Hand-forming card shuffling apparatuses including multi-card storage compartments, and related methods
Card shufflers usable in forming and dispensing randomized playing card hands for use in playing card games include a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler, a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, and a card output mechanism for outputting shuffled cards from the card shuffler. The card storage device may include a wheel configured to rotate within the card shuffler. The rotatable wheel may have a plurality of card storage compartments therein, each of which may be sized and configured to hold two or more cards therein. Related methods involve the use of such card shufflers in playing card games.
1. A card shuffler, comprising:
a card input area;
a card output area;
a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler from the card input area;
a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler; and
a card output mechanism for moving shuffled cards from the card storage device to the card output area;
wherein the card input mechanism comprises:
a plurality of rollers located and configured to drive movement of cards along a card input path extending from the card input area toward the card storage device;
a motor configured to drive rotation of at least some rollers of the plurality of rollers; and
at least one slide bar extending continuously between the rollers of the plurality of rollers along the input path, the at least one slide bar having an upper surface recessed from apexes of the rollers of the plurality of rollers by an average distance of about 0.07 inch or less.
2. The card shuffler of claim 1 , wherein the at least one slide bar is located and configured to reduce operational noise generated by cards moving along the input path responsive to operation of the card input mechanism.
3. The card shuffler of claim 1 , wherein the at least one slide bar comprises two slide bars oriented at least substantially parallel to one another.
4. A card shuffler configured to generate a number of randomized playing card hands for use in a playing card game, comprising:
a card input mechanism for inputting cards into the card shuffler;
a card storage device for receiving cards from the card input mechanism and temporarily storing cards within the card shuffler, the card storage device comprising a plurality of card storage compartments, at least a majority of the card storage compartments sized and configured to hold two or more cards therein;
a card output mechanism for moving shuffled cards from the card storage device and outputting the shuffled cards into a card delivery tray; and
a control system configured to control operation of the card shuffler in a first operational mode during use of the card shuffler in a playing card game with at least a predefined number of players, and to control operation of the card shuffler in a second operational mode during use of the card shuffler in the playing card game with less than the predefined number of players;
wherein the control system is configured under control of a program to cause the card shuffler to form playing card hands in a first number of designated adjacent card storage compartments of the plurality of card storage compartments in the first operational mode, and the control system is configured under control of the program to form playing card hands only in a second number of designated adjacent card storage compartments of the plurality of card storage compartments and not in any other card storage compartments of the plurality of card storage compartments in the second operational mode, the second number being lower than the first number.
5. The card shuffler of claim 4 , wherein the second number is equal to one less than the predefined number of players.
6. The card shuffler of claim 4 , wherein the predefined number of players is four (4).
7. The card shuffler of claim 4 , wherein the control system is configured under control of a program to cause the card shuffler to form a first number of playing card hands in respective designated adjacent card storage compartments of the plurality of card storage compartments in the first operational mode, and the control system is configured under control of the program to form a second number of playing card hands in respective designated adjacent card storage compartments of the plurality of card storage compartments in the second operational mode, the second number of playing card hands being less than the first number of playing card hands.
8. The card shuffler of claim 4 , wherein a time required to input a number of playing cards into the card storage device in the second operational mode is less than a time required to input the same number of playing cards into the card storage device in the first operational mode.