WO2020229999A1

WO2020229999A1 - Playing card

Info

Publication number: WO2020229999A1
Application number: PCT/IB2020/054430
Authority: WO
Inventors: Tommaso Maria BERGAMASCHI
Original assignee: Bergamaschi Tommaso Maria
Priority date: 2019-05-13
Filing date: 2020-05-11
Publication date: 2020-11-19

Abstract

The playing card (1) comprises: one substantially plate- shaped supporting element (2) and made up at least partly of a substantially plastic material; one electronic board (3) associated with the supporting element (2) and provided with a storage unit (4) for storing a digital image (5); one display (6) associated with the supporting element (2) and operationally connected to the electronic board (3) for the display of the digital image (5); wherein the supporting element (2) and the display (6) are associated with each other by interposition of the electronic board (3) to define a single substantially plate- shaped member of reduced thickness.

Description

PLAYING CARD

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a playing card.

Background Art

Playing cards are usually rectangular- shaped cards used in various types of playful activities commonly known as card games.

Usually each card game involves the use of a specific set of playing cards, commonly known as a deck of cards.

Each playing card has a main face, on which particular drawings are printed that distinguish it from other playing cards, and a secondary face opposite the main face, which is usually identical for all playing cards in the deck.

Playing cards of known type are usually made of cardboard/paper material on which appropriate drawings are printed.

Precisely, the process for the production of playing cards of known type comprises the preparation of a large format cardboard/paper sheet on which colored inks are applied in order to obtain the above mentioned drawings.

Afterwards, the colored inks are dried and the cardboard/paper sheet is cut to obtain the playing cards having the desired size.

Usually, the playing cards obtained this way undergo a further treatment that involves beveling the corners in order to obtain rounded corners that facilitate the ease of handling of the playing cards during their use.

Playing cards of known type do, however, have some drawbacks.

First of all, it should be noted that today there are many variations of card decks, depending on the specific type of game and on the different drawings that are reproduced on the playing cards.

Nowadays, a player who wants to dabble in different playful activities is often forced to have different decks of cards, because a deck of a certain type allows only certain games to be played.

For example, the playing cards making up a poker deck are very different from Italian playing cards (e.g.“Neapolitan cards”) and can in no way replace them. Moreover, playing cards are used in many different board games, such as collectible card games, theme games or others.

Description of the Invention

The main aim of the present invention is to devise a playing card that can be used for different kinds of playful activities.

Another object of the present invention is to devise a playing card that allows overcoming the aforementioned drawbacks of the prior art within a simple, rational, easy to use and effective solution.

The objects set out above are achieved by the present playing card having the characteristics of claim 1.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Other characteristics and advantages of the present invention will be more evident from the description of a preferred, but not exclusive, embodiment of a playing card, illustrated by way of indicative, yet non-limiting example in the attached tables of drawings in which:

Figure 1 is an axonometric view of a playing card according to the invention; Figure 2 is an axonometric view of a deck comprising a plurality of playing cards according to the invention;

Figure 3 is a schematic and exploded view of the playing card according to the invention.

Embodiments of the Invention

With particular reference to these figures, reference numeral 1 globally indicates a playing card.

The playing card 1 comprises:

at least one substantially plate-shaped supporting element 2 and made up at least partly of a substantially plastic material;

at least one electronic board 3 associated with the supporting element 2 and provided with at least one storage unit 4 for storing at least one digital image 5;

at least one display 6 associated with the supporting element 2 and operationally connected to the electronic board 3 for the display of the digital image 5. According to the invention, the supporting element 2 and the display 6 are associated with each other by interposition of the electronic board 3 to define a single substantially plate-shaped member of reduced thickness.

The single substantially plate-shaped member of reduced thickness coincides with the playing card 1.

The playing card 1 comprises a main face and a secondary face, which are mutually opposite.

The main face substantially corresponds to the screen with which the display 6 is provided and on this face is displayed the digital image 5 which distinguishes the playing card 1 from another playing card 1.

The secondary face, on the other hand, corresponds to the portion of the supporting element 2 facing outwards the playing card 1.

Conveniently, the substantially plastic material of which the supporting element 2 is partly made up is substantially flexible.

The playing card 1 is so easy to grip and handle by the user and is similar, to the touch, to a card made of cardboard/paper material.

In particular, the substantially plastic material has a level of hardness that gives the supporting element 2 a good level of resistance to impacts and scratches and allows the user to partly fold the playing card 1 without breaking it.

Again, according to a preferred embodiment, the supporting element 2 is provided with rounded corners that make it more ergonomic and easy to handle. The display 6 is made up at least partly of substantially flexible material which helps to make the playing card 1 sufficiently easy to handle.

The playing card 1 according to the invention, thanks to its good level of flexibility, can also be used to play magic games.

Advantageously, in the particular embodiment shown in the figures, the display 6 has a resolution of the FHD (Full High Definition) type, i.e. the screen is high- definition.

This way, the visual quality of the digital image 5 displayed is high, thus improving the gaming experience from the user’s point of view.

The digital image 5 is of the JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) type, i.e. static, or GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) type, i.e. animated.

The use of a digital image 5 of the GIF type allows for a more dynamic playing card 1. This makes the playing card 1 more aesthetically appealing and also expands the possibilities of use from a purely playful point of view.

The possibility of preparing animated images represents an absolute novelty in the field of card games.

According to the invention, the digital image 5 that can be stored in the storage unit 4 and then shown on the display 6 can be changed depending on the intended use of the playing card 1.

In particular, the electronic board 3 comprises loading means 7 for loading the digital image 5 on the storage unit 4.

In particular, the loading means 7 comprise at least one short-wave radio communication unit through which they receive the digital image 5 transmitted by an external source, such as e.g. a computer or mobile device.

In the particular embodiment shown in the figures the communication unit is of the NFC (Near-Field Communication) type. However, the use of different communication technologies cannot be ruled out.

The electronic board 3 comprises at least one processing unit 8 of the digital image 5 and at least one graphical processing unit 9 of the digital image 5.

The processing unit 8 is substantially a processor that manages the operation of the playing card 1.

The processing unit 8 is operationally connected to the storage unit 4.

The graphical processing unit 9 is substantially a graphic board, which is operationally connected to the display 6 and transmits the digital image 5 to the display 6.

The electronic board 3 conveniently comprises at least one cache memory 10 and at least one motherboard 11.

The cache memory 10 and the motherboard 11 are operationally connected to the processing unit 8 and manage the operation thereof.

The electronic board 3 comprises at least one power supply unit 12 of the playing card 1. The power supply unit 12 comprises at least one rechargeable battery 12.

The rechargeable battery 12 is of the lithium-polymer type and guarantees a safe use of the playing card 1 even in the event of accidental breakage of the rechargeable battery 12 itself.

The rechargeable battery 12 of the lithium-polymer type never overheats during the charging process, thus avoiding the deformation and/or melting of the plastic material of which the playing card 1 is at least partly made.

The rechargeable battery 12 of the lithium-polymer type is also not ignitable and does not suffer from the so-called“memory effect”, i.e. it is not subject to energy loss over time when not in use.

The rechargeable battery 12 of the lithium-polymer type also has a long life and, specifically, can be subjected to a number of charging cycles of about ten thousand.

Preferably, the rechargeable battery 12 is rechargeable wirelessly.

In particular, it is sufficient to place the playing card 1 on a special loader (not shown in the figures) and wait for the recharge of the rechargeable battery 12 which usually takes about five minutes.

Conveniently, the loader allows loading several playing cards 1 at the same time.

Figure 2 shows a deck 13 comprising a plurality of playing cards 1 according to the invention.

Depending on the digital images 5 stored in the storage unit 4 of each playing card 1 the user may have different decks 13.

In this respect, for ease of use of the deck 13, the loader is provided with a plurality of icons each corresponding to a different set of digital images 5 that can be loaded into the different storage units 4.

In particular, the user can select an icon and synchronically modify the digital images 5 that can be displayed on the different displays 6 in order to generate different decks 13.

The icons can be configured by the users themselves according to the card games they want to dabble in. Furthermore, the playing card 1 is provided with sensor means (not shown in the figures) that allow the user to use the function commonly known as“shake to shuffle”.

Precisely, the user grips the deck 13 and shakes it by activating the sensor means that allow a shuffling of the playing cards 1, i.e. a modification of the digital images 5 shown on each display 6.

This way the user can shuffle the playing cards 1 quickly and without damaging them.

The operation of the playing card 1 according to the invention is substantially as follows.

The users with the deck 13 can view on the displays 6 of the playing cards 1 the digital images 5 that allow playing certain types of games.

Specifically, through the loading means 7 they receive from the external source a set of digital images 5 that are displayed on the different playing cards 1 making up the deck 13.

If users want to have a different deck 13 to play different games, they have simply to load a new set of digital images 5 through the loading means 7 or select a particular icon on the loader.

It has in practice been found that the described invention achieves the intended objects.

In particular, if one has only one deck comprising a plurality of playing cards according to the invention it is possible to play different types of playful activities.

Specifically, by modifying the digital image displayed on the main face of the different playing cards one can assemble different decks that allow playing different games.

In addition, the use of playing cards according to the invention is eco- sustainable as it avoids the use of paper and ink and the plastic of which the playing cards themselves are made can be recycled more times than paper.

Claims

1) Playing card (1) characterized by the fact that it comprises:

at least one substantially plate-shaped supporting element (2) and made up at least partly of a substantially plastic material;

at least one electronic board (3) associated with said supporting element (2) and provided with at least one storage unit (4) for storing at least one digital image (5);

at least one display (6) associated with said supporting element (2) and operationally connected to said electronic board (3) for the display of said digital image (5);

wherein said supporting element (2) and said display (6) are associated with each other by interposition of said electronic board (3) to define a single substantially plate-shaped member of reduced thickness.

2) Playing card (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said electronic board (3) comprises at least one processing unit (8) of said digital image (5).

3) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said electronic board (3) comprises at least one power supply unit (12) of said playing card (1).

4) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said electronic board (3) comprises at least one graphical processing unit (9) of said digital image (5).

5) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said electronic board (3) comprises loading means (7) for loading said digital image (5) on said storage unit (4).

6) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said loading means (7) comprise at least one short- range radio- wave communication unit.

7) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said communication unit is of the NFC type.

8) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said electronic board (3) comprises at least one cache memory (10) and at least one motherboard (11).

9) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said substantially plastic material is substantially flexible.

10) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said digital image (5) is of the JPEG or GIF type.

11) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said display (6) has a resolution of the FHD (Full High Definition) type.

12) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said display (6) is made up at least partly of substantially flexible material.

13) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said power supply unit (12) comprises at least one rechargeable battery (12).

14) Playing card (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that said rechargeable battery (12) is of the lithium- polymer type.

15) Deck (13) of playing cards comprising a plurality of playing cards (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims.