CN117677428A - Playing card storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a playing card storage device for holding and/or manipulating a set of playing cards, wherein the playing card storage device comprises an open box comprising at least two mutually opposing side walls, a bottom wall between the side walls, and a rear wall between the side walls, the bottom wall and the rear wall being connected along a coupling rib. In the longitudinal direction and in a direction from the rear wall towards the inside of the box, the outermost point of the side wall opposite to the bottom wall extends beyond the outermost point of the side wall contacting the bottom wall.

Description

Playing card storage device

Technical Field

The present invention relates generally to a playing card storage device for holding, storing and manipulating a set of playing cards, and its use in casino and playing card games.

Background

Playing card games are well known today. The game is generally based on the unpredictability of the order in which cards are dealt or drawn from a randomly ordered deck or set of playing cards, where a set of playing cards includes more than one deck to set a level of randomly ordered playing cards.

For example, one type of card game employs 8 decks of randomly ordered cards, together with 416 randomly ordered cards to play. For some games, once cards are drawn from the group, the drawn cards cannot be used any further because the ordering and placement of the drawn cards can be monitored. The player may turn the card by himself, resulting in damage, breakage or destruction of the card. The reused cards may be opened for prediction of rank, thereby cheating.

In view of the high risks involved, virtually any source of fraudulent play or behavior must be avoided. The processing time from the production of a set of playing cards to its use on a gaming table needs to be as short as possible to largely avoid the possibility of fraud. Manipulation of the playing cards themselves should be limited as much as possible because each manipulation of one or more playing cards may be a source of fraudulent activity, such as removing a playing card or replacing one or more playing cards with another playing card or cards of known rank and suit.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method that provides secure handling, storage and transport of playing cards without touching the playing cards themselves. It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that will facilitate the safe and ergonomic loading of played playing cards back into any type of card holder adapted to carry and allow for the transport of cards, such as a card shoe, from a dedicated location on a receptacle or gaming table.

By "secure" is meant that the card is not touched by anyone after playing a card game using the card. It prohibits the player from accessing the card after the game is over. "set of playing cards" refers to one or preferably more than one deck of playing cards, wherein each of the one or more decks of playing cards includes a plurality of playing cards, typically 52 playing cards. The playing card storage device according to the invention may be adapted to store one or more decks of playing cards, e.g. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 decks or even more decks.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a playing card storage device for storing a set of playing cards. The playing card storage device includes an open box including at least two mutually opposing side walls, a bottom wall between the side walls, and a rear wall between the side walls, the bottom wall and the rear wall being connected along a coupling rib. In the longitudinal direction and in a direction from the rear wall toward the inside of the case, the outermost point of the side wall opposite to the bottom wall extends beyond the outermost point of the side wall contacting the bottom wall. According to some embodiments, the cartridge may have a volume of trapezoidal prism.

The open box may also include a face side (also referred to as a face wall) and a top side (also referred to as a top wall), which may be partially or fully open surfaces. Thus, the face side (i.e., the side opposite the rear wall) may be partially or fully open. The top side (i.e., the side opposite the bottom wall) may be partially or fully open.

The outermost point of the side wall opposite the bottom wall, i.e. the point furthest from the rear wall, extends beyond the outermost point of the side wall contacting the bottom wall, i.e. the point furthest from the rear wall, both in the longitudinal direction and in the direction from the rear wall towards the inside of the box. For both side walls, the two points of the side wall that are furthest from the rear wall in the side opposite the bottom wall may extend the same length from the rear wall. Alternatively, for both side walls, the two points furthest from the rear wall on the side of the side wall opposite the bottom wall may extend more from the rear wall than the points furthest from the rear wall on the side of the other of the two side walls opposite the bottom wall.

Or in other words, in lateral direction, the side walls are delimited by the rear wall and by the edge defined by the intersection of the side walls with a plane perpendicular to said side walls, so that for both side walls, the perpendicular projection of the bottom wall of the point that is furthest from the bottom wall for the side of the side wall opposite the bottom wall extends more from the coupling rib than the intersection of the side wall that contacts the bottom wall with said plane.

The playing card storage device is adapted to store a plurality of playing cards that may enter the cartridge via a face side (also referred to as a face wall, i.e., the side opposite the bottom wall), which is typically open. When the cassette is held in its upright position, the cassette can be handled and maneuvered without risk of playing cards falling out of the open cassette.

Since direct manipulation of playing cards is the source of possible misbehavior or fraudulent activity, it is important to touch and manipulate playing cards as little as possible. Playing cards drawn from, for example, a card shoe during play of the card game should be securely stored once the playing cards are to be removed from the table. Playing cards may be stored and maintained in the playing card storage device immediately after the playing cards are set aside in the game. Once the game is over, the played playing cards need to be returned to, for example, the casino's backyard or back office, optionally in combination with the non-dealt playing cards, in order to send the entire set of playing cards back to the backoffice for verification of the integrity of the set of playing cards. The non-dealt playing cards may be inserted into a playing card handling device that may be used to transport a used set of playing cards back to the back office.

Alternatively, playing cards are drawn from a set of playing cards stored in a closed card shoe via a card shoe. The played playing cards may be stored and maintained in the playing card storage device immediately after they have been set aside in the game. Once the game is over, the card shoe may be opened, i.e., the position in the card shoe for storing the dealt playing cards is opened. The playing card storage device may be used as a tool for transferring played playing cards into the void space of the card shoe, adapted to receive the played playing cards. The entire set of cards may be sent back to the back office using the card shoe itself.

The side wall has an inclined edge on a side facing away from the rear wall that can contact a top surface of an opening of a card shoe mounted in the card shoe. Playing cards in the playing card storage device may be easily transferred into the interior void of such a card shoe.

According to some embodiments, the back wall may have a perimeter, e.g., a rectangular perimeter, that is substantially the same (e.g., identical) as the perimeter of the playing cards to be held and manipulated by the playing card manipulation device.

According to some embodiments, the face side of the open box may be an open surface. The face side of the cassette is the side opposite the rear wall. According to some embodiments, the top side of the open box may be an open surface. The top side of the box is the side opposite the bottom wall.

According to some embodiments, the cartridge may have a volume of trapezoidal prism. According to some embodiments, the cassette may have a parallelepiped volume. The volume of a possible parallelepiped is that of a cuboid. According to some embodiments, the cartridge may have a cubic volume.

According to some embodiments, the bottom wall may extend beyond a point furthest from the rear wall of the side wall contacting the bottom wall.

According to some embodiments, the bottom wall may have a handle along a bottom wall edge remote from the rear wall.

The handle may be a small lip (lip) or edge that may be grasped by two or more fingers. The handle may be used to handle the case and carry it from place to place. When the cassette is received in a void space in a table, it may be used to lift the cassette from such void space in, for example, a card game table.

The upper edge of the bottom wall (which is the edge opposite to the edge of the coupling rib or the bottom wall and the rear wall) may extend more from the coupling rib than the intersection of the side wall contacting the bottom wall. It is possible that the upper edge of the bottom wall, which is the edge opposite the coupling rib of the bottom wall and the rear wall, coincides with the perpendicular projection point of the bottom wall at the intersection of the side wall opposite the bottom wall.

According to some embodiments, at a plane opposite the bottom wall, two wall sections may be provided, each wall section being connected to one side of the side wall along the length of the one side of the side wall and facing the opposite side wall.

The two wall sections may provide an open strip or area along the top side of the truncated parallelepiped volume in the lateral direction of the volume. The two sections provide a volume that resists and prevents the playing cards from sliding out of the playing card storage device in a direction perpendicular away from the bottom wall. The playing cards cannot fall out of the playing card storage device in a direction perpendicular to the bottom wall.

According to some embodiments, the rear wall may have a cutout along a portion of a side remote from the bottom wall.

The cutout allows the card in the volume closest to the bottom wall to be pushed in a lateral direction toward the front open side of the volume. The incision also allows the playing card storage device to be manipulated and carried for disposal by the thumb of a person who is processing the device located in the incision. Thus, the cutout facilitates the retention of the device by providing a location for the thumb of the person holding the device.

According to some embodiments, the wall may be provided by a transparent polymer. The playing cards are visible from all sides at any time, which makes it clear to the person involved in the manipulation of the playing card manipulation device about the content and movement of the playing cards by the playing card manipulation device during the manipulation of the playing cards.

According to some embodiments, the wall may be provided by a light-tight or even opaque polymer.

According to some embodiments, the playing card storage device may have a holding means for holding the game item or the seal. The playing cards held within the device may form part of a pre-sealed set of playing cards provided in a sealed playing card cassette or compartment (vat). The playing cards are stored in a card shoe so that the playing cards can be drawn one by one from a playing card set. When the entire set of playing cards is to be inserted into the card shoe, the card shoe or compartment is opened. The playing card storage device may have a special dedicated location to store the broken seal from the card shoe of the compartment. This prevents the loss of the tamper seal during play of the card game.

According to some embodiments, the playing card storage device may have a cover plate or "cap" that holds a card shoe, which may, for example, include playing cards. By cover or cap is meant a component belonging to the card shoe, preferably a plastic component, which prevents access to the playing cards when placed in the desired position on the card shoe. The cover may be provided with two "teeth" that engage with designated holes in the card shoe. It may also be equipped with two snap hooks (snap hooks) that snap into holes designated in the connection beam (bridge) of the card shoe. The designated holes for the teeth and snap hooks may be replicated on the top side of the discard rack (discard rack) allowing the cover plate to be stored on the discard rack. Below the holding area of the upper cover plate of the discard rack, a receptacle can also be provided, which matches the exact geometry of the tamper evident piece. The seal may be suitably stored in the holding area during play, which will be closed when the cover plate is locked in its storage position on the discard rack, thereby preventing loss of play items. The card shoe is expected to hold multiple sets of playing cards during play. Such a card shoe may be inserted (e.g., clicked) into a card shoe from which playing cards are drawn by means of the card shoe. Before the game starts and after the game has ended, a cover is provided for the card shoe to prevent cards from being drawn from the card shoe. During play, this cover is removed from the shoe, for example, prior to insertion of the shoe into the dealer. To properly store the cover, the playing card storage device can include a retaining means to retain the cover removed from the card shoe.

According to a first particular aspect of the first aspect of the invention, the playing card storage device can further comprise a receptacle for holding an open ended cartridge, the open ended cartridge being fully received in the receptacle.

Such a container may be used as a receptacle for a cartridge. The container may be used to temporarily store the playing card in and out of the case. The containers may be temporarily stored in void spaces in, for example, a card game table. The cassette can be placed in and removed from the container as desired. The handle, if present, may be used to insert or withdraw the cartridge from the container.

According to some embodiments, the container may have a lid covering an insertion opening of the container defined by the container wall.

The opening may be used to insert playing cards through the opening in the case.

According to some embodiments, a slit may be provided between at least one of the lid and the container wall.

The slot is large enough to slide the playing card into the receptacle. Thus, the playing cards may be slid into the receptacle and thus into the box without opening the cover.

According to some embodiments, the face wall of the open box may be an open surface, the face wall of the open box facing the lid when the open box is inserted into the container.

According to some embodiments, the inner surface of the container may fit the outer surface of the open box. When the playing cards slide into the receptacle, the playing cards fall into the open box via the face wall of the opening.

If the bottom wall of the opening has a handle along the edge of the bottom wall remote from the rear wall, the handle can be used to pull the open box out of the container when the lid is opened.

According to some embodiments, the container may have a holding means for holding the seal or the game item. According to some embodiments, the container may have a lid rotatably fixed to the container at a first side of the container, the holding means for holding the seal being part of the lid, e.g. present at an upper side of the lid, and the cover plate or "cap" being held at a side of the lid remote from said first side.

According to some embodiments, the container may have a retaining device to retain a cover of the card shoe.

According to some embodiments, the container may have a lid rotatably fixed to the container at a first side of the container, the holding means for holding the lid plate being part of the lid, e.g. present at an upper side of the lid, and the lid plate being held at a side of the lid remote from said first side.

Thus, the location of the storage cover is provided during play of the poker game.

According to a second particular aspect of the first aspect of the invention, the playing card storage device can further comprise a cover to cover at least one of a face side opposite the back wall and a top side opposite the bottom wall. The face side and/or the top side of the open box may be open, i.e. uncovered. During transport of the playing card handling device, a cover may be used to temporarily close these open sides or faces of the open box to prevent cards held by the open box from falling out of the open box. According to some embodiments, the cover may cover a face side opposite the rear wall and a top side opposite the bottom wall.

According to some embodiments, the cover may have a hook shape, also referred to as an L-shape, e.g., an L-shaped plate, e.g., an L-shaped polymer plate. According to some embodiments, the short side of the L-shape may cover the face side of the open box. According to some embodiments, the long side of the L-shape may cover the top side of the open box.

According to some embodiments, in a plane opposite to the bottom wall, two wall sections may be provided. For each side wall, one wall section is connected to one side of the side wall along the length of that side wall, with the edges of the wall sections oriented away from the opposing side wall. The cover may comprise one or more sliding means for receiving one of the wall sections during mounting of the cover to the open box. The cover can slide down from the face side of the open box to the rear wall, while the sliding means fit on the wall section. Possibly, the sliding means may exert a force on the wall sections, e.g. a clamping force, requiring a minimum force to be applied to open the cover or to remove the cover from the open box by sliding the cover in opposite directions.

According to some embodiments, the playing card storage device can include coupling means to releasably couple the open box to the cover. Such coupling means may be a hoop coupling means, one or more sets of magnets, or a physical coupling means of a male part and a female part (wherein the male part is connected to the female part, e.g. by pushing the male part towards the female part and e.g. snapping one into the other). Such coupling means temporarily form a partially or fully closed volume for the two parts (i.e. the cover and the open box) from which cards present in the open box can only deliberately leave or cannot leave even while the coupling remains closed.

According to some embodiments, an opening or slit may be provided between the box and the cover at a side of the box opposite the rear wall when the box is coupled to the cover. The playing card storage device in the coupled state may be inserted into a suitable opening in the gaming table with the face side facing upward and extending above the surface of the gaming table. Cards removed from the table may be provided into the playing card storage device through the slot or opening. Cards fall into the open box, down to the back wall. The slot preferably has at least the width of the short or long sides of the playing card, which may be provided by sizing one of the lateral sides such that it does not touch one side of the cover closing the open box side, e.g., the short side of the L-shaped cover. For example, for two points furthest from the rear wall on the side of the two side walls opposite the bottom wall, the point furthest from the rear wall on the side of one of the side walls opposite the bottom wall may extend closer to the rear wall than the point furthest from the rear wall on the side of the other of the two side walls opposite the bottom wall. In this way, a slit may be provided between one of the side walls and the short side of the L-shaped cover between that side wall and the point furthest from the rear wall of that side wall relative to the bottom wall, which point is relatively close. Alternatively, slits may be provided along both side walls. Also alternatively, the bottom wall of the open box is dimensioned such that the bottom wall of the open box does not touch the cover when the open box and the cover are coupled to each other. In this way, a slit may be provided between the cover and the bottom wall of the open box.

The playing card handling device, along with the attached open box and cover, may be positioned in an opening in the gaming table such that the slot is flush with the surface of the gaming table. Played cards can easily slide into the slot, after which the card will remain stored in the void of the open box.

According to some embodiments, the playing card storage device may comprise a cover, the playing card storage device comprising holding means for holding the seal to hold the seal as part of the cover.

According to some embodiments, the playing card storage device may comprise a cover, the playing card storage device comprising a holding means for holding a cover plate of the card shoe, the holding means holding the cover plate of the card shoe as part of the cover.

According to some embodiments, the playing card storage device may comprise a cover having an L-shape, the playing card storage device comprising holding means for holding the seal and/or holding means for holding the cover of the card shoe as part of the short side of the L-shape.

Thus, according to some embodiments, the cover may have a retaining means for retaining the cover of the card shoe. Thereby, the position of the cover storing the card shoe during play of the card game is provided.

According to some embodiments, the cover may have a holding means for holding the seal. Thus, a location is provided to store the seal during play of the game.

According to some embodiments, the cover and/or the open box may be provided by a transparent or non-transparent or opaque polymer, such as an opaque or black polymer.

The playing card storage device according to the first aspect of the invention may be used for storing playing cards that have been played during a card game. Once the card game is completed, the card storage device holds the played cards. It may be used to return playing cards to the back office of the casino or may be used to insert (typically using a card dispenser) playing cards back into a void in the card shoe where the playing cards were drawn.

This thereby avoids that during play of the card game, a person other than the dealer touches the playing card, even if the playing card is played. This thus avoids manipulation of the playing card itself, which may be a source of fraudulent activity, such as taking the playing card to be able to cheat with the stolen playing card in another card game.

According to a second aspect, the playing card storage device according to the first aspect of the invention is for storing playing cards (e.g. playing cards from a set of deals of playing cards) and this is for example done during a playing card game. There is therefore provided the use of a playing card storage device according to the first aspect of the invention to store playing cards in a casino, preferably at a casino table. The playing card storage device according to the first aspect of the invention is for transferring playing cards, such as cards from a set of deals of playing cards, for example, from a gaming table of a casino back to a back office of the casino.

Drawings

Figure 1 schematically illustrates a playing card storage device according to a first aspect of the invention, wherein the container of the device is in a closed position.

Figure 2 schematically illustrates the same playing card storage device as in figure 1 with the container of the device in an open position.

Figure 3 schematically illustrates an open box of the playing card storage device of figure 1 positioned in a card shoe that itself is coupled to a card shoe.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view of fig. 3.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 schematically illustrate another playing card storage device in accordance with the first aspect of the invention.

Figure 8 schematically illustrates an open box of the playing card storage device of figures 5-7 positioned in a card shoe that itself is coupled to a card dispenser.

In the drawings, the same reference numerals denote the same or similar elements of the apparatus or device.

Detailed Description

Figures 1 and 2 illustrate a playing card storage device 10 for holding and/or manipulating a set of playing cards. The playing card storage device includes a receptacle 20 for holding an open box 100. Both the container 20 and the open ended cartridge 100 are provided by transparent polymeric materials. The open ended cartridge 100 fits fully into the container as shown in figure 1. The container 20 has a cover 21 covering an insertion opening 22 of the container defined by a container wall 23. Between the cover and the at least one container wall 23, a slit 24 is provided. The container can be inserted into an opening in the casino table, the perimeter of which fits well with the edge of the container wall 23. Thus, the slot 24 may be located directly above the casino table surface. When the playing card storage device 10 is located in a casino table, cards that are to be placed into the playing card storage device 10 may be inserted into the slot 24, whereby the cards fall into the open box 100 of the playing card storage device 10.

The face side 101 of the open box 100 is an open surface, and when the open box 100 is inserted into the container 20, the face wall of the open box 100 faces the cover 21. The face side of the open box 100 is the side opposite to the rear wall 102.

The inner surface 25 of the container 20 mates with the outer surface 103 of the open ended cartridge 100.

The container 20 has a retaining means 26 for retaining a seal and a retaining means for retaining a cover plate 30 or "cap" of the card shoe. More specifically, the cover 21 is rotatably fixed to the container 20 at a first side 27 of the container 20, and retaining means for retaining the cover plate 30 are present at an upper side 28 of the cover 21, at a side 29 of the cover 21 remote from the first side 27. The cover may be detachably connected to the side of the container by means of a detachable coupling means comprising a male part 32 and a female part 31.

The open ended box 100 includes at least two mutually opposed side walls 110 and 111, a bottom wall 112 between the side walls, and a rear wall 102 between the side walls. The bottom wall 112 and the rear wall 102 are connected along the coupling rib 113. The open box 100 has the volume of a trapezoidal prism, more precisely a cube.

In the longitudinal direction 120 and directed from the rear wall 102 towards the inside of the open box 100, the outermost points 130 of the side walls 110 and 111 on the side opposite the bottom wall 112 extend beyond the outermost point 140 of the side walls that contacts the bottom wall 112. One of the side walls 111 has a length in the lateral direction 120 that is shorter than the length of the other side walls 110. The sides of the container 20 that match the shortest side walls 111 and the top side of the open box 100 are shorter than the other walls in the side direction. When the lid 21 is in the closed position, a slit is provided between the lid 21 and the two shorter walls of the container. This in combination with the shorter side walls 111 provides a slit 24 allowing cards to slide through the slit along the side walls 111 and top side of the open box into the void of the open box.

Along the edge of the bottom wall 112 remote from the rear wall 112, the bottom wall 102 has a handle 115, such as a lip. The handle 115 may be used to grasp the open ended cartridge 100 when the open ended cartridge 100 is to be removed from the container 20. The person taking out the open ended cartridge 100 may pull the open ended cartridge from the container 20.

At a plane opposite to the bottom wall 112, two wall sections 150, 151 are provided, each wall section 150, 151 being connected to one side of the side walls 110, 111 along the length of the side faces of the side walls 110, 111 and facing the opposite side walls 110, 111. During manipulation of the open box 100, playing cards falling into the open box 100 are prevented from falling out of the open box in a direction away from the bottom wall 112.

The rear wall 102 has a cutout 116 along a portion of the side remote from the bottom wall 112. The cutout may be used to allow the thumb of the person carrying the open ended case to be positioned therein, thereby facilitating the carrying of the open ended case 100.

This open box, positioned in the receptacle, is rotated so that it is positioned in the opening of the gaming table, which can be used to collect dealt cards from the game during play. When the game is over, the dealt cards are preferably recombined with the non-dealt cards in the set of playing cards held by the card shoe. As shown in detail in fig. 3 and 4, when the open ended case 100 is removed from the receptacle 20 by, for example, opening the receptacle cover 21 and pulling out the open ended case 100 by means of the lip 115, the open ended case 100 may be associated with an open or at least partially open upper surface 201 of the card case 200.

Due to its shape, the open box has two inclined sides 160, 161, one for each side surface 110, 111. By introducing a portion of the bottom side 112 into the volume of the card shoe 200 until the sloped sides 160 and 161 meet the upstanding sides 202 and 203 of the card shoe 200, playing cards held in the open box can easily slide into the open volume of the card shoe 200 without the playing cards present in the open box having to be removed or otherwise manipulated significantly. If cards do not slide themselves, they need only be pushed inwardly into the open volume of the card shoe. In order to precisely orient the open magazine 100 and the card magazine 200, the card magazine may have a cutout 205 in its lower or bottom surface 204 in which the handle 115 as a lip fits snugly.

Figures 5 through 7 illustrate another playing card storage device 1010 for holding and/or manipulating a set of playing cards. Fig. 5 schematically shows the open box 1000 and the cover 1200 in a separated position, while fig. 6 shows the open box 1000 and the cover 1200 when closed. Fig. 7 shows the open box 1000 and the cover 1200 in a closed state.

The playing card storage device includes an open box 1000. The open box 1000 may be provided of a transparent polymeric material or an opaque (e.g., opaque or black) polymer.

The face side 1101 of the open box 1000 is an open surface. The face side of the open box 1000 is the wall opposite the rear wall 1102.

The open box 1000 includes at least two side walls 1110 and 1111 opposite to each other, a bottom wall 1112 between the side walls, and a rear wall 1102 between the side walls. The bottom wall 1112 and the rear wall 1102 are connected along the coupling rib 1113. The open box 1000 has the volume of a trapezoidal prism, more precisely a cube.

In the longitudinal direction 1120 and in the direction from the rear wall 1102 towards the inside of the open box 1000, the outermost points 1130 of the side walls 1110 and 1111 on the side opposite to the bottom wall 1112 extend beyond the outermost points 1140 of the side walls on the side contacting the bottom wall 1112.

At a plane opposite to the bottom wall 1112, two wall sections 1150 and 1151 are provided, each wall section 1150, 1151 being connected to one side of the side walls 1110 and 1111 along the length of one side of the side walls 1110 and 1111 and facing away from the opposite side walls 1110 and 1111.

The rear wall 1102 has a cutout 1116 along a portion of a side remote from the bottom wall 1112. The cutout may be used to allow a person carrying the open ended case to be positioned therein, thereby facilitating the carrying of the open ended case 1000.

The playing card storage device 1010 also includes a cover 1200, the cover 1200 being an L-shaped polymer plate having a long side 1201 and a short side 1202. The cover 1200 may be provided from a transparent polymeric material or an opaque (e.g., opaque or black) polymer.

Along both long sides 1201 of the cover 1200, a series of slide means 1204 is provided, the slide means 1204 being adapted to slide over the wall sections 1150 and 1151 of the open cassette 1100 when the cover 1200 is mounted to the open cassette 1100 by sliding the cover over the face sides of the open cassette 1100 in the longitudinal direction 1120. The slide 1204 may be slightly clamped to the wall sections 1150 and 1151 such that minimal force is required to move the cover relative to the open box, such as to open or close the open box with the cover.

The housing 1200 has a retaining device 1027 that retains the seal 301 and a retaining device 1026 that retains the cover plate 300 of the card shoe. More specifically, the retaining means 1026 for retaining the cover plate 330 and the retaining means 1027 for retaining the seal 301 are present at the outer surface 1208 of the cover, which surface is delimited by the short side 1202 of the cover 1200.

As best seen in fig. 7, one of the side walls 1110 has a length in the lateral direction 1120 that is shorter than the length of the other side walls 1111. When the cover and open box are associated, a slit 1300 is provided between the cover 1200 and the edge of the shortest side wall 1110, while the top edges of the other side wall 1111 and bottom wall 1112 touch the inside of the cover 1200. The combination of box 1100 and cover 1200 may be inserted into an opening in a casino table in a closed condition, the perimeter of which fits well with the perimeter of the combination of box 1100 and cover 1200. The depth of the opening in the casino table is preferably selected such that at least a portion of the slit 1300 extends above the surface of the casino table. Cards that are desired to be placed in the playing card storage device 1010 may be inserted into the slot 1300 so as to fall into the split box 1000 of the playing card storage device 1010.

The playing card storage device 1010 can thus be used to collect dealt cards from a game during the game. When the game is over, the dealt cards are preferably recombined with the non-dealt cards in the set of playing cards held by the card shoe. As shown in detail in fig. 8, the open box 1000, with the cover 1200 removed, may be associated with an open or at least partially open upper surface 201 of the card shoe 200. Due to its shape, open box 1000 has two sloped sides 1160 and 1161, one on each sidewall 1110, 1111. By introducing a portion of the bottom side 1112 into the volume of the card shoe 200 until the angled sides 1160, 1161 meet the upstanding sides 202, 203 of the card shoe 200, playing cards held in the open box can easily slide into the open volume of the card shoe 200 and this does not require that the playing cards present in the open box be removed or otherwise manipulated significantly. If cards do not slide themselves, they need only be pushed inwardly into the open volume of the card shoe.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the foregoing illustrative embodiments, and that the invention may be practiced with various changes and modifications without departing from the scope thereof. The present embodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced therein. In other words, it is intended to cover any and all modifications, variations, or equivalents that fall within the basic principles and basic attribute scope of what is claimed in this patent application. The reader of this patent application will also understand that the word "comprising" or "comprises" does not exclude other elements or steps, that the word "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality, and that a single element may fulfill the functions of several means recited in the claims. Any reference sign in a claim should not be construed as limiting the respective claim concerned. The terms "first," "second," "third," "a," "b," "c," and the like in the description and in the claims, are used for distinguishing between similar elements or steps and not necessarily for describing a sequential or chronological order. Similarly, the terms "top," "bottom," "over," "under," and the like are used for descriptive purposes and not necessarily for indicating relative positions. It is to be understood that the terms so used are interchangeable under appropriate circumstances and that the embodiments of the invention are capable of operation in other sequences or orientations than described or illustrated herein.

Claims (18)

1. A playing card storage device for holding, storing, and/or manipulating a set of playing cards,

wherein the playing card storage device comprises an open box comprising at least two mutually opposite side walls, a bottom wall between the side walls, and a rear wall between the side walls, the bottom wall and the rear wall being connected along a coupling rib,

and wherein an outermost point of a side of the side wall opposite the bottom wall extends beyond an outermost point of a side of the side wall contacting the bottom wall in a longitudinal direction and in a direction from the rear wall toward an inside of the case.

2. The playing card storage device of claim 1 wherein the face wall of the open box is a partially or fully open surface.

3. A playing card storage device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the top wall, i.e. the side opposite the bottom wall, is partly or completely open.

4. A playing card storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the rear wall has a perimeter that is substantially the same as a perimeter of a playing card to be stored in the playing card storage device.

5. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cartridge has a volume of trapezoidal prism, preferably a cube.

6. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the playing card storage device has a retaining means for retaining a seal.

7. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the playing card storage device has a holding means for holding a cover plate of a card shoe.

8. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 1-7 wherein the back wall has a cutout along a portion of a side remote from the bottom wall.

9. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the playing card storage device further comprises a cover to cover at least one of a face side opposite the back wall and a top side opposite the bottom wall.

10. The playing card storage device of claim 9 wherein the cover covers a face side opposite the back wall and a top side opposite the bottom wall.

11. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 9-10 wherein the cover has an L-shape.

12. The playing card storage device of claim 11 wherein the short side of the L-shape covers a face side of the open box.

13. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 11-12 wherein the long side of the L-shape covers a top side of the open box.

14. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the playing card storage device comprises coupling means to releasably couple the open box to the cover.

15. The playing card storage device of claim 14 wherein a slit is provided between the open box and the cover at a face side of the open box opposite the rear wall when the open box is coupled with the cover.

16. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 9 to 15 wherein the cover and/or the open box are provided by an opaque polymer.

17. The playing card storage device of any one of claims 9 to 15 wherein the cover and/or the open box are provided by a transparent polymer.

18. Use of a playing card storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 17, preferably on a casino table, for storing playing cards in a casino.