CN1771077B - Image Capture Shuffler - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention features a playing card shuffling device (20), which through the use of a small image capturing means (30), captures an image of the face value of each card and stores the image in memory. This image is sorted in the format of a bit map image. The operator of the machine would b e able to recall through the use of a key pad (44), the images of the cards th at comprised the individual hands in the previous game. This feature allows for verification of a winning hand after a game has been completed. Thereby a quick recheck of hands before paying a winning hand is performed. The face value of each card is determined by character recognition software. These ca rd values would be stored in memory for archival access for use in monitoring t he randomness of the game and determining the number of winning hands.

Description

Image Capture Shuffler

technical field

The present invention relates to certain shuffling devices for use in live poker games, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a computer-controlled shuffling system that captures images, stores, tracks and provides random playing cards, and displays the cards Image.

Background technique

A shuffler is an electromechanical device designed to reorder one or more decks of playing cards in the game of casino poker. More recently, games have been developed that require a single deck of cards to be shuffled into a random order, and each player is provided with a hand of cards. The hands are removed from the machine by the operator and given to each player. Some game strategies require that players be presented with different numbers of each hand of cards depending on the game selected. For example, each hand may have 3, 5, 7 or more cards in each different game. For safety reasons, some shufflers count the number of cards in the deck each time a game is dealt with.

With players participating in live poker games at numerous remote sites, a security issue exists and becomes very important due to the substantial risk of cheating and/or card counting. Therefore, there is a need to create a secure environment that allows for live poker operations while providing significant security against cheating and counting.

Pfeiffer et al. (US Patent No. 4,667,959) disclose a device for storing and selecting playing cards. The apparatus includes a rotatably mounted conveyor belt that uses rollers to dispense playing cards into slots in the output ports. The cards are pre-marked with a known indicia, such as a barcode, so that the device can keep track of which slot holds which card. A sensor reads the identification marks on the cards.

Soules et al. (US Patent No. 5,067,713) teach coded playing cards and apparatus for dealing with a set of cards. Provides a deck of cards encoded with a barcode invisible to the human eye. The playing cards are encoded with a substantially invisible barcode which can be read by means of an optoelectronic readout device using light in the infrared or ultraviolet range. In essence, the purpose of this device is to allow the dealer to dispense coded playing cards.

The patent to Albrecht (US Patent No. 5,374,061) discloses a card dispensing shoe with a counting device and method of use thereof. A system is described that uses a specially coded deck of cards representing the value and suit of the card. The system involves the use of a specialized deck of playing cards encoded with information carrying two types of data (numeric and alpha characters). The numerical information corresponds to the numerical value of the card, while the letter information indicates the sequence of the deck. This information takes the form of a barcode, or some other machine-readable format. As the cards are dealt, sensors sense the code on each card.

Hill et al. (US Patent No. 5,722,893) disclose a playing card dispensing slide with a card scanner. The scanner senses each card as it moves down and out of the chute. The scanner may be an infrared laser scanner capable of reading barcodes printed on the playing cards. Hill et al. also disclose optical scanning of the playing cards to form a high resolution array which is stored in memory for conversion to word vectors. These vectors are then used as input to a feed-forward neural network trained with error-back propagation to sense and recognize possible card suits and card values.

Meissner et al. (US Patent No. 5,779,546) teach an automatic game system and method for automatic game play. An automatic handling sled automatically advances and interprets the value of a playing card and provides an interface to a computer system. Optical sensors are used to record the points and their respective spatial relationships, thereby determining the card's value.

McCrea, Jr. owns a series of patents that teach a card shuffling device with image capture means. These US Patents: 5,605,334; 5,707,287; 5,735,525; 6,093,103 and 6,117,012 disclose the need for game control by accurately collecting and storing the suit and value of each card received at each player position. The game control stores this information in a memory so that the history of each card dealt is recorded. Thus, the game control is able to detect winning progress and automatically signal a bonus.

None of the aforementioned patents teach or suggest shuffling playing cards in a random order, capturing images of playing cards prior to output, manipulating the images of the cards, and displaying the images of the cards (all of the above in a shuffling machine within the range) shuffling device. Since the images are forwarded directly to the display on the shuffling device, there is no need for complex card recognition software, or conversion of images to word vectors, or other card value data representations.

Contents of the invention

In terms of security, the present invention extends game security to a higher level. By using an image capture device, such as a small digital camera, an image of the face value of each card is taken and stored in computer memory. Store this image as a bitmap image. An operator of the machine may, by use of the keyboard, recall images of playing cards, including hands from previous one or more games. Such a feature would allow verification of a winning hand after the game has been completed.

One of the biggest game security problems is when two adjacent players exchange cards to produce a winning hand for one of them. The present invention will allow quick rechecking of hands before paying out to a winning player. These card images will be stored in memory for file access for use in monitoring the randomness of the game and determining the number of winning hands. Information like this is invaluable when managing a game.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a poker system for shuffling and dealing playing cards, and to provide a means for capturing images of cards being dealt for use in verification, by This improvement concerns the safety of casino card games.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a shuffling machine capable of shuffling playing cards selectively for different card games and/or for different operating shuffling modes and capable of capturing images of the cards being dealt .

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a shuffling machine capable of displaying images of playing cards to the operator for verification of winning hands.

It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a shuffler that selectively shuffles at least two different card games having different Shuffle the cards between the two optional modes of operation, with the added security of capturing and forwarding card images for each gaming station.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a poker system which is simplified and inexpensive to manufacture and which provides image capture and live image display of the cards being dealt.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, have been given by way of illustrations and not for purposes of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the invention, and the invention includes all such modifications.

Description of drawings

The reader will gain a complete understanding of the present invention by referring to the accompanying drawings, in conjunction with the detailed description thereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing the components in operation.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a control panel according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed ways

The disclosure of the present invention is filed under the impetus of the legislative purpose of the United States Patent Act "to promote the advancement of science and applied technology" (Title 1, Section 8).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a card shuffler is described which eliminates one of the most important security problems of cheating by changing cards. These security issues are more prevalent in certain poker games such as but not limited to Pai Gow Poker. The nature of these games provides the possibility of interaction between the poker players and/or poker calculators, thereby manipulating the outcome of winning or losing. As new ways of enhancing game security are needed, the present invention addresses this need by giving the shuffling device 100 the ability to capture images of the playing cards being dealt (generally as shown in FIG. 1 ).

Figure 1 generally represents a diagrammatic or schematic depiction of a card shuffling system 100 of the present invention. The system 100 includes six main working components: a controller 10 , a shuffling device 20 , an image capture component 30 , a control panel 40 , a card input container 50 and a card output bin 60 .

Preferably, housing 15 is made of sheet metal such as aluminum, durable plastic or other strong durable metal. Keys 45 on keypad 44 are preferably tactile feedback keys and have indicia thereon identifying the commands the keys send to microprocessor 12 (FIG. 2). The keys may also be made of silicone rubber-carbon which is typically suitable for these keys, or the keypad may be a membrane keypad. Controller 10 (and ultimately microprocessor 12 ) controls the operation of card shuffling system 100 by accepting input data from control panel 40 and displaying output data on display 42 . However, it should be understood that other display technologies known in the industry, such as vacuum fluorescent, flat panel displays, and segmented light emitting diodes, are also within the scope of the present invention.

The controller 10 is a system that controls the operation of the shuffling device 20 , the image capture unit 30 and the display unit 40 , while controlling the movement of playing cards through the shuffling system 100 . Controller 10 includes a suitable microprocessor for coordinating the operation of all components of card shuffling system 100 .

The present invention includes a new method for performing automatic shuffling of playing cards. The method includes shuffling the cards in a face-to-back relationship which results in a random order. Face-to-back relationship refers to the standard state in which playing cards are sold in such a way that the front of one card is adjacent to the back of the next adjacent card. Here, the present invention eliminates the need for prior marking of the playing cards. Typically, unmarked playing cards can be readily used.

The new shuffling method also includes the ability to shuffle the cards in more than one way and for as many poker games as desired. In shuffling technology, two types of shuffling machines have been introduced. One is a batch mode shuffler, and the other is a continuous mode shuffler.

A batch mode shuffler is a device that shuffles one or more decks of playing cards into a random order. The deck or decks of playing cards are loaded once into the shuffling system 100 , typically into the input container 50 . The playing cards are shuffled or reordered and sent to an output bin 60 . The decks are all removed at once by one person (the dealer), who divides the piles of cards, records (delivers) them, and places a marked delivery card in a random position in the deck. The dealer then places the cards into a dealing chute for individual distribution to each player in the poker game.

At the end of each game, the hands of cards that have been played by the players are collected from each gaming station and discarded face down by the dealer into a discard chute (not shown). Then, each deck of cards is put into the input container 50 and sent to the shuffling device 20, where it is reshuffled to start a new game. This method can include two sets of different colored card backs. One set will be shuffled while the other is played. This reduces the time required to stop the game for shuffling, allowing the dealer and players to play more hands.

A sequential mode shuffler is a device that shuffles or reorders one or more decks of playing cards into a random order. During use of this mechanism, the cards are continuously shuffled by the shuffling system 100 . At the end of each game, the cards are discarded directly into the input container 50 of the shuffler 100 . Typically a dealing sled (not shown) is built into the output bin 60 of the shuffler 100 . The shuffling operation never stops as long as a game is being played or is being prepared to play.

Dealing of the playing cards is preferably performed by ejecting and moving the playing cards and forcing them into the output bin 60, for example, as described in detail in U.S. Patent No. 6,299,167, which is hereby incorporated by reference . Card extraction is accomplished by using a removable extractor to engage the edge of the card selected for removal. This step is preferably accomplished by rolling the edges of the selected cards using one or more extraction rollers (not shown). The playing cards are further guided to an output bin via an output roller. The image capture device 30 may be placed between the take-off drum(s) and the output bin 60 (Fig. 1).

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the image capture device 30 may be a digital video camera. A conventional digital video camera can be used, which uses charge-coupled device (CCD) technology to obtain the light information of the captured image. A CCD consists of a tightly packed semiconductor array of light receptors that detect changes in the intensity and frequency of light.

As shown in FIG. 2, the controller 10 has an image processor 16 which digitizes the light information collected by the digital camera. Digitization of information is performed by converting recorded images into bitmaps. These bitmaps will then take advantage of the digitized information by converting it into an image representation made up of rows and columns of dots. The present invention includes a live image processor 16 which further converts the bitmap into pixels for display on the display unit 42 .

Alternatively, the image capture unit 30 may include a digital camera (not shown) using complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology. Here, CMOS chips have the benefit of using lower power requirements than CCDs. In addition, CMOS sensors can be loaded by the host for other tasks that can be transferred to the controller's operations, such as analog-to-digital conversion, loading signal processing, handling white balance and more camera control. For example, CMOS chips are high-resolution sensors with space-efficient capabilities that enable sensor designs with the possibility to increase density and bit depth without significantly increasing cost.

It is also possible to use a digital video camera (DV camera) to capture digital video images, thereby reducing the steps of video microprocessing. The output of a DV camcorder is already in a compressed format. Therefore, all that is required is to transfer the recorded image directly from the camera for post-capture processing.

An analog camera (not digital) may be used to capture images of playing cards. Such cameras may include video recording cameras. Here, an analog-to-digital converter can be used to simplify the image data for display output. The images of the playing cards may be captured using any suitable camera or camera-type device known in the industry.

Any suitable means known in the industry for capturing image data such as, but not limited to, lenses, mirrors, optical fibers, fiber optic delivery tubes, optical sensor arrays, photodiodes, and/or any combination thereof may be used to capture photon information and forward to any selection of camera devices, thereby obtaining images of playing cards.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a system scheme for the operation of the card shuffling system 100 . After shuffling according to the instructions from the shuffling controller 10, the playing cards are put into motion by the extraction drum. Once the leading edge of the moving card is sensed by sensor 25, an image of the card is captured by image capture means 30. This image data is forwarded to the image processor 16 . The image processor 16 performs the steps of post-capture processing. Here, image data can be transformed, mapped, cleared and compressed. The controller 10 stores the image data in the memory into the nonvolatile RAM memory 14 .

The stored data can then be recalled for display by the graphic display 42 by means of prompt messages from the keypad 44 located on the control panel 40 . FIG. 3 provides an exemplary illustration of control panel 40 , including operations controlled by keyboard 44 and images displayed on display 42 .

Microprocessor 12 controls various functions of card shuffling system 100, such as, but not limited to, the manner in which cards are shuffled; -Gow poker, and more. (Also, it should be understood that the type of poker game is not a limitation of the invention). The microprocessor 12 can control the output of the cards so that each player is dealt a pack of consecutive cards from the shuffled deck, or every Nth card from the shuffled deck, where N is the table The number of players on the side plus the dealer (if any).

Microprocessor 12 operates under the instructions of programming software. This software can be stored either as firmware on a dedicated memory chip, on a solid-state non-volatile storage device, or on a disk from which it can be loaded into the shuffled in an addressable RAM of the system 100. The software initializes and clears the display 42 when the shuffling system 100 is first powered on.

The operation of the selected command associated with the key 45 of the control panel 40 will now be described. It should be understood that any of the keys 45 may be incorporated anywhere on the shuffling system 100 and are not limited to the control panel 40 . In operation, when any key, switch or button is activated by pressing, switching, etc., a signal will be transmitted electrically to the controller 20 . Then, a predetermined command is issued from the controller 20 . Next, a predetermined command is sent from the controller 20 to the shuffler 100 via the transmission means. Thereafter, the shuffler 100 will perform the functions associated with the command.

Control panel 40 may also include a "Game" key. The "Game" key (shown in Figure 3) allows the operator to select the type of poker game to be played. Different poker games require different shuffling and/or dealing methods. The title of the poker game appears on the display 42 when the "GAME" key is pressed. The operator can cycle through the different games programmed into the microprocessor's memory by repeatedly pressing the "Game" key until the desired game is selected. In an alternative embodiment, the control panel 40 may include separate keys for each of the different poker games, or a conventional look-up keypad may be used.

The number of players can be entered via the "Number of Players" key (also shown in Figure 3), thereby instructing the microprocessor 12 to dispense the desired number of hands. If there are any specific rules or other information that could alter gameplay, a "Program" key can be used to make the appropriate changes.

Keypad 44 may include a "Verify" key. A "Verify" key is provided to allow the operator to verify the number of cards in the deck at a desired time. Via the microprocessor 12, the shuffling system 100 keeps track of the number of cards that have been dealt in the dealing sequence. After a game, when the "validate" key is pressed, the remaining cards are ejected from the shuffler 100 to the output bin 60, and are counted as they are ejected. This number is added to the number of cards already dealt to verify that there is the correct number of cards in the deck (eg, 52 if using a deck of cards). If the number of cards counted is incorrect, the dealer is notified, for example, by a phrase on the display 42, and or an audible sound via an internal speaker (not shown).

Keypad 44 may also include one or more keys, such as a "Play" key (shown in FIG. 3 ), which prompts shuffling system 100 to deal a certain number of cards, it being understood that any number is within the scope of the present invention within.

Also on the keyboard 44 is a "recall" key which prompts the shuffling system 100 to recall the current hand or hands dealt to the various gaming stations. Here, the image of the card stored in the memory 14 is called up for display on the display section 42 . In addition to the images of the cards being displayed, text messages are displayed to designate the cards for each station accordingly.

For example, the phrase "Player 1" may be displayed with images of cards dealt to that particular player, and so on. As shown in Figure 3, a "memory" key can be used to recall hands that have been dealt to previous poker games. The "memory" key may have sub-keys to cycle through hands, games, and/or stations. Images of past games can be accessed from the memory 14 and displayed on the display device 42 .

Keypad 44 may also include other keys, such as a "shuffle mode" key, for selecting the mode of the shuffler, ie, continuous mode, batch mode, one or more games being played, or a particular game mode. The functions of the various keys, switches or buttons cited here are intended to be exemplary only, and those skilled in the art will be able to make various modifications and additions to them without departing from the spirit of the invention. Also, the various keys may be soft keys, the functions of which are defined by the bottom row on the display 14 . The function of each soft key may, for example, vary with the type of game being selected. This allows multiple functions to be performed while minimizing the number of keys required.

In a preferred embodiment, the shuffling system 100 includes an indicator for indicating an error condition. Preferably, a designated portion of display 42 blinks to indicate an error condition. Such error conditions may include, but are not limited to, shuffler malfunctions, such as misshuffles or jams in the shuffler, electronic component failures, incorrect deck counts, i.e., too many cards in the deck. More or too little, etc. When controller 10 receives an error signal, controller 10 sends a signal to the "error" indicator, thereby activating display 42 to indicate the error condition to the operator. Preferably, the display 42 indicates to the operator what the error condition is via an accompanying text message next to the "Error" indicator.

In a preferred embodiment, the card shuffling system 100 includes means for emitting an audible signal when an error condition is detected. For example, a speaker (not shown), such as an electromagnetic or piezoelectric speaker, will beep or buzz when an error condition is detected. Preferably, the electromagnetic speaker communicates and cooperates with the "error" indicator on the display 42. It is to be noted, however, that the “error” indicator could be located on the exterior of the display 42 and could be incorporated into any portion of the housing 15 .

In another embodiment, controller 10 may be programmed to display messages on display 42 in different languages, such as French, Spanish, Italian, etc. Can include a key to cycle through the various language options.

The display preferably adopts a traditional liquid crystal display (LCD, liquid crystal display) format. Display device 42 may be a color or achromatic LCD display panel. The display panel 42 can also display graphics and text data in multiple sections to display information from multiple gaming stations at the same time. However, the display screens may have scrolling features to display different screens of information that cannot be accommodated in a single display. A "Screen" key can be used to prompt subsequent screens, as shown in FIG. 3 .

As various modifications and alterations to adapt particular operating requirements and circumstances will become apparent to those skilled in the art, this invention is not to be considered limited to the examples chosen for purposes of disclosure, and it encompasses All changes and modifications are those that do not constitute a departure from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

Following convention, the invention has been described in more or less specific language as to structural and methodological features. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to the specific features shown and described since the apparatus disclosed herein comprises preferred forms for carrying out the invention. Therefore, any form or modification of the present invention falls within the proper scope of the appended claims properly interpreted in accordance with the doctrine of equivalents.

Having thus described the invention, what is desired to be protected by statutory patent laws is set forth in the appended claims.

Claims (16)

1. A card shuffling device, comprising: shell, a playing card input receptacle on said housing for receiving at least one unshuffled deck of playing cards, shuffling means adapted to receive cards from said card input container and for selectively shuffling the cards for at least two different card games having different shuffling requirements, and a controller disposed within the housing, an image capture component disposed within the housing for obtaining captured image data of playing cards, the image data being captured after shuffling but before moving each card to an output bin adapted to receive shuffled playing cards , a display unit on the housing for displaying an image captured by the image capture unit, and A card output box suitable for discharging shuffled playing cards. 2. The card shuffling device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: A control panel located on the housing, the control panel having keys operatively connected to the controller for selecting operating functions of the shuffler. 3. The card shuffling device of claim 2, wherein the display unit is located on the control panel. 4. The card shuffling device as claimed in claim 3, wherein said controller comprises: microprocessor, non-volatile memory storage means for storing images of said playing cards, image processing means for processing image data collected by said image capture means. 5. The card shuffling device of claim 4, wherein the controller includes software adapted to control operation of the image capture component. 6. The card shuffling apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the nonvolatile memory storage unit has a capacity to store image data of a plurality of playing cards for a plurality of game stations for a plurality of games. 7. The card shuffling device of claim 6, wherein said controller includes software adapted to control said display unit; The display unit is adapted to display images of a plurality of playing cards of a plurality of gaming stations on command. 8. The card shuffling apparatus of claim 3, wherein said display unit is a liquid crystal display adapted to display the image of the playing cards in conjunction with the text message. 9. The card shuffling device of claim 1, wherein the image capture component is a video camera. 10. The card shuffling device of claim 9, wherein the video camera is a digital video camera. 11. The card shuffling device of claim 9, wherein the camera is a digital video camera. 12. A method for shuffling and dealing playing cards for a poker game, said method comprising the steps of: a) causing unshuffled cards to be placed in the card input container of the automatic shuffling machine; b) causing the shuffler to be activated for shuffling; c) individually moving the shuffled cards to a card output bin; d) capturing an image of each playing card before it is conveyed to an output bin of said shuffler; e) storing captured images; f) processing said captured image; g) Displaying the processed captured image on a display unit incorporated into said shuffler. 13. The method for shuffling playing cards as claimed in claim 12, wherein said processing step further comprises: converting said image from analog to digital form, map said transformed data into a bitmap format, and Compress the image. 14. The method of shuffling playing cards as claimed in claim 13, wherein said processing step further comprises storing said image data of a plurality of stations of various games played as a bitmap image. 15. The method for shuffling playing cards as claimed in claim 14, wherein said displaying step further comprises displaying said bitmap image on a liquid crystal display. 16. The method of shuffling playing cards as claimed in claim 15, wherein said displaying step further comprises displaying a plurality of card images of a plurality of stations of a plurality of games being played to verify respective winners.

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