US2185474A - Card shuffling and dealing device - Google Patents

Description

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

cum SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE Filed Nov. 8, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Jan. 2, 1940. 5. mm 2,185,474

CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE Filed Nov. 8, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 67 X 9 INVENTOR Jan. 2, 1940. I NQTT 2,185,474

CARD SHUFFLINC- AND DEALING DEVICE Filed Nov. 8, 1937 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 1940- I s. c. NOTT I ,185,474

. CARD SHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE Filed Nov. 8, 193/ 4 sheets sheet 4 m A TOP LEFTOF DEALER. 1-8-94b47-24-2562-33-40-41-4629 DEALERS m -r EFL 2-7-1045-13-2 -2e-a1-a4-a9-4z-47 5o .9 am; mam OF DEALER 3-e-11-;449-22-27-30 -a5-aa-4a-46-5 INVENTOR Patented Jan. 2, 1940 UNITED {STATES PA ENT OFFICE 2,185,474 I r can!) VSHUFFLING AND DEALING DEVICE v 'j. Sydney 0.1mm, Irvington, No.1,.

Application November 8, 1937, Serial .No 173,325 Claims. (01. 273 -14 9) The main difliculty 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- ..areseveral causes for this, among whichmay .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 tobe vadvancedwould have to be increased in ,proportion tothe frictional restraint neededto ,separate the card being moved from an adhering card, I decided to increase the surface contact between the forwarding means and-the card much beyond that actually necessary. This. in-

' creased contact is obtained by the use oflan endless belt, carried on. pulleys. so spacedand positioned as to provide an extensive. area otflat ior- .wardly moving belt surface to be in constant frictional contact with thecard surface. This powerful increased frictional propulsion. admits of employment of a sufficiency. of resilient frictional restraint, to positively function eiiiciently.

The use of a rigid stop wall or, fingerto limiteard advance to one card at a time has been. avoided, even thoughithas vertical adjustment,..because ofthe high percentage of variation inthickness I of .cards and their. condition at the edges and corners. Cards of better quality and finish vary greatly. from thecheaper grades, .giltedged cards are thicker andharder at the edge f than the plain, and decks which have ,been used'c'ontain cards which differ from each other in thickness and condition, as well as ,diilering'from other decks which havebeen in use for varying periods,

or which are new. A rigid adjustment setito 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, in-

sufliciently to check theadvance, but enough to cause fraying oi chipping'of, the front edge. If the frontedge has already become frayed -'or thickened from use, this would be the more likely to occur. The restraining rubber fingendescribed herein later,,,i,s not only adjustable, as toposi-tion with respect to card path of travel, butthewiping pressure upon the cards accommodates itself exactly to varying thickness and condition and cannot injure the cards. This resilient restrainer can be used in combination with other meansof card advance than those .set forth herein, and I amclaiming the broad application of theprin ciple. as being an entirely novel and important improvement in the art. The belt. may be rotated by any one of a variety of available means,

that the machine be placed'upon a side table or chair while in use, not upon the playing table where it would interferewith play. At a card party, this machine can keep a supply of decks ready for play by placing it Where it canbe operated byany person not playing, or by one of the players who maybe free fora 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 will be used and printedinstructions furnished to cover the necessary changes in h'andling 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 a hole in the side of the cover, and there are two in the side of the receiver. By placing apenoil 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 and hold it independent of cam control, thus causing allcards 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 they wish to be dealt to them, the dealer will operate the machine as for fourhands, and will then give outthe cards as called for from the top shelf first, then continuingv down. This is equivalent to dealing from the top of the deck 0 as done by hand after the cards have been shuffled and out. That the shuflling of thecards, as done by my machine, is uniformly thorough will appear in the following explanation and by study of the diagram showing theorder of distribution of the cards; theresults obtained as to interesting hands for playing value are highly satisfactory. Details of the mechanism which does the shuffiing will be given later.

In the playing ofgames in which four cards constitute 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 over they are gathered into one lot, to be dealt for a new hand. If this deck were to be placed in my machine without cutting and redealt, 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. 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 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 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 dealwill start with the ace of spades, and the result is shown in the table below, for cards so arranged 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 starting position in this table.

The novel feature of hinging the shelves at the entrance thereto, and extending the upper be yond the lower at the other end, greatly facili tates 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 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.

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.

Figure 6 is a vertical section similar to Fig. 5,

on a medial line of the transfer 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, 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 isa diagram showing the shufiling results of this method of grouping the cards into F hands for four players.

Figure 10 is a detailed View of a modified form of shelf. 1

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic view of a crosscorrugated form of belt and driver, with accompanying 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 front wall.

'slightlyless width than the distance between the for protecting the surface of theshpporitingfurniture. To this base isremovably fastened a cover 2. Side-walls 3 upon the base are connected by a roof l. 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 1 to be 15 swung back and 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 flat on the roof when the lower portion is not resting against the rear edges or the cards in the machine. Mounted between the side-walls is the pulley S; the'shaft lll'supporting it has uponone end, on the other side of the side-wall, a cross-arm l l, rigidly attached. Further forward between the side-walls is mounted a shaft 12, sleeved by a tube It 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 I5, 39 the mounting for front'pulley l6, which runs freely upon its axle ll, the latter being easily 'removablefrom the'bracketf. At each end of pulley, i5 is fastened a roller I8, preferably of w 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 l9 is'of rubber, or rubber faced, endless, and of front pulley rollers l8, andruns from pulley 9%0 over pulleys i3 and it, down and back to pulley 9. Imparting a clockwise rotary movement to the cross-arm I! causes rotation" of the belt and pulleys supporting it. Intermediate pulley i3 is an idler, located where it keepsthe belt on a level "3.5 until it reaches the restrainer The ends of this pulley are increased in diameter at their marginseach side of the belt, preferably by theadditio n of rubber tubing, to make them form an even line with the surface of the belt, although this is 5 not essential. The diameter of the central portion of pulley I6 is smaller than that of the pulley I '9, whereby the number of revolutions is increased. Thefrollers it are fixed on the same; hub as the central portion of pulley l6 .,and thus'i 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 eo 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 .!5 is attached to the plate M by means. which permit adjustment, if required, to line up the belt properly, such as they bolts 2!, 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. 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 This extends downwards further in the-7 rotation in a single direction. Disk 5| is V slotted at eight evenly spaced places 58'5l, to receive the rollers 45 as they contact the disk.

Figure 12 shows a preferred form of disk 50a, which maintins a closer contact with disk 43, and is more effective as a stop. Disk 5| 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 of metal to which to fasten separate pieces of appropriate shape and size to be the working equivalent of the three disks 56a, 5| and 52. No rotary movement is possible, in either direction, for these three disks, except when roller 45 is driving 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 1% inches below it. The top edge forms an arc of 1% inches radius, and the bottom edge forms an arc of 1 inches radius. Each extends 45 degrees to right and left of the medial line. Each end of the bottom are is connected with the corresponding end of the top are by a curved outline 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 themachine, 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, having pivot pins 5| to fit holes 59 at its upper front ends, swings therefrom through an arc facing the transfer unit. The radius of this are is slightly less than the distance from pivots 59 to the front of rollers i8. Grouping receiver 60; comprises the side-walls 62, roof 63, floor 64 and shelves 65, G6 and 67. The side-walls are shaped at their rear edges: to match the are through which they move. Figure 14 shows a variation in the contour of these edges; the arc is broken 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, 5| and 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 corner, a follower, comprising the pin 68 and the roller 69. When the grouping receiver is in place, the roller rests upon the cam disk. The grouping shelves 65, 56 and 61 (shown in Figs. 5 and 6), are suitably spaced from each other and swing upon pivots 10 in the side-walls 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 -61 beyond 86. This may be varied, but all shelves must not extend 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 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 slotted holes allow the shelves to rise at'that end as the cards are being removed from the 5 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.-

This slotting also makes it possible to use a bevelled tooth to raise the shelf belowgwhich the card is to enter, said tooth to be projected beneath the shelf as it reachesthe transfer position, thus increasing the space. In the side-wall 62 is a hole II, and in the cover 2 are two holes 12 and 12a, to be used when the game is not one,

in which thirteen cards are to be dealt for each player, as was explained previously. FigurelO shows a modified formof shelf 10min which a.

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 theapath of the next card entering the compartment. .Outa.

arm M, to serve as a second indicator, showing when the receiver is in position to start the deal.

The two indicatorsshould be in line with each other, being brought so by slowly turning the handle of the machine. It will then be the case that one of the rollers 45 has justlost contact with the end of the cross-bar H, which it has been driving. At the same moment the cam gear;

disk 5| 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 1l;is one of several ways in which a belt'having transverse corrugations may be used. The drive pulley 15 is not now driving the belt 16 by friction; the

transverse ribs on the inner'side of the belt are engaged by the transverse ribs 8| on the face of the pulley, and are driven thereby. The pulleys l7 and 19 are similar to pulleys l6 and I3, respec-'v tively in Figure 6. Pulley 18is an idler, serving to give the belt the requisite shape for smoothly engaging pulley 15. It is required on accountof the fact that, when ribbed belts and pulleys are made from sheet rubber, the VS on the face of the pulley open and those on the belt close somewhat; thus they donot register when the belt wraps the pulley in a half-circle. Appropriate gaps can be made in the ribbing of the pulley 15 to cause intermittent rotation of the belt by continuous rotation of the pulley, if desired, instead,

of by the use of the eccentric centers arrange-; ment. Such a variation would call for several changes in dimensions and locations of parts, but could be used within the principles of the invention. The operation of the machine in itspreferred form is next described, each part as mentioned being called by the number applied to it in the drawings. This description, until near the end, concerns dealing for a game requiring four hands of thirteen cards each. I

Themachine is placed on a side table or chair,"

or a bracket attached to the playing table. After bringing the indicators into line, the handle 8 is raised to itsfull extent, whereby slot" 6 is 7 opened for entry of the cards. If it is desired to out, an upper portion of the deck is inserted first followed by the lower, keeping the rear of the cards low so, that the front will be raised enough to clear .the top of those already entered. If no tongues 34, opposing their convex faces to the cards, will :be forced upwards, following an are centered at thecross-piece 33, and the deck will pass beneath the weight. Theweight will bear all - beneaththerestrainer 25.

evenly on the, cards until the deck has been 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 be- .ing pushed into the machine, it ridesupon the tongues 36 until it reaches the belt 19, on the pulley 9, the forward end then rises, and the weight willhave been had from the above in con- ,junctionwith what was previously explained regarding the weight extensions 35. The dealing is done by neans of the handle 42, which being .turned clockwise causes the rollers 45 to drive the cross-arm H 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 beltl9, upon the surface of which the weight presses the cards, moves the bottom card forward, carrying the front edge All of the deck, except about three cards 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 some are slightly bent at the corners, or are frayed, they will not be prevented from passing under the front wall when they become the low- .est cards, becausethe stop is atthe center of the wall, the outer portions, being higher, will allow forbad 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,.but1the restrainer will be flexed and permit the-card .to proceedbut will bear downwards with sufiicient 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 bottom card has been preventedfrom sagging at the corners by the supporting marginsZD of the intermediate pul1ey'l3. As these margins .are rotating, any tendency to sag assists in the advance of. the cards. Having passed the restrainer, the front edge of the card isadvanced to the treads of the rollers l8, which are moving in the shoulders :31 of the tongues 36, and by the upward tipping of the ends 38 has lifted the cards .out of contactwith the belt. Instantlythe propelling 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 interrupt on of card contact therewith and the uninterrupted advance of the leading card by means of the belt driving the accelerators until thereceiverstarts to move gives much latitude in spacingcard advance. The continuous rotation of driving shaft it? having now brought that one of the rollers 45 which has been driving one of the cross-arm ends M'to the point where contact I 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 whichit 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 into contact with the second end. of cross-arm l l, which has rested at a point exactly on' thef'opposite side of the center of shaft 9 from the end H 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 received as operation continues. Cleats as 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 55 which, in their rotation, do not effect any change in the position of the receiver. This results in the top o-rthe bottoincompartment receiving an extra card at such time. Getting the .indicatorsl3 and M in line will make sure that the first card of the. deal will be received into one 'ofthe two two-card compartments, and that the second card of the-deal will fall upon one of thein-termediate shelves. The fifty-second card will never be received upon an intermediate shelf,

nor will it be received into the same compart- Inent as the first card of the deal. When the be easily taken hold of at the projecting front lefthand 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 toclear the flange which has retained them on the shelf. This action is repeated to remove the cards from the next shelf, the top shelf rising, as it is swung on not to be regarded as the dealer. The dealer will be the player who is entitled'to act as such in regularrotation of play. I

As described in the foregoing, it requires p M .70 V players; the person operating the machine is 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 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 l l by contact with each end alternately 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 spur 55 through its forty-five degree are, 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 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, the intermediate pulley l3 eliminated, accelerator rolls l8 also discarded, brackets l5 and 23 made little wider than belt l9, pulley it reduced to the same width as the belt and increased in diameter to raise the front end of the belt into level 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 before ceasingto rotate, the card being clear of the transfer unit before the receiver starts into motion. Corrugations on pulley Hi to engage crosscorrugations on the inner surface of thebelt may be used to assist in overcoming any tendency 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 five suitdeck, which can be done withoutany 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 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.

What I claim is:

1. In a card dealing machine, the combination, with means for containing a deck of cards, means for advancing cards therefrom, and a housing into which the cards are projected, of a plurality of shelves, dividing the housing into compart- 'ments, said shelves being pivotally attached to the housing by means of slotted holes in the sidewalls, at the end where said projected cards enter, and side extensions of the shelves, at the same end, to ride in said slotted holes.

2. In a machine for card dealing, the combination with a hopper for receiving a deck of cards, of an endless belt for feeding the cards therefrom by frictional'conta'ct, a pulley to drive I, the belt and a pulley driven thereby, the belt 5 driven pulley having margins of sufficiently-enlarged diameter to rotate'at greater periphera speed than that of the belt.

3. In a card dealing device, the combination, H with means for containing a deck of cards, means"*10 for advancing cards therefrom, and a housing into which the cards are thereby projected, of a plurality of shelves dividing the housing into compartments, said shelves being pivotally mounted upon the side-walls of thehousing at P15 the end where said projected cards enter, each shelf provided at the other end with card retaining projections.

4. In a machine for card dealing, the combina- H tion with a hopper to 'receive'a deck of cardsf of means for advancing cards therefrom by frictional contact, said means comprising an endless belt, mounted on pulleys,'one pulley being driven intermittently by continuous rotation of operating means, and another having corrugations to 16 engage cross-corrugations on theinner face of the belt. Y

5. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination with a hopper to receive-a deck of cards, and means for successively advancing the n lowermost card therefrom by frictional contact, of means to delay advance of the next .to lowermost card, comprising a member underlying the rear portion of the lowermost card, and projections upon said advancement meansintermit- IB tently striking said underlying member upwards against the rear portion of the next to lowermost card, after the lowermost card has been advanced beyond reach of said underlying member, thereby raising the next to lowermost card away from' lfl contact with said advancement means.

6. In a machine for dealing playing cards, the combination with a hopper to' receive a deck of cards, and means for successively advancing the lowermost card therefrom by frictional contactw of means to interrupt card advance, comprising a member, underlying the rear portion of the lowermost card, and projections upon said advancement means, intermittently striking said underlying member upwards against the cards thereby raising the rear portion of the cards away from effective frictional contact with 'th card advancement means.

I '7. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination with a receptacle for a deck of cards 1 and means for advancing cards therefrom, of a restraining means, situated at'the forward end of said receptacle, transversely of the path of card advance, comprising a 'finger, flexible in a forward direction, and means for holding said m finger in vertical adjustment and limiting the extent of forward flexing.

8. In a machine for card dealing, the combination with a hopper for receiving a deck of cards, of means for advancing cards by frictional con-"Q5 tact, said means comprising a continuously rotating driving member, a pulley intermittently 'driven thereby, an endless belt driven by said pulley, and a pulley driven by the belt, said belt driven pulley having margins of sufiiciently en- 70 larged diameter to give greater peripheral speed than that of the surface of the belt. 3

9. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination with means for containing a deck of cards, means for transferring cards therefro'mf and receiving means having four compartments wherein 'to group the cards into four playing hands, each containing an equal number of cards, of means for controlling movement of said receiving means, comprising a rotatable cam disk, to engage therewith, said cam disk being so mounted upon a shaft that the rim of the disk will be at varying distances from the shaft, the contour of the disk comprising an arc of ninety degrees at the shortest radius, an arc of ninety degrees at the longest radius, opposite thereto, and connecting intermediate arcs, of which the radius increases gradually from each end of the first mentioned arc to the corresponding end of the other.

10. In a card dealing machine, the combination, with a hopper for receiving a deck of cards, and with means for advancing cards therefrom, of a grouping receiver, comprising a housing, pivotal supports therefor at the end remote from the point of card reception, said housing being mounted rotatably thereon and therebetween,

means for rotating said housing, and a shelf,

pivotally mounted upon the side frames of the housing, at the end nearest-the point of card reception and at any required distance below the top of the housing.

11. In a mechanism wherein a continuously rotated driving shaft produces intermittent rotation of a driven shaft, the combination with a driving shaft, and a shaft driven thereby, said shafts being mounted with their centers eccentric relatively to each other, of twin engagement means on one shaft, oppositely positioned from the center thereof, and twin engagement means on the other shaft, oppositely positioned thereto, the distance between centers not exceeding the distance between one of the engagement means and the center of the shaft upon which it is carried, whereby, in one complete rotation of the driving shaft, contact between the respective engagement means will rotate the driven shaft intermittently, resulting first in a move, then a rest, followed by a second move, succeeded by a second rest in each complete rotation.

12. In a card dealing device, the combination, with means for containing a deck of cards, an endless belt for advancing cards therefrom by frictional contact, a pulley to drive the belt, a pulley driven thereby, and a pivotallymounted receiving means for grouping the advanced cards into hands for the players, of operating means comprising a continuously rotated crank, means on said driving pulley and driving means on said ll receiving means driven by the crank alternately.

13. In a card dealing machine, the combination,

with means for containing a deck of cards, of means for advancing cards therefrom and means for receiving cards so advanced and grouping them into playing hands, said receiving means comprising a housing pivotally mounted upon supports near the front of the machine, three shelves pivotaly mounted upon the sides of said housing at the end nearest the point of card reception, a base beneath. the said housing, and means for oscillating said housing whereby cards for one player fall below the shelves upon said base, and the cards for each of the otherplayers are received upon said shelves proportionally.

14. In a device for dealing playing cards, the

combination With means for containing a deck of cards, means for transferring cards therefrom,

and receiving means having four compartments wherein to group the cards into four playing hands, each containing an equal number of cards, of means for controlling movement of said receiving means, comprising a rotatable cam disk, to engage therewith, means to rotate it, comprising an eight-spur gear and means to drive said gear intermittently in moves of forty-five degrees each, said cam disk being so mounted upon a shaft that the rim of the disk will be at varying distances from the shaft, the contour of the disk comprising an arc of ninety degrees at the shortest radius, an arc of ninety degrees at the longest radius, opposite thereto, and connecting intermediate arcs, of which the radius increases gradually from each end of the first mentioned are to the corresponding end of the other.

15. In a device for dealing playing cards, the combination with means for containing a deck of cards, means for transferring cards therefrom, and receiving means having four compartments wherein to group the cards into four playing hands of requisite number of cards in each, of means for controlling movement of said receiving means, comprising a rotatable cam disk, .to engage therewith, means to rotate it, comprising an eight-spur gear and means to drive said gear intermittently in moves of forty-five degrees each, stop means engaging said driving means to prevent reverse or excessive rotation of the cam disk, said cam disk being so mounted upon a shaft that the rim of the disk will be at varying distances from the shaft, the contour of the disk comprising an arc of ninety degrees at the shortest radius, an arc of ninety degrees at the longest radius, opposite thereto, and connecting intermediate arcs, of which the radius increases gradually from each end of the first mentioned are to the corresponding end of the other.

SYDNEY C. NOTT.

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