U.S. patent application number 11/225393 was filed with the patent office on 2006-03-23 for system for monitoring the game of baccarat.
This patent application is currently assigned to Shuffle Master, Inc.. Invention is credited to Michael Bacigalupi, Zbigbiew Czyzewski, Justin G. III Downs, Richard A. Radcliffe, Oliver M. Schubert.
Application Number | 20060063577 11/225393 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 37865452 |
Filed Date | 2006-03-23 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060063577 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Downs; Justin G. III ; et
al. |
March 23, 2006 |
System for monitoring the game of baccarat
Abstract
A system for monitoring the play of baccarat is disclosed,
comprising: a card delivery shoe, the shoe comprising a logic
module, a card rank and suit sensor, a player display and a player
display processor. The logic module includes a microprocessor
comprising a card identification module, a game control module and
a configuration module. The logic module further comprises a
hardware component capable of interpreting signals from the card
rank and suit sensor; and a network communication port. The card
rank and suit sensor is located within the card delivery shoe. The
sensor is capable of sending signals to the hardware component,
wherein the hardware component generates a signal representative of
rank and/or suit. The system further includes a player display and
a computer associated with the player display, wherein the computer
has a network communication port. When information is broadcasted
by the logic module of the shoe over a network, the computer
associated with the reader board responds to the broadcasted
information by causing the display to display the broadcasted
information.
Inventors: |
Downs; Justin G. III;
(Henderson, NV) ; Czyzewski; Zbigbiew; (Las Vegas,
NV) ; Schubert; Oliver M.; (Las Vegas, NV) ;
Bacigalupi; Michael; (Henderson, NV) ; Radcliffe;
Richard A.; (Las Vegas, NV) |
Correspondence
Address: |
Mark A. Litman & Associates, P.A.;York Business Center
Suite 205
3209 West 76th St.
Edina
MN
55435
US
|
Assignee: |
Shuffle Master, Inc.
|
Family ID: |
37865452 |
Appl. No.: |
11/225393 |
Filed: |
September 12, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
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11152475 |
Jun 13, 2005 |
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11225393 |
Sep 12, 2005 |
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10915914 |
Aug 10, 2004 |
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11152475 |
Jun 13, 2005 |
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10622321 |
Jul 17, 2003 |
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10915914 |
Aug 10, 2004 |
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10880408 |
Jun 28, 2004 |
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10915914 |
Aug 10, 2004 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
463/11 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 1/18 20130101; A63F
2009/2423 20130101; A63F 2001/001 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
463/011 |
International
Class: |
A63F 9/24 20060101
A63F009/24 |
Claims
1. A system for monitoring the play of baccarat, comprising: A card
delivery shoe, the shoe comprising: A logic module, the logic
module comprising: A microprocessor comprising a card
identification module, a game control module and a configuration
module; A hardware component capable of interpreting signals from a
sensing module; and network communication port; and A card rank and
or suit sensor capable of sending signals to the hardware
component, wherein the hardware component generates a signal
representative of rank and/or suit; A player display; and A
processor associated with the player display, wherein the processor
has a network communication port, and when information is
broadcasted over a network from the logic module of the card
delivery shoe, the computer causes the reader board to display the
broadcasted information.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the shoe is a non-mechanized
shoe.
3. The system of claim 1, wherein the card rank and/or suit sensor
is selected from the group consisting of a CIS line sensing array
and a CMOS 2-D sensing array.
4. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware component is
selected from the group consisting of a FPGA logic circuit and a
ASIC circuit.
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware component has stored
data for known rank and suit symbols, and acquired data is compared
to the known data to identify rank and or suit.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein the network communication method
is selected from the group consisting of TCP/IP and UDP.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the shoe is a mechanized shoe,
comprising a) an area for receiving a first set of pre-shuffled
playing cards useful in the play of the casino table card game of
at least one of blackjack or baccarat; b) first card mover that
moves playing cards from the first set to a playing card staging
area wherein at least one playing card is staged in an order by
which playing cards are removed from the first set of and moved to
the playing card staging area; c) second playing card mover that
moves playing cards from the playing card staging area to a
delivery area wherein playing cards removed from the staging area
to the delivery shoe are moved in the same order by which playing
cards were removed from the first set of playing cards and moved to
the playing card staging area; and d) playing card reading sensors
that read at least one playing card value of each playing card
separately.
8. The system of claim 1, and further comprising a CIS module, the
module comprising: a line scanner capable of scanning a line
crossing an area of a card representing rank and/or suit; and a
card position sensor.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein the hardware component is capable
of receiving signals from the line imager and card position sensor,
wherein the hardware component forms a vector set from the output
from the imager and card position sensor, and compares the vector
set to known reference vector sets to determine rank and suit of a
card.
10. The system of claim 9, wherein an output signal from the line
scanner is at least one of voltage vs. time, binary data and gray
scale data.
11. The system of claim 1, wherein the player display is a computer
monitor.
12. The system of claim 1, wherein the hardware component is a
FPGA, and acquired data from the sensor is compared to stored data
within the FPGA to determine rank and or suit.
13. The system of claim 12, wherein the acquired data and stored
data are vector sets.
14. The system of claim 3, wherein the CIS module provides spaced
line scans of the playing card symbols.
15. The system of claim 14, and further comprising a sensor
selected from the group consisting of a motion sensor and a card
presence sensor, wherein the spaced line scans are triggered by the
motion sensor.
16. The system of claim 1 wherein the signals from the card rank
and or suit sensor comprise signals indicative of at least one of
voltage vs. time, binary values and gray scale values within a
range of gray scale values.
17. The system of claim 16, wherein the output from the CIS module
is converted into binary data.
18. The system of claim 1 wherein said sensor comprises a contact
image line scanning system.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein the dealing shoe comprises: a
housing for holding cards to be dealt; an output opening for
removal of cards from the housing; and a rank and or suit sensor
located proximate the output opening.
20. The system of claim 1, wherein the card identification module
forwards card rank and or suit information to a network.
21. The system of claim 1, wherein the game control module
determines game outcomes and determines if additional cards should
be dealt according to the rules of baccarat.
22. The system of claim 1, wherein the configuration module is
capable of being reconfigured from a remote location.
23. A method of controlling the game of baccarat, comprising:
Dealing cards from a card dispensing shoe capable of: reading card
rank and suit of cards as cards are being dealt; providing
instructions to a dealer according to the rules of baccarat; and
broadcasting game information over a network; Providing a visual
player display; and Displaying game information in response to data
broadcasted over the network.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the rank and suit reading is
accomplished by means of a CIS line sensing or CMOS 2-D sensing
module.
25. The method of claim 23, wherein the visual display displays at
least one of historical player wins, banker wins and ties, player
cards, banker cards, player hand count and banker hand count.
26. The method of claim 25, wherein the visual display displays
information on at least one of a real-time basis and in response to
a signal from a user control
27. The method of claim 23, wherein the rules of baccarat comprise
a determination of when a player hand and or a banker hand requires
an additional card, computation of the cumulative rank of each hand
and an identification of a winning hand.
Description
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
[0001] This application is a continuation-in part of U.S. patent
application Ser. No. 11/152,475, filed Jun. 13, 2005, which is a
continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/915,914, filed Aug. 10, 2004, which is a continuation-in-part
application of both U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/622,321,
filed Jul. 17, 2003 and U.S. patent application Ser. No.
10/880,408, filed Jun. 28, 2004.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates to the field of casino table
card gaming, and devices and methods for monitoring the play of
baccarat.
[0004] 2. Background of the Art
[0005] Cards are ordinarily provided to players in casino table
card games either directly from a deck held in the dealer's hands,
as a group from a hand-forming and shuffling device or with cards
removed by the dealer from a dealing shoe. The original dealing
shoes were little more than trays that supported the deck(s) of
cards in a tray and allowed the dealer to remove the front card
(with its back facing the table to hide the rank of the card) and
deliver it to a player. Over the years, both stylistic and
functional changes have been made to dealing shoes, which have been
used for blackjack, poker, baccarat and other casino table card
games.
[0006] Numerous patents have been issued for inventive equipment
and methods used to advance the art casino card game play. For
example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,585,586; 6,582,302; and 6,293,864
(ROMERO) describe a gaming assembly to play a variation of the game
baccarat, the gaming assembly including a computer processor
assembly, a display assembly and at least one user actuatable
selector assembly. The computer processor assembly is structured to
generate a player's hand and a banker's hand in accordance with
rules of baccarat, one of those hands being designated the user's
hand. Further, the computer processor assembly is structured to
determine a winning hand in accordance with the rules of baccarat,
designating the user as a winner if the user's hand is also the
winning hand. Additionally, the computer processor assembly is
structured to monitor consecutive ones of the user's hands and to
indicate a bonus payout to the user in the event that consecutive
ones of the user's hands have a final number count equal to a
natural nine.
[0007] Other patents relate to the structure and function of
automatic card shufflers, U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,959 (PFEIFFER)
describes a card handling apparatus including a card hopper adapted
to hold from one to at least 104 cards, a card carousel having
slots for holding cards, an injector for sequentially loading cards
from the hopper into the carousel, output ports, ejectors for
delivering cards from the carousel to any one of the output ports,
and a control board and sensors, all housed in a housing. The
apparatus is capable of communicating with selectors that are
adjustable for making card selections. The injector has three
rollers driven by a motor via a worm gear. A spring-loaded lever
keeps cards in the hopper pressed against the first roller. The
ejectors are pivotally mounted to the base of the housing beneath
the carousel and comprise a roller driven by a motor via gears and
a centripetal clutch. A control board keeps track of the identity
of cards in each slot, card selections, and the carousel position.
Cards may be ordinary playing cards or other cards with bar codes
added for card identification by the apparatus.
[0008] U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,122 (ROBLEJO) relates to an apparatus
for randomizing and verifying sets of playing cards. Also, the
invention relates to a process of providing such an apparatus;
feeding to the apparatus one or more cards either after they have
been played in a game or from an unrandomized or unverified set of
cards; and manually retrieving a verified true set of cards from
the apparatus. Also, the invention relates to a process of playing
in a casino setting or simulated casino setting, a card game
comprising providing such an apparatus, feeding unverified sets of
playing cards to the apparatus, and recovering verified true sets
of cards from the apparatus.
[0009] U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,648 (JOHNSON) describes a collation
and/or sorting apparatus for groups of articles is exemplified by a
sorting and/or shuffling device for playing cards. The apparatus
comprises a sensor (15) to identify articles for collation and/or
sorting, feeding means to feed cards from a stack (11) past the
sensor (15) to a delivery means (14) adapted to deliver cards
individually to a preselected one of a storing means (24) in an
indexable magazine (20). A microprocessor (16) coupled to the feed
means (14), delivery means (18), sensor (15) and magazine (20)
determines according to a preprogrammed routine whether cards
identified by sensor (15) are collated in the magazine (20) as an
ordered deck of cards or a randomly ordered or "shuffled" deck. No
specific reading mechanism is provided.
[0010] A number of patents relate to card dispensing shoes. U.S.
Pat. No. 4,750,743 (NICOLETTI) describes the use of a mechanical
card dispensing means to advance cards at least part way out of a
dealing shoe. The described invention is for a dispenser for
playing cards comprising: a shoe adapted to contain a plurality of
stacked playing cards, the playing cards including a leading card
and a trailing card; the shoe including a back wall, first and
second side walls, a front wall, a base, and an inclined floor
extending from the back wall to proximate the front wall and
adapted to support the playing cards; the floor being inclined
downwardly from the back wall to the front wall; the front wall
having an opening and otherwise being adapted to conceal the
leading card; and the front wall, side walls, base and floor
enclosing a slot positioned adjacent the floor, the slot being
sized to permit a playing card to pass through the slot; card
advances means contacting the trailing card and adapted to urge the
stacked cards down the inclined floor; card dispensing means
positioned proximate the front wall and adapted to dispense a
single card at a time, the card dispensing means including leading
card contact means adapted for rotation about an axis parallel to
the leading card, whereby rotation of the leading card contact
means displaces the leading card relative to the card stack and
into a predetermined position extending out of the shoe from the
slot; and an endless belt located in the opening in the front wall
for rotating the leading card contact means, the endless belt
having an exterior surface securely engaging the leading card
contact means and being adapted to be displaced by an operator.
[0011] U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,546 (MEISSNER) describes a method and
apparatus including an automated dealing shoe to enable a game to
be played based upon a plurality of cards. An automated dealing
shoe dispenses each of the cards and recognizes each of the cards
as each of the cards is dispensed. Player stations are also
included. Each player station enables a player to enter a bet,
request that a card be dispensed or not dispensed, and to convert
each bet into a win or a loss based upon the cards that are
dispensed by the automated dealing shoe. This patent discloses the
use of card readers for the play of Blackjack.
[0012] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,605,334; 6,093,103 and 6,117,012 (McCREA)
disclose apparatus for use in a security system for card games. A
secure game table system is described for monitoring each hand in a
progressive live card game, the progressive live card game having
at least one deck, said at least one deck having a predetermined
number of cards. The secure game table system comprises: a shoe for
holding each card from said at least one deck before being dealt by
said dealer in said hand, said shoe having a detector for reading
at least the value and the suit of said each card. For the most
part, unique codes are provided on the cards, although it may be
inferred that cards can be read in some undefined, alternative
manner.
[0013] U.S. Pat. No. 6,582,301; 6,299,536; 6,039,650; and 5,722,893
(HILL) describes a dealing shoe that has a card scanner which scans
indicia on a playing card as the card moves along and out of a
chute by manual direction by the dealer in the normal fashion. The
scanner can be one of several different types of devices that will
sense each card as it is moved downwardly and out of the shoe. A
feed forward neural-network is trained, using error
back-propagation to recognize all possible card suits and card
values sensed by the scanner. Such a neural-network becomes a part
of a scanning system which provides a proper reading of the cards
to determine the progress of the play of the game including how the
game might suffer if the game players are allowed to count cards
using a card count system and perform other acts which would limit
the profit margin of the casino. Scanned information is fed to a
computer for extensive analysis. Apparently the entire marking
image is read or a bar code is read.
[0014] U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,166 (LORSON) describes 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. The subsystem may be
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.
[0015] Patents in the art describe card sorting devices. U.S. Pat.
No. 6,250,632 (ALBRECHT) describes an apparatus and method for
sorting cards into a predetermined sequence. One embodiment
provides a deck holding area in which cards are held for presenting
a card to a reading head for reading the characters on the face of
the card. The apparatus also has a tray having a sequence of slots
and a card moving mechanism for moving the presented card from the
deck holding area into one of the slots. The tray is connected to a
tray positioning mechanism for selectively positioning the tray to
receive a card in one of the slots from the card moving mechanism.
A controller is connected to the read head, the card moving
mechanism, and the tray positioning mechanism. The controller
controls the reading of each of the cards by the read head and
identifies the value of each card read, and also controls the card
moving mechanism to move each of the cards to a slot of the tray
positioned by the tray positioning mechanism according to the
predetermined sequence of values.
[0016] U.S. Pat. No. 6,403,908 (STARDUST) describes an automated
method and apparatus for sequencing and/or inspecting decks of
playing cards. The method and apparatus utilizes pattern
recognition technology or other image comparison technology to
compare one or more images of a card with memory containing known
good images of a complete deck of playing cards to identify each
card as it passes through the apparatus. Once the card is
identified, it is temporarily stored in a location corresponding to
or identified according to its position in a properly sequenced
deck of playing cards. No specific reading mechanism is provided.
If a playing card has not been rejected based upon improper color
of the back of the card, the embedded processor then determines the
rank and suit (position) of the card in a properly sequenced deck
of cards, using digital image processing to compare the digital
images obtained from that specific playing card against the
plurality of stored card images which comprise a complete 52-card
deck. This step either comprises an application of pattern
recognition technology or other image comparison technology.
[0017] WO 00/51076 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,629,894 (DOLPHIN ADVANCED
TECHNOLOGIES PTY. LTD.) disclose a card inspection device that
includes a first loading area adapted to receive one or more decks
of playing cards. A drive roller is located adjacent the loading
area and positioned to impinge on a card if a card were present in
the loading area. The loading area has an exit through which cards
are urged, one at a time, by a feed roller. A transport path
extends from the loading area exit to a card accumulation area. The
transport path is further defined by two pairs of transport
rollers, one roller of each pair above the transport path and one
roller of each pair below the transport path. A camera is located
between the two pairs of transport rollers, and a processor governs
the operation of a digital camera and the rollers. A printer
produces a record of the device's operation based on an output of
the processor, and a portion of the transport path is illuminated
by one or more blue LED's.
[0018] A number of patents describe card reading devices on gaming
tables. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,039 (MILLER) describes a
"no peek" device for speeding the pace of a game of blackjack. The
device is comprised of a housing having a top surface. A card
reader for reading at least a portion of a playing card is located
within the housing. An indicator cooperating with the card reader
is provided to inform the dealer if his down card is of a desired
value. There is also disclosed herein a method for increasing the
speed of play in an organized game of blackjack. It indicates the
presence of an ace or ten as the hole card in the dealers Blackjack
hand.
[0019] U.S. Pat. No. 6 217,447 (LOFINK) describes a method and
system for generating displays related to the play of Baccarat.
Cards dealt to each of the Banker's and Player's hands are
identified as by scanning and data signals are generated. The card
identification data signals are processed to determine the outcome
of the hand. Displays in various formats to be used by bettors are
created from the processed identification signals including the
cards of the hand played, historical records of outcomes and the
like. The display can also show bettors expected outcomes and
historical bests. Bettors can refer to the display in making
betting decisions. The cards are read between the shoe and the
player positions, outside of the shoe.
[0020] U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,669,819 and 5,772,505 (GARCZYNSKI)
describes a dual card scanning module announces when the symbols of
a face-up standard playing card and a face-down standard playing
card achieve a desired combination (a blackjack). The module has a
scanner system that illuminates and scans at least a portion of a
symbol of the face-up standard playing card and at least a portion
of a symbol of the face-down standard playing card and stores the
results thereof in a first and second array device, respectively.
The module also has a guide to assist in receiving and positioning
the cards such that the face-up standard playing card is above and
aligned with the face-down standard playing card. When in this
position, the symbol portions of the face-up and the face-down
standard playing cards can be scanned by the array devices to
generate respective scanning results. The module compares the
scanning results with a memory storing a plurality of references
representing respective symbols of the standard playing cards to
determine if the cards have achieved the desired combination.
[0021] Casinos wish to understand the play and wagering traits of
their customers. Some casinos have employees visually observe
customer's game play, manually tracking the gaming and wagering
habits of the particular customers. The information allows the
casinos to select the number of different games that the casino
will provide and to adequately staff those games. The information
also allows the casinos to select certain customers to receive
complimentary benefits ("comps") and to determine the amount of
comps a particular customer is to receive. The act of giving comps
to a customer produces a large amount of goodwill with the
customers, encouraging customer loyalty and further wagering. Some
casinos have attempted to partially automate the tracking process,
reading a customer "comp" card to identify the customer. The actual
gaming and wagering patterns of the customers are visually observed
by casino personnel and manually entered into a computer to create
a digitized copy of the customer's gaming habits.
[0022] Similarly, casinos wish to track the efficiency of the
casino and the casino's employees, as well as track betting and
winning tendencies of individual players to avoid card counters or
other play strategies that casinos consider to be undesirable. Such
information allows the casino to make changes to identified
situations and to increase the overall efficiency of the casino and
of the employees, benefiting both the casino and customers. A
typical method of tracking employee efficiency is to manually count
the number of hands of blackjack dealt by a dealer over some time
period. A change in an amount in a bank at the gaming table can
also be manually determined and combined with the count of the
number of hands to determine a won/loss percentage for the dealer.
The casino can use the information to take appropriate action, such
as rewarding an efficient dealer, or providing additional training
to an inefficient dealer.
[0023] The fast pace and large sums of money make casinos regular
targets for fraud, cheating and stealing. Casinos employ a variety
of security measures to discourage cheating or stealing by both
customers and employees. For example, surveillance cameras covering
a gaming area or particular gaming table provide a live or taped
video signal that security personnel can closely examine.
Additionally, or alternatively, "pit managers" can visually monitor
the live play of a game at the gaming table. The ability to track
cards, track card play, track cards between a shuffling step (where
the order of cards is identified by the shuffler through a reading
function) and the dealing step (by reading cards in the dealing
shoe) adds a further level of security to the casino and provides a
clear basis of data for analysis by a central computer.
[0024] While some aspects of a casino's security system should be
plainly visible as a deterrent, other aspects of the security
should be unobtrusive to avoid detracting from the players'
enjoyment of the game and to prevent cheaters and thieves from
avoiding detection. The ability of a dealing shoe to accurately
read cards outside the view of players is a benefit to the secure
environment without increasing the negative effects of players
repeatedly seeing security devices.
[0025] U.S. Pat. No. 5,941,769 (ORDER) describes a device for
professional use in table games of chance with playing cards and
gaming chips (jettons), in particular the game of "Black Jack." The
apparatus includes a card shoe with an integrated device for
recognition of the value of the drawn cards (3') (optical
recognition device and mirroring into a CCD-image converter);
photodiodes (52) arranged under the table cloth (51) in order to
register separately the casino light passing through each area (53,
54) for placing the gaming chips (41) and areas (55, 56) for
placing the playing cards (3) in dependence of the arrangement or
movement of the jettons and playing cards on the mentioned areas; a
device for automatic recognition of each bet (scanner to register
the color of the jettons, or a RFID-system comprising a S/R station
and jettons with integrated transponder); an EDP program created in
accordance with the gaming rules to evaluate and store all data
transmitted from the functional devices to the computer; and a
monitor to display the run of the game and players' wins.
[0026] U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,848 (SOLTYS)--MindPlay LLC U.S. patent
describes another more comprehensive monitoring system that
automatically monitors playing and wagering of a game, including
the gaming habits of players and the performance of employees. A
card deck reader automatically reads a symbol from each card in a
deck of cards before a first one of the cards is removed. The
symbol identifies a respective rank and suit of the card. A chip
tray reader automatically images the contents of a chip tray, to
periodically determine the number and value of chips in the chip
tray, and to compare the change in contents of the chip tray to the
outcome of game play for verifying that the proper amounts have
been paid out and collected. A table monitor automatically images
the activity occurring at a gaming table. Periodic comparison of
the images identify wagering, as well as the appearance, removal
and position of cards and other game objects on the gaming table. A
drop box automatically verifies an amount and authenticity of a
deposit and reconciles the deposit with a change in the contents of
the chip tray. The drop box employs a variety of lighting and
resolutions to image selected portions of the deposited item. The
system detects prohibited playing and wagering patterns, and
determines the win/loss percentage of the players and the dealer,
as well as a number of other statistically relevant measures. The
measurements provide automated security and real-time accounting.
The measurements also provide a basis for automatically allocating
complimentary player benefits. There are numerous other MindPlay
LLC, including at this time U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,712,696; 6,688,979;
6,685,568; 6,663,490; 6,652,379; 6,638,161; 6,595,857; 6,579,181;
6,579,180; 6,533,662; 6,533,276; 6,530,837; 6,530,836; 6,527,271;
6,520,857; 6,517,436; and 6,517,435.
[0027] A number of techniques are known for processing data from an
imager. Published U.S. patent application No. 20010036231 (Easkar)
discloses an in-camera two-stage data compression process that
reduces the latency between snapshots to a fraction of that
otherwise required by other systems. Other known systems either
process complete compression following each snapshot or incorporate
heavy, bulky, and expensive RAM hardware capable of maintaining
several raw luminosity records (unprocessed file containing a
digital image). In the first stage compression, the raw luminosity
record is quickly, yet partially, compressed to available RAM
buffer space to allow a user to expeditiously capture a succeeding
image. When the higher-priority processes, the user shooting
pictures, and stage one compression subside, a second stage
compression, which is slower but more effective, decompresses the
earlier partially-compressed images, and re-compresses them for
saving in flash memory until they are distributed to a remote
platform to be finally converted to the JPEG 2000 format.
[0028] In addition to the numerous advances in data acquisition and
card handling for table games, there are a number of prior art
patents that illustrate various methods of extracting gaming
related data from images captured with a video camera. For example,
Fishbine U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,647 describes a method of collecting
images of a stack of chips on a gaming table, and Lindquist U.S.
Pat. Nos. 5,781,647 and 6,532,297 describe techniques for
extracting chip number and value information from video images of
chip stacks. Similarly, there exists commercially available
"machine vision" software that has been used in the past to extract
data from digital image files. This technique is described for use
in a card-reading device within a card shuffler, in commonly
assigned co-pending application Ser. No. 10/954,029, filed Sep. 29,
2004 entitled Multiple Mode Card Shuffler and Card Reading Device
(the content hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety) that
can be purchased an adapted to extract rank and suit data from
images of card faces captured with a video camera or other similar
optical device capable of capturing two dimensional images.
[0029] Each of the references identified in the Background of the
Art and the remainder of the specification, including the Related
Application Data are incorporated herein by reference in their
entirety as part of the enabling disclosure for such elements as
apparatus, methods, hardware and software.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0030] The present invention is a unique system for monitoring the
play of baccarat. In its broadest aspect, the system comprises a
card delivery shoe with a number of components that enables card
reading, the general administration of the game, and the
transmission of game data onto a network. A player-viewable display
is in communication with a processor that receives game data from
the network, and displays the game data for view by the
players.
[0031] The delivery shoe useful for practicing the invention can be
simple, that is, lacking mechanical card-movement mechanisms. One
such shoe includes: a housing for holding cards to be dealt, an
output opening for removal of cards from the housing; and a rank
and or suit sensor located proximate the output opening.
[0032] In another embodiment of the invention, a mechanized shoe is
used to dispense cards to a dealer, who in turn delivers the cards
to the players. The mechanized shoe comprises: an area for
receiving a first set of pre-shuffled playing cards useful in the
play of the casino table card game of at least one of blackjack or
baccarat, b) first card mover that moves playing cards from the
first set to a playing card staging area wherein at least one
playing card is staged in an order by which playing cards are
removed from the first set of and moved to the playing card staging
area, c) second playing card mover that moves playing cards from
the playing card staging area to a delivery area wherein playing
cards removed from the staging area to the delivery shoe are moved
in the same order by which playing cards were removed from the
first set of playing cards and moved to the playing card staging
area; and d) playing card reading sensors that read at least one
playing card value of each playing card separately, wherein the
logic module broadcasts data over a network.
[0033] The delivery shoe (whether simple or mechanized) includes a
logic module, the logic module comprising a microprocessor having a
number of functions. The microprocessor includes a card
identification module, a game control module and a configuration
module. The logic module has a hardware component capable of
interpreting signals from a card rank and/or suit sensing module.
The logic module also has a network communication port so that game
data can be transmitted via a network. In one example of the
invention, the data is broadcasted continuously over a network. In
another form of the invention, packets of data are sent either as
the data is generated or on demand. The logic module also comprises
a configuration module. This module is capable of being
reconfigured from a remote location.
[0034] A card rank and or suit sensor capable of sending signals to
the hardware component is also an essential element of the system.
Preferably this sensor is located within the card dispensing shoe.
The hardware component generates a signal representative of rank
and/or suit. Two alternate sensors include a CIS 1-D sensing array
and CMOS 2-D sensing array.
[0035] A player display is also an element of the present system.
This display shows information of interest to the player, such as a
historical account of player wins, banker wins and ties, the rank
and suit of player and banker cards and the count of the player and
banker hands. This information can be displayed as the data is
collected, or on a time delayed basis.
[0036] A computer associated with the player display is provided.
The processor may be internal to the display or external. The
computer has a network communication port, and when information is
broadcasted over the network from the logic module of the card
delivery shoe, the computer reads the information, which in turn
causes the reader board to display the broadcasted information.
This information can be current game information, historical game
information or a combination of new game information and historical
game information.
[0037] Although one preferred form of the invention includes
providing a simple shoe design with a central cavity for receiving
plural decks of cards, a declining lower surface of the cavity, a
card delivery opening at a lower edge of the lower surface and a
sliding wedge for holding the cards against the card delivery
opening, a mechanized shoe with mechanical card moving components
can also be used to deliver cards to the game.
[0038] The card rank and suit sensor is preferably a CIS module
containing a CIS line scanning array and an optical position and/or
motion sensor. Alternatively, a CMOS 2-D sensing array is used to
sense rank and suit. Information from both types of sensors are
processed in a similar manner. Information from the sensing module
is inputted into a hardware component such as a FPGA or ASIC logic
circuit. Stored information in the logic circuit is compared to
acquired information and a cross correlation algorithm is used to
determine rank and suit. The CIS module preferably provides
multiple spaced line scans of each of the playing card symbols. A
position and/or motion sensor triggers the data acquisition in the
CIS 1-D sensor array. The CMOS sensing module acquires data from a
2-D array and outputs the data as a 1-D vector set for
processing.
[0039] Signals from the sensing module are communicated directly to
the FPGA. In one example, the communication method is via a digital
I/O connection. The signals from module are selected from the group
consisting of voltage vs. time, binary values and gray scale values
within a range of gray scale values. If the signal is a series of
gray scale values, the FPGA or a separate logic device converts the
gray scale values to binary values. In another example, the output
from the sensing array is a series of binary values and no
additional conversion is necessary prior to the FPGA or other
comparable hardware component receiving the signals.
[0040] The microcontroller obtains information from the FPGA or
ASIC circuit and determines game results, using game rules
contained within the game control module, the output from the FPGA
and information stored in the card ID module. The game results are
sent via a network connection of the logic module to a casino
network. A preferred form of communication is UDP, because the
information can be broadcasted. In a preferred form of the
invention, the card identification module forwards card rank and or
suit information, as well as game results to a network, such as a
pre-existing casino network.
[0041] The hardware component of the system is capable of receiving
signals from the line imager and card position sensor, wherein the
hardware component forms a vector set from the output from the
imager and card position sensor, and compares the vector set to
known reference vector sets to determine rank and suit of a card. A
preferred form of the hardware component is a FPGA, and acquired
data from the sensor is compared to stored data within the FPGA to
determine rank and or suit. Stored data and acquired data may be in
the form of vector sets. The output signal from the card rank and
or suit sensor can be at least one of voltage vs. time, binary data
and gray scale data.
[0042] In one form of the invention, the player display is a
computer monitor. The monitor receives signals from the associated
computer and displays broadcasted game-related information that is
sensed by the display computer. In another form of the invention,
the game data is also captured in a network database so that the
data can be mined on command.
[0043] A related invention is a method for controlling the game of
baccarat. The method includes the step of dealing cards from a card
dispensing shoe capable of reading card rank and suit of cards as
cards are being dealt, providing instructions to a dealer according
to the rules of baccarat; and broadcasting game information over a
network.
[0044] The method also includes providing a visual player display,
and displaying game information in response to data broadcasted
over the network.
[0045] On one form of the invention, rank and suit reading is
accomplished by means of a CIS module. The visual display is
capable of displaying at least one of historical player wins,
banker wins and ties, player cards, banker cards, player hand count
and banker hand count. This information is displayed on a real-time
basis or in response to a signal from a user control
[0046] The microprocessor contains information relating to the
rules of baccarat. Those rules include at least the following: a
determination of when a player hand and or a banker hand requires
an additional card, computation of the cumulative rank of each hand
and an identification of a winning hand.
[0047] Preferred card rank and or suit sensors of the present
invention enable reading of different types and styles of card
images without the need to realign or retrain the CIS array (by
using column sums of selected indices of signals, and the known
location of symbols (on the cards as they move over the CIS
array)). Once the CIS array is trained to recognize locations, suit
and rank, location information can be derived from acquired signals
such that any brand of cards with rank and suit printings can
easily be recognized by the device. Also card types that position
the rank/suit information in a different area of the card are also
recognized, as long as the new area is still within the boundaries
of the CIS sensing array.
[0048] The position and/or motion sensor of the CIS module can take
many forms. Examples of suitable sensors include an optical sensor,
an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, an
eddy current sensor and a microwave sensor.
[0049] Alternatively, the card present scanner can be used as a
trigger to energize a card moving mechanism (if present) to move
the card a specified distance or at a specified rate for a
specified time so that the line scanning can be repeated on a
different predetermined portion of the image. Communication with a
hardware device such as a FPGA is typically through a digital I/O
port, but can be via hard wire, a wireless connection a network
connection or other known means of communication.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0050] FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a baccarat control system of
the present invention.
[0051] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an exemplary non-mechanized
dealing shoe having card reading capability.
[0052] FIG. 3 is a side elevational cutaway view of a mechanized
dealing shoe according to the present invention.
[0053] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an alternative mechanized
dealing shoe of the present invention.
[0054] FIG. 5 is a top plan cross-sectional view of a mechanized
shoe of the present invention.
[0055] FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the logic circuit of the
present invention.
[0056] FIG. 7 is an example of information displayed on an
exemplary player display board.
[0057] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the area of a card scanned by
the sensor.
[0058] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing error correction.
[0059] FIG. 10 is a data collection system incorporating a Baccarat
monitoring system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0060] The present invention is a unique system for monitoring the
play of baccarat. In its broadest aspect, as shown in FIG. 1, a
baccarat control system comprises a card delivery shoe 10 located
on a baccarat table 20 with a number of components that enable card
reading, the general administration of the game, and the
transmission of data onto a network 12. A separate computer 14 and
associated player display 16 monitors data broadcasted on the
network and displays game-related data on the display in response
to the broadcasting of information. This computer 14 may also be
integrated into the display 16 itself. A dealer 18 can move the
shoe 10 from player to player.
[0061] The system of the present invention is used in connection
with a standard baccarat table 20. The card-reading shoe 10 is
network enabled, and the player display 16 with associated computer
14 is also network enabled. Although the display 16 and associated
computer 14 are shown as separate components, the present invention
contemplates the use of an electronic monitor with an on-board
processor. Information derived from the shoe 10 is broadcasted over
a casino network 12, and the display computer 14 is capable of
receiving signals broadcasted over the casino network. In response
to the receipt of signals, the display computer 14 sends
instructions to the display 16 to display game related
information.
Simple Non-Mechanical Shoe
[0062] The delivery shoe structure can be simple, that is lacking
mechanical card-movement mechanism. One such shoe 30 is shown in
perspective in FIG. 2 and includes: a housing 32 for holding cards
to be dealt, an output opening 34 for removal of cards from the
housing; and a rank and or suit sensor (not shown) located
proximate the output opening. The shoe 30 is preferably low profile
and light weight such that the banker/dealer can pass the shoe from
player to player on the table. The shoe preferably has a declining
lower surface (a front edge shown in phantom as element 36) and a
sliding weight 38 that travels along the declining surface to keep
cards 40 wedged against a rear surface of the front wall 42
containing the output opening 34. A front surface of the weight 36
is angled forwardly to provide maximum force to the cards 40.
[0063] On in interior of the shoe 30 is a logic circuit (not shown)
which will be described in greater detail below. The shoe has
on/off function buttons 44, 46 and a dealer viewable display 48.
The shoe 30 also has a pair of display lights 50, 52 for indicating
aspects of play of the game and a power on/off switch. In the
illustrated example, the on/off buttons 44 and 46 as well as the
dealer viewable display 48 are mounted on a protruding section 50
of the housing of the shoe. The logic circuit (not shown) is in
communication with the card rank/suit sensing device (not shown)
and the casino network (not shown).
Mechanized Dealing Shoe
[0064] There are a number of independent and/or alternative
characteristics of a mechanical delivery shoe that are believed to
be unique in a device that does not shuffle, sort, order or
randomize playing cards. [0065] 1) Shuffled cards are inserted into
the shoe for dealing and are mechanically moved through the shoe
but not necessarily mechanically removed from the shoe. [0066] 2)
The shoe may optionally mechanically feed the cards (one at a time)
to a buffer area where one, two or more cards may be stored after
removal from a card input area (before or after reading of the
cards) and before delivery to a dealer accessible opening from
which cards may be manually removed. [0067] 3) An intermediate
number of cards are positioned in a buffer zone between the input
area and the removal area to increase the overall speed of card
feeding with rank and/or suit reading and/or scanning to the
dealer. [0068] 4) Sensors indicate when the dealer accessible card
delivery area is empty and cards are automatically fed from the
buffer zone (and read then or earlier) one-at-a-time. [0069] 5)
Cards are fed into the dealer shoe as a vertical stack of face-down
cards, mechanically transmitted approximately horizontally, read,
and driven into a delivery area where cards can be manually
removed. [0070] 6) Sensors detect when a card has been moved into a
card reading area.
[0071] Signal sensors can be used to activate the card reading
components (e.g., the camera and even associate lights) so that the
normal symbols on the card can be accurately read.
[0072] In one embodiment of the invention, a mechanized shoe as
shown in FIG. 3 is used to dispense cards on the table. The
mechanized shoe comprises: a) an area 104 for receiving a first set
of pre-shuffled playing cards useful in the play of the casino
table card game of at least one of blackjack or baccarat, b) a
first card mover 110 that moves playing cards from the first set to
a playing card staging area 134 wherein at least one playing card
is staged in an order by which playing cards are removed from the
first set of and moved to the playing card staging area, c) a
second playing card mover 137 comprising a first roller set 124 and
a second roller set 125 that moves playing cards from the playing
card staging area 134 to a delivery area 146 wherein playing cards
removed from the staging area to the delivery area 146 are moved in
the same order by which playing cards were removed from the first
set of playing cards and moved to the playing card staging area
134; and d) a playing card rank and or suit reading sensor 138 that
reads at least one playing card value of each playing card
separately, wherein the associated logic module (not shown)
contains a network connection and broadcasts data over a network. A
preferred network is the a pre-existing casino system network but a
network for managing the transmission of pit data only could be
alternatively used.
[0073] The exemplary mechanized dealing shoe provides additional
functions without greatly increasing the space on the casino table
top used by a conventional, simple dealing shoe. The detailed
construction of an exemplary mechanized shoe can be found in
co-pending applications Ser. No. 10/622,321, filed Jul. 17, 2003,
in application Ser. No. 10/915,914 filed Aug. 10, 2004 and
application Ser. No. 10/958,209 filed Oct. 4, 2004. The content of
these three applications is hereby incorporated by reference in
their entirety.
[0074] The shoe provides cards securely to a delivery area and can
read the cards in one or more various positions within the shoe,
including, but not exclusively a) as they are withdrawn, b) before
they are actually nested in the card delivery area, or c) when they
are first nested in the card delivery area. The card reading
information is either stored locally or transferred to a central
computer for storage and/or evaluation. The cards according to this
embodiment may be, but are not required to be mechanically
transferred from a point of entry into the dealing shoe to the card
delivery area, with a buffer area in the path where at least some
cards are actually held for a period of time. The cards are
preferably read before they are delivered into the card delivery
area.
[0075] Reference to FIG. 3 will help in an appreciation of the
nature and structure of one embodiment of a mechanized card
delivery shoe of the invention that is within the generic practice
of the claims and enables practice of the claims in this
application. FIG. 1 shows a card delivery shoe 102 according to the
present invention. The card delivery shoe 102 has a card infeed or
card input area 104 that is between a belt driving motor 106 and
the rear panel 112 of the card delivery shoe 102. The belt driving
motor 106 drives a belt 108 that engages pick off rollers 110.
These pick off rollers 110 pick off and move individual cards from
within the card infeed area 104. A belt driving motor 106 is shown
but other motor types such as gear drives, axel drives, magnetic
drives and the like may be alternatively used. The pick off rollers
110 drive individual playing cards (not shown) into gap 114 having
a deflector plate 115 to direct cards individually through the gap
114 to engage brake rollers 116. The brake rollers 116 control the
movement of individual cards past the rear panel 112 and into the
card staging area 134. The braking rollers 116 are capable of
becoming free-turning rollers during a card jam recovery process so
that little or no tension is placed on a card as it is being moved
by the system or manually to free a jam. A simple gear release or
clutch release can affect this function.
[0076] Speed up rollers 117 apply tension to a card to move it more
deeply into the card staging area 134. The speed up rollers can and
may turn faster then the braking rollers 116, and the speed up
rollers 117 may be driven by a separate motor 119 and belt drive
121. A card path and direction of movement A is shown through the
card storage area 134. As individual cards are passed along the
card path A through the card storage area 134, there are card
presence sensors 118, 120, and 122 located at various intervals and
positions to detect the presence of cards to assure passage of
cards and/or to detect stalled or jammed cards. The path A through
the card storage area 134 is in part defined by speed-up rollers
117 or rear guide rollers 124 and forward guide rollers 126 which
follow the brake rollers 16 and the speed up rollers 17. One form
of a buffer area 148 is established by the storing of cards along
card path A. As cards are withdrawn from the delivery end 136 of
the delivery shoe 102, additional cards are fed from the buffer
area 148 into the card feed chute 146 into the delivery end
136.
[0077] It is always possible for cards to jam, misalign or stick
during internal movement of cards through the dealing shoe. There
are a number of mechanisms that can be used to effect jam recovery.
The jam recovery may be based upon an identified (sensed) position
of jam or may be an automated sequence of events. Where a card jam
recovery is specifically identified by the sensed position of a
jammed card in the device (and even the number of cards jammed may
be estimated by the dimensions of the sensed image), a jam recovery
procedure may be initiated at that specific location. A specific
location in FIG. 3 within the dealing shoe (e.g., between and
inclusive of rollers 116 and 117 will be discussed from an
exemplary perspective, but the discussion relates to all other
positions within the device.
[0078] If a card is sensed (e.g., by sensors 118 and/or 120) as
jammed between rollers 116 and 117 (e.g., a jam occurs when cards
will not move out of the position between the rollers and cards
refuse to be fed into that area), one of a various number of
procedures may be initiated to recover or remove the jam. Among the
various procedures that are discussed by way of non-limiting
examples include at least the following. The rear-most set of
rollers (116 and 116a) may reverse direction (e.g., 116 begins to
turn clockwise and 116a begins to turn counterclockwise) to remove
the jammed card from between the rollers (16 and 16a) and have the
card extend backwards into the space 114, without attempting to
reinsert a card into the stacking area 104. The reversed rotation
may be limited to assure that the card remains in contact with the
rollers 116 and 116a, so that the card can be moved back into
progression through the dealing shoe. An optional part of this
reversal can include allowing rollers 117 and 117a to become free
rolling to release contact and tension on the card during the
reversal. The reversed rotation may be smoothly run or episodic,
attempting to jerk a jammed card from its jam position. If that
procedure does not work or as an alternative procedure, both sets
of rollers 116 and 117 may reverse at the same time or in either
sequence (e.g., 116 first or 117 first) to attempt to free the jam
of a card. When one set of rollers only is turning, it is likely to
be desirable to have the other set of rollers in the area of the
jam to become free rolling. It is also possible to have the rollers
automatically spaced further apart (e.g., by separating roller
pairs to increase the gap in the potential nip between rollers) to
relieve tension on a card and to facilitate its recovery from a
jam. The adjacent pairs of rollers (e.g., 116, 116a and 117, 117a)
can act in coordination, in sequence, in tandem, in order,
independently or in any predefined manner. For example, referring
to the roller sets as 116 and 117, the recovery process may have
the rollers act as a) (116-117) at the same time in the same
direction), b) (116-117) at the same time in the opposite
directions to assist in straightening out cards, c) (116 then 117)
to have the rollers work sequentially, d) (117 then 116) to have
the rollers work in a different sequence, e) 116 only for an
extended time, and then 117 operating alone or together with 116,
f) 117 only for an extended time or extended number of individual
attempts and then 116 for a prescribed time, etc. As noted earlier,
a non-active roller (one that is not attempting to drive or align
cards) may become free-rolling during operation of another
roller.
[0079] These various actions may be performed at a single jam
location in series or only a single program for jam recovery may be
affected. In addition, as the card may have been read at the point
of the jam or before the jam, the rank and value of the card jammed
may be identified and this can be displayed on the display panel on
the dealing shoe, on the central computer or on a shuffler
connected to the dealing shoe, and the dealer or pit boss may
examine that specific card to make certain that no markings or
damage has occurred on that card which could either cause further
problems with the dealing shoe or shuffler or could enable the card
to be identified when it is in the dealing position in the shoe at
a later time. The casino pit employee can then correct any problem
by replacement of that specific card, which would minimize down
time at the card table. Also, if a jam cannot be recovered, the
delivery shoe would indicate a jam recovery failure (e.g., by a
special light or alphanumeric display) and the pit employee would
open the device and remove the jam manually.
[0080] Individual playing cards (not shown) in one embodiment may
be read at one or more various locations within the card delivery
shoe 102. The ability to provide redundant reading at multiple read
locations assures performance of the shoe, while other card
delivery trays with read capability usually have a single reading
position at the point where and when cards were removed from the
shoe for delivery to players. For example, in the construction
shown in FIG. 3, the card presence sensors 118, 120 and 122 may
also have card rank and suit reading capabilities, and other card
reading sensors may be present as elements 132, 140 and 142.
Element 138 may be optionally present as another sensing element or
a card value (and possibly suit) reading element without the
presence of sensor 122 or in combination with sensor 122. When the
sensor 138 functions as a card reading element, cards can be read
the cards as they are positioned into the car pre-delivery area or
card buffer area 137, rather then as the cards are removed from the
card delivery end 136.
[0081] Information may be read by the card reading sensor 138 by
either continuous reading of all image data in the card
pre-delivery area or by triggered on-off CIS line imaging of data
in a specific region of cards 139 as a card 141 is within the
pre-delivery area 137. For example, card presence sensor 122 may
activate sensor 138. This sensor is preferably a CIS sensing array
including an optical position sensor, a logic board and a FPGA.
Alternately, the sensor can be a camera. A light source (not shown)
may be provided to enhance the signal to the sensor 138. That
specific region of cards is preferably a corner of the card 141
wherein complete value information (and possibly suit information)
is readable on the card, such as a corner with value and suit
ranging symbols on the card. That region could also be the entire
face of the card, or at least 1/2 of the card (lengthwise divided).
By increasing the area of the region read more processing and
memory is required, but accuracy is also increased. Accuracy could
also be increased, by reading the upper right hand corner of the
card and lower left hand corner, since both of those locations
contain the rank and suit of the card.
[0082] By reading the same rank and suit information on two
locations on the card, errors due to defects or dirt on the card
can be circumvented. By using position triggers and single line
imaging of each card 141, the data flow from the sensor/card
reading element 138 is minimized and the need for larger memory and
data transmission capability is reduced in the system. Information
may be transferred from the logic control circuit (explained below)
from a communication port or wire 144. Cards may be buffered or
staged at various points within the dealing shoe 102, such as where
restrained by rollers 126 so that cards partially extend towards
the chute 146 past the rollers 128 on plate 143, or staged between
rollers 124 and 126, between rollers 117 and 124, between rollers
116 and 117 and the like. Cards may partially overlap in buffering
as long as two or more cards are not present between a single set
of nip rollers (e.g., 126 and 127) where nip forces may drive both
cards forward at the same time.
[0083] Other variations are available and within the skill of the
artisan. For example, rear panel 112 may include a display panel
thereon for displaying information or data, particularly to the
dealer (which information would be shielded from players as the
rear panel 112 would primarily face the dealer and be shielded from
players' view). A more ergonomic and aesthetic rear surface 150 is
shown having a display 152 that is capably of providing
alphanumerics (letters and numbers) or analog or digital images of
shapes and figures in black-and-white or color. For example, the
display may give messages as to the state of the shoe, time to
number of cards dealt, the number of deals left before a cut card
or virtual cut card is reached (e.g., the dealing shoe identifies
that two decks are present, makes a virtual cut at 60 cards, and
based on data input of the number of players at the table,
identifies when the next deal will be the last deal with the cards
in the shoe), identify any problems with the shoe (e.g., low power,
card jam, where a card is jammed, misalignment of cards by rollers,
and failed element such as a sensor), player hands, card rank/suit
dispensed, and the like. Also on the rear surface 150 are two
lights 154 and 156, which are used to show that the shoe is ready
for dealing (e.g., 154 is a green light) or that there is a problem
with the dealing capability of the shoe (e.g., 156 is a red
light).
[0084] There are significant technical and ergonomic advantages to
the present structure. By having the card infeed area 104 provide
the cards in at least a relatively vertical stack (e.g., with less
then a 60.degree. slope of the edges of the cards away from
horizontal), length of the delivery shoe 102 is reduced to enable
the motor driven delivery and reading capability of the shoe in a
moderate space. No other card delivery shoes are known to combine
vertical card infeed, horizontal (or approximately horizontal
.+-.40.degree. slope or .+-.30.degree. slope away from horizontal)
card movement from the infeed area to the delivery area, with
mechanized delivery between infeed and delivery. The motor drive
feed from the vertical infeed also reduces the need for dealers to
have to jiggle the card tray to keep cards from jamming, slipping
to undesirable angles on the chutes, and otherwise having to
manually adjust the infeed cards, which can lead to card spillage
or exposure as well as delaying the game.
[0085] FIG. 4 shows an alternate embodiment for internal card
buffering and card moving elements of the card delivery shoe 200. A
card infeed area 202 is provided for cards 204 that sit between
walls 211 and 212 on elevator or stationary plate 206 which moves
vertically along path B. A pick-off roller 208 drives cards
one-at-a-time from the bottom of the stack of cards 204 through
opening 210 that is spaced to allow only one card at a time to pass
through the hole 210. The individual cards are fed into the nip
area 214 of the first speed control or guide rollers 216 and then
into the second set of speed control or guide rollers 218. The
cards (one-at-a-time) passing through rollers 218 are shown to
deflect against plate 220 so that cards flare up as they pass into
opening 222 and will overlay any cards (not shown) in card buffer
area 224. A second pick-off roller is shown within the buffer area
224 to drive cards one-at-a-time through opening 228. The
individual cards are again deflected by a plate 230 to pass into
guide rollers 232 that propels the cards into the delivery area
(not shown) similar to the delivery area 136 in FIG. 1. Card
reading elements may be positioned at any convenient point within
the card delivery element 200 shown in FIG. 2, with card reading
elements 234 and 236 shown as exemplary convenient locations.
[0086] FIG. 5 shows a top cutaway view of the mechanized dealing
shoe 300 of an embodiment of the present invention. A flip up door
302 allows cards to be manually inserted into the card input area
304. The sets of pick-off rollers 308 and 310 are shown in the card
input area 304. The position of the sensors 318a and 318b and 320a
and 320b are shown outwardly from the sets of five brake rollers
316 and five speed up rollers 317. The sensors are shown in sets of
two sensors, which is an optional construction and single sensors
may be used. The dual set of sensors (as in 320a and 320b) are
provided with the outermost sensor 320b providing simply sensing
card presence ability and the inner innermost sensor 320a reads the
presence of card to trigger the operation of the camera card
reading sensor 338 that reads at least value, and optionally rank,
and suit of cards. The sensor 320a alternatively may be a single
sensor used as a trigger to time the image sensing or card reading
performed by a card sensing system of the present invention or
alternatively a camera 338 as well as sensing the presence of a
card. An LED light panel 343 or other light providing system is
shown present as a clearly optional feature. A sensor 346 at the
card removal end 336 of the shoe 300 is provided. The finger slot
360 is shown at the card delivery area 336 of the shoe 300. The
lowest portion 362 of the finger slot 360 is narrower then the top
portion 364 of the finger slot. The walls 366 may also be sloped
inwardly to the shoe and outwardly towards the opening 360 to
provide an ergonomic feature to the finger slot 360.
Logic Control Circuit
[0087] As shown in FIG. 6, the delivery shoe (whether simple or
mechanized) includes at least one control module 400. A mechanized
shoe may include a first logic module (not shown) for controlling
the operation of the belts, motors, rollers and jam detection
equipment and the second logic module 400 that controls card rank
and/or suit data acquisition and the transmission of related
signals. In other embodiments, the functions of managing the card
movement components and managing the acquisition, interpretation
and transmission of game information is handled in a single
controller 400.
[0088] A system includes a simple card sensing shoe is a preferred
form of the invention. In this type of system, only the control
module 400 that controls the process of collecting and interpreting
card rank and/or suit information, game logic, and transmission of
data if needed, since there are no other moving parts to monitor
and/or manage. A preferred control module 400 as shown in FIG. 6
includes a sensing module 402 and a logic module 418. The logic
module 418 comprises a microprocessor having a card identification
module 404, a game control module 414 and a configuration module
416. The logic module has a hardware component 406 capable of
interpreting signals from the card rank and/or suit sensing module
402. The logic module 418 also has a network communication port 420
so that game data can be transmitted over a network. In one example
of the invention, data from the logic module 418 is broadcasted
continuously over a casino network. In another form of the
invention, packets of data are sent either as the data is generated
or on demand. The logic module 418 also comprises a configuration
module 416. This module is capable of being reconfigured from a
remote location.
[0089] The sensing module 402 is comprised of a CIS sensing array
410 and a position and/or movement sensor 408. The function of the
sensing module 402 and logic module 418 are described in more
detail below.
[0090] In a preferred embodiment, a card rank and or suit sensor
410 that is capable of sending signals to the hardware component
406 is also an essential element of the system. Preferably this
sensor is located within the card dispensing shoe. The hardware
component 406 generates a signal representative of rank and/or suit
and this information is sent to the card ID module 404.
[0091] The game control module 414 contains information relating to
the rules of baccarat. Those rules include at least the following:
a determination of when a player hand and or a banker hand requires
an additional card, computation of the cumulative rank of each hand
and an identification of a winning hand.
[0092] There are preferably three software modules that reside on
the microcontroller 804, they are: [0093] The Card-ID module 404
that reads the output of the FPGA 406 and transmits or saves the
data as appropriate per game rules. [0094] The game control module
414 that can have the capability of determining the hands, the
total hand count, whether an additional card should be dealt and
determining the outcome of each round. This information is sent out
from the logic module 400 as the shoe output 420 via the TCP/IP
communication port or by means of serial port, Zigbee or other
communication method. [0095] The Configuration module 416 is
provided preferably with imbedded web server software (not shown)
that gives the user the capability to change the configuration of
the Baccarat Hand Reconstruction module, as well as options for the
shoe remotely through a web browser.
[0096] Communication between the CIS module 410 and logic module
418 in one form of the invention is via a digital I/O port. In
other forms of the invention, data is communicated via hard wire,
via wireless connection, via network connection or any other known
communication method
Player Display
[0097] A player display 500 is also an element of the present
system. This display shows the name of the game 501 and other
information of interest to the player, such as an historical
account of player wins 502, banker wins 504 and ties 506, the top
tally 508 being the newest information and the bottom tally 510
being the oldest displayed information. Preferably, historical
information scrolls down the screen as new information is added.
The logic module (FIG. 6) includes memory (not shown) which can
retain a finite amount of historical game information. If more
comprehensive historical data is needed, the output from the logic
module 400 can be sent to a database on the network.
[0098] The player cards 512, 514 and banker cards 516, 518 and the
count 520, 522 of the player and banker hands may be displayed.
This information can be displayed as the data is collected, or on a
time delayed basis.
[0099] Referring back to FIG. 1, a computer 14 associated with the
player display 16 is provided. The computer has a network
communication port, and when information is broadcasted over the
network from the logic module 418 of the card delivery shoe 10, the
computer reads the information, which in turn causes the reader
board to display the broadcasted information.
Card Rank and Suit Reading
[0100] Referring back to FIG. 4, the card rank and suit sensing
module preferably includes a CIS line scanning module containing a
CIS line scanning array 410 and an optical position and/or motion
sensor 408. CIS line scanners are CMOS sensors, but read in 1-D
rather than in 2-D. Information from this module is inputted into a
hardware component 406 such as a FPGA or ASIC logic circuit. Stored
information in the logic circuit is compared to acquired
information and a cross correlation algorithm is used to determine
rank and suit. The CIS module preferably provides multiple spaced
line scans of each of the playing card symbols. The position and/or
motion sensor 408 triggers the data acquisition in the CIS 1-D
sensor array 410.
[0101] In another form of the invention, the scanning module
contains a 2-D CMOS sensing array. The output of the 2-D sensing
array is converted into a vector set and is processed in much the
same manner as the CIS array output.
[0102] Signals from the CIS module 402 are communicated to the FPGA
406. In one example, the communication method is via a digital I/O
connection. The signals from module are selected from the group
consisting of voltage vs. time, binary values and gray scale values
within a range of gray scale values. If the signal is a series of
gray scale values, the FPGA or a separate logic device converts the
gray scale values to binary values. In another example, the output
from the CIS array is a series of binary values and no additional
conversion is necessary prior to the FPGA or other comparable
hardware component receiving the signals.
[0103] The game control module 414 determines game results, using
game rules contained within the game control module 414, the output
from the FPGA 406 and information stored in the card ID module 404.
The game results are sent via a network connection of the logic
module to a casino network. A preferred form of communication is
UDP, because the information can be broadcasted. In a preferred
form of the invention, the control module 400 broadcasts card rank
and or suit information, as well as game results to a network.
[0104] The hardware component 406 of the system is capable of
receiving signals from the line imager 410 and card position sensor
408, wherein the hardware component forms a vector set from the
output from the imager and card position sensor, and compares the
vector set to known reference vector sets to determine rank and
suit of a card. A preferred form of the hardware component 406 is a
FPGA, and acquired data from the sensor is compared to stored data
within the FPGA to determine rank and or suit. Stored data and
acquired data may be in the form of vector sets. The output signal
from the card rank and or suit sensor can be at least one of
voltage vs. time, binary data and gray scale data.
[0105] In one form of the invention, the player display 16 is a
computer monitor. The monitor receives signals from the associated
computer 14 and displays broadcasted game-related information that
is sensed by the display computer.
[0106] A related invention is a method for controlling the game of
baccarat. The method includes the step of dealing cards from a card
dispensing shoe capable of reading card rank and suit of cards as
cards are being dealt, providing instructions to a dealer according
to the rules of baccarat; and broadcasting game information over a
network. The method also includes providing a visual player
display, and displaying game information in response to data
broadcasted over the network.
[0107] On one form of the invention, rank and suit reading is
accomplished by means of a CIS module. The visual display is
capable of displaying at least one of historical player wins,
banker wins and ties, player cards, banker cards, player hand count
and banker hand count. This information is displayed on a real-time
basis or in response to a signal from a user control Card rank and
or suit sensors of the present invention enable reading of
different types and styles of card images without the need to
realign or retrain the CIS array (by using column sums of selected
indices of signals, and the known location of symbols (on the cards
as they move over the CIS array)). Once the CIS array is trained to
recognize locations, suit and rank, location information can be
derived from acquired signals such that any brand of cards with
rank and suit printings can easily be recognized by the device.
Also card types that position the rank/suit information in a
different area of the card are also recognized, as long as the new
area is still within the boundaries of the CIS sensing array.
[0108] The position and/or motion sensor of the CIS module can take
many forms. Examples of suitable sensors include an optical sensor,
an ultrasonic sensor, a capacitive sensor, an inductive sensor, an
eddy current sensor and a microwave sensor. Alternatively, the card
present scanner can be used as a trigger to energize a card moving
mechanism (if present) to move the card a specified distance or at
a specified rate for a specified time so that the line scanning can
be repeated on a different predetermined portion of the image.
Communication with a hardware device such as a FPGA is typically
through a digital I/O port, but can be via hard wire, a wireless
connection a network connection or other known means of
communication.
[0109] A preferred scanning system employs a unique CIS sensing
array (Contact Image Sensor) line scanning device that includes a
plurality of individual of scanning sensors arranged into a
one-dimensional array and generates an output signal represented as
voltage vs. time (or position). The line scanner is coupled to a
position sensor and the outputs are used to construct a
mathematical vector set that represents the rank or suit of a card.
A unique feature of the present invention is that the outputs from
the line scanner and position sensor are signals that cannot be
used to reconstruct a digital image of rank and suit. Rather, the
signals are more akin to creating a simplified, short hand version
of the image, and require much less memory and computing capacity
to analyze, as compared to extracting data from a two-dimensional
digital image.
[0110] According to one form of the invention, the sensing system
400 of the present invention includes a CIS sensing line scanner
410 that is used to scan a straight line extending across one or
more specified areas of a printed image.
[0111] The CIS line scanner 410 may be any linear image capture
system that can provide data representing a scanned line,
preferably continuous line data, and provide those line data or
images on demand. A preferred system is a contact image sensor or
contact image sensor line scanner (CIS) 410 that is a type of
optical flatbed scanner that collects light reflected off of an
object. One such suitable array can be purchased by ordering model
M106-A8 from CMOS Sensor Inc, 20045 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 1A,
Cupertino, Calif. 95014.
[0112] CIS sensing does not use the traditional CCD arrays that
rely on a system of mirrors and lenses to project the scanned image
onto the arrays. Preferred CIS scanners gather light of a single
wavelength, however color versions are also available. The gathered
light is directed at the original document being scanned. A color
sensitive CIS is not required, as black-and-white images of the
line scans are sufficient to identify card suit and rank. The light
that is reflected from the original is gathered by a lens and
directed at an image sensor array that rests just under the
document being scanned. The sensor then records the line scan
according to the intensity of light that hits the sensor. A CIS
scanner is more compact than a CCD imaging device (a CCD scanner
requires a focal distance between the camera and the object being
imaged) and can be used in smaller products than CCD imaging
technologies. CIS scanners also require less power than CCD imagers
and often can run off battery power or the power from a USB port.
CCD imagers, however, provide higher-resolution signals. It was
initially assumed that such high-resolution scanning is unnecessary
to identify the rank and suit of playing cards with sufficient
accuracy for the purpose of reading cards being dealt into a casino
type card game.
[0113] As shown in FIG. 6, the CIS line scanner 410 resides on a
scanning module 402. The module 402 can be used as a stand-alone
unit on a card table surface, for example, or can be incorporated
into a card handling device such as a card shoe, a card shuffler, a
card sorting or a card/deck/multiple deck verification device.
[0114] The sensor line scanner 410 performs the function of line
sensing (that is, it senses optical density along one line at a
time), and is able to be re-triggered by means of position sensor
408 to read a new line every time the card moves certain distances
or certain periods of time during movement, or at any other basis
of providing intervals (spaced line scans) along the card symbol.
Typically, the spacing between scans is fixed at a certain distance
for all scanning within a group, such as when scanning for card
suit or card rank. Typically, multiple line scans, for example
between five and forty line scans are needed to accurately identify
a suit symbol or a rank symbol. However, the number of scans needed
to accurately identify the particular symbol being scanned must be
determined during the training process, which is described in more
detail below.
[0115] The output voltage of the CIS line scan is a voltage vs.
time (which can be correlated to distance along the line being
scanned) and is converted externally to a string of binary values.
It is possible to binary values rather than color values because
for identification purposes, there is little difference between the
black and red colors of typical playing cards. Because the sensing
system is relying on shape only, the two colors can be converted to
binary values representing 0 for black, and 1 for white. If the
output from the line scanner is a gray scale value, the conversion
from gray scale values to binary values can take place in the
sensor logic board, in an analog to digital converter, on a
separate logic board or within the FPGA hardware component.
[0116] Each gray scale value is an indication of the total optical
density content vs. position on the scanned line. It was discovered
that a simple black and white imaging system (represented by binary
values) provided sufficient resolution to accurately distinguish
between the rank and suit of each card in the deck, since it is
only necessary for the system to detect shapes.
[0117] As an alternative, a color scanning system may be used, but
it is essentially more complex than necessary for determining suit
and rank. Plus, the signals being generated by such a scanning
system would necessarily be more complex and would require more
memory and computing resources to interpret the signals. In the
preferred black and white system, the output of the CIS array would
be converted into a series of numerical values between 0, meaning
black, to 255 meaning white. This conversion can take place in the
hardware component, or in a separate logic circuit (not shown). Any
scanned shade of gray can be represented by a number between 0 and
255.
[0118] A card position sensor 408 is provided to advise the system
of the location of the card relative to the CIS line scanner 410.
The CIS line scanner 410 is activated when the image to be sensed
is positioned proximate the CIS line scanner. After scanning, the
card is then repositioned so that the CIS array can read another
line of the image. In a preferred form of the invention, the CIS
sensing array 410 performs a minimum of two line scans, and more
typically thirty-five scans across specified locations of an area
of the card representing rank and another area representing
suit.
[0119] The output from the CIS array 410 and the output from the
position sensor 408 are inputted into a logic circuit 406 such as a
FPGA or other hardware device. The CIS signals, before input or
after input into the FPGA (depending on the type of position sensor
used) are either converted into a series of binary values or are
converted into a series of vectors representing gray scale values
and the gray scale values are then converted into binary values
(vs. position) in the FPGA, or before the signals reach the FPGA.
If the position sensor 408 and/or the CIS line scanner lacks the
functionality of converting the output voltages from the sensors
into gray scale-information, an additional logic circuit (not
shown) may be provided to perform this function. Alternatively,
this conversion is completed in the FPGA hardware.
[0120] The output signals from both the position sensor 408 and the
CIS line scanner 410 each define a vector set. A vector set
represents a stream of data from multiple line scans. If only one
line scan is sufficient to distinguish between the various suits,
then the vector set is data from one line scan. If multiple line
scans are needed, then the vector set is the data from multiple
scans. These vector sets are combined in the FPGA and converted
into a single vector set (of binary values vs. position) and are
compared to stored vector sets representing known rank and suit
values. The inputted vector sets are combined and then correlated
statistically in the FPGA circuit to determine a rank and suit of
each card. Communication between the various components of the
scanning system in one form of the invention is by means of I/O
interface. However, other forms of communication such as hardwire,
wireless or network communication methods, among other known
methods are contemplated. If the output from the position sensor
and the line scanner is a series of voltages vs. position, a simple
comparator circuit can be used to convert the voltages into binary
values prior to input into the FPGA.
[0121] The proposed system scans lines within a designated area of
the card face containing the symbols. As shown in FIG. 8, an area
bounded by the coordinate lines X and Y is an example of an area of
the card to be scanned.
[0122] According to the invention, a card position sensor 408 is
provided to provide an output corresponding to the card position.
The type of signal outputted depends upon the selection of the
position sensor. In one example, another CIS sensor is provided to
detect card position, and the output of this sensor is also a
voltage vs. time (or position along the scanned line). This output
signal is also a vector set.
[0123] The CIS line sensor 410 and the position sensor 408 may
output two vector signals to a hardware component, which in one
form of the invention is a field programmable gated array or FPGA.
The image data (line scan) that is captured by the CIS, and 2) a
position vector captured by the optical position sensor are
inputted into the hardware component. In the FPGA, the two vectors
(position and line scan data) are combined to form a vector set
representative of card rank, and another two vector sets are
combined to form a vector set representative of card suit. The
voltage component of each combined signal is converted in into
binary code.(i.e. a value of 1 or 0) either inside or outside the
FPGA. If the binary conversion takes place outside of the FPGA, a
device such as a comparator circuit can make the conversion. The
resulting sensed, combined vector sets are compared with stored
vector sets (representing known rank and suit) and the values are
correlated to identify the rank and suit of the card.
[0124] A more direct type of signal processing is using a line
sensor and position sensor that produces voltage vs. time output.
But with other types of sensors, the outputs are gray scale values
that must in turn be converted to binary values. The binary
conversion from gray scale utilizes a threshold value so components
of gray scale signal are converted to a 1 or a 0. Typically that
threshold value is midrange value of the signal or 128. For
instance, a number 10 is easily considered black, while a number of
220 are easily interpreted as white. The black values are
reassigned a value of 0, and the white values are reassigned a
value of 1.
[0125] In order to recognize each scanned rank and suit values, the
system must first be trained or hardwired to recognize standard
card rank and suit symbols. To accomplish this, a single vector set
for each rank (A, K, Q, J, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2) and a vector
set for each suit (Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds and Spades) is generated
and saved (e.g., a known vector set is saved for each symbol) by
acquiring a set of signals during a training phase, or by
hardwiring the system based upon a known set of card symbols or
using a large tolerance hardwiring for a range of symbols. The
signals acquired during training undergo the same binary conversion
and are stored. During the training phase, the determination of the
number of scans necessary to accurately identify the shape must be
made. This step is largely determined by the size and shape of the
object being scanned. It was determined that for rank and suit
values of a size typical of playing cards, a minimum of five scans,
and a maximum of forty scans, and typically approximately
thirty-five line scans per character produced the most reliable
rank and suit reference vector sets. However, the number of scans
is a function of the size, shape and color variation (if any) that
is being scanned.
[0126] During the identification process, the assembly of a sensed
vector set begins when a triggering signal is received from the
position sensor 408. This unknown vector set, as indicated above,
may be comprised of a single set of values (binary or gray scale)
or a group of sets of values from multiple spaced scan lines. The
triggering signal can take on many forms. The triggering mechanism
can be an object position sensor, an edge sensor (indicating that a
first leading edge of a playing card has passed over an optical or
motion sensor), a motion sensor indicating movement of a playing
card, a distance sensor, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, a
CIS sensor indicating the presence of optical density other than
white (e.g., a card sensor), a mechanical encoded wheel, mirror and
laser arrangements, and the like.
[0127] Upon initial triggering of the spaced scan line sensor, the
scanning may continue on a timed, measured distance or sensed
distance (e.g., distance or speed of movement of the card, degree
of variation in the signal from the line sensor, etc.) basis. To
compensate for any motion of the card taking place during a scan, a
fast scan time is used such as 1/1000 of a second or less. In the
preferred and most simplified system, the card scanning system is
incorporated into a card reading shoe, and all cards are drawn by
dealer manually, so the speed of each drawn card varies with every
scan, and the cards are being scanned while they are being
withdrawn from the shoe. A position sensing device would therefore
be more appropriate, rather than a timed sensor.
[0128] If automated card movement is provided, as by feeding
individual cards past the sensor at a specified rate prior to
manual removal, timed triggering, angular motion sensing, motion
sensors or multiple position sensors may be more appropriate.
[0129] According to an aspect of the invention, a comparison of
scanned vector sets with known vector sets is accomplished by means
of performing a statistical correlation function. The purpose of
the correlation is to compare each unknown vector set with each
known vector set to determine which data sets are most highly
correlated. The sets with the highest correlation values are
considered matches.
[0130] The following equation is used to correlate an unknown
vector set or signal A with known vector set B: A B A A B B ( 1 )
##EQU1##
[0131] Obviously this is a complex operation requiring significant
computational power. However, when the vector sets are reduced to
binary signals as constrained as described, the correlation reduces
to a simple binary operation AND summation of the result over the
entire vector. It can be shown mathematically that for the 2D case
of shifting the template (i.e. vector set) over a 2D matrix
containing an image of the image to be identified, this concept can
be transferred to a 1D vector by shifting the order of the vector.
If the vector set is a number of binary values, the denominator of
this equation is equal to one, and the numerator is simply a binary
operation and summation of the results.
[0132] An important aspect of the invention is in the accurate
matching of unknown vector sets with known reference vector sets,
even when there is variation in the positioning of the cards during
a scan. One card may be in the correct position during a scan, but
the next card might be positioned at an angle with respect to the
line scanner. A correlation method was developed that addresses
this problem. According to the method, a series of `correlators` is
generated in the FPGA that correlates each suit with the unknown
vector either sequentially, or preferably concurrently. The FPGA
performs the same function separately with vectors representing
rank. After the correlation computation has been completed, the
unknown vector is then shifted and a new series of correlation
computations are performed. (The term "shifted" means that the top
number pair of the series of values that constitutes the entire
vector (each being a zero or a 1) is removed from the top of the
vector and placed at the bottom of the vector, changing the order
of the number pairs in the vector.) For example, a simple vector
might be the following order pairs: TABLE-US-00001 0, 0 0, 1 1, 1
1, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0, 0 0, 1
[0133] By shifting the top pair to the bottom, the vector becomes:
TABLE-US-00002 0, 1 1, 1 1, 1 1, 0 1, 0 0, 0 0, 1 0, 0
[0134] This process is continued over a wide range of shifts,
preferably a number corresponding to the total number of number
pairs in the signal. The results of the correlations are saved, and
are compared with known values. The maximum correlation value (with
respect to the known vectors) is then used to identify rank and
suit. This process allows the intelligence to recognize images that
are not in the expected location. This process improves the
accuracy of the card identification process and adequately
compensates for slight differences in the positions of the cards
being read.
[0135] According to another aspect of the invention, additional
error corrections have been incorporated into a preferred scanning
system. As shown in FIG. 9, it can be seen in area 502 that a
diamond shape can be fitted into the heart shape, when the suit
symbols are approximately the same size. As a result, the diamond
shape could possibly have been reported as both heart and diamond
by the Card Identification Module. To avoid this type of misread,
the inventor developed an error correction function to compare the
"un-matched" area of the shapes. The error correction function is
defined by the following equation:
.SIGMA..SIGMA.A*B-.SIGMA..SIGMA.A'*B (2) Where A is the unknown
binary vector set and B is the known binary vector set. By using
the technique, the device is able to detect the unmatched area
shown in cross-hatching 502 in FIG. 9, and therefore identifies the
correct shape. The term A' is simply the negative inverse of A. In
FIG. 9, a first vector set is formed for the area bounded by the
diamond shape, and a second vector set is formed for the area
representing the heart, less the diamond shape. This error
detection method distinguishes completely between ranks, and the
degree of error is much lower than when reading the entire area
bounded by the heart shape and comparing that area to the area
bounded by the diamond shape.
[0136] The proposed device is preferably implemented using FPGA
technology (rather than using a microprocessor and memory) to
improve the speed of identifying cards. Using a line scanner, a
position scanner and a FPGA rather than a 2D imager and associated
processor and memory dramatically reduces the cost of devices that
identify the rank and suit of cards. Speed is improved because
operations are performed in real time with hardware logic circuits
instead of software running on a processor and being managed by an
event cue. Costs are reduced because there is no longer any need
for complex computational capability. Following a card
identification cycle, the card ID data can be stored locally in
memory associated with the FPGA, may be transmitted to a local
database, or may be sent via a network connection to network
memory.
[0137] One inventive aspect of the present technology is the use of
a series of spaced line scans for reading cards. Previous systems
that read conventional playing cards without special markings or
machine readable codes thereon have basically taken two-dimensional
full images of the rank and suit indicia (e.g., 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7,
8, 9, 10, J, Q, K or A and , , .diamond-solid. or , respectively),
and the entire image was converted into a digital signal and
compared to prerecorded or stored digital signals to determine the
rank and suit. This required significant data collection and
handling and more computing power than should have been needed, and
also could allow for little tolerance in the comparison of images.
It is described herein that only spaced line scans need be used in
detecting suit and rank from scanning of the normal suit and rank
indicators on playing cards. As little as two well positioned line
scans on the suit symbols can theoretically distinguish among the
four suits, and symbols, however a greater number of scans, such as
36 for example can also distinguish among rank and suit with a high
degree of accuracy. Smaller numbers of scans could be used with
card delivery devices that place cards proximate the line scanner
with greater accuracy.
[0138] Typically, cards are scanned from left to right, with the
rank (top) and suit (below the CIS scanner and other attributes
used to determine suit and or rank. For identifying more complex
images, it may be desirable to line scan in two directions, such as
along an X and Y axis.
[0139] By determining the attributes of the line scans in the
sequence in which they are taken from the playing cards, the suit
and rank can be readily determined with less computing power or
without any traditional computing power (including for example the
use of a processor and associated memory). The additional scanner
might be needed to distinguish suits on special cards, for
example.
[0140] The number of line scans needed to accurately distinguish
between images depends upon the nature of the graphics or images
being scanned. It is therefore feasible in one example of the
invention to provide an accurate reading of suit and rank symbols
with as few as two well-positioned horizontal line scans per image,
(two for rank and two for suit) as compared to having to scan the
entire two-dimensional suit symbol and the entire two-dimensional
rank symbol and compare these large image files with stored image
files. Although a series of spaced line scans may be compared with
a series of stored spaced line scan data sets corresponding to each
distinct suit or rank symbol, the spaced line scans may
alternatively be used for other purposes, such as to provide
signals indicative of the properties or attributes of the
individual line scans, and those properties or attributes may in
turn be used by a number of different processing devices, including
a hardware-based data transformer (e.g., ASIC or FPGA) to transform
the signal to data without using a conventional processor.
[0141] Although the use of a FPGA is one preferred form of hardware
that can be used to determine rank and suit, an ASIC can also be
used. An ASIC is Application-Specific Integrated Circuit, a chip
designed for a particular application. ASIC's are built by
connecting existing circuit building blocks in new ways. Since the
building blocks already exist in a library, it is much easier to
produce a new ASIC than to design a new chip. However, the
quantities needed to justify a manufacturing run of ASIC chips are
large so the use of FPGA's is more desirable. In addition, FPGA's
can be updated in the field, whereas ASIC chips must be
replaced.
[0142] FPGA's are more preferred if the quantities needed for
production are insufficient to instead use an ASIC. FPGA's, or
field programmable gated arrays, are a type of logic chip that can
be configured. The configuration is completed before the device is
installed. An FPGA is similar to a programmable logic device (PLD),
but whereas PLD's are generally limited to hundreds of gates,
FPGA's support thousands or even millions of gates. They are
especially popular for prototyping integrated circuit designs. Once
the design is set, hardwired ASIC chips may be used as an
alternative to FPGA's in order to obtain similar performance at a
lower cost. However, ASIC chip design and manufacturing costs are
high and are only justified when the volume of units needed is
high, for example 250,000 units or more.
[0143] Within the CIS imager, only a portion of the imaging
capacity of the sensing array is needed to collect sufficient data
representing a line scan. For example, a small segment of the total
length of the scanner is all that is needed to perform a line scan,
when a much larger line sensing array is available in the CIS
sensing chip. Using only a portion of the line scanner needed to
read rank and suit reduces the amount of data being collected and
processed.
[0144] In one preferred form of the invention, the position scanner
408 measures the presence of the cards, as well as the position of
the card. Because spaced line scans are used (a spaced line scan is
defined as a set of at least two line scans made upon a single
image wherein there is at least a space between lines scanned that
is at least as wide as the scan width of the line itself, and thus
less than 50% of the symbol area may actually be scanned), the
speed of the card moving across the imaging area may vary
significantly, without having any detrimental effect on the
certainty of the suit and rank identification. Because attributes
or combinations of line qualities in sequence may be used to
determine the suit and rank, the precision of the image position
relative to the scanner is not essential, as when a card may get
slightly skewed by hand movement of the card, different speed, and
rotational action on the cards by a dealer's hand. Variations in
motion, speed and rotational skew of the cards are preferably
accounted for in the FPGA.
[0145] The scanning system of the present invention is compact and
does not require external computing power to ascertain rank and
suit. Because the system is simple, requires little physical space
and a minimal amount of processing capability, the device can be
incorporated into a number of card handling devices, such as a card
shoe with no moving parts, a mechanized card shoe, a card shuffler,
a card sorting and/or ordering device or a scanner built directly
into the playing surface of a casino card table. Wherever a card
can be put into close proximity to the CIS sensing array, the
sensing device of the present invention is useful. A number of
examples of application of the sensing system of the present
invention are presented below.
[0146] One set of individual and/or collective primary purposes of
the reading of suit and rank content of the dealing shoe is to
enable: [0147] 1) The shoe to read the cards, either as being dealt
(as they leave the shoe) and/or as they are fed into the dealing
chamber of the shoe. [0148] 2) Based on fixed rules of Baccarat,
which are simple and readily treated by algorithms and mathematic
formulae, Wins/Losses on each round of play can be determined.
[0149] 3) The information (rank) relating to the cards read by the
dealing shoe is provided to a processor and the value of each hand
is determined. [0150] 4) The Win/Loss information can be used to
display the winning results on a board and to determine
Wins/Losses. [0151] 5) The data from the dealing shoe can
transferred and processed in real time or transferred and analyzed
or processes at a later date.
[0152] A card-reading dealing shoe (either Mechanized or not) for
use with the casino table card games may be integrated with other
components, subcomponents and systems that exist on casino tables
for use with casino table games and card games. Such elements as
bet sensors, progressive jackpot meters, play analysis systems,
wagering analysis systems, player comping systems, player movement
analysis systems, security systems, and the like may be provided in
combination with the baccarat shoe and system described herein.
[0153] Newer formats for providing the electronics and components
may be combined with the baccarat system. For example, new
electronic systems used on tables that provide localized
intelligence to enable local components to function without
absolute command by a central computer are desirable.
[0154] One distinct advantage of the card sensing system of the
present invention is that the system does not require central
processing capability to perform the card identification
function.
[0155] As shown in FIG. 10, the bac system 600 can be incorporated
into a more comprehensive data acquisition system 610 on a gaming
table 612. The gaming table might have additional data acquisition
devices 614, 615 and 616 with their own associated intelligence.
The data acquisition systems 600, 614., 615 and 616 may send data
to middleware 618. The middleware 618 may contain a data pump 620
and data receiver 622. This information may be collected on a
network database 624 where the data can be accessed by a network
computer 626. The middleware 618 as well as the network database
624 hardware and software comprises back end software 628.
[0156] The concept of operative control among processing units
should be appreciated to appreciate the performance of the present
invention as well as to comprehend differences between the practice
of the present invention and conventional processing apparatus used
in the gaming industry. The most important concept is that most
existing systems perform by a single local table processor sending
commands to peripherals to perform specific functions. For purposes
of discussion, the initial main emphasis of the description will be
directed towards the performance of a casino table card game gaming
apparatus. This emphasis is not intended to narrow the scope of the
invention, but is rather intended to simplify the description.
[0157] As can be seen, even where there is some processing
intelligence distributed around a gaming table, the underlying
operation of the system remains a command and response structure,
which both requires high component costs and limits the
extensibility and scalability of the system. A gaming system with
different architectural structure would be desirable if it could
reduce costs and add flexibility to the system and enable ease of
component replacement.
[0158] In one live table game monitoring system, multiple
intelligent data collection modules, each acting as a finite state
machine are each communicatively interconnected with a sensing
device to collect data, date stamp the data and send it to a
central data repository via a network connection. The processing
unit, referred to in this application as a "G-Mod" in one example
of the invention is a microprocessor with associated memory that is
capable of being programmed. In another form, the G-Mod is a hard
wired as a FPGA (field programmable gated array). The G-Mod
performs data acquisition, date stamps and sends sensed data via a
local table network such as a table-specific Ethernet or via a
simple communication channel, Zigbee, mesh network communication,
etc. or by other known means to an external computer via a casino
computer network that contains a database.
[0159] The sensing system of the present invention can be used as a
sensor-G-Mod pair for transmitting data via an Ethernet connection
on a table-based network, directly to casino network storage via a
network connection or to local storage. In contrast to systems that
provide an exclusive main computer to command all or most
individual sensors and peripherals, in the presently described
technology, the G-Mod's detect activity in the sensors and
peripherals. The G-Mod's date stamp and broadcast the information
over a local table Ethernet or communications channel to a central
database. One preferred mode of communication is UDP but others
such as TCP, TCP/IP, RS-485, via databus, etc. are alternate
communication protocols. In a preferred form of the invention, the
G-Mod's broadcast information over a network but do not cause other
G-Mod's to perform operations. Less powerful techniques (as
compared to typical main processor systems used in gaming
apparatus) may be distributed to monitor each peripheral. The use
of these separate intelligences for each peripheral eliminates the
need to reprogram old modules as new modules are added, and allows
the manufacturer to offer customized hardware and software packages
capable of collecting only the information that the casino operator
wants to collect.
[0160] Casino table card games can be provided with a wide variety
of sensors. One such sensor is for detection of a beginning or
final completion of a round of play of a casino table card game.
The sensor is read by the distributed intelligence table
subcomponent (a G-Mod) that has a time/dating capability. The
signal is time/date stamped (referred to herein as "Date Stamping"
or "date stamping" for simplicity. The date stamped data is then
transmitted generally through a communication line to an external
computer that contains database management software and a database
interface. The data can be accessed by programs used to analyze the
data, if needed. The database interface allows casino management to
extract the data in a usable form. The collected data retains its
date stamping at least through storage, analysis, data entry or
other treatment of the data after transmission away from the table,
and the date stamping is typically provided by the separate
intelligence, although in some cases may or may not be provided by
the sensor itself.
[0161] Other components of a casino table gaming apparatus might
include a coin acceptor, bill validator, a drop box capable of
sensing the input of currency, ticket in/ticket out
sensing/reading, lighting, video displays, card reading sensors,
chip counters, security sensing, dealer input controls, player
input controls, dealer identification card scanning, player
tracking, round counting, hand counting, shuffle counting and the
like. In the present technology described herein, a round counting
system is also described, wherein the number of rounds of plays are
determined (one round at a time) by a determination of when a
dealer's play has been completed, as by complete removal of cards
from the dealer's position.
[0162] In the practice of the presently described technology,
communication to a data collection system with at least some
peripherals is performed by general broadcast communication of game
status (which may also be referred to as generated information or
data) over a table-specific network, such as an Ethernet, from more
than one distributed intelligence sources within the system, each
of which is associated with at least one peripheral or sensor. Each
distributed intelligence (a local processor) sends its own game
status communication over the network, but does not respond to game
status information of other G-Mod's. Each local processor
(hereinafter G-Mod)) is capable of sending date stamped information
to a database where the information is stored and can be accessed
by the same computer that holds the database or by another external
computer. This is a significant element in the practice of the
invention, that information may be generally sent (essentially at
the same time as a single, generally dispersed signal) over a
network from multiple distributed intelligences.
[0163] For example, in the description given above for the
insertion of a coin into the coin acceptor, when a coin is inserted
in the system of the invention, the data is time stamped and send
via an Ethernet network to a database collection system. As other
G-Mod monitored activities occur, additional information is
transmitted to the data collection system, independent of
when/where other data is being collected and transmitted.
[0164] In one form of the invention, the state of each G-Mod is
broadcast over a network that contains all of the sensors and
G-Mod's associated with one gaming table. As the state of each
G-Mod changes, the signals being broadcasted to all of the G-Mod's
is changed, and each G-Mod independently transmits information to
the central data collection point.
[0165] One conceptual way of visualizing or understanding a method
of implementing an intelligence system for the operation of a
gaming system according to the present invention is as decomposing
the tasks of previous constrained (central processor commanded)
systems into orthogonal or unrelated sensing events running on
independent processors. The term "orthogonal" for purposes of this
disclosure means no commonality in function. The provision of
orthogonal or independent intelligence functionality and individual
performance capability allows the various system components to
operate independently, and timely transfer the date stamped data to
a database for further processing. Such a system functions more
efficiently because there is no central processor prioritizing the
execution of functions.
[0166] As noted above, there are many different elements of the
gaming system that can be considered as peripherals or data
acquisition devices. Some more important examples of table-game
related peripherals include: bet presence, bet recognition, bet
separation, card identification, card tracking, player tracking and
employee tracking. Other components might include (in addition to
those described above) multimedia processing, stepper motor
control, random number generation, I/O detection and response,
audio signals, video signals, currency handling, coin acceptors,
bill acceptors, paperless transactions, ticket-in and ticket-out
crediting, security systems, player accounting functions, door
locks, signal lighting (change/assistance), player input (e.g.,
button controls, joy sticks, touch screens, etc.) and any other
functions that my be provided on the gaming apparatus.
[0167] The units (which may be elsewhere referred to herein as
gaming modules or G-Mod's) are operated substantially independently
of each other, although some interdependencies could exist. In the
event of interdependencies, they are not subject to the classic
control model but operate by finite state machine changes that are
broadcasted and then react with intelligence. For purposes of this
disclosure, the term "finite state machine" (or FSM) is a
theoretical device used to describe the evolution of an object's
condition based on its current state (or condition) and outside
influences. The present state of an object, its history, and the
forces acting upon it can be analyzed to determine the future state
of an object. Each state then may have a "behavior" associated with
it. An FSM is a very efficient way to model sequencing circuits and
events. Ultimately the game is nothing more than a complex
sequencing unit, branched as appropriate for the game function. All
finite state machines can be implemented as hardware, software, or
hardware and software running on a processor.
[0168] By assigning specific data collection controls to local
architecture, the design of the system places system tasks into
lower computing power manageable units. The manageable units (e.g.,
the peripherals) can then be each handled (or small groups handled)
by dedicated controller modules. Some design care should be taken
to combine control of peripherals under a single intelligence to
assure that such accumulating demands for processing power are not
being required as to merely reconstruct a main processor in a
different physical location with the system. In the distributed
intelligence structure, the G-Modules or individual intelligences
have enough intelligence on board to handle the details of how the
G-Mod itself handles the details of operation of the peripheral
device.
[0169] Although the present invention sensor-G-Mod systems have
been described largely in terms of a single round-counting module
that sends date-stamped information to a central database, it is to
be understood that multiple modules could be present in one system
to send collected data to a data repository. In a preferred form of
the invention, the date stamped data is broadcasted over a
communication channel or an Ethernet specific to the table game,
and that the data in this format is collected and recorded by the
central data repository.
[0170] For example, a baccarat gaming table may be equipped with a
round counting sensor and G-Mod pair and may also be equipped with
a sensor at the output of the dealing shoe for counting cards
dispensed from the shoe. This information can be used in
combination with the round counting information to deduce the
number of cards dealt in a given round of play. If there are also
bet present sensors (and associated G-Mod(s)) for the bet sensors,
the number of hands played per round of play can also be
determined. The modules may broadcast signals which causes a G-Mod
to send date stamped bundles of information to the database, or may
allow one module to influence the operation of another module.
[0171] Each G-mod is collecting, date stamping and transmitting
data as the data is collected from the table to a central database,
but the G-Mod's are not commanding the operation of one another.
Instead, they are merely causing state changes in the other
modules. The database does not issue commands to the G-Mod's,
except to reset, reboot and send and receive configuration
information. In effect, each G-Mod is a freestanding microprocessor
that runs independently of the any other intelligence, except that
it receives limited operational information from the database
computer.
[0172] A card swipe module could be added to the table system, with
an associated G-Mod. This G-Mod could not only transmit
time-stamped data to the data repository, but could also transmit
player I.D. information to the player tracking system residing in
the casino computer system.
[0173] One or more sensors could sense information transmitted
through an output data port of a shuffler, for example, or a keypad
control used to issue commands to a shuffler. The shuffler can have
it's own G-Mod (either internal or external) and is capable of
transmitting date stamped information such as number of cards per
hand, number of hands per hour, number of cards dispensed per unit
time, number of cards re-fed into a continuous shuffler per unit of
time, number of promotional cards dispensed per unit of time, etc.
At the same time, another indicator attached to a G-Mod could
transmit data stamped data about bonus awards granted at a certain
time, and the like. This information could be collected in a
central database.
[0174] A bet interface module could also be provided. Known
collection techniques for wagering data include optical and metal
detection type bet present sensors for fixed bets, and camera
imaging, radio frequency/identification technology, bar code
scanning, scene digitizing, laser scanning, magnetic strip reading
and the like for measuring the amount of the bet, as well as the
presence of the bet. Outputs from these measurement devices are fed
through a dedicated G-Mod and the data is date stamped and
delivered to the central data depository.
[0175] Another possible G-Mod controls a card reading camera or
other sensing device such as a CIS card sensing system with similar
functionality (reading rank and suit of a card, or just rank)
located in the card shuffler, the dealing shoe, the discard tray,
above the table or combinations of the above. Information about the
specific cards dealt to each player could be obtained from the
database by first feeding date-stamped information about cards
dealt and returned into the database via the Ethernet.
[0176] In one form of the invention, the G-Mod sends date-stamped
information to the database and an algorithm residing in the same
computer or separate computer uses this information as well as
round counting and betting information to determine the composition
of a hand of blackjack, for example.
[0177] Another G-Mod is in communication with an i.d. system for
tracking the movement of employees in and out of the pit, or more
preferably when the dealers arrive at and leave the table. This
information is collected and reported by the dealer G-Mod into the
database, and then reports can be generated that combine this
information with rounds of play per hour to determine which dealers
deal the most hands in a given period of time.
[0178] It is noteworthy that in a preferred form of the invention,
all of the G-Mod's are in communication with the same database, all
though separate databases may be established for distinct data
sets. Also, data repository does not issue commands to the G-Mod's,
with the exception of requesting configuration data and
resetting/rebooting the G-Mod's. The central database merely
organizes the data in a manner that allows for easy access by
external computers or another application program residing on the
same computer as the database. In this respect, the G-Mod's are
self-executing and do not require central intelligence to perform
their individual functions. The data may be analyzed and used to
make decisions about awarding redeemable points and free rooms to
players, etc., scheduling pit labor, promoting pit personnel,
closing and opening tables, determining optimal betting limits for
given periods of time and other important managerial functions.
[0179] Each G-Mod may be in data communication with an interface
device such as one or more specialized circuit boards to allow the
data from multiple G-Mod's to be fed into a standard port of the
computer that serves as the data repository. Also, multiple sensing
modules may be fed into a single G-Mod if the particular G-Mod has
the capacity to process the extra information.
[0180] A software interface can be provided to directly access data
in the data repository and to manipulate and organize the data so
that it can be outputted onto a display, written report or formed
into a data stream so that the data can be further manipulated. In
one example of a software interface program, the operator can
obtain reports of rounds of play per hour per actual table, per
pit, or per property, as determined by the user.
[0181] The information in the form of a data stream may be further
analyzed. In one example, the data is fed into a host computer or
can be analyzed in the same computer system where the database and
interface resides or on a host computer. For example, the data from
one or more of the round counting module, the shoe sensor, the card
swipe, card reading module, the shuffler data port sensor, and the
bet interfaces can be used to create a report of rounds played per
unit of time, the number of players at the table per unit of time,
the number of hands played at each round, the maximum bet per
player in a given unit of time, the average bet per player in a
unit of time, the number of shuffles per unit of time, the number
of cards removed from and placed into the shuffler in a unit of
time, hand composition and other information considered important
to the casino manager.
[0182] Because all of the G-Mod's work independently, the casino
operator can choose the modules and resulting data that is most
important to them for a given environment, and only purchase those
modules. For example, one casino might want to reconstruct
individual hands, track betting and associate the information with
a particular player on a high stakes table, while tracking only
rounds and the identification of the employees on low-stakes
games.
[0183] By using a modular approach to intelligent data collection,
only the equipment and reports that are wanted can be provided at
the lowest possible cost. Since none of the G-Mod's are issuing
direct commands to one-another, it is not necessary to rewrite any
code when additional modules are added.
[0184] Applicants have discovered that there are potential
inaccuracies in data that is transmitted prior to date/time
stamping. When signals are stamped in by the main computer, this is
merely indicative of when the signal arrived. Also by providing the
stamping function at the receipt site (such as the main processor,
or central gaming location), the information is more easily subject
to manipulation or change by an operator. Also, when there is a
line breakdown (e.g., some casinos may still use telephone line
connections which can be busy or interrupted, or the communication
system to the main computer breaks down), the accuracy of the
stamping is adversely affected. The value of the data decreases in
some necessary transactions and casino oversight if the time data
is inaccurate. A gaming system with a different architectural
structure and informational structure would be desirable if it
could reduce these issues.
[0185] As noted earlier, round counting is one service or data
component that can be important to a table. Round counting can be
managed by a single sensor and G-Mod, and this function can be
measured in games such as Baccarat by the associated processor
recognizing that a sequence of events constitutes a round. For
example, the game rules of Baccarat may be programmed into memory
and when the last hit/stand decision is executed by the processor,
the end of the round is recognized.
[0186] Round completion can be important for evaluating rates of
play at tables, player rating, dealer performance, and even in
resolving disputes over time of completion of hands at different
tables or different casinos where priority might be an issue (as in
competitive events or qualifying events).
[0187] Round counting requires some form of signal generation at a
table that is indicative of approximate completion of a round and
preferably absolute completion of a round. This can be done in a
number of ways for signal generation, depending upon the game. For
example, video cameras can be placed to observe the dealer's hand.
When the motions of a dealer or the dealer's cards indicate that
the dealer's cards have been removed from the playing area, a
signal is sent "round completed" or "dealer's hand removed" or some
functional equivalent.
[0188] A sensor can be placed on the table over which the dealer's
cards are placed. It is preferred that this sensor not be as
movement limiting as the sensor described in U.S. Pat. No.
5,803,808, where cards appear to have to be specifically fitted
into at least a right angle abutment with a card reading ability.
Upright extensions on the card table can interfere with card
movement, can interfere with chip movement, can cause accidental
disclosure of cards, and are generally undesirable. A sensing
system with a relatively flat or slightly indented or slightly
raised surface is more desirable. The system could comprise a
transparent or translucent panel approximately flush with the table
surface that allows light (e.g., ambient light or specially
directed wavelengths of light for which a sensor is particularly
sensitive) to pass to a sensor. The absence of light in the sensor
for a predetermined period of time and/or intervals of time can be
the original signals themselves, which are interpreted by an
intermediary intelligence on the table that has the time sensing
capability for evaluating the signal. The original signals are then
time stamped before being forwarded to the central database and can
be analyzed by accessing the collected data.
[0189] Particularly in games where batch shuffling is used, such as
poker or even single deck blackjack, the signal could also be
originated by cards being placed in a shuffler and a shuffling
process initiated, the shuffler sending a start-shuffling signal to
the date stamping component on the table. The dealer could even
activate or press a button provided on the table, but this would
tend to leave the results under the control of the dealer, who
could manipulate the game to improve results, or who could suffer
from forgetfulness.
[0190] These latter systems, unless they are completely electronic
without any physical implementation (such as physical playing
cards, dice, spinning wheel, drop ball, etc.) will need sensing
and/or reading equipment (e.g., card reading for suits and/or rank,
bet reading sensors, ball position sensors, dice reading sensors,
player card readers, dealer input sensors, player input systems,
and the like). These would be the peripherals in the table systems.
Also, newer capabilities are enabled such as moisture detection
(e.g., for spilled drinks), smoke detection, infrared ink detection
(to avoid card marking), shuffler operation, dealer shoe operation,
discard rack operation, jackpot meters, side bet detectors, and the
like.
* * * * *