U.S. patent application number 10/821213 was filed with the patent office on 2004-09-30 for playing cards.
Invention is credited to Flaherty, Stephen M., Hoyt, David L..
Application Number | 20040188940 10/821213 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 21879865 |
Filed Date | 2004-09-30 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040188940 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Hoyt, David L. ; et
al. |
September 30, 2004 |
Playing cards
Abstract
A deck of game playing cards is disclosed containing
approximately 104 playing cards, each card having a back side which
is similar to each of the other playing cards such that the cards
cannot be distinguished by observing the back side, and a front
side containing an indication of location, quantity and suit, such
that when a first playing card is placed adjacent to a second
playing card, the combination results in a playing card similar to
a standard playing card, but approximately twice the size of the
standard playing card.
Inventors: |
Hoyt, David L.; (Chicago,
IL) ; Flaherty, Stephen M.; (Chicago, IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Jeffrey A. Pine
BANIAK PINE & GANNON
Suite 1200
150 N. Wacker Drive
Chicago
IL
60606-1606
US
|
Family ID: |
21879865 |
Appl. No.: |
10/821213 |
Filed: |
April 8, 2004 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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10821213 |
Apr 8, 2004 |
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10328977 |
Dec 24, 2002 |
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10328977 |
Dec 24, 2002 |
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09716391 |
Nov 20, 2000 |
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09716391 |
Nov 20, 2000 |
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09034980 |
Mar 5, 1998 |
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6149155 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
273/292 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 2001/027 20130101;
A63F 1/02 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
273/292 |
International
Class: |
A63F 001/00 |
Claims
1. A deck of game playing cards comprising a number of playing
cards, each card having a front side of the card and a back side of
the card, said back side either containing a design or not
containing a design, such that each of the approximately 104 cards
contains a back side which is similar to each of the other
approximately 104 cards, such that said approximately 104 cards
cannot be distinguished by observing the back side of the card,
said front side of each card containing an indication of location,
quantity and suit.
2. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 1, further
comprising a configuration of said location, quantity and suit
indication such that a first playing card of said approximately 104
cards may be placed either on a playing game board or some other
location adjacent to a second playing card of said approximately
104 playing cards, such that a combination of said first and second
playing cards is similar to a playing card in said standard deck of
playing cards, but approximating twice the size of said playing
card in said standard deck of playing cards.
3. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 2, wherein
said indication of location is an indication of either bottom or
top, such that when said first playing card is placed adjacent to
said second playing card said combination will consist of the
playing card containing the top location indication on top of the
playing card containing the bottom location indication
4. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 2, wherein
said indication of location is an indication of either right or
left, such that when said first playing card is placed adjacent to
said second playing card said combination will consist of the
playing card containing the left location indication to the left of
the playing card containing the right location indication.
5. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 2, wherein
said indication of quantity is an indication of either a number or
a letter.
6. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 5, wherein
said number is one of the set of numbers between two and ten
inclusive.
7. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 5, wherein
said letter is either A, K, Q, or J.
8. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 2, wherein
said indication of suit is an indication of one of four different
suits.
9. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 8, wherein
said indication of one of four different suits is an indication of
either a Spade, a Heart, a Diamond or a Club.
10. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 1,
wherein said number of individual playing cards approximates 104
playing cards.
11. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 1,
wherein said playing cards each approximate the size of a playing
card in a standard size deck of playing cards.
12. A deck of game playing cards comprising individual playing
cards, each card having a front side of the card and a back side of
the card, said back side either containing a design or not
containing a design, such that each of the approximately 104 cards
contains a back side which is similar to each of the other
approximately 104 cards, such that said approximately 104 cards
cannot be distinguished by observing the back side of the card,
said front side of each card containing an indication of quantity
and suit, such that a first playing card of said approximately 104
cards may be placed either on a playing game board or some other
location adjacent to a second playing card of said approximately
104 playing cards, such that a combination of said first and second
playing cards is similar to a playing card in said standard deck of
playing cards, but approximating twice the size of said playing
card in said standard deck of playing cards.
13. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 12,
wherein said indication of quantity is an indication of either a
number or a letter.
14. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 13,
wherein said number is one of the set of numbers between two and
ten inclusive.
15. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 13,
wherein said letter is either A, K, Q, or J.
16. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 12,
wherein said indication of suit is an indication of one of four
different suits.
17. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 16,
wherein said indication of one of four different suits is an
indication of either a Spade, a Heart, a Diamond or a Club.
18. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 12,
wherein said number of individual playing cards approximates 104
playing cards.
19. A deck of game playing cards in accordance with claim 12,
wherein said playing cards each approximate the size of a playing
card in a standard size deck of playing cards.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The present invention relates to a novel deck of playing
cards, and more specifically, the present invention relates to a
novel deck of playing cards made up of at least 104 cards, divided
into four different suit types, containing 26 cards in each suit
numbered either 2 through 10, or containing the letters A, K, Q, or
J. In order to account for the 26 different cards, there are two of
each numbered and lettered cards, one is labeled the top card
portion and the other is labeled the bottom card portion. The top
and bottom card portions are configured such that, when the
corresponding top and bottom cards are placed adjacent to each
other with the top card above or on top of the bottom card, a
single card is created similar to those found in a standard deck of
cards, however the newly created card is approximately twice the
size of the standard card.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Playing cards have been in existence for many years.
Although there are many types of playing cards that are played in
many different types of games, the most common type of playing
cards consists of 52 cards, divided out into four different suits
(namely Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs) which is printed or
indicated on one side or the face of each card. In the standard
deck, each of the four suits consists of 13 cards, numbered either
two through ten, or lettered A (Ace), K (ling), Q (Queen), or J
(Jack), which is also printed or indicated on each card. Thus each
card will contain on its face a suit indication along with a number
or letter indication. The King, Queen, and Jack usually also
include some sort of design on the face of the card, and may be
referred to as picture cards.
[0003] In some cases, the 52 card standard playing deck also
contains a number of extra cards, sometimes referred to as jokers,
that may have some use or meaning depending on the particular game
being played with the deck.
[0004] Many different games can be played using a standard 52 card
deck The game being played with the standard deck of cards may
include other items, such as game boards, chips, etc., or the game
being played may only need the playing card deck itself. In most of
the games played using a standard deck of cards, a value is
assigned to each card. The value may differ for different games.
Usually, the card value begins with the number two card as the
lowest value and increases as the numbers increase through ten,
followed in order of increasing value with the Jack, Queen, King
and Ace. In some games the Ace may have a lower value than the two,
and in games where a particular card is determined to be wild, or
have any value, that card may have the greatest value of all. For
example, in card games where deuces, or twos, are wild, the player
holding a playing card containing a two can use that two as any
other card, such that a nine and a two would be the equivalent of
two nines.
[0005] Further, the four different suits indicated on the cards may
have a particular value depending on the game. Under game rules
where one suit, i.e. Spades, has more value than another suit, i.e.
Hearts, the seven of Spades may have more value than the seven of
Hearts.
[0006] It is easy to visualize that using the different card
quantity and suit values, many different games can be played. In
certain games, it is the combination of cards that one player
obtains that determines whether or not that player has defeated the
other player or players. Usually, the more difficult the
combination is to obtain, the more value the combination has, and
the player who obtains the more difficult combination (also taking
into account the value of the cards) wins the game. For instance in
the game of Poker, each player may ultimately receive five cards.
The player who obtains three cards having similar numbers on their
face, i.e. the four of Hearts, four of Diamonds and four of Clubs,
will defeat the player having only two cards with the same
numerical value, i.e. the King of Spades and the King of Hearts.
However, the player with five cards that all contain Clubs,
commonly known as a flush, will defeat the player with the same
three of a kind described above.
[0007] It is easy to see that many different games can be played
using the increasing value of the cards and the different
combination of those cards. However, there are a limited number of
combinations that can be created with an ordinary deck of playing
cards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0008] The present invention greatly increases the number of
combinations that can be created without increasing the number of
suits in a deck nor the different values of each card, which, over
the years, have become well known by card players. The present
invention doubles the size of the standard deck of playing cards
from 52 to 104 cards (not including jokers). The deck still
contains only four suits (usually Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and
Clubs), and still contains cards with either a numerical value of
two through ten, or a letter value of A (ace), K (King), Q (Queen)
or J (Jack). However, each card is divided into two separate cards,
containing different location indicators such as bottom and top, or
left and right. For example, the present invention has two three of
Diamonds, the top three of Diamonds and the bottom three of
Diamonds. When these two different three of Diamonds (top and
bottom) are placed together or adjacent to each other with the top
three of Diamonds above the bottom three of Diamonds, a complete
three of Diamonds is formed.
[0009] Players using the present invention can play additional
games without having to remember new suits or new card values. Many
new combinations of cards can now be formed using the present
invention. For example, a player may have two cards containing the
value nine, the top nine of Clubs and the bottom nine of Diamonds.
Another player may also have a pair of nines, the top nine of
Spades and the bottom nine of Spades. Depending on the rules of the
game, the second player's combination of top and bottom of the same
nine card, may defeat the first player's combination of nines.
[0010] Other features and advantages of the present invention will
be apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art based on the
accompanying drawings and description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0011] FIG. 1 is a front view of a single playing card from a
standard deck of playing cards;
[0012] FIG. 2A is a front view of a single playing card embodying
the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 2B is a back view of a single playing card embodying
the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 3 is a front view of a single playing card embodying
the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 4 is a front view of a two playing cards embodying the
present invention, placed adjacent to each other;
[0016] FIG. 5 is a front view of a two playing cards embodying the
present invention, placed adjacent to each other;
[0017] FIG. 6 is a front view of a two playing cards embodying the
present invention, placed adjacent to each other.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The front view of a standard playing card 10 from a standard
deck of playing cards is shown in FIG. 1. The standard playing card
10 is made of a piece of paper or cardboard that is imprinted with
a design on the front and back of the card and then laminated for
strength. Each standard playing card is approximately 2.5 inches by
3.5 inches, thereby allowing a card player to comfortably hold a
number of cards in his or her hand. However, card sizes may vary;
smaller cards for younger people and smaller or larger cards for
novelty reasons.
[0019] Each standard playing card contains a design on the back
side of the card (not shown) which is similar to the design on the
back side of all of the other cards, such that each card is
indistinguishable from the other cards when viewed from the back
side. Further, each standard playing card contains a value or
quantity 12, either from two through ten, or a letter, A, K, Q, or
J, representing Ace, King, Queen, or Jack, respectively. In the
example shown in FIG. 1, the quantity is six
[0020] Each standard playing card also contains a suit 14, either
Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, or Clubs. Each suit has a separate
insignia thereby making it easier for the player using the cards to
know which suit is indicated on each card. In the example shown in
FIG. 1, the suit indicated is a Heart. Therefore the playing card
indicated in Figure one is the six of Hearts.
[0021] Further, for the cards numbered two through ten, and also
for the cards containing the letter A, the number value of the
playing card is indicated on the card by the similar number of suit
indicators 16. In FIG. 1, there are six large Hearts to indicate
that the card value is the six of Hearts (not including the smaller
suit indicators at opposing comers of the card). The four of Clubs
would contain four large Clubs on its face.
[0022] Since each suit contains a card with either the number two
through ten, or the letters A, K, Q, or J, there are 13 cards per
suit Since there are four suits, a standard deck of cards contains
52 cards. In some card decks extra cards are included for
particular game rules. These extra cards are well known as
jokers.
[0023] An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2A
which is a front view of a playing card 20 in accordance with the
present invention. The playing card 20 which is similar to a
playing card in a standard deck is made up of paper, cardboard or
some other material that can be printed on and subsequently
laminated for strength.
[0024] FIG. 2B shows the design printed on the back side of the
playing card shown in 2A. The design is similar to the design on
the back of all of the other cards in the deck thereby making all
of the cards in the deck indistinguishable from the others when
viewed from the back side. The design shown in FIG. 2B is merely an
example. There are many different designs that could be used, as
long as each card contained a similar design.
[0025] The playing card 20 in FIG. 2A is made to the same
approximate size as the playing card in a standard deck, 2.5 inches
by 3.5 inches. However, the size of the card is not the essence of
the present invention and therefore cards of other sizes can be
made under the present invention.
[0026] The playing card 20 in the present invention, similar to a
playing card in the standard deck, has a quantity or value 22
either a number between two and ten, inclusive, or a letter such as
A, K, Q, or J. The card 20 shown in FIG. 2A is a three.
[0027] Also similar to a playing card in a standard deck, the
playing card 20 in the present invention has a suit 24 indicated on
its face. The suit 24 can be one of four different suits, Spades,
Hearts, Diamonds, or Clubs. The card shown in FIG. 2A indicates a
Club suit. Therefore, the card 20 shown in FIG. 2A is the three of
Clubs.
[0028] The playing card 20 card may have an indication of location
26 displayed on the face of the card, such as bottom, to help the
player understand which part of the card he or she may be holding.
This location indicator 26 can be any indication, such as bottom,
top, left, right, A, B, etc. such that the playing card can be
placed adjacent to another card with the corresponding indicator,
for example, Bottom with top, right with left, A with B, or even A
with A, such that, as explained further below and in FIGS. 4 and 5,
the playing card formed by the combination of the two cards
adjacent to each other is the same as a standard playing card, but
approximately twice the size. Further, the location indicator 26
may be color coded (not shown), for example, all top cards are
yellow, and all bottom cards are purple, to further distinguish the
different cards making the players recognition easier and
faster.
[0029] FIG. 2A differs from most standard playing cards in that the
card 20 does not display the number of suit indications equal to
the quantity of the playing card. For example, the three of Clubs
in a standard deck of playing cards would display the number 3
(usually on two opposing comers of the four comers of the card),
with an indication of the particular suit, a Club, underneath the
number 3. The three of Clubs would also display three Clubs in the
middle of the playing card.
[0030] The present invention does not display the quantity of the
particular suit that the card indicates, but instead, half the
quantity of the particular suit is displayed. For example, the
three of Clubs in the present invention displays only one and one
half Clubs 28 on its face (not including the smaller indication of
suit 24 underneath the number three 22. The quantity of the
particular suit 28 is displayed in such a manner that when another
playing card having the same quantity (regardless of suit) is
placed next to or adjacent to the first card, a complete playing
card, approximately twice the size of a standard playing card is
formed.
[0031] FIG. 3 shows a playing card 20 having the number five 22 as
the quantity indicator, Hearts 24 is the suit indicator, two and
one half Hearts 28 are displayed on the face of the card such that
the card could be placed adjacent to another card having the
quantity five thereby making a complete card with the combination,
and top as the location indicator 26. Utilizing the 13 different
quantities, the four different suit types, and the two location
indicators, a total of 104 cards can be created without adding any
new suits or quantities to a standard deck
[0032] FIG. 4 shows two playing cards 20 placed adjacent to each
other in such a manner as to create a combination that is similar
to a standard playing, but approximately twice the size. The
combination of cards 20 has two quantity indicators 22 at two of
the comers of the combination of cards 20 (the number two) similar
to a standard playing card, two suit indicators 24 underneath the
quantity indicators (Hearts) similar to a standard playing card,
and a display on the face of the combination of the two cards of
the quantity of the particular suit 28 (the two large Hearts)
similar to a standard playing card. These elements combined
together make a combination of two adjacent playing cards 20 that
are similar to a single playing card in a standard deck of cards,
but approximately twice the size.
[0033] FIGS. 5 and 6 show a second and third combination in which
the two playing cards 20 placed adjacent to each other have the
same quantity 22 but contain different suits 24. In FIG. 5, the
suits are different, but the colors of the suits, black for Spades
and Clubs, is the same. In FIG. 6, the suits are different and the
color of the suits, black for Spades and red for Hearts, is
different.
[0034] In certain game play, a combination of same cards (quantity
and suit) with different location indicators (FIG. 4) may have
greater value than a combination of cards in which the quantity is
the same, but the suit indicators are of different type but same
color (FIG. 5), which may in turn have a greater value than a
combination of cards in which the quantity is the same, but the
suit indicators are different and the color of the suits are
different (FIG. 6). Names may be given to the combination described
above such as Solid for FIG. 4, Soft for FIG. 5, and Weak for FIG.
6.
[0035] In another embodiment, cards can be configured to display
only one quarter of a standard playing card such that, similar to
the description above, each card would have a location indicator
such that when the four cards are placed together a standard
playing card is created by the combination except the new card
would be four times the size of a standard playing card. Examples
of location indicators would be top right, top left, bottom right,
bottom left, A, B, C, D, etc.
[0036] It can easily be seen that many variations of common games
can be played with the present invention. For example in Poker, a
pair of Aces having the same suit might be a stronger hand than a
pair of Aces having different suits.
[0037] Also, many games can be derived in which the present
invention is used along with game boards and other pieces. For
example, a game in which each player receives a certain number of
cards and colored chips. The players attempt to put their cards
down in combinations that, based on the combinations, allow them to
place a certain number of chips in a predetermined location. The
players object is to place his or her chips in a row to get points.
A Solid combination allows the player to place three chips, a Soft
combination allows the player to place two chips and a Weak
combination allows a player to place one chip. However, one chip
may be all that is needed to block another players row.
[0038] The foregoing detailed description of the invention is
intended to be illustrative and not intended to limit the scope of
the invention. Changes and modifications are possible with respect
to the foregoing description, and it is understood that the
invention may be practiced otherwise than that specifically
described herein and still be within the scope of the claims.
* * * * *