Patent Grant
9849368
The present disclosure relates to automatic card shufflers for use in randomizing an order of a group of cards, such as standard playing cards, to methods of manufacturing such automatic card shufflers, and to methods of randomizing an order of a group of cards using such automatic card shufflers.
Card shufflers are used to randomize an order of cards in a stack of cards, and are frequently used in the gaming industry for use with playing cards, such as decks of standard playing cards which include four suits (i.e., clubs, diamond, hearts, and spades) of cards, wherein each suit includes a group of thirteen (13) differently ranked cards sequentially numbered from two (2) through ten (10), as well as a Jack, a Queen, a King, and an Ace. Such a standard deck of playing cards may also include one or more additional cards, such as two additional Jokers. Thus, a complete deck may comprise, for example, fifty-two (52) or fifty-four (54) playing cards.
Card shufflers are known in the art that, in addition to shuffling cards, may be used to sort cards into a predetermined order, such as what is referred to in the art as “new deck” order. To accomplish such a sorting operation, a card shuffler must be capable of accurately identifying indicia on each card, such as the rank and suit of standard playing cards. Card shufflers capable of sorting cards often include a card imaging system, which may include a camera that acquires an image of each card. An algorithm may be used to analyze the image and compare the image to images of cards of known identity. By determining to which known image the acquired image most closely corresponds, the identity of each card may be determined and used by the card shuffler to sort cards into a predetermined order.
Many previously known card shufflers are not capable of truly randomizing an order of the cards in any given set of cards due to limitations in the mechanism or system used to shuffle the cards. Thus, there remains a need in the art for card shufflers that are capable of truly randomizing an order of cards in a set of cards to a sufficient degree to be considered random in the shuffler arts. Additionally, it may be desirable to shuffle and/or sort cards using a card shuffler quickly so as to increase the amount of shuffling and/or sorting operations that may be performed by a card shuffler in any given amount of time.
The ACE® card shuffler, offered by Shuffle Master, Inc. of Las Vegas, Nev. in the past, and as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,154, is a batch-type card shuffler with a vertically moving rack comprising multiple compartments. This structure lacks card recognition. Shuffling is accomplished through random loading of the racks. Packs of cards are formed in compartments. The order in which the cards are delivered to hand-forming compartments is substantially random. However, the composition of the pack is random. Cards placed in the discard rack are not randomly ordered. More than two cards are delivered to each compartment.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,248 describes a carousel-type card shuffler that uses a card imaging system to identify cards as they move from a card infeed tray to compartments in a rotatable carousel. The card shuffler randomly loads compartments in the carousel, and sequentially unloads the compartments. More than two cards may be delivered to each compartment. U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,981 describes a flush-mounted batch card shuffler that elevates shuffled cards to the game play surface. U.S. Pat. No. 7,677,565 describes a similar card shuffler that also includes card recognition capability. These card shufflers form a single stack of a shuffled deck or multiple decks. The stack formed in the shuffler is gripped at randomly selected elevations. A section of the stack of cards beneath the grippers is lowered, which creates an insertion opening into the stack into which additional cards may be inserted to shuffle the cards. Products as described in these patents have been commercialized by Shuffle Master, Inc. as DECK MATE® and MD2® and MD3™ card shufflers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,766,332 describes a hand-forming card shuffler that includes card recognition capability. The device described in this patent has been commercialized by Shuffle Master, Inc. as the I-DEAL® card shuffler.
In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler having a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for outputting shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card storage device includes a movable rack configured to move vertically within the card shuffler. The rack has a plurality of card storage compartments therein, each of which is sized and configured to hold two or more cards therein. In one embodiment, each compartment or most compartments receive no more than two cards. The card output mechanism further includes a movable ejector configured to simultaneously eject cards out from two or more card storage compartments of the movable rack.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler having a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for receiving a stack of shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the stack of shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card storage device includes a movable rack configured to move within the card shuffler. The rack has a plurality of card storage compartments, each of which is sized and configured to hold two cards therein and to prevent insertion of more than two cards therein. The card output mechanism includes a movable ejector configured to simultaneously eject cards out from two or more card storage compartments of the movable rack. In one embodiment, all cards in the rack are simultaneously ejected.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler having a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for receiving shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card shuffler further includes a control system configured to receive input from a user of the automatic card shuffler, to output information to a user of the automatic card shuffler, and to control operation of components of the card input mechanism, the card storage device, and the card output mechanism. The control system includes a first control panel and a second control panel. The first control panel is located within the automatic card shuffler such that the first control panel is inaccessible to a user of the automatic card shuffler from outside the automatic card shuffler, while the second control panel is located at least partially outside the automatic card shuffler such that the second control panel is accessible to a user of the automatic card shuffler from outside the automatic card shuffler.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler having a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for receiving a stack of shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the stack of shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card storage device includes a movable rack configured to move within the card shuffler. The rack has a plurality of card storage compartments, each of which is sized and configured to hold two or more cards therein. The card output mechanism includes a movable ejector configured to simultaneously eject cards out from two or more card storage compartments of the movable rack. The movable ejector is capable of simultaneously ejecting cards out from less than all card storage compartments of the movable rack.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler including a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for receiving a stack of shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the stack of shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card storage device includes a movable rack configured to move within the card shuffler. The rack has a plurality of card storage compartments, each of which is sized and configured to hold two or more cards therein. The card output mechanism includes a movable ejector configured to simultaneously eject cards out from two or more card storage compartments of the movable rack. The movable ejector is disposed on a first side of the movable rack as cards are inserted into the movable rack by the card input mechanism, and the ejector moves from the first side of the movable rack to an opposing second side of the rack and back to the first side of the rack to eject cards out from the two or more card storage compartments of the movable rack.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler comprising a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, the card storage device including a plurality of card storage compartments, and a card output mechanism for receiving shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the stack of shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card input mechanism includes a card support for supporting a stack of cards thereon, at least one pick-off roller configured to move a bottommost card in a stack of cards supported on the card support toward the card storage device, and an adjustable brake roller assembly. The brake roller assembly includes a bracket and a brake roller coupled to the bracket and configured to move relative to the bracket to selectively adjust a card gap between the brake roller and the at least one pick-off roller.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes an automatic card shuffler comprising a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for receiving a stack of shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the stack of shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card storage device includes a movable rack configured to move within the card shuffler. The rack has a plurality of card storage compartments therein. The rack further includes a card size adjustment member capable of being positioned relative to the rack in a first orientation and a different second orientation. Each of the plurality of card storage compartments has a first size when the card size adjustment member is positioned relative to the rack in the first orientation, and has a different second size when the card size adjustment member is positioned relative to the rack in the second orientation.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method of shuffling cards using an automatic card shuffler. Cards are input into an automatic card shuffler using a card input mechanism. Two or more cards are temporarily stored in each of a plurality of card storage compartments in a movable rack of a card storage device within the card shuffler. Cards are simultaneously ejected out from the plurality of card storage compartments using a movable ejector to form a stack of shuffled cards, and the stack of shuffled cards is output from the card shuffler using a card output mechanism of the card shuffler.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method of shuffling cards using an automatic card handling machine. Cards are input into the automatic card handling machine using a card input mechanism. Two cards are temporarily stored in each of a plurality of card storage compartments in a movable rack of a card storage device within the automatic card handling machine without inserting more than two cards in each of the plurality of card storage compartments. Cards are ejected out from the plurality of card storage compartments using a movable ejector to form a stack of shuffled or sorted cards, and the stack of shuffled or sorted cards is output from the automatic card handling machine using a card output mechanism.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method of fabricating an automatic card shuffler. A card input mechanism is formed that is carried by a frame, and the card input mechanism is configured to input cards into the card shuffler. A card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism is mounted to the frame. A card output mechanism is formed that is carried by the frame, and the card output mechanism is configured to receive shuffled cards from the card storage device and to output the shuffled cards from the card shuffler. A control system is operatively coupled to active components of each of the card input mechanism, the card storage device, and the card output mechanism. The control system is configured to receive input from a user of the automatic card shuffler, to output information to a user of the automatic card shuffler, and to control operation of the active components of the card input mechanism, the card storage device, and the card output mechanism. The control system is provided with a first control panel and with a second control panel. The first control panel is located within the automatic card shuffler such that the first control panel is inaccessible to a user of the automatic card shuffler from outside the automatic card shuffler. The second control panel is located at least partially outside the automatic card shuffler such that the second control panel is accessible to a user of the automatic card shuffler from outside the automatic card shuffler.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes methods of shuffling cards using an automatic card shuffler. Cards are input into an automatic card shuffler using a card input mechanism. Two or more cards are temporarily stored in each of a plurality of card storage compartments in a movable rack of a card storage device within the card shuffler. Cards are simultaneously ejected out from two or more of the plurality of card storage compartments using a movable ejector, without ejecting cards out from some of the plurality of card storage compartments, to form a stack of shuffled cards. The stack of shuffled cards is output from the card shuffler using the card output mechanism.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes methods of shuffling cards using an automatic card shuffler. Cards are input into an automatic card shuffler using a card input mechanism. Two or more cards are temporarily stored in each of a plurality of card storage compartments in a movable rack of a card storage device within the card shuffler. Cards are simultaneously ejected out from the plurality of card storage compartments using a movable ejector to form a stack of shuffled cards, and the stack of shuffled cards is output from the card shuffler using a card output mechanism. The movable ejector is maintained on a first side of the movable rack as cards are inserted into the movable rack by the card input mechanism. The movable ejector is moved from the first side of the movable rack to an opposing second side of the rack and back to the first side of the rack to simultaneously eject cards out from the plurality of card storage compartments to form the stack of shuffled cards.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method of adapting an automatic card shuffler for use with cards of different thicknesses. The method includes driving movement of a card through a card gap between at least one pick-off roller and a brake roller of an adjustable brake roller assembly, and moving the brake roller relative to a bracket of the adjustable brake roller assembly to selectively adjust the card gap between the brake roller and the at least one pick-off roller.
In additional embodiments, the present disclosure includes a method of adapting an automatic card shuffler for use with cards of different size. Cards having a first card size are temporarily stored in a plurality of card storage compartments in a movable rack of the automatic card shuffler while a card size adjustment member is positioned relative to the movable rack in a first orientation. Each of the card storage compartments has a first size when the card size adjustment member is positioned relative to the movable rack in the first orientation. The card size adjustment member is moved relative to the movable rack to a different second orientation. Each of the card storage compartments has a second size when the card size adjustment member is positioned relative to the movable rack in the second orientation. Cards having a different second card size are temporarily stored in the plurality of card storage compartments in the movable rack of the automatic card shuffler while the card size adjustment member is positioned relative to the movable rack in the second orientation.
The illustrations presented herein are not meant to be actual views of any particular card shuffler or component thereof, but are merely idealized representations that are used to describe embodiments of the disclosure.
As used herein, the term “shuffle,” when used with reference to cards, means to randomize an order of cards in a stack of cards.
The card shuffler 100 may be capable of performing additional operations on one or more cards inserted into the card shuffler 100. For example, the card shuffler 100 may be configured to sort cards in a stack of cards inserted into the card shuffler 100 into a predefined order. The card shuffler 100 may be configured to verify the presence or absence of cards in a predefined set of different cards having one or more distinguishing characteristics (e.g., rank and/or suit of standard playing cards and/or special card markings). The card shuffler 100 may be configured to detect and identify cards that are damaged to allow the cards to be removed from a set of cards prior to use of the set of cards in a playing card game. Thus, although the card handling machine is referred to herein as a card “shuffler,” it may also be characterized as a card sorter, a card verifier, etc.
As discussed in further detail below, the card shuffler 100 includes an internal card storage device, a card input mechanism for moving cards from a card input area into the internal card storage device, and a card output mechanism for moving cards from the internal card storage device to a card output area. The card shuffler 100 also may include a card reading system for capturing data from one or more images of cards inserted into the card shuffler 100. Examples of suitable card reading systems include complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) 2D imaging systems and contact image sensor (CIS) and CMOS line scanners. The card shuffler 100 further includes a control system for controlling the various active components of the card shuffler 100, for receiving input from a user of the card shuffler 100, and for outputting information to a user of the card shuffler 100.
Referring briefly to
The card shuffler 100 may be configured to be mounted such that an upper surface 110 of the card shuffler 100 is at least substantially level (i.e., flush) with a surface of a playing card table, such as a poker table for example. A lid 112 may be used to cover the card input area 106 and the card output area 108 at times other than when cards are being loaded into the card input area 106 or being removed from the card output area 108. The lid 112 may be attached to the frame 102 and/or the top surface 110 of the outer cover 104 (
The card input mechanism 120 includes an input elevator 122 including a card support 124 (
Referring again to
As discussed in further detail below with reference to
With continued reference to
As with the pick-off rollers 128A-128C, two or more of the speed-up rollers 134A-134D may be driven in unison by the motor 136 using a belt 138 engaged with complementary pulleys mounted on axles carrying the speed-up rollers 134A-134D. One or more of the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, such as the speed-up roller 134B and the speed-up roller 134D, optionally may comprise idler rollers that are not driven by the motor 136, but rather idly roll along the surface of a card moving past the idler roller responsive to rotation of other driven speed-up rollers, such as 134A and 134C, driven by the motor 136.
During a shuffling operation of the card shuffler 100, the speed-up rollers 134A-134D may be continuously rotated at a substantially constant rotational speed. Rotation of the pick-off rollers 128A-128C, however, may be selectively started and stopped by a control system 280 (
The card input mechanism 120 further includes a packing device 142 that is used to ensure that cards inserted into the card storage device 170 are fully inserted into the card storage device 170. The packing device 142 includes a card packer 144, and a motor 146 configured to drive movement of the card packer 144 between a first extended position (see
The card input mechanism 120 may further include a card weight device (not visible) for applying a downward force on any stack of cards resting on the card support 124. The force applied on the stack of cards may ensure that sufficient frictional force is provided between the bottommost card in the stack of cards on the card support 124 and the pick-off rollers 128A-128C to ensure that the pick-off rollers 128A-128C can reliably remove the bottommost cards sequentially one at a time from the stack until each card in the stack has been removed. The card weight device may comprise a lever that may be moved into an activated position in which the card weight device is in direct physical contact with the upper surface of the topmost card in the stack of cards on the card support 124, and applies a downward force to the cards, after the input elevator 122 has been lowered into the card shuffler 100 below the card input area 106. The lever also may be moved into a deactivated position in which the lever does not engage the stack of cards on the card support 124. A card weight motor 152 (see
The card storage device 170 includes a rack 171 that includes a plurality of card storage compartments 172 therein (see
The card rack 171 is configured to translate in the vertical direction along a linear path. The card storage device 170 includes a motor 174 configured to drive movement of the rack 171 up and down in the vertical direction. The motor 174 includes an encoder, which may be used to identify relative positions of the rack 171 from a known home position. The home position may correspond to the location at which a bottom surface 176 of the rack 171 (
To identify and calibrate the home position in a set-up or a calibration operational mode of the card shuffler 100, the rack 171 may be moved to the lowermost position within the card shuffler 100, and the encoder associated with the motor 174 may be reset, or the value of the encoder at the lowermost position may be recorded. The rack 171 may be moved upward within the card shuffler 100 to a location at which the bottom surface 176 of the rack 171 will certainly be located in a plane located vertically above any card gripped between the speed-up rollers 134A-134D. The card shuffler 100 then may cause the speed-up rollers 134A-134D to move a card into the space below the rack 171 without losing the grip on the card and completely inserting the card into the space below the rack 171. The card then may be drawn back away from the space below the rack 171 by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, and the rack 171 may be lowered by a small incremental distance. The card shuffler 100 then may again cause the speed-up rollers 134A-134D to attempt to move the card into the space below the rack 171 without losing the grip on the card by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D. This process of attempting to insert the card into the space below the bottom surface 176 of the rack 171 and then incrementally lowering the rack 171 may be repeated until the card abuts against the side of the rack 171, such that the speed-up rollers 134A-134D are prevented from inserting the card into the space an expected distance, which may be detected by, for example, using a sensor (as discussed below) or monitoring an electrical current of the motor 136 driving the speed-up rollers 134A-134D. The location of the rack 171 at this point, as determined by the value of the encoder associated with the motor 174, may be set as the home position in the control system 280 (
The central void 189 between the side bracket assemblies 178A, 178B may be sized and configured to allow an ejector 228 (
As discussed in further detail below, the card shuffler 100 may be configured to selectively position the rack 171 any one of three different positions for each of the card storage compartments 172 in the rack 171. In particular, the card shuffler 100 may be configured to selectively position the rack 171 such that a card being inserted into a selected card storage compartment 172 by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D is aligned with a space 186 between the upper rib 180 defining that card storage compartment 172 and the lower rib 180 defining that card storage compartment 172, such that the card is aligned with the tapered lower surface 184B of the upper rib 180 defining that card storage compartment 172, or such that the card is aligned with the tapered upper surface 184A of the lower rib 180 defining that card storage compartment 172, depending on whether or not a card is already present within the card storage compartment 172 and whether the card is to be positioned in an upper position or a lower position within that card storage compartment 172.
Referring again to
As shown in
As previously mentioned, the rack 171 includes a central void 189 defined between the side brackets 178A, 178B. The central void 189 and the ejector 228 may be sized and configured to allow the ejector 228 to move through the central void 189 from the second position of the ejector 228 (on the side of the rack 171 opposite the card support 224) to the first position of the ejector 228 (on the same side of the rack 171 as the card support 224) when the rack 171 is in the upper position, which will cause the ejector 228 to eject any and all cards in the card storage compartments 172 of the rack 171 to be simultaneously ejected out from the rack 171 and onto the card support surface 225 of the card support 224.
In additional embodiments, however, the rack 171 may not be positioned in the uppermost position when the ejector 228 is used to eject cards in the card storage compartments 172 out from the rack 171, and may be positioned at a selected location, such that cards are ejected from a selected number of card storage compartments 172 that is less than the total number of card storage compartments 172. In other words, the rack 171 may be positioned such that any card storage compartments 172 vertically above a horizontal plane in which the lowermost end of the ejector 228 is located will be ejected out from the rack 171 upon actuation of the ejector 228. In such a configuration, the ejector 228 of the card output mechanism 220 is configured to simultaneously eject cards out from two or more card storage compartments 172 of the movable rack 171, and is capable of simultaneously ejecting cards out from less than all card storage compartments 172 of the movable rack 171.
The card shuffler 100 optionally may include a card reading and/or imaging system 250 configured to capture data representing at least rank and suit information included in one or more images of each card passing through the card shuffler 100, so as to allow the card shuffler 100 to identify one or more characteristics of the cards, such as the rank and/or suit of standard playing cards. In some embodiments, however, data pertaining to cards read using the card reading system 250 may not be used in the shuffling operations performed by the card shuffler 100 for the purpose of determining the random card order, although the data may be used in the shuffling operations for the purpose of card verification. The data pertaining to card data read using the card reading system 250 may be used to verify the completeness of a set of cards by ensuring that no card expected to be in the set of cards is missing from the set of cards (e.g., a missing card in a single deck of standard playing cards), and/or that cards not expected to be present in the set of cards are not present in the set of cards (e.g., a duplicate or extra card in a single deck of standard playing cards).
As shown in
In some embodiments, the rack 171 of the card storage device 170 may be adaptable for use with cards having different sizes. Referring to
As shown in
In some embodiments, the card shuffler 100 may include a sensor 334 configured to detect when the card size adjustment member 190 is in the first orientation (shown in
In some embodiments, the card shuffler 100 may also be adaptable for use with cards having different thicknesses. For example, the card shuffler 100 may include an adjustable brake roller assembly 156 shown in
As shown in
Using the adjustable brake roller assembly 156 shown in
Referring to
Each of the main control module 282, the motor/sensor control module 284, and the imaging control module 286 may include one or more electronic signal processors 288 for processing electronic signals, and one or more memory devices 290 (e.g., random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), Flash memory, etc.) for storing electronic data therein. Each of the main control module 282, the motor/sensor control module 284, and the imaging control module 286 may comprise a printed circuit board 292, to which the electronic signal processors 288 and memory devices 290 may be respectively coupled.
The main control module 282, the motor/sensor control module 284, and the imaging control module 286 may be mounted within the card shuffler 100. In some embodiments, the main control module 282, the motor/sensor control module 284, and the imaging control module 286 may be mounted at different locations within the card shuffler 100. For example, as shown in
With continued reference to
The first control panel 298 may not be visible or otherwise accessible to a user of the card shuffler 100 during normal operation, and the second control panel 298′ may be located outside the card shuffler 100 such that the second control panel 298′ is visible and accessible to a user of the card shuffler 100 during normal operation of the card shuffler 100.
In some embodiments, the second control panel 298′ may comprise a modular display unit that may be mounted to a surface of a gaming table at a location separate from the main console of the card shuffler 100 (shown in
The first control panel 298 may be mounted directly to the printed circuit board 292 of the main control module 282 in some embodiments. The first control panel 298 may be adapted and used for installation, initial set-up, and maintenance of the card shuffler 100, while the second control panel 298′ may be adapted and used for controlling operation of the card shuffler 100 during normal use of the card shuffler 100 for shuffling, sorting, and verification of cards. The internal control panel 294 may be used for maintenance, upgrades and repairs when the external panel 294 is located in a position spaced apart from the shuffler 100.
In other embodiments, however, the card shuffler 100 may include a single data input device 294 and a single data output device 296, such as a single control panel 298 comprising a touch-screen display, which may be located anywhere on the card shuffler 100 (e.g., on the inside or the outside of the card shuffler 100) or remote from the card shuffler 100.
The main control module 282 may include one or more computer programs stored electronically in the memory device or devices 290 thereof, which computer programs may be configured to control operation of the various active components of the card shuffler 100.
The motor/sensor control module 284 may be configured to control operation of the various motors within the card shuffler 100, and to receive signals from various sensors within the card shuffler 100. The various sensors of the card shuffler 100 may be used by the control system 280 to identify current operational states of the various active components of the card shuffler 100, such as locations of the movable components of the card shuffler 100.
For example, each of the motor 126 for the input elevator 122, the motor 129 for the pick-off rollers 128A-128C, the motor 136 for the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, the motor 146 for the card packer 144, the card weight motor 152 for the card weight device (not visible), the motor 174 for the rack 171, the motor 226 for the output elevator 222, and the motor 230 for the ejector 228 may be electrically coupled with the motor/sensor control module 284 to allow the motor/sensor control module 284 to independently, selectively activate and deactivate the motors as needed to control operation of the card shuffler 100.
The card shuffler 100 may include a number of sensors, which also may be operatively coupled with the motor/sensor control module 284. By way of example and not limitation, the card shuffler 100 may include a card sensor 310 configured to detect the presence of one or more cards on the card support 124 of the card input mechanism 120, a first input elevator sensor 312 located and configured to detect when the input elevator 122 is in the uppermost position, and a second input elevator sensor 314 located and configured to detect when the input elevator 122 is in the lowermost position. A card weight sensor 315 may be located and configured to detect whether the card weight device is in the activated and/or deactivated position. A card sensor 316 may be located and configured to detect the presence of a card as the card moves off the card support 124 responsive to actuation of the pick-off rollers 128A-128C. The card sensor 316 may be activated by the leading edge of the card substantially immediately as the card begins to move off from the card support 124.
A sensor 318 may be located and configured to detect when a card moving responsive to actuation of the pick-off rollers 128A-128C approaches the speed-up rollers 134A-134D. The sensor 318 may be located and configured such that the sensor 318 may be triggered by a moving card prior to the leading edge of the moving card engaging the speed-up rollers 134A-134D. In some embodiments, the sensor 318 may be used to trigger activation of the image sensor 252 of the card imaging system 250 to acquire one or more images of the card. Optionally, the sensor 318 may be used by the motor/sensor control module 284 to momentarily deactivate movement of the pick-off rollers 128A-128C while the image sensor 252 of the card imaging system 250 acquires one or more images of the card, after which the motor/sensor control module 284 may reactivate movement of the pick-off rollers 128A-128C to cause the card to be engaged by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D and inserted into the card storage device 170. The sensor 318 may comprise a photoactive sensor that includes an emitter for emitting radiation toward any card present proximate the sensor 318, and one or more receivers for receiving radiation emitted by the emitter and reflected from a surface of a card. In some embodiments, the photoactive sensor may include two radiation receivers oriented at different locations along the direction of movement of the cards, such that the photoactive sensor may determine a direction of movement of any card moving proximate the sensor 318 by detecting which of the two radiation receivers receives reflected radiation first as a card moves past the sensor 318.
A sensor 320 may be located and configured to detect when a card moving responsive to activation of the speed-up rollers 134A-134D passes by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D and begins to enter the card storage device 170. In some embodiments, the sensor 320 may comprise a photoactive sensor that includes one or more emitters for emitting radiation toward any card present proximate the sensor 320, and two or more receivers for receiving radiation emitted by the emitter and reflected from a surface of a card. The two or more radiation receivers may be oriented at different locations along the direction of movement of the cards, such that the photoactive sensor may determine a direction of movement of any card moving proximate the sensor 320 by detecting which of the two radiation receivers receives reflected radiation first as a card moves past the sensor 320. Thus, the sensor 320 may be capable of detecting the presence of a card proximate the sensor 320, and capable of detecting whether the card is moving into the card storage device 170 or out from the card storage device 170. The speed-up rollers 134A-134D may be capable of pushing a card toward and into the card storage device 170, and capable of pulling a card back away from the card storage device 170. For example, in the case of a card jam wherein a card being inserted into the card storage device 170 is not actually inserted into the card storage device 170 as intended, the direction of rotation of the speed-up rollers 134A-134D may be reversed to withdraw the card from the card storage device 170, after which the position of the card storage device 170 may be adjusted and the speed-up rollers 134A-134D activated to again attempt to insert the card into the card storage device 170. If the card cannot be inserted into the card storage device 170 upon a predetermined number of attempts, operation of the card shuffler 100 may be interrupted and an error message provided to a user via the data output device 296 of the control system 280.
The card shuffler 100 may further include one or more packer sensors 322 located and configured to sense a position of the card packer 144. For example, a packer sensor 322 may be located and configured to sense when the card packer 144 is in the retracted position. One or more rack sensors 324 may be located and configured to sense a position of the rack 171. For example, a rack sensor 324 may be located and configured to sense when the rack 171 is in the lowermost position. The card shuffler 100 may further include one or more ejector sensors 326. For example, the card shuffler 100 may include an ejector out sensor 326 located and configured to sense when the ejector 228 is disposed in the first position on the lateral side of the rack 171 proximate the card support 224, and an ejector in sensor 326 located and configured to sense when the ejector 228 is disposed in the second position on an opposing lateral side of the rack 171 remote from the card support 224.
The card shuffler 100 may include a card sensor 328 located and configured to detect the presence of one or more cards on the card support 224 of the card output mechanism 220, a first output elevator sensor 330A located and configured to detect when the output elevator 222 is in the lowermost position, and a second output elevator sensor 330B located and configured to detect when the output elevator 222 is in the uppermost position. The card shuffler 100 may include a lid sensor 332 located and configured to detect when the lid 112 is in the closed position, as shown in
The card shuffler 100 may be used to shuffle cards, to sort cards, and/or to verify cards or sets of cards.
For example, the card shuffler 100 may be used to perform a shuffling operation on a stack of cards, as described below with reference to
Referring to
As previously mentioned, the card shuffler 100 may be configured for use in shuffling single fifty-two (52) card decks of standard playing cards, which may optionally include two additional cards, such as Jokers, for a total of fifty-four (54) cards to be shuffled. In such a configuration, the rack 171 may include exactly twenty-seven (27) card storage compartments 172 (
To shuffle cards or “randomize” the deck, as indicated at action 404 in
Thus, the control system 280 may randomly assign and correlate cards in the stack of cards 114 resting on the card support 124 of the card input elevator 122 to card storage positions in the rack 171. For example, the control system 280 may include a random number generator, which may be used to randomly assign and correlate cards in the stack of cards 114 resting to the card storage positions in the rack 171. The control system 280 may generate a Card Position Table, such as Table 1 below, which includes randomly assigned card storage positions for each sequential card in the stack of cards 114 on the card support 124 of the card input elevator 122. The Position Table may be stored in a memory device 290 of the control system 280 (
After randomizing the deck by randomly assigning the fifty four (54) card storage positions to the cards in the stack of cards 114 on the card support 124 of the card input elevator 122, the card shuffler 100 may move the card weight (not shown) down onto the stack of cards 114 to apply a downward force on the stack of cards 114, as indicated at action 406 in
The control system 280 may selectively control movement of the various components of the card input mechanism 120 and the card storage device 170 to cause the cards in the stack of cards 114 to be inserted into the rack 171 and positioned in their randomly assigned card storage positions. To accomplish insertion of the cards into the rack 171, the rack 171 is moved up and down in the vertical direction to a proper position relative to the speed-up rollers 134A-134D (which are disposed at a fixed, static location within the card shuffler 100) for insertion of each card into the appropriate card storage compartment 172 and into its assigned card storage position.
When any card is inserted into a card storage compartment 172 in the rack 171, there are two states that may exist. The first possible state is the state wherein no other card is present in the respective card storage compartment 172, and the second possible state is the state wherein one card is already present in the respective card storage compartment 172. The control system 280 may include to a First Rack Position Table and a Second Rack Position Table, each of which may be stored in the memory device 290 of the control system 280. The First Rack Position Table may include the positions at which the rack 171 is to be located for insertion of a card into a card storage compartment 172 when there is no card already present in the respective card storage compartment 172. The Second Rack Position Table may include the positions at which the rack 171 is to be located for insertion of a card into a card storage compartment 172 where there is already a card present in the respective card storage compartment 172. Thus, the First Rack Position Table correlates appropriate rack locations to each of the twenty-seven (27) card storage compartments 172, and the Second Rack Position Table correlates appropriate rack locations to each of the fifty four (54) card storage positions in the rack 171. An example First Rack Position Table is shown in Table 2 below, and an example Second Rack Position Table is shown in Table 3 below.
In Tables 2 and 3 above, the locations are given in distance dimensions, wherein the distance is a relative distance from a lower, bottom surface 176 of the rack 171, the location of which may be periodically identified by the control system 280 in a calibration process, as described in further detail subsequently herein. Each position in Table 2 corresponds to a position of a horizontal plane vertically centered within the card storage compartment 172 between the ribs 180 that define the respective card storage compartment 172 therebetween. Each position in Table 3 corresponds to the position of a horizontal plane vertically centered along the respective tapered upper surfaces 184A (for upper positions within card storage compartments 172) or tapered lower surfaces 184B (for lower positions within card storage compartments 172) at the ends 182 of the ribs 180.
Using the Card Position Table and the First and Second Rack Position Tables, the control system 280 controls operation of the card input mechanism 120 and the card storage device 170 to sequentially position each card into the appropriate card storage compartment 172 (and appropriate upper or lower card storage position therein) so as to randomize the order of the cards in the rack 171. As a particular card is inserted into the rack 171, the control system 280 references the Card Position Table to determine in which of the fifty four (54) card storage positions the card is to be positioned. The control system 280 determines whether there is already a card located in the respective card storage compartment 172 in which the card storage position is located. If there is not a card already present in the card storage compartment 172, the control system 280 references Table 2 to determine where to position the rack 171 such that, when the card is inserted into the rack 171 by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, the card will be inserted into the center of the card storage compartment 172. If there is a card already present in the card storage compartment 172, the control system 280 references Table 3 to determine where to position the rack 171 such that, when the card is inserted into the rack 171 by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, the card will be inserted either above or below the card already present in the card storage compartment 172. Thus, after selectively inserting the second card into any given card storage compartment 172 above or below the first card inserted into the card storage compartment 172, the two cards in the card storage compartment 172 will be appropriately positioned in the upper card storage position and the lower card storage position, respectively, in that card storage compartment 172.
After acquiring one or more images of the card 114, the card 114 may be moved into the rack 171 using the speed-up rollers 134A-134D and the card packer arm 144 of the card packing device 142. As indicated at action 412 in
As shown in
As previously mentioned, the ejector 228 may be positioned by the control system 280 on the side of the rack 171 adjacent the card support 224 of the output elevator 222 and the speed-up rollers 134A-134D (as shown in
Referring to
Upon first raising the input elevator 122 and the output elevator 222 to the uppermost positions immediately after cards are unloaded from the rack 171 onto the card support 224, if cards are removed from the card support 224 and additional cards are placed on the card support 124 within the predetermined amount of time, the card shuffler 100 may automatically commence another shuffling operation and return to action 402 in
As previously mentioned, the card shuffler 100 also may be used to sort cards in a stack of cards placed on the card support 124 of the card input elevator 122 into a predefined order, such as a sequential “new deck” order for a standard deck of playing cards. The card shuffler 100 may be placed in a sort mode of operation (and/or a shuffle mode of operation) using the data input device 294 of the control system 280. When the card shuffler 100 is in the sort mode, the start button 299 (
Once the input elevator 122 and the output elevator 222 have moved to the lowermost positions with the stack of cards resting on the card support 124 of the input elevator 122, the card input mechanism 120 and the card imaging system 250 may be used to sequentially identify the rank and suit of the cards in the stack (using the card imaging system 250), and to respectively move the cards into predetermined positions within the rack 171 of the card storage device 170, such that the cards are ordered within the rack 171 in a predetermined, selected order in a direction extending from the top of the rack 171 to the bottom of the rack 171, or from the bottom of the rack 171 to the top of the rack 171.
To sort cards, the control system 280 of the card shuffler 100 may reference a Sort Table, which may be stored in a memory device 290 of the control system 280. The Sort Table correlates the identity of specific cards in a predefined set of cards (e.g., a deck of standard playing cards) to one of the fifty four (54) card storage positions in the rack 171 in the predefined order (e.g., new deck order).
The control system 280 may selectively control movement of the various components of the card input mechanism 120 and the card storage device 170 to cause the cards in the stack of cards to be inserted into the rack 171 and positioned in their assigned card storage positions corresponding to the selected, predefined order. As previously described, the rack 171 is moved up and down in the vertical direction to a proper position relative to the speed-up rollers 134A-134D (which are disposed at a fixed, static location within the card shuffler 100) for insertion of each card into the appropriate card storage compartment 172 and into its assigned card storage position.
The Sort Table and the First and Second Rack Position Tables may be referenced and used by the control system 280 in controlling operation of the card input mechanism 120, the card imaging system 250, and the card storage device 170 to sequentially position each card into the appropriate card storage compartment 172 (and appropriate upper or lower card storage position therein) so as to position the cards in the rack 171 in the predefined, selected order. As a particular card is inserted into the rack 171, the control system 280 references the Sort Table to determine in which of the fifty four (54) card storage positions the specific identified card is to be positioned. As previously discussed, the control system 280 determines whether there is already a card located in the respective card storage compartment 172 in which the card storage position is located. If there is not a card already present in the card storage compartment 172, the control system 280 references Table 2 to determine where to position the rack 171 such that, when the card is inserted into the rack 171 by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, the card will be inserted into the center of the card storage compartment 172. If there is a card already present in the card storage compartment 172, the control system 280 references Table 3 to determine where to position the rack 171 such that, when the card is inserted into the rack 171 by the speed-up rollers 134A-134D, the card will be inserted either above or below the card already present in the card storage compartment 172. Thus, after selectively inserting the second card into any given card storage compartment 172 above or below the first card inserted into the card storage compartment 172, the two cards in the card storage compartment 172 will be appropriately positioned in the upper card storage position and the lower card storage position, respectively, in that card storage compartment 172.
After placing the cards in the rack 171 such that the cards are in the predetermined, selected order within the rack 171, the cards may be ejected out from the rack 171, as previously discussed, to place the stack of sorted cards onto the card support 224 of the card output elevator 222. The control system 280 then may cause the output elevator 222 and the input elevator 122 to move vertically upward to the uppermost positions and to raise the lid 112, thereby allowing a user to remove the stack of sorted cards from the card support 224 of the card output elevator 222.
The example embodiments of the disclosure described above do not limit the scope of the invention, since these embodiments are merely examples of embodiments of the invention, which is defined by the scope of the appended claims and their legal equivalents. Any equivalent embodiments are intended to be within the scope of this invention. Indeed, various modifications of the disclosure, in addition to those shown and described herein, such as alternate useful combinations of the elements described, will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the description. Such modifications and embodiments are also intended to fall within the scope of the appended claims, including legal equivalents.
The present application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/560,792 filed Jul. 27, 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,960,674, issued Feb. 24, 2015, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety herein.
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| DVD labeled Morrill Decl. Ex. A:. This is the video taped live Declaration of Mr. Robert Morrill, a lead trial counsel for the defense, taken during preparation for litigation. He is describing the operation of the Roblejo Prototype device. See Roblejo patent in 1449 or of record (Jan. 15, 2004). DVD sent to Examiner by US Postal Service with this PTO/SB/08 form. |
| DVD Labeled “Solberg Decl. Ex. C”. Exhibit C to Declaration of Hal Solberg, a witness in litigation, signed Dec. 1, 2003. DVD sent to Examiner by US Postal Service with this PTO/SB/08 form. |
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| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 2 of 23 (Master Index and Binder 1, 2 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 3 of 23 (Binder 2, 1 of 2). |
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| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 5 of 23 (Binder 3, 1 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 6 of 23 (Binder 3, 2 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 7 of 23 (Binder 4, 1 of 2). |
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| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 9 of 23 (Binder 5 having no contents; Binder 6, 1 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 10 of 23 (Binder 6, 2 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 11 of 23 (Binder 7, 1 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 12 of 23 (Binder 7, 2 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 13 of 23 (Binder 8, 1 of 5). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 14 of 23 (Binder 8, 2 of 5). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 15 of 23 (Binder 8, 3 of 5). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 16 of 23 (Binder 8, 4 of 5). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) (Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, Part 17 of 23 (Binder 8, 5 of 5). |
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| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, scan of color pages, for clarity, Part 19 of 23 (color copies from Binder 3). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, scan of color pages, for clarity, Part 20 of 23 (color copies from Binder 4). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, scan of color pages, for clarity, Part 21 of 23 (color copies from Binder 6). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, scan of color pages, for clarity, Part 22 of 23 (color copies from Binder 8, part 1 of 2). |
| Documents submitted in the case of Shuffle Master, Inc. v. Card Austria, et al., Case No. CV-N-0508-HDM-(VPC) Consolidated with Case No. CV-N-02-0244-ERC-(RAM)), May 6, 2003, scan of color pages, for clarity, Part 23 of 23 (color copies from Binder 8, part 2 of 2). |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20150182850 A1 | Jul 2015 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13560792 | Jul 2012 | US |
| Child | 14575689 | US |
