Card-shuffler

Application filed January 22, 1920. Serial No. 353.380.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Charles T. Hall, a citizen of the United States, residing in 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 card shuffler of the type shown in Letters Patent of the 10 United States No. 1,014,219 and No. 1,041,271, granted to^-me January 9, 1912, and October 15, 1912, respectively.

The object of this invention is to improve the means whereby the cards are shuffled so 15 that the shuffling operation is rendered somewhat erratic and causes successive shuffling operations to mix the cards differently and thus defeat any attempt to determine beforehand the order of the cards in the deck after 20 the same have been shuffled.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved card shuffler.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 4 is a rear elevation of the shuffler.

Similar characters of reference refer to like parts throughout the several views.

10, 10 represent two upright longitudinal side walls or plates of metal which form part of the main frame and inclosures for the -working parts of the machine, the side plates being preferably connected at their lower ends by a cross plate 11. Between the upper front parts of the side plates are arranged a plurality of supply pockets, preferably two in number, which are arranged one in front of the other as shown at 12, 13.

Each of these pockets tapers downwardly and has an inlet at its upper end and an outlet at its lower end, the outlets of both pockets being separated from each other by an intervening space, and the adjacent walls of these 45 two pockets being united at their upper edges, as shown at 14. The outlets of the supply pockets are controlled by two slide gates or valves 15, 16, which are constructed in the form of plates and move forwardly 50 andbackwardly intoeithei· a closed or opened position. These two gates are connected at opposite ends by side bars 17 so that they move in unison and the guiding of the gates is effected by providing the side walls with 55 guide slots 18 which receive the ends of the gates and form a guide for the same.

The opening and closing movement of the gates of the supply pockets may be .effected by any suitable means but preferably by the following mechanism: eo represents a driving shaft journaled horizontally and transversely in suitable bearings in the upper rear part of the main frame and adapted to be driven in any suitable manner, for instance by a spring motor 65 20 of the type commonly used for operating the mechanism of a clock. This shaft and the motor associated therewith are locked against operation by a locking disk 21 secured to the driving shaft and provided in its 70 periphery with a locking notch 22 and a locking dog or pawl 23 pivoted on a support and provided with a tooth 24 adapted to engage with said notch. The pawl is preferably mounted on a horizontal rock shaft 25 which 75 is journaled transversely in suitable bearings on the main frame and provided between its ends with a cam rock arm 26 at its opposite ends outside of the side plates with upper' gate rock arms 27. Each of the latter 80 is connected at a point near its fulcrum by a link 28 with the adjacent ends of the upper gates. Between the side plates of the main frame a snail cam 29 is arranged the periphery of the same engaging a pin 30 on 85 the arm 26 which is weighted and secured to the rock shaft 25.

Below the supply pockets is arranged a mixing pocket 32 having an upper inlet arranged below.the outlets of the supply pock- 90 ets and a lower outlet, the front side or wall 33 of this mixing pocket being preferably fixed and constructed of an inclined plate while the rear side or wall of this pocket is preferably constructed of a plurality of up- 95 right curved leaf springs 34 each of which has its upper end fixed and secured to a horizontal transverse bar 35 on the main frame while its lower end is free to move lengthwise of the machine toward and from the 100 fixed wall 33.

The outlet of the mixing pocket is controlled by a sliding gate or valve. 36 having the form of a plate which is guided at its opposite ends in slots 37 formed in the 105 side walls of the main frame. The movement of the mixing pocket gate is effected by motion derived from the rock shaft 25, this being accomplished by means which comprise two upright rock levers 38 ar- 110 ranged adjacent to the lower parts of the outer sides of the frame walls, a rock shaft a 1,380,888 journaled horizontally and transversely on the lower part of the main frame in front of the mixing pocket and connected with the rock levers, a return weight lever 5 40 secured to the lower rock shaft 39 between its ends, pins 41 arranged on the upper arms of the levers, two intermediate links 42 each pivotally connected at its rear end xvith a gate' rock arm 27 at a greater 10 distance from the fulcrum of the latter than the connection between the same and the upper gate links and each link 42 being also provided at its front end with a longitudinal slot 43 which receives the pin 15 41 of the adjacent rock lever, and two lower links 44 connecting the lower arms of the rock levers with ears 45 on opposite ends of the lower gate.

A box for gathering the cards after the 20 same have been shuffled is arranged below the mixing pocket, this box in its preferred form comprising a rounded bottom 46 adapted to rest on the cross plate of the frame, inclined front and rear walls 47, 47, di25 verging upwardly from the front and rear ends of the bottom, inclined braces 48 extending doxvnxvardly from the upper ends of the walls of the box to the cross plate of the frame, and handles 49 arranged on the 30 outer sides of the braces.

In the use of this shuffler the pack of cards is dropped over the two supply pockets so that the upper edge 14 of the dividing walls betxveen the same causes part of 35 the deck to be directed into one supply pocket and another part into the other supply pocket, this division being erratic oxving to the uncertainty as to where the pack is divided. As the two sections of the deck 40 of cards drop into the supply pockets the same are supported therein , at their loxver ends inasmuch as at this time the two supply gates are completely closed. The operator now lifts the dog or latch 23 so as 45 to free the locking disk and immediately the shaft 19 begins to turn in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3 and when this shaft has made one complete turn the tooth of the dog again drops into the notch of the 50 locking disk and stops the operation of the shuffling mechanism.

As the shaft 19 rotates the cam 29 gradually raises the cam arm 26 and rocks the shaft 25 and the gate arms 27 and during 55 ‘the first part of this movement the supply gates 15, 16 gradually uncover the outlet’s of the supply pockets 12, 13 and permit cards to slide from both of them in an indefinite manner into the mixing pocket 32 60 which latter is closed at its lower or outlet end at this time by the mixing gate 36. As the cards drop successively into the mixing pocket the same are directed by the spring wall 34 toward the fixed wall 33 and 65 pile in an inclined position against the same.

During the first part of the opening movement of the supply gates the mixing gate remains shut inasmuch as at this time the links 42 slide idly by means of their slot 43 on the upper ends of the lever 38 but 70 when the front ends of these slots engage the pins 41 then the levers 38 are turned in unison with the rqck arms ,27 so that noxx^rthe mixing gate is opened at the same time that the supply gates continue their opening 75 movement. Caras are now discharged from both supply pockets into the mixing, pocket and some of the cards escape from the latter into the gathering box below. This operation continues until the supply and mix- 80 ing gates have been fully opened and all of the cards have been discharged from the supply pockets to the mixing pocket and from the latter to the gathering box in an indiscriminate manner. As the cards enter 85 the gathering box some of them pile against one of its inclined walls 47 and others against the other inclined wall 47 so that xx^rhen the cards are gathered in the box the . same will be assembled promiscuously and 90 thoroughly shuffled and insure a subsequent fair deal of the same. The erratic piling of the cards in the mixing pocket and the gathering box is promoted by the action of the spring wall 34 which is deflected more 95 or less xvhen engaged by the cards and thus . affects the position and direction of movement of the same. As the mixing gate is opened the weighted arm 40 is raised.

After the supply and mixing gates have 100 been fully opened and the cards have all been gathered in the box the notch 24 in the locking disk is engaged by the tooth of the dog 23, which arrests the rotation. of the shaft, and at the same time the weighted 105 cam arm 26 drops from high to low part of the cam 29, which causes the shaft 15 to be turned backwardly so that both supply pockets are closed. Simultaneously with this movement of the supply gates the mixing 110 gate is returned to its closed position by the weighted arm 40, and the pins 41 are moved rearwardly in the slots 43, thereby complet- ing the cycle of operations and leaving the machine in condition preparatory to effect- 115 ing the next shuffling operation. The closing movement of the supply gates may be limited by the front ends of the slots 18 and that of the mixing gates by the rear ends of the slots 37, although any other suitable 120 means may be provided for that purpose. The box or drawer may now be removed to render accessible the deck of cards which has been mixed or shuffled ready for dealing out to the players. 125