KR101985480B1 - Casino chips reading apparatus in casino tables - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an apparatus for reading casino chips at a casino table which reads chip information by separating channels of an antenna that reads a plurality of casino chips at a casino table in a radio frequency identification (RFID) method, thereby increasing the data processing speed and minimizing mutual interference between the antennas. The apparatus for reading casino chips at a casino table comprises: a chip tray installed at a predetermined position of a casino table and having a plurality of accommodation spaces for receiving casino chips; a plurality of antennas for reading information of the casino chips received in the chip tray at a lower portion of the chip tray; a grouping means for grouping the plurality of antennas; and a chip read information processing means for processing the antennas grouped by the grouping means for each group to increase the processing speed of chip read information.

Description

[0002] Casino chips reading apparatus in casino tables [0003]

The present invention relates to a casino chip reading and reading apparatus in a casino table. More particularly, the present invention relates to a casino table reading and reading apparatus for reading a chip information by separating a channel of an antenna for reading a plurality of casino chips from a casino table of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) To a casino chip reading device in a casino table that improves data processing speed and minimizes mutual interference between antennas.

RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology is a technique of attaching each tag to an object, exchanging information between objects based on data obtained by recognizing the tag wirelessly. We use various frequencies from 125kHz to 5.8Ghz.

In recent years, RFID technology has evolved from a one-to-one communication method to a high-density tag environment, for example, a product displayed on a shelf, a book on a bookcase, and a large number of tags on a casino table have. In this case, recognition performance of the tag is significantly lower than recognition of a single tag due to interference between the reader, the tag, and the tag and the tag. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a reader and an antenna considering the mutual electrical characteristics of the reader and the tag.

Among them, a casino table using an RFID method reads a tag using a plurality of antennas in a chip tray area and a bet area.

For example, FIG. 1 is an example of reading a tag of a chip tray using a plurality of antennas in a chip tray area of a casino table.

A chip tray 11 in which a plurality of casino chips are accommodated is located at a predetermined position of a casino table and a plurality of antennas 21 to 24 for reading a casino chip accommodated in the chip tray 11 Is installed. In addition, the plurality of antennas 21 to 24 transmit the read chip information through the respective channels Ch1 to Ch4 (cable). Here, the antenna 21 represents the first antenna, the antenna 22 represents the second antenna, the antenna 23 represents the third antenna, and the antenna 24 represents the second antenna. Represents the fourth antenna (Antenna 4). The chip read information transmitted on each channel is multiplexed in the multiplexer 30. [ The RFID reader 40 reads the information of each channel multiplexed in the multiplexer 30 in a switching manner and recognizes the casino chip of the chip tray 11. [

FIG. 2 shows the mounting positions of the plurality of antennas 21 to 24 and how each antenna reads a casino chip. Each of the antennas has a matching circuit and a conductor for power supply. When the antenna is operated, a magnetic field is generated on the surface of the antenna cable by the current flowing in the wire by the right-hand rule of the ampere.

As described above, a magnetic field generated by a current flowing in a conductor is induced in a cable of another antenna in close proximity, and an antenna, which should not actually operate, also operates. In order to solve the error of the antenna operation, as shown in Fig.

FIG. 3 shows another method proposed in the related art for eliminating errors in the operation of the antenna. The distance between the antenna cables is largely spaced to prevent the magnetic field generated on the surface of the antenna cable from affecting other antenna cables.

On the other hand, a conventional technique for reading a tag from an RFID casino table is disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 below.

The conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is a smart casino table including a control unit for recording a betting liquid read by an RFID reader and a central confirmation unit in which a central antenna for RFID is mounted inside, By calculating the ratio between the amount of money, the casino business will be able to prevent overpayment and implement accounting management for the entire casino business in real time.

The conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 2 enables the game chip to detect identification information of a game chip by using a game chip in which an RFID tag is embedded in each game table and to detect in / out and win / lose information from a chip tray The dealer can set the information management terminal device so that the distribution of the game chip according to the progress of the game can be monitored and managed so that the device for preventing illegal act of the casino game table and the chip Provides an effective casino table game chip management system for the distribution management of the casino. Through this, we can realize casino table game chip management which is effective for rolling game operated in casino using casino chip with RFID tag embedded.

The prior art disclosed in Patent Document 3 is that casino devices, a casino table, and a casino game room are used for a game in which a dealer purchases chips, refunds chips, holds chips received by a tip, It can store contents in real time and can be checked in real time to dealers, customers and managers. It can store all contents happening between dealers and casino cages in real time during cache and chip handling such as chip replenishment, chip retrieval, Visors and security personnel in real time, thereby saving dealer time in handling cash and chip handling in casino tables, preventing errors and fraud in dealers' cache and chip handling, and improving customer satisfaction .

Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1074773 (Registered on October 12, 2011) (Smart Casino Table) Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2013-0049697 (published on May 13, 2013) (casino table game chip management system and game management control method) Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2015-0132788 (published on November 26, 2015) (casino device, casino table and casino game room)

However, in the conventional technology as described above, the casino chip information of the casino table is read using the RFID system, and the casino chip can be conveniently managed through the RFID chip. However, when a plurality of antennas are installed in a close- There is a disadvantage in that it is difficult to utilize the technique for avoiding actual operation or an error occurs in the chip management due to lack of accuracy when used in business.

In addition, the conventional technology recognizes chip read information of a plurality of channels with a single RFID reader. At this time, chip read information of each channel is sequentially recognized and added to generate information of the total casino chip. There is a disadvantage that it takes a lot of time.

In addition, in the conventional technique, as shown in FIG. 3, the antennas are installed with a large distance from each other in order to eliminate mutual interference between magnetic fields generated on the surface of the antenna cable.

In addition, the conventional technology has a drawback in that it can not provide status information of a casino table in a chip tray accommodating a casino chip, which is an RFID chip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of separating a channel of an antenna reading a plurality of casino chips from a casino table of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) It is an object of the present invention to provide a casino chip reading apparatus in a casino table that improves data processing speed by reading and minimizes mutual interference between antennas.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a casino table that provides status information of a casino table in a chip tray accommodating a plurality of casino chips to enable a dealer or other manager to easily check the information of the casino table in real time, And to provide a reading apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, a casino chip reading apparatus in a casino table according to the present invention includes: a chip tray installed at a predetermined position of a casino table and having a plurality of accommodating spaces for accommodating casino chips; A plurality of antennas for reading information of a casino chip accommodated in a chip tray at a lower portion of the chip tray; Grouping means for grouping the plurality of antennas; And chip reading information processing means for processing groups of antennas grouped by the grouping means for each group to improve the processing speed of chip reading information.

Wherein the chip tray comprises: a plurality of accommodating spaces for accommodating the casino chips; And a display device for acquiring and displaying status information of the casino table in cooperation with a table controller for controlling the entire operation of the casino table.

The display device includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) for displaying status information.

The grouping means includes a plurality of grouping devices for grouping the plurality of antennas, and the plurality of grouping devices are implemented by a multiplexer.

The chip read information processing means includes a plurality of RFID readers for independently processing the grouped antennas in the grouping means.

The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an antenna controller for controlling mutual interference between the antennas in a diagonal direction when the plurality of antennas operates,

The plurality of antennas are arranged in an array of 2 (first antenna, third antenna) × 2 (second antenna, fourth antenna).

In this case, each of the plurality of antennas includes a conductor for power supply, and the conductor is provided with a magnetic field circuit breaker in a part thereof.

And the magnetic field circuit breaker is constituted by a braided wire or a waveguide.

In this case, each antenna of the plurality of antennas and the grouping means are connected by an antenna cable, and the antenna cable is covered with the magnetic field shielding member.

Wherein the magnetic field shielding member is composed of a metal wire or a copper pipe.

According to the present invention, there is an advantage that the data processing speed can be improved by separating channels of an antenna for reading a plurality of casino chips in a radio frequency identification (RFID) casino table and reading chip information.

In addition, according to the present invention, mutual interference between antennas can be eliminated by providing the magnetic field shielding means in the antenna for reading a plurality of casino chips housed in the chip tray installed on the casino table of the RFID system.

In addition, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide status information of a casino table in a chip tray accommodating a plurality of casino chips, so that a dealer or other manager can easily confirm the information of the casino table in real time.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a view showing a structure of an antenna and a chip reading configuration applied to a chip tray area of a conventional RFID-
FIG. 2 is an illustration of mutual interference between antennas applied to a chip tray area of a conventional RFID system casino table,
3 is a view illustrating an example of an antenna installation applied to a chip tray area of a casino table of a conventional RFID system,
4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a casino table to which the present invention is applied,
5 is a configuration diagram of a casino chip reading apparatus in a casino table according to the present invention,
6 and 7 are views illustrating an antenna structure for eliminating mutual interference between antennas in the present invention.

Hereinafter, a casino chip reading apparatus in a casino table according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a schematic block diagram of a casino table to which the present invention is applied.

The casino table 100 to which the present invention is applied includes a chip tray 110 located on the dealer D side, a betting chip area 120 located on the player side P, a table controller 100 for controlling the overall operation of the casino table 100, (192).

The dealer D places the casino chips to be collected from the game player or to be provided to the player on the chip tray 110 and the player P places the casino chips to bet on the betting chip area 120 at the time of betting .

FIG. 4 is a structural view of a casino chip reading apparatus in an RFID type casino table according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, a chip tray (not shown) having a plurality of accommodating spaces 111 to 116 accommodating game- Chip tray 10 is installed.

The dealer accepts the casino chips to be collected or paid in a plurality of accommodation spaces 111 to 116. [ The chip tray 10 is provided with a display device 117 for acquiring and displaying status information of the casino table 100 in conjunction with a table controller 192 for controlling the overall operation of the casino table 100. [ The mounting position of the display device 117 may be provided at any part of the chip tray 10, but it is preferably provided at the central portion of the chip tray 110 so that the dealer can easily check it.

The display device 117 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED), or the like for displaying status information. The display device 117 includes an internal control device. In cooperation with the table controller 192, And acquires and displays the status information of each of them. The status information may include amount information of the casino chip stored in the chip tray 110, amount information of each player, error information, and the like.

In this way, the dealer D can easily check the status information of the casino table using the display device 117 mounted on the chip tray 110.

A plurality of antennas 121 to 124 for reading information on the casino chips received in the chip tray 110 are provided below the chip tray 110. Here, the plurality of antennas 121 to 124 are installed in an array of 2 (Antenna 1, Antenna 3) 2 (Antenna 3, Antenna 4).

As shown in FIG. 6, each of the plurality of antennas includes conductors 121a, 122a, 123a, and 124a for feeding, and the conductors 121a, 122a, 123a, 164 are installed.

When a plurality of antennas are actually arranged in a close-up and laminated structure, if an antenna is operated simultaneously, an antenna which does not operate due to interference of mutual magnetic fields generated by the right-hand rule of the ampere causes an error such as an operation.

Therefore, in order to solve the recognition error caused by the interference between the antennas generated by the magnetic field, in the present invention, the conductors 121a, 122a, 123a and 124a of the respective antennas 121 to 124 The magnetic field interrupters 161 to 164 are provided in a part of the antenna to cut off the magnetic field flowing to the adjacent antennas to eliminate mutual interference between the antennas. Here, it is assumed that the magnetic field circuit breakers 161 to 164 can be implemented by various members, but in the present invention, a metal (braided wire or wave guide) excellent in magnetic field shielding performance is used.

7, antenna cables (for example, 171 and 172) connected between the plurality of antennas 21 to 24 and the grouping unit 130 may be connected to each other to remove mutual interference between the antennas, May be coated with the magnetic field shielding members 181 and 182. Here, the magnetic field shielding members 181 and 182 can be realized by a metal wire or a copper pipe. Further, in addition to the magnetic shielding member such as the braided wire or the copper pipe mentioned above, the present invention can use all known magnetic shielding materials such as metal, ferrite, soft magnetic material and the like capable of blocking the magnetic field. By intercepting the magnetic field generated from the antenna cable by the magnetic field shielding members 181 and 18, interference between the antennas can be eliminated even if actual antenna cables are installed close to each other. In order to eliminate interference between existing antennas, it is possible to solve the restriction problem of the antenna installation space to separate the distances between the antennas.

As another method for eliminating interference between the antennas, an antenna controller 150 is provided and an antenna operation is controlled so that the antennas located in the diagonal direction simultaneously operate during the operation of the plurality of antennas 21 to 24, It is also possible to eliminate mutual interference. 5, the first antenna 121 and the fourth antenna 124 farthest from the first antenna 121 are operated simultaneously, and the second antenna 122 and the second antenna 122 are furthest from the first antenna 121 and the second antenna 122, It is possible to control the antenna operation in such a manner that the third antenna 123 is operated simultaneously, thereby eliminating mutual interference between the antennas.

On the other hand, in order to improve the processing speed of chip read information, which is one of the greatest features of the present invention, as shown in Fig. 5, a grouping means 130 for grouping a plurality of antennas 21 to 24, And chip readout information processing means (140) for processing grouped antennas by means (130) for each group to improve the processing speed of chip readout information.

The grouping means 130 includes a plurality of grouping devices 131 and 132 for grouping the plurality of antennas 121 to 124. The grouping refers to bundling a plurality of antennas into a plurality of antennas. For this purpose, the first and second antennas 121 and 122 are grouped into one group and the third and fourth antennas 123 and 124 are grouped. Into another group. The method of grouping the antennas is to group them by the antenna cables that transmit the outputs of the respective antennas, that is, by the channels. The plurality of groupers 131 and 132 may be implemented as a multiplexer. It is preferable to group them in the same manner even when the number of antennas is not four but six or more.

A plurality of antennas, that is, channels are grouped, and a chip read information processing unit 140 is coupled to the rear end of the grouping unit 130. The groups of antennas grouped by the grouping unit 130 are independently processed to improve data processing speed.

For example, the first grouper 131 of the grouping means 130 multiplexes the output signals of the first and second channels (first and second antennas), and the first grouper 131 multiplexes the output signals of the chip readout information processing Is connected to the first RFID reader (141) of the means (140). The first RFID reader 141 recognizes only the read information of the two antennas grouped into the first grouper 131, i.e., the channel 1 and the channel 2, and then sums the two read information.

Similarly, the second grouper 132 of the grouping means 130 multiplexes the output signals of the third and fourth channels (third and fourth antennas), and the second grouper 132 multiplexes the output signals of the chip readout information processing Is connected to a second RFID reader (142) of the means (140). The second RFID reader 142 recognizes only the read information of the two antennas grouped into the second grouper 132, that is, the read information of the channel 3 and the channel 4, and then sums the two read information.

The outputs of the first RFID reader 141 and the second RFID reader 142 are summed to recognize information of all the casino chips stored in the final chip tray 110.

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of antennas 21 to 24 for reading a casino chip contained in a chip tray 110 are grouped into a plurality of groups, and a plurality of RFID readers are implemented, The data processing speed can be improved as compared with a system in which information of all the antennas provided with a single RFID reader in the related art is sequentially read and the information is added to recognize information of the casino chip.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It is obvious to those who have.

The present invention is applied to a technique of improving the antenna performance of a chip tray area in an RFID type casino table, shortening a time for reading a casino chip using an antenna, and improving the accuracy of chip reading.

110: chip tray
111 ~ 116: Capacity space
117: Display device
121 - 124: Antenna
130: Grouping means
131, 132: first and second grouper
140: chip read information processing means
141, 142: first and second RFID readers
150: Antenna controller
161 - 164: Harmonic circuit breaker
172, 172: Antenna cable
181, 182: magnetic field shielding member

Claims (10)

An apparatus for reading an RFID casino chip from a casino table,
A chip tray installed at a predetermined position of the casino table and provided with a plurality of accommodating spaces for accommodating the casino chips;
A plurality of antennas for reading information of a casino chip accommodated in a chip tray at a lower portion of the chip tray;
Grouping means for grouping the plurality of antennas;
Chip reading information processing means for processing groups of antennas grouped by said grouping means for each group to improve processing speed of chip read information;
And an antenna controller for controlling mutual interference between the antennas by controlling the antenna operation so that the antennas located in the diagonal direction in the plurality of antennas operate simultaneously,
The plurality of antennas are installed in an array of 2 (first antenna, third antenna) × 2 (second antenna, fourth antenna)
Wherein each of the plurality of antennas includes a conductor for feeding, and the conductor includes a magnetic field breaker for blocking part of the magnetic field from being emitted to the outside.
The chip tray according to claim 1, further comprising: a plurality of accommodating spaces for accommodating the casino chips; And a display device for acquiring and displaying status information of the casino table in cooperation with a table controller for controlling the entire operation of the casino table.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the display device includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) or a light emitting diode for displaying status information of a casino table.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the grouping means comprises a plurality of groupers for grouping the plurality of antennas, the plurality of groupers being implemented as a multiplexer.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chip read information processing means comprises a plurality of RFID readers for independently processing the grouped antennas in the grouping means.
delete delete The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the magnetic field circuit breaker comprises a braided wire or a waveguide.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each antenna of the plurality of antennas and the grouping means are connected by an antenna cable, and the antenna cable is covered by a magnetic field shielding member.
The casino chip reading apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the magnetic field shielding member is composed of a metal wire or copper pipe.

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