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.

Claims

1. A method of constructing a lottery ticket comprising: forwarding a substrate sheet material comprises a synthetic plastics or polymer material; printing onto a front surface of said substrate 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 substrate 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 wherein there is printed onto the front surface of said substrate material underneath the opaque non-removable lilypad an adhesive promoting layer of a litho ink in a thickness in the range 0.5 to 2 microns which is cured to provide bonding to the substrate; and arranging one or more layers of the ticket to prevent observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein said observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate is prevented by applying a confusion pattern in different colors to a location between the adhesive promoting layer and the white lilypad.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein said observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate is prevented by printing onto a rear surface of the substrate a litho ink in a thickness in the range 0.5 to 2 microns which is arranged to absorb or reflect any electromagnetic energy applied thereto.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein said observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate is prevented by using an ink selected to prevent migration of any component thereof from the lottery game data above the white lilypad to the substrate.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein said observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate is prevented by applying irradiation to the rear surface of the substrate.

6. The method according to claim 1 wherein said observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate is prevented by using a substrate that comprises two films with differing refractive index values which refracts electromagnetic energy so the game data is not visible

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

8. The method according to claim 7 wherein the acrylic emulsion is applied to both front and rear surfaces of the substrate.

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

10. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate is PET.

11. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate has a fold endurance of 103 cycles.

12. The method according to claim 1 wherein the litho ink is cured by ultraviolet or electron beam radiation energy.

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

14. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate 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

15. The method according to claim 1 wherein the substrate is colored.

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

17. The method according to claim 1 wherein a part only of the substrate is formed by said material.

18. The method according to claim 1 wherein the synthetic plastics material is laminated to another material and a part of the other material is omitted or removed to expose the synthetic plastics material.

19. The method according to claim 18 wherein the part removed forms a window in the ticket.

20. A method of constructing a lottery ticket comprising: forwarding a substrate sheet material comprises a synthetic plastics or polymer material; printing onto a front surface of said substrate 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 of 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 substrate 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 wherein there is printed onto the front surface of said substrate material underneath the opaque non-removable lilypad an adhesive promoting layer of a litho ink in a thickness in the range 0.5 to 2 microns which is cured to provide bonding to the substrate; wherein the substrate is arranged to have the characteristic of a surface energy greater than 39 Dyne/cm by applying to both the front and rear surfaces of the substrate an acrylic emulsion; and preventing observation by an intruder of any ink material from the lottery game data which has migrated from above the white lilypad to the substrate by applying a confusion pattern in different colors to a location between the adhesive promoting layer and the white lilypad and by printing onto a rear surface of the substrate a litho ink in a thickness in the range 0.5 to 2 microns which is arranged to absorb or reflect any electromagnetic energy applied thereto.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0123] 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.

[0124] 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.

[0125] 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.

[0126] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1.

[0127] FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1 showing a modified ticket with additional security components.

[0128] FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2.

[0129] FIG. 6 is an alternative cross-sectional view along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 2.

[0130] 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.

[0131] FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of the method of manufacture of the ticket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0132] 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.

[0133] 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.

[0134] 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.

[0135] 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.

[0136] 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.

[0137] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a part only of the substrate is formed by the material.

[0138] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 synthetic plastics 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.

[0139] As shown in FIG. 7 the synthetic plastics 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.

[0140] 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.

[0141] Where a part only of the substrate is formed by the plastics 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.

[0142] 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.

[0143] In the method of constructing a lottery ticket the following steps are followed as shown in FIGS. 4A and 8.

[0144] A substrate sheet material comprising a synthetic plastics or 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.

[0145] 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.

[0146] The confusion pattern may be a random selection of ascii characters or a pattern of randomly placed shapes likes squares for example.

[0147] 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

[0148] 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.

[0149] 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.

[0150] 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.

[0151] 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.

[0152] 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.

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

[0153] It is necessary therefore to ensure that the ticket printed on the translucent substrate is secure against convention attack methods known in the industry.

[0154] 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.

[0155] 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.

[0156] 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.

[0157] 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.

[0158] 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.

[0159] 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,

[0160] 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.

[0161] 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.

[0162] 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.

[0163] 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.

[0164] 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.