Abstract
A card game device prepares shuffled and verified cards for a range of casino card games that utilize one or more decks, and also accommodates games that utilize pre-formed hands. The device has a first operating mode for automatically discharging play-ready hands used in poker games, and may be programmed to accommodate a number of game variations and number of players. Non-faulty decks are moved to a metering station where they are individually metered to a first discharge portal at high speed while forming the play-ready hands. In a second operating mode, the device discharges shuffled and verified decks to a second discharge portal. The device provides a universal shuffler that simplifies casino maintenance and eliminates downtime between card games. Decks having faulty cards are discharged to the first discharge portal after notification to the device operator. The embodiments also feature a rapid purging capability.
Claims
1) A card game device for delivering randomized playing cards to a discharge portal, the game device comprising: a housing; a control panel for programming a game type and a number of players; an input portal consisting of a card receiving cavity for receiving unshuffled cards; a first card discharge portal consisting of a card discharge tray configured for receiving individual randomized cards; a second discharge portal consisting of a cavity for receiving randomized card decks; at least one microcontroller responsive to the control panel for controlling movement of the cards; one slot-less elevator aligned with an axis of a randomizing chamber and movable along the axis within the randomizing chamber; a first operating mode for forming substacks within the first discharge portal which constitute play-ready hands; a metering station for discharging individual cards to the first discharge portal in the first operating mode; whereupon one randomized deck may be queued at the metering station before the number of players or type of game is resolved while operating in the first operational mode; the metering station having a displaceable portion moveable to a bypass position for allowing a stack of residual cards to be purged from the device in the first operating mode; a second operating mode for discharging randomized stacks to the second discharge portal; and the metering station displaceable portion being displaced to the bypass position in the second operating mode for allowing card stacks to move from the slot-less elevator directly to the first discharge portal.
2) The game device of claim 1 having at least one verification sensor for detecting card deck integrity.
3) The game device of claim 2 wherein the microcontroller designates a deck as faulty when discerning a fault condition with the verification sensor.
4) The game device of claim 3 wherein the faulty deck is moved directly to the first discharge portal while operating in either of the first operating mode or the second operating mode.
5) The device of claim 4 wherein movement of the faulty deck triggers the microcontroller to actuate feed rolls.
6) The game device of claim 1 whereupon the metering station moves individual cards from a card deck to the first discharge portal automatically upon removal of a previously discharged play-ready hand.
7) The game device of claim 1 wherein the at least one microcontroller automatically directs the metering station displaceable portion be moved to the bypass position when operating in the second operating mode.
8) The game device of claim 1 wherein the device operator manually moves the metering station displaceable portion to the bypass position.
9) The device of claim 8 wherein the manual movement triggers the microcontroller to actuate feed rolls.
10) The game device of claim 1 whereupon the card decks are removed from the slot-less elevator by centrifugal force.
11) The game device of claim 1 whereupon card decks are moved to the metering station by inertia.
12) The game device of claim 1 whereupon card decks are moved to the metering station by a motorized belt.
13) The game device of claim 1 further comprising a non-motorized transfer roll for removing card decks from the slot-less elevator.
14) The game device of claim 1 further comprising a motorized transfer roll for removing card decks from the slot-less elevator.
15) The game device of claim 1 further comprising a motorized belt for removing card decks from the slot-less elevator.
16) The game device of claim 1 further comprising a mechanical arm for removing card decks from the slot-less elevator.
17) The game device of claim 1 whereupon cards are metered by an electromagnetic clutch.
18) The game device of claim 1 whereupon cards are metered by a motor.
19) The game device of claim 1 whereupon one deck can be undergoing shuffling within the randomizing chamber simultaneously while a previously-randomized deck resides at the metering station.
20) The game device of claim 1 whereupon one deck can be undergoing shuffling within the randomizing chamber simultaneously while hands from a previously-randomized deck are being discharged to the first discharge portal.
21) The game device of claim 1 whereupon three decks can be queued within the device prior to commencing a game while operating in the first operating mode.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] FIG. 1 is a perspective view from an early (1932) hand-forming shuffler patent.
[0034] FIG. 2 is a perspective view from a prior art (1986) carousel shuffler patent disclosure.
[0035] FIG. 3A is a side elevation view from a prior art (1988) elevator shuffler patent disclosure.
[0036] FIG. 3B is a side elevation view from a prior art (2003) carousel shuffler patent disclosure.
[0037] FIG. 4 is a side elevation view from a prior art (2003) elevator shuffler patent disclosure.
[0038] FIG. 5. illustrates a prior art (1999) randomizing mechanism that interrogates each card before entering its randomizing mechanism.
[0039] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention.
[0040] FIG. 7 is an isometric view of the device herein showing the internal chambers and card paths with no cards present.
[0041] FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E and 8F are side elevational views of the device herein which stepwise illustrate the migration of playing cards as they move through the device to one of the two discharge portals.
[0042] FIG. 9 is an isometric view of the elevator module.
[0043] FIG. 10 is an isometric view of the elevator module showing the position of a subset of randomized cards.
[0044] FIG. 11 is an isometric view of the elevator module.
[0045] FIG. 12 is a planar view of the gripper mechanism used to randomize cards.
[0046] FIG. 13 is an isometric view of the of the gripper mechanism which is used to grasp and raise a sub-stack of randomized cards.
[0047] FIG. 14 is an isometric view of the gripper mechanism while grasping a stack of cards.
[0048] FIG. 15A is an isometric view of the gripper mechanism creating a random wedge-shaped opening between two sub-stacks of cards.
[0049] FIG. 15B illustrates the insertion of a cut card into a card stack by a dealer, which is emulated by the mechanical gripper mechanism of FIG. 15A.
[0050] FIG. 16 is a cutaway side view of the randomizing device showing a card being inserted into a randomly-created wedge-shaped opening in the receiving card stack.
[0051] FIG. 17 is a side elevational section view of the randomizing device showing the receiving card stack after the upper sub-stack has been lowered onto the newly inserted card by the gripper mechanism.
[0052] FIG. 18 is an isometric view showing the elevator arms recessed into openings below the transfer roll.
[0053] FIGS. 19A and 19B are cutaway isometric views showing a sequence of movements as the transfer roll removes a card deck from the slot-less elevator.
[0054] FIG. 20 is alternative device for removing a deck from the elevator using a mechanical arm.
[0055] FIG. 21 is an alternative device for removing a deck from the elevator using a belt.
[0056] FIG. 22 is an isometric view of the one embodiment of the metering station.
[0057] FIG. 23 is a section view of the metering station of FIG. 22 when isolated from the card handling device.
[0058] FIG. 24 is a section view of the card handling device of FIG. 8A showing cards being metered to the discharge tray while a verified deck is staged at a buffer position.
[0059] FIG. 25 is a section view of the card handling device of FIG. 8A showing cards being metered to the discharge tray while a faulty deck is staged at a buffer position.
[0060] FIG. 26A is an anisometric view of a metering station having a displaceable portion raised to a bypass position.
[0061] FIG. 26B is a section view of the metering station shown in FIG. 26A.
[0062] FIG. 27 is an isometric view of the displaceable portion of the metering station shown in FIG. 26A.
[0063] FIG. 28 is anisometric view of the game device having the metering station shown in FIG. 26A when possessing a knob for manually operating the displaceable portion.
[0064] FIG. 29 is a section view of the game device having the metering station shown in FIG. 26A while possessing a residual card stack which remains after having discharged all of the required hands for a poker game.
[0065] FIG. 30 is a section view of the game device shown in FIG. 29 while moving the residual card stack to the first discharge portal.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0066] The Universal Game Device is a casino-grade card handling device for automatically shuffling, verifying and metering play-ready hands of playing cards in a first operating mode, and for issuing fully shuffled decks in a second operating mode. The shuffler can be programmed by an operator (dealer) for a number of different poker games and a number of players to quickly disgorge game-ready poker hands for each player in the first operating mode. The device operator (dealer) can switch the device to the second operating mode merely by utilizing a touch screen command. At least one deck can be shuffled and verified in advance for use in either operating mode, such that there are no delays between games.
[0067] The term deck is normally considered to be a set of 52 standard cards, but casinos use reduced size decks and subsets of the 52 cards for different games. The term deck as used herein refers to any group of cards of any size that is recognized as meaningful in games known in the art or those developed in the future. For purposes of this explanation, the term unshuffled deck is defined as a group of cards in need of being shuffled (randomized) and verified. The term shuffled deck is defined as a group of cards that has been transformed from a unshuffled deck into a shuffled (randomized) deck.
[0068] The term verification sensor is defined as a sensor that can interrogate a playing card for interpretation by a microcontroller. In the most rudimentary form, an interrogation sensor may merely detect the passing of a card along a card path such that the microcontroller can accumulate a card count. In more sophisticated forms, an interrogation sensor may take the form of a miniature camera that can photograph a passing card such that a microcontroller can understand 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 or card deck 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.
[0069] The definition of a faulty deck is a card group that has failed to satisfy a fault criteria, for example a card deck having a count of 51 cards when the microcontroller anticipated a count of 52 cards. Conversely, the microcontroller identifies a verified deck as a card group that successfully avoided its fault criteria after interrogation by the verification sensor. It is understood that the fault criteria utilized by the microcontroller in the card handing device being described herein can be adjusted according the sophistication of its verification sensor, where the sophistication of that sensor is a designer's choice.
[0070] The term play-ready substacks as used herein is defined as a group of K cards which have been separated from a larger stack of shuffled cards to form a subset for a particular card game where K equals the number of shuffled cards needed to form a player's hand according to the rules of that particular game. For example, K=5 for games of five-card stud poker. The term residual cards as used herein refers to those cards remaining within the shuffling mechanism after all of the required hands are issued from a hand-forming shuffling device.
[0071] The term metering station as used herein is defined as a mechanism utilized to separate individual playing cards from a card stack one at a time at a constant rate in order to create a continuous flow. The term metering station comes from the copier and printer industry where the term is generically understood as the station that delivers sheets from the paper tray to the printing mechanism. At the time of this disclosure, a low cost $250 laser printer can typically print pages at the rate of 40 pages per minute. Sheets in these printers are metered to the printing station in fractions of a second. The term metering station thus connotates speed. The term discharge tray is defined as a tray which accumulates play-ready cards for utilization in a card game.
[0072] FIG. 6 illustrates a preferred embodiment of the Universal Game Device disclosed herein as it would appear upon a casino table. The device 100 comprises a recessed cavity 120 for receiving a new or spent (unshuffled) deck of playing cards and a first discharge portal 140 that is utilized to automatically disgorge play-ready substacks (hands) from the device 100. The portal 140 includes a discharge tray 142 having a sensor 112 whose purpose is to detect the presence of cards. The first card discharge tray 142 is configured for receiving individual randomized cards.
[0073] Device 100 additionally comprises a second discharge portal consisting of a recessed cavity 130 for receiving fully shuffled decks of playing cards from the randomizing mechanism that resides below that cavity. Casing 151 encloses the mechanism of the device and supports the touch screen panel 114.
[0074] The touch screen panel 114 is positioned conveniently for a casino dealer on the exterior of the housing. At least one microcontroller (not shown) controls the operation of the device, including operation that is responsive to the control panel for controlling movement of the cards. The control panel is used to both input commands and to display conditions within the device, including fault conditions and progress conditions. Control panel 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 smaller touchscreens used in today's mobile phones.
[0075] Prior to each game, the dealer will utilize the touch screen 114 to program the device for generally operating within one of two operating modes. The first operating mode is utilized for poker-type games wherein the device meters individual cards (substacks) to the discharge tray 142 while the tray accumulates the required number of cards for each hand as required by various forms of poker. Additionally, the dealer will program the shuffler to issue N hands, where N is the number hands needed for the game.
[0076] The second operating mode is utilized for shuffling (randomizing) entire decks. The device may thereafter deliver the shuffled decks to the second discharge portal 130, or hold the shuffled decks in a temporary buffer position.
[0077] The touchscreen will also indicate possible malfunctions and security issues to the dealer. For example, the microcontroller counts the number of cards processed in each deck and will issue a warning on the touch panel if that number is unexpected due to player or dealer cheating. When more sophisticated verification sensors are utilized, the touch screen will display error messages accordingly. For example, when optical recognition sensors are utilized to inspect each card, the touch screen might display Shuffle CompletedQueen of Spades Not Detected.
[0078] The device 100 may be placed upon a casino table surface or the device may reside along side on the edge of the table near the dealer within arm's reach, such that the dealer may easily insert and withdraw card decks from the recessed trays 120, 130 and withdraw play-ready hands from the discharge tray 142.
[0079] The functional objective of the device 100 is to prepare card decks for play by shuffling decks (randomizing) and interrogating those decks for irregularities such as missing cards or unreadable cards, and to thereafter make those decks available for a wide array of card games.
[0080] Depending upon the game selected by the device operator, shuffled cards will be disgorged to either the first discharge portal 140 or the second discharge portal 130. In one embodiment, the device 100 additionally moves faulty decks to the first discharge portal 140 and thereafter signals the host operator the reason for the ejection. The device 100 also allows the host operator to queue up two decks prior to initiating any particular card game.
[0081] FIG. 7 shows an isometric view of the device 100 with the casing 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 cavity 130, and a card metering assembly 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. In the first operating mode, verified (nonfaulty decks) are then moved to a metering station 700 where they are metered into the discharge tray 142 in substacks comprising play-ready hands. In the second operating mode, verified (nonfaulty decks) are then moved to the discharge portal 130. Although not shown, the discharge portal 130 may have a hinged cover (not shown) to prevent viewability of the cards contained within that cavity.
[0082] A microcontroller operates in concert with a Real Time Clock (RTC) and segments of memory to record the exact time of certain sensor-activated events including the rejection of faulty decks.
[0083] RTC's are used to timestamp events in six timing parameters including year, month, day, hour, minutes and seconds. A commonly utilized RTC is for example model DS1307 made by Dallas Semiconductor Corporation. The RTC is used to timestamp the insertion of card decks into the input portal 120, the delivery of verified card decks to the card metering station 700, the delivery of play ready hands to the discharge tray 142, and the delivery shuffled decks to the discharge portal 130. In the case of the faulty deck rejections, the microcontroller will additionally record a reason for rejection along with a timestamp. The casing 151 possesses a USB port (not shown) that may be used to download the timestamped data from memory of the device 100. Alternatively, the device 100 may be networked to a central computing device in the casino that can periodically or continually (in real time) download the timestamped data associated with processed card decks. The network connection may be used to monitor activity and performance characteristics of the device from a remote location, as is known in the art.
[0084] The anatomy of the device 100 is briefly explained by the section view shown in FIG. 8A which is devoid of any card decks or substacks. 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 past a verification sensor 196, and additional feed rolls 168 and 169 move individual cards into the randomizer chamber 186. The housing 133 possess four walls which contain card decks with slight clearance around the periphery, thus forming the randomizing chamber 186. After the deck is randomized and successfully verified, the card deck will be supported upon elevator arms 307 which are moved vertically by the lead screw in elevator assembly 300. In the first operating mode, the elevator arms 307 move the processed deck until it contacts a transfer roll 743 which is part of the metering station 700. Contact with the transfer roll 743 causes the deck to rotate CCW and slide downward along the rolls 742 of the metering station 700. The metering station 700 thereafter issues one card at a time in rapid succession to the discharge tray 142 until the proper hand size is accumulated for the play-ready hand. A sensor 112 in the discharge tray signals the microcontroller when the substack (hand) has been removed from the discharge tray. In one embodiment, that signal triggers the metering station to move individual cards from a card deck to the first discharge portal automatically upon removal of a previously discharged play-ready hand.
[0085] A more detailed explanation can be observed from FIGS. 8A, 8B, 8C, 8D, 8E and 8F, which explain the movement of a single card deck within and through the card handling device 100. The device 100 has at least one verification sensor for detecting card deck integrity. FIG. 8B shows a new or spent deck 600 (unshuffled) located in the card deck intake tray 120. When the dealer activates a shuffle command on touch panel 114, the microcontroller interrogates sensor 129 to determine if any card is present in the card intake tray 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.
[0086] The microcontroller designates a deck as faulty when discerning a fault condition with the verification sensor. In FIG. 8B, an unshuffled card of a card deck 600 is moved past the verification sensor 196 and is about to enter the randomizing chamber 186, where the card stack 620 is supported by elevator arms 307 of the elevator assembly 300. 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. In a rudimentary embodiment, the verification sensor is utilized to count the cards within the deck being processed. In more advanced embodiments, the verification sensor 196 is utilized to read the rank and suit of each card in addition to counting the cards in the deck. The sensor 196 may be any optical recognition sensor as taught in the prior art, including a reflective opto-sensor, a digital camera, CMOS camera, color pixel sensor or a CCD image sensor. In the preferred embodiment, the sensor 196 is a CCD 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. Upon completion of the deck insertion into the randomizing chamber 186, the microcontroller will determine if any fault condition exists, which may include card shortages, extra cards, flipped cards or unreadable cards.
[0087] After the randomizing cycle is completed, the microcontroller decides if a card deck is faulty. If operating in the second mode and the card deck is non-faulty, the elevator arms 307 will raise the verified card deck 630 to the discharge portal 130 as shown in FIG. 8C and signal that the shuffle has been completed on the touch panel 114.
[0088] FIG. 8D illustrates the case of operating in the first operating mode and wherein the microcontroller has determined that a card deck is not faulty. The shuffled and verified deck 610 is lowered by the elevator arms 307 to a position below the transfer roll 743. The forked shape of the elevator arms 307 allows the elevator arms 307 to pass by and below the freely rotatable transfer roll 743 and the adjacent roll 142. The two rolls 742 and 743 takeover support of the verified card deck 610 and create centrifugal force that discharges the deck 610 in the direction of the arrow along rollers of the metering station 700. It is noted that in FIG. 8D, the elevator arms 307 have passed below the discharge roll 743 and the verified card deck 610 has just begun to move along the discharge rolls 742 of the metering station 700. FIG. 8E shows the verified card deck 610 at the metering station (explained below). FIG. 8F shows a substack 640 formed within the first discharge portal which constitutes play-ready hand while the device is operating in the first operating mode. The play-ready hand 640 has been metered from the previously randomized stack 610.
[0089] The randomizing cycle comprises a series of motions performed by the device to sort the individual cards into a randomly arranged deck within the chamber 186. The randomizing cycle will automatically start when the dealer activates the 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. 8B, 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 verifications sensor 196. Feed rolls 168 and 169 then inject each card into the randomizer chamber 186, whereupon each card is inserted into a growing card stack 620. The randomizing chamber 186 possesses an elevator surface comprising elevator arms 307 which support the card stack 620 during randomization, and move the card stack 620 with oscillation motion in a direction parallel to the walls within the randomizing chamber 186 (FIG. 8B).
[0090] The structure of the elevator assembly 300 and its driving means is shown in FIG. 9. The elevator assembly 300 has two fork-shaped arms 307, which are moved vertically by motion of a lead screw 304. Each elevator arm 307 possesses a support surface for supporting card stacks as identified by labels 307A and 307B. Guide shafts 324 and 322 prevent torsional movement of the elevator arms 307, and are attached to platform 318 to which a stepper motor 312 is mounted. The upper portion of elevator assembly 300 is stabilized by bridge 320. The stepper motor 312 rotates the lead screw 304 by means of a timing belt 308.
[0091] The orientation of a card stack 620 is shown when in transit on the elevator in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 8B, the two elevator arms 307 of the elevator penetrate the randomizing chamber 186 through access slots (not shown) in the wall 133 of the randomizing chamber 186, such that the elevator arms 307 may move freely in a direction parallel to the chamber walls. At the same time, the card stack on the elevator arms 307 is loosely constrained laterally on four sides by the chamber walls of randomizing chamber 186. Elevator motion is aligned with an axis of a randomizing chamber and movable along the axis within the randomizing chamber. This type of elevator is known as a slot-less elevator because it requires no individual card storage slots which are for example exhibited by the prior art shuffling device of FIG. 4.
[0092] The elevator movement is controlled in very fine increments by the stepper motor 312 in conjunction with an incremental encoder 310 which is mounted to the lead screw 304 as shown in FIG. 11. An encoder disc of the incremental encoder 310 has 200 increments per revolution which corresponds to each step of a 200 step per revolution step motor. The ratio of the lead screw 304 rotation to the elevator arm 307 linear motion is 4 millimeters per revolution. The stepper motor 310 can therefore control the elevator arms 307 in increments of 20 microns, where 1 micron equals one-millionth of a meter. The thickness of a typical playing card is approximately 300 microns. Thus, the stepper motor can therefore move the elevator arms 307 with the precision of 1/15th of the card thickness. In other words, 15 motor steps move the elevator arms 307 one card thickness. This high ratio makes the elevator mechanism controllable in fine increments, thus intolerant to positional error. Rather than the incremental encoder 310, other types of sensors could be used to monitor the linear movement of the elevator, as is known and practiced in the art.
[0093] The randomizing method emulates the motion of a human dealer when cutting a card into a card deck as the dealer grips the lateral sides of a card stack as illustrated in FIG. 15B. This type of grip-elevate-insert randomizing method was first disclosed by inventor Rodney Johnson in the 1997 U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,085 (Johnson '085), which discloses a simplified randomizing apparatus that is devoid of narrow-slotted combs, racks and compartments. The gripper assembly 200 shown in FIG. 12 emulates that 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. 14. 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.
[0094] The complete gripper assembly 200 is shown in FIG. 13 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, at least one card of 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. 15A where the upper sub-stack is shown as 620U.
[0095] Referring to FIG. 15A, 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 illustrated in FIG. 15A. A lower card sub-stack 620L is shown supported by the elevator arms 307, while an upper card sub-stack 620U is shown lifted in an arc about pivot P1 which is locationally fixed to the frame of 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 arms 307 just prior to the gripping cycle. As shown in side elevation views of FIG. 16 and FIG. 17, the elevator arms 307 position 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 arms 307 while the gripper arms 203, 204 raises the upper sub-stack 620U, and while a new card 622 is inserted into the wedge-shaped opening 326. As illustrated in FIG. 15A, the axis of the elevator may form an angle with the surface of the casino table that is other than perpendicular.
[0096] The purpose of the cam 220 shown in FIG. 13 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. 15A. The large wedge-shaped opening 326 overcomes the jamming problem exhibited by prior art narrow slot carousel and moving comb shuffling devices. Secondly, the cam 220 is designed to alleviate the cyclic life burden on the components of the elevator assembly 300 by reducing the number of elevator displacement cycles in comparison to the prior art. 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.
[0097] The previously described grip-elevate-insert 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. 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.
[0098] Termination of the randomizing cycle is detected by the microcontroller via sensor 129 (see FIG. 8B). Upon termination of the randomizing cycle, the microcontroller will determine if the shuffled card deck 620 is faulty. If operating in the first operating mode, and the card deck 620 is not faulty, the microcontroller will check the status of the sensor 765 (FIG. 8D) in the metering station 700 and thereafter direct the elevator to lower the deck to the metering station 700 as shown in FIG. 8D.
[0099] FIG. 18 illustrates an isometric view of the elevator support surfaces 307A and 307B when the elevator arms 307 are withdrawn to its lowest elevation to release a verified card deck to the metering assembly 700. In FIG. 18, the support surfaces 307A and 307B are crosshatched to help illustrate their position in the recessed openings 336 which surround the lateral sides of transfer roll 743. FIGS. 19A and 19B show isolated section views with the elevator assembly 300 and metering station 700 showing the process of transferring the verified card deck 610 to the transfer roll 743 of the metering station. As the elevator arms 307 are lowered toward a discharge position in FIG. 19A, the verified card deck 610 first makes contact with transfer roll 743, near one edge of the deck, which induces the verified card deck 610 to begin rotating counterclockwise as indicated by the circular arrow. In FIG. 19A, the verified card deck 610 is partially supported by the elevator surface 307A which is moving downward toward a recessed position. As the elevator arms 307 continue moving downward, the verified card deck 610 rotates until gaining additional support from roll 742 as shown in FIG. 19B. Centrifugal force is induced by the sudden rotation and is utilized to change the direction of the card deck to the direction of the arrow 141 where inertia thereafter takes the card deck to the circular abutment surface 760 in the metering station (see FIG. 8E). The transfer from the elevator arms 307 to the metering station 700 thus takes place by centrifugal force and inertia in one embodiment. It is noted that in FIG. 19B, the elevator arms 307 are in a fully retracted discharge position where the elevator arms 307 reside temporarily until the verified card deck 610 reaches the curvilinear abutment surface 760 of the metering station. The elevator arms 307 may thereafter be raised to the randomizing chamber 186 whereupon the randomization of a second deck can commence. The device configuration herein allows a second deck to commence randomization while a first deck is metering play-ready substacks to the discharge tray 142.
[0100] Referring to FIG. 19B, it can be seen that the axis of the metering assembly 140 is sloped so as to permit inertia to propel the verified deck 610 along the axis of the arrow 141 to the curvilinear abutment surface 760 of the metering assembly. Removal of the verified deck 610 from the elevator could also be propelled by a device such a mechanical arm 778 as shown in FIG. 20. Although shown moving linearly, the mechanical arm could rotate or contact a tiltable platform to remove a card deck from the elevator. Alternatively, a motorized belt 774 could remove the card deck from the elevator as shown in FIG. 21. The belt in FIG. 21 is proportioned to move a card deck from the elevator to the rolls 742. In another embodiment, the belt 774 is sufficiently sized to convey the card deck 610 from the elevator to the metering station as an alternative to supporting the deck upon rolls 742. In a further embodiment, the transfer roll 743 is motorized for the purpose of discharging the deck from its support upon the transfer roll. These card moving devices are all well known in the art.
[0101] An isometric view of the metering station is shown in FIG. 22. The metering station components are mounted to an injection-molded frame 722 which supports the freely rotatable transfer roll 743, a series of freely rotatable rolls 742 and a metering feed mechanism that includes an electromagnetic clutch 744. A section view of the metering station is shown in FIG. 23.
[0102] Referring to FIG. 23, shuffled card stacks move by inertia from the transfer roll 743 along rolls 742 until the leading edge of the deck contacts circular abutment surface 760 as shown in FIG. 8E. Sensor 765 is used to signal the microcontroller when the metering station is empty and therefore capable of receiving a card deck. Once abutted against the surface 760, cards can be metered one by one from the stack to the discharge tray 142 by metering rolls 762, 766, 764, 768 and 769. Metering rolls 768 and 769 are rotated at a constant speed by a motor which drives motor pulley 740. Metering rolls 766, 764 and 762 are driven independently by an electromagnetic clutch which is actuated intermittently. The clutch-driven rolls move the bottom most card from the stack through the nip between roll 764 and roll 766 until the leading edge is engaged by the nip between constantly rotating rolls 768 and 769. The electromagnetic clutch is thereafter deenergized which allows rolls 764, 766 and 762 to freely rotate while the card is pulled from the stack by rolls 768 and 769. A sensor 750 detects the trailing edge of each card and triggers the clutch to again energize, causing the next card to move from the stack. The sensor 750 additionally counts the cards as they are metered to the discharge tray 142 allowing the microcontroller to terminate the flow of cards when the proper number of cards has been metered as is required for the player's hand.
[0103] The electromagnetic clutch is desirable from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, but a stepper motor could also be used for the intermittent metering function. The electromagnetic clutch has only one coil and requires only one transistor to actuate, whereas a stepper motor is more expensive, having multiple coils and requiring sophisticated circuitry for its control.
[0104] The high speed description of the card handling device herein derives its origin from the immediate response and relatively high speed that the cards are metered to the discharge tray upon command. A prototype of the device described herein meters the cards at a rate of slightly more than three cards per second. For a perspective of metering speed, consider the required discharge of hands consisting of 5 cards for a poker game of 5-card stud. The first hand and each successive hand can be discharged within less than two seconds. This response is probably faster than the dealer can distribute the hands to each of the players.
[0105] A significant advantage of the card handling device 100 is that one deck or two decks may be queued at the beginning of a dealer's shift before any game or number of players is resolved. Moreover, one deck can be undergoing shuffling within the randomizing chamber simultaneously while hands from a previously randomized deck are being discharged to the first discharge portal. FIG. 24 illustrates the condition whereupon a first deck 610 is being metered to the discharge tray 142 while a second deck 660 has been successfully shuffled and verified. The second deck 660 is temporarily staged in a buffer position. FIG. 25 looks the same as FIG. 24 with the exception that the deck 630 has been identified as a faulty deck. In both cases, the faulty deck 630 and the non-faulty deck 660 are temporarily held at the buffer position until the metering operation is completed.
[0106] When operating in the first operating mode, the first shuffled deck may be queued at the metering station 700 such that it is immediately available for discharge without needing to resolve the game type or number of players. Once the dealer enters those two parameters and enters a START command, the first play-ready hand can be discharged within a few seconds. In the 5-card stud example above, the first play-ready substack can be discharged within less than two seconds after the game start command. Such rapid response is not possible with conventional hand-forming shufflers such as the prior art device shown in FIG. 4.
[0107] The response is quite advantageous in comparison to hand-forming shufflers that utilize compartments, whereupon the two parameters, game type and number of players, must be resolved before the shuffling operation can commence. Moreover, detection of a faulty deck in a compartment shuffler requires the game to be aborted or delayed while the shuffler compartments are unloaded (purged). In comparison, the card handling device herein can shuffle a second deck while a first deck is being metered to the discharge tray, thus preparing a verified deck for the subsequent game.
[0108] The Universal Game Device is particularly advantageous in preparing for any type of card game with the goal of eliminating interruption of play between rounds. In the first operating mode, three decks can be queued within the device prior to choosing a particular poker game or knowing the number of expected game players. Referring to FIG. 24, one shuffled deck 610 can be queued at the metering station, a second shuffled deck 660 can be queued at the buffer position, and a third unshuffled deck (not shown) can be queued within the input portal 120 before commencing a game.
[0109] After the hands have been distributed to all players while operating in the first operating mode, there exist residual cards remaining in the metering assembly. For example, for certain 7-card stud games such as Rollover or Baseball, each hand consists of seven cards which are delivered to each player, and no additional cards are needed for that game. If there are five players, then thirty-five (35) cards will have been metered, leaving seventeen (17) cards within the metering assembly. Comparatively, a game of Three-Card Poker with five players will only utilize eighteen (18) cards (five player hands and one dealer hand). In this latter case, the majority of cards will remain unplayed and the host operator will purge the shuffler of these residual cards before starting a new game.
[0110] The device herein eliminates the annoying dead time between games as the residual cards are flushed from the device. The purging cycle of the card handling device shown in FIG. 25 is relatively fast as compared to the purging cycle in compartment shufflers where there are residual cards remaining in several of the compartments after the hands have all been delivered to the players. All of those compartments need to be shuttled one by one to align with their pusher mechanisms in order to discharge the residual cards. Conversely, the metering station 700 in one embodiment of the device herein is purged by rapidly propelling the remaining cards into the discharge tray without requiring multiple pusher strokes or carousel excursions. In the above example of 17 cards remaining in the metering station, the device herein can purge them in about 6 seconds.
[0111] In an alternate embodiment, the residual cards can be purged with a single motion. An alternate embodiment 500 of the Universal Game Device includes a metering station having a displaceable portion which is moveable to a bypass position for allowing a stack of residual cards to be purged from the device in the first operating mode. FIG. 29 and FIG. 30 illustrate the discharge of a residual stack 638 which is described herein as a rapid purge cycle.
[0112] The device 500 possesses a metering station having a displaceable portion comprising a metering head 560 which allows stacks of cards to bypass the metering station and proceed directly to the discharge tray 142. FIGS. 26A and 26B show views of the displaceable portion of the metering station including the circular abutment and the upper feed rolls which are mounted upon a metering head 560. The components mounted upon the metering head 560 are pivotally mounted upon a pivot shaft 562 which rotates about an axis 561. The head 560 can be raised to an elevated position in a bypass mode to allow card stacks to move directly to the discharge tray 142. A section view of the device 500 with the metering head 560 raised to the bypass position is illustrated in FIG. 30. An isolated view of the metering head is shown in FIG. 27.
[0113] Referring to FIG. 29, shuffled card stacks move by inertia from the transfer roll 743 along rolls 742 until the leading edge of the deck contacts circular abutment surface 569 as shown in FIG. 26B. Sensor 765 is used to signal the microcontroller when the metering station is empty and therefore capable of receiving a card deck. Once abutted against the surface 569, cards can be metered one by one from the stack to the discharge tray 142 by metering rolls 762, 766, 564, 568 and 769 as shown in FIG. 26B.
[0114] FIG. 26A shows an isometric view of the metering station 530 and FIG. 26B illustrates a section view. The metering station components are mounted to an injection-molded frame 522 which supports the freely rotatable transfer roll 743, a series of freely rotatable rolls 742 and a metering feed mechanism that includes an electromagnetic clutch 744. Metering rolls 568 and 769 are rotated at a constant speed by a motor which drives motor pulley 740. Metering rolls 766 and 762 are driven independently by an electromagnetic clutch 744 which is actuated intermittently.
[0115] The clutch-driven rolls move the bottom most card from the stack through the nip between roll 564 and roll 766 until the leading edge is engaged by the nip between constantly rotating rolls 568 and 769. The electromagnetic clutch is thereafter deenergized which allows rolls 564, 766 and 762 to freely rotate while the card is pulled from the stack by rolls 568 and 769. A sensor 761 detects the trailing edge of each card and triggers the clutch to again energize, causing the next card to move from the stack. The sensor 760 additionally counts the cards as they are metered to the discharge tray 142 allowing the microcontroller to terminate the flow of cards when the proper number of cards has been metered as is required for the player's hand.
[0116] The electromagnetic clutch 744 is desirable from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, but a stepper motor could also be used for the intermittent metering function. The electromagnetic clutch has only one coil and requires only one transistor to actuate, whereas a stepper motor is more expensive, having multiple coils and requiring sophisticated circuitry for its control.
[0117] The elevated position of the metering head is controlled by the segment gear 578 (FIG. 26B) which is moveable between two positions by a motor 580 for the purpose of positioning the metering head 560 in either the metering position or the bypass position. Segment gear 578 holds the metering head 560 in the elevated position in the bypass position and returns the metering head in the metering position. A spring 586 biases the metering head downward in the metering position to ensure a tight nip between the feed rolls.
[0118] The segment gear 578 is driven by a motorized gear 580 which is actuated by a motor 582 as shown in FIG. 29. The gear 580 is known in the art as a mutilated gear which is defined as a gear having a tooth space which is missing teeth. The tooth space ensures that gear 580 does not interfere with the downward motion of the metering head 560. FIG. 29 illustrates the spring 586 which biases the metering head rollers against their mating counterparts. The spring force is resolved into a force F upon the metering head as shown by the arrow in FIG. 29.
[0119] FIG. 29 illustrates the device 500 in the metering position having a residual stack 638 remaining after discharging all of the required hands for a poker game. In FIG. 30, the metering head 560 is elevated to let the residual stack 638 pass to the discharge tray 142 during a rapid purge cycle. Sensor 771 is a U-shaped optical sensor that is shown in both figures and has the role of detecting the edge of the segment gear 578. The microcontroller detects the motion of the segment gear as it starts its movement for raising the metering head. This motion detection triggers the microcontroller to temporarily power the feed rolls 769, 766 and 762 for the purpose of aiding the discharge of the residual stack 638.
[0120] The bypass mode is utilized both in the first operating mode and the second operating mode. After metering a sufficient number of play-ready hands (substacks) to the discharge tray 142 in the first operating mode, there will remain a stack of residual (unused) cards queued at the metering station. These cards must be purged before starting the next dealing round, and the device operator (dealer) will use a touch screen command to execute a rapid purge operation.
[0121] The microcontroller executes the rapid purge operation by elevating the metering head 560 and then cycling the feed rolls 762, 766 and 769 to move the residual stack 638 to the discharge tray 142 as shown by the section view in FIG. 30. After a short time delay, the microcontroller returns the metering head to the metering position. In the case where another shuffled and verified deck awaits at the buffer position, that deck will be released to the metering station such that the next round can immediately be started. In this way there is relatively no downtime required between poker rounds. Such response is not achievable with conventional hand-forming shuffling devices.
[0122] The metering station displaceable portion is moved to the bypass position in the second operating mode for allowing card stacks to move from the slot-less elevator directly to the first discharge portal. The microcontroller automatically directs the metering head 560 to the bypass position while operating in the second operating mode. In this mode, non-faulty decks are raised to the discharge cavity 130 such that a dealer may collect the game-ready decks. Decks that have been identified as faulty are discharged to the discharge tray 142 when the Universal Game Device 500 is utilized in the second operating mode. In addition, decks which are identified as faulty while operating in the first operating mode (see FIG. 25) are also discharged to the discharge tray 142, after the microcontroller directs the metering head to be moved to the bypass position.
[0123] Movement of the faulty deck triggers the microcontroller to actuate feed rolls. Once a faulty deck has been identified for discharge, the microcontroller monitors the proximity sensor 765 (see FIG. 30). Movement of the faulty deck passing by this sensor triggers the microcontroller to temporarily actuate the feed rolls 769, 766 and 762. Thus, faulty decks are routed directly to the discharge tray 142 when operating in either of the first operating mode or the second operating mode, and the discharge movement is assisted by motorized feed rolls.
[0124] The metering head 560 is manually operated by the device operator in another embodiment. Rather than being motorized, the device operator turns a knob 592 approximately one-half revolution as shown in FIG. 28. The knob 592 is coaxially mounted upon a shaft (not shown) which rotates mutilated gear 580 so as to raise and lower the metering head. The manual movement triggers the microcontroller to actuate feed rolls. Sensor 771 (see FIG. 29) detects the resulting segment gear movement and temporarily actuates the feed rolls 769, 766 and 762 to assist in moving the residual stack 638 to the discharge tray 142.
[0125] The Universal Game Device offers new speed and convenience benefits for utilization in dealer-hosted card games, with a suite of features never before available with a single shuffling device. These features include: [0126] 1) The ability to queue up multiple randomized and verified decks before choosing any type of card game, [0127] 2) the ability to switch from poker to twenty-one, or vice versa, without experiencing wait times, [0128] 3) the ability to immediately issue play-ready hands after choosing any type of poker game, [0129] 4) the ability to shuffle and verify a second deck while at the same time discharging play-ready hands from a first shuffled deck, and [0130] 5) unprecedented response for purging the device after a poker round.
[0131] One of ordinary skill, having designer's choice, may choose to utilize different forms of actuators and/or transport components to transport cards or to actuate the metering head. Other forms of transport components, including cables, gears, cams, chains and other types of belts may be substituted for those described herein. Other types of motors and solenoids are also logical substitutions. 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.
[0132] 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.
