Did You Know...
...that Thomas Edison's patent application on his phonograph was approved by the Patent Office in just seven weeks? In contrast, it took Gordon Gould, the inventor of the laser, 30 years to obtain his patent -- finally awarded in 1988!
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| Number | Title | Issue Date |
| 7316615 | Method and apparatus for monitoring casinos and gaming A system automatically monitors playing and wagering of a game, including the gaming habits of players and the performance of employees at least partially by tracking the movement of chips bearing identifiers. A chip tray reader images the contents of a chip tray, w... | 01/08/2008 |
| 7290645 | Separating foreign objects from a mass of coins A coin cleaning device for separating foreign objects from a mass of coins, comprising first and second shelf portions arranged at first and second heights, vibration means for vibrating both the first and second shelf portions to cause coins on said shelf portions ... | 11/06/2007 |
| 7244177 | Variable volume storage member for a coin dispensing apparatus An improved coin hopper that can be provided as original equipment or as a conversion member for a coin dispensing apparatus is provided. The coin hopper includes a housing member having a cavity for storing coins when mounted in a coin dispensing apparatus and a mo... | 07/17/2007 |
| 7222852 | Method, apparatus and article employing multiple machine-readable indicia on playing cards A stacked set of playing cards are supported to expose an information bearing portion bearing a first machine-readable indicia and an information bearing portion bearing a second machine-readable indicia, such that each of the first and second machine-readable indic... | 05/29/2007 |
| 7192341 | Vibrating conveyor and coin processor device A vibrating conveyor 1 for conveying coins using vibration, comprising: a conveyor plate 11 to be loaded with coins to convey the coins loaded thereon by relatively moving the coins; vibration generator means 20 for vibrating the conveyor plate ... | 03/20/2007 |
| 7188720 | Disc-type coin processing device having improved coin discrimination system A coin processing system for processing a plurality of coins of mixed denominations comprises a rotatable disc for imparting motion to the plurality of coins, a sensor for differentiating between valid and invalid coins, a stationary sorting head, a diverter and a c... | 03/13/2007 |
| 7186176 | Coin dispensing apparatus with safe housing The first purpose of this present invention is to provide a coin dispensing safe assembly with a safe system which can prevent coins being stolen. The second purpose of this invention is to provide a coin dispensing safe assembly with a safe system which can prevent... | 03/06/2007 |
| 7147551 | Apparatus for detecting a coin in a coin tube of a money changer for an automatic coin machine A money changer for automatic coin machines, comprising a casing in which a plurality of serially arranged tubes are mounted to store coins in a column shape, light barriers associated to the tubes at least in the upper and lower regions with each light barrier havi... | 12/12/2006 |
| 7106179 | Deployment system for ruggedized illuminating, marking, or signaling device A deployment system for illumination devices, including: a holding mechanism for engaging at least one illumination device; and a deploying mechanism for causing the at least one illumination device to exit the system. In the preferred embodiment, the deploying mech... | 09/12/2006 |
| 7070037 | System and method for determining the number and value of coins in a coin dispensing machine A method and system for determining the monetary value of coins included in a plurality of stacks of coins arranged for dispensing from an automatic coin dispensing machine are provided. The method and system employ a sensor arranged to determine the height of the s... | 07/04/2006 |
| 7066816 | Bill stacker and hopper access technique for a gaming device In a gaming machine, unlocking a first lock enables an attendant to open the front door of the gaming machine, allowing access to the internal circuitry of the gaming machine but not allowing access to the money in the gaming machine. Unlocking a second lock enables... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7066807 | Compact receiving and dispensing device A receiving and dispensing device for coins comprises a coin receiving device to receive the entry of coins of various denominations. The coins are segregated and verified as to authenticity. The coins are then transported along an upper and lower selecting section ... | 06/27/2006 |
| 7048623 | Coin separator and sorter assembly A coin sorting apparatus includes a coin hopper and a coin ramp positioned below the coin hopper. A coin separator mechanism is located between the coin hopper and the coin ramp. The coin separator mechanism includes a separating wheel having a plurality of coin rec... | 05/23/2006 |
| 7036651 | Method and apparatus for processing currency bills and coins A method and system for processing currency bills and coins in a cash receptacle for automatically determining a batch of currency. An operator provides an amount of cash, including currency bills and coins, and indicates a target amount of cash desired to be made a... | 05/02/2006 |
| 7025189 | Supply detecting device for money or equivalents A supply detecting device for money or equivalents capable of determines the presence thereof within a closed container. ... | 04/11/2006 |
| 7018286 | Coin holding device for filling coin cassettes A coin stacking device is used to refill a coin cassette of a coin dispenser. The coin stacking device includes a cylindrical structure having an inner diameter approximately the same as a diameter of the coins. The cylindrical structure has one open end and one clo... | 03/28/2006 |
| 7014554 | Adaptable coin mechanism A coin mechanism has one or more coin tubes for storing, respectively, coins of one or more denominations, a dispenser for controlling the dispensing of coins from the coin tubes, and a coin mechanism controller suitable for connection to a controller in an automati... | 03/21/2006 |
| 7011309 | Method and apparatus for monitoring casinos and gaming A system automatically monitors playing and wagering of a game, including the gaming habits of players and the performance of employees. A card deck reader automatically reads a symbol from each card in a deck of cards before a first one of the cards is removed. The... | 03/14/2006 |
| 6994202 | Money acceptance method and apparatus A vending machine provides a warning indication that insufficient change may be available if the total amount of available change is less than the value of the highest-denomination monetary unit which is not refundable. An insufficient change indication is also prov... | 02/07/2006 |
| 6966417 | Coin chute The invention is related to a coin chute for transporting coins in a coin processing machine. The coin chute includes a first surface, a second surface, and a rolling surface. The rolling surface connects the first surface and the second surface to form generally a ... | 11/22/2005 |
| 6964612 | Method, apparatus and article for evaluating card games, such as blackjack A system reads an identifier from a hand of cards to identify the cards. For example, the system can read an identifier from a pair of cards forming the initial hand in blackjack, where the one card is face up and the other card is face down. The system determines t... | 11/15/2005 |
| 6957732 | Vending machine having direct data link to cash dispenser A system which will allow a bill acceptor and dispenser to be incorporated into a vending machine operating on a standardized vending machine protocol to allow the vending machine to dispense change in the form of coins and/or currency according to the amount of cha... | 10/25/2005 |
| 6918826 | Coin treating device A coin treating device, wherein a key cylinder type locking means for limiting the release of the latch of the latch means is disposed in a coin storage unit so that the coin storage unit cannot easily be removed from a device main body other than in some specific c... | 07/19/2005 |
| 6913131 | Cash handling machine A cash handling machine, such as a vending machine, includes various components, such as cash store, that are located within the housing. The machine is operable in a normal mode, in which a credit value is accumulated in response to cash received, and a float mode ... | 07/05/2005 |
| 6910566 | Coin receiving and dispensing device A coin receiving and dispensing device includes a coin selector unit with a coin entry for determining a type of coin and directing the coin based on that determination. A coin dispensing device for storing coins that can be dispensed as change and a coin storage sa... | 06/28/2005 |
| 6626749 | Coin hopper status detection and reporting system An apparatus for detecting when a coin hopper in a gaming machine is low on coins and alerting the operator that service is required. An exemplary embodiment employs a system, which includes a probe for detecting the coin level and providing a signal to a... | 09/30/2003 |
| 6626750 | Token counting using scanner In one embodiment of the present invention, a technique is provided to count tokens on a gaming table. A sensor senses a characteristic of each token in a plurality of tokens in a token holder on the gaming table. The characteristic represents a valuation... | 09/30/2003 |
| 6623349 | Currency handling apparatus A currency handling apparatus is arranged to perform a float operation at the end of which a store holds coins of various denominations in appropriate quantities such that their collective value is equal to a predetermined value, wherein the respective pr... | 09/23/2003 |
| 6425817 | Token counting using scanner In one embodiment of the present invention, a technique is provided to count tokens on a gaming table. A sensor senses a characteristic of each token in a plurality of tokens in a token holder on the gaming table. The characteristic represents a valuation... | 07/30/2002 |
| 6409589 | Coin retrieval system A coin retrieval system for coin operated machines, such as slot machines, which comprises a drop bucket containing a self closing lock which is held open while the drop bucket is in the machine but springs closed when the drop bucket is removed. The buck... | 06/25/2002 |
| 6386964 | Coin dispensing apparatus A changegiver having: an acceptor for accepting coins for payment; a number of coin stores each for storing coins; a control circuit; a dispense outlet; and a dispenser for dispensing coins from the stores into the dispense outlet, under control of the co... | 05/14/2002 |
| 6371845 | Coin processing method and apparatus The number of coins stored in a coin tube is retained in RAM 13 which is backed up by a battery, the states of empty switch 22 and full coin switch 23 and the type of cassette tube to be detected by cassette detection sensor 21 are retained in the battery... | 04/16/2002 |
| 6328646 | Coin hopper transportation with endless belt conveyor The large-capacity coin dispensing apparatus of the present invention is directed to increasing the coin storage capacity of a hopper-type coin dispensing apparatus using a rotary disc to dispense coins one at a time. The coin storage capacity of the hopp... | 12/11/2001 |
| 6296101 | Token management system for amusement arcade A token management system for a amusement arcade is capable of always managing tokens even during the business hours of the amusement arcade and temporarily keeping tokens deposited by players. The system has wireless account units and a collecting cart. The w... | 10/02/2001 |
| 6279718 | Merchandising machine with bulk coin hopper A vending or merchandising machine is provided which includes a bulk-loaded coin hopper for providing change to a user of the machine. The vending machine may be operable in a change mode, wherein change is dispensed from the bulk loaded hopper in an amou... | 08/28/2001 |
| 6267662 | Measuring a stack of coins in a coin handling device A coin handling apparatus includes a coin storage container having conductive electrodes disposed along sides of the coin storage container. The coin handling apparatus also includes a voltage generator. A processor controls the voltage generator to provi... | 07/31/2001 |
| 6264546 | Coin discharge device A coin discharge device has a removable coin tube cassette and an empty sensor 5 for accurately detecting the presence of coins within the coin tubes. A sensor mounting 30 is designed to withdraw the sensor 5 from the cassette accommodation part 22 when t... | 07/24/2001 |
| 6261169 | Coin processing device A coin processing device is capable of accommodating a maximum number of coin tubes within a predetermined width. The coin processing device includes a device body (2), a coin sorting mechanism (3) for checking an inserted coin and identifying the kind of... | 07/17/2001 |
| 6139419 | High capacity dispenser for ejecting coins and tokens A coin storage and dispensing apparatus for storing and dispensing coins from a gaming machine includes a frame member for mounting in the gaming machine and for positioning a respective first container device and a second container device at a diagonal a... | 10/31/2000 |
| 6068550 | Device and method for coin packaging A coin packaging device has a table, to which a mass of coins of identical denomination may be supplied, and a plurality of cylinders, each cylinder being arranged to receive coins one by one through an open end, thereby stacking a predetermined number of... | 05/30/2000 |
