Adjustable Card Feed Limiter for Dealing Shoe
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing card-dealing shoes face issues with card thickness compatibility, increased force requirement for card extraction, and residue buildup affecting card recognition systems, leading to potential misreading and maintenance challenges.
Innovation Solution
A card-dealing shoe with a detachable and adjustable card feed limiter and protective cover, allowing for customizable card slot height and easy access to sensors for cleaning, combined with ergonomic card guides for reduced dealer fatigue and improved card movement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a fixed card feed limiter is used, then card extraction is limited to one card at a time, but greater force is required by the dealer to extract cards depending on card thickness
Solution Approach 1:
The card feed limiter is made adjustable and detachable, allowing the slot height to be dynamically changed to accommodate different card thicknesses. This enables the dealer to easily extract cards by adjusting the limiter position rather than applying excessive force, resolving the contradiction between limiting card extraction to one at a time and reducing the force required.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameter of the card feed limiter slot height is made variable through adjustment mechanisms. By changing this parameter to match different card thicknesses, the device maintains its card-limiting function while reducing the extraction force needed, thereby resolving the technical contradiction.
2Ease of operation
If a fixed card feed limiter is used, then card extraction is controlled, but the device is not compatible with cards of varied thickness and size
Solution Approach 1:
The card feed limiter transitions from a fixed structure to a dynamic, adjustable one. The slot height can be changed to accommodate different card thicknesses and sizes, maintaining extraction control while improving adaptability to various card specifications.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable card feed limiter design allows the same device to work with multiple card types and thicknesses. By making the limiter adaptable, it becomes a universal component that maintains its card-limiting function across different card specifications, resolving the contradiction between control and versatility.
3Reliability
If sensors are integrated into the card shoe, then card recognition is enabled, but residue buildup on sensors causes malfunction and requires service
Solution Approach 1:
The card feed limiter and protective cover are designed to be detachable, allowing easy access to the sensors underneath. This enables the sensor surface to be extracted or accessed for cleaning without disassembling the entire shoe, maintaining card recognition reliability while improving ease of maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The design allows dealers or operators to easily clean the sensors themselves without requiring specialized service personnel. By making the sensor area accessible through removable components, the system enables self-maintenance, resolving the contradiction between maintaining recognition accuracy and ensuring easy repairability.
4Manufacturing precision
If card guides are rigid and fixed, then card orientation is controlled, but dealer fatigue and repetitive stress injuries occur
Solution Approach 1:
The card guides are made movable or adjustable rather than fixed and rigid. This allows the guides to adapt to different dealing styles and card positions, maintaining orientation control while reducing the physical strain on dealers, thereby resolving the contradiction between precision and ease of operation.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for handling cards has a dispensing end. The dispensing end has a base plate for supporting cards being manually removed. An upper plate with a U-shaped opening is spaced above the base plate and defines a slot for cards to pass. First and second spaced apart card guides define side edges of the slot. The first card guide is shorter than the second card guide, creating an offset in a first direction of travel of cards being removed. A method of removing cards is also disclosed, enabling movement of cards in at least two directions due to the presence of a card guide offset.