Card shoe with card block

• US 8,170,323 B2
• Filed: 04/25/2011
• Issued: 05/01/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SHFL Entertainment Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Downs, Justin G. III, Roberts, James R., Walsh, Sion D.
• Primary Examiner(s): CHAWAN, SHEELA C
• Application Number:
  US13/093,750
• Publication Number:
  US 20110198805A1
• Time in Patent Office: 372 Days
• Field of Search: 382/140, 382/100, 382/141, 273/148.A, 273/149.R, 273/292, 273/274, 273/149, 273/309, 273/303, 273/148.R, 209/587, 209/547, 209/939
• US Class Current: 382/141
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2425 Scanners, e.g. for scanning regular characters

Abstract

A playing card delivery shoe is used in the play of the casino table card game of baccarat or blackjack or any game where cards are pulled one at a time from the shoe. The apparatus comprises a reader or an imager that scans lines bisecting the image at spaced intervals. The scanning occurs on playing cards in at least the region where suit and rank symbols are provided. The scanner output is a series of voltages that are converted to binary information. This binary information is compared to stored binary information to determine rank and suit. The upper surface of the output end of the shoe contains a partial barrier for cards being scanned. The partial barrier has an elevated surface and limits a size of a pathway so that only one card can be removed at a time.

Claims

1. A card playing shoe, comprising:

a card support surface; and

a card delivery chute proximate one end of the card support surface, wherein at least a part of the card support surface and a part of the card delivery chute is angled downward toward a bottom surface of the card playing shoe, the card delivery chute having a front plate at a card delivery end thereof,

wherein at least one exterior edge of the front plate contains a generally inverted V-shaped or U-shaped opening; and

wherein an interior surface of the front plate contains a card block to allow cards to only travel in a single direction within the card delivery chute.

2. The card playing shoe of claim 1, wherein at least a part of the front plate is angled downward toward a bottom surface of the card playing shoe.

3. The card playing shoe of claim 1, wherein the card delivery end further comprises a card feed limiter to adjust a gap through which a single card passes.

4. A card playing shoe comprising:

a card support surface; and

a card delivery chute proximate one end of the card support surface, wherein at least a part of the card support surface and a part of the card delivery chute is angled downward toward a bottom surface of the card playing shoe, the card delivery chute having a front plate at a card delivery end thereof;

wherein at least one exterior edge of the front plate contains a generally inverted V-shaped or U-shaped opening; and

wherein an interior surface of the front plate contains a card block to prevent cards from reversing travel direction within the card delivery chute.

5. The card playing shoe of claim 4, wherein at least a part of the front plate is angled downward toward a bottom surface of the card playing shoe.

6. The card playing shoe of claim 4, wherein the card delivery end further comprises a card feed limiter to adjust a gap through which a single card passes.