Technical Field

The present invention relates to a playing card shuffling and dealing machine. It is intended in particular for use in card games in which the number of decks to be shuffled is more than one, and the cards are dealt not one at a time to a single dealer, as for Baccarat or Blackjack and the like, but in groups of many cards to more players, such as in Canasta, Pinochle or Buraco.

Background Art

WO 2008/062477 describes a playing card shuffling and dealing machine resting on a table and comprising in a container a vertical compartment so as to receive and stack one or more decks of cards, pockets in the form of inclined planes that are situated above the vertical compartment, on both sides of it, and adapted to receive stacks of cards to be shuffled, a shuffling device including rollers and sectoral gears that push a card at the base of each stack toward the vertical compartment in order to form randomly a shuffled stack of cards therein. At the bottom of the vertical compartment there is a conveyor mechanism comprising removing means in the form of a roller and a sectoral gear. A shuffled stack of cards is formed on this removing means that removes a card at a time, i.e. the lowermost in the shuffled stack, outside the vertical compartment. Further, there are a sensor to detect the passage of each card, a counter equipped with a viewer and connected to the sensor, recording means to set the number of cards to be removed for each player, and the number of players, the removed cards being obliged to come out one at a time from the vertical compartment at a certain height with respect to the table.

The shuffling device and the removing means of the conveyor mechanism are operated by a geared motor.

The Italian patent application No. RM2012A000621 of the same Applicant describes a device for playing cards in which shuffling means is a roller and a sectoral gear both being driven by a geared motor. In the same patent application a conveyor mechanism comprises a drive shaft to which are keyed three pulleys and a driven shaft consisting of a roller freely rotating on a fixed axis.

In both the aforementioned documents, the shuffling device has some drawbacks: in particular, at least one of the two stacks of cards can jam if more cards are sent simultaneously by one of the sectoral gears, or by a malfunctioning of the same. In the conveyor mechanism provided with a drive shaft and pulleys it may happen that the single feeding of cards is prevented by the fact that the pulleys work in plan, and the card is not properly moved towards an outlet slit. On the other hand, the sectoral gear used in the conveyor mechanism by the first document mentioned above can result in the same problems that exist in the shuffling device. Finally, the card shuffling and removing by means of gears are insufficient to obtain a continuous operation.

Summary of the Invention

In this context, the technical task underlying the present invention is to propose a playing card shuffling and dealing machine which overcomes the drawbacks of the prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a playing card shuffling and dealing machine that has a reliable operation.

In particular, an object of the invention is to enable a card shuffling and dealing without interruption.

In general, the object of the invention is to allow the following relevant functions in the card shuffling and dealing:

- shuffling one to three decks of cards,

- pre-selecting the number of cards to be dealt to each player and for each hand,

- dealing the cards individually to each player thanks to the rotation of the machine,

- displaying the pre-selection made and the status of the machine,

- connecting the card shuffling and dealing machine to a shoe for croupiers.

The technical task mentioned and the objects specified are substantially achieved by a playing card shuffling and dealing machine, comprising the technical features set forth in one or more of the appended claims.

Brief Description of Drawings

Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the indicative, and therefore non-limiting, description of embodiments of a playing card shuffling and dealing machine, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

- Figure 1 is a schematic perspective view of the machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

- Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine in Figure 1;

- Figures 3 and 4 are cross-section views taken along the lines A-A and B-B, respectively, in Figure 2;

- Figure 5 is an enlarged detail which represents a conveyor mechanism of the machine in Figure 4;

- Figure 6 is a top plan view of the conveyor mechanism in Figure 5;

- Figures 7 to 9 are a top plan view, a side view and a bottom plan view of a turntable for the first embodiment of the machine according to the present invention;

- Figure 10 is a partially sectional side view of a second embodiment of the machine according to the present invention;

- Figure 11 is a bottom plan view of the machine in Figure 10; and

- Figure 12 is a cross section view taken along the line C-C in Figure 11.

Description of preferred embodiments of the invention

Reference is made initially to Figures 1 and 2, which are respectively a schematic perspective view and a top plan view of a first embodiment of the machine according to the present invention. The playing card shuffling and dealing machine according to the invention comprises a load bearing structure that is generally indicated as 1 and equipped with a base 2 provided with feet generically indicated as 3. Extended upwards from the base 2 are side walls 4 and 5 that are left and right, respectively, for those watching Figure 1. The side walls 4 and 5 create, among other things, a vertical compartment 6 ending at the top with a cover element 7 that further is delimited by a front wall 8 and a rear wall 9. The vertical compartment 6 is intended to receive and stack one or more decks of cards from trays 10, 11 in the form of inclined planes arranged symmetrically at the sides of the vertical compartment 6. This is best shown in Figure 3 which is a cross section view taken along the line A-A in Figure 2. The trays 10, 11 are delimited internally by left upper wall 12 and right upper wall 13 of the vertical compartment 6 in each of which is formed a slot generally indicated as 14 for the passage of playing cards (not shown) to be shuffled that rest on the inclined planes of the trays 10, 1 1. Each tray 10, 1 1 has centrally two rectangular external and internal cutouts 15, 16, side by side toward the vertical compartment 6. The function of the external and internal cutouts 15, 16 will be clearer in the following.

A so-called shuffler group is placed under each tray 10, 1 1. The term shuffler group means pushers 40 adapted to advance the cards resting on the trays 10 and 1 1 in the vertical compartment 6. Each pusher 40 has a motor 17 mounted on a vertical inclined wall 18. A double groove pulley 19 is keyed to the shaft (not shown) of the motor 17. The double groove pulley 19 transmits motion to an eccentric outer roller 20 and an inner roller 21 by means of respective belts 22, 23. The outer eccentric roller 20, which is mounted off-axis on its own shaft, protrudes upward through the outer rectangular cutout 15, while the inner roller 21, which is mounted axially on its own shaft, protrudes upward through the internal rectangular cutout 16. Thanks to this arrangement, when the motor 17 starts, the lowermost card of the pile of cards on the tray 10, 1 1 is moved by the inner roller 21 with the aid of a friction material coating 32 provided on the inner roller 21, and the outer eccentric roller 20 rotates in the same direction of the inner roller 21 thanks to the pulley 19, but at the same time the outer eccentric roller 20 raises and lowers slightly and cyclically the card in order to facilitate its shift.

At the bottom of the vertical compartment 6 there is a conveyor mechanism, shown in Figure 4 which is a cross-section taken along the line B-B in Figure 2, and represented separately in an enlarged scale in Figure 5 and in a schematic top view in Figure 6. The conveyor mechanism, generally indicated as 24, comprises feeding means on which the stack of cards is formed and from which a card at a time, the lowermost one in the stack, is removed from the vertical compartment 6. The conveyor mechanism 24, similarly to the pushers 40 of each shuffler group, comprises a motor 25 mounted on the side wall 5. Keyed to the shaft (not shown) of the motor 25 is a double groove pulley 26 and a single groove pulley 27. The double groove pulley 26 transmits motion to an outer eccentric roller 28 and to an inner roller 29 by means of respective belts 30, 31 engaged in respective grooves of the outer eccentric roller 28 and of the inner roller 29. The outer eccentric roller 28 is mounted off-axis on its shaft. Thanks to this arrangement, when the motor 25 starts, the lowermost card in the stack in the vertical compartment 6 is shifted by the inner roller 29 due to the fact that on the inner roller 29 there is provided a friction material coating 32, 32. The outer eccentric roller 28 rotates in the same direction as the inner roller 29 because the pulley 26 is activated by the motor 25, but at the same time the outer eccentric roller 28 raises and lowers slightly and cyclically the stack of cards in order to facilitate their movement toward a pair of upper and lower rollers 33, 34 between whom one card of the stack at a time must pass, after exiting the vertical compartment 6 through a gap 64 between the front wall 8 and the inner roller 29.

Both rollers are partially covered with a friction material coating 32. The upper roller 33 is idly mounted on the same side walls 4 and 5, while the lower roller 34 is driven by a belt 35 by the single groove pulley 27.

The stack of cards inside the vertical compartment 6 rests with its lowermost card above the rollers 28, 29. A pin 36, which is interposed between the rollers 28, 29 and has an axis parallel to the axes of the rollers 28, 29, helps sustain the lowermost card.

A small door 37 (Figure 3) closes the rear of the vertical compartment 6, and the front walls 51, 52 are arranged for the application of a shoe (not shown).

A battery 38 is used to power the motors 17, 17, and 25 of the pushers 40 and of the conveyor mechanism 24, respectively.

Reference is made now to Figures 7 to 9, which are a top plan view, a side view and a bottom plan view of a turntable for the machine according to the invention. The turntable, generally indicated as 45, has a base 39 on which a motor 41 is fixed which drives a pulley 42. The pulley 42 has a groove where a belt 43, that moves a wheel 44, runs.

Formed in the bases 2 and 39 of the bearing structure 1 and of the turntable 38, respectively, are corresponding cutouts 46, 47 for the insertion of a shoe for the card dealing, which will be better illustrated later.

Placed at the front of the machine is a control panel generally designated as 48, by which the card dealing can be set depending on the game chosen by the players. The cards are obliged to come out one at a time from the vertical compartment at a certain height with respect to the table.

Although not shown in the figures, in the machine according to the invention there is provided, in a known manner and therefore not described, sensor means in order to detect the passage of each card, a counter connected to the sensor means, recording means in order to set the number of cards to be extracted for each player and the number of players by means of the control panel 48.

As for the operation of the machine according to the present invention, the machine is supposed to be used by Buraco players. In the control panel 48 the following data are set: the number of players, for example four, and the number of cards to be dealt, eleven, plus two pots of eleven cards. The player who has the lead lays half the cards on the inclined plane of the tray 10 and the other half on the inclined plane of the tray 1 1. The switch is turned on in order to activate the pushers 40, which push forward the lowermost card of each pile of cards resting on each of the inclined planes of the trays 10, 1 1 towards the vertical compartment 6. A stack of cards is formed randomly in the vertical compartment 6 on the conveyor mechanism 24, which receives the cards in a substantially horizontal position. The conveyor mechanism 24 emits continuously eleven cards that, thanks to the turntable 38, are deposited individually in front of each player.

Eventually, the machine provides the two pots of eleven cards to save for the second part of the game. Then the machine emits onto the table all the cards remaining in the shuffled stack, so that the game can start.

Reference is made now to figures 10 to 12, which illustrate a second embodiment of the machine according to the present invention. In particular, Figure 10 is a partially cross-sectioned side view, which represents schematically the external structure of the machine. Differently from the first embodiment, the machine has a completely closed load bearing structure 49, with a rectangular base as shown in Figure 1 1, which is a bottom plan view of the machine in Figure 10.

The machine has a front wall 50 and a sloping wall 51 which is connected to the cover element 7 of the machine. Provided in front wall 50 are slots 53, 53 suitable to allow the assembly of a shoe 54 equipped at the rear with hooks 55, 56 which engage the slots 53, 53. Referring also to Figure 12, which is a cross-section view taken along the line C-C indicated in Figure 1 1, it can be seen that the load bearing structure 49 provided with a base 57 under which a thrust bearing 58 is mounted. Mounted on the base 57 of the bearing structure 49 is an electric motor 59 to whose shaft 60 there is keyed a pinion 61. The pinion 61 engages a gear 62 having a pin 63 passing through the thrust bearing 58 to allow the rotation of the machine in the manner explained above.

It is evident that the machine according to the invention can be set via the control panel 48 for any game and for any number of players.