Device and method for continuously shuffling and monitoring cards for specialty games

Abstract

The present invention provides an apparatus and method for moving playing cards from a first group of cards into a second group of cards, wherein the second group of cards is randomly arranged or shuffled. The apparatus comprises a card receiver for receiving the first group of cards, a single stack of card-receiving compartments generally adjacent to the card receiver, the stack generally vertically movable, an elevator for moving the stack, a card-moving mechanism between the card receiver and the stack for moving cards one at a time into a selected one of the compartments, another card moving mechanism for moving cards from one of the compartments to a second card receiver and a microprocessor that controls the card-moving mechanisms and the elevator. A count of cards within specified areas of the card handling system is maintained and card handling is halted and all cards counted by adding a count of all cards not within the specified areas to the total of cards counted within the specified areas. The apparatus may use specialty cards to implement games such as roulette or craps, with only one or two cards used to provide the game outcome, and those cards, plus any additional cards removed from the shuffler, being returned to the shuffler prior to beginning any subsequent game plays.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . An apparatus for continuously shuffling playing cards, said apparatus comprising: 
 a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the apparatus;    a card receiver for receiving a first group of cards;    a single moveable stack of card-receiving compartments generally adjacent to the card receiver, and means for moving the stack;    a card-moving mechanism between the card receiver and the stack;    a processing unit that controls the card-moving mechanism and the means for relatively moving the stack with respect to the card receiver so that cards placed in the card receiver are moved into a selected number of compartments;    a second card-moving mechanism between the stack and the second card receiver;    a second card receiver for receiving cards from the compartments, and    a counting system that counts cards when 1) passed from the card receiver to the stack of card-receiving compartments, and/or 2) passed from the stack of card-receiving compartments to the second card receiver.    
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the counting system also counts cards present in said second card receiver.  
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1  having a default function that will not allow a single set of cards to be delivered to a second card receiver when the card counting system identifies that an improper number of cards are within the apparatus.  
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 3  wherein the microprocessor is programmed to empty the entire apparatus of cards when the default function indicates that an improper number of cards are within the apparatus.  
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the system maintains a count of cards in the card-receiving stacks.  
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 2  wherein the system maintains a count of the total number of cards within the stack of card receiving compartments and the second card receiver.  
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a second card moving means for emptying the compartments into the second card receiver.  
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 7 , further comprising a card present sensor operably coupled to the second card receiver.  
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 8 , wherein cards are moved from the compartments into the second card receiver in response to a reading from the card present sensor.  
     
     
         10 . A card handler comprising: 
 a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the apparatus;    a card staging area for receiving cards to be handled;    a plurality of card-receiving compartments, the card staging area and the compartments are relatively movable;    a card mover generally between the staging area and the compartments for moving a card from the staging area into one of the compartments;    a microprocessor programmed to identify each card in the card staging area and to actuate the card mover to move an identified card to a randomly selected compartment, wherein the microprocessor is programmable to deliver a selected number of cards to a compartment;    a drive system responsive to the microprocessor for providing relative motion between the card mover and the compartments; and    a counting system for counting cards within specified areas within the card handler.    
     
     
         11 . The card handler of  claim 10  wherein the counting system counts cards entering and leaving the plurality of card-receiving compartments.  
     
     
         12 . The card handler of  claim 10  wherein a card moving system is present to move cards from the plurality of card-receiving compartments to a second card receiving area.  
     
     
         13 . The card handler of  claim 10  wherein the counting system counts cards entering and leaving the plurality of card-receiving compartments and cards entering and leaving the second card receiving area.  
     
     
         14 . The card handler of  claim 13  wherein the counting system maintains a rolling count of the cards within both the plurality of card-receiving compartments and the second card receiving area.  
     
     
         15 . The card handler according to  claim 12 , further comprising inputs operably coupled to the microprocessor for inputting information into the microprocessor.  
     
     
         16 . A playing card handler comprising: 
 a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the apparatus;    a stack of compartments for accumulating cards in at least one compartment;    a microprocessor programmed to randomly select the compartment which receives each card in a manner sufficient to accomplish randomly arranging the cards in each compartment, wherein the microprocessor is programmable to deliver a selected number of cards to a selected number of compartments;    a card staging area for receiving a stack of cards to be handled, wherein the stack of compartments is movable with respect to the card staging area;    card moving means responsive to output signals from the microprocessor for moving between the staging area and the stack of mixing compartments;    a card mover for moving cards from the compartments to a second card receiver; and    the microprocessor performing as a counting system for counting cards within specified areas within the card handler.    
     
     
         17 . The apparatus according to  claim 16 , further comprising a data storage medium accessible by the processing unit, wherein the data storage medium has a program stored on it, and wherein the program is configured to cause the processing unit to cause the card moving means to move cards from the staging area to random compartments.  
     
     
         18 . The apparatus according to  claim 16 , wherein the microprocessor monitors, records and controls a display for the use of the apparatus.  
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , further comprising at least one sensor for monitoring the movement of cards that comprise cards representative of dice counts or roulette spins.  
     
     
         20 . The apparatus according to  claim 19 , wherein the data storage medium is further configured to cause the processing unit to detect a card count that indicates that an improper number of cards is present within the apparatus, and upon detection of the improper card count, to empty the apparatus of all cards.  
     
     
         21 . A method of substantially continuously resupplying randomly arranged cards, said method comprising the steps of: 
 providing a card receiver for receiving cards to be processed;    providing a single stack of card-receiving compartments generally adjacent to the card receiver and means for moving the stack relative to a card moving mechanism;    providing a card-moving mechanism between the card receiver and the stack and moving cards from the card receiver to the card-receiving compartments;    providing a second card receiver for receiving processed cards;    providing a second card moving mechanism for moving cards from the compartments to the second card receiver; and    counting cards within specified areas within the card handler.    
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21  wherein cards are counted within the stack of card-receiving compartments.  
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  wherein cards are counted within the stack of card-receiving compartments and the second card receiving area.  
     
     
         24 . The method according to  claim 20 , further comprising provided a processing unit for controlling the card-moving mechanism and the means for moving the stack so that cards in the card receiver are moved into random compartments.  
     
     
         25 . The method according to  claim 24 , further comprising using the microprocessor to designate each card and select a compartment for receiving each designated card.  
     
     
         26 . A device for delivering shuffled cards comprising: 
 a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the device;    a card receiver for receiving at least one stack of unshuffled cards;    a plurality of individual compartments;    a first card mover for moving each card in the stack individually from the card receiver to a compartment;    a second card mover for moving cards from a compartment to a second card receiver upon demand; and    a processing unit programmed to control the first card mover and the second card mover, wherein the processing unit randomly assigns each card in the stack to a compartment, and controls the first card mover and the second card movers upon demand.    
     
     
         27 . The method according to  claim 26 , wherein between seventeen and nineteen compartments are provided.  
     
     
         28 . The method according to  claim 26 , wherein the group of cards comprises one or more decks of cards selected from the group consisting of decks of cards having from 60 to 80 cards representing rolls of a pair of dice or spins of a roulette wheel.  
     
     
         29 . A method of performing a security check on a card handling system used at a gaming table comprising: 
 providing a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the apparatus;    providing a card receiver for receiving cards to be processed;    providing a single stack of card-receiving compartments generally adjacent to the card receiver and means for moving the stack;    providing a card-moving mechanism between the card receiver and the stack and moving cards from the card receiver to the card-receiving compartments;    providing a second card receiver for receiving processed cards;    providing a second card moving mechanism for moving cards from the compartments to the second card receiver; and    counting cards within specified areas within the card handler during a period wherein cards are moved within the card handling system;    delivering a subset of from 4 to 6 cards from the second card receiver;    removing the subset of 4 to 6 cards from the second card receiver for determining the outcome of a game.    
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29  wherein after a game outcome has been determined by cards from the subset of 4 to 6 cards, the subset of cards is returned to the card receiver, and the total number of cards in the card handling system are counted.  
     
     
         31 . The process of  claim 30  wherein card movement from the card receiving compartments to the second card receiver is halted, all cards in the area of the gaming table and the second card receiver are retrieved inserted into the card receiver for receiving cards to be processed, the cards inserted into the card receiver for receiving cards to be processed are counted as they move to the stack of card-receiving compartments, and adding the number of retrieved cards counted to the number of cards counted as within specified areas within the card handler to provide a final count of cards.  
     
     
         32 . The process of  claim 30  wherein after the total number of cards in the card handling system is counted, that total number of cards is compared to an original number of cards.  
     
     
         33 . The process of  claim 30  wherein if the total number of cards counted does not equal the original number of cards, the card handling system is disabled from delivering a subset of cards to determine a game outcome.  
     
     
         34 . The method of  claim 33  wherein the original number of cards to be used in the play of a game on the casino gaming table is identified to a microprocessor prior to starting play of the game.  
     
     
         35 . The method of  claim 34  wherein the original number of cards is compared to the total number of cards identified to the microprocessor prior to starting play of a game.  
     
     
         36 . The method of  claim 35  wherein cards are counted within the stack of card-receiving compartments and the second card receiving area.  
     
     
         37 . A card shuffling apparatus capable of delivering a continuous supply of shuffled cards on demand, the apparatus comprising: 
 a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the apparatus;    a card shuffling chamber for randomizing cards;    a card receiver and feed mechanism for receiving and feeding unshuffled cards into the shuffling chamber;    at least one sensor for sensing the presence of a card as the card is being fed into the shuffling chamber;    at least one sensor for sensing the presence of a card as the card is being removed from the shuffling chamber;    a mechanism for removing cards from the shuffling chamber on demand to provide a continuous supply of shuffled cards;    a visual display; and    a microprocessor,    wherein the microprocessor is programmed to: 
 receive signals from sensors and count cards entering and being removed from the shuffling chamber and to maintain a count of cards present in the shuffling chamber;  
 receive instructions from an apparatus user to initiate a card counting process,  
   wherein the card counting process includes discontinuing of operation of the card removal process, pausing until cards outside of the shuffling chamber are loaded into the feed mechanism, receiving an indication from the at least one sensor for sensing the presence of a card as the card is being fed into the shuffling chamber and the at least one sensor for sensing the presence of a card as the card is being removed from the shuffling chamber of an indication of current card count status on the visual display.    
     
     
         38 . The apparatus of  claim 37  wherein the indication from the at least one sensor for sensing the presence of a card as the card is being fed into the shuffling chamber and the at least one sensor for sensing the presence of a card as the card is being removed from the shuffling chamber indicates the number of cards added and removed from the shuffling chamber.  
     
     
         39 . The apparatus of  claim 37  wherein the shuffling chamber comprises a plurality of mixing compartments, wherein the mixing compartments move relative to the card feeding mechanism.  
     
     
         40 . The apparatus of  claim 37  wherein the mechanism for providing access to a continuous supply of cards comprises a shoe.  
     
     
         41 . The apparatus of  claim 37  wherein the indication of card count status comprises a card count.  
     
     
         42 . The apparatus of  claim 37  wherein the indication of card count status comprises an error signal.  
     
     
         43 . An apparatus for continuously shuffling playing cards, said apparatus comprising: 
 a card counting system that maintains a count of all cards within the apparatus;    a card receiver for receiving a first group of cards;    a single stack of card-receiving compartments generally adjacent to the card receiver, said stack generally vertically movable, and means for moving the stack;    a card-moving mechanism between the card receiver and the stack;    a processing unit that controls the card-moving mechanism and the means for moving the stack so that cards placed in the card receiver are moved into a selected number of compartments; and    a second card receiver for receiving cards from the compartments    the card receiver for receiving the first group of cards supporting the cards so that gravity applies a force against the cards and maintains an inter-operative position between the cards and the card moving mechanism.    
     
     
         44 . A method of playing a game of chance having rules consistent with the play of a game of where rolls of dice determine game outcomes, wherein rolls of the dice are effected by providing a group of cards having symbols, the cards in the group having a form representing die values, 
 providing the cards from a continuous shuffler to represent a roll of dice to determine a game outcome, and    reinserting cards used in each previous roll of dice into the shuffler, and    randomly inserting the reinserted cards into a set of cards already in the shuffler before any subsequent provision of any subsequent provision of groups of cards to effect a game outcome.    
     
     
         45 . The method of playing a game of chance according to  claim 44  wherein the game of chance comprises a game of craps.  
     
     
         46 . The method of playing a game of craps according to  claim 45  wherein a shuffler reads specific values from cards leaving the shuffler to assist in determining game outcomes.  
     
     
         47 . The method of playing game of craps according to  claim 45  wherein players enter wagers through an electronic data entry system at each position for each player.  
     
     
         48 . The method of playing game of craps according to  claim 46  wherein players enter wagers through an electronic data entry system at each position for each player and wager resolutions are determined by a microprocessor comparing player wagers and read values of cards provided to determine game outcomes.  
     
     
         49 . The method of playing a game of chance according to  claim 44  wherein at least four cards are provided as the cards from a continuous shuffler, and fewer than four cards are used to determine a game outcome.  
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49  wherein the game comprises craps, and only one or two cards are used to determine the game outcome.  
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 50  wherein four to six cards are provided as the cards from the continuous shuffler.  
     
     
         52 . A method of playing a game of chance having rules consistent with the play of a game of chance wherein a game outcome is determined by a single numeric value, wherein determination of the single numeric value is effected by providing a group of cards having symbols, the cards in the group having a form representing single values, 
 providing the cards from a continuous shuffler to represent the selection of a single value to determine a game outcome, and    reinserting cards used in each previous determination of a single value into the shuffler, and    randomly inserting the reinserted cards into a set of cards already in the shuffler before any subsequent provision of any subsequent provision of groups of cards to effect a game outcome.    
     
     
         53 . The method of playing a game according to  claim 52  wherein the game of chance where a game outcome is determined by a single number comprises a roulette-type game.  
     
     
         54 . The method of  claim 53  wherein the continuous shuffler has at least 36 cards in the shuffler before cards are provided to determine a game outcome.  
     
     
         55 . The method of  claim 54  wherein the continuous shuffler has between 36 and 380 cards in the shuffler before cards are provided to determine a game outcome.  
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55  wherein the game comprises roulette, and only one is used to determine the game outcome.  
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 56  wherein four to six cards are provided as the cards from the continuous shuffler.