CN101460226A - System and method to handle playing cards, employing manual movable cover - Google Patents

Abstract

A card shoe handling device includes a cover that is manually movable from a closed position to an opened position and a locking mechanism operable to selectively lock and unlock the cover in the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system. In the closed position the cover limits access to playing cards carried by the playing card output receiver from an exterior of the playing card handling system and in the opened position the cover does not limit access to playing cards carried by the playing card output receiver from an exterior of the playing card handling system.

Description

System and method for handling playing cards employing a manually removable cover

Cross References to Related Applications

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/791,398, filed April 12, 2006.

technical field

The present invention relates generally to the field of table games, and more particularly to a playing card handling system for sorting and/or shuffling or otherwise handling playing cards.

Background technique

等等。游戏可以用一套或多套标准扑克牌来进行。扑克牌的标准套牌(standard deck)通常包括52张扑克牌，每张扑克牌具有等级符号和花色符号，从13种等级符号(即，2、3、4、5、6、7、8、9、10、J、Q、K和A)和4种花色符号(即，

和

)中选择。一些游戏可以采用扑克牌的集合，包括比标准套牌数目更少或更多的扑克牌。一些游戏可以包括非标准的扑克牌，例如具有除与标准套牌相关的等级和花色符号之外的符号的扑克牌。There are countless games played with the aid of playing cards. For example, blackjack, baccarat, various types of poker, and / or

etc. The game may be played with one or more standard decks of playing cards. A standard deck of playing cards usually includes 52 playing cards, each of which has rank symbols and suit symbols, from 13 rank symbols (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K and A) and 4 suit symbols (ie,

and

) to choose from. Some games may employ collections of playing cards, including fewer or more cards than a standard deck. Some games may include non-standard playing cards, such as playing cards with symbols other than the rank and suit symbols associated with standard decks.

In some cases, poker games involve gambling and money and/or prizes can be won. In other cases, poker games do not involve gambling, but are played for fun and relaxation. In either case, it is often desirable to randomize the collection of playing cards prior to distributing the playing cards to participants (eg, players and/or dealers). Randomization, commonly known as shuffling, refers to the act of lifting the corners of two decks of playing cards and crossing them by hand.

In other cases, it may be useful to arrange or otherwise arrange the playing cards into a predetermined order. For example, in an entertainment venue, after collecting playing cards from one or more gaming tables, it may be desirable to organize the playing cards into groups or sets. Such decks or decks can be checked for integrity and reused or sold.

A number of devices and systems have been developed to automate the randomization and sorting of playing cards. One approach attempts to mechanically repeatedly lift the corners of two decks of playing cards and cross them. Such solutions are known, for example, from US patents 4,807,884, 5,261,667, 5,275,411 and 5,303,921. Another solution is to divide the playing cards into two different piles and randomly move the playing cards from each pile to the third pile. Such approaches are known, for example, from US patents 5,695,189, 6,068,258, 6,139,014, 6,325,373 and 6,568,678. Yet another option is to place the playing cards at random positions on the stack of playing cards carried by the lifter. This scheme usually involves a grabbing mechanism to support the upper part of the stack, while the bottom surface of the lifter is lowered to create a space for inserting playing cards. Such solutions are known, for example, from US patents 5,683,085, 5,944,310, 6,651,981 and 6,651,982. Another option is to insert playing cards randomly or in a sorted order into selected slots. Such approaches are known, for example, from US patents 6,149,154, 6,254,096, 6,267,248, 6,588,750, 6,588,751, 6,655,684, 6,659,460, 6,676,127 and 6,889,979. Yet another option is to draw or eject the playing cards in random order from the playing card receiver. Such approaches are known, for example, from US patents 5,382,024, 5,584,483, 5,676,372, 6,019,368, 6,299,167 and 6,698,756.

Whether used for randomization or sorting, the card handling device must deliver randomized or sorted playing cards to a user (eg, a dealer). It is generally desirable that the playing cards appear in highly aligned stacks to allow easy and quick access to the playing cards by the user. Such delivery of playing cards is particularly desirable at gaming tables in casinos. Casinos place a premium on speed, which keeps customers interested and allows for maximum utilization of the facility. Entertainment venues also take security very seriously. Accordingly, casinos employ complex mechanisms and procedures to prevent players and/or casino personnel (eg, dealers) from knowing the value of playing cards before they are dealt. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have an apparatus and method that facilitates the quick and safe delivery of playing cards.

Contents of the invention

In one embodiment, a playing card handling system includes: a playing card input receiver sized and configured to receive a plurality of playing cards processed by the playing card handling system; a playing card output receiver formed suitably sized and configured to receive a plurality of playing cards handled by a playing card handling system; at least one playing card transport path between said playing card input receiver and said playing card output receiver, at least some of the playing card cards travel along the path from the playing card input receiver to the playing card output receiver; at least one intermediate playing card receiver positioned between the playing card input receiver and the playing card output receiver on said at least one playing card transport path between said playing card handling system; a cover that can be manually moved from a closed position to an open position, in said closed position, said cover restricts access from outside said playing card handling system to output by said playing cards playing cards carried by the receptacle, wherein in the open position, the cover does not restrict access from outside the playing card handling system to the playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle; and a locking mechanism operable to The overcap is selectively locked in and unlocked from the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system.

In another embodiment, a playing card handling system includes: a playing card input receiver positioned to receive a plurality of playing cards to be sorted by the playing card handling system; Playing cards sorted by a playing card handling system; sorting means for providing the playing cards received in the playing card input receiver to said playing card output receiver in an order different from the order of the playing cards in said playing card input receiver a cover manually movable from a closed position to an open position in which the cover substantially restricts access from outside the playing card handling system to playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle, and In the open position, the cover does not substantially restrict access from outside the playing card handling system to playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle; in response to at least one of movement and position of the top cover from means for delivering at least some of the playing cards outwardly from the playing card handling system; and locking means for selectively locking the top cover in the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system, and from The location is unlocked.

In a further embodiment, a method of operating a playing card handling system includes: receiving at a playing card input receiver a plurality of playing cards to be processed by the playing card handling system; a number of playing cards, provided to said playing card output receiver in an order different from the order of playing cards in said playing card input receiver; locked in a closed position, and unlocked from this position, wherein said cover can be manually moved from a closed position to an open position, in said closed position, said cover substantially restricts access from outside said playing card handling system by said The playing card output receptacle carries the playing cards, and in the open position, the cover does not substantially restrict access from outside the playing card handling system to the playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle.

Description of drawings

In the drawings, the same reference numerals indicate similar elements or actions. The size and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not drawn to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn to scale, and some elements are arbitrarily enlarged and positioned to improve drawing readability. Furthermore, the particular shape of an element shown in a drawing is not intended to convey any information about the actual shape of that particular element, but has been chosen for ease of identification in the drawing.

1A is a schematic illustration of a gaming environment in which a playing card handling system operates with a gaming table, according to an example embodiment;

Fig. 1B is a flowchart showing various states of playing cards in the game environment of Fig. 1A;

Figure 2A is a right upper front isometric view of a playing card handling system according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2B is a left side elevational view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A;

Figure 2C is a right upper rear isometric view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A with the playing card output receiver in a lowered position;

Figure 2D is a right upper rear isometric view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A with the slide-mounted cover in the open position and the playing card output receiver in the raised or card delivery position;

Figure 2E is a right upper rear isometric view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A with the pivotally mounted cover in the open position and the playing card output receiver in the raised or card delivery position;

Figure 3A is a left upper rear isometric view of a storage device in the form of a carousel, according to an example embodiment;

Figure 3B is a top plan view of the turntable shown in Figure 3A;

Figure 3C is a side elevational view of the turntable shown in Figure 3A;

Figure 4 is a right upper front isometric view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A;

Figure 5 is a schematic side elevational view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A, showing the card paths having various branches;

6 is a schematic side elevational view of the playing card handling system shown in FIG. 2A showing rollers moving cards through the card path of FIG. 5;

7 is a schematic side elevational view of the playing card handling system shown in FIG. 2A, showing a plurality of card sensors;

Figure 8 is a schematic side elevational view of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 2A, showing a plurality of controllable motors;

Figure 9 is a simplified block diagram of a card management operating system which controls the various operational functions of the playing card handling system shown in Figure 1;

10 is a simplified block diagram of a carousel control system interface system communicatively coupled to an example carousel;

11 is a simplified block diagram of a card manager interface system communicatively coupled to an example card management device and a card sensor interface system coupled to a card sensor;

Fig. 12 is a conceptual diagram convenient for explaining the generation of a virtual card sequence and the subsequent construction of a corresponding deliverable card group;

Figure 13 shows a selected alternative embodiment of a card storage device;

Figure 14 is a flow chart of the process of generating a group of deliverable cards;

15 is a flowchart of the process of selecting the inventory cards shown in FIG. 1B from the card storage device shown in FIGS. 1-12;

Fig. 16 is a flowchart of the look-ahead algorithm process;

17 is a flowchart of a process for generating deliverable card groups from stock cards disposed in slots of a card storage device, or from transitional cards if stock cards are not available.

Detailed ways

In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these details. In other instances, well-known structures associated with computers, computer networks, communication interfaces, sensors and/or transmitters, mechanical drive trains, and/or optical and/or radio frequency (RF) readers may not be shown or detailed to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the invention.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims, the word "comprise" and its variations, such as "comprises" and "comprising", should be understood in an open, inclusive sense, that is Say "including but not limited to".

Discussion of "one embodiment" or "an embodiment" throughout the specification means that a specific feature, structure or characteristic described with respect to the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in an embodiment" in various places throughout the specification are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments.

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and are not intended to explain the scope or concept of the claimed invention.

The present description generally relates to a gaming environment having a playing card handling system to arrange, sort and/or shuffle (eg, randomly) or otherwise deal with playing cards. Other devices or systems related to gaming, such as those that automate, improve, monitor and/or detect certain aspects of gaming played at the table, may interface or otherwise communicate with the playing card handling system.

、和/或UNO

。但是，应该理解并明白，本说明一般适用于各种娱乐场所的游戏和/或游戏桌，或者一般适用于其他娱乐牌片游戏。文中所述的扑克牌处理系统可以用在赌博类的牌片游戏中和非赌博类的牌片游戏中。For clarity and brevity, the poker handling systems described and illustrated herein may refer to specific card games such as blackjack, becquerar, various types of poker, LET IT RIDE

, and/or UNO

. However, it should be understood and appreciated that the description applies generally to games and/or gaming tables in various casinos, or to other recreational card games in general. The poker handling system described herein can be used in poker-like poker games as well as in non-gambling-style poker games.

和

)中选择。在一些实施方式中，扑克牌可以包括除完整标准套牌中包含的扑克牌之外的扑克牌，或者套牌具有更多或更少分布的特定扑克牌，例如较少的人像牌或较多的人像牌。在其他实施方式中，扑克牌可以具有非标准的符号(例如，投币机的符号，诸如横条、柠檬、樱桃)、图像、背景等等。正如以下所讨论，符号甚至可以修改，以增加、改善或替换扑克牌的值或效力。在一种实施方式中，扑克牌为双面扑克牌，正如2005年6月2日公开的美国专利申请No.10/902,436所述的那种扑克牌。In addition, it should be understood that the playing card handling system can manage cards that do not necessarily correspond to standard playing cards, such as larger or smaller cards, differently shaped cards, and/or with cards other than traditional card materials. cards made of materials. The playing cards may include one or more standard playing cards, in which case each standard deck includes 52 playing cards. Standard playing cards generally have uniform backs and faces, each bearing a respective combination of a first primary symbol and a second primary symbol. The first primary symbol may be selected from a standard set of playing card rank symbols (i.e., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K, and Ace), while the second primary symbol can be derived from playing card suit symbols (i.e.,

and

) to choose from. In some embodiments, the playing cards may include playing cards other than those contained in the full standard deck, or the deck has a greater or lesser distribution of specific playing cards, such as fewer portrait cards or more portrait card. In other embodiments, the playing cards may have non-standard symbols (eg, slot machine symbols such as bars, lemons, cherries), images, backgrounds, and the like. As discussed below, the symbols can even be modified to increase, improve or replace the value or potency of the playing cards. In one embodiment, the playing cards are double-sided playing cards, such as those described in US Patent Application Serial No. 10/902,436, published June 2, 2005.

Overview of Poker Handling Systems

FIG. 1A shows gaming environment 100 including gaming table 102 having surface 104 . The surface 104 of the gaming table 102 typically has a number of game-related demarcations, such as betting circles 106 (only one shown in the figure) demarcated areas for positioning chips 108 spatially associated with each betting circle 106 (in the figure). Only one) and player positions are shown in the figure.

The gaming environment 100 also includes a playing card handling system 110 . The playing card handling system 110 may be coupled to the gaming table 102, proximate to the gaming table, or remote from the gaming table. For example, the playing card handling system 110 is coupled to the gaming table 102 and may be mounted on the gaming table 102 and/or partially or completely below the surface 104 of the gaming table 102 . Also, for example, the playing card handling system 110 is installed remotely from the gaming table 102, such as in a restricted area of a casino where playing cards are received, sorted, and reconstituted.

The playing card handling system 110 includes a playing card input receiver 112 sized and positioned for receiving collected cards 114 into the playing card handling system 110 . The playing card input receiver 112 may receive collected cards 114 from outside the playing card handling system 110, for example.

The playing card handling system 110 also includes a playing card output receiver 116 sized and positioned to deliver deliverable cards 118 from the playing card receiving system 110 . The playing card output receiver 118 may, for example, deliver deliverable cards 118 outwardly from the playing card handling system 110 .

The playing cards move between the playing card input receiver 112 and the playing card output receiver 118 along one or more playing card transport paths, shown by arrows 120a, 120b. The playing card handling system 110 also typically includes one or more intermediate playing card receivers 122 in the playing card transport path between the playing card input receiver 112 and the playing card output receiver 116 . The intermediate playing card receiver 122 may, for example, take the form of a storage device such as a carousel, array, grid, tray, hopper, or equivalent. The intermediate playing card receiver 122 may temporarily hold the inventory cards 124 to implement or facilitate the playing card handling system 110 to arrange, sort, sort and/or shuffle the playing cards. Various intermediate playing card receivers 122 are discussed below.

While any given playing card may be moved from the gaming table 102 during the game, through the playing card handling system 110 and back to the gaming table 102, the operation of the playing card handling system 110 will be described in terms of the It is more convenient to illustrate the playing cards in terms of their location within the gaming environment 100 . Therefore, for the sake of clarity, the playing cards may be discussed herein in terms of their positions in the gaming environment 100, as described below with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

In a card game, at least some of the playing cards will be played, wherein the participating cards 126 are those that are being used by game participants (e.g., players and/or dealers) to play according to the particular game being played at the game table 102. The set of rules of the game is those playing cards that form a hand of playing cards. For example, in the game of blackjack, the playing cards 126 played before the first hit card is dealt include the cards that form the starting hand (e.g., the first two cards dealt to each participant) piece. During or after a card game, playing cards 126 are discarded by, and/or collected from, the players and are referred to as collected cards 114 . The collected cards 114 may be returned to the playing card input receiver 112 of the card handling system 110 by, for example, a dealer.

The collected cards 114 are sequentially moved into the playing card handling system 110 where they are referred to as transition cards 128 . Transition cards 128 are directed along various card transport paths (e.g., 120a and 120b) and may be placed in one or more intermediate playing card receivers 122, which in this regard are referred to as inventory The cards are 124. Additionally or alternatively, transitional cards 128 may be moved directly to groups of deliverable cards 118 referred to herein as arranged or ordered, as indicated by the dashed arrows in FIG. 1B .

From time to time, deliverable cards 118 are provided to the gaming table within the reach of players, at which point the playing cards are referred to as dealable cards 130 . For example, the playing cards 130 may be positioned to extend at least partially across the surface 104 of the gaming table 102 . In some implementations, the deliverable cards 118 are only accessible after a predetermined number of deliverable cards 118 have been organized together. In some implementations, the distributable cards 130 may be placed within a card shoe 134 prior to being distributed to participants. The deliverable cards 118 and the distributable cards 130 are arranged in a different order or sequence than the collected cards 114 received at the playing card input receiver 112 .

In some implementations, the deliverable cards 118 are arranged in an order that matches at least a portion of the virtual sequence 136 . In one embodiment, virtual sequence 136 includes electronic data that provides a sorted sequence for deliverable cards 118 . The electronic data is represented, for example, as an ordered list of identifiers, each identifier identifying a respective playing card. For example, electronic data may represent a sorted list of playing card values, representing the rank or suit of the playing cards. Playing card values are represented, for example, as numbers 0-51, each number being associated with a combination of rank and suit. Alternatively, the playing card value may be represented by, for example, two numbers, the first number representing a rank (eg, 0-12) and the second number representing a suit (eg, 0-3). Alternatively, the playing card values may be represented, for example, in the form of numbers each individually associated with a playing card in a set of playing cards larger than a standard 52-card deck. Thus, there are two or more playing cards of the same rank and suit, each identified by a unique identifier, such as a serial number. The virtual sequence 136 may have fewer or more playing cards than a standard 52-card deck.

In some embodiments, virtual sequence 136 may be generated computationally (eg, by means of a random or pseudo-random number generator (RNG) implemented by a suitable controller). Additionally or alternatively, virtual sequence 136 may be determined from predetermined data, such as one or more look-up tables. For example, virtual sequence 136 may include an organized order, such as the order of playing cards in a new deck before shuffling.

Once the virtual order 136 is at least partially determined, the playing card handling system 110 arranges or constructs the deliverable cards 118 according to the sequence of at least a portion of the virtual order 136 . As an example, deliverable cards 118 may be selected from transitional cards 128 , or may be sourced directly from inventory cards 124 . The structural aspects, programmability, and controllability of the playing card handling system 110 are described in more detail below.

Structural Aspects of a Poker Handling System

2A-2D illustrate a playing card handling system 200 for handling playing cards according to an example implementation. An alternate embodiment of a playing card handling system 200 is shown in FIG. 2E .

The playing card handling system 200 includes a structural frame 202, a playing card input receiver 204, a playing card output receiver 206, a card lift mechanism 208, a first middle playing card receiver 210 and an optional second middle playing card receiver 212. . The playing card handling system 200 may be partially or completely surrounded by a housing (not shown) and/or the gaming table 102 (FIG. 1A). The first and second intermediate playing card receivers 210, 212 may take the form of turntables, each pivotally mounted about a respective vertical axis 211a, 211b (Fig. 2B). The vertical axes 211a, 211b may advantageously be arranged coaxially, thereby minimizing the "footprint" of the playing card handling system 200 .

以减少斜坡214和接触牌片输入斜坡214的被收集牌片114之间的摩擦。输入通道217穿过板件216和桌表面104延伸，以允许被收集牌片114从扑克牌输入接收器204到达扑克牌处理系统200的扑克牌传输路径120a(图1A)。The playing card input receiver 204 is sized and positioned to receive the collected cards 114 that need to be arranged, sorted, shuffled (eg, randomized), or otherwise processed. Collected cards 114 may be collected during play or after a card game or hand. The playing card input receiver 204 may be carried or formed by a plate 216 which in turn is carried by, or coupled or otherwise connected to, the gaming table 102 . The playing card input receiver 204 may include a card input ramp 214 onto which collected cards 114 may be fed by a dealer or other personnel, either as individual cards or as a group of cards. In one embodiment, the card input ramp 214 is coated with a low friction material such as

To reduce the friction between the ramp 214 and the collected cards 114 contacting the card input ramp 214 . The input channel 217 extends through the plate 216 and the table surface 104 to allow the collected cards 114 to pass from the playing card input receiver 204 to the playing card transport path 120a of the playing card handling system 200 (FIG. 1A).

The playing card output receiver 206 is sized to receive a plurality of deliverable cards 118 . As shown, the playing card output receptacle 206 may take the form of a card box or rectangular box with a floor and, for example, open on one or more sides to allow the delivery cards 118 to be placed or removed. The playing card output receiver 206 can extend through the output channel 219 of the plate 216 and the table surface 104 ( FIG. 1A ) of the gaming table 102 to allow the card lift mechanism 208 to deliver the deliverable cards 118 to the gaming table 102 as a Card pieces 130 are dealt.

It should be appreciated that the panels 216 may be molded as a single piece or, alternatively, may be separate pieces coupled to each other and/or to the structural frame 202 by mechanical means. In one embodiment, the plate 216 abuts and/or connects to the underside of the gaming table 102 . In one embodiment, the playing card handling system 200 is located entirely below the playing surface 104 of the gaming table 102 . In another embodiment, the vertical side walls 218 and output channel 219 formed around the card input receptacle 204 have a height "h". This height "h" corresponds to the thickness of the top of the gaming table so that the top portion of the playing card input receiver 204 and output channel 219 can be flush with the surface 104 of the gaming table 102 (FIG. 1A) or just protrude a little (e.g. , short profile). The surface 104 of the gaming table 102 typically includes a felt cover on top of a foam backing, both on top of a piece of composite, wood, or other type of material. One suitable surface 104 is described in detail in US patent application Ser. No. 10/981,132. Some embodiments may omit the plate 126 and only form the channels 217 , 219 through the surface 104 of the gaming table 102 . While other embodiments may not place the playing card handling system 110 below the surface 104 of the gaming table 102, such embodiments may omit the passageways 217, 219 through the table surface 104.

Depending on the implementation and/or type of card game, the deliverable cards 118 may be delivered individually or as groups of cards. Embodiments of the playing card handling system 200 may be configured by the user to provide deliverable and/or dealtable card pieces 118, 130 having any specified number of playing cards, and/or Playing cards of any specified suit, and/or cards of any specified rank, and/or other cards such as bonus cards, etc.

Cover 211 can be manually moved from closed position 223 (FIGS. 2A-2C) to open position 225 (FIGS. 2D-2E), in which cover 221 is disposed over output channel 219, thereby limiting or preventing access or viewing. into the output channel 219 , while in the open position 225 the cover 221 is spaced from the output channel 219 so as not to restrict nor prevent access to or view of the output channel 219 . As best shown in Figure 2D, the cover 221 may be slidably coupled to the frame or other portion of the playing card handling system 200 for movement between closed and open positions 223, 225, respectively. As best shown in Figure 2E, the cover 221 may be pivotally coupled to the frame or other portion of the playing card handling system 200 for movement between closed and open positions 223, 225, respectively. Alternatively, the cover 221 may be slidingly coupled or pivotally coupled to the gaming table 102 .

To save space, in one embodiment, the playing card input receiver 204 and the output channel 219 are located close to each other. Employing a cover 221 that can be opened manually can advantageously provide a security effect because the dealer can control when and whether deliverable cards 118 are delivered to the gaming table 102 .

2C and 2D show that the playing card output receiver 206 can be moved between a raised position 220 and a lowered position 222 in which at least a portion of the playing card output receiver 206 is positioned to allow the dispensable card pieces 130 to be moved The dealer or other person at the gaming table 102 draws from the playing card output receiver 206 . For example, raised locations 220 may, for example, be spaced sufficiently high on plate 216 to expose all or some of the playing cards above surface 104 of gaming table 102 (FIG. 1A). In the lowered position 222 , the playing card output receiver 206 is positioned such that playing cards cannot be removed from the playing card output receiver 206 . For example, the top of the playing card output receptacle 206 may be spaced flush with or below the surface 104 of the gaming table 102 , and/or below the top of the plate 206 .

Lift mechanism 208 moves playing card output receiver 206 between raised and lowered positions 220 , 222 . The lift mechanism 208 may, for example, include a linkage 229 and a lift motor 226 coupled to drive the linkage 229 . Some of the figures show the playing card input receiver 206 separated from the link 229 of the card lift mechanism 208 in a partially exploded view to better illustrate these components. In use, the playing card output receiver 206 will be physically connected or coupled to the linkage 229 . In one embodiment, the first motor 226 is a DC stepper motor. Alternatively, lift motor 226 may take the form of a servo motor. Lift mechanism 208 may employ any suitable linkages, including but not limited to belts, drive chains, gears, scissor linkages, etc. (not shown for clarity). Activation of lift motor 226 will move linkage 229 and playing card output receiver 206 relative to structural frame 202 .

After the playing card output receiver 206 delivers the deliverable cards 118 to the gaming table 102 , the card lift mechanism 208 returns the playing card output receiver 206 to the lowered position 222 . Lowered location 222 may be aligned with lift arm 512 (FIG. 5).

In some embodiments, one or more external switches 231 are positioned to be accessible from outside the card handling system 200 . The external switch 231 may be carried, for example, by the plate 216, the surface 104 of the gaming table 102, or the housing (not shown) of the card handling system. External switch 231 can be selectively activated to cause lift mechanism 208 to move playing card output receiver 206 to lowered position 222 . Additionally or alternatively, external switch 231 may be selectively activated to cause lift mechanism 208 to move playing card output receiver 206 to raised position 220 .

In some embodiments, the lid switch 233 is responsive to the movement and/or position of the lid 221 to cause the card lift mechanism 208 to automatically move the playing card output receiver 206 upward from the lowered position 222 to the raised position 220 . Lid switch 233 may be coupled to activate lift motor 226 in response to movement of lid 221 from closed position 223 to open position 225 . Alternatively, the lid switch 233 may be coupled to activate the lift motor in response to the lid 221 being in a position other than the closed position 223, such as the lid 221 being in the open position 225, or alternatively, between the closed and open positions 223, 225. somewhere in between.

Additionally or alternatively, a lid switch 233 or similar lid switch is responsive to the movement and/or position of the lid 221 so that the card lift mechanism 208 automatically moves the playing card output receiver 206 downward from the raised position 220 to the lowered position 222. Lid switch 233 may be coupled to activate lift motor 226 in response to movement of lid 221 from open position 225 to closed position 223 . Optionally, lid switch 233 may be coupled to activate lift motor 226 in response to lid 221 being in a position other than open position 225, such as lid 221 being in a closed position, or alternatively, both a closed position and an open position 223. , A certain position between 225.

Lid switch 233 may supplement external switch 231 or replace external switch 231 . The lid switch 233 may take various forms. For example, the lid switch 233 can be a contact switch that can be physically engaged by the lid 221 when the lid 221 is moved from a closed position or when the lid 221 is in a predetermined position, such as an open position. Also, for example, lid switch 233 may take the form of a sensor such as a proximity sensor, light sensor, infrared sensor, pressure sensor, or a magnetic sensor such as a Reed switch positioned to detect movement or position of lid 221 . Thus, the lid switch 233 can advantageously reduce manual manipulation by a dealer or other user of the card handling system.

One or more lowered position sensors 235 ( FIG. 2C ) may detect when the playing card output receiver 206 is in the lowered position 222 . Lowered position sensor 235 may be coupled to structural frame 202 . Lowered position sensor 235 may take many forms including, but not limited to, proximity sensors, optical vision-type sensors, light sensors, infrared sensors, pressure sensors, or magnetic sensors such as Reed switches, and/or position or rotary encoders. The lowered position sensor 235 may sense the position of the playing card output receiver 206, or the linkage 229, or the shaft of the lift motor.

Some embodiments may employ interlocking or locking features. The locking feature prevents the lift mechanism 208 from moving the playing card output receptacle 206 to the raised position 220 until the playing card output receptacle 206 is loaded with a sufficient number of deliverable cards 118 . For example, the locking feature may maintain the playing card output receptacle 106 in the lowered position 222 until at least 112 cards (eg, two standard decks) are loaded into the playing card output receptacle 206 .

The lockout feature may be implemented in hardware, in controller-executable instructions, or both. For example, the locking feature may employ a latch or other physical structure to maintain the playing card output receptacle 206 in the lowered position 222 until a sufficient number of deliverable cards 118 are loaded. In addition, for example, a locking feature may employ software or firmware instructions stored in memory or in a hardwired device (e.g., an ASIC) to prevent lift motor 226 from moving playing card output receiver 206 from lowered position 222 until a sufficient number of cards are loaded. Cards 118 can be delivered.

The locking feature may determine the number of deliverable cards 118 in the playing card output receptacle 206 in a number of ways. For example, a controller (discussed below) may keep track of the number of cards that have been directed to the playing card output receiver 206 . Optionally, the counter may keep track of the playing cards as they travel to the playing card output receiver 206 . The counter can, for example, take the form of a rotary encoder or the like. Optionally, the load sensor 227 ( FIG. 2C ) may be positioned to determine the approximate level of the deliverable cards 118 as they accumulate in the playing card output receiver 206 . For example, a reflective or transmissive sensor, or even a pressure transmitter, is coupled to a portion of the playing card output receiver 206 . After a predetermined number of deliverable cards 118 have accumulated in the playing card output receiver 206 , the lift motor 226 is activated to move the playing card output receiver 206 upward until the playing card output receiver 206 is in the raised position 220 . As an example, if a transmissive sensor is employed, upward movement of the playing card output receiver 206 re-establishes the uninterrupted path between the light source and light receiver of the transmissive sensor as more deliverable cards 118 move. Into the playing card output receiver 206, the path will eventually be interrupted again.

3A is a left rear top isometric view of an intermediate card acceptor or storage device system 300 comprised of a first carousel 210 and a second carousel 212 in accordance with the present invention. The first turntable 210 may be the same as or different from the second turntable 212 in structure. In the illustrated embodiment, the first turntable 210 is structurally identical to the second turntable 212 . However, it should be understood that while the dials 210, 212 are structurally identical, the dials may serve different purposes and be controlled differently from each other. Furthermore, while the carousels 210, 212 are shown in the illustrated embodiment, it should be understood that the intermediate card receiver or storage device system 300 may have other types, sizes and/or shapes, such as racks, trays or arrays. The turntables 210, 212 may advantageously employ rotational motion, as opposed to racks or trays, which typically require translational motion. To illustrate the general structure of the carousels 210, 212, the structural features of the first carousel 210 will be explained in detail, since the same structural features apply to the second carousel 212 unless specified to the contrary.

The first carousel 210 includes a plurality of card receiving grooves 302 . In the illustrated embodiment, the first turntable 210 has 26 card receiving grooves 302, and each receiving groove 302 can receive at least 12 stock cards 124, and of course other types of cards can be received in the receiving grooves 302. Cards, as described below. Thus, the combined capacity of the first and second carousels 212 can hold an inventory of cards 124 of up to 12 standard decks (eg, 52 standard playing cards per standard deck). The number of card receiving grooves 302, and the number of inventory cards 124 that may be received within each card receiving groove 302, may be greater or less than described herein. Furthermore, the number of storage devices (eg, carousels) 210, 212 may be greater or less than 2 in the illustrated embodiment.

In one embodiment, the number of receiving grooves 302 on each turntable 210 , 212 is at least 52 receiving grooves 302 . In another embodiment, there are 53 receiving grooves 302, with the 53rd receiving groove receiving a dedicated type of card 304, described in more detail below.

Referring back to the illustrated embodiment, an alternative includes first and second carousels 210, 212 each having 27 card receiving pockets 302, one of which is reserved for a specific type of card 304 , such as bonus cards, etc., the dedicated type of cards that are intentionally stamped or marked; and/or unused cards. Unused cards are those that will later be placed in a waste card receiving slot (e.g., the 27th receiving slot or an additional receiving slot) because the card is bent, marked, unreadable, used more than once, and / or otherwise damaged or worn. The bonus cards may be marked or pre-marked by the playing card handling system 110,200. Tokens may be stamps that allow participants who receive a token to receive a complimentary ticket or coupon for dinner, shows, lodging, or various other discounts and/or free products or services according to the rules of the gaming or casino. Specialized types of cards, which on the other hand can be wild cards, can be used to allow a participant to improve the participant's hand for the current card game. The process of how the specialized types of cards are integrated into the hands of the card game is described below. The card stamping device 514 ( FIG. 5 ) is positioned to stamp the transitional cards 128 before they enter the playing card output receptacle 206 .

In one embodiment, each card receiving slot 302 is associated with or assigned a value corresponding to the type of card used in the poker hand (eg, rank or suit). For example, the first card receiving groove 302 of the turntable 210 can be designated to receive and hold the A of clubs (A ), the second card receiving groove 302 can be designated to receive and keep the club K (K ), and so on, until all card values available in the card game have uniquely assigned each receiving groove 302. In some embodiments, other types of cards, such as but not limited to the dedicated type of cards 304 described above, may be uniquely assigned to the card receiving slot 302 .

As an example, and according to the embodiment described above, where each card receiving recess 302 can hold up to 12 cards, 12 sets of conventional cards can be loaded into the carousel 210,212. A card receiving groove 302 of the rotating disk 210, for example, is assigned to the club A (A ), so one card receiving groove 302 can receive and keep at most 12 Aces of clubs.

Additionally, the card receiving groove 302 may be associated with other card characteristics (eg, color, size, shape, etc.). For example, bent and/or damaged cards may be identified and placed within one of the card receiving grooves 302 associated with such card characteristics. As another example, one of the card-receiving recesses 302 may be associated with a “counterfeit” card, such as a card added to a card game, where the added card did not originate from the dispensable cards 130 . Once detected, the counterfeit card can be placed in the reject card receiving groove 302 and removed from the hand.

采用多种牌片，利用颜色、文字和/或数字来标识牌片。UNO

牌片的各种值各自可以指定并置于唯一的牌片接收凹槽302内。Embodiments of the playing card handling system 110, 200 may be configured to manage any type of card according to predetermined card characteristics. For example, but not limited to, the well-known game UNO

Use a variety of cards and identify them with colour, text and/or numbers. UNO

The various values of the cards can each be assigned and placed within unique card receiving recesses 302 .

Additionally, in FIG. 3A , each card receiving groove 302 includes a card support wall 304 and a guide wall 306 . According to the illustrated embodiment, the card support wall 304 includes an interior and an exterior, but the card support wall 304 could also be a continuous wall. The guide wall 306 is spaced from the card support wall 304 thereby forming the card receiving groove 302 .

The guide wall 306 includes a lower portion 308 and an upper portion 310 . The lower portion 308 is substantially parallel to the card support wall 304 . Upper portion 310 may flex and/or shrink, and may facilitate insertion of inventory cards 124 into designated receiving slots 302 , especially if many inventory cards 124 are already present in one of the receiving slots 302 . Additionally, upper portion 310 may assist in guiding stock cards 124 into receiving groove 302 while compensating for inconsistencies in the position of carousel 210 . Inconsistencies in position may be caused by the control system, dimensional tolerances of the turntable and/or turntable drive components, and/or other factors.

FIG. 3B shows that the card support wall 304 and the guide wall 306 are at a first angle 312 relative to a tangent 314 taken along the outer perimeter 316 of the first carousel 210 . In addition, FIG. 3C shows that the card support wall 304 and the guide wall 306 can be inclined so as to form a second angle 318 with a line 320 substantially parallel to the centerline or axis of rotation 322 of the first carousel 210 . The first angle 312 and the second angle 318, as well as other structural aspects of the card support wall 304 and the guide wall 306, are for purposes of illustration and example. It should be understood that these aspects can be altered and/or adapted and still fall within the scope and spirit of the described embodiments.

Still referring to FIG. 3C , the first carousel 310 is rotatably mounted on a shaft 324 that is coupled to a carousel gear 326 . Turntable gear 326 is rotationally coupled to a drive gear, toothed belt, and/or sprocket (not shown). The rotational position, velocity, acceleration and/or direction of the turntable is achieved via the operation of a motor (not shown) to which it is coupled, thereby determining the position of the turntable gear 326 and the turntable 310 . It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that there are many ways to drive the turntables 210,212. Methods of controlling the rotational position, velocity, acceleration and/or direction of the dials 210, 212, as well as other operating characteristics, are known in the art or are described in more detail below.

Additionally or alternatively, the turntables 210, 212 may be modular and/or may be removable or replaceable. A modular carousel is a carousel that may be of a different size, card holding capacity and/or shape than the carousels 210, 212 of the illustrated embodiment. Additionally, the modular carousels can be removed and replaced, such as for quick refill changes, so that different types of card games can be played on the gaming table 102 . In one embodiment, the plurality of turntables are vertically spaced from each other and substantially aligned with each other along each turntable's respective axis of rotation. Such an embodiment may advantageously allow for a more compact installed volume or "footprint" of the playing card handling system 110, 200, meaning that the playing card handling system 110, 200 may fit under a smaller gaming table 102 and/or fit in a space-constrained room.

FIG. 4 shows a first card selector 400 having a card selector body 402 that can be rotated through an arc 404 to remove inventory cards 124 from a first carousel 410 . The card selector body 402 is coupled to a lever arm 406 that allows the card selector body 402 to move through the arc 404 . The length of the lever arm 406 determines the radius of the arc 404 .

The card selector 400 further includes a shaft 408 having friction pads or rollers 410 . A shaft 408 extends from the card selector body 402 and is rotationally coupled thereto. As the card selector body 402 is moved into position to select inventory cards 124 , the shaft 408 and friction roller 410 rotate in a first direction 412 . When the friction rollers 410 come into contact with the stock cards 124, the stock cards 124 are forced into a designated card path in the playing card handling system 200, wherein the designated card path is described in more detail below. During operation of the playing card handling system 110 , 220 , the first card selector 400 is controllably contacted or spaced from the inventory cards 124 within the receiving groove 302 of the carousel 210 . It should be understood and appreciated that another card selector, similar in design and operation to the first card selector 400 , could be used to select inventory cards 124 from another carousel, such as carousel 212 . Additionally, more than one card selector 400 may be used on a single carousel, for example two card selectors 400 located on opposite sides of the carousel 210 . Multiple card selectors 400 can augment and speed up the card selection process.

FIG. 5 generally shows a card path 500 with many branches 502-512. The input branch 502 receives collected cards 114 from the playing card input receiver 204 (FIG. 2A). As described above with respect to FIGS. 1A and 1B , once a collected card 114 enters the input branch 502 , it will be referred to as a transitional card 128 . The input branch 502 directs the transition cards 128 to the first carousel branch 504 or the middle branch 506 . Transition cards 128 directed to first carousel branch 504 are received in first carousel 210 , while transition cards 128 directed to intermediate branch 506 may be further directed to second carousel branch 508 or optional discharge branch 510 . Transition cards 128 directed to the second carousel branch 508 are received in the second carousel 212 , while transition cards 128 directed to the optional discharge branch 510 may be received in the reject receiving groove 511 . As an alternative to rejecting the receiving groove 511 and the ejection branch 510, the damaged transitional card 128 may selectively travel into the other receiving groove 302 of one of the carousels 210, 212 as described above.

The card path 500 further includes a lift branch 512 arranged to receive transitional cards 128 from either the first carousel branch 504 or the second carousel branch 508 . The transitional cards 128 received by the promotion branch 512 may originate from the collected cards 114 or the inventory cards 124 . Additionally, the transitional cards 128 directed along the lifting branch 512 are ultimately received in the playing card output receptacle 206 . It is to be understood and appreciated that the arrangement and/or interaction between the various branches of the various card paths 500 may be changed and/or reconfigured to achieve various purposes.

FIG. 6 shows a number of pairs of rollers 600 , a first diverter 602 and a second diverter 604 , which guide and/or steer the transitional cards 128 through the various branches 502 - 512 of the card path 500 . Pairs of rollers 600 are positioned at various points or branches 502-512. For each pair of rollers 600, the rollers rotate in opposite directions and can rotate in both directions. The card management interface system 910 ( FIG. 9 ) controls the rotational speed and/or direction of the pair of rollers 600 as the transitional cards 128 travel along the respective branches 502 - 512 of the card path 500 . In some examples, the pair of rollers 600 may include a common roller 606 , which may be employed, for example, when the pair of rollers 600 is positioned proximate to the converging/separating branches 502 - 512 of the card path 500 .

The pair of rollers 600 are driven by a number of motors (motors are best shown with reference to FIG. 8 ), which may take the form of direct current (DC) stepper motors and/or servo motors. In one embodiment, a motor is coupled to at least one roller of the pair of rollers 600 . The card management interface system 910 (FIG. 9) provides a signal, such as a DC pulse, to the motor, which in turn causes the pair of rollers 600 to rotate a step in the selected direction. In one embodiment, one step corresponds to a rotation of at least one roller of the pair of rollers 600 by about 1.8°. Thus, 100 steps or pulses will result in at least one roller turning half a turn (ie, 180 degrees). In the embodiments described above, the motor may operate at a rate of about 1800 steps/second. Those skilled in the art will understand and appreciate that the rate may be adjusted based on the location of the transition card 128 within the card path 500, based on the complexity and interaction of the branches 502-512, and/or based on other design or optimization factors. Faster or slower than 1800 steps/sec. Therefore, it should be understood that a DC stepper motor can be operated at any step rate. Alternative embodiments may employ other types of motors and/or motor control systems to drive the pair of rollers 600 .

Operating in conjunction with the pair of rollers 600 are a first diverter 602 and a second diverter 604 . The first diverter 602 includes a rotary lever that controllably guides the transition cards 128 either to the first carousel branch 504 or to the middle branch 506 . The second diverter 604 includes a rotary lever that controllably directs the transition cards 128 to the second carousel branch 508 or the optional ejection branch 510 . The diverters 602, 604 are controlled by the card management interface system 910 (FIG. 9). In one embodiment, the card management interface system 910 provides electrical signals to solenoid coils coupled to the diverters 602, 604, respectively. Each solenoid moves the respective diverter 602 , 604 back and forth between two accessible positions of the diverter 602 , 604 . However, it should be understood that other actuation devices could be readily substituted for the illustrated solenoid by those skilled in the art, and that such other devices fall within the spirit and scope of the embodiments described herein. For embodiments that include more than two carousels 210, 212 and/or additional card branches 502-512, additional diverters may be included.

FIG. 7 shows a number of sensors operable to read characteristics associated with cards present within the playing card handling system 110 . The first sensor 702 is an optical reader positioned to read, scan and/or image the human-readable and/or machine-readable symbol carried by the transition card 128 . Playing cards with human- and/or machine-readable symbols are described in detail in US patent application 10/934,785. In another embodiment, the first sensor 702 is in electromagnetic communication with the transitional card 128 to determine the value (eg, rank and/or suit) of the transitional card 128 . For example, a playing card that can be read electromagnetically by sensor 110 is described in US patent application Ser. No. 10/823,051.

The sensors 704 are positioned along the card path 500 (FIG. 5) and cooperate with each other to determine the expected length and/or position of the transitional card 128, and/or to check whether the transitional card 128 is present in each of the card branches 502-512. (Figure 5). In one embodiment, the sensor 704 is a reflective sensor that emits and/or receives light reflected from the transitional card 128 when the transitional card 128 is at a particular position along the card path 500 . In another embodiment, the sensor 704 is a transmissive sensor that emits light through the card path 500 and receives the light with a light receiver. When the transition card 128 moves in front of the receiver, the optical signal is interrupted and the transmissive sensor can know that the transition card 128 is present. Additionally, or alternatively, sensor 704 may be a combination of reflective and transmissive sensors. It should be understood and appreciated that other types of sensors and/or mechanical systems, such as touch devices or lever actuated devices, may be used to detect the presence or absence of transitional cards 128 in alternative embodiments.

At least some of the sensors 704 are spaced from adjacent sensors 704, either upstream or downstream along the card path 500 (FIG. 5). Adjacent sensors 704 are separated by a distance approximately equal to one transitional card 128 . Thus, if a standard playing card is used, ie, approximately 3.50 inches in length, it should be understood that adjacent sensors 704 are operatively spaced approximately 3.50 inches apart.

One possible advantage of having adjacent sensors 704 spaced apart from each other by about the length of a card is that data from adjacent sensors 704, combined with information from each drive chain, can be used to check the length. In one embodiment, the length of the transitional card 128 (eg, a standard playing card is 3.50 inches long) is correlated to the number of steps and/or rotation angle of the stepper motor and/or roller shaft. For example, if the sensors 704 are transmissive sensors, then these transmissive sensors 704 will generate a card presence signal based on whether the transition card 128 interrupts the light beam between the light source and light receiver of the transmissive sensor 704 .

Thus, the upstream sensor 704 will generate a card presence signal when the leading edge of the transitional card 128 interrupts the light beam. At this point, the number of degrees the motor shaft and/or roller shaft has turned can be tracked. As the transitional card 128 advances along the card path 500 (FIG. 5), the leading edge is detected by the downstream sensor 704 and another card present signal is generated. At the same time, the trailing edge of the transition card 128 passes the upstream sensor 704, causing the upstream sensor 704 to generate a card absence signal. The time between the card present signal and the card not present signal can be compared to the number of degrees of rotation of the motor shaft and/or rotor shaft to check the length of the transition card 128 . Thus, if a condition occurs such as two transitional cards 128 overlapping each other (eg, sticking together), the playing card handling system 110 can detect this condition at various locations along the card path 500 . Once this condition is detected, the upstream and downstream rollers can be operated to separate the overlapping cards and one or both cards can be read again. Optionally, overlapping cards may be directed towards the rejection groove 511 according to the arrangement of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows a number of motors used to operate various components in the playing card handling system 110,200. As mentioned above, the motor may be a stepper motor and may vary in size, type and kind, all known in the art. The various motors and their functions are briefly described here.

The card input receiver motor 802 operates at least one belt located below the playing card input receiver 204 to move the collected cards 114 into the card path 500 of the playing card handling system 110 , 200 . Lift input motor 806 operates number of rollers 600 to move transitional cards 128 from card path 500 to playing card output receptacle 206 . The carousel feed motor 806 operates a plurality of rollers 600 to move the transitional cards 128 along the card path 500 and into the respective receiving grooves 302 of the carousels 210 , 212 . The card removal motor 808 operates the card selector 400 and its various components to pick, select and/or remove inventory cards 124 from each of the receiving recesses 302 of the carousels 210,212. The card removal motor 808 may include both primary and secondary motors to control various operations of the card selector 400 . The turntable positioning motor 810 operates to rotate the turntables 210, 212, or to stop their rotation.

Operation of the card management operating system

FIG. 9 is a simplified block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a card management operating system 902 that controls various operations of the playing card handling system 110 , 200 . Card management operating system 902 includes operating system 904 , memory 906 , card sensor interface system 908 , card manager interface system 910 , carousel control interface system 912 and user device interface system 914 .

For convenience, the operating system 904, memory 906, card sensor interface system 908, card manager interface system 910, carousel control interface system 912, and user device interface system 914 are shown connected to each other via a communication bus 916 via a connector 918. A communication link is provided between the aforementioned components. Optionally, the above components may be connected in a different manner than that shown in FIG. 9 . For example, one or more of the above-described components may be coupled to each other directly, or may be coupled to each other via intermediate components (not shown).

A number of logic and data modules, which will be described in detail below, are located in the memory 906 . These logic and data modules can be read by the operating system 904 during various operations as needed.

The interface system which will be described in detail below communicates information with the operating system 904 in a format suitable for the operating system 904 , and communicates information with various external devices in a format suitable for these external devices. These external devices will be described in detail below.

For convenience, the interface system described below is only shown as a single block. However, these interface systems may be multiple specific interface devices, each interface coupled to one or more related external devices. Furthermore, it is shown that the interface system is provided in the card management operating system 902 . The interface systems, or specific interface devices associated with one of the interface systems, may be set outside the card management operating system 902 . For example, a sensor may be configured to sense a characteristic of a card (eg, standard or non-standard grade and/or suit indicia or other identification, whether optical, electrical, magnetic or other type). The output of the sensor may be an analog signal, such as a voltage or current, corresponding to the detected card characteristic. A device coupled to the sensor may convert the analog signal from the sensor to a signal that communicates directly with the card management operating system 902 . All such modifications and variations of the sensor and/or card management operating system 902, as well as modifications and variations of the interface system and/or equipment, are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention and protected by the appended claims.

Virtual card construction logic 920 disposed in memory 906 determines a number of virtual cards (ie, regions or sets) that are used to construct virtual sequence 136 (see also FIGS. 1A, 1B ). A random number generator (RNG) 921 or the like may define a sequential order of virtual cards having values and/or characteristics corresponding to the generated dealable cards 130 and inventory cards 124 for card games. The term random number generator as used herein and in the claims includes pseudo-random number generators and the like which are capable of generating sufficiently random numbers to meet applicable standards, such as those set by governmental or quasi-governmental gaming agencies. As mentioned earlier, playing cards can be assigned a value, which represents the rank and suit of the card. In one embodiment, a virtual selection pool 922 is created whose value corresponds to a standard 52-card deck. Virtual cards from virtual selection pool 922 are generated by virtual card construction logic 920 according to details of the algorithm used by random number generator 921 to generate virtual sequence 136 , which may be stored in memory 906 .

The virtual sequence criteria 924 are used to define the parameters that the virtual card building logic 920 uses to generate the virtual sequence 136 . An example parameter may be the number of standard 52-card decks of playing cards used to construct the virtual sequence 136 . According to the sequence calculated by the random number generator 921, specific virtual cards are taken from the virtual selection pool 922 and arranged.

)、8张黑桃K(K

)、8张黑桃Q(Q

)等等。As an example, the virtual sequence criteria 924 may specify that 8 standard 52-card suits make up the virtual selection pool 922 . Accordingly, the virtual card construction logic 920 employs a virtual selection pool 922 of 416 cards (corresponding to 8 suits of 52 physical cards each) with 8 cards for each particular value (e.g., rank/suit combination). virtual cards). So in this example there are initially 8 Aces of Spades (A

), 8 spades K (K

), 8 spades Q (Q

)etc.

则虚拟选择池922中的可用虚拟牌片总数从416张减少到415张。然后从剩下的415张牌片中选择下一张虚拟牌片，这剩下的415张牌片中只剩下7张

(连同标准52张牌片一套的8套牌片中8张其他的可用值)。应该理解，后续虚拟牌片选择将从目前虚拟选择池922中可用的虚拟牌片中选择。结果，产生虚拟序列136并将其存储在存储器904中。该虚拟序列136可以视为对应于随机打乱的实际扑克牌组。返回到上述示例中，虚拟序列136将对应于8套物理上打乱在一起的标准52张一套的牌片中。After the virtual sequence 136 is generated, the number of virtual cards available in the virtual selection pool 922 is reduced accordingly. In the above example, if the first virtual card is

The total number of available virtual cards in the virtual selection pool 922 is then reduced from 416 to 415. Then choose the next virtual card from the remaining 415 cards, only 7 of the remaining 415 cards are left

(along with 8 other usable values in 8 decks of standard 52-card decks). It should be understood that subsequent virtual card selections will be selected from currently available virtual cards in the virtual selection pool 922 . As a result, virtual sequence 136 is generated and stored in memory 904 . This virtual sequence 136 can be considered to correspond to an actual poker deck that is randomly shuffled. Returning to the example above, the virtual sequence 136 would correspond to 8 sets of cards in a standard 52-card suit physically shuffled together.

的概率为1/52。当从虚拟序列136中选择第二张虚拟牌片(以及后续虚拟牌片)时，第二张虚拟牌片的值为

的概率仍为1/52。就是说，从选择序列或池132中选择虚拟牌片的操作类似于电子投币式游戏机的的操作方式(符号随着模拟滚筒旋转而出现在结果线上的概率保持不变)。在这种情况下，虚拟选择池922可以简化，以对应游戏中的每一张虚拟牌片。(例如，用于标准52张一套的牌片的虚拟选择池可以为52张虚拟牌片，其中，每张虚拟牌片唯一地对应于唯一的等级和花色组合)。In another embodiment, the size of the virtual selection pool 922 is not reduced when virtual cards are selected during the generation of the virtual sequence 136 . That is, for each selection of a virtual card, the probability of a particular card value being selected remains the same. For example, if a pack of 118 deliverable cards is constructed from a standard 52-card deck, the value of the first card is

The probability of is 1/52. When a second virtual card (and subsequent virtual cards) is selected from the virtual sequence 136, the value of the second virtual card is

The probability of is still 1/52. That is, the operation of selecting a virtual card from the selection sequence or pool 132 is similar to that of an electronic slot machine (the probability of symbols appearing on the outcome line remains constant as the simulated reels spin). In this case, the virtual selection pool 922 can be simplified to correspond to each virtual card in the game. (For example, a virtual selection pool for a standard 52-card suit could be 52 virtual cards, where each virtual card uniquely corresponds to a unique rank and suit combination).

The virtual sequence criteria 924 may also define other parameters that the virtual card construction logic 920 uses to increase, decrease, or modify the value of at least one of the virtual cards in the virtual selection pool 922 . For example, one of the parameters may set a specific number of "wild" cards to add to the virtual selection pool 922. The "wild" cards can be the two Joker cards that usually come with a standard 52-card set. Wild cards can be used by participating players to increase or improve the cards in their hands.

In the above example, the initial virtual selection pool 992 of virtual cards was based on 8 suits, and 16 jokers (e.g., 2 jokers per suit times 8 suits) could be added to the virtual selection pool 922, dividing the initially available The total number of virtual cards increases to 432. Optionally, any desired number of joker or other special-purpose cards can be added to the virtual selection pool 922 according to the rules (parameters) of the particular card game and/or casino rules. Specialty cards may be cards redeemed with prizes or rewards and may have prize indicia displayed on the card or may not have such indicia. Such cards may also include unique indicia to assist in redemption.

的规则可以设置在游戏类型/规则表926中。

牌片由颜色、文字和/数字限定，并且与标准52张一套的牌片不同。如果牌片管理操作系统902接受指令为牌片游戏

构建虚拟序列136，则可以从任选的游戏类型/规则表926中读取限定

牌片的信息。这种信息则用来改动虚拟序列标准924中的一个或多个参数。例如，牌片特征可以从等级和花色变化为

牌片的颜色、文字和/或数字。因此，可以利用UNO虚拟牌片，以指定套数的牌片来构建虚拟选择池922。Other types of parameters may be specified in virtual sequence 924 . For example, different types of card games may be defined in the optional game types and/or rules table 926. For example, card games

The rules for can be set in the game type/rules table 926.

The cards are defined by color, text and/or numbers, and differ from the standard 52-card deck. If the card management operating system 902 accepts the instruction as a card game

Build virtual sequence 136, then can read from optional game type/rule table 926 define

card information. This information is then used to modify one or more parameters in the virtual sequence standard 924 . For example, card characteristics can vary from rank and suit to

The color, text and/or number of the cards. Therefore, UNO virtual cards can be used to specify the number of sets Cards are used to construct a virtual selection pool 922.

User device interface system 914 provides an interface means for one or more external user devices 928 configured to receive input or instructions from individuals such as dealers, casino owners, or other casino employees. Any suitable user device 928 may be configured to communicate with card management operating system 902 via connection 930 . Non-limiting examples of external user device 930 include a keyboard, storage media device (such as a flash memory card, floppy disk, compact disk (CD), microdisk, etc.), touch display screen, or other processing system. also. For convenience, the connector 930 is considered to be a hardware connector to the user interface system 914 . In other embodiments, the connecting member 930 may be replaced by other suitable media, such as but not limited to radio frequency media, infrared media, or other wireless media. User device interface system 914 may be configured to receive information from external user device 928 via other media, if other media are employed in alternative embodiments. The user device interface system 914 then reconfigures the information to a medium suitable for communication with the communication bus 916 . Additionally, in other implementations, the user device interface system 914 may be configured to receive information from a plurality of user devices 928 . In other embodiments, the playing card handling system 110 , 200 may output information of interest to various external devices via the user device interface system 941 .

The card sensor interface system 908 is configured to receive information from various sensors of the playing card handling system 110 , 200 . For convenience, the card sensor interface system 908 is shown coupled to a plurality of card sensors 932 via connections 934 . Card sensor interface system 908 may be configured to receive information from other types of sensors. This card sensor and other types of card sensors are described in more detail below. Accordingly, card sensor interface system 908 is configured to receive information from card sensor 932 and then reconfigure the received information into a medium suitable for communication with communication bus 916 . also. For convenience, connection 934 is shown as a hardware connection to card sensor interface system 908 . In other embodiments, one or more of the connectors 934 may be replaced by other suitable media, such as, but not limited to, radio frequency media, infrared media, or other wireless media.

The card handler interface system 910 is configured to provide control signals or information to various devices or subsystems of the card handling system 110 , 200 . For example, the lift motor 22 as described above can be operated to lift the playing card output receiver 206 ( FIGS. 2A-2E ) so that the dealer or card player can access the dealable cards 130 . Then, after the distributable cards 130 are removed, the lift motor 226 lowers the playing card output receiver 206 so that the card management process can continue building another set of deliverable cards 118 . The card handler interface system 910 provides a signal to the lift motor 226 causing the card output receiver 206 to move relative to the structure 202 .

For convenience, the card manager interface system 910 is shown as being communicatively coupled to a plurality of card management devices 936 via connections 938 . The card management device 936 is generally an electromechanical device that can be actuated by electrical signals. The card manager interface system 910 is configured to receive instructions for the card management device 936 from the operating system 904, and is configured to generate an electrical signal and notify the card management device 936 of the electrical signal in an appropriate signal format. In some cases, electrical signals may directly control electromechanical devices, such as providing appropriate operating voltage and/or current. In other cases, the electrical signal may be a digital or analog control signal, informing the controller of other actuating electromechanical devices. Also, for convenience, connector 938 is shown as a hardware connector to card manager interface system 910 . In other embodiments, one or more of the connectors 938 may be replaced by other suitable media, such as but not limited to radio frequency media, infrared media, or other wireless media.

Storage device control interface system 912 is configured to receive information from various storage device sensors 942 and provide electrical signals via connections 946 to various controllers 944 disposed in number of carousels 940 . In one embodiment, the carousel 940 corresponds to the two carousels 210, 212 (FIGS. 2A-D) or other suitable storage devices. Sensor 942 and controller 944 are described in more detail below (see, eg, FIG. 12 ). For convenience, connector 946 is shown as a hardware connector to card manager interface system 910 . In other embodiments, one or more of the connectors 946 may be replaced by other suitable media, such as, but not limited to, radio frequency media, infrared media, or other wireless media.

According to various embodiments described herein, sensor devices are employed to determine characteristics and/or values of specific cards. For example, in a card game using a standard 52-card deck, each card is uniquely identified by a unique value, its rank and suit. The sensor means detects from each card information identifying the card. For example, one embodiment employs a machine-readable symbol reader system, such as a barcode reader system, to read machine-readable symbols, such as printed on each sheet (often using an invisible medium such as ultrasound-sensitive ink, etc.) The barcode information on the card. Alternatively, or in addition, a machine-readable symbol reader system can read standard indicia from the cards, such as rank symbols, suit symbols, and/or card points. When a card passes near a sensor configured to detect information on the card, the sensor notifies information corresponding to the detected barcode to the card sensor interface system 908 described above. The card sensor interface system 908 then formats and notifies the operating system 904 of this information.

所唯一地标识，并且其上具有机器可读的符号来指示该值)所唯一标识。可以选择的是，每张扑克牌可以携带在多于52张牌片的范围内唯一确定的标识符。Operating system 904 reads and executes card characteristic determination logic 948 to analyze detected attributes and/or characteristics of detected cards. Thus, uniquely identifying the physical card. For example, if a barcode reader system is employed to read barcode information on a sensed card, the card characteristic determination logic 948 may determine a unique characteristic of the card. Thus, if a card game uses a traditional 52-card deck, the perceived physical cards can be identified by their rank and suit symbols (e.g., The tiles consist of the letter "A" and the symbols

uniquely identified and has a machine-readable symbol on it to indicate the value). Optionally, each playing card may carry an identifier that is uniquely determined over a range of more than 52 cards.

牌片。字符识别传感器诸如但不限于电荷耦合设备(CCD)阵列可以用来感知与牌片台面字符对应的信息。然后牌片特征确定逻辑948可以利用个一种或多种字符识别算法解释感知到的信息，确定被感知牌片的文字和/或字符属性。例如，如果牌片游戏采用传统52张一套的牌片，则被感知牌片的被感知的文字和/或字符属性可以通过其等级和花色符号(例如，通过字母“A”和符号

唯一标识)所唯一标识。或者，如果感知到带有文字的以颜色编码的

牌片，则可以通过文字识别与颜色识别相结合来唯一标识

牌片(例如，黄色“Skip”牌片通过黄色和印刷文字“Skip”来标识)。Other types of sensors may be used to sense attributes and/or characteristics of the sensed card. For example, a color-sensitive sensor can be used to determine the board color of the perceived card, such as a color-coded UNO

cards. Character recognition sensors such as but not limited to charge-coupled device (CCD) arrays may be used to sense information corresponding to the characters on the deck of the cards. The card feature determination logic 948 may then interpret the sensed information using one or more character recognition algorithms to determine textual and/or character attributes of the sensed card. For example, if a card game uses a traditional 52-card suit, the perceived text and/or character attributes of a perceived card can be identified by its rank and suit symbol (e.g., by the letter "A" and symbol

Uniquely identifies ) is uniquely identified. Or, if a color-coded

Cards can be uniquely identified by combining text recognition and color recognition

Cards (for example, a yellow "Skip" card is identified by yellow and the printed word "Skip").

As described above, the dealer or other player returns the collected cards 114 (FIG. 1A) to the playing card handling system 110, 200. When the collected card 114 passes near the above-mentioned sensor and is sensed by it, so that the card feature determination logic 948 determines the unique identifier of the sensed collected card 114, the identification information of the sensed collected card 114 is stored in Return to table 950. Accordingly, a sequence record of the collected cards 114 is generated and stored in the return table 950. This information may be used for security purposes, player tracking, card usage data, and the like.

For example, the label and location of each card in deliverable deck 118 (FIG. IB) is known. When the playing cards 126 are in play, the operating system 904 ( FIG. 9 ) can predict which cards will appear in the table 102 hand. Accordingly, the processing system 906 may execute logic to predict what cards may be desirable to discard in the current card game. If a player reserves one of the active cards 126 by mistake or on purpose, the reserved card will not enter the set of collected cards 114 . The processing system 906 may then discover that one of the playing cards 126 has not been returned, which may result in some form of notification being made to the dealer or other authority. Similarly, the operating system 904 may detect counterfeit cards inserted during or after the card game. The processing system 906 may then generate an appropriate signal and notify the dealer or other authority that a counterfeit card is present.

这种关联可以在操作中形成，在特定牌片放入特定接收凹槽302之前、该过程中或随后形成。这样具有优势地允许将牌片放入最近的空闲凹槽中，加快操作速度。允许转盘210、212双向运动(例如，顺时针或逆时针旋转)，也加快了操作速度。当返回扑克牌处理系统110、200，形成被收集牌片114时，操作系统904执行牌片特征确定逻辑948，标识被收集牌片114。例如，当

是被收集牌片114并相应地标识，则

返回适当分配的牌片接收凹槽302中。在

牌片返回到适当的牌片接收凹槽302中之后，该

牌片现在称为库存

牌片112。因此，牌片接收凹槽属性表952是限定表，其中牌片接收凹槽302(图3)唯一地分配给特定的牌片类型或牌片值。应该理解，牌片的任何特征都可以用来将牌片及分配给它的牌片接收凹槽302关联起来。由于对应于关联的牌片特征和牌片接收凹槽302的信息存储在牌片接收凹槽属性表952中，所以可以由上述各种实施方式在分配给牌片的牌片接收凹槽302中标识和存储和/或获取任意牌片。如果在游戏中未分配全部的牌片接收凹槽302，则那些牌片接收凹槽302可以根据需要以后限定和/或在牌局中不再使用。As described herein, the plurality of card receiving grooves 302 of the carousels 210, 212 (FIG. 2) are uniquely associated with card values. For example, one of the card receiving grooves 302 may be uniquely associated with

This association may be formed in operation, before, during, or after a particular card is placed in a particular receiving recess 302 . This advantageously allows the cards to be placed in the nearest free slot, speeding up the operation. Allowing the dials 210, 212 to move in both directions (eg, clockwise or counterclockwise), also speeds up the operation. when Returning to the playing card handling system 110 , 200 , when the collected cards 114 are formed, the operating system 904 executes card characteristic determination logic 948 to identify the collected cards 114 . For example, when

is collected cards 114 and identified accordingly, then

Return in the appropriate assigned card receiving groove 302. exist

After the card is returned to the appropriate card receiving groove 302, the

Cards are now called Inventory

The card is 112. Thus, the card receiving slot attribute table 952 is a defined table in which a card receiving slot 302 (FIG. 3) is uniquely assigned to a particular card type or card value. It should be understood that any feature of a card may be used to associate a card with its assigned card-receiving slot 302 . Since the information corresponding to the associated card characteristics and card receiving slots 302 is stored in the card receiving slot attribute table 952, the various embodiments described above can be used in the card receiving slots 302 assigned to cards. Identify and store and/or fetch arbitrary cards. If not all of the card receiving slots 302 are allocated during the game, those card receiving slots 302 may be defined later and/or not used during the hand as desired.

As noted above, embodiments of the playing card handling system 110 utilize various electromechanical devices to perform various operations on the physical cards. Also, various sensors provide information to the card management operating system 902 . Various logic processes, including software and/or executable code, are generally represented by card management logic 954 . Card management logic 954 may be comprised of multiple distinct pieces of logic or routines, and/or may be made up of multifunctional integrated pieces of logic or routines, as described herein.

When logic 908 is implemented as software and stored in memory 906, those skilled in the art will appreciate that logic 920, 948, 954, and/or 956, or information from 922, 924, 950, and/or 952, may be stored in any computer-compatible readable medium for use by or in connection with any computer and/or processor related system or method. In the context herein, memory 906 is a computer-readable medium, an electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical device or device, that contains or stores a computer and/or processor program. Logic 920, 948, 954, and/or 956, and/or 922, 924, 926, 950, and/or 952 information may be embodied in any computer-readable medium for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, device Used in conjunction, the instruction execution system, apparatus, device, such as a computer-based system, system containing a processor, or other system, can retrieve instructions from the instruction execution system, apparatus, or device and execute AND logic 920, 948, 954 and/or or 956, and/or 922, 924, 926, 950 and/or 952 for information about other systems of instruction. Within the scope of this specification, a "computer-readable medium" may be any device that can store, communicate, propagate or transport the logic 920, 948, 954 and/or 956, and or 922, 924, 926, 950 and/or 952 Any means of program related information, used by or in connection with the instruction execution system, means and/or equipment. A computer readable medium can be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagation medium. More specific examples (non-exclusive list) of computer readable media include: electrical connections with one or more conductors, portable computer disks (magnetic, Compact Flash, Secure Digital, etc.), random access memory (RAM), Read Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory (EPROM, EEPROM, or Flash memory), Optical Fiber, and Compact Disc Read Only Memory (CDROM). Note that a computer-readable medium, which may even be paper or other suitable medium, may be printed with programs associated with the information of logic 920, 948 and/or 954, and/or 922, 924, 926, 950 and/or 952, As long as these programs can be obtained electronically via optical scanning of paper or other media, for example, they are compiled, interpreted or otherwise processed in an appropriate manner as needed, and then stored in the memory 906 .

In one embodiment, the above-mentioned card management operating system 902 can be set in the playing card handling system 110, 200 as an internal integrated component. In another embodiment, the card operation management system 902 can be set outside the playing card handling system 110, 200 as an independent device. Or, if external, the card operations management system 902 can be part of another system with other functions. In such embodiments, 934, 934, 938, and/or 946 may include suitable easy-to-use plug-in connector devices to facilitate coupling between the external card handling management system 902 and the playing card handling systems 110, 200. catch.

For convenience, the operating system 904 ( FIG. 9 ) is shown as being provided in various embodiments of the card management operating system 902 . It should be understood that any suitable processor system 904 may be employed. Processor system 904 may be a specially designed and/or manufactured processing system, or a commercially available processor system. Non-limiting examples of commercially available processor systems include, but are not limited to, Intel Corporation, the 80x86 Pentium family of microprocessors manufactured by the U.S.A, the PowerPC microprocessors manufactured by IBM, the Sparc microprocessors manufactured by Sun Microsystem, Inc. , PA-RISC series microprocessors manufactured by Hewlett-Packard Company, or 68xxx series microprocessors manufactured by Motorola Corporation.

FIG. 10 is a simplified block diagram of a carousel control interface system 921 communicatively coupled with an example carousel 940 . The turntable 940 may correspond to the turntables 210, 212 (FIGS. 2A-2E) described above. As described herein, inventory cards 124 ( FIG. 1B ) are drawn from card receiving recesses 302 ( FIG. 3 ) by card selector 400 to construct deliverable cards 118 . Similarly, collected cards 114 are hereafter referred to as transition cards 128 (as they pass through the aforementioned card path), and are inserted into their associated card receiving grooves 302 (now referred to as transition inventory cards 128), so that the card receiving groove 302 is reloaded.

To select inventory cards 124 from the appropriate card receiving recess 302 , the dial 940 is rotated into alignment with the card selector 400 . The turntable positioning sensor 1002 detects the position of the turntable 940 . In another embodiment, the carousel positioning sensor 1002 detects at least one fixed point on the carousel 940 upon initialization of the playing card handling system 102 or at another suitable time. As the carousel subsequently rotates, the position of any card receiving groove 302 relative to the carousel position sensor 1002 can be determined computationally (according to code instructions or logic instructions of the card management logic 954, FIG. 9 ).

To select a particular inventory card 124, that particular inventory card 124 is determined from the current virtual card of the virtual sequence 136 that needs to be constructed. Once determined, the inventory cards 124 need to be selected from their corresponding card receiving grooves 302 . The card management logic 954, using the information in the card receiving groove attribute table 952, determines the relative location of the card receiving groove 302 associated with the desired inventory card 124. The carousel positioning controller 1004 (which may correspond to the motor coupled to the carousel gear 326 in one example embodiment described above) is configured to rotate the carousel 940 to move the appropriate card receiving recess 302 into alignment with the card selector 400. allow. The card selector 400 may then select a desired inventory card 124 from the card receiving groove 302 . (One of the above-described example embodiments employs a friction roller 410 that is disposed in the selector body 402 and is rotatably fixed to a portion of the shaft 408. The friction roller 410 is rotated by the shaft 408, and the rotation of the friction roller 410 is derived from the card piece The desired inventory card 124 is selected in the receiving slot 302. Other embodiments may employ suitable card selection devices, systems or devices).

In some cases, the desired inventory card 124 is not disposed in a corresponding card receiving groove 302 . The card sensor 1006 senses at least whether an inventory card 124 is present in its corresponding card receiving groove 302 . Card management operating system 902 is notified via carousel control interface system 912 of information corresponding to whether an inventory card is present in its respective card receiving slot 302 . As explained in more detail herein below, the playing card handling system 110, 200 must then wait for the desired card to be returned to the system as a collected card 114.

To transfer the transitional cards 128 to the appropriate card receiving grooves 302, the carousel 940 is rotated into alignment with the carousel branches 1008 (corresponding to the first and second carousel branches 504, 508 described above). The current transitional card 128 is identified based on the detected characteristics of the transitional card 128 . Once confirmed. It is then necessary to insert the transitional card 128 into its corresponding card receiving groove 302 . The card management logic 954, using the information in the card receiving slot attribute table 952, determines the card receiving slot 302 associated with the upcoming transitional card 128. The carousel positioning controller 1004 (which may correspond to the motor coupled to the carousel gear 326 in one example embodiment described above) is configured to rotate the carousel 940 to move the appropriate card-receiving groove 302 into position for transporting the transitional cards 128 The carousel branches 1008 into the appropriate card receiving grooves 302 are aligned.

In one embodiment, the carousel positioning controller 1004 is a motor or the like configured to rotate the carousel 940 with appropriate electrical signals, such as voltage or current, received by the carousel control interface system 912 . In another embodiment, the carousel positioning controller 1004 is a motor and controller with appropriate control signals received by the carousel control interface system 912 . In some implementations, a gear, chain, or belt system may be used to couple the carousel positioning controller 1004 to the carousel 940 . In other embodiments, the shaft of the turntable positioning controller 1004 motor is coupled to the shaft of the turntable 940 (or may be the same shaft). Any suitable coupling device, system or method may be used to couple the carousel positioning controller 1004 to the carousel 940 to rotate the carousel 940 .

It should be understood that for embodiments having multiple card reels 940 , each of the multiple card reels 940 is independently controlled by the look-ahead algorithm 956 at the same time. For example, the "next" inventory card 124 that needs to be picked from the first carousel can be picked by adjusting the position of the carousel 940 so that the card selector 400 is close to the card on which the "next" inventory card 124 is located. Sheet receiving groove 302 . At the same time, another turntable 940 may have a "next +1" stock card in one of its card receiving grooves 203, and this "next +1" stock card will be placed on the above-mentioned "next +1" stock card. After the inventory cards 124 are selected and transported to the deliverable card 118 group, they are selected. While the position of the carousel with the "next" stock card 124 is adjusted, the playing card handling system 902 may simultaneously and/or independently adjust the position of another carousel with the "next+1" stock card 124 . Then, shortly after the "next" inventory card 124 is selected, the "next+1" inventory card 124 can be selected, because another carousel 940 with that card is already in the selection "next+1" "The position of inventory card 124 is gone.

Optionally, one of the card sensors 932 reads the collected cards 114 (now transition cards 128 ) delivered to its assigned card receiving groove 302 . After confirming this value, the position of target carousel 940 can be adjusted, so that its card receiving groove 302 is in the correct position, so that collected cards 114 can be set in its receiving groove 302 (now referred to as stock cards). 124). At the same time, the position of the other turntable 940 can be adjusted for handling the inventory cards 124 in one of the receiving grooves 302 of the turntable, or the position of the turntable can be adjusted for receiving another confirmed transition card Piece 128 (formerly called collected card piece 114).

In summary, look-ahead algorithm 956 (FIG. 9) is configured to monitor physical cards (FIG. 5) at various stages on legs 502-515, and to link transport of physical cards with carousel positioning and/or construction of deliverable cards 118. cooperation. That is, when the transitional card 128 can be redirected to the playing card output receiver 206 for inclusion as a member in the deliverable card 118, the transitional card 128 can be said to be in transition from its target carousel 940 (where it will become Inventory cards 124) are diverted to the playing card output receiver 206 during the "window of opportunity".

11 is a simplified block diagram of a card keeper interface system 912 communicatively coupled to an example card management device 936 and a card sensor interface system 908 communicatively coupled to an example card sensor interface system 908. Sensor 932 is coupled. It should be noted that after use, collected cards 114 (FIG. 1B) are received and transported along the first carousel branch (see FIG. 5) (now referred to as transition cards 128) to be inserted into their associated card receiving pockets. Slot 302 (thereby referred to as inventory card 124), so that the card receiving groove 302 is reloaded. (In some cases, a transitional card 128 may be redirected directly to the group of deliverable cards 118 if the value of that particular transitional card 128 corresponds to the next card that needs to be added to the group of deliverable cards 118 value).

The card sensor 932 detects attributes and/or characteristics of the sensed physical transition card 128 as the sensed physical card 128 moves along the intermediate branch 506 (or other branch). Information corresponding to the detected attributes and/or characteristics is notified to the card management operating system 902 via the card sensor interface system to determine the unique identification of the current transitional card 128 .

For convenience, the card management device 936 is shown as a roller device. Two rollers 1102 control the movement of transitional cards 128 along each carousel branch (see FIG. 5). The movement of the rollers 1102 is controlled by the motor 1104 in response to electrical signals from the card management operating system 904 via the card manager interface system 910 . Accordingly, the transitional card 128 can move along the card sensor 932 so that information can be read from the transitional card 128 . If this information is not read and/or interpreted correctly, the card management device 936 may send the transitional card 138 back through the card sensor 932 for another sensing of transitional card 128 attributes and/or characteristics.

In other embodiments, the card management device 936 may be any suitable device, system or device that controls the movement of the transitional card 128 such that the sensor 932 senses attributes and/or characteristics of the transitional card 128 . For example, a single roller 1102 and motor 1104 could be used in another embodiment. Another embodiment may employ a conveyor system or the like.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram for explaining the generation of the virtual sequence 136 and the subsequent construction of the corresponding group of deliverable cards 118 . The operating system 904 (see also FIG. 9 ) reads and executes the virtual card construction logic 920, and first generates or determines a virtual selection pool 922 according to the parameters in the virtual sequence construction standard 924.

Other parameters can be used to create virtual selection pool 922. For example, the card rules table may specify the type of card game to be played with the deliverable cards 118 . The game selected may affect the type and/or number of virtual cards 1204 used in the virtual selection pool 922.

Then, in one embodiment, the operating system 904 employs a random number generator 912 or the like to randomly serially select the virtual cards 1204 . The selected virtual cards 1204 may be organized serially into a virtual sequence 136 .

In another embodiment, the processing system employs a random number generator 921 to sequence the virtual cards 124 sequentially by employing a series of random numbers, the largest random number corresponding to the number of virtual cards 1204 in the virtual selection pool 922 , each number corresponds to the value of the virtual card. A data table or the like associating each virtual card 1204 with one of the numbers enables the operating system 904 to sort the virtual cards 1204 into the virtual sequence 136 .

In another embodiment, virtual cards are selected from the unaltered virtual selection pool 922, one virtual card at a time. Similar to electronic slot machines, the probability of choosing any particular value for the virtual card remains constant for each selection.

In some implementations, a portion of virtual sequences 136 (referred to as virtual sequence portion 1202 ) may be selected from virtual sequences 136 . When building a group of deliverable cards 118, virtual sequence portion 1202 is used to identify physical cards 1206 and/or transitional cards 117 to be selected from inventory cards 124 (FIG. 1B).

For example, without limitation, one of the parameters used to generate the virtual selection pool 922 may specify that 8 standard 52-card suits be used to form the virtual selection pool 922 . Thus, the resulting virtual selection pool 922 will initially include 416 virtual cards 1204 .

In this example, another parameter may specify that the deliverable cards 118 include a total of 208 physical cards 1206 (corresponding to four standard 52-card decks). Thus, 208 virtual cards 1204 from the virtual selection pool 922 will be used to generate the virtual sequence portion 1202 . The resulting virtual sequence portion 1202 will then be used to construct groups of deliverable cards 118 .

In some implementations, the virtual sequence portion 1202 may have the same number of virtual cards 1204 as the virtual sequence 136 has the same number of virtual cards 1204 . This may occur if the parameters defining the number of card suits used to construct the virtual selection pool 922 are the same as the parameters specifying the number of suits for the virtual sequence portion 1202 . Casino rules, government management rules, and/or game rules may facilitate this.

的概率为1/52。当从虚拟序列136中选择第二张虚拟牌片(以及后续的虚拟牌片)时，第二张虚拟牌片(以及后续的虚拟牌片)的值为

的概率仍为1/52。In other embodiments, the virtual selection pool 122 is based on virtual cards identified by value or other indicia. During the generation of the virtual sequence 136, if the virtual cards 1204 are sequentially selected, the likelihood or probability of selecting a particular virtual card from the virtual selection pool remains the same. For example, if a pack of 118 deliverable cards is constructed from a standard 52-card deck, the value of the first card is

The probability of is 1/52. When a second virtual card (and subsequent virtual cards) is selected from the virtual sequence 136, the value of the second virtual card (and subsequent virtual cards) is

The probability of is still 1/52.

Alternatively, the operating system 904 can generate a virtual selection pool 922 (corresponding to the first number of virtual cards 902) using a first parameter, and then generate another number of virtual cards 1204 (from the virtual selection pool 922). tiles 1204) to build the virtual sequence 136, and stop building the virtual sequence 136 when the number of virtual cards 1204 specified for the group of deliverable cards 118 equals the number of virtual cards 1204 selected.

After the virtual sequence portion 1202 is generated, physical cards 1206 are obtained from the inventory cards 124 disposed in the carousel 940 and/or from identified collected cards 114 (FIG. 1B). Each sequentially acquired physical card 1206 corresponds to one of the virtual cards 1204 in the virtual sequence portion 1202 . The captured virtual cards 1206 are delivered in a serial fashion to build groups of deliverable cards 118 .

For example, in FIG. 12, the first card of virtual sequence portion 1202 is shown as the A of diamonds (A♦). Virtual card A 1204 is used to define the first physical card 1206 in the group of deliverable cards 118 . Accordingly, one of the available physical cards A♦ is selected from the carousel receiving groove 302 and placed in an appropriate receiver, such as the playing card output receiver 206, as the first physical card 1206. The process of sequentially acquiring the physical cards 1206 according to the virtual cards 1204 of the designated virtual sequence portion 1202 continues until the process of building the group of deliverable cards 118 is complete. The group of deliverable cards 118 is then transported to a place where the dealer or other participants or casino employees can access the group of deliverable cards 118.

In some cases, after virtual sequence portion 1202 is generated, virtual cards 1204 may additionally be processed one more time according to another parameter. In an example embodiment, optional card imprinting device 1208 is configured to intercept (generally indicated by dashed lines 1212 ) physical cards 1210 being delivered to groups of deliverable cards 118 . Instructions to print information and/or symbols on intercepted physical cards 1210 are communicated from operating system 904 (shown generally in dashed lines) to card imprinting device 1208 . Then, after stamping or otherwise marking the intercepted physical cards 1210 with ink or the like, the intercepted cards 1210 are returned to the card path 1214 for insertion into the correct sequence in the group of deliverable cards 118 Location.

For example, one of the parameters of the virtual card construction logic 920 or the virtual sequence construction criteria 924 (or another parameter set elsewhere) may designate one or more physical cards to be "bonus" cards. The bonus tiles may earn the player desired gifts and the like (eg, free lodging, free dinner, etc.). Accordingly, information indicating that the player received the bonus card is embossed on the bonus card. This information may be in any suitable format, including textual information and/or special symbols. It should be understood that there is no limit to the number and type of gifts that a player who receives a bonus card can obtain. All such variations fall within the scope of the present invention.

The physical cards 1206, the cards referred to as bonus cards (and marked by the card imprinting device 1208), may be passed through the generated virtual sequence section 1202 and/or according to specified criteria and/or according to random criteria. Virtual cards 1204 are designated in the generated virtual selection pool 922 for identification. Alternatively, physical cards 1206 may be selected as they are shipped to deliverable card 118 cohorts according to specified criteria and/or random criteria. It should be understood that there is no limit to the number of possible methods of identifying and selecting a physical card 1206 for imprinting. All such variants fall within the scope of the invention.

Additionally, the selected virtual cards 1204 and/or physical cards 1206 may be composed of one or more sub-portions of the generated virtual sequence portion 1202 and/or group of deliverable cards 118, respectively. For example, the generated virtual card portion 1202 and/or the last sub-portion of the group of deliverable cards 118 may have selected virtual cards 1204 or selected physical cards 1206, respectively, to entice the player to continue the game, In order to get one of the bonus cards.

In some embodiments, during the generation of the virtual sequence portion 1202 and/or the generation of the virtual selection pool 922, the parameters for establishing the selection criteria used by the random number generator 921 (or similar component) of the virtual card construction logic 920 are described in May vary during production. That is, parameters that affect the probability of selecting a card and thus the outcome of the game can be changed. For example, in a multi-player game, one player can arbitrarily choose to receive a card that is more or less likely to win than the other players. (Of course, spending may be adjusted accordingly). For example, Player A may wish to play a hand and/or game against a virtual selection pool 922 constructed of standard 8-suite traditional 52-card suits. Player B may wish to play a hand and/or game against a virtual selection pool 922 constructed by the standard of a traditional 52-card suit. As another example, Player C may wish to have the opportunity to have a wild card introduced into his hand. Accordingly, various embodiments of the playing card handling system 110 are configured to accommodate specific parameters during the above-described process to construct groups of deliverable cards 118 .

的牌片，即使虚拟选择池922是基于10套52张一套的扑克牌所建立的。或者，虚拟序列136可以限制到仅具有特定的等级或花色。例如，但不限于，虚拟序列136可以限制为只有8张(4种花色)的牌片A。或者，虚拟序列136可以限制为虚拟牌片最多有一半为

花色。In some cases, virtual sequence 136 may limit the number of cards with a particular value. For example, without limitation, virtual sequence 136 may be limited to having only 8 cards of value

even though the virtual selection pool 922 is based on ten suits of 52 playing cards. Alternatively, the virtual sequence 136 may be limited to only certain ranks or suits. For example, without limitation, virtual sequence 136 may be limited to only 8 cards (of 4 suits) of Aces. Alternatively, the virtual sequence 136 can be limited to a maximum of half of the virtual cards being

color.

In some of the above-mentioned implementations, when generating a plurality of virtual card sequence parts 1202, the operating system 904 can selectively change the above-mentioned selected parameters. Multiple virtual card sequence portions 1202 , one sequence assigned to a different player, may be combined to generate a sequence of virtual cards 1204 used to construct groups of deliverable cards 118 . This group of deliverable cards 118 then has subgroups within it, each subgroup being assigned to a particular player based on the selected parameter being altered. In some embodiments, divider cards (such as but not limited to unmarked and/or uncolored cards) may be selected from the card receiving slot 302 and placed between consecutive subgroups of physical cards, To ensure that the player receives the hand cards according to the selected modified parameters.

For convenience, the above-described process of building a group of deliverable cards 118 (FIG. 1B) (generally described as generating a virtual sequence 136 from a virtual selection pool 922, defining a virtual sequence portion 1202 from the virtual sequence 136, and then acquiring inventory cards 124 and and/or transitioning cards 128 to build deliverable cards 118), and the above-described process of returning collected cards 114 to carousel receiving grooves 302 of carousel 940 (FIGS. 9 and 12), are described as separate processes. In most embodiments, the process of constructing groups of deliverable cards 118 and the process of transporting collected cards 114 to slots 302 of carousel 940 operate concurrently. That is, the card management operating system 902 is configured to control the flow of multiple physical cards along the branches 502-515 (FIG. 5) in an integrated manner. Accordingly, embodiments may be configured to simultaneously build groups of deliverable cards 118, reload carousel 940 with inventory cards 124, receive collected cards 114, sense and/or evaluate transition cards 128, operate transition cards 128, etc. . This operational flexibility is achieved by independently controlling the transport of the physical cards on each branch 502-515, and/or the transport of cards at specific points on the branches 502-515, and/or the control of the carousel 940. Thus, when executing information on each of logic 920, 948, 954, and/or 956, and/or operations 922, 924, 926, 950, and/or 952, multiple different operations may be performed concurrently.

For example, collected cards 114 may be entered into input branch 506 (thereby referred to as transitional cards 128). At the same time, when the selected stock card 124 is selected from the turntable 940 (FIG. 10) by the card selector 400 of the receiving groove (taken out from its card receiving groove 302), the selected Out inventory cards 124 (now referred to as transition cards 128 ) may be transported along one of the carousel branches 504 or 508. So two physical cards are transported simultaneously in this simplified example. Various card sensors 932 (FIG. 9) notify the card management operating system 902 of information so that the operating system 904 tracks the position of the two physical cards in real time (or near real time).

In other embodiments, multiple physical cards may be tracked and/or transported along each branch 502-515 at the same time. For example, a third physical card may be simultaneously transported on discharge branch 510 for discharge into a waste card receiving groove or the like. Alternatively, another physical card may be simultaneously transported on the middle leg 506 with a card sensor 932 and a card management device 936 configured to detect that two or more transitional cards 128 are in contact with each other (i.e. , stuck together) and need to be separated from each other so that further transitional card 128 processing can be performed. Alternatively, the transitional card 128 may be adjacent to one of the aforementioned diverters 602, 604 (FIG. 6), wherein actuation of the diverter 602, 604 may divert the transitional card 128 going to the assigned card receiving groove 302 so that The transitional cards are conveyed, for example, to a group of deliverable cards 118 . In various implementations, the scenarios described above, as well as other card tracking and/or shipping scenarios, may all occur simultaneously.

As another example of managing the transport of physical cards on the various legs 502-515 simultaneously, a "look ahead" algorithm 950 may be included in memory 906 (FIG. 9). The operating system 904 determines the "next" virtual card of the virtual sequence portion 1202 (FIG. 12), thus defining the "next" physical card 1206 that needs to be added to the group of deliverable cards 118. It should be noted that the "next" physical card 1206 can be removed from one of the card receiving slots 302, or can be a transition card 128 that can be turned around. A transitional card 128 may be considered to be in "chance" when the transitional card 128 is in proximity to one of the aforementioned diverters 602, 604 (FIG. 6) during its transport to its assigned card receiving recess 302. window" so that this transitional card 128 can be successfully turned to the group of deliverable cards 118 being constructed.

Diverting the transitional cards 128 directly to the group of deliverable cards 118 can be done more quickly than taking the "next" physical card from one of the carousel receiving grooves 302 because the diverted transitional cards 128 Available quickly, and the distance traveled to the playing card output receiver 206 is relatively short. As a comparison, if stock cards 124 are taken from the card receiving groove 302, it may be necessary to change the location of the receiving groove so that the card selector (Figs. 4 and 10) is set in place so that it can be received from the card The groove 302 picks out the stock card 124 . The selected inventory cards 124 (now referred to as transition cards 128) must then be transported all the way to the playing card output receiver 206 (FIGS. 2A-2E). Therefore, the process of acquiring an inventory card 124 may take more time than switching to an appropriate transition card 128 . By diverting the transitional card 128 to the playing card output receiver 206 so that the transitional card 128 can be used as the "next" card for the deliverable card 118, the management of the cards by the playing card handling system 110, 200 can be expedited. The overall process of the film.

Additionally, virtual card manipulation may be performed concurrently by various embodiments. For example, one or more virtual selection pools 922 (FIG. 9) may be generated simultaneously according to different parameters. Alternatively, operating system 904 may operate in a parallel mode in which one or more virtual sequences 132 are constructed from one or more virtual selection pools 922 . Operating system 904 may generate number of virtual sequence portions 1202 from one or more virtual sequences 132 . Alternatively, all or part of the above-mentioned virtual card operations may occur simultaneously.

It should be appreciated that the various possibilities for simultaneously managing, tracking, or transporting physical cards by the playing card handling system 110, and/or the various possibilities for simultaneously performing virtual card operations are too numerous to be detailed herein. Such implementations performing multiple functions should be included within the scope of the present invention and protected by the appended claims.

It should be noted that the turntables or storage devices with card grooves are interchangeable. Thus, the playing card handling system 110, 200 may add physical cards to and/or remove physical cards from some carousels or storage devices, some of which may be removed and/or replaced by other carousels or storage devices. Equipment replacement.

The "random number generator" described above for constructing the virtual sequence 136 can be implemented by various algorithms. In one embodiment, random number generator 921 (FIG. 9) may computationally generate virtual cards of virtual sequence 136 or virtual sequence portion 1202 (FIG. 12). That is, the numbers associated with the values of the physical cards can be directly generated in a random fashion. In another embodiment, the random number generator 921 can generate a series of random numbers, and the range of the generated numbers can correspond to the number of virtual cards in the virtual selection pool. Such virtual cards may be associated with generated numbers using a look-up table or the like. In another embodiment, random number generator 921 may generate a value corresponding to a characteristic that identifies a physical card. For example, in a standard 52-card suit, a first value corresponding to the suit of the card and another value corresponding to the rank of the card may be generated separately, thereby defining cards of a particular value. It should be understood that, for convenience, other algorithms, collectively referred to as "random number generator" algorithms, may be used to generate, process and/or qualify virtual cards 1204 as described herein, and that such algorithms are numerous and/or overly complex, So it is not described in detail. All such algorithms are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention and protected by any appended claims. Although referred to herein and in the claims as random numbers or random number generators, the term encompasses numbers and generators that are not truly random in the mathematical sense, such as those known as pseudorandom.

Other embodiments of the playing card handling system 110 are configured to operate on physical cards 1206 (FIG. 12) without using the random number generator 921 (FIG. 9). For example, one or more predetermined virtual sequences 132 and/or virtual sequence portions 1202 may be used to construct groups of deliverable cards 118 . Accordingly, predetermined virtual sequences 132 and/or virtual card sequence portions 1202 may be designated to allow corresponding groups of deliverable cards 118 to be constructed at will. The predetermined sequence may be stored in a lookup table or the like. Additionally, groups of deliverable cards 118 may be constructed repeatedly.

For example, in a particular poker game, such as two-handed bridge, the players at the table 102 play a predetermined hand of cards. After the game is over, the players move to the next gaming table 102, and each player each plays the same hand of cards as was previously used at that gaming table 102. That is, in a game of two-player bridge, all gaming tables 102 have a unique set of hands (groups of cards) that are used by all players and/or teams. Accordingly, embodiments of the playing card handling system 110 can repeatedly construct and deliver required hands of cards that must be the same from one game to another. A defined hand (corresponding to the 4 virtual card sequence portion 1202) may be determined by the remote device as virtual cards. Information determined by the remote device will be provided to one or more card management operating systems 902 via user device interface 912 (FIG. 9). Optionally, hands may be defined and/or generated by the management operating system 902 such that unique hands are repeatedly constructed for a game hand.

As another hypothetical example, where the playing card handling system 110, 200 could be configured to operate on physical cards 126 (FIG. 12) without using the random number generator 921 (FIG. 9), the playing card handling system 110 could Groups of poker cards used to build sorts. That is, the physical cards can be directly sequenced in a predetermined manner. For example, one or more sorted standard 52-card suits may be constructed from the plurality of collected cards 114 . Consider the hypothetical scenario where 520 mixed playing cards are input to the playing card handling system 110 . From the 520 mixed playing cards a maximum of 10 sorted deliverable card sets 118 groups are then constructed, corresponding to the sorted standard 52-card suits.

As another hypothetical example, in which the playing card handling system 110, 200 can be configured to operate on physical cards 1206 (FIG. 12) without using the random number generator 921 (FIG. 9), the playing card handling system 110 , 200 can be used to check physical card groups. For example, a standard 52-card deck of cards may be used with an embodiment of the playing card handling system 110, 200 to allow each card sensor 400 (FIG. 4) to sense physical characteristics of the cards. Non-limiting examples of physical characteristics include, but are not limited to, card face, card quality, and/or card value. Since the physical cards are inspected individually, the cards can be delivered directly to the playing card output receiver 206 (FIGS. 2A-D). If the combinations constructed from the inspected cards and the inspected group of deliverable cards 118 are acceptable, the playing card output receiver 206 may return the group of deliverable cards 118 to the player. In another embodiment, problematic cards may be identified and/or removed, and if removed, replaced by acceptable inventory cards 124 . A report providing information pertaining to inspected physical cards may be output by some embodiments to user device 928 (FIG. 9). It should be appreciated that this checking process can be accomplished relatively quickly, since in some embodiments, the turntable 940 or other card groove mechanism is not used.

It should be appreciated that various scenarios in which playing card handling systems 110, 200 are configured to operate on physical cards 1206 (FIG. 12) without the use of random number generator 921 are apparent in light of the teachings of the present invention. Any such scenarios, methods and systems are intended to be included within the scope of the present invention and protected by the appended claims.

It should be noted that the term "carousel" as used herein is a generic term for a structure that includes an endless, plurality of physical card receivers, referred to for convenience as card receiving grooves, specifically adapted for rotational movement. Figure 13 shows an alternative embodiment of a selected card storage device. The frame 1302 is a rectangular structure with a plurality of card receiving grooves 302 disposed therein, suitable for translation. The frame 1304 is another rectangular structure having an array of card receiving grooves 302 disposed therein for translational movement. The storage device 1306 is an arcuate structure in which a plurality of card receiving grooves 302 are provided, suitable for pivoting. The frame 1038 is a structure in the form of a conveyor, on which a plurality of card receiving grooves 302 are arranged, suitable for translation. The frame 1310 is a vertically oriented rectangular structure in which a plurality of card receiving recesses 302 are disposed. It should be understood that the various types and/or orientations of configurations employing card receiving grooves 302 are too numerous to be detailed herein. Furthermore, if such a structure is moved to orient a selected card receiving groove 302 with the card selector 400 (FIG. 4), such a structure may move in any suitable direction, orientation and/or in any suitable manner. . Any such configuration and/or orientation including a plurality of card-receiving recesses 302 configured as storage for inventory cards 124 is intended to be within the scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that the bonus cards and/or exclusive cards may be defined and/or selected after the virtual sequence 136 is generated. In alternative implementations, bonus tiles and/or exclusive tiles may be defined concurrently with other parameters used to construct the virtual selection pool 122 . Accordingly, bonus cards and/or exclusive cards will have the same probability of being selected as any other virtual card in the virtual selection pool. Furthermore, in other embodiments, after the virtual sequence 136 is generated, additional bonus cards and/or special cards may be added later, as described herein.

14, 15, 16, and 17 are flowcharts 1400, 1500, 1600, and 1700, respectively, illustrating possible operation of the logic modules 920, 948, and/or 954 of FIG. 9 for various card management functions. Flow diagrams 1400 , 1500 , 1600 and 1700 illustrate the architecture, functionality and operation of a possible implementation of software implementing logic modules 920 , 948 , 954 and/or 956 . In this regard, each block represents a code module, code segment, or code portion, which includes one or more executable instructions that perform the specified logical functions. It should be noted that, in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in FIGS. 14-17 , or may include additional functionality. For example, two blocks shown in succession in FIGS. 16-17 may in fact be executed substantially concurrently, the blocks may be executed in reverse order, or some blocks may not be executed in any event, depending upon the functionality involved, Further clarification will be provided below. Furthermore, some blocks of one of flowcharts 1400, 1500, 1600, and 1700 may be interchanged with blocks in other flowcharts and/or may be added to another flowchart. All such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the present invention.

Furthermore, it should be understood that the simplified example flowcharts 1400, 1500, 1600, and 1700 of FIGS. 14-17, respectively, illustrate only some of the many card management processes described above. Since there are too many variants described herein, no specific flow charts are provided for the various alternative implementations and methods described herein.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating the process of generating a group of deliverable cards 118 as described above. The process begins at block 1402 . At block 1404 , the card management logic 954 ( FIG. 9 ) receives specifications corresponding to the virtual sequence construction criteria 924 . Such criteria and/or parameters have been described above.

At block 1406, the random number generator 921 generates the first virtual card of the virtual sequence 136 according to the virtual sequence construction criteria. The first virtual card is selected from the virtual cards available in the virtual selection pool 922 described above. Any of the random number generators 921 described above may be employed by various embodiments. Alternatively, the virtual sequence is not random, but may be an ordered sequence, such as a sequence derived from a reference list.

At block 1408 , the random number generator 921 generates the next virtual card of the virtual sequence 136 according to the virtual sequence construction criteria 924 . The next virtual card is selected from the virtual cards available in the virtual selection pool 922 described above. Accordingly, at block 1406, the first virtual card is not available for selection at block 1408.

At block 1410 , it is determined whether the next virtual card generated is the last card of the virtual sequence 136 . If not (NO condition), the program returns and selects another "next" card. This cycle continues until the last card of the virtual sequence 136 is generated. As noted above, the last virtual card may correspond to a selected size (total number of virtual cards) of the virtual sequence 136 . The size of the virtual sequence may be equal to the total number of virtual cards available in the virtual selection pool 922, or may be less than the number of virtual cards.

If at block 1410, the last card of the virtual sequence 136 is generated (YES condition), then the program proceeds to block 1412. At block 1412 , virtual sequence portion 1202 ( FIG. 12 ) is selected from virtual sequence 136 . As noted above, virtual sequence portion 1202 may correspond to all of virtual sequence 136 , or a selected portion of virtual sequence 136 . If a portion is selected, that portion can be drawn from anywhere in the virtual sequence 136 either randomly or according to some specified parameters. Additionally, multiple virtual sequence portions 1202 may be selected from virtual sequence 136 . In some cases, multiple selected portions may overlap cards of virtual sequence 136 , or may be contiguous with cards of virtual sequence 136 , and/or may be separated by selected cards of virtual sequence 136 . In some implementations, blocks 1410 and 1412 may be combined such that virtual sequence portion 1202 is selected directly from virtual selection pool 922 .

After determining the virtual sequence portion 1202, in some implementations, the program terminates. In such an embodiment, the process continues to block 1418, as described below.

In other implementations, it may be desirable to perform other operations on the determined virtual sequence portion 1202 . Therefore, the program proceeds to block 1414, where it is judged whether one or more virtual cards in the virtual sequence part 1202 need to be modified (YES condition).

For example, without limitation, bonus tiles may be selected and marked as described above. In some implementations, such operations can be performed at a virtual level. If the virtual cards of the virtual selection pool need to be changed, the corresponding physical cards can be changed 1206 when building the group of deliverable cards. Therefore, the program continues to block 1414.

At block 1414, it is determined whether one or more virtual cards in the virtual sequence portion 1202 need to be modified based on at least one criterion and/or parameter. For convenience, the program then returns to block 1414 if it is desired to make additional changes.

When it is determined that one or more virtual cards in the virtual sequence portion 1202 do not require modification (NO condition), or if it is determined that no other modification is required, the program proceeds to block 1418. Based on the altered virtual sequence portion (or the non-altered virtual sequence portion, if no alterations were made), the playing card handling system 110, 200 constructs a group of deliverable cards 118. The group of deliverable cards 118 is constructed by selecting physical inventory cards 124 and/or transitional cards as described above.

It should be appreciated that the logic of blocks 1414 and 1416 may be performed separately as separate processes to alter the physical cards. For example, instead of selecting a virtual card for modification at block 1416, a physical card may be modified at block 1416 according to blocks 1414 and 1416 or another suitable logical process.

15 is a flowchart 1500 illustrating the process described above for selecting inventory cards 124 (FIG. 1B) from carousel 940 (FIG. 9). The process begins at block 1502 . At block 1504, the card management logic 954 (FIG. 9) designates the "next" card in the current virtual sequence portion 1202. At block 1508, a determination is made as to whether the designated "next" card can be selected from the card receiving recess 302 of the carousel 940, as described above (see also Figures 10 and 11). That is, could the "next" card be stock card 124?

If not (NO condition), then the program proceeds to block 1508, at which point the "next" card is selected from transitional cards 128 at some point, as described above (see also Figures 10 and 11). If the transition card 128 is selected, the program returns to block 1504 where the "next +1" card is specified.

At block 1506, if it is determined that the designated "next" card can be selected from the inventory cards 124 disposed in the card receiving groove 302 of the turntable 940 (YES condition), then the program proceeds to block 1510. At block 1510, the card management operating system 902 determines the location of the designated "next" card. If multiple carousels 940 are employed, the carousel having the card receiving groove 302 assigned to the designated "next" card is identified. Additionally, the location of the card receiving groove 302 in the carousel 904 is identified.

Then, at block 1512, the identified location of the card receiving groove 302 associated with the designated "next" card is associated with the card selector 400 (Fig. 4 and 10) position comparison. At block 1414, the shortest path for the card selector to contact the identified card receiving groove 302 is determined.

At block 1516 , in embodiments employing a turntable 940 , the turntable 940 is rotated counterclockwise (CCW) or clockwise (CW) to minimize the amount of movement of the turntable 940 . Thus, selecting the shortest path results in the quickest alignment of the card selector 400 with the card receiving groove having the inventory card 124 associated with the designated "next" card. In other embodiments employing a gantry, the gantry can translate in an appropriate direction (eg, left, right, up, down, or forward and backward).

As noted above, a number of other card storage devices 1302-1310 (FIG. 3), for example, may be used to retain inventory cards 124 in their designated card receiving recesses 302. In such an embodiment, the blocks 1510-1516 described above will be modified as necessary to accommodate the particular configuration of the embodiment. Additionally, in embodiments where the carousel 940 (or card storage devices 1302-1310) remains stationary and the card selector 400 moves to the identified card receiving groove 302 holding the identified inventory card 124, the above-described block 1510-1516 will be changed as needed.

Once the card selector 400 is aligned with the card-receiving groove 302 holding the identified inventory card 124 (the "next" card), the inventory card 124 is selected and placed at block 1518. Add (ship) to the group of deliverable cards 118. Then, the program proceeds to block 1520, where it is judged whether the selected "next" card is the last card of the virtual sequence part 1202. That is, whether the "next" card selected is the last card added to the group of deliverable cards 118. If so (YES condition), the program proceeds to block 1522 and ends. If another card is identified and selected (NO condition), the program returns to block 1504 for the "next +1" card.

It should be understood that the above-described process of selecting inventory cards 124 from the receiving slots according to flowchart 1400 can be modified to suit the above-described process of flowchart 1600. In flowchart 1600, the embodiment uses look-ahead algorithm 950 to determine the "next card" Whether the cards can be selected from the transition cards 128 more quickly.

FIG. 16 is a flowchart 1600 illustrating the procedure of the lookahead algorithm 950 (FIG. 9) described above. The process begins at block 1602 . At block 1604, the card management logic 954 receives the "next" card specification of the sequence of deliverable cards. The specification may be based on the corresponding "next" card of the virtual sequence portion 1202 that is used as the basis for constructing the group of deliverable cards 118 . Block 1606, whether to use the look-ahead algorithm 950. If not (NO condition), then the process proceeds to block 1608, where it is determined whether the "next" card is available from the card stocker 112 disposed in the turntable 940.

If the inventory card 124 is available (YES condition of block 1608), then at block 1610, the "next" physical card is obtained from the card receiving slot 302 with the requested inventory card 124 (and transported and Added to the group of deliverable cards 118).

The process then proceeds to block 1612, where it is determined whether the "next" card retrieved is the last card of the virtual construction sequence. If so (YES condition), the process terminates at block 1614 because building the deliverable card 118 has been completed. However, if the "next" card obtained at block 1612 is not the last card of the virtual construction sequence, then the process returns to block 1640 to again specify the "next+1" card.

Returning now to block 1608, if it is determined that the desired "next" card is not available as an inventory card 124, the process proceeds to block 1616 to read the returned collected card 114, which is now instead Referred to as the transition card 128. Then, at block 1618, the transitional card 128 is read (and sensed by sensors and the information is analyzed by the card management operating system 902) to determine the value of the sensed transitional card 128. At block 1618, a determination is made as to whether the current transition card 128 is the desired "next" card. If not (NO condition), the process continues to loop back to block 1616 until the read transition card 128 corresponds to the desired "next" card (YES condition). Then, at block 1620, the transition card 128 corresponding to the desired "next" card is transported and added to the group of deliverable cards 118. The process then advances to block 1612 and continues as described above.

If at block 1606 the look ahead algorithm 950 is used (YES condition), then the process proceeds to block 1622 . At block 1622, the transitional card 128 is read (and sensed by the card sensor 932 so that this information can be analyzed by the card management operating system 902) to determine the value of the sensed transitional card 128. At block 1624, a determination is made as to whether the value of the current transition card 128 corresponds to the value of the desired "next" card. If not (NO condition), the process advances to block 1608 and continues as described above.

If at block 1624, the value of the transitional card 128 read corresponds to the value of the desired "next" card (YES condition), then the process proceeds to block 1626, corresponding to the desired "next" value. The transition cards 128 of cards are transported here and added to the group of deliverable cards 118 . The process then advances to block 1612 and continues as described above.

17 is a flowchart 1700 illustrating the process described above for generating groups of deliverable cards 118 from stock cards 124 disposed in carousel 940 and from transition cards 128 (if stock cards 124 are not available). This example process is employed by an implementation that omits the look-ahead algorithm 950 described above.

The process begins at block 1702 . At block 1704, the card management logic 954 (FIG. 9) generates the virtual sequence portion 1202 according to the processes, parameters, and/or criteria described above. After defining the virtual sequence portion 1202, at block 1706, the value of the first virtual card of the specified virtual sequence is identified. For convenience, this first card is referred to on flowchart 1700 as the "next" card. (When the process loops back to block 1706, the subsequently acquired card is then referred to as the "next" card in virtual sequence portion 1202, as described in more detail herein below).

At block 1708, a determination is made as to whether the identified "next" card corresponds to the value of the inventory card 124 available on the card receiving groove 302. If the inventory card 124 is available (YES condition), the process proceeds to block 1710, and the inventory card 124 (corresponding to the "next" card) is selected from its inventory card 124 receiving groove 302.

At block 1712, the selected inventory cards 124 are added to the group of deliverable cards 118 by transporting the selected inventory cards 124 to the playing card output receiver 206 that builds the group of deliverable cards 118 . (The selected inventory card 124, after it has been selected from the card receiving groove 302, may be referred to as a transition card 128 because the selected inventory card 124 is now transported to the playing card output receiver 206).

At block 1714, it is determined whether the process of constructing the deliverable card 118 is complete. If so (YES condition), the process proceeds to block 1718 and ends. If additional cards need to be added to the deliverable card 118 group (NO condition), the process returns to block 1706 to identify the “next” card from the virtual sequence portion 1202 . Thus, as long as inventory cards 124 are available for building deliverable card groups, the process described above will loop through blocks 1706, 1708, 1710, 1712, and 1714 until the process of building deliverable cards 118 is complete.

However, if, at block 1708 , it is determined that the identified “next” card does not correspond to the value of the available inventory cards 124 (NO condition), then the process proceeds to block 1720 . That is, it is determined that no stock cards 124 are available. Accordingly, at block 1720, characteristics of the transitional card 128 are detected. At block 1722, based on the detected characteristics, a value for the transition card 128 is determined. At block 1724, a determination is made as to whether the value of the transition card 128 corresponds to the value of the "next" card (identified from the virtual sequence portion 1202 at block 1706).

If the value of the transitional card 128 does not correspond to the value of the "next" card (NO condition), the process proceeds to block 1726 where the transitional card 128 is transported to the appropriate card receiving groove 302. The process loops through blocks 1720, 1722, 1724, and 1726 until the value of the transition card 128 corresponds to the value of the "next" card (YES condition).

The transition card 128 is judged until the value of the transition card 128 corresponds to the value of the "next" card (YES condition of block 1724). As noted above, the judged transitional cards 128 correspond to the upcoming stream of collected cards 114 . Then, at block 1728, the cards 128 are transferred. The process then proceeds to block 1712. That is, according to the virtual sequence portion 1202 of block 1706, when the collected card 114 is finally selected from the game table 102 that matches the identified "next" card value, the collected card (now referred to as a transition card) Slice 128) is selected for delivery to the playing card output receiver 206 so that the card can be added to the deliverable card 118 group.

In some cases, such as at the end of a series of games, or if the process of building deliverable cards 118 has been completed, the collected cards 114 are returned to the playing card handling system 110 so that the collected cards 114 are transported to its Appropriate cards are received in the recesses 302 so that the carousel 940 is reloaded with inventory cards 124 . That is, the supply of available inventory cards 124 may be reloaded with collected cards 114 through independent cycles of steps 1720 , 1722 , 1724 , and 1726 .

As described above, as long as inventory cards 124 are available for building deliverable card 118 groups, the process loops through blocks 1706, 1708, 1710, 1712, and 1714 until the deliverable card 118 group building process is complete. Reloading the supply of available inventory cards 124 with collected cards 114 (looping through steps 1720, 1722, 1724, and 1726) may be performed concurrently with the process of selecting inventory cards 124 to build deliverable card 118 groups. That is, the above two processes can occur independently of each other and/or simultaneously (or sequentially, depending on the implementation). Then, if the inventory cards 124 are not available when needed, the playing card handling system 110 will judge the collected cards 114 until the required collected cards 114 are identified.

Advantages of Poker Handling Systems

It should be understood that the process of constructing the group of deliverable cards 118, handling the virtual cards 1204 (within the virtual selection pool 922, the virtual sequence 136, and/or within the virtual sequence portion 1202) is not the same as collecting the collected cards 114 to the carousel receiving grooves. The transport process at 302 occurs simultaneously, allowing a series of card games to be played without interruption or near interruption. That is, when one or more card games are completed such that the supply of playing cards 126 is depleted, groups of deliverable cards 118 are quickly ready so that the game can continue. Additionally, various embodiments may be configured to optimize or reduce the total number of individual physical cards 1206 on the gaming table 102 .

The playing card handling system 110, 200 may advantageously allow a theoretical hold to be set for the gaming table 102. This theoretical cut represents the advantage of the poker room (eg, casino) for a particular game. Theoretical commissions are usually based on the rules of the card game, possibly existing house rules, and assume that the players are playing with perfect strategy. Since players rarely play with perfect strategy, it is called "theoretical commission".

，理论提成可能高达30％。Generally at least 0.5% theoretical commission is set in most casinos, which can be called "positive commission", which means that for every $1 wagered on a specific game, the house will win 0.5%. For some games like Let-It-Ride

, The theoretical commission may be as high as 30%.

According to at least one embodiment described herein, the playing card handling system 110 , 200 may be used to advantageously set or "dial in" the payout at a particular gaming table 102 . One way to dial in the theoretical cut is to build the virtual sequence 136 from a large number of cards, say 100,000 decks (ie, 5,200,000 cards). The resulting virtual sequence 136 can be computer evaluated to determine the subset within which the desired theoretical contribution is made. The computer evaluation will identify groups of cards that have multiples of a particular card value, such as a high number of 2s and 3s, and/or groups of cards that have sequences that are favorable to the house. Accordingly, casinos may offer greater rewards to players who perform well at the table versus the house, thereby attracting players to play at tables that are greater than the typical theoretical cut.

By way of non-limiting example, a casino can set a theoretical cut that benefits the players rather than the poker room. Such a gaming table 102 will have a "negative theoretical commission". One reason for having a negative theoretical commission is to appeal to novice players who don't want to bet too much and don't want to lose too much. Thus, setting a gaming table 102 with negative cuts 102 will provide a novice player with the opportunity to play for a while, learn the game, and gradually feel good enough to possibly be ready to play at a more challenging table. According to the foregoing, the playing card handling system 110 may advantageously set the theoretical commission within a range of, for example, -10% to 40%. Negative percentages indicate that the theoretical payout favors the player, while a positive percentage indicates that the theoretical payout favors the field. It should be understood that the aforementioned theoretical commission is not meant to limit the scope of the present application, but it should be understood that the theoretical commission value of a specific game table 102 is only a regulation of the card house.

The various embodiments described above can be combined to provide other embodiments. All U.S. patents, U.S. patent application publications, U.S. patent applications, foreign patents, foreign patent applications, and non-patent publications cited herein and/or listed on the filing data pages, including, but not limited to: U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/ 716,538, filed September 12, 2005; 60/791,549, filed April 12, 2006; 60/791,554, filed April 12, 2006; 60/791,398, filed April 12, 2006; and 60/791,513 , filed April 12, 2006; and U.S. nonprovisional patent applications 10/981,132, filed November 3, 2004; 10/934,785, filed September 2, 2004; and 10/823,051, April 13, 2004 submissions, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

The invention can be modified in one way or another in light of the above detailed description. Generally, in the appended claims, the terms used should not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed in the specification and claims, but should be understood to include all card handling devices and systems and operational aspects of operating in accordance with the claims. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the disclosure, but its scope should be determined solely by the appended claims.

Claims (36)

1. A playing card handling system comprising: a playing card input receiver sized and configured to receive a plurality of playing cards processed by the playing card handling system; a playing card output receiver suitably sized and configured to receive a plurality of playing cards processed by the playing card handling system; at least one playing card transport path between said playing card input receiver and said playing card output receiver along which at least some of the playing cards travel from said playing card input receiver to said playing card output receiver device; at least one intermediate playing card receiver positioned on said at least one playing card transport path between said playing card input receiver and said playing card output receiver; a cover manually movable from a closed position in which the cover limits access from outside the playing card handling system to playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle, and in the open position In an open position, the cover does not restrict access from outside the playing card handling system to playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle; and a locking mechanism operable to selectively lock and unlock the top cover in the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system. 2. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is operable to release all playing cards in response to the total number of playing cards on the playing card output receiver being equal to or greater than an output playing card threshold. The lid is locked in the closed position, and unlocked from that position. 3. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism is operable to lock the lid in response to a total number of playing cards arranged in an order being equal to or greater than an output playing card threshold stops in the closed position, and unlocks from that position. 4. The playing card handling system of claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism is operable to operate at least in part based on a comparison of the total number of playing cards in the intermediate playing card receiver to an intermediate playing card threshold. , to selectively lock and unlock the lid in the closed position. 5. The playing card handling system of claim 1 , wherein the locking mechanism is operable to activate at least in part based on the total number of playing cards in the intermediate playing card receiver being less than an intermediate playing card threshold. The lid is selectively locked in and unlocked from the closed position. 6. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein the cover is mounted to slide between the open position and the closed position. 7. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein the cover is mounted for pivotal movement between the open position and the closed position. 8. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein said cover is mounted to another portion of said playing card handling system for pivotal movement between said open position and said closed position. 9. The playing card handling system of claim 1, further comprising: At least one spring physically coupled to bias the lid into the closed position. 10. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein in the open position, the lid is at an acute angle relative to a gravity vector such that gravity biases the lid into the closed position. 11. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein in the open position, the lid is not biased toward the closed position. 12. The playing card handling system of claim 1, wherein the playing card handling system is operable to provide playing cards to the playing card output receiver in an order, the order being a sorted order or a random order at least one of them. 13. The playing card handling system of claim 1, further comprising: a lift mechanism physically coupled to the playing card output receiver and operable to selectively move the playing card output receiver between a lowered position and a raised position in which the The playing card output receiver is located below the surface of the gaming table, and in the raised position at least some of the playing cards carried by the playing card output receiver are located above the surface of the gaming table. 14. The playing card handling system of claim 1, further comprising: a lift mechanism physically coupled to the playing card output receiver and operable to selectively move the playing card output receiver between a lowered position and a raised position, wherein in the lowered position, the The playing card output receiver is located below the surface of the gaming table, and in the raised position at least some of the playing cards carried by the playing card output receiver are located above the surface of the gaming table, and the switch is coupled to The lift mechanism moves the playing card output receptacle to the raised position in response to the lid being in the open position. 15. The playing card handling system of claim 14, further comprising: and a switch operable to cause the lift mechanism to move the playing card output receptacle to the raised position in response to the position of the cover. 16. The playing card handling system of claim 14, further comprising: and a switch operable to cause the lift mechanism to lift the playing card output receptacle to the raised position in response to the lid being in the open position. 17. A playing card handling system comprising: a playing card input receiver positioned to receive a plurality of playing cards for sequencing by the playing card handling system; a playing card output receiver positioned to provide a plurality of playing cards sequenced by the playing card handling system; sequencing means for providing the playing cards received in the playing card input receiver to said playing card output receiver in an order different from the order of the playing cards in said playing card input receiver; A cover that is manually movable from a closed position in which the cover substantially restricts access from outside the playing card handling system to playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle and in an open position said open position, said cover substantially not restricting access from outside said playing card handling system to playing cards carried by said playing card output receptacle; means for delivering at least some of the playing cards out of the playing card handling system in response to at least one of movement and position of the cap; and a locking device for selectively locking and unlocking said top cover in said closed position in response to a state of said playing card handling system. 18. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein the lockout device is operable to release all playing cards in response to the total number of playing cards on the playing card output receiver being equal to or greater than an output playing card threshold. The lid is locked in the closed position, and unlocked from that position. 19. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein the locking device is operable to release the cover in response to the total number of playing cards arranged in the sequence being equal to or greater than an output playing card threshold. Locked in the closed position, and unlocked from that position. 20. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein the locking device is operable to, at least in part based on a comparison of the total number of playing cards in the intermediate playing card receiver to an intermediate playing card threshold, The lid is selectively latched in and unlocked from the closed position. 21. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein the locking device is operable to be activated at least in part based on the total number of playing cards in the intermediate playing card receiver being less than an intermediate playing card threshold. The lid is selectively locked in and unlocked from the closed position. 22. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein the locking means comprises a mechanical locking mechanism. 23. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein said locking means comprises a set of instructions stored in a memory device. 24. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein said means for delivering at least some of the playing cards outwardly from said playing card handling system in response to at least one of movement or position of said cover comprises : A switch activated by the position of the cover. 25. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein said means for delivering at least some of the playing cards outwardly from said playing card handling system in response to at least one of movement or position of said cap comprising: a lifting device for selectively moving said playing card output receiver between a lowered position and a raised position in which said playing card output receiver is located below the surface of a gaming table, While in the raised position, at least some of the playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle are above the surface of the gaming table. 26. The playing card handling system of claim 17, wherein said sequencing means comprises: at least one intermediate playing card receiver positioned between said playing card input receiver and said On said at least one playing card transport path between playing card output receivers. 27. The playing card handling system of claim 17, further comprising: Lid biasing means for biasing the lid to the closed position. 28. A method of operating a playing card handling system comprising a playing card input receiver and a playing card output receiver, the method comprising: receiving at a playing card input receiver a plurality of playing cards to be processed by a playing card handling system; providing at least some of the playing cards received in the playing card input receiver to the playing card output receiver in an order different from the order of the playing cards in the playing card input receiver; and selectively locking and unlocking a cover in and from a closed position in response to a state of said playing card handling system, wherein said cover is manually movable from a closed position to an open position, in said closed position, said cover substantially restricts access from outside the playing card handling system to the playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle, while in the open position, the cover does not substantially restrict access from outside the playing card handling system to the The playing cards carried by the playing card output receiver. 29. The method of claim 28, wherein selectively locking and unlocking the lid in the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system comprises: locking the lid in the closed position in response to the total number of playing cards on the playing card output receiver being less than an output playing card threshold; and in response to the total number of playing cards on the playing card output receiver being at least equal to an output playing card threshold to unlock the lid from the closed position. 30. The method of claim 28, wherein selectively locking and unlocking the lid in the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system comprises: responding to playing cards arranged in the sequence locking the lid in the closed position in response to the total number of playing cards arranged in the desired sequence being at least equal to the output playing card threshold and releasing the lid from the closed position unlock. 31. The method of claim 28, wherein selectively locking and unlocking the lid in and from the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system comprises: at least in part based on the intermediate playing card receiving The lid is locked in the closed position as a result of a comparison of the total number of playing cards in the drawer to a threshold value of intermediate playing cards. 32. The method of claim 28, wherein selectively locking and unlocking the lid in and from the closed position in response to a state of the playing card handling system comprises: at least in part based on the intermediate playing card receiving The total number of playing cards in the container is less than the middle playing card threshold, and the lid is locked in the closed position. 33. The method of claim 28, further comprising: At least some playing cards are delivered out of the playing card handling system in response to at least one of movement or position of the cover. 34. The method of claim 33, wherein delivering at least some of the playing cards out of the playing card handling system comprises: selectively moving the playing card output receiver between a lowered position, in which the playing card output receiver is below the surface of the gaming table, and a raised position, in which , at least some of the playing cards carried by the playing card output receptacle are located above the surface of the gaming table. 35. The method of claim 28, further comprising: The cover is biased toward the closed position. 36. The method of claim 28, wherein, providing at least some of the playing cards received in the playing card input receiver to the playing card output receiver in an order different from the order of the playing cards in the playing card input receiver, comprising: At least some of the playing cards received in the playing card input receiver are provided to the playing card output receiver in at least one of a sorted order or a random order.

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