Low Profile Poker Room Shuffler

The present invention is related to the field of casino grade automatic card shuffling machines, which are used by casinos to speed up the rate of play of dealer-hosted card games. More particularly, the invention relates to shuffling machines which randomize the rank and suit of cards within a single deck of playing cards in order to form “hands” for use in various types of poker games. These shuffler types are called “hand forming” shufflers in the art because they sequentially dispense multiple groups of play-ready cards to a delivery tray, whereupon a casino dealer issues one shuffled hand to each player at the initiation of a poker game. The groups of play-ready cards are herein referred to as “substacks”.

Other various methods and device embodiments for implementing hand-forming shuffling machines are disclosed in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/737,984 which was filed on Jun. 8, 2024 and is incorporated herein by reference in entirety.

Stud poker games such as Let it Ride®, Three-Card Poker®, or Caribbean Stud® are major attractions in casino poker rooms because they are relatively easy to play and allow wagering to various degrees of risk. A single deck ofplaying cards is used in these games, which must be periodically shuffled to effect randomness of the rank and suit of the individual cards within the deck. Each poker game is initiated by delivering a shuffled (randomized) hand of playing cards to each game participant. It is to the advantage of the casino to reduce the time that a dealer handles and shuffles playing cards between games, thereby increasing revenues. Casinos thus use automatic shuffling machines to speed up the rate of play at gaming tables, retaining the interest of the players and sustaining the rate of play.

“Hand-forming” shufflers quickly randomize card decks and sort them into shuffled substacks within compartments which reside within the device. Upon dealer request, each substack is delivered to an exit portal where a dealer may issue that hand to a player. The hand-forming shufflers are programmable such that the number of cards in each substack may be adjusted for individual card games, and for the number of players. For example, various forms of five-card stud poker will be initiated with hands of 5 cards, while games such as Three-Card Poker® are played with hands of only three cards.

illustrates an early “hand-forming” playing card shuffler that was described in a 1932 patent granted to R. C. Mckay and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 1,885,276 (Mckay '276). Groups of individual playing cards are accumulated into substacks in four compartments which are configured radially in a rotating carrier.is reproduced from the Mckay '276 patent which explains that individual cards are separated from an unshuffled deck and randomly accumulated into four compartments. The substacks of cards are retained in each compartmental nest by gravity, and the substacks must be removed from their nests by displacing the card carrier so that the cards may be removed in the same direction from which they were inserted.

Referring to, the rotational housing which carries the four compartments is called the “receiver”, which possesses four compartmentsthrufor accumulating substacks of randomly selected cards. The receiverrotates about pivotto one of four randomly chosen radial positions. A deck of cards is placed into the magazinewhich utilizes rubber tired wheelsto strip individual cards from the bottom of the stack and move them through a slotted openingunder the power of a hand crank. An innovative random selection mechanism using small balls of four sizes is used to randomly position the receiverto one of four radial positions for collecting the individual cards into compartmentsthru. Mckay '276 appears to have pioneered the concept of “shuffling” cards by distributing individual cards randomly into a myriad of compartments. Indeed, the 1932 patent is entitled AUTOMATIC CARD SHUFFLER AND DEALER, and teaches an innovative randomizing configuration which was implemented without the aid of motors or microcontrollers.

A later shuffler patent is known in the industry as the “Lorber Design” and was taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,712 (Lorber '712), which was granted in. This classic configuration (shown in) is based upon unloading cards from an unshuffled deck into the individual slots of a carousel, randomly rotating the carousel, and then pushing individual cards from the carousel slots and into a shoe. Each slot in the Lorber '712 carousel holds one card.

As shown in the upper section of, an unshuffled card stackis deposited on edge into containerof the automatic shuffling apparatus. Individual cards are vertically stripped from the stack and moved downward from the left end of containerand into a carouselby driven rollersand. The carouselis described as a storage devicewhich possesses a series of radially arranged addressable spaceswhich can be aligned with the edges of card stackof containerfor the purpose of inserting a card. A computer rotates a stepper motor (not shown) to insert cards in any random space within the carousel. Individual cards are extracted from the randomly rotated carouselat the station shown in the bottom left section of the figure by the action of an “ejecting device”. Driven rollersandmove the individual cards into a newly created stack within the space. The stack of cards within discharge portalhas thus been arranged randomly (shuffled).

Rather than arranging the card storage compartments within a circular carousel, other early shufflers utilized compartments configured in a vertical stack. 1988 U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,421 to Lionel Hoffman (Hoffman '421) teaches a stack of “mixing pockets”. Referring to, which is reproduced and annotated from that patent, the six mixing pocketsA throughF are arranged in a linear stack. The Hoffman '421 specification explains that cards are individually inserted into a randomly chosen compartment within the stack of mixing pockets, accumulated, and then extracted in groups from the mixing pockets in a random order. The specification explains;

According to a more particular form of the invention, a card shuffler is provided comprising a plurality of mixing pockets for holding cards, and card holding and distribution means for holding a stack of cards and for distributing and transferring one card at a time in sequence to said mixing pockets in accordance with a first distribution schedule. (Hoffman '421 1:61-67)

The compartment shuffler art has since generally evolved into myriads of disclosures that are characterized by their storage compartment configurations. A large group of more recent shuffler disclosures utilize linear stacks and elevators, and another large group of more recent disclosures utilize circularly-arranged storage exemplified by drums and carousels.

A more recent “hand-forming” shuffler is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 6,659,460 which was granted in 2003 to Ernst Blaha (Blaha '460), as shown in. Blaha '460 also incorporates a carousel configuration which is similar to the Lorber design, but Blaha '460 differs from its predecessor by configuring the carousel slots to accumulate multiple cards. In this way, Blaha is used as a hand forming shuffler.

Referring to, unshuffled cardsresiding in an unshuffled card station(upper left) are transported by feed rollers,,andinto compartmentsof the “rotatably held drum”. The rollersandare unable to fully insert the cards into the compartments, thus requiring a first pusherwhich is driven by a motorthrough eccentric link. The pusherpushes each card through the final small movement into the compartmentsof the drum. The drum is rotated by motorto random loading positions as commanded by a microprocessor such that each compartment may accumulate a series of randomly selected cards.

The drum compartments are unloaded to a second stationby a second pusher linkageandwhich is actuated by a motor-driven eccentric. After each card is pushed sufficiently into the friction rollersand, those rollers move the cards to the “card storage means”, as driven by motor. Blaha '460 uses two motors to insert each card into the drum, and another two motors to extract the substacks.

The Blaha '460 drum must rotate through several rotation cycles to accumulate substacks, and then must rotate again to disgorge those substacks. While rotating, the substacks of playing cards in each compartment of the Blaha '460 carousel are subjected to centrifugal forces which try to propel the cards outwardly from their compartments during each excursion. The magnitude of the centrifugal forces is dependent upon the acceleration used to rotate the drum.

Blaha teaches that the substacks are retained in opposition to the centrifugal force by clamping the stacks with springs which are provided within each compartment of the carousel.shows the leaf springsandas reproduced from the '460 patent figures. The disclosure explains that the “springs insure the clamping of the card(s) inserted into the respective compartments” (Blaha '460 4:13-14).

The acceleration used for rotation of the Blaha '460 drum is limited by the clamping force of the springs.illustrates the physics of the clamping force. This vector diagram explains that the retaining springmust exert sufficient force against the face of the cards to counteract the centrifugal force. Referring to, a card substackis shown resting on the floorof a compartment of a carousel that rotates about axis. The arrowrepresents the angular acceleration which imposes a centrifugal force Fupon the card substack. A resistance force Fmust be created by the springto counteract the centrifugal force and prevent the card stack from flying out of the compartment. The spring acts upon a bearing padwhich bears against the surface of the stack. The resistance force is given by:

For equilibrium, the resisting force Fmust at least balance the centrifugal force F:

Since playing cards are intentionally designed to have slippery surfaces, the friction coefficient between cards in a stack is relatively small. This small friction coefficient exacerbates the clamping friction problem. As seen by the clamping equation, a relatively large spring force must be used to counteract centrifugal force when the friction coefficient is small. Conversely, the spring force is limited by the force required to push the cards into the substack during loading of the compartment.

The magnitude of the retaining spring clamping force requires that the Blaha device uses a first motorized “pusher” mechanism to insert cards into the compartments and a second motorized pusher mechanism to extract the cards from the compartments. These pusher mechanisms, which push against the edge of each card, are required to overcome the clamping forces imposed by the retaining springs in each compartment as each card is slid into the pre-existing stack. One of ordinary skill recognizes that those two motorized “pusher” mechanisms would not be necessary if the substacks were held loosely in each compartment of the Blaha '460 carousel and retained in the direction of the centrifugal force.

The response time of the Blaha shuffler is also limited by its own carousel configuration. The carousel must rotate approximately 180 degrees for moving any card from the input portal to the output portal. Additionally, the rotational acceleration is limited by the clamping force able to be exerted upon the uppermost card in each stack by the retaining springs. The relation between clamping force and rotational acceleration is thus a design compromise which places an upper limit on carousel acceleration. As will be seen herein, centrifugal force can be advantageously utilized in a card shuffler, rather than being problematic as in the Blaha configuration.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,149,154 was granted to Attila Grauzer et al in(Grauzer '154) and describes another “hand-forming” shuffler where the carousel compartments are unwound into the form of a linear elevator. The elevator consists of card accumulation compartments which are moved linearly rather than rotationally.shows an illustration reproduced from the '154 patent showing the side view of the device, including the “hand receiving platform”, the “card moving mechanism”, the “rack assembly”, and the card receiver“for receiving a group of cards for being formed into hands”. Operation is understandingly similar to the carousel devices. Cards are randomly inserted into slots of the elevator at one station, and thereafter randomly pushed from slots at another station. Cards cannot be moved directly from the input portal to the discharge portal.

Referring to, Grauzer '154 teaches an elevator with nine compartments called a “rack assembly” which traverses up and down in direction of arrow. Unshuffled card decks are placed into the unshuffled card receiveragainst the surfaceof a moveable block, and individually propelled in direction of arrowby motorized rollers,andinto the compartments of the rack assemblyat the loading station. An elevator motorand timing beltmove the rack assembly upwards and downwards to align randomly chosen compartments with arrow. Thereafter, each card is inserted into a randomly chosen compartment and temporarily accumulated with others. A microcontroller counts the number of cards inserted into each randomly chosen compartment. When a given compartment reaches the capacity of cards required for a hand, no more cards are entered into that compartment, and the compartment is considered ready for disgorgement.

When enough compartments are filled to the hand capacity needed for the number of players, the shuffler is then ready to disgorge substacks (hands). A pusher mechanismis located at a lower station and used to push the substacks out of the compartments in the direction of arrowand into the “hand receiving platform”. In comparison to the carousel shuffler designs, Grauzer '154 teaches that only nine (9) compartments are required for proper randomization in a hand forming shuffler.

In the Grauzer '154 configuration, the substacks are retained within each elevator compartment by gravity. Thus, a motorized “pusher mechanism” is needed for removing the substacks from the elevator compartments to the hand receiving platform.is a reproduction from another figure of the Grauzer '154 patent that explains the card removal pusher mechanism in more detail. The elevator positions the compartment requiring extraction at a level occupied by a “pusher’ mechanism as aligned with arrow. The substacks are thereafter pushed out of the compartmentallowing the substack to fall by gravity into the hand receiving platform. Grauzer '154 describes the pusheras a “rack”. The passage below paraphrases a section of the Grauzer disclosure where the label numerals are altered to the equivalent labels used herein.

The pusherincludes a substantially rigid pusher arm in the form of a rack having a plurality of linearly arranged apertures along its length. The armoperably engages the teeth of a pinion geardriven by an unloading motor, which is in turn controlled by the microprocessor. At its leading or card contacting end, the pusher armincludes a blunt, enlarged card-contacting end portion. (Grauzer '154 12:56-67)

Grauzer '154 describes the well-known commercialized “hand forming” shuffler manufactured by ShuffleMaster, called the ACE Shuffler®. The elevator is referred to as a “rack assembly” in the disclosure and consists of eight “hand forming” compartments and a ninth oversized compartment for accumulating the unused cards which remain after all of the required hands have been formed. The oversized compartment is located centrally within the elevator and indicated by labelin. The disclosure explains that eight compartments are sufficient for statistical randomization of a deck (52 cards) in the following paraphrased passage.

Preferably, the rack assemblyhas nine compartments. Seven of the nine compartments are for forming player hands, one compartment forms dealer hands and the last compartmentis for accepting unused or discard cards. It should be understood that the device the present invention is not limited to rack assembly with seven compartments. For example, although it is possible to achieve a random distribution of cards delivered to eight compartments with a fifty-two card deck or group of cards, if the number of cards per initial unshuffled group is greater than 52, more compartments than nine may be provided to achieve sufficient randomness in eight formed hands. (Grauzer 154 8:66-67, 9:1-10)

The oversized compartmentshown inis required to collect the unused cards from the unshuffled card receiver. The unused cards must be temporarily stored in the rack assembly because there is no direct path from the unshuffled card receiver to the hand receiving platform.is excerpted from US patent Application US2020/0171375 A1 which was filed in December 2018 by inventor Mark Alan Litman (Litman'375). The Litman'375 disclosure teaches that the device disclosed inmay be embedded within a housing or table such that the uppermost casing surfaceresides flush with the table surface. An elevatoris described for receiving shuffled cards. The elevator appears to be functionally equivalent to a container for temporarily storing stacks of shuffled cards. In one embodiment, the elevatoris removed from the device manually using a handle. In another embodiment, undisclosed mechanical means are used to lift the elevator housing. The disclosure explains;

FIG. [] shows a manually lifted elevator []. (Litman'375 @ [0046]) There may be gear drives, friction wheels, chain gears and the like (not shown) adjacent the sides of the elevator to raise the elevator if that is preferred to a manual lift. (Litman'375 @ [0048])

By embedding the shuffling device ofwithin a table, Litman'375 teaches that the cards located at the base of the elevatorare not accessible to the device operator, with the consequence that hands formed by the shuffler cannot be sequentially delivered to the players as they are formed. The disclosure fails to teach any mechanism for sequentially moving individual substacks of cards to a delivery tray that is accessible by the device operator. One goal of the low profile poker room shuffler described herein is to introduce a more competitive hand-forming shuffler than those which are referenced in the prior art, by achieving discernable manufacturing cost reductions. The card handling device within this disclosure achieves these manufacturing cost reduction goals by eliminating the need for motorized pusher mechanisms and reducing the number of required compartments, thus achieving a hand-forming device that requires less parts, is more compact and is more economical to manufacture than the referenced prior art.

A second goal is to achieve a low profile shuffling device which can reside unobtrusively on a poker table in a convenient location adjacent to the poker chip tray. The bezel portion of the device herein achieves this goal by extending no more than one inch above the table surface; an attribute that is achieved by positioning the shuffled card delivery tray at an elevation which is slightly below the table surface.

The device herein advantageously utilizes centrifugal force to retain and align the card substacks in radially-configured nests, thus eliminating the need for clamping devices and motorized pusher mechanisms, and allowing faster rotational excursions (higher acceleration) during the randomized distribution of cards from the input portal to the temporary storage nests. The device described herein also allows cards to be delivered to a slot-less elevator using centrifugal force and to thereafter be moved to the delivery tray utilizing a unique stripper mechanism.

The unique features, compact silhouette, and cost efficiency advantages of the low profile poker room shuffler will become better understood with reference to the descriptions, drawings and claims which are presented below.

andillustrate a preferred embodiment of the card handling device disclosed herein. The card handling devicepossesses an injection molded bezeland a control panelhaving a touch screenwhich is positioned conveniently for a casino dealer on the exterior of the bezel. The device is structurally supported by a pair of side framesand including a bezel. At least one microcontroller (not shown) controls the operation of the device, including operation of the touch screen. Touch screenis a small 5-inch touchscreen that is used to program the device for various poker games. For size reference, a 5-inch touchscreen is slightly smaller than the smaller touchscreens used in today's mobile phones. Prior to each game, the dealer will utilize the touch screento program the device to produce the required number of cards in each hand as required by various forms of poker. Additionally, the dealer will program the device to issue N hands, where N is the number hands needed for the game. The touchscreen will also indicate possible malfunctions and security issues to the dealer. For example, the microcontroller counts the number of cards sorted in each deck and will issue a warning on the touch panel if that number is unexpected, as for example due to player or dealer cheating.

Input portalis designed to receive and hold a deck of unshuffled cards. Upon dealer command, those cards are transported individually into a randomizing mechanism which possesses multiple nests, whereupon each nest is randomly filled with one substack (hand) of cards. The microcontroller utilizes a subroutine called a “random number generator” to generate a random address for selecting one of the eight nests for inserting each card as it is moved from the unshuffled card input portal. An indicator on the touch panel notifies the dealer when the nests are ready for distribution to the players. Thereafter, the dealer commands the device to sequentially deliver shuffled (randomized) substacks to the delivery tray. The sequence of steps for delivering each shuffled substack (hand) to the delivery tray is referred to herein as the “disgorgement cycle”.

A card delivery trayis suspended within a cavitywhich forms a shuffled card discharge portal within the bezel. Substacks which are formed within the device are delivered one substack at a time sequentially to the delivery tray. In one embodiment, the device will automatically deliver a new substack (hand) to the delivery tray each time that a previous substack (hand) is removed. In another embodiment, the device operator utilizes the touch screen to request delivery of the next substack.

The device is designed to be embedded within a casino table surface or stand and possesses a bezel mounting surface indicated by surfacewhich functions as the device mounting surface. When embedded, only the bezelis visible above the table surface and no portion of the device extends more than one inch above the table surface. The resulting device silhouette is lower than the height of conventional poker chip trays, thus assuring that the device is an unobtrusive occupant of the casino table surface. The low silhouette is achieved by configuring the delivery tray to reside at a height slightly below the table surface.

illustrates a preferred embodiment of the card handling deviceas it would appear embedded within a poker table in the poker room of a casino. This illustration depicts a common type of casino poker tablehaving a recessed opening in which the game host stands while overseeing the game. The deviceis embedded conveniently withing the operator's reach and unobtrusively resides adjacent to the poker chip tray. Shuffled substacks are delivered to the delivery traywhich resides slightly below the table surface within the shuffled car discharge portal. The low profile allows the operator to easily access the touch screen and all of the player positions without concern for avoiding the card handling device. Card handling deviceis mounted upon a standwhich resides along the edge of a poker tablein. The top surface of the stand is flush with the table surface while the delivery trayresides slightly below the table surface within the recessed discharge portal. The use of a mounting stand adjacent to the table alleviates the need for cutting out a recess in the casino table.

An overall view of the internal mechanisms of the card handling device is shown inwhere the bezeland the nearest side frameare not shown for the purpose of illustration.is a side elevation section view showing the same major assemblies. There are three major subassemblies shown in these two figures, including the card transport, the radial receiverand the elevator assembly. Briefly, feed rolls within the card transportmove individual cards from the unshuffled card trayindividually into one of eight randomly selected nests within the radial receiver, which rotates about axis. When the nests have accumulated sufficient number of cards to form a hand, the radial receiveris rotated to discharge the contents of each nest (substack) onto the elevator carriage. The substacks are thereafter each raised by the elevator lead screwto a pair of support pawlswhereupon the cards are stripped from the elevator carriageand slide into the delivery tray. The lineA inindicates the mounting surface of card handling devicewhere it can be observed that the delivery trayresides within the discharge portalat an elevation lower than the device mounting surfaceA.

An isometric view of the card transport assemblyis shown in. Individual cards are moved from the unshuffled card trayand into the radial receiverby two motors. Motorrotates a set of stripper rolls via timing beltwhich removes one card at a time from the unshuffled stack. Motorrotates a set of flick rolls via timing beltwhich accelerate each card into the nests within the radial receiver.

is a section view of the card transportwhich shows a series of rubber covered transport rolls which illustrate the functionality of the two motorsand. A stack of cardsis shown in the unshuffled card traywhere the stack is partially supported by strip roll. Motorrotates strip rolls,andto “strip” individual cards from the bottom of stackand transports each card until its edge is detected by optical sensor. If there exists a second cardahead of card, then the strip motor temporarily ceases motion of card. The “card path” is defined as the axis defined by an imaginary line along the surfaces of cardsand.

The optical sensoris utilized to detect the leading and trailing edge of cardwhich is engaged in the forward set of four rolls which are referred to as the “release rolls”,,and. If the trailing cardis stopped, then motorwill move the leading cardwith rapid acceleration into the nests of the radial receiver. When the trailing edge of cardis detected by optical sensor, both motors will activate to feed cardforward to the release rolls,,and. Additionally, optical sensoris used by the microcontroller to count the cards being inserted into each nest.

The microcontroller keeps track of the cumulative card count in each nest, and therefore “knows” when that nest is “ready”. The definition of a “ready” nest is a nest that has accumulated the correct number of cards that correspond to the size of the hand that is programmed for the game underway. When a nest achieves the “ready” state, the microcontroller no longer directs cards to that nest. After N nests achieve the ready state (N=number required hands), the devicewill utilize the touch panelto indicate that the required hands are fully formed within the device and available for delivery upon dealer demand. Alternately, the devicemay be programmed to automatically deliver the first hand to the delivery trayimmediately after any nest achieves the ready state.

Once the newly moved card enters into the forward release rollers (), it will be stopped when its leading edge is detected by optical sensor. That card will remain in that state until a randomly selected nest within radial receiverbecomes positioned to receive it. After accelerating the forward card from the release rolls into the radial receiver, the transport cycle of motorsandwill be repeated simultaneously with the rotation of the radial receiverto its next insertion position.

An isometric view of the rotatable radial receiveris shown inwhere this assembly is isolated from the overall mechanism shown in. The radial receivercomprises eight (8) nestswhich are radially mounted to carrier armsand. The entire assembly rotates about axisand is rotationally driven incrementally and bidirectionally amongst the radially-arranged nests by a carrier drive step motorwhich is shown in. The drive motor is connected to the carrier armby timing beltand pulleywhich is rigidly attached to carrier arm. Angular motion of the entire assemblyis controlled by a microcontroller. The microcontroller and drive motor together are capable of rotating the radial receiverwith angular precision and with significant angular acceleration while positioning any one of the eight nests into radial alignment with the card path of the card transport.

A single nestis shown isolated in the perspective view ofand comprises a nest baseand a movable retainer, which are both made of injection molded plastic. Card substacks are retained within the nests laterally by the wallsA andB. The card substacks are retained along the direction of arrowby the retainer, where arrowrepresents the direction of the centrifugal force. Movement against actuation armin the direction of arrowinduces retainerto pivot about a stainless steel pinwhich functions as the retainer's axle. Two torsion springshold retainerin the position shown during the operational procedures utilized for distributing random cards to the nests. The edges of the accumulated card substacks are forced against the internal edge of the retainerin the direction of arrowby centrifugal force during rotational motion of the radial receiver. The centrifugal force acts in a beneficial manner such that the edges of the substacks are aligned by the retainer during the rotational excursions of radial receiver.

illustrates the state where the retaineris pivoted to a displaced position, creating an exit orificewhich allows the card substacks to escape from the nest. The exit orifice is temporarily created by an actuating force that contacts actuation armin the direction of arrow. Movement of armpivots the retainerabout pinagainst the restoring action of torsion springs, thus creating the exit orifice.

The entrance orificesto the nestsare shown if. This view illustrates the internal nest orifices which are each randomly aligned with the card path of card transportfor moving cards individually into the nests. Each nest has a capacity of 27 cards which is slightly more than one-half of a card deck. However, the maximum expected hand size is 7 cards in the case of seven card stud poker. The oversize nests guarantee that the card substacks will always be retained loosely within the nests. While the exit orifice() is sized to allow 27 cards to escape, the entrance orifice of each nest is larger, with an equivalent size of 36 cards. Thus, one characteristic of the preferred embodiment is the distinction that the entrance orifice of each nest is significantly larger than the exit orifice.