Method of forming a lottery ticket with a translucent substrate

Abstract

A lottery ticket is printed on a substrate sheet material having a front surface with lottery game indicia printed thereon and a removable covering material, typically scratch-off material, covering the lottery game indicia which is removable by a player to expose the game indicia for playing the game and other game information printed on the substrate sheet material where at least part of the substrate sheet material is formed of a translucent synthetic material to enable viewing through the part by the player. In order to allow the ticket to be dispensed in a row of the tickets from a dispensing machine with an optical sensor, a patch of an opaque or semi-opaque material is applied onto the substrate at a location to cooperate with the sensor while it is operating to detect ticket location.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a lottery ticket for playing a lottery game comprising: constructing a lottery ticket by the steps comprising: forwarding a substrate sheet at least part of which comprises a translucent polymer material; printing onto a front surface of said translucent polymer material an opaque non-removable lilypad; printing onto the front surface and on top of the opaque lilypad a white lilypad; printing onto the front surface and onto the white lilypad using variable image printing an ink material arranged to display lottery game indicia; printing onto the front surface and covering the lottery game indicia with one or more clear protective layers; printing onto the front surface of the clear protective layer an opaque material covering the lottery game indicia which is removable by a player to expose the game indicia for playing the game; wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the following characteristics: TABLE-US-00004 Melting Point 150 C. Softening Point 110 C. Shrinkage 3% (30 min at 150 C. ) Surface Energy 39 Dyne/cm Optical Transmission 80% (400 to 700 nm) Tensile Strength 20 Kg/mm.sup.2 Tear Strength 20 g/Mil Caliper 25-500 micron and preventing observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game indicia which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the translucent polymer material by printing onto a rear surface of the translucent polymer material at a position aligned with the opaque lilypad a coating which is arranged to absorb or reflect any electromagnetic energy applied thereto; said coating being printed directly onto the translucent polymer material having the above characteristics without any intervening ink material arranged to display lottery game indicia; and printing the lottery game indicia in an arrangement for playing a game related to the lottery ticket using at least said lottery game indicia.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the characteristic of a surface energy greater than 39 Dyne/cm by applying to the translucent polymer material an acrylic emulsion.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein the acrylic emulsion is applied to both front and rear surfaces of the translucent polymer material.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the characteristic of a surface energy greater than 39 Dyne/cm by treating the front and rear surfaces of the translucent polymer material with a plasma treatment.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material is PET.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material has a fold endurance of 103 cycles.

7. The method according to claim 1 wherein the layers are applied to a portion only of the translucent polymer material leaving at least one other part which is translucent.

8. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the following characteristics TABLE-US-00005 Melting Point 150 to 290 C. Softening Point 110 to 260 C. Shrinkage 1 to 3% (30 min at 150 C. ) Surface Energy 39 to 50 Dyne/cm Optical Transmission 80% (400 to 700 nm) Tensile Strength 20 Kg/mm.sup.2 Tear Strength 20 g/Mil Caliper 25 to 500 micron.

9. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material is colored.

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the whole of the ticket is formed by said translucent polymer material so that the game indicia and the covering is printed on the said translucent polymer material.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein a part only of the substrate sheet is formed by said translucent polymer material.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the translucent polymer material is laminated to another material and a part of the other material is omitted or removed to expose the translucent polymer material.

13. The method according to claim 12 wherein the part removed forms a window in the ticket.

14. A method of playing a lottery game comprising: obtaining a lottery ticket comprising: a substrate sheet material which comprises a translucent polymer material; said substrate material having printed thereon an opaque non-removable lilypad; the front surface having printed on top of the opaque lilypad a white lilypad; the front surface having printed onto the white lilypad a variable image printed ink material displaying lottery game indicia; the front surface having printed covering the lottery game indicia one or more clear protective layers; the front surface of the clear protective layer having printed thereon an opaque material covering the lottery game indicia which is removable by a player to expose the game indicia for playing the game; wherein the translucent polymer enables viewing through said translucent polymer material by the player; providing a second support material carrying additional game indicia of the lottery game to be viewed through said translucent polymer material; and playing a game related to the lottery ticket using said lottery game indicia and the additional game indicia on the second support material when viewed through the translucent polymer material.

15. The method according to claim 14 wherein the support material comprises a second lottery ticket.

16. The method according to claim 14 wherein the translucent portion is colored.

17. The method according to claim 14 wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the following characteristics: TABLE-US-00006 Melting Point 150 C. Softening Point 110 C. Shrinkage 3% (30 min at 150 C. ) Surface Energy 39 Dyne/cm Optical Transmission 80% (400 to 700 nm) Tensile Strength 20 Kg/mm.sup.2 Tear Strength 20 g/Mil Caliper 25-500 micron and preventing observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game indicia which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the translucent polymer material by printing onto a rear surface of the translucent polymer material at a position aligned with the opaque lilypad a coating which is arranged to absorb or reflect any electromagnetic energy applied thereto.

18. The method according to claim 17 wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the characteristic of a surface energy greater than 39 Dyne/cm by applying to the translucent polymer material an acrylic emulsion.

19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the acrylic emulsion is applied to both front and rear surfaces of the translucent polymer material.

20. The method according to claim 19 wherein the translucent polymer material is arranged to have the characteristic of a surface energy greater than 39 Dyne/cm by treating the front and rear surfaces of the translucent polymer material with a plasma treatment.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first ticket according to the invention where the ticket substrate is formed from a plastics or synthetic material with the game data and removable covering printed on the substrate.

(2) FIG. 2 is a plan view of a second ticket according to the invention where the ticket substrate is formed mainly from a conventional card stock which is laminated to a window area formed from a plastics or synthetic material with the game data and removable covering printed on the card stock.

(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of a third ticket according to the invention where the ticket substrate is formed mainly from a conventional card stock which is laminated to a window area formed from a plastics or synthetic material with the game data and removable covering printed on the card stock.

(4) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1.

(5) FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1 showing a modified ticket with additional security components.

(6) FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2.

(7) FIG. 6 is an alternative cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2.

(8) FIG. 7 is a plan view of a first and second ticket according to the invention where the game data or other elements of the second ticket are viewed through the translucent window of the first ticket to reveal game data or other elements not otherwise visible.

(9) FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the method of manufacture of the ticket.

(10) FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the components of a dispensing machine cooperating with a ticket of the type shown in FIG. 4A.

(11) FIG. 10 is a plan view of a row of the tickets of FIG. 9 with the opaque patches which are located to cooperate with the optical sensor of FIG. 9.

(12) FIG. 11 is a plan view of a ticket of FIG. 9 with an alternative arrangement of the opaque patch which is located to cooperate with the optical sensor of FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(13) As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is provided a lottery ticket 10, 10A, 10B each of which includes a substrate sheet material 11 having a front surface 12 having lottery game indicia 13 printed thereon. A removable covering material 14 covers the lottery game indicia 13 which is removable by a player to expose the game indicia for playing the game. The front surface includes game information 15 printed on the substrate sheet material 11.

(14) In each of the figures the removable covering comprises a scratch-off coating 14 typically printed over a release coating or varnish layer 16C. The game data is printed onto a security layer 16 which includes one or more pigmented layers to form an opacity to prevent transmission of light and which typically includes a white lily pad to provide a base to render the game data 13 more visible.

(15) In another arrangement, the game data can be printed on one synthetic substrate and then laminated another synthetic substrate over top to protect the data.

(16) In the present invention, at least part of the substrate sheet material comprises a synthetic plastics material 17. The plastics material can be formed of different layers 17A, 17B to provide the required characteristics as described herein.

(17) As shown in FIG. 1, the whole of the substrate is formed by the plastics material so that the game indicia 13 and the covering 14 is printed on the material.

(18) As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a part only of the substrate is formed by the material.

(19) As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 synthetic polymer material 11 is laminated to another material 18 such as the card stock and a part of the other material is omitted or removed at an opening 19 to expose the synthetic plastics material 11. In FIG. 5 the part removed forms a window in the ticket. In FIG. 3 the part removed forms a band 19A across the ticket.

(20) As shown in FIG. 7 the synthetic polymer material 11 in the window 19 is translucent to enable viewing by the player through the part of the substrate which is formed by the material. As shown a second ticket 10C is viewed through the window and the translucent material is arranged to have a character to change the appearance of an underlying object in this case the game data 13 viewed through the translucent material. That is additional data 13A may become or be made visible by the effect of the change made by the translucent material. Typically the translucent material is simply colored which then cooperates with colors on the game data to make the game data more or less visible.

(21) However other characteristics in the material can be used such as the translucent material is polarized. Alternatively, the translucent material could be patterned to enhance other images or create new visual effects or decode hidden messages.

(22) Where a part only of the substrate is formed by the polymer material and another part is formed of a card or foil stock and the game indicia and the covering is typically but not necessarily applied onto the other part as shown in FIG. 2 or 3.

(23) In the method of playing a lottery ticket game shown in FIG. 7 using two of the tickets shown in FIG. 2 the player views the second ticket through the translucent part of the first ticket and the translucent part is arranged so that a characteristic of the translucent part of the first ticket combines with a characteristic of the viewed part of the second ticket to expose data on the second ticket which is not visible when viewed without the translucent part or acts to allow data on the second ticket to be combined with data on the first ticket where the data by placing one set of data 13B on the translucent material of the first ticket at or adjacent the data 13 on the underlying second ticket.

(24) In the method of constructing a lottery ticket the following steps are followed as shown in FIGS. 4A and 8.

(25) A substrate sheet material comprising a synthetic polymer material is forwarded from a supply. The substrate is coated on both sides by an acrylic emulsion layer 30, 31 which provides for the substrate the characteristic of a surface energy greater than 39 Dyne/cm. The emulsion is typically applied in a conventional coating process during manufacturing so that the substrate is supplied in the coated form.

(26) Onto a front surface of the substrate material over the emulsion 30 only in the game area 33 is printed an adhesive promoting layer 32 of a litho ink in a thickness in the range 0.5 to 2 microns. The layer 32 is then cured by ultraviolet or electron beam radiation energy to provide bonding to the substrate. This may occur through cross-linking between the substrate and the layer 32 or other bonding action may occur. The confusion pattern may be a random selection of ascii characters or a pattern of randomly placed shapes likes squares for example.

(27) Onto a front surface of the substrate material over the layer 32 in the game area 33 is printed an opaque non-removable lilypad 16A followed by a white lilypad 16B

(28) A confusion pattern 34 in two to four different colors is printed onto the substrate in the game area only at a location between the adhesive promoting layer 32 and the lilypad 16A.

(29) Onto the white lilypad using variable image printing is printed an ink material arranged to display lottery game indicia 13 and this is covered and protected by one or more clear protective covering layers 16C typically of a clear varnish.

(30) Onto the front surface of the clear protective layer is printed an opaque material in one or more different layers 14A, 14B covering the lottery game indicia which is removable by the player by scratching so that the material fragments and breaks away to expose the game indicia for playing the game.

(31) Onto a rear surface of the substrate is printed onto the emulsion 31 a litho ink layer 35 in a thickness in the range 0.5 to 2 microns which is arranged to absorb or reflect any electromagnetic energy applied thereto.

(32) In order to ensure proper printing of the required layers on the ticket and to ensure security of the game data against typical attacks, the ticket as printed has characteristics as set out hereinafter.

(33) TABLE-US-00003 Property of Substrate Value Range Melting Point 150-290 C. Softening Point 110-260 C. Shrinkage 0-3% (30 min at 150 C. ) Surface Energy 39-50 Dyne/cm Optical Transmission 80% (400 to 700 nm) Tensile Strength M.D. 20 Kg/mm.sup.2 C.D. 20 Kg/mm.sup.2 Tear Strength 20 g/Mil Fold Endurance 103 Cycles Caliper 25-500 micron

(34) It is necessary therefore to ensure that the ticket printed on the translucent substrate is secure against convention attack methods known in the industry.

(35) Selection of the synthetic plastic used to print lottery tickets plays a role in the build of a secure lottery ticket. Consideration needs to be given to the physical properties of the substrate such as film lamination combination, orientation, refractive index, melting point, softening point, tensile strength, tear strength and electrical properties as an example. This needs to be taken into account with respect to the printing equipment being used for producing said ticket. It also needs to be taken into account for the security and performance of the ticket/game.

(36) The substrate selected is PET so that it can stand up to the printing process. The PET can be heated and not reach its melting point while running through gas fired forced air dryers and IR dryers while drying the inks and coatings applied to make the substrate functional and secure. PET provides a softening point selected so that the substrate minimizes the distortion under tension through the printing process. The PET substrate due to the strength properties performs as expected as a scratch lottery ticket and the demands from the market place. The ticket must meet standards to be used for example in distribution methods like vending machines and ticket dispensers.

(37) The foundation ink film(s) needs to provide adhesion to the substrate. One consideration is the surface energy of the synthetic substrate and how to increase surface energy to promote adhesion of coatings and inks. Consideration must also be given to the selection of the chemistry used to promote bonding to the type of synthetic substrate being printed, or the use of plasma treatment to obtain the correct surface energy for the film of choice.

(38) In order to print on the PET the material is treated with an acrylic emulsion applied to promote adhesion of printing inks. The material can be used without the coating applied but the process needs to treat the film with a plasma treatment to increase the surface energy.

(39) The initial base layer 21 printed on the treated film is printed as a thin film to promote adhesion with a chemistry which is energy curable.

(40) Once the base foundation chemistry and coating is identified then one or more opaque coatings are printed to protect the game data from various forms of surreptitious readout,

(41) The confusion pattern made of one or multiple colours is used to deter or reduce the ability to read game data or visualise components of the game data ink by use of electromagnetic energy. A coating or ink is also applied to the opposite side of the lottery ticket to reflect or absorb electromagnetic energy to secure the lottery ticket from readout of gaming data.

(42) As an alternative or as an additional measure, a coating may be chosen to prevent the migration of the components of the imaging ink to the base i.e. clear substrate.

(43) Irradiation can be applied to the non-game side of the game piece to reduce the migration. That is a solution or at least a potential solution to mitigate or eliminate the migration that is being seen on the ticket back using the current production method.

(44) Refractive index of the synthetic substrate and possible lamination combinations to improve the security of the game data via surreptitious readout. This is a possible solution the migration issue by using a substrate that comprises two films with differing refractive index values which refracts the electromagnetic energy so the game data is not visible.

(45) Imaging ink chemistry needs to be considered in the ticket formulation as it critical to the overall security of the ticket. The use of a pigmented imaging ink versus a dye based imaging ink or an energy curable ink needs to be taken into account to achieve ticket security. Imaging ink component migration is a key consideration. Pigmented and energy curable inks are better due to the cleaner chemistry and components that make up the ink.

(46) As shown in FIG. 4A there is provided a patch 14P of an opaque material printed or applied onto the ticket at a position spaced from the material 14 covering the game data.

(47) In FIGS. 9, 10 and 11 is shown a dispensing system 101 for a row 100 of the tickets 10. A plurality of individual tickets 10 are connected in a fanfold strip or stream 100. Individual tickets 10 are joined to an adjacent ticket by a line of weakness 102 which typically comprises perforations. The tickets 10 are provided in a fanfold stack which is compact and easily transportable and typically include as many as 300 tickets in each stack. A stack 104 of fanfold tickets is contained in a storage compartment (not shown) in the lottery ticket dispenser. Each ticket 10 is connected to an adjacent ticket 10 along the line of weakness 102 and it will be understood that each successive following ticket 10 is joined to an adjacent ticket by a similar line of weakness 102.

(48) The fanfold stream 100 of tickets 10 is fed along a dispensing path 103 from the storage compartment toward an outlet (not shown). The stream 103 is transported along the dispensing path by the transport mechanism 105 including opposed upper feed roller 107 and lower feed rollers 108 and opposed upper discharge roller 106 and lower discharge roller 109. It will be appreciated that there is shown in FIG. 9 only one station but that in most arrangements a row of such stations will be arranged side by side for dispensing parallel rows of tickets.

(49) A generally circular burster wheel 111 or similar bursting arrangement is mounted for rotation between spaced, downwardly extending flanges 110 of a burster block 112. The burster wheel 26 is mounted for rotation on the burster block 112 on an axle extending between the spaced flanges 110. The burster block 112 is mounted for a translation along a rail 113 to separate each ticket from the next while the tickets are held between the rollers 106/109 and 107/108.

(50) A sensor 114 generating a light beam 116 is located at a suitable location in the system for detecting the presence of the tickets in the stream during the dispensing action. In one example shown the sensor 114 is located immediately downstream from the dispensing rollers 106/109 to detect the leading edge 115 of the leading ticket 10 of the stream of tickets being input into the system. In one embodiment the sensor 114 is an optical device known to those skilled in the art which generates a beam and detects light from that beam, which may be reflected or transmitted to a receiver, to confirm the presence or absence of the ticket. More than one sensor can be provided at different locations along the path to detect different components of the tickets including both the leading edge 115 and the trailing edge 117 as they pass.

(51) The apparatus for dispensing lottery tickets thus includes the strip 100 of tickets 10 joined end to end in a row with the line of weakness 102 between each ticket and the next. The transport mechanism defined by the two sets of rollers acts for feeding the tickets along the dispensing path and the separator or burster is located along the dispensing path by which adjacent tickets are separated from one another.

(52) Thus at least one rotationally driven feed roller 107, 108 contacts the tickets at a location along the dispensing path upstream of the separator 111 to advance the tickets toward the separator and at least one rotationally driven discharge roller 106, 109 contacts the tickets at a location along the dispensing path downstream of the separator to discharge the articles from the separator for dispensing to the customer.

(53) The optical sensor 114 is operable during at least a part of the movement of the strip for detecting a location of a ticket as it moves along the dispensing path.

(54) The strip of lottery tickets as described above comprises a substrate sheet material where at least a portion of the substrate sheet material is translucent and includes lottery game indicia printed on the front surface of each ticket and an area 120 of the opaque material 14 covering the lottery game indicia which material is removable as described above to expose the game indicia.

(55) A patch 121, 122 of material, which is more opaque than the substrate sheet material, is located on the substrate sheet material in addition to the area 120 of the opaque material 14. In FIG. 10 there are two patches 121, 122 where the additional patch 122 is provided at a location on the ticket spaced from the patch 121 and from the area 120.

(56) The patches are arranged at a location on the ticket so that the patch 121 and the additional patch 122 are symmetrically arranged relative to a center line of the ticket.

(57) The patches are located on the ticket at a location for cooperation with the optical sensors 114 as the ticket moves on the path 103 to prevent passage of light from the optical sensor through the translucent substrate from interfering with operation of the optical sensor. That is the patch operates as a reflective zone on the ticket so that the beam is reflected and not passed through. In this way the optical sensor properly detects the presence of the ticket at the time and location where it is expected to confirm and control the operation of the dispenser as known to persons skilled in this art.

(58) That is the additional patch 122 is arranged at a location on the ticket for cooperation with a second optical sensor 124 as the ticket moves on the path again to prevent passage of light from the second optical sensor through the translucent substrate from interfering with operation of the second optical sensor.

(59) In FIG. 10, the additional patches 121 and 122 are arranged at the leading edge 115 of the ticket opposite the area 120 so that the patches render the substrate opaque at the leading edge. In this embodiment, the area 120 is located at the trailing edge 117 and renders the substrate opaque at the edge 117 for detection of the leading and trailing edges by the optical sensors. However where the area 120 is spaced from the trailing edge 117 in some designs not shown third and fourth patches can be located at the trailing edge 117.

(60) Where necessary, the patch or patches are substantially as opaque as the area of opaque material and can use the same material so that the patch is formed by an ink printed onto the translucent substrate material. The patches 121, 122 are separate from the area 120. In this arrangement the whole of the ticket is formed by the translucent substrate so that the game indicia and the covering 14 and the patch 121, 122 are applied onto the translucent substrate.

(61) In FIG. 11 is shown an alternative design of patch where the patch 130 is contiguous with the area 120 and forms a strip along a center of the ticket and extends from the leading edge 115 of the ticket to the trailing edge 117 of the ticket. This arrangement of patch is continuous so that it prevent a break in the beam 132 from the sensor 131 as the ticket passes. In this arrangement, the patch does not need to prevent all passage of light so that the patch allows passage of some light greater than that of the area which is insufficient to interfere with the operation of the optical sensor.