US6685568B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method, apparatus and article for evaluating card games, such as blackjack
Assignee: Walker Digital Table Systems LLC
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Filing: 2001-02-21
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Granted: 2004-02-03
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Expires: 2021-02-21
Abstract
Abstract A system reads an identifier from a hand of cards to identify the cards. For example, the system can read an identifier from a pair of cards forming the initial hand in blackjack, where the one card is face up and the other card is face down. The system determines the value of a hand of cards form the read identifiers. For example, the system can determine a value of an initial hand of two cards in blackjack, while only one card is face up. The system can inform a dealer of the value, or status based on value, of the hand. The system can determine whether cards forming a hand of cards are authenticate by validating the cards based on the read identifier. The system can determine if the cards forming the hand of cards are in an expected sequence based on a knowledge of the initial sequence of cards in a deck.
Inventors
- 👤 Richard Soltys
- 👤 Richard Huizinga
- 👤 Robert B. Mouchou
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-03 17:20
CPC Classifications
G; G07; G07F; G07F17/00; G07F17/32; G07F17/3286; G07F17/3293; A; A63; A63F; A63F1/00; A63F1/06; A63F1/18; A63F13/00; A63F13/70; A63F9/00; A63F9/24; A63F2009/2401; A63F2009/2411; A63F2009/2419
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 24
Claim 1
Independent Claim
114 words
A discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of one or more playing cards which comprise completed hands of playing cards, the discard card reader comprising: a housing having a base; a card cradle sized and dimensioned to receive one or more completed hands of playing cards, the card cradle including a card support surface sloped with respect to the base to simultaneously expose the information bearing portion of at least two of a number of playing cards supported by the card support surface; and a reading head positioned in the housing to read information from at least some of the playing cards when supported by the card support surface.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
114 words
A discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of one or more playing cards which comprise completed hands of playing cards, the discard card reader comprising: a housing having a base; a card cradle sized and dimensioned to receive one or more completed hands of playing cards, the card cradle including a card support surface sloped with respect to the base to simultaneously expose the information bearing portion of at least two of a number of playing cards supported by the card support surface; and a reading head positioned in the housing to read information from at least some of the playing cards when supported by the card support surface.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
15 words
The discard card reader of claim 1 wherein the reading head comprises an optical imager.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
52 words
The discard card reader of claim 1 , wherein the reading head comprises an optical imager, and further comprising: an aperture positioned along an optical path between the optical imager and the card support surface; and a reflector positioned along the optical path between the optical imager and the card support surface.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
49 words
The discard card reader of claim 1 , wherein the reading head comprises an optical imager, and further comprising: a source of ultraviolet illumination; and a filter positioned along an optical path between the optical imager and the card support surface that passes a specific range of ultraviolet light.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The discard card reader of claim 1 wherein the reading head comprises an optical scanner.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
17 words
The discard card reader of claim 1 wherein the reading head comprises at least one magnetic sensor.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
56 words
A discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of one or more playing cards, the discard card reader comprising: a housing; means for simultaneously exposing the information bearing portion of at least two of a number of playing cards; and means for reading information from at least some of the playing cards.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
56 words
A discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of one or more playing cards, the discard card reader comprising: a housing; means for simultaneously exposing the information bearing portion of at least two of a number of playing cards; and means for reading information from at least some of the playing cards.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
135 words
A discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of one or more playing cards which comprise completed hands of playing cards, the discard card reader comprising: a housing having a base; a card cradle sized and dimensioned to receive one or more completed hands of playing cards, the card cradle including a card support surface sloped with respect to the base to simultaneously expose the information bearing portion of at least two of a number of playing cards supported by the card support surface; a reading head positioned in the housing to read information from at least some of the playing cards when supported by the card support surface; and an actuator coupled to create relative movement between the playing cards supported by the card support surface and the reading head.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
135 words
A discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of one or more playing cards which comprise completed hands of playing cards, the discard card reader comprising: a housing having a base; a card cradle sized and dimensioned to receive one or more completed hands of playing cards, the card cradle including a card support surface sloped with respect to the base to simultaneously expose the information bearing portion of at least two of a number of playing cards supported by the card support surface; a reading head positioned in the housing to read information from at least some of the playing cards when supported by the card support surface; and an actuator coupled to create relative movement between the playing cards supported by the card support surface and the reading head.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
23 words
The discard card reader of claim 8 wherein the actuator is coupled to the card support surface to move the card support surface.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
21 words
The discard card reader of claim 8 wherein the actuator is coupled to the reading head to move the reading head.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of operating a discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of playing cards comprising completed hands of playing cards, comprising: receiving at least one completed hand of playing cards; and supporting the received playing cards such that the information bearing portion of at least two of the playing cards are exposed during a same time; and reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
73 words
A method of operating a discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of playing cards comprising completed hands of playing cards, comprising: receiving at least one completed hand of playing cards; and supporting the received playing cards such that the information bearing portion of at least two of the playing cards are exposed during a same time; and reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
45 words
The method of claim 11 wherein reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards includes: imaging the information bearing portions; resolving the image into a number of symbols; and determining at least a rank of at least one card from the symbols.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
46 words
The method of claim 11 wherein reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards includes: imaging the information bearing portions; resolving the image into a number of symbols; and determining a rank and a suit of at least one card from the symbols.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
57 words
The method of claim 11 wherein reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards includes: imaging the information bearing portions; resolving the image into a number of symbols; determining an identifier of at least one card from the symbols; and determining at least a rank of the at least one card from the identifier.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
107 words
A method of operating a discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of playing cards comprising completed hands of playing cards, comprising: receiving at least one completed hand of playing cards; supporting the received playing cards such that the information bearing portions of at least two of the playing cards are exposed; incrementing a field of view of a reader to successively cover the information bearing portions of the received playing cards in a number of steps; and reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards when the field of view is incremented in at least two of the steps.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
107 words
A method of operating a discard card reader for reading information from an information bearing portion of playing cards comprising completed hands of playing cards, comprising: receiving at least one completed hand of playing cards; supporting the received playing cards such that the information bearing portions of at least two of the playing cards are exposed; incrementing a field of view of a reader to successively cover the information bearing portions of the received playing cards in a number of steps; and reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards when the field of view is incremented in at least two of the steps.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 15 wherein reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards, comprises: forming at least one image of each of the playing cards; resolving the image into a number of symbols; and decoding each of the symbols.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 15 , further comprising: returning the field of view of the reader to a starting position after reading a last one of the received playing cards.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 15 wherein incrementing a field of view of a reader includes: moving the received playing cards past the field of view of the reader.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 15 wherein reading the exposed information bearing portion of the received playing cards, comprises: detecting a set of magnetically encoded information from each of the received playing cards; and decoding the set of magnetically encoded information from each of the received playing cards.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2007-02-02 | 2007-08-04 | 2008-02-03 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2011-02-02 | 2011-08-04 | 2012-02-03 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2015-02-02 | 2015-08-04 | 2016-02-03 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |