Card shuffler with gravity feed system for playing cards

• US 20070222147A1
• Filed: 03/24/2006
• Published: 09/27/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Light & Wonder Incorporated), Shuffle Master GMBH & Co KG (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SHFL Entertainment Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Krenn, Peter, Blaha, Ernst
• Granted Patent: US 7,556,266 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 273/149.R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/10 Card holders
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 11/0002 Dispensing or collecting devices for tokens or chips dispensers for game pieces in chain reaction games A63F9/28; coin freed apparatus for games G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00

Abstract

A card feed system for feeding cards into a card handling system is disclosed. The system includes a card input department with a playing card support surface, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls. The playing card support surface slopes towards the front wall at an angle between 12 and 22 degrees. A slot is provided in the front wall to allow single cards to pass into the card handling system. The card feed system also includes a card moving system to advance cards through the slot.

Claims

1. A feed system for feeding playing cards into a card handling system comprising:

a playing card input compartment having a playing card support surface, a front wall, a rear wall and two side walls;

the playing card support surface having a slope towards the front wall of between 12 and 22 degrees;

the front wall having a slot that allows single playing cards to pass from the support surface through the slot into the card handling system;

a playing card moving system associated with the playing card input compartment that advances single playing cards through the slot;

wherein playing cards are pressed against the playing card moving system by gravity and without other mechanical pressure.

2. The feed system of claim 1 wherein the card handling system comprises a playing card shuffling system.

3. The feed system of claim 1 wherein an extendable and retractable barrier is present in the vicinity of the slot to either prevent or allow, respectively, playing cards to pass through the slot.

4. The feed system of claim 2 wherein an extendable and retractable barrier is present in the vicinity of the slot to either prevent or allow, respectively, playing cards to pass through the slot.

5. The feed system of claim 3 wherein the barrier extends and retracts through the front wall.

6. The feed system of claim 4 wherein the barrier extends and retracts through the front wall.

7. The feed system of claim 3 wherein the barrier extends and retracts approximately parallel to the front wall.

8. The feed system of claim 4 wherein the barrier extends and retracts approximately parallel to the front wall.

9. The feed system of claim 1 wherein the slope is between 15 and 19 degrees.

10. The feed system of claim 2 wherein the slope is between 15 and 19 degrees.

11. The feed system of claim 4 wherein the slope is between 15 and 19 degrees.

12. The feed system of claim 6 wherein the slope is between 15 and 19 degrees.

17. The method of claim 12 wherein mechanical advancement through the slot can be activated only when the barrier is in a retracted position that allows playing cards to be passed into the slot.

13. A method of advancing playing cards from a playing card input compartment to a card moving system that transports cards into a card reorganization zone selected from the group consisting of playing card shuffling and playing card sorting zone, the method comprising:

placing a set of cards into the compartment so that a bottom card of the set lies supported at a bottom of the compartment at a slope of 12 to 20 degrees from horizontal,

wherein playing cards are pressed against the bottom of the compartment by gravity and without other mechanical pressure, and

cards are subsequently advanced mechanically through a slot out of the input compartment.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein playing cards are prevented from advancing through the slot by extending a barrier between the playing cards and the slot.

15. The method of claim 13 wherein playing cards are allowed to advance through the slot by retracting a barrier between the playing cards and the slot.

16. The method of claim 14 wherein after preventing cards from advancing through the slot, the barrier is retracted to allow cards to pass through the slot and then passing cards through the slot.

18. The method of claim 13 wherein mechanical advancement through the slot can be activated only when the barrier is in a retracted position that allows playing cards to be passed into the slot.

19. The method of claim 14 wherein mechanical advancement through the slot can be activated only when the barrier is in a retracted position that allows playing cards to be passed into the slot.