Gaming chip system

• US 6,200,218 B1
• Filed: 01/20/1998
• Issued: 03/13/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1997
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: John Huxley USA, Inc.
• Original Assignee: John Huxley USA, Inc.
• Inventors: Lindsay, Jeffrey Paul
• Primary Examiner(s): O'Neill, Michael
• Assistant Examiner(s): WHITE, CARMEN D
• Application Number:
  US09/009,516
• Time in Patent Office: 1,148 Days
• Field of Search: 194/213-214, 273/148.R, 902/23, 902/25, 902/26, 902/41, 463/16, 463/47, 463/48, 463/25, 463/30
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements

Abstract

A gaming chip system for evaluating a collection of gaming chips, represents different gaming chips and assigns monetary values to each of the different gaming chips. A display displays the assigned monetary value of each gaming chip. The total value of a collection of chips is evaluated by counting the number of chips for each type, and calculating the monetary value of each gaming chip type using the assigned monetary value.

Claims

1. A gaming chip value indicator for location at a gaming table to indicate the value of gaming chips in use at the table, the indicator comprising:

a representation means for indication each type of a plurality of different gaming chip types in use at the table;

an assignor means for assigning a value to each type of gaming chip, the assignor means being operated by a user to select the assigned value, the assigned value for a chip type being the same or different to the assigned value for one or more other chip types and the assigned value being changeable by the user;

and a display to display the assigned value of a chip type in association with the representation of the chip type.

2. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 1, wherein the display displays alpha-numeric characters.

3. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 1, wherein the display displays a numerical value.

4. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 1, wherein the assignor means assigns a value selected from a predetermined set of values.

5. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 1, wherein the display displays a status of a represented gaming chip.

6. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 1, wherein the assignor means comprises individual assignors and a master assignor, wherein the master assignor overrides the individual assignors.

7. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 6, wherein the master assignor fixes a minimum value to be assigned by the individual assignors.

8. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 6, wherein the master assignor resets all of the values assigned by the individual assignors to predetermined values.

9. A gaming clip value indicator according to claim 1 wherein the representations represent the different gaming chips by different colours.

10. A gaming chip value indicator according to claim 1, wherein the representations represent the different gaming chips by different shapes.

11. A gaming chip system for evaluating a collection of gaming chips, comprising:

a representation means for indicating each of a plurality of different types of gaming chips;

an assignor means operable by a user for selecting and assigning a monetary value to each of the different gaming chip types represented, the monetary value being selectable and changeable by the user;

a first display to display the assigned monetary value in association with a respective gaming chip type representation;

an evaluator having a receiver to receive a mixture of gaming chips of each type;

a counter to count the number of chips of each type;

and a calculator to calculate the monetary value of each gaming chip type using the assigned monetary values assigned by the assignor means.

12. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, wherein the assignor means comprises an incrementor to increment the assigned monetary value by predetermined intervals.

13. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, further comprising a clearer to clear the assigned monetary values of each of the different gaming chips.

14. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, further comprising a communicator to communicate the assigned monetary values to an external component.

15. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, further comprising a security device which, when operational, disables the assignor means.

16. A gaming chip system according to claim 15, wherein the security device communicates the status of the security device to an external component.

17. A gaming chip system according to claims 15, wherein the security device further comprises an indicator to indicate the status of the security means.

18. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, wherein the representations comprise gaming chips attached to the gaming system.

19. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, wherein the system further comprises a second display to indicate the total monetary value of the mixture of gaming chips.

20. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, wherein the first display displays alpha-numeric characters.

21. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, wherein the first display displays a numerical value.

22. A gaming chip system according to claim 11, wherein the first display displays a status of a represented gaming chip.