System for creating a deck of cards

Abstract

A system for making a deck of cards is provided, the system comprising: card supply means for providing a plurality of cards, a card moving system including a card transport means and at least one release means operable for separating a card from the card transport means, a plurality of card collecting means for collecting the deck of cards, each card collecting means of the plurality of card collecting means being disposed beneath the conveyor belt at a plurality of different positions along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, card identification means for identifying a card to be conveyed by the card moving system, and control means for assigning each identified card conveyed by the card moving system to a card collecting means, for each card collecting means the release means is disposed at the same position along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt, the control means being adapted to actuate the release means disposed at the position of that card collecting means when a card passes the card collecting means to which it has been assigned.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001]

[01] The present invention relates to a system for creating a deck of cards, such as playing cards, collector's cards, or trading cards, which creates a deck of cards arranged in a random order or in a predetermined sequence. [Background technology]

[0002]

[02] Nowadays, card games are well known. Often the games are based on the unpredictability of the order of cards dealt or drawn from a deck or set of randomly ordered playing cards, where the deck of playing cards contains more than one deck of randomly ordered playing cards at the deck stage.

[0003]

[03] As an example, Baccarat is played with a randomly ordered deck of eight playing cards, thus a total of 416 randomly ordered cards. For some games, once a card has been drawn from the deck, it cannot be used again because the drawn or set sequence can be monitored apart from the card that was drawn. Players can turn over cards themselves after placing a bet, resulting in deterioration, damage or destruction of the cards. Reusing used cards could create an opportunity for players to predict future card sequences, thus creating an opportunity to cheat.

[0004]

[04] Where high stakes are involved, any source of unfair play or behaviour should in fact be avoided. To avoid to a large extent the possibility of fraud, the handling time between the creation of a deck of playing cards and its use on the playing station should be as short as possible.

[0005]

[05] A system for creating a randomly ordered deck of playing cards is described in WO2012 / 042823. The system includes a plurality of playing card collecting means for collecting playing cards, thereby providing a deck of playing cards. The randomly ordered playing cards are supplied to the plurality of playing card collecting means via a path including a plurality of gates and mechanically moving elements.

[0006]

[06] Any source of fraudulent activity should also be avoided with respect to other cards, such as collector cards or trading cards. To avoid the possibility of fraud to a large extent, the handling time between the creation of a deck of cards and any handling of the cards in public should be as short as possible. No defects should be discernible in such types of cards.

[0007]

[07] In general, it is important that during manufacture, both new, unused cards, such as playing cards, and reused or salvaged cards, are free of markings or defects because any markings on a playing card, for example, could cause the playing card to be recognized and therefore could be used to cheat, gain prior knowledge, or commit a fraudulent act. A reused or salvaged card is, for example, a card that was part of a suit or deck of cards that was used to play at least one card game at a card playing station, such as a casino table. Summary of the Invention

[0008]

[08] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system for creating decks of cards which reduces the risk of damage or defects being created in the cards being transferred.

[0009]

[09] It is a further object of the present invention to provide a device and method capable of providing a randomly ordered deck of cards. An advantage of the system according to the present invention is that it uses fewer moving elements, thereby reducing the risk of damage to the collected cards. An advantage of some embodiments of the device and method is that it reduces waste during the creation of the deck, as the device and method are capable of recovering used or retired cards and reintroducing them into a newly created deck of cards.

[0010]

[10] It is yet a further object of the present invention to extend the life cycle of cards by providing the possibility to reshuffle cards from decks of cards that have been dealt or undealt in previous card games, thus allowing the cards to be used more than once at a casino table.

[0011]

[11] In the context of the present invention, a card is not to be understood as being limited to a playing card having a front side indicating a rank and a suit, but may also be understood as, for example, a game card, a casino card, a collector's card, and a trading card, i.e. a card having one or more identifying elements on its front side, different from its rank and suit, which one or more identifying elements give the card its own distinctiveness in the card deck to which it belongs.

[0012]

[12] According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for creating a deck of cards, the system comprising: - card supply means for providing a plurality of cards; - a card movement system including a card transport means and at least one release means operable to release said card from said card transport means; - a plurality of card collecting means for collecting decks of cards, each card collecting means of the plurality of card collecting means being disposed under the conveyor belt at a plurality of different positions along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt; - card identification means for identifying the cards transported by the card movement system; - control means for assigning each of the identified cards transported by the card movement system to a card collection means; and for each card collecting means a release means is arranged at the same position along the movement direction of the conveyor belt, and the control means is adapted to actuate the release means arranged at the position of the card collecting means when a card passes the card collecting means to which it is assigned.

[0013]

[13] Actuable release means that the release means can be actuated in a controlled manner.

[0014]

[14] Possibly, the card collecting means comprises a container into which the cards are dropped when the releasing means is actuated. Thus, cards from the sequence of cards provided by the card supplying means can be separated into a certain number of sets of cards, without any human or mechanical intervention on the cards. This can reduce or even avoid damage to the cards.

[0015]

[15] According to some embodiments, the system may include a defect detection unit for detecting defective cards. According to some embodiments, the system may further include a card extraction bin arranged beneath the conveyor belt at a given position along the direction of movement of said conveyor belt, and a release means arranged at the same given position along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt. The control means is adapted to activate said release means arranged at a position along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt when a defective card passes through the card extraction bin.

[0016]

[16] By directing a card into the card extraction bin, a card is extracted from the array. In the next stage, you can decide what to do with the extracted card, such as discarding it or repurposing it.

[0017]

[17] The card extraction bin may be one of the card collecting means. Preferably, the card extraction bin, or a card collecting means functioning as a card extraction bin, is provided upstream of another card collecting means, or is the first card collecting means in a series of card collecting means.

[0018]

[18] According to some embodiments, for each release means, a first card detection means can be arranged before or upstream of that release means in the direction of movement of the conveyor belt and a second card detection means can be arranged after or downstream of that release means. If the presence of a card is detected by the upstream card detection means and not detected by the downstream card detection means at a corresponding time, this means that a card has been removed from the vacuum belt between the two card detection means.

[0019]

[19] In this way, the decking system cross-checks that each card is released from the conveyor belt at the correct card collection location.

[0020]

[20] For each card on the conveyor belt, a card collecting means is assigned. The control means can check whether a card detection means upstream (before) the assigned card collecting means detects a card at a predetermined time. The control means can check whether a card detection means downstream (after) the assigned card collecting means fails to detect a card at a predetermined time. If so, the card has been sent to the correctly assigned card collecting means.

[0021]

[21] According to some embodiments, the card movement system comprises: - a card transport means being a carrier belt adapted to transport one or more cards that are individually coupled to the underside of the carrier belt; at least one release means for releasing the cards from the conveyor belt, - blocking means to prevent cards from being docked under the conveyor belt; and / or A gas blowing means for blowing the bound cards off the conveyor belt. and a release means Includes.

[0022]

[22] The carrier belt may be any belt on which the cards can be suspended. It may be a carrier belt with a non-permanent adhesive or other type of similar adhesive. Alternatively, the carrier belt may be a vacuum belt, where air is sucked through the belt and the cards are sucked to the underside of the belt. In the latter case, the blocking means may be a means for locally interrupting the vacuum directed at the cards being transported.

[0023]

[23] A conveyor belt, which is a continuous belt or band for transporting material from one place to another, may be an endless belt or may be a continuous belt provided by a strip of belt having two ends connected together, for example by heat welding, stapling means or the like, to form a continuous belt.

[0024]

[24] Such a card transport system avoids the contact of any moving mechanical elements or parts with the cards during their movement within the card transport system. No mechanical elements or parts grip or manipulate the transported cards. The cards are moved only by adhesion or air suction and flow, which is gentler on the card surfaces and leaves no damage or marks on them. The contact surface between the transport belt and the front or back surface of each card can be relatively large, which allows for lower adhesion forces and lower pressure differentials to be used to transport the cards.

[0025]

[25] According to some embodiments, the release means may be actuatable release means. Several such release means may be mounted along the length of the conveyor belt. Activating or deactivating the release means may be used to separate a conveyed card at a position along the conveyor belt where the card should be placed, which provides the possibility to deliver the card to several different positions along the conveyor belt.

[0026]

[26] According to some embodiments, the width of the transport belt can be less than the length of the cards being transported. The length of a card is the distance between the top edge and the bottom edge of the card. The width of a card is the distance between the left and right sides of the card. The length and width are measured on the front and back sides of the card.

[0027]

[27] If the width of the carrier belt is less than the length of the card, the card may be carried by the carrier belt such that part of the card's length extends beyond the edge of the carrier belt on one or both sides of the carrier belt. This extension of the card can be used to separate the card from the carrier belt by a release means.

[0028]

[28] According to some embodiments, the card movement system may include a card providing means. The card providing means may include a card printing means, such as a digital printing means or an offset printing means, which prints cards in a fixed sequence or in a random order. The card providing means may include a card retrieval means, which provides cards that have already been used or cards that were part of a previous deck of cards. The card providing means may include a special card providing means, which provides cards with special features or imprints, such as cut cards, in the sequence of playing cards at regular or random times. The card providing means may include a combination of the above, i.e., one or more card printing means, one or more card retrieval means, and / or one or more special card providing means.

[0029]

[29] According to some embodiments, the card movement system may include a card presenting means for presenting the card such that a longitudinal side of the card is moved perpendicular to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt.

[0030]

[30] If the width of the transport belt is less than the length of the card, the card may be transported by the transport belt in such a way that the card extends beyond the edge of the belt on one or both sides. This extension of the card can be used to separate the card from the transport belt, for example by directing an air knife stream at this extension of the card so that it is pushed away from the transport belt, and if the force of the air knife on the card is greater than the suction or adhesion force, the card will be swept away by the air jet from the air knife and fall.

[0031]

[31] According to some embodiments, the release means may be a gas blowing means. According to some embodiments, the gas blowing means may be an air blowing means including, for example, a first air knife. According to some embodiments, the gas blowing means may be an air blowing means including a first air knife pair, where the first air knife and the second air knife of the air knife pair are arranged at the same position along the moving direction of the conveyor belt on opposite sides of the conveyor belt. According to some embodiments, the gas blowing means may be an air blowing means including a plurality of air knife pairs, where the first air knife and the second air knife of each air knife pair are arranged at the same position along the moving direction of the conveyor belt on opposite sides of the conveyor belt. The advantage of air knives is that they can be activated and deactivated quickly and accurately, so high moving speeds can be applied to the string of cards and the separation of the cards can be performed accurately, especially when several different cards need to be separated at several different locations along the length of the conveyor belt.

[0032]

[32] According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing a randomly shuffled deck of cards, the method comprising: - providing a system for creating a deck of cards according to a first aspect of the invention; - providing a sequence of randomly ordered cards to said system for creating a deck of cards; - identifying each of the cards picked up by the conveyor belt and assigning a card collecting means to each of the identified cards; - moving the identified cards along a conveyor belt to a plurality of card collectors; - for each identified card, activating a release means at the same position along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt as the card passes through the card collecting means to which the card is assigned. The control means assigns a card collecting means to each card such that one or more card decks are created in each card collecting means.

[0033]

[33] Preferably, the cards are transported on a conveyor belt with their backs facing the belt and their fronts open for visual inspection. Possibly, the rank and suit of playing cards, and one or more identifying features of other cards, can be detected so that the card being inspected can be identified.

[0034]

[34] Optionally, the front side of each card may display a unique card identifier, which may be provided (e.g., printed) one or more times on this front side of the card. This card identifier may be provided using ink that is visible or using ink that is only visible under certain lighting conditions, e.g., ink that is only visible under UV or IR light.

[0035]

[35] The card identification means identifies a card by its rank and suit, and / or one or more identification elements and / or card identifiers, and assigns this information to the sequence of cards passing the card identification means, and thus to the card's position in the stream of cards in the conveyor belt. Each card passing the identification means generates a data set including the card's position in the sequence of cards, and the card's rank and suit, and / or one or more identification elements and / or card identifiers. The control means assigns a card collection means to which the card is to be presented and adds this to the data set. The control means actuates the release means for each card passing its assigned card collection means.

[0036]

[36] When identifying cards, the card identification means can detect defects in the cards being detected. Defective cards cannot be part of any set of cards and must be removed from the system. Defective cards can be assigned to all card extraction means and, optionally, to one particular card collection means that also functions as a card extraction means.

[0037]

[37] Alternatively, the system for producing a deck of cards includes card defect identification means, preferably located upstream of the card identification means. The system may include card removal means for removing defective cards, preferably also located upstream of the card identification means.

[0038]

[38] Alternatively, the card identification means may obtain a signal from the card defect identification means as to the presence or absence of defects for each card. The card identification means may assign all of the defective cards to the card extraction means, optionally to one particular card collection means.

[0039]

[39] Cards that have been identified and have a known position in the array of cards are taken to an assigned card collecting means. The control means knows which identified cards in which positions in the array of cards are to be taken to which card collecting means, and can generate a rank and suit ordering, and / or one or more identification elements and / or card identifiers, for each card collecting means. Thus, for each deck of cards generated by the system, the ordering of the cards in that deck is known.

[0040]

[40] The control means may be capable of tracking a number of cards having a given rank and suit and / or one or more identification features that have been sent to each of the card collecting means. The control means may thus generate decks of cards, including those consisting of a given number of complete decks, that are randomly shuffled at the deck stage.

[0041]

[41] One of the card collection means may function as a card discharge bin to which cards are assigned and directed when the control means is unable to assign a card collection means to that card because all card collection means contain a threshold number of cards with the same card identification element. Those ejected cards may be later reintroduced by one of the card supply means so that they become part of the set of cards. Also, cards may be sent to an overflow card discharge bin if they cannot be identified or if there has been any error in identifying, recognizing or handling the cards.

[0042]

[42] The system for creating a deck of cards may include deck removal means for removing a complete deck of cards from the card collection means.

[0043]

[43] According to some embodiments, the card dispensing system may present the cards with their front sides facing away from the conveyor belt so that the cards can be easily identified by their rank and suit, and / or by one or more identifying features and / or card identifiers.

[0044]

[44] The card supply means may obtain its cards from a printing device, such as a digital printing device or an offset printing device, and / or may include a recycling means where cards that have been used in a set of other cards are included in the card stream. The card supply means may produce a stream of cards that are individually handled (i.e., such that the cards do not come into contact with other cards during transport).

[0045]

[45] According to some embodiments, at least a portion of the cards provided to the system for creating a deck of cards may be salvaged cards.

[0046]

[46] According to some embodiments, cards provided to a system for creating a deck of cards may be in a random order.

[0047]

[47] According to some embodiments, the control means is capable of generating a sequence of card identifiers for each deck of cards produced by each card collecting means.

[0048]

[48] ​​The control means knows, for each card, to which card collecting means the card is to be provided and to which it has been provided, and thus, for each set of cards, the control means is able to provide the ordering of the cards present in that set.

[0049]

[49] The arrangement of the cards in each deck can be used to verify that the arrangement of the cards has not been tampered with during the transfer of the stock of decks. The arrangement of the cards shown during the game can be compared with the known arrangement for that deck. A discrepancy in the arrangement indicates cheating. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0050] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a system according to the invention for creating a deck of cards. [Diagram 2] 2 and 3 show details of a card movement system which is part of the system for creating a deck of cards of FIG. [Diagram 3] 2 and 3 show details of a card movement system which is part of the system for creating a deck of cards of FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0051]

[52] The same reference numbers refer to identical features.

[0052] Detailed Description of the Embodiments

[0053]

[53] A system 100 for creating a deck of cards is shown in Figures 1 and 2. The system 100 includes three card supplying means 101, 102, 103 to provide a plurality of cards 200. It will be understood that the system may include only one card supplying means, two card supplying means, or more than three card supplying means. The card supplying means may include a system for recovering retired cards, for example cards from a cartridge containing playing cards that have been used to play a card game at a card playing table. The card supplying means may include a printing unit, for example a digital printing unit, for printing unused cards.

[0054]

[54] New or recycled cards can be provided by three card supply means 101, 102, 103. The card supply means 101, 102, 103 arrange a number of cards face down as a row of cards on a conveyor belt 104. The conveyor belt 104 brings the row of cards to a card conveyor, a vacuum conveyor belt 105. If the width of the belt 105 is less than the length of the cards, the cards sucked by the vacuum belt 105 may extend beyond the belt on both edges of the vacuum belt.

[0055]

[55] The system 100 includes a number of card collecting means for collecting decks of cards, in this embodiment five card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110. The card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 are provided at a number of different positions below said vacuum transport belt 105 along the direction of movement of said transport belt 105. Other numbers of card collecting means may be provided.

[0056]

[56] For each of the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, a release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 is disposed along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt at the same position as the associated card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110. The release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 are actuatable release means, more specifically air knives, which blow a stream of compressed air downwards onto the edge of the cards that extend beyond the edge of the vacuum belt 105. The release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 are disposed at the front ends of the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110. Cards that are removed from the belt are blown off the vacuum belt 105 and fall. At the opposite edge of the vacuum belt, for each of the release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116, a second pair of release means is arranged at the same position in the moving direction of the vacuum belt 105 (not shown in Figures 1 and 2). The release means work in synchronous pairs, which are release means at the same position in the moving direction of the vacuum belt 105. Thus, both sides of the card suspended on the vacuum belt 105, i.e. the extended part of the card, are blown down. Due to its speed in the direction of the moving direction of the vacuum belt, the card falls diagonally downwards into the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110.

[0057]

[57] By providing the vacuum belts 105 and release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 in this manner, the cards are handled without any mechanical elements gripping or striking the surface or edges of the cards. Thus, the vacuum belts 105 and release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 handle the cards more gently and avoid damage to the cards organized in the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110.

[0058]

[58] The system 100 further includes a card identification means 117 for identifying cards transported by the vacuum belt 105. The card identification means 117 may include at least one, and optionally more than one, camera. The images of the front side taken by the one or more cameras are transformed and / or analyzed to identify one or more card identification elements on the front side of the card, which may be rank and suit in the case of playing cards. Optionally, the card identification means 117 may obtain a readable card identification code on the front side of the card. Optionally, the card identification means 117 may read the card identification code only by UV light. The card identification means 117 may be a UV detection camera and may be associated with a UV illumination device. The system 100 may include a defect detection means 118 for detecting defective cards, which may optionally be integral with the card identification means 117. The defect detection means 118 may be adapted to detect defects on both the front and back side of the card. The card identification means 117 and the defect detection means 108 may be integrated into one and the same means. The card identification means 117 and the defect detection means 108 may be one and the same camera. To inspect the back side of the card for defects, optionally an additional camera (not shown) is provided above the conveyor belt 104, just before the point where the card is transferred from the conveyor belt 104 to the vacuum belt 105. The system 100 further includes control means 120 adapted to assign each of the identified cards carried by the card moving system 105 to a card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, and to activate release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 arranged at the positions of the card collecting means when the card passes through the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 to which it is assigned.

[0059]

[59] One of the card collection means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 may function as a card extraction bin (or discard or removal bin), to which defective cards are assigned and directed by the control means 120. The defective cards may be removed, discarded, or used for another purpose.

[0060]

[60] One of the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 can function as a card discharge bin. For cards that the control means 120 is unable to assign to the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 to which the deck of cards is being collected or assembled, the card is assigned and guided by the control means 120 to this card discharge bin. This may occur if all of the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 contain a threshold number of cards with the same card identification elements (such as rank and suit). These discharged cards may later be reintroduced into the card queue to allow them to become part of the deck of cards.

[0061]

[61] Optionally, a first card detection means is provided before each release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 in the direction of movement of the vacuum belt 105, and a second card detection means is provided after the release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116. Thus, the control means 120 can check whether a card assigned to a given card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110 has been placed in the assigned card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110. This can be checked by ascertaining whether the card detection means upstream of the release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 detected a card but the card detection means downstream of the release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 did not detect a card.

[0062]

[62] The control means 120 may track the number of cards with a given card identification element (such as rank and suit) that are placed into each of the card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110. If a given threshold number of cards with a given card identification element have already been provided to a given card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, then subsequent cards with that card identification element are no longer assigned to that card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110. For each card with a given card identification element, if a threshold number of such cards have been collected in a given card collecting means 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, then a card deck is created that includes a given (threshold) number of card decks. Cards within a card deck are randomly ordered at the deck stage. The control means may also generate a data set including the card identifiers in the order in which the cards are present in the set of cards.

[0063]

[63] Figures 2 and 3 show some details of the card collecting means. The system includes a carrier belt adapted to transport one or more individually bonded cards to the underside of the carrier belt. This carrier belt is a vacuum belt 105. The system includes a number of release means, which are actuatable release means 205 in Figures 2 and 3. Figure 2 shows a schematic side view of such a release means 205 and Figure 3 shows a schematic top view of such a release means 205.

[0064]

[64] Each of the release means 112, 113, 114, 115, 116 in Figure 1 is such an actuatable release means 205, and more specifically an air knife 201. These air knives are gas blowing means for blowing connected cards off the conveyor belt, which in this embodiment is the vacuum belt 105. Each air knife 201 blows a stream or pulse 206 of compressed air downwards towards an edge 203 of a card 200 that extends beyond an edge 204 of the vacuum belt 105. The force exerted by the air stream causes the card 200 to be pulled away from the vacuum belt 105 and fall into a corresponding card collecting means 202.

[0065]

[65] Although the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to the details of the above-described exemplary embodiments, and that the present invention can be practiced in a number of different modifications and adaptations without departing from the scope of the present invention. The present embodiments are therefore considered to be entirely illustrative and not limiting, and the scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the above description, and all changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalence of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein. In other words, this is considered to cover any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that are within the scope of the basic underlying principles and whose essential characteristics are claimed in this application. Furthermore, the reader of this application will understand that the terms "comprising" and "comprise" do not exclude other elements or steps, and that the terms "a" and "an" do not exclude a plurality, and that one component, such as a computer system, processor, or other integrated device, may fulfill the functions of several means recited in the claims. Any reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the respective claim to which it pertains. When terms such as "first," "second," "third," "a," "b," "c," and the like are used in the description and claims, they are introduced to distinguish between similar components or steps and do not necessarily describe an order or chronology. Similarly, terms such as "top," "bottom," "upper," and "lower" are introduced for explanatory purposes and do not necessarily indicate a relative position. It is understood that the terms so used are interchangeable in appropriate circumstances, and that embodiments of the invention can be practiced in accordance with the invention in other orders or directions than those described or illustrated above.

Claims

1. 1. A system for creating a deck of cards, comprising: a card supply means for providing a plurality of cards; a card movement system including a card transport means and at least one release means operable to separate the card from the card transport means; a plurality of card collecting means for collecting decks of cards, each card collecting means of the plurality of card collecting means being disposed under the conveyor belt at a plurality of different positions along a direction of movement of the conveyor belt; a card identification means for identifying the card transported by the card transport system; control means for assigning each of the identified cards transported by the card movement system to a card collection means; Equipped with For each card collecting means, a release means is arranged at the same position along the moving direction of the conveyor belt, and the control means is adapted to activate the release means arranged at the position of the card collecting means when a card passes the card collecting means to which it is assigned.

2. 2. A system for making a deck of cards according to claim 1, comprising a defect detection unit for detecting defective cards.

3. 3. The system for making a deck of cards according to claim 2, further comprising a card extraction bin located beneath said conveyor belt at a given position along the direction of movement of said conveyor belt, a release means being located at the same given position along the direction of movement of said conveyor belt, said control means being adapted to actuate said release means located at a position along the direction of movement of said conveyor belt when a defective card passes through said card extraction bin.

4. 4. A system for creating a deck of cards as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein for each release means, a first card detection means is arranged before the release means and a second card detection means is arranged after the release means in the direction of movement of the conveyor belt.

5. A system for creating a deck of cards according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a card movement system comprising: a carrier belt adapted to carry one or more cards that are individually bonded to an underside of said carrier belt; At least one release means for releasing the cards from the conveyor belt, blocking means for preventing the docking of cards to the underside of the conveyor belt; and / or a gas blowing means for blowing the combined cards off the conveyor belt; and a release means Including, the system.

6. 6. A system for creating a deck of cards as claimed in claim 5, wherein said release means is an actuatable release means.

7. 7. A system for making a deck of cards as claimed in claim 5 or 6, wherein the width of the transport belt is less than the length of the cards being transported.

8. 8. A system for making a deck of cards according to claim 7, wherein the card moving system includes a card providing means, providing the card such that a longitudinal side of the card is moved perpendicular to the direction of movement of the conveyor belt.

9. 9. A system for producing a deck of cards as claimed in claim 8, wherein said releasing means is a gas blowing means.

10. 10. The system for producing a deck of cards according to claim 9, wherein said gas blowing means is an air blowing means including a first air knife.

11. 11. A system for producing a deck of cards as claimed in claim 9 or 10, wherein the gas blowing means is an air blowing means including a first air knife pair, and the first air knife and the second air knife of the air knife pair are arranged on opposite sides of the transport belt at the same position along the moving direction of the transport belt.

12. 12. The system for producing a deck of cards according to claim 11, wherein the gas blowing means is an air blowing means including a plurality of air knife pairs, and a first air knife and a second air knife of each air knife pair are disposed on opposite sides of the conveyor belt at the same position along the moving direction of the conveyor belt.

13. 1. A method for providing a randomly shuffled deck of cards, comprising: - providing said system for creating a deck of cards according to any one of claims 1 to 12; - providing a sequence of randomly ordered cards to said system for creating a deck of cards; - identifying each of the cards drawn by the conveyor belt and allocating the card collecting means to each of the identified cards; - moving the identified cards along the conveyor to a number of the card collectors; - for each identified card, activating the release means at the same position along the direction of movement of the conveyor belt when the card passes the card collecting means to which the card is assigned; Equipped with the control means assigning a card collecting means to each card so that one or more card decks are generated in each card collecting means; method.

14. 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the card feeding system presents the cards with a front side facing away from the conveyor belt.

15. 15. A method as claimed in claim 13 or 14, wherein at least some of the cards provided to the system for creating a deck of cards are collected cards.

16. 16. The method of any one of claims 13 to 15, wherein the cards provided to the system for creating a deck of cards are in a random order.

17. 17. A method according to any one of claims 13 to 16, wherein the control means generates an array of card identifiers for each set of cards produced at each card collecting means.

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