Patents by Inventor Brian J. Roberts

Brian J. Roberts has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9640018
    Abstract: A system and method for conducting a lottery game is described. The game may include providing a player with a free pre-printed first game piece having a first set of game play data, wherein game play data on the first game piece is insufficient to ascertain an outcome of the lottery game. The game may further include receiving information identifying the first game piece and an indication the player wishes to purchase a chance in the lottery game. Responsive to receiving the indication, the game outcome may be determined and a second set of game play data chosen based on the outcome, so that a comparison of the first set of game play data and the second set game play data is indicative of the outcome of the chance according to predetermined game rules. The second set of game data may be provided to the player on a second game piece also having data associating the second game piece with the first game piece and a unique identifier.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2006
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2017
    Assignee: IGT RHODE ISLAND LLC
    Inventors: Richard Finocchio, Andrew Patrick Gray, Brian J. Roberts
  • Patent number: 9338877
    Abstract: A power electronics assembly includes a semiconductor device, an insulated metal substrate, and a cooling structure. The insulated metal substrate includes a dielectric layer positioned between first and second metal layers, and a plurality of stress-relief through-features extending through the first metal layer, the second metal layer, the dielectric layer, or combinations thereof. The semiconductor device is thermally coupled to the first metal layer and the plurality of stress relief through-features is positioned around the semiconductor device. The cooling structure is bonded directly to the second metal layer of the insulated metal substrate. Insulated metal substrate assemblies are also disclosed. The insulated metal substrate includes a plurality of stress-relief through-features extending through a first metal layer, a second metal layer, and a dielectric layer. Vehicles having power electronics assemblies with stress-relief through-features are also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2016
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Brian J. Robert
  • Publication number: 20140318830
    Abstract: A power electronics assembly includes a semiconductor device, an insulated metal substrate, and a cooling structure. The insulated metal substrate includes a dielectric layer positioned between first and second metal layers, and a plurality of stress-relief through-features extending through the first metal layer, the second metal layer, the dielectric layer, or combinations thereof. The semiconductor device is thermally coupled to the first metal layer and the plurality of stress relief through-features is positioned around the semiconductor device. The cooling structure is bonded directly to the second metal layer of the insulated metal substrate. Insulated metal substrate assemblies are also disclosed. The insulated metal substrate includes a plurality of stress-relief through-features extending through a first metal layer, a second metal layer, and a dielectric layer. Vehicles having power electronics assemblies with stress-relief through-features are also disclosed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Publication date: October 30, 2014
    Applicant: Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian J. Robert
  • Patent number: 8147309
    Abstract: A system and method for facilitating play of a game of chance by multiple players at multiple locations using a virtual card deck are provided. The system may include a plurality of terminals at the multiple locations, the terminals receiving wagers from the plurality of players, the plurality of terminals issuing tickets to the plurality of players. Each ticket may include a respective player hand chosen from the virtual card deck and an identification code uniquely identifying the ticket. The system may include a plurality of displays at the multiple locations, the displays displaying a shared community hand chosen from the virtual card deck. The system may include a server in communication with the plurality of terminals and the plurality of displays. The server may select a set of removed cards from the virtual card deck prior to issuing tickets for the game.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2006
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2012
    Assignee: GTech Rhode Island Corporation
    Inventors: Amir Amirsadri, Richard Finocchio, Thomas Napolitano, Thomas K. Oram, Brian J. Roberts
  • Patent number: 7850257
    Abstract: A lottery ticket dispenser which may include a housing having a bottom support structure, a pair of side walls extending upwardly from the bottom support structure, and a front wall hinged adjacent its bottom edge to the bottom support structure at a first side so as to swing outwardly and downwardly. The lottery ticket dispenser may also include a transparent cover hinged to the bottom support structure that includes a space shaped to contain a plurality of arrays of tickets in strips.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 5, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2010
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Patent number: 7665394
    Abstract: The dispenser dispenses tickets such as instant-winner lottery tickets from a strip in which the individual tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The separator preferably is rotary and has a dull helical blade which rotates to contact the ticket strip adjacent a perforation line, and presses against the strip to tear the tickets apart along the perforation line at a point which progresses across the strip along the perforation line. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided for reading codes on tickets in the dispensing machine. The bar code reader is used in reading information from the tickets to initialize the dispenser control system and in accounting for the sale of tickets, and in the verification of winning tickets being sold. A game is provided in which the concept is that a jackpot is built up using the detection of each ticket sold.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2010
    Assignee: GTECH Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Patent number: 7548797
    Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing items from a pack of items wherein the pack of items has parameters associated therewith such as pack size, an item dimension and an item price. The apparatus includes an item dispenser, a cash acceptor, input and output devices, and a controller. The controller has an item load table for storing data corresponding to the parameters associated with the pack of items. Thus, the parameters in the item load table can be displayed by the output device in lieu of the parameters being manually entered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2003
    Date of Patent: June 16, 2009
    Assignee: Gtech Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph C. Perin, Jr., David G. Wagoner, Brian J. Roberts
  • Patent number: 7381132
    Abstract: The gaming system operates a lottery system for a single state, or includes multiple state systems, each having many different instant-winner ticket games and distributed ticket dispensers. A supervisory computer system is provided. A jackpot is provided which increases with the sale of each ticket in the system. The dispensers have code readers which are used to detect the sale of each ticket. The game is won when the code number detected by one of the code readers matches the code for a jackpot winner.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2001
    Date of Patent: June 3, 2008
    Assignee: GTECH Corporation
    Inventor: Brian J. Roberts
  • Publication number: 20080045287
    Abstract: A system and method for facilitating play of a game of chance by multiple players at multiple locations using a virtual card deck are provided. The system may include a plurality of terminals at the multiple locations, the terminals receiving wagers from the plurality of players, the plurality of terminals issuing tickets to the plurality of players. Each ticket may include a respective player hand chosen from the virtual card deck and an identification code uniquely identifying the ticket. The system may include a plurality of displays at the multiple locations, the displays displaying a shared community hand chosen from the virtual card deck. The system may include a server in communication with the plurality of terminals and the plurality of displays. The server may select a set of removed cards from the virtual card deck prior to issuing tickets for the game.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 10, 2006
    Publication date: February 21, 2008
    Inventors: Amir Amirsadri, Richard Finocchio, Thomas Napolitano, Thomas K. Oram, Brian J. Roberts
  • Patent number: 7032793
    Abstract: Lottery ticket dispensing housings are provided with a hinged, transparent rear and top cover, a hinged front wall, and a powered ticket drive and separator module. A relatively tall embodiment of the dispenser with a small footprint is fitted onto the countertop of a check-out counter of a retail store. The top of the housing is flat so as to provide a convenient place for customers to write checks with the tickets being displayed immediately below being highly visible to the customer. A display of relatively flat and short dispensers is provided wherein a rack or housing supports the dispensers one a top of the other in a vertical array. The dispensers are shifted laterally with respect to one another to as to give greater viewability of the contents of each of the dispensers to a customer. The length of each dispenser can be decreased with the increasing elevation of the dispenser so as to provide a vertical alignment of the front sides of the dispensers, the side through which tickets are dispensed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: GTech Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Patent number: 7011381
    Abstract: A relatively tall embodiment of a lottery ticket dispenser with a small footprint is fitted onto the countertop of a check-out counter of a retail store. The dispenser includes a housing, the top of which is flat so as to provide a convenient place for customers to write checks with the tickets being displayed immediately below being highly visible to the customer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 2000
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2006
    Assignee: GIECH Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Patent number: 6932258
    Abstract: A gaming machine is provided for playing several types of games. The winnings from one gave can be used to create credits in the machine for buying tickets in a different game from the same machine. A separator/drive module has a rotary helical separator member which spans multiple channels to separate tickets in any of the channels. A single drive source is the housing rotates the separate drives in each channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1999
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: GTech Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Patent number: 6886728
    Abstract: The dispenser dispenses tickets such as instant-winner lottery tickets from a strip in which the individual tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The mechanism is simplified by using a separator member and transport drive structures which span a plurality of different channels or bins of a multi-channel dispenser. This provides a very compact, simple, secure and low-cost mechanism which is used both in stand-alone ticket vending machines, and in counter-top attended dispensers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 2000
    Date of Patent: May 3, 2005
    Assignee: GTECH Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Patent number: 6726077
    Abstract: The dispenser dispenses tickets from a strip where tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The separator preferably is rotary and has a dull helical blade to tear the tickets apart along the perforation line. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided for reading codes on tickets in order to initialize the dispenser control system, to account for ticket sales, and to verify the sale of winning tickets. A game is provided where a jackpot is built up using the detection of each ticket sold. The mechanism is simplified by using a separator member and transport drive structures that span a plurality of different channels or bins of a multi-channel dispenser. This provides a very compact, simple, secure and low-cost mechanism that is used both in stand-alone ticket vending machines, and in counter-top attended dispensers.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 1999
    Date of Patent: April 27, 2004
    Assignee: GTECH Corporation
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Publication number: 20030233168
    Abstract: An apparatus for dispensing items from a pack of items wherein the pack of items has parameters associated therewith such as pack size, an item dimension and an item price. The apparatus includes an item dispenser, a cash acceptor, input and output devices, and a controller. The controller has an item load table for storing data corresponding to the parameters associated with the pack of items. Thus, the parameters in the item load table can be displayed by the output device in lieu of the parameters being manually entered.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2003
    Publication date: December 18, 2003
    Applicant: Interlott Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Joseph C. Perin, David G. Wagoner, Brian J. Roberts
  • Publication number: 20030045340
    Abstract: A lottery gaming system and associated method utilizes the internet along with an instant game lottery. The need to maintain jurisdictional and age control for the sale of lottery tickets is maintained while limiting the payment options, since most lottery jurisdictions do not permit payment for lottery tickets on credit. Additionally, the frequency and excitement typically offered by pair-mutuel type play is offered in an internet-based system. Instant game lottery tickets are sold from a standard ITVM or the like. Each lottery ticket includes a unique serial number in a bar code or other format. Upon the purchase of the ticket, the ticket's bar code is read by the ticket dispensing terminal and transmitted to a central computer system for recording and access to remaining play data. In addition to the instant game available on the lottery ticket, the ticket includes an access code or internet address for subsequent interactive internet-based play.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2002
    Publication date: March 6, 2003
    Applicant: Interlott Technologies, Inc.
    Inventor: Brian J. Roberts
  • Publication number: 20020166882
    Abstract: The dispenser dispenses tickets such as instant-winner lottery tickets from a strip in which the individual tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The separator preferably is rotary and has a dull helical blade which rotates to contact the ticket strip adjacent a perforation line, and presses against the strip to tear the tickets apart along the perforation line at a point which progresses across the strip along the perforation line. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided for reading codes on tickets in the dispensing machine. The bar code reader is used in reading information from the tickets to initialize the dispenser control system and in accounting for the sale of tickets, and in the verification of winning tickets being sold. A game is provided in which the concept is that a jackpot is built up using the detection of each ticket sold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 2000
    Publication date: November 14, 2002
    Inventors: Brian J. Roberts, David B. Petch
  • Publication number: 20020100785
    Abstract: The dispenser dispenses tickets such as instant-winner lottery tickets from a strip in which the individual tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The separator preferably is rotary and has a dull helical blade which rotates to contact the ticket strip adjacent a perforation line, and presses against the strip to tear the tickets apart along the perforation line at a point which progresses across the strip along the perforation line. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided for reading codes on tickets in the dispensing machine. The bar code reader is used in reading information from the tickets to initialize the dispenser control system and in accounting for the sale of tickets, and in the verification of winning tickets being sold. A game is provided in which the concept is that a jackpot is built up using the detection of each ticket sold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 26, 1999
    Publication date: August 1, 2002
    Applicant: Interlott Technologies,Inc.
    Inventors: BRIAN J. ROBERTS, DAVID B. PETCH
  • Publication number: 20010049986
    Abstract: The dispenser dispenses tickets from a strip in which the individual tickets are delineated by perforation lines. The dispenser includes a separator to tear the tickets apart before issuing them from the machine. The separator preferably is rotary and has a dull helical blade which rotates to contact the ticket strip adjacent a perforation line, and presses against the strip to tear the tickets apart along the perforation line at a point which progresses across the strip along the perforation line. Preferably, a bar code reader is provided for each channel of the dispensing machine. The bar code reader is used in reading information from the tickets to initialize the dispenser control system and in accounting for the sale of tickets, and in the verification of winning tickets. A game is provided in which a jackpot is built up using the detection of each ticket sold.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 3, 1998
    Publication date: December 13, 2001
    Applicant: INTERLOTT TECHNOLOGIES
    Inventors: BRIAN J. ROBERTS, DAVID B. PETCH
  • Publication number: 20010048013
    Abstract: Lottery ticket dispensing housings are provided with a hinged, transparent rear and top cover, a hinged front wall, and a powered ticket drive and separator module. A relatively tall embodiment of the dispenser with a small footprint is fitted onto the countertop of a check-out counter of a retail store. The top of the housing is flat so as to provide a convenient place for customers to write checks with the tickets being displayed immediately below being highly visible to the customer. A display of relatively flat and short dispensers is provided wherein a rack or housing supports the dispensers one a top of the other in a vertical array. In such a rack or housing the units are connected together electrically in a daisy-chain manner and one control device (point-of-sale terminal, computer or on-line terminal) operates all connected dispensers. The dispensers are shifted laterally with respect to one another to as to give greater viewability of the contents of each of the dispensers to a customer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 13, 1999
    Publication date: December 6, 2001
    Inventors: BRIAN J. ROBERTS, DAVID B. PETCH