Apparatus for stacking casino chips or gaming tokens

Abstract

An apparatus for stacking chips includes a receptacle, a diverter and a plurality of tubes. In operation, the apparatus would be placed on a flat surface such as gaming table, on which stacks of chips/tokens are to be formed. A casino dealer would place poker chips, gaming chips or casino tokens in the top of the receptacle. Each chip/token would fall into one of the tubes forming a stack of chips/tokens in each tube that rests on the surface. The diverter is located within the receptacle and assists to divert the chips/tokens into the tubes. The dealer would then lift the device vertically straight up and stacks of chips would remain.

1 . An apparatus for stacking a plurality of chips on a surface comprising: 
 a receptacle for receiving the chips, the receptacle having an open top, a side wall and a bottom, the bottom including a plurality of holes and a diverter; and    a plurality of tubes, each tube having a top disposed adjacent to a corresponding one of said holes and bottom adapted to rest on said surface;    wherein the diverter and the side wall are adapted to direct the chips placed into the receptacle through the holes and into the corresponding tubes, thereby forming at least one stack of chips on said surface.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising a base that forms the surface on which the chips are stacked.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the base is removable.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the chips are one of a group comprising casino chips, poker chips, and gaming tokens.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the surface is a gaming table.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the side wall extends around the perimeter of the receptacle bottom.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the receptacle is adapted to receive a plurality of chips dropped by hand.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the bottom is rectangularly shaped.  
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the side wall is sloped.  
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each of the holes is disposed adjacent to at least two other holes.  
   
   
       11 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each of the holes is disposed adjacent to the diverter.  
   
   
       12 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each of the holes is adjacent to the bottom of the side wall.  
   
   
       13 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each hole is circularly shaped and has the same diameter.  
   
   
       14 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each hole is circularly shaped and has a diameter that is less than 20 percent larger than the diameter of each chips.  
   
   
       15 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each tube is cylindrically shaped.  
   
   
       16 . The apparatus of  claim 16  wherein the top of each tube has a diameter that is greater than the diameter of its bottom.  
   
   
       17 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the receptacle and the plurality of tubes are formed as a single piece of plastic.  
   
   
       18 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the diverter comprises a circular protrusion.  
   
   
       19 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the diverter is disposed at the center of the receptacle bottom.  
   
   
       20 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein each tube is adapted to stack at least 40 chips therein.  
   
   
       21 . A chip stacking apparatus comprising: 
 a receptable for receiving a plurality of chips, the receptacle including a diverter and a plurality of holes, the diverter adapted to direct the received chips into the plurality of holes; and    a plurality of tubes, each tube adjacent to one of said holes and adapted to receive the chips that pass through its respective hole and form a stack of the received chips on a surface adjacent to a bottom of the tube.    
   
   
       22 . A chip stacking apparatus comprising: 
 means for receiving a plurality of chips;    means for stacking a plurality of chips; and    means for diverting the received plurality of chips into the means for stacking.