Abstract:
The present invention relates to a gaming chip ( 1 ) comprising a transparent top wall ( 2 ), a bottom wall ( 3 ) and a circumferential wall ( 4 ) extending there between, said walls ( 2, 3, 4 ) forming a cavity ( 7 ). According to the invention, at least one of the top and bottom walls ( 2, 3 ) being arranged to be easily releasable and attachable, and the circumferential wall ( 4 ) comprises an aperture ( 7 ) and in that the gaming chip ( 1 ) further comprises valve means ( 6 ) arranged to open or close said aperture ( 8 ).

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to a gaming chip comprising a transparent top wall, a bottom wall and a circumferential wall extending there between, said walls forming a cavity, in accordance with the preamble of claim  1 . 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Casino chips of differing shapes, sizes and colours are well known and differs depending of the value and the gaming establishment and casino where the chips are being used. Nowadays it is also known to use casino chips having a central transparent portion, which makes an inner unit visible to the observer, on one or on both sides of the chip. 
         [0003]    In U.S. Pat. No. 6,352,261 it is known a gaming chip with a generally toroidally shaped body, a hollow sealed chamber fixedly mounted generally centrally within said toroidally-shaped body; and at least one discrete particle loosely mounted and movable within said hollow sealed chamber so that, when said chip is shaken, said particle abuts against the walls of said hollow sealed chamber providing a rattling sound. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,021,949 and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,676,376 there are also known gaming chips with a hollowed body in which a unit is placed. These units can&#39;t be replaced without damaging the gaming chip. 
         [0004]    All gaming establishment and casinos add their trade mark or/and logotype to their gaming chips. This invention enables all gaming establishment, casinos and private players to add their special unit, that, for example, can be a material, message, logotype or denotation in an interchangeable way. 
         [0005]    When putting such a unit in a casino chip an overpressure is created in said cavity as a consequence. The result of the overpressure might be that the at least one wall of transparent material releases from the outer frame resulting in an exposure of the content in the cavity. 
       OBJECT OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    The object of the present invention is to provide a gaming chip that can be easily releasable and attachable and that overcome the problems mentioned above. 
         [0007]    To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0008]    These objects are achieved by the present invention as defined in the independent claim  1 . Appropriate embodiments of the invention are set forth in the dependent claims. 
         [0009]    Thus, there is defined in accordance with the present invention a gaming chip comprising a transparent top wall, a bottom wall and a circumferential wall extending there between, said walls forming a cavity, characterized in that at least one of the top and bottom walls being arranged to be easily releasable and attachable, the circumferential wall comprises an aperture and in that the gaming chip further comprises valve means arranged to open or close said aperture. 
         [0010]    The advantage afforded by the inventive gaming chip resides in that the circumferential wall of the gaming chip is provided with an aperture and that the gaming chip comprises a valve means arranged to open and close said aperture. As a result of this arrangement it is possible to discharge an overpressure inside the gaming chip. For instance, the valve means can be a screw or a plug. 
         [0011]    According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive gaming chip, said gaming chip further comprising a seal arranged to seal between the releasable/attachable wall and the circumferential wall. 
         [0012]    According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive gaming chip, said gaming chip further comprises a unit in said cavity. This enables a user to provide the cavity of the gaming chip with any type of material, message, logotype or denotation etc, that he/she prefers. For example, said unit can be fixed mounted in said cavity. 
         [0013]    According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive gaming chip, said valve means is formed to be arranged detachably in said aperture. This enables the chip to be dismounted and hence the user can change or add other type of material, message, logotype or denotation etc, that he/she prefers. 
         [0014]    According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive gaming chip, said circumferential wall is circular. 
         [0015]    According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive gaming chip, said sealing device is a gasket. 
         [0016]    According to another preferred embodiment of the inventive gaming chip, said circumferential wall is circular. 
         [0017]    These preferred embodiments of the inventive duct connecting device are set forth in the claims dependent on the accompanying claim  1 . 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to exemplifying embodiments thereof and also with reference to the accompanying drawings in which 
           [0019]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a gaming chip, and shows a gaming chip with one transparent wall, one seal and the valve means in a non-mounted state; 
           [0020]      FIG. 2  is a perspective view of one embodiment of the gaming chip according to the present invention; 
           [0021]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the gaming chip according to the present invention, 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0022]      FIGS. 1-3  illustrate two different embodiments of the gaming chip according to the present invention. However, it is emphasized that the invention is in no way restricted to connecting devices of this type and that the inventive concept can be applied to various types of gaming chips. 
         [0023]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a gaming chip  1  according to the present invention. The gaming chip  1  in  FIG. 1  comprises a transparent top wall  2 , a transparent bottom wall  3 , a circumferential wall  4  and a seal  5  and a valve means  6 . In this embodiment the top wall  2 , the seal  5  between the top wall  2  and the circumferential wall  4  and the valve means  6  are in a non-mounted state. The valve means  6  in this embodiment is a screw, but it can of course be other types of valve means  6 , for example a plug. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the gaming chip  1  has a circular shape, but of course it can have any type of shape, for example a rectangular shape. In fitting the seal  5 , the seal  5  is displaced so as to seal between the releasable/attachable wall  2 ,  3  and the circumferential wall  4 . When the gaming chip  1  is mounted, the walls  2 ,  3 ,  4  of the gaming chip  1  is forming a waterproof cavity  7 , in which it is possible to put a unit (not shown), for example, a material, message, logotype or denotation. The circumferential wall  4  is provided with an aperture  8 , which can be opened or closed by the valve means  6 , in this case the screw, to make it possible to discharge an overpressure inside the gaming chip  1 . The assembly of the unit (not shown) in the cavity  7  of the gaming chip  1  is made before mounting the gaming chip  1 . When the transparent top wall  2  and the transparent bottom wall  3  have been assembled to circumferential wall  4  and the seal  5  is arranged to seal between the top and bottom walls  2 ,  3  and the circumferential wall  4 , and when the air is no longer in the cavity  7  of the gaming chip  1 , said aperture  8  can be closed by said valve means  6 . The result is a waterproof gaming chip  1  with no overpressure problems. 
         [0024]    Whenever a need arises to open the gaming chip  1  to change or alter the unit in the cavity  7  the aperture  8  is opened by said valve means  6 . The cavity  7  is then injected air through the aperture  8  resulting in a release of the transparent top and bottom walls  2 ,  3  and hence also in a release of the material, message, logotype, etc creating the possibility for interchangeability. Since the production method doesn&#39;t require any moulding nor gluing, all parts of the gaming chip  1  can be reused in reassembly. 
         [0025]      FIG. 2  illustrates one possible configuration of the gaming chip  1  according to the present invention. The illustrated gaming chip  1  comprises a releasable and attachable transparent top and bottom wall  2 ,  3 . Two seals  5 ,  9  are provided between the top and bottom wall  2 ,  3  respectively to seal between said walls  2 ,  3  and the circumferential wall  4 . The gaming chip  1  is in a non-mounted state. In this embodiment the circumferential wall  4  is provided with diamonds  10 , but of course it is possible to provide it with any type of stones. In fact, the material used for the gaming chip  1  might, for example, consist of precious metals, gemstones, diamond or any other metal. The type of material for the gaming chip  1  can be chosen just for the purpose of making the chip  1  beautiful and/or to help in differing the chip from other type of chips. Of course the chip  1  is not limited in terms of shape, size and proportions. 
         [0026]      FIG. 3  illustrates an exemplifying embodiment of a gaming chip  1 . The gaming chip  1  in this figure has a rectangular shape, but as mentioned above, the gaming chip  1  can have any type of shape. The gaming chip  1  in  FIG. 3  comprises a transparent top wall  2 , a transparent bottom wall  3 , a circumferential wall  4  and a seal  5  and a valve means  6 . In this embodiment the top wall  2 , the seal  5  between the top wall  2  and the circumferential wall  4  and the valve means  6  are in a non-mounted state. The valve means  6  in this embodiment is a plug, but it can of course be other types of valve means, for example a screw. When the gaming chip  1  is mounted, the walls  2 ,  3 ,  4  of the gaming chip is forming a waterproof cavity  7 , in which it is possible to put a unit (not shown), for example, a material, message, logotype or denotation. The circumferential wall  4  is provided with an aperture  8 , which can be opened or closed by the valve means  6 , in this case the screw, to make it possible to discharge an overpressure inside the gaming chip  1 .