CARD SHOE WITH FORCE RESIST MECHANISM

Abstract

A card shoe for holding and distributing playing cards during a playing card game, where the card shoe can hold multiple decks of playing cards. The card shoe includes a wedge assembly that biases playing cards toward a playing card extraction opening. Gravity and/or other forces, for example a spring force, may bias the wedge assembly. The wedge assembly includes a wedge block and a roller subassembly. The roller subassembly includes a shaft, a clutch assembly, and a roller. In one embodiment, the clutch assembly and roller are mounted on an offset portion of the shaft so that the roller can be adjusted relative to a bottom of the wedge block. The clutch assembly permits the roller to roll in only one direction. The clutch assembly locks onto the shaft if a force is exerted which would tend to push the wedge block away from the playing card extraction opening.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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 necessarily 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. 1 is an isometric, partially exploded view of a conventional card shoe having a card wedge, according to one illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a card shoe having a wedge assembly and an opening for extracting playing cards from the card shoe, according to one illustrated embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a top, front, left side isometric view of the wedge assembly of FIG. 2 mounted to a roller subassembly.

FIG. 4 is a bottom, front, left side isometric view of the wedge assembly of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 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, a clutch assembly, and roller mounted on the shaft.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft of FIG. 5 illustrating an offset portion of the shaft in further detail.

FIG. 7 is a right side plan view of the shaft of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the card shoe taken along line 8-8 of FIG. 2.

Claims

1. A wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward a playing card extraction opening of a card shoe, the wedge assembly 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 receivable in the card shoe; anda roller subassembly having a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block to be rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.

2. The wedge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a number of guides extending outwardly from wedge block to engage complementary structure on the card shoe.

3. The wedge assembly of claim 1 wherein the angle between the card engagement surface and the bottom surface of the wedge block is an acute angle.

4. The wedge assembly of claim 1, 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.

5. The wedge assembly of claim 4 wherein the first shaft axis is offset from the second shaft axis.

6. The wedge assembly of claim 4 wherein the roller is rotationally coupled to one of the first or the second portions of the shaft.

7. The wedge assembly of claim 1 wherein a portion of the roller extends beyond the bottom surface of the wedge block.

8. The wedge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a handle coupled to the wedge block.

9. The wedge assembly of claim 8 wherein the handle is positioned on a rear portion of the wedge block.

10. The wedge assembly of claim 1, further comprising: a 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.

11. A wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward a playing card extraction opening of a card shoe, the wedge assembly 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 receivable in the card shoe; anda roller subassembly having a shaft and a roller, the shaft coupled to the wedge block and having a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis, the roller coupled to the second portion of the shaft and rotatable about the second shaft axis.

12. The wedge assembly of claim 11 wherein the roller is coupled to the second portion of the shaft via a clutch assembly.

13. The wedge assembly of claim 12 wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft to permit rotation of the roller in a first rotational direction and substantially resist rotation of the roller in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.

14. The wedge assembly of claim 11 wherein the first portion of the shaft is fixedly coupled to the wedge block to prevent rotation of the shaft relative to the wedge block.

15. The wedge assembly of claim 11, further comprising: a number of guides extending outwardly from wedge block to engage complementary structure on the card shoe.

16. A card shoe comprising: a housing having a playing card support surface and an opening, the playing card support surface arranged to receive and support a plurality of playing cards, the opening sized to permit extraction of at least some of the plurality of playing cards from the housing; anda 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 to the bottom surface, the wedge block is receivable in the housing of 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.

17. The wedge assembly of claim 16, further comprising: a number of guides extending outwardly from wedge block to engage complementary structure on the card shoe.

18. The wedge assembly of claim 16 wherein the angle between the card engagement surface and the bottom surface of the wedge block is an acute angle.

19. The wedge assembly 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.

20. The wedge assembly of claim 19 wherein the first shaft axis is offset from the second shaft axis.

21. The wedge assembly of claim 19 wherein the roller is rotationally coupled to one of the first or the second portions of the shaft.

22. The wedge assembly of claim 16 wherein a portion of the roller extends beyond the bottom surface of the wedge block.

23. The wedge assembly of claim 16, further comprising: a handle coupled to the wedge block.

24. The wedge assembly of claim 23 wherein the handle is positioned on a rear portion of the wedge block.

25. The wedge assembly of claim 16, further comprising: a 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.

26. The card shoe of claim 16 wherein the opening in the housing of is sized to permit extraction of one playing card at a time.