Lottery ticket dispensing unit with a shuttle separator device

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, the separation module comprising:
• a drive roller and an opposed idler roller with a nip defined between the driver roller and idler roller;
• a motor geared to the drive roller;
• an automatic separator device, wherein the drive roller conveys the leading ticket to a separation position such that a line between the leading ticket and an adjacent ticket is presented to the separator device;
• the separator device further comprising a shuttle that travels in a linear path along the line, the shuttle comprising a head that engages and separates the leading ticket from the adjacent ticket along the line;
• a bi-directional drive mechanism configured with the shuttle to move the shuttle back and forth along the linear path;
• and
• wherein the bi-directional drive mechanism comprises a second motor in driving engagement with a drive rod via a gear, the second motor and gear mounted at a fixed non-movable location in the separation module, the drive rod disposed below the drive roller and opposed idler roller and comprising a track defined therein, the shuttle engaged in the track causing the shuttle to move along the linear path as the gear is driven by the second motor at the fixed location to rotate the drive rod, and at an end of travel of the shuttle along the drive rod, the shuttle reverses its direction of travel;
• and
• wherein the second motor and gear remain at the fixed non-movable location in the separation module as the drive rod is rotated and the shuttle travels along the drive rod below the drive roller and opposed idler roller such that the head engages the line between the leading ticket and the adjacent ticket from below as the shuttle moves along the linear path.