The present invention relates to chips in the general shape of a disk and incorporating contactless electronic microchip identification devices, in particular gaming chips or casino chips.
Gaming chips are generally fabricated from a scratch-resistant rigid plastics material to obtain a robust overall structure. Gaming chips carry varied patterns of lines or colors to form a more or less complex decoration and to reduce the risk of counterfeiting and/or fraudulent reproduction. The use of colors and colored patterns associated with the value of the chips, especially on the edge of the chips, enables croupiers and other users quickly to identify and/or sort chips at a glance, even when they are stacked up.
To fight fraud and to facilitate the counting and tracking of chips, especially in a gaming room or casino, chips have been proposed that integrate memory electronic circuit modules in which is stored information associated with the chip, for example its identification code or number and/or its numerical value. Communication between the electronic circuit module integrated into the chip and its external read/write station is usually effected without contact, in which case a contactless electronic microchip identification device is used including an electronic circuit microchip associated with an antenna, generally a circular loop antenna, in order to be able to communicate contactlessly with the read/write station using the radio-frequency identification (RFID) technique, the microchip then combining a transceiver circuit portion with a memory circuit portion having the function of storing information.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,549 describes a payment token that can be used in public telephone installations and in which the electronic circuit and its antenna are encapsulated in a plastics material disk of small diameter (from 20 to 30 mm) and a conductive axial core passes through the center of the token, although the fabrication process is not specified.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,502 describes a casino chip in which the antenna and the electronic circuit are disposed inside a metal ballast that is in turn placed between two facial labels at the center of an injection molded plastics material ring, everything being held in place by epoxy resin and by a second injection molding operation that covers the ring and the edge of the labels. This chip, of complex structure and costly to fabricate, does not offer all of the desired security in that it is possible to access the electronic circuit, without completely destroying the structure of the chip and rendering it unusable, simply by cuffing a facial label.
The Applicant's patent EP 0694872 describes a casino chip the body whereof includes an insert in the form of a central disk consisting of a rigid plastics material shell charged with metallic particles and carrying an electronic identification device and an annular plastics material ring injection molded around the disk, the central disk also serving as a ballast by virtue of the chosen material and the quantity of the metallic charge so that the chip has the total weight that the casino requires. In a first variant, the one-piece shell is injection molded around a protective casing into which the electronic device has previously been integrated. In a second variant the shell is obtained by fastening together a cover and a hollow injection molded plastics material disk after installing the electronic identification device. Although giving good results, this fabrication technique for chips with electronic identification has its limitations, in particular with regard to the maximum diameter of the loop of the antenna to be integrated into the central disk, given the dimensions of the chips generally used in casinos and gaming rooms. Casino chips with a diameter that is generally from 39 to 50 mm use electronic microchips operating at a frequency of around 125 kHz and have an antenna diameter of the order of 21 mm. However, the Applicant has noted the benefit of using antennas with a larger active area, in particular of greater diameter, with electronic microchips operating at a frequency of around 13.56 MHz, for example loop antennas with a minimum diameter of 25 mm, at least in applications to casino chips.
US patent 2002/0006829 describes chips in which an electronic identification device using a microchip with an operating frequency of 13.56 MHz is stuck to the back of a decorative plastics material label disposed in a cavity provided on the lateral face of the chip. Like the chip that is the subject matter of U.S. Pat. No. 5,166,502, this structure does not offer all the desired security in that it is possible to access the electronic circuit without completely destroying the structure of the chip and rendering it unusable simply by cutting the facial label. What is more, being cut out from a thin sheet of plastics material, the label does not provide sufficient protection against light or analogous radiation (in particular UV radiation), to which some 13.56 MHz microchips seem relatively sensitive.
An object of the invention is to propose chips with a contactless electronic identification device, in particular casino chips, in the general shape of a disk whose body includes a central insert the structure whereof allows the implantation of an electronic microchip with an enlarged active area antenna whilst at the same time offering the required protection of the electronic identification device.
To this end the invention proposes a chip in the general shape of a disk, including a body having a central aperture in which is disposed an insert including a contactless identification device incorporating an electronic microchip and an associated antenna, characterized in that the insert includes two rigid plates fastened or fitted together in their central portion to define between them a peripheral annular area in which said identification device is disposed.
As described in detail hereinafter, the structure of an insert of the invention enables the active area of the antenna of the microchip to be increased at the same time as assuring good protection of the identification device between the two rigid plastics material plates. In particular, the invention prevents all possibility of fraudulent replacement of the insert without completely destroying the chip and rendering it unusable. Finally, the disposition of the contactless electronic microchip at a median position within the thickness of the insert of the chip protects the latter from light and UV radiation and facilitates contactless radio-frequency identification (RFID) of stacks or columns of chips.
In a preferred embodiment of the chip of the invention, the central portion of the inside face of at least one of the plates has at least one central projection for defining said peripheral annular area around the projection or said projections with a small distance between the inside faces of the plates.
In a first variant, said antenna is carried by a thin insulative film disposed between the two plates having at least one central aperture through which the or at least one of said central projections passes. As described in more detail hereinafter, it is possible to obtain a distance between the plates of the order of two tenths of a millimeter. This limits the thickness of the insert and thus of the chip, which casinos sometimes require, increases the thickness and the weight of the plates forming the insert, or enables the insertion of one or two detectable-film patches.
In another variant the thin film is fixed by means of an adhesive to the inside face of at least one of the plates. All or part of the antenna is advantageously obtained by depositing conductive material on the thin insulative film.
In another variant of the chip of the invention, the plates are fastened and/or fitted together at the level of the central projections. The central projections are advantageously arranged on each inside face of the plates in two concentric and angularly offset crenelated rings alternating with groove portions on the inside faces of the plates and adapted to receive the corresponding projections on the other face, the heights of the projections and the depths of the grooves being selected to form the peripheral annular area, in particular with a small distance, receiving the identification device when the two plates have been assembled together.
In another variant of the chip of the invention, at least one of the plates carries at the periphery of its inside face an annular abutment to protect the identification device from crushing and/or ingress of material into the peripheral annular area. This further enhances the protection of the contactless electronic identification device.
According to yet a further variant of the chip of the invention, the insert is generally disk-shaped and the antenna is in the form of a loop with a diameter from 25 to 30 mm. Said microchip advantageously operates in a frequency range from 10 to 17 MHz or from 2 to 5 GHz.
In yet a further variant of the chip of the invention, the insert includes between the two plates two oriented detectable-film patches of active material or alloy sensitive to electromagnetic radiation, the orientation of the two detectable films being crossed, preferably at substantially 90°. This in conjunction with detector portals at the entrances to the gaming rooms of casinos offers good protection against theft of chips.
In yet a further variant of the chip of the invention, the body of the chip is made from plastics material injection-molded around said insert and overlapping the periphery of the insert and/or with entry of material into the edge of the insert. The insert in particular has a beveled or rounded edge and/or an edge in which a groove is formed. The plates are advantageously made from plastics material optionally containing weighting charges compatible with contactless RFID transmission.
In yet a further variant of the chip of the invention, the body of the chip includes on each face a cavity into which is fixed a label carrying a decoration and/or a mark and/or a hologram.
The chip of the invention as defined above and/or in all its variants or embodiments constitutes a gaming chip or a casino chip.
The invention also relates to an insert with a contactless electronic microchip identification device as defined hereinabove in all its variants.
The invention also relates to a method of fabricating a body of a chip of the invention including at least the following operations:
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent on reading the following description of various preferred embodiments of chips of the invention given by way of nonlimiting example and with reference to the appended drawings, in which:
a and 1b are respectively a diagrammatic front view and a side view showing the edge of a preferred embodiment of a gaming chip of the invention, the plastics material body whereof is obtained by two injection molding operations;
a, 7b and 7c each represent a partial view in diametral section of chips of the invention with a body produced by two successive injection molding operations and incorporating the second variant of the insert.
In a first embodiment of the invention the multiple-injection-molded gaming chip 10 in the shape of a disk of colored plastics material, shown in
The chip is completed by fixing into the shallow central cavity 15 on each face 11 and 13 a plastics material label 22 carrying a decoration, for example a printed or screen-printed decoration (represented diagrammatically in
The invention is not limited to two-color chips, of course, but relates equally to single-color chips made in one injection molding operation (the core 14 and the layer 16 being combined) and chips involving three, four or more injection molding operations in which at least one additional plastics material of a different color to that of the preceding injection molding operations is injection-molded directly into the housings 19 defined by the hollow spaces between the projections 18 (these are visible in
As shown in
The electronic identification device 27 generally includes an electronic circuit 28 incorporating a PROM containing information relating to the chip and/or the associated person or object, for example a fixed numerical or alphanumerical identification code of 64 bits (including one or more fields such as: serial number, product identification, batch or location, a numerical value associated with the chip, etc.), and an RFID transmitter-receiver 28 with a peripheral circular antenna adapted to be fed by inductive coupling with modulated waves from a reading station (not shown). In practice, the transmitter-receiver is adapted to exchange data contactlessly by means of modulated waves with a reading station at a distance from it (for example a distance from 15 cm to 2 m), the operating frequency being from 10 kHz to 5 GHz, to cover in particular the 125 kHz, 13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz bands. The electronic identification device 27 with memory combats theft and/or facilitates management and inventory of a batch of objects in a defined space (storage areas, warehouses, stores), for example. The electronic identification device 27 with non-reprogrammable (read-only) memory can of course be replaced by a reprogrammable device with changeable coding, with the facility for reading and writing memory without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, the microchip 28 is of the Magellan type from INFINEON (Germany) operating at a frequency of 13.56 MHz.
The insert 26, shown diagrammatically in
Of course, the invention is not limited to the circular shape of the insert, the RFID device and a corresponding antenna, but covers any appropriate variant, in particular with polygonal shapes, preferably with an axis of axial symmetry to facilitate the injection molding of the body of the chip, in this example the core 14, around the insert 26.
Without limitations, chips of the invention take the form of a disk, generally with a diameter from 39 to 50 mm and a thickness of the order of 3.3 mm, for example. The edge of the chip may be chamfered, have rounded edges or simply have a straight profile, in particular if it is required to be able to read the edge of the chips optically. If necessary the chamfered or straight profile is completed by trimming on a grinding machine or lathe.
The plastics materials used for injection molding chips fabricated using the invention, in particular the gaming chip 10, are obtained from a basic polymer that is appropriately charged (in particular with weighting and colored materials) selected from:
There is used for the body of the chip a 6 or 6,6 polyamide charged with up to approximately 70% by weight of barium sulfate or barite powder to weight it, as a nonlimiting example. Each injection molding operation is carried out at a pressure from 800 to 1400 bar, an injection temperature of 280/300° C. and a mold temperature of approximately 50° C. This composition can also be used for the inserts 26 intended for lightweight chips (9 to 10 g).
The compositions may vary, of course, in particular in terms of the charges incorporated into the materials used for the diverse injection molding operations: for example in weighting charges (barite, metal powders, zinc oxide, etc.) and in coloring agent charges (zinc oxide, etc.) to obtain the color required for each injection molding operation, noting that the charges used for the inserts are chosen to be compatible with contactless RFID transmission. With particular regard to the inserts 26 intended for the heaviest chips (13 to 14 g), a 6 polyamide charged with tungsten and/or copper powder (up to approximately 80% by weight) or with small bronze balls is used.
The invention also relates to a method of fabricating the body 12 of a chip of the invention defined in all its variants described herein and including at least the following operations:
The chip is optionally terminated by placing the two decorative labels 22 in the cavities 15.
Without departing from the scope of the invention, the insert 26 may be assembled in various ways, in particular, by way of nonlimiting example, by directly fastening the central portions of the two plates together (for example by gluing them together, in particular using epoxy resin, ultrasound welding, etc.), by forcible fitting, fitting with clipping of the central projections, or fitting and fixing the plates by double-sided adhesive disposed on the two faces of the film 31 so as to cooperate with each of the internal faces of the plates 34 and 36.
As can be seen in
As shown in
i) The two plates 34′ and 36′ are identical and interchangeable to reduce fabrication costs, in particular thanks to the use of a single injection molding mold for the insert 26′, rather than two molds.
ii) The central projections 60, 61, 62 and 63, adapted to project through the aperture 32 in the film 31, are arranged on each inside face 38′ (and 40′) in two concentric and angularly offset crenelated rings, alternating with groove portions 64, 65, 66 and 67 on the inside faces of the plates 34′ and 36′ and intended to receive the corresponding projections of the other face, the heights of the projections 60-63 and the depths of the grooves 64-67 being chosen to produce, once the two plates have been assembled together, the peripheral annular area 46, with a slight spacing, receiving the identification device 27. As shown in detail in
iii) The edge 48′ of the insert 26′ is re-entrant at its center to allow the outside edge of the film 31 to project slightly. To this end, the peripheries 74 and 76 of the plates 34′ and 36′ are beveled on the inside and the external faces 52′ and 54′ of the plates 34′ and 36′ have small shoulders 49′ designed to be covered by the injection-molded plastics material of the body of the chip during fastening together of the insert 26′ and the body of the chip in the manner described hereinafter with reference to
a, 7b and 7c show the fastening of the insert 26′ into the central opening 25′, 25b, 25c of an annular chip body made by double injection molding with a core (first injection molding operation) and a covering layer (second injection molding operation).
a shows a chip structure substantially identical to that of the chip 10, and in particular in which the body 12′ includes a core 14′ injection-molded around the edge 48′ of the insert 26′ that covers the shoulders 49′ of the insert 26′ flush with the outside faces 52′, 54′ of the insert. The body/insert fastening is effected at the level of the central aperture 25′ of the core 14′ (coinciding with the central aperture of the body 12′), which core 14′ is partially covered by the layer 16′ during the second injection molding operation.
b shows a chip structure similar to that of the chip 10, but in which the body/insert fastening, again effected in the central aperture 25b of the body 12b of the chip, is effected at the level of the central aperture of the core 14b and the central aperture of the layer 16b. In particular the body 12b includes a core 14b injection-molded around the central portion of the edge of the insert 26′ (beveled edges 74, 76 and projecting edge of the film of the identification device 27 so as to be flush with the shoulders 49′). During the second injection molding operation the core 14b is covered by the layer 16b, which covers the shoulders 49′ of the insert 26′ flush with the outside faces 52′, 54′ of the insert.
c corresponds to another chip structure similar to that of the chip 10, but in which body/insert fastening is effected, again in the central aperture of the body 12c of the chip, at the level of a central aperture of the covering layer 16c. In particular, the body 12c includes an injection-molded annular core 14c of greater diameter than the insert 26′. During the second injection molding operation, the covering layer 16c envelops the core 14c until it covers all of the edge 48′ of the insert 26′, including the shoulders 49′ of the insert 26′, until it is flush with the outside faces 52′, 54′ of the insert.
Of course, the invention is not limited to gaming chips or casino chips but relates equally to all types of chip in the form of a disk with an injection-molded plastics material body integrating an electronic identifier, such as, by way of nonlimiting example, parking tokens, payment tokens and vouchers and identification badges for goods or persons.
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/FR2005/002793 | 11/9/2005 | WO | 00 | 1/27/2006 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
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WO2007/054626 | 5/18/2007 | WO | A |
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