Abstract
A packing box of shuffled playing cards has, in an assembled state, a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with six faces, namely, a front face, a rear face, a left side face, a right side face, a top face, and a bottom face so as to encase the shuffled playing cards. The packing box includes zippers provided in two locations at a predetermined interval, each of which includes zipper-shaped cut lines arranged in parallel with a longitudinal direction of the rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a central band in the central portion defined by the zippers provided in the two locations. A configuration is achieved in which by removing the two zippers along the cut lines formed by zipper lines or a straight slit, the left and right side faces of the packing box are removed such that the side faces of the shuffled playing cards would be exposed.
Claims
1. A method of inserting a cut card into a set of shuffled playing cards housed in a package, wherein the set comprises a predetermined number of decks of shuffled playing cards, and wherein the package, in an assembled state, comprises a rectangular parallelepiped with six faces, including a front face, a rear face, a right side face, a left side face, a top face, and a bottom face, the method comprising the steps of: removing a first side face of the package along a cut line such that a side face of each of the playing cards within the package is exposed, the cut line being in parallel with a longitudinal direction of the rectangular parallelepiped; and inserting a cut card into the shuffled playing cards from the first side face of the package where the shuffled playing cards are exposed, wherein an index of each playing card is not exposed upside when the cut card is inserted into the shuffled playing cards.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the package has an ID code that uniquely identifies the set of shuffled playing cards.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the package has a marking indicating the top surface of the package or a marking indicating the correct orientation of the playing cards so that an index of each playing card is not exposed upside when the cut card is inserted into the shuffled playing cards.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view of a packing box packing shuffled playing cards according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view showing a state in which the packing box packing the shuffled playing cards is partially broken to show a portion of the cards.
(2) FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the side faces of the shuffled playing cards of Embodiment 1 of the present invention are exposed.
(3) FIG. 3 is a bottom view of a packing box of the shuffled playing cards.
(4) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a cut card is inserted in the shuffled playing cards.
(5) FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the shuffled playing cards are housed in a shooter.
(6) FIGS. 6(a)-6(d) are diagrams illustrating a procedure for housing the shuffled playing cards in a shooter.
DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS
(7) Now, the present invention will be described in detail. The detailed description below and the accompanying drawings do not limit the invention.
(8) Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings. FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are perspective views each illustrating a packing box of Embodiment 1 packing shuffled playing cards. A packing box 2 of shuffled playing cards 1 has the shape of a rectangular parallelepiped with six faces, namely, a front face 3, a rear face 4, a left side face 5, a right side face 6, a top face 7 and a bottom face 8 so as to encase the shuffled playing cards 1 in an assembled state. The packing box 2 includes zippers 11 provided in two locations at a predetermined interval, each of which includes zipper-shaped cut lines 10 arranged in parallel with a longitudinal direction (an arrow L) of the rectangular parallelepiped shape, and has a central band 12 in the central portion defined by the zippers 11 provided in the two locations. The central band 12 is colored so as to be readily distinguishable from the other portions. (The coloring is omitted in FIGS. 1-FIGS. 4) As described in detail later, a configuration is achieved in which by removing the two zippers 11 along the cut lines 10 formed by zipper lines or a straight slit 13, the left and right side faces 5 and 6 of the packing box 2 are removed such that the side faces of the shuffled playing cards 1 would be exposed. Note that it is possible to configure the zipper 11 as a cutoff unit to enable a cut along the cut line 10 with a thread or the like, as a variation.
(9) FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which side faces 1s of the shuffled playing cards 1 are exposed. The shuffled playing cards 1 are made up of a predetermined number of decks, and for example, in the case of eight decks of shuffled playing cards 1, there are 416 cards. The shuffled playing cards 1 are shuffled by a conventional card shuffling device in advance in order for them to be arranged in a random order, housed in the packing box 2 that encases the shuffled playing cards 1, sealed with a sealing material or a shrink packaging material, and then supplied to casinos or the like. Note that FIG. 1 shows a state in which the packing boxes 2 housing the shuffled playing cards 1 each have attached thereon a bar code 14 (also serving as a seal), the bar codes 14 having mutually different ID codes (identification codes). The sets of shuffled playing cards 1 have mutually different card arrangement orders due to shuffling, and thus, each set is unique. Therefore, in order to identify each set, an ID code is used in the form of a bar code 14 or a QR (quick response) code.
(10) Next, with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, a method of housing the shuffled playing cards 1 in a shooter 15 that is used in a casino or the like will be described. When the shuffled playing cards 1 are housed in the card shooter 15 to be used in a casino or the like, the zippers 11 are removed along the cut lines 10 such as zipper lines and then the left and right side faces 5 and 6 of the packing box 2 are removed as described above, thereby exposing the side faces 1s of the shuffled playing cards 1 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5. Thereafter, the shuffled playing cards 1 are held at a corner portion of the central band 12 and lifted, and then housed in a card housing portion 16 of the card shooter 15 for playing games, as shown in FIG. 5. The procedure for this will be described in detail below.
(11) In the packing box 2 where the shuffled playing cards 1 are housed, circled numbers 1 to 3 indicating the procedural order for removing the zippers 11 are printed on the zippers 11, as shown in FIG. 1. In accordance with this order, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the portion on the left of a zipper 11 is removed first to remove the left side face 5 of the packing box 2, thereby exposing one side face of the shuffled playing cards 1 within the packing box 2 (a first side face exposure step). This first side face exposure step may further include a card cut step of inserting a cut card 17, which is used at a casino in order to stop the use of the shuffled playing cards 1 in the middle of games after that game as appropriate, into the shuffled playing cards 1. FIG. 4 illustrates that card cut step. Since a player (customer) of the casino is requested to insert the cut card 17 into the shuffled playing cards 1, there may be cheating if an index 100 of a shuffled playing card 1 at the place of insertion is seen when inserting the cut card 17. Therefore, the shuffled playing cards 1 are housed in the packing box 2 in advance such that when the cut card 17 is inserted, the side on which the index of the shuffled playing cards 1 is not printed (the upper left portion of the upper face 7) is on top (see FIG. 4). The procedural order for removing the zippers 11 is indicated with the circled numbers printed on the zippers 11 such that the cut card 17 can be inserted from the left side face is where the shuffled playing cards 1 are exposed.
(12) Next, as illustrated in FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c), the other zipper 11 of the packing box 2 on the other side is removed in the order indicated by the circled numbers 2 and 3, and the right side face 6 of the packing box 2 is removed to expose the side faces of the shuffled playing cards 1 within the packing box 2, thereby achieving a state in which the shuffled playing cards 1 are wrapped only with the central band 12 (a second side face exposure step) (see FIG. 2). Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6(d), the rear corner of the central band 12 is held to lift together the shuffled playing cards 1 and the central band 12 (a lifting step). While the shuffled playing cards 1 and the central band 12 are lifted together, the shuffled playing cards 1 and the central band 12 are housed in the card housing portion 16 of the card shooter 15, as shown in FIG. 5 (a housing step). Next, the central band 12 is torn at a portion thereof (e.g., a break line 18) to remove the central band 12 from the card housing portion 16, thereby completing the housing with only the shuffled playing cards 1 left in the card housing portion 16 (a housing completion step). Note that as illustrated in FIG. 6(d), the bar code 14, which is the ID code (such as a bar code) remains in the central band 12. Since the bar code 14, which is the ID code (such as a bar code), remains in the central band 12, it is advantageous to retain the central band 12 without discarding the same, and to dispose of or the like the shuffled playing cards 1 after the use thereof in the game, while putting the shuffled playing cards 1 in a carton bag for disposal, with the corresponding central band 12 including the bar code 14, which is the ID code (such as a bar code), attached thereto, because it is possible to manage the disposal of each set of shuffled playing cards 1 while maintaining the connection with the housing of the cards 1 in the card shooter 15 with a computer or the like, by reading the bar code 14 with a bar code reader (not shown in the drawings).
(13) In Embodiment 1, the top face 7 of the packing box 2 has a marking (UPPER) indicating that it is the top face, and an arrow 19 indicating the orientation of the shuffled playing cards 1 when inserted in the card housing portion 16 (indicating the front/rear of the shuffled playing cards 1), making it possible to house the shuffled playing cards 1 in the card shooter 15 in the proper orientation without fail. Normally, when housed in the card shooter 15, the shuffled playing cards 1 are housed such that their rear faces with the pattern thereon are in front. In addition, a sign (a mark 20) that indicates the place where the central band 12 is to be held and lifted is printed on the central band 12 of the packing box 2, and thus, the place for lifting can be readily found.
(14) Preferred embodiments of the present invention conceivable at the present time have been described. Various modifications may be made to the embodiments, and appended claims encompass all of such modifications within the true spirit and the scope of the present invention.
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY
(15) The shuffled playing cards for use in table games, the packing box of the shuffled playing cards and the method of housing the same in a card shooter of the present invention enable the easy handling of a plurality of decks of shuffled playing cards and the proper housing of the shuffled playing cards in a card shooter, and thus, is useful for table games held in casinos or the like.
REFERENCE SIGNS LIST
(16) 1 shuffled playing cards 2 packing box 3 front face 4 rear face 5 left side face 6 right side face 7 top face 8 bottom face 10 cut line 11 zipper 12 central band 14 bar code
