Gambling terminal having a digital camera

• US 8,830,325 B2
• Filed: 10/02/2009
• Issued: 09/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 10/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IDEMIA Identity and Security France SAS (Advent International Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Morpho (Advent International Corporation)
• Inventors: Chaussade, Xavier
• Primary Examiner(s): Perungavoor, Sath V
• Assistant Examiner(s): Le, Peter D
• Application Number:
  US13/122,146
• Publication Number:
  US 20110176004A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,803 Days
• Field of Search: 348/150
• US Class Current: 348/150
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3216 Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards

Abstract

The invention relates to a gambling terminal comprising a mount (63) for receiving a gambling document belonging to a user and a camera able to acquire an image of the gambling document when the gambling document is placed on the mount, the terminal having a first side intended to face an operator and a second side opposite the first side and intended to face the user, in which the terminal has a first opening (14) arranged on the first side and a second opening arranged on the second side such that the gambling document can be seen simultaneously by the operator and the user while the image is being acquired.

Claims

1. A gambling terminal, comprising:

a casing having a front wall intended to face an agent, a rear wall, opposite the front wall, and intended to face a user, and two lateral walls,

a mount housed in the casing, for receiving a gambling document belonging to the user, and

a camera housed in the casing, for acquiring an image of the gambling document when the gambling document is placed on the mount, wherein the front wall has a first opening and the rear wall has a second opening configured such that the gambling document can be seen simultaneously by the agent through the first opening and by the user through the second opening while the image is being acquired;

a lighting device able to project onto the gambling document a reference pattern; and

a processing unit able to correct the image acquired as a function of a deformation of the reference pattern present in the acquired image.

2. Terminal according to claim 1, wherein the walls of the casing define an enclosure surrounding a cavity, the mount extending inside the cavity, and wherein the cavity is accessible by the agent and by the user via the first opening and the second opening, respectively.

3. Terminal according to one of claim 1 or 2, comprising user interface means oriented such that the user views the information displayed on the interface means.

4. Terminal according to claim 3, in which the user interface means includes a touch screen enabling the user to validate and/or correct the information displayed.

5. Terminal according to claim 1, comprising a processing unit, said processing unit being able, from the acquired image, to extract information depicted on the gambling document.

6. Terminal according to claim 1, comprising means for laying flat the gambling document on the mount.

7. Terminal according to claim 1, comprising a processing unit housed in the casing.

8. Terminal according to claim 7, wherein the processing unit is arranged under the mount.

9. Terminal according to claim 2, wherein the lateral walls extend on either side of the first and the second openings.

10. Terminal according to claim 4, wherein the screen blacks out at least in part the light emitted in the direction of the mount.

11. Gambling system, comprising at least one terminal according to claim 1 and a remote central server, in which the terminal is able to acquire an image of a gambling document and to transmit the corresponding information to the central server.

12. Gambling method according to which a gambling terminal according to claim 1 acquires an image of a gambling document and transmits the corresponding information to a remote central server.