Card-handling devices and related methods, assemblies, and components

Abstract

A card-handling device may include a card intake, a card output, a card imaging device positioned between the card intake and the card output. The card imaging device may be configured to identify a non-conforming card. The card-handling device may be configured to store the non-conforming card in a designated location and/or to reorient the non-conforming card with a card-flipping apparatus configured to reorient flipped cards identified as non-conforming cards.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A card-handling device comprising:
 a card input configured to receive playing cards;   an imaging device positioned between the card input and a card-shuffling apparatus, the card-shuffling apparatus including multiple compartments;   a card output; and   a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the card-handling device to:
 capture images of the playing cards with the imaging device as the playing cards are transported between the card input and the card-shuffling apparatus; 
 identify non-conforming cards from the captured images; 
 place the non-conforming cards in a designated compartment of the multiple compartments in the card-shuffling apparatus; 
 shuffle an order of conforming playing cards in the card-shuffling apparatus; and 
 output at least one playing card to the card output after the at least one playing card has been shuffled by the card-shuffling apparatus. 
   
     
     
         2 . The card-handling device of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to capture images of the playing cards including identifying a rank and a suit of the playing cards. 
     
     
         3 . The card-handling device of  claim 2 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to identify playing cards that do not include a recognizable rank and suit as non-conforming cards. 
     
     
         4 . The card-handling device of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to output the non-conforming cards from the designated compartment separate from the conforming playing cards. 
     
     
         5 . The card-handling device of  claim 4 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to output the non-conforming cards after all conforming playing cards are output from the card-shuffling apparatus. 
     
     
         6 . The card-handling device of  claim 1 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to randomly assign to each conforming card of the conforming cards a random compartment of the multiple compartments and shuffle the order of the conforming playing cards by moving each conforming card to the random compartment. 
     
     
         7 . The card-handling device of  claim 1 , wherein the non-conforming cards are one or more of a flipped card, a cut card, a promotional card, or a joker card. 
     
     
         8 . The card-handling device of  claim 1 , further comprising a card-flipping apparatus positioned between the imaging device and the card-shuffling apparatus. 
     
     
         9 . The card-handling device of  claim 8 , wherein instructions cause the card-flipping apparatus to flip at least one non-conforming card of the non-conforming cards and deliver the at least one non-conforming card back to the imaging device. 
     
     
         10 . The card-handling device of  claim 1 , wherein the card input is configured to receive the playing cards in a first orientation and the card output is configured to receive the at least one playing card in a second orientation substantially transverse to the first orientation. 
     
     
         11 . A method of handling playing cards, the method comprising:
 receiving playing cards at an input;   designating a compartment of multiple compartments in a card shuffling apparatus as a non-conforming playing card compartment;   capturing images of the playing cards;   identifying non-conforming playing cards from the images of the playing cards;   moving the non-conforming playing cards into the non-conforming playing card compartment;   assigning respective compartments of the multiple compartments to conforming playing cards of the playing cards; and   moving the conforming playing cards to the respective compartments.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising unloading the non-conforming playing cards from the non-conforming playing card compartment separate from the conforming playing cards. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein assigning respective compartments of the multiple compartments to the conforming playing cards comprises randomly assigning respective compartments of the multiple compartments to the conforming playing cards. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising unloading the conforming playing cards from the respective compartments in a randomized order. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 11 , further comprising unloading the non-conforming playing cards from the non-conforming playing card compartment before unloading the conforming cards from the respective compartments. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein receiving the playing cards at the input comprises receiving the playing cards in an orientation substantially parallel with an associated table. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein further comprising unloading at least one card of the non-conforming playing cards or the conforming playing cards into an output with the at least one card in an orientation substantially transverse to an associated table. 
     
     
         18 . A card-handling device configured to be mounted to a table, the card-handling device comprising:
 a card input configured to receive playing cards at a top surface of the table;   an imaging device positioned between the card input and a card-shuffling apparatus, the card-shuffling apparatus including multiple compartments;   a card output configured to output cards to the top surface of the table; and   a non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions thereon that, when executed by
 at least one processor, cause the card-handling device to: 
 capture images of the playing cards with the imaging device as the playing cards are transported between the card input and the card-shuffling apparatus; 
 identify non-conforming playing cards from the captured images; 
 place the non-conforming playing cards in a designated compartment of the multiple compartments in the card-shuffling apparatus; and 
 output the non-conforming playing cards to the card output separate from conforming playing cards in an orientation substantially transverse to the top surface of the table. 
   
     
     
         19 . The card-handling device of  claim 18 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to randomly assign to each conforming card of the conforming cards a random compartment of the multiple compartments and shuffle an order of the conforming playing cards by moving each conforming card to the random compartment. 
     
     
         20 . The card-handling device of  claim 18 , wherein the instructions cause the card-handling device to:
 assign to each conforming card of the conforming cards an assigned compartment of the multiple compartments; and   shuffle an order of the conforming playing cards by outputting each conforming card from the assigned compartment in a random order.