Card handling apparatuses and methods for handling cards

• US 9,861,881 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2016
• Issued: 01/09/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 04/15/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Grauzer, Attila, Scheper, Paul K., Swanson, Ronald R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno, Benjamin
• Application Number:
  US15/076,240
• Publication Number:
  US 20160199724A1
• Time in Patent Office: 659 Days
• Field of Search: 273149 R, 273149 P, 463 22
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/06 Card games appurtenances
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/07 Line spectrum pair [LSP] vocoders
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2019/0001 Codebooks

Abstract

Card-handling devices include a card-holding area and a card output shoe. The card output shoe includes a card-way for passage of cards from the card-holding area into a dealing-ready area. A movable gate is positioned between the card-way and the dealing-ready area to prevent cards in the dealing-ready area from re-entering the card-way. Card shufflers include a gate mounted to allow movement of randomized groups of cards from card-receiving compartments to proximate a terminal end plate of a card output shoe and to block movement of cards in an opposite direction. In related methods of moving cards, card movement through the card-way to the dealing-ready position is allowed by a movable gate and card movement from the dealing-ready position into the card-way is prevented by the movable gate.

Claims

1. A card shuffling apparatus for use in an automatic card shuffler, the card shuffling apparatus comprising:

more than two card-receiving compartments into which cards are delivered one by one by a card-transporting mechanism from a group of cards contained within a card-receiving well, wherein each compartment has a first card support surface and a second, opposite surface and can receive more than one card;

wherein each card-receiving compartment comprises a card guide that includes a beveled surface so that the leading edge of a card being driven into the compartment can hit the beveled surface, with the position of the compartment, relative to the cards being delivered by the card-transporting mechanism, being selected by a microprocessor, and wherein the beveled surface is located on the same side of the card guide in each compartment.

2. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the angle of the beveled surface is between ten and forty-five degrees.

3. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cards are delivered to the compartments until the cards in the card-receiving well are exhausted.

4. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cards are emptied from the compartments into a card receiver by a card-unloading pusher.

5. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 4, wherein the compartments to be emptied by the card-unloading pusher are randomly selected.

6. A card shuffling apparatus of an automatic card shuffler, the card shuffling apparatus comprising:

more than two card-receiving compartments into which cards are delivered one by one by a card-transporting mechanism from a group of cards contained within a card-receiving well, wherein each compartment has a first card support surface and a second, opposite surface and can receive more than one card;

wherein each card-receiving compartment comprises a card guide that includes a beveled surface located on the same side of the card guide in each compartment, with the position of each compartment, relative to the cards being delivered by the card-transporting mechanism, being selected by a microprocessor, and wherein the cards are emptied from the compartments into a card receiver by a card-unloading pusher.

7. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 6, wherein the angle of the beveled surface is between ten and forty-five degrees.

8. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 6, wherein the cards are delivered to the compartments until the cards in the card-receiving well are exhausted.

9. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 6, wherein the compartments to be emptied by the card-unloading pusher are randomly selected.