SMART CARD HOLDER FOR AUTOMATED GAMING SYSTEM AND GAMING CARDS

• US 20090048026A1
• Filed: 08/14/2007
• Published: 02/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/14/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: John B. French
• Original Assignee: John B. French
• Inventors: French, John B.
• Granted Patent: US 8,235,825 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/47
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00

Abstract

Methods and systems for intelligent tracking and/or play and/or management of card gaming use an intelligent card distribution or holding device with detectors for determine the value and unique identity of individual cards and for recording card play. In specific embodiments, the system utilizes various types of sensors and electronic circuits and software to scan, track, monitor, compute, and interface with electronic devices, to enable the automatic operation of Casino table games. The system can scan playing cards, scan gaming chips, indicate a players win/loss/draw, increase and or decrease player betting positions. Compute awards to players based on their playing activity, photograph individual players, and transmit player'"'"'s images to casino security/surveillance departments and or other authorized casino personnel. The system may activate table displays that indicate each player'"'"'s win/loss/draw of their bets, and or dealers card count, indicate in the game of blackjack when a dealer has blackjack, or any other significant event that occurs such as indicating when a player has a winning/loss/draw on specific card combinations.

Claims

1. A system for tracking movement and/or betting and/or play and/or identity of gaming pieces using an intelligent card holder comprising:

a holding compartment in said holder for receiving and holding gaming cards;

a dispensing opening in said holder for distributing or dealing gaming cards;

a plurality of electronically readable and writeable gaming pieces;

an electronic control system in said holder for interfacing with other electronic components and receiving, analyzing, and storing data;

at least one electronic component in said holder for reading data from said gaming pieces; and

at least one electronic component in said holder for writing data to said gaming pieces.

2. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said holder is a hand held holder.

3. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said holder is a table card holder that generally is not hand held during game play.

5. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said pieces comprise gaming cards.

6. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said pieces comprise gaming chips and gaming cards.

8. The system as recited in claim 2 wherein said hand held holder is a holder able to read and write data to gaming pieces without need of other antenna or electronic components at a gaming table.

9. The system as recited in claims 1 wherein said holder contains at least two interfaces for communicating with game pieces and/or a gaming table and/or other electronic components, said two interfaces being two different types of interfaces selected from the group:

an optical scanning interface able to detect visible or invisible reflected light from one or more of;

gaming cards, gaming chips, a gaming table with markings thereon;

an RF interface able to read and/or write and/or send and/or receive data wirelessly from one or more of;

gaming cards, gaming chips, one or more antennas attached to or incorporated in a gaming table;

smart cards indicating player or dealer identity and/or player credit cards or bonus cards;

one or more other electronic components for data storage, analysis, display, user input;

a magnetic head interface able to read and/or write data to devices that included embedded magnetic particles, said devices including one or more of;

gaming cards, cards indicating player or dealer identity and/or player credit cards or bonus cards.

11. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein data written to at least one of said gaming cards comprise one or more of:

a unique identity of said at least one card;

identity of a game participant dealt said card;

game play history of said card;

running total of all cards dealt to a hand receiving said card;

a validation code for said card;

game play location of said card;

betting area that relates to card play; and

betting amount related to card play.

12. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein said holder scans cards that are adjacent or proximate to said holder and can thereby determine a particular player and/or player betting area associated with a card during game play.

13. The system as recited in claim 1 further comprising:

an electronic control system for interfacing and controlling an antenna at said shoe, and for processing information received by said antenna when scanning gaming cards during one or more of;

a card game;

position and/or status of cards at a player'"'"'s gaming area;

position and/or status of cards at a dealer'"'"'s gaming area;

position and/or status of cards at a game table discard area;

position and/or status of cards at an optional or additional gaming area that is activated before and/or during game play;

a memory maintaining a running inventory of all of the gaming cards at a table, by value and by location, said memory operatively connected with said electronic control system;

and further wherein said holder scans cards that are adjacent or proximate to said holder and can thereby determine a particular player and/or player betting area associated with a card during game play;

further wherein said electronic control system is capable of maintaining a running inventory of all of the gaming cards at a table, by value and by location, and is further capable of identifying and invalidating counterfeit and unauthorized gaming cards;

further wherein said electronic control system is capable of maintaining a running inventory of all of the gaming chips at a table, by value, individual fingerprint and by location, and is further capable of identifying and invalidating counterfeit and unauthorized gaming chips;

further wherein said electronic control system is able to determine a pieces location on a table by determining proximity to table optical patterns and/or table antennas and/or table transponders;

further wherein said electronic control system is able to identify and invalidate counterfeit and unauthorized gaming chips and cards;

further wherein the electronic control system is capable of invalidating a gaming card not found in a location indicated by the card'"'"'s transactional history;

further wherein if gaming cards are removed in an unauthorized fashion from a gaming table such removal is sensed by a table sensor and or a related camera monitoring systems;

further comprising a camera and means responsive to a particular signal from one of said tracking and monitoring components within said system for actuating existing casino monitoring systems;

further wherein said holder has a two way data interface with playing cards and/or gaming chips and two or more components selected from the group consisting of;

card dealers;

game operators;

card players;

table displays;

cameras;

gaming chip storage areas;

table chip bank;

gaming chips betting areas;

table and off table data banks;

players gaming chips;

players complimentary cards;

players credit cards;

players identification cards.

20. The system as recited in claim 1 wherein each movement of a gaming card between locations on a gaming table is recorded as the card'"'"'s transactional history, and said electronic control system is capable of identifying a gaming card which is not in a location indicated by the transactional history for that card.

21. The system of claim 9 wherein said scanning comprises writing information onto a data bank carded by the card regarding the movement of the card from one location to another at said table, so that the card'"'"'s table activity, players, dealers, activity, transactional history is maintained in said data bank.

24. The system of claim 1 further comprising;

means for identifying players in said casino, wherein the electronic system is capable of rating a particular player'"'"'s performance based upon data obtained from tracking the gaming cards, and gaming chips and related electronic components and optical patterns on gaming tables and interfacing with casino camera monitoring systems.

29. The system as recited in claim 1, wherein said holder is a hand held holder that RF scans gaming chips contained in a gaming table chip tray or table chip bank and transfers reading results to a casino data bank, thereby allowing the casino to have a running inventory of the values of gaming chips at gaming tables, enabling running profit and loss totals and indicating when trays contents should be changed.

4. (canceled)

7. (canceled)

10. (canceled)

14-19. -19. (canceled)

22-23. -23. (canceled)

25-28. -28. (canceled)

30. A method of tracking movement of gaming cards at a gaming table, comprising:

electronically identifying an electronically identifiable gaming card at a first location at said table;

moving said gaming card from said first location to a second location at said table;

electronically identifying said gaming card at a second location within said table; and

recording the movement of the gaming card from said first location to said second location in a data bank so that the transactional and/or game play history of the gaming card is preserved for future reference.

31. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the data bank is disposed in a transponder carded by the gaming card and or magnetic particles, or optical data retaining components.

32. The method as recited in claim 30, wherein the card table includes a card storage area for receiving and storing gaming cards, a card distribution location for disbursing and receiving gaming cards, and a plurality of gaming tables, the method further comprising the steps of:

electronically scanning all gaming cards entering and leaving the card storage area of the gaming table;

electronically scanning all gaming cards entering and leaving the card distribution area such as;

stationary card holders, (from which cards are dealt to game participants) hand held playing card holders and table components that scan playing cards with under the table-surface antennas;

electronically scanning gaming cards utilized in the various steps required to play a specific card game by game participants;

processing the information received from the scanning steps in order to maintain a running gaming card inventory within the casino by value and card location.

processing the information received from the scanning steps in order to maintain a running gaming chip inventory within the table game and casino table bank, by value and chip location; and

further wherein the table card storage area scanning step further includes the step of encoding a voidable casino security code in a data bank carded by said card;

wherein the scanning steps further include the step of encoding additional information in a data bank carried by each gaming card each time it is moved from one location to another, thereby building a readable transaction history for each individual gaming card;

wherein the scanning steps further include the step of reading the transactional history for each individual gaming card;

comparing each gaming card'"'"'s transactional history to its present location, and identifying any gaming card not located in the location indicated by its transactional history; and

electronically invalidating any gaming card identified as having no identification code or an invalid identification code.

33-40. -40. (canceled)

41. A gaming card, comprising:

a body; and

one or more electronic components able to have data stored thereon;

at least one of said components able, when activated by an appropriate electronic system, to receive and store data regarding game play during game play;

at least one of said components able, when activated by an appropriate electronic system, to have data read there from during game play.

44. A gaming card, as recited in claim 41, further wherein said one or more electronic components able to have data stored thereon is able to store a unique card identification at least that when activated by an appropriate electronic system uniquely identifies the card from other cards that may have the same suit and value.

47. A gaming card, as recited in claim 41 further comprising at least one of:

optical patterns on said body;

at least one area containing magnetically readable and/or writeable material;

at least one RF transponder component; and

further wherein said cards interface with an electronic system that reads data from one of said components and stores information including said data on a different of said components;

further wherein said one or more electronic components is further encoded with permanent read-only identification information for a card; and

further wherein said changeable information comprises one or more of a transactional history of the card and a voidable casino security code.

42-43. -43. (canceled)

45-46. -46. (canceled)

48-77. -77. (canceled)