Site News  |   Monitor Keywords  |   Monitor Archive  |   Organizer  |   Account Info  |

Card shooter apparatus

Card shooter apparatus description/claims

This application is a divisional of application Ser. No. 11/884,021, filed Aug. 9, 2007, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Application Ser. No. 11/884,021 is a U.S. National Stage Application under 35 U.S.C. §371 of International Application No. PCT/JP2005/003789, filed Mar. 4, 2005, and claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-079519, filed Mar. 19, 2004, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

The present invention relates to a card shooter apparatus that is used suitably for a card game in which playing cards (trump cards; hereinafter simply referred to as cards) are to be used.

Conventionally, a card reader that is used suitably for a card game in a casino, etc. is suggested. For example, PCT Japanese Translation Patent Publication No. 10-508236 (Page 12, FIG. 1) discloses a card reader equipped with a card shooter. In the apparatus of this literature, a CCD image sensor and related optical system components are built in the card shooter. Further, an outlet of the card shooter is provided with a card reading window. Also, when a card passes through the shooter outlet, the card is read through the reading window.

However, in the conventional apparatus, reading precision is restricted by the CCD image sensor and related optical system components. The reading precision is desired to improve as much as possible. This point is also important in reducing the influence on a game progress caused by generation of a read error.

Further, in the conventional apparatus, in order to secure reading capability, the speed of a card when a card is pulled out of the card shooter needs to be comparatively low, for example, the maximum speed is about 1 m/s. On the other hand, even if the card speed is larger, a card needs to be read accurately. This point is also important in the game progress of a casino, etc.

The invention has been made in view of the above problems. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a card reader that is capable of utilizing an existing card shooter, is high in reading precision, and is high in the threshold value of the card speed at the time of reading.

One aspect of the present invention is a card shooter apparatus comprising: shooter apparatus comprising: a card shooter unit including a card housing which contains a plurality of cards and an opening out of which the cards are able to be slid and taken; a card reading unit which is provided with a card guide unit which guides cards pulled out one by one from the opening onto the game table and reads the number of the card pulled out from the card shooter; a control unit having a processing function to determine win or lose of the card game based on information about the number of the cards sequentially read by the card reading unit; and a display unit which indicates a result determined by the control unit; wherein the card shooter unit, the card reading unit and the control unit are integrated and are able to be set on the game table.

Another aspect of the present invention is a card shooter apparatus comprising: comprising: a card shooter unit including a card housing which contains a plurality of cards and an opening out of which the cards are able to be slid and taken; a card reading unit which is provided with a card guide unit which guides cards pulled out one by one from the opening by hand onto the game table and reads the number of the card pulled out from the card shooter; wherein the card shooter unit and the card reading unit are integrated and are able to be set on the game table; and the card shooter apparatus further comprising a measurement validity determining sensor which makes a reading result by the card reading unit invalid when the card slips back by hand, the card being slid and taken from the card shooter unit.

As described hereafter, other aspects of the invention exist. Thus, this summary of the invention is intended to provide a few aspects of the invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention described and claimed herein.

FIG. 1 is a view showing the overall configuration of a card reader of the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a platform along with a game table and a card shooter.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the platform and the card shooter.

FIG. 4 is a plan view in a state where a sensor cover is detached.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the platform.

• Provisional Patent
• Utility Patent

• What Is a Patent?
• What Is a Trademark or Servicemark?
• What Is a Copyright?
• Patent Laws