Abstract:
With conventional playing cards, when a game player holds together cards (the hand) in his/her hand during a game, if the cards are held shifted from each other, the indexes of all the cards in the corners thereof can be seen. If someone commits cheating (peeking) for the purpose of fraud, such third person can know all the cards held by the game player. Playing cards of the present invention can prevent fraudulent acts such as peeking in card games. 
     Playing cards ( 1 ) form a single deck with fifty two cards, and are made up of two types of cards, namely, cards ( 1   a ) having an index ( 2 ), which indicates a numerical value that represents a rank, only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and cards ( 1   b ) having the index ( 2 ) only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to playing cards having a function of preventing cheating in card games and a system for such playing cards. 
       BACKGROUND ART 
       [0002]    Playing cards used in card games are disclosed in, for example, WO99/44701 (JP 2001-523151A, see  FIG. 1 ). In this Patent Literature, a group mark (hereinafter referred to as the “suit”) that indicates the group where the card belongs and a numerical value (hereinafter referred to as the “rank”) are provided on the surface of the card by printing or the like. Normally, the rank is indicated by printing a mark that represents one of four types of suits on the surface of the card in a number corresponding to the rank (if the rank is 6, then 6 marks are printed). Also, currently, the suit and the rank of each card, which is called an index, is printed in the upper left and the lower right portions or all corners of the card surface such that the suit and the rank of each card can be readily distinguished. 
         [0003]    With conventional playing cards, when a game player holds together a plurality of cards (the hand) in his/her hand during a game, the cards are held shifted from each other as shown in  FIG. 4 . In this case, the indexes of all the cards present in the corners thereof can be seen, and if someone commits cheating (peeks at such cards held in the hand) for the purpose of fraud, such third person can know all the cards held by the game player. 
         [0004]    Also, in a casino or the like, an action to change the order of one deck or a plurality of decks of cards is made (cards are riffled or shuffled) prior to the start of the game in order to prevent cheating. When the order of the cards is changed in the usual manner, the corners of some cards may, for example, be warped by a dealer such that the indexes on the surface thereof may be seen. If the indexes on the surface of the cards are seen as described above, it is impossible to deny the possibility of any fraudulent act being committed using a small camera or the like, which may be a problem. 
       CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
       [0005]    Patent Literature 1: JP 2001-523151A 
       SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
       [0006]    The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and aims to provide playing cards capable of preventing any fraudulent act in card games. The present invention also aims to provide a system equipped with an inspection apparatus suitable for inspecting playing cards that are capable of preventing fraudulent acts. 
       Solution to Problem 
       [0007]    To solve the above conventional problems, the present invention provides playing cards that form either a single deck or a plurality of decks of cards, wherein the cards are made up of a first group that is a group of cards, each card of the first group having an index only in upper left and lower right portions thereof, the index indicating at least a numerical value that represents a rank of the card, and a second group that is a group of cards, each card of the second group having the index only in upper right and lower left portions thereof, and a plurality of cards with at least the same rank are divided into the two groups such that each of said plurality of cards belong to one of the groups. 
         [0008]    Also, to solve the above conventional problems, the present invention provides a system including: playing cards that form either a single deck or a plurality of decks of cards, wherein the cards are made up of a first group that is a group of cards, each card of the first group having an index only in upper left and lower right portions thereof, the index indicating at least a numerical value that represents a rank of the card, and a second group that is a group of cards, each card of the second group having the index only in upper right and lower left portions thereof, and a plurality of cards with at least the same rank are divided into the two groups such that each of said plurality of cards belong to one of the groups; and an inspection apparatus for the playing cards. The inspection apparatus includes a memory that stores suits and ranks of cards constituting the first group that is a group of cards, each card of the first group having the index only in upper left and lower right portions thereof, and suits and ranks of cards constituting the second group that is a group of cards, each card of the second group having the index in upper right and lower left portions thereof; a detection apparatus that includes a first camera for acquiring an image of the upper left or lower right portion of the card and a second camera for acquiring an image of the upper right or lower left portion of the card, and detects the absence of the index in a predetermined position (the upper left or lower right portion, or the upper right and lower left portions of the card) or acquires information on the index present in the predetermined position; a determination apparatus that compares an actual position of the index of each card read by the detection apparatus with the predetermined position where the index of the card should be present by using information stored in the memory, thereby making a determination; and an output means of outputting a result of the determination made by the determination apparatus. 
         [0009]    With the playing cards of the present invention, it is possible to prevent fraudulent act in card games since even if someone peeks at the indexes of the cards, it is impossible to see the indexes of all of these cards at once. 
         [0010]    As described below, the present invention includes other aspects. Therefore, the disclosure of the invention intends to provide part of the aspects of the present invention and does not intend to limit the scope of the invention described and claimed herein. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    [ FIG. 1 ]  FIG. 1(   a ) schematically shows playing cards according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention when held in the hand, and  FIG. 1(   b ) is a partial schematic view of playing cards lined up in a lateral direction. 
           [0012]    [ FIG. 2 ]  FIG. 2(   a ) is a plan view of a card according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, the card having an index that indicates a numerical value only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and  FIG. 2(   b ) is a plan view of a card having the index only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. 
           [0013]    [ FIG. 3 ]  FIG. 3  is a front view of a card inspection apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 
           [0014]    [ FIG. 4 ]  FIG. 4  is a diagram showing conventional playing cards when held in the hand. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    Detailed description of the present invention will now be described. However, the following detailed description and the attached drawings do not limit the invention. 
         [0016]    Playing cards according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described in detail below. 
         [0017]      FIG. 1  are diagrams each schematically showing playing cards according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention when held in the hand, and  FIG. 2(   a ) is a plan view of a card according to Embodiment 1, the card having an index indicating a numerical value only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and  FIG. 2(   b ) is a plan view of a card having the index only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. 
         [0018]    Playing cards  1  of Embodiment 1 are made up of two types of cards, namely, cards  1   a  each having an index  2 , which indicates a numerical value that represents the rank of the card, only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and cards  1   b  each having an index  2  only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof, and which form a single deck of playing cards with fifty two cards. For example, with respect to Hearts and Clubs of the suits, out of the cards  1 , the Ace cards, the cards numbered 2 and 3, and the cards of Jack, Queen and King, which are picture cards (J, Q and K), are cards  1   a  each having an index only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof. The cards  1  of Hearts and Clubs with a rank of either 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 are cards  1   b  each having an index only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. In reverse, with respect to Diamonds and Spades of the suits, out of the cards  1 , the Ace cards, the cards numbered 2 and 3, and the picture cards (Jack, Queen and King) are cards  1   b  each having an index only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. The cards  1  of Diamonds and Spades with a rank of either 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 are cards  1   a  each having an index only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof. 
         [0019]    One deck of the cards as described above, or eight decks of such cards, for example, are each treated as a single set. In such sets of playing cards, with respect to a plurality of cards with at least the same rank, for example, four each of the Ace cards, the cards numbered 2 and 3, and the picture cards (Jack, Queen and King), the cards of Hearts and Clubs are cards  1   a  having an index only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, while the cards of Diamonds and Spades are cards  1   b  having an index only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. In this manner, a plurality of cards with at least the same rank are divided into two groups  1   a  and  1   b  such that each card belongs to either group. 
         [0020]    Accordingly, with a deck of cards made up of two groups wherein the positions of the indexes thereon are mutually different, when the cards  1  dealt in a game are held in the hand and spread apart, for example, a view of the spread cards  1  is as shown in  FIG. 1 . Although five cards are held in the hand in  FIG. 1 , the indexes of two of them are hidden and cannot be seen. Thus, during a poker game, for example, it is impossible to know at a glance the hand (means) of the five cards. In this manner, a fraudulent act by a third person in the game can be prevented. 
         [0021]    Also, even if the cards  1  are lined up in some form prior to the game and someone attempts a fraudulent reading of their order, not all of the indexes  2  of the cards  1  appear on the same corner as shown in  FIG. 1  for example, and thus, there is no possibility of reading the sequence of all of the cards  1 . Therefore, it is possible to prevent fraudulent acts in casinos or the like. 
         [0022]    (Card Inspection Apparatus) 
         [0023]      FIG. 3  illustrates a card inspection apparatus  51  of a system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The card inspection apparatus  51  is capable of inspecting one deck (52 cards) or a plurality of decks (416 cards in case of eight decks) of cards made up of two groups, namely, a card group  1   a  in which each of the cards  1  has an index  2  only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and a card group  1   b  in which each of the cards  1  has an index  2  only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. The card inspection apparatus  51  includes a card stocker  52  to hold a plurality of cards  1  (for example, a single deck of cards), a supply roller  53  for supplying a card  1  from the card stocker  52 , and two transportation roller pairs  54  and  55  for conveying the card  1  supplied by the supply roller  53 . Two cameras  56  and  57  (CCD camera or the like) are placed between the two transportation roller pairs  54  and  55 . A detection apparatus  58  includes an image recognition apparatus, and is connected to a first camera  56  for obtaining an image of the upper left or lower right portion of the card, and a second camera  57  for obtaining an image of the upper right or lower left portion of the card. In the present embodiment, the first camera  56  and the second camera  57  are placed such that the first camera  56  captures an image of an area A in the upper left of the card (shown in  FIG. 2(   a )), and the second camera  57  captures an image of an area B in the upper right of the card (shown in  FIG. 2(   a )). The first camera  56  captures an image of the area A in the upper left of the card, thereby capturing an image of the index  2  if there is any, and confirming the absence thereof if there is none. The second camera  57  captures the image of the area B in the upper right of the card, thereby capturing the image of the index  2  if there is any, and confirming the absence thereof if there is none. The detection apparatus  58  analyzes the two images captured by the two cameras  56  and  57  to employ the information on the index  2  present in one of the two images that includes the same, thereby obtaining the value and details of the rank and the suit, as well as detecting and confirming in which position of the card (upper left or upper right) the index  2  is or is not present. 
         [0024]    This inspection apparatus  51  includes a control apparatus  61  that includes a memory  59  and an image analysis/determination apparatus  60  that acquires information from the detection apparatus  58 . Stored in advance in the memory  59  of the control apparatus  61  are the suits and the ranks of the cards constituting a first group, which is a card group ( 1   a ) in which each of the cards has an index  2  only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and the suits and the ranks of the cards constituting a second group, which is a card group ( 1   b ) in which each of the cards has an index  2  only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. The image analysis/determination apparatus  60  identifies the position on the surface of the card  1  where the index  2  is printed (whether the index  2  is present either in the upper left or lower right portion, or in the upper right or lower left portion), and at the same time, inspects each card  1  based on the reading results of the suit (type) or the rank (number) of the card  1 . Information is set or stored in the memory  59  of the image analysis/determination apparatus  60  in advance by an unshown input means. Information so set or stored in advance include all of the suits and ranks of the cards constituting the first group, which is the card group  1   a  in which each of the cards  1  has an index  2  only in the upper left and lower right portions thereof, and all of the suits and ranks of the cards constituting the second group, which is the card group  1   b  in which each of the cards  1  has an index  2  only in the upper right and lower left portions thereof. 
         [0025]    The image analysis/determination apparatus  60  actually detects the information on the index  2  of each card  1  conveyed one by one with the transportation rollers  54  and  55 , and in which corner (upper left or upper right) the index  2  is printed, compares the information thus detected with the information stored in the memory  59 , and inspects the information on the index  2  of the card  1  and whether the index  2  is printed in a predetermined corner (upper left or upper right), thereby determining whether the index  2  is printed in the preset proper position. Specifically, the actual position of the index  2  of each card  1  read is compared with the predetermined position where the index  2  of that card  1  should be present that is stored in the memory  59 , and the image analysis/determination apparatus  60  determines whether these positions match. The result of the determination by the image analysis/determination apparatus  60  is displayed by an output means  62  with a lamp or the like, and is further transmitted to an external main monitoring apparatus or monitoring division of a casino. 
         [0026]    The output from the image analysis/determination apparatus  60  that serves as a determination apparatus is connected to a card sorting apparatus  63 , and normal cards  1  are sorted into a normal card receiving tray  64 , which is the bottom tray, based on the result of determination as to whether the index  2  of the card  1  is in the predetermined position, or not (in this case, the corresponding card is determined to be defective). If the index  2  is not printed in the predetermined position (proper position), the corresponding card  1  is sorted into a defective card receiving tray  65 . 
         [0027]    Another camera  66  is connected to the image analysis/determination apparatus  60 , thereby inspecting whether the pattern on the back face of each card  1  is properly printed, as well as the condition of the card  1  such as the presence of a scratch or the like, or defects in quality such as smudges. Defective cards are sorted into the defective card receiving tray  65 . 
         [0028]    The above is a description of the embodiments of the present invention. Of course, various modifications, additions and alterations may be made to the embodiments described above by those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention. For example, the setting of the position of the index  2  of each card (upper left and lower right portion, or upper right and lower left portions of the card), the suits and the ranks of the cards assigned to each card group, or the position of the index of the card may be varied as appropriate depending on the type of game. In addition, the system of the present invention is applicable to an inspection system within a factory for playing cards capable of preventing cheating, inspection of playing cards in the backyard of casinos, inspection of cards prior to the start of a table game, or the like. 
         [0029]    Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention that can be considered at the moment have been described, it will be understood that various modifications are possible for the present embodiments, and it is intended that the appended claims include all modifications within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.