Card shuffler apparatus
First Claim
1. A card shuffler apparatus adapted to be placed on a horizontal support surface and operative to combine a plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards into a single stack of shuffled cards, each stack of unshuffled cards having at least two cards, comprising:
- (a) a card feeder compartment sized to accommodate the plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards in a juxtaposed relationship;
(b) a card receiver compartment sized to accommodate the single stack of shuffled cards and disposed below said card feeder compartment, said card receiver compartment including a pair of vertical receiver sidewalls spaced apart from one another in a parallel relationship and a card retainer structure extending transversely relative to said pair of receiver sidewalls;
(c) a deflector structure defining a chute disposed between and in communication with said card feeder compartment and said card receiver compartment, said deflector structure including a pair of deflector sidewalls converging from said card feeder compartment toward said card receiver compartment; and
(d) a card ejector mechanism associated with said card feeder compartment and operative to eject at least a single card in each stack of unshuffled cards disposed in said card feeder compartment into said chute so that ejected ones of the cards deflect into and descend in said card receiver compartment to accumulate therein until all cards are ejected from said card feeder compartment and are retained in said card receiver compartment, thereby forming the single stack of shuffled cards.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A card shuffler apparatus is adapted to be placed on a horizontal support surface and is operative to combine a plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards into a single stack of shuffled cards. Each stack of unshuffled cards has at least two cards. The card shuffler apparatus includes a card feeder compartment, a card receiver compartment, a deflector structure and a card ejector mechanism. The card feeder compartment is sized to accommodate the plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards in a juxtaposed relationship. The card receiver compartment is sized to accommodate the single stack of shuffled cards and is disposed below the card feeder compartment. The deflector structure defines a chute which is disposed between and in communication with the card feeder compartment and the card receiver compartment. The card ejector mechanism is associated with the card feeder compartment and is operative to eject at least a single card in each stack of unshuffled cards disposed in the card feeder compartment into the chute. Ejected ones of the cards deflect into and descend in the card receiver compartment to accumulate therein until all cards are ejected from the card feeder compartment thereby forming the single stack of shuffled cards. Also, a method for combining a plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards into a single stack of shuffled cards is described.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A card shuffler apparatus adapted to be placed on a horizontal support surface and operative to combine a plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards into a single stack of shuffled cards, each stack of unshuffled cards having at least two cards, comprising:
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(a) a card feeder compartment sized to accommodate the plurality of stacks of unshuffled cards in a juxtaposed relationship; (b) a card receiver compartment sized to accommodate the single stack of shuffled cards and disposed below said card feeder compartment, said card receiver compartment including a pair of vertical receiver sidewalls spaced apart from one another in a parallel relationship and a card retainer structure extending transversely relative to said pair of receiver sidewalls; (c) a deflector structure defining a chute disposed between and in communication with said card feeder compartment and said card receiver compartment, said deflector structure including a pair of deflector sidewalls converging from said card feeder compartment toward said card receiver compartment; and (d) a card ejector mechanism associated with said card feeder compartment and operative to eject at least a single card in each stack of unshuffled cards disposed in said card feeder compartment into said chute so that ejected ones of the cards deflect into and descend in said card receiver compartment to accumulate therein until all cards are ejected from said card feeder compartment and are retained in said card receiver compartment, thereby forming the single stack of shuffled cards. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A playing card shuffler apparatus adapted to be placed on a horizontal support surface and operative to combine two stacks of unshuffled playing cards into a single stack of shuffled playing cards, comprising:
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(a) a card feeder compartment sized to accommodate the two stacks of unshuffled playing cards in a juxtaposed relationship, said card feeder compartment defined by a pair of vertical feeder sidewalls spaced apart from each other in a parallel relationship; (b) a card receiver compartment sized to accommodate the single stack of shuffled playing cards and disposed below said card feeder compartment, said card receiver compartment including a pair of vertical receiver sidewalls spaced apart from one another in a parallel relationship and a card retainer structure extending transversely relative to said pair of receiver sidewalls; (c) a deflector structure defining a chute disposed between and in communication with said card feeder compartment and said card receiver compartment, said deflector structure including a pair of deflector sidewalls, each deflector sidewall converging from a respective one of said feeder sidewalls toward a respective one of said receiver sidewalls; and (d) a card ejector mechanism associated with said card feeder compartment and operative to simultaneously eject at least a bottom card in each stack of unshuffled playing cards disposed in said card feeder compartment into said chute so that ejected ones of the playing cards deflect into and descend in said card receiver compartment to accumulate therein until all playing cards are ejected from said feeder compartment and are retained in said card receiver compartment, thereby forming the single stack of shuffled playing cards. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification