Card game system with automatic bet recognition

Abstract

An exemplary embodiment of the invention includes a bet recognition system for use with a card game. A table is provided for playing a card game including a bet location for each player. An image capture device is positioned in proximity to the bet location and configured to capture an image of a player's bet. An image processor is coupled to the image capture device and configured to process the image by locating at least one chip and creating a signal representing the chip, comparing the signal to a plurality of stored signatures, and when a match occurs, generating a signal representing the bet. In one aspect, the image processor is configured to generate an error signal when unable to match a candidate signature with at least one of the stored signatures.

1 . A bet recognition system for use with a card game comprising: 
 a table for playing a card game including a bet location for each player;    an image capture device positioned in proximity to the bet location and configured to capture an image of a player's bet; and    an image processor coupled to the image capture device and configured to process the image by locating at least one chip and creating a signal representing the chip, comparing the signal to a plurality of stored signatures, when a match occurs, generating a signal representing the bet.    
   
   
       2 . The bet recognition system of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the player's bet includes a plurality of chips having at least two different denominations; and    the image processor is configured to identify edges of the chips, segment the image into a plurality of individual candidate chips, generate a signature for each of the candidate chips, identify each of the candidate chips by comparing the signature of each candidate chip to a plurality of stored signatures representing valid chips and associated denominations, and add denominations associated with each of the valid chips to determine the wager.    
   
   
       3 . The bet recognition system of  claim 1 , wherein: 
 the image processor is configured to generate an error signal when unable to match a candidate signature with at least one of the stored signatures.    
   
   
       4 . The bet recognition system of  claim 2 , wherein: 
 the image processor is configured to generate an error signal when unable to match a candidate signature with at least one of the stored signatures.    
   
   
       5 . The bet recognition system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 means for determining the start of the game and the end of the game.    
   
   
       6 . The bet recognition system of  claim 2 , further comprising: 
 means for determining the start of the game and the end of the game.    
   
   
       7 . The bet recognition system of  claim 3 , further comprising: 
 means for determining the start of the game and the end of the game.    
   
   
       8 . The bet recognition system of  claim 4 , further comprising: 
 means for determining the start of the game and the end of the game.    
   
   
       9 . The bet recognition system of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 a chip tray image capture device positioned in proximity to a chip tray and configured to capture an image of the contents of the chip tray; and    an image processor coupled to the chip tray image capture device and configured to process the image by locating at least one chip and creating a signal representing the chip, comparing the signal to a plurality of stored signatures, when a match occurs, generating a signal representing the contents of the chip tray.    
   
   
       10 . A method of processing an image representing a plurality of chips having a plurality of different denominations, comprising the steps of: 
 capturing an image representing the plurality of chips;    identifying edges of the plurality of chips;    segmenting the image into a plurality of individual candidate chips;    generating a signature for each of the candidate chips;    identifying each of the candidate chips by comparing the signature of each candidate chip to a plurality of stored signatures representing valid chips and associated denominations; and    adding denominations associated with each of the valid chips to determine the wager.    
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of: 
 generating an error signal when unable to match a candidate signature with at least one of the stored signatures.    
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the step of: 
 determining the start of the game and the end of the game.    
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising the step of: 
 determining the start of the game and the end of the game.    
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising the steps of: 
 capturing an image representing chips in a chip tray;    identifying edges of the plurality of chips;    segmenting the image into a plurality of individual candidate chips;    generating a signature for each of the candidate chips;    identifying each of the candidate chips by comparing the signature of each candidate chip to a plurality of stored signatures representing valid chips and associated denominations; and    adding denominations associated with each of the valid chips to determine the contents of the chip tray.    
   
   
       15 . A method of training an image processor to process an image representing a plurality of chips having a plurality of different denominations, comprising the steps of: 
 capturing a plurality of images representing chips having different known denominations;    generating a signature for each of the chips having different denominations; and    storing the signatures.    
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein: 
 the capturing step includes capturing a plurality of images for each of the chips having different denominations; and    the generating step includes generating at least one signature for each of the images of the chips having different denominations, thereby generating a plurality of signatures for each of the chips having different denominations;    
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein: 
 the generating step includes generating a plurality of signatures for each of the chips having different denominations.    
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein: 
 the generating step includes generating a plurality of signatures for each of the chips having different denominations.