Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE: HANDHELD CARD DEALER
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present application is directed to a handheld
card dealing arrangement that includes a motor for
receiving a card from a card supply and accelerating the
card through a card slot of the card dealing arrangement.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Card games have always been popular and many of
these card games are based on the standard 52 card deck.
There have been numerous arrangements that shuffle a deck
of cards that include a mechanism for dealing of the
cards to the various players. Typically, these shuffling
and card dealing arrangements are relatively large and
are designed to receive one or more card decks, shuffle
the cards and subsequently deal the cards using a card
delivery mechanism. These units are relatively large and
heavy, and are supported on a table surface. Some of
these units have been designed for non commercial use,
however, they tend to be relatively large, bulky, and
expensive.
In recent times, various games of poker have
become extremely popular and there are a host of websites
or computer simulations available for players to play.
Much of the entertainment and excitement associated with
poker is playing against other players, however, there is
always the potential issue of cheating with respect to
the dealing of the cards. Some poker players are
extremely skilled with respect to the shuffling and
dealing of the cards, and it is most difficult for
players to recognize when a card has not been fairly
dealt. As this ability to improperly deals cards is an
acquired skill, and one which is extremely difficult to
prove, mechanical shufflers and dealing arrangements have
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some merit. Most of the cheating associated with cards
occurs during the dealing of the cards.
There remains a need for a simple card dealing
arrangement that is handheld and easy to use.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A card dealing structure according to the present
invention comprises a card supply recess sized to receive
a deck of cards therein, a card dispensing slot adjacent
a predispensing position for engaging a user manually
advanced card from the card supply recess to the
predispensing position with the advanced card being
engaged by a rotatable drive member of the card
dispensing slot. The card dispensing slot includes a
card limiting structure that separates the advanced card
from the deck of cards as the advanced card is manually
advanced for engagement with the rotatable drive and
ejecting of the advanced card through the dispensing
slot. A motor drives the rotatable drive member.
In a preferred aspect of the invention, the card
dealing structure is handheld to dispense cards.
In a further aspect of the invention, the
rotatable drive member is a foam wheel.
In a preferred aspect of the invention, the foam
wheel is resiliently compressed as a card is dispensed
through said slot.
In a further aspect of the invention, the
rotatable drive member allows slippage of a card being
dispensed in accordance with a drag force exerted by a
user on the card during the dispensing thereof to vary
the dispensing speed of the card as it leaves the
dispensing slot.
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In a different aspect of the invention, the card
supply recess is primarily open on a top surface thereof
and is closed on two sides and one end with an opposite
end of said supply recess including a transition surface
for guiding a manually advanced card for engagement with
said rotatable drive member.
According to an aspect of the invention, the card
bias arrangement dealing structure includes a card that
cooperates with the card supply recess to adjust the
level of the deck of cards consistently within a height
of the card supply recess. Preferably the bias
arrangement is a scissor structure.
According to a further aspect of the invention,
the scissor structure extends in the length of the card
supply recess and supports cards retained in the recess
along the length of the cards.
In a different aspect of the invention, the foam
drive member has a periphery immediately adjacent an
opposed fixed member with a dispensed card passing
therebetween. The foam drive member compresses to
accommodate, engage and accelerate a card as it is
passing between the fixed member and the foam drive
member. Preferably, the fixed member is part of the
housing of the card dealing arrangement.
In a further aspect of the invention, the motor
includes a low voltage battery supply.
In a preferred aspect of the invention, the
arrangement includes a card sensing arrangement
positioned to sense a card being manually advanced by a
user to the rotatable drive member. The card sensing
arrangement is connected to the motor for initiating the
motor when a card is sensed.
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In a further aspect of the invention, the
arrangement includes a timing circuit for maintaining the
operation of the motor for a predetermined time period
after a card has been sensed.
In a further aspect of the invention, the card
sensing arrangement is a microswitch that is activated by
a card being manually moved to the dispensing slot.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Preferred embodiments of the invention are shown
in the drawings, wherein:
Figure 1 is a perspective view of the handheld
card dealing arrangement;
Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the handheld
card dealing arrangement;
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the card dealing
arrangement with certain portions of the casing of the
card dealing arrangement shown in phantom lines;
Figure 4 is a partial sectional view showing a
card being advanced through the drive arrangement of the
card dealing arrangement;
Figure 5 is a sectional view similar to Figure 4
with a card being engaged by the drive arrangement and
being dispensed from the card dealing arrangement;
Figure 6 is a cross sectional view through an
alternate embodiment;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the alternate
embodiment with a deck of cards received in the device;
and
Figure 8 is a partial perspective view of the
alternate embodiment showing details of the card
dispensing mechanism.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
The card dealing arrangement 2 as shown in the
Figures, receives a deck of cards generally shown as 4
with this deck of cards retained between a card biasing
mechanism 6 and a card stopper 8 that extends across the
open portion of the casing 5. A deck of shuffled cards
is inserted underneath the retaining bar 8 and the card
biasing mechanism 6 moves downwardly to accommodate the
cards. This mechanism exerts an upward bias force on the
deck of cards and raises the level of the cards as cards
are dispensed. The biasing mechanism preferably
maintains a lower surface of the deck of cards a
consistent spacing from the base of the recess to avoid
angling of the cards in the recess.
At one end of the deck of retained cards 4, is the
card drive arrangement generally shown as 20. The top
card of the supply of returned cards is advanced by the
movement of the user's thumb such that the top card
strikes the card separators 22 which are provided on
opposite sides of the casing as shown in Figure 3. The
purpose of these members is to basically allow the top
card to pass over the top curve surface of the separator
22 and be engaged by the compressible drive wheel 32.
This compressible drive wheel is preferably of a foam
type material and is driven by the motor 30.
As evident in the sectional view of Figures 2, 4
and 5, the foam drive wheel 32 lightly contacts the top
plate 24 of the casing 5 or is in close proximity
thereto. The top card of the deck of cards passes by the
separators 22 and is advanced towards the foam drive
wheel 32 by the user's thumb or fingers. The top plate
24 in combination with the foam drive wheel 32 defines a
single card gap 26 through which the top card is moved.
As soon as the foam wheel 32 engages the card, it is
moved towards the dispensing slot 40. By changing the
angle of the handheld card dealing arrangement 2, the
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final velocity of the card as it approaches the position
of a player can be controlled.
In addition, the user can partially retain the
card in the unit until a desired position is reached.
For example, the person can basically hold the card with
his thumb exerting downward pressure on the card such
that the card is not dispensed from the card dealing
arrangement. Thus, the card can be engaged by the drive
wheel until the user releases his thumb. This ability to
increase the drag on the card or to temporarily stop the
card or retard the card movement due to forces exerted by
the user, allows for control of the speed of the card as
it leaves the card dealing arrangement and the travel
distance. This is helpful in controlling the cards as
they are directed to the different players. Similarly,
the player can vary the angle of the card dealing
arrangement to control a contact angle of the card with
the table surface.
The user can vary this contact angle to also
control card speed and card distance.
The electric motor 30 is powered by the batteries
46 and the motor can be turned ON or OFF by the micro
switch 60 shown in Figures 4 and 5. As the user advances
the top card towards the drive arrangement, the micro
switch 60 is deflected and turns on the motor 30. The
sponge drive wheel 32 accelerates quickly to speed and is
essentially at speed when the card engages the wheel. It
is possible to include a timing circuit associated with
the micro switch 60 such that when a card is advanced and
the micro switch 60 activates the motor, the motor stays
on for a certain period of time. In this way, when
dealing a hand, the first card effectively turns on the
motor and the motor remains on until a certain time delay
occurs between the last time the micro switch is turned
on and the present time. In this way, the motor is not
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constantly turning on and off which may be annoying
during the dealing of a hand. If the motor and drive
arrangement is sufficiently quiet, the ON/OFF operates
and the micro switch maybe sufficient. Furthermore, a
manual ON/OFF user controlled switch may be used.
The spring bias scissor arrangement lifts the
cards in a parallel or consistent manner such that the
top card has a generally fixed orientation relative to
the card separators 22. This maintains the angle of the
top card as it is pushed by a user towards the foam drive
wheel 32. With this arrangement, variations of the angle
of a card being dispensed, relative to the card dealing
arrangement is reduced. Greater control of the dispensed
card is possible. This arrangement also reduces the
possibility of a card jamming during dispensing.
The biasing arrangement 6 is basically a scissor
arrangement with one end of the scissor arrangement
basically secured within the casing at 62 and the
opposite end of the scissor arrangement, shown as 64,
free to slide within the casing. The elastic members 50
provide the upward spring bias and the number of elastic
members provided between the arms of the scissor
arrangement can control this upward bias force. This
provides a simple elevating mechanism that effectively
raises the cards in a manner to position the top card at
the desired level while also accommodating the full
thickness of the deck of cards. Other biasing
arrangements for elevating of the cards can be used.
In some card games, certain cards are dealt face
down to the individual players and certain cards are
dealt face up to the players or to a common area. The
handheld card dealing arrangement 2 allows the dealer to
change the angle of the arrangement 2 relative to the
table surface. By angling the handheld card dealing
arrangement slightly upwardly, it is possible to cause
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the card to rotate 180 degrees in the air as it is
traveling between the handheld card dealing arrangement
and its landing on the table surface. This allows the
dealer to deal cards face down or face up in a simple
manner. The dealer can control the dispensing of the top
card while altering the thumb pressure and the release
point of the card. In some games, the fair dealing of
cards may not be critical. The handheld card dealing
arrangement also allows a player to dispense a card
relatively rapidly towards the player and may also add to
the excitement or the surprise of a game.
The present card dealing arrangement is extremely
effective and allows a dealer to precisely control the
dispensing of a top card. The casing 5 surrounds the
cards on the sides thereof and prevents the dealer from
dealing from a position other than the top card. The
card dealing arrangement is relatively light, compact,
cost effective and easy to use.
The card retaining bar 8 is shown fixed on the
upper edge of the casing 5, however, this bar member can
also be movable towards the end of the casing to allow
convenient insertion of the deck of cards. This bar
member could also be biased to the operating position
shown in Figure 3, and movable against the bias to a
clear position at one end of the casing. This could also
include a simple latch arrangement or hold arrangement
for the bar at one of the casing. This structure
simplifies the user inserting the cards and the bar when
released would travel on its own to the retaining
position in Figure 3. It is also possible to have a
small slidable portion of the casing at one end of the
casing which is closed on the top. This partial top
closure of the slidable potion could form the card
retaining arrangement. To insert a deck of cards, this
slidable portion would move outwardly position allowing
the card supply to be freely forced against the biasing
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mechanism and the slidable portion would then move to the
retaining position.
The card dealing arrangement is easily held in one
hand of a user while allowing cards to be dispensed by
the thumb of the one hand. The device is lightweight and
of a small size to be easily held by a user. The actual
size is less than about twice the size of a deck of cards
and weighs less than five pounds.
The invention has also been described with
receiving a single deck of cards. As can be appreciated,
in some games it is desirable to use several decks of
cards and the present card dealing arrangement is not
restricted to a single deck of cards. It is immaterial
how many cards are part of the card supply.
An alternate card dealing arrangement 102 is
shown in Figures 6 through 8.
The card dealing arrangement 102 includes a
card deck receiving recess 106 that generally has an open
top 107 for receiving the deck of cards shown as 104.
This alternate structure does not include a bias
arrangement for moving the deck of cards upwardly as the
cards are dispensed. In the alternate structure, the
card deck receiving recess 106 includes an angled card
guiding cam surface 108 at the end of the card deck
receiving recess 106 adjacent the card drive arrangement
120. The user manually advances the top card of the deck
with his thumb until it strikes the angled card guide
camming surface 108. The card, due to its flexibility
and the angle of cam surface 108, will bend and allow the
end of the card to enter the card gap 126.
As shown in Figure 6, the card has bowed
slightly upwardly and has entered the card slot 106, and
is now engaged by the drive wheel 132. The card has
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passed the actuation lever 136 of the microswitch 134 and
this has caused the motor 130 to be activated and drive
the drive wheel 132. The drive wheel 132 preferably has
a slotted center portion that accommodates the actuation
lever 136 as shown in Figure 8. The card is now driven
by the drive wheel 132 and is ejected out of the
dispensing slot 140. This dispensing slot has an
upwardly sloped surface 142 that serves to maintain
engagement of the card with the drive wheel 132.
Figures 6 and 7 show a card 141 as it is being
dispensed out of the dispensing slot 140.
The card dealing arrangement 102 includes a
bottom opening recess 150 that receives the batteries 152
for powering of the motor 130. A snap-on cover 154
closes this recess. The recess 150 is located beneath
the card deck receiving recess 106 and cooperates with
the front support edge 158 for supporting of the card
dealing arrangement on a flat surface. These components
cooperate to provide a slight downward tilt towards the
drive wheel and result in the dispensing slot 140 being
generally horizontal when the device is supported on a
surface. Therefore, if a user prefers, he can merely
engage the device when supported on a surface and advance
a card by manually advancing the top card and
appropriately directing the card dealing arrangement.
The alternate arrangement of Figures 6 through
8 is of a reduced size and has fewer moving components
relative to the embodiments of Figures 1 through 5. This
alternate structure is small in size and lightweight,
making it particularly advantageous as a hand held card
dealing arrangement.
The drive wheel 132 is particularly
advantageous if it is made of a foam material. This
material provides some compression of the drive wheel
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while also providing positive engagement on the lower
surface of the card about to be dispensed. Other drive
wheels can be used, including rubber surface drive wheels
but the ability to resiliently compress at low forces and
provide the appropriate drive and slippage of the card as
it is being dispensed, requires a selection of
appropriate materials.
In the embodiment of Figure 8, the microswitch
134 is shown in its position relative to the drive wheel
132. This microswitch 134 is supported and maintained in
the snap on lid 160 and would separate with the lid 160
when the lid is removed. The microswitch is shown in
Figure 8, even though the lid is removed, to more easily
appreciate the operation of the microswitch and its
cooperation with the drive wheel 132.
Although various preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been described herein in detail,
it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, that
variations may be made thereto without departing from the
spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended
claims.
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