Card-shuffler.

Application filed November 1, 1909. Serial No. 525,616.

To dll whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Charles T. Hall, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of 5 New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Card-Shufflers, of which the following is a specification. >

This invention relates to a machine for shuffling playing cards preparatory to deal10 ing the same out to the several players of a game.

The object of this invention is to produce a simple, efficient and inexpensive machine for this purpose whereby a deck or pack of 15 cards can be quickly and thoroughly shuffled and rendering it impossible for any one in a game to know what cards another player is holding and particularly preventing any player from pre-arranging the cards in a 20 deck and playing unfairly.

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of my improved card shuffling machine. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the 25 same, partly in section. Figs. 3 and 4 are horizontal sections taken in line 3—4, Fig. 1 and looking upwardly and downwardly, respectively. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken in line 5—5, Fig. 1, looking upwardly. 30 Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The inclosing casing or frame which receives and supports the principal working 35 parts of the machine may be variously constructed, but as shown in the drawings the same comprises a main rear section A adapted to rest upon a table or support and an upper front section A¹ which is arranged in 40 front of the upper part of the rear section.

B represents a pile feeding table or follower upon the front side of which the flat side of the stack or pack of playing cards & to be shuffled is supported, the same being 45 preferably arranged in an inclined position with its lower or front end in advance of its upper or rear end. This follower is preferably located in the upper part of the casing below an opening c in the top of the cas50 ing through which the cards to be shuffled are introduced into the casing and placed upon the front side of the follower. The latter is preferably guided so as to be movable in a horizontal plane by means of a horizontal guide rod E guided in a hori- 55 zontal guideway d formed on a stationary bracket E¹ in rear of the follower, said guide rod being connected at its front end with the rear side of the follower in any suitable manner. The cards are fed off sue- 60 cessively from the front side of the stack or , deck and as this -feeding operation progresses the follower is advanced so as to compensate for the. cards which have been removed > and always maintain the top or 65 front side of the deck in proper relation to the feeding off mechanism. The means for thus advancing the follower to keep pace with the cards which have been removed comprises a screw threaded adjusting rod F 70 secured to the rear end of the guide rod E, a cross bar f mounted on the adjusting rod between two screw nuts f¹ on the latter and two springs g connecting the opposite ends of the cross bar with the rear side of the 75 bracket E¹ and operating to press the follower and connecting parts constantly forward toward the feeding off mechanism. By turning the adjusting nuts /¹ forward or backward the tension on the springs g may 80 be regulated as may be necessary to cause the follower to advance properly to take up the space of the cards which have been removed from the front of the deck. The rearward movement of the follower pre- 85 paratory to placing a deck of cards in front of the same may be effected by various means but preferably by means of a transverse shifting lever G arranged within the upper part of the casing in rear of the fol- 90 lower and pivoted at one end to one of the side walls of the casing while its opposite end passes through an opening g¹ in the casing and the intermediate portion thereof being connected by means of a link g² with 95 the rear end of the adjusting rod F. Upon pushing the free end of the lever G which projects beyond the case rearwardly the follower is retracted; thereby permitting the deck of cards to be placed in front of the 100 same and after the cards have been thus inserted the lever is released, thereby permitting the springs g to push the follower forwardly together with the deck of cards and hold the front side of the latter in en- 105 gagement with the means whereby the cards are fed successively downward or forward from the deck.

&

1,014,210 • 25

While the cards are supported by the follower the front ends or edges of the same, with the exception of the uppermost or foremost card engage with a front or lower stop wall or gate H which prevents feeding off more than one card at a time from the pile. This stop wall is preferably arranged horizontally and parallel with the direction of movement of the follower, whereby the faces of the follower and of the stop wall are arranged at an obtuse angle relatively to each other which permits the deck of cards to be advanced more easily inasmuch as they have a natural tendency to slide by their own weight forwardly on the stop wall and thus permit of using a comparatively light spring pressure for advancing the follower and deck of cards, which pressure is substantially uniform in the different positions of the follower and enables the feeding off device to operate uniformly upon the deck regardless of the number of cards in the same.

For the purpose of enabling the stop wall to be adjusted horizontally so that its front edge is arranged below the surface of the deck a distance equal to the thickness of one card, this stop wall is guided at its opposite ends in horizontal ways h formed on the inner sides of the inclosing casing or frame and the same is shifted in these ways by means of adjusting screws Λ¹ mounted on ^;the lower rear part of the bracket E¹ and engaging with the rear edge of the stop wall, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3.

Various means may be provided for feeding the cards successively forward from the top of the deck, the means for this purpose having been found satisfactory in this prac-. tice and comprising a vertically rotatable cam wheel I arranged in front of the central part of the deck and provided on its periphery with a facing of rubber i which is adapted to engage with the front side of the deck. This feeding wheel has a concentric high part i¹ and a tangential low part i²connecting the ends of the high part and is mounted upon a horizontal shaft J which is journaled transversely in bearings on the adjacent, part of the frame and is rotated in the direction of the arrow 1 in Fig. 1, by means of a hand crank j applied to the end of this shaft outside of this casing, as shown in Fig. 1 or by any other suitable means. During each rotation of the feed wheel its high part upon engaging with the foremost card in the deck pushes the same by frictional contact therewith forwardly or downwardly from the deck and over the. front edge of the front stop wall, this feeding ac' tion being relaxed when the low part of the feed wheel is presented to the face of the deck. After each card is removed froin the deck the follower advances in the same measure and brings the next following card which is now uppermost on the deck into operative relation to, the feeding wheel so that during the continued operation of the feeding wheel the cards are fed successively forwardly or downwardly from the deck or pile.

As each card is fed off from the top of the deck the same passes between a pair of delivery rollers or wheels K, L which are arranged respectively below and above the path of the cards in front of the stop wall. The lower delivery wheel or roller K is comparatively large in diameter · and is of a length equal to the width of the cards while the upper delivery wheel or roller L is smaller in diameter and comparatively short and only engages with the central upper part of the lower roller. Botb^zbf these rollers are provided on their peripheries or surfaces with a facing of rubber or similar material so that they obtain a firm grip upon the cards which enter between them and enables these rollers to positively and reliably propel the cards forwardly. The lower roller is mounted upon a transverse shaft k which is preferably journaled in stationary bearings upon the main frame and is turned in the direction of the arrow 2 Fig. 1 by means of a large gear wheel IT secured to the feeding shaft J and meshing with ,a small gear wheel k² on the shaft k of 95 the lower roller, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The upper delivery roller L is preferably driven by frictional contact with the lower delivery roller K and is mounted on a horizontal transverse shaft I which is journaled at its opposite ends in bearings Z¹, ? which are carried by two longitudinal flat or leaf springs I² secured to the adjacent stationary part of the frame. These springs hold the upper delivery roller yieldingly in contact with the lower delivery roller and permit the upper roller to yield as may be neces“ sary for adapting the same to the thickness of the cards which enter between the same and the lower delivery roller, thereby insuring a firm grip of these rollers upon the cards and at the same time , causing the cards to move freely between the delivery rollers without injuring or marring the same.

As the cards issue 'forwardly or downwardly from the delivery rollers the same are received by a mixing device or shuffling mechanism which is arranged immediately below or in front of the receiving rollers and which operates to arrange the cards in a different position relatively to each other from that which they occupied on the deck before delivering the same through a delivery opening m, in the lower part of the upper front section of the casing and depositing the same in a gathering receptacle M which is arranged below the delivery opening

100

105

110

115

120

125

1,014,21ft Q and from which the cards in their shuffled condition are removed by the player preparatory to distributing them among the players.

The shuffling or mixing device may be variously constructed but that shown in the drawings answers the purpose in practice and is constructed as follows:—N repre, sents a bottom board or table which is ar10 ranged in an inclined position below or in front of the lower delivery roller and mounted on the adjacent stationary part of the frame. Above the table is arranged a switch whereby the direction of movement 15 of the cards upon leaving the delivery rollers is controlled and the cards are gathered in a different order from that which they occupied on the follower and before being delivered to the receptacle M. 20 This switch comprises two vertical side walls n and upper, intermediate and lower transverse plates or boards n¹, n², n? connecting the side walls so as to form an Upper longitudinal chute o between the top and in25 termediate plates n·¹, n², an intermediate chute o¹ between the intermediate and lower plates n², n° and a lower chute o² between the lower plate n^s of the switch and the stationary board or table N. At its front end the 30 switch is pivoted by pins o^s or otherwise on the adjacent stationary part of the frame so as to be capable of swinging in a vertical plane and cause one or the other of said chutes to bring its mouth or inlet end at the 35 rear end thereof in line with the path of the cards as they issue from between the delivery rollers. When the switch is in its central position, as shown in Fig. 1, the mouth of the intermediate or central chute 40 o' is in line with the path of the cards issuing from the delivery rollers in which position the cards would be delivered by said rollers into this chute. Upon shifting the rear part of the switch upwardly so that the 45 front edge of its lowermost plate n? is above the path of the cards, the latter will be delivered by the rollers K, L into the lowermost chute or pocket o² while upon lowering the switch at its rear end, so that the front 50 edge of the intermediate plate n² is below the path of the cards, the latter upon leaving the delivery rollers will enter the uppermost chute or pocket o. The switch oscillates in this manner while the machine is in 55 operation, so that the cards are delivered into one or the other of the chutes and this movement of the switch may be effected by various means, the means for this purpose shown in the drawings being suitable and 60 consisting of a crank shaft P journaled transversely on the rear part of the frame and having its crank p connected by a bifurcated or forked connecting rod p^r with the free end of the switch, and a belt Q passing around rollers or pulleys q, q¹ on the feed 65 wheel shaft and the crank shaft, respectively.

In the construction of the machine shown in the drawings, those cards which are delivered into the central chute of the shuffling 70 mechanism pass by gravity through this chute without interruption and are gathered in the same order in the receptacle below the same. Some of the cards which are delivered into the lower and upper chutes are, 75 however, retained within these chutes and caused to gather successively therein while one or the other of these chutes is in a position to receive cards from the delivery rollers, the cards thus gathered in the upper 80 or lower chutes being permitted to escape therefrom in a body into the receptacle M. The preferred means for thus temporarily retaining and gathering some of the cards in the upper and lower chutes which are 85 shown in the drawings are constructed as follows:—R represents a vertically swinging rock lever pivoted on the underside of the stationary bottom N of the lower chute and provided on its lower arm with a stop 90 pin r adapted to move upwardly and downwardly across the outlet at the front end of the lower chute o² while its upper arm is provided with a roller r¹ engaging with a rotatable cam s. The latter is mounted on a 95 transverse shaft s¹ journaled in bearings on the main frame below the stationary bottom and is rotated by means of a belt s² passing around pulleys $^s, s⁴ mounted respectively on the shaft of the lower delivery roller and 100 the cam shaft s¹. The upper arm of the lever R is preferably heavier than its lower arm and its stop pin so that when the cam presents its low face to the roller r¹ the latter will drop by gravity into engagement 105 with the low face thereof and cause the stop pin r to be moved upwardly across the outlet of the lower chute, but when the high part of the cam s engages with the roller r¹and lifts the same, the lever R will be turned 110 in the direction for moving the stop pin r downwardly or rearwardly below the surface of the bottom board, so as to clear the outlet of the lower chute. When the switch is so turned that the cards are delivered into 115 the lower chute and the stop pin r at its outlet is retracted therefrom the cards entering this chute will immediately pass through the same and be stacked successively in the gathering receptacle, but when 120 this stop pin is projected across the outlet of the lower chute while the cards are being delivered into the same, such cards engage at their front ends with said stop pin and are caused to gather in the lower chute until 125 this pin or stop is withdrawn from the outlet of this chute, and when this occurs the cards so gathered in the sajne are discharged

1,014,918 vancing ends .against the front wall v and 65 then pile flatwise upon the bottom V. As the cards gather upon the bottom V and front wall v, the same are confined against lateral displacement by means of two side walls W arranged lengthwise on opposite 70 sides of the bottom. In order to permit of removing the' shuffled deck of cards easily and conveniently from this gathering receptacle the side walls W are mounted so that they are depressible and permit the 75 fingers to be passed along opposite sides of the deck of cards and into engagement with the underside,.thereof, so that the-same can be lifted conveniently from the bottom of the gathering receptacle. For this purpose .80 the two side walls are pivoted at their lower front corners by pins w or otherwise, to the underside of the stationary part of the machine so that they swing vertically, the two side walls being caused to move in unison 85 by means of cross bars a? connecting the same below the bottom. The side walls are yieldingly held in their elevated or operative position by means of a spring y connected at one end with the underside of the bottom 90 V while its opposite end is connected with an arm y¹ on one of the cross bars x, the elevating movement of the side walls being limited by the front edges of the same engaging with the face of the stationary front 95 wall v of the gathering receptacle. At its upper edge near its rear end, each side wall is provided with a finger piece s which provides a convenient bearing for the fingers to press against when deflecting these side 100 walls by the fingers preparatory to grasping the deck of cards on opposite sides and removing the same from the gathering receptacle. The adjacent part of the inclosing casing is flush with the bottom.of the 105 gathering receptacle and is notched or cut away, as shown at 3 Figs. 2 and 5, to permit the finger pieces and fingers engaging with the same to pass below the face of said bottom. Upon removing the cards from the 110 gathering receptacle the side walls are automatically returned to their normal elevated position by the return spring.