Package and article carriers – Carried by animate bearer – Article held by receiver
Reexamination Certificate
1999-09-17
2002-03-19
Cronin, Stephen K. (Department: 3727)
Package and article carriers
Carried by animate bearer
Article held by receiver
C150S150000, C224S610000, C224S625000, C224S660000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06357640
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a carrier or pouch-like apparatus for carrying different sized commonly used casino coin buckets.
BACKGROUND ART
The casino gaming industry is booming throughout the United States and the rest of the world. People flock to casinos and casino resorts in ever greater numbers each year. There are cities throughout the United States such as Las Vegas, Nev. and Atlantic City, N.J., whose reputation as a place for casino gambling is its number one tourist attraction. There is every indication that the trend towards casino gambling in the United States and throughout the world will continue to increase.
Gambling casinos throughout the United States offer a wide array of games of chance including various types of card games, roulette and sports betting. Whatever types of gaming a casino might offer, virtually all casinos have slot machines. Statistics have shown that slot machines are the most popular game of chance amongst casino-goers.
Slot machines are operated by inserting a coin or coins into a designated slot, pulling a lever or pressing a button, and then watching and waiting as three cylinders, each having a variety of symbols drawn on it, spin around, each coming to rest one by one, with the casino gambler winning if one or more of the series of symbols is displayed and/or lined up in a pre-determined sequence. If any of these pre-determined sequences is displayed when all the cylinders stop spinning, the machine dispenses a pre-determined number of coins which correspond to the symbols or the sequence of symbols which are displayed on the three cylinders.
A common thread running between all slot machines is that they are all coin operated. Recognizing that most casino-goers who “play the slots” usually play several games at any one slot machine and/or several games at a number of different slot machines, either of which require numerous coins, casinos distribute one of two standard-sized coin buckets to assist their customers in carrying their coins.
While the casino bucket is a convenient way of keeping the coins together, it still requires the slot machine player to use his or her hand or hands to hold the coin bucket. This in turn becomes cumbersome and inconvenient, requiring the customer to occupy at least one of his or her hands all the time. Many gamblers smoke tobacco products while gambling and also partake in the beverage services provided by many casinos. Using one hand to hold a coins can, therefore, presents a serious obstacle to gambling.
One inventor, Pelish in U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,497 issued Nov. 17, 1998, attempted to resolve the problem of having to carry the casino bucket by hand. She disclosed a pouch using darts and an elastic gather to form a pouch using several pieces of material. While Pelish may have recognized the problem of carrying a casino bucket by hand, her invention creates other problems which are not present in the present invention. First, the Pelish pouch is a “one size fits all” device. As stated earlier, casino buckets come in one of two different sizes. The Pelish pouch is too small for some and too big for others. This creates the risk of either inadvertently toppling the larger casino bucket or inconveniently allowing the smaller casino bucket to slip beneath the open mouth of the pocket whose elastic gathers would close the pouch over top of the bucket making access to the bucket difficult and inconvenient.
The second problem with the Pelish pouch is that it does not have a cover. This creates several problems. First, without a cover, the coins held in the Pelish pouch can more easily be pilfered than they could if they were carried in a pouch with a cover. Second, as the pouch is likely to rest against a person's upper thigh or hip, the jostling which results from walking can cause coins to fall out of the casino bucket. Third, when unstrapped and removed from the body of the gambler, if the pouch is dropped or knocked over, the contents will spill out.
The third problem created by the Pelish pouch is its appearance. The incorporation of darts into the design of the Pelish pouch creates wrinkles and gathers in the material. In sharp contrast, however, the present invention is compact, smart, and has very clean lines. The material can be embroidered with any of a number of icons familiar to the gambling public, such as dice, cards, slot machine displays, and roulette wheels. Furthermore, even when the cover is not zippered closed, it will fall into place over top of the bucket and create a neat, clean, and tidy appearance while the Pelish pouch, because of its one size fits all approach to carrying casino coin buckets, will always appear either open, or partially closed and poorly fitted to the coin bucket within.
The fourth problem with the Pelish pouch is the lack of security created by the design and location of the upper pocket. The upper pocket of the Pelish pouch is designed to receive the person's personal articles. It has no lid, and because of its design, any personal items placed inside the pocket will either cause the pocket to bulge, or to remain open, allowing others an unobstructed view into the pocket's interior. One of the main purposes of the present invention is to have all of the gambler's valuables securely held inside the device in an internal zippered pouch. When stored in such an internal pouch, the valuables would be out of sight, and consequently, less vulnerable to theft.
The fifth problem with the Pelish pouch is that it does not accommodate cigarettes or hand wipes. These are crucial oversights which the present invention remedies. Statistics show that a large percentage of gamblers are also smokers. The present invention accommodates these smokers by providing a covered pouch attached to the side of the main pouch tailored to accommodate a pack of cigarettes. Furthermore, anyone who patronizes slot machines for any length of time will find that their hands get very dirty. This is because the coins themselves are very dirty. To keep their hands clean, gamblers frequently carry hand wipes with them. The present invention accommodates this need by providing an accessible internal pocket large enough to hold a number of average sized hand wipes.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a pouch or carrier is disclosed in one embodiment that is specially configured to allow the user to secure it to his or her body either around the waist or slung over the shoulder. The carrier can be configured by the user to carry either of the two standard sized casino coin buckets. In either configuration, a cover can be affixed over the top opening to prevent theft and secure the coins internally. The carrier is constructed from an assembly of durable cloth-like materials that are sewn together and/or configured through the use of resealable means, including, but not limited to, snaps, buttons, zippers, and hook and loop members, such as the trademarked Velcro. The carrier comprises two axially aligned cylindrical compartments, both of which are closed at one end and openable at the other end by using the above-described resealable means. By using one or the other of the two configurations, the carrier can be adjusted to accommodate the differing heights of the two standard casino coin buckets. Additionally, an internal pocket is provided immediately below the cover and along the side of the cylinder closest to the body of the person wearing the carrier. This pocket can be used for carrying money and other personal effects, and is designed in such a way so as to be kept out of sight yet readily accessible. The carrier may also contain another internally mounted pocket opposite to the first internal pocket, it can be used for holding hand-wipes, tissues, and other articles for cosmetic and/or personal hygiene purposes.
Other embodiments include a ring to which a standard bungee cord can be attached and used to hold the casino customer's casino card in a secure location. In still another embodiment, an additional pouch
Brinker Lois J.
Rickard Gail A.
Brevard Maerena W.
Brooks & Kushman P.C.
Cronin Stephen K.
Slot Slinger, Inc.
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