Abstract
A compact card handling device for use in casinos possesses a card intake portal and two playing card discharge portals which are all accessible by a device operator. An optical recognition sensor cooperates with a microcontroller to interrogate the integrity of each card during an ongoing shuffling operation to discover unexpected cards, including unrecognized cards and flipped cards. Unexpected cards are immediately discharged to a dedicated portal for operator review. In the commonly encountered case of flipped cards, the operator may correct the orientation and re-insert a mis-oriented card into the device without interrupting the ongoing shuffling operation.
Claims
1. A card handling device for randomizing and/or verifying integrity of a group of cards, the card handling device comprising: a housing; a card intake portal accessible by a device operator for receiving unshuffled cards to be randomized; a first discharge portal accessible by a device operator for receiving randomized and properly verified card stacks from within the card handling device; a second discharge portal visibly and physically accessible by a device operator for receiving flipped cards or other faulty cards one at a time from within the card handling device; a control panel for indicating a status of a stack of cards; a randomizing chamber for randomizing the order of a group of cards; an elevator for moving cards within the randomizing chamber; an optical recognition sensor configured to interrogate an identity of each card from within the unshuffled cards of the card intake portal; at least one microcontroller configured to separate the faulty cards; the at least one microcontroller directing movement of the elevator after deciding upon a destination for each interrogated card, and for providing status to a device operator; the elevator having a first card support configured for accumulating and transporting the randomized and properly verified cards; the elevator having a second card support configured for transporting one faulty card; whereupon the at least one microcontroller is configured to direct each interrogated card to either the first card support or the second card support; the elevator moving both upward and downward for receiving properly verified cards upon the first card support; the elevator moving upward for receiving one faulty card upon the second card support; wherein one faulty card residing on the second card support is discharged to the second discharge portal immediately after receipt upon the second card support; and, wherein the at least one microcontroller is configured to position the elevator's first card support for continuing the randomization operation after discharge of the one faulty card to the second discharge portal.
2. The card handling device of claim 1 whereupon unshuffled cards may reside simultaneously within the input portal while one faulty card is being discharged to the second discharge portal.
3. The card handling device of claim 1 further comprising the first card support consisting of a single platform and the second card support consisting of a rotatable fork.
4. The card handling device of claim 1 further comprising the first card support consisting of a single platform and the second card support consisting of a non-rotatable fork.
5. The card handling device of claim 1 whereupon individual cards are removed from the elevator by centrifugal force.
6. The card handling device of claim 1 further comprising a mechanized arm for removing individual cards from the elevator.
7. The card handling device of claim 1 further comprising a gripper mechanism located in the randomizing chamber.
8. The card handling device of claim 1, wherein a rotatable fork is actuated by the elevator movement.
9. A card handling device for randomizing and/or verifying integrity of a group of cards, the card handling device comprising: a housing: a card intake portal accessible by the device operator for receiving unshuffled cards to be randomized; a first discharge portal accessible by a device operator for receiving randomized and properly verified card stacks from within the card handling device; a second discharge portal visibly and physically accessible by a device operator for receiving faulty cards one at a time from within the card handling device; a control panel for indicating a status of a stack of cards; an optical recognition sensor configured to interrogate an identity of each card from within the unshuffled cards of the card intake portal; at least one microcontroller configured to separate the faulty cards; the at least one microcontroller directing movement of an elevator after deciding upon a destination for each interrogated card; a randomizing chamber for randomizing the order of a group of cards; a card transport path for moving individual cards from the optical recognition sensor into the randomizing chamber; the elevator having a platform movable within the randomizing chamber to align with the card transport path for receiving properly verified cards; wherein the elevator is moved to prevent alignment of the platform with the card transport path when a faulty card is identified; wherein a faulty card is disgorged into the randomizing chamber and moved to the second discharge portal solely by gravity; and wherein the at least one microcontroller is configured to reposition the elevator platform for continuing the randomizing after discharge of the faulty card to the second discharge portal.
10. The card handling device of claim 9 wherein the second discharge portal extends from the randomizing chamber.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1 is a side elevation view from a prior art shuffling device disclosure having an optical inspection station.
(2) FIG. 2 is a diagram from a prior art disclosure explaining positions for interrogation cameras.
(3) FIG. 3 is an isometric view from a prior art shuffling device disclosure having an elevator with narrow slots.
(4) FIG. 4 is an isometric view from a prior art shuffling device disclosure which stores flipped cards in one particular compartment of a carousel.
(5) FIG. 5 is a perspective view from a prior art shuffling device disclosure which diverts unreadable cards to a vault.
(6) FIG. 6 is a side elevation view from a prior art shuffling device disclosure which uses a pair of gripper arms to grasp stacks of cards.
(7) FIG. 7 is a diagram which explains the human action that is emulated by the device in FIG. 6.
(8) FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams which explain the sequence of movements utilized by the prior art gripper mechanism of FIG. 6.
(9) FIG. 9A and FIG. 9B are diagrams which explain the sequence of movements utilized by another prior art gripper mechanism.
(10) FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention as it would appear in a casino.
(11) FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the first embodiment of the present invention visualizing the flipped card remediation method.
(12) FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the card handling device herein showing the internal chambers and card paths with no cards present.
(13) FIG. 13 is a side elevational section view which illustrates the basic layout of the card paths.
(14) FIG. 14A is an isometric view of the elevator assembly of the first embodiment.
(15) FIG. 14B is an isometric view of the randomization chamber housing of the first embodiment.
(16) FIG. 15A is an isometric view of the elevator assembly of the first embodiment supporting a stack of cards.
(17) FIG. 15b is an isometric view of the elevator assembly of the first embodiment supporting a stack of cards upon a first support and supporting a single flipped card upon a second support.
(18) FIG. 16 is an isometric view of the gripper mechanism creating a random wedge-shaped opening between two sub-stacks of cards.
(19) FIG. 17 is a planar view of the gripper mechanism used to randomize cards.
(20) FIG. 18 is an isometric view of the gripper mechanism which is used to grasp and raise a substack of randomized cards.
(21) FIG. 19 is an isometric view of the gripper mechanism while grasping a stack of cards.
(22) FIG. 20 is a cutaway side view of the randomizing mechanism showing a card being inserted into a randomly created wedge-shaped opening in the receiving card stack.
(23) FIG. 21 is a cutaway side view of the randomizing mechanism showing the receiving card stack after the upper sub-stack has been lowered onto the newly inserted card by the gripper mechanism.
(24) FIG. 22 is a section view of the randomizing chamber receiving a faulty card upon the second card support.
(25) FIG. 23 is a section view of the device of the first embodiment showing a faulty card being moved to the second discharge port.
(26) FIG. 24 is an isometric view of the faulty card ejection mechanism of the first embodiment.
(27) FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, and 25D are side elevational section views of the first embodiment herein which stepwise illustrate the migration of playing cards as they move through the card handling device to the output portals.
(28) FIG. 26A and FIG. 26B illustrate the rotating fork of the second embodiment.
(29) FIG. 27 illustrates the actuation of the rotating fork of FIG. 26A.
(30) FIG. 28 is a side elevation section a view illustrating the faulty card discharge of the second embodiment.
(31) FIG. 29 is an isometric view of the device of the third embodiment.
(32) FIG. 30 is an isometric view of the elevator assembly of the third embodiment.
(33) FIG. 31 is an isometric view of the discharge tray of the third embodiment.
(34) FIG. 32 is a side elevation section view of the third embodiment illustrating a faulty card being discharged by gravity.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
(35) A casino-grade card handling device for automatically shuffling and verifying one or more card decks simultaneously is described. The device can additionally be utilized in a non-shuffling mode to verify the integrity of each card within multiple decks of cards. A microcontroller utilizes an interrogation sensor to decide the destination of each card, whereupon appropriately identified cards are accumulated and moved to a first discharge portal and faulty cards are immediately discharged to a second discharge portal.
(36) For purposes of this explanation, the term unshuffled deck is defined as a deck of cards in need of being shuffled (randomized) and verified. The term shuffled deck is defined as a deck of cards that has been transformed from an unshuffled deck into a shuffled (randomized) deck. The term verification sensor is defined as a sensor that can interrogate a playing card for interpretation by a microcontroller. In one form, a verification sensor may merely detect a mark or indicia on a card as it moves along a card path such that the microcontroller can confirm that the card belongs to a set. In more sophisticated forms, an interrogation sensor may take the form of a miniature camera that can photograph the indicia's of a passing card such that a microcontroller can interpret its suit and rank as is known in the art. The definition of a fault criteria is the criteria used by a microcontroller to determine the suitability of a card after interpreting the verification sensor. In its simplest form, a fault criteria may be the number of cards that have passed the verification sensor within a given operational span.
(37) The definition of an unexpected card is a card that is detectable by the interrogation sensor but does not belong to a set. An unreadable card is a card whose expected indicia or mark cannot be read by the interrogation sensor. Cards having indicia's obscured by food or drink residue are examples of unreadable cards. Cards that have been flipped such that their identifying indicia faces away from the sensor are further examples of unreadable cards. Flipped cards result from failures by a dealer to arrange each card in front-face to back-face orientation after sweeping spent cards from the table. Flipped cards are the most commonly encountered cause of unreadable card problems. Faulty cards include unexpected cards and unreadable cards, including flipped cards
(38) Both unexpected cards and unreadable cards are deemed faulty cards which constitute fault criteria for triggering the microcontroller in the device described herein to immediately discharge such cards to the second discharge portal. A verified group is a group of one or more decks that have passed through the card handling device while avoiding the microcontroller's fault criteria after interrogation by the verification sensor. Similarly, the microcontroller identifies a play-ready group as a card deck or plurality of card decks that have been shuffled and successfully avoided the microcontroller's fault criteria after interrogation by the verification sensor.
(39) It is understood that the fault criteria utilized by the microcontroller in the card handling device described herein can be adjusted according to the sophistication of its verification sensor, where the sophistication of that sensor is a designer's choice from amongst the many types of optical interrogation sensors that are known in the art.
(40) FIG. 10 illustrates a first embodiment of the card handling device disclosed herein as it would appear on a casino table. The card handling device 100 comprises a first intake portal 120 consisting of a recessed cavity for receiving a new or unshuffled deck of playing cards, and a first discharge portal consisting of a recessed cavity 130 for receiving a previously processed play-ready card group. A second discharge portal 140 is located on one lateral surface of the casing 151 and possesses an output tray 142 for receiving one card at a time from the internal randomizing (shuffling) mechanism.
(41) Casing 151 supports a control panel 112 as shown in FIG. 10. The control panel 112 is positioned conveniently for a device operator on the exterior of the housing and comprises a touch screen 114. At least one microcontroller (not shown) controls the operation of the card handling device, including operation of the touch screen 114 which is used to both input commands and to display conditions within the card handling device, including fault conditions and progress conditions. Touch screen 114 is a small 5-inch touchscreen that is used to program the shuffler for various games. For size reference, a 5-inch touchscreen is slightly smaller than the touchscreens used in today's smallest mobile phones. The device operator may utilize the touch screen 114 to program the card handling device for the type of operation and the touchscreen will also indicate possible malfunctions and security issues to the device operator.
(42) FIG. 11 illustrates the card handling device 100 as it appears during the shuffling operation immediately after detecting and discharging a flipped card. Cards from the unshuffled card stack 600 are being removed from the bottom of stack 600 and transported into a randomizing chamber. Non-faulty cards are being accumulated into stack 620 after they have been interrogated and randomized. A flipped card (four of diamonds) is shown residing in the output tray 142 while the shuffling operation continues. The device operator may reorient the flipped card and re-insert the properly oriented card into the portal 120 during the ongoing shuffling operation to prevent downtime.
(43) FIG. 12 shows an isometric view of the card handling device 100 with the casing 151 removed. The various components are supported by side frames, and one side frame has been removed from the view to reveal the internal chambers. An elevator mechanism 300 is located directly below the portal 130, and a discharge track 700 is shown sloping away from a lower portion of a randomizer chamber housing 133. In general, unshuffled cards are deposited into the input portal 120 and thereafter passed individually into the randomizing chamber within housing 133 where they are randomized. Play-ready card groups are then moved upward to the first discharge portal 130. Faulty cards are moved downward individually to a transfer mechanism where they are removed from the elevator to the discharge track 700. Individual faulty cards are moved to the output tray 142 of the second discharge portal 140 by inertia.
(44) The anatomy of the card handling device 100 is briefly explained by the section view shown in FIG. 13 which is devoid of any cards. The unshuffled deck input portal 120 is shown near the top left of the view. Feed rolls 162, 166 and 164 are utilized to move individual cards from the unshuffled portal and past a verification sensor 196. Additional feed rolls 168 and 169 move individual cards into the randomizer chamber 186. The housing 133 possesses four walls which contain card stacks with slight clearance around the periphery, thus forming the randomizing chamber 186. After a deck or decks are randomized and successfully verified, the card stack will be supported upon elevator platform 308 which is moved vertically by the lead screw 304 in elevator assembly 300. The elevator platform 308 moves a play-ready group upward to the cavity 130. A faulty card is instead deposited onto surface 309A of the elevator and moved downward until being aligned with the path of arm 520 which is activated to eject a single faulty card onto the rolls 742 of discharge track 700 which is aligned with the axis of output tray 142.
(45) The randomizing chamber 186 in FIG. 13 possesses an elevator carriage 307 which is configured with two supports for transporting 1) card stacks and 2) a single card which has been identified as faulty. The structure of the elevator assembly 300 and its driving means is shown in FIG. 14. The elevator assembly 300 has an injection molded plastic elevator carriage 307 which compromises a first card support and a second card support which are separated by a slot 310. The first card support is configured as a platform 308 which is designed to support a stack of cards. The second card support is configured as a fork having two arms 309A and 309B which are designed to carry a single card. The elevator carriage 307 moves vertically by motion of a lead screw 304 which is driven by step motor 312. The elevator platform 308 supports card stacks as they are moved vertically within the randomizing chamber 186 while the support arms 309A and 309B are designed to support a single faulty card. As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, the platform 308 and the arms 309A, 309B are supported by a section 306 which penetrates the randomizing chamber 186 through access slots 337 in the chamber wall 133 of the randomizing chamber 186, such that the elevator supports may move freely in a direction parallel to the chamber walls.
(46) The orientation of a card stack 620 is shown mounted upon the first support when in transit upon the elevator carriage 307 in FIG. 15A. During randomization, the carriage 307 oscillates vertically such that the card stack 620 can be split at various random locations in order to create an opening for inserting a new card into the stack (explained below). As shown in FIG. 15B, a faulty card (four of diamonds) is shown mounted upon the support arms 309A and 309B which are designed to support a single card. The faulty card is shown face-up such as to illustrate the exemplary case where a flipped card has been encountered. The cards residing on both elevator carriage supports are loosely constrained laterally on four sides by the chamber walls of chamber 186 such that they move freely with the elevator supports.
(47) Improved reliability is achieved of the card handling device being described herein by implementing a unique elevator mechanism which avoids the jamming problems associated with narrow slotted compartments that result from warped cards or bent cards. The problem of narrow slots is discussed within the disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 11,338,194 (Helgesen '194) which can be understood by observing FIG. 3. Helgesen '194 explains: For example, one card in a deck may be bent or warpedcausing the card to regularly fail to insert into its assigned upper or lower position during each shuffle. (Helgesen '194 col. 28; lines 63-65)
(48) A more reliable randomizing mechanism was taught by prior art U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,085 (Johnson '085), which discloses a randomizing apparatus that is devoid of narrow-slotted combs, racks and compartments. As shown herein as FIG. 6, Johnson discloses a shuffling apparatus which possesses a main shuffling chamber 2200. A mechanical gripping member 2208 is attached to a mechanical gripping arm 2206 which can move vertically to random positions in chamber 2200 as commanded by a microprocessor. The arm 2206 grips and the lifts sub-stack 2202 at random positions which enables the insertion of an individual card 2210 from a secondary deck (unshuffled deck) 2212. The separating mechanism creates an opening between two sub-stacks 2202 and 2204, which allows the insertion of card 2210 from the secondary stack 2212 into the receiving stack at the opening. Johnson '085 simulates the well-known action that a dealer utilizes to manually insert a cut card into a deck as illustrated herein as FIG. 7.
(49) The Johnson Method as shown in FIG. 6 illustrating Johnson '085 can be further understood from FIGS. 8A and 8B where a generic gripper arm is labeled 640. The gripper arm is mounted to an elevator which positions the arm at random vertical planes adjacent to the card stack 620 as shown in FIG. 8A. Referring to FIG. 8B, the gripper arm thereafter grasps a portion of the card stack 620U and lifts it upward, creating an opening to insert a playing card 626. The gripper arm thereafter lowers the upper stack onto the lower stack. The cycle is repeated until the desired number of cards are inserted randomly into the card stack 620.
(50) Subsequent prior art U.S. Pat. No. 6,651,982 (Grauzer '982) also adopted a gripper mechanism. Whereas Johnson '085 has elevated the gripper to select a subset of cards, Grauzer '982 discloses that the gripper is held stationary, while the platform below is vertically lowered away from the gripper. Referring to FIGS. 9A and 9B, Grauzer '982 mounted the gripper arm 640 in a vertically stationary position and instead moved the card stack 620 with the elevator. After splitting the stack 620, the sub-stack 620L was lowered to create the opening for inserting card 626. After insertion, the lower substack 620L was thereafter raised to abut against the upper sub-stack 620U and the gripper was released. As compared to Johnson '085, Grauzer '982 lowered the lower sub-stack 620L rather than raising the upper sub-stack 620U as was taught by Johnson '085. Both prior art disclosures taught the advantages of avoiding narrow-slotted elevators or carousels.
(51) The randomizing mechanism of the present invention is devoid of narrow slots, carousels, combs, racks, or ejector blades that are previously known to be vulnerable to jamming in other prior art devices that use narrow slotted combs or carousels. Referring to FIG. 16, a section of the card stack being randomized is raised by a gripper mechanism 200 which creates a randomly chosen wedge-shaped opening 326 for oblique insertion of a card from the unshuffled stack, raises an upper sub-stack 620U, and thereafter lowers the upper sub-stack 620U onto the newly inserted card. The large wedge-shaped opening 326 is tolerant of the elevator position (also known as position tolerant) during card insertion, thereby reducing the vulnerability to bent or warped cards as depicted by card 622 in FIG. 16.
(52) The randomizing method utilized herein also emulates the motion of a human dealer when cutting a card into a card deck as shown in prior art FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 17, a gripper assembly 200 emulates the gripping motion of a dealer's fingers. Two gripper pads 202 are mounted on the terminal ends of a first gripper arm 203 and a second gripper arm 204, with each pivoting upon pivot screws 206. The two arms are actuated by two small solenoids 207 and 208 which are mounted on the gripper frame 210. When the solenoids are activated, the arms 203, 204 and their associated pads 202 move in the direction of the arrows to pinch the lateral surfaces of a card stack as shown in FIG. 16. Upon deactivation of the solenoids 207, 208, the two arms 203, 204 are moved in the reverse direction by spring 212, which relaxes the grip and releases the card stack 620. In the relaxed position, there exists only slight clearance between the gripper pads 202 and the lateral surface of card stack 620.
(53) The complete gripper assembly 200 is shown in FIG. 18 where the gripper frame 210 is pivotally mounted on a shaft 209. The pivotal mount allows the gripper frame 210, including gripper arms 203 and 204, to move in an arc after the gripper solenoids 207, 208 have been activated. A cam follower roll 222 is mounted to the follower mount 218 which is rigidly attached to the gripper frame 210. During the gripping cycle the card stack 620 is grasped by the gripper arms 203 and 204, and thereafter lifted by the cam 220 to move an upper sub-stack of cards 620U upward through an arc. The motion is illustrated in FIG. 16, FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 where the upper sub-stack is shown as 620U.
(54) The elevator assembly 300 is used to position a card stack relative to the gripper mechanism 200, in order to allow the gripper assembly 200 to split the card stack into two sub-stacks, 620U, 620L. The orientation between the elevated, upper sub-stack 620U, the gripper assembly 200, the lower sub-stack 620L, and the elevator assembly 300 is shown in FIG. 16. A lower card sub-stack 620L is shown supported by the elevator platform 308, while an upper card sub-stack 620U is shown lifted in an arc about pivot P1 which is locationally fixed to the frame of card handling device 100. The vertical position of the split between the upper sub-stack 620U and the lower sub-stack 620L is determined by the microcontroller which relocates the elevator carriage 307 just prior to the gripping cycle. As shown in the side elevation section views of FIG. 20 and FIG. 21, the elevator platform 308 positions a card stack 620 in a randomly selected elevation and the gripper assembly 200 thereafter splits the card stack through an arc at the random location. The lower sub-stack 620L is held stationary by the elevator platform 307 while the gripper arms 203, 204 raise the upper sub-stack 620U, and while a new card 622 is inserted into the wedge-shaped opening 326 (FIG. 16). As illustrated in FIG. 16, the axis of the elevator may form an angle with the surface of the casino table that is other than perpendicular.
(55) The purpose of the cam 220 shown in FIG. 18 is two-fold. First, the gripper assembly 200 creates a large wedge-shaped opening 326 which is tolerant to curved or bent cards as illustrated by warped card 622 in FIG. 16. The large wedge-shaped opening 326 overcomes the jamming problem exhibited by prior art narrow slot carousel and moving comb shuffling devices shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. Secondly, the cam 220 is designed to alleviate the cyclic life burden on the components of the elevator assembly 300. The prior art devices that utilized gripper mechanisms (see prior art FIG. 8A through FIG. 9B) required three elevator motions for each card insertion; a first elevator motion to arrive at the splitting plane; a second elevator motion to split the deck into two sub-stacks; and a third elevator motion to merge the two sub-stacks together after each card insertion. For one deck of 52 cards, for example, the prior art elevators must shuttle through 156 (352) motion cycles. In contrast, the elevator assembly 300 of the embodiments herein relocates just once during each card insertion cycle, thereby extending the service life of the elevator assembly 300 as compared to the prior art.
(56) The previously described grasp-elevate-insert-release cycle is repeated for each of the cards in an unshuffled deck until all cards have been transferred to the card stack 620 in the randomizing chamber 186. The card stack 620 thus begins with one card and builds to a full deck of 52 cards in the case that 52 cards is the desired deck size. The randomizing cycle will automatically start when the dealer activates a Shuffle command on the touch screen as long as sensor 129 detects the presence of a card in the input portal 120. Referring to FIG. 25A, a series of feed rolls 162, 166, and 164 strip the bottom card from the stack of cards 600 and move that card past the interrogation sensor 196. Feed rolls 168 and 169 then inject each non-faulty card into the randomizer chamber 186, whereupon each card is inserted into a growing card stack 620. Each new card is inserted into the card stack 620 at randomly chosen elevated positions by the microcontroller, which utilizes a random number generating algorithm to determine the height of each plane between two adjacent cards within the receiving card stack 620. Random number generating algorithms are known in the art as RNG's. The RNG of card device 100 insures that each card is inserted into the stack 620 at a random position.
(57) Termination of the randomizing cycle is detected by the microcontroller via sensor 129 (see FIG. 13) which indicates when the supply of unshuffled cards has been exhausted. Upon termination of the randomizing cycle, the microcontroller directs that the elevator raise the play-ready card stack 620 to the first discharge portal 130.
(58) During the randomizing cycle the microcontroller may identify a card that satisfies a fault criteria, including unreadable cards and flipped cards. The microcontroller immediately directs the elevator to align with card path such that the faulty card is inserted onto the forked supports 309A and 309B (FIG. 14) of elevator 307 as shown in the section view of FIG. 22. Referring to FIG. 22, the elevator 307 has been raised to allow faulty card 622 to be inserted into the slot above surface 309A of the fork-shaped elevator 307. This results in the elevator supporting both the faulty card 622 and the stack of non-faulty cards 620 as shown in FIG. 15B.
(59) Thereafter, the microcontroller lowers the elevator to an ejection station whereupon an ejection mechanism 500 moves the faulty card onto the discharge track 700. Referring to FIG. 23, a solenoid-activated arm 520 is rotated about pivot 522 by activated solenoid 518 to eject the faulty card 622 onto the track 700, whereupon inertia carries the card to the output tray 142 in the second discharge portal 140. Following the ejection of the faulty card, the elevator is raised to receive the next non-faulty card into the stack 620 which is being randomized during the ongoing randomization operation.
(60) FIG. 24 illustrates the ejection mechanism 500 when it resides in the deactivated state. Arm 520 rotates about a pivot shaft 532 which is journaled in the two sideframes and held in the deactivated position by restore spring 524. Activation of solenoid 518 causes the upper portion of arm 520 to move within the space between arms 309A and 309B to propel a single card toward discharge portal 140 when a card resides upon the arms.
(61) A more detailed explanation of the card movements can be observed from FIGS. 25A, 25B, 25C, and 25D, which explain the movement of cards within and through the card handling device 100. FIG. 25A shows a new or spent deck 600 (unshuffled) located in the input portal 120 as the deck is being randomized (shuffled). When the dealer activates a shuffle command on touch screen 114, the microcontroller interrogates sensor 129 to determine if any card is present in the portal 120. If a card is detected by the sensor 129, the microcontroller will activate motors (not shown) that rotate feed rolls 162, 166 and 164 until the leading edge of a card is detected by verification sensor 196.
(62) In FIG. 25A, an unshuffled card of a card deck 600 is moved face-down past the verification sensor 196 and is about to enter the randomizing chamber 186, where the card stack 620 is supported by platform 308 of the elevator carriage 307. The microcontroller activates a motor (not shown) to rotate feed rolls 168 and 169 which feed the cards of the card stack 600 into the randomizing chamber 186 through a slot 170 in the housing 133. The verification sensor 196 is utilized to read identification marks or indicia that indicate the identity of each card. The sensor 196 may be any optical recognition sensor as taught in the prior art, including a reflective opto-sensor, an infrared mark detector, a digital camera, a CMOS camera, a color pixel sensor, a contact image sensor (CIS) or a CCD image sensor. In the preferred embodiment, the sensor 196 is a contact image sensor and is used to read the rank and suit in the upper right corner of each card. This optical recognition process will continue until sensor 129 signals that no more cards are available in the card input portal 120. As each card passes the interrogation sensor 196, the microcontroller will determine if any fault condition exists, including unexpected or unreadable cards. Non-faulty cards will thereafter be moved to a random elevation within the stack 620 which is supported by elevator platform 308. When sensor 129 indicates that no cards remain in portal 120, the microcontroller raises the play-ready card stack 630 to the first discharge portal 130 as shown in FIG. 25B.
(63) FIG. 25C illustrates the case in which the microcontroller has determined that a card is faulty and raised the elevator carriage 307 to a position which aligns the slot 310 in the forked-shaped carriage 307 with the card transport path. The faulty card 622 will thereafter be transported into the slot 310 and reside upon support surfaces provided by arms 309A and 309B. The elevator will be immediately lowered to a discharge station as shown in FIG. 25D. An ejection arm 520 is thereafter activated to eject the faulty card 622 onto the rolls 742 of discharge track 700 whereupon inertia moves the faulty card to output tray 142 within the second discharge portal 140. The elevator is thereafter raised to continue the ongoing randomization. If the faulty card is a flipped card, the orientation error will be immediately recognizable to the device operator as illustrated in FIG. 11.
(64) As a faulty card discharge is completed, the microcontroller signals the fault condition on the touch screen 114. The automatic rejection of a faulty card relieves the operator of any distraction or interruption in table play that would otherwise later require a dealer to tediously unload a shuffling apparatus as in the case of conventional compartment type shufflers. Moreover, the card handling device denies the operator/and or dealer the discretion to continue play with a corrupt card as in the case of cheating or player-dealer collusion.
(65) A second embodiment of the card handling device differs only in the configuration of the forked-shaped elevator. The second embodiment eliminates the solenoid-activated ejector mechanism 500, and instead utilizes a self-actuated rotating fork. FIG. 26A and FIG. 26B illustrate the configuration of the rotating fork.
(66) As shown in FIG. 26A, the elevator assembly 900 possess a frame 922, a lead screw 904, a carriage 910, and a step motor 912 which rotates the lead screw. The carriage 910 comprises a platform 908 and a rotating fork 926 which rotates upon pivot shaft 924. A torsion spring (not shown) retains the rotating fork 926 against a mating surface of the carriage 910 in the position shown in FIG. 26A. The platform 908 forms a first card support which is designed to carry a stack of cards. The rotating fork 926 forms a second card support which possesses two arms 920A and 920B which are designed to support a single card.
(67) FIG. 26B illustrates the rotatable fork 926 in its rotated state when a force acts upon its projection 929 in the direction of arrow 912. This rotation is designed to induce centrifugal force upon a card while ejecting the card which is carried upon arms 920A and 920B. Referring to FIG. 27, a stud 918 is attached to leadscrew frame 922. FIG. 27 illustrates that the rotation of fork 926 is induced by contact with stud 918 as the carriage 910 is lowered by lead screw 904 in the direction of arrow 919. FIG. 28 illustrates a section view of the second embodiment when the rotating fork 926 is activated by contact with the stud 918 as the elevator carriage is lowered. The sudden rotation causes the card 622 to be ejected onto the rolls 742 of the discharge track 700, whereupon inertia carries card 622 in the direction of arrow 905 to the discharge tray 142.
(68) A third embodiment of the card handling device is illustrated in FIG. 29 as device 1000. Device 1000 retains most of the components of device 100 including the card intake portal 120, the first card discharge portal 130 and the touch screen 114. The second card discharge portal is labeled 160 and has the function of containing an individually discharged faulty card that is discharged during an ongoing randomization process to the discharge tray 148.
(69) Device 1000 utilizes a single elevator which is actuated by a step-motor driven lead screw as shown if FIG. 30. Referring to FIG. 30, the elevator carriage 975 possesses a single platform 976 for supporting a stack of cards in the third embodiment.
(70) The randomization chamber housing 760 of the third embodiment is shown in FIG. 31. In comparison to the other embodiments, the randomization chamber of the third embodiment is extended downward and configured to mate angularly with discharge tray 148 which resides within the second discharge portal 160. The card transport and the gripper mechanism 200 are the same as described in the other embodiments.
(71) FIG. 32 is a sectional view of device 1000 which illustrates that a faulty card, once identified, is immediately moved directly into the randomization chamber and allowed to free fall by gravity to the discharge tray 148. Referring to FIG. 32, card stack 600 is undergoing randomization and non-faulty cards 620 are being arranged upon platform 976 of the elevator. The microcontroller in cooperation with the interrogation sensor 196 has determined that card 622 is faulty. Thereafter, the microcontroller has directed the elevator to raise the stack 620, providing space for disgorging card 622 into the randomization chamber 788. The card 622 falls by gravity to output tray 148 as the elevator returns to the shuttling mode and continues the randomization operation.
(72) In summary, three embodiments have been illustrated having the capability for immediately discharging individual faulty cards, including flipped cards, during an ongoing randomization operation. Each of these embodiments possesses a single elevator having a different carriage configuration from the others. The first embodiment utilizes an elevator carriage 307 having a forked shape as shown in FIG. 14A. Faulty cards are delivered individually to the second discharge portal 140 by inertia in this first embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 23.
(73) The second embodiment utilizes an elevator carriage 910 having a rotating fork 926 as shown in FIGS. 26A and 26B. Faulty cards are delivered individually to the second discharge portal 140 by inertia in this second embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 28.
(74) The third embodiment utilizes an elevator carriage 975 having a single platform 976 as shown in FIG. 30. Faulty cards are not transported by the elevator in this embodiment, but are rather moved individually to the second discharge portal 160 by gravity as illustrated in FIG. 32.
(75) As is routinely noted in the prior art (see Roblejo '122 above), shuffling machines having interrogation capability may also be utilized merely for verification. The device herein may also be utilized for verification of card decks by selecting a menu option from touchscreen 114.
(76) One of ordinary skill, having designer's choice, may choose to utilize different forms of actuators, sensors and transport components than those described herein. Other forms of transport components, including cables, gears, chains and other types of belts may be substituted for those described herein. Other types of motors and solenoids are also logical substitutions. Other sensors are also possible substitutes. A myriad of interrogation sensors have been taught tin the prior art that can perform the functionality explained herein Accordingly, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the invention herein described are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Reference herein to details of the illustrated embodiments is not intended to limit the scope of the claims, which themselves recite those features regarded as essential to the invention.
