Patent Publication Number: US-11027316-B1

Title: Ultrasonic chip cleaning basket and system

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit to U.S. provisional application 62/702,367, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Field of the Invention 
     The present general inventive concept is directed to a method and apparatus directed to ultrasonic chip cleaning. 
     Description of the Related Art 
     Casino chips are widely used to track wagers in a casino. Casino chips can be made out of various materials, such as clay, plastic, ceramics, etc. Given the smoky and high traffic typically present in casinos, casino chips over time can become very dirty with dirty embedded in the chips and hard to remove. Some casinos may replace their older chips over time, which costs money to retire old chips and purchase new ones. 
     What is needed is an improved way to clean casino chips. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is an aspect of the present invention to provide an improved system and method to clean casino chips. 
     These together with other aspects and advantages which will be subsequently apparent, reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       Further features and advantages of the present invention, as well as the structure and operation of various embodiments of the present invention, will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which: 
         FIG. 1A  is an isometric view of an empty chip washing basket, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 1B  is an enlarged view of a portion of a pair of divider strips, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 2  is a side view of the empty chip washing basket, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 3  is a drawing of the empty chip washing basket with its lid being removed, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 4  is a drawing of a top view of the empty chip washing basket with its lid removed, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 5  is an isometric drawing of the empty chip washing basket with its lid exploded and chips being loaded, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 6  is top plan view of the chip washing basket with lid removed with all chips loaded, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the chip washing basket with its lid in place with all chips loaded, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 8  is a cross-section of one vertical plane of chips in the chip washing basket taken from the view shown in  FIG. 7 , according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 9  is an exploded isometric drawing of the chip washing basket being placed into an ultrasonic washer, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 10  is a cross-section of the ultrasonic washer showing a transducer array taken from the view shown in  FIG. 9 , according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 11  is an isometric view of a basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 12  is a front view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 13  is a left view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 14  is a rear view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 15  is a right view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 16  is a top view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; 
         FIG. 17  is a bottom view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment; and 
         FIG. 18  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of washing casino chips, according to an embodiment. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     Reference will now be made in detail to the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. 
     An ultrasonic cleaner/washer can be used to clean casino chips. An ultrasonic cleaner generates ultrasonic waves (e.g., via ultrasound generating transducers) which create compression waves. The compression waves result in millions of vacuum bubbles (cavitation). The bubbles have high temperatures and pressures and result in cleaning dirt and contaminants from articles being washed. A chip washing basket is used to efficiently house casino chips so that when the basket is inserted into an ultrasonic cleaner the ultrasonic cleaner is able to clean the entire surface of each chip most efficiently. 
       FIG. 1A  is an isometric view of an empty chip washing basket, according to an embodiment. 
     A front handle  103  and a back handle  104  can be used to lift a chip washing basket  100 . A front panel  101  and a back panel  102  are identical and have circular holes of different sizes as illustrated. While two different sized holes are used, it can be appreciated that the holes can be all of uniform size, or of a number of different sizes (e.g., 2 to 20 or more different sizes). The circular holes in the front panel  101  and the back panel  102  serve to maintain the structural stability of the chip washing basket  100  as well as letting the water (with cleaning solution) inside the chip washing basket  100  when the chip washing basket  100  in inserted inside an ultrasonic cleaner. Note that instead of circles, other shapes can be used for the holes in the font panel  101  and back panel  102 , such as squares, ovals, rectangles, etc., or even a combination of different shapes. The chip washing basket  100  is designed to allow for idealwater flow through the basket so that the water has a lot of surface contact with the chips so that the ultrasonic process can work best and clean the chips. 
     A clasp  190  mounted on to the lid  300  locks the lid onto a top of the chip washing basket  100  so that the lid does not fall off. A hook on an end of the clasp  190  hooks onto a rod on a top (shown but not numbered) of the basket  100  and then a handle on the clasp  190  is pushed to tighten the clasp thereby securing the lid  300  onto the top of the chip washing basket  100 . The clasp  190  can be removed by reversing this process (e.g., by lifting the handle on the clasp  190 ). Note that alternative to the shown clasp, any other mechanism can be used to attach the lid  300  to the basket  100 . 
     Casino chips can be dropped (when the lid  300  is removed from the basket  100 ) into the chip washing basket  100 . This particular example basket  100  can hold eight chips high by eight chips long by ten chips wide (for a maximum of 640 chips) that the basket  100  can hold at one time). Of course, the basket  100  can be configured to be other sizes as well and can hold other amounts of chips as well. 
     Between the front panel  101  and the back panel  102  are seven divider panels (each divider panel is oriented parallel to the front panel  101  and the back panel  102 ). Each divider panel is comprised of a plurality of divider strips (such as 10). Note that the divider strip has holes throughout it, although other shapes can be used as well (squares, ovals, different shapes, etc.) The holes in the divider strips can be of uniform size or of two or more different sizes. 
       FIG. 1B  is an enlarged view of a portion of a pair of divider strips, according to an embodiment. 
     Shown is pair of divider strips  108 , the divider strips  108  having chips  500  between them. Also shown are eight vertical bars  105  and four horizontal bars  107 . The divider strips  108 , vertical bars  105 , and horizontal bars  107  all cooperate to secure the chips therein. This structure also enables a large surface area of each chip to be exposed so that the ultrasonic cleaning process can work on each chip by allowing the cleaning solution to physically contact most of the surface of each chip. Note that the area between the two shown divider strips  108  and two of the vertical bars  105  in a front of a chip (touching the chip) and two of the vertical bars  105  in a rear of the chip (touching the chip) can define a slot into which a chip or chips may be dropped. the spacing if the vertical bars and the divider strips  108  to define the slot would be spaced to fit a casino chip so that a casino chip can slide down the slot due to the force of gravity. However, the spacing is not too large as to allow the chips inside the slot to overlap or have excessive movement. A casino chip is typically 39 mm, 43 mm, or 1⅝ inches in diameter (and can be approximately 3.5 mm thick). Thus, the spacing in each slot should be slightly larger than this in width and length (e.g., 1-8 mm larger or other amount) in order to comfortably accommodate casino chips without excess room in each slot. 
     Note that the structure illustrated in  FIG. 1B  repeats itself in order to create the entire basket as shown in  FIG. 1A . Three vertical chips are shown in  FIG. 1B  but the basket  100  can hold eight vertical chips as well as eight chips in the length direction and ten chips in the width direction (for a total of 640 chips). Thus, the structure shown in  FIG. 1B  repeats itself in all three directions to accommodate all 640 chips. Note that another divider strip would be adjacent to the horizontal bar  107 , so the sequence (in the width direction) would be horizontal bar  107 , divider strip  108 , horizontal bar  107 , divider strip  108 , etc. The width direction is the axis which has ten chips (height has eight chips and length has eight chips). Note that the horizontal bars (also can be referred to as cross-bars) can be any diameter such as 1/16 of an inch. Note that the vertical bars can be any diameter, such as ⅛ of an inch. On the top of  FIG. 1B  is a top view of a slot with example dimensions. As stated herein, all dimensions given are just one example, but it can be appreciated that other dimensions can be used as well. 
       FIG. 2  is a side view of the empty chip washing basket, according to an embodiment. 
     A divider panel  210  can comprise ten divider strips  108  (with a horizontal bar  107  between them). There are seven divider panels  210  in the basket  100 , with each divider panel  210  separating each chip from its horizontal chip neighbor(s). A divider panel  210  is a two dimensional structure (in the sense that a piece of paper is two dimensional but technically is three dimensional) and it serves to hold the horizontal sides of the casino chips in place inside the basket  100  (see  FIG. 1B ). Note that the divider panel  210  has circular holes throughout (although any shape can be used), although the circular holes are actually in the divider strips  108  but since the divider panel  210  is comprised of the divider strips  108  these circular holes can also be considered in the divider panel  210 . Thus, with seven divider panels  210 , the front panel  101 , and back panel  102 , can accommodate eight chips in the length direction of the basket  100 . 
     Chips can physically contact their vertical chip neighbor(s), in other words, a chip would physically contact any chip directly above it and any chip directly below it. Vertical bars  105  are vertical bars that hold the front and back of the casino chips in place. The horizontal bars  107  also serve to support the structural integrity of the basket  100 . Note that since  FIG. 2  is a side view, the labeled vertical bars  105  include all of the aligned vertical bars  105 , however only the closest vertical bar  105  is visible in  FIG. 2 . The labeled horizontal bars  107  include all of the aligned horizontal bars  107 , however, only the closest horizontal bar  107  is visible in  FIG. 2 . 
     Note that each divider strip can be 0.25 inches wide, 13 inches long and 0.05 inches thick (or any other size. The overall dimensions of the basket  100  can be 13.5 inches long, 4.5 inches wide, and 13.125 inches high, although it can be appreciated that such a basket can be constructed to accommodate other numbers and/or sizes of chips and can be made in other dimensions as well. 
       FIG. 3  is a drawing of the empty chip washing basket with its lid being removed, according to an embodiment. 
     A lid  300  is shown being removed from the basket  100 . If the lid  200  was previously locked (secured) onto the top of the basket  100  by the clasp  102 , then the handle on the clasp  102  was lifted in order to loosen the clasp  102  from the rod in order to be able to raise the lid  300 . 
       FIG. 4  is a drawing of a top view of the empty chip washing basket with its lid removed, according to an embodiment. 
     A lid  300  is shown being removed from the basket  100 . If the lid  200  was previously locked (secured) onto the top of the basket  100  by the clasp  190 , then the handle on the clasp  102  was lifted in order to loosen the clasp  190  from the rod in order to be able to raise the lid  300 . 
     Also shown are a plurality of vertical bars  105 . Note that only a small number of the vertical bars  105  in  FIG. 4  are numbered, however note that there are 320 (20 width times 16 length) vertical bars shown in  FIG. 4 . The vertical bars  105  hold the front and back of the casino chips in place. Also numbered is eleven sets of horizontal bars  107 . 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric drawing of the empty chip washing basket with its lid exploded and chips being loaded, according to an embodiment. 
     Note that the casino chips  500  can be dropped into the basket  100  as shown. As they are dropped in each slot, they will stack over the chips below the one being dropped (in the sense that the checkers in a “CONNECT 4” game drop). There are 80 (ten by eight) slots into which chips can be dropped. Each slot comprises respective vertical bars which guides the chip to fall down in that slot until the chip reaches the bottom of the basket  100  (the first chip) or the chip rests on top of a highest chip in the slot. Each chip  500  has two vertical bars in front and behind the chip  500 . The 80 chips on the very left side of  FIG. 5  have back panel  102  on their left and a divider panel  210  on their right. The 80 chips on the very right side of  FIG. 5  have front panel  101  on their right side and a divider panel on their left. All of the other chips inside the basket  100  will have a divider panel  210  on their left and a divider panel  210  on their right. 
       FIG. 6  is top plan view of the chip washing basket with lid removed with all chips loaded, according to an embodiment. 
     The seven divider panels  210  and vertical bars  105  are shown. Note that only some vertical bars  105  are numbered. Note that only some chips  500  are numbered, although 80 chips are visible in this view (the rest of the chips being behind the visible chips). This view is similar to  FIG. 4  but with all 640 chips  500  loaded into the basket  100 . 
     The slots the chips are dropped in are arranged in a grid of rows and columns. It can be considered that the columns run from the front panel  101  to the back panel  102 , and the rows (perpendicular to the columns) run from the left side of the basket  100  to the right side of the basket  100 . The basket has ten rows and eight columns (total of 80 slots). Each slot is eight chips deep. Note that the bars used to form the top (and bottom) of the basket  100  can be of any diameter, such as ⅛ of an inch. Note that all bars (and all other parts such as the divider strips) can be made of any suitable material, such as stainless steel, and all bars can be any size (⅛ inch, 1/16 inch, or any other size). All connected bars can be welded together or any other attachment mechanism. All parts that are touching in the figures can be assumed to be connected at some point(s), as the basket is sturdy and stable, and (aside from the removable lid) does not contain any moving parts. 
       FIG. 7  is a top plan view of the chip washing basket with its lid in place with all chips loaded, according to an embodiment. 
     This view is the same as  FIG. 6  but with the lid  300  secured onto the top of the basket  100 . The lid  300  should be secured on the top of the basket  100  before the basket is loaded into an ultrasonic cleaner so that the lid  300  does not become dislodged and fall off the basket  100 . 
       FIG. 8  is a cross-section of one vertical plane of chips in the chip washing basket taken from the view shown in  FIG. 7 , according to an embodiment. 
     Note that the vertical bars  105  are visible behind the chips shown, with only some of the vertical bars  105  being labeled in  FIG. 8 . Note that horizontal bars  107  are visible with only some of the horizontal bars  107  being labeled in  FIG. 8 . 
     The basket  100  is made of any suitable materials, such as hard plastic, stainless steel, or any other metals. However, some materials such as aluminum may not withstand the ultrasonic cleaning process well and as such would not be ideal to use to form the basket  100 . All of the parts of the basket  100  can connected together (integrated) by welding, adhesives (e.g., glue) or any other permanent attaching mechanisms. All of the parts of the basket  100  (this does not include the chips) are integrated together except for the lid  300  which can be removed. The basket  100  should be durable and sturdy and will maintain its structural integrity even though it is placed under a high stress environment inside an ultrasonic cleaner. 
       FIG. 9  is an exploded isometric drawing of the chip washing basket being placed into an ultrasonic cleaner/tank, according to an embodiment. 
     An ultrasonic cleaner  900  is capable of cleaning objects placed inside using known ultrasonic cleaning technology. A generator power cord  901  is used to power the ultrasonic generator (including the transducers  1000 ) in the ultrasonic cleaner  900 . A heater power cord  902  is used to power a heater inside the ultrasonic cleaner  900  which heats the water/cleaning solution inside the cleaner  900 . Once the basket  100  is placed inside the ultrasonic cleaner  900 , and the inside of the ultrasonic cleaner is filled with water and ultrasonic cleaning solution, the ultrasonic cleaner may then be closed. The ultrasonic cleaner can be activated and begin the ultrasonic cleaning process. 
       FIG. 10  is a cross-section of the ultrasonic washer showing a transducer array taken from the view shown in  FIG. 9 , according to an embodiment. 
     Note the twelve transducers  1000  on the bottom of the ultrasonic cleaner  900 , which are used to generate the ultrasonic waves which cause the ultrasonic cleaning action. 
       FIG. 11  is an isometric view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment. Note that there should be a mechanism to seal the lid onto the basket (any such mechanism can be used), nevertheless some figures are now presented without showing any such closure mechanism.  FIG. 12  is a front view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment.  FIG. 13  is a left view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment.  FIG. 14  is a rear view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment.  FIG. 15  is a right view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment.  FIG. 16  is a top view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment.  FIG. 17  is a bottom view of the basket with no clasp, according to an embodiment. 
     The basket described and illustrated herein is intended to be used with an ultrasonic cleaning system. The basket  100  is designed to expose as much of the surface area of each chip as possible so that cleaning agents in an ultrasonic cleaning system can best work on the entire surface of each chip. Ultrasonic cleaners are known in the art, for example see U.S. patent publication 2017/0036251 An ultrasonic cleaner generally works by utilizing ultrasound generating transducers which produce ultrasonic waves in the fluid. This creates compression waves in the liquid which cause ‘partial vacuum bubbles (cavitation) which remove dirt and contaminants on subject objects being cleaned inside an ultrasonic cleaner. 
       FIG. 18  is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method of washing casino chips, according to an embodiment. 
     The method can begin with operation  1800 , in which an operator (user) loads up the basket  100  with chips. The operator would drop the chips into the basket  100  until the basket  100  is full (or all of the chips the operator has are in the basket  100 ). The chips can be inserted into slots in the basket  100  one by one. 
     From operation  1800 , the method proceeds to operation  1801 , in which the operator loads the basket  100  into an ultrasonic cleaner. Ultrasonic cleaning solution should be added, for example the solution can be a combination of dishwashing detergent plus antibacterial soap. Any other cleaning solution can be used as well, and ultrasonic cleaning solutions are widely available over the counter, as are the ultrasonic cleaner machines themselves. The cleaning solution would be added to water inside the cleaner so that basket would be immersed in the aqueous solution. 
     The ultrasonic cleaner can then be powered on and the machine can then operate for a period of time (e.g., 30 minutes to three hours or longer) until the casino chips are adequately clean. The ultrasonic cleaner should ideally have a heater as well as ultrasonic transducers, the heater would heat up the solution inside the ultrasonic cleaner which assists in the cleaning solution. 
     From operation  1801 , once the ultrasonic cleaner has finished, the method proceeds to operation  1802 , in which the operator removes the basket form the ultrasonic cleaner. The operator can then manually rinse off the basket with water to try to remove the soap/ultrasonic cleaning solution. 
     From operation  1802 , the method proceeds to operation  1803 , wherein the basket  100  can then be moved to a rinse station. A rinse station can comprise a hose (which can emit water at high pressure) and a drain. The operator can rinse off the basket with the hose for a period of time (e.g., 15 minutes) until most or all of the cleaning solution has been washed out of the basket and chips. 
     From operation  1803 , the method can proceed to operation  1804 , in which the chips can be dried inside an oven such as a convention oven. At this point the chips should still all be inside the basket  100 . The basket  100  can be placed inside the oven. The oven can be set at a high temperature, for example over 140 degrees could kill certain viruses such as norovirus). The oven will evaporate the water and dry the chips out, and can also serve to sanitize the chips. Once the chips are dry, the basket can be removed from the oven and the chips can be removed from the basket  100  (by removing the lid  300  and the pouring the chips out of the basket  100 ). 
     The many features and advantages of the invention are apparent from the detailed specification and, thus, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all such features and advantages of the invention that fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.