Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CARD SHOE WITH FORCE RESIST MECHANISM
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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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Field of the Invention
This description generally relates to the field of table gaming, and
more particularly to card holding devices, for example card shoes that hold a
number of cards during a playing card game and allow cards to be extracted
from the card shoe one at a time.
Description of the Related Art
Conventional card shoes 10 are typically sized to receive two to
eight standard decks of playing cards, with fifty-two (52) playing cards per
standard playing card deck.
Figure 1 shows a conventional, non-automated card shoe 10 that
includes a housing 12, a playing card support surface 14, and a playing card
wedge 16. The housing includes an opening 18 where playing cards are
extracted one at a time during a playing card game. The housing 12 includes a
playing card support surface 14 sloping at a downward angle 20 going from the
rear: of the housing 12 to the front. The playing card support surface 14
supports the playing cards and the playing card wedge 16. The playing card
wedge 16 includes a slanted surface 22 that skews or offsets the playing cards
in the housing 12 relative to one another. An optional roller 24 may be
rotationally coupled to the playing card wedge 16 to allow the playing card
wedge 16 to easily move down the playing card support surface 14. The
playing cards are compressed between the slanted surface 22 of the playing
card wedge 16 and a complementary, slanted front cover 26 of the housing 12.
The downward angle 20 of the playing card support surface 14 takes advantage
of gravity to bias the playing cards toward the front of the housing 12 under
their own weight as well as under the weight of the playing card wedge 16.
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Another type of card shoe, which is not illustrated, is similar to the
above-described card shoe except that a spring couples the playing card
wedge to the housing. The spring operates alone or to augment the force of .
gravity by applying a force to bias the playing card wedge toward the opening
in
the housing. As the playing card wedge moves closer to the opening, the
spring contributes less and less to the overall force biasing the playing card
wedge toward the opening. At some point, before all the playing cards are
removed from the card shoe, the force of the spring biasing the playing card
wedge toward the opening becomes nearly negligible. This situation typically
occurs when there are less than two decks (i.e., 104 playing cards) remaining
in
the card shoe.
For either of the above-described conventional card shoes, the
amount of force biasing the playing cards toward the opening in the card shoe
decreases as fewer cards remain in the card shoe. In the first described card
shoe, the weight of the playing cards contributes significantly to the force
biasing the playing cards toward the front of the card shoe. Consequently,
removing the playing cards from the card shoe results in less resistance as
the
dealer applies finger pressure to remove a playing card from the card shoe.
Likewise, the reduction in the biasing force applied by the spring in the
second
type of card shoe, also results in less resistance as the dealer applies
finger
pressure to remove a playing card from the card shoe.
The practical consequence of these conventional card shoes is
that it becomes more difficult for the dealer to extract the remaining playing
cards from the card shoe when there is little to no resistance or biasing
force
(e.g., (wedge mass + card mass) or (wedge mass + spring force + card mass))
against the finger pressure applied on the playing card by the dealer. Thus,
the
dealer is often unable to firmly contact the playing card present in the
opening
of the housing, thus making it difficult for the dealer's finger to
frictionally grip
and withdraw the next playing card to be dealt. As the dealer pushes harder
against the playing card, the wedge reacts by moving rearward in the housing,
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further exacerbating the situation and causing the dealer to fish for the
playing
card in the card shoe. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a card shoe
that addresses the aforementioned problems and permits easier and smoother
removal of the playing cards from the card shoe, without regard to the number
of playing cards remaining in the card shoe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This description generally relates to a card shoes for holding and
distributing playing cards during a playing card game. The card shoe typically
holds between two (2) to eight (8) decks of playing cards. The card shoe
includes a wedge that biases the playing cards toward a playing card
extraction
opening in the card shoe. The wedge can be acted on by gravity, another
mechanical mechanism, for example a spring, and/or both. The wedge may
include a shaft, a clutch assembly, and a roller, where the clutch assembly
permits the roller to rotate in only one direction. When the clutch assembly
locks onto the shaft, the wedge resists backward movement within the card
shoe, which in turn allows a dealer to put pressure on the playing cards being
extracted without pushing the wedge away from the playing card extraction
opening.
In one aspect, a -wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward a
playing card extraction opening of a card shoe includes a wedge block having a
bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative
to the bottom surface, the wedge block receivable in the card shoe; and a
roller
subassembly having a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block to be
rotatable in a first rotational direction and lockable to substantially resist
rotation
in a direction opposite the first rotational direction.
In another aspect, a wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward
a playing card extraction opening of a card shoe includes a wedge block having
a bottom surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle
relative to the bottom surface, the wedge block receivable in the card shoe;
and
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a roller subassembly having a shaft and a roller, the shaft coupled to the
wedge block
and having a first portion concentrically disposed about a first shaft axis
and a second
portion eccentrically disposed about a second shaft axis, the roller coupled
to the
second portion of the shaft and rotatable about the second shaft axis.
In yet another aspect, a card shoe includes a housing having a playing card
support surface and an opening, the playing card support surface arranged to
receive
and support a plurality of playing cards, the opening sized to permit
extraction of at least
some of the plurality of playing cards from the housing; and a wedge assembly
having a
wedge block and a roller subassembly, the wedge block includes a bottom
surface and
a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom
surface, the
wedge block is receivable in the housing of card shoe, the roller subassembly
includes
a roller rotationally coupled to the wedge block and rotatable in a first
rotational direction
and lockable to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the
first rotational
direction.
In one illustrative embodiment, a wedge assembly to bias playing cards toward
a
playing card extraction opening of a card shoe includes a wedge block having a
bottom
surface and a card engagement surface positioned at an angle relative to the
bottom
surface. The wedge block is receivable in the card shoe. The wedge assembly
further
includes a roller subassembly having a roller rotationally coupled to the
wedge block to
be rotatable in a first rotational direction in which playing cards are biased
toward the
playing card extraction opening at least partially under the force of gravity
and lockable
to substantially resist rotation in a direction opposite the first rotational
direction.
In another illustrative embodiment, a card shoe includes a housing having a
playing card support surface and an opening. The playing card support surface
is
arranged to receive and support a plurality of playing cards. The opening is
sized to
permit extraction of at least some of the plurality of playing cards from the
housing. The
card shoe further includes a wedge assembly having a wedge block and a roller
subassembly. The wedge block includes a bottom surface and a card engagement
surface positioned at an angle relative to the bottom surface, and the wedge
block is
receivable in the housing of the card shoe. The roller subassembly includes a
roller
rotationally coupled to the wedge block and rotatable in a first rotational
direction which
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allows the wedge block to advance the playing cards towards the opening of the
housing under a biasing force and lockable to substantially resist rotation in
a direction
opposite the first rotational direction to resist movement of the wedge block
away from
the opening of the housing without resisting a force of gravity on the wedge
block.
Other aspects and features of illustrative embodiments will become apparent to
those ordinarily skilled in the art upon review of the following description
of such
embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying figures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
In the drawings, identical reference numbers identify similar elements or
acts.
The sizes and relative positions of elements in the drawings are not
necessarily drawn
to scale. For example, the shapes of various elements and angles are not
necessarily
drawn to scale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged and
positioned to
improve drawing legibility. Further, the particular shapes of the elements as
drawn, are
not intended to convey any information regarding the actual shape of the
particular
elements, and have been solely selected for ease of recognition in the
drawings.
Figure 1 is an isometric, partially exploded view of a conventional card shoe
having a card wedge, according to one illustrated embodiment.
Figure 2 is an isometric view of a card shoe having a wedge assembly and an
opening for extracting playing cards from the card shoe, according to one
illustrated
embodiment.
Figure 3 is a top, front, left side isometric view of the wedge assembly of
Figure 2
mounted to a roller subassembly.
Figure 4 is a bottom, front, left side isometric view of the wedge assembly of
Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the roller subassembly of the wedge
assembly, according to one illustrated embodiment where the roller subassembly
includes a shaft, a clutch assembly, and roller mounted on the shaft.
Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the shaft of Figure 5 illustrating an
offset
portion of the shaft in further detail.
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Figure 7 is a right side plan view of the shaft of Figure 6.
Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the card shoe taken along line 8-8 of
Figure
2.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In the following description, certain specific details are set forth in order
to
provide a thorough understanding of various embodiments of the invention.
However,
one skilled in the art will understand that other embodiments may be practiced
without
these details. In other instances, well-known structures associated with card
shoes have
not been shown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the
description.
Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the specification and claims
which follow, the word "comprise" and variations thereof, such as, "comprises"
and
"comprising" are to be construed in an open, inclusive sense, that is as
"including, but
not limited to."
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Reference throughout this specification to "one embodiment" or
"an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure or characteristic
described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one
embodiment. Thus, the appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in
an embodiment" in various places throughout this specification are not
necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular
features, structures, or characteristics may be combinable in any suitable
manner in one or more embodiments.
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The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do
not interpret the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.
This description generally relates to card shoes for holding and
distributing playing cards during a playing card game. Card shoes are
generally used in casinos and often hold between two (2) to eight (8) decks of
playing cards. However, it is understood that some card shoes may hold a
fewer or a greater number of playing cards. Further, some card shoes may be
automated, employing electro-mechanical and/or electro-optical components to
read machine-readable and/or human readable indicia carried by the playing
cards.
Figure 2 shows a card shoe 100 having a housing 102 and a
wedge assembly 104, according to the illustrated embodiment. The housing
102 includes a playing card support surface 106, sidewalls 108, and a front
cover 110. The playing card support surface 106, the sidewalls 108, and the
front cover 110 form a receptacle 111 configured to receive and support a
number of playing cards (not shown). The playing card support surface 106
may or may not slope downward from the rear of the housing 102. As noted
above, a sloped surface may take advantage of gravity as the sole or partial
biasing force that urges the playing cards toward the opening 112 of the
housing 102.
The front cover 110 includes an opening 112 from which a dealer
can extract the playing cards from the card shoe 100. The opening 112 is sized
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to allow the dealer to place a finger or two onto the next playing card that
is to
be removed from the card shoe 100. The playing card support surface 106 can
cooperate with the front cover 110 to skew or otherwise offset the playing
cards
relative to one another, which tends to increase the likelihood that playing
cards
are extracted one at a time from the card shoe 100. It is understood that
sometimes, however, more than one playing card is extracted from the card
shoe 100, whether done intentionally or .because two playing cards become
stuck together.
The housing 102 further includes a slot or track 114. The track
114 can be sloped or otherwise configured to cause the wedge assembly 104
to move forward, toward the opening 112. One embodiment of the sloped track
114 is best illustrated in Figure 7. A spring 116 may be coupled to guides
117,
119 received in the track 114. The guides 117 may be fixed to the housing,
whereas the guides 119 couple the wedge assembly 104 to the spring 116 and
are operable to move along the track 114. In one embodiment, the spring 116
is an extension spring anchored proximate the front of the housing 102 that
biases or urges the wedge assembly 104 toward the opening 112. In another
embodiment, the spring is a compression spring anchored proximate the rear of
the housing 102 that biases or urges the wedge assembly 104 toward the
opening 112.
Figures 3 and 4 show the wedge assembly 104 having a wedge
block 105 configured with a sloped engagement surface 118 disposed between
first and second side surfaces 120. The wedge assembly 104 further includes
guides 119, 122 extending from each of the first and second surfaces 120. The
guides 119 are coupled to the spring 116 (Figure 2) and may also be supported
in the track 114 of the housing 102 as mentioned above. The guides 122 may
also be supported in the track 114 of the housing = 102 counteracting any
overturning moment that may cause the wedge assembly 104 to rotate about
the guides 119. Figure 4 shows a roller 124 of a roller subassembly 125, which
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is part of the wedge assembly 104, extending at least slightly below a bottom
surface 126 of the wedge block 105.
Figure 5 shows the roller subassembly 125 in detail. The roller
subassembly 125 includes the roller 124, which is rotatably fixed to an anti-
reversing clutch assembly 126, which in turn is rotatably coupled to a shaft
128.
In one embodiment, the roller 124 is made from a urethane material and press
fit onto the clutch assembly 126. The clutch assembly 126 may be an
overrunning clutch or drawn cup roller clutch, such as or similar to those
described in U.S. Patent Nos. 3,994,377; 3,993,177; 3,993,176; 3,990,555;
3,972,573; 3,942,616; 3,937,312; and 3,937,311. This type of clutch assembly
126 permits the roller 124 to freely rotate in a first direction, yet
positively locks
onto the shaft 128 to substantially prevent reverse rotation (i.e., rotation
that is
counter or opposite to the first rotational direction) of the roller 124.
The shaft 128 includes a tool engagement portion 130 and a shaft
centerline or axis 132. It is understood and appreciated that the shaft
centerline
132 is to be distinguished from a roller rotational centerline or axis 133, as
illustrated and described in more detail below. During operation, the roller
124
and portions of the clutch assembly 126 rotate in unison on the shaft 128 and
about the roller rotational axis 133. In the illustrated embodiment, the shaft
128
does not rotate relative to the wedge assembly 104.
Figures 6 and 7 show the shaft 128 having a first section 134, a
second section 136, and a third section 138, where the second section 136 is
disposed between the first and third sections 134, 138. In the illustrated =
embodiment, the second section 136 is offset relative to the shaft axis 132
and
concentrically formed about the roller rotational axis 133. The first and
third
sections 134, 138 are not offset, which means these sections are
concentrically
formed about the shaft axis 132. The eccentricity of the second section 136 is
indicated by identifying that a first radial depth 140 of the second section
136
extends less than a second radial depth 142 on an opposite side (i.e., 180
degrees) of the second section 136. Since both radial depths 140, 142 are
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measured from the shaft axis 132, it is understood that the second section 136
must be eccentrically formed about and/or offset relative to the shaft axis
132.
The radial depths 140, 142 vary in height about the circumference of the
second section 136 of the shaft 128.
The first section 134 and the third section 138, on the other hand,
are concentrically formed about and/or not offset relative to the shaft axis
132.
The radial depths 144, 146, which are measured from the shaft axis 132 are
equivalent, thus it is understood that the first section 134 and the third
section
138 are concentric with respect to the shaft axis 132 and with respect to one
another.
One purpose for eccentrically offsetting the second section 136 is
to allow for the adjustment of the roller 124 beyond the bottom surface 126 of
the wedge block 105 (Figure 4). Adjusting the roller 124 to protrude by a
lesser
or greater amount beyond the bottom surface 126 is accomplished by engaging
the tool. engagement portion 130 of the shaft 128 with an appropriate tool,
for
example a screwdriver. Because the shaft 128 is fixed to the wedge assembly
104, the roller 124 and portions of the clutch assembly 126 rotate about the
second section 136 of the shaft 128.
Figure 8 shows the card shoe 100 as the wedge assembly 104 is
moved along the track 114. As the dealer removes each playing card, the
biasing force of the spring 116, the weight of the wedge assembly 104, and/or
the weight of the playing cards urges the wedge assembly 104 toward the front
cover 110. The roller 124 is free to rotate in a direction indicated by the
arrow 148. As the dealer applies pressure to the next card to be removed, the
anti-reversing clutch assembly 126 positively locks onto the shaft 128 to
substantially prevent reverse rotation of the roller 124 and thus prevents the
wedge assembly 104 from moving away from the front cover 110 and the
opening 112 of the housing 102. The second section 136 of the shaft 128 and
the frictional engaging portion of the clutch assembly 126 may be relatively
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dimensioned to achieve a desired amount of frictional locking of the clutch
assembly
126 onto the second section 136 of the shaft 128.
Once all or a desired number of cards are removed from the card shoe 100, the
wedge assembly 104 can be reset in the card shoe 100. In one embodiment, the
wedge
assembly 104 includes a handle 150 that can be used to separate the roller 124
from
the playing card support surface 106 of the card shoe 100. By lifting up on
the handle
150, the roller 124 will no longer be in contact with the playing card support
surface 106
and the wedge assembly 104 can be easily moved away from the front cover 110
and
the opening 112 to allow more playing cards to be loaded in the receptacle 111
of the
card shoe 100.
These and other changes can be made to illustrative embodiments in light of
the
above-detailed description. In general, in the following claims, the terms
used should
not be construed to limit the invention to the specific embodiments disclosed
in the
specification and the claims, but should be construed to include all card
shoes usable in
accordance with the claims. Accordingly, the invention is not limited by the
disclosed
embodiments, but instead its scope is to be determined entirely by the
following claims.
