High Speed Automatic Card Shuffling Machine Configured to Deliver Packets of Cards to a Dealer

This application claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 63/704,426 filed on Oct. 7, 2024, and incorporated herein for all purposes.

The embodiments of the present invention relate to an automatic card shuffling machine including a high-speed card delivery system.

Automatic card shufflers have been used by casinos for decades and have helped revolutionize the gaming industry. Automatic card shufflers speed up play of casino games and may reduce cheating and advantage play. Automated shufflers may be configured to sit on a casino table or be incorporated therein.

The automatic shuffler industry is currently dominated by automatic shufflers which utilize rollers, elevators and bins to separate and randomly reorganize the cards. It would be advantageous to develop new automatic shuffler technology which is more efficient and reliable than the current automatic shuffler technology.

A first embodiment of the present invention relates to a single deck shuffler utilized for poker games. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the shuffler technology disclosed herein may be used with multi-deck shufflers and other card games as well.

Accordingly, one embodiment of the automatic card shuffler of the present invention comprises broadly a pre-shuffle bin, card-selector assembly, drive wheel and post-shuffle bin. The pre-shuffle bin is configured to accept a single deck of cards (e.g., standard 52-card deck of playing cards). While in the pre-shuffle bin, a modest downward force may be applied to the single deck of cards. A weight, spring, roller or other physical article may be used to apply the modest downward force. Modest as used herein means a force that maintains the deck of cards substantially flat and square during the shuffling process. Any weight or other article in contact with the cards should have a soft padding between the weight or other article and the cards to prevent damage to the cards. A base or floor of the pre-shuffle bin is an independent member that may be selectively raised and lowered to position the deck of cards pursuant to a randomly selected card number (e.g., 1-52). Two jokers may also be used such that a deck of playing cards includes 54 playing cards rather than 52. Once positioned correctly based on the randomly selected card number, an upper body of the card-selector assembly moves a number of cards corresponding to the randomly selected card number off the top of the deck thereby exposing a bottom card (i.e., the randomly selected card) to a drive wheel. The drive wheel propels the bottom card from the pre-shuffle bin between offset lower and upper walls defining a passageway into the post-shuffle bin. The process is repeated 51 times until all cards in the deck in the pre-shuffle bin have been propelled into the post-shuffle bin.

Another embodiment of the present invention comprises an automatic card shuffler configured to shuffle eight decks of cards (or less) and deal a round of Baccarat. A round being a number of cards sufficient to deal a Baccarat hand in a traditional manner (i.e., one card at a time to each player position). In this embodiment, the automatic shuffler comprises two pre-shuffle bins, each configured to receive approximately four decks of cards wherein the pre-shuffle bins are spaced apart from one another, each near a card slide leading to a card-receiving area. Cards are randomly selected from the cards in each of the pre-shuffle bins and propelled against a respective card slide directing the cards to the card-receiving area where shuffled cards stack. Once enough buffer cards (e.g., seven) have been deposited into the card-receiving area, a card flipper moves the seven cards against a face plate of an integral dealing shoe. A buffer-holder device maintains the buffer cards against the face plate for dealing as the card flipper returns to a home position to receive more shuffled cards. In this manner, while cards are being dealt in a round of Baccarat, new cards are being shuffled for the next round.

Other variations, embodiments and features of the present invention will become evident from the following detailed description, drawings and claims.

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles in accordance with the embodiments of the present invention, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended. Any alterations and further modifications of the inventive feature illustrated herein, and any additional applications of the principles of the invention as illustrated herein, which would normally occur to one skilled in the relevant art and having possession of this disclosure, are to be considered within the scope of the invention claimed.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, the embodiments of the present invention combine software and hardware. Furthermore, aspects of the present invention may take the form of a computer program product embodied in one or more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable program code embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may be utilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer readable storage medium would include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), and optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for embodiments of the present invention may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including an object oriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like or conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming language, AJAX, PHP, HTML, XHTML, Ruby, CSS or similar programming languages. The programming code may be configured in an application, an operating system, as part of a system firmware, or any suitable combination thereof.

Aspects of the present invention are described below with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instructions which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The components of the embodiments of the present invention may be fabricated of any suitable materials, including, but not limited to, plastics, alloys, composites, resins and metals, and may be fabricated using suitable techniques, including, but not limited to, molding, casting, machining and rapid prototyping.

Detailed below is a single deck automatic card shuffler configured to insert into a poker table. In one embodiment, the single deck automatic card shuffler inserts into the chip tray cut-out in the poker table proximate to the poker game dealer. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the shuffler technology disclosed herein may be used with multi-deck shufflers which insert into a gaming table or secure to a gaming table top or bottom. The automatic card shuffler may be used to shuffle paper and plastic cards.

1 FIG. 1 FIG. 8 11 FIGS.A throughC 100 120 102 100 120 130 102 102 102 120 The single deck shuffler detailed herein comprises broadly a (i) pre-shuffle bin, (ii) card-selector assembly, (iii) drive wheel and (iv) post-shuffle bin.illustrates a perspective upper view of the single deck shufflerwith the pre-shuffle binloaded with a deck of cards. In practice, a housing or cover may conceal the internal components of the automatic shuffler. The pre-shuffle binforms part of the card-selector assembly. Not shown inis an optional article for creating a modest downward force of the deck of cardsto maintain said deck of cardsin a substantially flat and square orientation.show various articles of the type suitable to create the modest downward force on the deck of cardsin the pre-shuffle bin.

8 8 FIGS.A-C 700 710 720 705 1 705 2 722 710 720 705 1 705 2 710 710 show a spring assemblyfor applying a modest downward force on a deck of cardsin the pre-shuffle binaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. A pair of clock springs-and-joined to a pre-shuffle bin cover, lid or topcompresses upward as the deck of cardsis inserted horizontally into the pre-shuffle bin. In the coressed state, the clock springs-and-apply a modest downward force on the deck of cardsthereby maintaining the deck of cardsin a substantially flat and square orientation.

9 9 FIGS.A-C 800 810 820 800 802 804 806 810 820 804 806 802 810 show an independent weight assemblyfor applying a modest downward force on a deck of cardsin the pre-shuffle binaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The independent weight assemblycomprises a weight, guiding memberand internal spring. As the deck of cardsis inserted horizontally into the pre-shuffle bin, the guide memberelevates compressing internal springraising the weighton top of the deck of cards.

10 10 FIGS.A-C 900 910 920 905 902 904 910 900 900 900 920 show a weighted lever systemfor applying a modest downward force to a deck of cardsin the pre-shuffle binaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The weighted leveris shaped with a flat first portionand upwardly curved second portionpermitting the deck of cardsto slide horizontally under the weighted lever. As shown, the weighted leveris not attached in any manner. Alternatively, one end of the weighted levermay be slidably joined to a wall of the pre-shuffle bin.

11 11 FIGS.A-C 1000 1010 1020 1000 1002 1004 1010 1020 1002 1003 1002 1004 1004 show an independent weight and door assemblyfor applying a modest downward force on a deck of cardsin the pre-shuffle binaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The independent weight and door assemblycomprises a rotatable doorand independent weight. In operation, as the deck of cardsis inserted horizontally into the pre-shuffle bin, the doorrotates about an upper rotation pointsuch that the doorlifts one end of the independent weightallowing the deck of cards to be inserted under the independent weight.

8 11 FIGS.A-C 102 Whileshow various solutions for applying a downward force on a deck of cards while in the pre-shuffle bin, those skilled in the art will recognize that other articles may suffice. In addition, electromechanical devices may be used as well. For example, idler rollers may be pushed downward on a deck of cards to apply the downward force.

2 FIG. 130 100 130 131 132 132 131 132 131 132 132 131 133 134 160 131 132 124 122 131 132 124 122 shows a side view of a card-selector assemblyof the automatic card shuffleraccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The card-selector assemblycomprises the upper bodyand lower body. The lower bodyis stationary. The upper bodyinterconnects to the lower bodyvia a linear groove allowing the upper bodyto slide on the lower bodyvia series of ball bearings. The lower bodyand upper body, when aligned, define a gapbetween walls thereof. A center notchprovides a location for drive wheelor other drive mechanism to propel an exposed card as described below. When the upper bodyand lower bodyare aligned, the stepper motormay raise and lower the pre-shuffle bin base. When the upper bodyand lower bodyare not aligned, the stepper motoris not able to raise and lower the pre-shuffle bin base.

122 120 131 132 130 102 124 122 126 124 124 7 7 FIGS.B andC The base or floorof the pre-shuffle binis free to raise and lower relative to an upper bodyand lower bodyof the card-selector assemblythereby selectively positioning the deck of cardsinto 1 of at least 52 vertical positions. In one embodiment, best seen in, a stepper motorcontrols the selective positioning of the pre-shuffle bin base. A random number generatorin communication with the stepper motortransmits instructions to the stepper motorbased on a randomly-generated number from 1 to 52 (or some other set of numbers capable of generating 52 random positions).

3 FIG. 4 FIG. 142 130 142 144 132 110 142 143 145 131 142 143 131 132 131 130 shows an offset idler wheelof the card-selector assemblyaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The offset idler wheelis mounted to a vertical shaftextending from said lower bodyand driven by motor. The offset idler wheelrotates an offset, attached secondary wheelwithin a cam slotin the upper body. Activation of the offset idler wheelcauses the secondary wheelto force the upper bodyto slide forward and rearward relative to the lower bodyas needed.shows the upper bodyof the card-selector assemblyin a forward position.

4 FIG. 5 FIG. 6 FIG.A 6 FIG.B 131 103 104 132 103 160 162 131 131 120 160 103 103 200 200 100 155 160 200 161 162 As seen in, when the upper bodymoves forward, a cardis exposed in cut-outin the lower body. The exposed cardmay then be contacted by a drive wheelmounted on a rotatable rodshown in. As the upper bodymoves forward, the upper bodyserves to split the cards in the pre-shuffle bininto an offset upper portion and lower portion with the bottom card of the offset portion being the card identified by the random number generator. The spinning drive wheelcontacting the exposed cardcauses the exposed cardto be propelled to the post-shuffle bin. Once each of the 52 cards in the deck of cards has been propelled to the post-shuffle bin, the deck of cards is shuffled and available for play.shows a cross-sectional view of the shuffler. In this embodiment, a weightis positioned to apply a downward force to a deck of cards to be shuffled. Rather than a drive wheel, the drive mechanism (as shown in) for propelling cards into the post-shuffle binis a belt and pulley arrangementdriven by motor.

13 FIG. 1100 100 1100 120 100 120 200 1110 104 105 120 200 120 200 100 1115 200 1120 122 124 133 122 133 1125 131 120 120 123 131 131 120 131 1130 132 160 200 160 160 131 120 200 137 131 138 132 200 160 137 1135 200 131 120 120 1140 1115 200 200 100 122 131 120 1135 1100 1115 200 200 200 1145 rd rd rd rd rd shows a flow chartdetailing one methodology for operating the automatic card shuffleraccording to the embodiments of the present invention. At, a deck of cards is inserted into the pre-shuffle bin. The cards may be loaded via a top, back or side opening in a cover or housing of the shuffler. A sensor-controlled door for the pre-shuffle binmay remain closed until all cards have been moved into the post-shuffle bin. As detailed above, in one embodiment, an article is used to apply a downward force on the deck of cards in the pre-shuffle bin. At, upon detection by one or more sensors,proximate to the pre-shuffle binand post-shuffle bin, respectively, indicating cards in the pre-shuffle binand no cards in the post-shuffle bin, the automatic shufflerbegins the shuffling process. In one embodiment, the shuffle process starts after a short delay (e.g., 2 seconds). At, a random number generator selects a card number from 1 to 52 such that the corresponding card is propelled into the post-shuffle binand then the total number of remaining cards is reduced by one for the purpose of randomly selecting and shuffling the next card. The random number generator is software-based and in one embodiment uses a Fischer-Yates model to randomly select the card number. The card number is counted from the top of the deck of cards. For example, card number 23 is the 23card from the top of the deck of cards. In an alternative embodiment, the card number may be counted from the bottom of the deck of cards. Once the card number is randomly selected, at, the pre-shuffle bin baseis raised or lowered by stepper motorto align the selected card with the gap. For example, if the first card number is 23, the pre-shuffle bin baseis moved so that the 23card from the top of the deck of cards is aligned with the gap. At, the upper bodymoves forward thereby forcing the top 23 cards off the deck of cards in the pre-shuffle binslightly forward relative to and offset from to the pre-shuffle binand cards therein. The stationary lower bodyprevents any card below the 23card in the deck of cards from moving forward with the upper body. The 23card is the bottom card of the stack of cards moved forward by the upper body. The other 29 cards in the deck of cards remain in the pre-shuffle binbelow and not impacted by the moving upper body. At, once the 23 cards are moved a maximum distance (e.g., one inch offset relative to the lower body), the spinning drive wheelcontacts the bottom card (i.e., the 23card) propelling it to the post-shuffle bin. The drive wheelmay be positioned to contact the exposed bottom card when the card is moved forward or the drive wheelmay selectively raise to contact the exposed bottom card as the card is forced forward by the upper body. More than one drive wheel may be used including vertically oriented rollers to provide additional energy to propel cards from the pre-shuffle binto the post-shuffle bin. Blocking wallof upper bodyand wallof the lower bodycollectively allow only the bottom card of the offset upper portion of cards to be propelled into the post-shuffle binby the drive wheel. The blocking wallis dimensioned to block all cards above the selected card while permitting the selected bottom card to be contacted by the drive mechanism. At, once the exposed bottom card is propelled to the post-shuffle bin, the upper bodymoves rearward depositing the offset upper portion of cards, minus the propelled card, back into the pre-shuffle binon top of the cards remaining in the pre-shuffle bin. At, it is determined if the number from stepequals zero meaning that all cards have been propelled to the post-shuffle bin. Moving each card into the post-shuffle binrequires the automatic shufflerto cycle 52 times (i.e., one cycle per card in the deck of cards). A cycle includes raising or lowering the pre-shuffle bin baseand moving the upper bodyforward and rearward. If the current number representing cards remaining in the pre-shuffle binis not zero at, the flow chartloops back to stepwhere the random number generator selects a number between 1 and the current number or cards remaining. That is, each time a card is moved to the post-shuffle bin, the random number generator generates a random number based on the number of cards remaining to be moved into the post-shuffle bin. Once all cards have been moved to the post-shuffle bin, at, the shuffled cards are accessed by the dealer for play of a game.

7 FIG.A 100 103 100 103 104 120 105 200 124 110 142 103 107 108 108 100 4 3 shows a block diagram of the single deck shuffler. A controller, processoror like runs executable instructions for controlling the operations of the single deck shuffler. The processorcommunicates with hardware including: (i) sensorslocated proximate to the pre-shuffle bin; (ii) sensorslocated proximate to the post-shuffle bin; (iii) stepper motorand (iv) motorfor driving the offset idler wheel. The processoris further in communication with memoryand random number generator. The random number generatormay be part of the executable instructions or a separate module as shown. In one embodiment, the single deck shuffleris approximately00 in.

7 7 FIGS.B andC 7 FIG.B 7 FIG.C 130 131 132 125 120 124 122 131 122 122 131 131 125 126 127 160 126 200 137 131 138 132 126 200 160 137 138 127 200 131 131 132 133 160 200 show cross-sectional views of the card-selector assemblyin a home position and forward position. In, the upper bodyand lower bodyare aligned with a deck of cardsin the pre-shuffle bin. Stepper motoracts on pre-shuffle bin base. Arrows A and B represent potential movements of the upper bodyand pre-shuffle bin base.shows the pre-shuffle bin baseraised and the upper bodymoved forward pursuant to a randomly generated card number. The forward movement of the upper bodyseparates the deck of cardsinto an upper portionand lower portion. In this offset position, the drive wheelmay propel the bottom card in the upper portionof cards into a post-shuffle bin. Wallof upper bodyand wallof the lower bodycollectively allow only the bottom card of the offset upper portion of cardsto be propelled into the post-shuffle binby the drive wheel. Wallprevents cards above the selected card from being propelled while wallprevents any cardsbelow the selected card from being moved from the pre-shuffle binby the movement of the upper body. That is, once the upper bodymoves into an offset position relative to the lower body, the gaptransforms into a passageway or similar clearance for the selected card to be propelled by the drive wheelinto the post-shuffle bin.

103 100 103 100 120 200 200 In one embodiment, processoris configured to place the shufflerin a short-cycle mode. Responsive to one or more sensors detecting a time below a pre-established threshold time (e.g., 20 seconds) between cuts of successive shuffled decks of cards by the dealer, the processorplaces the shufflerinto short-cycle mode wherein, the shuffler randomly selects a pre-established number of cards (e.g., 35) for shuffling as described herein and then moves consecutively in order the remaining cards from the pre-shuffle binto the post-shuffle binon top of the previously shuffled cards. When the deck is removed from the post-shuffle bin, the dealer cuts the deck such that the consecutively moved cards are moved to the bottom of the deck prior to dealing. The consecutively moved cards are those remaining after the shuffling of the pre-established number of cards so even if some of the consecutively moved cards end up in play, they have been adequately shuffled. The short cycle mode is advantageous for fast-paced games (i.e., heads-up).

104 105 124 160 200 103 124 124 In one embodiment, an automatic calibration system is premised on card or deck thicknesses as measured by sensors proximate to the pre-shuffle and/or post-shuffle bin. Sensors,may measure card thicknesses or additional sensors may be installed for the specific purpose. Given the tendency of playing cards (paper and plastic) to expand during use, it is beneficial to calibrate the automatic card shuffler so that the stepper motoris moved at accurate tolerances to ensure that the randomly selected card is the card propelled by the drive wheelto the post-shuffle bin. Responsive to detecting the thicknesses of cards expanding, the automatic calibration system, via processor, communicates to the stepper motorto alter the distance the stepper motorraises and lowers for each card position.

106 120 200 106 120 200 100 In another embodiment, a card-counting sensormay be used to sense each card moving from the pre-shuffle binto the post-shuffle binso the deck count may be verified. The card-counting sensormay be positioned between the pre-shuffle binand post-shuffle bin. In an alternative embodiment, the automatic card shufflermay incorporate a card reading system (e.g., image capturing technology) to identify the rank and suit of each card thereby verifying the exactness of the deck of cards.

12 12 FIGS.A-H 12 12 FIGS.A andB 12 12 FIGS.A-H 120 200 100 400 405 410 415 435 440 400 410 show various post-shuffle bin configurations according to the embodiments of the present invention. Once the deck of cards has been shuffled, the shuffled cards must then be accessed by the dealer. In one embodiment, unshuffled cards are placed in the pre-shuffle binbefore the shuffled cards are removed from the post-shuffle binin batch shuffler style so that two decks of cards are shuffled in a revolving fashion. Depending on the embodiment, the shufflermay be a two-position automatic shuffler or three-position automatic shuffler. As shown in, a two-position automatic shufflerpermits the dealer to access the shuffled cards directly from the post-shuffle binwhile a three-position automatic shufflerinvolves automatically moving the shuffled cards from the post-shuffle binto a position external to the shuffler. Covers,conceal the internal components of the automatic shufflers,. It is evident fromthat a majority of the automatic card shuffler is positioned below the upper surface of the card table. In one embodiment, the automatic card shuffler raises no more than 2″ above the upper surface of the card table or chip tray. It is conceivable that the automatic card shuffler may be oriented at an angle to permit gravity to assist with moving cards from a pre-shuffle bin to the post-shuffle bin.

12 12 FIGS.C andD 12 FIG.E 435 436 437 438 439 440 445 446 447 448 449 450 show a two-position automatic shufflerhaving a coverwith a doorwhich flips upward about a hingepermitting access to the shuffled cardsin the post-shuffle bin.shows another two-position automatic shufflerhaving a coverwith a doorwhich flips upward about a hingepermitting access to the shuffled cardsin the post-shuffle bin.

12 12 FIGS.F throughH 455 456 457 458 459 455 458 460 show a three-position automatic shufflerhaving a coverwith a doorwhich flips upward allowing a plungerto push shuffled cardsfrom the confines of the automatic shuffler. While a plungeris described, it is apparent that any physical article capable of pushing, or otherwise moving, a deck of cards a short distance from the post-shuffle binto a position external and proximate thereto may be utilized to achieve the objective of the three-position automatic shuffler.

103 437 447 457 458 The processor, as described above, also controls the doors,,and plunger, or other article, pursuant to sensor feedback indicating the deck of cards has been shuffled and is ready for game play.

14 14 FIGS.A andB 14 FIG.A 14 FIG.B 14 FIG.B 15 15 FIGS.A andB 190 191 195 196 197 197 191 196 210 215 210 215 191 196 210 215 210 215 210 215 show positioning of the automatic shuffler integrated into a poker table adjacent to a modified chip tray according to the embodiments of the present invention.shows a footprintof a two-position shuffler integrated into a poker table within a cut-out in chip traywhileshows a footprintof a three-position shuffler integrated into a poker table within a cut-out in chip tray. In another embodiment, the chip tray may be U-shaped and configured to slide onto the poker table around the shuffler.also shows an optional readerfor identifying the bottom card as it passes thereover and a bottom card after a deck cut. In conjunction with an internal card reading system, the readings of sensorcan be used to verify deck order, etc. In either embodiment, a portion of the chip tray,meant to retain gaming chips is eliminated. Accordingly,illustrate chip tray toppers,according to the embodiments of the present invention. The chip tray toppers,permit gaming chips to be stacked in the chip trays,to increase capacity eliminated by the integration of the automatic card shuffler. The chip trays toppers,may be fabricated of plastics, composites, alloys, metals or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the chip tray toppers,incorporate magnets, hooks, latches or other connectors to secure the chip tray toppers,to the chip rack or other article.

One or more LEDs may be integrated into the automatic card shuffler to indicate shuffler status. With an LED, different colors and/or blinking speeds are indicative of shuffler status including ready to load status, ready to remove shuffled cards status, card jam status, missing card status, etc.

100 100 100 100 While the shufflerhas been detailed relative to a poker game, the shufflermay be suitable for any number of cards games with modification. As described herein, the shufflercan be used for a single blackjack game. A two-deck blackjack game requires that the shufflerhave a slightly increased profile (<1″ more than a single deck) to accommodate the additional deck of cards.

100 100 100 200 100 120 100 100 100 100 With carnival games or novelty games (e.g., Three Card Poker) the hands are dealt by a dealing module forming part of the shuffler. Each hand is then provided to the player by the dealer. Given the design of the shuffler, the process of dealing hands is very simple and efficient as the shufflermay pause after each hand is formed and re-start after each hand is dealt. In one embodiment, a blocking wall is attached to sides of the shuffler(with the post-shuffle binremoved or re-configured to allow cards to exit the shuffler) so that cards propelled from the pre-shuffle binstrike the blocking wall landing on the table surface or previous propelled cards. The blocking wall may be modest in height/width serving only to stop propelled cards so that the cards stack on top of one another. Once a hand is formed, the shufflerpauses. An arm or lever then moves part or all of the formed hand away from the blocking wall allowing the dealer to grab and deal the hand. One or more sensors proximate to the blocking wall detect when the formed hand has been removed and trigger the shufflerto begin again and deal a next hand. The process continues until a button or other input device, used by the dealer, alerts the shufflerthat the next hand is the final hand (i.e., dealer hand) to be dealt which causes the shufflerto handle the remaining cards in the shuffler in one of several ways.

100 100 137 131 100 120 In a dual deck embodiment (i.e., batch), once each of the hands has been dealt, the shufflerconsecutively propels the remaining cards against the blocking wall thereby emptying the shuffler of cards for the second deck to be inserted. In another embodiment, the remaining cards may be pushed together from the shufflerby a mechanical device (e.g., arm) or similar article. With such an embodiment, wallof upper bodymay rotate open allowing the remaining cards to be collectively pushed from the shufflerby the mechanical device. In a single deck embodiment where only one deck is used, the remaining cards may be maintained in the pre-shuffle binuntil the played cards are inserted back on top so that the shuffling process may begin again.

100 100 To minimize movement and maximize dealing speed, the shufflermay not propel the selected cards in the order they are randomly selected. For example, if the three randomly selected cards for a Three Card Poker game are numbers 1, 52 and 2 in that order, rather than deal the cards in the selected order, the shufflermay deal the hand by propelling cards 52, 2 and 1 to minimize shuffler movement while increasing the deal pace. With a single player hand, the order of the cards in the hand is irrelevant.

300 300 305 310 315 320 325 302 310 325 325 325 320 310 315 325 320 16 16 FIGS.A throughC 16 16 FIGS.B andC 16 FIG.C Another embodiment of the present invention involves an automated rake drop device. During live poker games, dealers rake (i.e., collect) a portion of each pot for the house. The rake acts as a fee for the house operating the game. The normal rake procedure involves the dealer taking chips from the poker pot and placing them onto a drop slot covered by a slidable lever. After the hand ends and the pot is pushed to the winning player(s), the dealer opens the slot using the slidable lever allowing the chips to fall through an opening in the poker table into a drop box connected to an underside of the poker table. As shown in, the present invention is directed to a circular dropcomprising a frame, drop cover, hinge, micro-switch/receiverand sensor/transmitterintegrated into a poker tabletop.show a side view of the drop coverin a closed position and open position respectively. The sensorresides in the shuffler described herein or any shuffler such that the sensoris able to detect when the next game's cards have been shuffled and removed from the shuffler. Once the shuffled deck is removed from the shuffler, the sensorcauses the micro-switchto open the drop covervia hinge(as shown in) allowing chips thereon to fall into the drop box below. The sensorand micro-switchmay communicate via a wired or wireless connection.

The shuffler technology detailed herein may be used for a multi-deck shuffler (e.g., 4-8 decks) as well. In one embodiment, a multi-deck shuffler comprises a single unit having two shuffler components and a shared post-shuffle bin into which both shuffler components propel cards from bins of each shuffler. A vertical pre-shuffle bin accepts, for example, six decks of cards comprising 312 cards (6×52). A mechanism (e.g., rollers, pusher, etc.) separates the six decks in two substantially equivalent stacks with one stack being deposited into a bin of one shuffler component and a second stack being deposited into a bin of the other shuffler component. Selected random numbers then cause the shuffler component to propel cards into a common post-shuffle bin. In one embodiment, the random number generator selects a number from 1-312 and the shuffler component holding the selected card propels the card into the shared post-shuffle bin. Alternatively, each shuffler component may have its own random number generator such that each shuffle component may act independently. Regardless of the process, the result is six decks of shuffled cards requiring only a single shuffle. As the post-shuffle bin is vertically oriented, once the shuffle process concludes, a mechanism tips the post-shuffle bin into a horizontal position such that the shuffled cards are made available to the dealer. In one embodiment, a shallow frame associated with the post-shuffle bin maintains the decks in an orderly arrangement. A sensor detects when the post-shuffle bin is empty causing the post-shuffle bin to close.

Depending on the embodiment, the two shuffle apparatuses may have a different, unknown number of cards. For example, if a pusher is used to separate the 312 cards into two separate stacks, the number of cards in each shuffler apparatus may be unequal. The system firmware is configured to assume an equal number of cards in each shuffler apparatus so that the shuffling process continues in a normal fashion until it is determined that such is not the case. If one of the shuffler apparatuses attempts to shuffle a card but no card exists at the selected location, the bin base continually raises one spot until a card is located. From this exercise, the shuffler firmware can determine a number of cards in each shuffler apparatus and continue the shuffle normally until complete.

A multi-deck shuffler is ideal for handling a Baccarat game. The concept of shuffling and dealing simultaneously is only possible with a random-selection shuffler. In a game wherein players and a dealer each receive three cards, three cards are randomly selected and moved to the gaming table ready for dealing to the player or dealer. This occurs after only three cards have been moved from the unshuffled deck. Contrarily, random-position shufflers require each card to be moved to a random position, shelf or slot before they can be dispensed as complete, individual hands. That is, random-position shufflers require all unshuffled cards to be moved before the dealing phase.

400 In one embodiment, a Baccarat shuffleris configured to randomly select and shuffle enough cards to complete a round of play as opposed to enough cards to fill a hand. In this manner, the round of cards may be used to deal cards in the traditional fashion (i.e., one card at a time to each player position). With current market shufflers, novelty game hands are dealt such that players and the dealer receive hands in a single group of cards rather than one at a time.

18 18 FIGS.A andB 18 FIG. 400 405 400 410 1 410 2 403 410 1 410 2 400 420 410 1 410 2 410 1 410 2 415 1 415 2 414 410 1 410 2 420 425 430 400 400 show cross-sectional front-end views of the Baccarat shufflermounted to a gaming tableaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The Baccarat shufflerincludes two separate random-selection shuffler devices-,-within a shuffler housing. The two shuffler devices-,-are spaced with card outputs facing a front of the Baccarat shuffler(towards a viewer of) and a common card-receiving area. The card-receiving area receives cards randomly selected and propelled or moved from the first group of cards and second group of cards. Thus, the cards moved into the card-receiving area are shuffled. Each of the shuffler devices-,-includes a pre-shuffle bin. The shuffler devices-,-are each rear of a respective card slide-,-positioned to direct randomly selected and forwardly propelled or moved cardsfrom each shuffler device-,-into the common card-receiving areaand on to a flipper mechanism. An integral dealing shoeor partial shoe provides dealer access to shuffled cards as detailed below. The configuration of the Baccarat shufflerprovides a much smaller profile than other shufflers designed to shuffle multiple decks of cards. Accordingly, when installed on a gaming table, the Baccarat shufflerdoes not interfere with dealer actions as larger profile shufflers might.

410 1 410 2 410 1 410 2 410 1 410 2 410 1 410 2 Besides providing a smaller profile, the use of two shuffler devices-,-inherently results in a faster shuffling process. The speed of the two shuffler devices-,-is further increased when the next two random cards are selected from different shuffle devices-,-, as the first shuffler device-moves to select the card in its pre-shuffle bin, the second shuffle device-can begin moving to locate the card in its pre-shuffle bin.

400 410 1 410 2 400 410 1 410 2 Loading the Baccarat shufflerbegins with a dealer dividing eight decks of cards into two piles of approximately equal cards. Given the operation of the two shuffler devices-,-, the two piles of cards do not have to be equal. Once the two piles are created, a two-step loading process begins. The Baccarat shuffleris configured, responsive to a dealer “Load” input (e.g., button, touch screen interface, etc.), one of the pre-shuffle bins of one of the shuffler devices-raises to an upper-most position while the pre-shuffle bin of the other shuffler device-remains at a lowest-most position. Once the first pre-shuffle bin is loaded with one pile of cards, the dealer may utilize a “Loaded” input to cause the first pre-shuffle bin to move to a home position while the other pre-shuffle bin moves to a highest-most position. Alternatively, one or more sensors located in the pre-shuffle bins may automatically trigger the raising and lowering of the pre-shuffle bins upon cards being loaded into the first pre-shuffle bin. Once the second pre-shuffle bin raises to the upper-most position, the second pile of cards is loaded. The dealer may complete the loading process by utilizing the “Loaded” input again or sensors may trigger an automatic movement whereby the second pre-shuffle bin returns to a home position.

410 1 410 2 413 420 425 The shuffler operation is set forth above, and the only difference is that the two shuffler devices-,-operate individually to randomly select and propel cardsfrom the respective piles of cards into the common card-receiving areaand on to the card flipper.

400 Conducting a Baccarat game includes two procedures for burning cards. The first procedure involves burning a single card. The second procedure turns the top card face up and burns an additional number of cards equal to the face-up cards value. For example, if the top card is a seven, seven cards are burned whereas if the top card is a ten, ten cards are burned. Casinos may also implement other burn card procedures which the Baccarat shufflercan be configured to shuffle and deal.

400 400 400 400 19 19 20 20 FIGS.A-M andA-F In a first embodiment, the Baccarat shufflershuffles eight cards and forces them against a dealing shoe face plate (see,) before the top card is burned and the first round is dealt. The maximum number of cards required to deal a Baccarat round is six cards-the player and the banker each receive two cards initially and may take, based on the rules, one additional card. Shuffling eight cards for the first round provides a burn card and one extra cover card remaining in the shoe in the event six cards are required to deal the round. In a second embodiment, the Baccarat shufflershuffles eighteen cards to accommodate one face-up burn card, a maximum number of six game cards, a maximum of ten burn cards and one cover card. Different casinos elect to burn one or eleven cards in the event the top card is an Ace. Another Baccarat variant involves burning no cards when the top card has a ten value (e.g., ten, Jack, Queen or King) since such cards have zero value in the Baccarat game. The Baccarat shuffleris configured to handle at least the four most-common burn card variations, namely (i) a single face-down card; (ii) a single face-up card plus number of burn cards equal to the top card value (Ace=1); (iii) a single face-up card plus number of burn cards equal to the top card value (Ace=11) and (iv) single face-up card plus number of burn cards equal to the top card value (ten value cards=0). It is well-understood that the Baccarat shufflermay be configured to accommodate any conceivable burn card variation.

400 400 400 400 400 With the single face-down card burn card variation, the Baccarat shufflerfirst randomly selects and forces eight cards against the dealing shoe face plate (deemed an eight-card buffer) and then seven-card buffers for each subsequent round until a new fresh game shuffle. Dependent upon the number of cards used to play the previous hand of the Baccarat game, the Baccarat shuffleris configured to shuffle a sufficient number of cards to create the seven-card buffer. If the first round requires six cards to play, six more cards are shuffled to maintain the seven-card buffer for the next round; if the first round requires five cards to play, five more cards are shuffled to maintain the seven-card buffer for the next round and if the first round requires four cards to play, four more cards are shuffled to maintain the seven-card buffer for the next round. With the single face-up card plus number of burn cards equal to the top card value (Ace=1) burn card variation, the Baccarat shufflerfirst randomly selects and forces eighteen cards against the dealing shoe face plate and then seven-card buffers for each subsequent round until a new fresh game shuffle. With the single face-up card plus number of burn cards equal to the top card value (Ace=11) burn card variation, the Baccarat shufflerfirst randomly selects and forces nineteen cards against the dealing shoe face plate and then seven-card buffers for each subsequent round until a new fresh game shuffle. With the single face-up card plus number of burn cards equal to the top card value (ten value cards=0) burn card variation, the Baccarat shufflerfirst randomly selects and forces seventeen cards against the dealing shoe face plate and then seven-card buffers for each subsequent round until a new fresh game shuffle.

19 19 FIGS.A-M 19 19 FIGS.B andC 500 505 505 510 515 520 515 525 530 530 535 525 511 510 530 505 505 525 530 535 511 525 540 show cross-sectional side views of a first embodiment of a Baccarat shufflerhaving housing. The housingincludes an integral dealing shoeproviding access to the shuffled cards. From the sectional side view, only one shuffler deviceis viewable as the second shuffler device is positioned behind. Card slides(the other card slide is not visible as it is behind the visible card slide) direct the cards propelled by the two shuffler devicesinto a common card-receiving areaand on to a card flipper. As best shown in, the card flipperrotates roughly about one end thereof to force shuffled cardsin the card-receiving areaagainst a face plateof integral dealing shoe. The card flippermay be rotatably hinged to a bottom of the housingor otherwise rotatably attached to the housing(or other internal component) and serves as the floor of the card-receiving area. Responsive to sensor outputs, a stepper motor, servo or other electromechanical element drives the card flipperto force the shuffled cardsagainst the face plateand back to a home position in the card-receiving areaand the buffer-holder memberin a down position.

540 535 511 530 530 540 505 19 19 540 541 1 541 2 543 541 1 541 2 545 543 511 545 535 540 535 511 540 555 560 565 570 575 530 19 19 FIGS.I throughL 19 FIG.M A buffer-holder memberis configured to maintain the shuffled cards(a.k.a. buffer cards) against the face plateonce the card flipperreturns to the home position. Like the card flipper, the buffer-holder memberis rotatably attached to the housing(or other internal component). In one embodiment, as best shown inG andH, the buffer-holder memberis U-shaped with two arms-,-and a supportconnecting the two arms-,-. A platemay be attached to the supportto provide more contact area with the shuffled cards being maintained against the face plate. The platemay have a soft covering to prevent damage to the buffer cards. Responsive to sensor outputs, a stepper motor, servo or other electromechanical element drives the buffer-holder memberto maintain the buffer cardsagainst the face plateand back to a home position.show the buffer-holder membermaintaining a one-card buffer, three-card buffer, five-card bufferand eight-card buffer.shows an eight-card bufferwith the card flipperin an upper position.

540 530 511 511 500 525 530 525 530 530 511 530 511 540 535 540 535 530 515 526 525 530 530 515 525 530 535 540 530 19 19 FIGS.A throughF 19 FIG.A 19 FIG.B 19 FIG.C 19 FIG.D 19 FIG.H 19 FIG.E 19 FIG.F The buffer-holder memberand card flipperoperate in concert to move shuffled cards against the face plateand maintain the shuffled cards against the face plate. Referring toshow operation of the Baccarat shuffler. In, cards have been randomly selected and propelled into the card-receiving areaon to the card flipper; in, once eight cards have been propelled into the card-receiving area, the card flipperbegins rotating; in, the card flipperforces the eight cards against the face plate; in, once the card flipperhas forced the cards against the face plate, the buffer-holder memberrotates into place against the eight buffer cards(shows another view of the buffer-holder memberagainst the buffer cards); in, the card flipperreturns to a home position and the shuffler devicesbegin randomly selecting and propelling cardsinto the card-receiving areaand on to the card flipper; and in, the card flipperremains in the home position while the shuffler devicescontinue randomly selecting and propelling cards into the card-receiving areaand on to the card flipperwhile the buffer cardsare being dealt to players. The buffer-holder membermoves to a home position when the next group of cards is ready to be acted upon by the card flipper.

20 20 FIGS.A-F 600 605 500 600 625 630 610 615 615 620 625 630 610 620 625 615 635 615 612 show a cross-sectional side views of a second embodiment of a Baccarat shufflerand housingaccording to the embodiments of the present invention. The primary difference between Baccarat shufflerand Baccarat shuffleris the mechanism for maintaining the buffer cards against a face plateof a dealing shoe. In this instance, an upper card stopworks in concert with lower card flipper. The lower card flipperforces buffer cardsagainst the face plateof the dealing shoeand upper card stopmaintains the buffer cardsagainst the face plateallowing the lower card flipperto return to a home position for new shuffled cards. Card slides(only one is visible) guide cards to the lower card flipperwhen propelled from the shuffler devices(only one is visible).

20 FIG.A 20 FIG.B 20 FIG.C 20 FIG.D 20 FIG.E 20 FIG.F 630 615 640 615 615 625 615 620 625 610 620 615 640 615 615 630 615 620 610 615 In, cards have been randomly selected and propelled into the card-receiving areaand on to the lower card flipper; in, once eight cards have been propelled into the card-receiving area, the lower card flipperbegins rotating; in, the lower card flipperforces the eight cards against the face plate; in, once the lower card flipperhas forced the buffer cardsagainst the face plate, the upper card stoprotates into place against the eight buffer cards; in, the lower card flipperreturns to a home position and the shuffler devices begin randomly selecting and propelling cards into the card-receiving areaand on to the lower card flipper; and in, the lower card flipperremains in the home position while the shuffler devices continue randomly selecting and propelling cards into the card-receiving areaand on to the lower card flipperwhile the buffer cardsare being dealt to players. The upper card stopmoves to a home position when the next group of cards is ready to be acted upon by the lower card flipper.

530 540 500 600 Sensors in or near the card-receiving area and integral dealing shoe provide the necessary outputs for controlling dealing operations, including movement of the card flipperand buffer-holder member, of the Baccarat shufflers,. The sensors detect the number of cards propelled from the shuffler devices as well as number of cards removed from the dealing shoe. The collected sensor data or outputs is used by the processor to control the card flipper and buffer-holder member.

21 FIG. 800 805 810 815 820 825 830 835 800 815 840 845 800 825 shows a flow chartdetailing one methodology of operating a Baccarat shuffler according to the embodiments of the present invention. At, cards are split into two piles and loaded into the pre-shuffle bins of the two shuffler devices. At, the Baccarat shuffler is instructed to shuffle. At, the two shuffler devices randomly select cards and propel them toward the card slides and on to the card flipper in the card-receiving area. At, it is determined if a sufficient number of buffer cards (e.g., eight) have been propelled to the card flipper. If so, at, the card flipper activates to force the cards into the face plate of the integral dealing shoe. At, a buffer-holder member or similar mechanical device activates to maintain the buffer cards against the face plate of the dealing shoe. At, the card flipper moves to a home position and the flow chartloops back to. At, the dealer begins dealing a round of Baccarat. At, the Baccarat round ends and the buffer-holder returns to a home position. The flow chartloops back toas cards have been propelled to the card-receiving area and on to the card flipper as the round was being dealt. This process allows the Baccarat game to proceed very quickly compared to other shufflers.

350 355 355 355 360 365 370 375 365 370 360 355 17 17 FIGS.A-C In another embodiment, the shuffler technology is used in a continuous shuffleras shown in. For example, in a six-deck dealing shoe, starting the continuous process comprises the random number generator selects a position from 1-312 and moves the corresponding card forward to the front of a dealing shoeand then selects a card from 1-311 and moves the corresponding card forward to the front of the dealing shoeand so on. After are-established number of cards (e.g., 13) have been moved forward in the dealing shoe, discards can be placed into a pre-shuffle bin with the remaining cards. A lever (or flipper)is configured to lift randomly selected cardsagainst a dealing shoe face platefor dealer access. A clipor other mechanism may hold the cardsagainst the face platewhile the leverdrops back down to a horizontal position to receive more cards. This process can continue indefinitely resulting in continuous shuffled group of cards in the dealing shoe.

22 25 FIGS.- 22 FIG. 23 25 FIGS.- 400 400 405 400 405 show a two-deck automatic card shuffling machine.shows the automatic card shuffling machinewith a housingin place.show various view of the two-deck automatic card shuffling machinewith the housingremoved.

26 FIG. 400 400 410 415 1 415 2 415 1 403 400 415 1 400 407 410 415 1 410 420 400 shows a transparent side view of the two-deck automatic card shuffling machinedetailing how the automatic card shuffling machineoperates according to the embodiments of the present invention. A shelfseparates two decks of cards-,-being used to play a game of chance (e.g., poker). In operation, a first deck of cards-is inserted into a pre-shuffle binof the two-deck automatic card shuffling machineand shuffled. Shuffling occurs as detailed above such that each card from the first deck of cards-is individually ejected from the body of the automatic card shuffling machineinto a card-receiving areaon the top of the shelf. The first full deck of cards-once ejected onto the top of the shelfremains there until the prior deck of cards is ejected, in the form of hands (i.e., pre-established number of cards to form a hand of the game being played) and extras, from the card packet delivery sectionof the automatic card shuffling machine.

420 400 410 415 1 420 410 410 415 1 420 410 415 1 420 410 400 415 1 420 410 415 1 420 When the prior deck of cards is ejected, in the form of hands (i.e., pre-established number of cards to form a hand of the game being played) and extras, from the card packet delivery sectionof the automatic card shuffling machine, the shelfmoves permitting the first deck of cards-to drop into the card packet delivery section. In one embodiment, the shelfis hinged about one edge such that the shelfrotates downward about the hinged edge allowing the first deck of cards-to slide into the card packet delivery section. In another embodiment, the shelfcomprises two sections which separate allowing the first deck of cards-to fall into the card packet delivery section. In another embodiment, the shelfretracts into the automatic card shuffling machineallowing the first deck of cards-to fall into the card packet delivery section. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the shelfmay be configured to move in any number of ways allowing the first deck of cards-to slide, fall or otherwise move into the card packet delivery section.

415 1 420 425 415 1 430 430 420 430 430 420 430 430 420 430 420 420 430 400 407 410 Once the first deck of cards-is delivered to the card packet delivery section, one or more rollerspick a pre-established number of cards from the bottom of the deck of cards-and propels them to a dealer pick up area. The pre-established number of cards is determined by the game being played. For example, if Pai Gow is the game, then seven cards are individually delivered to the dealer pick up area. Then, once those seven cards are removed, the card packet delivery sectionpropels another seven cards individually to the dealer pick up area. One or more sensors proximate to the dealer pick up areaalert the card packet delivery sectionwhen the dealer pick up areais empty and to propel another set of cards to the dealer pick up area. Once all cards necessary to play the subject game have been removed by the dealer, the card packet delivery sectionpropels all remaining extra cards to the dealer pick up areaso that the next deck of cards for the next hand of the game can be delivered to the card packet delivery section. While the card packet delivery sectionis propelling cards to the dealer pick up area, the automatic card shuffling machineis propelling a next deck of shuffled cards into the card-receiving areaon the shelf. This routine is repeated such that down time is limited.

400 400 In one embodiment, the automatic card shuffling machineis programmed to deal between 2-7 cards per hand depending on the game being played. The number of cards dealt per hand can be set by the dealer using an interface (e.g., toggle, display, etc.). This allows the automatic card shuffling machineto deal a variety of different games.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to several embodiments, additional variations and modifications exist within the scope and spirit of the invention as described and defined in the following claims.