Lottery ticket vending machine
A lottery ticket vending machine configured to consistently repeated precisely align its ticket bursters with its ticket collection receptacle of its front door to ensure proper delivery of the lottery tickets from the ticket bursters to the ticket collection receptacle.
1 . A lottery ticket vending machine comprising:
a machine housing comprising an openable front door, the front door comprising a ticket collection receptacle, the ticket collection receptacle comprising an inner wall defining an elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot;
a ticket drawer column in the machine housing, the ticket drawer column comprising a plurality of ticket drawers, each of the ticket drawers configured to hold a pack of lottery tickets;
a ticket burster in the machine housing, the ticket burster comprising an inner wall defining a ticket inlet and an outer wall defining a ticket outlet such that the ticket inlet is vertically higher than the ticket outlet,
the ticket burster comprising a ticket cutter,
the ticket burster movable to each of a plurality of different ticket receipt positions, each different ticket receipt position associated with and in alignment with a different one of the ticket drawers,
the ticket burster movable to a ticket dispense position adjacent to the ticket collection receptacle and such that the ticket outlet of the ticket burster is aligned with part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle to enable transfer of one of the lottery tickets of the pack of lottery tickets in the ticket burster through the outlet of the ticket burster and through the part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and into the ticket collection receptacle;
a sensor connected to an outer wall of the ticket burster adjacent to the ticket outlet defined by the outer wall of the ticket burster;
an elongated target connected to the inner wall of the ticket collection receptacle adjacent to the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot defined by the inner wall of the ticket collection receptacle and configured to be sensed by the sensor to ensure that the ticket burster is properly aligned with the ticket collection receptacle before the transfer of the one of the lottery tickets of the pack of lottery tickets in the ticket burster through the outlet of the ticket burster and through the part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and into the ticket collection receptacle; and
a controller configured to cause the ticket burster to move to the ticket dispense position based on a signal from the sensor when the sensor senses the target.
2 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is connected to the outer wall of the ticket burster below the ticket outlet of the ticket burster, and the target is connected to the inner wall of the ticket collection receptacle below the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot.
3 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is connected to the outer wall of the ticket burster above the ticket outlet of the ticket burster, and the target is connected to the inner wall of the ticket collection receptacle above the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot.
4 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 1 , wherein the sensor is one of an optical sensor, a camera, a magnetic field sensor, and a mechanical switch.
5 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 1 , wherein the target is one of a reflective target, an image target, a magnetic target, and activator target.
6 . A lottery ticket vending machine comprising:
a machine housing comprising an openable front door, the front door comprising a ticket collection receptacle, the ticket collection receptacle comprising an inner wall defining an elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot;
a plurality of ticket drawer columns in the machine housing, each ticket drawer column comprising a plurality of ticket drawers, each of the ticket drawers configured to hold a pack of lottery tickets;
a plurality of ticket bursters in the machine housing, each ticket burster comprising a ticket cutter, each ticket burster associated with a different one of the ticket drawer columns, each ticket burster comprising an inner wall defining a ticket inlet and an outer wall defining a ticket outlet such that the ticket inlet is vertically higher than the ticket outlet, each ticket burster movable to a separate ticket dispense position adjacent to the ticket collection receptacle and such that the ticket outlet of that ticket burster is spaced-apart from and aligned with part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle to enable transfer of one of the lottery tickets of the pack of lottery tickets in the ticket burster through the outlet of the ticket burster and through the part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and into the ticket collection receptacle;
a plurality of sensors, each sensor connected to the outer wall of a different one of the ticket bursters adjacent to the ticket outlet of said ticket burster;
a target connected to the inner wall of the ticket collection receptacle adjacent to the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and configured to be sensed by one of the plurality of sensors before the transfer of the one of the lottery tickets of the pack of lottery tickets in the ticket burster through the outlet of the ticket burster and through the part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and into the ticket collection receptacle; and
a controller configured to cause each of the ticket bursters to move to the ticket dispense position for said ticket burster based on signals from the sensor connected to said ticket burster when said sensor senses the target.
7 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 6 , wherein the sensors are below the ticket outlets of the ticket bursters and the target is below the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle.
8 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 6 , wherein the sensors are above the ticket outlets of the ticket bursters and the target is above the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle.
9 . A lottery ticket vending machine comprising:
a machine housing comprising an openable front door, the front door comprising a ticket collection receptacle, the ticket collection receptacle comprising an inner wall defining an elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot;
a plurality of ticket drawer columns in the machine housing, each ticket drawer column comprising a plurality of ticket drawers, each of the ticket drawers configured to hold a pack of lottery tickets;
a plurality of ticket bursters in the machine housing, each ticket burster comprising a ticket cutter, each ticket burster associated with a different one of the ticket drawer columns, each ticket burster comprising an inner wall defining a ticket inlet and an outer wall defining a ticket outlet such that the ticket inlet is vertically higher than the ticket outlet, each ticket burster movable to a separate ticket dispense position adjacent to the ticket collection receptacle and such that the ticket outlet of that ticket burster is spaced-apart from and aligned with part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle to enable transfer of one of the lottery tickets of the pack of lottery tickets in the ticket burster through the outlet of the ticket burster and through the part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and into the ticket collection receptacle;
a plurality of sensors connected to the inner wall of the ticket collection receptacle adjacent to the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot;
a plurality of separate targets, each separate target connected to the outer wall of a different one of the ticket bursters adjacent to the ticket outlet defined by the outer wall of said ticket burster and configured to be sensed by one of the plurality of sensors before the transfer of the one of the lottery tickets of the pack of lottery tickets in the ticket burster through the outlet of the ticket burster and through the part of the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot and into the ticket collection receptacle; and
a controller configured to, for each of the ticket bursters, to move the ticket burster to the ticket dispense position for said ticket burster based on signals from the sensor connected to the ticket collection receptacle and connected to said ticket burster when said sensor senses the target connected to said ticket burster.
10 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 9 , wherein the sensors are below the elongated ticket and horizontally extending receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle and the targets are below the ticket outlets of the ticket bursters.
11 . The lottery ticket vending machine of claim 9 , wherein the sensors are above the elongated and horizontally extending ticket receiving slot of the ticket collection receptacle and the targets are above the ticket outlets of the ticket bursters.