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  Gambling chip recognition systemUSPTO Application #: 20080096647Title: Gambling chip recognition system Abstract: A computer implemented gambling chip recognition system having the ability to capture an image of a stack of gambling chips and automatically processing the image to determine the number of chips within the stack and the value of each. The system processor determines the classification for each chip in a stack by way of processing performed in real time on the image of the stack of gambling chips. The system further includes the ability to communicate the information derived from the stack of gambling chips to a video monitor and the ability to communicate the information to a main database where information is being compiled and stored about an individual gambler. (end of abstract)
Agent: Beyer Weaver LLP - Oakland, CA, US Inventor: Thomas Lindquist USPTO Applicaton #: 20080096647 - Class: 463025000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Including Means For Processing Electronic Data (e.g., Computer/video Game, Etc.), Credit/debit Monitoring Or Manipulation (e.g., Game Entry, Betting, Prize Level, Etc.) The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080096647. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation application of and claims priority to commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/072,173, filed on Mar. 4, 2005, entitled "GAMBLING CHIP RECOGNITION SYSTEM", which is a continuation application of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/385,150, filed on Mar. 10, 2003, entitled "GAMBLING CHIP RECOGNITION SYSTEM", now abandoned, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/115,328, filed on Jul. 14, 1997, entitled "GAMING DEVICE WITH WRITE ONLY MASS STORAGE", now U.S. Pat. No. 6,532,297, which is a continuation-in-part of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/962,915, filed on Oct. 27, 1997, entitled "GAMING DEVICE WITH WRITE ONLY MASS STORAGE", now U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,647, which is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/539,779, filed on Oct. 5, 1995, entitled "GAMING DEVICE WITH WRITE ONLY MASS STORAGE", now abandoned, all of which are incorporated herein in their entirety and for all purposes. APPENDIX [0002] The specification includes an Appendix which includes 133 pages. The appendix includes computer source code of one preferred embodiment of the invention. In other embodiments of the invention, the inventive concept may be implemented in other computer code, in computer hardware, in other circuitry, in a combination of these, or otherwise. The Appendix is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety and is considered to be a part of the disclosure of this specification. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0003] The present invention relates to a computer implemented system for capturing and processing an image of a stack of gambling chips for counting the number of chips and determining the value of each within the stack. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0004] In the casino business there is an established reward/perk system that is used to determine the level of complimentary benefits valued customers should receive. Presently, this system is managed and performed by a person such as a casino supervisor/floor manager. The supervisor/floor manager keeps detailed notes about certain players and tries to determine over an extended period, the length of time a player gambles, the total amount of money bet in one sitting, the average amount wagered at each bet, etc. By knowing the value of a player's wagers and their gambling habits, the casino decides which players are to receive complimentary benefits. The level of benefits is determined by a player's level of gambling. [0005] Presently, a player's level of gambling is determined solely by the notes of the gambling floor supervisor/manager. This is a very subjective system that is often difficult to maintain because a floor/manager cannot watch all players at all times to get accurate information on betting habits. [0006] There is a need for a system that assists gambling operations at casinos in accurately tracking the gambling habits of its customers. Such a system would be helpful to a casino by making the reward/perk system more consistent. The reward/perk system would better serve its purpose because the guess work would be taken out of determining a player's gambling habits. Knowing exactly the length of the time played, amount of money bet and average amount wagered at each bet would be very helpful in providing the right incentives and complimentary benefits (free meals, limo, room, etc.) to the right players. Such a system could also be used to determine a player's pre-established credit rating. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART [0007] In the past, gambling chip recognition systems such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,589 to Storch et al. involved counting gambling chips and detecting counterfeit chips using a binary code placed on the edge of the chip. The system is designed to count chips and detect counterfeits at a gaming table while the chips are in a rack. Using this data, a casino could monitor the number of available chips and other statistical information about the activity at individual tables. One of the problems with the system disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,589 is that the system requires the disc-like objects, such as gambling chips, coins, tokens, etc., have machine readable information encoded about the periphery thereof. Another system having similar problems is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,081 to Fisher. It describes a gambling chip with a circular bar code to indicate the chips denomination, authenticity and other information. The chip validating device rotates the chip in order to read the circular bar code. [0008] The above mentioned prior art systems are particularly cumbersome in that they require chips to be housed within a particular system and rotated to be read or positioned at the right angle or in a rack so that the information can be taken from the periphery of the chips. There is a need for a system that can determine the value of gambling chips without encoding the periphery of each chip to enable system determination of its value. There is a need for a system that can determine the value of a chip without it being housed within a special reading device. There is a need for a system that can read a conventionally styled, conventionally fabricated chip that is positioned at any angle on a gaming table in the betting position. Such a system could cut down on casino expenses by deleting the cost to encode such chips with readable information. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0009] The present invention is a casino gambling chip recognition system that provides for the automatic determination of the number of chips within a stack of gambling chips and the value of each chip within the stack through the use of a classification scheme stored in the computer wherein the classification scheme may utilize data (parameters) related to the geometry, color, feature pattern and size of each type (value) of chip in a preselected family of chips. The classification scheme data is used as a reference for a real time captured image of the stack of gambling chips. The system captures an image of the stack of gambling chips and processes the image by first detecting the boundaries of each chip in the image and then analyzing the degree of consistency between the data extracted from a given chip's area within the image and the classification scheme's parameters for all possible chip types. The system assigns the chip the value for which the classification scheme's parameters are most consistent with the data extracted from that chip's area within the image, provided that the degree of consistency is greater than some predefined minimum acceptable degree of consistency. If none of the classification parameters for any chip type are sufficiently consistent with the extracted data for a given chip in the image, that chip is assigned an "undefined" value. When the analysis of the extracted data from each chip position in the image of the stack has been completed, the system displays the total number of chips which were found and their total monetary value, obtained by summing all the defined and assigned chip values from that image. The system also provides the communication of the number and value of chips wagered by players to a main computer for storage in a centralized player data base. It may also log the occurrences of chips for which an assigned value could not be defined. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0010] FIG. 1 is a block diagram representation of a system which can be used to capture and process a stack of gambling chips in accordance with the present invention; [0011] FIG. 2 is a graphical representation of the captured image of a stack of gambling chips after being digitized by the frame grabber shown in FIG. 1; and [0012] FIG. 3 is a diagram indicating the data structures and data flow in the current embodiment. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0013] The present invention is a gambling chip recognition system comprising a processor, data storage, an imager and a communication link. The gambling chip recognition system images a stack of gambling chips. The image of the gambling chip stack is processed by the processor to first derive from the image the locations of the chips within the stack and secondly the type (value) of each chip within the stack. The number of chips in the stack and the value of each chip within the stack may be communicated by way of a real time display monitor or to another main system database, via the communication link, where information is collected about individual gamblers. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0014] As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein. However, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiment is merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting but rather as the basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system. [0015] Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the gambling chip recognition system is illustrated generally in FIG. 1. Gambling chip recognition system 10 is a microprocessor based system which includes a processor 12, data storage 14, an imager 16, a digitizer 18, a monitor 20 and a communication link. The data storage 14 will typically accommodate both short-term data storage, for items such as the most recent stack images, and longer-term storage, for items such as the parameters characterizing the set of chips being used and the classification software itself. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a stack of gambling chips is imaged by a video camera 16 and digitized by the frame grabber digitizer 18. During data analysis by the processor 12 a digitized image is accessed (typically through normal operating system memory and/or file management software) in data storage 14 as an array of digital data representative of the gambling chip stack which was imaged. The processor processes the data in accordance with a computational program to derive from the image the count of chips and the value of each chip within the stack. The results may be communicated to the system user by way of a video monitor 20 or communicated to another system where the resultant information is added to a player database within the main computer 22 where information is collected about individual gamblers. It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned methods for communicating resultant information. The above methods are listed as examples of methods used in the embodiment disclosed in FIG. 1. Continue reading... Full patent description for Gambling chip recognition system Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Gambling chip recognition system patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. 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