Abstract:
The present invention provides a ticket magazine that can be inserted into a drawer of a ticket dispensing machine. The magazine can be loaded with tickets externally from the machine, and provides an element or elements such as one or more bridging fingers and/or a dancer arm to enable the tickets to travel along a more advantageous ticket path with longer curl diameters. Because of the longer curl diameter, the pull force required to peel a ticket from the stack is reduced and remains substantially constant, thereby avoiding ticket jams, mis-cuts and other problems.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to article dispensing systems, and more particularly to an article, system and method for improving lottery ticket dispensing systems. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    Lottery ticket dispensing machines typically store packs of lottery tickets in fan-folded form and dispense the tickets in an automated fashion in order to reduce clerical involvement and facilitate efficient ticket processing Each ticket pack typically contains up to three hundred individual tickets, each of which is joined to an adjacent ticket by perforation or some other line of weakness to facilitate separation. In a high volume machine, the ticket packs may be taped together such that there may potentially be up to 1,200 tickets or more in a continuous pack. The ticket packs typically range from four to twelve inches in length, and from one to three inches in height. 
         [0003]    An example of a known lottery ticket dispensing machine and its elements is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 . As shown therein, a ticket dispensing machine  10  for dispensing lottery tickets is provided with a drawer  12  for receiving packs of tickets  14  to be dispensed. The ticket packs are typically fan-folded and rest in a stack until processed. The machine will typically include one or more guide rollers  15  and a burster element  16  having feed rollers  13  and a powered ticket transport mechanism  18  for processing tickets through a slot  20 . The guide roller(s) can be permanently or removably secured into the drawer and made part of the overall machine. During processing, sheets of the ticket pack are lifted, guided over the roller  15  and fed into the bursting element  16 . On command from a main controller (not shown), the ticket sheet is advanced one length, separated by the burster element  16  and delivered to the ticket chute or slot  20 . 
         [0004]    Traditional lottery ticket dispensing machines that store tickets in a fan-fold stream have many disadvantages. For example, it is often difficult to load the ticket drawer, especially if the ticket pack is high. Further, the operator, such as a retail store clerk, for example, can forget to put the ticket over the guide roller, which will inevitably result in tickets sticking together to produce ticket jams. Also, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , curls  17  in the ticket path are formed, creating a tortuous path (e.g., “S” curls) for the tickets to travel during processing. If the ticket sits for a long time in this position in the drawer, the ticket can set permanently in a curl, which can cause the ticket to get caught and/or hung up on the exit side of the bursting element. Further, it is often the case with longer tickets, such as those six inches or longer, for example, that operating instructions will require such longer tickets to be fed under the guide roller to avoid the curls. If the retail clerk or other machine operator is unaware of, or simply forgets, the different instructions, he or she may feed the longer tickets above the roller and encounter the same curl problems associated with shorter tickets. 
         [0005]    In addition to the above, the force required to pull a ticket over the roller can be very high, as much as two pounds per square inch or more. The force is typically sufficient to pull the ticket stack at a rate of approximately seven to eight inches per second. However, this force is not constant depending on the position of the curls and the height of the ticket stack, and since the feed rollers of the bursting element are required to pull the ticket into the bursting element, the varying force can create slippage, resulting in a mis-cut that affects every further ticket downstream. Further, the greater the force that is applied by the feed roller of the bursting element in pulling the ticket over the guide roller, the greater the chances are that the perforation on the tickets in the drawer will be broken, requiring shut down of the machine until it can be fixed. 
         [0006]    These and other disadvantages to prior systems are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,467,738, which represents a successful prior art solution to some of these disadvantages. U.S. Pat. No. 7,467,738 is assigned to the assignee of this invention and is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. 
       SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION 
       [0007]    The present invention provides a solution to the above shortcomings and more. Among other things, the present invention provides a ticket magazine that can be inserted into a drawer of a ticket dispensing machine. The magazine can be loaded with tickets externally from the machine, which facilitates accurate and faster overall loading. Further, the ticket magazine provides an element or elements such as one or more bridging fingers and/or a dancer arm that eliminate the need for a guide roller and all of the associated problems therewith, including the S-curls described above. The ticket magazine of the present invention can permit loading of standard ticket pack lengths and heights, while also enabling the tickets to travel along a more advantageous ticket path with longer curl diameters. Because of the larger curl diameter, the pull force required to peel a ticket from the stack is reduced and remains substantially constant. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0008]      FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing depicting a side view of a portion of a traditional ticket dispensing machine, with a side wall removed to show the interior thereof 
           [0009]      FIG. 2  is a photograph of a ticket dispensing machine with a loaded ticket pack. 
           [0010]      FIG. 3  is a photograph of one embodiment of a ticket magazine in accordance with the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 4  is a photograph showing the ticket magazine of  FIG. 3  atop a ticket dispensing machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 5  is a photograph showing the ticket magazine of  FIG. 3  inserted within a drawer of a ticket dispensing machine in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0013]      FIG. 6  is a side view of an alternative embodiment of a ticket magazine in accordance with the present invention, with a wall removed to show the interior of the magazine. 
           [0014]      FIG. 7  is a side view of a ticket dispensing machine in accordance with the present invention, with a ticket magazine held within a drawer thereof, and with a wall of the machine and the magazine removed to show the interiors thereof. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0015]    As shown in  FIGS. 3 through 7 , the present invention provides a ticket magazine  30  that can be inserted into a drawer  32  of a ticket dispensing machine  35 . In one embodiment of the present invention, the ticket magazine is formed of a durable plastic material using a mold and thermal-forming equipment. The magazine  30  can be provided with a floor  36  having a tread liner element  38  that can be formed as part of the floor during formation of the magazine, or that can be secured to the floor  36  as a separate element by glue, tape or other known method. 
         [0016]    The magazine  30  includes lead  40  and side  44  walls, as well as an end wall support member  43  that includes end wall  42 . The lead  40  and side  44  walls can be integrally formed with and extend substantially perpendicularly from the floor  36 , such that the lead and side walls are also substantially perpendicular to one another. In the embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 6 , the end wall support member  43  is integrally formed with and extends from a top edge  45  of each side wall  44 , and includes a lower portion  47 , an upper portion  49  as well as a lead edge  101  and a back edge  103 . The end wall support extends from the top edge  45  of each side wall at an angle extending from the lower portion thereof to the upper portion thereof in a direction away from the lead wall  40 . The end wall  42  itself does not extend from the floor, but rather extends from the lower portion of the end wall support  43  at a position “A” approximately co-planar with the top edge  45  of the side walls  44 . The end wall  42  extends along the same angle and is integral with the back edge  103  of the end wall support member. In one embodiment of the present invention, the end wall is formed with an angle so as to abut a burster element in substantially flush relation as described elsewhere herein. The lead edge  101  of the end wall support member  43  can extend at a different angle from that of the end wall  42 , in one embodiment of the present invention. 
         [0017]    The bottom edge  50  of the end wall  42  combines with the back edges  52  of the side walls  44  and the floor  36  to form an opening  54 , which can be used to insert or unload ticket packs in one embodiment of the present invention. The lead wall  40  and the side walls  44  define an inner compartment  55  for holding the ticket stack. In another embodiment of the present invention, there is no opening  54  and the end wall  42  extends from the floor  36  to the end wall support member upper portion  49 . In such an embodiment, ticket stacks can be fed into the ticket magazine from the top. 
         [0018]    The end wall  42  includes an inner face  56  from which extend one or more bridging fingers  58 , which can be integrally formed with the end wall. In one embodiment of the present invention, the fingers  58  include a substantially linear back edge  60  that lies substantially coplanar with a top edge  62  of the end wall  42 . The fingers  58  can also include a rounded tip section  64  and an arcuate or concave lead edge section  66  sloping downwardly from the tip section to substantially mate with the end wall inner face  56 . In one embodiment of the present invention as shown in  FIG. 3 , several fingers  58  are employed across the width W of the end wall  42 , extending substantially parallel to one another and substantially parallel with a ticket dispensing path  59 . In another embodiment of the present invention, a single solid bridging finger or roller member extends substantially across the width W of the end wall  42 . 
         [0019]    In the embodiment of the invention as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the lead wall  40  of the ticket magazine  30  includes a top edge  70  and a dancer arm  72  extending from the top edge  70  into the inner compartment  55 . The dancer arm  72  acts as a guide to the ticket pack as it is being transported along ticket path  59  through the ticket dispensing machine. In one embodiment of the present invention, the dancer arm  72  includes an inner edge  74  and a lip member  76  extending downwardly from the inner edge  74  and substantially parallel to the lead wall  40 . As shown in  FIG. 6 , the side walls  44  can include a lead facing portion  80  that extends higher than the mid portion  79 , which can add support to the magazine  30  and help contain ticket packs within the inner compartment  55 . 
         [0020]    In operation, a ticket pack  40  is placed in the inner compartment  55  of the magazine  30  so as to rest on top of the floor  36  and any tread liner element  38 . The magazine is typically removed from the drawer and ticket dispensing machine during loading. Once the ticket pack is in the magazine, it can be transported to the machine and placed within the drawer. As shown in  FIG. 5 , the drawer  32  is within a housing  33  of the ticket dispensing machine  35 , as more specifically described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,467,738, which has been incorporated herein by reference. In one embodiment of the present invention, the ticket dispensing machine can be a machine such as a GameGuard™ machine provided by the assignee of the present invention; however, it will be appreciated that other configurations and designs for the machine, drawer and housing associated with the present invention may be used and employed with the present invention. The ticket dispensing machine can include room for a single magazine, or more likely for a plurality of magazines such that the retail operator can sell and dispense multiple ticket types related to multiple lottery games from the same dispensing machine. In one embodiment of the present invention, the ticket dispensing machine includes a burster element  75  that can handle several (e.g., four) magazines per drawer, wherein multiple drawers are arranged in vertical fashion for display and merchandising of the different lottery tickets. The burster element  75  has an internal facing wall  105 , which is angled to suit the orientation required for the burster element to operate properly. Advantageously, the buster element internal facing wall  105  can abut the end wall  42  of the ticket magazine  30  in substantially flush relation over substantially the entire back or exterior face  107  of the end wall  42 . This arrangement adds stability to the present invention. The drawers are typically capable of being moved to and between an extended position for convenient access to load and unload the magazines, and a retracted position in which the drawer and magazines are contained in the machine for display and dispensing of tickets. 
         [0021]    In the example where the machine handles multiple magazines, the magazines can be loaded at the same time, or at different times depending upon how quickly the individual packs of tickets are dispensed. For retail employees inclined to change packs based on time intervals rather than when the packs are empty, the present invention offers a system that more readily facilitates individual pack replacement. 
         [0022]    Once the machine is loaded, the top sheet of tickets is manually fed into the burster element  75  such that the tickets rest atop the bridge finger(s)  58 . In the embodiment of the invention with the dancer arm  72 , as shown in  FIG. 7 , the ticket path  59  will extend underneath the dancer arm  72 , which helps prevent the ticket pack from popping up when being pulled through. In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in  FIG. 7 , a separator element  81  is secured to a ceiling portion  82  of the drawer  32  of the ticket dispensing machine  35  to assist in minimizing curls along the ticket path  59 . The separator element extends into the inner compartment  55  and can be secured through mechanical means such as double-sided tape, glue or hardware fasteners, for example. 
         [0023]    As can be seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , for example, the present invention facilitates larger curls  85  for the tickets as they travel along ticket path  59 , thereby reducing drag and the chances for ticket jamming, mis-cutting and other problems identified above. 
         [0024]    The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics 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 claims of the application rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.