CARD SHOE FOR HOLDING PLAYING CARDS

Abstract

A card shoe that includes a housing forming a receptacle sized to receive a plurality of playing cards, the housing having a sloped front face, an opening formed in the front face sized to allow the withdrawal of playing cards, a card support surface proximate a bottom of the opening. At least one protuberance may extend upward from the card support surface, proximate the opening such that playing cards pass over the protuberance when withdrawn from the receptacle. An anti-backsliding protrusion may extend generally downwardly from at least proximate the top of the housing and positioned within the receptacle proximate the front face. A lever may be positioned to selectively disengage a wedge from a locking mechanism that retains the wedge toward a rear of the housing to facilitate loading.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or acts. The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as drawn, are not intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of the particular elements, and have been solely selected for ease of recognition in the drawings.

FIG. 1A is an isometric view of an empty card shoe having a single protuberance proximate an opening for extracting playing cards from the card shoe, according to one illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 1B is an isometric view of a card shoe holding a plurality of playing cards and having a pair of protuberances proximate an opening, according to another illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a top, front, left side isometric view of a wedge assembly of FIGS. 1A and 1B mounted to a roller subassembly, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a bottom, front, left side isometric view of the wedge assembly of FIGS. 1A and 1B mounted to a roller subassembly, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the roller subassembly of the wedge assembly, according to one illustrated embodiment where the roller subassembly includes a shaft, an anti-reversing clutch assembly, and roller mounted on the shaft.

FIG. 5A is an isometric view of a card shoe having an anti-backsliding protrusion with only a few cards remaining in the card shoe, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the card shoe of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is an isometric view of a card shoe having a lever and a track with a locking mechanism at a back end of the card shoe, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of the card shoe of FIG. 6A.

Claims

1. A card shoe, comprising: a housing forming a receptacle sized to receive a plurality of playing cards, the housing having a sloped front face, an opening formed in the front face, the opening sized to allow the withdrawal of playing cards from the receptacle, a card support surface proximate a bottom of the opening, and at least one protuberance extending upward from the card support surface, the protuberance proximate the opening of the front face of the housing such that playing cards pass over the protuberance when the playing cards are withdrawn from the receptacle through the opening.

2. The card shoe of claim 1 wherein the housing has a first and a second protuberance, spaced laterally across the opening with a spacing therebetween that is less than or equal to a length of each of the playing cards.

3. The card shoe of claim 1 wherein the first and the second protuberances each take the form of a bump.

4. The card shoe of claim 3 wherein the first and the second protuberances are each hemispherical in shape.

5. The card shoe of claim 1 wherein the housing includes a metal plate proximate the opening and the first and the second protuberances extend from the metal plate.

6. The card shoe of claim 1, further comprising: a wedge assembly having a wedge block and a roller subassembly, the wedge block includes a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative the bottom surface, the wedge block is receivable in the receptacle of the housing of the card shoe, the roller subassembly includes a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block and rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.

7. The card shoe of claim 6, further comprising: a shaft coupled to the wedge block, wherein the shaft includes a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis; anda clutch assembly coupling the roller to the wedge block, wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft when the roller is urged in the direction opposite the first rotational direction.

8. The card shoe of claim 6, further comprising: a lever pivotally mounted to selectively bias the wedge away from a back of the housing.

9. The card shoe of claim 1, further comprising: an anti-backsliding protrusion extending generally downwardly from at least proximate a top of the housing and positioned within the receptacle proximate the front face of the housing, wherein the anti-backsliding protrusion engages a portion of at least one playing card when the playing card is biased toward a back of the housing under force exerted by a dealer removing at least one of the playing cards from the housing.

10. The card shoe of claim 1, further comprising: a cover that is pivotally connected to the housing to allow the plurality of playing cards in the form of several decks of cards to access the receptacle.

11. A card shoe, comprising: a housing forming a receptacle sized to receive a plurality of playing cards, the housing having a top and a sloped front face, an opening formed in the front face, the opening sized to allow the withdrawal of playing cards from the receptacle, and an anti-backsliding protrusion extending generally downwardly from at least proximate the top and positioned within the receptacle proximate the front face of the housing, wherein the anti-backsliding protrusion engages a portion of at least one playing card when the playing card is biased toward a back of the housing under force exerted by a dealer removing at least one of the playing cards from the housing.

12. The card shoe of claim 11, further comprising: a card support surface proximate a bottom of the opening, and at least one protuberance extending upward from the card support surface, the protuberance proximate the opening of the front face of the housing such that playing cards pass over the protuberance when the playing cards are withdrawn from the receptacle through the opening.

13. The card shoe of claim 11, further comprising: a wedge block having a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom surface, the wedge block received in the receptacle of the housing to bias the playing cards toward the front face of the housing.

14. The card shoe of claim 13, further comprising: at least one spring physically coupled to both the housing and the wedge block.

15. The card shoe of claim 13, further comprising: a lever pivotally mounted to selectively bias the wedge away from a back of the housing.

16. The card shoe of claim 13, further comprising: a roller assembly having a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block and rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.

17. The card shoe of claim 16, further comprising: a shaft coupled to the wedge block, wherein the shaft includes a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis; anda clutch assembly coupling the roller to the wedge block, wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft when the roller is urged in the direction opposite the first rotational direction.

18. The card shoe of claim 11, further comprising: a cover that is pivotally connected to the housing to allow the plurality of playing cards in the form of several decks of cards to access the receptacle

19. A card shoe comprising: a housing forming a receptacle sized to receive a plurality of playing cards, the housing having a sloped front face, an opening formed in the front face, the opening sized to allow the withdrawal of playing cards from the receptacle, a wedge block having a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom surface, the wedge block received in the receptacle of the housing to bias the playing cards toward the front face of the housing, and a lever pivotally mounted and operable to selectively bias the wedge away from a back of the housing.

20. The card shoe of claim 19, further comprising: a card support surface proximate a bottom of the opening, and at least one protuberance extending upward from the card support surface, the protuberance proximate the opening of the front face of the housing such that playing cards pass over the protuberance when the playing cards are withdrawn from the receptacle through the opening.

21. The card shoe of claim 19, further comprising: an anti-backsliding protrusion extending generally downwardly from at least proximate a top of the housing and positioned within the receptacle proximate the front face of the housing, wherein the anti-backsliding protrusion engages a portion of at least one playing card when the playing card is biased toward the back of the housing under force exerted by a dealer removing at least one of the playing cards from the housing.

22. The card shoe of claim 19, further comprising: at least one spring physically coupled to both the housing and the wedge block.

23. The card shoe of claim 19, further comprising: a roller assembly having a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block and rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.

24. The card shoe of claim 23, further comprising: a shaft coupled to the wedge block, wherein the shaft includes a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis; anda clutch assembly coupling the roller to the wedge block, wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft when the roller is urged in the direction opposite the first rotational direction.

25. The card shoe of claim 19, further comprising: a cover that is pivotally connected to the housing to allow the plurality of playing cards in the form of several decks of cards to access the receptacle.