Card shuffling device and method
First Claim
1. A device for shuffling a deck of cards, the comprising:
- a compartment, sized and dimensioned to receive a deck of cards, and having first and second dimensions larger than a first dimension of a face of a card of the deck of cards, and a thickness of the deck of cards, respectively;
the deck of cards being received in the compartment;
a forcer;
wherein the forcer is actuated to apply an impulsive force to cards of the deck of cards when the face of the card of a deck of cards is oriented in a vertical direction, so as to eject cards of the deck of cards upwards into a third dimension of the compartment, the third dimension being greater than the twice a second dimension of the face of the card; and
a projection from a wall of the compartment disposed so as to deflect cards ejected by the forcer.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device for shuffling a deck of playing cards is described. The cards are placed in a compartment having a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, and dimensioned so that the cards are constrained in rotation in two of the three axes. The device is oriented so that a thickness dimension of the deck is horizontal, and groups of cards of the deck of cards are ejected in a vertical direction so as to provide a spacing of between a top edge of cards at rest and a bottom edge of the cards being ejected. The time duration of the ejection process is sufficient to effectively randomize the deck of cards. The ejection of cards may be by a plurality of pistons, and the pistons may be actuated by a motor, a solenoid or by air pressure.
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Citations
18 Claims
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1. A device for shuffling a deck of cards, the comprising:
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a compartment, sized and dimensioned to receive a deck of cards, and having first and second dimensions larger than a first dimension of a face of a card of the deck of cards, and a thickness of the deck of cards, respectively;
the deck of cards being received in the compartment;a forcer; wherein the forcer is actuated to apply an impulsive force to cards of the deck of cards when the face of the card of a deck of cards is oriented in a vertical direction, so as to eject cards of the deck of cards upwards into a third dimension of the compartment, the third dimension being greater than the twice a second dimension of the face of the card; and a projection from a wall of the compartment disposed so as to deflect cards ejected by the forcer. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A method of operating a device for shuffling cards, the method comprising:
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providing a shuffling device having a container with interior dimensions sized and dimensioned to accept a deck of cards; receiving the deck of cards in the container; orienting the container so that a plane coincident with a face of a card, and an edge of the card, are parallel to a gravity vector and the received deck of cards rests at a bottom portion of the container; providing a forcer adjacent to the deck of cards; using the forcer to apply an impulsive force to cards of the deck of cards for a period of time so as to eject cards of the deck of cards in an upwards direction parallel to the face of the card, wherein the deck of cards rests at the bottom portion of the container subsequent to the period of time when the impulsive force has been applied.
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Specification