Ticket dispensing modules and method

• US 20060071046A1
• Filed: 07/26/2005
• Published: 04/06/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/14/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
• Original Assignee: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
• Inventors: Roberts, Brian J., Petch, David B.
• Granted Patent: US 7,665,394 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 225/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 11/68 in which the articles are torn or severed from strips or sheets
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/329 Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/10 Methods
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/12 With preliminary weakening
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/205 With feed-out of predetermined length from work supply
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/211 Manually operated feed-out mechanism
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/314 Successively actuated sharp and dull tools
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 225/35 Work-parting pullers [bursters]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/101 With stopping means effective on completion of predetermined number of tool cycles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/2216 Inclined conduit, chute or plane
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/343 With means to deform work temporarily
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/4448 Controlled by mechanical means
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/4804 Single tool action drive

Abstract

The dispenser dispenses tickets such as instant-winner lottery tickets from a strip in which the individual tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The separator preferably is rotary and has a dull helical blade which rotates to contact the ticket strip adjacent a perforation line, and presses against the strip to tear the tickets apart along the perforation line at a point which progresses across the strip along the perforation line. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided for reading codes on tickets in the dispensing machine. The bar code reader is used in reading information from the tickets to initialize the dispenser control system and in accounting for the sale of tickets, and in the verification of winning tickets being sold. A game is provided in which the concept is that a jackpot is built up using the detection of each ticket sold. The mechanism is simplified by using a separator member and transport drive structures which span a plurality of different channels or bins of a multi-channel dispenser. This provides a very compact, simple, secure and low-cost mechanism which is used both in stand-alone ticket vending machines, and in counter-top attended dispensers.

Claims

1. A ticket dispensing device, comprising in combination:

a plurality of ticket transport devices, each for transporting tickets in an elongated strip in which the tickets are delineated from one another by lines of weakness, from a supply to a separator device;

a separator device adjacent said transport devices and receiving a strip of said tickets from each of said transport devices;

an elongated rotary separator member spanning the paths taken by each of said strips received by said separator device; and

a drive device for rotating said separator member to separate one ticket from another in at least one of said strips.