Ticket Dispenser with Segmented Display Pathway
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ticket dispensers for pleated ribbons of tickets often jam or damage tickets during dispensing, as the last ticket separated from the main ribbon cannot be reused, and staff must manually remove it before reloading, leading to inefficiencies and potential damage.
Innovation Solution
A ticket dispenser design featuring a housing with a ticket storage chamber and dispensing aperture, including a ticket display pathway that extends along more than half of the chamber length, a storage chamber guide to space tickets, and optional rollers or curved baffle elements to guide tickets, ensuring controlled dispensing and minimizing jamming or damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a ticket is separated from the main ribbon for display, then the ticket can be displayed to customers, but the ticket can no longer be dispensed through the dispensing aperture and must be manually removed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the display function from the dispensing mechanism by providing a separate display aperture and display area. Tickets can be removed from the ribbon and placed in the display area visible through the display aperture, independent of the dispensing aperture. This allows tickets to be displayed without interfering with the dispensing mechanism, eliminating the need to manually remove displayed tickets during reloading.
2Quantity of substance
If tickets are dispensed from a pleated ribbon, then multiple tickets can be stored and dispensed, but tickets may become jammed or damaged during dispensing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the ticket handling system into distinct functional areas: a storage chamber for the pleated ribbon, a display area for separated tickets, and a dispensing mechanism. The housing includes a display wall with a display aperture separate from the dispensing aperture. This segmentation allows tickets to be stored in bulk while providing controlled pathways for dispensing and display, reducing jamming and damage risks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary display area between the storage chamber and the external environment. Tickets can be moved from the ribbon in the storage chamber to the display area through a controlled process, and then displayed through the display aperture. This intermediary zone acts as a buffer that prevents direct interference between the dispensing mechanism and displayed tickets, reducing the risk of jamming and damage.
3Area of moving object
If the ticket display pathway extends along the chamber length, then a large proportion of the ticket can be displayed, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The display wall serves multiple functions: it forms part of the housing structure, provides the display aperture for viewing tickets, and creates the display area for ticket placement. The display pathway utilizes the existing chamber structure, extending along the length of the storage chamber without requiring separate complex framework. This multi-functional design maximizes display area while minimizing additional structural complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A ticket dispenser for dispensing a pleated ribbon of tickets, the ticket dispenser comprising a ticket storage chamber within a housing and a ticket dispensing aperture, wherein the housing has opposed ticket display and rear walls, and also has opposed first and second walls that each extend between the ticket display wall and the rear wall, the display wall comprising: an outer wall having an interior face, and an inner ticket pathway guide proximate the outer wall, providing a ticket display pathway extending along the interior face of the outer wall, between the outer wall and the inner ticket pathway guide, the ticket display pathway having a pathway inlet, wherein the ticket dispenser is configured for a ticket to be drawn out from within the storage chamber, through the pathway inlet, along the ticket display pathway towards the first wall, and out through the dispensing aperture, wherein the ticket storage chamber has a chamber length extending along the display wall between the first wall and the second wall, and the ticket display pathway extends along more than half of the chamber length, wherein the ticket storage chamber is provided with a storage chamber guide configured to space tickets apart from the display wall adjacent a central portion along the length of the ticket display pathway, and wherein the storage chamber guide extends to a maximal separation from the ticket display pathway at a location that is closer to the first wall than the separation between the pathway inlet and the first wall.