Automatic shoe loading mechanism
View Patent ↗A compact card handling device for use in casinos possesses a card input portal and two playing card discharge portals which are all accessible by a device operator. An optical recognition sensor cooperates with a microcontroller to interrogate the integrity of each card during an ongoing shuffling operation to discover unexpected cards, including unrecognized cards and flipped cards. Expected cards are randomized and accumulated into a stack whereupon those cards are thereafter delivered to a first discharge portal comprising a conventional multi-card shoe. Unexpected cards are immediately discharged to a second portal where they may be visually examined by the device operator while a shuffling operation continues. The input portal and the shoe are clustered conveniently upon the surface of a casino table while the bulk of the machine resides below the table surface.
1 . A shoe loading mechanism for maintaining a continuous supply of randomized playing cards within a multi-card shoe, the mechanism comprising:
a multi-card shoe having a shoe cavity including walls for containing a stored stack of randomized cards and a surface for resting upon a playing card surface of a casino table;
one shoe wall comprising a draw plate having a finger opening for receiving a dealer's finger and including an adjacent opening for withdrawing one card at a time from the shoe cavity;
a sensor that is monitored by a microcontroller for counting the withdrawn cards;
the shoe cavity including a support for biasing the stored stack of cards against an inner surface of the draw plate as cards accumulate within the shoe cavity;
the shoe cavity having an opening for receiving randomized cards from an elevator carriage;
the elevator carriage raising the randomized cards from an elevation below the shoe cavity;
the elevator carriage having a single support plane for supporting the randomized cards;
the elevator carriage support plane transiting from an elevation below the playing card surface of the casino table to an elevation above the playing card surface;
a shuttle for moving cards from the elevator carriage into the shoe cavity;
the elevator carriage raising randomized cards to an elevation interceptable by the shuttle after a randomization operation has been completed;
the shuttle moves along a linear path that is parallel to card faces of the randomized cards residing on the elevator carriage;
the shuttle having a surface for contacting edges of the randomized cards residing upon the elevator carriage;
the shuttle movement taking place at an elevation above the stored stack of cards;
the elevator carriage elevation remaining below the shuttle;
wherein the shuttle maintains a continuous supply of multiple cards within the shoe cavity by moving cards from the elevator carriage into the shoe when the card count within the shoe is reduced below a certain threshold number.
2 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the shuttle has a home position for allowing the elevator carriage to raise the randomized card stack.
3 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the shuttle has a terminal position for seating cards within the shoe cavity.
4 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the shuttle moves cards into the shoe cavity from an elevation above the stored stack of cards.
5 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the shuttle's movement is guided by cam tracks.
6 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the shuttle is controlled by a motor.
7 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 including a shoe roll which induces angular rotation of cards as they enter into the shoe cavity.
8 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 7 wherein cards moving into the shoe are partially supported by the shoe roll.
9 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the microcontroller cooperates with the sensor to maintain a count of the cards residing within the shoe at any given moment in time.
10 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the elevated position of the elevator carriage is controlled by an elevator motor.
11 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the elevator incrementally raises the randomized cards on the elevator carriage by a distance equal to a combined thickness of a predesignated number of cards when moving cards into the shoe cavity.
12 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the microcontroller decides when to actuate the shuttle based upon a number of cards residing within the shoe.
13 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein elevator movement is bounded by a randomizing chamber.
14 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 13 wherein the randomizing chamber extends both above and below the playing card surface of the casino table.
15 . The shoe loading mechanism of claim 1 wherein the elevator carriage reciprocates upwardly and downwardly within a randomizing chamber while randomizing cards.