Card shooter device and method
View Patent ↗A card shoe apparatus includes a card guide unit that guides cards that are manually drawn out one by one from a card housing unit onto a game table, a code reading unit that, when a card is drawn out from the card housing unit, reads from that card a code that indicates a rank (number, rank) of that card, a authenticity determination unit that determines the authenticity of the card based on the information of the authenticity of the card, a winning/losing determination unit that determines the winning/losing of a card game based on the ranks of the cards sequentially read by the code reading unit, and an output unit that outputs the results of the determination made by the winning/losing determination unit. The card guide unit includes a card entry/exit restriction unit that restricts the entry/exit of the card to/from the card housing unit.
1. A card shoe apparatus comprising: a card housing unit for housing a plurality of cards; an opening for manually withdrawing the cards one by one from the card housing unit by a dealer; a card reading unit that reads information on the cards as the cards are manually withdrawn from the card housing unit onto a game table; a control unit that stores rules of a card game and determines the winning/losing of the card game according to the rules of the card game based on the information read by the card reading unit; an optical device that detects movements of the cards relative to the card reading unit; a display unit that outputs the winning/losing result as determined by the control unit; and a card entry/exit restriction unit that is provided in the opening unit, wherein the card housing unit, the card reading unit, the control unit, the display unit and the card entry/exit restriction unit being configured as a single unit; further wherein the card entry/exit restriction unit restricts the entry or exit of any cards when: 1) the optical device detects the insertion of a card external from the card housing; or 2) the optical device detects an improper or impermissible timing or manner of withdrawing one or more of the cards.
2. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an error signal output unit that, upon the operation of the card entry/exit restriction unit, signals the operation of the card entry/exit restriction unit.
3. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the optical device comprises one or more fiber optic sensors.
4. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a card guide unit that guides the cards manually withdrawn from the card housing.
5. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the card entry/exit restriction unit further comprises a lock member.
6. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein, upon the operation of the card entry/exit restriction unit, the card is prohibited from further movement relative to the card guide unit.
7. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein, upon the operation of the card entry/exit restriction unit, the card is pressed between the card guide unit and the lock member.
8. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising invisible codes on one or more of the cards.
9. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the invisible codes are placed on the upper side and lower side of the cards in a symmetrical arrangement.
10. A card shoe apparatus according to claim 8 , further comprising an authenticity determination code on one or more of the cards.