Poker machine and card receiving device therefor

Abstract

The application discloses a poker machine and a card receiving device thereof. The card receiving device comprises a plurality of card receiving boxes arranged around a card dealer, the card receiving boxes are fixed on a rotating ring, and the inner side of the card receiving box body is an open end. A card blocking ring is further fixed on the base, the card blocking ring is located above the rotating ring and the inner side of the card receiving boxes, the lower outer side wall of the card blocking ring is in a circular ring shape, the upper outer side wall of the card blocking ring comprises an arc-shaped blocking wall and a linear blocking wall, the linear blocking wall is matched with the card outlet of the card dealer, and a card distributing step is formed between the linear blocking wall and the lower outer side wall. The structure is simple and reasonable, the matching gap between the card receiving boxes and the card dealer is reduced, the card storage space in the card receiving boxes is increased during card receiving, and the faults that the poker cards are placed on the inner side wall of the card receiving boxes or the poker cards fall out of the card receiving boxes during the rotating card receiving process are completely avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of poker machines, and more particularly to a poker machine and its card receiving device. Background Technology

[0002] Playing cards is a popular form of entertainment. After each game, players need to arrange, shuffle, and deal the cards themselves. To save time, automatic card dealing machines have been invented. For example, patent document CN201164714Y discloses a four-port card dealing machine with a shuffling chamber. A shuffling differential driven by a shuffling motor is installed in the center of the shuffling chamber. Four conveyor belts, driven by a conveyor motor, are evenly distributed around the shuffling chamber and connected to the dealing mechanism. Each conveyor belt has a card-arranging wheel on one side and a stop block that cooperates with the wheel on the other side. A spiral lever is installed on the card-arranging wheel, and a counting photoelectric sensor is installed at the output end of the dealing mechanism. In use, the shuffled cards are placed face down into the shuffling chamber, and after passing through the shuffling differential, card-arranging wheel, and dealing mechanism, they are dispensed from the four outlets. Although the card dealing machine basically completes the shuffling and dealing of cards, it still cannot avoid requiring players to collect, organize, and flip the playing cards to face different directions, resulting in high labor intensity and long waiting time in the game.

[0003] Patent document CN102580307A discloses a fully automatic poker machine, which includes a mounting base plate and a plurality of support legs disposed at the bottom of the mounting base plate; a card inlet parallel to the tabletop for inserting playing cards is disposed on the mounting base plate; a shuffling and initial card-splitting device is disposed at one end of the card inlet for initially separating the disordered playing cards; a straight-card and secondary card-splitting device is disposed at the other end of the shuffling and initial card-splitting device for adjusting the playing cards to the same direction and separating them into single cards; a flipping and dealing device is disposed at the other end of the straight-card and secondary card-splitting device for adjusting single cards with different front and back sides to the same direction and dealing them according to regulations; a card-pushing device is disposed at the other end of the flipping and dealing device for moving the dealt playing cards; and a card-lifting device is disposed on one side of the card-pushing device for raising the playing cards onto the tabletop. The shuffling and initial card-splitting equipment uses different rotation speeds of the feeding belt and the splitting belt to achieve initial card splitting (separating the playing cards into a few). The straightening and secondary card-splitting equipment uses a secondary card-splitting belt to transport the playing cards and uses straightening belts on both sides and an auxiliary straightening belt to straighten the cards (adjusting the playing cards to the same direction, i.e., arranging the cards). The card-flipping equipment uses a card-flipping plate and three concave-designed card-flipping belts to flip the cards (flipping the playing cards to the desired face). The card-dealing equipment uses a card-dealing belt and a card-dealing rod to achieve random card dealing (i.e., shuffling and dealing). The dealt playing cards fall directly onto the card-pushing panel and are then pushed onto the card-lifting panel by the card-pushing rod. The card-lifting equipment then lifts the playing cards onto the tabletop.

[0004] Although the above-mentioned poker machine basically realizes the actions of sorting, shuffling and dealing poker cards, it has the following problems due to its structural limitations: 1. The gap between the conveyor belt and the surrounding wall can easily embed poker cards, which can easily cause poker cards to be damaged or missing, jammed or the equipment to malfunction.

[0005] 2. Using a method where playing cards are laid flat on a conveyor belt and rotated in the horizontal plane by the opposing motion of the two side belts to adjust their orientation, thus achieving the purpose of horizontal card arrangement, can easily cause the playing cards to float up, get stuck between the two side belts, or even be damaged or embedded in the belt gaps. In addition, the conveyor belt has high requirements for conveying speed and length, resulting in low card arrangement efficiency.

[0006] 3. The method of using a card-flipping board and three card-flipping belts to flip cards has the disadvantages of unstable card flipping and low card flipping efficiency. It also has the disadvantage of playing cards getting stuck in the gaps between the belts.

[0007] 4. Using a card-dealing belt and multiple card-dealing openings arranged in a straight line has the disadvantages of unstable card dealing and low card dealing efficiency. In addition, the fact that playing cards from multiple positions are raised to the same position makes it inconvenient for players to pick up cards and also poses a possibility of cheating.

[0008] Patent document CN103055499A discloses a fully automatic poker machine, comprising: a card-feeding frame for holding playing cards, with a card-feeding mechanism at the bottom of the frame; a card-sorting slot for vertically placing the playing cards, with at least two card-sorting components capable of relative movement to move the playing cards out of the slot with their length sides upright; a vertical card-transferring device for vertically placing the playing cards fed from the card-feeding frame into the card-sorting slot; a card-flipping device for flipping the playing cards, installed on the outlet side of the card-sorting slot; a card-distributing device installed behind the card-flipping device for randomly sending playing cards to multiple card-receiving boxes; and multiple card-lifting devices for raising the playing cards from each card-receiving box onto the table. This poker machine uses ordinary playing cards and employs a vertical card-sorting method, greatly improving the accuracy and efficiency of card sorting. However, this poker machine has many parts and components, resulting in high manufacturing costs.

[0009] Patent document CN105854274A discloses a poker machine and its poker card sorting method, which eliminates the need for a card sorting device and a vertical card transfer device. By setting a card dispensing mechanism at the card outlet of the existing card inlet frame, the dispensing mechanism sends out single poker cards into a card flipping device for flipping and dealing. This method can separate, flip, shuffle, and deal poker cards that have already been sorted into a stack, resulting in high shuffling efficiency, good reliability, and low machine manufacturing costs. However, the card flipping device of this poker machine can only send one mahjong tile to the card flipping box at a time for identification, flipping, and dispensing, resulting in low flipping efficiency. Furthermore, the card flipping box generates significant noise, puts a heavy load on the motor, has a complex structure, and exhibits poor stability. In addition, this poker machine has a loose structural layout, large size, and low installation efficiency.

[0010] Patent documents such as CN110787444A disclose a playing card machine, including: a card-feeding device for feeding playing cards, the card-feeding device including a panel fixed to the top of a base, a control panel disposed in the center of the panel, the control panel being driven to rise and fall by a central lifting mechanism, the control panel forming a card-feeding opening below it when it rises, and covering the card-feeding opening when it falls; and a card-sorting device for arranging the playing cards so that they face the same direction and sending them out, the card-sorting device being located below the control panel, the card-sorting device including a card-sorting base fixed to the base, a central turntable driven to rotate by a turntable motor disposed in the center of the card-sorting base, an outer wall of a card-sorting channel surrounding the card-sorting base, an arc-shaped card-sorting channel for arranging playing cards formed between the central turntable and the outer wall of the card-sorting channel, a plurality of conveying rollers for conveying playing cards disposed at the bottom of the arc-shaped card-sorting channel, and a card-sorting channel outlet disposed at one end of the arc-shaped card-sorting channel for sending playing cards out along its length; wherein, the arc-shaped... The width of the card sorting channel is less than the length of the playing cards but greater than the width of the playing cards. The distance between two adjacent conveyor rollers is less than the length of the playing cards. The width of the card sorting channel outlet is similar to the width of the playing cards. A card dispenser is used to send the playing cards one by one to the card receiving device. The card dispenser is fixed on the base and located below the card sorting seat. The card dispenser includes a card storage box and a card dispensing device. The upper opening of the card storage box is located below the outlet of the card sorting channel. One side of the bottom of the card storage box is connected to the card inlet channel of the card dispensing device. The card dispensing device includes a card separating mechanism for separating the playing cards in the card storage box into individual cards and sending them to the conveying mechanism, a conveying mechanism for identifying the front and back of the playing cards and conveying them to the card flipping mechanism, and a card flipping mechanism for flipping the playing cards as needed and sending them to the card receiving device. A card receiving device is used to receive the playing cards. The card receiving device includes multiple card receiving boxes arranged around the card dispenser. These card receiving boxes are driven to rotate relative to the card dispenser by a rotary drive mechanism. However, in this structure, after the card receiving device receives the playing cards from the card dealer, the card lifting structure raises the playing cards from each card receiving device to the table for the player to take. This results in a complex and large card receiving device structure, which is not suitable for some simplified poker machines, such as poker machines where the player reaches into the card taking slot to take the playing cards.

[0011] Patent document CN113304463A discloses a card-receiving device that coordinates card receiving and card raising. It includes multiple card-receiving boxes arranged around a card dealer and a card-sorting device. These boxes are fixed to a rotating ring, which is supported by multiple rollers and rotatably mounted on a base. The rotating ring is driven by a rotary motor. Multiple card-raising devices are mounted on the base, each corresponding to a card-receiving box. Each card-raising device includes a card-holding arm for supporting playing cards and a card-raising drive mechanism for driving the arm up and down. The bottom of each card-receiving box has an opening corresponding to the card-holding arm for the arm to pass through during lifting. When the card dealer deals cards, the multiple card-receiving boxes rotate to randomly receive cards; the card-raising devices and their card-holding arms do not affect the dealing process. When the card-raising devices raise cards, the card-receiving boxes remain above the card-holding arms of the raising devices. The card-raising drive mechanism drives the card-holding arms upwards, lifting the playing cards from the boxes and placing them on the poker machine table. In this structure, the card receiving box has four side walls (including the outer side wall, inner side wall, and left and right side walls). Because multiple card receiving boxes are fixed on a rotating ring and rotate around a specific circumference, while the card outlet of the card dealer is at a right angle, the gap between the card receiving box and the card dealer is relatively large, and the card storage space inside the card receiving box is not large enough. Therefore, the playing cards need to travel a long distance from the card outlet of the card dealer to the card receiving box. The card receiving box cannot properly receive the playing cards, and malfunctions such as playing cards resting on the inner side wall of the card receiving box or even playing cards falling out of the card receiving box during the rotating card receiving process will still occur.

[0012] Patent document CN103055500B discloses a card-lifting device for the aforementioned poker machine, including a card-lifting base with a card-lifting opening. Inside the opening are two door panels that open and close, driven by a drive mechanism. Below the opening is a card-supporting plate, driven by its own drive mechanism to move up and down. This structure requires independent motors to control the opening and closing of the door panels, necessitating two motors for each card-lifting device: a card-lifting motor and a door-opening motor, thus increasing manufacturing costs. Summary of the Invention

[0013] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention aims to provide a poker machine and its card receiving device, which has a simple and reasonable structure, reduces the gap between the card receiving box and the card dealer, increases the card storage space in the card receiving box during card receiving, and completely avoids malfunctions such as poker cards being placed on the inner wall of the card receiving box or poker cards falling out of the card receiving box during the rotating card receiving process.

[0014] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0015] A card receiving device for a poker machine includes multiple card receiving boxes (5) arranged around a card dealer. The multiple card receiving boxes (5) are fixed on a rotating ring (6) and located outside the rotating ring (6). The rotating ring (6) is rotatably mounted on a base (1) and is driven by a rotary motor to rotate around the card dealer. Each card receiving box (5) includes a card receiving box body (501), which has an outer wall (5011), a right side wall (5012), a left side wall (5013), and a bottom wall (5015). The inner side of the card receiving box body (501) is open. An inner card blocking ring (2) is also fixed on the base (1), located above the rotating ring (6) and between the multiple card receiving boxes (5). Inside, the lower outer wall of the inner blocking ring (2) is circular, and the upper outer wall of the inner blocking ring (2) includes an arc-shaped blocking wall (202) and a straight blocking wall (203). The straight blocking wall (203) cooperates with the card outlet of the card dispenser. The inner blocking ring (2) forms a card dispensing step (2031) between the straight blocking wall (203) and the lower outer wall. When a card receiving box (5) rotates to the outside of the card outlet of the card dispenser, the card dispensing step (2031) cooperates with the bottom wall (5015) of the card receiving box (5). The straight blocking wall (203) constitutes the inner wall of the card storage space of the card receiving box (5), while the arc-shaped blocking wall (202) constitutes the inner wall of the card storage space of other card receiving boxes (5).

[0016] Preferably, the inner barrier ring (2) is fixed to the base (1) by a number of support frames (201), and the support frames (201) are fixedly connected to the base (1) or integrally formed.

[0017] Preferably, the rotating ring (6) is annular and is mounted on the base (1) in a rotatable manner by means of multiple support rollers. The multiple support rollers are mounted on the base and are evenly distributed on the inner or outer side of the rotating ring (6). The circumference of the support rollers is provided with rolling grooves. The inner or outer side of the rotating ring (6) is embedded in the rolling grooves of the support rollers and can rotate.

[0018] Preferably, the inner or outer side of the rotating ring (6) is formed with transmission teeth, and the rotating motor fixed on the base drives the rotating ring (6) through gear meshing with the transmission teeth on the rotating ring (6).

[0019] Preferably, the card receiving box (5) also includes a flip arm (502). The bottom wall (5015) of the card receiving box body (501) is provided with a groove or hollow that cooperates with the flip arm (502). The flip arm (502) is hinged to the card receiving box body (501) and is given a tendency to be embedded in the groove or hollow by an elastic member.

[0020] Preferably, the flip arm (502) is L-shaped, and the hinge position between the flip arm (502) and the card receiving box body (501) is close to the outer side wall (5011) of the card receiving box body (501).

[0021] Preferably, the bottom wall (5015) of the card receiving box body (501) is provided with two openings (5014), the two openings (5014) extend outward from the bottom wall (5015) and penetrate the outer wall (5011), and the card receiving box body (501) forms an outwardly extending extension arm between the two openings (5014), and a flip arm (502) is disposed between the two openings (5014) and hinged to the extension arm.

[0022] Preferably, the elastic element is a torsion spring, one end of which abuts against the flipping arm (502), and the other end of which abuts against the extension arm.

[0023] A poker machine, including a card receiving device as described above.

[0024] A poker machine includes: a card sorting device for arranging playing cards so that they face the same direction and dispensing them; a card dispenser for dispensing playing cards one by one to a card receiving device, the card dispenser being fixed to the base of the poker machine, the card dispenser including a card storage box and the card dispensing device, the card storage box being located below the card sorting channel outlet of the card sorting device, and one bottom side of the card storage box communicating with the card feeding channel of the card dispensing device; the card dispensing device including a card separating mechanism for separating the playing cards in the card storage box into individual cards and dispensing them to a conveying mechanism, a conveying mechanism for identifying the front and back of the playing cards and conveying them to a card flipping mechanism, and a card flipping mechanism for flipping the playing cards as needed and dispensing them to the card receiving device; the card receiving device is the card receiving device of the poker machine described above.

[0025] The present invention adopts the above-mentioned technical solution. The inner wall of multiple card receiving boxes is realized by a fixed inner card blocking ring. When a card receiving box rotates to the outside of the card outlet of the card dealer, the card dealing step on the inner card blocking ring is connected with the bottom wall of the card receiving box. The straight card blocking wall forms the inner wall of the card storage space of the card receiving box, thereby achieving the technical effect of reducing the gap between the card receiving box and the card dealer and increasing the card storage space in the card receiving box when receiving cards. It completely avoids the faults such as playing cards being placed on the inner wall of the card receiving box or playing cards falling out of the card receiving box during the rotation of the card receiving box. The structure is simple, reasonable and low cost. Attached image description:

[0026] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the poker machine of the present invention (unreasonable card device and card dealing device);

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the inner retaining ring of the poker machine of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the poker machine rotating ring and its card receiving box of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the poker machine door panel of the present invention (view 1);

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the installation structure of the poker machine door opening panel of the present invention (view 2);

[0031] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the card-raising device for the poker machine of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the card-raising device of the present invention (playing cards in a flipped and raised state);

[0033] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the card-raising device of the present invention (playing cards raised to the table);

[0034] Figure 9 The card-raising device of the present invention is in Figure 8 A cross-sectional view of the state.

[0035] The components include: 100 playing cards, 1 base, 2 inner card-blocking ring, 201 support frame, 202 curved card-blocking wall, 203 straight card-blocking wall, 2031 dealing step, 3 door panel assembly, 301 door panel, 302 connecting rod, 303 lower top plate, 4 card-lifting base, 5 card-receiving box, 501 card-receiving box body, 5011 outer wall, 5012 right wall, 5013 left wall, 5014 opening, 5015 bottom wall, 502 flipping arm, 6 rotating ring, 7 card-lifting device, 701 card-lifting base, 702 card-bearing frame, 7021 card-blocking step, and 7022 lifting part. Detailed Implementation

[0036] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0037] In the description of this invention, it should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "length," "width," "thickness," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," "clockwise," and "counterclockwise," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, are only for the convenience of describing the invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more, unless otherwise expressly defined.

[0038] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," and "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; and they can refer to the internal connection of two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0039] In this invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, "above" or "below" the second feature can include direct contact between the first and second features, or contact between the first and second features through another feature between them. Furthermore, "above," "over," and "on top" of the second feature includes the first feature directly above or diagonally above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a higher horizontal level than the second feature. "Below," "below," and "under" the second feature includes the first feature directly below or diagonally below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is at a lower horizontal level than the second feature.

[0040] In this embodiment, for ease of description, the center of the poker machine table is referred to as "inner" and the perimeter of the poker machine table is referred to as "outer".

[0041] A poker machine includes: a base 1, and a card sorting device, a card dealer, a card receiving device, and a card lifting device installed on or inside the base. The card sorting device is installed above the card dealer. The card dealer includes a card storage box and a card dealing device. The outlet of the card sorting device is connected to the card storage box. The card receiving device includes multiple card receiving boxes arranged around the card dealer. These card receiving boxes are driven to rotate relative to the card dealer by a rotary drive mechanism. Multiple card lifting devices are arranged corresponding to the multiple card receiving boxes.

[0042] The aforementioned card sorting device is prior art and can use the specific structures disclosed in a series of patent documents with publication numbers CN110787444A, CN112791371A, CN113304464A, CN113304461A, CN112915522A, etc. Generally, a deck consists of a deck holder, outer walls of the deck-sorting channel, and a central turntable. The deck holder is directly or indirectly fixed to a base. A central turntable is located in the center of the deck holder and is driven to rotate by a turntable motor mounted on the deck holder. The outer walls of the deck-sorting channel surround the deck holder, forming an arc-shaped deck-sorting channel for arranging playing cards between the central turntable and the outer walls of the deck-sorting channel. Multiple conveying rollers for conveying playing cards are located at the bottom of the arc-shaped deck-sorting channel. A card-dispensing baffle is located at one end of the arc-shaped deck-sorting channel, forming a deck-sorting channel outlet between the card-dispensing baffle and the bottom of the arc-shaped deck-sorting channel for conveying playing cards along its length. The card storage box of the dealer is located below the deck-sorting channel outlet to receive the delivered playing cards. The width of the arc-shaped deck-sorting channel is less than the length of the playing cards but greater than the width of the playing cards. The distance between two adjacent conveying rollers is less than the length of the playing cards, and the width of the deck-sorting channel outlet is similar to the width of the playing cards. In this way, the disordered playing cards placed through the card-dispensing opening are rotated and guided into the arc-shaped card-sorting channel by the central turntable. Playing cards whose length direction is basically aligned with the conveying roller direction within the arc-shaped channel are sent out of the channel by the conveying rollers. Playing cards whose length direction is not aligned with the conveying roller direction are rotated by the central turntable and the conveying rollers on both their inner and outer sides until their length direction is basically aligned with the conveying roller 605 within the arc-shaped channel, and then sent out. This process organizes the disordered playing cards into a forward-facing orientation, achieving card sorting. Preferably, the rotation direction of the central turntable is opposite to the direction in which the conveying rollers transport the playing cards, thus promoting the rotation of playing cards with inconsistent orientations and organizing them into a specific orientation, improving card sorting efficiency.

[0043] The aforementioned card dealer is prior art and can utilize the specific structures disclosed in a series of patent documents, including CN113018838A, CN112587909A, CN112870684A, CN113304460A, CN111318004A, and CN110801621A. Generally, the card dealer is fixed and does not rotate, while the card receiving position in the card receiving device or the card receiving box rotates to achieve random card receiving. That is, the card dealer is fixed on the base and located below the card sorting seat. The card dealer includes a card storage box and a card dealing device. The upper opening of the card storage box is located below the card sorting channel outlet, and one side of the bottom of the card storage box communicates with the card feeding channel of the card dealing device. The card dealing device includes a card separating mechanism, a conveying mechanism, and a card flipping mechanism, with the card flipping mechanism located below and outside the central turntable. In this embodiment, the card storage box, card separating mechanism, conveying mechanism, and card flipping mechanism convey playing cards along the width direction of the playing cards. Their structures, principles, operation processes, and methods can all adopt the structures, principles, operation processes, and methods disclosed in patent documents with publication numbers CN209405643, CN110193184, CN112587909A, CN112870684A, CN113304460A, CN111318004A, CN110801621A, as well as various alternative structures, principles, operation processes, and methods disclosed in patent documents with publication numbers CN209405643, CN110193184, CN112587909A, CN112870684A, CN113304460A, CN111318004A, CN110801621A. The same content will not be repeated.

[0044] In this embodiment, the card receiving device and the card raising device work together to achieve the card raising action of the playing cards. Specifically:

[0045] like Figure 1 The illustrated card receiving device for a poker machine includes multiple card receiving boxes 5 arranged around a card dealer. The multiple card receiving boxes 5 are fixed to a rotating ring 6 and located outside the rotating ring 6. The rotating ring 6 is rotatably mounted on a base 1 and is driven by a rotary motor to rotate around the card dealer. Figure 3 As shown, each card receiving box 5 includes a card receiving box body 501. The card receiving box body 501 has an outer side wall 5011, a right side wall 5012, a left side wall 5013, and a bottom wall 5015. The inner side of the card receiving box body 501 is an open end. An inner card blocking ring 2 is also fixed on the base 1. The inner card blocking ring 2 is located above the rotating ring 6 and inside the multiple card receiving boxes 5, as shown. Figure 2As shown, the lower outer wall of the inner blocking ring 2 is circular, and the upper outer wall of the inner blocking ring 2 includes an arc-shaped blocking wall 202 and a straight blocking wall 203. The straight blocking wall 203 cooperates with the card outlet of the card dealer. The inner blocking ring 2 forms a card-dispensing step 2031 between the straight blocking wall 203 and the lower outer wall. When a card receiving box 5 rotates to the outside of the card outlet of the card dealer, the card-dispensing step 2031 cooperates with the bottom wall 5015 of the card receiving box 5. The straight blocking wall 203 constitutes the inner wall of the card storage space of the card receiving box 5, while the arc-shaped blocking wall 202 constitutes the inner wall of the card storage space of other card receiving boxes 5.

[0046] In this way, the inner walls of multiple card receiving boxes are formed by a fixed inner card blocking ring. When a card receiving box rotates to the outside of the card dispensing port of the card dealer, the card dispensing step on the inner card blocking ring connects with the bottom wall of the card receiving box. The straight card blocking wall forms the inner wall of the card storage space of the card receiving box, thereby achieving the technical effect of reducing the gap between the card receiving box and the card dealer and increasing the card storage space in the card receiving box when receiving cards. This completely avoids malfunctions such as playing cards being placed on the inner wall of the card receiving box or playing cards falling out of the card receiving box during the rotation of the card receiving box. The structure is simple, reasonable and low cost.

[0047] In this embodiment, the inner barrier ring 2 is fixed to the base 1 by several support frames 201, which are fixedly connected to or integrally formed with the base 1. The arc-shaped barrier wall 202 and the straight barrier wall 203 have a smooth transition. The rotating ring 6 is annular and is mounted on the base 1 in a rotatable manner by multiple support rollers. The multiple support rollers are installed on the base and evenly distributed on the inner or outer side of the rotating ring 6. Rolling grooves are provided on the circumference of the support rollers, and the inner or outer side of the rotating ring 6 is embedded in the rolling grooves of the support rollers and can rotate. Transmission teeth are formed on the inner or outer side of the rotating ring 6, and a rotary motor fixed to the base engages with the transmission teeth on the rotating ring 6 via gears.

[0048] In this embodiment, as Figure 3 As shown, the card receiving box 5 also includes a flip arm 502. The bottom wall 5015 of the card receiving box body 501 has a groove or hollowed-out shape that cooperates with the flip arm 502. The flip arm 502 is hinged to the card receiving box body 501 and is given a tendency to be embedded into the groove or hollowed-out shape by an elastic element. The flip arm 502 is L-shaped, and the hinge position of the flip arm 502 and the card receiving box body 501 is close to the outer wall 5011 of the card receiving box body 501.

[0049] In this preferred embodiment, the bottom wall 5015 of the card receiving box body 501 is provided with two openings 5014. The two openings 5014 extend outward from the bottom wall 5015 and penetrate the outer wall 5011. An outwardly extending extension arm is formed between the two openings 5014 in the card receiving box body 501. A flip arm 502 is disposed between the two openings 5014 and is hinged to the extension arm.

[0050] In this preferred embodiment, the elastic element is a torsion spring, one end of which abuts against the flipping arm 502, and the other end of which abuts against the extension arm.

[0051] When the card dealer deals cards, multiple card receiving boxes in the card receiving device randomly rotate to the card outlet of the card dealer to receive cards. When a card receiving box 5 rotates to the outside of the card outlet of the card dealer, the card-dealing step 2031 on the inner card-blocking ring 2 engages with the bottom wall 5015 of the card receiving box 5. The straight card-blocking wall 203 forms the inner wall of the card storage space of the card receiving box 5, thus expanding the card storage space of the card receiving box and facilitating the entry of the playing cards dealt by the card dealer into the card receiving box. Meanwhile, the arc-shaped card-blocking wall 202 of the inner card-blocking ring 2 forms the inner wall of the card storage space of other card receiving boxes 5. The card storage space of these other card receiving boxes is relatively reduced, which helps to neatly gather the playing cards. When the card receiving box 5 rotates to other positions, the arc-shaped card-blocking wall 202 of the inner card-blocking ring 2 can also push the playing cards outward and neatly gather them.

[0052] like Figure 1 , Figures 4 to 5 The illustrated card-lifting device for a poker machine includes a card-lifting base 4 and a card-receiving box 5. The card-lifting base 4 has a card-lifting opening for lifting poker cards onto the poker machine table. The card-lifting opening has an opening plate 301, one side of which is movably connected to the card-lifting base 4, and the other side of which can be opened by being pushed by a poker card. A card-receiving frame 702 is provided below the card-lifting opening, and the card-receiving frame 702 is driven to move up and down by a card-lifting drive mechanism. The card-receiving box 5 includes a card-receiving box body 501 and a flipping arm 502. The bottom of the card-receiving box body 501... The bottom wall 5015 is provided with a groove or hollowed-out part that cooperates with the flip arm 502. The flip arm 502 is hinged to the card receiving box body 501 and is given a tendency to be embedded in the groove or hollowed-out part by an elastic element. The bottom wall 5015 of the card receiving box body 501 is provided with an opening 5014, which extends outward from its bottom wall 5015 and penetrates its outer side wall 5011. When the card receiving box 5 is located above the card holder 702, the card holder 702 can rise up through the opening 5014 and lift the flip arm 502 to flip it.

[0053] In this way, the door panel is set to a passive lifting opening method, and by setting a flipping arm in the card receiving box, the playing cards are flipped and upright when the card holder lifts the playing cards in the card receiving box, so that the playing cards can push open the door panel. This reduces the number of motors in the card lifting device, simplifies the door panel structure, and reduces manufacturing costs.

[0054] In this embodiment, as Figure 6 As shown, the card holder 702 includes two card-holding arms corresponding to the two openings 5014. The inner end of the card-holding arms, which extends into the card receiving box 5, is provided with a card-blocking step 7021 for blocking the playing cards 100 and a lifting part 7022 for lifting the flipping arm 502.

[0055] In this embodiment, as Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, a lower top plate 303 is provided below the door panel 301. The lower top plate 303 is inclined and its upper side is hinged to the opening side of the door panel 301. The lower side of the lower top plate 303 is hinged to the card lifting seat 4. The door panel 301 is movably connected to the card lifting seat 4 through two connecting rods 302. The upper end of the connecting rod 302 is hinged to the door panel 301, and the lower end of the connecting rod 302 is hinged to the card lifting seat 4. The door panel 301, the lower top plate 303, the connecting rods 302, and the card lifting seat 4 form a four-bar linkage. In this preferred embodiment, the bottom surface of the lower top plate 303 that contacts the playing cards is a smooth surface. The card lifting seat 4 is provided with a smooth guide surface or smooth guide rib at the card lifting opening to facilitate the movement of the playing cards along the guide, thereby reducing damage to the playing cards.

[0056] In this embodiment, the connecting rod 302 is located between the door opening panel 301 and the lower top plate 303. A spring is installed between the connecting rod 302 and the lifting plate seat 4, which gives the connecting rod 302 the tendency to pull the door opening panel 301 downward to close it. Preferably, the spring is a torsion spring sleeved on the hinge axis between the connecting rod 302 and the lifting plate seat 4.

[0057] The card-raising method of the card-raising device described above includes the following steps:

[0058] 1) Move the card receiving box 5, which contains 100 playing cards, to below the card raising opening, and place the card holder 702 below the card receiving box 5;

[0059] 2) such as Figure 7 As shown, the card holder 702 rises upward and drives the flipping arm 502 to flip, and the flipping arm 502 drives the playing cards 100 in the card receiving box 5 to flip and stand up.

[0060] 3) such as Figure 8 and Figure 9 As shown, the card holder 702 continues to rise, and the upper part of the playing cards 100 opens the door panel 301 by pushing the lower top plate 303, and the upper side of the playing cards 100 rises onto the table.

[0061] 4) After the flip arm 502 separates from the card holder 702, it resets; after the playing card 100 is taken away, the card receiving box 5 moves away from below the card lifting opening, and the card holder 702 descends and resets.

[0062] The aforementioned card-lifting drive mechanism is existing technology. For example, it adopts the linkage mechanism disclosed in patent document CN113304462A. Generally, it includes a card-lifting base, a card-lifting gear, a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, a card-bearing frame, a guide post, and a card-lifting rack. Two card-lifting racks are slidably mounted on the card-lifting base, and a card-lifting gear is provided between the two card-lifting racks. The card-lifting gear meshes with the card-lifting racks on both sides for transmission. Each card-lifting rack is provided with a first connecting rod. The two first connecting rods are symmetrically arranged and hinged at the intersection. The lower end of the first connecting rod is hinged to the card-lifting rack, and the upper end of the first connecting rod is hinged to the lower end of the second connecting rod. The upper ends of the two second connecting rods are hinged to the card-bearing frame. The card-bearing arm is fixedly connected to the card-bearing frame or integrally formed. The card-bearing frame is slidably mounted on the guide post, and the card-lifting motor drives the card-lifting gear to rotate. When the lifting gear drives the hinged ends of the two lifting racks away, the card holder 702 and its supporting arm descend to the bottom; when the lifting gear drives the hinged ends of the two lifting racks closer, the card holder and its supporting arm rise to the top. Thus, the two first connecting rods and the two second connecting rods form a cross-link mechanism, which is simple and reasonable in structure, provides reliable and stable card lifting movement, and has low manufacturing cost. In a preferred embodiment, the lifting drive mechanisms of each party are driven synchronously by the same lifting motor. Each lifting gear has a drive arm fixedly connected or integrally formed, and also includes an annular lifting drive ring, which is mounted on the bottom of the base via multiple positioning guide wheels and driven to rotate by the lifting motor. Multiple drive parts corresponding to the multiple drive arms extend from the outer circumference of the lifting drive ring. Each drive part is movably connected to a drive arm via a sliding groove. Thus, the lifting motor, by rotating the lifting drive ring, drives the drive arms to swing and the lifting gears to rotate, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering of the card holder and its supporting arm. This method allows multiple lifting devices to be driven synchronously by a single lifting motor, resulting in a simple structure, reasonable operation, reliable operation, and low manufacturing cost.

[0063] In the description of this specification, references to terms such as "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "example," "specific example," or "some examples," etc., indicate that a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the invention. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0064] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Those skilled in the art can make changes, modifications, substitutions and variations to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention. Any simple modifications, equivalent changes and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention shall still fall within the scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A card receiving device for a poker machine, comprising a plurality of card receiving boxes (5) arranged around a card dealer, the plurality of card receiving boxes (5) being fixed on a rotating ring (6) and located outside the rotating ring (6), the rotating ring (6) being rotatably mounted on a base (1), the rotating ring (6) being driven by a rotary motor to rotate around the card dealer, characterized in that, Each card receiving box (5) includes a card receiving box body (501), which has an outer side wall (5011), a right side wall (5012), a left side wall (5013), and a bottom wall (5015). The inner side of the card receiving box body (5011) is an open end. An inner side blocking ring (2) is also fixed on the base (1). The inner side blocking ring (2) is located above the rotating ring (6) and inside the multiple card receiving boxes (5). The lower outer side wall of the inner side blocking ring (2) is circular. The upper outer side wall of the inner side blocking ring (2) includes an arc-shaped blocking wall (202) and a straight blocking wall (203). 03) In coordination with the card outlet of the card dealer, the inner card blocking ring (2) forms a card-dealing step (2031) between the straight card blocking wall (203) and the lower outer wall; when a card receiving box (5) rotates to the outside of the card outlet of the card dealer, the card-dealing step (2031) is engaged with the bottom wall (5015) of the card receiving box (5) to reduce the gap between the card receiving box (5) and the card dealer and increase the card storage space of the card receiving box. The straight card blocking wall (203) constitutes the inner wall of the card storage space of the card receiving box (5), while the arc-shaped card blocking wall (202) constitutes the inner wall of the card storage space of other card receiving boxes (5).

2. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner side barrier ring (2) is fixed to the base (1) by several support frames (201), and the support frames (201) are fixedly connected to the base (1) or integrally formed.

3. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The rotating ring (6) is circular and is mounted on the base (1) in a rotatable manner through multiple support rollers. The multiple support rollers are installed on the base and are evenly distributed on the inner or outer side of the rotating ring (6). The circumference of the support rollers is provided with rolling grooves. The inner or outer side of the rotating ring (6) is embedded in the rolling grooves of the support rollers and can rotate.

4. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The inner or outer side of the rotating ring (6) is formed with transmission teeth, and the rotating motor fixed on the base drives the rotating ring (6) through gear meshing with the transmission teeth on the rotating ring (6).

5. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The card receiving box (5) also includes a flip arm (502). The bottom wall (5015) of the card receiving box body (501) is provided with a groove or hollow that cooperates with the flip arm (502). The flip arm (502) is hinged to the card receiving box body (501) and is given a tendency to be embedded in the groove or hollow by an elastic element.

6. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 5, characterized in that, The flip arm (502) is L-shaped, and the hinge position between the flip arm (502) and the card receiving box body (501) is close to the outer wall (5011) of the card receiving box body (501).

7. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 6, characterized in that, The bottom wall (5015) of the card receiving box body (501) is provided with two openings (5014). The two openings (5014) extend outward from the bottom wall (5015) and penetrate the outer wall (5011). The card receiving box body (501) forms an outwardly extending extension arm between the two openings (5014). The flip arm (502) is disposed between the two openings (5014) and is hinged to the extension arm.

8. The card receiving device for a poker machine according to claim 7, characterized in that, The elastic element is a torsion spring, one end of which abuts against the flipping arm (502), and the other end of which abuts against the extension arm.

9. A poker machine, characterized in that, Includes a card receiving device for a poker machine as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

10. A poker machine, comprising: A card sorting device used to arrange playing cards so that they face the same direction and then deliver them; A card dispenser is used to send playing cards one by one to a card receiving device. The card dispenser is fixed on the base of the playing card machine. The card dispenser includes a card storage box and a card dispensing device. The card storage box is located below the card sorting channel outlet of the card sorting device, and one side of the bottom of the card storage box is connected to the card feeding channel of the card dispensing device. The card dispensing device includes a card separating mechanism for separating the playing cards in the card storage box into individual cards and sending them to a conveying mechanism, a conveying mechanism for identifying the front and back of the playing cards and conveying them to a card flipping mechanism, and a card flipping mechanism for flipping the playing cards as needed and sending them to the card receiving device. The characteristic feature is that the card receiving device is a card receiving device for a poker machine as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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