Method and apparatus for card handling device calibration
View Patent ↗A device for automatically calibrating for card size and thickness during card handling is disclosed. The device includes a card receiving area, a card stacking area and a card moving system for moving cards from the card receiving area to the card stacking area. An elevator located in the card stacking area has a movable platform for moving a stack of cards. At least one sensor senses at least one of position of the platform, height of the platform, position of a card in the elevator, height of a card or cards in the elevator, pressure applied to a card in the elevator, presence of the platform at a predetermined height, presence of the platform at a predetermined position, presence of card(s) on the platform, and absence of card(s) on the platform. A method for calibrating a card handling device during shuffling is also disclosed.
1. A method of operating a card handling device comprising an automatic card shuffler, the automatic card shuffler comprising a card receiving area, a card moving system, a card support surface supported by an elevator, and at least one card supporting element for suspending cards over the card support surface at an elevation in alignment with the at least one card supporting element, the method comprising:
transferring cards individually from the card receiving area to the card support surface;
sensing a number of cards transferred to the card support surface;
raising the elevator and the card support surface with the cards thereon to an elevation in alignment with the at least one card supporting element;
gripping one or more cards on the card support surface by applying a pressure on the one or more cards with the at least one card supporting element; and
lowering the elevator and the card support surface to suspend the one or more cards with the at least one card supporting element at the elevation;
wherein a pressure on the one or more cards applied by the at least one card supporting element increases as a number of gripped cards increases.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein lowering the elevator and the card support surface to suspend the one or more cards with the at least one card supporting element at the elevation comprises lowering the elevator to create an opening between the gripped cards and any remaining cards on the card support surface.
3. The method of claim 2 , further comprising randomly selecting multiple elevations of the card support surface sequentially to create openings at randomly determined locations within a stack of cards on the card support surface.
4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising raising and lowering the elevator and the card support surface during operation of the card handling device.
5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising counting the sensed number of cards transferred to the card support surface.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising adjusting the pressure on the one or more cards applied by the at least one card supporting element based on the number of cards transferred to the card support surface.
7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a signal from a pressure sensor to a processor of the automatic card shuffler to determine a pressure on the gripped cards exerted by the at least one card supporting element.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein gripping one or more cards on the card support surface by applying a pressure on the one or more cards with the at least one card supporting element comprises adjusting a set of gripping elements to provide a force sufficient to suspend the one or more cards when the elevator is lowered.
9. The method of claim 8 , wherein adjusting the set of gripping elements to provide a force sufficient to suspend the one or more cards comprises moving at least one gripping element of the set of gripping elements horizontally toward another gripping element of the set of gripping elements.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein moving at least one gripping element of the set of gripping elements horizontally toward another gripping element of the set of gripping elements comprises moving at least two gripping elements of the set of gripping elements horizontally toward each other and in opposing directions.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising transmitting a signal from a microprocessor corresponding to the pressure on the one or more cards applied by the at least one card supporting element.
12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining a distance that the card support surface must be vertically moved to position each card in a selected order.
13. A method of operating an automatic card shuffler, comprising:
receiving a group of cards in a first area;
feeding cards from the first area individually onto a movable elevator;
sensing whether a card jam has occurred;
when a card jam has been sensed, initiating a sequence to automatically clear the sensed card jam; and
when the sensed card jam does not automatically clear, initiating a calibration routine.
14. A method of operating a card handling device, comprising:
transferring a first card from a first area onto a support platform;
raising the support platform to an elevation at which a set of gripping elements can grasp the first card as the gripping elements move in opposite directions toward the first card;
adjusting the set of gripping elements to provide a first force on the first card, wherein the first force is sufficient to grip and suspend the first card;
transferring additional cards onto the support platform; and
adjusting the set of gripping elements to provide a second force on the first card and at least one of the additional cards, wherein the second force is sufficient to grip and suspend the first card and the at least one of the additional cards.
15. The method of claim 14 , wherein adjusting the set of gripping elements to provide a first force on the first card comprises moving at least one gripping element of the set of gripping elements horizontally toward another gripping element of the set of gripping elements.
16. The method of claim 15 , wherein moving at least one gripping element of the set of gripping elements horizontally toward another gripping element of the set of gripping elements comprises moving at least two gripping elements of the set of gripping elements horizontally toward each other and in opposing directions.
17. The method of claim 14 , further comprising lowering the support platform before transferring additional cards onto the support platform.
18. The method of claim 14 , further comprising counting a number of the additional cards.
19. The method of claim 14 , further comprising receiving a signal from a pressure sensor to determine a pressure on the gripped cards exerted by the set of gripping elements.
20. The method of claim 14 , wherein adjusting the set of gripping elements to provide a second force on the first card and at least one of the additional cards comprises adjusting the set of gripping elements to provide a force sufficient to suspend the first card and the at least one of the additional cards when the elevator is lowered.