Method for shuffling playing cards

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11865435-B2
Application number	US-201816756981-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 19, 2018
Priority date	Oct 21, 2017
Publication date	Jan 9, 2024
Grant date	Jan 9, 2024

Abstract

A shuffling system of the present invention includes multiple shuffling devices which are connected in series to one another, and multiple CPUs which are independent from one another, and are connected with the respective multiple shuffling devices, in which each of the multiple CPUs is used to shuffle the cards across the multiple shuffling devices, so that the cards are arranged randomly, and further, even if the information about the shuffle in each shuffling device is stolen due to an unauthorized access to the multiple CPUs, or the like, it becomes difficult to identify shuffled cards to which the stolen information is allocated in all the shuffling devices, and therefore the possibility that the arrangement of the shuffled cards is recognized is reduced.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A shuffling system, comprising:
one or more random generators configured to generate a plurality of random numerical values including a first random numerical value and a second random numerical value;
a first shuffling device configured to shuffle, based on the first random numerical value of the plurality of random numerical values, a card set made up of a plurality of cards; and
a second shuffling device configured to shuffle, based on the second random numerical value of the plurality of random numerical values, the card set shuffled by the first shuffling device;
wherein the first random numerical value and the second random numerical value are managed independently from each other, and
wherein each of the first and second shuffling devices is configured to:
respectively selects one random numerical value from the plurality of random numerical values generated by the one or more random generators, and
conduct shuffling of the card set based on the selected random numerical value.

2. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , wherein:
the one or more random generators includes:
a first random generator configured to generate the first random numerical value; and
a second random generator configured to generate the second random numerical value.

3. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , wherein the first random numerical value and the second random numerical value are managed independently from each other by the first random numerical value and the second random numerical value being generated at different timings.

4. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a first selecting processor configured to select the first random numerical value used by the first shuffling device from the plurality of random numerical values; and
a second selecting processor configured to select the second random numerical value used by the second shuffling device from the plurality of random numerical values independently from the first selecting processor;
wherein the first random numerical value and the second random numerical value are managed independently from each other by the first shuffling device using the first random numerical value selected by the first selecting processor and the second shuffling device using the second random numerical value selected by the second selecting processor.

5. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a checking device configured to check a number of cards of the cards of the card set shuffled by the second shuffling device.

6. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an ID assignor configured to assign an ID to the card set shuffled by the second shuffling device.

7. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a database configured to store an ID assigned to the card set along with information concerning a device involved with the shuffle of the card set.

8. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , wherein a product of respective numbers of shuffles performed by all shuffling devices connected in series, including the first and second shuffling devices, multiplied by one another is equal to or larger than a total number of the plurality of cards of the card set.

9. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an assembler; and
an automatic packager;
wherein:
of multiple shuffling devices, including the first and second shuffling devices, a final shuffling device includes the assembler;
the assembler is configured to mechanically gather the plurality of cards shuffled by the final shuffling device; and
the automatic packager is configured to pack the plurality of cards of the card set that have been gathered by the assembler into a package.

10. A shuffling system comprising:
a card set that is shuffled by the shuffling system of claim 1 ; and
an automatic packager configured to pack the shuffled card set into a package.

11. The shuffling system according to claim 10 , wherein the automatic packager is configured to double-pack the shuffled card set.

12. A shuffled card set comprising:
a card set that is shuffled by the shuffling system of claim 1 .

13. The shuffled card set according to claim 12 , wherein the card set that is shuffled is in a package as packaged by an automatic packager.

14. The shuffled card set according to claim 13 , wherein the card set that is shuffled is double-packed.

15. The shuffling system according to claim 1 , wherein the first random numerical value includes a first set of random numerical values, the second random numerical value includes a second set of random numerical values, and the first set of random numerical values is different from the second set of random numerical values.

16. A shuffling system comprising:
a plurality of shuffling devices;
a plurality of sequencers or controllers, wherein each of the plurality of sequencers or controllers is configured to control operations of a respective one of the plurality of shuffling devices; and
a plurality of processors, each processor of the plurality of processors configured to control a respective sequencer or controller of the plurality of sequencers or controllers; and
wherein:
each processor of the plurality of processors includes a respective random generator configured to generate a plurality of random numerical values; and
each sequencer or controller of the plurality of sequencers or controllers is configured to select and use one random numerical value from the plurality of random numerical values to control the respective shuffling device of the plurality of shuffling devices to shuffle a single set of cards made up of one or more decks.

17. The shuffling system according to claim 16 , wherein a respective number of shuffles performed by each of the plurality of shuffling devices is set so that a product of the respective numbers of the shuffles of all of the plurality of shuffling devices multiplied by one another is equal to or larger than a total number of the cards of the set of cards.

18. The shuffling system according to claim 16 , wherein:
each processor of the plurality of processors is configured to output the plurality random numerical values obtained using the respective random generator of the processor; and
each sequencer or controller of the sequencers or controllers is configured to receive the plurality of random numerical values from the respective processor.

19. The shuffling system according to claim 16 , wherein:
of the plurality of shuffling devices, a final shuffling device includes an assembler;
the assembler is configured to mechanically gather and stack the single set of cards shuffled by the final shuffling device; and
the shuffling system includes an automatic packager configured to pack the set of gathered and stacked cards into a package.

20. The shuffling system according to claim 19 , wherein the shuffling system is configured to generate a unique ID and associate the unique ID with the shuffled set of cards.

21. A set of shuffled playing cards manufactured using the shuffling system according to claim 19 .

22. The set of shuffled playing cards according to claim 21 , wherein the set of shuffled playing cards is double-packed by the automatic packager.

23. A shuffling system comprising:
a plurality of shuffling devices;
a plurality of sequencers or controllers configured to control operations of respective ones

Assignees

• Angel Group Co Ltd

Inventors

• Shigeta Yasushi

Classifications

• A63F2009/2485

  using a general-purpose personal computer · CPC title

• A63F2001/022

  Manufacturing of cards · CPC title

• A63F1/062

  Boxes or cases for cards · CPC title

• A63F1/12 Primary

  Card shufflers · CPC title

• A63F1/02 Primary

  Cards; Special shapes of cards · CPC title