Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
13~237~ - -
BACK ROUND 0~ THE INVEN~ION ~ -
This invention generally relates to lottery
based game~ and contests. In particular it relate~
to an instant lot~ery game wherein a new technique i~
used for the ~epre~entat$on and identification of the
lottery numbers on the lottery tiekets.
A wide ~pectrum of lotteries and similar
contests exists in ~hich participants are eligible ~o
win p~izes awarded at random on the basis of
predetermined odd~ of winnlng. In conventlonal
lottery games the parti~lpant either purchas~s, or in ~-:
the ea~e of promotlonal lotterl~s is given a lottery
ticket which has a lottery number in~cribed on it.
The lottery number on each ticke~ is unique and
serves to distinguish it from every other lottery
tioket in th~ ~ame lottery game. At a later dat-, a
wlnning number i~ determined by a rando~ chan~e :
selection from a ~et o~ numbers which matche8 exactly :::
the set of lottery num~er~ in diYtrlbu~on. ~he - -- -
winning number may al~o be dete~mined in other .: .
manners a~ long as ~t i~ insured that accurate
p~ediction ot the wlnnlng number i~ hlghly
improba~le. In 3uch ~onventlonal lotterie~, the
winn3ng number i~ non-exlstene unt~l the moment it is
~eleetod randomly or determined accordlng to other ~ :~
c~iteria.
In thes~ lottery g~m-s secu~ty 1~ provided by . -:
generatlng the lottery numbe~ under compute~
control. Every lottery ticket in a givon lottery
~ame has a serial number aisociated wlth it whlch is
p~int~d on ea~h tlcket to ~dentlPy t~e game, tlck~t
lot and the indiv~dual ti~ket ltself. The lottery
numbe~ for a glven tlcket i9 generated by usinq a
complex computer algorithm wh~Ch provides a un~gue -~-
r~lat~on~hlp between the serial numb~r and the
1312379
lottery number for a given ticket. Whenever a
winning lottery ticket i~ presented tor redemption, a
computer can be used to reverse the computer
algorithm used to ~enerate the lottery number so that - -
the interrelation~hip between the ~erial number and
the lottery number of the presented ticket may be -~
tested prior ~o payment of the pr~ze. ~-
In the case of in~tant lotterles, the winning --~-
lottery number i9 known before the tlcket ~ sold, ~o ~-
that a partlcipant can know withln a short cpan of ~ --
time after hi~ purchase whether he has won or not. - ~ -
rn such instant lotterie~, the operator of the
lottery game either selects or detetmines on some
basis the w$nning lottery numbers or related indicia -:
whlch are made known to partlcipants prior to their
purchase o~ tickets. However, the lottery number
printed on the tick~t i9 ooncealed, so that the ~: :
purchaser may a~certain the lottery number only after
the purchase has be~n con~umated. The p~r~haaer then
expose~ the ~on¢ealed lottery numb-r to vlew and this
~xpo~ed lottery number io compared against a list o ` -
winnln~ numbers in order to determine if a match
~xists entitling t~e tlck-t holder to a prlze. `
In 4uch cases of instant lotterle~ whereln the
winnlng numbers are known to the publlc when the
ticket i pur~hased, éxtensive meas~rqs have to be
taken in order to lnsure securlty~ Some form o~
concealment need3 to be ~ovided for the indivitual
lottery number lmprinted on each tLcket. Generally,
th~s take~ the form of an opaque covering such as
paper that cdn be tocn o~f to reveal the number, or a
removable co~ting or metal foil that covers the
numbsr. Special pr~nting inks, ~uch as those that
changa under applied heat or 5pecial agenta may also : -
b~ uged . ~hi5 con~ealm~nt featur~ of the ticket has
1 3 1 2379
to be ~ugmented with external means which permit
qui~k and easy exposure of the lottery number so t~at
immediate compari~ion can be made between the ticket
lottery number and the posted listing of winning
numbere. In addition, the proce~ which transforms
the lottery number ~rom its concealed state to an
openly intelligible state mus~ neeessarily be
irreversable so that the end user ls unable to
restore the ticket to lts original condltion without
outward signs o alteration in ord~r to pceclude .
reuse or resale o~ a ticket. Va~iou~ techni~ues eOr
conc~alment or dlsgui3e of lottery number~ for use in -:. :
in~tant lottery games are known in the art: all of :~
them inherently require elaborate procedures in the
design, printin~ and especially the ~onceal~ent of
the lottery number and constitute ~ sign~icant
portlon o~ the ov~rall cost oF the lottery ~ick~t.
A gen~ral problem encounteced with conventi~nal
instant lottery games is the h~gh p~obabillty o~
eraud ~ubsequcnt to purcha~e of tickets. In instant
lotthr~es, winnln~ ticket~ may be presented for
paym~nt con~urrent with the contlnulng sale Oe :.
add~tlonal lottery tlck~ts fo~ the ~am~ lottery
game. Since instantaneou~ accounting for both sold
and unsold ticket~ in the Bame lottery g~me is not
possible. if a counterfeit ti~ket ~9 presented for
payment lt becom~s virtually impos~ible to ascertain : - -
whether o~ not the presented tlcket was purchased
upon valLd sale by an authorized ~ellinq agent. The
po~sib~lity that the authent~c t~cket bearing the
~ame winnlng lottery numbe~ may be unsold or ~n the
legitimate po~se~ion of anoth~r participant cannot -~
be ruled out.
AnothQr probl~m w~th instant lottery ticket~
that, al~hough the gam~ number and ~erlal numb~r on a ~-~
- 3 -
1 31 2379
ticket are not permitte~ to be the same, there does
exist a simple rel~tioni3hip between the serial number -
and the ~ame number and it i~ po~sible for d person :~
to determine the correlation between the serial
number and the game number. Thls ~au~es special . ~
concern regarding system ~curity for an instant . ~ -
lottery game because the serial number is generally -~ :
u~ed to record ticket allocations to thR variou~ :-
~ales agents handling a particula~ lottery game.
Thus, somebody possesslng knowle~e of the tick~t
distribution pattern may be able to locate the ~ales :-
agent pos~essing the winning ticket~ lf he i~ able to ..
decipher the simple co~relation between the serial
numbers and th~ as~ociated winn~ns numbers, thereby . - .
raising the po~sibll~ty of fraud on the lottery gam-
op-rator and the publ~c in collusion ~i~h the ~ale~ .
agent. ~urther~ the pa~ticipant~ them~elves may be
able to deter~ine the fixed relation~hip between the :: ;
un~onceal~d serial number~ and concealed lottery
number- aEter the purchase of several tick-ts and use ::.
this knowledge to either ~ou~terf~lt a lottery ticket :
to include the winning lottery number or po~ibly to -:
avoid fu~her purchase o~ tickets which are not . -
pot~ntial wlnners.
A variety of methods for printlng lotte~y
tickets, pa~lcularly those Por in~tant lotteri~
are conv~ntlonally known. ~ypically, a number of ;: -~
manual gtep~ are involved in the printing procedure
which in~reas~ the probability that someone involved :
with the proces~ may bQ able to identify the ultimate
destlnation of ~al~ includlng th~ dlstribution
p~tt~en of winning ticket~ and increase~ the - :-
possibillty o~ ml~u~ and fraud. ~ -~
An approach toward~ ~ncreasing the aecurity for
instant lottery tickets aga~n~t counterfeiting and
'. ~' :' ,: -
- 4 ~
... . .
1 3 1 2379
fraudulant alteration i3 disclosed in U.S. Patent ~o.
4,191,376 issued to Goldman et al., where the lo~tery
number i8 determined by a computer and is
interre}ated with the ~erial number by a highly
complex security algorithm. T~e ~erial number and
the lottery number are printed on the ticket~ by
means of oomp~ter controlled high ~pee~ printers
followed by the colorin~ of the lottery number to
hlde it ~rom viewT the comput~r proce~s is used to
insure that no l~ttery n~mbers occur in dupllcate or
are Qnti~ely omlt~ed t~om a ~ompleted ba~ch of game
tickets.
Although the above ~yst~m provides 1ncrea~ed
security for the lottery game, it ~tlll requi~es an
elaborate technlque, ~uch as the lamination of a foil
coa~lng by the appl~catlon of héat and pressure, for
eoncealing the lottQry numbers aftee they have been
printed on the lottery ticket~. Cuch a technique
must provide ~or ea~y uncovering of the opaquo
coatlng rom the lottery number and the unco~ering .:
proces~ mu~t al80 b~ irever~ible.
Another major probl~m w1th convontional ln~tant
lott~ry games i~ that, for a given lotteey ga~e, once
a co~plete set o~ lottery ticket~ with a~sociated
lot~ery numbe~ on them have been printed on the
4asl~ of prede~lned odd3 o~ winning, no changes ln
the overall odds of winning ~an be accommodae~d
w~thout dra~tic measur~s 8u~h as reprinting a n~w set
of lottery t~ckets. Thls con~ltutes a ~erious
r~strlction to the operator o~ th~ ~ottery game
partlcularly if th~ lottQry con~t~tutes a part of
~ale~ promotion ~cheme~ assoclatet with consum~r ~ :
orien~ed busine8s ~uch as a depa~m~nt store or a
grocery ~tore. For exd~ple~ lE a lottery qame i~ ~ :
being u~Rd a~ a promotlonal schemQ by say, a
~; '
- 5 - -
t 3 1 2379 ::
department store, it might be deYired that the odd~ - :
of winning b~ ~ignificantly increa~ed on particular
days when a sale i9 in prog~ess in order te attract
increasing number o~ conRumers for the du~ation Oe
the ~ale. It becomes extremely d~fficult to handle
such changes with the use of conventional instant -
lottery game systems~ :
Accordingly, there exi~es a need for a ~lexible ~ -
instant lottery game system wh~h ~9 easier to
operate and control, whioh does not require elaborate
printlng techniques for the lottery tlckets, which
provlde~ reaRonable contro~ over the odds of winning . . --
and which al~o provideu a hlgh level of ~e~uri~y
against fraud and misuse. .:
Or ~ 011 , . '~
An ob~ect of th~ invention 1B to pro~ide a new
and improved lnstant lot~ery gamo systom.
Another ob~ect is to provlde a new and improved
lnstant lottery gam2 which haB a unique method of .. :~
rep~esen~atlon of lottery numbers on the lottery
tlcket~.
A ~urther ob~ec~ is to provide ~uch a new and
improved instant lottery ~yst~m the lottoey ti~kets
~or which are easily and inexp~nsively manu~actured
and conveniently dispen~ed at d~sl~ed looatlons.
A related ob~ct is to provide such an improved
in~tant lottery sy~tem whlch ha~ a hlgh level of - : -
security against ~raudulent mlsu~e, alteration and . --~
counterfeiting. -~ ::
A furthe~ object is to provlde such an inat~nt
lottery syst~m, the lottery tickets for wh~ch may be
analyzed automatically ln order to determine winning
a~ woll as loosing lotte~y tlckets.
Yet anot~er ob~ect o thl~ inven~lon is to
provide an lmproved instant lottery system of ~he
1 31 2379
~bove type in which the odd~ o~ winning may be
ehanged conveniently.
The above objects are achie~ed, aceording t~ the
system of thi~ invention by providing an in~tant
lottery game ~yste~ in which the operation of the
game system ineluding the generation of lettery
numbers, readin~ of lottery number~ on presented game
tickets and comparlson of the~e number~ with winning
numbers to detsrmine true wlnner~ is performed by
computerl~ed means. A master computer prog~am is
used to generate the lottery numbers which are then
pla~ed on the lottery tlcket in the form o~
conventional UPC bar codes. The master prog~am also
generates a ~et o~ randomly picked winning numbers
wh~ch 1~ proqrammed into the lnhouse computer at the
establishment~ wh~re the lottery game i6 to be
played. When a lottery ti~ket i~ pre~ented by a game ~ -
participant, the assoc~ated lottQry number i~ read by .:
a conventlonal bar code lase~ scanner and feB to the
lnhou~e computer wh~ch compares the scanned number
with $t~ pr- programm~d s-t o~ wlnning nu~ber~
determine~ ~ the pr~sented lottery tlcket repr~sent~
a winning number and provides e~ternal 1ndication o~
the winning or lo~ing status of the ticket. -~
A high level o se~urity 1~ provided b-cause the
identity o~ the winning number~ i9 acaes~ible only to - -
an extremely restricted group of p~ople associated :~
with the master program, thereby reduclng th~ chance~ :
of fraud. ~n Fact, th- aet of ~nnlng numbers may be
unknown to anyone a~ it may be gen~rated and
dl~trlbuted ~$thout need for di~losure, maklng it
virtually impos~ible for the winnlng numbers to be
accessed. Alteration of lottery ticket~ i s mad~ -
ext~emely difflcult as lt may requlre th~ decipherlng
of an existlng bar coted number and sub~equen~
:
7 _ .
1 31 2379
printing of ~he bar code for a fr~udulent winnin~
n~mber. ~he illustrious ~ystem is extremely - -:
convenient to ope~ate because most of the hardware
~equirements exi~t in e~tablishments where thi~
invention may be applied. ~urther, instant and
automatic feedback of information indicating whether
or not a presented lotte~y tlcket is a wlnner is :-
provided. Addltional feature~ of thi~ lnvention
provide for convenien~ control o winning odd~, game
deadlines, etc., by simple software changes to the
game Rystem- .
BRIEF DESCRIP~ION OF THE DRAWINGS . .
For the purpose of facllitatlng an under~tanding
of th~ invention, the accompanying drawing~
illustrate certaln preferred embodlm~nts. ~he above
and oth~r objects of this inventlon a~ well as the
Features thereof will be~ome more appar-nt from the
following descriptlon when taken ln conjun~tion with :~ .
the accompanying drawing~ in whiCh: -
FIGURE 1 is a frontal view of the ~ace of an
instant lottery ticket accordlnq to one embodiment of
the pre~ent lnvent~on showing the ropr~sentat~on of : -
the lottery number:
~IG. 2a is a frontal vi~w of the faca of a .
lott~ry ticket according to a pref-rred embodlment of
thi~ inventionS .
FIG. 2b is a plan vl-w of a lottery numbec lab~
meant for use with the instan~ lottery tlcket of ~g. ~-
2aS :
FIG. 3 is a ~lmplifi-d block diagram
repre~entation of the lott~ry nu~ber genecatlon end
of thQ instant lottery game acco~ding tc thi~ :
inven~ions
FIG. 4 ~ a ~impliied block diagram
r~pre~entatlon of a dispen~ing unit according to ~hi~
- 8 -
1 3 1 2 37 9 ,`1 :
invention;
FIG. 5 ls a block diagram repre~entation of the
reader end for use with instant lottery game~ ,!j,~
according to this invention: and llj
~IG. 6 is a simplified flow diag~am of the ~ ?
10ttery game playlng procedure accordlng to the i~ :
syst~m o~ thi~ lnvention. ~ ;l' ! 11~
~ESCRIPTION OF PREPEMED EMaODIMEtlTS . ~ i' ~ ! !~ . .
. lil , ~, ~~ : -
Although the invention ha~ been de~cribed in i ~ .! ,; i',l :
conn~ct~on w~th certain embodiment~, it will be l l ¦ i'3 i
~nder~tood tha~ thore i8 no int~ntion to 11mit the I .
invention to the embodiments shown, and varlous 1 ;
~hang~ and modi~ications can ~e made thereln without ~ t ~
departlng ~rom the ~pirit and ~cope of the invention, ;l : :
and it i~ intended that all ~uch chang~s and ~ ¦;
modifLcation~ bo cover~d a~ fall within the scope of ~ ~
the app~nded c1aims~ .
Referring now to ~IG. 1, therR is sho~n a l l ~ -
conventional in~tant lottory ticket 10 adapted i :-
according to one embodlment of thl~ lnvention. Th~ ~ -
tlck~t has a tlc~-~ Pace 11 wl~h the central area o~ -
the tlcket fac~ generally h~vlng qame play~ng
instructions, a~ wel1 a~ other informatlon norma11y
assoclated wlth such lottery gam~s, printed on it.
Such lnformation 12 may include the date of validity
o~ the tlck~t, ~ed~mption procedur~s for winnin~
~i~ket~, identity o~ the gam- operatoe or other such
r~lated informatlon. ~h~ purchase price 13 of th~ ~
tioket Lt~elf may also be indicated on the ~ace of . ~ .
the ticket. . .
A lottery number 14 i9 prQsented on the ~ace 11 :
of the ticket 10. Conventlonally the lottery number
comprises a plurality o~ dig~t~ ~epresented in the
form of numerlc ~r alpha~etlc character~ or other
Indlcia uch a- l~tt-r~, picture- or sy~bo1~
1312379 l
~ccording to a unique fea~ure of this invention, the .
lottery number 14 i~ repre~ented on the fa~e 11 of
the ticket 10 in the form of a conventlonal UPC bar
code, which allows the numbe~ to ~e automatically .
re~d by conventional bar code ~canners commonly . .
available at the site of the lottery game. The
lottery numbee itself typl¢ally comprises 12 numeric :
digit~. The dlgits that originally comprise the .
lottery number (~hown as 01234567891X) may also ~e :
printed below the b~ code repre~enting the lottery .
number, .
FIG. 2a show~ a preferred embodlment of an : :
instant lo~tery ~ick~t accordlng to this inv~ntion.
As shown, the lott~ry number is no~ prlnted on the - :
lottery ticket it3elf. In~tead, an area i8
designated on the central portion of the face of the :~
lott~ry ticket onto which a ~eparately available
label bearlng th~ lottery number may be positioned.
~IG. 2b sho~s ~uch a label Zl which has the ~ .
lottery number printed ln bar ~ode orm 22 on its - :
~ace. ~he lab~l 21 ha~ a pro~sure ~en~St~ve adhe~iv~
coa~ing on lts ~ear port~on that ~erm~t~ the label to :
be conveni~ntly po~itioned onto t~e de~l~nat¢d ldbe
area on the instant lottery ticket. In this
em~od~ment the lottery ti~kets are p~eprinted ln the .
~orm of tlcket blanks whlch have all requirQd .
informatlon in~t~uctlons as well a~ other gene~al .
in~tructlons prin~ed on the~ and have the designated
area 24 for placement of th- lottery number label. .
Thls ~eature p~rmits the use of a varLety oE
prRprlnted ticket blank~ ar lottery tlcket~ by
placing valld lotte~y label~ on them. In order to
have a valid lottery ticket, the participant in the ::
game plcks up one o~ the ln~tant lottery ticket
blank~, purcha~e?3 the label bearln~ the lott~ry -:
,,, ' .,
- 10 - ~ ~-
'~,.',~
nu~ber in b~r code eorm and then p1aoes the label ¦ ¦
onto the ticket blank. ~ ~.
Accordlng to a feature of thi~ invention, the
labels bearing the lot~ery number~ are not preprinted \
but are actually printed at the time of the pu~chase
by dispensing units pos$tioned at the establish~ent ~
where the lot~ery game i~ in progress. ~he loetery . ¦
numbers themselves are originally generated by a I ~
master computer program in th- form Oe a ~et of I ~ - :
randomly generated number~. ~hese lottery num~ers / ~ .
are then tr~nsferred in the ~o~m oF a data ba~e to ,
the dispensing unit whlch i9 capable of ~equentially :
prlnting out the lottery number3 ~to~ed ~ithin 1ts
data base onto the pres~ure sen~itive label~ in the ~
~orm of a UPC bar code which corre~ponds to the l ~:
lotte~y number beLn~ printed. -:: .
Turning now to FIG. 3, thore io shown a ~ .
s~mplified block dlagram representation of the
lo~tery number generatin~ ~ect10n of the ln~tant
lottory game acco~dlng ~o the ~ystem o~ thl~ l ~:~
invention. The lottery nu~ber generat~on i8 ¦ ` .:
controlled by a d~g1tal computer 30 whlch 1noludes a ~
random number g~nor-tor or pseudo-randomiser 31 which l .:
funct~ons to generat~ the ~equired ~et of lotte~y
number~ for u~e with tha ln~tant lottery tlckets of l
th~ lottery game. The~ ra~dom numbors from the ¦ -
random number generator ~1 are seperately stored onto
a ma~te~ disk 32 and a so-ca}led printer-data base ~
cas~ette 33 for u~ with a plurality o~ di~pen~ing ~ ~:
unit~, as will be de~cribed below. ~he set of
lottery numbe~s ~enerated by the random number
generator 31 1~ also fed to a random nu~er 3electo~ l
34 whlch acc~pts the set o gen~rated lottory numbe~8 --- -
and randomly selects ~rom within thi~ set a given ~
numbor of lottery number~ which are to b~ deslgn~ted .~
~.. . .
1312379 11~
as the winning numbers, The number of winning
.
lottery numbers selected by the random number
selector ~4 is determined by the desired odds of
winning. The set of randomly selected winning ~--
numbers is seperately ~tored onto a master disk 3Z
and a so-called reader data ba~e cassette or use
with a plurality of reader units, as will be
described be10w.
In order to permit operation o~ the lottery game
wlth a p1urality of dispensing units, the digltal
comput~r can be programmed to assign ~pecific
portions o~ the set of lottcry numbers randomly -
generated by the random number g~norator 31 to a
plurallty oF cassettes for use wlth co~responding .
dispen~ing units. These randomly a~signed portions -:~
of the set o~ lottery numbers are al~o stored on the :
maste~ dlsk 32. The ma~ter dl~k, hence ~erves a~ th~ l
sole record o~ lnformdtlon relatlng to whl~h portion :
of the get of lot~ery numbers has be0n assiqned to .
whl~h particular di~pensing unlt. Hence even ln the
unllkely pos~lblllty of ~omeone acce~slng the reader \
data base to g~t at a ~et o~ winnin~ numbers, thece
is no way of determinlng which dlspensing unit is
capable of dispen~ing the lottery numbees
correapondlng to the wlnning numbers. Thls :~
arrangement ~ets up a v~rtually foolproo~ 1evel of .
security about th~ lottery ~ame a~ w111 be de~cribed ~
in d-tail below. :
Referring now to FIG. 4, there l~ shown a
~i~pllfled block diagr~m ropreaentatlon of a .-~
d~sp~nsinq unit according to th~ ~ystem of thl~
lnvention~ Ths dispenslng unit e~sentlally comprise~
a convent~ona1 UPC code impact or laser print~r 41 ~
as w clated wlth a di~penscr ~2 for ~he lab~1~ prlnted ::
by the code prlnter 41. ~he prlntec ba~ically .
, -
-12-
1 31 2379 :
1:
; funetlons tv pri~tout in bar code form the digital
lotte~y nu~bers fed to it. ~he actlon of the UPC
code printer 41 i~ controll~d by the printer data
base cassette 43, which ha~ stored within it the
particular batch oF rando~ly generated lottery
numbers a~signed to it by the digit~l computer, via a
conventional digital interface 44 which establishes
the proper communication link between the printer
data base and the code printer 41. Thus, each time
the dispensing unlt i5 a~tlvated, the printer data
base cassette is aceessed and a lottery number is
retrleved from the batch of lott~ry numbers ~tored
i within the cassette.
The retrlev~d lottery number i9 then fed through . .
the tape-to-prlnter interface 44 and a digital -~
counte~ 45 to the UPC code printer 41. ~he code
prlnter th~n tran~po~es ~nd printq the acc~pt~d .
lott~ry number onto the lottery number la~el in the
., form of ~ UP~ ba~ code corrq~pondlng to the retr~eved
lott-ry number. The retr~val of lottery nu~ber~
; f~om withln the printer data basQ cassott~ is
:i performed ln a seguential ~anne~ and the digital . .
autocounter 45 ~ervos to keep track of how many ~ :
lottery numbers have in ract been retrie~od at any :~ -
gi~en tLme. The counter, in off~ct, p~ovidè~ a
, re~erence pointer to the oxact position on the data
,!j base cas~etto ~rom whlch tha lott-ry number for a .
preced~ng print-d label wa~ retri~ved. :`
It muqt be notOEd that the lottery numbers
printed onto the dl~pensed label~ aro not in a ~erial
ord~r; ln~tead they ar- a sequential p~intlng of th~ :
., randomly generated lott~ry numbers pre~ent ln the .
i: part1cular bat~h a~igned to thc particular d~ta ba~e :: .
ca~e~te belng used with a glven d$spQnsing unit.
.' Hence, there is no way fo~ an out~idé sou~ce to .
,,, :- '
~ - 13 -
.,,
l:
1 31 2379 - I -
il
determine or even guegRr f~om any dispensed pr1nted
label, ~hat the lot~ery number on ~he succeedinq
label will be. The dispensin~ unit al~o ha~ ~ .... .
safeguard~ built into it which automatically disrupt
the communication link between the data base cassette ~
; and the UPC code p~inter in the event o~ phy~ical H--
tamperi~g o~ ~echanical failure. In caee disruption
occur~ eor some rea~on, the digital autocounter 45 ~ -
serves as a re~erence to the la3t lottery number
retrieved from the printer data base cassette 43 so ~ -
~hat the di~pensing unL~, when ~un~tioning again, ii~ ~: -
; capable o~ accRs~ing the prlnter d~ta ba~e cas~ette :-
to retricve lottery numbers immediately succeedin~
the last lottery number retrieved from the cassette
prior to shutoff. ~hl~ in~ures that when the ~:
dispensing unit restart~ the ~equential lottery~ .... ;
I printing pr~cess no duplication or omission o~
.1 lottery numbers stored within the data bai~e cassette
of th~ printer tskes place.
Each time a new s~t of lottery numbers need~ ~o
be printed out, th- only change needed wlthin the
I dispenslng unit i8 the repl~cem~nt o~ its printer~.... . -
j! data ba~e cas~ette 43. ~en~e, ~hen a new lottery
game ~s to be commi~oned, a new ~t of lottsry ` .
numbets i9 randomly gene~ated by the d~gital computer ~ ~.
and batches oE lottery numbers from thl~ sot are ~.~
a~s~gn~d to partlcular printer ddta ba~e c,assette~, : .
one of whLch may be used to replace the printe~
; ~assette eor a givQn dispensing unit tbereby makin~
, it capable o~ printing label~ on the basis of the
.1 newly qenerated lottery numb~rs. ~ . -
~eferring now to FIG. 5, there i~ ~hown a
~mplifi-d block diagram of the lott-ry t$ckot reader ~ -
~ unlt accordln~ to the illuBtriou~ lottery game
I! syste~. Th~ reader unlt 50 eQisentlally compri~es a ~ ~.
1 ' ~ .
;,, . ~.
! l4 :
'7':'::"' '','' '''',"'i'',.."," "''.'
1 3 1 2379
con~entional ~PC bar code scanner Sl operating in
con~unction with the digita1 reader computer 52. The
code ~canner 51 functions to read ehe bar code 23
printed on the label Zl, which has been pl~ced on the
instant lottery ticket 20, by use oÇ a code scanner
probe 53 and converts the scanned bar code into the
lottery numbe~ which it ropresents ln digl~al form.
~his in~ormatlon is fed to the reader computer 52.
The rea~er computer, accordin~ to this : .
invention, i5 ~rogrammed to recognlze all the
randomly selected w1nnlng number~ deFined by the
digital computer 30 ~hown in FIG. 3. More
~paclfically, the data base 35 of wlnners selected
from the ~et ~f randomly generated lotte~y numbers by :~
the random winning numbar selector 3~ i~ provlded to
the digltal computer S2 of the ~eader unit 50 and - -.
forms a ba~is for compa~ing the lottery number
seanned in bar code ~orm by the bar code scanner
51. ~or il1ustr~tive purpooe~ only, ~ compara~ot
unit 52 has been ~ho~n and i8 ~epresentatlve of th~
comparison ~unction~ Oe the reader computor 52. Eaoh :~
tlme a lott~ry ticket i~ present~d for acannlng the ::
re~ultant lottery number gen~rated by the bdr code
scanner 51 is compared to ea~h of the winning numbers
sto~ed within the winner's data base 35. If tih~ : .
scanned lott-ry numbor matche~ any of the winnlng
numb~r~ a visua1 lndlcation i9 given on the dlglta1
dL~p1ay of the reader unit. A manua1 lnput keyboard
56 i5 also provided with the reader unit 50 so that
th~ lottery numbers representing the printed bar
~ode, if p~inted on the lottery tlcket, may be
~anually keyed Lnto the reader computer and serve~ as
a r~dundancy feature for occa3lon~ when the bar code
scannar or it~ prob~ ara malunctionin~ or not -. .
functlonlng at all.
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..--
It will be noted that the reader unit 50 as
described above, including the UPC bar code scanner,
the ~anual input keyboa~d and the reader digltal ~-
computer i~ fairly convontional and normally has
stored ~ithin its data base the U2C bar codes
representing t~e product codes meant to be recognized :~ ~
by the reader computer. Such reader unlts are :: :
normally availAble at most e6tablishment~ ~i.e., :; .
departmen~ stores, grocery stores or the like) where
the illustrious invention i~ generally appllcable.
All that ie required in order to adapt such :
¢onventional r~ader unlt~ S0 ln order to function
according to the syste~ of thi3 inveneion i9 the
provision o~ tho wlnner~ data base 35 ln additlon to
the normal data.~ase of the reader computer and 30m~ ... -.
related software change~.
FIG. 6 ls a s~mplifed ~low dlagram ~.-
representation of the procedure involved ~n the
generation and di~tr~bution of lottery number~ a~ : -
well a~ the lotte~y winner~. The lnitial it~p 600
involve tho random g-neration of the required number
of lottery numbers by use of the p~eudo-randomizer :.
undcr the control of the dig~tal computer, a~ shown
in PIG. 3. At th- next ~tep 601~ the complete set of - -~.
randomly g~nerated lottery numbers ~s divided into ::
9eparate batches of lottery numbe~s. The number of
batcheg 13 equivalent to tho desired number of -:.
dispensing units for use with the instant lottery
~yJtem. Generally, a ~ingle disp-nsing unlt is
provided ~or each e~tablishment taking ~art in the
lnstant lottery game. The~- batches of lottory
number3, which in comblnation form th~ overall set of
lottery numbers genera~ed At step 500, aro then
~tored on indlvidual cassette5 as well as on a mastor .
di~ at step 6~2~ . ~:
~, '''"
~ 6 -
` 1 3 1 237q
.j
.i
,
j In the following step 503, the cassettes having
j the batches o~ lottery numbers stored on them are
,, distributed to the variou~ dispensing ~nits . . .
I constituting the lottery system.
'j Step 604, which may be performed simultaneously
along wlth step 601, involves the ~andom selection of :~
! winning lottery numbers from the ~et oF randomly
generated lotery numbers defined at step 600. ~hi~ :-:
! is the point where the odds of w~nning may be
~! contro11ed ~onveniently, At the ~ollowing step 605,
the randomly selectQd winning numbRrs a~ sto~ed on
~1~ the master disk o~ whlch the compl-te set of lottery ~ . ;
Pl, numbers has be~n stored at ~tep 602. Step 605 al80 : -
involvc~ the duplication o~ tha J~t of winning
i number~ onto a number of ca~ette~ corresponding to
r! the number of r~ad~r unltA lncludcd a~ a part of the
lottery game. At ~tep 606 the~e ca~ott~, each :~ .
havlng a ~et of wlnnlng 1Ottnry number~ stored on it,
¦~ are di~tributed to the various reader uni~ts. : ::
It will be appreciated that in the overall
, proc~ Oe gen~ra~ion of the complete se~ of lottory :-
number~ as well a~ the se1ection o winning lott~ry
numbers from ther~ln, human interventlon i~ .:
res~rlcted to the original gene~atlon of the master
~:l program for the digltal computer, w~lch controls the -:
~,; lotte~y number generatlon and the ~election of
, winners. Neither the comple~e ~ct Oe lottery numbe~s
nor ~p-clic winnlng lottery numbcr~ ar~ dlrectly
accesslb1e at any stage. Once the c~ettes
d~slgnatct for specific dispen~lng units and r~d~r
. unit~ are dl~tributed ~he only p~rmancnt rocord of .
;, ~he 1ottery numb~rs and the se1ected wlnners i5 on ::
1 the master disk, which may be kept in the sa~e
! rll~t~y nf th~ ln~t.~ry ~amQ o~erator.
; Accordlng to a f~ature of this lnventlon, th~
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~l
~I 131237q
1,3
.
cassette onto which the set of randomly ~elected ~-
winning lottery numbers is store~ l.e., the reader
cassette may al~o ~nclude a variety of informatlon
related to the lottery game. Fo~ in~tanc~, along
with each lottery number there may be a~soclated -
information de~ining the particular pri~e to be
awarded for that lottery number. The reader cassette
may also have stored on it lnormation that de~ines
the deadlines ~o the lottery game ~o that the list o~
winning lottery numb~rs remain~ valid only up to tho
defined deadline. When the r~ader cassette is
acces~ed by the reader unit~ such lnformation is alBo
retri~ved and ~ubsequently acted upon as required.
ReEerring now to PIG. 7, the~e i~ shown a
simplified flow diagram of the procedure involved ~t
the u~er ~nd, ~t one of th~ parti~ipating
e~tabl~shments, in th~ instant lott~ry game according
to th~ sy~tem of this invention. ~efore thR
particlpant gets ~nvolved ~n thi~ procedure, tho
par~i¢ipating establl~hment ln~talls the dl~trlbuted
reader ca~sette and dispensing unlt ca~i3ette a~signed
to it into the read~r unit and the di~pensin~ unit,
re~p~ctive1~, lo¢ated at the site of the lottery
game. ~
Subsequently, at step 700, the participant,
havlng picked up a lott~ry ticket blank, dctivates
the dispensing unlt by depo~iting the specl~i~d ~-
a~ount of money representing the peice of the tieket
lnto the un~t. When th~ dl~pensing unit i3 actlvat~d
it accesses the unit's data base contalnlng the
partlcular batch o sequenti~lly stored lottery ~ ~
numbers as81~ned to the dispenslng unlt, and ~ ~ -
eetrieves the uppermost lottery numb~r, which i~ th~n ~-
fed via the printer inter~ace to the UPC bar code
pr~nter which ~rint~ the retrleved lottery number, in
.,~
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13~2379 :
~ ',
i
it~ bar code form onto a dispenser label. The
pr~nted label i~ then d~spen~ed out to the
participant.
At the next step 701, the partlcipant rece~ves ::
the dispensed label, expose~ the pre~sure sensitive
adhe~ive coating b~hlnd the label and places lt onto
the de~ignated area on the lottery ticket blank. Th~ .
participant then, st his con~enlence, present~ the
lottery ticket at the checkout counter of the
participating e~tablishmont. In fact, a~ter purchase
Oe the lottery tlckat, the participant may proceea :~-
with his regular shopping through the departmont or
grocery ~tor~ as the ca8e may be and submit the :-
lottery ticket along with the rest of his shopped
good~ at the checko~t counter. At the next ~tep 702
~hR bar code representing the lottery numbe~ on the :
lottery label is s¢anned by the product code ~eader
at the checkout counter. Mo~e speci~ic~lly, the
person at the checkout count~r goe~ th~ough the
p~ocess of scanning t~e ~ar code on the lottery
tick-t ln exactly th~ ~ame w~y ag he doe~ for eh-
rest of the shopp~d good~. ~he readQr compu~er is
progr~mmad to r~cognlze tho game ~dentiflcation -~
number at th~ beglnning o~ the UPC code number
printed onto the lottery ticket. Onc~ lt has :-
identifl~d the UPC code to b~ related to tho lotter~
g~me, the computer accesse~ it~ dat~ ~a~e of winning
numbers for the lotter~ game and compares the
accepted lott~ry numb-r w~th the list Oe wlnning :
number~ stored wl~hln ~t~ data ba~e to check ~or a
po3sible mat~h ~Stop 704). -
If th~ compari~on com~ out with a positi~e
match, an indication is gl~en, at step 705, on the ~: -
digital display of th~ r~ader un$t showing that the -~
partlcular lott~ry ticket ~canned 1~ a w~nner and an :
.. -~ . -
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ll 1 3 1 237~ ~
indication may al~o be given of the prize due to the
winner. If t~e compari~on does not come up with a
positive match, i.e., the preoented lottery number
does not correi3pond to any of the numbero on the list
o~ winninq numbers provided to ~he reader unit, an
indication is gi~en, at step 706 on the reader
dl~play showing that the presented lottery ticket is
not a winner. The procedure involved scanning the
bar coded lot~ery number to d-termine whether a given
lottery ti~cket ii3 a winner or not i~ extremely
convenient because it li3 ident~cal to the p~duct
~anning procedure followed by the participatln9
si3tablishments during th~ normal couri3e of their
buisiness.
Ais ii~ apparent from the description of the
lottery gamo sy~tem according to this ;nvention,
clo~e control may be maintalned over tho op~ration of
the gam~ by vlrtu- of the fact that only 8imple
software changes are rRqulred in order to change the
controlling param~ters of the game. ~or example, th~
odds o~ winn;ng Can bQ controlled or changed at any . ::
tlmo during the operation of th~ lottory game. Mo~e
specifically, the odd~ o~ winning may b~ incr~ased by - ~-
modifyln~ the master progta~ 50 that a larger numb~r
of winning ~ott~ry number~ are selected randomly from
the uni~ersal ~-t Oe randomly generatod lottery
numb~r~. This larg~r t~t o~ wlnning number~ cdn then
b~ tran~erred onto the reader data ba~e ¢assettes
whlch ~ub~quently cdn be us~d to replace the
orlginal set of winning numb-rio provided to the
~eader uniti3. Hence, on dayi~ wh~n partic~pating
e~t~blishmentis need to attra~t increai3~d number of .
cuotomerio, as in the ca~e of promotional sales or
oimilar e~enti~, they may advertli3e that on the~e
pa~lcular days t~e odd~ of winning ln the lottery
~' '
- 20 -
1 31 237q
gam~ curren~ly in progresa will be increased
~ignificantly. Subsequently, new reader cassettes
with larger li~t~ of winnln~ ~umbers ~enerated ~y t~e
modified master program can be u~ed a~ the data base
of winners for the particular days when th~ odds o~
winning need to be in~eased.
The system of thi~ invention also br~ngs about a ~:.
~lgnificant advantage in situations where
unprecedented ~ale of lottery tickets results in the .
game operator prematurely runni~g out ~f stock of -:~
lottery ticketa. With conventional lottery gameA, . .
th~ only optlon availabl~, short of discontinuing the
lottery game, ig to r~print a new b~tch o~ lottery
tlck~t~ which i~ virtually impo8~ible within a
practl~al time ~rame. According to th~ invention, -~
~uch a ~ituatlon ~an be conveniently handl~d by using ~:
the maste~ pro~ram tc gen~rate a new set of lottery
numberG as well a~ a correspond~ng new ~et of winning
lott~ry numbers. As already described aboYe, a ~t :- -
o~ lottery number~ so generated may then be divldfld -:
into ~eparate batche6 and transe~rred onto . .:~
oorro~ponding prlnter ca~sett~s which are :-~
subequently po~itioned into the varlou~ dispensing
unit~ particlpatin~ in the lottQry game. Si~ilarly, .;
the n~wly generated li~t Oe winning lottery numbers -:-
i~ also tran~f~rred onto separate roader ca~sette5
which ar- then used to replace the read~r cas~ettes
exi~ting within the ~arlou~ reader ~nit~
participatin~ in the lottory game. Henc~, for all
practical purposes, a~ ~ar as the participating
establishments are conce~ned, th~ o~ly changes ~:
r~quired ln order to ac~o~modate eithe¢ chan~ed odd~ : -
of winning or continuing the lottery game beyond the ~ .
originally ~o~e~een uni~e~sal 3et of lotte~y numbers, _ -
lg the replacemont of existlng p~lntor ~nd r~ad~r
~ '
- 21 -
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1312379
. .
cassettes with the newly supplied printer and reader -
cassettes, respectively.
Another advantage of the instant lottery game
dispenses with the need for the computer generated -
complex relationship between the ticket serial number and
the corresponding lottery number for the ticket which is
normally used by conventional lottery game systems for
verification of authenticity of winning lottery tickets.
In the illustrative embodiment there is no need for such
a security check because the set of winning numbers is
unknown to anybody. In addition, the lottery numbers
themselves are virtually unknown until the time they are
actually printed by the dispensing unit. The only way -
that a participant may access the set of winning numbers
is to get into the software of the reader digital ;
computer, the chances of which are highly unlikely. Even :
if someone does manage to obtain a reader date base
cassette he has no way of knowing which dispensing unit -
is actually capable of printing out any of the winning ~
lottery numbers. ~ ~ -
The possibility that someone accessing the winning
set of numbers may counterfeit a lottery game label with
the bar code corresponding to one of the accessed winning
lottery number, is further guarded against by the very ~-
manner in which the UPC bar code system functions. More
specifically, a conventional UPC bar code consists of a
12 digit number 22 (see Fig. 2b), of which the first 11
digit~ are usually printed below the bar code
representing those 11 digits. In the more conventional
use of bar codes which i8 the representation of product
codes for various products that have been assigned their
representative code, the first 11 digits in
::
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1 3 1 2379
combin~tion repreeiel~t the maoufactl.lr~r code and the
produ~t ~ode for a E)articular pro~l&t~ ~rhe 12th
digit is gen~r~ted on th~ basis o~ the preceding 1l
diqits by ~se of a colnplex log~!ithmic algorithm
which ~erves a~ a cross check to the authenticity c~
the yarti~u1ar bar code. The 12th di-Jit ~'X' in
~LGS. 1 and ~h) i~ only rep~esented in its bar code
form and is not printed out, a~ are the prec~ding 11
digits.
Si~ , according to tlli~ inventio~l, exactly the
~ame prGc~dure i~. used fGr generating the transposed
UPC ba~ ~ode correspondillg to a giv~n l~ttery number, ~ :
the UPC bar co~e seanner at the ceader unit cro~s
~heck~ the logarithmi~ relltion~:hip between the ~ir~t :~
l1 digit~ con~tituting the lottery number ~nd the :
12th digit of the lottery nun~ber: an accepte~ scanned
lottery n~er is deemed to be authentic for
subsequent ~o~arison ~ith the ~ata bace of winners ~- -
within the rea~er unit, only if the ~canner ~omes up
with a po~i.tive check orl ~his logarithmic
relationship. Thus, in the hi~hly unlikely event of
~omeorle c~ming into po~ession of the winnlng set of
lottery number~, in order to counterfeit a lottery
nunlber capable of pas~ing all authentic~ion ~hecks, `.: :
the person ~-Juld al~o have to deci~he~ the comp1ex
lo~arithmic relationship betwe~n the first 1l digits .
and ~he unprinted 12th digit o~ the lottery number
and then print the l~ttery number in its
corre~pondin~ bar code orm onto the lottery 1~bel.
The odds Oe ~omeone emulating such ~ counterfeiting
procedure bord~r on the impossible and the system of
this inYention provide~ a virtually unpentrat~ble
level o~ security agai-lst fraudulent misuse.
It will, ho~ve~, be ~nderstood by those ski11ed
in the art that, if needed, the ~naSter pro~ram may he ~:
. . ~
., ,
- 23 - ;; -
1 3 1 2379
c~ntrolled in ~uch a Wdy th~t for each randorl.ly
generated lottery number a corre~spon~ing ~erial
number is a~so genec~ted ill ~uch a way th~t a complex ~ -
yet seemingly candofrl correlation exists between the
~erial numher ~nd the c~orrespotlding lottery number.
The ~eri~L nll~bers may also be tran~ferred along with -~
the correspoltlling .lotte~y number~ onto the da~a base ~ .
for khe dispensing unit ~nd the print.er controlled So
as to print out the corre~pot~ding serial number e~ch :-:
time a lo~.tery number is printed onto the lottery ::
label. At the re~der end, the digital computer can
then be progr~mmed in such a way that each time a
~Callned Ill~mber i3 presented to it, it tests the
correlation with the a~qociated ~erial number 5~ tha~
imE~roperly altcred or counterfelt lottery n~mbers may
he deteoted. .
It will be under~tood that the in~ention is not
limited to the use of the 12 digit UPC bar code a~
described in the illustriou~ embodi~ellt; the
cotnpressed form af the UPC bar code wne~ein a re~u~ed
number of di~its i~ utill~e~ m~y ~lso be used ju~t as
convenien~ly. O~her ~pes of bar ~od~ may be u~ed
for the rep~sentation of the lo~tery number~ aa long
~s the reader end has ~ co~res~on~ling ~d~ code
scanner capable of tran~po~ing the bar codes into the
corresponding lottery number~ they repreQent in
digi~al form.
An import~llt mcdifi~ation oE the system o~ this
inven~ion is the printing of the bar codes
~epre~enting the lottery n~mbers directly onto
product label~, wt~er~by the lottery~number 4ar code .
may be scanned i~edi~tely ~fter ~he con~en~i~n~l
product bar code nor~nally printed on the product
label. Such a system ~ould be espe~i~lly applicable -:
t~ product promotion campaign~ wherein the customer ~ -
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, .,:
1312379
may ~e o~fere~ ree ~:hanc~ tc. parti~ipa~:e in the
'~ttery gam~ if ~1~ buys a parti~ular product. In
sueh cas~, the per~on u~ing the b~r code ~canner
pco~ fir~t sl-a~3 the UP~ produ~t: bar eode printed on
the pr~d~lct la~el an~ therl scdns the suc~eedillq
lottery nulllber .tlso printe~ dr c~de form l~ehincl
the conventic,nal produ~ bar code. ~he digital
computer ~ the reader units i~ progca~ e~ tc accept :~
the scanned lot.t.~ry number only if the preceding bar
code match~4 up with a list of valid prvduct ¢odes
st~red within it~ data baqe. This in~ure~ that the ~ :
lottery numbers remain valid only with the purchase :: .
of the specified products. In these ca~es, thé
prizea awarded to ~inning lottery numbers may b~ of
monet~fy value as in ~onventional instant lottery
gam~s or the reader unit may be programmed in such d
wAy th~t a discounted price on the purcha~e product -
is automatieally ofered if the 8canned lottery
number is f~und ~o be a winner.
It will be understood by those skilled in the
art that ~uch an ilnplementation and modi~ication of
~he sys~m of the p~esent invention basic~lly
require~ software ~hanges otlly at the lottery number
gen~rator end as well a~ the reade~ end. More
s~eci~ically, irl this situatio~ the generatiol~ of
lvttery number and the rand~m selectio-- of winning
lottery numbers by u~ing the digital computer ~tays
the same as described with respect to ~'ig. 3. :~
However, in addition tv sto~ing the list of winning :~
lol:tery numbers onto the reader data ba~e cassette, a
list of v~lid product ~odes corresponding to Lhe
pro~ucts designated for the promotional eampaign is ~: -
also stored ol~to the re~der cassette before ~ - -
duplicating lt for distri~ution to the various reader
unit~ at the establishments participating in the : ~
~,
, ~-
- 25 ~
.:
1 3 1 2379 ` ~
~: .
paftic:ular promcJi.ic~nal ~ampi~i4~
~ t tile re~ r ~n~, when a participdt.ing custvm~r
~re~ent~ a pr~d~lct for purchase at the cheekout
counter, the UP(: pro~ue~ eode a~ well a th~ lottery
nul~lber r~r~duc~ e printed on the prod~lct label are : -
scdnned, dn~ the ~i~3it.~1 computer oE the re~er tlnit
~.hen compar~ Lhe scanned product ~ode with the list
of valid product co~e~ s~ore~ wittlin the reader ~- -
cas~ette. The lottery number .~canne~ a~ter khe
product code i~ ~ccepted only if th~ seanne~ product .:
code i~ ~ound to match ane of the valid product codes :~
on the list. Once the scanned lo~tery number has
been accepted the reader eolnp~lte~ then ~cces~es the
li~t of winning lottery numher~ also ~tored on the
reader data base cassette ~nd pe~forms a comparison
to see if ~.he ~canned lott.e~y n~mher mat~hes one of
the w;nning lottery numbers and, ag des~ri~ed above,
provide~ ext~rnal lndication of the results o~ the
comparison.
~ he illust~ us ln~t~nt lottery ~me ~ystem al~o
eliminate~ the need f~r elaborate prirlting procedures :~
or the lottery tick0ts. The ticket blanks ~an be
printed in advance, in large quantities and, if
nee~ed, in v~riou3 forma~s using conventional
printing procedu~es, The lottery labels needed to
make the ti¢~ets valid are printed instantaneously ~t
the sit~ oE the galne, but there is no need for
complex techniques tO conceal ~he lottery number ~ :~
pcinted in bar eode form on the l~bel. ~ny desired :
increase in the numb~r of valid lottery ~ickets for
the game can be aecommodated easily, slnce the extra
number o~ ti¢ket blanks a~ well a~ lottery label~ are .- :
readily available and, ~g described above, only .
~oftware chal-ges are needed to expand the overall set
of lotte~y number~.
. .
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1312379
The lott~ry gan~e jy3tem, aceoroing to t:his
inv~ntion, thus pro~ides a ~lexible instant lottery
game sy~tem ~hlc~ easy and convenient to operate
dnd c:ontrol, which Erovides leasonable control ove~
~ame v~riables including the odds of winning, whi~
also provide:3 a ~ignieicantly higher level of
security against fralld ~nd mi~use an~, as desoribetl
a~ove, which may be ~onvenierltly ~dapted for use with
existing hardware at partici~dting establishmerlt~
. ,. ~- .
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