Method and system for identifying a game piece

• US 8,104,688 B2
• Filed: 06/15/2009
• Issued: 01/31/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Pure Imagination LLC
• Original Assignee: Pure Imagination LLC
• Inventors: Wallace, Michael, Odom, Philip Trevor
• Primary Examiner(s): WALSH, DANIEL I
• Application Number:
  US12/485,010
• Publication Number:
  US 20090309303A1
• Time in Patent Office: 960 Days
• Field of Search: 273236-239, 235/487, 235/492, 235/435, 235/451
• US Class Current: 235/487
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/121 by printing code marks applying code marks to labels B65C9/46; marking or coding completed packages B65B61/26
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/067 Record carriers with conductive marks, printed circuits or semiconductor circuit elements, e.g. credit or identity cards also with resonating or responding marks without active components
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 7/08 by means detecting the change of an electrostatic or magnetic field, e.g. by detecting change of capacitance between electrodes

Abstract

A method and system for determining the presence and identity of a game piece placed at a sensing location by attaching one or more conductive rings at fixed concentric locations on the bottom of the game piece and sensing the presence or absence of the conductive rings by means of sensors that are insensitive to the rotational orientation of the game piece.

Claims

1. A method for encoding and decoding a numerical value on an game piece comprising:

defining at least two concentric fixed positions on the game piece;

placing an annular indicium over at least one of the at least two fixed positions; and

decoding the numeric value on the game piece by placing the game piece over a sensor assembly with sensors underlying the at least two fixed positions, whereby the response of said sensors to said indicia is insensitive to the rotational orientation of the game piece over the sensor assembly, where said indicia are a number of conductive annuli of fixed width, said number being one or more, the sensors are capacitance sensors, and the numerical value is decoded by sensing the presence or absence of said indicia at the multiplicity of sensor locations, the number, width, and diameter of the conductive indicia representing the numerical value encoded on the game piece.

2. The method for encoding and decoding a numerical value on an game piece of claim 1 further comprising:

decoding the numeric value on the game piece by placing the game piece over a sensor assembly with sensors underlying the at least two fixed positions, whereby the response of said sensors to said indicia is insensitive to the rotational orientation of the game piece over the sensor assembly.

3. The method for encoding a numerical value on an game piece of claim 1 further comprising:

decoding the numeric value on the object by placing the game piece over a sensor assembly with sensors underlying the at least two fixed positions, whereby the response of said sensors to said indicia is insensitive to the rotational orientation of the game piece over the sensor assembly, where said indicia are conductive annuli with widths selected from a multiplicity of fixed widths, the sensors are capacitance sensors, and the numerical value is decoded by interpreting the magnitude of sensor responses at the multiplicity of sensor locations.

4. A gaming system comprising:

one or more game pieces, each game piece including a substantially circular base;

a number of annular indicium, said number being one or more, coupled to each substantially circular base to encode a numeric value for each game piece; and

a gaming board, the gaming board including at least one sensor to couple to the substantially circular base of the game piece to detect the numeric value for the game piece, the sensor further comprising a capacitance sensor to detect the numeric value for the game piece based on at least the capacitance of the at least one annular indicium, the number, width, and diameter of the annular indicium encoded on the game piece.

5. The gaming system of claim 4, each annular indicium further comprising at least one conductive annular indicium.

6. The gaming system claim 4 further comprising a plurality of conductive annular indicia, each conductive annular indicium having substantially the same annular width.

7. The gaming system of claim 4 wherein the sensor is substantially insensitive to the rotational orientation of the game piece.

8. A gaming system comprising:

a game piece having a substantially circular base with a number of annular indicia, said number being one or more coupled to each substantially circular base, the one or more annular indicia encoding a numeric value; and

a gaming board configured to couple to the substantially circular base of the game piece, the gaming board with at least one sensor configured to detect the numeric value for the game piece, when the game piece is coupled to the gaming board, the numeric value for the game piece being detected based on the number, width, and diameter of the one or more annular indicia.

9. A method for encoding and decoding a numerical value on objects comprising:

providing a game piece with a number of annular indicia, said number being one or more, placing each indicium over one of a plurality of fixed locations on the game piece, wherein each indicium is conductive and of fixed width;

providing a sensor assembly, the sensor array with a plurality of capacitive sensors;

placing the object over the sensor assembly with the plurality of capacitive sensors the plurality of fixed locations; and

decoding the numeric value on the game piece by sensing the presence or absence of conductive indicia at the plurality of fixed locations by the capacitive sensors, the number, width, and diameter of the conductive indicia representing the numerical value encoded on the game piece.