Apparatus for storing and selecting cards
First Claim
1. A card storage and distribution apparatus comprising,a storage carousel rotatably mounted on a central hub and having upright dividers extending radially from the hub on a carousel base forming card slots,a card hopper adjacent to the carousel adapted to hold a plurality of cards,an injector means associated with the hopper for loading said cards from the hopper into the slots in said carousel,a plurality of output ports disposed around the carousel, each port adapted to receive some of said cards from said carousel,an ejector means selectively communicating with the slots in said carousel for delivering a specific card in said carousel to a selected one of said output ports,carousel rotation means for rotating said carousel so that a selected slot of said carousel communicates with the ejector means,means for controlling card movement to and from said carousel anda plurality of card selectors, each selector corresponding to an output port, each selector being adjustable to one of a plurallity of settings representing at least the identity of a particular card, in communication with said control means, said control means including means to read identification markings on said cards there being a correspondence between said settings of said selectors and the identity of said cards delivered to said output ports.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A card apparatus having a card hopper adapted to hold from one to at least 104 cards, a card carousel having slots for holding cards, an injector for sequentially loading cards from the hopper into the carousel, output ports, ejectors for delivering cards from the carousel to any one of the output ports, and a control board and sensors, all housed in a housing. The apparatus is also capable of communicating with selectors which are adjustable for making card selections. The injector has three rollers driven by a motor via a worm gear. A spring loaded lever keeps cards in the hopper pressed against the first roller. The ejectors are pivotally mounted to the base of the housing beneath the carousel and comprise a roller driven by a motor via gears and a centripetal clutch. A control board keeps track of the identity of cards in each slot, card selections, and the carousel position. Cards may be ordinary playing cards or other cards with bar codes added for card identification by the apparatus.
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Citations
27 Claims
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1. A card storage and distribution apparatus comprising,
a storage carousel rotatably mounted on a central hub and having upright dividers extending radially from the hub on a carousel base forming card slots, a card hopper adjacent to the carousel adapted to hold a plurality of cards, an injector means associated with the hopper for loading said cards from the hopper into the slots in said carousel, a plurality of output ports disposed around the carousel, each port adapted to receive some of said cards from said carousel, an ejector means selectively communicating with the slots in said carousel for delivering a specific card in said carousel to a selected one of said output ports, carousel rotation means for rotating said carousel so that a selected slot of said carousel communicates with the ejector means, means for controlling card movement to and from said carousel and a plurality of card selectors, each selector corresponding to an output port, each selector being adjustable to one of a plurallity of settings representing at least the identity of a particular card, in communication with said control means, said control means including means to read identification markings on said cards there being a correspondence between said settings of said selectors and the identity of said cards delivered to said output ports.
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16. A card apparatus comprising,
a card storage carousel having a plurality of radially extending dividers on a carousel base forming upright slots, each slot accommodating a card, a card hopper adjacent to the carousel adapted to hold a plurality of cards, an injector means associated with the hopper for loading said cards from the hopper into the slots in said carousel, at least one output port associated with the carousel for delivering cards from the carousel, an ejector means selectively communicating with the slots in said carousel for delivering a card in said carousel to said output port, carousel rotation means for rotating said carousel so that a selected slot of said carousel communicates with the ejector means, a plurality of cards disposed in the slots of said carousel, said cards having machine readable marks thereon for identifying each card, first transducer means associated with said injector for reading said machine readable marks on said cards, second transducer means associated with said carousel for tracking carousel position, wherein said second transducer means determines a carousel reference position by sensing a jam, there being a protrusion from said carousel at said reference position, and computer means communicating with said first and second transducer means whereby the position and identity of each card within said carousel is known.
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24. A card storage and distribution apparatus comprising,
a deck of playing cards having machine readable marks thereon, a card storage carousel having a plurality of radially extending dividers forming upright slots, each slot accommodating a playing card, a card hopper adjacent to the carousel adapted to hold said deck of playing cards, an injector means associated with the hopper for loading said cards from the hopper into the slots in said carousel, at least one output port associated with the carousel for delivering cards from the carousel, an ejector means selectively communicating with the slots in said carousel for delivering a card in said carousel to said output port, carousel rotation means for rotating said carousel so that a selected slot of said carousel communicates with the ejector means, first transducer means associated with said injector for reading said machine readable marks on said cards, and second transducer means associated with said carousel for tracking carousel position, control means communicating with said first and second transducer means whereby the position and identity of each card within said carousel is known, and card selector means communicating with said control means for calling a selected card from said carousel to said ejector means.
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25. A card storage and distribution apparatus comprising,
a storage carousel rotatably mounted on a central hub and having upright dividers extending radially from the hub on a carousel base forming card slots, a card hopper adjacent to the carousel adapted to hold a plurality of cards, an injector means assocated with the hopper for loading said cards from the hopper into the slots in said carousel, said injector means having an injector motor, a gear means connected to said injector motor for turning about an axis, a first roller turnable on a shaft engaging said gear means in a direction to drive a card in a forward direction, said first roller firmly contacting said card, a second roller engaging said gear means turnable in a direction to drive other cards in a rearward direction, and a third roller engaging said gear means and turnable in a direction to drive said card in said forward direction, said first roller disengageable from said gear means to turn freely when one of said cards contacts both of said first and third rollers, a plurality of output ports disposed around the carousel, each port adapted to receive some of said cards from said carousel, an ejector means selectively communicating with the slots in said carousel for delivering a card in said carousel to a selected one of said output ports, carousel rotation means for rotating said carousel so that a selected slot of said carousel communicates with the ejector means, and means for controlling and selecting card movement to and from said carousel.
Specification