Bally Gaming, Inc.

Advanced Digital Information Corporation

Ciba-geigy Corporation

Cx Corporation

Other

Advanced Digital Information System

Allen E Fleckenstein

Nathan H Searle

Richard Soltys

Richard Huizinga

Christoph Mack

Kevin Talbot

David L Davis

Hans-Ulrich Schlapfer

Paul D Barker

Whitney C Langworthy

Playing cards may be selected based on a desired set of payout or house odds and/or house advantage. The playing cards may be placed into, and/or retrieved from, one or more intermediary playing card receivers in a random or pseudo-random order that is based on the selected payout or house odds and/or house advantage. Intermediary playing card receivers may take the form of carousels having an endless array of card receiving compartments. Each compartment may receive a single playing card at a time. The intermediary playing card receivers may pivot bi-directionally about one or more vertical axes. Playing cards may be loaded into one intermediary playing card receivers while being unloaded from the other.

Systems, methods and articles to facilitate playing card games with selectable odds

An inventory sensor is positioned and configured to identify playing cards stored in compartments of one or more intermediary playing card receivers. The intermediary playing card receivers may be positioned in a card transport path between an input and an output receiver. The inventory sensor allows an inventory of playing cards to be performed, for example, in response to a possibly anomalous condition or in response to a user request. Playing cards may be transferred back to the intermediary playing card receiver from the output receiver before inventorying. A new randomized set of playing cards can be created at the output receiver after inventorying.

Systems, methods and articles to facilitate playing card games with intermediary playing card receiver

An inventory sensor is positioned and configured to identify playing cards stored in compartments of one or more playing card receivers. The inventory sensor allows the identity of a playing card stored in the playing card receiving compartment to be checked or otherwise verified with respect to an identity of a playing card expected to be stored in the playing card receiving compartment. Anomalies may be identified and appropriate messages provides and/or actions taken, for example removing the anomalous playing card from use.

Systems, methods and articles to facilitate playing card games with multi-compartment playing card receivers

Playing cards from the input playing card receiver are allocated or directed between at least the first intermediary and the second intermediary playing card receivers based on an order in which the playing cards will be arranged at the playing card output receiver. The second intermediary playing card receiver may comprise an endless array of playing card receiving compartments mounted for pivotal movement about a horizontal axis. The first intermediary playing card receiver may comprise an annular array of playing card receiving compartments mounted pivotal movement about a second horizontal axis. The first intermediary playing card receiver may comprise a diagonal array of playing card receiving compartments mounted translation along a vertical axis.

Systems, methods and articles to facilitate playing card games

A playing card handling system includes a pivoting pair of jaws to retrieve playing cards from a playing card receiver, for example a carousel. The rotational or angular velocity of a picker may be approximately equal to a rotational or angular velocity of a pickup roller, as the picker approaches the pickup roller.

Device for use in playing card handling system

The present discussion generally describes separable playing cards that can be reassembled, methods of separating and reassembling the playing cards, and methods of using the playing cards in a gaming environment. The playing cards are combined from constituent components, which are a face and a back. The face can have a suit marking, a rank marking, or both. The combination of any given face and back represents a pairing. This pairing can be changed or reconfigured by separating the face from the back and reordering at least the faces or the backs. The reordered faces and backs can be assembled back into respective playing cards and used in a subsequent card game. The reordering can be done manually, mechanically, or computationally generated. The playing cards can include unique identifiers that can be read by a machine and used to verify that a sufficient number of the original pairings have been altered.

Playing cards with separable components

A playing card output receiver that is mounted for movement includes a floor that slopes downward toward a back wall, which may, for example, assist in retaining playing cards in the playing card output receiver during movement of the playing card output receiver.

Systems, methods and articles to facilitate delivery of playing cards

A card receiver to receive playing cards includes a substantially circular base having an outer periphery and an inner portion radially spaced from the outer periphery. A plurality of partitions extend longitudinally from the base and opposed surfaces of each adjacent pair of partitions form a respective playing card compartment therebetween. Each of the partitions are cambered such that both a face and a back of a playing card retained in a respective one of the compartments are physically engaged by the opposed surfaces of the pair of partitions forming the respective compartment.

A library for storing a cartridge of data-storage media includes a removable module and a chassis having a module receptacle. Cartridge storage slots are disposed within the chassis, and a media drive is disposed within the removable module. A cartridge transporter is disposed within the chassis and transports the cartridge between one of the cartridge slots and the media drive when the module is inserted within the module receptacle. A library control circuit is disposed within the chassis and controls the cartridge transporter. An interface circuit is disposed within the removable module and electronically interfaces a host computer to the media drive, and, when the removable module is inserted within the module receptacle of the chassis, electronically interfaces the host computer to the library control circuit.

Library for storing data-storage media and having a removable interface module

A library for storing a cartridge of data-storage media includes a removable module and a chassis having a module receptacle. Cartridge storage slots arc disposed within the chassis, and a media drive is disposed within the removable module. A cartridge transporter is disposed within the chassis and transports the cartridge between one of the cartridge slots and the media drive when the module is inserted within the module receptacle. A library control circuit is disposed within the chassis and controls the cartridge transporter. An interface circuit is disposed within the removable module and electronically interfaces a host computer to the media drive, and, when the removable module is inserted within the module receptacle of the chassis, electronically interfaces the host computer to the library control circuit.

A library for storing a cartridge of data-storage media includes a chassis and includes cartridge slots, a media drive, a cartridge transporter having a cam mechanism, and transporter and cam drive assemblies all located within the chassis. The cartridge slots each have an outer slot opening that faces outward of the chassis and an inner slot opening that faces inward of the chassis, and each slot allows insertion and removal of the cartridge through both of the respective inner and outer slot openings. The media drive has a cartridge opening that faces the inner slot openings and receives and ejects the cartridge via this opening. The cartridge transporter is located between the slots and the media drive and includes a first transporter opening that faces the slots, a second transporter opening that faces the drive, a cartridge passage that extends between the first and second transporter openings, a first roller arm that is located at a side thereof toward the first transporter opening, a second roller arm that is located at a side thereof toward the second transporter opening, a cam mechanism that moves the first and second roller arms, and a roller mechanism that includes respective first and second rollers mounted to the first and second roller arms and that moves the cartridge through the cartridge passage. The transporter drive assembly moves the cartridge transporter to align the first transporter opening with the inner slot opening of a selected slot or to align the second transporter opening with the cartridge opening of the media drive. The cam drive assembly moves the cam mechanism to cause the first roller of the first roller arm to engage the cartridge while the first roller moves the cartridge between the cartridge transporter and the selected slot, or to cause the second roller of the second roller arm to engage the cartridge while the second roller moves the cartridge between the cartridge transporter and the media drive. The library also includes a circuit that controls the operation of the transporter and cam drive assemblies.

Library for storing data-storage media and having an improved media transporter

A door hinge includes a support plate, resilient fingers, and a hinge-pin cylinder. The support plate includes first and second edges, and the flexible fingers extend out from the first edge and curve toward the second edge at a distance spaced apart from the support plate. The hinge-pin cylinder is joined to the ends of the fingers to define a hinge line located inward from an outer edge of a door jamb to which the door is pivotally mounted.

Door hinge

A library for storing a cartridge of data-storage media includes a chassis having a plurality of walls that each have inner and outer sides. A cartridge storage receptacle is mounted to the inner side of a first of the walls and has a receptacle port facing away from the first wall. A cartridge mailbox is mounted within an port that is formed in a second of the walls. The mailbox has a slot with a first slot port accessible from the inner side of the second wall and a second slot port accessible from the outer side of the second wall. The slot is constructed to allow insertion of the cartridge into the slot via the first and the second slot ports, and to allow removal of the cartridge from the slot via the first and the second slot ports. An x-y drive assembly is mounted within the chassis. A cartridge picker is mounted to the drive assembly and has a first picker port and a second picker port. The picker is operable to receive the cartridge from and provide the cartridge to the mailbox slot via the first slot port and the first picker port. The picker can also receive the cartridge from and provide the cartridge to the storage receptacle via the receptacle port and the second picker port.

Growing community of inventors

Bellevue, WA, United States of America

Allen E Fleckenstein