Methods and apparatuses for an automatic card handling device and communication networks including same
An automatic card handling device, automatic card handling devices within a network, and methods of use are disclosed. An automatic card handling device includes a shuffling apparatus with a controller and configured to deliver a set of shuffled cards, and a communication module operably coupled to the controller. The communication module is configured for establishing an electronic communication with a local or world-wide network and thereafter sending and receiving information related to the operation of the automatic card handling device across the network. A network of automatic card handling devices may include a plurality of automatic card shufflers. The network may also include at least one server operably coupled to the plurality of automatic card shufflers. In addition, the server may be operably coupled to a service center through a world-wide network.
1. An automatic card handling device, comprising:
a shuffling apparatus configured to shuffle an input set of cards and deliver randomly ordered cards resulting from the shuffling; and
a computing device comprising:
a diagnosis module configured to perform a self-diagnosis of the card handling device and determine operational data indicating functionality parameters of the shuffling apparatus, wherein the functionality parameters include diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis; and
a communication module configured to transmit at least some of the operational data including the diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis to an alerting system configured to present the at least some of the operational data to a device technician, the alerting system operably coupled to a communication network coupled to one or more servers and one or more other card handling devices.
2. The automatic card handling device of claim 1 , wherein the computing device comprises at least one computing device selected from the group consisting of a microcontroller, a custom application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), one or more programmable logic devices (PLDs), and a hardware communication module.
3. The automatic card handling device of claim 2 , wherein the diagnosis module is further configured to perform the self-diagnosis responsive to receiving a diagnostic request via the communication module from the one or more servers.
4. The automatic card handling device of claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis module is further configured to determine the operational data as repair-related data.
5. The automatic card handling device of claim 4 , wherein the communication module is further configured to transmit a service request including the repair-related data via the one or more servers to at least one of a service center and one or more data receiving devices in possession of casino personnel.
6. The automatic card handling device of claim 1 , wherein the diagnosis module is further configured to determine the functionality parameters as parameters selected from the group consisting of data related to current or past operation, the serial number of the card handling device, the serial numbers of device parts, and physical location of the card handling device.
7. The automatic card handling device of claim 1 , further comprising a detection module configured to recognize a rank and suit of each card of the delivered cards prior to removal of the cards from the shuffling apparatus.
8. The automatic card handling device of claim 7 , further comprising a microcontroller configured to perform the functions of the diagnosis module, the detection module, and the communication module.
9. A method of operating a card handling device, the method comprising:
shuffling an input set of cards and delivering randomly ordered cards resulting from the shuffling with a shuffling apparatus;
performing a self-diagnosis of the card handling device;
determining operational data indicating functionality parameters of the shuffling apparatus, the functionality parameters including diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis of the card handling device; and
transmitting at least some of the operational data including the diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis to an alerting system configured to present the at least some of the operational data including the diagnostic results to a device technician, the alerting system operably coupled to a communication network coupled to one or more servers, and one or more other card handling devices.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein transmitting the at least some of the operational data to the alerting system comprises transmitting the at least some of the operational data to at least one of a computer and a cellular phone of the device technician, wherein the at least one of the computer and the cellular phone includes a graphical user interface configured to present the at least some of the operational data to the device technician.
11. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing the self-diagnosis responsive to receiving a diagnostic request from the one or more servers.
12. The method of claim 9 , wherein determining operational data comprises determining repair-related data.
13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising transmitting a service request including the repair-related data via the one or more servers to at least one of a service center and one or more data receiving devices in possession of casino personnel.
14. The method of claim 9 , further comprising determining the functionality parameters as parameters selected from the group consisting of data related to current or past operation, the serial number of the card handling device, the serial numbers of device parts, and physical location of the card handling device.
15. The method of claim 9 , further comprising recognizing a rank and suit of each card of the delivered cards prior to removal of the cards from the shuffling apparatus.
16. A system configured to enable card handling devices to communicate through a network, the system comprising:
one or more card handling devices, each card handling device of the one or more card handling devices comprising:
a shuffling apparatus configured to shuffle an input set of cards and deliver randomly ordered cards resulting from the shuffling; and
a computing device comprising:
a diagnosis module configured to perform a self-diagnosis of the card handling device and determine operational data indicating functionality parameters of the shuffling apparatus, wherein the functionality parameters include diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis; and
a communication module configured to transmit the operational data including the diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis over a network; and
a remote server configured to communicate over the network and perform at least one operation selected from the group consisting of:
sending a request for at least some of the operational data including the diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis to at least one of the one or more card handling devices; and
receiving at least some of the operational data including the diagnostic results of the self-diagnosis from at least one of the one or more card handling devices.
17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the remote server is configured to send and receive information across a world-wide network.
18. The system of claim 16 , further comprising a service center operably coupled to the remote server over a world-wide network.
19. The system of claim 16 , wherein the remote server is further configured to send the request as a request for the operational data to include repair-related data.
20. The system of claim 16 , wherein the remote server is further configured to send the request as a request for the operational data to include the functionality parameters as parameters selected from the group consisting of data related to current or past operation, the serial number of the card handling device, the serial numbers of device parts, and physical location of the card handling device.