Revolving Ticket Display

Abstract

An apparatus and method for displaying lottery tickets consisting of a housing, rotatably installed display arms, a single motor able to synchronously rotation all the display arms and tension holders that allow for a multitude of tickets to exert tension on the tension holders thereby securing the position of the tickets.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to ticket displays. In particular, the present invention relates to a revolving ticket display for lottery tickets and like material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many institutions, such as state governments, sell paper gaming tickets as a fundraising technique. In particular, scratch-off lottery tickets are popular with the public, and raises enormous amounts of revenue for state coffers. The use of paper tickets permits the issuer to easily control the payout ration while allowing a large number of people dispersed over a large geographic area to play the same games. Furthermore, Scratch-off tickets is a popular way to allow purchasers of the ticket to “instantly” determine the outcome of the game.

A large percentage of the Scratch-off tickets sales is attributed to impulse buyers, thus the need to display the tickets at the checkout counter became essential. However, counter space at most retail stores are considered very valuable real estate, and may garner top dollar for year round access. This is commonly known as “retailer display allowance” and a store can realize tens of thousands of dollars per year from the rates charged for their counter top rental.

Numerous prior art addresses the need to display Scratch-off tickets and other types of tickets. For example, U.S. Pat No. 4,738,384, 4,995,507, 5,287,980, 5,492,398, 7,011,381 and D329,877 are all modern era lottery ticket displays and dispensers. However, these entire prior art share the limitation of being static in nature. To show more ticket games you need to add additional modules which use up more valuable counter space.

There are prior art that teaches of non-static displays for non-ticket type products. U.S. Pat No. 3,399,781 by Nalbandian teaches of a rotating display device for smoking pipes that have numerous rotating display arms running independently on individual motors. However, Nalbandian was clearly not invented for the displaying of lottery tickets. Nalbandian does not teach of a proper means of attaching ticket type merchandise and would be too cumbersome and complicated to be used in present day situations due the plurality of individual electric motors.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,545,958 by Kramer also teaches of display arms that are rotatably mounted and once again uses a plurality of motors to rotate the display arms. Like Nalbandian, this invention was not made for the display of ticket type merchandise. Furthermore, this invention is overly complicated by requiring corresponding sensors to provide output indicating the rotation position of the item holder relative to the other item holders.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,528,258 by Moon, and U.S. Pat No. 6,256,912 by Gibson are similar prior art and teaches of rotating displays that are prism shaped. However, both prior art lack the simplicity to synchronously rotate the display arms and once again both prior art fails to teach of a means to quickly attached ticket type merchandise without the use of glue or tape. Furthermore, Moon and Gibson were not designed for typical retail counter space.

Other prior arts such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,798,811, 4,442,942, and 4,4070, 973 all teach of rotating counter top displays but like the prior art listed above, none of these inventions would be suitable for the display of ticket type merchandise such as lottery tickets. None of the prior art would be able to accommodate tickets of different sizes without the use of glue or tape.

A strong need therefore exists for a rotatable display tailored to the display of ticket type merchandise such as lottery tickets. The rotatable display would be used in thousands of retail outlets so it must be simple, inexpensive and sturdy. The rotatable display would not require pasting, gluing, taping or any similar means to display the tickets. Most importantly, the rotatable display would easily position multiple shaped lottery tickets while having a reduced footprint to save valuable counter space.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a method and apparatus for displaying a plurality of ticket merchandise or ticket advertising such as Scratch-off lottery tickets without taking up unnecessary space. The apparatus contains a housing that may be made of plastic and must contain at least one transparent panel, preferably the front panel. The housing can be shaped to sit on a counter top, shaped to be used as an in counter display, or it may be affixed to a wall, rack, or ceiling. The front and back panel of the housing may be slideably removable or detachable by any other means such as with a hinge. Inside the housing is a plurality of display arms. The display arms may be of various shapes. The display arm may be flat thus providing two display surfaces as it rotates. The display arm may also be prism shaped thus providing three display surfaces as it rotates. The display arms are connected together wherein a single motor can synchronously rotate the plurality of display arms. The motor may have a time switch that automatically rotates the display arms or it can be controlled by a switch that is operated by the sales clerk or the customer.

The display arms have the ability to hold a plurality of tickets such as Scratch-off lottery tickets. The display arms have multiple tension holders spaced apart less than the length of the ticket to be displayed. The tickets to be displayed can be slightly bent and placed against the tension holders so that the tension caused by the flexed ticket would be enough to hold the ticket in place. Tickets of different length can be displayed and only the curvilinear shape may be different depending on the amount of flex exerted on the ticket. This retention method of holding different tickets in place eliminates the need to use glue, tape and other more permanent attachment means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above description and other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will be more fully understood and appreciated by reference to the specification and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view of one of the preferred embodiment of the display arm;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the motor in conjunction with the plurality of driving gears.

FIG. 4 is a cross section view taken through the display arm of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a cross section view of an alternative prism shaped embodiment of the display arm.

DETAILED DISCUSSION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In referring to all the figures, like elements retain their indicators throughout the several views. FIG. 1 depicts a perspective view of the invention, where 10 is the housing preferable made with some type of plastic material for durability and light weight. The front and top of the enclosure 11 is one transparent L shaped panel slidably mounted in a pair of tracks to the front of the housing 10. Inside the housing is a plurality of display arms 20 closely spaced in parallel formation. FIG. 2 shows an individual display arm. Each display arm 20 has a driving gear 23 and a free spinning hub plate 27. Each display arm 20 will also have four tension holders 24. In the preferred embodiment the tension holder 24 is a rod of the same length as the display arm 20. The distance 26 between the tension holders must be less than the longest length of the ticket. The tension holders 24 eliminate the need to glue or tape tickets 25 to the display arm. The operator simply has to slightly bend the ticket 25 so that the edges rest against the two tension holders 24. As shown in FIG. 4, the ticket 25 will have a curvilinear shape which exerts a tension that holds the ticket in place. Each display arm 20 also has a plurality of foldable tabs 21 used as an index to allow customers to associate lottery tickets with a number. The customers simply have to tell the clerk which number they would like to purchase. The actual ticket dispenser with the live tickets can be located under the counter or at the back counter which provides better security against unauthorized access.

The preferred embodiments utilizes a single off the self motor system 30 which includes a motor with a time delay switch, a battery, a power converter and a power interrupter switch. The motor system 30 then drives multiple spacing gears 31 which in turn initiates the driving gears 23 and results in the synchronous rotation of all the display arms 20. To expose the customers to both sides of the display arm, the driving gears 23 are rigidly connected to each other. The number of pitches and pitch diameters for each of the driving gears must be configured to synchronously rotate the display arms in 180 degree intervals. The Motor system 30 allows for multiple time intervals for automatic rotation, or can rotate by a simple customer input switch.

FIG. 5 shows an alternative embodiment of the display arm in a prim shape. This allows for three rotatable display surfaces. The Motor system 30 and the driving gears 23 must be set to rotate the driving gears 23 in 120 degree intervals.

Although the preferred embodiment teaches of a counter top display unit, the present invention may be suitable for wall mounted or in-counter application. The inventer's power interrupter switch which is part of the motor system 30 may cut off power to the rotating arms when panel 11 is removed. This allows for a safe replacement of items displayed on the rotating display arms 20. Aside from the off the self motor system 30, the housing 10 and the display arms 20 are made of light and durable plastic material.

Throughout the specification the aim has been to describe the invention without limiting the invention to any one embodiment or specific collection of features. Persons skilled in the relevant art may realize variations from the specific embodiment that will nonetheless fall within the scope of the invention. For example, the housing 10 can be shaped to sit steadily on a counter, the housing can be used as a countertop whereby the displaying of the tickets 25 is considered in-counter; the housing can also be mounted to a wall (including ceilings) and angled to allow proper angle of visibility. The detachment means of the transparent display panel 11 is not limited to the sliding tracks. The number of display arms 20 is not limited to four as seen in the preferred embodiment. The display arms may include two or more tension holders 24. The tension holders can be of any shape and means to prevent the flexed ticket 25 from moving. The index tabs 21 can be any shape and form. The motor system can by any system able to rotate the display arms and may be placed anywhere within the housing as long as it can rotate all the display arms at once. The means of rotating the display arms are not limited to the driving gears 23 and the materials for the housing is not limited to just plastic. Lastly, the term display ticket(s) also includes any type of lottery ticket and lottery ticket advertisement.

Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by the embodiments illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Claims

1. A rotating ticket display comprising:

a. a housing with an at least one transparent panel;

b. an plurality of display arms rotatably mounted inside said housing; wherein the said plurality of display arms each contain an at least two tension holders spaced less than the a longest length of a display ticket; and

c. a single motor means for synchronously rotating said plurality of display arms.

2. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 wherein the said plurality of display arms include a plurality of driving gears and a plurality of free spinning hub plate wherein all the said plurality of driving gears are rigidly connected to each other and wherein only one driving gear is connected to the said motor.

3. The rotating ticket display of claim 2 wherein the said plurality of display arms contain index tabs.

4. The rotating ticket display of claim 3 wherein the said plurality of display arms are flat whereby producing two display surfaces per said display arm and require the said motor to synchronously rotate the said driving gears in 180 degree intervals.

5. The rotating ticket display of claim 3 wherein the said plurality of display arms are prism shaped whereby producing three display surfaces per said display arm and require the said motor to synchronously rotate the said driving gears in 120 degree intervals.

6. The rotating ticket display of claim 3 wherein the said housing and the said plurality of display arms are made of a plastic material.

7. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 wherein the said tension holders consist of rods of equal length with the said plurality of display arms.

8. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 wherein the said motor deactivates when the front or back panel of the said housing is opened.

9. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 wherein the said motor has a time delay switch with multiple time settings to synchronously rotate said plurality of display arms automatically.

10. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 where in the housing is shaped to sit on top of a counter.

11. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 wherein the housing is shaped to be installed inside a counter.

12. The rotating ticket display of claim 1 where in the housing is mountable to a wall.

13. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets consisting of:

a. Providing a housing with an at least one transparent panel and a motor consisting of a time delay switch, battery, power converter and power interrupter switch;

b. rotatably mounting a plurality of display arms with a driving gear and a free spinning hub plate inside of the said housing wherein the said display arms are parallel of each other, the said driving gears are rigidly connected to each other and the said display arms each contain an at least two tension holders wherein the distance between the tension holder is less than the length of the plurality of lottery tickets;

c. placing a plurality of lottery tickets between the said at least two tension holders wherein the said lottery ticket forms a curvilinear shape that provides constant tension towards the said tension holders thus holding the said plurality of lottery tickets in place;

d. connecting the motor to a gap gear wherein the motor can rotate the gap gear which then synchronously rotates all the driving gears whereby displaying all sides of the said display arms to allow said plurality of lottery tickets to be visible in a set time interval.

14. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets in claim 13 wherein the said set time intervals can be adjusted via the said time delay switch.

15. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets in claim 13 where in the said housing is shaped to sit on top of a counter.

16. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets in claim 13 wherein the said housing is shaped to be used as an in counter display.

17. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets in claim 13 wherein the said housing is mountable to a wall.

18. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets in claim 13 wherein the said housing and display are made entirely of a plastic material.

19. The method of displaying multiple lottery tickets in claim 13 wherein the said plurality of display arms contain a flat, two surfaced display and is rotated in 180 degree intervals.

20. The method of displaying multiple lotteries tickets in claim 13 wherein the said plurality of display arms are prism shaped with three display surfaces and is rotated in 120 degree intervals.