Passive NFC Gaming Table Transactions Without RFID Receivers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing RFID-enabled gaming tables are expensive, space-consuming, and require significant electrical power, limiting their widespread adoption in the gaming industry.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that utilizes low-cost, passive NFC tags integrated with RFID technology on gaming tables, leveraging players' active NFC-equipped devices for communication, reducing the need for expensive and power-hungry RFID receivers.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional RFID receivers are used in gaming tables, then player identification and transaction processing can be achieved, but the system becomes expensive, space-consuming, and power-hungry
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the traditional RFID architecture by making the player's mobile device the active interrogator and the gaming table components passive tags. This reversal eliminates the need for power-hungry RFID receivers in the gaming table, as the player's device provides the electromagnetic field for communication, directly resolving the contradiction between reliable identification and power consumption
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses NFC tags embedded in the gaming table that store identification and transaction data, allowing the player's NFC-equipped device to read this information without requiring complex RFID receiver hardware in the table. This copying approach maintains identification reliability while dramatically reducing power requirements
2Productivity
If traditional RFID receivers are used in gaming tables, then transaction processing is enabled, but the system cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces expensive, complex RFID receiver systems with inexpensive NFC tags that can be embedded in the gaming table. These passive tags are significantly cheaper than active RFID receivers while maintaining transaction processing capability, directly addressing the cost contradiction
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses NFC tags to store and transmit transaction data, allowing the player's device to copy this information for processing. This approach eliminates the need for costly RFID receiver hardware in the gaming table while preserving full transaction processing functionality
3Productivity
If traditional RFID receivers are used in gaming tables, then wager tracking is achieved, but the space required increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent embeds compact NFC tags in the gaming table that store wager information. The player's NFC device reads this data without requiring large RFID receiver assemblies, thus maintaining accurate wager tracking while minimizing the space occupied on the gaming table surface
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables efficient player identification, wager tracking, and transaction processing with enhanced functionality at a fraction of the cost and space requirements of traditional RFID systems, while maintaining high operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
Transactions involving short-range radio communications such as those that employ Near-Field Communication (NFC) receivers and transmitters have been utilized in various consumer environments
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for passive NFC-enabled gaming transactions at a gaming table. In some embodiments, a gaming table includes an NFC tag at one or more player positions. A player playing at the one or more player positions can initiate gaming sessions or transactions, or accept offers, by scanning the NFC tag.