Card reading system employing CMOS reader

• US 7,933,448 B2
• Filed: 07/07/2006
• Issued: 04/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: SHFL Entertainment Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Downs, Justin G. III
• Primary Examiner(s): Chawan; Sheela C
• Application Number:
  US11/484,011
• Publication Number:
  US 20070018389A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,754 Days
• Field of Search: 273/149.R, 273/292, 273/274, 273/149.P, 273/309, 273/303, 273/148.R, 273/148.A, 382/100, 382/181, 463/13, 463/11, 463/29, 463/12, 463/16, 209/587, 209/547, 209/939
• US Class Current: 382/181
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2425 Scanners, e.g. for scanning regular characters

Abstract

A method and an apparatus determines at least one of rank or suit of a playing card. The apparatus has at least one two-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor imaging system that provides a signal when playing cards are moved over the system. The signal is a series of gray scale values that are converted into binary values. The sensed data is transmitted to a hardware component that identifies at least one of rank and suit to an external data storage device.

Claims

1. A card reading apparatus for the determination of at least one of rank or suit of a playing card comprising:

at least one two-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor imaging system capable of producing a signal in response to reading a card;

the imaging system being located within the card reading apparatus where a face of a playing card is readable by the imaging system; and

,

a hardware component that receives the signal produced by the imaging system reading the face of the playing card, wherein the hardware component identifies at least one of rank and suit from the signal and transmits data indicating the at least one of rank or suit to an external data storage device.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the hardware component comprises a FPGA logic circuit or an ASIC.

3. An apparatus for reading symbols from playing cards comprising an imager that images an area on the face of the playing cards containing rank and or suit markings on the playing cards in at least the region where suit and rank symbols are provided on the playing cards, wherein gray scale data is generated and transformed into binary data, and the binary data is further processed into data representing at least one of a suit or rank of the playing card.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the gray scale data comprises an integer within the range of gray scale resolution of the imager.

5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the imager comprises a CMOS sensing system.

6. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the signal is provided to an FPGA or ASIC to identify the at least one of a suit or rank of the playing card imaged which then transmits the data indicating the at least one of rank or suit to an external data storage device.

7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the signal is correlated with known signals to identify the at least one of a suit or rank of the playing card imaged.

8. An apparatus for reading symbols from playing cards comprising a CMOS sensing system having at least one CMOS sensing array, and a card present sensor, the card present sensor triggering data collection from the at least one CMOS sensing array to provide signals from reading playing card symbols on the face of playing cards where visible symbols of suit and rank are present when the cards are passed over the at least one CMOS sensing array.

9. A method for identifying suit and rank on playing cards comprising:

passing symbols on a face of a playing card where visible symbols of suit and rank are present over a two-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor imager to from data of an image,

parsing the data of the image into rank area and suit areas,

providing signals of the parsed data from the imager to a hardware component, and

the hardware component identifying suit and rank of the playing card from the signals.

10. A method for identifying suit and rank on playing cards comprising:

passing symbols on a face of a playing card where visible symbols of suit and rank are present over a two-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor imager to form data of an image,

parsing the data of the image into rank area and suit areas,

providing signals of the parsed data of the image from the imager to a hardware component, and

the hardware component identifying suit and rank of the playing card from the signals,

wherein identifying suit and rank based upon the signals comprises providing signals indicative of gray scale values within a range of gray scale values.

11. A method for identifying suit and rank on playing cards comprising:

passing symbols on a playing card over a two-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor imager,

parsing the image into rank area and suit areas,

providing signals from the imager to a hardware component, and

the hardware component identifying suit and rank of the playing card from the signals,

wherein identifying suit and rank based upon the signals comprises providing signals indicative of gray scale values within a range of gray scale values wherein the signal indicative of one gray scale value is converted to a binary value.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said binary values comprises a template and the cross correlation values of two independent matrices are compared where the cross correlation of two matrices A and B is defined as:

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the correlation is executed in a field programmable gated array.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein information of at least one of suit and rank from the field programmable gated array is stored in a database.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein information stored in said database is mined by a processor.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein information of at least one of suit and rank from the field programmable gated array is stored in a processor memory.

17. A method for identifying suit and rank on playing cards comprising:

passing symbols on a playing card over a two-dimensional complementary metal oxide semiconductor imager,

parsing the image into rank area and suit areas,

providing signals from the imager to a hardware component, and

the hardware component identifying suit and rank of the playing card from the signals,

wherein identifying suit and rank based upon the signals comprises providing signals indicative of gray scale values within a range of gray scale values wherein an error correction function is applied to templates of at least one of rank and suit images and the error correction function is defined as the following equation;

Σ

Σ

A*B−

Σ

Σ

A′

*B

to detect unmatched areas between signals from the imager and predetermined signals.

18. The method of claim 17 wherein after determination of suit and/or rank, the determination is sent to a game control processor for evaluation of game results.

19. A playing card delivery shoe for use in the play of the casino table card game of at least one of baccarat or blackjack from which delivery shoe cards may be dealt comprising:

a) an area for receiving a first set of playing cards useful in the play of the casino table card game of at least one of blackjack or baccarat;

b) first card mover that moves playing cards from the first set to a playing card staging area wherein at least one playing card is staged in an order by which playing cards are removed from the first set of and moved to the playing card staging area;

c) second playing card mover that moves playing cards from the playing card staging area to a delivery area wherein playing cards removed from the staging area to the delivery shoe are moved in the same order by which playing cards were removed from the first set of playing cards and moved to the playing card staging area; and

d) a playing card reading sensor that reads at least one playing card value of each playing card separately, the playing card reading sensor comprising a CMOS sensor and FPGA logic circuit;

wherein there is a communication link between the playing card reading sensors and the FPGA logic circuit, wherein the FPGA logic circuit determines rank and suit of cards.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, and further comprising a processor which analyzes said data according to rules of play of the game of at least one of blackjack or baccarat and determines results of play for a round of play based upon said data.

21. A dealing shoe capable of reading cards, comprising:

a cavity for receiving a group of shuffled cards, a lower surface of the cavity, a front end and a back end, wherein the lower surface declines towards the front end where cards are removed;

a weighted wedge that contacts a surface of a card nearest the back end and rests on the declining lower surface, urging cards towards the front end;

a card removal opening in the front end;

a card reading sensor proximate the front end, the sensor comprising a CMOS sensing array and a FPGA control logic for receiving signals from the CMOS sensing array and determining rank and suit of each sensed card.

22. An automatic card shuffler comprising a sensor for reading at least one of a rank and suit of cards from a face of a playing card having visible symbols of suit and rank thereon, comprising:

a housing;

a card input tray;

a shuffling mechanism;

a card output tray, and

a card sensor within the housing comprising a CMOS sensor and FPGA control logic, the FPGA control logic adapted to receive signals from the CMOS sensor when a face of a playing card having visible symbols of suit and rank is read and the FPGA control logic determines rank and suit from the sensed signals from the face of the playing card.