US2711319A - Playing card shuffler - Google Patents

Description

June 21, 1955 E. MORGAN ETAL PLAYING CARD SHUFFLER 2 Sheets-Sheez l Filed April l0, 1950.

June 2l, 1955 E. MORGAN ETAL 2,711,319 v PLAYING CARD SHUFFLEP Filed April 10,1950

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,WAZ/WW.:

United StatesPatent e PLAYING CARD SHUFFLER w Earl Morgan and Elli-e M. vRosecrans,Kansas City, Mo. Application April 10, 1950, Serial No. 155,052

1 Claim.- i (Cl. 273-149) Y' This invention relates to improvements in playing card shutllers and has particular reference to a card shutllersuitable for shuflling a larger number of cards than is in the present playing card deck. v

Certain card games such as canasta requirejthe use of plurality of decks of cards, which, due to their number are very unwieldy for most players who need a mechanical device to quickly and properly shuffle said cards.

The principal object of the present invention isfthe provision of a pair of gear segments operatively mounted on a base member, means carried by each of said kgear segments for carrying a pack of cards in radial relation with said gears, and detents carried by said base member in the path of travel of the free ends of said card packs, whereby when the gears are properly rotated said packs of cards will be properly shuffled.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of construction ease and accuracy of shufiling and adaptability for use for shuling cards of various sizes and numbers.

With these objects in Vview aswell as other objects which will appear during the course of the specification reference will be had to the drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a playing card shuling device with the parts in position for receiving the card packs for shuling and embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the card shuffling device shown in Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken on line III-III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the shufliing device shown in Fig. l with .thev parts shown in the shufing position in solid lines and in the shuffled position in dotted lines.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view taken on line V-V of Fig. l.

Throughout the several views of the drawings like reference characters refer to similar parts and the numeralV designates a base member of substantially inverted dish like cylindrical form having annular,outer ilange 12 and a substantiallyplanar base plate 14.

Twosegmental gear members 16 and 18 are axially pivoted bybolts 20 tobase plate 14 with theirteeth 22 intermeshed in such a manner as to always maintain the rate of relative rotation of the twosegmental gears 16 and 18 constant, so that if one of the gears is moved through a certain angle the other will simultaneously move through a like angle. Referring to Fig. 1 it will be noted that at each end of the toothed section of the gear segment there is ablank section 24 and likewisesegment 18 hasblank sections 26 at each end of the toothed section.

Theseblank sections 24 and 26 are so positioned that they engage each other to limit the rotatory movement of the gear segments in both directions as the device is operated to shuffle the cards.

Mounted on a radial line adjacent the outer edge ofgear segments 16 and `18 is a channel shaped pocket`member 28 which is adapted to receive'the end portions i 2,711,319 Patented l'June 21, 1955 j of Va deck ofplaying cards with-theother end portions v of the cards 'normally extendingl radially therefrom 'sof as to be ipped ashereinafter setforthb.These'pocketi 1 members A28 are sorelatedthatwhen they a'rem'oved into -aligned relation they will lie in a plane includingthe Y f axes of, pivot bolt.20 asshownrin solid' lines"in Fig. 4.

When in` this position4 it willi-be noted that the main por` tions of one of the decks of cards will Lbe ,bent rearwardly with their outerextremities contacting the spring; detent 30 Qand that thev outwardly projecting .portions ofthe Y -otherrdeck of cards will contact'v theother.r spring detent 32. These detents are joined together'at 34 and are provided witha vertical'standard 36 by means of which they are secured to base'14. These spring detents 'areV made of Hat spring steel and are spaced-'above the top edge ofsegmental Ygears 16 and v18 and are symmetrically positioned relative to aline perpendicular to the center of @the line joiningthe axis of the bolts 20.,V The free ends of ldetents 30and 32 lare. roundedV at 38 as shown in Fig.

3 to facilitate proper contact with the centerline ofthe deck of cards which rest onplatform 40 thus "supporting the outer portionk of thedeck of cards above the surface of the .gear surfaces. It willbe noted that the'platform 40 extendsnwardly frorntheV pocketmember beyond the centerV of the deck and transversely thereto so'as to serve/ to support the outer portion of the cards at all times during the shutiing operation.'

` Referring to Fig. 2 itwill be seenthat thestandard Y 36 has ahorizontal top 42 disposed'at a right angle to thejunction 36 ofmembers 30 and 32, to present a support for one Ydeck of cards by means of which the entire group of cards, which usually contains two kdecks,may Abe equally dividedby placing one side Vof group against line. 34 to support half the cards ontop 42 whileV the other half is permitted toseparate and move downwardlyV `along the outer wall of standard 36 to kcause Vthe desired separation of the two decks,` Y Y Y A spring stopmember 44 mounted onbase 10 Vis disposed in thepath'of travel of the overlappingends 46 of playing cards to hold them in condensed form as shown Y by dotted lines in Fig. 4 when all the cards have been Y flipped to the shuffled position..

e stopblanks 2,4 and 26 at adjacent ends of the gear teeth stop'the gear yrotation in one direction. The card packs are now snugly fitted intopocket members 28 andthe operator grips the two Vpocket members with his tWo hands and forces the ends of thecard packs 48 and 50 respectively against spring detents 3 0 and 32.V Suicient force is exerted by the operator Vto slightly compress the detents so as to cause aKL flipping of each ,card as it leaves` -the detents.

Vpacks the cards will be alternately ipped from the two With the cards properly vdivided in equal packs to take the positions shown in Fig. '5 at 46.Y That is'with the end portions lofthe two packs interdigita'ted so that they may be removed from the device and manually bunched'together in the usual manner. This operation maybe repeated as many times as desire v To prevent damaging of the machine theblank stops 24 and 26 come into contact after the cards have all been bers in the shufiling direction.

To facilitate easy insertion of the packs of cards into the pocket members it will be noted that'the edges of the pockets have been anged outwardly at 52.

shuled to prevent further movement of the gear memfr While it has been suggested that the operator grasp and. turn both. of the pocket members to shuie the cards, it is quite apparent that with the gear construction as described the movement of one of the gear members will cause a corresponding movement of the other gear member, and that the operator hence actually need grasp and turn only one of the pocket members.

What we claim as new and desirey to protect by Letters Patent is:

A card shuliing device comprising a base member, intermeshed gear members axially mounted on said lbase member, a pocket member rigidly fixed' to each gear men ber and adapted to receive a pack of cards with their end portions extending outwardly therefrom, detents carried' by said base in the Vpath of travel of the end portions of said cards, whereby as said gears are driven said cards will be, shuied, said gears, each having integral, nonrneshing terminal'projections'adapted to engage corresponding projections on the other gear member to stop rotation of the gear members. f

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,984,702 Rockman' et al Dec. 18, 1934 1,998,690 Shepherd et al. Apr. 23, 1935 2,676,020 Ogden Apr. 20, 1954 Y FOREIGN' PATENTS Y 27,568 Great Britain Sept. 22, 1910 29,288 Great Britain Dec. 17, 1914

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