Card shuffling and dealing device

Jan. 2, 1940.

S. C. NOTT

2,185,474

CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE

Filed Nov. 8, 1937

Sheets-Sheet 1

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Jan. 2, 1940. s. c. nott 2,185,474

CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE

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INVENTOR

Jan. 2, 1940.

s. c. Νοττ 2,185,474

CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE Filed Nov. 8, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3

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Jan. 2, 1940.

S. C. NOTT

2,185,474

CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE

Filed Nov. 8, 1937

Sheets-Sheet 4

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top

2ND

KO

4th

LEFToF DEALER. 1-8-9-16-17-24-85-32-33-40^41-40-^9

DEALERS PARTNER 8-7-1045-18-23-26-31-34-39-42-47-50

RIGHT OF DEALER 3-6-11-14-19-22-27-30-35-38-43-46-51

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DEALER,

4-5-18-13-20-21 -23 -29-36-37-44-4S-5Z

O o O <> o—

INVENTOR

Patented Jan. 2, 1940

2,185,474

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE

2,185,474 CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE Sydney C. Nott, Irvington, N. X

Application November 8, 1937, Serial No. 173,325 15 Claims. (Cl. 273—149)

The main difficulty in card dealing, manual or mechanical, is that of cards adhering to each other, and so passing into the same hand as though one. card, thus causing a misdeal. There : 5 ..are,.several causes for this, among which, may be mentioned the stickiness caused by handling . of, candy, drinks, or. edibles during play, and the natural moisture of the fingers. Reasoning that the frictional propulsion exerted upon the card 10 to. be advanced. would have , to be increased in ..proportion to. the, frictional’restraint needed to separate the card being moved from an adhering ' card, I decided to increase the surface contact - between the forwarding means and the card 10 . much beyond that actually necessary. This, increased contact is obtained by the use of an end. less.belt, carried on. pulleys, so spaced and positioned as to provide an extensive, area of flat forwardly moving belt surface to be in constant 20 frictional contact with the card surface. This powerful increased frictional propulsion admits of employment of a sufficiency , of resilient fric. tional restraint, to positively function efficiently.

The use of a rigid stop wall or. finger to limit ear.d 25 advance to one card at a time has been, avoided, even though, it, has vertical adjustment,.because of, the high percentage of variation in, thickness of cards and their. condition at the edges and corners. Cards of better quality and finish vary 30 .. greatly, from the cheaper grades, gilt edged cards are thicker and. harder at the edge than the plain, and decks which have .been used contain cards which differ from each other in thickness and condition,. as well as . differing from other 35 decks, which have.been in use for varying periods, or which are new., A rigid adjustment set,to the approximate thickness of a heavy card may permit passage of two thin cards sticking together, or it may catch the edge of the second card, in40 sufficiently to check the . advance, but enough to cause fraying or-chipping of the front edge. If the front, edge ; has already become frayed or thickened from use, this would be the more likely to occur. The restraining rubber finger, described 45 herein later, is not only adjustable, as to.position with respect to , Card path of travel, but the wiping pressure upon the cards accommodates itself exactly to varying thickness and condition and cannot injure the cards. This resilient restrainer 50 can be used in combination with other means, of card advance than those set forth herein, and I am .claiming the broad application of the. principle, as being an entirely novel and important improvement in the: art· The belt, may be rose tat cd by any one of a variety of available means, but the intermittent rotation produced in the manner I have devised is admirably suited for the purpose. The number of pulleys upon which the belt is carried, and whether the drive is by one of these pulleys, or by other means, whether 5 it is external or internal of the belt, are matters of subordinate detail: The machine may be driven by motor if desired, but it is hardly worth while to have to bother with an electric cord, or to have to wind a spring:motor. It is intended 10 that the machine be placed upon a side table or chair while in use, not upon the playing table . where it would interfere with play. At a card party, this machine can keep a supply of decks ready for play by placing it where it can be op- 1® erated by any person not playing, or by one of the players who may be free for a while, such as one whose hand is “dummy”. If the game, to be played is not one in which four hands of thirteen cards each are to be dealt, the same machine 20 will be used and printed instructions furnished to cover the necessary changes in handling, the dealing operation. Means have been provided whereby all the cards may be dealt into the last compartment, if desired, or below it.. There is 25 a hole in the side of the cover, and there are two in the side of the receiver. By placing a pencil in the hole in the cover when the receiver is at its highest, then raising it very slightly, the pencil will enter the top hole in the receiver 30 and hold it independent of cam control, thus causing all cards to be dealt into the last compartment. The pencil in the other hole will cause the cards to be dealt below the last. In a game where the players call for the number of cards 35 they wish to be dealt to them, the dealer will operate the machine as for four hands, and will then: give out the cards as called for from the top shelf first, then continuing, down. This is equivalent to dealing from the top of the deck 40 as done by hand after the cards have been shuffled and cut. That the shuffling of the cards, as done by my machine, is uniformly thorough will appear in. the following explanation and by study of the diagram showing the order of dis- 45 tribution of the cards; the results obtained as to interesting hands for playing value are highly satisfactory. Details of the mechanism which does the shuffling will, be given later. In the playing of games in which four cards constitute 50 a trick, the tricks are usually taken in as. they are won and stacked in spaced relationship, so that they can be counted at a glance. When play is over they are gathered into one lot, to be dealt for a new hand. If this deck were to be placed 55

2,185,474 in my machine without cutting and re-dealt, it would not be possible for the four cards of any trick to be distributed one to each of the four players; the grouping would be quite different.

₆ Cutting before dealing makes this even more the case. The effect of the shuffle which this machine gives may be seen by taking a deck of cards, with the suits and cards of each suit arranged as in a new deck, and putting it through 10 the machine without cutting. With the deck faced towards you, the spades will be seen first, from the ace to the king, next the clubs,, then the diamonds and the hearts, from ace to king. In order of card as thus arranged, the ace of 15 spades will be No. 1, the king No. 13, the king of clubs will be No. 26, the king of diamonds No. 39, and the king of hearts No. 52. The deal, will start with the ace of spades, and the result is shown in the table below, for cards so arranged 20 only. There are two positions in which the receiver may be to receive the first card, either into the top compartment, or into the last; the designation of the players is shown in line with the

<td colspan="5"> . starting position in this table.</td>

<td></td><td> Dealer</td><td> Partner</td><td> Left</td><td> Right</td>

<td> High start: Spades________ p. Clubs.—. 30 Diamonds... Hearts..—... Low start_________</td><td> A-9-8 Q-J-4-3 7-6 A-10-9-2 Left</td><td> J-6-3 A-9-6 A-Q-9-4 Q-7-4 Right</td><td> K-Q-5-4 8-7 J-10-3-2 K-6-5 Dealer</td><td> 10-7-2 K-10-5-2 K-8-5 J-8-3· Partner</td>

The novel feature of hinging the shelves at the 3⁵ entrance thereto, and extending the upper beyond the lower at the other end, greatly facilitates the removal of the grouped cards from them. In the drawings, all parts are not shown : in all the figures, but every part is shown in one *® or more figures, and each part bears the same number throughout. Figure 1 in the drawings· is a top plan view with the outer casing in section.

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view from a 45 point below the top of the casing and immediately above the belt.

Figure 3 is a vertical section looking rearward from between the transfer unit and the grouping : unit.

tn Figure 4 is a vertical section looking forward from the approximate rear of the machine.

Figure 5 is a vertical section on a medial line of the grouping unit, and on a line immediately .·. outside of the transfer unit belt housing.

ba Figure 6 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 5, on a medial line of the trarisfer unit and immediately outside of the receiver housing, and Immediately inside of the transfer unit belt housing.

Figure 7 is a side elevation, partly in section, 00 showing the action of the disk gear and stop.

Figure 8 is a side elevation, similar to Fig. 7, showing the action of the driving crank and parts.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing the shuffling results of this method of grouping the cards into . 05 hands for four players.

Figure 10 is a detailed view of a modified form of shelf.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic view of a crosscorrugated form of belt and driver, with accom70 panying idlers.

Figure 12 is a view of a varied form of the stop in Fig. 7.

Figure 13 is a view of a variation in form and method of fastening the restrainer to the upper 75 front wall.

Figure 14 is a view of a variation of the sidewalls in Figs. 7 and 8, showing notched edges and slotted shelf pivot holes.

While it is not essential that the mechanism of this device be enclosed, it is better to have it so. as ® a protection against being tampered with. Therefore the machine is attached to a substantial base i, the underside of which is provided with any suitable means for absorbing vibration and for protecting the surface of the supporting fur- 1® niture. To this base is removably fastened a cover 2. Side-walls 3 upon the base are connected by a roof 4. A rear-wall 5 is cut away in the upper portion to provide a slot 6, to admit a deck of cards, and to allow the plate 7 to be 1® swung back arid forth.. The plate is operated by a handle 8, which, is passed upwards through the roof and bent backwards at such an angle as will cause it to lie fiat on the roof when the lower portion is not resting against the rear edges of ²⁰the cards in the machine. Mounted between the side-walls is the pulley 9; the shaft 10 supporting it has upon, one end, on the other side of the side-wall, a cross-arm II, rigidly attached. Further forward between the side-walls is mounted ²⁵a shaft 12, sleeved by a tube 13 turning freely upon the shaft and acting as an intermediate supporting pulley. The front ends of the sidewalls are connected in the lower portion by the,, plate 14, upon which is mounted the bracket 15, ·³® the mounting for front pulley 16, which runs freely upon its axle 17, the latter being easily removable from the bracket.. At each end of pulley . 16 is fastened a roller 18, preferably of , rubber, or faced therewith. The diameter of these rollers is greater than that of the central portion of the pulley beneath the belt. This belt 19 is of rubber, or rubber faced, endless, and of slightly less width than the distance between the,,, front pulley rollers 18, and . runs from pulley 9 <io over pulleys 13 and 16, down and back to p>ulley 9. Imparting a clockwise rotary movement to . the cross-arm 11 causes rotation of the belt arid pulleys supporting it. Intermediate pulley 13 is . an idler, located where it keeps the belt on a level‘is until it reaches the restrainer. The ends of this pulley are increased in diameter at their margins each side of the belt, preferably by the addition of rubber tubing, to make them form an even line with the surface of the belt, although, this is ''go not essential. The diameter of the central portion of pulley 16 is smaller than that of the pulley 9, whereby the number of revolutions is increased. The rollers 18 are fixed on the same hub as the central portion of pulley 16,. and thus '55 make the same number of revolutions. The diameter, of the rollers being not less than that of pulley 9, plus the belt, the peripheral speed of the rollers is greater than the speed of the belt. The rollers also act as flanges to keep the belt 60 from sliding along the pulley, should there be any such tendency arising from uneven belt stretch, or. any accidental twisting of the frame. The bracket .15 is attached to the plate 14 by means which permit adjustment, if required, to line up‘ A the belt properly, such as the, bolts 21, passing through slotted holes. The front end of the roof is turned downwards to form an upper front wall 22, or an extra piece attached for the same purpose. This extends downwards further in the 70. central portion than towards the ends, the central portion stopping short of reaching the belt by about the thickness of three cards. To this wall is attached a bracket 23 preferably by bolts 24, .., through slotted holes, and on this bracket are’75

2,185,474 mounted the restrainer 25 and a pair of upper rollers 26, the latter directly above the lower rollers ί 8·. The drawings show a single restrainer positioned above and across the path of card advance, preferably of rubber. In Fig. 3 this is shown as having a rounded lower end and as being held by upper and lower rods 27, riding in notches in the brackets 23. Holes 28 for an intermediate rod are provided midway between these notches. Variations may be made, such as the restrainer in Fig. 13, a flat finger 25 of rubber fastened to the front wall· 22 by the plate 82, using bolts 24, and the number and position of restrainers may be increased. In Fig. 13, the 16' plate not only clamps the finger in vertical adjustment, but, by compression of the rubber, functions also as a vernier in that the compression affects both the length and flexibility of the finger. Thus tightening the bolts becomes a con20 trolling factor in the degree of frictional restraint exercised and the ability of the finger to accommodate itself to variations in passing cards. The restraining finger must not have a square or sharp edge to oppose card advance, since such 25' would be detrimental; the card must be opposed by a rounding or bevel, so it will not. be hindered from entering beneath the finger. Variations may also be made in the number and position of the upper rollers 26. These rollers are shown as 30 having an axle 29, riding in holes 39 in bracket 23.

They are not essential parts of the machine; they could be dispensed with, or could be replaced by light spring tongues, to degress the advancing card upon rollers 18.

I prefer to use soft rubber rollers, exerting some pressure upon the cards, as that quickens the action and gives a flip to the card as it leaves the rollers, the soft rubber accommodating itself to variations in card thickness. At the rear of the transfer unit, at each end of the slot 6, and just above it, is hinged a bail 31, which extends forward between the side-walls 3, and carries upon its cross-piece a flat weight 32, hinged thereon, as shown at 33, and extending backwards there46 from. The weight rests upon the belt to approximately the point where the latter curves downwards, at which point tongues 34, integral with the main portion, curve upwards and backwards. The Weight is so formed that it can be 60 swung upwards freely, and downwards only to an extent which will carry it a little below the level· of the bail; there it is stopped by side projections 35, which rest upon the bail. At points below the slot 6, at each end thereof, are hinged 55; tongues 36, which extend forward at a level just below the surface of the belt. Each tongue has a short portion 37 and a long portion 38; the short portion rests upon the margin of the pulley 9. Cleats 39, on the margins of pulley 9' are βθί positioned at opposite sides of the center, two cleats at each end of the pulley in horizontal line with each other. In one complete turn of the pulley each cleat will hit upwards against the shoulder 37 of the tongue, and swing- the latter upwards above the level of the belt. By omitting the long part of each tongue, and elongating the hinge lugs, the intermittent raising of the cards away from the belt may be done by tilting them at the rear, or other members 70 loosely mounted on pins in the side-walls, to be contacted, back of the center, by the cleats, and so raised and given reverse rotation, against the rear portion of the second card as it is exposed by the forward start of the lowest. The inter75 related driving mechanism is as follows: Fas tened to the base i, and extending to the roof 4, is a wall 40, in which is journalled the driving shaft 4 i, furnished at its outer end with means for attachment of a handle 42, or equivalent. At the other end is attached a cross member 43, 5 which is furnished, at two opposite. points, equidistant from the center, with pins 44, which project in the same, direction as the drive shaft. Each of these pins is provided with a roller 45.

The center of the shaft 41 is eccentric to. the 10 center of the shaft 10; in this machine it is approximately a half-inch above. By reason of this eccentric arrangement, the rollers 45, which project across the path of the cross-arm ί I, contact therewith twice in each complete rotation, 15 where the circumference of the circles described by each overlap. Continuous turning of the crank. results in intermittent turning of the shaft 10 in the same direction, turn for turn, thus impart-^;ing to the pulley 9, the belt, and the parts driven 2'0 thereby, alternating periods of rotation and pause. The relative durations of rotation and pause are controlled by. the degree of eccentricity of the shaft centers. The foregoing gives the details of the transfer unit; next follows the details of 25 the interrelated driving mechanism for the grouping unit: Removably attached to the sidewall 46, and extending through side-wall 47: and cover 2, at a. height which approximates that of: shaft 41, is shaft 48, upon which is snugly sleeved 3» the tubing 49. This tubing acts as an axle for: the disks 50, 51 and 52. It extends from sidewall 46, through and beyond side-wall 47 and the cover, as far as means 53, on the end of shaft 48, for regulating the shaft’s working length. Side- 35 wall 47 has turned-in portions 54, running parallel to shaft 48, towards disk 50, far enough to prevent deviation of the disk from its proper path of rotation. Upward or downward bending of these portions will act as means for adjusting 40 this control. The disks 50 and 51 may be made integral, but, for convenience, are herein treated as separate parts, fastened together and to disk 52. Disk 51 is a gear, having eight spurs 55, driven by the rollers 45, which strike each spur in 45 turn as each roller moves through the arc farthest forward of the center of the shaft' 41. The respective paths of travel of the rollers and the spurs overlap to an extent governed by the radius of each and the distance between centers. 50 The setting here is such that the period of contact each time results in the disk 51 being rotated oneeighth of a complete rotation, accompanied by the disks 50 and 52. At the moment when the roller towards the rear loses its driving contact 55 with the arm at that end, the other roller strikes the next spur in order, and starts driving it downwards, and the forward end of arm !! rests at a point where it will be picked up again and driven through another half-rotation. Contact 60 between roller and arm starts at the moment when the roller is leaving contact with the spur. Thus, although the pulley S on one side, and the disks 50, 5! and 52 on the other, are driven alternately, there is a constant demand on the driv-. 6® ing force, so that there is no- perceptible succession of shocks. This avoidance of shock is aided by the fact that the cross-member 43 is a heavy disk which acts like a fly-wheel in that respect.

The rim of the disk is a perfect circle, except TO where the disk is cut away to avoid interference with rotation of the disk 50, the treads of these two disks being oppositely situated, and their maximum radii overlapping. Disk 59 is a stop, to confine each movement of_: disk 51 to limited 75

2,185,474 rotation in a single direction. Disk 5 ί is V slotted at eight evenly spaced places 55—57, to· receive the rollers 45 as they contact the disk.

Figure 12 shows a preferred form of disk 50α, ³ which maintins a closer contact with disk 43, and is more effective as a stop. Disk 5i may likewise be made more concave than V, to maintain better contact. In fact it may be the preference of the manufacturer to make a foundation disk 10 of metal to which to fasten separate pieces of appropriate shape and size to be the working equivalent of the three disks 50α, 5( and 52. No rotary movement is possible, in either direction, for these three disks, except when roller 45 is driv15 ing shoulder 56. Disk 52 is a cam disk, the rim of which has the following outline: The shaft center is located on a vertical medial line, extending preferably 1% inches above that center and 1½ inches below it. The top edge forms an arc of ²⁰ 1% inches radius, and the bottom edge forms an arc of 1½ inches radius. Each extends 45 degrees to right and left of the medial line. Each end of the bottom arc is connected with the corresponding end of the top arc by a curved outline 25 of increasing radius, the rate of this increase being one-eighth inch for each forty-five degrees. Any slight modification found necessary can be cared for in the actual locating of the shelf pivots, according to all considerations involved.

Side-wall 46 extends to the front end of the machine, and oppositely positioned is side-wall 58. Near the front end of each, and at about the same height from the base as shaft 48, are holes 59, to receive pivot pins. Grouping receiver 60, hav35 ing pivot pins 6 i to fit holes 59 at its upper front ends, swings therefrom through an arc facing the transfer unit. The radius: of this arc is slightly less than the distance from pivots 59 to the front of rollers (8. Grouping receiver 60 40 comprises the side-walls 62, roof 63, floor 64 and shelves 65, 66 and 67. The side-walls are shaped at their rear edges to match the arc through which they move. Figure 14 shows a variation in the contour of these edges; the arc is broken 45 by notches, which can be engaged by pinions (not shown), or they may be bevelled to engage with pawls. Either the gear or the ratchet movement would be for the purpose of rotating the receiver, as the cam and accompanying disks 52, 51 and 50 50 may be varied. Other satisfactory variations are available, which need not be herein described, following the principles of the invention. On the right hand side-wall 62 is attached, near the upper front comer, a follower, comprising the pin 55 68 and the roller 69. When the grouping receiver is in place, the roller rests upon the cam disk. The grouping shelves 65, 66 and 67 (shown in Figs. 5 and 6), are suitably spaced from each other and swing upon pivots 70 in the side-walls 60 62 near the edge facing the transfer unit. At the front end the shelves are inversely terraced, shelf 65 extending beyond the floor 64, shelf 66 beyond 65, and the top shelf 67 beyond 66. This may be varied, but all shelves must not extend 65 out to the same approximately vertical line, as the latter arrangement would reduce the facility with which the fingers can catch hold of the grouped cards to remove them. The drawings show the front end as having an up-turned 70 flange, supporting the shelf above and retaining the cards in the compartments. The same results may be accomplished by varied means. Figure 14 shows a method of holding the shelves at their hinged end in slotted holes, as a variation; the 75 slotted holes allow the shelves to rise at that end as the cards are being removed from the front. It may also be the case that the slotting of the holes will be of advantage in fast operation, when the receiver is descending, by obviating any danger of the cards getting pinched. *&lt;; This slotting also makes it possible to use a bevelled tooth to raise the shelf below which the card is to enter, said tooth to be projected beneath the shelf as it reaches the transfer position, thus increasing the space. In the side-wall 62 is a hole 71, and in the cover 2 are two holes 72 and 72α, to be used when the game is not one in which thirteen cards are to be dealt for each player, as was explained previously. Figure 10 shows a modified form of shelf 70α, in which a. Ift portion, extending from the hinge forward for a short distance, is approximately parallel to the path of card advance, then dips considerably. This prevents the cards from rising into the path of the next card entering the compartment. Out- ⁸⁸side of the cover 2 is a cross-arm 73, attached to the driver shaft 41, to serve as an indicator, showing where the handle should be brought to before starting the deal. Also outside of the cover, there is attached to the tubing 49 a cross- ²⁸arm 74, to serve as a second indicator, showing when the receiver is in position to start the deal. Tile two indicators should be in line with each other, being brought so by slowly turning the handle of the machine. It will then be the case J®? that one of the rollers 45 has just lost contact with the end of the cross-bar I i, which it has been driving. At the same moment the cam gear disk 51 will be in a position where its next fortyfive degree rotation will present either the top or the bottom compartment of the receiver opposite the point of card ejection from the transfer unit. The deck must never be placed in the machine to be dealt unless the indicators are in horizontal alinement. The variation shown in Figure 11 is 40. one of several ways in which a belt having transverse corrugations may be used. The drive pulley 75 is not now driving the belt 76 by friction; the transverse ribs 80 on the inner side of the belt are engaged by the transverse ribs 81 on the face 45 of the pulley, and are driven thereby. The pulleys 77 and 79 are similar to pulleys 16 and 13, respectively in Figure 6. Pulley 78 is an idler, serving to give the belt the requisite shape for smoothly engaging pulley 75. It is required on account of 50 the fact that, when ribbed belts and pulleys are made from sheet rubber, the V’s on the face of the pulley open and those on the belt close somewhat; thus they do not register when the belt wraps the pulley in a half-circle. Appropriate 55 gaps can be made in the ribbing of the pulley 75 to cause intermittent rotation of the belt by continuous rotation of the pulley, if desired, instead of by the use of the eccentric centers arrangement. Such a variation would call for several βθ changes in dimensions and locations of parts, but could be used within the principles of the invention. The operation of the machine in its preferred form is next described, each part as mentioned being called by the number applied β5 to it in the drawings. This description, until near the end, concerns dealing for a game requiring four hands of thirteen cards each.

The machine is placed on a side table or chair; or a bracket attached to the playing table. After 70 bringing the indicators into line, the handle 8 is raised to its full extent, whereby slot 6 is opened for entry of the cards. If it is desired to cut, an upper portion of the deck is inserted first followed by the lower, keeping the rear of the 75

2,185,474 cards low so that the front will be raised enough to .clear the top of those already entered. If no cut is to be made the deck may be entered at one operation, in either case being pushed as far for,Λ ward as it will go. Bearing lightly on the handle will line up the deck: properly against the front wall 22. The push of the deck against the bail 31 will swing it upwards, carrying with it the weight 32 at its forward end. Meanwhile, the .10 tongues 34, opposing their convex faces to the cards, will he forced upwards, following an arc centered at the cross-piece 33, and the deck will pass beneath the weight. The weight will bear evenly on the cards until the deck has been ,15 dealt, this being so because the bail and the rear portion of the weight swing in arcs which converge below their centers. While the deck is being pushed into the machine, it rides upon the tongues 36 until it reaches the belt 19, on the dBQ pulley 9, the forward end then rises, and the ileck moves forward upon the surface of the belt until it is stopped, at which time it is entirely out of contact with the tongues. A full understanding of the functioning of the bail and ίββ. weight will.have been had from the above in conjunction with what was previously explained regarding the weight extensions 35. The dealing is done by. means of the handle 42, which being turned clockwise causes the rollers 45 to drive j# the cross-arm I I in the same direction, turn for turn. This rotates the pulley 9 but not continuously, as previously explained. As the pulley starts to turn, the belt 19, upon the surface of which the weight presses the cards, moves the bottom card forward, carrying the front edge beneath the .restrainer 25. All of the deck, except about three ca-rds at the bottom, will be kept from advancing by the front wall 22 stop. If the cards in the deck have thickened edges, or if .40 some are slightly bent at the comers, or are frayed, they will not be prevented from passing under the front wall when they become the lowest cards, because the stop is at the center of the wall, the outer portions, being higher, will allow ,4.5 for .bad condition where it usually, is found. At the middle of the front edge poor condition will not cause the restrainer to abruptly check the advance of the bottom card,. as might a rigid stop, but :the restrainer will be flexed and permit AO the.card .to proceed, but will bear downwards with sufficient pressure, of wiping effect, to check the advance of the next card and enable the forwarding means to withdraw the leading card from its overlap, thereafter, to proceed freely. The bot,.§5. tom card has been prevented from sagging at the corners by the supporting margins. 20 of the intermediate pulley 13. As these margins are rotating, any tendency to sag assists in the advance of the cards. Having passed the restrainer, ,$0 the front edge of the card is . advanced to the treads of the rollers 18, which are moving in the same direction, but at greater speed than the belt. The upper rollers 26, already set in motion bytheir contact with the lower rollers, then press ,45 upon the advancing card, so that it is gripped between the two sets of rollers and its advance immediately accelerated, with increased impetus. This projects the card quickly and forcibly into the grouping receiver 60. At approximately the 70 instant when, the card is seized by the accelerating rollers, the rotation of pulley 9 has brought the cleats 39 from below into· contact with the shoulders 37 of the tongues 36, and by the upward tipping of the ends 38 has lifted the cards 70 out of contact with the belt. Instantly the pro pelling effect of the belt is withdrawn from that part of the next card (which otherwise would now rest upon the belt), exposed at the rear. Although the action just described is very brief, it is sufficient to cause a slight spacing between ® the/leading card and the next . The combination of the intermittently rotated belt, the interruption of card contact therewith and the uninterrupted advance of the leading card by means of the belt driving the accelerators until the re- 10 ceiver starts to move gives much latitude in spacing, card advance. The continuous rotation of driving shaft J® having now brought that one of the rollers 45 which has, been driving one of the cross-arm ends ‘ &lt; io the point where contact 1® is lost, the roller continues onward, and the crossarm stops. At this moment the other end roller has contacted one of the spurs 55 of disk 51, which it now-drives through an arc of forty-five degrees, rotating cam disk 52 forty-five degrees “ also. Exactly at the end of this move, this roller passes out of contact with the spur and in- , to contact with the second end of cross-arm 11, which has rested at a point exactly on the. opposite side of the center of shaft 9 from the end ²⁸ί 1 with which the other roller previously lost contact. By the rotation of the disks, as described, the receiver has been caused to present the next shelf in order of reception at the transfer point; the second card will be thereon re- ⁸⁸ceived as operation continues. Cleats 39 having passed onward and allowed the deck to drop into renewed contact with the belt, a new cycle starts. As previously related, the cam disk is so· formed that in each complete cycle there are two spurs ⁸⁸55 which, in their rotation, do not effect any change in the position of the receiver. This results in the top or , the bottom compartment receiving an extra card at such time. Getting the indicators 73 and -74 in line will make sure that 40 the first card of the deal will be received into one of the two two-card compartments, and that the second card of the deal will fall upon one of the intermediate shelves. The fifty-second card will never be received upon an intermediate shelf, 45 nor will it be received into the same compartment as the first card of the deal. When the fifty-second card starts to advance, plate 7 will follow until handle 8 hits down upon the roof 4, thus letting it be seen and heard that the deal 50 has been finished. Returning our attention to the grouping receiver 60, it will be observed that thirteen cards now have been stacked in each compartment, and that each stack in turn can be easily taken hold of at the projecting front 55 left-hand corner and removed, the fingers not having to enter an insufficient space to effect this removal. The top stack is taken first, the cards being raised in doing so to clear the flange which has retained them on the shelf. This ac- 60 tion is repeated to remove the cards from the next shelf, the top shelf rising, as it is swung on its binges 79, and thus presenting no obstacle to the free movement of the fingers. The other two stacks are removed in like manner and 65 with like facility. It is_: suggested that the person operating the machine stack the hands with the second and fourth hands in crosswise relationship to the first and third. It is of no importance in which order they .are given to the,.70 players; the person operating the machine is not to be regarded as the dealer. The dealer will be the player who is entitled to act as such in regular rotation of play.

As described in the foregoing, it requires 75 β 2.185,474 twenty-six full turns of the handle to deal a deck of fifty-two cards; but, as the machine is very fast, some users might prefer to have a slower - action, in which case the mechanism can be 5 changed slightly to call for fifty-two turns of the handle. This would quite likely be the preferred form for operation by motor. By removing one pin 44, the remaining pin will have to drive the cross-arm I i by contact with each end alternately 10 to cause one full rotation of the pulley 9. Thus it will require two full turns of the handle 42, or its equivalent, to deal two cards, making fiftytwo turns to deal the whole deck. As it would ,,, require one full turn of the handle to drive one 15 spur 55 through its forty-five degree arc, the receiver 60 will not be disturbed in its relationship to the pulley 9. Unless the handle were turned faster, there would be no change in the time consumed in card movement; the length of 20 the pause in each case would be doubled. Also in card conveyance, the physical spacing between the leading card and the next would not be changed, but the intervals between expulsions would be more than doubled in duration.

My method of interrupting card forwarding makes it possible to simplify construction somewhat, if necessary to reduce cost of production. Pulley 9 may be made larger in diameter, the duration of interruption increased in proportion, 30 the intermediate pulley 13 eliminated, accelerator rolls 18 also discarded, brackets 15 and 23 made little wider than belt 19, pulley i6 reduced to the same width as the belt and increased in diameter to raise the front end of the belt into level ³³ with the other end, and upper rolls 26 replaced by a single soft rubber roller of belt width. The belt thus becomes the sole transfer means, continuing to advance the first card after the next has been halted, and completing the transfer be40 fore ceasing to rotate, the card being clear of the transfer unit before the receiver starts into motion. Corrugations on pulley 16 to engage crosscorrugations on the inner surface of the belt may be used to· assist in overcoming any tendency 45 of the belt to slip, skid or stretch unevenly. Reduction in number of separate parts may also be made in the grouping unit, such as omitting shelf 64, having the cards for that group fall upon a portion of the base sloping down towards the front. This change would mean saving some of the weight which the cam would have to handle, not merely the weight of the shelf, but weight of the cards for that group as dealing proceeded. This is of particular advantage when dealing the 55 five suit deck, which can be done without any change in the machine.

I have experimented with many different arrangements, and have thought of others, which would come within the claims for invention which 50 are herein made, if broadly construed, and I therefore wish not to be restricted to details set forth in this application where the principles of the invention as disclosed are carried into the claims.