Lottery ticket bin with pull-out drawer and ticket guide configuration
A lottery ticket dispenser array includes a plurality of interconnected bins, wherein the bins include a housing having a bottom and an open top. A drawer is slidable into and out of the housing and includes an open top and a ticket compartment configured for receipt of a stack of the interconnected lottery tickets. A component section adjacent in the drawer is configured to automatically dispense the lottery tickets through a dispense slot upon receipt of a dispense command. Spaced-apart ticket guides are configured on an outer side of the bin bottom so as to extend through the open top and into the ticket compartment of the adjacent lower bin in the array. The ticket guides are configured to engage along at least side edges of the interconnected lottery tickets as they are dispensed or retracted relative to the ticket compartment.
1. A lottery ticket dispenser array, comprising:
a plurality of interconnected bins, wherein one or more of the bins further comprises:
a housing having a bottom and an open top;
a drawer slidable into and out of the housing, the drawer comprising an open top and at least one ticket compartment configured for receipt of a stack of interconnected lottery tickets;
a component section adjacent a front of the drawer that automatically dispenses one or more of the lottery tickets through a dispense slot upon receipt of a dispense command;
spaced-apart ticket guides configured on an outward side of the bottom so as to extend through the open top and into the ticket compartment of an adjacent lower bin in the array; and
the ticket guides configured to engage along at least side edges of the interconnected lottery tickets as the interconnected lottery tickets are pulled from the ticket compartment or pushed back into the ticket compartment.
2. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 1 , wherein for each bin, the drawer is configured to store and dispense at least two separate stacks of the interconnected lottery tickets and comprises adjacent component sections and adjacent ticket compartments, and further comprising corresponding pairs of the ticket guides configured on the outward side of the bottom such that one of the pairs of ticket guides is provided for each ticket compartment of the adjacent lower bin in the array.
3. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 1 , wherein the ticket guides comprise continuous rail members extending longitudinally along the outward side of the bottom.
4. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 1 , wherein the ticket guides comprise discontinuous rail members arranged longitudinally along the outward side of the bottom.
5. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 1 , wherein the ticket guides comprise vertical members such that the interconnected lottery tickets are free to fall back onto stack.
6. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 1 , wherein the ticket guides comprise transversely extending legs set off from the outward side of the bottom so as to retain the interconnected lottery tickets above the stack.
7. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 6 , wherein the transversely extending legs are rigid.
8. The lottery ticket dispenser array as in claim 6 , wherein the transversely extending legs are flexible so as to bend and allow the interconnected lottery tickets to move upward and between the ticket guides prior to the legs returning to a retaining position where the interconnected lottery tickets are held above the stack.
9. A lottery ticket bin for use in multi-bin dispenser array, comprising:
a housing having a bottom and an open top;
a drawer slidable into and out of the housing, the drawer comprising an open top and at least one ticket compartment configured for receipt of a stack of interconnected lottery tickets;
a component section adjacent a front of the drawer that automatically dispenses one or more of the lottery tickets through a dispense slot upon receipt of a dispense command;
spaced-apart ticket guides configured on an outward side of the bottom so as to extend through the open top and into the ticket compartment of an adjacent lower bin in the array; and
the ticket guides configured to engage along at least side edges of the interconnected lottery tickets as the interconnected lottery tickets are pulled from the ticket compartment or pushed back into the ticket compartment.
10. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 9 , wherein the drawer is configured to store and dispense at least two separate stacks of the interconnected lottery tickets and comprises adjacent component sections and adjacent ticket compartments, and further comprising corresponding pairs of the ticket guides configured on the outward side of the bottom such that one of the pairs of ticket guides is provided for each ticket compartment of the adjacent lower bin in the array.
11. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 9 , wherein the ticket guides comprise continuous rail members extending longitudinally along the outward side of the bottom.
12. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 9 , wherein the ticket guides comprise discontinuous rail members arranged longitudinally along the outward side of the bottom.
13. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 9 , wherein the ticket guides comprise vertical members such that the interconnected lottery tickets are free to fall back onto stack.
14. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 9 , wherein the ticket guides comprise transversely extending legs set off from the outward side of the bottom so as to retain the interconnected lottery tickets above the stack.
15. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 14 , wherein the transversely extending legs are rigid.
16. The lottery ticket bin as in claim 14 , wherein the transversely extending legs are flexible so as to bend and allow the interconnected lottery tickets to move upward and between the ticket guides prior to the legs returning to a retaining position where the interconnected lottery tickets are held above the stack.