System including card game dispensing shoe with barrier and scanner, and enhanced card gaming table, enabling waging by remote bettors

• US 6,582,301 B2
• Filed: 07/13/2001
• Issued: 06/24/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Smart Shoes, Inc.
• Inventors: Hill, Otho Dale
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): HOTALING, JOHN M
• Application Number:
  US09/905,478
• Publication Number:
  US 20020068635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 711 Days
• Field of Search: 463/10-12, 463/16, 463/31, 463/40, 463/43, 463/47, 273/292, 273/149.R
• US Class Current: 463/11
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/18 Score computers; Miscellaneous indicators time-testing devices G07C
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2425 Scanners, e.g. for scanning regular characters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2250/58 Antifraud or preventing misuse
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00157 Casino or betting games horse races A63F3/00082
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

A card dispensing shoe includes a scanner system that discerns the value and suit of each card dispensed, and includes a mechanical barrier to prevent dispensing a card contrary to card game rules. A CPU system within the show executes software pre-programmed with game rules, and controls the barrier to ensure against wrongful dispensing of a card. The card game can be video broadcast along with an image of each scanned card, and the resultant data broadcast over the internet to remotely located bettors who can place bets on the game in progress.

Claims

1. A game monitoring and display device for a card game comprising:

a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards and configured to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot;

a scanner disposed in said housing to scan each said card dispensed through said outlet slot and to generate a scanner signal representative of identity of each said card;

a memory configured to store predetermined rules for said game;

a processor, coupled to said scanner and to said memory, configured to process said scanner signal and to identify therefrom each said card dispensed through said outlet slot;

a barrier disposed within said housing adjacent said outlet slot and operatively coupled to said processor, said barrier movable between a blocked position in which a card stored in said housing cannot be dispensed through said outlet slot, and an unblocked position in which said card can be dispensed through said outlet slot, wherein movement of said barrier is controlled by said processor according to said game rules.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein at least one of (a) said processor and (b) said memory is disposed within said housing.

3. The device of claim 1, wherein said barrier is moved between said blocked and said unblocked position electro-magnetically.

4. The device of claim 1, further including:

means for commanding said barrier to change position responsive to status of said card game.

5. The device of claim 1, further including:

a switch, operable by a dealer at said card game, coupled to said device to change position of said barrier responsive to status of said card game.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein:

said card game is played upon a surface including at least one sensor disposed to determine status of said card game; and

an output of said sensor is coupled to said device to cause said barrier to change position responsive to said sensor sensed status of said card game.

7. The device of claim 1, further including a feed forward neural network, coupled to said scanner and to said processor, to recognize suit and value of said card.

8. The device of claim 1, wherein:

cards are dispensed from said outlet slot to players playing said card game;

said card game is Baccarat;

said memory stores at least one program executable by said processor to determine from identity of a first said card dispensed from said shoe and from wagers made before said first card is exposed, whether a player appears to have had advance knowledge as at least one of (a) value and (b) suit of said first card;

said processor is configured to generate a signal when said player appears to have had said advance knowledge of said first card.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein:

cards are dispensed from said outlet slot to players playing said card game;

said memory stores at least one program executable by said processor to calculate and record during game play at least one of (a) Earning Potential per each of said players, and (b) Complimentary Equivalency for each of said players.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein:

cards are dispensed from said outlet slot to players playing said card game;

said memory stores at least one program executable by said processor to determine from identity of said cards dispensed to each of said players whether a player is exceeding a predicted number of wins in said card game; and

said processor is configured to generate a signal when said player exceeds said predicted number of wins.

11. The device of claim 9, wherein:

said device further includes a display; and

said signal is visually presented on said display.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein:

said device further includes an identification card reader;

at least one player of said game has an identification card storing information including identity of said player and at least one performance characteristic of said player for said card game; and

before participating in said card game, said identification card of said player is read by said identification card reader;

wherein at least some information stored on said identification card is stored on said memory in said device.

13. The device of claim 12, further including

means for coupling said device to a remotely locating computing facility such that software stored at said facility can be executed by said processor, and such that information stored in said memory can be shared with said facility.

14. The device of claim 1, further including:

means for detecting when a number of said cards in said shoe is less than a predetermined multiple of fifty-two; and

an indicator, coupled to said means for detecting, to signal when said multiple is less than three.

15. A system to conduct an actual game of Baccarat and to elicit bets thereon from remote viewers of the game, the system comprising:

a game surface whereon said game is played by human players;

a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards and configured to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot;

a scanner disposed in said housing to scan each said card dispensed through said outlet slot and to generate a scanner signal representative of identity of each said card;

a memory configured to store predetermined rules for said game;

a processor, coupled to said scanner and to said memory, configured to process said scanner signal and to identify therefrom each said card dispensed through said outlet slot;

a camera directed at said game surface to capture video images of said game played by said human players;

circuitry to create a combined image comprising an image of each card dealt from said shoe and scanned by said scanner with said video images;

means for live broadcasting said combined image over a medium to a plurality of remotely located bettors;

means for receiving and settling bets made by at least some of said bettors, said bets made on an outcome of said card game played on said game surface; and

a barrier disposed within said housing adjacent said outlet slot and operatively coupled to said processor, said barrier movable between a blocked position in which a card stored in said housing cannot be dispensed through said outlet slot, and an unblocked position in which said card can be dispensed through said outlet slot, wherein movement of said barrier is controlled by said processor according to said game rules.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein said barrier is moved between said blocked and said unblocked position electro-magnetically.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein said medium includes the Internet.

18. A method of securely dispensing cards for using in a card game according to rules of said game, the method comprising the following steps:

(a) disposing said cards within a housing having an outlet slot though which said cards can be dispensed one at a time;

(b) scanning an image of each said card dispensed through said outlet slot;

(c) recognizing from said image value and suit of each said card dispensed through said outlet slot;

(d) providing a movable barrier adjacent said outlet slot;

said barrier movable between a blocked position in which a card stored in said housing cannot be dispensed through said outlet slot, and an unblocked position in which said card can be dispensed through said outlet slot; and

(e) moving said barrier according to rules of said card game such that a card can be dispensed through said outlet slot only when said rules permit.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein:

step (e) includes comparing present status of said card game with said rules and moving said barrier accordingly.