Automatic card sorter

• US 6,250,632 B1
• Filed: 11/23/1999
• Issued: 06/26/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 11/23/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Albrecht, James
• Original Assignee: Albrecht, James
• Inventors: Albrecht, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Chapman, Jeanette
• Assistant Examiner(s): Eshete, Zelalem
• Application Number:
  US09/444,613
• Time in Patent Office: 581 Days
• Field of Search: 273/149.P, 273/149.R, 273/151
• US Class Current: 273/149.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers

Abstract

An apparatus and method for sorting cards into a predetermined sequence. One embodiment provides a deck holding area in which cards are held for presenting a card to a read head for reading the characters on the face of the card. The apparatus also has a tray having a sequence of slots and a card moving mechanism for moving the presented card from the deck holding area into one of the slots. The tray is connected to a tray positioning mechanism for selectively positioning the tray to receive a card in one of the slots from the card moving mechanism. A controller is connected to the read bead, the card moving mechanism, and the tray positioning mechanism. The controller controls the reading of each of the cards by the read head and identifies the value of each card read, and also controls the card moving mechanism to move each of the cards to a slot of the tray positioned by the tray positioning mechanism according to the predetermined sequence of values. The method for sorting includes the step of providing a tray having a sequence of slots, determining a predetermined sequence of values for the cards, and reading the face of a card to determine the value the card. The method further includes moving the read card into one of the of slots of the tray. The position of the slot into which the read card is moved corresponds to the position of the value in the predetermined sequence.

Claims

1. A game card sorter for sorting a deck of a plurality of game cards into a predetermined sequence of values, each of said game cards having a face, said face having characters indicating a value, said game card sorter comprising:

a means for presenting said game cards to said reading means;

a tray having a sequence of slots, said tray having at least as many slots as number of game cards in said plurality of game cards;

means for moving said plurality of game cards into said slots of said tray according to said predetermined sequence;

means for selectively positioning the tray to receive a game card in one of the slots from the moving means

a controller connected to said reading means and said moving means, said controller controlling the reading of each of said plurality of game cards by said reading means, identifying the value of each of the game cards, and controlling the moving means to move said game cards into said slots of said tray according to said predetermined sequence of values; and

a means for dispensing the deck in the predetermined sequence.

2. A game card sorter for sorting a plurality of game cards into a predetermined sequence of values, each of said game cards having a face, said face having characters indicating a value, said game card sorter comprising:

means for reading said characters on said face of a game card of said plurality of game cards;

means for presenting said game card to said reading means;

a tray having a sequence of slots, said tray having at least as many slots as number of cards in said plurality of game cards;

means for moving a game card from said presenting means into one of said slots of said tray;

means for selectively positioning said tray to receive a game card in one of said slots from said moving means;

a controller connected to said reading means, said moving means, and said positioning means, said controller controlling the reading of each of said plurality of game cards by said reading means, identifying the value of each card, and controlling the moving means to move each of said cards to a slot of said tray positioned by said positioning means according to said predetermined sequence of values.

3. The game card sorter of claim 2 further comprising:

a means for removing game cards from said tray.

4. A method for sorting a deck of a plurality of game cards into a predetermined sequence, each of said plurality of game cards having a face with characters indicating a value, said method comprising the steps of:

(a) providing a tray having a sequence of slots, said tray having at least as many slots as number of game cards in said plurality of game cards;

means for selectively positioning the tray to receive a game card in one of the slots from the moving means

(b) determining a predetermined sequence of values for said plurality of game cards;

(c) reading the face of each of the game cards of said plurality of game cards to determine the value of game cards;

(d) moving said game cards into one of said plurality of slots of said tray, the position of said one slot of said tray corresponding to the position of said value in said predetermined sequence;

(e) repeating steps (c)-(d) until all of said plurality of game cards have been read and moved into said tray;

(f) moving the game cards from the plurality of slots into the deck in the predetermined sequence; and

(g) expelling the deck from the game card sorter.