| 主权项 |
1. A card dealing shoe for facilitating play of card games, comprising:
a) an elongated housing defining a card staging area therein, the housing including a sloped base, opposing side walls and a sloped front wall separated from the base adjacent to a front end of the housing to form a card feed slot from which cards may be manually removed from the card staging area; b) a camera mounted in the base for capturing an image of each card as the card is moved through the slot; c) a control system in communication with the camera for receiving the captured image and identifying the rank and suit of the card removed from the card staging area, the control system including a processor and a data storage device, wherein the control system is further configured to detect the existence of an alarm condition; d) a card restraining apparatus mounted on the elongated housing and configured for alternating between a non-restraining condition and a restraining condition, wherein the restraining condition includes activation of a physical restraint that prevents cards from being added to and removed from the card staging area through the slot, wherein the card restraining apparatus is in communication with the control system and actuated from the non-restraining condition to the restraining condition responsive to the detection of an alarm condition; and e) a camera cleaning system including a source of compressed air mounted in the housing and a conduit, wherein the conduit includes an inlet for receiving pressurized air from the source of compressed air and an outlet adjacent to the camera for directing pressurized air in the direction of the camera. |
