Method and system for identifying a game piece

• US 8,297,513 B2
• Filed: 12/19/2011
• Issued: 10/30/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Pure Imagination LLC
• Original Assignee: Pure Imagination LLC
• Inventors: Wallace, Michael W., Odom, Philip Trevor
• Primary Examiner(s): WALSH, DANIEL I
• Application Number:
  US13/330,593
• Publication Number:
  US 20120080842A1
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 273236-237, 273/287, 273/460, 463/1, 463/9, 463/25, 463/37, 235/487, 235/492, 235/493, 235/435, 235/451, 340/854.8, 340/530, 340/545.4, 340/562
• 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 gaming system comprising:

one or more game pieces, each game piece including a circular base, each game piece having one or more conductive annular indicium coupled to the circular base encoding a numeric value for that game piece, wherein the numerical value is encoded by setting the number and diameter of the conductive annular indicium; and

a game board with a capacitive sensor, the game board configured to detect the numeric value for one of the game pieces by measuring capacitance of the capacitive sensor when that game piece is in a certain location proximate the capacitive sensor.

2. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the numerical value is encoded by setting the number, diameter and annular width of the conductive annular indicium.

3. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein the game board is configured to hold one of the game pieces in the certain location proximate the capacitive sensor.

4. The gaming system of claim 1, wherein the game board further comprises a non-conductive shield that electrically separates capacitive sensor from the conductive annular indicium of one of the game pieces when that game piece is in the certain location proximate the capacitive sensor.

5. A gaming system comprising:

one or more game pieces, each game piece including a circular base, each game piece having one or more conductive annular indicium coupled to the circular base encoding a numeric value for that game piece, wherein the numerical value is encoded by setting the number and diameter of the conductive annular indicium;

a game board with a capacitive sensor, the game board configured to detect the numeric value for one of the game pieces by measuring capacitance of the capacitive sensor when that game piece is in a certain location proximate the capacitive sensor;

an arcuate conductive reference element configured to be adjacent to all of the conductive annular indicium of one of the game pieces when that game piece is in the certain location proximate the capacitive sensor;

a multiplicity of arcuate conductive sensor elements, each adjacent only one of the conductive annular indicium of one of the game pieces when that game piece is in the certain location proximate the capacitive sensor; and

wherein the game board is further configured to detect the numeric value for one of the game pieces by measuring capacitances between each of the arcuate conductive sensor elements and the arcuate reference element.

6. The gaming system of claim 5 wherein the conductive annular indicia one of the game pieces, the arcuate conductive sensor elements, and the arcuate conductive reference element are all coaxial when that game piece is in the certain location proximate the capacitive sensor.

7. A gaming system comprising:

a game board;

a capacitive sensor in the game board comprising multiple non-overlapping conductive elements including an arcuate reference element and multiple arcuate sensor elements;

wherein the arcuate reference and sensor elements have a sensor axis;

wherein the arcuate sensor elements are each at a different one of a set of radial distances from the sensor axis;

wherein the arcuate reference element extends to all of the set of radial distances from the sensor axis;

one or more game pieces, each game piece including a circular base, each game piece encoding a numeric value for that game piece by having one or more non-overlapping conductive annular indicium coupled to the circular base, each annular indicium separated from a base axis by a different one of the set of radial distances;

wherein the numeric value is encoded by setting the number and radial distance of the conductive annular indicium; and

wherein the game board is further configured to detect the numeric value for one of the game pieces by measuring capacitances between each of the arcuate conductive sensor elements and the arcuate reference element when that game piece is proximate and coaxial to the capacitive sensor.

8. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein the game board further comprises a non-conductive shield that electrically separates capacitive sensor from the conductive annular indicium of one of the game pieces when that game piece is proximate the capacitive sensor.

9. The gaming system of claim 7, wherein the numerical value is encoded by setting the number, radial distance and annular width of the conductive annular indicium.

10. The gaming system of claim 7 wherein the game board is configured to hold one of the game pieces proximate and coaxial the capacitive sensor.

11. A gaming system comprising:

a game piece having a circular base with one or more annular indicia, coupled to the circular base, the one or more annular indicia encoding a numeric value by the number, width, and diameter of the one or more annular indicia; and

a gaming board configured to couple to the circular base of the game piece, the gaming board with at least one capacitive sensor configured to detect the numeric value for the game piece, when the game piece is coupled to the gaming board.