JP7642016B2 - Game record recording system, game record recording device, and game record recording program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a game record recording system, a game record recording device, and a game record recording program for recording game records in games such as shogi, go, and chess.

In the past, various systems have been proposed for automatically recording game records in games such as shogi, go, and chess, allowing players to concentrate on the game.

Patent Document 1 discloses a game record recording system that includes a dedicated game clock that counts the time each player has, a camera that takes an image of the board as the pieces are played, a count interruption detection means that detects the point at which the count of the player's time is interrupted after a piece is played when the game button switch on the game clock is pressed, and a computer at the game venue that takes an image of the board using the camera when it receives a notification that the game button switch has been pressed and the count has been interrupted, captures the image of the board, and detects the movements of the pieces from the captured image to record the game record.

JP 2010-104510 A

However, in order to use the game record recording system described in Patent Document 1, a dedicated game clock with a function for sending notifications to the computer at the game venue must be prepared separately, and existing game clocks cannot be used. This makes the preparations leading up to the game extremely cumbersome.

In view of this, the present invention aims to provide a game record recording system, a game record recording device, and a game record recording program that can use an existing game clock to measure the time allowed.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides (1) a game record recording system for recording a game record, characterized in that it comprises a piece recognition unit, a game image acquisition unit, a game clock extraction unit, a board extraction unit, a move identification unit, a time limit identification unit, a time spent calculation unit, a move identification unit, and a game record storage unit. The piece recognition unit recognizes the pieces used in a game. The game image acquisition unit acquires game images captured by a camera, the game board and the game clock included. The game clock extraction unit extracts the game clock portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit. The board extraction unit extracts the board portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit. The move identification unit identifies moves and identifies changes in moves based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit. When the move identification unit identifies a change in move, the time limit identification unit identifies the time limit of each player based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit. The time spent calculation unit calculates the time spent by each player based on the time limit identified by the time limit identification unit. The move identification unit identifies a move by each player based on the board portion extracted by the board extraction unit and the piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit. The game record storage unit stores a game record including the move identified by the move identification unit, the time limit identified by the time limit identification unit, the time spent calculated by the time spent calculation unit, and the move identified by the move identification unit.

(2) The game image acquisition unit acquires an initial game image captured by the camera, the initial game image including the board state and the game clock before the game, the game board extraction unit determines an initial position of the board state from the initial game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit, and the game clock extraction unit determines an initial position of the game clock from the initial game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit.The game record recording system described in (1) is characterized in that:

(3) The game clock extraction unit converts the game clock portion that is obliquely captured in the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit into a front-on image, and the board surface extraction unit converts the game board portion that is obliquely captured in the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit into a front-on image, characterized in that the game record recording system described in (1) is characterized in that it converts the game board portion that is obliquely captured in the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit into a front-on image.

(4) The game record recording system according to any one of (1) to (3), characterized in that the camera is a camera equipped in a smartphone.

(5) A game record recording device for recording a game record, comprising a piece recognition unit, a game image acquisition unit, a game clock extraction unit, a board extraction unit, a move identification unit, a time limit identification unit, a time spent calculation unit, a move identification unit, and a game record storage unit. The piece recognition unit recognizes the pieces used in a game. The game image acquisition unit acquires a game image captured by a camera, the game board and the game clock included. The game clock extraction unit extracts the game clock portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit. The board extraction unit extracts the board portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit. The move identification unit identifies the move and identifies a change in the move based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit. When the move identification unit identifies a change in move, the time limit identification unit identifies the time limit of each player based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit. The time spent calculation unit calculates the time spent by each player based on the time limit identified by the time limit identification unit. The move identification unit identifies a move by each player based on the board portion extracted by the board extraction unit and the piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit. The game record storage unit stores a game record including the move identified by the move identification unit, the time limit identified by the time limit identification unit, the time spent calculated by the time spent calculation unit, and the move identified by the move identification unit.

(6) A game record recording program for recording a game record, characterized in that the program causes a computer to execute a piece recognition means, a game image acquisition means, a game clock extraction means, a board extraction means, a move identification means, a time identification means, a time spent calculation means, a move identification means, and a game record storage means. The piece recognition means recognizes the pieces used in a game. The game image acquisition means acquires a game image captured by a camera, the game board and the game clock included. The game clock extraction means extracts the game clock portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition means. The board extraction means extracts the board portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition means. The move identification means identifies a move based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction means, and identifies a change in move. The time limit identification means, when the move identification means identifies a change in move, identifies the time limit of the player based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction means. The spent time calculation means calculates the spent time of the player based on the time limit identified by the time limit identification means. The move identification means identifies a move of the player based on the board portion extracted by the board extraction means and the data of the piece recognized by the piece recognition means. The game record storage means stores a game record including the move identified by the move identification means, the time limit identified by the time limit identification means, the spent time calculated by the spent time calculation means, and the move identified by the move identification means.

According to the present invention, the time limit can be measured using an existing game clock, which reduces the hassle of preparation required before the game.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an information processing system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the smartphone 2. A diagram showing the functional configuration of the game record recording system 7. This is an example of how to install a smartphone 2 to take pictures of the board and the game clock. FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of the game board and the game clock photographed from an upper oblique direction by the smartphone 2 shown in FIG. 4 . Here is an example of how pieces move around the board. Another example of piece movement on the board is shown below. 13 is a flowchart showing the overall flow of processing performed in the game record recording system 7. 13 is a flowchart of the game record recording process performed in the game record recording system 7. 1 shows an example of a computer that executes a game record recording program for the game record recording system of this embodiment.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. Note that in the following embodiments, the present invention is applied to shogi. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an information processing system according to this embodiment. The information processing system 1 has a smartphone 2, a gateway 3, a database 4, a server 5, and a data distribution server 6. The gateway 3, the database 4, the server 5, and the data distribution server 6 are connected via network A. The smartphone 2 and the gateway 3 are connected by wireless communication.

As the network A, any type of communication network can be used, whether wired or wireless, such as the Internet, a LAN (Local Area Network), or a VPN (Virtual Private Network). As wireless communication used to connect the smartphone 2 and the gateway 3, wireless communication such as 5G, LTE (Long Term Evolution), and WiFi (Wireless Fidelity) as well as short-range wireless communication such as Bluetooth (registered trademark) can be used.

The smartphone 2 includes a camera 21 and a game record recording system 7. The game record is recorded by the game record recording system 7 based on game images (images of the game board and game clock) captured by the camera 21.

The gateway 3 connects the smartphone 2 to the network A. The gateway 3 receives game record data and game data recorded by the game record recording system 7 from the smartphone 2, and transmits them to the database 4 via the network A. The game data is data related to the game input by the user, such as the name of the game, the names of the players who will play first and second, the initial time limit, the location of the game, and the handicaps.

In addition to game record data and match data sent from smartphone 2, database 4 stores member data registered in game record recording system 7 and piece data used in previous games. Linking game record data, game data and member data in database 4 makes it easy to search for a list of game record data for a specific member, for example.

The server 5 is a server device that manages the game record recording system 7 provided in each smartphone 2. The database 4 may be provided in the server 5, or may be provided as a device separate from the server 5.

The data distribution server 6 is a server device that reads game record data and match data stored in the database 4 and distributes the game records recorded by the game record recording system 7. The data distribution server 6 may be incorporated into the server 5, or may be configured as a computer or the like different from the server 5.

Players can efficiently improve their shogi skills by checking their own and other players' game records distributed from the data distribution server 6. Also, by viewing the game records of other players, beginners to shogi can learn the basic rules of shogi and get a feel for the atmosphere of a game based on the moves and time spent.

(Hardware configuration)
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of the smartphone 2. Referring to Fig. 2, the smartphone 2 has a camera 21, as well as a wireless unit 22, a secondary storage device 23, a primary storage device 24, and a processor 25.

The wireless unit 22 is a communication interface for wireless communication with the gateway 3 via an antenna 22a provided on the smartphone 2. The method of wireless communication has been described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The secondary storage device 23 and the primary storage device 24 are storage devices that store various data (including game image data captured by the camera 21) and programs. The processor 25 reads out the programs that execute the processes described below from the secondary storage device 23, expands them into the primary storage device 24, and executes the read programs.

(Functional configuration)
Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the game record recording system 7. Referring to Fig. 3, the game record recording system 7 has a game data acquisition unit 701, a game image acquisition unit 702, a game clock extraction unit 703, a board state extraction unit 704, a piece recognition unit 706, a move identification unit 707, a time limit identification unit 708, a time spent calculation unit 709, a move identification unit 710, a memory unit 711, and a transmission/reception unit 723. The memory unit 711 has a game data DB 712, a game image DB 713, a game clock DB 714, a board state DB 715, a piece data DB 717, and a game record storage unit 718. The game record storage unit 718 has a move DB 719, a time limit DB 720, a time spent DB 721, and a move DB 722. The transmitting/receiving unit 723 corresponds to the wireless unit 22 and the antenna 22a in the hardware configuration. The memory unit 711 is stored in the secondary storage device 23 or the primary storage device 24. The game data acquisition unit 701, the game image acquisition unit 702, the game clock extraction unit 703, the board state extraction unit 704, the piece recognition unit 706, the turn identification unit 707, the time limit identification unit 708, the time consumption calculation unit 709, and the move identification unit 710 are examples of electronic circuits that the processor 25 has, or examples of processes executed by the processor 25.

The game data acquisition unit 701 acquires game data input by the players and stores it in a game data DB 712 provided in the storage unit 711. The game data has already been explained, so an explanation will be omitted here. The game data stored in the game data DB 712 is sent from the transmission/reception unit 723 via network A to database 4 and stored there.

The game image acquisition unit 702 photographs the board and the game clock with the camera 21 at predetermined time intervals and acquires the captured game images (images containing the board and the game clock). The time intervals at which the camera 21 photographs are not particularly limited, but may be set to any time interval between 30 milliseconds and 150 milliseconds, for example, so long as they are short enough to identify changes in turn. The game image acquisition unit 702 stores each acquired game image in the game image DB 713 provided in the storage unit 711. The game images acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 may be still images captured by the camera 21, or may be still images captured as part of a video image captured by the camera 21.

The game clock extraction unit 703 reads each game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 and stored in the game image DB 713, extracts the game clock portion for each game image, and stores it in the game clock DB 714 in the storage unit 711. The method for extracting the game clock portion by the game clock extraction unit 703 will be described later.

The board state extraction unit 704 reads each game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 and stored in the game image DB 713, extracts the board portion for each game image, and stores it in the board state DB 715 of the storage unit 711. The method for extracting the board portion by the board state extraction unit 704 will be described later.

The piece recognition unit 706 is a processing unit that recognizes the pieces to be used in a game.
If the piece to be used in a game is already stored as piece data in the database 4, for example, because it is the same piece as a piece used in a previous game, the piece recognition unit 706 reads the piece data from the database 4 via the transmission/reception unit 723 and recognizes the read piece data as the piece to be used in the game. The piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 is stored in the piece data DB 717 in the storage unit 711.
On the other hand, when the piece to be used in the game is a new piece, a board on which the pieces are arranged is used, which has been photographed in advance by the camera 21, extracted by the board extraction unit 704, and stored in the board DB 715 of the storage unit 711. The piece recognition unit 706 recognizes the piece as a piece to be used in the game by identifying the piece from the board stored in the board DB 715. As a method for identifying pieces in the piece recognition unit 706, for example, a method using machine learning in artificial intelligence can be adopted, but this is not limited thereto, and various identification methods can be adopted. The piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 is stored in the piece data DB 717 of the storage unit 711. The piece data stored in the piece data DB 717 is sent to the database 4 via the transmission/reception unit 723 and stored therein. Note that, as the image used for piece recognition by the piece recognition unit 706, an image of each piece photographed separately may be used.

The move identification unit 707 reads the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703 and stored in the game clock DB 714, identifies the move turns of the players, and identifies changes in move turns. The move turn identification method in the move identification unit 707 will be described later. The move turn data identified by the move identification unit 707 is stored in the move turn DB 719 of the game record storage unit 718.

The time limit identification unit 708 reads the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703 and stored in the game clock DB 714, and identifies the player's time limit. The method for identifying time limit in the time limit identification unit 708 will be described later. The time limit data identified by the time limit identification unit 708 is stored in the time limit DB 720 of the game record storage unit 718.

The time spent calculation unit 709 reads the time spent data identified by the time spent identification unit 708 and stored in the time spent DB 720, and calculates the time (time spent) until a move is made based on the time spent data. In other words, the time spent calculation unit 709 calculates the difference between the time spent by a player when he or she makes the previous move and the time spent by that player when he or she makes the next move as the time spent. The time spent data calculated by the time spent calculation unit 709 is stored in the time spent DB 721 of the game record storage unit 718.

The move identification unit 710 reads the board surface portion extracted by the board surface extraction unit 704 and stored in the board surface DB 715 and the piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 and stored in the piece data DB 717, and identifies the moves made by the players from the board surface portion. The method of identifying moves by the move identification unit 710 will be described later. The data on the moves identified by the move identification unit 710 is stored in the move DB 722 of the game record storage unit 718.

The game record storage unit 718 synchronously stores the moves stored in the move DB 719, the time held in the time DB 720, the time spent in the time spent DB 721, and the moves stored in the move DB 722. As a result, data (game record data) including the move data, time held in the time spent DB 721, and the move data, all of which are synchronized, is created in the game record storage unit 718. The created game record data is sent from the transmission/reception unit 723 via network A to database 4 and stored there.

(Regarding extraction of the game board and game clock)
The configuration for extracting the board and the game clock from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 will be described below. FIG. 4 shows an example of the installation of the smartphone 2 for photographing the board and the game clock. Referring to FIG. 4, the smartphone 2 is held by a holder 13 at the tip of an arm 12 attached to a desk 11. The holder 13 is formed to be three-dimensionally rotatable by a ball part 14, and the angle of the smartphone 2 can be adjusted by adjusting the angle of the holder 13. The angle of the smartphone 2 is adjusted so that the board 8 and the game clock 10 are within the photographable range of the camera 21 (shown by the dashed line in FIG. 4).

Figure 5 shows a schematic diagram of the board and game clock photographed from an upward diagonal angle by the smartphone 2 shown in Figure 4. The game clock 10 includes a pair of LEDs 101a, 101b, a pair of time display units 102a, 102b, and a pair of start buttons 103a, 103b. The LEDs 101a, 101b indicate a turn by turning on/off. For example, when the LED 101a is on and the LED 101b is off, it indicates that it is the turn of the player on the left side in Figure 5. The time display units 102a, 102b display the time of each player, and in this embodiment, a digital format (a format in which the time is displayed in digital numbers) is adopted. When the player whose turn it is currently (the player on the left in Figure 5) finishes playing and presses the start button 103a, LED 101a goes out and the time limit display 102a stops, LED 101b comes on and the time limit display 102b starts, and the turn changes to the player on the right in Figure 5.

The move identification unit 707 recognizes the portion of the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703 that corresponds to the pair of LEDs 101a, 101b, and reads the on/off state of LEDs 101a, 101b. It identifies the move based on the on/off state of LEDs 101a, 101b that it reads. This identification process is performed for each game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703, thereby identifying a change in move.

The time limit identification unit 708 recognizes the portion of the game clock extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703 that corresponds to the pair of time limit display units 102a, 102b, reads the time limit displayed in the time limit display units 102a, 102b, and identifies the time limit of the player whose turn it is.

The move identification unit 710 reads the board parts extracted by the board extraction unit 704 and stored in the board DB 715 and the piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 and stored in the piece data DB 717, and detects the state of all squares on the board 8 (presence or absence of pieces, type of piece). This square state detection process is performed on the board parts before and after the turn change, to detect changes in the state of squares on the board parts and identify the move. The square state detection process may be performed on each board part extracted by the board extraction unit 704. Here, the method of identifying moves in the move identification unit 710 will be described in detail with reference to Figures 6 and 7. Figure 6 shows an example of piece movement on the board. Figure 7 shows another example of piece movement on the board.

First, referring to FIG. 6, in (A) showing the state before the change in the squares, a "Bishop" is placed in square "44", but in (B) showing the state after the change in the squares, the "Bishop" in square "44" is gone and a "Horse" is placed in square "22". Therefore, the move identification unit 710 identifies that the "Bishop" has moved from square "44" to square "22" and "Promoted", and determines the move as "Bishop Promote to 22". In this way, when the state of the squares changes by two squares ("44" and "22" in FIG. 6), the move identification unit 710 can identify that "an action to move a piece has been performed". The pieces are identified by the move identification unit 710 reading the piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 and stored in the piece data DB 717 and comparing it with the piece data.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, in comparison with (C) showing the state before the change in the square state, (D) showing the state after the change in the square state shows that a "gold" has been placed in square "2-2". Therefore, the move identification unit 710 identifies that a "gold" piece in hand has been placed in square "2-2", and determines the move to be "2-2 gold". In this way, when the state of the squares changes by one square ("2-2" in the figure), the move identification unit 710 can identify that "the action of placing a piece in hand has been performed". The method of identifying pieces has been described above, so a description thereof will be omitted.

In this way, according to the present invention, the identification of the time limit and the calculation of the consumed time are performed based on the game clock portion extracted from the game image captured by the camera 21 in the game image acquisition unit 702. Therefore, there is no need to prepare a dedicated game clock separately as in Patent Document 1, and the time limit can be measured using an existing game clock. This reduces the complexity of the preparation work leading up to the game.

In addition, according to the game record recording system described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, when a player presses a game button switch provided on the game clock, (1) the counting of the player's time is interrupted, and the count interruption detection means detects the time when the counting is interrupted, and (2) the game venue's computer is notified that the game button switch has been pressed. The game venue's computer then receives the notification and takes an image of the board with a camera and imports it. That is, in the game record recording system described in Patent Document 1, the counting of the time is interrupted "when the game button switch is pressed," while the image of the board is taken "when the game venue's computer is notified that the game button switch has been pressed." Therefore, there is a time lag between the time when the counting of the time is interrupted and the time when the image of the board is taken with the camera. As a result, the game record corresponding to the player's time cannot be recorded accurately, and the game record may be inaccurate.

In contrast, in the present invention, the game image acquisition unit 702 acquires a game image (an image containing the board and game clock) captured by the camera 21. The game clock portion is then extracted from the game image to identify the turn and time limit, and the board portion is extracted to identify the move. That is, in the present invention, the image showing the game clock for identifying the player's time limit shows the board at the time limit. Therefore, the player's time limit and the game record naturally correspond, and the game record corresponding to the player's time limit can be recorded with high accuracy.

In addition, when actually playing shogi, the move is finalized the moment the player releases the moved piece, so there is no time lag between moving the piece and finalizing the move. As described above, according to the present invention, the time held by the players and the game record inevitably correspond, so the situation when actually playing shogi can be recorded more faithfully.

As shown in FIG. 4, in this embodiment, the camera 21 of the smartphone 2 is held by the holding portion 13 of the arm 12 and captures the board 8 and the game clock 10 from an upward diagonal direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, the game clock 10 and the board 8 are captured at an angle in the game image captured by the camera 21.

Therefore, it is preferable that the game clock extraction unit 703 has a conversion function that converts the game clock portion that is obliquely shown in the game image (Figure 5) into a front-facing image. By converting the game clock portion into a front-facing image, the on/off state of LEDs 101a, 101b becomes easier to read, making it easier to identify the turn in the turn identification unit 707, and the allotted time displayed in the allotted time display units 102a, 102b becomes easier to read, making it easier to identify the allotted time in the allotted time identification unit 708. As a method of conversion into a front-facing image in the game clock extraction unit 703, in this embodiment, a method is adopted in which the vertices of the game clock portion that is obliquely shown in the game image are identified and converted into a front-facing image using affine transformation or projective transformation, but the method of conversion into a front-facing image is not limited to this, and various known conversion methods can be adopted.

The board extraction unit 704 preferably has a conversion function that converts the board portion that is diagonally shown in the game image (Figure 5) into a front-facing image that is shown directly from above. By converting the board portion into a front-facing image, the placement of the pieces becomes easier to read, and the move identification unit 710 can easily identify the move. In this embodiment, the method of conversion into a front-facing image in the board extraction unit 704 is to identify the vertices of the board portion that is diagonally shown in the game image and convert it into a front-facing image using an affine transformation or a projective transformation, but the method of conversion into a front-facing image is not limited to this, and various known conversion methods can be used.

Preferably, before the game starts, the game clock extraction unit 703 and the board extraction unit 704 predetermine the initial positions of the board and the game clock in the game image (FIG. 5). Specifically, referring to FIG. 5, in the game image (FIG. 5) captured by the camera 21, the apex of the game clock 10 is identified by the game clock extraction unit 703, and the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 is defined so as to pass through the apex, while the apex of the board 8 is identified by the board extraction unit 704, and the initial position T2 of the board 8 is defined so as to pass through the apex. During the game, the positions of the board 8 and the game clock 10 do not basically change, so by predetermining the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 and the initial position T2 of the board 8, the game clock and the board in the game image during the game can be extracted with high accuracy based on the initial positions T1 and T2. This allows for more accurate identification of moves, time available, and moves compared to a configuration in which the initial positions of the board and game clock in the game image (Figure 5) are not predefined.

(Processing flow)
The flow of processing carried out in the game record recording system 7 of the present invention will be described. Fig. 8 is a flow chart of the overall flow of processing carried out in the game record recording system 7. Referring to Fig. 8, when a game is started, first, the piece recognition unit 706 of the game record recording system 7 recognizes the pieces to be used in the game. If data of the pieces to be used in the game exists in the database 4 (S10 Yes), the piece recognition unit 706 reads the piece data from the database 4 via the network A (S20), and recognizes the read piece data as a piece to be used in the game (S60). The piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 is stored in the piece data DB 717 of the storage unit 711.

On the other hand, if the data of the pieces to be used in the game is not present in the database 4 (S10 No), the game image acquisition unit 702 first photographs the board on which the pieces are placed with the camera 21 and acquires the photographed board image (S30). The board image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 is stored in the game image DB 713. The board extraction unit 704 reads the board image stored in the game image DB 713 and extracts a board portion from the board image (S40). The extracted board portion is stored in the board DB 715 of the storage unit 711. The piece recognition unit 706 identifies a piece from the board stored in the board DB 715 (S50) and recognizes the piece as a piece to be used in the game (S60). The piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 is stored in the piece data DB 717 of the storage unit 711. The piece data stored in the piece data DB 717 is sent from the transmission/reception unit 723 via network A and stored in database 4.

Then, the game data acquisition unit 701 acquires the game data input by the user and stores it in the game data DB 712 provided in the storage unit 711 (S70). The game data stored in the game data DB 712 is sent from the transmission/reception unit 723 via network A to the database 4 and stored there.

Then, the game image acquisition unit 702 photographs the board 8 and the game clock 10 before the game with the camera 21, and acquires the captured initial game image (an image containing the board and the game clock before the game) (S75). The initial game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 is stored in the game image DB 713.

The board surface extraction unit 704 identifies the vertices of the board surface 8 from the initial game image read from the game image DB 713, and defines the initial position T2 of the board surface 8 so as to pass through the vertices (S80). By defining the initial position T2 of the board surface 8 before the game (S80 Yes), the board surface portion in the game image during the game can be extracted with high accuracy based on the initial position T2. On the other hand, if the board surface extraction unit 704 cannot define the initial position T2 of the board surface 8 (S80 No), the angle of the smartphone 2 or the holding unit 13 is adjusted by the user, so that the board surface extraction unit 704 can identify the vertices of the board surface 8, and the captureable range of the camera 21 is adjusted (S90). After that, the game image acquisition unit 702 captures the board surface 8 and the game clock 10 before the game with the camera 21, reacquires the initial game image, and stores it in the game image DB 713 (S75). Then, the board extraction unit 704 redefines the initial position T2 of the board 8 from the initial game image read from the game image DB 713 (S80).

After the board extraction unit 704 determines the initial position T2 (S80), the game clock extraction unit 703 identifies the apex of the game clock 10 from the initial game image read from the game image DB 713, and determines the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 so that it passes through the apex (S100). By determining the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 before the game (S100 Yes), the game clock portion in the game image during the game can be extracted with high accuracy based on the initial position T1. On the other hand, if the game clock extraction unit 703 cannot determine the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 (S100 No), the user adjusts the position of the game clock 10 so that the game clock extraction unit 703 can identify the apex of the game clock 10 (S110). After that, the game image acquisition unit 702 photographs the board 8 and the game clock 10 before the game with the camera 21, acquires an initial game image again, and stores it in the game image DB 713 (S75). Then, the board extraction unit 704 redefines the initial position T2 of the board 8 from the initial game image read from the game image DB 713 (S80). If the initial position T2 of the board 8 is defined (S80 Yes), the game clock extraction unit 703 redefines the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 from the initial game image read from the game image DB 713 (S100). According to this flow, even if the game clock extraction unit 703 cannot define the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 (S100 No), the initial position T2 of the board 8 has already been defined (S80). Therefore, it is possible to omit the step of adjusting the position of the game clock 10 by the user (S110) and the step of redefining the initial position T2 of the board 8 (S80), which is a step subsequent to the reacquisition of the initial game image by the game image acquisition unit 702 (S75).

After that, when the user instructs the start of recording (S120), the game record data of the game is recorded by the game record recording system 7 (S130). When the user instructs the end of recording (S150), the game record data recorded by the game record recording system 7 is sent from the transmission/reception unit 723 via network A to the database 4 and stored there (S160).

The detailed flow of game record recording performed by the game record recording system 7 will be described below. FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the game record recording process performed by the game record recording system 7. First, the game image acquisition unit 702 photographs the board 8 and the game clock 10 with the camera 21 and acquires a game image (an image containing the board 8 and the game clock 10) (S131). The game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 is stored in the game image DB 713.

The game clock extraction unit 703 reads the game image stored in the game image DB 713 and extracts the game clock portion from the game image (S132). The extracted game clock portion is stored in the game clock DB 714 of the storage unit 711.

The move identification unit 707 reads the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703 and stored in the game clock DB 714, and identifies the move (S133). The method for identifying moves by the move identification unit 707 has been described above, so a detailed explanation is omitted here. The data on the move identified by the move identification unit 707 is stored in the move DB 719 of the game record storage unit 718.

Based on the turn identified in S133, the turn identification unit 707 identifies whether the turn has changed (S134). If it is identified that the turn has not changed (S134 No), after a predetermined time has elapsed, the game image acquisition unit 702 again photographs the board 8 and the game clock 10 with the camera 21 to acquire a game image (S131). The game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 is stored in the game image DB 713. Then, the game clock extraction unit 703 reads the game image stored in the game image DB 713 and extracts the game clock portion again (S132). On the other hand, if it is identified that the turn has changed (S134 Yes), the time limit identification unit 708 reads the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit 703 in S132 and stored in the game clock DB 714, and identifies the time limit of the player whose turn it was (player X) (S135). The method for identifying the time held by the time holding identification unit 708 has been described above, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. The time holding data identified by the time holding identification unit 708 is stored in the time holding DB 720 of the game record storage unit 718.

The time consumption calculation unit 709 reads the time consumption data stored in the time consumption DB 720, and calculates the difference between the time consumption when player X finished the previous move and the time consumption when player X finished the current move as the time consumption (S136). The time consumption calculated by the time consumption calculation unit 709 is stored in the time consumption DB 721 of the game record storage unit 718.

Then, the board state extraction unit 704 reads the game image acquired in S131 and stored in the game image DB 713, and extracts the board state portion from the game image (S137). The extracted board state portion is stored in the board state DB 715 of the storage unit 711.

Next, the move identification unit 710 reads the board surface portion extracted by the board surface extraction unit 704 and stored in the board surface DB 715 (S137) and the piece data recognized by the piece recognition unit 706 and stored in the piece data DB 717 (S60), and identifies the move made by player X (S138). The method of identifying moves by the move identification unit 710 has been described above, so a detailed explanation will be omitted. The moves identified by the move identification unit 710 are stored in the move DB 722 of the game record storage unit 718.

If the game has not ended (S139 No), after a predetermined time has elapsed, the game image acquisition unit 702 again photographs the board 8 and game clock 10 with the camera 21 to acquire game images (S131), stores the images in the game image DB 713, and the flow of S132 to S138 is repeated. On the other hand, when the game ends, such as when the outcome of the game is decided (S139 Yes), data including synchronized turn data, time data, time used data, and move data is obtained as game record data.

[Game record recording program]
Each function constituting the above-mentioned game record recording system can be realized by a program, and a computer program prepared in advance to realize each function is stored in a secondary storage device, and the control unit reads the program stored in the secondary storage device into a primary storage device, and the control unit executes the program read into the primary storage device, thereby operating the function of each unit. Therefore, an example of a computer that executes a game record recording program having the same function as the above-mentioned game record recording system will be described below with reference to FIG. 10.

Figure 10 shows an example of a computer that executes a game record recording program related to the game record recording system of this embodiment. As shown in Figure 10, the computer 1000 has an operation unit 1100, a speaker 1200, a camera 1300, a display 1400, and a communication unit 1500. Furthermore, the computer 1000 has a CPU (control unit) 1600, a HDD (secondary storage device) 1700, and a RAM (primary storage device) 1800. Each of these units is connected via a bus 1900.

As shown in FIG. 10, a game record recording program that performs the same functions as the functional units shown in the above-described embodiment is prestored in HDD 1700. This game record recording program may be integrated or separated as appropriate, similar to the components of the functional units of game record recording system 7 shown in FIG. 3. In other words, it is not necessary for all data to be stored in HDD 1700 at all times, and only data necessary for processing needs to be stored in HDD 1700.

Then, the CPU 1600 reads the game record recording program from the HDD 1700 and loads it in the RAM 1800. This causes the game record recording program to function as a game record recording process. This game record recording process loads various data read from the HDD 1700 in an area allocated to it on the RAM 1800 as appropriate, and executes various processes based on the loaded data. The game record recording process includes processes executed by the functional units shown in FIG. 3, for example, the processes shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. Furthermore, it is not necessary for all of the processing units virtually realized on the CPU 1600 to always operate on the CPU 1600, and only the processing units necessary for processing need to be virtually realized.

It is not necessary to store the game record recording program in the HDD 1700 from the beginning. Each program may be stored in a "computer-readable recording medium" and the computer 1000 may acquire and execute each program from the "computer-readable recording medium". Examples of "computer-readable recording media" include optical disks such as CD-ROMs, phase-change optical disks such as DVD-RAMs, magneto-optical disks such as MO (Magneto Optical) and MD (Mini Disk), magnetic disks such as floppy (registered trademark) disks and removable hard disks, and memory cards such as Compact Flash (registered trademark), Smart Media, SD memory cards, and memory sticks. In addition, hardware devices such as integrated circuits (IC chips, etc.) specially designed and configured for the purpose of the present invention are also included as recording media. Furthermore, each program may be stored in another computer or server device connected to the computer 1000 via a public line, the Internet, a LAN, a WAN, etc. In that case, the computer 1000 may acquire and execute each program from the other computer or server device.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to Shogi, but the application of the present invention is not limited to Shogi, and it can also be applied to other games such as Go and Chess.

(Modification)
In the above-described embodiment, the smartphone 2 includes a game record recording system 7 having a game data acquisition unit 701, a game image acquisition unit 702, a game clock extraction unit 703, a board state extraction unit 704, a piece recognition unit 706, a turn identification unit 707, a time limit identification unit 708, a time consumption calculation unit 709, a move identification unit 710, and a storage unit 711. With this configuration, the smartphone 2 functions as a game record recording device. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other mobile terminals (tablets, wearable devices, etc.) or personal computers may be used as the game record recording device. The server 5 may also be configured to include at least some of the game data acquisition unit 701, the game image acquisition unit 702, the game clock extraction unit 703, the board state extraction unit 704, the piece recognition unit 706, the turn identification unit 707, the time limit identification unit 708, the time consumed calculation unit 709, the move identification unit 710, and the storage unit 711. In this way, the smartphone 2 and the server 5 function as the game record recording system 7.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the game clock 10 displays the move of the game by turning on/off the LEDs 101a, 101b. However, the display format of the move is not limited to this, and for example, a game clock may be used that displays the move by having the start buttons 103a, 103b pop up upward. In this case, the move identification unit 707 can identify the move by identifying the move buttons popping up upward, and identify the move by the difference in height between the pair of start buttons.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the game clock 10 employs a digital format (format showing the time limit with digital numbers) for the time limit display sections 102a and 102b. However, the display format of the time limit display section is not limited to this, and an analog format (format showing the time limit with hour and minute hands) can be employed for the time limit display section. In this case, the time limit identification section 708 can identify the time limit by recognizing the hour and minute hands and converting them into time.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 and the initial position T2 of the board 8 are defined in advance, and then the game clock extraction unit 703 extracts the game clock portion and the board extraction unit 704 extracts the board portion (see FIG. 8 ). However, after the initial position T1 of the game clock 10 and the initial position T2 of the board 8 are defined in advance, if the game clock 10 moves from the initial position T1 or the board 8 moves from the initial position T2, the initial positions of the game clock 10 or the board 8 may be redefined. With this configuration, even if the game clock 10 or the board 8 shifts due to an unexpected accident or the like, the new position after the shift is set as the initial position, so that the game clock extraction unit 703 can extract the game clock portion and the board extraction unit 704 can extract the board portion in subsequent games with high accuracy. The redefinition of the initial position of the game clock 10 or the board 8 may be performed after the position of the game clock 10 or the board 8 has been corrected by the user, or may be performed after the user has adjusted the capture range of the camera 21.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the camera 21 that captures the game image is provided in the smartphone 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the camera that captures the game image may be, for example, a camera provided in another mobile terminal (such as a tablet or a wearable device), a built-in camera that is provided in a personal computer, or a web camera that is externally attached to a personal computer.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, the game image acquisition unit 702 has a configuration in which the game board 8 and the game clock 10 are photographed by the camera 21 at predetermined time intervals and the photographed game images are acquired. However, this is not limited to this, and a functional unit that photographs the game board 8 and the game clock 10 by the camera 21 at predetermined time intervals may be provided separately from the game image acquisition unit 702. In this case, the functional unit photographs a game image containing the game board 8 and the game clock 10 by the camera 21, and the game image is acquired by the game image acquisition unit 702 and stored in the game image DB 713.

2 Smartphone 7 Game record recording system 8 Game board 10 Game clock 21 Camera 702 Game image acquisition unit 703 Game clock extraction unit 704 Game board extraction unit 706 Piece recognition unit 707 Turn identification unit 708 Time limit identification unit 709 Time spent calculation unit 710 Move identification unit 718 Game record storage unit T1 Initial position of game clock T2 Initial position of game board

Claims (6)

A game record recording system for recording a game record,
a piece recognition unit for recognizing pieces to be used in a game;
a game image acquisition unit that acquires game images including a game board and a game clock captured by a camera;
a game clock extraction unit that extracts a game clock portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit;
a game board extraction unit that extracts a game board portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit;
a turn identification unit that identifies a turn based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit and identifies a change in turn;
a time limit identification unit which, when it is identified by the turn identification unit that a turn has changed, identifies the time limit of a player based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit;
a time consumption calculation unit that calculates the time consumed by a player based on the time consumption identified by the time consumption identification unit;
a move identification unit which identifies moves made by players based on the board portion extracted by said board extraction unit and the data of pieces recognized by said piece recognition unit;
a game record storage unit that stores a game record including the move identified by the move identification unit, the time identified by the time identification unit, the time consumed calculated by the time consumption calculation unit, and the move identified by the move identification unit;
A game record recording system comprising: The game image acquisition unit acquires an initial game image including a board and a game clock before the game, the initial game image being captured by the camera,
The board state extraction unit determines an initial position of the board state from the initial game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit,
The game record recording system according to claim 1 , wherein the game clock extraction unit determines an initial position of the game clock from the initial game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit. The game clock extraction unit converts the game clock portion that is obliquely shown in the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit into a front-on image that is shown from the front,
The game record recording system according to claim 1 , wherein the board state extraction unit converts the portion of the board state that is obliquely shown in the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit into a frontal image that is shown directly from above. The game record recording system according to claim 1 , wherein the camera is a camera equipped in a smartphone. A game record recording device for recording a game record,
a piece recognition unit for recognizing pieces to be used in a game;
a game image acquisition unit that acquires game images including a game board and a game clock captured by a camera;
a game clock extraction unit that extracts a game clock portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit;
a game board extraction unit that extracts a game board portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition unit;
a turn identification unit that identifies a turn based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit and identifies a change in turn;
a time limit identification unit which, when it is identified by the turn identification unit that a turn has changed, identifies the time limit of a player based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction unit;
a time consumption calculation unit that calculates the time consumed by a player based on the time consumption identified by the time consumption identification unit;
a move identification unit which identifies moves made by players based on the board portion extracted by said board extraction unit and the data of pieces recognized by said piece recognition unit;
a game record storage unit that stores a game record including the move identified by the move identification unit, the time identified by the time identification unit, the time consumed calculated by the time consumption calculation unit, and the move identified by the move identification unit;
A game record recording device comprising: A game record recording program for recording a game record,
On the computer,
A piece recognition means for recognizing pieces to be used in a game;
a game image acquisition means for acquiring a game image including a game board and a game clock photographed by a camera;
a game clock extraction means for extracting a game clock portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition means;
a game board extraction means for extracting a game board portion from the game image acquired by the game image acquisition means;
a move identification means for identifying a move based on the game clock portion extracted by the game clock extraction means and identifying a change in the move;
a time limit identifying means for identifying the time limit of a player based on the game clock portion extracted by said game clock extracting means when said game number identifying means identifies a change in the turn;
a time consumption calculation means for calculating a time consumed by a player based on the time consumption identified by the time consumption identification means;
move identification means for identifying moves made by players based on the board portion extracted by said board extraction means and the data of pieces recognized by said piece recognition means;
a game record storage means for storing a game record including the move identified by the move identification means, the time limit identified by the time limit identification means, the time consumption calculated by the time consumption calculation means, and the move identified by the move identification means;
A game record recording program characterized by executing the above.