Lottery ticket dispensing unit with brake roller

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11900759-B2
Application number	US-202017070080-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 14, 2020
Priority date	Oct 14, 2020
Publication date	Feb 13, 2024
Grant date	Feb 13, 2024

Abstract

A lottery ticket dispensing unit includes at least one ticket compartment and a separation module that has a drive roller and an opposed idler roller. A motor is geared to the drive roller and is switchable between a convey mode wherein the drive roller engages and conveys a leading ticket to a separation position and a brake mode wherein the motor provides a reverse retarding force to the drive roller to brake the drive roller against an attempted reeling of the lottery tickets. from the dispensing unit. A controller switches the motor between the convey and brakes modes such that in the brake mode, power to the motor is interrupted and windings in the motor are short-circuited.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lottery ticket dispensing unit for dispensing a continuous strip of lottery tickets, comprising:
at least one ticket compartment;
a separation module in which a leading ticket of the continuous strip of lottery tickets is separated and dispensed from the unit, the separation module comprising:
a drive roller and an opposed idler roller with a nip defined between the drive roller and idler roller;
a motor geared to the drive roller, the motor switchable between a convey mode wherein the drive roller engages and conveys the leading ticket through the nip to a separation position and a brake mode wherein the motor provides a reverse retarding force to the drive roller thereby braking the drive roller against an attempted reeling of the lottery tickets from the dispensing unit;
a controller operable to switch the motor between the convey mode and the brake mode; and
the motor and controller configured such that in the brake mode, power to the motor is interrupted and windings in the motor are short-circuited, wherein rotation of the drive roller from the attempted reeling of the lottery tickets converts the motor to a generator, the short-circuited windings creating a load on the generator that produces the retarding force on the drive roller.

2. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 1 , wherein the separation module comprises an automatic separator device upstream of the drive roller in a conveying direction of the lottery tickets, wherein the drive roller conveys the leading ticket to the separation position such that a line between the leading ticket and adjacent ticket is upstream of the drive roller and presented to the separator device.

3. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 2 , wherein once the leading ticket is stopped at the separation position, the controller and motor are configured to rotate the drive roller to slightly tension the leading ticket and then switch the motor to the brake mode prior to activation of the separator device.

4. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 3 , wherein the controller is configured to rotate the drive roller after separation of the leading lottery ticket along the line to eject the leading lottery ticket from the separation module.

5. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 2 , wherein the separator device comprises a head that is driven in a linear path along the line.

6. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 5 , wherein the separation module comprises a second motor configured to drive the head along the linear path.

7. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 5 , wherein the line between adjacent tickets in the continuous strip of lottery tickets is a perforation line, the head configured to engage and burst the perforation line as the head moves along the linear path.

8. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 1 , further comprising a feed module adjacent to the ticket compartment, the feed module comprising a feed roller geared to a feed motor, wherein the feed roller engages and conveys the continuous strip of lottery tickets from the ticket compartment to the separation module.

9. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 7 , wherein the feed module further comprises an optical scanner disposed to detect a mark on a backside of the lottery tickets, the scanner and feed motor in communication with a feed controller that generates dispense cycle instructions based on detection of the mark that control the feed motor in coordination with the motor in the separation module to advance the leading ticket to the separation position.

10. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 8 , wherein the separation module is detachably connected to the feed module.

11. The lottery ticket dispensing unit as in claim 10 , comprising two of the ticket compartments arranged side-by side, the separation module extending across the two tickets compartments.

12. A lottery ticket bin, comprising:
a bin housing, the bin housing configured for attachment to additional bin housings in a stacked configuration; and
a lottery ticket dispensing unit inserted into the bin housing, the lottery ticket dispensing unit comprising:
at least one ticket compartment;
a separation module in which a leading ticket of the continuous strip of lottery tickets is separated and dispensed from the unit, the separation module comprising:
a drive roller and an opposed idler roller with a nip defined between the drive roller and idler roller;
a motor geared to the drive roller, the motor switchable between a convey mode wherein the drive roller engages and conveys the leading ticket through the nip to a separation position and a brake mode wherein the motor provides a reverse retarding force to the drive roller thereby braking the drive roller against an attempted reeling of the lottery tickets from the dispensing unit;
a controller operable to switch the motor between the convey mode and the brake mode; and
the motor and controller configured such that in the brake mode, power to the motor is interrupted and windings in the motor are short-circuited, wherein rotation of the drive roller from the attempted reeling of the lottery tickets converts the motor to a generator, the short-circuited windings creating a load on the generator that produces the retarding force on the drive roller.

13. A separation module for use with a lottery ticket dispensing unit for dispensing a continuous strip of lottery tickets interconnected by perforation lines, comprising:
a drive roller and an opposed idler roller with a nip defined between the drive roller and idler roller;
a motor geared to the drive roller, the motor switchable between a convey mode wherein the drive roller engages and conveys the leading ticket through the nip to a separation position and a brake mode wherein the motor provides a reverse retarding force to the drive roller thereby braking the drive roller against an attempted reeling of the lottery tickets from the dispensing unit;
a controller operable to switch the motor between the convey mode and the brake mode; and
the motor and controller configured such that in the brake mode, power to the motor is interrupted and windings in the motor are short-circuited, wherein rotation of the drive roller from the attempted reeling of the lottery tickets converts the motor to a generator, the short-circuited windings creating a load on the generator that produces the retarding force on the drive roller.

14. The separation module as in claim 13 , further comprising an automatic separator device upstream of the drive roller in a conveying direction of the lottery tickets, wherein the drive roller conveys the leading ticket to the separation position such that a line between the leading ticket and adjacent ticket is upstream of the drive roller and presented to the separator device.

15. The separation module as in claim 14 , wherein once the leading ticket is stopped at the separation position, the controller and motor are configured to rotate the drive roller to slightly tension the leading ticket and then switch the motor to the brake mode prior to activation of the separator device mechanism.

16. The separation module as in claim 15 , wherein the separator device comprises a head that is driven in a linear path along the perforation line between the leading ticket and the adjacent ticket.

17. The separation module as in claim 16 , wherein, the head is configured to engage and burst the perforation line between the leading ticket and the adjacent ticket as the head moves along the lin

Assignees

• Scient Games Int Inc
• Scient Games Llc

Inventors

• Mejenborg Sten Hallundbaek
• Holbrook James Jonathan
• Scott Ian Robert

Classifications

• G07F17/3216 Primary

  Construction aspects of a gaming system, e.g. housing, seats, ergonomic aspects · CPC title

• G07F17/329

  Regular and instant lottery, e.g. electronic scratch cards · CPC title

• B26F3/02

  Tearing · CPC title

• B65H5/062

  between rollers or balls · CPC title

• B65H20/02

  by friction roller · CPC title