Card handling devices and associated methods

• US 10,857,448 B2
• Filed: 11/07/2019
• Issued: 12/08/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Kelly, James V., Helgesen, James P., Zvercov, Vladislav, Bourbour, Feraidoon, Rynda, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Layno, Benjamin
• Application Number:
  US16/677,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20200122020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 397 Days
• Field of Search: 273149 R, 273149 P, 463 22
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/067 Tables or similar supporting structures
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 11/0002 Dispensing or collecting devices for tokens or chips dispensers for game pieces in chain reaction games A63F9/28; coin freed apparatus for games G07F17/32

Abstract

A playing card handling device comprises an elevator platform configured to receive one or more cards from an input platform to form a shuffled set of cards, a card gripper positioned above the elevator platform, and configured to grip cards from the shuffled set of cards, and a processor configured to control the elevator platform to have a grip position for the card gripper to grip the shuffled set of cards, wherein the grip position is adjusted based, at least in part, on a correction value associated with a particular card insertion. A related method includes determining a grip position of an elevator platform of a card handling device based, at least in part, on a desired insertion location within a stack of shuffled cards as adjusted based on a corrective value that is different for a plurality of different insertion locations.

Claims

1. A method for forming a randomized set of cards, comprising:

generating, with a random number generator (RNG), a random delivery order of a stack of shuffled cards;

determining, with a processor, an initial grip position of an elevator platform of a card handling device, the elevator platform configured to move relative to a position of a card gripper adjacent a card insert system;

determining, with the processor, an expected height of a set of cards remaining on the elevator platform;

measuring, with a top platform card sensor, an actual height of the set of cards remaining on the elevator platform;

determining, with the processor, an adjusted grip position of the elevator platform according to correction values indicating a magnitude of adjustment required to move the elevator platform from the initial grip position to the adjusted grip position based at least in part on a difference between the actual height of the set of cards remaining on the elevator platform and the expected height of the set of cards remaining on the elevator platform;

moving at least one of the elevator platform and the card gripper to create a gap in the set of cards for insertion of a card at the adjusted grip position; and

moving the card into the gap in the set of cards with the card insert system.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising creating and maintaining at least one correction table configured to store data received from monitoring a number of times a grip position is adjusted for each insertion location, wherein determining the adjusted grip position comprises using the data stored in the at least one correction table.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the initial grip position of the elevator platform comprises calculating the initial grip position of the elevator platform based on the random delivery order of the stack of shuffled cards.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the adjusted grip position of the elevator platform comprises:

measuring an initial height of the set of cards on the elevator platform with the top platform card sensor;

gripping a predetermined amount of cards with the card gripper to create the gap in the set of cards; and

measuring another height of a portion of the set of cards remaining on the elevator platform after the gap in the set of cards is created.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising re-gripping another amount of cards, different from the predetermined amount of cards with the card gripper if the adjusted grip position of the elevator platform is determined to be different than the initial grip position of the elevator platform.

6. The method of claim 4, wherein measuring the initial height of the set of cards on the elevator platform comprises measuring the initial height of the set of cards with the top platform card sensor before moving the card into the gap in the set of cards.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein moving at least one of the elevator platform and the card gripper comprises gripping an upper portion of cards with the card gripper and lowering the elevator platform to create the gap between a bottom card of the upper portion of cards and a top card of a lower portion of cards remaining on the elevator platform.

8. A method of operating a card handling device, comprising:

receiving a group of unshuffled cards in a card input area;

moving an elevator platform of a card handling area to a grip position determined at least in part on correction values indicating a degree of adjustment of the elevator platform from an initial grip position to an adjusted grip position depending on a difference between a measured height and an expected height of a group of shuffled cards remaining on the elevator platform, the measured height provided at least in part by a top platform card sensor, and the expected height determined by a processor and based at least in part on a random delivery order generated by a random number generator (RNG);

suspending at least one card of the group of shuffled cards above the elevator platform to create a gap in the group of shuffled cards; and

moving a card from the group of unshuffled cards in the card input area to the card handling area and into the gap in the group of shuffled cards with a card insert system.

9. The method of claim 8, further comprising adjusting the correction values if the difference between the measured height of cards and the expected height of cards remaining on the elevator platform is greater than a predetermined value.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein adjusting the correction values comprises monitoring data relating to differences between the measured height of cards and the expected height of cards remaining on the elevator platform and dynamically adjusting the correction values during a shuffling operation.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein moving the elevator platform comprises adjusting the grip position of the elevator platform from the initial grip position to the adjusted grip position based on individual correction values that are varied for differing insert locations.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein suspending the at least one card of the group of shuffled cards above the elevator platform comprises:

gripping the at least one card with a card gripper positioned above the elevator platform; and

lowering the elevator platform to create the gap in the group of shuffled cards.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein moving the card from the group of unshuffled cards in the card input area to the card handling area comprises conveying a bottom card from the group of unshuffled cards to the elevator platform with at least one roller of the card insert system.

14. A card handling device, comprising:

a card input area;

a card gripper within a card handling area of the card handling device;

an elevator platform adjacent and movable relative to the card gripper;

a top platform card sensor configured to detect alignment of a top card on the elevator platform with the top platform card sensor;

a card insert system comprising at least one roller adjacent to the card gripper, the at least one roller configured to convey cards from the card input area to the elevator platform;

a processor operably coupled to the elevator platform, wherein the processor is configured to cause the elevator platform to move to a grip position to create a gap in a set of cards for insertion of at least one card with the card insert system, the grip position of the elevator platform determined at least in part on correction values indicating a required movement to adjust the elevator platform from an initial grip position to an adjusted grip position depending at least in part on a height of cards on the elevator platform; and

a random number generator (RNG) associated with the processor, wherein the processor is configured to determine the adjusted grip position of the elevator platform based at least in part on a difference between a measured height of cards on the elevator platform, as detected by the top platform card sensor, and a reference position of an expected height of cards on the elevator platform, as determined by the processor using a random delivery order generated by the random number generator (RNG).

15. The card handling device of claim 14, further comprising at least one additional card sensor, wherein the processor is configured to control the elevator platform based at least in part on information received from the at least one additional card sensor.

16. The card handling device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to determine the height of cards on the elevator platform using data generated by the top platform card sensor.

17. The card handling device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to receive and compile data of the height of cards on the elevator platform relative to a number of the cards on the elevator platform for a particular set of cards.

18. The card handling device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to automatically record and update information in a correction table, the information related to the height of cards on the elevator platform at particular grip positions of the elevator platform.

19. The card handling device of claim 14, wherein the processor is configured to determine the reference position based on at least one of average values of the height of cards on the elevator platform and a combination of a number of cards to be gripped and a number of cards remaining on the elevator platform.