Card shuffler

• US 20030071413A1
• Filed: 09/27/2002
• Published: 04/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/11/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Card-Casinos Austria R & D-Casinos Austria Forschungs-Und Entwicklungs GmbH
• Inventors: Krenn, Peter, Blaha, Ernst
• Granted Patent: US 7,367,561 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 273/149R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers

Abstract

A card shuffler with a drivable shuffling storage means (2′) which is provided with compartments (69) for receiving cards (13) and is associated with an input apparatus for the insertion of cards one by one into the compartments (69) and an output apparatus spaced from the same for the shuffled cards, with the drive of the shuffling storage means (2′), the input apparatus and the output apparatus being controlled by a microprocessor and shuffled cards supplied to the output apparatus being adjusted with respect to their number in stacks to the number of cards necessary per player for the respective card game. In order to improve the shuffling result in such a shuffler it is provided that the cards supplied to the output apparatus are taken from at least two compartments (69) of the shuffling storage means (2′).

Claims

1. A card shuffler with a drivable shuffling storage means (2′

) which is provided with compartments (69) for receiving cards (13) and is associated with an input apparatus (10) for the insertion of cards one by one into the compartments (69) and an output apparatus (42) for the shuffled cards spaced from the input apparatus, with the drive of the shuffling storage means (2′

), the input apparatus and the output apparatus (42) being controlled by a microprocessor and shuffled cards supplied to the output apparatus (42) being adjusted with respect to their number in stacks to the number of cards necessary per player for the respective card game, characterized in that the cards supplied to the output apparatus (42) are taken from at least two compartments (69) of the shuffling storage means (2′

).

2. A card shuffler as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that with each withdrawal process from the shuffling storage means (2′

) one card each is removed from each compartment (69).

3. A card shuffler as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that with each withdrawal process from the shuffling storage means (2′

) all cards (13) of a compartment (69) are removed.

4. A card shuffler as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 3, characterized in that not more than half the number of cards required per player is stored in each compartment (69) of the shuffling storage means (2′

).

5. A card shuffler as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the microprocessor can be informed via an input apparatus (10) about the necessary number of cards per player.

6. A card shuffler as claimed in one of the claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the shuffling storage means (2′

) is formed by a drum.

7. A card shuffler according to one of the claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the output apparatus is provided with a sensor 101 which is connected with the microprocessor.

8. A method for shuffling and cutting cards in stacks, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

providing a stack of unshuffled cards;

defining a number of cards per player;

random insertion of said cards into different compartments of a shuffling storage means;

withdrawal of a card or, optionally, all cards from a randomly selected compartment of the shuffling storage means and placing said card in an output apparatus;

repeating the preceding process step until the defined number of cards per player has been placed in the output apparatus.