A light card shuffler

Abstract

The application provides a light card sorting machine, which comprises a table body and a card delivery mechanism. The tabletop of the table body is provided with a card delivery opening. The card delivery mechanism comprises a card suction wheel for delivering a square entertainment card to the card delivery opening and a driving element for driving the card suction wheel to rotate. The driving element drives the card suction wheel to rotate, and the rotation of the card suction wheel drives the square entertainment card sucked by the card suction wheel to rotate towards the card delivery opening. When the square entertainment card rotates to the card delivery opening, a player can take the square entertainment card from the card delivery opening. The card sorting machine of the embodiment has simple structure, light weight and is convenient to carry.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of card sorting machine technology, specifically to a portable card sorting machine. Background Technology

[0002] A machine that arranges square tiles for entertainment is called a tile arranging machine. Tile arranging machines generally refer to mahjong machines, domino machines, or poker machines. Typically, a tile arranging machine consists of an internal arranging mechanism and a tabletop for the user to use. The arranging mechanism arranges the square tiles and then places them on the tabletop for the user to play. Taking a mahjong machine as an example, the mahjong tiles are arranged inside the arranging mechanism and then placed on the tabletop for the user to play.

[0003] However, users generally prefer to engage in recreational activities outdoors, which requires transporting the card sorting machine to the outdoors. Indoor card sorting machines are usually very heavy due to their various mechanical structures, making them inconvenient to move and carry. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the technical problem that existing card sorting machines are inconvenient to transport and carry, this invention provides a lightweight card sorting machine.

[0005] To achieve the objectives of this invention, the following technical solution is adopted: A portable card sorting machine includes a table and a card dispensing mechanism. The table has a card dispensing port on its surface. The card dispensing mechanism includes a card-suction wheel that feeds diamond entertainment cards to the card dispensing port and a drive component that drives the card-suction wheel to rotate.

[0006] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: the driving component drives the card suction wheel to rotate, and the rotation of the card suction wheel will cause the cube entertainment card it sucks to rotate towards the card outlet. When the cube entertainment card rotates to the card outlet, the player can take the cube entertainment card from the card outlet. The card sorting machine of this embodiment has a simple structure, is lightweight, and is easy to carry.

[0007] Furthermore, the card sorting machine also includes a card shuffling mechanism, the center point of which is located on the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel, or the center point of which is located on the extension line of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel.

[0008] Furthermore, the card-collecting wheel rotates in the forward direction.

[0009] Furthermore, the card sorting machine also includes a card shuffling mechanism. The line connecting the center point of the card shuffling mechanism and the center point of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel has an angle α with the vertical projection of the rotation axis, where 0° < α < 180°, and the card suction wheel rotates in the forward direction.

[0010] Furthermore, 15°≤α≤165°.

[0011] Furthermore, 30°≤α≤150°.

[0012] Furthermore, the card sorting machine also includes a card shuffling mechanism. The line connecting the center point of the card shuffling mechanism and the center point of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel forms an angle α with the vertical projection of the rotation axis. The card suction wheel rotates in the opposite direction, with 15°≤α≤165°.

[0013] Furthermore, the line connecting the vertical projection of the center point of the card suction wheel and the center point of the card shuffling mechanism is less than or equal to one-quarter of the maximum width of the card shuffling mechanism.

[0014] Furthermore, the vertical projection of the center point of the card-absorbing wheel coincides with the center point of the card-shuffling mechanism.

[0015] Furthermore, the shuffling mechanism includes a shuffling plate rotatably disposed on the table body, the shuffling plate having a guide surface inclined toward the suction wheel.

[0016] Furthermore, the shuffling mechanism includes a shuffling tray rotatably mounted on the table and a card guide bar that moves the card cards toward the suction wheel.

[0017] Furthermore, the shuffling mechanism includes a shuffling cylinder, which is equipped with a card-pulling assembly. The card-pulling assembly includes a card-pulling bar that pulls the diamond entertainment cards toward the suction wheel and a card-pulling drive.

[0018] Furthermore, the card-dispensing strip is disposed on the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder, and the card-dispensing drive is connected to the card-dispensing strip; Alternatively, the card-dispensing strip is disposed on the side plate of the shuffling cylinder, and the card-dispensing drive is connected to the card-dispensing strip or the side plate.

[0019] Furthermore, the card-sorting machine includes two or more of the aforementioned card-dispensing mechanisms.

[0020] Furthermore, the desktop is provided with a card guide surface at the card dispensing port.

[0021] Furthermore, the desktop is provided with a clearance groove at the card dispensing port to avoid the card suction wheel.

[0022] Furthermore, the table or the card-playing mechanism is equipped with a sensor that monitors the card blocks.

[0023] Furthermore, the card sorting machine is a mahjong machine, a domino machine, or a tile sorting machine. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the first type of card sorting machine in this embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the first type of card sorting machine in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the second type of card sorting machine in this embodiment of the invention; Figure 4 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the second type of card sorting machine in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a partial structural schematic diagram of the third type of card sorting machine in this embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 This is a front view of the table body in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the back of the table body in an embodiment of the present invention; Reference numerals in the attached diagram: 1. Table body; 11. Card dispensing port; 12. Card guide surface; 13. Clearance groove; 2. Card dispensing mechanism; 21. Card suction wheel; 22. Drive component; 3. Card shuffling mechanism; 31. Card shuffling tube; 32. Card dispensing strip; 33. Card shuffling plate. Detailed Implementation

[0026] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments.

[0027] In this document, terms such as "upper," "lower," "inner," and "outer" are established based on the positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. Depending on the drawings, the corresponding positional relationships may also change. Therefore, they should not be interpreted as an absolute limitation on the scope of protection. Moreover, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one component from another that has the same name, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these components.

[0028] See Figure 1-7 This embodiment provides a portable card sorting machine, which can be a mahjong machine, a dominoes machine, or a tile sorting machine.

[0029] See Figure 2 ,4 5. The card sorting machine includes a table body 1 and a card dispensing mechanism 2. The table surface of the table body 1 has a card dispensing port 11. The card dispensing mechanism 2 includes a suction wheel 21 that delivers diamond entertainment cards to the card dispensing port 11 and a driving component 22 that drives the suction wheel 21 to rotate. The driving component 22 drives the suction wheel 21 to rotate, and the rotation of the suction wheel 21 will cause the diamond entertainment cards it has sucked to rotate towards the card dispensing port 11. When the diamond entertainment cards rotate to the card dispensing port 11, the player can take the diamond entertainment cards from the card dispensing port 11. The card sorting machine of this embodiment has a simple structure, is lightweight, and is easy to carry.

[0030] Specifically, the card-collecting wheel 21 is at least partially located below the card-dispensing opening 11, so that the cube entertainment cards collected by the card-collecting wheel 21 can rotate to the card-dispensing opening 11 for the player to take. The driving component 22 can be a drive motor, or other drive capable of rotating the card-collecting wheel 21, which is not specifically limited here. A magnetic attraction structure is provided between the card-collecting wheel 21 and the cube entertainment cards. The card-collecting wheel 21 collecting the cube entertainment cards is existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0031] Preferably, the height of the card suction wheel 21 from the upper surface of the table is less than the thickness of a single diamond entertainment card, so that when the diamond entertainment card picked up by the card suction wheel 21 rotates to the card outlet 11, it can be exposed outside the upper surface of the table, making it convenient for players to pick up the diamond entertainment card.

[0032] See Figure 6 Preferably, the tabletop is provided with a guide surface 12 at the card outlet 11. The guide surface 12 guides the square entertainment cards to move onto the tabletop by inertia. It can be understood that when the suction wheel 21 rotates to the card outlet 11, the guide surface 12 connects with the suction surface of the suction wheel 21 located at the card outlet 11 (the suction surface refers to the surface of the suction wheel 21 that can hold the square entertainment cards). When the suction wheel 21 continues to rotate, the square entertainment cards are scooped onto the guide surface 12, and then move onto the tabletop due to inertia. A guide plate can be installed at the card outlet 11 of the table body 1, or the side wall of the card outlet 11 can be tilted to form the guide surface 12. There is no specific limitation, as long as it can guide the square entertainment cards to move onto the tabletop.

[0033] See Figure 7 Preferably, the tabletop has a relief groove 13 at the card outlet 11 to avoid interference between the bottom of the tabletop and the rotation of the card suction wheel 21, thus preventing it from affecting use. The relief groove 13 can be set on the card guide plate or formed by the concavity of the tabletop; there is no specific limitation. The goal is to avoid interference with the card suction wheel 21, ensuring that the player can pick up the cube cards picked up by the card suction wheel 21 while allowing the card suction wheel 21 to rotate normally.

[0034] Preferably, the table body 1 or the card-dispensing mechanism 2 is equipped with a sensor (not shown) for monitoring the card tiles. The sensor can count the card tiles that move to the card-dispensing slot 11. Alternatively, the signal indicating whether there is a card tile at the card-dispensing slot 11 or the signal indicating that the card-collecting wheel 21 has collected a card tile can be sent to the control system, which then controls the operation of the subsequent card-collecting wheel 21. The control system and sensor are existing technologies; this embodiment directly uses existing control systems and sensors, and will not be described in detail here.

[0035] See Figure 3-4 As shown, the preferred card-sorting machine includes two or more card-dispensing mechanisms 2. Two card-dispensing mechanisms 2 can be arranged opposite each other, with the rotation axes of the card-suction wheels 21 of the two mechanisms aligned in a straight line, preferably projected vertically onto one of the diagonal lines of the card-sorting machine. Preferably, the tabletop has control buttons; one card-dispensing mechanism 2 dispenses cards normally, while the other is controlled by the control buttons. When a player performs a "kong" (a set of four identical tiles), pressing the button controls the control system to dispense cards from that mechanism. Card-dispensing mechanisms 2 can also be arranged on all four sides, allowing players to draw cards from the corresponding side according to the rules. Alternatively, card-dispensing mechanisms 2 can be arranged in the middle and on all four sides, allowing players to draw the first tile from the corresponding side and then the subsequent diamond tiles from the middle card-dispensing mechanism 2. It is understood that the specific installation position and number of card-dispensing mechanisms 2 are set as needed, and the card-dispensing openings 11 on the tabletop are set accordingly for each mechanism 2.

[0036] See Figure 2 , 4 5. The card sorting machine also includes a shuffling mechanism 3. A magnetic attraction structure is provided between the shuffling mechanism 3 and the diamond entertainment cards, enabling the diamond entertainment cards to be flipped so that they can be attracted by the suction wheel 21. The flipping operation is existing technology and will not be described in detail here. In one embodiment, the shuffling mechanism 3 includes a shuffling tray 33 rotatably mounted on the table body 1. The shuffling tray 33 has a guide surface inclined towards the suction wheel 21. After the diamond entertainment cards enter the shuffling mechanism 3, they are guided by the guide surface to the suction wheel 21, ensuring that all diamond entertainment cards can be picked up by the suction wheel 21.

[0037] In another implementation, see Figure 5 The shuffling mechanism 3 includes a shuffling disc 33 rotatably mounted on the table body 1 and a card guide bar 32 that guides the diamond cards towards the suction wheel 21. When the shuffling disc 33 rotates, it moves the diamond cards. The card guide bar 32 remains stationary but guides the moving diamond cards towards the suction wheel 21 to ensure that all diamond cards are picked up by the suction wheel 21. The shuffling disc 33 is connected to a shuffling drive that drives its rotation. The shuffling disc 33 and the shuffling drive are existing technologies and will not be described in detail here.

[0038] In another implementation, see Figure 2 , 4 The shuffling mechanism 3 includes a shuffling cylinder 31, on which a card-pulling assembly is provided. The card-pulling assembly includes a card-pulling bar 32 that pulls the diamond entertainment cards toward the suction wheel 21 and a card-pulling drive (not shown). The card-pulling drive drives the card-pulling bar 32 to pull the entertainment cards toward the suction wheel 21, so as to ensure that all the diamond entertainment cards can be picked up by the suction wheel 21. The vertical height of the card-pulling bar 32 is less than the vertical distance between the suction wheel 21 and the bottom plate of the shuffling plate 33 or the shuffling cylinder 31, so as to ensure that the card-pulling bar 32 can move under the suction wheel 21. In one example, the card-pulling strip 32 is disposed on the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder 31, and the card-pulling drive is driven to connect to the card-pulling strip 32. In another example, the card-pulling strip 32 is disposed on the side plate of the shuffling cylinder 31, and the card-pulling drive is driven to connect to the card-pulling strip 32 or the side plate. The card-pulling drive can be an existing drive component 22 such as a drive motor. For example, the card-pulling drive is driven to connect to the card-pulling strip 32, and the card-pulling strip 32 has fan-shaped teeth. The drive teeth of the drive motor mesh with the fan-shaped teeth, so that the card-pulling strip 32 moves when the drive teeth move. Alternatively, the card-pulling drive is driven to connect to the side plate, and the card-pulling strip 32 on it moves when the side plate is rotated. Preferably, there is a meshing gear tooth structure between the side plate and the bottom plate to make it more stable when the card-pulling drive drives the side plate to rotate.

[0039] The vertical distance between the suction wheel 21 and the bottom plate of the shuffling plate 33 or shuffling cylinder 31 is greater than the thickness of one diamond entertainment card and less than the thickness of two diamond entertainment cards.

[0040] When the card-dispensing mechanism 2 is set in the middle range (relative to the four sides), it is preferable that the line connecting the vertical projection of the center point of the card-collecting wheel 21 of the card-dispensing mechanism 2 in the middle range and the center point of the card-shuffling mechanism 3 is less than or equal to one-quarter of the maximum width of the card-shuffling mechanism 3, so that the square entertainment cards moved out by the card-dispensing mechanism 2 in the middle range can be easily picked up by the players. Specifically, the line L3 connecting the vertical projection of the center point of the card-collecting wheel 21 and the center of the shuffling plate 33 is less than or equal to half of the radius R of the shuffling plate 33, that is, L3≤R\2; or the line L4 connecting the vertical projection of the center point of the card-collecting wheel 21 and the center point of the bottom plate of the card-shuffling cylinder 31 is less than or equal to one-quarter of the maximum width D of the bottom plate of the card-shuffling cylinder 31, that is, L4≤D\4. More preferably, the vertical projection of the center point of the card suction wheel 21 coincides with the center point of the card shuffling mechanism 3. Specifically, the vertical projection of the center point of the card suction wheel 21 coincides with the center of the shuffling plate 33; or the vertical projection of the center point of the card suction wheel 21 coincides with the center point of the bottom plate of the card shuffling cylinder 31.

[0041] The card-collecting wheel 21 is installed inside the table body 1 and is located above the bottom plate of the shuffling tray 33 or the shuffling cylinder 31, so as to be able to pick up the diamond entertainment cards on the bottom plate of the shuffling tray 33 or the shuffling cylinder 31. In one embodiment, the center point of the shuffling mechanism 3 is located on the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card-collecting wheel 21, or the center point of the shuffling mechanism 3 is located on the extension line of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card-collecting wheel 21, so as to facilitate the card-collecting wheel 21 to pick up the diamond entertainment cards when the shuffling tray 33 or the card-pushing bar 32 moves the diamond entertainment cards. Specifically, the center of the shuffling disc 33 or the center point of the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder 31 is located on the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the suction wheel 21, or the center of the shuffling disc 33 or the center point of the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder 31 is located on the extension line of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the suction wheel 21. Preferably, the shuffling disc 33 and the suction wheel 21 have the same linear velocity to reduce the possibility of the diamond cards picked up by the suction wheel 21 interfering with and colliding with other diamond cards during the initial rotation. Figure 2 As shown, preferably, the card-collecting wheel 21 rotates in the forward direction, so that when the diamond entertainment card initially rotates, its movement direction is approximately the same as that of other diamond entertainment cards, thus avoiding collisions between the diamond entertainment cards collected by the card-collecting wheel 21 and other diamond entertainment cards. Forward rotation means that when the card-collecting wheel 21 drives the collected diamond entertainment card to rotate upward, the initial movement direction of the diamond entertainment card is approximately the same as that of other diamond entertainment cards; conversely, reverse rotation means that when the card-collecting wheel 21 drives the collected diamond entertainment card to rotate upward, the initial movement direction of the diamond entertainment card is approximately the opposite of that of other diamond entertainment cards.

[0042] In another embodiment, the line L1 connecting the center point of the shuffling mechanism 3 (the center of the shuffling disk 33 or the center point of the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder 31) and the center point of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the suction wheel 21 forms an angle α with the vertical projection L2 of the rotation axis, where 0° < α < 180°. The suction wheel 21 rotates in the forward direction to reduce the possibility of the diamond cards picked up by the suction wheel 21 interfering with and colliding with other diamond cards during the initial rotation. Preferably, 15° ≤ α ≤ 165° further reduces the probability of the diamond cards picked up by the suction wheel 21 colliding with other diamond cards. More preferably, 30° ≤ α ≤ 150° further reduces the probability of the diamond cards picked up by the suction wheel 21 colliding with other diamond cards.

[0043] In another embodiment, the line L1 connecting the center point of the shuffling mechanism 3 (the center of the shuffling disk 33 or the center point of the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder 31) and the center point of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the suction wheel 21 has an angle α with the vertical projection L2 of the rotation axis, and the suction wheel 21 rotates in the opposite direction, 15°≤α≤165°.

[0044] Without contradicting the spirit and technical means of this invention, at least some of the technical implementation methods in the above embodiments can be combined or replaced.

[0045] The above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention. The scope of protection of the present invention shall be determined by the scope defined in the claims. Any improvements and modifications made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention shall also be considered as within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A portable card sorting machine, characterized in that, The device includes a table and a card-dispensing mechanism. The tabletop has a card-dispensing opening, and the card-dispensing mechanism includes a card-collecting wheel that delivers diamond entertainment cards to the card-dispensing opening and a drive component that drives the card-collecting wheel to rotate.

2. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a shuffling mechanism, the center point of which is located on the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel, or the center point of which is located on the extension line of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel.

3. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 2, characterized in that, The card-collecting wheel rotates in the forward direction.

4. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a shuffling mechanism, wherein the line connecting the center point of the shuffling mechanism and the center point of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel has an angle α with the vertical projection of the rotation axis, where 0° < α < 180°, and the card suction wheel rotates in the positive direction.

5. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 4, characterized in that, 15°≤α≤165°。 6. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 5, characterized in that, 30°≤α≤150°。 7. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, It also includes a shuffling mechanism, wherein the line connecting the center point of the shuffling mechanism and the center point of the vertical projection of the rotation axis of the card suction wheel forms an angle α with the vertical projection of the rotation axis, and the card suction wheel rotates in the opposite direction, with 15°≤α≤165°.

8. The portable card sorting machine according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that, The line connecting the vertical projection of the center point of the card suction wheel and the center point of the card shuffling mechanism is less than or equal to one-quarter of the maximum width of the card shuffling mechanism.

9. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 8, characterized in that, The vertical projection of the center point of the card suction wheel coincides with the center point of the card shuffling mechanism.

10. The portable card sorting machine according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that, The shuffling mechanism includes a shuffling plate rotatably mounted on the table, the shuffling plate having a guide surface inclined toward the suction wheel.

11. The portable card sorting machine according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that, The shuffling mechanism includes a shuffling tray rotatably mounted on the table and a card guide bar that moves the card cards toward the suction wheel.

12. The portable card sorting machine according to any one of claims 2-7, characterized in that, The shuffling mechanism includes a shuffling cylinder, which is equipped with a card-pulling component. The card-pulling component includes a card-pulling bar that pulls the diamond entertainment cards toward the suction wheel and a card-pulling drive.

13. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 12, characterized in that, The card-dispensing strip is disposed on the bottom plate of the shuffling cylinder, and the card-dispensing drive is connected to the card-dispensing strip; Alternatively, the card-dispensing strip is disposed on the side plate of the shuffling cylinder, and the card-dispensing drive is connected to the card-dispensing strip or the side plate.

14. The portable card sorting machine according to any one of claims 1-7, characterized in that, This includes two or more of the aforementioned card-playing institutions.

15. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The desktop is equipped with a card guide surface at the card dispensing port.

16. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The desktop is provided with a clearance groove at the card dispensing port to avoid the card suction wheel.

17. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The table or the card-playing mechanism is equipped with a sensor that monitors the square entertainment cards.

18. The portable card sorting machine according to claim 1, characterized in that, The card sorting machine is a mahjong machine, a domino machine, or a tile sorting machine.

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