Method for Shuffling and Dealing Cards

• US 20130300059A1
• Filed: 07/15/2013
• Published: 11/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/29/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Savant Shuffler LLC
• Inventors: Sampson, David E., Forte, Steven L.
• Granted Patent: US 8,844,930 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 273/149.R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2482 Electromotor

Abstract

A card shuffler that moves cards one-at-a-time from the bottom of a group that may be a deck in a deck-crib, to randomly designated single-card receptacles in a receiving or dealing rack, and a method for shuffling and for dealing cards. Either the deck-crib or the receiving rack is moved by a motor to align a single-card receptacle, randomly selected from among remaining empty single-card receptacles, with an outfeed slot of the deck-crib to receive each card to be moved from the deck-crib. A space is provided in the dealing rack in one embodiment, where a dealer'"'"'s hand can reach cards and remove them from the dealing rack. A controller can cause the dealing rack to move so as to allow a selected number of cards to be removed by the dealer for dealing as a player hand or a dealer hand. A card reader may be included, and positions in the receiving or dealing rack of cards identified by the card reader can be stored in memory in the controller.

Claims

1. A method of shuffling a first plurality of playing cards comprising:

(a) placing a second plurality of cards into a deck-crib including an outfeed slot, with a bottom one of said second plurality of cards aligned with said outfeed slot;

(b) providing a receiving rack including a plurality of single-card receptacles arranged adjacent one another;

(c) providing a controller including a digital computer having a memory component;

(d) causing said controller to automatically randomly select an empty one of said plurality of single-card receptacles;

(e) automatically, in response to selection of an empty one of said plurality of single-card receptacles, moving one of said receiving rack and said deck-crib in a straight line relative to the other of said receiving rack and said deck-crib to align said selected empty one of said plurality of single-card receptacles and said outfeed slot of said deck-crib with each other;

(f) moving a single card from said second plurality of cards through said outfeed slot into said selected one of said plurality of empty single-card receptacles;

(g) recording in said memory component of said controller that the selected one of said plurality of empty single-card receptacles has received a card from the deck-crib and is no longer empty;

(h) thereafter causing said controller to automatically randomly select another empty one of said plurality of empty single-card receptacle from all of the remaining empty ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles; and

(i) thereafter repeating steps (e) through (h) until each of said second plurality of cards has been moved separately from said deck-crib to a separate respective randomly selected one of said single-card receptacles.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the cards of said second plurality of cards are selected from said first plurality of playing cards.

3. The method of claim 1 including the further step of thereafter removing at least some of said second plurality of cards simultaneously from a plurality of adjacent ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles, in a condition of readiness to be dealt.

4. The method of claim 1 including the steps of pressing said single card into a flat condition in said deck-crib and keeping said single card flat while performing said step of moving it through said outfeed slot into said selected empty single-card receptacle.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein said first plurality of playing cards is greater in number than said second plurality of cards and said second plurality of cards is fewer than a complete deck, and including the step of repeating step (a) and steps (d) through (i) with respect to at least one respective additional plurality of cards, thereby shuffling all of said first plurality of playing cards.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein said first plurality of playing cards is a complete deck, including the step of repeating step (a) and steps (d) through (i) until said controller determines that said complete deck has been moved into said dealing rack, and only thereafter moving said receiving rack to present said complete deck to be dealt.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein said first plurality of playing cards is a multi-deck group from which cards are being dealt during a game, and wherein said second plurality of cards are part of said first plurality of playing cards, and the method including performing a step of placing an additional second plurality of cards from said first plurality of playing cards into said deck-crib prior to completion of dealing cards from said first plurality of playing cards, and including the step of thereafter repeating step (a) and steps (d) through (i) with respect to at least said additional second plurality of cards from said first plurality of playing cards, thereby shuffling all of said first plurality of playing cards.

8. The method of claim 1 including the steps of providing a card presentation tray having a horizontal bottom member, and holding each said single card in a respective one of said single-card receptacles oriented in a vertical plane with an edge of each said single card resting on said horizontal bottom member.

9. The method of claim 8 including the further step of continuing to hold each said single card oriented in said vertical plane while removing all of said second plurality of cards simultaneously from said single-card receptacles by moving said card presentation tray away from said single-card receptacles to an extended position.

10. The method of claim 9 including the further step of thereafter removing said first plurality of shuffled cards horizontally from an end of said card presentation tray.

11. A method of dealing a plurality of playing cards comprising:

(a) placing a plurality of playing cards into respective single-card receptacles in dealing rack including a plurality of single-card receptacles stacked adjacent one another in a fixed array and arranged so that said playing cards are parallel with each other;

(b) placing said dealing rack into a first position alongside a blocking wall adjacent a card removal side of said dealing rack;

(c) in response to a predetermined condition automatically moving one of said dealing rack and said blocking wall relative to the other through a distance determined by a controller and thereby exposing a first selected number of single-card receptacles beyond a margin of said blocking wall, thereby creating an open path along said margin of said blocking wall for removal of a plurality of said playing cards, equal to said first selected number of single-card receptacles, from said dealing rack;

(d) removing said plurality of said playing cards from said exposed single-card receptacles as a group of said cards;

(e) thereafter sensing and automatically communicating electrically to said controller that it is appropriate to move the dealing rack to expose additional ones of said single-card receptacles beyond said margin of said blocking wall;

(f) in response thereto, moving said one of said dealing rack and said blocking wall a further distance relative to the other and thereby exposing a selected number of additional ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles beyond said margin of said blocking wall; and

(g) thereafter repeating steps (d) through (f) until a desired number of groups of said playing cards have been removed from said dealing rack.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein step (e) includes sensing that at least one of said single-card receptacles exposed beyond said margin of said blocking wall has been emptied.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein said step of sensing is performed with respect to an exposed single-card receptacle that is closest to said margin of said blocking wall.

14. The method of claim 11 including the further steps of sensing that a predetermined time has passed since a group of cards has been removed, and in response thereto causing said dealing rack to move farther and thereby exposing all remaining ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles beyond said margin of said blocking wall, and thereafter removing all remaining ones of said plurality of playing cards from said dealing rack.

15. The method of claim 11 including the further steps of determining that a predetermined number of cards have been removed and in response thereto moving said dealing rack a further distance relative to said blocking wall, thereby exposing all remaining ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles beyond said margin.

16. The method of claim 11 including the step of keeping said dealing rack in such a position alongside said blocking wall that said blocking wall retains said ones of said playing cards in ones of said single-card receptacles not exposed beyond said margin of said blocking wall.

17. The method of claim 11 wherein the first selected number of single-card receptacles to be exposed is randomly selected by said controller.

18. The method of claim 11 including the further step of moving said dealing rack in response to said controller, a distance relative to said blocking wall in an opposite direction to said step of moving said dealing rack and exposing said selected number of single-card receptacles, after exposing said selected number of single-card receptacles and prior to removal of said selected number of cards therefrom, thereby reducing the number of said cards that can be removed from said dealing rack without further movement of said dealing rack relative to said blocking wall.

19. The method of claim 11 wherein said first selected number of single-card receptacles is randomly selected by said controller from a predetermined range of numbers, and wherein said selected number of additional ones of said single-card receptacles is equal to the arithmetical difference between said first selected number and a total number of cards for a player'"'"'s hand according to rules of a game for which said dealing is performed and wherein said first selected number of said cards determines the starting position for the deal.

20. The method of claim 11 including the further step, while dealing a plurality of said groups of cards, of providing a signal to the controller and thereby placing the controller into a burn card mode;

thereafter providing a signal to the controller indicating a number of cards to be burned; and

wherein in response thereto said controller causes said dealing rack to move a further distance relative to said blocking wall and thereby to expose a number of said plurality of single-card receptacles, equal to said number of cards to be burned, beyond said margin of said blocking wall.

21. A method of preparing to deal a plurality of playing cards, comprising:

(a) placing a plurality of playing cards into a dealing rack including a plurality of single-card receptacles stacked adjacent one another in a fixed array arranged so that said playing cards are parallel with each other;

(b) placing said dealing rack into a first position alongside a blocking wall adjacent a card removal side of said dealing rack;

(c) in response to a first signal provided to a controller, moving said dealing rack relative to said blocking wall and thereby exposing a plurality of single-card receptacles beyond a margin of said blocking wall, thereby creating an open path along said margin of said blocking wall for removal of playing cards from said plurality of exposed single-card receptacles;

(d) in response to a second signal provided to said controller at a time selected during said step of moving said dealing rack, stopping movement of said dealing rack;

(e) thereupon removing all cards simultaneously from all of said single-card receptacles exposed beyond said margin of said blocking wall, as a first cut portion;

(f) in response to removing said cards as a first cut portion, moving said dealing rack a further distance relative to said blocking wall and thereby exposing additional ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles beyond said margin of said blocking wall; and

(g) thereafter removing all cards simultaneously from said additional ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles as a further cut portion.

22. The method of claim 21 including providing said second signal at a time selected by a player during said step of moving said dealing rack.

23. The method of claim 21 wherein said additional ones of said plurality of single-card receptacles are all remaining ones of said plurality of single-car receptacles and said further cut portion is a last cut portion.