Lottery Ticket Dispensing Unit with Brake Roller
AssigneeScientific Games International, Inc.
InventorsSten Hallundbaek Mejenborg, James Jonathan Holbrook, Ian Robert Scott
Life of this patent
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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.
Claims20
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.
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.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.