US6126166A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Card-recognition and gaming-control device
Assignee: Advanced Casino Technologies Inc
•
Filing: 1997-10-24
•
Granted: 2000-10-03
•
Expires: 2017-10-24
Abstract
Abstract An integrated blackjack game control system having multiple sensors and output devices, electronic signal processing equipment, passive and active operator control devices, and a computer system. The system components are capable of being installed on or near existing blackjack tables and support equipment, and to operate with standard playing cards. The system performs several simultaneous functions to accelerate the play of a game of blackjack, enhance the shuffling process, and perform continuous monitoring of key dealer and table performance attributes.
Inventors
- 👤 Raymond K. Lorson
- 👤 Robin J. Sainsbury
- 👤 Neil S. Kenig
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 12:32
CPC Classifications
A; A63; A63F; A63F1/00; A63F1/06; A63F1/18; A63F1/14; A63F9/00; A63F9/24; A63F2009/2401; A63F2009/2411; A63F2009/2419
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 26
Claim 1
Independent Claim
127 words
A system for monitoring play of a card game between a dealer and one or more players at a playing table, comprising: (a) a card-dispensing shoe comprising one or more active card-recognition sensors positioned to generate signals corresponding to transitions between substantially light background and dark pip areas as standard playing cards are dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe, without generating a bit-mapped image of each dispensed standard playing card; and (b) a signal processing subsystem adapted to: receive the transition signals generated by the active card-recognition sensors; determine, in real time and based on the transition signals, playing-card values for the dispensed standard playing cards; and determine, in real time, a current table statistical advantage/disadvantage relative to the players for playing cards remaining in the card-dispensing shoe.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
127 words
A system for monitoring play of a card game between a dealer and one or more players at a playing table, comprising: (a) a card-dispensing shoe comprising one or more active card-recognition sensors positioned to generate signals corresponding to transitions between substantially light background and dark pip areas as standard playing cards are dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe, without generating a bit-mapped image of each dispensed standard playing card; and (b) a signal processing subsystem adapted to: receive the transition signals generated by the active card-recognition sensors; determine, in real time and based on the transition signals, playing-card values for the dispensed standard playing cards; and determine, in real time, a current table statistical advantage/disadvantage relative to the players for playing cards remaining in the card-dispensing shoe.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the signal processing sub-system comprises (1) a signal processor adapted to receive the transition signals from the one or more active card-recognition sensors and (2) a computer adapted to receive signals from the signal processor.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the card-dispensing shoe comprises a single active card-recognition sensor and the signal processing subsystem is adapted to determine whether or not each dispensed playing card has a playing-card value of ten.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the card-dispensing shoe comprises an array of active card-recognition sensors positioned to generate signals indicative of each specific playing-card value.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
22 words
The system of claim 4, further comprising a passive sensor adapted to detect a playing card being dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
98 words
The system of claim 1, further comprising: a dealer-card sensor adapted to generate a card-presence signal indicative of the presence of a playing card for the dealer; and a dealer-blackjack output device adapted to indicate that the dealer's playing cards correspond to a blackjack, wherein: the signal processing subsystem uses the card-presence signal to determine the current number of players, the values of the dealer's playing cards, whether the dealer's playing cards correspond to a blackjack; and whether to send a signal to the dealer-blackjack output device to indicate that the dealer's playing cards correspond to a blackjack.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
45 words
The system of claim 6, wherein the signal processing subsystem is adapted to delay sending the signal to the dealer-blackjack output device if the dealer has a face-up playing card corresponding to an ace in order to give the players an opportunity to purchase insurance.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
31 words
The system of claim 1, wherein playing cards corresponding to Jacks, Queens, and Kings are detected by the number of transitions between substantially light and dark areas on the playing cards.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 1, wherein each of the active card-recognition sensors comprises a radiation-emitting device and a radiation sensor.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
34 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the recognition of playing cards is insensitive to typical variations in the speed at which individual playing cards are dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe during card game playing.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
29 words
The system of claim 1, wherein, when configured for operation, the card-dispensing shoe is not fixed to the surface of the playing table to be adjustable for different dealers.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
69 words
The system of claim 1, further comprising a discard shoe configured with a mixing-sequence output device, wherein the signal processing subsystem determines distributions of playing cards in the discard shoe based on sequences of playing cards dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe, determines a desired mixing sequence for positioning card segments during pre-shuffling, and generates signals for the mixing-sequence output device to indicate the desired mixing sequence to the dealer.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 12, wherein the mixing-sequence output device comprises an array of light emitting devices that are illuminated to indicate the desired mixing sequence.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the signal processing subsystem is further adapted to monitor dealer performance characteristics.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
20 words
The system of claim 14, wherein the dealer performance characteristics comprise a number of cards being dealt per unit time.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 14, wherein the dealer performance characterstics comprise shuffling adequacy.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 14, wherein the dealer performance characteristics comprise shuffling speed.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
13 words
The system of claim 14, wherein the dealer performance characteristics comprise deck penetration.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
18 words
The system of claim 14, wherein the dealer performance characteristics comprise number of players at the playing table.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 19, wherein the dealer performance characteristics further comprise a number of cards being dealt per unit time, shuffling adequacy, shuffling speed, and deck penetration.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
66 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the signal processing subsystem is adapted to analyze, in real time, occurrences of the playing cards being dispensed to monitor table utilization characteristics comprising one or more of an amount of time the playing table is closed, an amount of time the playing table is open and idle, and an amount of time the playing table is open and active.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
38 words
The system of claim 1, wherein the signal processing subsystem is adapted to receive signals corresponding to two or more playing tables and to generate a signal indicative of the current table statistical advantage/disadvantage for each playing table.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
157 words
A system for monitoring play of a card game between a dealer and one or more players at a playing table, comprising: (a) a card-dispensing shoe comprising one or more card-recognition sensors adapted to generate signals as playing cards are dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe; (b) a signal processing subsystem adapted to: receive the signals generated by the card-recognition sensors; determine, in real time, playing-card values for the dispensed playing cards; and determine, in real time, a current table statistical advantage/disadvantage relative to the players for playing cards remaining in the card-dispensing shoe; and (c) a discard shoe configured with a mixing-sequence output device, wherein the signal processing subsystem determines distributions of playing cards in the discard shoe based on sequences of playing cards dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe, determines a desired mixing sequence for positioning card segments during pre-shuffling, and generates signals for the mixing-sequence output device to indicate the desired mixing sequence to the dealer.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
157 words
A system for monitoring play of a card game between a dealer and one or more players at a playing table, comprising: (a) a card-dispensing shoe comprising one or more card-recognition sensors adapted to generate signals as playing cards are dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe; (b) a signal processing subsystem adapted to: receive the signals generated by the card-recognition sensors; determine, in real time, playing-card values for the dispensed playing cards; and determine, in real time, a current table statistical advantage/disadvantage relative to the players for playing cards remaining in the card-dispensing shoe; and (c) a discard shoe configured with a mixing-sequence output device, wherein the signal processing subsystem determines distributions of playing cards in the discard shoe based on sequences of playing cards dispensed from the card-dispensing shoe, determines a desired mixing sequence for positioning card segments during pre-shuffling, and generates signals for the mixing-sequence output device to indicate the desired mixing sequence to the dealer.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
26 words
The system of claim 23, wherein the mixing-sequence output device comprises an array of light emitting devices that are illuminated to indicate the desired mixing sequence.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US4586712A
Cited
US4531187A
Cited
US4951950A
Cited
US5795225A
Cited
US4969648A
Cited
US5312104A
Cited
US5362053A
Cited
US5000453A
Cited
US5364106A
Cited
US5374061A
Cited
US5403015A
Cited
US5586936A
Cited
US5941769A
Cited
US5605334A
Cited
US5632483A
Cited
US5669816A
Cited
US5803808A
Cited
US5919090A
Cited
US5722893A
Cited
US5831527A
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2003-10-03 | 2004-04-03 | 2004-10-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2007-10-03 | 2008-04-03 | 2008-10-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2011-10-03 | 2012-04-03 | 2012-10-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |