INTELLIGENT TABLE GAME SYSTEM

• US 20120306152A1
• Filed: 06/03/2011
• Published: 12/06/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/03/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Angel Group Company Limited
• Original Assignee: The United States Playing Card Company (Cartamundi NV)
• Inventors: Horvath, Dylan, Bodaly, Scott, Krishnamurty, Venkata
• Granted Patent: US 8,657,287 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 273/149.R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/18 Score computers; Miscellaneous indicators time-testing devices G07C

Abstract

A card dealing system incorporating playing cards with rank and suit information encoded thereon via micro-dots, and a shoe capable of reading such micro dots as a playing card is drawn from the shoe. A game controller unit determines the location of the micro-dots on the playing card, and determines the rank and suit information therefrom. The game controller thereby monitors the progress and status of a card game.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring the playing cards in play during a card game, the system comprising:

a plurality of playing cards, each playing card including a region of interest on which micro-dots are printed in a pattern, said pattern encoding the rank and suit of the card, where said micro-dots are not visible to the naked human eye;

a shoe, the shoe including;

a card cradle for holding the playing cards,

a card removal portion for allowing the playing cards to be manually removed from the shoe, and

an image sensor for imaging the face of a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of the card removal portion and past a field of view of the image sensor;

a game controller unit in data communication with the shoe, said game control unit receiving an image from the imaging sensor, determining the location of the micro-dots, and determining the rank and suit of the playing card therefrom.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein said micro-dots are printed in a color other than black.

3. The system of claim 2 wherein said micro-dots are printed in yellow.

4. The system of claim 1 further including a light source for illuminating the region of interest when imaged.

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the light from the light source is a colored light against which the color of the micro-dots are contrasted.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the light from the light source is blue and the micro-dots are printed in yellow.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the micro-dots are less than 200 microns wide.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the rank and suit of each playing card is encoded via an 8×

7 grid, in which at least one location on the grid represents the rank and suit of each playing card, and where a micro-dot printed on a playing card at a given location on the grid indicates that said playing card has the rank and suit corresponding to that location on the grid.

9. The system of claim 8 wherein the 8×

7 grid is replicated four times to create a standard X-Y axis having four quadrants, and wherein a single micro-dot is printed in each quadrant at the absolute value of the x-y coordinates which correspond to the rank and suit of a given playing card.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the game controller unit:

measures the horizontal distance between the micro-dots in at least one of quadrants 1 and 2, or quadrants 3 and 4;

divides the distances in half to determine the distance between each micro-dot and the y axis;

uses the distance between the micro-dot and the y axis to calculate the x-axis location of the micro-dot on the 8×

7 grid;

repeats the process for the micro-dots in at least one of quadrants 2 and 3, or quadrants 1 and 4 to determine the y-axis location of the micro-dot on the 8×

7 grid; and

determines the rank and suit of the imaged playing card based on the calculated x-y coordinates of the micro-dot according to a lookup table stored in an electronic memory of the game controller unit.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the game controller unit determines the location of the micro-dots by locating the binary objects in the image which are within a predetermined intensity level.

12. The system of claim 1 wherein the game controller unit determines the location of the micro-dots by locating objects in the image with an aspect ratio of between about 0.8 and 1.0.

13. The system of claim 1 wherein the game controller unit determines the location of the micro-dots by locating the four largest objects in the image according to the number of pixels in said objects.

14. The system of claim 1 further including a light source for illuminating the region of interest when imaged, and at least a first strobe trigger which causes the light source to illuminate when the first strobe trigger detects the presence of a playing card.

15. The system of claim 14 further including at least a second strobe trigger which causes the light source to illuminate when the second strobe trigger detects the presence of a playing card.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the card removal portion includes an image window through which the image sensor can image the micro-dots on a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of the card removal portion and across the image window.

17. The system of claim 16 further including a mirror positioned to redirect the field of view of the image sensor through the image window.

18. The system of claim 1 wherein the image sensor is one of an area scan CCD or CMOS camera.

19. The system of claim 1 further including a card gate for preventing a playing card from being drawn out of the card removal portion.

20. The system of claim 19 wherein said card gate is selectively positionable in one of a raised position to prevent a playing card from being drawn out of the card removal portion, and a lowered position to allow a playing card to be drawn out of the card removal portion.

21. A shoe for holding playing cards, the shoe comprising:

a card cradle for holding playing cards;

a card removal portion for allowing the playing cards to be manually removed from said shoe;

an image sensor for detecting the presence and location of micro-dots on the face of a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of the card removal portion and past a field of view of the image sensor, said micro-dots not being visible to the naked human eye.

22. The shoe of claim 21 further including at least one light source for illuminating the face of the playing card as the playing card is imaged.

23. The shoe of claim 22 wherein the light source produces a colored light against which the micro-dots are contrasted so as to render the micro-dots more easily detectable by the image sensor.

24. The shoe of claim 22 further including at least a first strobe trigger which causes the light source to illuminate when the first strobe trigger detects the presence of a playing card.

25. The shoe of claim 24 further including at least a second strobe trigger which causes the LED to illuminate when the second strobe trigger detects the presence of a playing card.

26. The shoe of claim 21 wherein the card removal portion includes an image window through which the image sensor can image the micro-dots on a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of the card removal portion and across the image window.

27. The shoe of claim 26 further including a mirror positioned to redirect the field of view of the image sensor through the image window.

28. The shoe of claim 21 wherein the image sensor is one of an area scan CCD or CMOS camera.

29. The shoe of claim 21 further including a card gate for preventing a playing card from being drawn out of the card removal portion.

30. The shoe of claim 29 wherein said card gate is selectively positionable in one of a raised position to prevent a playing card from being drawn out of the card removal portion, and a lowered position to allow a playing card to be drawn out of the card removal portion.

31. The shoe of claim 21 further including:

a controller unit in data communication with the image sensor, said controller unit including;

a processor for receiving an image from the imaging sensor, determining the location of the micro-dots, and determining the rank and suit of the playing card therefrom; and

a display screen for displaying information relating to a card game being played.

32. The shoe of claim 31 further including:

at least a first and second card sensors for detecting the presence of a playing card, where said first and second card sensors are in data communication with the controller unit, and

wherein the controller unit determines that a card reversal has occurred there said second card sensor continues to detect a card while said first card sensor detects a card after ceasing to detect a card.

33. A system for controlling a shoe during the playing of a card game, the system comprising;

a plurality of playing cards, each playing card including a region of interest on which micro-dots are printed in a pattern, said pattern encoding the rank and suit of the card, where said micro—

dots are not visible to the naked human eye;

a playing card shoe including;

a card removal portion for allowing the playing cards to be manually removed from the shoe,

an image sensor for imaging the face of a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of the card removal portion and past a field of view of the image sensor, and

a card gate for preventing a playing card from being drawn out of the card removal portion, where the card gate can be actuated into a raised position to prevent a playing card from being drawn out of the card removal portion, and into a lowered position to allow a playing card to be drawn out of the card removal portion; and

a game controller unit in electrical communication with the shoe and including a display screen and a processor, said game controller unit receiving an image from the imaging sensor, determining the location of the micro-dots on the imaged playing card, and determining the rank and suit of the playing card therefrom.

34. The system of claim 33 wherein the game controller unit tracks the playing cards dealt during a card game, and determining the status of the game therefrom.

35. The system of claim 34 wherein the game controller unit displays the rank and suit of the cards which have been dealt during a card game on the display screen.

36. The system of claim 34 wherein the game controller unit actuates the card gate to prevent or allow cards to be dealt as is appropriate depending on the status of the game.

37. The system of claim 34 wherein determining the status of the game includes determining the outcome of the game.

38. The system of claim 37 wherein the determined outcome of the game is displayed on the display screen.

39. The system of claim 37 wherein the game controller unit instructs the dealer to collect bets or pay out winnings to those betting on the game as appropriate based on the determined outcome of the game.

40. A method for determining the rank and suit of a playing card, the method comprising the steps of:

imaging, via an imaging sensor, at least one region of interest of a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of a shoe;

determining the location of micro-dots in the first region of interest, said micro-dots not being visible to the naked human eye;

retrieving the rank and suit of the playing card from a lookup table stored in an electronic memory based on x- and y-axis positions of the micro-dots in the first region of interest.

41. The method of claim 40 further including the steps of:

imaging, via the imaging sensor, at least a second region of interest of a playing card as the playing card is drawn out of a shoe;

determining the location of micro-dots in the second region of interest, said micro-dots not being visible to the naked human eye;

comparing the location of the micro-dots in the second region of interest with the location of the micro-dots in the first region of interest;

outputting an error where the micro-dot locations in the first and second regions of interest are different; and

retrieving the rank and suit of the playing card from a lookup table stored in an electronic memory based on x- and y-axis positions of the micro-dots in the regions of interest when the micro-dot locations in the first and second regions of interest are the same.

42. The method of claim 40 further including the step of:

encoding the rank and suit of each playing card via an 8×

7 grid in, which at least one location on the grid represents the rank and suit of each playing card, wherein a micro-dot printed on a playing card at a given location on the grid indicates that said playing card has the rank and suit corresponding to that location on the grid.

43. The method of claim 42 further including the steps of replicating the 8×

7 grid four times to create a standard X-Y axis having four quadrants, wherein a single micro-dot is printed in each quadrant at the absolute value of the x-y coordinates which correspond to the rank and suit of a given playing card.

44. The method of claim 40 wherein the step of determining the location of micro-dots in the first region of interest includes:

measuring the horizontal distance between the micro-dots in at least one of quadrants 1 and 2, or quadrants 3 and 4;

measuring the vertical distance between the micro-dots in at least one of quadrants 2 and 3, or quadrants 1 and 4;

dividing the horizontal and vertical distances in half to determine the distance between each micro-dot and the y- and x-axis, respectively, resulting in the x- and y-axis locations of the micro-dot on the 8×

7 grid;

looking up the calculated x-y location in a lookup table stored in an electronic memory; and

retrieving the rank and suit information of the imaged playing card.

45. The method of claim 40 wherein the step of determining the location of micro-dots in the first region of interest includes locating the binary objects in the image which are within a predetermined intensity level.

46. The method of claim 40 wherein the step of determining the location of micro-dots in the first region of interest includes locating objects in the image with an aspect ratio of between about 0.8 and 1.0.

47. The method of claim 40 wherein the step of determining the location of micro-dots in the first region of interest includes locating the four largest objects in the image according to the number of pixels in said objects.

48. A playing card for use in a card game, the playing card comprising:

a rank and suit;

a region of interest on which micro-dots are printed in a pattern, said pattern encoding the rank and suit of the card, where said micro-dots are not visible to the naked human eye.

49. The playing card of claim 48 wherein the micro-dots are less than 200 microns in diameter.

50. The playing card of claim 48 wherein the rank and suit of each playing card is encoded via an 8×

7 grid in which at least one location on the grid represents the rank and suit of each playing card in a deck of playing cards, and where a micro-dot printed on a playing card at a given location on the grid indicates that said playing card has the rank and suit corresponding to that location on the grid.

51. The playing card of claim 50 wherein the 8×

7 grid is replicated four times to create a standard X-Y axis having four quadrants, and wherein a single micro-dot is printed in each quadrant at the absolute value of the x-y coordinates which correspond to the rank and snit of a given playing card.