Patent Publication Number: US-2004048648-A1

Title: Universal printer bezel for a gaming machine

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention relates generally to printers and, more particularly, to a universal printer bezel for a gaming machine and a method of replacing a ticket printer in the gaming machine.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] Many gaming machines contain thermal printers that print and dispense tickets containing text, barcodes, graphics and/or lines. The information on such tickets may relate to diagnostics, metering, monetary accounts, monetary amounts, security/validation, etc. Recently, the ticket printers have been employed in cashless gaming systems. When a player completes a gaming session at a gaming machine outfitted with such a thermal printer and elects to collect any credits remaining on the machine, the thermal printer prints and dispenses a ticket with a monetary amount corresponding to the number of collected credits. The monetary amount may be represented by text and/or a barcode.  
       [0003] The thermal printers applicable to gaming machines are available in a variety of models and from a plurality of suppliers. Some popular thermal printers include the Ithaca® Series 700 and Series 850 thermal printers commercially available from TransAct Technologies Incorporated of Wallingford, Conn., and the PSA-66 thermal printer commercially available from Seiko Instruments USA, Inc., Microprinter Division, of Torrance, Calif. Such printers are typically mounted within the machine housing and dispense printed tickets through an attached bezel. The bezel is attached to the front of the printer and protrudes through an opening in the front of the machine housing. The opening may be defined by a front door of the machine housing.  
       [0004] A drawback of existing printer bezels is that they are designed to fit a particular thermal printer model and accept tickets dispensed from that printer model. The same bezel generally cannot be used with different printer models that dispense tickets along different exit paths. Therefore, if a machine manufacturer uses multiple printer models on its gaming machines, the manufacturer must also obtain or produce multiple bezels suited to the different printer models. Likewise, if one desires to replace one thermal printer in a gaming machine with a different printer model for upgrade or repair purposes, one must also replace the original bezel with a new bezel suited to the different printer model. The new bezel adds to material and labor costs. Accordingly, a need exists for a universal printer bezel that readily adapts to different thermal printer models and therefore does not require adjustment or replacement when one printer model is replaced with a different printer model.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005] In accordance with the present invention, a universal printer bezel for a gaming machine is disclosed. The gaming machine includes a housing and a selected ticket printer from a plurality of ticket printers. The selected printer is mounted within the housing. The plurality of printers have respective output slots for dispensing tickets along different exit paths. The printer bezel comprises an elongated hollow body extending between a front door of the housing and the output slot of the selected printer. The elongated body is mounted to the front door but unconnected to the selected printer. The elongated body is adapted to accept tickets dispensed from the output slots of the respective printers along the different exit paths regardless of which of the plurality of printers is the selected printer mounted within the housing. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0006] The foregoing and other advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description and upon reference to the drawings.  
     [0007]FIG. 1 is an isometric view of a gaming machine containing a universal printer bezel embodying the present invention.  
     [0008]FIG. 2 is a section taken generally along line  2 - 2  in FIG. 1, showing a first ticket printer model dispensing a ticket through the bezel.  
     [0009]FIG. 3 is same as FIG. 2, except showing a second ticket printer model dispensing a ticket through the bezel.  
     [0010]FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a printer arrangement including the bezel and a front portion of a ticket printer for dispensing a ticket through the bezel.  
     [0011]FIG. 5 is a section taken generally along line  5 - 5  in FIG. 4.  
     [0012]FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of an exit end of the bezel in FIG. 5.  
    
    
     [0013] While the invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail herein. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed. Rather, the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.  
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENT  
     [0014] Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 depicts a gaming machine  10  containing a universal printer bezel  12  embodying the present invention. The gaming machine  10  includes a hinged front door  14  that may be unlocked with a suitable key and opened by service personnel.  
     [0015]FIGS. 2, 3, and  4  depict a printer arrangement including the universal printer bezel  12  embodying the present invention. The printer arrangement includes the bezel  12  and a ticket printer  16   a,b.  The ticket printer  16   a  in FIG. 2 represents a first ticket printer model for dispensing a ticket  32  along a first exit path, while the ticket printer  16   b  in FIG. 3 represents a second ticket printer model for dispensing a ticket  32  along a second exit path different from the first exit path. The ticket printer  16   a,b  is mounted within the machine housing at a stationary mounting location (base plate)  34  therein and includes an output slot  18  (see FIG. 4). The bezel  12  extends between the front door  14  of the machine housing and the output slot  18  of the printer  16   a,b  and, more specifically, extends upwardly from the output slot  18  to the front door  14 .  
     [0016] The bezel  12  includes a flat, elongated hollow body having an entry end  20  and an exit end  24 . The entry end  20  includes an entry slot  22  and is adjacent, but not connected, to the printer  16   a,b . The entry slot  22  has a width W (see FIG. 4) that is sufficiently large to handle the width of the ticket  32  dispensed from the ticket printer  16   a,b . The width W of the entry slot  22  may be varied to improve guidance of narrow tickets. The entry slot  22  has a height H determined by the range of possible printer exit paths, measured from the common mounting location  34 . The height H of the entry slot  22  must be at least equal to that range plus a small clearance value. In one embodiment, the height H is at least about 0.30 inches. The exit end  24  includes an exit slot  26  and a peripheral flange  28  encompassing the exit slot  26 . The exit slot  26  is exposed by an opening in a detachable plate  30  of the front door  14 . The peripheral flange  28  is attached to the detachable plate  30  around this opening by screws, bolts, or the like.  
     [0017] The bezel  12  forms a channel  36  extending between the entry slot  20  and the exit slot  26 . The channel  36  includes a tapered section  36   a  and a narrow section  36   b . In the tapered section  36   a , the channel  36  smoothly tapers from the height H at the entry slot  22  to a narrow height at the junction between the tapered section  36   a  and the narrow section  36   b.  The taper is illustrated as being generally linear, but may alternatively be curved. For example, the opposing walls of the tapered section  36   a  may be concave or convex relative to each other. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tapered section  36   a  guides tickets  32  that enter the entry slot  22  at different locations to a common location. The narrow section  36   b  has a uniform height and includes a curved portion that prevents cards or other relatively stiff objects from being fully inserted into the exit slot  26 , which is designed to dispense tickets and not accept cards or objects. Also, the curved portion of the narrow section  36   b  gently holds a ticket  32  within the bezel  12  to prevent excessive tension from being applied to the ticket  32  as a player removes it from the bezel  12  and thereby tears it off from the printer&#39;s ticket roll. FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate a cross section of the channel  36 .  
     [0018] In the illustrated embodiment, the bezel  12  extends upwardly from the output slot  18  of the printer  16   a,b  to the front door  14 . Said another way, the bezel  12  extends downwardly from the front door  14  to the output slot  18 . With this orientation of the bezel  12 , the printer  16   a,b  must be mounted such that its output slot  18  is generally below a height of the bezel  12 . Alternatively, the bezel  12  may be inverted so that it extends upwardly from the front door  14  to the output slot  18  of the printer  16   a,b . In this case, the printer  16   a,b  must be mounted such that its output slot  18  is generally above a height of the bezel  12 .  
     [0019] The ticket printer  16   a,b  mounted inside the machine housing is selected from a plurality of different ticket printers. For example, the printer  16   a,b  may be implemented with an Ithaca® Series 700 or Series 850 thermal printer commercially available from TransAct Technologies Incorporated of Wallingford, Conn. Alternatively, the printer  16   a,b  may be implemented with a PSA-66 thermal printer commercially available from Seiko Instruments USA, Inc., Microprinter Division, of Torrance, Calif. These printers have respective output slots and are adapted to be mounted within the machine housing at the mounting location  34 . The printers dispense tickets  32  from their respective output slots  18  along different exit paths relative to the machine housing when mounted within the housing at the mounting location  34 .  
     [0020] Regardless of which of the above-noted ticket printers is selected to be the printer  16   a,b  mounted within the machine housing, the bezel  12  will accept tickets  32  dispensed from the output slots  18  of the respective printers  16   a,b  along the different exit paths. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the entry slot  22  of the bezel  12  is sufficiently wide to accommodate the different exit paths along which tickets  32  are dispensed from the output slots  18  of the respective printers  16   a,b.    
     [0021] Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, because the original ticket printer  16   a  in FIG. 2 can be replaced without adjusting or replacing the bezel  12 , the procedure for replacing the original ticket printer  16   a  in FIG. 2 with a second, different printer  16   b  in FIG. 3 (or vice versa, i.e., replacing the printer  16   b  with the printer  16   a ) is relatively easy. First, a service person opens the front door  14  of the machine housing to access the printer  16   a  currently mounted within the housing at the mounting location  34  therein. Second, the service person dismounts the printer  16   a  from the housing. Third, the service person mounts the second printer  16   b  within the machine housing at the mounting location  34 . Fourth, the service person closes the front door  14  of the machine housing so that the bezel  12  extends between the front door  14  and the output slot  18  of the second printer  16   b . The bezel  12  is not connected to the second printer  16   b.    
     [0022] Although the second ticket printer  16   b  dispenses tickets  32  from its output slot  18  along an exit path different from that of the original printer  16   a , the entry slot  22  of the bezel  12  is sufficiently wide to accommodate and receive tickets  32  dispensed along the different exit paths of the different ticket printers  16   a,b . Therefore, the bezel  12  need not be adjusted or replaced during the procedure for replacing the printer  16   a  with a different printer  16   b.    
     [0023] While the present invention has been described with reference to one or more particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Each of these embodiments and obvious variations thereof is contemplated as falling within the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, which is set forth in the following claims.