JPH07265493A - Game device and color judging method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a game device that is the one in which a point can be calculated by color information of a detected object and capable of detecting and judging the color information inexpensively and at high speed and with high accuracy and stably, and a color judging method which judges the color information. CONSTITUTION:This game device is the one which Judges color information of a ball that is the detected object and in which the point of a player can be calculated corresponding to a judged result. In such a case, CCD cameras 3A to 3D that is image pickup means perform an image pickup operation in an image pickup area including at least the ball when the ball is detected. A ball judging part finds color component information of a picked-up image in the image pickup area, and judges the color information of the ball in the image pickup area based on the color component information.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a game machine and a color judgment method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a method of detecting and determining color information of a detection target in a game machine, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication 52-35.
The prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 115 is known. In this conventional technique, color information of a ball, which is an object to be detected, is detected / determined using a color identification photoelectric device (color sensor).

[0003]

However, the prior art using such a color identification photoelectric device (color sensor) has the following problems.
There is a drawback in that color identification photoelectric devices (color sensors) are required for the number of detection objects. As a result, there is a problem that the cost of the device is extremely increased. Further, in this conventional technique, the distance between the color identification photoelectric device (color sensor) and the detection target cannot be increased, and the color identification photoelectric device (color sensor) must be arranged in the immediate vicinity of the detection target. However, there is a problem that the installation space becomes very large. Further, in this conventional technique, since the detection target object is detected at one detection point, there is a problem that when the surface of the detection target object is damaged or soiled, it cannot be dealt with.

Further, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-92370 discloses a technique for determining the ball number and the like by resonance of a coil. However, in this conventional technique, it is necessary to pass the ball through the ring-shaped detection device (antenna). As a result, the cost of the device becomes high, and the installation space for the device becomes large. Further, there is a problem that the detecting devices cannot be installed side by side and special processing is required for the balls.

As a method for detecting information other than the color information of the object to be detected, the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 3-37083 and 5-237213 are known. For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-37083 discloses a method of detecting a design and a number of a playing card in a playing card game device. In addition, JP-A-5
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 237213 discloses a method for detecting the arrangement of go stones on a board and the luminance information of the go stones in a go device. However, none of these conventional techniques discloses the idea of obtaining color component information of the detection target and detecting / determining the color information of the detection target based on the color component information. Therefore, these conventional devices do not include means for converting the image pickup information into color component information, means for storing the color component information for each color component, and the like.

Further, none of these prior arts discloses the idea of determining color information based on ratio information between color component information. The reason is as follows. That is, the detection target in these conventional techniques is not the color information of the detection target, but the presence or absence of the detection target,
It is the presence / absence of a pattern / number in the detection target and the brightness (white / black) information of the detection target. Therefore, in these conventional techniques, it is sufficient to simply determine whether the data is “1 (present or white)” or “0 (not present or black)” at each detection point, and based on the ratio information between the color component information. This is because advanced and delicate detection / judgment is not required.

Further, these prior arts do not disclose the idea of setting an observation point (observation area) in the image pickup area and performing detection / judgment at high speed. Therefore,
Change the arrangement of the observation points based on the information in the initial setting, or set the observation points in the area other than the shadowed area of the illumination light and the area with strong light reflection, Naturally, the idea of enhancing reliability and stability is not disclosed.

Further, these prior arts also completely disclose the idea of illuminating the object to be detected with light of uniform brightness to reduce the influence of external light and improve the accuracy of the detection / judgment method. Absent.

The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems as described above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a game device whose score is determined by color information of a detection target. It is an object of the present invention to provide a game device capable of stably and accurately detecting and making a judgment at low cost, at a high speed, and a color judging method for judging color information.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a game apparatus in which the color information of a detection object is judged and the score of the player is decided according to the judgment result. There, at least image pickup means for performing an image pickup operation in the image pickup area including the detection target, and color component information of the picked-up image in the image pickup area based on the image pickup information from the image pickup means, and these color component information Determination means for determining the color information of the detection target in the imaging region based on the above.

Further, in the invention of claim 2 according to claim 1, the determining means is means for converting the image pickup information into color component information, and means for storing the converted color component information for each color component. And a unit that determines the color information of the detection target in the imaging area based on the color component information read out from the storage unit and read out.

Further, the invention of claim 3 is a color determination method for obtaining color information of a detection object, comprising the steps of (A) performing an imaging operation in at least an imaging region including the detection object; ) A step of obtaining color component information of a captured image in the imaging region based on the imaging information obtained in the step (A), and (C) the imaging based on the color component information obtained in the step (B). And a step of determining color information of the detection target in the area.

Further, in the invention of claim 4, in claim 3, the determination of the color information in the step (C) is performed based on the ratio information between the color component information obtained in the step (B). It is characterized by being called.

The invention of claim 5 is the invention of claim 3 or 4.
In any one of the above, the image pickup operation in the step (A) is performed in an image pickup area including a plurality of the detection objects.

The invention of claim 6 relates to claims 3 to 5.
In any one of the above, an observation region for observing the detection target is set in the imaging region, and the step (C)
In the above, the color information detected in the observation region is determined as the color information of the detection target.

Further, in the invention of claim 7, in claim 6, a plurality of observation points are set in the observation region, and in the step (C), a predetermined number or more of the plurality of observation points are set. If the same color information is detected, the color information is determined to be the color information of the detection target.

The invention of claim 8 is the invention of claim 6 or 7.
In any one of the above, the step of comparing the image stored in advance with the image captured in the imaging area and changing the arrangement position of the observation area based on the comparison result is performed before the step (A). It is characterized by

The invention of claim 9 relates to claims 6 to 8.
In any one of the above, the observation region is set to a region other than a region that becomes a shadow of light that illuminates the detection target and a region that strongly reflects light that illuminates the detection target.

Further, in the invention of claim 10 according to any one of claims 3 to 9, in the image pickup operation in the step (A), illumination for eliminating the influence of external light is applied to the image pickup area. Characterized by what is done.

Further, the invention of claim 11 is characterized in that, in any one of claims 3 to 10, the image pickup operation in the step (A) is performed by a CCD camera.

The invention according to claim 12 is the method according to any one of claims 3 to 11, wherein the steps (A), (B),
When (C) is repeated a plurality of times and the determination in step (C) is determination that the same color information is obtained a predetermined number of times or more, it is determined that the color information is color information of the detection target. It is characterized by

[0022]

According to the first or third aspect of the invention, the image pickup operation is performed in at least the image pickup area including the detection object. Then, the color component information is obtained based on the image pickup information obtained by the image pickup operation, and the color information of the detection target is determined based on the color component information. That is, according to the present invention, it is possible to detect and determine not only the presence / absence of the detection target in the imaging region but also the color information of the detection target based on the imaging information obtained by the imaging operation. Therefore, for example, it is possible to realize a game device in which the score changes not only according to the number of detection targets in the imaging region, but also according to the color information of the detection targets in the imaging region. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to image the plurality of detection objects that have entered the imaging area by the imaging means at once. Then, the determination means can determine the presence / absence and the color information of the plurality of detection objects included in the imaging region based on the imaging information captured at this time. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide as many image pickup units as the number of detection objects that enter the image pickup area. Further, if the image pickup means is used to image the detection target in this way, it is possible to increase the distance between the detection target and the image pickup means, and it is possible to arrange the image pickup means at an arbitrary position. Become. Further, since the determination means determines the presence / absence of the detection target and the color information based on the image pickup information from the image pickup means, a predetermined process is performed on this image pickup information to easily adjust an assembly error or the like of the apparatus. It becomes possible to do.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, means for converting the image pickup information into color component information, means for storing the color component information for each color component, and a detection target based on the stored color component information A means for determining the color information of the object is provided so that the color information of the detection object is detected and determined. By storing the color component information converted by the conversion unit for each color component in this manner, for example, a process of comparing absolute values of these color component information, a process of obtaining ratio information between the color component information, or the like is performed. It can be performed very easily.

According to the invention of claim 4, the color information is judged based on the ratio information between the color component information, not on the absolute value of the color component information. Therefore, as compared with the case where the absolute value is used as it is, it is possible to greatly reduce the influence of outside light or the like from the surroundings.

According to the invention of claim 5, the imaging operation is performed in the imaging area including a plurality of detection objects. This makes it possible to determine the presence / absence of a plurality of detection objects and the color information in the imaging area at once.

According to the invention of claim 6, the presence / absence of the detection object and the color information of the detection object are determined based on the imaging information in the observation area set in the imaging area. In this way, if the observation area for observing the detection target is provided to determine the presence or absence of the detection target and the color information, it is necessary to perform detection / judgment processing on the imaging information of all the dots in the imaging area. Disappears. As a result, the scale of the hardware of the device can be reduced and the processing speed can be significantly increased.

According to the invention of claim 7, the presence / absence of the detection object and the detection / determination processing of the color information are performed based on the imaging information from the observation points provided at a plurality of positions in the imaging region. As a result, the accuracy of the detection / judgment processing can be greatly improved as compared with the case where the processing is performed based on the imaging information from one observation point.

Further, according to the invention of claim 8, an image stored in advance is compared with, for example, an image picked up in an image pickup area at the time of initial setting of the apparatus, and an object to be detected is detected based on the comparison result. The arrangement coordinates of the observation area to be observed (or the origin coordinates in the imaging area) are changed. Therefore, even if an error occurs in the setting of the imaging area due to an error in assembling the device, this error can be automatically corrected.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, the observation area is set not in the area which becomes the shadow of the light illuminating the detection object, but in the area where the reflection of the light illuminating the detection object is not strong. To be done. Therefore, it is possible to observe the presence / absence of the detection target and the color information in a shadowed region that is very susceptible to the influence of outside light or in a region where the illumination light of the detection target has strong light reflection characteristics. The accuracy of the detection / judgment processing can be greatly improved.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, in the image pickup operation, illumination for eliminating the influence of external light is applied to the image pickup area. Therefore, for example, even if the brightness of the external light changes during the image pickup operation, the influence of the external light can be canceled by the light of the illumination. Therefore, the influence of external light can be greatly reduced, and the accuracy of detection / judgment can be greatly increased.

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, the CCD
The camera performs an image capturing operation in the image capturing area. By using the CCD camera as described above, the image pickup means for performing the image pickup operation can be made very compact.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, when the steps (A), (B) and (C) are repeated a plurality of times and it is determined that the color information is the same for a predetermined number of times,
It is determined that the color information is the color information of the detection target.
As a result, it is possible to eliminate erroneous detection and erroneous determination that occur due to the timing of performing the image capturing operation, and it is possible to effectively prevent the time factor from having an adverse effect on the determination result.

[0033]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1. Description of Overall Configuration of Game Device FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a ball game device according to an embodiment. In the figure, this ball game device includes a device main body 1 having a decorated housing 10, a spiral rail 100 as a ball sending part, a field part 130 for randomizing a ball, and a winning opening, for example, a winning pocket 140. (See FIG. 2), a ball 2 color-coded into four colors, and a play table 170 that surrounds the apparatus main body 1 and is provided with an operation unit. The ball 2 rolled from the spiral rail 100 to the field portion 130 in the present ball game device is scored by entering the prize pocket 140 of the player, and the score is competed among a plurality of players.

As shown in FIG. 1, four CCD cameras (imaging means) 3A to 3D are built in a ceiling portion 11 that supports a spiral rail (guide rail) 100 above (CCD camera 3D). Is not shown).
These CCD cameras 3A-3D have camera holes 5A-5
Through D, an image pickup operation is performed in an image pickup area set near the prize pocket 140. The halogen lamp 4 is installed near the winning pocket 140. The halogen lamp 4 illuminates the ball 2 in the winning pocket 140 with light of uniform brightness. As described above, the CCD cameras 3A to 3D are mounted on the ceiling 11
The halogen lamp 4 is covered from above by a canopy (not shown). Thus, in this embodiment, the CCD cameras 3A to 3D and the halogen lamp 4 are invisible to the player.

A ball determination unit (determination means) (not shown) is built in the apparatus body 1. In this ball determination unit, operations such as whether or not the ball 2 is present in the winning pocket 140 or the color information of the ball are detected and determined based on the image pickup information from the CCD cameras 3A to 3D. become. Details of the ball determination unit will be described later.

Next, the spiral rail 100 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the present embodiment is characterized in that the ball 2 is dropped in a spiral shape and the player can see the state of this drop. Therefore, the spiral rail 100 is used to drop the ball 2 in a spiral shape. Furthermore, this spiral rail 100
It is designed to rotate about an axis by a rotation mechanism (not shown), and as the spiral rail 100 rotates,
The ball 2 can be sent out. And the lower end of this spiral rail 100 is a free end,
The ball 2 falls spirally by the spiral rail 100 while rotating around the axis of the rotary shaft 116, and falls from the lower portion of the spiral rail 100. By doing so, not only the ball 2 falls in a spiral shape, but also the spiral rail 100 that guides the ball 2 rotates, so that the movement of the ball 2 becomes complicated and the visual effect on the player is enhanced.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the vicinity of the outer peripheral end of the field portion 130 so as to surround the spiral rail 100, the transparent plate 2 which is erected upward in a cylindrical shape.
6 is provided. As a result, the field part 130 is shielded from the outside. Further, a plurality of support columns 28 for supporting and reinforcing the transparent plate 26 are provided upright from the vicinity of the outer peripheral end of the field portion 130.

Next, regarding the field portion 130, FIG.
It will be described based on. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the field portion 130 including the winning pocket 140. The field portion 130 has a circular concave funnel shape, and the ball 2
When is rolled in the circumferential direction, it gradually rolls down toward the center.

Further, in the central portion of the field portion 130,
An octagonal pocket mounting portion 138 is provided, and eight pocket frames 1 are provided on eight side surfaces of the pocket mounting portion 138.
42 is attached. This pocket frame 142 is
As shown in Fig. 2, it is almost trapezoidal.
Three winning pockets 140 are formed. In detail, the three prize pockets 140 are formed by dividing the space into three by the four partition pieces 146. The length of the partition piece 146 is approximately the length of two balls. That is, two balls 2 enter the prize pocket 140 and the outer surface of the second ball 2 and the partition 14
The partition 146 is formed so that the front end surface of 6 is substantially flush. By doing this, even if the ball 2 rolls in the vicinity of the winning pocket 140 in which two balls 2 have already been placed, the ball 2 will roll smoothly toward the other pockets. As a result, the present embodiment has a structure in which spheres are less likely to be produced upon death. However, even with such a structure, it is difficult to completely eliminate the ball. Therefore, in this embodiment, the pocket frame 142 is rocked as will be described later in order to completely eliminate the ball.

As shown in FIG. 2, each pocket frame 1
42 is attached with a space for at least one ball. As a result, the invalid pocket 150 is formed.

Next, the play table 170 surrounding the apparatus main body 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 2, eight pocket frames 142 are provided as described above, and eight winning pocket groups 140 are formed.
And the player has 1 prize pocket 1 in these 8 places.
It is possible to select one of the prize winning pockets 140 from the 40 groups. That is, eight play bases 170 corresponding to each pocket frame 142 are provided, and the prize pockets 140 are selected depending on which play base 170 is selected.
You can choose a group. In addition, each play table 170
An intermediate stand 172 is provided between them to fill the gap.

As shown in FIG. 1, the play table 170 is provided with a display screen 180, an operation button 174, a payout button 176, a medal insertion slot 178, and a medal payout slot 179 on the upper surface. Here, the operation button 174
Is for setting what kind of bet is to be made according to the content of the game, and the display screen 180 displays the content of this bet, the number of medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 178, the number of refundable medals, and the like. It is supposed to do. FIG. 3 shows a schematic view of the operation surface of the play table 170 including the display screen 180. The ball game realized by the present embodiment is a game in which 16 balls are used and the higher the number of balls in the prize pocket 140, the higher the score. Also, the balls that are basically used are three colors of red, yellow, and blue, and the number of each is different for each game. In addition to this, gold balls are random at the rate of once in several games. It is supposed to be sent to. This golden ball can be used as a bonus ball to obtain a predetermined bonus score. Further, in this game, the number of balls is different for each color, and therefore the balls are different depending on each color.
The probability of entering is different. Therefore, medals can be bet on each color of the ball. Furthermore, depending on how the balls in the prize pocket 140 are arranged, bonus points may be awarded. The display contents of FIG. 3 will be described in detail later in the description of the game contents.

2. Description of Operation of Entire Game Device Next, regarding the operation of the ball game device according to the present embodiment,
It will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic functional block diagram for explaining the outline of the operation of this embodiment.

The ball 2 guided by the guide rail 239 is carried to the spiral rail 100 by the delivery motor 240 controlled by the main controller 230.
In this case, if the guide rail 239 is inclined, the delivery motor 240 is not always necessary.

Next, the ball 2 carried on the spiral rail 100 falls spirally on the spiral rail 100. In this case, the rotating mechanism 244 causes the spiral rail 100 to rotate around the shaft 241 and enhance the effect. Then, the ball 2 is delivered onto the field portion 130 from the spiral rail end portion 243 which is the free end. Ball 2 sent to the field section 130
Rolls on the field portion 130 formed in a circular funnel shape, and finally enters one of the winning pockets 140 or the invalid pockets 150 of each player.

In this way, a plurality of balls 2 of various colors roll down one after another on the spiral rail 100, are sent out onto the field portion 130, and enter the prize pocket 140 and the invalid pocket 150 of each player. At this time, the CCD cameras 3A to 3D and the ball determination unit 300 perform the ball detection / determination operation. By this detection / determination operation, it is possible to detect which prize pocket 140 of each player has received how many balls.
To be judged. Then, in the present embodiment, the color information of these balls is also detected / determined. The detection / determination operation is performed by the ball determination unit 300 based on the image pickup information from the CCD cameras 3A to 3D. In this case, in this embodiment, one CCD camera 3A to 3D is provided for each of the two pocket frames 142. Further, during the detection / determination operation, the ball 2 is illuminated by the halogen lamp 4 with uniform light in order to reduce the influence of external light and improve the detection accuracy. The player's score is calculated based on the number information, arrangement information, color information, etc. of the balls in each winning pocket 140 obtained by the above detection / determination operation. This completes one game. In addition,
The calculation of the score in this case is performed by the main control unit 230 based on the determination result of the ball determination unit 300.

The main controller 230 also controls the eight player stations including the station controller 234 and the display 236.

CCD cameras 3A to 3D, ball determination unit 3
When the detection / judgment operation by 00 is completed, the ball recovery mechanism 242 is moved upward by the control of the main controller 230, and all the balls 2 are guided to the guide rail 250.

The ball collecting mechanism 242 also functions as a ball that does not fit in either the winning pocket 140 or the ineffective pocket 150, that is, as a dead ball elimination mechanism when there is a dead ball. That is, when a ball is born to death,
The ball determination unit 300 outputs the "dead ball generation code" to the main control unit 230, and the main control unit 230
Controls the ball recovery mechanism 242 to swing to the left and right. As a result, the balls are deadly eliminated.
In a ball game device having no invalid pocket, a ball that does not enter the prize pocket becomes a dead ball.

Next, the color information of the guided ball 2 is detected and judged by the CCD camera 50 and the ball judging section 300. Then, the ball determination unit 300 controls the ball selection mechanism 252 and the storage doors 254 to 260,
The balls 2 are color-coded and stored in the storage units 262 to 268. Specifically, for example, when the color of the ball 2 is determined to be red by the CCD camera 50 and the ball determination unit 300,
The ball selection mechanism 252 is controlled by the ball determination unit 300.
And the storage door 254 operates, and the ball 2 is stored in the storage unit 262. Similarly, when the ball 2 is judged to be blue, yellow, or gold, the storage parts 264, 266, and 2 are respectively stored.
68 will be stored.

Next, the balls stored in the storages 262 to 268 in different colors are stored in the guide rails 27 by the transport motors 270 to 276 controlled by the main controller 230.
Induced to 8. As a result, it is possible to control which color balls are delivered to the field unit 130 in which order, or which color balls are delivered to the field unit 130 at what ratio. For example, when the balls are delivered in the order of red, blue, and yellow, the transport motors may be rotated in the order of 270, 272, and 274. Further, for example, when it is desired to increase the ratio of red balls, the ratio of rotation of the transport motor 270 may be increased.

Next, the ball 2 guided by the guide rail 278 is carried to the ceiling portion of the game machine by the carrying mechanism (belt conveyor) 280 driven by the carrying motor 282. As a result, the ball 2 is guided to the guide rail 239. In this way, the setup for starting the next game is completed, and the next game is started.

3. Details of Ball Detection / Determination Method Next, details of the ball detection / determination method in the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 5 shows a functional block diagram of the ball determination unit 300. CCD cameras 3A to 3D, 50
The imaging information input from is input to the selector 302. Then, in the selector 302, the processing unit 330
According to the command from, the image pickup information is selected from the CCD camera. Then, the selected imaging information is R
It is input to the GB decoder 304. RGB decoder 30
In 4, the input imaging information (video signal) is converted into RGB data (color component information) by a predetermined conversion process. Then, each converted RGB data is A / D
The converter 306 converts the RGB digital data. For example, in this embodiment, each of RGB is converted into 256-step (8-bit) digital data.

The RGB data digitally converted by the A / D converter 306 is stored in each of the R, G, and B memories 312, 314, and 316 in the frame buffer 310. In this case, the memory 3 in this embodiment
In Nos. 12 to 316, the image captured by the CCD camera is decomposed into a resolution of 256 × 256 dots and stored. Further, the designation of the address where the memories 312 to 316 store the RGB data is performed by the address multiplexer 320 under the control of the controller 322.

In this way, after all the RGB data of the image captured by the first CCD camera is stored in the frame buffer 310, the processing section 330 reads the stored RGB data. Then, the processing unit 330
Then, various processes are performed on the read RGB data. That is, various processes such as initial setting, presence / absence of a ball, detection / judgment of color information of a ball, and detection / judgment of a dead ball are performed. Then, when these processes are completed, the next CCD camera is selected this time, and the image captured by the selected CCD camera is captured. And
The various processes described above are performed on these captured images. In this way, all CCD cameras are sequentially selected, and the above-mentioned various processes are performed.

The ROM 324 detects the ball
Data such as program data for making determinations and image data for initial setting are stored. Also, RA
M326 is a work R for the processing unit 330 to perform processing.
It has the function of AM.

Next, the operation of the ball determination section 300 will be described. In this embodiment, first, initial settings for ball detection / judgment are performed before the game starts. FIG. 6 shows a flowchart for this initial setting.
This initial setting is performed in order to correct an assembling error when assembling the device.

After the start in step A1, the selector 3
By selecting 02, the image captured by the CCD camera 3A is first captured in the frame buffer 310 which is a RAM.

Next, as shown in step A3, the data captured in the frame buffer 310 is compared with the pocket shape data stored in the ROM 324 in advance. 7A and 7B are conceptual diagrams of this matching method. That is, in the ROM 324, FIG.
The pocket shape data as shown in (A) is stored. Further, the CCD camera 3A captures an image as shown in FIG. 7B in the imaging area 6A. And
The pocket shape data of FIG. 7 (A) and the captured image of FIG. 7 (B) are collated, and a matching place (hatched portion 900 of FIG. 7 (B)) is searched. This search is for dots (256 x 256 dots) in the frame buffer 316
This is performed by searching the ROM 324 for a dot that matches the pocket shape data. In this case, the search result is the shaded area 9 in the frame buffer 316.
Three types of determination results are conceivable, where all the dots in 00 completely match the pocket shape data in the ROM 324, most of the dots match, or most of the dots do not match. The following two reasons can be considered as the reasons why they do not completely match like the latter two. (1) Since the pocket shape data in the ROM 324 is ideal data, there is a certain amount of error from the image actually captured from the CCD camera due to the influence of outside light, a slight shift in the position of the pocket, and the like. May occur. (2) Obstacles other than pockets may be captured in the image captured by the CCD camera.

The above error (1) may occur at a high frequency. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is determined whether or not the number of matching dots exceeds a certain ratio as shown in step A4. When the ratio exceeds a certain ratio, it is determined that the location matches the pocket shape data, and the origin (for example, 902) in the image pickup area 6A of the CCD camera 3A is determined.
On the contrary, if it does not exceed a certain ratio, (2) above
It is thought that the situation is happening. Therefore, in this case, the process proceeds to step A2 again and step A2
~ The process of A4 is repeated. That is, with respect to the state (2) in which the obstacle is included, by repeating again,
This is because it is possible to make a state with almost no error. When a plurality of different data are obtained by repeating the processing of steps A2 to A4 a plurality of times in this way, the origin 902 is set based on the one having the largest number of matching dots as shown in step A5. .

Next, as shown in step A6, the position coordinates of the pocket area (see FIG. 9) and the dead ball area (see FIGS. 17 and 18) are calculated on the basis of the origin 902 thus set. It Then, these position coordinates are stored in the RAM 326 which is a work area.

When the initial setting of the CCD camera 3A is completed as described above, steps A7, A8, A9
At, the same initial setting is performed for the CCD cameras 3B, 3C and 3D, and the initial setting routine ends (step A10).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the ball determination process during the game. At step B2, the initial setting is completed, the game is started, and when the ball is delivered by the ball delivery unit, the CCD is sent as shown in step B3.
An image capturing operation is performed by the camera 3A. After that, as shown in step B4, the CCD camera 3A causes the image pickup area 6A to be equivalent to 2 players, that is, 12 players.
The presence / absence of a ball and the detection / judgment of color information are performed for each of the pockets (see FIG. 9). Next, as shown in step B5, the presence / absence of a ball is detected / determined in the 20 dead ball areas (see FIGS. 17 and 18) under the control of the CCD camera 3A. Then, steps B6 to B8, B
As shown in 9-B11 and B12-B14, presence / absence of a ball in a pocket, detection / judgment of color information, detection of presence / absence of a ball in a dead ball region are detected in an imaging area controlled by the CCD cameras 3B, 3C, 3D. -A judgment is made. And
When the ball detection / judgment operations for all CCD cameras are completed, the score of each player is calculated, and the next game is started after the balls are transported.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart for explaining in detail the presence / absence of a ball and the detection / determination of color information in step B4 of FIG.

In the flow of detecting / determining the presence / absence of a ball and the color information at the pocket position, first, in step C2,
The pocket number (see FIG. 9) is designated. Next, as shown in step C3, an observation point (observation area) is designated based on the position coordinates of the pocket area determined by the initial setting. Note that the observation area in this embodiment is configured by providing nine observation points for one ball (pocket).

FIG. 11 shows an example of the positions of the observing points set at nine positions for each ball 2 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 12, in the present embodiment, while the ball is illuminated by the halogen lamp 4 which is hidden from the player by a not-shown eaves, the CCD camera 3 stored in the ceiling 11 detects the ball. Is going. Illuminating the ball 2 with the halogen lamp 4 in this manner is to illuminate the ball with uniform light so as to reduce the influence of external light and improve the accuracy of detection and determination with respect to the ball. However, when illuminated by the halogen lamp 4 in this manner, as shown in FIG. 11, an area that becomes a shadow of light on the ball 2 due to the positional relationship with the halogen lamp 4 (area filled with black in FIG. 11), or An area where the light is strongly reflected (hatched area in FIG. 11) occurs. In this embodiment, these shadow areas are
Observation points are set in areas other than the area where light is strongly reflected.

In the present embodiment, the observation point is not set in the light shadow region because the light shadow region is easily affected by external light, and the effect of providing the halogen lamp 4 is diminished. Is. In addition, the observation point is not set in the region where the light reflection is strong, because the light reflection from the halogen lamp 4 is too strong, so that the color characteristic of the halogen lamp 4 is stronger than the color characteristic of the ball. This is because the accuracy of detecting the color information of the ball is reduced. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, nine observation points are set based on the positional relationship between the ball 2 and the halogen lamp 4. As a result, the ball can be detected with extremely high accuracy in combination with the improvement in the detection accuracy of the halogen lamp 4.

Next, as shown in step C4, the presence / absence of a ball and the color information are detected for each observation point. That is,
The presence / absence of a ball and the detection of color information are performed at nine observation points for one ball. After that, as shown in step C5, it is determined whether or not the detection of one pocket (9 observation points) is completed. When the detection of one pocket is completed, the process proceeds to step C6.

In step C6, the presence / absence of a ball and the color information of the pocket are determined based on the detection results of the nine observation points of each pocket. The presence / absence of the ball and the determination of the color information are performed in the processing unit 330. The determination method in this processing unit 330 will be described below.

First, by the arithmetic processing in the processing section 330, each ratio of G / R, B / R and G / B is obtained based on the color component information of R, G and B at each observation point. In this case, the component information of each color is R in the frame buffer 310.
Can be taken out from the memories 312, 316 for G, B, and B by designating the position coordinates of the observation point.
Then, the ratio of the obtained color component information is compared with the color distribution information stored in the ROM 324 in advance. FIG. 13 shows an example of the color distribution information stored in the ROM 324. This color distribution information is red,
It is obtained by measuring the color distribution of each actual ball of each color of yellow, blue, and gold, and is stored in the ROM 324.

For example, the red color distribution area 340 is set as a distribution area in which X1 <G / R <X2 Y1 <B / R <Y2. The yellow, blue, and gold color distribution areas 342, 344, 346 are set in the same manner. The ratio of the color component information of the ball actually captured by the CCD camera is, for example, the distribution area (X1
~ X2, Y1 to Y2), the ball is judged to be a red ball. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to determine the color information of each of the red, yellow, blue, and gold balls that are bonus balls.

By determining whether or not the ball belongs to any of these areas, it is possible to determine whether or not the ball exists. Specifically, for example, when the obtained color distribution is the above red, yellow, blue, and gold color distribution region 3,
If the ball does not belong to any of 40, 342, 344, and 346, it is determined that the ball does not exist. In addition, the presence or absence of this ball is determined by the detected color distribution.
It can also be performed by determining whether the ground color of the field portion is the same.

In the present embodiment, the color judgment is made based on the ratio of the color component information, not the absolute value of the color component information itself. This is because if the absolute value is used as it is, it is likely to be affected by surrounding light such as external light. For example, even when the outside light becomes bright as a whole, the influence of the color determination can be prevented by using the ratio of the color component information. In this embodiment, G / B is also used in the same manner as the other two data G / R and B / R in order to improve the accuracy of color determination.

In the present embodiment, as described above, a plurality of (for example, 9) observation points are set for one ball. Then, as shown in step C6, if, for example, five (more than half) of the nine observation points have the same color, the color is provisionally determined as the color at the current pocket position. The reason why the color is judged to be the color at the pocket position even if the color is not the same at all the observation points is because the existence of scratches and dirt on the ball 2 is taken into consideration. For example, in FIG. 14 (A), among the observation points A to I on the blue ball, the observation points E and G have scratches 350.
However, there is a stain 352 at the observation point I. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 14B, the observation points A to D, F,
It is determined that H belongs to the blue distribution area 344, but it is determined that the observation points G and E do not belong to any distribution area, and the observation point I belongs to the yellow distribution area 342. Will be judged. However, in such a case, the determination results of the observation points E, G, and I should be ignored, and the color at this pocket position should be determined to be blue. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when it is determined that a certain number (for example, a majority) of a plurality of observation points has a predetermined color or more, the color at the pocket position is determined to be the predetermined color. Imaging area 6 of CCD camera 3
Is usually the color of the ball 2 or the field 1
Since there are only 30 background colors, it is possible to reliably determine the presence / absence of a ball and the color information only by determining whether or not a certain number or more is a predetermined color.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in step C7, when the same color is applied to the pocket to be processed a certain number of times or more, it is determined that the ball has won the pocket. The reason is as follows. That is, the ball 2 is actually moving on the field portion 130 for a certain period. Therefore, if the ball 2 goes into the pocket for a while and then is taken out by the CCD camera 3 and then goes out, or the ball 2 is taken by the CCD camera 3 while the ball is in one pocket. In some cases, there is a possibility that an erroneous detection / determination operation may be performed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is determined that the ball has won the pocket to be processed for the first time when the same color has been obtained a certain number of times, and the time factor adversely affects the determination result. Are prevented.

Finally, as shown in step C8, it is determined whether or not the determination is completed for all pockets,
The detection / determination process for the presence / absence of a ball and the color information ends.

Next, as shown in step B5 of FIG.
The process of detecting / determining the presence / absence of a ball in the die ball area is performed. FIG. 15 shows a detailed flowchart of the detection / determination processing in the dead ball area. This detection
The determination process is performed to detect and determine a state where the ball is stagnant in an area that is not originally a winning pocket, that is, a dead ball state as shown in FIG.

As the dead ball areas in this embodiment, the dead ball areas 360 to 374 shown in FIG. 17 and the dead ball areas 376 to 398 shown in FIG. 18 can be considered.
Dead ball areas 360 to 374 shown in FIG. 17 are areas in which dead balls may always occur. On the other hand, the dead ball areas 376 to 398 shown in FIG. 18 are areas in which a dead ball may occur only when the second ball 2 (ball with diagonal lines) enters the winning pocket 140. Is. In step D2, first, these dead ball areas 36
From 0 to 398, a process for designating a dead ball area to be detected / determined is performed.

Next, as shown in step D3, presence / absence of a ball in the designated dead ball area and color information are detected. In this case, in order to improve the detection accuracy, a plurality of observation points (for example, three observation points) are set in the dead ball area, and the presence or absence of a ball at these observation points,
It is desirable to detect color information. Further, in this case, the presence / absence of the ball and the detection of the color information are performed with reference to FIGS.
The detection method is the same as the detection method described above. In the case of detecting a dead ball, it is not always necessary to specify what color the dead ball is, and it is sufficient to detect whether or not there is a ball in the dead ball area. Therefore, in the case of dead ball detection, it is not always necessary to employ the detection method described in FIGS. 5, 13, and 14. However, FIG. 5 and FIG.
If the method shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 14 is adopted, it is possible to obtain an advantage that new hardware does not have to be provided for dead ball detection.

Next, as shown in step D4, it is determined whether the color information obtained in the dead ball areas 360 to 398 is the same as the ground color of the field portion 130. The determination in this case is performed by the same method as the determination method described with reference to FIGS. 5, 13, and 14. When it is determined that the color information in the dead ball area is the same as the ground color of the field portion 130, it is determined that there is no dead ball in the designated dead ball area, and the process proceeds to step D7. On the contrary, when it is determined that the ground color of the field portion 130 is different from the ground color of the field portion 130, it is determined that a dead ball or a reflection area may exist in the designated dead ball area, and step D
Go to 5.

In the surface of the field portion 130, similarly to the ball 3, a region where the light from the halogen lamp 4 or the like is strongly reflected is generated. The region where the light is strongly reflected is the reflection region here. For example, in this embodiment, FIG.
Reflected areas 400 to 410 as shown in FIG. Reflection area 400 by the halogen lamp 2
The color components of the light from ˜410 are very similar to the color components of the reflected light from the yellow ball 2. Therefore, if there is a reflection area, it may be mistaken for the yellow ball 2 to exist in that area. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the color information in the dead ball area is different from the ground color of the field portion 130 in step D4, it is not immediately determined that there is a dead ball in the area.

Next, as shown in step D5, it is determined whether or not the color information in the designated dead ball area is different from the ground color of the field portion 130 continuously for a predetermined number of times or more in the designated dead ball area. Is judged. Then, when it is not determined that the number of times is continuously different for a certain number of times or more, the process proceeds to step D7. On the other hand, when it is determined that the number of consecutively different times is equal to or greater than the certain number of times, it is determined that the area may have a dead ball or a reflected area. In this way, the process of step D5 is provided because the ball 2 happens to be
It is possible that the image was captured while passing through, and in these cases, false detection that it is judged as a dead ball,
This is to prevent misjudgment.

Next, as shown in step D6, it is judged whether or not the dead ball generation condition is satisfied. For example,
In the case of the dead ball areas 376 to 398 shown in FIG. 18, no dead ball occurs unless the ball 2 exists in the shaded portion. Therefore, when it is determined that the color information in the ball areas 376 to 398 is different from the ground color of the field portion 130 even though the ball does not exist in the shaded area, it is determined that the reflection has occurred, and the process proceeds to step D7. Transition. On the contrary, when the ball exists in the shaded area and it is determined that the color information in the ball areas 376 to 398 is different from the ground color of the field section 130, the process moves to step D9 and a ball is dead. It is determined that they are doing. Further, for example, the dead ball areas 360 to 3 shown in FIG.
In the case of 74, there is a possibility that a ball will always be generated in the death.
Since the dead ball areas 360 to 374 are shadow areas of the partition 146 with respect to the irradiation direction of the light of the halogen lamp 4, the dead ball areas 360 to 374 are included.
There is no glare area in. Therefore, in the dead ball areas 360 to 374 shown in FIG. 17, when it is determined that the color information is different from the ground color of the field portion 130, the process directly proceeds to step D9, and it is determined that a dead ball has occurred. It

When it is determined that a ball has been deadly generated as shown in step D9, the ball elimination mechanism is deadly operated as shown in step D10. That is, in FIG. 4, the ball determination unit 300 outputs the “dead ball generation code” to the main control unit 230. Then, the main control unit 230 receives the "death ball generation code" and receives the "death ball elimination mechanism".
Will be activated. Specifically, an operation of swinging the ball collection mechanism 242 to the left and right is performed, whereby a dead ball enters a winning pocket or an invalid pocket, and the dead ball is eliminated.

Unlike the above, when the process moves to step D7, it is determined whether or not the determination of dead balls is completed in all the dead ball areas 360 to 398. If it is determined that the processing has not ended, the process returns to step D2,
A ball area is designated for a new death. On the other hand, if it is determined that the processing has ended, the process proceeds to step D8, and it is determined that no dead balls have occurred in all dead ball areas 360 to 398.

In this way, step B in FIG.
When the processes of 4 and B5 are completed, the next step is B6 to B.
As shown in 8, Steps B9 to B11 and Steps B12 to B14, color determination processing and dead ball determination processing are performed on the images captured by the CCD cameras 3B to 3D. Then, based on these judgment results, the game score of each player is calculated, and one game ends. After that, the ball is transported and the next game is started. In this case, in FIG. 4, the CCD camera 5
0, the color detection / determination processing for ball sorting performed by the halogen lamp 51 is performed by the same method as the above-described color detection / determination processing.

As described above, in this embodiment, the image pickup means such as the CCD cameras 3A to 3D performs the image pickup operation in the image pickup area including the winning opening into which a plurality of balls (objects to be detected) are inserted. The presence / absence of a ball at the winning opening and the color information are determined based on the imaging information from. Therefore, there are the following advantages as compared with the case where the presence / absence of a ball and color information are detected / determined by a color sensor (color identification photoelectric device). That is, in the case of using the color sensor, there arises a problem that the plurality of color sensors must be arranged corresponding to the plurality of balls entering the winning opening. This is very expensive. Further, since the color sensor cannot keep a large distance from the ball, it cannot be stored in the ceiling portion 11 as in the present embodiment, and it becomes necessary to install the color sensor in the immediate vicinity of the ball. As a result, there is a problem that the installation space becomes very large. Further, since the color sensor detects the detection target object at one point, it cannot perform the processing corresponding to scratches, stains, etc. as in the present embodiment. Further, since the color sensor is just an electronic element, there is a problem in that a circuit for controlling the color sensor must be installed in the immediate vicinity of the color sensor. Furthermore, it is necessary to install some kind of lighting device near the color sensor as a reference for detection.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the ball is detected by using the image pickup means, the above problem does not occur. Therefore, the cost is low, and the effect of the game can be enhanced by hiding the imaging means on the ceiling or the like.
It is possible to realize a ball game device of a type that has never existed before and does not malfunction due to scratches, stains, or the like.

4. Outline of Game Next, the contents of the game realized by this embodiment will be briefly described.

First, the display contents of the display screen shown in FIG. 3 will be described. In FIG. 3, the display screen 180 has a ball number display portion 182 that displays the ratio of each type of ball (for example, color type). The ball number display unit 182 displays the number of balls of each color in the next game. For example, FIG. 3 shows that three red balls, eight yellow balls, and five blue balls are used in the next game.

Below the number-of-balls display section 182, a rate display section 184 for displaying the betting rate corresponding to each color ball is provided. Specifically, in FIG. 3, from the left column, the number of balls in the prize pocket 140, the bet ratio of red balls, the bet ratio of yellow balls, the bet ratio of blue balls, and the bet ratio of any color are shown. .

Here, the number of balls in the leftmost column is
The number is 1 to 6. What is not displayed for the case of 7 or more is that, as shown in FIG. 2, the prize pocket 140 group formed by one pocket frame 142 is such that a total of 6 balls 2 can be inserted. This is because you cannot enter more than one.

Further, for example, in the case of a red ball, if one red ball is inserted, it is 1 time, if two red balls are included, it is 12 times,
It has been shown that a magnification of 100 times can be obtained when each piece is included. Four
The reason why the number of red balls is not displayed is that only three red balls are used, as displayed in the ball number display portion 182. For the same reason, only 5 magnifications are displayed for blue balls.

Also, regarding the betting rate in which the color is not questioned,
It is shown that, for any color, 2 balls will be 1x, 3 balls will be 2x, 4 balls will be 3x, 5 balls will be 10x, and 6 balls will be 50x. ing. And if you only enter one, it is quite high in probability,
The medal will be confiscated without being refunded.

Next, at the bottom of the display screen 180, a credit display section 186 and a bet number display section 188 are provided.

The credit display portion 186 displays the total number of medals inserted from the medal insertion slot 178 and the number of medals that can be refunded due to winning the game. When a bet is placed, the number of bets placed is subtracted, and when a payout is placed, the number of refunded items is subtracted and displayed.

For example, in FIG. 3, all the inserted medals have been bet, so that the credit display section 186 displays 0 coins.

The bet number display section 188 displays how many medals have been bet for each betting object. As described above, in this game, betting is performed on how many balls each color has, or how many balls regardless of color. Therefore, since the player can bet any desired number of medals on any bet, the bet number display unit 188 is provided so as to recognize the object of this bet and the number of medals bet.

For example, in FIG. 3, one red ball, two yellow balls, three blue balls, and four bets with any color
It is displayed that medals have been bet.

Next, a bonus chance display section 189 is provided on the uppermost stage of the display screen 180 to the right of the ball number display section 182. The bonus chance display section 189 displays that the score is obtained under a predetermined condition in addition to the original bet.

For example, the bonus chance display section 1 shown in FIG.
In 89, there are four ball arranging portions 189a to 189d, and it is shown that there are four types of bonus chances depending on how these balls are arranged. The ball arranging portions 189a to 189d show how the balls in the prize winning pocket 140 are arranged.

In the bonus chance display section 189 of FIG. 3, the ball array section 189a at the left end shows a state in which one ball is inserted into each of the three winning pockets 140, and +100 is displayed below it. . This display indicates that 100 balls are added to the payout rate when one ball is placed in each winning pocket 140 and the balls are lined up in a horizontal row.

In this case, the total payout ratio is, for example, when three medals are bet on the blue ball, the ball arranging section 189.
Assuming that all blue balls are included in the arrangement of a, the magnification is 20 times due to the inclusion of three blue balls, and 100 is added to this to obtain 120 times. Furthermore, since three medals have been bet on the blue ball, the payout of 360 medals is eventually obtained by multiplying the three medals by 120 times.

Similarly, the ball arranging portion 189b shows a case where two balls are inserted in a vertical line only in a predetermined winning pocket 140, and the ball arranging portion 189c is inserted into each of all the winning pockets 140. In this case, the ball arranging section 189d shows the case where no ball is inserted, and in these cases, the bonus score is added.

The conditions for bonus points are not limited to these. For example, a bonus score may be obtained when only a plurality of balls of the same color are entered, or a bonus score is obtained when a ball of a predetermined color is inserted at a predetermined position.

Further, these bonus opportunities are effective only in a predetermined case, and the effective bonus opportunities are displayed brightly and the invalid bonus opportunities are displayed dark so that the effective invalidity can be clearly seen. It is preferable. For example, in FIG. 3, only the ball arranging portion 189a is bright and displayed to be effective, and the other ball arranging portions 189b to 189d are dark and displayed to be invalid.

As described above, in order to determine whether the bonus chance is valid or invalid, a control unit which can randomly determine whether the bonus chance is valid or invalid each time a medal is inserted is provided, and the medal is randomly generated every time the medal is inserted. It is preferable to decide. Also, if this is done, the player will not know when this bonus opportunity will be effective, and a kind of bet will be made whether it becomes effective each time a medal is thrown in, which is also something that the player can enjoy. .

The display screen 180 is configured to display such contents, and an operation button 174 is provided below the display screen 180.

More specifically, in FIG. 3, from the right, the all-color button 17 for making a bet with any color is in order.
4a, blue ball button 174 for betting on a blue ball
b, a yellow ball button 174c for betting on a yellow ball,
A red ball button 174d for betting on a red ball is provided.

These operation buttons 174a to 174d
Each time you press, you can bet one medal on the corresponding bet. For example, since three medals are bet on the blue ball in the bet number display portion 188, it means that the blue ball button 174b has been pressed three times.

A multi-bet button 174e is provided on the left of the red ball button 174d. The multi-bet button 174e is used for the credit display unit 1
When the number of medals displayed on 86 exceeds 10, the built-in lamp blinks, and if any of the operation buttons 174a to 174d is pressed while this is blinking, 10 medals can be bet each time it is pressed. It has become. Further, when the multi-bet button 174e is pressed, the blinking of the lamp disappears, the operation for every 10 sheets is canceled, and the other operation buttons 17
When 4a to 174d are pressed, one medal can be bet each time the button is pressed.

Next, on the right side of the display screen 180,
A medal payout port 179 is provided. The medal payout opening 179 is formed as a tray for paying out the number of medals displayed on the credit display section 186.
Then, a payout button 176 is provided to perform a payout, and by pressing the payout button 176, the medals are paid out.

More specifically, the withdrawal button 176 has a built-in lamp that lights up only when there is a credit, and when it is pressed once, the lamp blinks to start the withdrawal. This refund can be made at any time, but the number of consecutive refunds is limited to 50. Further, if the refund button 176 is pressed again during the refund, the refund is stopped.

A medal slot 178 is provided on the right side of the payout button 176 so that the player can insert a predetermined number of medals.

Next, the game contents will be briefly described.

As described above, since this ball game device has eight play bases 170, the player first arbitrarily selects one of these play bases 170. Then, since the pocket frame 142 corresponding to each play table 170 is provided, in the end,
A specific winning pocket 140 group will be determined (see FIG. 2).

When the play table 170 is selected in this manner, various information is displayed on the display screen 180 of the play table 170.

First, in the ball number display portion 182, red,
The number of yellow and blue balls used in the game is displayed. For example, in FIG. 3, the ball number display unit 182 displays three red balls, eight yellow balls, and five blue balls, which indicates that a total of 16 balls are used.

As described above, since the number of balls is different for each color, the probability that each color ball will enter the prize pocket 140 is also different. Therefore, the bet multiplier is displayed on the multiplier display portion 184 according to the number of balls of each color. For example, if you enter one blue ball, 1
It is displayed as 2 times, 5 times when entering 2 pieces, 20 times when entering 3 pieces, and so on.

Therefore, the player bets medals by referring to this betting rate, but for that purpose, first,
A predetermined number of medals are inserted from the medal insertion slot 178 to credit the medals. Then, the number of inserted medals is displayed on the credit display unit 186 (see FIG. 3).

Here, when some medals are thrown in, the ball array portions 189a to 189a, which are initially entirely displayed in dark, are displayed.
One of 89d is displayed brightly and it is displayed that the bonus chance is effective. The player does not know when this bonus chance will be effective because it is randomly determined.

The betting is completed as described above. For example, in FIG. 3, one medal is bet on the red ball, two medal is on the yellow ball, three medal is on the blue ball, and four medal is bet with any color. Then, the ball arranging portion 189a is displayed brightly, and it is displayed that the bonus points can be added when the balls are arranged in a horizontal row.

Then, the player operates the operation button 174 within a predetermined time to make a bet. It should be noted that a slow-tempo BGM is flown during the time when this bet is placed, and another BGM is switched to when the bet deadline approaches.

Here, the operation buttons 174a to 174d.
Are able to place bets in the colors displayed directly above. For example, the operation button 174a is a bet in which a medal is refunded if two or more balls of any color are entered, or the operation button 174b is
It is a bet that you can get a refund if you enter one or more blue balls.

Then, when the betting time ends, the game starts. Specifically, first, a predetermined number of balls 2 of each color are sent out by the transport motors 270 to 276 shown in FIG. Then, the guide rail 278, the transport mechanism 280,
The ball 2 is delivered to the spiral rail 100 via the guide rail 239 and the delivery motor 240. The delivered ball 2 rolls down on the spiral rail 100 and is delivered to the field portion 130 as shown in FIG.

Since the field portion 130 has a funnel shape as described above, the delivered ball 2 gradually falls toward the center while rotating in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. Then, the ball 2 will enter the winning pocket 140 or the ineffective pocket 150.

Here, when the ball 2 enters the prize winning pocket 140, the C provided above the prize winning pocket 140.
The CD cameras 3A to 3D capture an image of this, and the ball determination unit 3
00 is the presence or absence of the ball 2 in the winning pocket 140,
Detects / determines color information.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, after all the other balls 2 have been sent out, the gold balls 2 are sent out once every several games. The gold ball 2 has a payout rate that is further doubled when it enters the winning pocket 140, and is detected by the CCD cameras 3A to 3D. Further, this golden ball 2 increases the winning number by one, regardless of the betting on the ball 2 of any color.

For example, in the case of betting shown in FIG.
If there is only one red ball in his or her winning pocket 140, if a gold ball enters here, it is calculated as two red balls, and the betting rate is doubled. In other words, the number of red balls becomes 12 times, which is 2
It doubles to 24 times.

In this way, the game ends when all the balls enter either the prize pocket 140 or the invalid pocket 150.

Then, the main control section 230 compares the number, the color, and the arrangement of the balls in the winning pocket 140 with the bet made by the operation button 174, and if the player wins, the predetermined result is determined. To be able to make a refund. Specifically, first, the number of payouts is added to the credit display portion 186, and the player pushes the payout button 176 to be paid out.

Further, after or simultaneously with this payout, the ball 2 is recovered from the ball recovery hole 134 of the field portion 130.

Then, the player enjoys the game by repeating betting.

5. Other Application Examples FIGS. 20 to 22 show examples of other game devices to which the color determination method of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 20 shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a flag raising game. In this game device 900, the player 902 first inserts a coin into the coin insertion slot 904.

Then, from the speakers 916 and 918,
"Start the game. Raise red, don't lower red, raise white.
Don't raise white, don't raise blue. ........ "is output. Then, on the screens 920 and 922,
The color of the flag to be displayed on the left hand side and the color of the flag to be raised on the right hand side are displayed. The player 902 raises and lowers the plurality of flags 906 to 914 which are painted in several colors in accordance with these voices and instructions on the screen.

In this case, the game apparatus 900 is provided with CCD cameras 924 and 926 as image pickup means.
Then, in the CCD cameras 924 and 926, these C
A predetermined image capturing operation is performed on the flag (object to be detected) moved to the image capturing area of the CD camera. Then, the determination means (corresponding to a ball determination unit) detects and determines the color information of the flag based on the image pickup information obtained by this image pickup operation. Then, the player's score is determined based on the detected / determined color information, and this score is displayed on the screen 928.

As described above, according to the present invention, a flag-raising game which has not been able to judge the color of the flag raised by the player in the past can be made a flag-raising game which can judge the color of the flag. As a result, it is possible to request a player to perform more complicated movements, and it is possible to realize a flag-raising game in which the degree of excitement is higher and the player is tired of playing.

21A and 21B show an example in which the present invention is applied to a competitive game in which a moving body moves on a predetermined field. In this game device 930, a plurality of cars (moving bodies) 934 to 9 are painted in different colors.
40 is freely slid down on the slope 946 provided with the obstacle 942 and the like without any restriction on the course and speed. The game device causes a plurality of players playing at the player stations 932a to 932d to hit a car that first passes the goal 948.

A CCD camera 950 is built in the ceiling above the goal 948. Then, as shown in FIG. 21B, in this CCD camera 950, the goal 94 is
The imaging operation is performed in the imaging area 952 including the area of 8. Then, the determining unit detects the vehicle that has reached the goal 948 and detects and determines the color information of the vehicle based on the imaged information obtained by the image capturing operation. Then, the score of each player is determined based on the detected / determined color information, the player's betting information, etc., and the score is displayed on the display on the player stations 932a-932d.

As described above, according to the present invention, the color information of these moving objects is determined by imaging the goal area of the moving objects moving on the predetermined field, and the player bets on the basis of this color information. It can be determined whether the car has reached the goal. That is, in a conventional competition game, for example, a horse racing game, a racing game, or the like, a moving object, such as a horse or a car, which is a bet target of the player is uniquely specified for each player. On the other hand, in this game device, a bet is made on which color of the car will finish first.
Therefore, the moving object to be bet by the player is not uniquely specified for each player, and the player bets which vehicle will finish first with respect to a plurality of moving objects flowing one after another. be able to. As a result, it becomes possible to incorporate elements of randomness and randomness possessed by amusement devices such as pachinko machines into a conventional competitive game, and it is possible to realize a competitive game with an unprecedentedly high degree of excitement. .

22 (A) and 22 (B) show an example in which the present invention is applied to a color guessing game of a bill inserted on the field. In this game device 953, a plurality of tags 958, which are detection targets that are painted in different colors, are used.
964 is input by the input unit 956 onto the field 974 divided into 10 divided areas numbered 1 to 10. Then, the player station 954a-
This is a game device for causing a plurality of players who play at 954e to match a divided area into which a bill is placed and the color of a bill inserted into each divided area.

A C is placed on the ceiling above the field 974.
The CD cameras 966-972 are built in. And
As shown in FIG. 22B, CCD cameras 966 to 97
2, the image pickup operation is performed in the image pickup areas 978-984 corresponding to the CCD cameras 966-972, respectively.
Then, the judging means detects and judges to which divided area the bill belongs and the color information of the bill based on the image pickup information obtained by the image pickup operation. That is, the imaging area 9
At 80, for example, it is determined that the red bill 964 has entered the divided area of number 4. Further, in the imaging area 982, for example, it is determined that the blue tag 960 has entered the sectioned area of number 7, while in the imaging area 984, all the tags have numbers 8 to 1.
It is determined that the 0 area has not been entered. Then, the score of each player is determined based on the detected / determined segmented area information, color information, player betting information, and the like, and the game result such as the determined score is displayed on the screen 986. .

As described above, according to the present invention, the color information of the detection target and the input divided region are detected by performing the image pickup operation on the detection target placed on the field divided into the divided regions. The information can be determined to determine if the player's bet color tag was placed in the player's bet area. Therefore, as in the conventional roulette game, for example, not only in which divided area a ball of one color (detection target) is thrown, but also color information of the ball thrown in the divided area is targeted for betting. be able to. As a result, it is possible to incorporate a color determination element into a conventional game device such as a roulette game and realize a game device with a high degree of excitement in which betting elements can be made more complicated and interesting.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but various modifications can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

For example, in the above embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the ball game device, the flag raising game, the competition game, and the bill-hit game has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to all kinds of game devices. Can be applied.

Further, the image pickup means is not limited to the CCD camera, and various image pickup means can be used. As the illuminating means for the ball, various illuminating means other than the halogen lamp can be used as long as the influence of external light can be eliminated.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a game device using medals has been described.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the score may be displayed by simply displaying the score.
Further, the present invention is not limited to the one in which a plurality of players compete with each other as in the above embodiment, and may be a game device for one player.

[0150]

As described above, according to the first and third aspects of the present invention, not only the presence / absence of the detection target in the imaging area but also the color information of the detection target is detected / determined based on the imaging information. It becomes possible. Therefore, for example, it is possible to realize a game device in which the score changes not only according to the number of detection targets in the imaging region, but also according to the color information of the detection targets in the imaging region. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to image the plurality of detection objects that have entered the image pickup area at once by the image pickup means, and it is possible to determine the presence or absence of the plurality of detection objects and the color information thereof by the determination means. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide as many image pickup units as the number of detection objects that enter the image pickup area. This allows the cost of the device to be significantly reduced. Further, according to the present invention, since it is possible to increase the distance between the detection target and the image pickup means, it is not always necessary to provide the image pickup means, for example, near the image pickup area. As a result, it is possible to prevent the peripheral portion of the imaging region from becoming large in scale, and it is possible to make the apparatus compact. Further, according to the present invention,
Since the configuration is such that not only one point on the detection target object but the entire detection target object is imaged, it is possible to perform processing corresponding to scratches and stains on the detection target object. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible for the determination means to perform a predetermined process on the imaged information, so that a process for easily adjusting an assembly error or the like of the device can be performed. As described above, in the present invention, the color component information is obtained based on the image pickup information from the image pickup means, not the color sensor (color identification photoelectric device), which is very advantageous in terms of cost and installation space. It will be composed.

According to the second aspect of the invention, since the color component information converted by the conversion means can be stored for each color component, for example, a process of comparing the absolute values of these color component information. Alternatively, it is possible to very easily perform the process of obtaining the ratio information between the color component information.
As a result, complicated and highly accurate detection / determination processing can be realized with a simple configuration.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the color information is determined based on the ratio information between the color component information, compared with the case where the absolute value is used as it is, the color information from the surroundings such as outside light is changed. It is possible to reduce the influence. This makes it possible to guarantee stable color determination processing.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, it is possible to determine the presence / absence of a plurality of detection objects in the image pickup area and the color information at once. Therefore, according to the present invention, it becomes very advantageous in terms of cost, installation space of the device, and the like, and the detection / determination speed can be made extremely high.

Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since it is not necessary to perform the determination processing on the image pickup information in all the dots in the image pickup area, the scale of the hardware for realizing the color determination processing can be reduced. In addition to this, it is possible to significantly speed up the process. Thus, for example, when the present invention is applied to a game device, it is possible to shorten the time for which the player has to wait for the calculation of the game score, and further enhance the sense of speed and interest of the game.

Further, according to the invention of claim 7, the presence / absence of the detection object and the detection / determination processing of the color information are performed based on the imaging information from the observation points provided at a plurality of locations.
The accuracy of the detection / judgment processing can be greatly improved as compared with the case where the processing is performed based on the imaging information from the observation points of the points. That is, when it is determined that the same color information is observed at a predetermined number of observation points among a plurality of observation points, if the color information is determined to be the color information of the detection target, the color information is detected on the detection target. Even if scratches or stains occur, accurate detection / judgment can be performed.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, the arrangement coordinates of the observation area are changed based on the result of comparison between the image stored in advance and the image captured in the image capturing area. Therefore, even if an error occurs in the setting of the imaging area due to an assembly error of the device, this error can be automatically corrected. As a result, the reliability of the color determination process can be significantly improved.

Further, according to the invention of claim 9, in a shaded area which is very susceptible to the influence of external light, or in a strongly reflected area where the illumination light of the object to be detected is strongly characterized, Since the presence / absence of the detection target and the observation of the color information are not performed, the accuracy of the detection / determination processing can be greatly improved. That is, since the shadow area and the area where the light is strongly reflected can be known in advance by the arrangement of illumination or the like for the detection target object, it is possible to detect the detection target object very efficiently by not providing an observation area in these areas. With or without,
Color information can be detected and determined.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, even if the brightness of the outside light changes during the image pickup operation, the influence of the outside light can be canceled by the illumination light. Therefore,
The influence of outside light can be greatly reduced, and the accuracy of detection / judgment can be greatly increased. As a result, stable color determination processing can be guaranteed.

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, the image pickup means for performing the image pickup operation can be made very compact, and the image pickup means can be easily built in, for example, the ceiling portion of the apparatus. Become.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to eliminate erroneous detection and erroneous determination that occur due to the timing at which the image pickup operation is performed, and it is possible to effectively prevent the time factor from adversely affecting the determination result. It can be prevented. This makes it possible to greatly enhance the stability and reliability of the color determination process.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing a ball game device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a field portion having a winning pocket.

FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing an operation surface of a play table including a display screen.

FIG. 4 is a schematic functional block diagram for explaining the operation of the present embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic functional block diagram of a ball determination unit.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing initial setting of the present embodiment.

7A and 7B are conceptual diagrams for explaining a matching method in initial setting.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a ball determination process during a game.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of an arrangement of imaging regions and pockets imaged by a CCD camera.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a method of detecting / determining the presence / absence of a ball in a pocket and color information.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an arrangement example of observation points (observation regions) set in the present embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a CCD camera, a halogen lamp and a ball.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing color distribution information stored in a ROM.

14A and 14B are diagrams for explaining color information detected at an observation point when a ball is scratched or soiled.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a method of detecting / determining the presence / absence of a ball in the dying ball area.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining a dead ball.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a region in which a ball is always likely to die.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a region in which a ball may be deadly generated only when the ball is present in the pocket (hatched portion).

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a reflection area.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example where the present invention is applied to a flag raising game.

21 (A) and 21 (B) are diagrams showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a competitive game in which a predetermined moving body moves on the field.

22 (A) and 22 (B) are diagrams showing an example in which the present invention is applied to a color guessing game of cards inserted on the field.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Device main body 2 Ball 3, 3A-3D CCD camera (imaging means) 4 Halogen lamp (illuminating means) 5 Camera hole 6 Imaging area 11 Ceiling part 50 CCD camera 51 Halogen lamp 100 Spiral rail (ball sending part) 130 Field part 140 Prize pocket 150 Invalid pocket 170 Play table 174 Operation buttons (operation section) 230 Main control section 300 Ball determination section (determination means) 310 Frame buffer 330 Processing section 900, 930, 953 Game device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoshinori Ishikawa 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Namco Inc. (72) Inventor Toshitake Inagaki 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock company In Namco (72) Inventor Tatsuo Kawabuchi 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Namco Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Takeuchi 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo In Namco (72) Invention Mori Yasuo 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Namco Ltd. (72) Inventor Kotaro Nakano 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku Tokyo (72) Inventor Takashi Aoki Tokyo Metropolitan 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku Stock company, Namco Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideyuki Kaneko 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Stock exchange Inside the company Namco (72) Inventor Teruka Takahashi 2-5-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Namco Ltd. (72) Inventor Shinya Niwa 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Namco (72) ) Inventor Kiyoshi Minami 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo In Namco Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Manabu Matsuo 2-8-5 Tamagawa, Ota-ku, Tokyo In Namco, Inc.

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A game device in which color information of a detection target is determined, and a player's score is determined according to a result of the determination, wherein imaging is performed in at least an imaging region including the detection target. Determining means for determining color component information of a captured image in the image capturing area based on image capturing information from the image capturing means, and determining color information of the detection target in the image capturing area based on the color component information. And a game device including at least. 2. The determination unit according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit converts the image pickup information into color component information, a unit that stores the converted color component information for each color component, and the storage unit outputs the color component information. And a unit for determining color information of the detection target in the imaging area based on the read color component information. 3. A color determination method for obtaining color information of a detection target, comprising: (A) performing an imaging operation in an imaging region including at least the detection target; and (B) in the step (A). Obtaining color component information of a captured image in the imaging region based on the obtained imaging information,
(C) determining the color information of the detection target in the imaging region based on the color component information obtained in the step (B). 4. The color according to claim 3, wherein the determination of the color information in the step (C) is performed based on the ratio information between the color component information obtained in the step (B). Judgment method. 5. The color determination method according to claim 3, wherein the image pickup operation in the step (A) is performed in an image pickup area including a plurality of the detection objects. 6. The observation area for observing the detection target is set in the imaging area, and the color detected in the observation area in the step (C). A color determination method, wherein information is determined as color information of a detection target. 7. The observation point according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of observation points are set in the observation area, and in the step (C), the same color information is detected at a predetermined location or more among the plurality of observation points. If the color information is determined to be the color information of the detection target, the color determination method. 8. The method according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a step of comparing an image stored in advance with an image captured in the imaging region and changing the arrangement position of the observation region based on the comparison result. A color determination method, which is performed before the step (A). 9. The region according to claim 6, wherein the observation region is a region other than a region that is a shadow of light that illuminates the detection target and a region in which light that illuminates the detection target is strongly reflected. A color determination method characterized by being set to. 10. The color according to claim 3, wherein the image pickup area is illuminated during the image pickup operation in the step (A) so as to eliminate the influence of external light. Judgment method. 11. The color determination method according to claim 3, wherein the image pickup operation in the step (A) is performed by a CCD camera. 12. The method according to claim 3, wherein the steps (A), (B) and (C) are repeated a plurality of times.
A color determining method, wherein when the determination in the step (C) is determination that the same color information is obtained a predetermined number of times or more, the color information is determined to be color information of the detection target.