined time intervals;
Extracting from the image a region where an object thrown into the passage is shown;
A feature amount representing the outer shape of the area is calculated, it is determined whether or not the feature amount satisfies a standard corresponding to the outer shape of the medal, and it is determined that a medal is inserted when the feature amount satisfies the reference And steps to
A specific point on a region where an object thrown into the passage is reflected is detected from each of the first image and the second image taken by the imaging unit at different times, and the first image is displayed on the first image. Movement of the object by dividing the distance between the specific point and the specific point on the second image by the difference between the time when the first image was taken and the time when the second image was taken The direction and moving speed are estimated, and the estimated moving direction does not match the moving direction of the medal flowing down the passage, or the estimated moving speed is equal to the moving speed of the medal flowing down the passage. If not within the reference range, determining that fraud has occurred;
Medal identification method including