Card-feeding device for a card-handling device including a pivotable arm
First Claim
1. A card-feeding device for a card-handling device, comprising:
- a card infeed area comprising at least one feed roller at least partially defining a card support surface for supporting a stack of cards and at least two vertically-extending card support structures for containing the stack of cards, a first structure of the two vertically-extending card support structures being positioned on a first side of the stack of cards and a second structure of the two vertically-extending card support structures being positioned on a second side of the stack of cards, the first structure, the second structure and the card support surface defining a volume therebetween for receiving the stack of cards, the at least one feed roller for removing cards individually from the bottom of the stack of cards; and
a pivotable arm movable between a card-engaging position and a retracted position, the pivotable arm configured and positioned to press against an uppermost card in the stack of cards disposed in the card infeed area, the pivotable arm having a pivot point that is positioned between the card support surface and an upper portion of the card infeed area, wherein, in the card-engaging position, a portion of the pivotable arm is positioned within the card infeed area, and wherein, in retracted position, the pivotable arm is entirely removed from the card infeed area and the volume between the first structure, the second structure, and the card support surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A card-feeding device for feeding cards into a card-handling device is disclosed. Examples of card-handling devices include shufflers, card sorters, card delivery devices and card verification devices. The device includes a card infeed area that supports a stack of cards. The card infeed area has a card support surface. Included in the device is a card-removing system that removes cards individually from the bottom of the stack. A pivoting arm presses against a card at the top of the stack. At least one sensor is provided that detects at least one of a position of the arm and a presence of a card in the card infeed area. A method of shuffling cards is also disclosed. The method includes the steps of providing cards to be shuffled into a card infeed area as a stack with a top and bottom and removing cards one at a time from the bottom of the stack and moving the removed cards to a shuffling zone. Cards are then shuffled. The stack of cards is stabilized by a pivoting arm capable of pressing against the top of the stack in an engaged position. The pivot arm may be automatically rotated from a first card-engaging position to a second recessed position.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A card-feeding device for a card-handling device, comprising:
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a card infeed area comprising at least one feed roller at least partially defining a card support surface for supporting a stack of cards and at least two vertically-extending card support structures for containing the stack of cards, a first structure of the two vertically-extending card support structures being positioned on a first side of the stack of cards and a second structure of the two vertically-extending card support structures being positioned on a second side of the stack of cards, the first structure, the second structure and the card support surface defining a volume therebetween for receiving the stack of cards, the at least one feed roller for removing cards individually from the bottom of the stack of cards; and a pivotable arm movable between a card-engaging position and a retracted position, the pivotable arm configured and positioned to press against an uppermost card in the stack of cards disposed in the card infeed area, the pivotable arm having a pivot point that is positioned between the card support surface and an upper portion of the card infeed area, wherein, in the card-engaging position, a portion of the pivotable arm is positioned within the card infeed area, and wherein, in retracted position, the pivotable arm is entirely removed from the card infeed area and the volume between the first structure, the second structure, and the card support surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A card-feeding device for a card-handling device, comprising:
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a card infeed area comprising at least one feed roller at least partially defining a card support surface for supporting a stack of cards, the at least one feed roller for removing cards individually from the bottom of the stack of cards; a pivotable arm configured and positioned to press against an uppermost card in the stack of cards disposed in the card infeed area, the pivotable arm having a pivot point that is positioned between the card support surface and an upper portion of the card infeed area; and a motor coupled to the pivotable arm to directly rotate the pivotable arm, the motor for rotating an end of the pivotable arm opposite the pivot point to force the end of the pivotable arm opposite the pivot point in a downward direction into contact with the uppermost card in the stack as cards are removed from the card infeed area. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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18. A card-feeding device for a card-handling device, comprising:
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a card infeed area configured to receive a group of cards, the card infeed area comprising at least two vertically-extending card support structures for containing the stack of cards, the at least two vertically-extending card support structures defining a volume therebetween for containing the group of cards; a card removal device with a card support surface capable of removing cards individually from a bottom of the group of cards positioned in the card infeed area; and a pivotable arm configured, in a first engaged position, to apply a downward force to the group of cards in the card infeed area with an end portion of the pivotable arm and, in a second position, to have the end portion of the pivotable arm removed from the volume defined between the at least two vertically-extending card support structures. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21)
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Specification