Patent Application
20250222342
Disclosed herein are privacy covers for playing cards, and devices, kits, games and methods for obscuring or hiding card information from observers.
Current playing cards and playing card accessories cannot adequately ensure the privacy of the card information displayed on playing cards in a player's possession whether before, during, or after game play. Especially in multiplayer card games, it is difficult for a player to keep his or her playing cards private from other players. There is a need for a device that can assist a player to maintain and control the privacy of the card information displayed on the cards in the player's hand, especially during game play.
The present disclosure provides for card covers, kits, devices, cards, decks, games, and methods for obscuring and revealing card information. The embodiments disclosed herein are useful in any environment where it is desirable, for example, to conceal card information from others, especially from individuals who may be in close proximity like other players at a gaming table. Such environments may include entertainment, gaming, travel, and/or recreation industries and/or settings, etc., or any combination thereof.
Other features of the embodiments disclosed herein will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of this disclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,506,376 to Kuhn et al., entitled “Electronic gaming system with real playing cards and multiple player displays for virtual card and betting images,” discloses display covers or cowlings for an electronic screen. U.S. Pat. No. 8,920,229 to Jay Chun, entitled “Secured gaming cards and verification system,” discloses playing cards having identifiers. U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,221,244 and 8,235,825 to John French, respectively entitled “Table with sensors and smart card holder for automated gaming system and gaming cards” and “Smart card holder for automated gaming system and gaming cards,” disclose smart card holders for security in dealing and in play. French, Chun, and Kuhn et al. do not disclose a device for ensuring playing card privacy.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,224,112 to John Hanson, entitled “Card holder with movable shutters and interchangeable cards for insertion therein and a second card holder with a spinner and interchangeable cards” discloses a cardholder with shutters for concealment. Hanson does not disclose devices for controlling card information privacy throughout the entirety of game play.
The disclosed inventions comprise, in one form, devices for obscuring playing card information from nearby viewers. The card information may include a characteristic of the card (“WILD”), a color, a depiction, an illustration, a suit, a card type, and/or a card value.
The card cover may be adapted to adhere to a card via static charge or comprise one or more attachments for securing the card cover to a card such as magnets, velcro, or an adhesive like paste, epoxy adhesive, epoxy resin, epoxy, film adhesive, glue, hot glue, liquid adhesive, polyimide adhesive, polyepoxide, polyimide, polyurethane adhesive, polyurethane, silicone adhesive, silicone, spray adhesive, and/or super glue.
In one form, the card cover is of a size and shape to hold a French-suited English pattern playing card. The card cover may be made from a material suitable to one of ordinary skill in the art, such as card stock, cardboard, cotton paper blend, cover stock, Dacron, glass, heavy paper, Lavsan, metal, terylene, thermoplastic polymer resin, thermoplastic polymer, thermoplastic, paper, paperboard, pasteboard, plastic coated paper, plastic, polyester, polymer, and/or polyethylene terephthalate.
The card cover may further optionally include one or more display windows, which alternatively may comprise a transparent or semi-transparent material through which a player may view card information displayed on the other side of the display window, or the display windows may be holes or openings in the card cover material.
In another form, embodiments according to the invention may comprise a card cover kit having at least one card cover as described above and a deck of cards, offered or sold together. The deck of cards further may be Adler-Cego cards, animal tarot cards, Baronesse pattern cards, Belgian-Genoese pattern cards, Berlin pattern cards, Bourgeois Tarot cards, Dondorf Rhineland pattern cards, Dutch pattern cards, English pattern cards, French-suited cards, French-suited playing cards, French-Swiss pattern cards, German playing cards, German-suited Old Bavarian pattern cards, Industrie and Glück cards, Industrie and Glück tarock cards, Italian playing cards, Lombard pattern cards, Modern Portuguese pattern cards, modern Swedish pattern cards, North-German pattern cards, Paris pattern cards, Piedmontese pattern cards, playing cards, Russian pattern cards, Spanish playing cards, Swiss playing cards, tarock cards, tarots, tarot cards, Tarot Nouveau cards, Trente et Quarante pattern cards, Tuscan pattern cards, Vienna pattern cards, or other suitable deck of cards known to those of skill in the art.
In another embodiment, a card or deck of cards may feature integral or permanently attached card cover(s) as described above.
Also disclosed herein is a method of obscuring and revealing card information (for example, during gameplay), comprising the steps of inserting one or more playing cards comprising card information into the card cover(s) described above, covering (e.g., by a player's hand), the one or more display windows in the card cover to obscure public information from other viewers; and uncovering the one or more display windows in the card cover to reveal the public information.
The following drawings are illustrative examples and do not further limit any claims that may eventually issue.
For purpose of explanation, several embodiments are set forth in the following figures, wherein:
Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicate like elements. When similar reference characters are used, these labels refer to similar parts in the examples illustrated in the drawings.
In the following description, details are set forth for purpose of explanation. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the embodiments described herein may be practiced without the use of all of these specific details. The embodiments (and descriptions) disclosed herein are intended, therefore, to be illustrative only and not limiting. Similarly, where examples are used herein, the examples are not intended to be limiting unless the context in which the example is used clearly indicates otherwise. Accordingly, “for example” or “e.g.” should be read as “for example, and without limitation,” unless the context indicates that limitation to the given example(s) is intended.
Herein, “adapted” and/or “configured” means operable, and/or adapted, affixed, arranged, attached, configured, disposed, located, oriented, positioned, and/or sized as appropriate, to render an element suitable for use with another element, or another portion of the same embodiment or invention. “Adapted” and/or “configured” is intended herein as a description of structure and not as a description of function.
Herein, “deck” means band, bunch, bundle, collection, grouping, group, packet, pack, stack, and/or pile.
The meaning of other terms may be defined herein or will otherwise be apparent to those of ordinary skill as the ordinary meanings used in the art.
The inventions disclosed herein can pertain to many cards, card decks, and/or games, etc., and/or any combination thereof, which cards, decks, and/or games can include, without limitation, playing cards, playing card decks, and/or games involving playing cards and/or playing card decks, etc. In certain embodiments, the inventions disclosed herein can pertain to English pattern French-suited cards, also known in the art as standard playing cards. In certain embodiments, the inventions disclosed herein can pertain to, for example, Adler-Cego cards, animal tarot cards, Baronesse pattern cards, Belgian-Genoese pattern cards, Berlin pattern cards, Bourgeois Tarot cards, Dondorf Rhineland pattern cards, Dutch pattern cards, English pattern cards, French-suited cards, French-suited playing cards, French-Swiss pattern cards, German playing cards, German-suited Old Bavarian pattern cards, Industrie and Glück cards, Industrie and Glück tarock cards, Italian playing cards, Lombard pattern cards, Modern Portuguese pattern cards, modern Swedish pattern cards, North-German pattern cards, Paris pattern cards, Piedmontese pattern cards, playing cards, Russian pattern cards, Spanish playing cards, Swiss playing cards, tarock cards, tarots, tarot cards, Tarot Nouveau cards, Trente et Quarante pattern cards, Tuscan pattern cards, and/or Vienna pattern cards, etc., other cards and/or decks known in the art, and/or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the inventions disclosed herein can pertain to, for example, trading cards, collecting cards, role playing games and/or “RPGs”, board games, trivia games, fantasy games, battle games, multiplayer games, and/or single player games, etc.; any game played with cards and/or card decks associated with marks, names, trademarks, and/or trade names such as Uno!™, Monopoly®, Pokemon™, Yu-Gi-Oh!™, Cards Against Humanity™, Dungeons and Dragons (D&D®), and/or Magic the Gathering™, etc.; other games known in the art; and/or any combination thereof.
Information 111 can comprise a card's identity. For example, information 111 can convey features such as one or more card characteristics, colors, depictions, illustrations, sorts, suits, types, and/or values, etc., and/or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, information 111 can comprise a card's suit and value, wherein the suit and value are selected from the customary suit and value options available in a standard playing card deck and/or a French-suited English pattern deck. In certain embodiments, the one or more features, or absence thereof, conveyed by the portion of information 111 displayed through display window 102 may be different from, less than, more than, and/or the same as (or any suitable combination thereof) the one or more features, or absence thereof, conveyed by the remainder of information 111 obscured by obscuring portion 103. In certain embodiments, the portion of information 111 displayed through display window 102 and the remainder of information 111 obscured by obscuring portion 103 convey the same one or more features pertaining to the identity of card 110, thereby allowing a user to conveniently conceal versus reveal all pertinent information 111 pertaining to card 110 by solely choosing to conceal versus reveal display window 102.
In cover 101, display window 102 comprises an oval longer than it is wide, which is oriented along anterior surface 121 and disposed centrally along the length and width of cover 101, and obscuring portion 103 comprises the remainder of cover 101. Cover 101 can comprise more than one display window 102 and/or more than one obscuring portion 103, etc., and/or any combination thereof. Each cover 101, display window 102, and/or obscuring portion 103 can be disposed in any suitable location and/or comprise any suitable size, shape, and/or material. In certain embodiments, a cover can further comprise one or more sleeves (into which a card may be inserted, or otherwise a material surrounding a card) and/or attachments, etc., and/or any combination thereof, for securing the card cover to a card.
Attachments may comprise any suitable material. Attachments 204 comprise adhesive, wherein the adhesive may comprise, for example, adhesive paste, epoxy adhesive, epoxy resin, epoxy, film adhesive, glue, hot glue, liquid adhesive, polyimide adhesive, polyepoxide, polyimide, polyurethane adhesive, polyurethane, silicone adhesive, silicone, spray adhesive, and/or super glue, etc., and/or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments of a cover, attachments may comprise one or more magnets, Velcro strips, or any combination thereof, and a card may be adapted to adhere to said magnet(s) and/or Velcro strip(s), such as, for example, by modifying the card with one or more recipient magnets and/or Velcro strips to adhere to the card cover's magnet(s) and/or Velcro strip(s). In certain embodiments, a cover may adhere to a card via static charge.
A cover may optionally comprise one or more display windows, of any suitable size(s) and/or shape(s), disposed in any suitable location(s) within the card cover. In certain embodiments, the card cover comprises at least one display window operable to enable a user to cover the display window(s) with one or more of the user's fingers, such as, for example, a thumb, when the user is holding the card cover when the card cover is secured to a card. In certain embodiments, a display window comprises a circle, ellipse, oblong, oval, and/or round shape, etc., or any combination thereof. In one non-limiting example, a display window is about 35 mm to about 65 mm long and about 15 mm to about 35 mm wide. A cover may comprise display window(s) disposed at the periphery of the card cover, such as, for example, at one or more corners of the card cover.
A cover may comprise any suitable size(s) and/or shape(s). In certain embodiments, a cover is of suitable size and shape to fit a standard playing card deck and/or a French-suited English pattern deck. In certain embodiments, a cover comprises a quadrilateral shape and/or the two greatest dimensions of the card cover form a quadrilateral shape. In one non-limiting example, a cover is about 87 mm to about 94 mm long, about 56 mm to about 64 mm wide, and/or about 0.07 mm to about 0.7 mm thick, and/or any combination thereof.
An obscuring portion can comprise one or more privacy filters, such as obscuring portion 303 depicted in
In
In certain embodiments, obscuring portion 303 functions by selectively and/or variably filtering, reflecting, refracting, and/or transmitting light, and/or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, filter 303a functions by selectively and/or variably filtering, reflecting, refracting, and/or transmitting light, and/or any combination thereof. In certain embodiments, filter 303a functions by selectively and/or variably filtering, reflecting, refracting, and/or transmitting light, and/or any combination thereof, via louvers 305. Louvers 305 filter light, reflect light, refract light, block light transmission, and/or function as barriers, blinds, opacities, and/or shutters.
In
In certain embodiments, such as, for example, in
In certain embodiments, a viewer cannot see past filter 303a if observing from the left at an angle greater than about 30° and/or from the right at an angle greater than about 30°. In certain embodiments, a viewer cannot see past filter 303a if observing from the top at an angle greater than about 30° and/or from the bottom at an angle greater than about 30°. In certain embodiments, a viewer cannot see past filter 303a if observing from the left at an angle greater than about 30°, from the right at an angle greater than about 30°, from the top at an angle greater than about 30°, and/or from the bottom at an angle greater than about 30°. Additional, alternate, and/or other variations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Filter 303a can comprise any suitable number of louvers 305 and/or perpendicular louvers 306 and/or any combination thereof. Louvers 305 can be oriented in any suitable manner. Perpendicular louvers 306 can be oriented in any suitable manner.
In certain embodiments, a cover comprises an obscuring portion, which comprises privacy filter, and a display window, which does not comprise privacy filter. By way of example, such an embodiment may comprise a 3M™ Privacy Filter (3M Company, Saint Paul, Minnesota), which is cut to fit a card, such as, for example, a standard playing card, and which has a central portion excised to roughly fit the dimensions of the ventral surface of a human thumb, wherein the display window consists of the excised portion where there is an absence of 3M™ Privacy Filter and the obscuring portion consists of the remaining 3M™ Privacy Filter. In such embodiments, when the card cover is secured to a card, such as, for example, by one or more adhesives, a player during game play may protect the privacy of information on the card while the card is held in the player's hand. The player may cover the display window with a finger, such that information under the display window is no longer visible to the player nor neighboring individuals. Information under the obscuring portion remains visible to the player, who can see through the obscuring portion by looking from a direct angle that permits vision through the privacy filter. However, the view of neighboring individuals is obscured by the privacy filter—neighboring individuals cannot see information under the obscuring portion given their relative viewing angle. In the course of game play the card may be placed centrally between all players, such as on a table or surface. Without a finger covering the display window (which does not comprise privacy filter), information under the display window is visible from broad viewing angles, allowing all players to see the information under the display window. Thus, the card cover facilitates ease and convenience of game play with enhanced privacy, especially when the information under the display window conveys the same card features as the information under the obscuring portion. When the card is in hand, a player can maintain card identity concealed through a combination of the operation of the privacy filter and covering the display window with a finger. When the card is placed down from the player's hand, card identity is displayed to all players and game play continues.
In certain embodiments, a cover may further comprise one or more sleeves for securing the card cover to a card. A sleeve in one form is a protective enclosure for a card that may in one example include a pouch having a plurality of walls or a cavity configured to slideably receive the card. The card may be removable from the sleeve, or alternatively the cover or sleeve may be integral to the card, e.g., the card and cover are created of a single material or the cover is a separate or different material but not removable from the card.
In certain embodiments, sleeve 407 covers the entire length and width of cover 401 such that card 410 is covered entirely anteriorly and posteriorly. In certain embodiments of covers comprising one or more sleeves, the one or more obscuring portions comprise the one or more sleeves. In certain embodiments, one or more sleeves may comprise one or more privacy filters, louvers, and/or perpendicular louvers, and/or a combination thereof, to operate similar to obscuring portions as discussed herein. In certain embodiments, a sleeve may comprise one or more display windows for displaying some card information surface and one or more obscuring portions for obscuring the remainder of card information surface.
A cover, obscuring portion, filter, louver, perpendicular louver, and/or sleeve may comprise any suitable material, including, but not limited to, for example, card stock, cardboard, cotton paper blend, cover stock, Dacron, glass, heavy paper, Lavsan, metal, Terylene, thermoplastic polymer resin, thermoplastic polymer, thermoplastic, paper, paperboard, pasteboard, plastic coated paper, plastic, polyester, polymer, and/or polyethylene terephthalate, etc., and/or any combination thereof. A display window may comprise any suitable material, including, but not limited to, for example, Dacron, glass, Lavsan, Terylene, thermoplastic polymer resin, thermoplastic polymer, thermoplastic, plastic, polyester, polymer, and/or polyethylene terephthalate, etc., and/or any combination thereof. A display window may consist of the absence of material. A display window may consist of the area where there is an absence of material in one or more obscuring portions. A display window of a cover may consist of the area where there is an absence of material in the card cover.
Also disclosed herein are card cover kits. A card cover kit may comprise at least one card and at least one cover for each card, wherein each cover comprises any of the card covers disclosed herein. A card cover kit may comprise at least one card deck and at least one cover for each card, wherein each cover comprises any of the card covers disclosed herein.
Also disclosed herein are methods of manufacturing a card privacy assembly. A method of manufacturing a card privacy assembly may comprise the steps of adapting a cover to fit a card and adhering the card to the card cover, wherein the card cover comprises any of the card covers disclosed herein, and further wherein the card cover's display window(s) and obscuring portion(s) are disposed overlying some or all information on the card. The card may be adhered to the card cover via any one or more attachments, connectors, and/or securement means disclosed herein, such as, for example, static charge, sleeves, magnets, Velcro strips, and/or adhesive, etc., and/or any attachment, connector, and/or securement means known in the art. In certain embodiments, the method may further comprise the step of adapting the card to fit the card cover. In certain such embodiments, the step of adapting the card to fit the card cover comes before the step of adhering the card to the card cover. By way of example, one such method of manufacturing a card privacy assembly may comprise: adapting a cover to fit a card by adding one or more cover magnets on the card cover with the north pole(s) of the card cover magnet(s) facing away from the card cover and towards the card; adapting the card to fit the card cover by adding a corresponding number of card magnet(s) appropriately placed on the card and with their south pole(s) facing away from the card and towards the card cover; and adhering the card to the card cover via the magnetic attraction between the card cover magnets and the card magnets. Additional, alternate, and/or other variations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In certain embodiments, top 623 and bottom 624 are each at opposite ends of the length, which is on a longitudinal axis; left side 625 and right side 626 are each at opposite ends of the width, which is on a latitudinal axis; anterior surface 621 and the posterior surface (not shown in
In card 610, public information 613 is disposed within the center one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis and within the center of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis. In certain embodiments, public information 613 can be disposed within the center one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis, within the center of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis, or neither.
In certain embodiments, public information 613 can be disposed within the top one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis, the bottom one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis, the left one-third of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis, and/or the right one-third of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis, and/or any combination thereof. In certain such embodiments, public information 613 can be disposed within one or more corners of card 610's anterior surface 622. For example, public information 613 can be disposed within one or more of: the top one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis and the left one-third of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis; the top one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis and the right one-third of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis; the bottom one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis and the left one-third of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis; and/or the bottom one-third of card 610's length along the longitudinal axis and the right one-third of card 610's width along the latitudinal axis; and/or any combination thereof.
Also disclosed herein are card decks. A deck may comprise a plurality of members, wherein each member comprises any of the assemblies disclosed herein and/or any of the cards disclosed herein and/or any combination thereof.
Also disclosed herein are games. A game may comprise: utilizing a plurality of units, wherein each unit comprises any of the assemblies disclosed herein; covering the display window(s) when desiring to obscure information underlying the display window(s) during game play; and uncovering the display window(s) when desiring to display the information underlying the display window(s) during game play. A game may comprise: utilizing a plurality of units, wherein each unit comprises any of the cards disclosed herein; covering the display window(s) when desiring to obscure the public information during game play; and uncovering the display window(s) when desiring to display the public information during game play.
Also disclosed herein are methods of obscuring information. A method of obscuring information may comprise the steps of: utilizing one or more units, each unit comprising any of the assemblies disclosed herein; covering the display window(s) when desiring to obscure information underlying the display window(s); and uncovering the display window(s) when desiring to display the information underlying the display window(s). A method of obscuring information may comprise the steps of: utilizing one or more units, each unit comprising any of the cards disclosed herein; covering the display window(s) when desiring to obscure the public information; and uncovering the display window(s) when desiring to display the public information.
For each game and method herein, the order in which the component steps are discussed is intended for purposes of explanation and/or illustration. As such, for each game and method herein, it is specifically contemplated that the component steps can be executed in one or more orders different from the examples set forth herein, and such variations will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
Applications to physical and/or virtual settings, etc., and/or any combination thereof, are specifically contemplated for the inventions disclosed herein and all embodiments disclosed herein. The use of screens or any electronic means for displaying information 111, private information 612, and/or public information 613 is specifically contemplated for the inventions disclosed herein and all embodiments disclosed herein. In such embodiments, obscuring portion 103 and/or obscuring portion 603 may be sized and shaped according to the requirements of the screen or other visual display of the device displaying information 111, private information 612, and/or public information 613.
Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily see variations and/or improvements that may be included in alternate embodiments in light of this disclosure. The inventions described herein are not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown in the figures or examples discussed in the detailed description.
While this specification contains many specific details, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of any invention or on the scope of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions. Certain features that are described in this specification in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially be claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.
Similarly, while elements, especially elements of games and/or methods, are depicted in the drawings, descriptions, and/or claims in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such elements be executed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all elements be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel execution may be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various components in the embodiments described above should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should be understood that the described components can generally be integrated together in a single end product or process or packaged into multiple end products or processes.
Particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described. Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. For example, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a different order and still achieve desirable results.
It is not possible to illustrate examples of all possible embodiments of the inventions. Certain illustrations of embodiments, including the best mode of the inventions, are disclosed herein. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the inventions. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the inventions without departing from the scope of the inventions. Therefore, it is intended that the inventions not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed, but that the inventions will include all embodiments falling within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
This detailed description provides examples including features and elements of the claims for the purpose of enabling a person having ordinary skill in the art to make and use the inventions recited in the claims. However, these examples are not intended to limit the scope of the claims, directly. Instead, the examples provide features and elements of the claims that, having been disclosed in these descriptions, claims and drawings, may be altered and combined in ways that are known in the art.
