Card shoe with force resist mechanism

Abstract

A card shoe for holding and distributing playing cards during a playing card game, where the card shoe can hold multiple decks of playing cards. The card shoe includes a wedge assembly that biases playing cards toward a playing card extraction opening. Gravity and/or other forces, for example a spring force, may bias the wedge assembly. The wedge assembly includes a wedge block and a roller subassembly. The roller subassembly includes a shaft, a clutch assembly, and a roller. In one embodiment, the clutch assembly and roller are mounted on an offset portion of the shaft so that the roller can be adjusted relative to a bottom of the wedge block. The clutch assembly permits the roller to roll in only one direction. The clutch assembly locks onto the shaft if a force is exerted which would tend to push the wedge block away from the playing card extraction opening.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward a playing card extraction opening of a card shoe, the wedge assembly comprising:
 a wedge block having a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom surface, the wedge block receivable in the card shoe; and   a roller subassembly having a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block to be rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.   
     
     
         2 . The wedge assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a number of guides extending outwardly from wedge block to engage complementary structure on the card shoe.   
     
     
         3 . The wedge assembly of  claim 1  wherein the angle between the card engagement surface and the bottom surface of the wedge block is an acute angle. 
     
     
         4 . The wedge assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a shaft coupled to the wedge block, wherein the shaft includes a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis.   
     
     
         5 . The wedge assembly of  claim 4  wherein the first shaft axis is offset from the second shaft axis. 
     
     
         6 . The wedge assembly of  claim 4  wherein the roller is rotationally coupled to one of the first or the second portions of the shaft. 
     
     
         7 . The wedge assembly of  claim 1  wherein a portion of the roller extends beyond the bottom surface of the wedge block. 
     
     
         8 . The wedge assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a handle coupled to the wedge block.   
     
     
         9 . The wedge assembly of  claim 8  wherein the handle is positioned on a rear portion of the wedge block. 
     
     
         10 . The wedge assembly of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a clutch assembly coupling the roller to the wedge block, wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft when the roller is urged in the direction opposite the first rotational direction.   
     
     
         11 . A wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward a playing card extraction opening of a card shoe, the wedge assembly comprising:
 a wedge block having a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom surface, the wedge block receivable in the card shoe; and   a roller subassembly having a shaft and a roller, the shaft coupled to the wedge block and having a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis, the roller coupled to the second portion of the shaft and rotatable about the second shaft axis.   
     
     
         12 . The wedge assembly of  claim 11  wherein the roller is coupled to the second portion of the shaft via a clutch assembly. 
     
     
         13 . The wedge assembly of  claim 12  wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft to permit rotation of the roller in a first rotational direction and substantially resist rotation of the roller in a direction opposite the first rotational direction. 
     
     
         14 . The wedge assembly of  claim 11  wherein the first portion of the shaft is fixedly coupled to the wedge block to prevent rotation of the shaft relative to the wedge block. 
     
     
         15 . The wedge assembly of  claim 11 , further comprising:
 a number of guides extending outwardly from wedge block to engage complementary structure on the card shoe.   
     
     
         16 . A card shoe comprising:
 a housing having a playing card support surface and an opening, the playing card support surface arranged to receive and support a plurality of playing cards, the opening sized to permit extraction of at least some of the plurality of playing cards from the housing; and   a wedge assembly having a wedge block and a roller subassembly, the wedge block includes a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom surface, the wedge block is receivable in the housing of card shoe, the roller subassembly includes a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block and rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.   
     
     
         17 . The wedge assembly of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a number of guides extending outwardly from wedge block to engage complementary structure on the card shoe.   
     
     
         18 . The wedge assembly of  claim 16  wherein the angle between the card engagement surface and the bottom surface of the wedge block is an acute angle. 
     
     
         19 . The wedge assembly of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a shaft coupled to the wedge block, wherein the shaft includes a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis and a second portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis.   
     
     
         20 . The wedge assembly of  claim 19  wherein the first shaft axis is offset from the second shaft axis. 
     
     
         21 . The wedge assembly of  claim 19  wherein the roller is rotationally coupled to one of the first or the second portions of the shaft. 
     
     
         22 . The wedge assembly of  claim 16  wherein a portion of the roller extends beyond the bottom surface of the wedge block. 
     
     
         23 . The wedge assembly of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a handle coupled to the wedge block.   
     
     
         24 . The wedge assembly of  claim 23  wherein the handle is positioned on a rear portion of the wedge block. 
     
     
         25 . The wedge assembly of  claim 16 , further comprising:
 a clutch assembly coupling the roller to the wedge block, wherein the clutch assembly is lockable onto the shaft when the roller is urged in the direction opposite the first rotational direction.   
     
     
         26 . The card shoe of  claim 16  wherein the opening in the housing of is sized to permit extraction of one playing card at a time.