Patent Grant
6904843
This invention relates to a jam resistant bezel from which paper slips such as tickets, vouchers, coupons and the like are dispensed from a vending machine or similar apparatus. The invention is particularly useful, e.g., in connection with printers for gaming and lottery terminals that provide racetrack tickets, lottery tickets, cashless betting slips and the like to consumers.
High speed printers, such as inkjet, thermal, dye sublimation and dot matrix printers are used to provide vouchers, coupons, tickets, receipts and the like (hereinafter generically referred to as “slips”) to consumers. Such slips are usually made of paper, onto which text and/or graphics are printed, but may alternatively be made of other materials such as cardstock, plastic (e.g., cellophane or Mylar), laminates, metal foil, etc., as long as the material can be fed through the printer transport mechanism. Typically, the slips are discharged to the consumer after printing via a bezel mounted in the front panel of a self-service terminal. Such terminals can be found, for example, in casinos (e.g., slot machines), retail establishments (e.g., lottery machines), transportation centers (e.g., train, bus and subway ticket machines), gasoline service stations (pump receipts), and the like.
One problem that sometimes arises when dispensing slips to consumers is that the bezel becomes blocked. This can occur either accidentally (e.g., by an impatient consumer placing a finger over the bezel output opening while waiting for the slip to be dispensed), or intentionally (e.g., by a person who becomes frustrated with the results of a wager). Once the bezel is blocked, the slip being discharged from the printer has no where to go, resulting in a jam in the printer transport mechanism.
It would be advantageous to provide a bezel design that is resistant to jams when the bezel output opening is blocked. Such a design should provide reliable operation and enable easy recovery of the slip once the blockage is removed.
The present invention provides bezel designs having the aforementioned and other advantages.
In accordance with the present invention, an anti-jam bezel is provided for dispensing a flexible substrate. The bezel comprises a bezel body having an output slot. The output slot has a front portion for outputting the flexible substrate and a rear portion for receiving the flexible substrate from a transport. A guideway diverges away from the rear portion of the output slot toward the transport to provide a substrate receiving opening that can be wider than the front portion of the output slot. When in use, the bezel body is mounted adjacent the transport with a cavity between the transport and the guideway. The guideway, when mounted, is adapted to catch a leading edge of the substrate after the substrate exits the transport and guide the leading edge to the output slot. In the event the output slot is blocked, the guideway is adapted to guide at least a portion of the substrate into the cavity between the transport and the guideway, thereby preventing a jam.
In one illustrated embodiment, the guideway includes at least one projection extending from upper and lower edges of the rear portion of the output slot. More particularly, the guideway can include a series of upper fingers extending from an upper edge of the rear portion and a series of lower fingers extending from a lower edge of the rear portion. The upper and lower fingers are preferably designed to provide a V-shaped entrance to the guideway for catching the leading edge of the substrate. The cavity can be open in either a top section or a bottom section thereof to accommodate a loop in the substrate. Optionally, at least one drain hole can be provided within the cavity, e.g., in a bottom wall of the bezel body, to prevent liquid entering the output slot from entering said transport.
Depending on the specific implementation, the bezel body can be mounted on either the inside or outside of a terminal housing that contains the transport. Alternatively, the bezel body could be mounted on a door of a terminal that contains the transport. The flexible substrate could be, for example, one of a ticket, a receipt, a document, a check, a coupon or other suitable printed material.
A method is provided for preventing jams when dispensing a flexible substrate from an output slot. In accordance with the method, a bezel body having an output slot for dispensing the flexible substrate is provided. A leading edge of the substrate is caught in a guideway after the substrate exits a transport. The guideway extends from the bezel body toward the transport, and guides the leading edge of the substrate to the output slot. A space is provided between the guideway and the transport. At least a portion of the substrate is guided into the space in the event the output slot is blocked.
For a further understanding of the present invention, reference will be made to the following detailed description of the invention which is to be read in association with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
a is a cross sectional view of the bezel and printer assembly of
b is a cross sectional view of the bezel and printer assembly of
Turning now to the drawings, there is illustrated a printer, generally referenced 10 and bezels generally referenced 20 and 70, which embody the teachings of the present invention. It is noted that the illustrated structures are only example embodiments that can incorporate the features of the present invention, and other embodiments are possible within the scope of the invention.
Referring to
A terminal that includes such a printer will generally output the slip via a bezel. If the output slot of prior art style bezels is blocked, the printer transport will jam. In accordance with the present invention, new types of bezels are provided that are resistant to jams. One example of a jam resistant bezel in accordance with the invention is generally designated 20 in FIG. 1. In the embodiment of
Bezel 20 includes an output slot 26 having a front portion 28 for outputting a slip and a rear portion 29 (
Bezel 20 has a guideway formed from ribs 40, which are tapered on the bottom edges 41 thereof to diverge away from the rear portion 29 of the output slot. In the embodiment of
The bezel 20 is designed such that it has a cavity 55 situated between the paper transport (printer 10) and the rear portion 29 of the output slot 26. In the event that the front portion 28 of the output slot 26 is blocked, e.g., by a person's finger as shown in
Another feature of the bezel 20 of
The bezel body that forms the bezel 20 can be fabricated of any suitable material, such as plastic. The angle at which the guideway formed from ribs 40 and bottom wall 43 diverges from the rear portion 29 of output slot 26 is preferably in a range of about 45° to about 75°, although angles outside this range may also be appropriate. In the specific embodiment shown in the drawings, the angle between the bottom edges 41 and the bottom wall 43 is about 60°.
The bezel 70 mounts to a mounting bracket generally designated 72 which, in turn, mounts to the front wall 16 of printer 10. As can be seen in
The back of bezel 70 has top fingers 86 and bottom fingers 88 extending therefrom toward a transport included in printer 10. The fingers form a V-shaped guideway 81 to catch the leading edge of a slip exiting the printer exit opening 76. The guideway also serves to guide the slip into the rear portion 83 of the bezel output slot 78 for dispensing from the front portion 80 of the slot.
In the event the bezel output slot is blocked, for example by a customer's finger 60, the cavity 57 provides a space for the slip to form into a loop 56, 54, 58. The angled portions of fingers 86 and 88, which extend behind the rear portion 83 of the bezel output slot and form the aforementioned V-shaped guideway, assist in the formation of the loop by urging the blocked slip in an upward or downward direction as the transport continues to push the slip in the direction of the output slot. By allowing the loop to form, the slip can exit the printer 10 via slot 76 without jamming in the printer transport.
As with the embodiment of
It should now be appreciated that the present invention provides bezel structures that enable a slip to exit a printer without jamming, even if the bezel output slot is blocked.
A guideway is provided at the back of the bezel for catching the leading edge of a slip to be dispensed, and guiding the slip to an output slot. The guideway is constructed such that it cooperates with a cavity between the output slot and the printer, to enable a slip to loop within the cavity upon blockage of the output slot. Since the cavity provides a place for the slip to go, the slip can exit the printer without jamming.
While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to various preferred modes as illustrated in the drawings, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in detail may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5215393 | Wincent | Jun 1993 | A |
| 5642922 | Ramachandran et al. | Jul 1997 | A |
| 5734404 | Komuro et al. | Mar 1998 | A |
| 6575090 | Vienneau et al. | Jun 2003 | B1 |
| 6602008 | Yamagishi et al. | Aug 2003 | B2 |
| 6615763 | Edwards | Sep 2003 | B2 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20040184861 A1 | Sep 2004 | US |
