The invention relates to a sorting device for gaming chips and counters, in particular, to gaming chips and counters of different colors.
Sorting devices for gaming chips have been known for a long time. GB 2061490 discloses a device that distributes gaming chips that are collected by a transport chain and passed by a feature recognition system, from the chain into appropriate removal units. A disadvantage of this solution is the high space requirement for the chain. A further disadvantage is the high manufacturing costs, because the chain comprises many individual members, each of these members in addition being provided with a spring-loaded pin for distributing gaming chips.
GB 2254419 describes a device in which the gaming chips are first collected by a transport disc and then transferred to a chain, recognized there, and distributed to a removal unit. This arrangement requires less space than the aforementioned device. Nevertheless, it uses resilient elements to retain individual gaming chips, transferred from the transport disc to the chain, in the chain itself. These resilient elements precisely, however, accept only gaming chips with a largely uniform diameter, because gaming chips with a diameter greater than the nominal diameter can be transferred to the chain only at a high load or not at all; gaming chips with a diameter smaller than the nominal diameter cannot be reliably retained and fall out of the chains on the way to distribution to the removal units. The additional chain leads to additional manufacturing costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,381,294 discloses a chip-sorting device in which the conveyance of the chips is effected by a chain. This transport means is very expensive to maintain, however.
This invention avoids these disadvantages and proposes a sorting device of the aforementioned type, which has low manufacturing costs with a low space requirement and with which the gaming chips and counters may have highly different dimensions.
As taught by the invention, these advantages are achieved with a sorting unit of the aforementioned type by means of the characteristic features of some embodiments of the invention.
The proposed measures make it possible to convey and sort chips and counters of different dimensions by means of a cost-effective and simple transport device. The technically expensive and maintenance-intensive insertion of a chain conveyor is not necessary. The sorting device is robust to gaming chips and counters of different size. By the raising of the gaming chips by the ejector and the simultaneous rotation of the transport disc, the chips are automatically lifted out of the transport disc and organized in a removal unit.
Thereby, the features of some embodiments of the invention provide the advantage of a very gentle and careful distribution of the chips and counters into the removal units.
The features of some embodiments of the invention assure that the distribution movement for a single gaming chip or counter is always constant relative to the movement of the transport disc, even when the transport speed changes.
The organization of the gaming chips and counters, in conjunction with the feature recognition system, can be easily programmed and controlled by means of the features of some embodiments of the invention.
Several removal units can be filled simultaneously by means of the features of some embodiments of the invention.
A portion of the sorted gaming chips and counters can be removed from the removal units in a simple manner by means of the features of some embodiments of the invention.
The features of some embodiments of the invention can adjust the number of gaining chips and counters to be removed from the removal units.
To accomplish this, a tilting movement of the removal lever is provided according to some embodiments of the invention.
The removal lever is always proximate to the gaming chips and counters by means of the features of some embodiments of the invention.
By means of the features of some embodiments of the invention, it can be determined when a removal unit has been totally filled, whereupon gaming chips and counters can no longer be sorted into this removal unit.
The conveying speed of the gaming chips and counters in the system is adjusted by means of the characteristic features of some embodiments of the invention.
The characteristic features of some embodiments of the invention describe the preferably employed feature recognition system.
The base frame can be adjusted in height and adapted to the specific table heights by means of the characteristic features of some embodiments of the invention.
The invention will now be illustrated in greater detail by the drawing. Here:
The device consists of an upwardly open collection container 1 for used gaming chips and counters, also called a “hopper,” which is fixed to the sloping base plate 2.
The conveying device forms a circular disc 3, the “hopper disc,” and is mounted drivably on shaft 4. The shaft 4 is supported by the base plate 2 and is connected to the drive 5.
The hopper disc 3 is supported axially by a plurality of rolling elements 6, which in turn are guided in cage plate 7. This axial support may be omitted, if the central support of the shaft 4 can absorb the axial forces and the hopper disc 3 is made suitably rigid.
In use, the gaming chips and counters 27 (
The hopper disc 3 conveys the gaming chips and counters 27, taken up in any order by the circular recesses 8, upward at an angle of approximately 135°, whereby they are passed before a color sensor, which differentiates the chips and counters based on their color combination and size. Depending on chip color and pattern, the sensor conveys a signal to the microprocessor control (not shown) of the chip-sorting device. This microprocessor control decides, based on a freely programmable assignment of colors, to which of the removal units 12 each of the conveyed gaming chips and counters 27 is distributed.
Alternatively, recognition of the gaming chips and counters 27 can occur by means of a spectrometer in a feature recognition system, which for differentiation detects the wavelengths of the color codes undetectable by the human eye. To accomplish this, the gaming chips and counters 27 must be provided with such color codes.
After recognition, the gaming chips and counters 27 are distributed into the removal units 12. This area extends at about 90° to the hopper disc 3.
The actual distribution of gaming chips and counters is readily evident from
By means of the continuous movement of the hopper disc 3, the gaming chip or counter 27 (
If a jam were to occur during the transfer of the gaming chips and counters 27 into the removal units 12, a short return motion of the hopper disc 3 is provided. To recognize a jam, the current of the drive 5 can be monitored, or the movement of the hopper disc 3 can be queried directly via a suitable sensor.
To increase the conveying performance and simultaneous reduction of wear on all moving parts of the machine, adjustment of the conveying speed of the chip-sorting device to the quantity of counters to be sorted in each case is recommended. The speed can be set depending on whether and how many free recesses 8, i.e., not filled with gaming chips or counters 27, in the hopper disc 3 can be detected by a counter recognition system.
The removal units 12 for sorted gaming chips and counters 27 can be seen in
The quantity of gaming chips and counters 27 that can be lifted by the cutter 26 can be finely adjusted or matched to the precise thickness of the gaming chips and counters 27 via the adjusting screw 30.
The use of a pressure spring 33 assures that the thin leg of the L-shaped lever 28 always remains underneath the gaming chips or counters 27, but this is not absolutely required.
In order to prevent the distribution of more gaming chips or counters 27 into one of the removal units 12 than can be accommodated by its stack length, every removal unit 12 is provided with a sensor 35. As soon as the cutter 26 reaches its endpoint, the sensor 35 sends a signal to the microprocessor control, which then no longer ejects gaming chips and counters 27 into the particular channel. The sensor 35 can, for example, be either an optical or magnetic sensor. To that end, a permanent magnet 34 must be provided in the bottom of the cutter 26.
The chip-sorting device can be designed to be adjustable with simple means to different table or operator heights. As is evident from
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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3592002 | Jun 2002 | AT | national |
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/590,340, filed Oct. 30, 2006, pending, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/004,006 filed Dec. 3, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,992,720, issued Aug. 9, 2011, which is a continuation of International Patent Application No. PCT/AT03/00149 filed May 26, 2003, and published as International Publication Number WO 03/103860A1 on Dec. 18, 2003, which in turn claims priority to Austrian Application No. 359/2002 filed Jun. 5, 2002, now Austrian Patent AT 006 405, the entire disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated herein by this reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11590340 | Oct 2006 | US |
Child | 13216064 | US | |
Parent | 11004006 | Dec 2004 | US |
Child | 11590340 | US | |
Parent | PCT/AT03/00149 | May 2003 | US |
Child | 11004006 | US |