Smart bin lottery ticket dispenser system with varying ticket size inserts and associated front panels

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9613337-B1
Application number	US-201615092070-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	Apr 6, 2016
Priority date	Apr 6, 2016
Publication date	Apr 4, 2017
Grant date	Apr 4, 2017

Abstract

A lottery ticket dispenser array system includes a plurality of separate bins, with each bin defined by a housing having a defined first internal space for receipt of first stack of interconnected lottery tickets and a removable first front panel. A plurality of different sized bin inserts are also provided, with each bin insert insertable into the bin housings and defining a second internal space that is less than the first internal space of the housing for receipt of a second stack of lottery tickets having a lesser individual length than the first stack of lottery tickets. A second front panel is associated with each of the bin inserts. Upon removal of the first front panel, one of the different sized bin inserts and associated second front panel are configured with the bin to convert the bin for dispensing of different sized lottery tickets.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lottery ticket dispenser system, comprising:
an array comprising a plurality of separate bins, each bin defined by a housing having a defined first internal space for receipt of first stack of interconnected lottery tickets;
each bin having a removable first front panel
an electronic drive mechanism mounted to the first front panel that dispenses the lottery tickets from the bin;
a scanner mounted to the first front panel and disposed to read a code on the lottery tickets dispensed from the bin;
a controller mounted to the first front panel in communication with the drive mechanism, the controller having a stored drive profile for a particular sized lottery ticket;
a plurality of different sized bin inserts, each bin insert insertable into the bin housings and defining a second internal space that is less than the first internal space of the housing for receipt of a second stack of lottery tickets having a lesser individual length than the first stack of lottery tickets;
a second front panel associated with each of the bin inserts, each second front panel comprising a second drive mechanism, a second scanner, and a second controller mounted thereto, the second controller having a stored drive profile for a particular sized lottery ticket in the second stack of lottery tickets; and
wherein the first removable panel is removed, and one of the different sized bin inserts and associated second front panel are configured with the bin to convert the bin for dispensing of different sized lottery tickets.

2. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 1 , wherein the second internal space of the bin inserts is defined by a reduced height as compared to the first internal space of the bin housing.

3. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 2 , wherein the second internal space of the bin inserts is also defined by a reduced width as compared to the first internal space of the bin housing.

4. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 1 , further comprising a latch mechanism configured between the inserts and bin housing.

5. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 4 , wherein the latch mechanism is a magnetic latch.

6. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 1 , further comprising an interlock feature between the bin inserts and the second front panels that ensures a match between a particular bin insert and its respective second front panel.

7. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 6 , wherein the interlock feature is one of a mechanical interlock or an electronic interlock.

8. The lottery ticket dispenser system as in claim 1 , wherein the stored drive profiles dictate run time of the electronic drive mechanism to the controller to accommodate the lesser length of the lottery tickets in the bin inserts.

Assignees

• Scient Games Int Inc

Inventors

• Garrison Scott B

Classifications

• G07F17/329

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

• G06Q10/087 Primary

  Inventory or stock management, e.g. order filling, procurement or balancing against orders · CPC title

• G07F11/007

  wherein the storage and dispensing mechanism are configurable in relation to the physical or geometrical properties of the articles to be stored or dispensed · CPC title

• G07F11/002

  Physics · mapped topic

• G07F9/002

  Vending machines being part of a centrally controlled network of vending machines · CPC title