Resonant gaming chip identification system and method

• US 8,647,191 B2
• Filed: 08/13/2007
• Issued: 02/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Shayesteh, Hamid
• Primary Examiner(s): LIM, SENG HENG
• Application Number:
  US11/838,148
• Publication Number:
  US 20080076536A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,374 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 463/25
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/01 Testing electronic circuits therein
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 1/06 Coins specially adapted to operate coin-freed mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3251 involving media of variable value, e.g. programmable cards, programmable tokens

Abstract

A system and method for a gaming chip identification system are disclosed. Briefly described, one embodiment comprises a plurality of gaming chips, each gaming chip operable to emit a respective unique electromagnetic signature in response to incident non-optical electromagnetic radiation, a computer-readable medium that stores information indicative of the electromagnetic signatures of at least a number of the plurality of gaming chips, and a processor-based system configured to verify that the electromagnetic signature from an interrogated gaming chip in an interrogation zone is a member of the plurality of gaming chips.

Claims

1. A system to facilitate wagering, the system comprising:

at least one transmitter operable to emit non-optical electromagnetic energy via at least one antenna;

at least one receiver operable to receive a resonant response from memoryless gaming chips which do not store identification information within a range of the emitted non-optical electromagnetic energy via the at least one antenna;

wherein each memoryless gaming chip includes a respective resonant marker configured to emit a respective unique resonant response in response to incident non-optical electromagnetic radiation; and

,

the resonant markers of each of a first plurality of gaming chips being identical to each other within a defined manufacturing tolerance for the resonant marker and being different from each other beyond the defined manufacturing tolerance for the resonant marker;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium that stores information indicative of at least one resonant response of a valid set of gaming chips, each of the at least one resonant response comprising a respective electromagnetic signature characterized by sustained electromagnetic oscillations at one or more frequencies; and

at least one processor programmed to determine whether a gaming chip is from the valid set based at least in part on a received resonant response comprising a respective electromagnetic signature characterized by sustained electromagnetic oscillations at one or more frequencies.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable medium stores information indicative of a first resonant response of a first subset of the valid set of gaming chips and a second resonant response of a second subset of the gaming chips, the gaming chips of the first subset bearing indicia of a first denomination and the gaming chips of the second subset bearing indicia of a second denomination, and wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to determine a denomination of the gaming chip based at least in part on the received resonant responses.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the computer-readable medium stores information indicative of a unique resonant response of each of the gaming chips in the valid set of gaming chips, and wherein the at least one processor is further programmed to uniquely identify the gaming chips from all other gaming chips in the set of valid gaming chips, based at least in part on the received resonant responses.

4. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a first plurality of gaming chips of a first denomination, each of the gaming chips in the first plurality of gaming chips configured to emit a first resonant response in response to incident non-optical electromagnetic radiation, and a second plurality of gaming chips of a second denomination, each of the gaming chips in the second plurality of gaming chips configured to emit a second resonant response in response to incident non-optical electromagnetic radiation, the second resonant response discernibly different from the first resonant response.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the gaming chips carries a resonant material.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the gaming chips carries a resonant circuit.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the gaming chips carries at least one resonant marker selected from the group consisting of:

a magnetic type resonant marker, a resistor, inductor, capacitor type resonant marker, and a cavity type resonant marker.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the resonant markers of the gaming chips in the first plurality of gaming chips has a first shape, and the resonant markers of the gaming chips in the second plurality of gaming chips has a second shape, the second shape different from the first shape.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the resonant markers of the gaming chips in the first plurality of gaming chips has at least a first dimension of a first size, and the resonant markers of the second plurality of gaming chips has at least the first dimension of a second size, the second size different from the first size.

10. The system of claim 7 wherein the resonant markers of the gaming chips in the first plurality of gaming chips consist of a first material, and the resonant markers of the gaming chips in the second plurality of gaming chips consist of a second material, the second material different from the first material.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the resonant marker of each of a second plurality of gaming chips being identical to each other within a defined manufacturing tolerance of the resonant marker and being different from each other beyond the defined manufacturing tolerance of the resonant marker;

and,

wherein the resonant markers of the first plurality of the gaming chips have a first shape and the resonant markers of the second plurality of the gaming chips have a second shape different from the first shape.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the resonant marker of each of a second plurality of gaming chips being identical to each other within a defined manufacturing tolerance of the resonant marker and being different from each other beyond the defined manufacturing tolerance of the resonant marker;

and

wherein the resonant markers of the first plurality of the gaming chips have at least a first dimension of a first size, and the resonant markers of the second plurality of the gaming chips have at least the first dimension of a second size different from the first size.

13. The system of claim 1, wherein the resonant marker of each of a second plurality of gaming chips being identical to each other within a defined manufacturing tolerance of the resonant marker and being different from each other beyond the defined manufacturing tolerance of the resonant marker;

wherein the resonant markers of the first plurality of the gaming chips consist of a first material, and the resonant markers of the second plurality of the gaming chips consist of a second material different from the first material.

14. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter and the receiver share a common antenna.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the transmitter and the receiver share a common antenna.

16. A system to form valid sets of gaming chips, comprising:

at least one transmitter operable to emit non-optical electromagnetic energy via at least one antenna;

at least one receiver operable to receive an unmodulated, resonant response from any memoryless resonant markers within a range of the emitted non-optical electromagnetic energy via the at least one antenna;

a non-transitory computer-readable medium operable to store information indicative of resonant responses from a plurality of resonant markers; and

at least one processor programmed to

determine whether received resonant responses from any of the resonant markers are discernibly distinct from the resonant responses of the plurality of resonant markers for which information indicative of the resonant responses has been previously stored in the computer-readable medium;

wherein the resonant markers resonate in response to one or more passive electrical components, resonating structures, or resonating materials absorbing non-optical electromagnetic energy and the resonant markers do not include active switches or active circuits; and

store information indicative of the received, unmodulated, resonant response that lies within a defined manufacturing tolerance in the computer-readable medium if the received resonant response is discernibly distinct beyond the defined manufacturing tolerance from other resonant responses for which information indicative of the respective received, unmodulated, resonant response has previously been stored in the computer-readable medium.

17. The system of claim 16 wherein the at least one transmitter emits the non-optical electromagnetic energy over a period of time, wherein the non-optical electromagnetic energy is characterized by a frequency, and wherein the frequency of the non-optical electromagnetic energy is swept over a frequency range during the period of time.

18. The system of claim 16 wherein the at least one transmitter transmits the non-optical electromagnetic energy characterized by a frequency range such that the returned non-optical electromagnetic energy is characterized by a corresponding return frequency range.

19. The system of claim 18 wherein the return frequency range is substantially the same as the frequency range of the transmitted non-optical electromagnetic energy.

20. The system of claim 16 wherein the processor is further programmed to not store information indicative of the received resonant response in the computer-readable medium if the received resonant response is not discernibly distinct from the resonant responses for which information indicative of the resonant responses has previously been stored in the computer-readable medium.

21. The system of claim 20 wherein the processor is further programmed to cause a written identification to be provided on at least one of the resonant marker or the respective gaming chip for any resonant marker that emits a resonant response that is not discernibly distinct from the resonant responses for which information indicative of the resonant responses has previously been stored in the computer-readable medium.

22. The system of claim 20 wherein the processor is further programmed to assign a respective unique identifier to each of the gaming chips having a resonant marker that emits a respective resonant response that is discernibly distinct from the resonant responses for which information indicative of the resonant responses has previously been stored in the computer-readable medium;

and associate the unique identifier with the information indicative of the respective resonant response in the computer-readable medium.

23. The system of claim 16, wherein the processor is further programmed to discard any resonant marker that emits a resonant response that is not discernibly distinct from the resonant responses for which information indicative of the resonant responses has previously been stored in the computer-readable medium.

24. The system of claim 16 wherein the processor is further programmed to discard any one of the gaming chips having a resonant marker that emits a resonant response that is not discernibly distinct from the resonant responses for which information indicative of the resonant responses has previously been stored in the computer-readable medium.