Ticket issuing machine

Claim 1

A ticket issuing machine comprising: guide means establishing a common ticket stock path having a ticket stock receiving end and a ticket stock delivery end and a plurality of separate ticket stock paths converging toward said receiving end of said common path; printing means, located adjacent to said common path for printing information on ticket stock in said common path at a printing location between the receiving end and the delivery end thereof; cutting means, located adjacent to the delivery end of said common path, and beyond said printing location in the direction of ticket stock movement from the receiving end of the common path toward the delivery end thereof, for cutting tickets from said ticket stock after said ticket stock is printed by said printing means; feeding means associated with each of said separate ticket stock paths, for selectably advancing ticket stock therein toward said common path and also withdrawing ticket stock away from said common path in the direction from the delivery end thereof toward the receiving end thereof; selection means for enabling an operator to enter a selection of a particular ticket stock path from said plurality of separate ticket stock paths; and control means, automatically responsive to the selection means, for causing the feeding means associated with a selected path to advance ticket stock therein into and through said common path past the printing means during printing and past the cutting means, for causing the cutting means to cut the selected ticket stock, and for causing the feeding means to withdraw the selected ticket stock from the common path into the selected path, to clear the common path, after cutting and before the next advance of ticket stock into said common path from one of said separate paths different from the last selected separate path.