Card shuffling apparatus with automatic card size calibration

• US 20030073498A1
• Filed: 09/27/2002
• Published: 04/17/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: SHFL Entertainment Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Swanson, Ronald R., Bourbour, Feraidoon, Nelson, Troy D., Scheper, Paul K., Grauzer, Atilla, Kelly, James V., Stasson, James B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,036,818 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/42
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers

Abstract

A card shuffling device includes a top surface, a card receiving area for receiving an initial set of playing cards, a randomizing or arranging system for the initial set of playing cards, a collection surface in a card collection area for receiving randomized playing cards, the collection surface receiving cards positioned so that all cards collected are below the top surface of the device, and an elevator for raising the collection surface so that at least some randomized cards are elevated above the top surface of the device. An automatic card shuffler includes a microprocessor with memory. An automated calibration system is provided that calibrates the precise position of the card supporting platform in the elevator so that precise insertion of cards can be performed during card handling procedures. A preferred method operates by a position of the elevator being randomly selected and the support surface is moved to the selected position, and after the gripping arm grasps at least one side of the cards, the elevator lowers, creating a space beneath the gripping arm, wherein a card is moved from the infeed compartment into the space, thereby randomizing the cards.

Claims

1. A device for card handling comprising:

a card receiving area for receiving an initial set of cards;

a card stacking area for receiving cards from the card receiving area;

a card moving system for moving cards from the card receiving area to the card stacking area;

an elevator in the card stacking area with a moving platform for moving a stack of cards;

a collection surface on the moving platform in the elevator;

a processor associated with the device, the processor being programmed with software;

a motor to move the platform within the elevator;

at least one sensor for sensing at least one of a) position of the platform, b) height of the platform, c) position of a card in the elevator, d) height of a card or cards in the elevator, e) pressure applied to a card in the elevator, e) presence of the platform at a predetermined height, f) presence of the platform at a predetermined position, g) presence of card(s) on the platform, and h) absence of card(s) on the platform, and

the software programmed in the processor being accessible to direct the device to automatically calibrate the device to enable the device to accurately handle cards.

2. The device of claim 1 and further comprising a suspending element for suspending at least one card in the card stacking area, wherein the suspending element is a pair of grippers, and wherein the grippers are present in the card stacking area to support cards.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein card injectors are able to insert individual cards into the stacking chamber.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein there is an insert that can separate a stack of cards in the stacking chamber into two segments.

5. The device of claim 2 wherein the grippers can separate a stack of cards in the stacking chamber into two segments of cards.

6. The device of claim 5 wherein the software directs the device to perform at least the following steps;

a) moving the platform from a base position below a card insertion point to a position above the card insertion point, and registering both positions of the platform in the microprocessor,

b) moving a predetermined number of cards from the card receiving area into the stacking area,

c) moving at least one gripper to attempt contact of the grippers with at least one card in the stacking area.

7. The device of claim 6 wherein the program directs the device to move at least one gripper a first distance into contact with cards in the stacking area while those cards are on the platform at a first gripping position, at least some subsequent moves of the at least one gripper being of a different distance as compared to a preceding movement, movement of the at least one gripper continuing at least until a predetermined degree of contact is effected between the at least one gripper and card(s) in the stacking chamber.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein the program directs two opposed grippers into contact with cards in the stacking area and movement of the two grippers continues until a predetermined degree of contact between the two opposed grippers and card(s) in the stopping chamber is effected.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein after a predetermined degree of contact is attained, another series of steps is performed in which card(s) on the platform are lowered below the first gripping position and then elevated into a second gripping position where the platform is lower than it was at the first gripping position, a sensor identifying whether at least one card is gripped at the second gripping position.

10. The device of claim 9 wherein the software directs the device so that the platform is lowered from the second position to a first subsequent position in which the platform is lower than the height of the platform in the second position.

11. The device of claim 10 wherein the software directs the device so that after cards are gripped in a first subsequent position, cards supported by the gripper are released by the gripper to be supported on the platform, the platform and supported cards are lowered, the platform and supported cards are raised to a second subsequent position in which the platform is lower than the height of the platform in the first subsequent position, and grippers are moved to grip cards in the card stacking area while the platform is at the second subsequent position.

12. A device for forming a random set of playing cards comprising:

a top surface and a bottom surface of said device;

a card receiving area for receiving an initial set of playing cards;

a processor communicatively associated with the device;

a randomizing system for randomizing the initial set of playing cards;

a collection surface in a card collection area for receiving randomized playing cards, the collection surface receiving cards so that all cards are received below the top surface of the device;

an elevator for raising the collection surface so that at least some randomized cards are elevated at least to the top surface of the device;

at least one sensor for sensing at least one of a) position of the platform, b) height of the platform, c) position of a card in the elevator, d) height of a card or cards in the elevator, e) pressure applied to a card in the elevator, e) presence of the platform at a predetermined height, f) presence of the platform at a predetermined position, g) presence of card(s) on the platform, and h) absence of card(s) on the platform, and

the processor having software that can be accessed to direct the device to automatically calibrate the device to enable the device to accurately handle cards.

13. The device of claim 12 wherein the elevator raises all randomized cards above the top surface of the device.

14. The device of claim 12 wherein a confining set of walls confines all randomized cards along at least two edges of the playing cards after the randomized cards are elevated.

15. The device of claim 12 wherein at least one pick-off roller removes cards one at a time from the card receiving area and moves cards one at a time towards the randomizing system.

16. The device of claim 15 wherein the processor controls movement of the pick-off roller and at least one pair of rollers that assist in moving cards between the card receiving area and the collection area.

17. The device of claim 12 wherein the randomization system moves one card at a time into an area overlying the collection surface.

18. The device of claim 12 wherein one card at a time is positioned into a randomized set of playing cards over the collection surface.

19. The device of claim 12 wherein the randomization surface may move to a position within the collection area where the collection surface is bordered on two opposed sides by two movable card gripping elements.

20. The device of claim 12 wherein the card supporting surface is moved by a motivator that is able to move incremental vertical distances that are less than the thickness of a playing card.

21. The device of claim 20 wherein the card supporting surface is moved by a motivator that is able to move incremental vertical distances that are less than one-half the thickness of a playing card.

22. The device of claim 20 wherein the motivator is a step motor.

23. The device of claim 20 wherein the motivator is an analog motor.

24. The device of claim 12 wherein a sensor is present within the collection area, below the top surface of the device, the sensor detecting position of a card on the collection surface with respect to elevation of the card within the collection area.

25. The device of claim 12 wherein the processor is a microprocessor and the microprocessor controls vertical movement of the card supporting surface.

26. The device of claim 25 wherein the at least one card gripping element comprises at least two gripping elements that move from opposed sides of the collection area towards playing cards within the card collection area.

27. The device of claim 26 wherein the microprocessor is programmed to lower the card collection surface within the card collection area after the at least one card gripping element has contacted and supported cards within the card collection area, creating two segments of cards.

28. The device of claim 27 wherein the microprocessor directs movement of an individual card into the card supporting area between the two segments of cards.

29. The device of claim 12 wherein the processor comprises a microprocessor that is controllably connected to the device, the microprocessor directing movement of playing card moving elements within the device, the microprocessor randomly assigning potential positions for each card within the initial set of playing cards, and then directing the device to arrange the initial set of playing cards into those randomly assigned potential positions to form a randomized final set of playing cards.

30. A device for forming a random set of playing cards comprising:

a top surface and a bottom surface of said device;

a processor communicatively associated with the device;

a receiving area for an initial set of playing cards;

a randomizing system for the initial set of playing cards;

a collection surface in a card collection area for receiving playing cards that are being randomized;

an elevator for raising the collection surface within the card collection area;

at least one card supporting element within the card collection area that will support a predetermined number of cards within the card collection area;

an insertion point to the card collection area positioned below said at least one card supporting element;

at least one sensor for sensing at least one of a) position of the platform, b) height of the platform, c) position of a card in the elevator, d) height of a card or cards in the elevator, e) pressure applied to a card in the elevator, e) presence of the platform at a predetermined height, f) presence of the platform at a predetermined position, g) presence of card(s) on the platform, and h) absence of card(s) on the platform, and

the processor having software that can be accessed to direct the device to automatically calibrate the device to enable the device to accurately handle cards.

31. An automatic card shuffling system comprising a shuffling device:

a microprocessor with memory for controlling the operation of the shuffling device communicatively associated with the shuffling device;

an infeed compartment for receiving cards to be randomized;

a card moving mechanism for moving cards individually from the infeed compartment into a card mixing compartment;

a card mixing compartment comprising a plurality of substantially vertically oriented supports, an opening for the passage of cards from the infeed compartment, a moveable lower card support surface;

at least one stationary gripping arm, a lower edge proximate the opening, the at least one stationary gripping arm capable of suspending cards above the slot;

an elevator for raising and lowering the moveable support surface;

wherein a position of the elevator is randomly selected and the support surface is moved to the selected position, and after the at least one stationary gripping arm secures at least one side of the cards, the elevator lowers, creating a space beneath the at least one stationary gripping arm, wherein a card is moved from the infeed compartment into the space, thereby forming a randomized group of cards;

at least one sensor for sensing at least one of a) position of the platform, b) height of the platform, c) position of a card in the elevator, d) height of a card or cards in the elevator, e) pressure applied to a card in the elevator, e) presence of the platform at a predetermined height, f) presence of the platform at a predetermined position, g) presence of card(s) on the platform, and h) absence of card(s) on the platform, and the microprocessor having software that can be accessed to direct the device to automatically calibrate the device to enable the device to accurately handle cards.

32. A method for calibrating a card handling device with a card receiving area and a card stacking area comprising an elevator with a card support platform and grippers, the method comprising:

automatically defining a gripping position on cards in the stacking area, and

automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and where movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform.

33. The method of claim 32 wherein automatically defining a gripping position on cards in the stacking area is performed by first gripping at least one card by moving a pair of grippers into a first contact position with said at least one card, then lowering the platform and sensing that the at least one card remains supported by the grippers at the first contact position.

34. The method of claim 33 wherein if the at least one card remains supported by the grippers at the first contact position, raising the elevator, releasing the at least one card to be supported by the platform, then moving the grippers to a second contact position that has a greater distance of separation between the grippers than the separation distance between the grippers at the first contact position, yet with the grippers still in contact with said at least one card then lowering the platform and sensing whether or not the at least one card remains supported by the grippers at the second contact position.

35. The method of claim 34 wherein a sequence of steps of gripping the at least one card at increasingly distant separation positions between the grippers is repeated until the at least one card does not remain supported by the gripper, this position being identified as beyond a working limit distance of grippers where at least one card can be supported by the grippers.

36. The method of claim 34 wherein the grippers are capable of moving in increments of a first defined distance between grippers, and the greater distance of separation between the grippers in the second contact position and the first contact position exceeds at least two increments.

37. The method of claim 34 wherein the grippers are capable of moving in increments of a first defined distance between grippers, and the greater distance of separation between the grippers in the second contact position and the first contact position is at least five increments.

38. The method of claim 36 wherein the grippers are capable of moving in increments of a first defined distance between grippers, and the greater distance of separation between the grippers in the second contact position and the first contact position exceeds at least two increments.

39. The method of claim 38 wherein the grippers are capable of moving in increments of a first defined distance between grippers, and the greater distance of separation between the grippers in the second contact position and the first contact position is at least five increments.

40. The method of claim 38 wherein after the this position identified as beyond a working limit distance of grippers has been determined, raising the elevator, releasing the at least one card, then moving the grippers to grip the at least one card with a second separation distance between grippers that is at least one increment less than the separation distance beyond the working limit distance of grippers.

41. The method of claim 39 wherein after the position identified as beyond a working limit distance of grippers has been determined, raising the elevator, releasing the at least one card, then moving the grippers to grip the at least one card with a separation distance between grippers that is at least one increment less than the separation distance beyond the working limit distance of grippers.

42. The method of claim 40 wherein subsequent steps of moving the grippers to grip the at least one card with a separation distance between grippers that is at least one increment less than the separation distance beyond the working limit distance of grippers are repeated until an optimum gripping position is automatically determined based upon predetermined standards.

43. The method of claim 32 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

44. The method of claim 34 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

45. The method of claim 36 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

46. The method of claim 37 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

47. The method of claim 38 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

48. The method of claim 39 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

49. The method of claim 40 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

50. The method of claim 41 wherein

a) automatically identifying an elevator height that corresponds to a height at which a single card on the card support platform is gripped, and

b) movement of the platform to a lower position of at least two card thicknesses that would not allow even a single card to be gripped off the card support platform

is performed by repeated steps of raising the elevator, gripping the at least one card, and lowering the elevator until the at least one card is not gripped by movement of the grippers.

51. The method of claim 43 wherein exactly one or two cards are used as the at least one card.

52. The method of claim 49 wherein exactly one or two cards are used as the at least one card.

53. The method of claim 50 wherein exactly one or two cards are used as the at least one card.

54. The method of claim 51 wherein after a position of elevator height is determined where the at least one card is not gripped by the grippers, the elevator is raised by at least one increment from the position of elevator height where the at least one card is not gripped by the grippers and the grippers move to attempt to grip the at least one card.

55. The method of claim 52 wherein after a position of elevator height is determined where the at least one card is not gripped by the grippers, the elevator is raised by at least one increment from the position of elevator height where the at least one card is not gripped by the grippers and the grippers move to attempt to grip the at least one card.

56. The method of claim 53 wherein after a position of elevator height is determined where the at least one card is not gripped by the grippers, the elevator is raised by at least one increment from the position of elevator height where the at least one card is not gripped by the grippers and the grippers move to attempt to grip the at least one card.

57. A method of randomizing a group of cards with a card handling device after calibrating the device in accordance to claim 32, comprising the steps of:

placing a group of cards to be randomized into a card infeed tray;

removing cards individually from the card infeed tray and delivering the cards into a card stacking area, the card stacking area having a moveable lower surface, and a stationary opening for receiving cards from the infeed tray;

elevating the moveable lower surface to a randomly determined height;

securing at least one edge of a group of cards in the card stacking area at a point just above the stationary opening;

lowering the moveable lower surface to create an opening in a stack of cards being formed in the card stacking area, the opening located just beneath a lowermost point where the cards are secured; and

inserting a card removed from the infeed tray into the opening.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein after a card has been inserted, and when a presence of additional cards in the card infeed tray is sensed, a segment of cards is supported and the elevator moves to another and lower randomly determined height, creating another opening for insertion of the additional cards.

63. A method of arranging a group of cards into a desired order in a computer controlled automatic card shuffler after calibrating the card shuffler according to the method of claim 32, the card shuffler comprising an infeed tray, a feed mechanism, a card arranging area, a retaining device for suspending cards in the card shuffling area, a lower support surface in the card arranging area and an elevator for raising and lowering the lower support surface, the method comprising:

assigning each card in the infeed tray a final order;

feeding each card individually into the card arranging area, wherein the lower support surface is lowered beneath an elevation of the card feed mechanism when the computer instructs that the card being fed is to be placed on top of the stack, suspending all cards in the card shuffling area by means of the retaining device when the computer instructs that the card being fed is to be placed on the bottom of the stack, and instructing the elevator to move, causing the lower support surface to adjust to a preselected elevation, retaining a subgroup of cards above a feed elevation and lowering the lower support surface, creating an opening, and placing a card between the subgroup of suspended cards and the remaining cards supported by the lower support surface.

64. The method of claim 63, wherein the final order is random.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the final order is predetermined.

66. The method of claim 63 and further comprising the step of reading a suit and rank of each card prior to feeding the cards into the card arranging area.

59. An automatic card shuffler, having an upper surface and a lower surface, comprising;

a card infeed tray mounted to the upper surface of the card shuffler;

a microprocessor;

an elevator for raising and lowering a stack of randomized cards into a shuffled card delivery the shuffled card delivery tray mounted to the upper surface of the card shuffler;

wherein the card infeed tray and shuffled card delivery trays are located proximate an elevation of a gaming table surface;

at least one sensor for sensing at least one of a) position of the platform, b) height of the platform, c) position of a card in the elevator, d) height of a card in the elevator, e) pressure applied to a card in the elevator, e) presence of the platform at a predetermined height, f) presence of the platform at a predetermined position, g) presence of card(s) on the platform, and h) absence of card(s) on the platform, and

the microprocessor having software that can be accessed to direct the device to automatically calibrate the device to enable the device to accurately handle cards.

60. The device of claim 59, wherein the top surface of the shuffler is approximately flush with the gaming table surface.

61. The device of claim 60, wherein the shuffler is mounted by a support bracket to a gaming table.

62. The device of claim 59, wherein the card shuffler is installed in a gaming table, and the card shuffler is at least partially surrounded by gaming table surface.