Game facility monitoring system and game facility
View Patent ↗A system providing greatly improved monitoring against wrong or fraudulent acts. A game facility monitoring system includes game machines or game-related devices provided with detectors that detect the state of a device and the operation of the device resulting from wrong or fraudulent acts, detects the state of the device and the operation of the device possibly resulting from wrong or fraudulent acts, and gives out a notification. The system may also include an anomaly warning unit that operates, when any of the detectors is triggered, a warning operation determined by an anomaly level corresponding to the detected contents of multiple anomaly levels.
1. A game facility monitoring system comprising:
a plurality of game machines and game-related devices, at least one of the game machines and game-related devices including
means for providing a transaction with a person, upon input by the person of identification information identifying the person,
means for detecting disagreement between identifying information input and previously recorded identifying information,
means for assigning one of a plurality of anomaly levels based on degree of disagreement between the identification information input and the previously recorded identification information, wherein each of the anomaly levels indicates a different, respective probability of a fraudulent transaction, a first of the anomaly levels represents a non-fraudulent transaction, a second of the anomaly levels represents a potentially fraudulent transaction, and third of the anomaly levels represents a fraudulent transaction, and
a camera capturing an image of a person attempting a transaction only when the transaction attempted has an anomaly level exceeding a threshold anomaly level; and
a computer connected to the at least one of the game machines and the game-related devices for recording transactions and, when the threshold anomaly level has been exceeded, a captured image of the person, wherein the computer includes a processor programmed so that,
in response to assigning the first of the anomaly levels to a disagreement, to permit completion of the associated non-fraudulent transaction,
in response to assigning the second of the anomaly levels to a disagreement, to trigger the camera to capture an image of the person attempting the associated potentially fraudulent transaction and to record transaction information for later review, and
in response to assigning the third of the anomaly levels to a disagreement, to trigger the camera to capture an image of the person attempting the associated fraudulent transaction, to record transaction information, and to trigger an alarm for immediate response.
2. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the game-related devices sells balls for playing a game on a game machine.
3. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the game-related devices includes means requiring two different and sequential transactions for authenticating each employee, and admitting each employee to and releasing each employee from the game facility.
4. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one of the game machines and game-related devices includes alarm means for issuing respective alarms corresponding to respective anomaly levels whenever the threshold anomaly level is exceeded.
5. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , further including a light sensor associated with the camera for detecting when the camera has been obscured to prevent capturing of an image of the person.
6. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the previously recorded identifying information relates to a card issued to a person who plays one of the game machines.
7. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the previously recorded identifying information relates to a card issued to a person who is employed in the game facility.
8. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 1 , wherein the means for assigning one of a plurality of anomaly levels assigns anomaly levels based on the disagreement in combination with at least one additional factor.
9. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 8 , where the additional factor is selected from the group consisting of detecting opening of a door of any of the game machines and game-related devices, activity of any of the game machines or game-related devices outside business hours of the game facility, and activity of any of the game machines or game-related devices when electrical power to the game facility is disrupted.
10. The game facility monitoring system according to claim 5 , further including an alternative camera for capturing an image of the person when the camera has been obscured, wherein the light sensor is coupled to the computer and the computer causes the alternative camera to capture an image of the person when the computer determines from the light sensor that the camera has been obscured.