GAME CONTROL AND DATA HANDLING SYSTEM

• US 3,786,234 A
• Filed: 11/16/1971
• Issued: 01/15/1974
• Est. Priority Date: 11/16/1971
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Edward J. Trent, Frank L. Kagele, Frederick J. Alberty, Jerry T. Fridenberg, Lavern H. Meyers
• Original Assignee: Edward J. Trent, Frank L. Kagele, Frederick J. Alberty, Jerry T. Fridenberg, Lavern H. Meyers
• Inventors: Trent, Edward J., Meyers, Lavern H., Kagele, Frank L., Fridenberg, Jerry T., Alberty, Frederick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cook, Daryl W.
• Application Number:
  US05/199,176
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 235/61.6R,61.6E,61.7R,61.9R 340/172.5 273/138A 101/93C
• US Class Current: 235/375
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/04 controlled by sensing markings on the record carrier being punched
• CPC Class Codes: G06K 1/12 otherwise than by punching
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42

Abstract

A system is disclosed for expediting and monitoring customer transactions in the game of keno including a plurality of transaction terminals or stations each including scanner means for sensing marked number spots of a customer marked keno ticket, a manually operable keyboard for receiving entries of the price of a transaction and the nature of the transaction and a duplicate receipt ticket providing means including printing means controlled by the scanner and the keyboard for rapidly providing a duplicate ticket with brush mark replicas in the same number spots as those of the customer marked ticket and for also imprinting additional information such as the nature and price of the transaction. Another aspect of the invention resides in the provision of a control and data processing system interconnecting the plurality of terminal stations to a central control for controlling and monitoring all of the transaction terminals and storing all transactions of all transaction terminals. An additional feature resides in the provision of a back printer for imprinting the back of a customer marked ticket with all information, such as the amount of the transaction and the nature of the transaction, imprinted on the receipt ticket.

Claims

1. A keno transaction control system including a plurality of transaction terminals at which a customer presents a customer marked keno ticket having one or more marked spots, each of said transaction terminals including a customer marked ticket scanning means for scanning a customer marked ticket and providing spot signals indicative of the marked spots on said customer marked ticket, selective duplicate spot printing means including a spot print cylinder having spot printing elements on its surface each comprising a brush mark printing element for printing a replica of a brush mark, said spot print cylinder being connected to said scanning means and being responsive to said spot signals from said scanning means for printing spots on a duplicate receipt ticket with a replica of a brush mark in the same spots of the duplicate ticket as the marked spots on the customer marked ticket, a manual keyboard for providing keyboard output signalS indicative of entries in the keyboard by an operator, said entries including the amount of a transaction and the type of transaction and selective printing means for imprinting the transaction amount and the type of transaction on said duplicate ticket in accordance with entries in said keyboard and data storage means connected to the keyboard at each transaction terminal for recording all transactions of each transaction terminal wherein said transport means includes an intermediate transport means comprising two pairs of belts having inwardly facing flights between which a duplicate ticket blank is received at an infeed end and conveyed to an inlet end of an output duplicate ticket transport which includes two pairs of belts having inwardly facing flights engaging the duplicate tickets for movement to and through the spot printing means and an intermediate transport drive stepper motor means drivingly connected to said intermediate transport means and said output transport means for simultaneously providing increments of movement in a feeding direction to the belts of said intermediate transport means and said output transport means.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein said spot printing means additionally includes a spot print hammer assembly having a plurality of selectively actuable solenoid powered spot print hammers positioned adjacent said spot print cylinder for selectively moving selected spots of a duplicate ticket supported by said output transport into printing engagement with one of said brush mark printing elements on said spot print cylinder.

3. The invention of claim 2 wherein said brush mark printing elements are arranged on the surface of said spot print cylinder in axially parallel rows parallel to the axis of said spot print cylinder and additionally including a spot print cylinder driving stepper motor drivingly connected to said spot print cylinder for indexing successive adjacent axially parallel rows of printing elements into a spot printing enabling position in which each printing element of a row of printing elements is in facing relationship to one of said hammers with a blank duplicate receipt ticket facing said printing element and interposed between said hammer and printing element.

4. The invention of claim 3 additionally including selectively operable strip feeding means for feeding the forward end of a strip of blank duplicate receipt tickets into the infeed end of said intermediate transport means, selectively operable ticket severing means interposed between said strip feeding means and the inlet of said intermediate feed means for severing the forwardmost ticket on the strip from the strip.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein the selective printing means for printing the transaction amount and the type of transaction comprises a continuously rotating print cylinder having a plurality of axially spaced rings of indicia along its outer surface and positioned adjacent the intermediate feed means, a hammer assembly facing said print cylinder and including a plurality of selectively operable solenoid actuated hammer members respectively aligned with rings of indicia on the continuously rotating print cylinder.

6. The invention of claim 5 additionally including selectively actuable drive means connected to said strip feeding means for continuously driving said strip feeding means in a feeding direction of movement when actuated and one-way drive means drivingly connecting said intermediate transport means and said strip feeding means for simultaneously driving said intermediate feeding means and said strip feeding means upon actuation of said selectively actuable drive means and for preventing increments of movement of said belts of the intermediate transport means caused by actuation of said stepper motor from being conveyed to said strip feed means.

7. The invention of claim 6 additionally including control means for sequentially actuating the selectively actuable drive means to cause said strip feed means to feed the forwArdmost ticket blank on the strip forwardly into the intermediate transport means, actuating said ticket severing means to sever the forwardmost ticket blank from the strip, actuating said intermediate transport drive stepper motor means to actuate the intermediate feed means to move and position the severed ticket blank in printing enabling position adjacent said continuously rotating print cylinder, actuating one or more selected ones of the hammers associated with the continuously rotating print cylinder to imprint the ticket blank, actuating the intermediate transport drive stepper motor to convey the ticket blank to a stationary position adjacent the spot print cylinder in which the forwardmost column of number spots on the ticket is in a spot printing enabling position aligned with the spot print hammer assembly, actuating any spot print hammer members aligned with number spots on the ticket blank corresponding to any number spots marked by the customer on the customer marked ticket, alternately indexing following successive columns of number spots into the spot printing enabling position by actuation of the intermediate transport drive stepper motor and actuating the spot print hammers aligned with number spots corresponding to any number spots marked by the customer on the customer marked ticket, actuating the intermediate transport drive stepper motor after all columns of number spots have been indexed to the spot printing enabling position and all spots on the ticket corresponding to spots marked by the bettor have been imprinted to complete a duplicate receipt ticket to discharge the duplicate receipt ticket via the output transport.

8. In a ticket issuing and accounting control system, the combination comprising:

a plurality of ticket issuing stations each having a number and including means for sensing marks on a customer-marked ticket;

mark storage means for simultaneously storing for an interval of time an indication of every mark sensed;

counter means responsive to said storage means for producing an indication of the total count of marks sensed;

record present sensing means for sensing the presence of an operator identification record at a desired position in each ticket issuing station;

record sensing means for sensing coded data on said operator identification record;

a data storage register;

means responsive to said record present sensing means for enabling said data storage register to store said sensed coded data and said total count; and

means for generating and entering into said data register an indication of the number assigned to the ticket issuing station.

9. The combination as claimed in claim 8 and further comprising:

means for generating a ticket number and storing it in said data register; and

, means including keyboard means for entering into said data register a transaction price.

10. The combination as claimed in claim 9 and further comprising:

a supervisory station; and

, means for transferring all data in said data register to said supervisory station.

11. The combination as claimed in claim 10 wherein said supervisory station includes time code data generating means, said combination further comprising:

means for continuously and repetitively transferring said time code data to said data register; and

means for entering said time code data into said data register prior to the time data in said register is transferred to said supervisory station.

12. The combination as claimed in claim 11 and including means responsive to said data register for imprinting said data on a duplicate ticket.

13. The combination as claimed in claim 12 and including means responsive to said mark storage means for imprinting on said duplicate ticket a mark corresponding to each mark sensed.

14. A ticket issuing and accounting station comprising a plurality of ticket issuing stations each connected to a single supervisory station;

said supervisory station includinG means for selectively disabling the operation of any of said ticket issuing stations;

said supervisory station including means for continuously generating and applying data to said ticket issuing stations;

keyboard means at each ticket issuing station for generating price data;

mark sensing and storage means at each ticket issuing station for sensing a customer marked ticket to generate data relating to marks on said ticket;

means at each ticket issuing station for imprinting on a duplicate ticket all data generated at said ticket issuing station and the data generated at said supervisory station; and

means for transferring to said supervisory station all data imprinted on each ticket at each ticket issuing station.

15. A ticket issuing and accounting station comprising a plurality of ticket issuing stations each connected to a single supervisory station;

said supervisory station including means for continuously generating and applying data to said ticket issuing stations;

keyboard means at each ticket issuing station for generating price data;

mark sensing and storage means at each ticket issuing station for sensing a customer-marked ticket to generate data relating to marks on said ticket;

means at each ticket-issuing station for imprinting on a duplicate ticket all data generated at said ticket issuing station and the data generated at said supervisory station;

means for transferring to said supervisory station all data imprinted on each ticket at each ticket issuing station; and

wherein said supervisory control station includes scanning means for enabling only one ticket-issuing station at a time to transfer data to the supervisory control station.

16. A ticket issuing and accounting station comprising a plurality of ticket issuing stations each connected to a single supervisory station;

said supervisory station including means for selectively disabling the operation of any of said ticket issuing stations;

said supervisory station including means for continuously generating and applying data to said ticket issuing station;

keyboard means at each ticket issuing station for generating price data;

mark sensing and storage means at each ticket issuing station for sensing a customer-marked ticket to generate data relating to marks on said ticket;

means at each ticket issuing station for imprinting on a duplicate ticket all data generated at said ticket issuing station and the data generated at said supervisory station;

means for transferring to said supervisory station all data imprinted on each ticket at each ticket issuing station; and

wherein the data relating to marks sensed by said sensing means comprises a count of the number of marks sensed, each ticket issuing station including a shift register memory having a storage position for each possible mark position, and a counter responsive to said shift register memory for counting the number of marks.

17. The combination as claimed in claim 16 and further comprising means responsive to said shift register means for imprinting on the duplicate ticket a mark corresponding to each mark sensed by said sensing means.

18. The combination as claimed in claim 16 and including display means at each ticket-issuing station for visually displaying said price data and said mark count data.

19. A ticket issuing and accounting station comprising a plurality of ticket issuing stations each connected to a single supervisory station;

said supervisory station including means for selectively disabling the operation of any of said ticket issuing stations;

said supervisory station including means for continuously generating and applying data to said ticket issuing stations;

keyboard means at each ticket issuing station for generating price data;

mark sensing and storage means at each ticket issuing station for sensing a customer-marked ticket to generate data relating to marks on said ticket;

means at each tickeT issuing station for imprinting on a duplicate ticket all data generated at said ticket issuing station and the data generated at said supervisory station;

means for transferring to said supervisory station all data imprinted on each ticket at each ticket issuing station; and

a ticket number counter at each ticket issuing station for serially numbering the duplicate tickets, all of said ticket number counters being responsive to a means located at said supervisory control station to reset to a predetermined count.

20. A ticket issuing and accounting station comprising a plurality of ticket issuing stations each connected to a single supervisory station;

said supervisory station including means for selectively disabling the operation of any of said ticket issuing stations;

said supervisory station including means for continuously generating and applying data to said ticket issuing stations;

keyboard means at each ticket issuing station for generating price data;

mark sensing and storage means at each ticket issuing station for sensing a customer-marked ticket to generate data relating to marks on said ticket;

means at each ticket issuing station for imprinting on a duplicate ticket all data generated at said ticket issuing station and the data generated at said supervisory station;

means for transferring to said supervisory station all data imprinted on each ticket at each ticket issuing station;

wherein said data imprinting means includes a recirculating shift register for receiving all of said generated data;

a print coincidence counter;

means incrementing said print coincidence counter each time said data in said recirculating shift register is recirculated;

N comparison means for comparing output signals from N stages of said data register with the output of said coincidence counter;

print hammer drive means; and

means responsive to said comparison means for energizing said print hammer drive means after each recirculation of data in said shift register.

21. The combination as claimed in claim 20 wherein said means for energizing said print hammers comprises:

N groups of print latches each connected to all of said comparison means; and

means for enabling one group of said print latches each Nth time said shift register shifts one position.