Abstract:
A casino chip organizer/pusher for transferring chips across a gaining table, from a croupier to a player has a handle configured to be manually engaged by the croupier and a Y-shaped chip-receiving portion secured to one end of the handle member and extending upwardly therefrom. The height of the Y-shaped portion can be selected to be equal to a height of a stack of standard chips, for instance twenty chips. The croupier can easily identify stacks with uneven number of chips before delivering the stack to a player.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to the field of casino management, and more particularly to a device whereby casino chips can be moved across the table from a dealer to the players in an expeditious manner. 
         [0002]    Many casinos incorporate a variety of gaming tables where players can play blackjack, poker games, roulette and other. Most of the modern casinos use chips as currency equivalents. The chips are conventionally stored in special trays, positioned near the dealer or croupier. The dealer can remove the chips as the game requires and move them to a player. The dealer also collects the chips from players, exchanging currency for chips, while storing of the chips in the tray. 
         [0003]    Conventionally, the chip trays are divided into several compartments, each adapted to retain twenty chips, which can be of a singular or various denominations. Depending on the number of players and the magnitude of their game wages, the value of the chip bank set in the table chip tray at any given time changes as the game progresses. The chips are moved across the table by players and by the dealer with every bet. The dealer usually transfers a stack of chips between the players, between the tray and the table multiple times during the shift or operational period of the table game. 
         [0004]    Most often, the chips are transferred by hand in small stacks of 20 to allow for easy counting of the chips. Should the stacks tumble on the table the dealer is required to place them in a stack again. The restacking is time consuming and labor intensive. Besides, restacking tends to interrupt the rhythm of the game. 
         [0005]    Some tables use elongated L-shaped sticks that move the dice and/or chips around the table. However, dealers are still required to stack the chip bank to allow for easy counting and subsequent dispensing. Some larger game tables are known to use a large organizer/pusher for delivering the chips to a winning better. However, such organizer/pushers are nothing more than a polished board and the chips have a tendency to slide off them. 
         [0006]    Accordingly it would be beneficial to have the ability to move the chips across the table, between the dealer and the players, while the chips are in a stacked position and in a manner that would prevent tumbling and allow easy counting of the chips so as to increase accuracy, controllability, accessibility, simplicity and speed of game management. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0007]    It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a casino chip delivery device for use at a gaming table. 
         [0008]    It is another object of the invention to provide a device for delivering stacks of chips to the players at a gaming table. 
         [0009]    It is a further object of the invention to provide a device that facilitates accuracy of counting of the chips delivered to the player at a gaming table. 
         [0010]    These and other objects of the present invention are achieved through a provision of a casino chip device for transferring chips across a gaming table. The organizer/pusher device has a handle member configured to be manually engaged by a user. In one aspect, the handle member is an elongated planar member. The organizer/pusher also comprises a Y-shaped chip-receiving portion secured to one end of the handle member and extending upwardly therefrom. The chip-receiving portion comprises a pair of vertically-oriented wall sections oriented at an acute angle in relation to each other, said vertically-oriented wall sections defining a chip receiving channel. A pair of reinforcing plates is secured along a lower part of a corresponding wall section, and a vertical buttress support is attached to the handle and the chip-receiving portion. 
         [0011]    The organizer/pusher is configured to move stacks of chips, with the height of the wall sections being selected to substantially be equal to a height of the chip stack. The vertical dimensions of the Y-shaped portion can be equal to the height of a 20-chip stack. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Reference will not be made to the drawings, wherein like parts are designated by like numerals, and wherein 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of the casino chips organizer/pusher according to the present invention. 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the casino chips organizer/pusher of the present invention showing the handle in more detail. 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of the casino chips organizer/pusher of the present invention taken from the vertical wall angle. 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the casino chips organizer/pusher of the present invention with exemplary stacks of chips being moved across the table. 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  illustrates a stack of chips with an easy identification of extra chips in the stack of twenty being moved by the casino chip organizer/pusher of the present invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  illustrates stacks of casino chips to be moved by the organizer/pusher device of the present invention wherein some of the stacks have less than twenty chips. 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is a side view of the casino chip organizer/pusher of the present invention showing stacks of twenty chips to be moved by the organizer/pusher device. 
           [0020]      FIG. 8  illustrates a method of easily identifying the correct number of chips in the stack within the device of the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 9  is a top view of the casino chip organizer/pusher of the present invention with the stacks of chips engaged therewith. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]    Turning now to the drawings in more detail, numeral  10  designates the casino chip organizer/pusher in accordance with the present invention. The organizer/pusher device  10  comprises an elongated handle  12  and a Y-shaped chip-receiving portion  14  secured to the handle  12 . The handle  12  has an upper surface  16 , a bottom surface  18 , a distant end  20  and a proximate end  22 . An opening  24  is made in the distant end  20  of the handle  12  allowing the organizer/pusher  10  to be placed on a hook or otherwise suspend in the pit area of the casino or adjacent a dealer station at the gaming table. In one aspect of the invention, a peripheral lip  26  extends upwardly from the top surface  16  of the handle  12 . The peripheral lip  26  allows the upper surface  16  to be slightly recessed to facilitate easy handling by an operator. 
         [0023]    The chip-receiving organizer/pusher portion  14  comprises a vertically oriented Y-shaped member comprised of a first wall section  30 , a second wall section  32  and connecting middle wall section  34 . As can be seen in the drawings, the connecting wall section  34  can be arcuate in cross section or can have a planar configuration similar to the wall sections  32  and  30 . The organizer/pusher wall  14  extends vertically upwardly from the proximate end  22  of the handle  12 . The normal plane of the planar wall sections  30 ,  32  and the middle section  34  is oriented transversely to the plane of the handle  12 . 
         [0024]    The wall section  30  has an inner surface  31  and an outer surface  33 . The wall section  32  has an inner surface  35  and an outer surface  37 . A first horizontal reinforcement plate  40  is secured to the lower part of the outer surface  33  of the first wall section  30 . The reinforcement plate  40  extends along the lower part of the first wall section  30 , with the first end  42  of the reinforcement plate being in contact with the proximal end  18  of the handle  12  and its second end  43 —adjacent the edge  38  of the first wall section  30 . 
         [0025]    A second horizontal reinforcement plate  46  is configured to extend along the second wall section  32 , with the first end  47  of the reinforcement plate  46  being attached to the proximal end  18  of the handle  12 , and the second end  48  being adjacent a vertical edge  39  of the second wall section  32 . The horizontal reinforcement plates  40  and  46  each have a bottom surface extending substantially in a coplanar relationship to the bottom surface  18  of the handle  12 , allowing the organizer/pusher to smoothly slide on the felt  100  of a gaming table  102 . 
         [0026]    A vertical reinforcement member  50  is secured to an exterior surface  51  of the middle wall section  34 . The vertical reinforcing member  50  acts as a buttress to the wall  14 , absorbing some of the forces acting on the wall  14  as the organizer/pusher  10  is used to move the chips along the table surface. The vertical support member  50  comprises a planar body having a vertical edge  52 , which is attached to the middle section  34  of the wall  14 . The vertical dimensions of the vertical support member  50  approximate the vertical dimensions of the vertical organizer/pusher wall  14 . 
         [0027]    A finger rest plate  54  is secured on top of the vertical support member  50 . If desired, the finger rest  54  can be provided with an indentation  56  and lip  58 . It will be understood that the indentation  56  is an optional feature of the device and may be omitted in some embodiments. 
         [0028]    As can be seen in the drawings, the wall sections  30  and  32  extend at an acute angle in relation to each other diverging in opposite directions from the middle wall section  34 . A chip-receiving channel  60  is formed between the inner surfaces  31  and  35  of the wall sections  30 ,  32  and the inner surface of the middle wall section  34 . 
         [0029]    Standard casino chips are about 39 millimeters in diameters and 3.4 millimeters in thickness. The chips can be made of clay, ceramics, molded material, etc. The height of the Y-shaped wall  14  is selected to be almost identical to the height of a 20-chip stack. Therefore, when the chips are stacked in 20-chip stacks, such as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  4 , and  7 , none of the chips protrude above the top edge  15  of the wall  14 . The dealer can easily identify whether the stack contains the pre-determined number of chips by moving his hand across the top of the chip stack. 
         [0030]    However, if the counting was incorrectly performed and more than the predetermined number of chips (in this example twenty) are stacked in one stack, the dealer can identify the extra chips from the stack.  FIG. 5  illustrates position of the extra chips  62  that are positioned above the desired 20-chip stacks  64  since they are located at a level above the edge  15  of the organizer/pusher  10 . The extra chips  62  can be removed from the stacks and put back in the tray. 
         [0031]      FIG. 6  illustrates the stacks of chips  64  that are made up of 20 chips each. However, some of the stacks, such as stacks  65  have fewer than the predetermined number of chips (20 in this exemplary view). The missing number of chips can be easily identified by either running the hand over the stacks or visually observing other stacks which are below the top edge  15  of the organizer/pusher wall  14 . The dealer can add the chips to the stacks  65  and make the stacks even in the number of chips within each stack. 
         [0032]    It is envisioned that a multiple chip stacks can be moved with the organizer/pusher  10 . In the exemplary illustrations, the organizer/pusher  10  is used to move nine stacks of chips across the table. Of course, the number of stacks can vary from one to several, depending on the winnings of the player or on the number of chips purchased by the player from the dealer. 
         [0033]    The height of the organizer/pusher wall  14  can be easily modified for the chips having different thickness or the desired number of chips in a stack. It is acknowledged that some of the chips may have a diameter of  4  centimeters as opposed to the standard diameter of 39 mm and have a different thickness, for instance 0.3 cm. Nevertheless, the minor adjustments in the height of the wall  14  can be easily made to accommodate various heights, thickness, and of the chips. 
         [0034]    The length of the handle  12  can be selected by the organizer/pusher manufacturer or a casino. It is envisioned that some embodiments may have handles that are shorter and some—longer than the length of the Y-shaped wall section. Any ergonomic adjustments in the construction of the handle are within the scope of this invention. 
         [0035]    The handle and the Y-shaped portion can be made of any desired material strong enough to withstand repeated sliding across a gaming table. Without limitation, such material can be wood, plastic, aluminum, etc. 
         [0036]    Many other changes and modifications can be made in the design of the present invention without departing from the spirit thereof. I therefore pray that my rights to the present invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.