Scratch-Off Tool

Abstract

A lottery scratch-off tool includes a main body into which a wooden scratch-off tool may be fitted such as with a pen to retract the beveled wooden tip until ready to use.

Claims

1. A scratch-off tool for lottery tickets comprising: a) a hollow barrel body having a threaded end and a scratch-off tip end; b) a barrel body closure for threading onto said hollow barrel body threaded end; c) an elongated wooden member sized to be received and held within said hollow barrel body with an end having a beveled tip, said beveled tip protruding from the scratch-off end of said hollow barrel body.

2. The scratch-off tool of claim 1, further comprising a spring disposed between said elongated wooden member and an inside surface of said hollow barrel body wherein said elongated wooden member may selectively be entirely within said hollow barrel body or exposing the beveled tip from said hollow barrel body for scratching of said lottery ticket.

3. The scratch-off tool of claim 1, further comprising a writing element housed within the hollow barrel body, wherein said writing element may be selectively extended from said hollow barrel body, wherein said elongated wooden member is retained within an inside of said hollow barrel body.

4. The scratch-off tool of claim 2, further comprising a writing element housed within the hollow barrel body, wherein said writing element may be selectively extended from said hollow barrel body, wherein said elongated wooden member is retained within an inside of said hollow barrel body.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] A detailed description of the invention is hereafter described with specific reference being made to the drawings in which:

[0014] FIG. 1 is a side view of the device showing the main body and extended scratch-off tip;

[0015] FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the extended scratch-off tip showing the beveled tip; and

[0016] FIG. 3 is a disassembled view showing the device taken apart.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] In FIG. 1 the scratch-off tool 10 is shown which may be in the form of a conventional pen having a barrel 12 with a threaded upper end 14 and a lower opening 16. The threaded upper end 14 is closed off by a conventional barrel body closure 17 which may include a push button mechanism 18 for extension and retraction. The scratching-off is accomplished via an elongated wood member 20 which has an elongated shaft 22 with an upper end 24 that contacts the push button mechanism 18 and a lower beveled tip 26 that can extend from the lower opening 16. The beveled tip 26 provides a relatively sharp edge which is perfect for removing the ink on a lottery ticket or the like without being too aggressive and damaging the underlying numbers and/or letters. It has been found that a conventional wooden cuticle pusher may be an acceptable elongated wood member 20.

[0018] A conventional spring 30 may be used to retract the wood member 20 as desired. It has been found that wood provides an ideal combination of features of being hard, holding an edge and not being too hard to be used for a scratch-off tool. Simply having a spare wooden cuticle pusher in a pocket is not acceptable since it would have a relatively sharp tip and would break or get lost, let alone poking a hole in a pocket.

[0019] The inventive scratch-off tool 10 either with or without a pocket clip 32 is always available to the user and can be attractive to carry.

[0020] The invention may also be made as a key chain pen device rather than a full length pen device. It may also have two click buttons with one supplying an actual pen and the other the scratch tool. Multiple ink color pens are well known and one of the colors may be replaced with the scratch off tool. Examples are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,797,945; 3,164,132; 4,185,933, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0021] In a first embodiment a scratch-off tool for lottery tickets includes a hollow barrel body having a threaded end and a scratch-off tip end, a barrel body closure for threading onto the hollow barrel body threaded end, an elongated wooden member sized to be received and held within the hollow barrel body with an end having a beveled tip, the beveled tip protruding from the scratch-off end of the hollow barrel body.

[0022] In a second embodiment according to the first embodiment, the scratch-off further comprises a spring disposed between the elongated wooden member and an inside surface of the hollow barrel body wherein the elongated wooden member may selectively be entirely within the hollow barrel body or exposing the beveled tip from the hollow barrel body for scratching of the lottery ticket.

[0023] In a third alternative embodiment according to the first alternative embodiment, the scratch-off tool further comprises a writing element housed within the hollow barrel body, wherein the writing element may be selectively extended from the hollow barrel body, wherein the elongated wooden member is retained within an inside of the hollow barrel body.

[0024] In a fourth alternative embodiment according to the second alternative embodiment, the scratch-off tool further comprises a writing element housed within the hollow barrel body, wherein the writing element may be selectively extended from the hollow barrel body, wherein the elongated wooden member is retained within an inside of the hollow barrel body.

[0025] While this invention may be embodied in many different forms, there are shown in the drawings and described in detail herein specific preferred embodiments of the invention. The present disclosure is an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the particular embodiments illustrated.

[0026] The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive. This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one of ordinary skill in this art. All these alternatives and variations are intended to be included within the scope of the claims where the term comprising means including, but not limited to. Those familiar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to be encompassed by the claims.

[0027] This completes the description of the preferred and alternate embodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognize other equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein which equivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attached hereto.