Systems including automatic card handling apparatuses and related methods

• US 10,343,054 B2
• Filed: 04/12/2016
• Issued: 07/09/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Czyzewski, Zbigniew, Zvercov, Vladislav, Grauzer, Attila
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah, Milap
• Application Number:
  US15/096,473
• Publication Number:
  US 20160220893A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,183 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2411 Input form cards, tapes, discs
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3234 about the performance of a gaming system, e.g. revenue, diagnosis of the gaming system
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/187 Machine fault alarms
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/025 for remote control or remote monitoring of applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

An automatic card handling device, automatic card handling devices within a network, and methods of use are disclosed. An automatic card handling device includes a shuffling apparatus with a controller and configured to deliver a set of shuffled cards, and a communication module operably coupled to the controller. The communication module is configured for establishing an electronic communication with a local or world-wide network and thereafter sending and receiving information related to the operation of the automatic card handling device across the network. A network of automatic card handling devices may include a plurality of automatic card shufflers. The network may also include at least one server operably coupled to the plurality of automatic card shufflers. In addition, the server may be operably coupled to a service center through a world-wide network.

Claims

1. A system configured to enable card shuffling devices to communicate through a network, the system comprising:

a plurality of card shuffling devices, each of the plurality of card shuffling devices including;

a communication port configured to communicate through the network with a server; and

a controller operably coupled to the communication port and configured to;

monitor usage of the card shuffling device;

perform a self-diagnosis of the card shuffling device and determine operational data indicating functionality parameters of the card shuffling device, wherein the functionality parameters include diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis; and

transmit the operational data to the server; and

a non-transitory computer-readable medium including computer-readable instructions for processing the operational data accessible by the server, the server configured to execute the computer-readable instructions.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is further configured to perform the self-diagnosis responsive to receiving a diagnostic request via the communication port from the server.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is further configured to determine whether any of the operational data is related to necessary repairs or maintenance of the controller'"'"'s respective card shuffling device.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is configured to transmit a service request including any of the operational data determined to be related to necessary repairs of maintenance of the respective card shuffling device via the server to at least one of a service center and one or more data receiving devices accessible to casino personnel.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the computer-readable instructions are configured to instruct the server to process the operational data and determine from the operations data whether a repair action or maintenance action on a respective card shuffling device is necessary.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is configured to monitor shuffling and verification processes of a respective card shuffling device completed for a predetermined range of time and to transmit usage information related to the shuffling and verification processes to the server.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is configured to transmit usage data related to one or more of current processes of the controller'"'"'s respective card shuffling device, past processes of the respective card shuffling device, performance of the respective card shuffling device, location of the respective card shuffling device, maintenance of the respective card shuffling device, and errors related to the respective card shuffling device to the server.

8. A system configured to enable card shuffling devices to communicate through a network, the system comprising:

a server configured to execute computer-readable instructions of a non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible by the server, the computer-readable instructions configured to instruct the server to process operational data from one or more card shuffling devices and to output the processed operational data to an alerting device; and

a plurality of card shuffling devices communicable with the server via a network, each card shuffling device comprising a controller configured to

monitor usage of the card shuffling device;

perform a self-diagnosis of a respective card shuffling device and determine operational data indicating functionality parameters of the card shuffling device, wherein the functionality parameters include diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis; and

transmit the operational data to the server.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of card shuffling devices further comprises a communication port operably coupled to the controller and configured to communicate the operational data from the controller to the server.

10. The system of claim 8, wherein each of the plurality of card shuffling devices further comprises a communication port configured to communicate through a network with the server, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is operably coupled to a respective communication port of the plurality of card shuffling devices.

11. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices comprises at least one computing device selected from the group consisting of a microcontroller, a custom application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a hardware communication module.

12. The system of claim 8, wherein the controller of each of the plurality of card shuffling devices is further configured to analyze the functionality parameters including diagnostic results to determine repairs needed to a respective card device.

13. The system of claim 8, wherein the functionality parameters include parameters selected from the group consisting of data related to current or past operation, a serial number of a respective card shuffling device, serial numbers of device parts, and physical location of the respective card shuffling device.

14. A method of operating a system of at least one card shuffling device in communication with a server, the method comprising:

shuffling an input set of cards and delivering randomly ordered cards resulting from the shuffling with a shuffling apparatus of the at least one card shuffling device;

monitoring usage of the at least one card shuffling device with a controller;

performing a self-diagnosis of a respective card shuffling device and determining operational data indicating functionality parameters of the card shuffling device, wherein the functionality parameters include diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis;

transmitting the operational data of the at least one card shuffling device to the server via a communication port accessible to the controller; and

processing the operational data with the server by executing computer-readable instructions of a non-transitory computer-readable medium accessible to the server.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the functionality parameters include parameters selected from the group consisting of data related to current or past operation, a serial number of the at least one card shuffling device, serial numbers of device parts, and physical location of the at least one card shuffling device.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising performing the self-diagnosis responsive to receiving a diagnostic request from the server.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising transmitting a service request including repair-related data via the server to at least one of a service center and one or more data receiving devices accessible to casino personnel.