GB2325326A

GB2325326A - Ticket dispenser

Info

Publication number: GB2325326A
Application number: GB9709654A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jared David Bomar
Original assignee: Artform International Ltd
Current assignee: Artform International Ltd
Priority date: 1997-05-14
Filing date: 1997-05-14
Publication date: 1998-11-18
Anticipated expiration: 2017-05-14
Also published as: GB9709654D0; GB2325326B

Abstract

A ticket dispenser for dispensing lottery tickets and preventing any unauthorised delivery of said tickets comprises a container 1 provided with a lockable door 13 allowing access to the interior of the housing. The container houses a supply of tickets which are delivered from an orifice 3 in the door 13. A delivery means comprising a roller 4 and a fixed plate 11 are actuated via a device 8 which mates with an end 7 of the roller to allow rotation of the roller 4 in direction B, to deliver a ticket, or direction C to retract a ticket. The orifice may be provided with a cutting edge to assist in separating the delivered tickets. The roller 4 may be provided with rings 14 to grip the tickets and the container may be mounted on a base 2 or on another container by mating projections (9, figure 2) with slots 10, the stacked containers being locked together using fob 15 of lock 5.

Description

TICKET DISPENSER The present invention relates to a device for dispensing tickets, for example lottery tickets, the device incorporating security features which prevent unauthorised access to the tickets.

The recent increase in sales of all forms of lottery tickets has required the provision of various types of dispenser which can act as containers for the tickets, whilst at the same time affording rapid access to the tickets and allowing for efficient dispensing of the tickets when required. Simple devices, therefore, have basically comprised a container, which can act as a storage reservoir for a continuous web or sheet of tickets, separable by means of rows of perforations, said container including a suitable orifice through which the tickets may be accessed. Thus, the leading edge of the web of tickets may be fed through the orifice, optionally with the aid of rollers, allowing removal of the first ticket via the perforations, leaving the next ticket on the web accessible to the user.

A major concern with ticket dispensers of this type is security. Thus, it is necessary to ensure that access to the supply of tickets located in the container is not available to unauthorised persons. As a first step, therefore, it is generally the case that such access will be controlled by some form of locking means, designed to ensure that the container may not be opened by other than authorised persons.

Whilst an obvious means of gaining unauthorised access to the tickets may thus be prevented, however, their removal is, of course, still possible via the orifice provided for the actual dispensing of the tickets. Hence, whilst unauthorised removal of tickets may not be so readily effected as by simply opening the container, there is a clear requirement for additional means of security to be provided, such that this potential problem may also be overcome.

The situation has previously been addressed by providing a simple physical means of obstructing access to the leading edge of the web of tickets which protrudes through the orifice. Thus, a bar or flap may be utilised which can be locked into position across the front of the ticket dispenser, such that access to the orifice is not possible.

The means for locking the bar or flap into the locking position may typically be a conventional key-operated lock, which will also serve as the means by which the container which acts as the ticket reservoir may also be locked shut. By positioning the lock towards the top of the container, it is then possible to lock the top of the bar or flap into the locking position at the same time as locking the container closed.

The lower end of the bar or flap may then be provided with a hinge, connected to a plate mounted on the face of the container, allowing for the bar or flap to swing down to the open position when the lock is released, thus affording access to the tickets.

The device is designed such that the lock preventing access to the inside of the container may simply be reapplied once the locking bar or flap has been swung into the open position.

Ticket dispensers of the type described are acceptable for many applications and provide a useful measure of security. However, locking means which rely on the presence of a bar or flap externally mounted on the item or items to be secured are always prone to tampering and may be forced open by use of some sort of levering device. Additionally, in the present case, the use of a single lock for securing both the container and the bar or flap has potential disadvantages in that the potential thief would only have to disable one lock in order to disarm all the security features of the ticket dispenser.

It can also be envisaged that the use of a hinged bar or flap on the front of the ticket dispenser may give rise to further attendant disadvantages. In purely cosmetic terms, the presence of such a securing means may not always be considered to be appropriate. From a more practical viewpoint, it may not be acceptable to incorporate such a device for reasons which may include, for example, space limitations or safety considerations.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a ticket dispenser which allows for the storage and dispensing of tickets provided as a continuous, perforated web or sheet, such dispenser incorporating securing means which ensure that the tickets may not be accessed by unauthorised persons. It is a further object of the invention to overcome the disadvantages associated with the use of an externally mounted security device as utilised in the prior art dispenser, and thereby to offer a higher level of security whilst, at the same time, providing a neater, more compact ticket dispenser.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ticket dispenser which comprises a container for housing a web or sheet of tickets, said container including: (a) a lockable door allowing access to the interior of the container; (b) an orifice in the container designed to allow passage of the web or sheet of tickets between the interior and exterior of the container; and (c) a ticket sheet delivery means actuatable to effect passage of the web or sheet of tickets through the orifice, said delivery means being lockable to prevent actuation thereof.

The delivery means for effecting passage of the web of tickets through the orifice is most conveniently mounted on the two sides of the container and cooperates with a plate fixed behind the orifice, thereby to effect said passage. Preferably, the delivery means and orifice are housed at an end of the container which also comprises the lockable door to the container.

The means by which the passage of the tickets by the delivery means may be effected typically comprises key operated means, allowing the delivery means to be advanced such that the tickets may be accessed via the orifice, or retracted so that the leading edge of the web of tickets is held behind the orifice and is not accessible to the user.

The delivery means may be in any suitable form to effect the passage of tickets, but most preferably comprises a roller designed to cooperate with a suitably located plate. Movement of the roller may be actuated by means of a key operated device inserted into an end of the roller, thereby to rotate the roller and hence advance or retract the web of tickets. Once the tickets become accessible through the orifice, the web may be advanced manually, simply by pulling the tickets through the orifice. In this mode of operation, the roller adopts a passive role, and use of the key operated device becomes unnecessary until such time as it is desired to prevent further access to the tickets by retraction of the web.

The door allowing access to the interior of the container is locked most conveniently by means of a key operated lock, thus providing the necessary degree of security to the container.

Preferably the dispenser is mounted on a base; this may be achieved by means of projections on the lower surface of the dispenser which cooperate with slots on the base, the whole being locked into position by means of a suitable locking device, such as a key operated lock.

Preferably, the upper surface of the dispenser contains slots, designed to cooperate with the projections on the lower surface of a further dispenser. In this way, it is possible to mount successive dispensers on top of one another. Furthermore, the dispensers are designed to cooperate in such a way that the lock which locks the door of each dispenser also serves to lockably secure adjacent dispensers to each other.

An alternative arrangement could also be envisaged in which projections on the base and upper surfaces of dispensers were designed to cooperate with slots in the lower surfaces of adjacent dispensers.

The upper surface which defines the top of the orifice preferably includes a cutting edge to assist in separating the tickets when they are withdrawn from the dispenser.

The invention will now be illustrated, though without limitation, by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a dispenser in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 shows a similar view, of the dispenser of Figure 1 but with the base removed.

Referring firstly to Figure 1, the dispenser comprises a container 1 mounted on a base 2. A continuous web or sheet of tickets (not shown) is held in the container 1, and is accessible via the orifice 3. The tickets pass between the roller 4 and the plate 11 and, on withdrawal from the dispenser, may be separated with the assistance of the cutting edge 12 which can be aligned with the perforations between adjacent tickets.

The degree of adhesion between the roller 4 and the web of tickets is increased by the inclusion of the rings 14 which fit around the roller 4. Thus it is possible to more efficiently effect the passage of tickets.

The roller may be operated in order to effect passage of tickets by insertion of the key device 8 into the mounting 7 of the roller 4 by advancing the device 8 in the direction of arrow A. In order that movement of the roller 4 may be effected, the mounting 7 includes a male element designed to mate with the female element 8a of the key device 8 when the device is fully inserted. Thus, by rotating roller 4 in the direction of arrow B, it is possible to advance tickets through the orifice 3, and by rotating roller 4 in the direction of arrow C, it is possible to retract tickets into a secure position behind orifice 3. For the sake of convenience, the key 20 which operates the locks 5 and 6 may be attached to the key device 8.

When tickets are accessible to the user via the orifice 3, and may thus be manually removed by placing the fingers into the recess 19 provided below the orifice 3, the roller 4 adopts a passive role and its rotation is effected by the passage of tickets.

Hence, the key operated device may be removed, against the direction of arrow A, until such time as it is again desired to prevent access to the tickets.

Tickets are loaded into the container by opening the door 13. The door 13 is locked back into position by the key operated lock 5, which causes the fob 15 to engage with the aperture 16 and also serves to secure any further dispensers into position when these are mounted on top of the container 1. In a similar way, the container 1 is secured to the base 2 by means of the key operated lock 6, which causes the fob 17 to engage with the aperture 18.

The means of cooperation between the top and lower surfaces of adjacent dispensers, and between the lower surface of a dispenser and a base, is most conveniently illustrated by reference also to Figure 2. Thus, it is seen that the projections 9 are able to interact with slots 10 by movement of the projections 9 in the direction of the arrows D in order to secure two dispensers together.

ticket9.597

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A ticket dispenser comprising a container for housing a web or sheet of tickets, the container including a lockable door allowing access to the interior of the container, an orifice designed to allow passage of the web or sheet of tickets between the interior and exterior of the container and a ticket sheet delivery means actuatable to effect passage of the web or sheet of tickets through the orifice, said delivery means being lockable to prevent actuation thereof.
2. A ticket dispenser according to claim 1 wherein said delivery means is mounted on the two sides of the container and cooperates with a plate fixed behind the orifice, thereby to effect said passage.
3. A ticket dispenser according to claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the delivery means and orifice are housed at an end of the container at which end is located the lockable door to the container.
4. A ticket dispenser according to any of the preceding claims wherein the means by which the passage of the tickets by the delivery means may be effected comprises key operated means, allowing the delivery means to be advanced such that the tickets may be accessed via the orifice, or retracted so that the leading edge of the web of tickets is held behind the orifice and is not accessible to the user.
5. A ticket dispenser according to claim 4 wherein the delivery means comprises a roller adjacent which is mounted, a plate, the tickets in use being fed between the roller and the plate.
6. A ticket dispenser according to claim 5 wherein the roller is provided with two ticket engaging rings for more efficient passage of tickets.
7. A ticket dispenser according to claim 6 wherein movement of the roller may be rotated by means of a device insertable into an end of the roller, rotation of the device causing rotation of the roller and hence advance or retraction of the web of tickets.
8. A ticket dispenser according to claim 7 wherein the end of the roller includes a male element designed to mate with the female element of the device when the device is fully inserted.
9. A ticket dispenser according to any of claims 4 to 8 wherein the door allowing access to the interior of the container is lockable by means of a key operated lock.
10. A ticket dispenser according to any of claims 4 to 9 wherein the dispenser is mounted on a base by means of projections on the lower surface of the dispenser which cooperate with slots on the base, the whole being lockable into position by means of a key operated locking device.
11.A ticket dispenser according to claim 10 wherein the upper surface of the dispenser contains slots designed to cooperate with the projections on the lower surface of a further dispenser, allowing successive dispensers to be mounted on top of one another.
12. A ticket dispenser according to any of the preceding claims wherein the upper surface which defines the top of the orifice preferably includes a cutting edge to assist in separating the tickets when they are withdrawn from the dispenser.
13. A ticket dispenser according to claim 1 and substantially as herein described.
14. A ticket dispenser substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.