Method, apparatus and article employing multiple machine-readable indicia on playing cards

• US 20030176209A1
• Filed: 02/05/2003
• Published: 09/18/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/06/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Walker Digital Table Systems LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: MindPlay LLC (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Soltys, Richard, Huizinga, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 7,222,852 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/13
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/18 Score computers; Miscellaneous indicators time-testing devices G07C
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/242 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06018 one-dimensional coding
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 19/06028 using bar codes

Abstract

A stacked set of playing cards are supported to expose an information bearing portion bearing a first machine-readable indicia and an information bearing portion bearing a second machine-readable indicia, such that each of the first and second machine-readable indicia from a number of cards are read by at least one reader. The second machine-readable indicia may provide redundancy, or may be related to the first machine-readable indicia to allow the authentication of the playing card.

Claims

1. A device for identifying playing cards in a stack of playing cards, the device comprising:

a first card support surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a long edge of each of a number of playing cards in the stack of playing cards, a second card support surface extending at an angle to the first card supporting surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a short edge of each of the number of playing cards in the stack of playing cards, and a third card support surface for engagingly supporting a surface of an outermost one of the playing cards in the stack of playing cards, the third card support surface forming a first obtuse angle with the first card support surface and a second obtuse angle with respect to the second card support surface, the first, the second and the third card support surfaces forming a receptacle sized and dimensioned for receiving at least a portion of the stack of playing cards; and

a reading mechanism positioned to read a first indicia extending along a long edge of the playing cards and a second indicia extending along a short edge of the playing cards.

2. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is carried by a gaming table having a horizontal table surface and the first, the second, and the third card support surfaces are each angled with respect to the horizontal table surface of a gaming table.

3. The device of claim 1 wherein the device is installed in a gaming table, below a horizontal table surface of the gaming table, and the first, the second, and the third card support surfaces are each angled with respect to the horizontal table surface of a gaming table.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the angle between the first card support surface and the second card support surface is obtuse.

5. The device of claim 1 wherein the reading mechanism comprises:

a first optical imager having a first field-of-view; and

a second optical imager having a second field-of-view.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein the reading mechanism comprises:

a first scanner having a first scan field-of-view; and

a second scanner having a second scan field-of-view.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein the reading mechanism includes a single two-dimensional imager array, a first portion of the imager array having a first field-of-view and a second imager array having a second field-of-view.

8. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a processor coupled to the reading mechanism to receive data therefrom and configured to interpret the received data as an ordered sequence of playing cards.

9. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a processor coupled to the reading mechanism to receive data therefrom and configured to compare data the received data.

10. The device of claim 1, further comprising:

a communications port coupled to the reading mechanism to coupled data received from the reading mechanism externally from the device.

11. A gaming table for playing a card game, comprising:

a playing surface;

a receptacle mounted in the playing surface of the gaming table, the receptacle sized and dimensioned for receiving at least a portion of a set of playing cards, the receptacle having a first card support surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a first edge of each of a number of playing cards in the set of playing cards, a second card support surface extending at an angle to the first card supporting surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a second edge of each of the number of playing cards in the set of playing cards and a third playing card support surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a surface of one of the playing cards when the set of playing cards are stacked in the receptacle, a first window formed in the first card support surface to expose at least a portion of the first edge of each of at least some of the number of playing cards and a second window formed in the second card support surface to expose at least a portion of the second edge of each of at least some of the number of playing cards; and

at least a first reader having a first field-of-view, at least a portion of the first field-of-view aligned with at least the first window.

12. The gaming table of claim 11, further comprising:

a second reader having a second field-of-view, at least a portion of the second field-of-view aligned with at the second window.

13. The gaming table of claim 11, further comprising:

a processor coupled to the first reader and configured to interpret data received from the first reader.

14. A device for identifying playing cards in a stack of playing cards, the device comprising:

card support means for supportingly engaging at least a portion of a number of playing cards in the stack of playing cards to expose a first information carrying portion along a first edge of each of the playing cards and to expose a second information carrying potion along a second edge of each of the playing cards; and

reading means for reading a first information encoding indicia in the first information carrying portion and a second information encoding indicia in the second information carrying portion of each of the number of playing cards.

15. A method of reading information from playing cards, comprising:

supportingly engaging a first edge of the set of playing cards at a first angle with respect to a horizontal table surface;

supportingly engaging a second edge of the set of playing cards at a second angle with respect to the horizontal table surface;

supportingly engaging a surface of an outermost one of the playing cards at a third angle with respect to the horizontal table surface to expose a first information carrying portion along the first edge of each of the playing cards and to expose a second information carrying potion along the second edge of each of the playing cards; and

reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the playing cards.

16. The method of claim 15 wherein reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards includes concurrently reading the first and the second information carrying portions from one of the playing cards.

17. The method of claim 15 wherein reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards includes concurrently reading the first and the second information carrying portions from at least two of the playing cards.

18. The method of claim 15 wherein reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards includes concurrently imaging the first and the second information carrying portions from at least two of the playing cards.

19. A device for identifying playing cards in a set of playing cards, the device comprising:

a receptacle sized and dimensioned to receive at least a potion of the set of playing cards with a first edge of each of the playing cards aligned in a first area and with a second edge of the playing cards aligned in a second area;

a first reader having a first field-of-view extending over at least a portion of the first area; and

a second reader having a second field-of-view extending over at least a portion of the second area.

20. The device of claim 19 wherein the first reader is a first optical imager and the second reader is a second optical imager.

21. The device of claim 19 wherein the first reader is a first optical scanner and the second reader is a second optical scanner.

22. The device of claim 19 where the second field-of-view is approximately perpendicular to the first field-of-view.

23. The device of claim 19 wherein the receptacle comprises:

a first card support surface to supportingly engage the first edge of each of a number of playing cards in a set of playing cards;

a second card support surface extending at an angle to the first card supporting surface to supportingly engage the second edge of each of the number of playing cards in the set of playing cards; and

a third card support surface extending at an obtuse angle to each of the first and the second card supporting surfaces to supportingly engage a surface of one of the playing cards when the set of playing cards are stacked in the receptacle.

24. The device of claim 19, further comprising:

a processor coupled to the first and the second readers to receive data therefrom and configured to interpret the received data as an ordered sequence of playing cards.

25. The device of claim 19 wherein the receptacle is mounted for axial movement with respect to the first reader.

26. The device of claim 19, further comprising:

a rail;

at least one roller coupling the receptacle to the rail; and

a spring biasing the receptacle toward a first position.

27. The device of claim 19, further comprising:

a light source.

28. A device for identifying playing cards, the device comprising:

a receptacle sized and dimensioned for receiving at least a portion of a set of playing cards, the receptacle having a first card support surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a first edge of each of a number of playing cards in the set of playing cards, a second card support surface extending at an angle to the first card supporting surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a second edge of each of the number of playing cards in the set of playing cards and a third playing card support surface to supportingly engage at least a portion of a surface of one of the playing cards when the set of playing cards are stacked in the receptacle, a first window formed in the first card support surface to expose at least a portion of the first edge of each of at least some of the number of playing cards and a second window formed in the second card support surface to expose at least a portion of the second edge of each of at least some of the number of playing cards; and

at least a first reader having a first field-of-view, at least a portion of the first field-of-view aligned with at least the first window.

29. The device of claim 28, further comprising:

a second reader having a second field-of-view, at least a portion of the second field-of-view aligned with at the second window.

30. The device of claim 28, further comprising:

a reflector positioned along an optical path between the second window and the first reader to align at least another portion of the first field-of-view with the second window.

31. The device of claim 28 wherein the first reader is one of an optical imager and an optical scanner.

32. The device of claim 28, further comprising:

a processor coupled to the first reader and configured to interpret data received from the first reader.

33. The device of claim 28 wherein the receptacle is mounted for axial movement with respect to the first reader.

34. The device of claim 28, further comprising:

a rail;

at least one roller coupling the receptacle to the rail; and

a spring biasing the receptacle toward a first position.

35. A method of identifying playing cards, comprising:

for each of a number of playing cards, reading a first machine-readable indicia from the respective playing cards; and

for each of the number of playing cards reading a second machine-readable indicia from the respective playing card.

38. The method of claim 35, further comprising:

for each of the first machine-readable indicia read from the playing cards, decoding a set of data representing the first machine-readable indicia;

for each of the second machine-readable indicia read from the playing cards, decoding a set of data representing the second machine-readable indicia; and

for each of at least some of the playing cards, verifying an authenticity of the playing card based on the decoded first machine-readable indicia and the decoded second machine-readable indicia read from a same one of the playing cards as the first machine-readable indicia.

40. The method of claim 35 wherein reading a first machine-readable indicia includes imaging a first area.

41. The method of claim 35 wherein reading a first machine-readable indicia includes scanning a first area.

36. The method of 35, further comprising:

determining an ordered sequence of the playing cards based on at least one of the first and the second machine-readable indicia read from the playing cards.

37. The method of 35, further comprising:

for each of the first machine-readable indicia read from the playing cards, attempting to decode a set of data representing the first machine-readable indicia;

attempting to decode a set of data representing the second machine-readable indicia read from a same one of the playing cards as the first machine-readable indicia if the attempt to decode the set of data representing the first machine-readable indicia is unsuccessful; and

determining an ordered sequence from the decoded sets of data representing the first and the second machine-readable indicia.

39. The method of 35, further comprising:

supportingly engaging a first edge of each of the number of playing cards at a first angle with respect to a horizontal table surface, supportingly engaging a second edge of each of the number of playing cards at a second angle with respect to the horizontal table surface, and supportingly engaging a surface of an outermost one of the playing cards at a third angle with respect to the horizontal table surface to expose a first information carrying portion along the first edge of each of the playing cards and to expose a second information carrying potion along the second edge of each of the playing cards.

42. A computer-readable media containing instructions for causing a computer to identify playing cards, by:

for each of a number of playing cards, reading a first machine-readable indicia from the respective playing card; and

for each of the number of playing cards reading a second machine-readable indicia from the respective playing card.

43. The computer-readable media of claim 42 containing instructions for causing a computer to identify playing cards, further by:

determining an ordered sequence of the playing cards based on at least one of the first and the second machine-readable indicia read from the playing cards.

44. The computer-readable media of claim 42 containing instructions for causing a computer to identify playing cards, further by:

for each of the first machine-readable indicia read from the playing cards, attempting to decode a set of data representing the first machine-readable indicia;

attempting to decode a set of data representing the second machine-readable indicia read from a same one of the playing cards as the first machine-readable indicia if the attempt to decode of the set of data representing the first machine-readable indicia is unsuccessful; and

determining an ordered sequence from the decoded sets of data representing the first and the second machine-readable indicia.

45. A method of reading information from playing cards, comprising:

exposing a first information carrying portion along the first edge of each of a number of playing cards;

exposing a second information carrying portion along the second edge of each of the number of playing cards; and

reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards.

46. The method of claim 45 wherein reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards includes concurrently reading the first and the second information carrying portions from one of the playing cards.

47. The method of claim 45 wherein reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards includes concurrently reading the first and the second information carrying portions from at least two of the playing cards.

48. The method of claim 45 wherein reading at least one of the first and the second information carrying potions of at least one of the number of playing cards includes concurrently imaging the first and the second information carrying portions from at least two of the playing cards.

49. A method of determining a validity of playing cards, comprising:

decoding a first machine-readable indicia carried by a playing card to get a first value;

decoding a second machine-readable indicia carried by the playing card to get second value; and

determining a validity of the playing card based on first and the second values.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein determining a validity of the playing card based on first and the second values, includes:

determining whether the first and the second values match.

51. The method of claim 49 wherein determining a validity of the playing card based on first and the second values, includes:

determining whether the first and the second values successfully solve a defined algorithm.

52. The method of claim 49 wherein determining a validity of the playing card based on first and the second values, includes:

determining whether the first and the second values are mapped to one another in a database.

53. The method of claim 49 wherein determining a validity of the playing card based on first and the second values, includes:

determining whether the first value and the second values are mathematically related.

54. A computer-readable media containing instructions for causing a computer to verifying playing cards, by:

decoding a first machine-readable indicia carried by a playing card to get a first value;

decoding a second machine-readable indicia carried by the playing card to get second value; and

determining a validity of the playing card based on first and the second values.

55. A method of verifying playing cards, comprising:

decoding a first machine-readable indicia carried by a playing card to get a first value;

decoding a second machine-readable indicia carried by the playing card to get second value; and

determining if a defined algorithm solves for the first and the second values.

56. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

reading the first machine-readable indicia from the playing card; and

concurrently reading the second machine-readable indicia from the playing card.

57. The method of claim 55, further comprising:

producing a notification if the defined algorithm does not solve for the first and the second values.

58. A computer-readable media containing instructions for causing a computer to verifying playing cards, by:

decoding a first machine-readable indicia carried by a playing card to get a first value;

decoding a second machine-readable indicia carried by the playing card to get second value; and

determining if a defined algorithm solves for the first and the second values.

59. The computer-readable media of claim 58 containing instructions for causing a computer to verifying playing cards, further by:

reading the first machine-readable indicia from the playing card; and

concurrently reading the second machine-readable indicia from the playing card.

60. A method of producing playing cards, comprising:

determining a number of sets of values that solve a defined algorithm, where each set of values contains at least two values;

encoding the first value of one of the sets of values in a first machine-readable indicia on a playing card; and

encoding the second value of the one of the sets of values in a second machine-readable indicia on the playing card.

61. The method of claim 60, further comprising:

encoding the first value of another one of the sets of values in a first machine-readable indicia on another playing card; and

encoding the second value of the other one of the sets of values in a second machine-readable indicia on the other playing card.

62. A computer-readable media containing instructions for causing a computer to identify playing cards, by:

determining a number of sets of values that solve a defined algorithm, where each set of values contains at least two values;

encoding the first value of one of the sets of values in a first machine-readable indicia on a playing card; and

encoding the second value of the one of the sets of values in a second machine-readable indicia on the playing card.

63. The computer-readable media of claim 62 where encoding the first value of one of the sets of values in a first machine-readable indicia in a playing card includes:

determining a set of characters corresponding to the first value; and

printing the determined set of characters on a portion of the playing card.

64. A set of playing cards, comprising:

a number of playing cards, each of the playing cards bearing a first machine-readable indicia extending along a first edge of the playing card, and a second machine-readable indicia extending along a second edge of the playing card, where a defined relationship exists between the first and the second machine-readable indicia.

65. The set of playing cards of claim 64 wherein the first edge and the second edge are perpendicular.

66. The set of playing cards of claim 64 wherein the defined relationship is an identity relationship in which a set of information encoded in the first machine-readable indicia matches a set of information encoded in the second machine-readable indicia.

67. The set of playing cards of claim 64 wherein the defined relationship is as a pair of variables where a set of information encoded in the first machine-readable indicia and a set of information encoded in the second machine-readable indicia solves a predetermined algorithm.

68. The set of playing cards of claim 64 wherein the defined relationship is a mapping in a database between a set of information encoded in the first machine-readable indicia and a set of information encoded in the second machine-readable indicia.

69. The set of playing cards of claim 64 wherein the defined relationship is a mathematical relationship between a set of information encoded in the first machine-readable indicia and a set of information encoded in the second machine-readable indicia.