U.S. patent application number 16/061876 was filed with the patent office on 2018-12-27 for instant scratch-off lottery ticket with luminescent security marker.
This patent application is currently assigned to Scientific Games International, Inc.. The applicant listed for this patent is SCIENTIFIC GAMES HOLDINGS LIMITED. Invention is credited to Kenneth A. Stephens.
Application Number | 20180369687 16/061876 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 57708621 |
Filed Date | 2018-12-27 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20180369687 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Stephens; Kenneth A. |
December 27, 2018 |
Instant Scratch-Off Lottery Ticket with Luminescent Security
Marker
Abstract
A scratch-off lottery ticket and associated production method
are provided wherein a primer material is applied as a dried layer
to a front face of a ticket substrate. Game play indicia is printed
on the primer layer in a designated game play area, and a
scratch-off layer is applied over the game play indicia. The primer
layer includes a particulate luminescent material homogeneously
dispersed throughout, wherein the particulate luminescent material
has a particle size and additive amount relative to the primer
layer such that the particulate luminescent material does not add
processing or material drying time to application of the primer
layer. Fraudulent attempts to remove the scratch-off layer to
reveal the underlying play indicia are rendered optically apparent
by luminescence of the particulate luminescent material upon
subsequent excitation of the play area with an excitation
source.
Inventors: |
Stephens; Kenneth A.;
(Alpharetta, GA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
SCIENTIFIC GAMES HOLDINGS LIMITED |
Ballymahon, Co. Longford |
|
IE |
|
|
Assignee: |
Scientific Games International,
Inc.
Newark
DE
|
Family ID: |
57708621 |
Appl. No.: |
16/061876 |
Filed: |
December 13, 2016 |
PCT Filed: |
December 13, 2016 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB2016/057567 |
371 Date: |
June 13, 2018 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62266759 |
Dec 14, 2015 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A63F 3/0665 20130101;
B42D 15/085 20130101; B42D 15/025 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A63F 3/06 20060101
A63F003/06 |
Claims
1-15. (canceled)
16. A scratch-off lottery ticket, comprising: a substrate having a
front face and a back face; a primer material applied as a dried
layer over the front face, the primer layer comprising particulates
having a size between 7 and 12 microns; game play indicia printed
on the primer layer in a designated game play area; a scratch-off
layer disposed over the game play indicia in the play area; and the
primer layer further comprises a particulate luminescent material
homogeneously dispersed throughout, the particulate luminescent
material having a particle size between 7 and 12 microns and
additive amount of between 1.8 to 2.2% solids level of the primer
layer, wherein the particulate luminescent particle size and
additive amount are selected such that the particulate luminescent
material does not add processing or material drying time to the
primer layer as compared to the primer layer without the
particulate luminescent material; and wherein attempts to remove
the scratch-off layer to reveal the underlying play indicia are
rendered optically apparent by luminescence of the particulate
luminescent material upon subsequent excitation of the play area
with an excitation source.
17. The lottery ticket as in claim 16, wherein the particulate
luminescent material is added to the primer material as an aqueous
solution prior to printing the primer layer onto the substrate,
wherein upon drying, the luminescent particles are homogeneously
dispersed through the primer layer.
18. The lottery ticket as in claim 17, wherein the aqueous solution
is added at between 1% to 5% by volume of the primer material.
19. The lottery ticket as in claim 18, wherein the primer layer is
applied by one of a flexo plate, gravure cylinder, rollers, screen,
or litho plate printing method.
20. The lottery ticket as in claim 16, further comprising a
blocking layer between the substrate and the primer layer.
21. The lottery ticket as in claim 16, further comprising a release
layer applied over the game play indicia below the scratch-off
layer.
22. The lottery ticket as in claim 21, further comprising a
blocking layer between the release layer and the scratch-off
layer.
23. The lottery ticket as in claim 16, further comprising one or
more additional primer layers applied over the substrate beneath
the game play indicia, each of the primer layers containing the
particulate luminescent material.
24. The lottery ticket as in claim 16, further comprising the
particulate luminescent material mixed with an additional material
layer above the primer layers that is visible upon exposing the top
face of the lottery ticket to an excitation source.
25. A method for producing lottery tickets in a continuous printing
press, comprising: supplying a continuous substrate through the
printing press, the substrate having a front face and a back face;
printing one or more primer material layers onto the front face,
wherein the primer material includes a particulate luminescent
material homogeneously dispersed throughout, the particulate
luminescent material having a particle size between 7 and 12
microns and additive amount of between 1.8 to 2.2% solids level of
the primer layer, wherein the particulate luminescent particle size
and additive amount are selected such that the particulate
luminescent material does not add processing or material drying
time to the primer layer as compared to the primer layer without
the particulate luminescent material; printing game play indicia
onto an upper one of the primer material layers in a game play area
of the ticket; printing a release layer over the game play indicia;
and printing one or more scratch-off material layers over the game
play indicia.
26. The method as in claim 25, wherein the particulate luminescent
material is added to the primer material as an aqueous solution
prior to printing the primer layer onto the substrate, wherein upon
drying, the luminescent particles are homogeneously dispersed
through the primer layer.
27. The method as in claim 26, wherein the aqueous solution is
added at between 1% to 5% by volume of the primer material.
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates generally to the field of
lottery tickets, and more particularly to security measures for
instant scratch-off lottery tickets.
BACKGROUND
[0002] "Scratch-off" or "instant-win" lottery tickets have enjoyed
immense popularity in the lottery industry for decades. These games
have become a staple of the lottery industry and are an important
source of revenue for many local, states, and national
jurisdictions,
[0003] Unfortunately, scratch-off lottery games tempt certain
unscrupulous individuals to "prescreen" tickets to determine which
tickets are winners. For example, such individuals look for ways to
covertly determine the play indicia under the scratch-off layer
without leaving an indication that the ticket has been tampered
with. If a store clerk or other individual can determine a winning
ticket in this manner, he can easily remove the ticket from sale to
the general public for later "purchase" by an accomplice. Such
events seriously degrade the integrity and public perception of the
lottery game as a fair game of chance.
[0004] One approach to overcoming the problem of prescreening of
unsold tickets is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,405. This patent
describes a system and method for electronic verification of
tickets. Electronic circuits are printed on the tickets, for
example as a component of the scratch-off coating, and any attempt
to alter the coating in order to determine the underlying play
indicia results in a change in the electronic signature of the
ticket. A verification machine is used to apply an excitation
signal to the ticket, and a validation circuit is used to determine
if the returned signal is a valid signal.
[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 8,366,153 describes a scratch-off lottery
ticket that is provided as a substrate having at least one play
area with play indicia provided thereon. A scratch-off layer is
disposed over the play indicia and, after purchasing the ticket, a
player removes the scratch-off layer to reveal the play indicia,
which indicates whether the ticket is a winning ticket. To provide
a means for detecting whether the lottery ticket has been
compromised by unauthorized removal of a portion of the scratch-off
material prior to sale of the ticket, a luminescent material is
provided on the ticket. This luminescent material is disposed
relative to the scratch-off layer and the play indicia such that
any removal of the scratch-off layer to reveal the underlying play
indicia is rendered optically apparent upon subsequent excitation
of the luminescent material. For example, in a particular
embodiment, the luminescent material may be one of a fluorescent or
phosphorescent compound added to a layer underlying the scratch-off
material, such as to the generally clear protective coating that is
applied over the play indicia. Alternatively, a fluorescent ink
layer may be printed under the scratch-off layer, or a luminescent
compound may be added to the ink compound used to print the play
indicia. Upon irradiation of the play area with an excitation
source, any of the luminescent material that is exposed through a
breach in the scratch-off layer will emit a detectable luminescent
optical signature as an indication that the ticket has been
compromised.
[0006] Thus, it is appreciated that the industry has devised
various means for placing a security mark or indicia on scratch-off
lottery tickets to enhance security and validation of the tickets.
However, such conventional methods for printing or placing these
marks on the lottery tickets, including the luminescent marks
described in the U.S. '153 patent discussed above, require some
sort of additional processing time or step that adds to the overall
production run time for producing the tickets. As the market and
demand for scratch-off lottery tickets grow, production speed of
the ticket lines is becoming a more critical concern. Any
additional processing steps that add to lottery ticket production
time are disadvantageous.
SUMMARY
[0007] Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in
part in the following description, or may be obvious from the
description, or may be learned through practice of the
invention.
[0008] In accordance with the invention, a scratch-off lottery
ticket is provided wherein luminescent markers or tags are
dispersed throughout one or more initial primer layers applied in a
printing process to the ticket substrate. When the game play area
of the ticket is illuminated with an excitation source, such as an
IR light, these markers or tags illuminate and reveal fraudulent
attempts to remove or breach the overlying scratch-off layers. The
present inventor has determined that the luminescent markers can be
added during the printing run of the tickets without adding
additional processing steps or time, which is an important
consideration in high-speed ticket runs necessary to meet the
increasing demand for instant scratch-off lottery tickets.
[0009] In particular, a substrate, which is typically a paper
stock, is supplied to the printing press line, the substrate having
a front face and a back face. Any one of well-known primer
materials are printed onto the front face of the substrate.
Conventional primer materials are typically supplied in aqueous
form with particulates suspended therein. Upon drying, the
particulates form a coating or layer that is well-suited for
acceptance of subsequently applied printed indicia or ink layers.
Game play indicia is printed on the primer layer in a designated
game play area. This play indicia determines whether or not the
ticket is a winning ticket according to the rules and theme of the
lottery game. One or more scratch-off layers are then applied over
the play indicia in the play area.
[0010] The primer layer further includes a particulate luminescent
material homogeneously dispersed throughout. This material is
selected such that the luminescent particle size and additive
amount is non-disruptive to the primer printing process. In other
words, the primer material and added luminescent material is
printed onto the substrate without requiring additional processing
time (e.g., drying time) or processing steps as compared to primer
material without the luminescent material. It has been uniquely
determined by the present inventor that the primer layer, and
associated printing process, allows for addition of the luminescent
marker material without adverse consequences to production time as
compared to other layers of the ticket.
[0011] As mentioned, with the ticket described above, attempts to
remove the scratch-off layer to reveal the underlying play indicia
are rendered optically apparent by luminescence of the particulate
luminescent material upon subsequent excitation of the play area
with an appropriate excitation source, such as an IR light.
[0012] In a particular embodiment, the particulate luminescent
material has a particulate size between 7 microns and 12 microns,
which is generally within the range of the particles in various
commercially available primers used in the lottery industry.
[0013] The particulate luminescent material is added to the liquid
primer material as an aqueous solution prior to printing the primer
layer onto the substrate, wherein upon drying, the luminescent
particles are homogeneously dispersed through the primer layer. The
aqueous solution may be added at between 1% to 5% by volume of the
primer material.
[0014] Desirably, the primer layer is not applied by a nozzle
technique, but is printed by one of a flexo plate, gravure
cylinder, rollers, screen, or litho plate printing method.
[0015] In a dried condition of the primer material layer, the
particulate luminescent material desirably is between 1.8 to 2.2%
solids level of the primer layer.
[0016] Any number of additional layers, including various
overprinting layers, may be applied to the substrate in the
printing press line, depending on the design and desired aesthetics
of the finished lottery ticket, as well as for additional security
measures. For example, a black blocking layer or confusion pattern
layer may be applied between the substrate and the primer layer, as
is known in the art. A clear-coat release layer is typically
applied over the game play indicia below the scratch-off layer. An
additional blocking layer may be applied between the release layer
and the scratch-off layer. Any number of overprinting areas may be
applied to the scratch-off material layer, as well as to the areas
of the ticket surrounding the game play area.
[0017] The present invention also encompasses adding the
particulate luminescent material to any other layer applied to the
substrate above the primer layers. For example, the material may be
mixed with an overprinting layer applied above the scratch-off
layers, or mixed with one or more of the overprinting layers
applied to the display areas around the scratch-off layers in the
game play area. In these embodiments, the luminescent material is
on a top-facing layer and may serve as an authentication device
against counterfeit tickets. Even without removing the scratch-off
material, the ticket can be verified as authentic simply by passing
the ticket by an excitation source (e.g., scanner) and observing
the luminescent particles in the expected area of the ticket (e.g.,
in a particular corner or other area known only to the manufacturer
or merchant).
[0018] The present invention also encompasses various method
embodiments or producing the lottery tickets described and enabled
herein. For example, a method for producing lottery tickets in a
continuous printing press in accordance with the invention includes
supplying a continuous substrate through the printing press, the
substrate having a front face and a back face. One or more primer
material layers are printed onto the front face, wherein the primer
material includes a particulate luminescent material homogeneously
dispersed throughout when dried. The particulate luminescent
material has a particle size and additive amount relative to the
primer material such that the particulate luminescent material does
not add processing or material drying time to the primer material
layer as compared to primer material without the particulate
luminescent material. Game play indicia is printed onto an upper
one of the primer material layers in a designated game play area of
the ticket, and a release layer is printed over the game play
indicia. One or more scratch-off material layers are applied over
the game play indicia. Any number of additional layers may be
applied to the front face of the substrate, including over the
scratch-off layers, for aesthetic or security reasons.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] A full and enabling disclosure including the best mode of
practicing the appended claims and directed to one of ordinary
skill in the art is set forth more particularly in the remainder of
the specification. The specification makes reference to the
appended figures, in which:
[0020] FIG. 1 is an illustration of a typical scratch-off lottery
ticket;
[0021] FIG. 2 is a layer view of a scratch-off lottery ticket in
accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and
[0022] FIG. 3 is a depiction of a scratch-off lottery ticket in
accordance with the invention illuminated with an excitation
source.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0023] Reference will now be made in detail to various and
alternative exemplary embodiments and to the accompanying drawings,
with like numerals representing substantially identical structural
elements. Each example is provided by way of explanation, and not
as a limitation. In fact, it will be apparent to those skilled in
the art that modifications and variations can be made without
departing from the scope or spirit of the disclosure and claims.
For instance, features illustrated or described as part of one
embodiment may be used on another embodiment to yield a still
further embodiment. Thus, it is intended that the present
disclosure includes modifications and variations as come within the
scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.
[0024] Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional scratch-off lottery
ticket 10 is illustrated. Numerous examples of scratch-off lottery
game tickets are known in the art, and the present invention is
applicable to any such game tickets. It should be appreciated that
the invention is not limited to any particular type of scratch-off
lottery game. In general, the tickets 10 relate to a game theme,
such as bingo, poker, a crossword game, and the like. The ticket
includes a base substrate material 12, such a paper, foil, coated
board, or other known materials. A section of the card 10 is
designated as the game play area 20 and includes any manner of
printed game play indicia 18 that relates to the lottery game theme
and dictates whether the ticket 10 is a winning or losing ticket.
For example, in the illustrated embodiment, the play indicia 18 are
letters that are used to form words in the crossword puzzle. The
prize is a function of the number of words in the puzzle that can
be formed with the set of play indicia letters 18.
[0025] The area of the ticket 10 generally surrounding the game
play area 20 is considered a display area 21 that includes any
manner of graphics or indicia related to the game theme, rules, and
so forth.
[0026] As is well understood in the art, the game play indicia 18
is covered by one or more removable scratch-off layers 22 that are
formulated to be easily removed by a player after purchasing the
ticket 10 to reveal the underlying game play indicia 18. The
scratch-off layer 22 is typically a latex material that breaks into
particles or collapses from the underlying layer when scratched.
Suitable scratch-off materials are well known in the art, and any
such material may be used to practice the invention.
[0027] FIG. 2 provides a layer view of a ticket construction 10 in
accordance with the invention. Any combination of the layers
depicted in FIG. 2 may be used with a ticket that incorporates the
inventive features of the invention. In other words, all of the
ticket layers depicted in FIG. 2 need not be present in all
embodiments of the invention.
[0028] Referring to FIG. 2, a lower blocking layer 28 is applied to
a front face 13 of the substrate layer 12 generally in the game
play area 20. This layer 28 is typically a dark (e.g., black)
opaque security ink film layer that isolates the game play indicia
18 from wicking, candling, and other types of attacks, attempted at
the back face of the substrate 12, as in known and practices in the
industry.
[0029] One or more primer material layers 14, 16 are applied over
the lower blocking layer 28. One or both of the primer layers 14,
16 are modified in accordance with aspects of the invention to
include a particulate luminescent material 26, as discussed in
greater detail below.
[0030] The game indicia layer 18 is printed onto the uppermost
primer layer and includes any manner of graphics and other indicia
that indicate to a player whether or not the game ticket 10 is a
winning or losing ticket.
[0031] It is common practice to provide a generally clear
protective release layer 30 over the game indicia 18. This layer is
typically a hard gloss layer that functions to prevent damage to
the game indicia 18 when the overlying scratch-off layer is removed
by the player with a fingernail or other implement.
[0032] Certain embodiments may include an upper blocking security
layer 32 applied over the release layer 30 to prevent wicking and
other attacks to the game play area 20 from the front face side of
the ticket 10.
[0033] As discussed above, one or more scratch-off layers 22, 24
are applied over the game play area 20 to "hide" the game play
indicia 18. As is well-known, a player scratches or otherwise
removes the layers 22, 24 to reveal the underlying game indicia 18,
which determines the status of the ticket 10.
[0034] As depicted in FIG. 2, any number of additional ink layers
34 may be printed onto the uppermost scratch-off layer 24.
Likewise, additional ink layers 36 may be printed onto the
substrate 12 (or any layer added to the substrate 12) in the
display areas 21 around the game play area 20. These ink layers 34,
36 the desired aesthetic appearance and game theme, game
instructions, and the like.
[0035] Referring again to the primer material layers 14, 16, any
one of a number of commercially available primers may be used.
Conventional primers are typically supplied in aqueous form (e.g.,
a water-based formulation) with particulates suspended therein.
Upon drying, the particulates form a coating or layer that is
well-suited for acceptance of subsequently applied printed game
indicia 18 or other ink layers. Although FIG. 2 depicts the primer
material layers 14, 16 applied only in the game play area 20, it
should be understood that the primer material layers 14, 16 could
be applied over any and all areas of the substrate 12
[0036] The one or more primer layers 14, 16 include a particulate
luminescent material 26 homogeneously dispersed throughout, as
depicted in FIG. 2. These particles function as luminescent markers
or tags if there has been an attack on the scratch-off layers that
exposes the primer layers 14, 16 through the game indicia 18 and
clear release layer 30. The luminescent material is selected such
that the luminescent particle size and additive amount is
non-disruptive to the primer printing process. In other words,
addition of the luminescent material 26 to the primer materials 14,
16 is essentially "invisible" to the primer printing process. The
added luminescent material 26 is mixed with the primer materials
14, 16 and printed onto the substrate 12 without requiring
additional processing time (e.g., drying time) or processing steps
as compared to primer materials 14, 16 without the luminescent
material 26. As mentioned, it has been uniquely determined by the
present inventor that the one or more primer layers 14, 16, and
associated printing process, allows for addition of the luminescent
marker material 26 without adverse consequences to overall ticket
production time as compared to other layers of the ticket.
[0037] Referring to FIG. 3 and as mentioned above, with the ticket
10 in accordance with the invention, fraudulent attempts to remove
the scratch-off layer 22, 24 to reveal the underlying game play
indicia 18 are rendered optically apparent by luminescence of the
particulate luminescent material 26 upon subsequent excitation of
the play area 20 with an appropriate excitation source 38, such as
an IR light or other radiation source that causes the materials 26
to luminesce.
[0038] In a particular embodiment, the particulate luminescent
material 26 has a particulate size between 7 microns and 12
microns, for example 9 microns in a particular embodiment, which is
generally within the range of the particles in various commercially
available primers 14, 16 used in the lottery industry.
[0039] The particulate luminescent material 26 is added to the
liquid primer material 14, 16 as an aqueous solution prior to
printing the primer layers onto the substrate 12. Thus, upon
drying, the luminescent particles 26 are homogeneously dispersed
through the primer layer 14, 16. The aqueous solution can be added,
for example, at between 1% to 5% by volume of the liquid primer
material prior to printing.
[0040] In the dried state of the primer layers, the particulate
luminescent material should have a concentration (by weight) of
between 1.8 to 2.2% of the primer layer.
[0041] Desirably, the primer layers 14, 16 are not applied by a
nozzle technique, which could be blocked by the luminescent and/or
primer particles, but are printed by one of a flexo-plate, gravure
cylinder, rollers, screen, litho-plate, or other known non-nozzle
printing method.
[0042] The particulate luminescent material 26 may also be mixed
with any of the other layers overlying the primer layers 14, 16.
For example, the material 26 may be mixed with an overprinting
layer 34 applied above the scratch-off layers 22, 24, or mixed with
one or more of the overprinting layers 36 applied to the display
area 21 around the game play area 20. In these embodiments, the
luminescent material 26 may serve as an authentication device
against counterfeit tickets. Even without removing the scratch-off
material, the ticket 10 can be verified as authentic simply by
passing the top face of the ticket by an excitation source (e.g.,
scanner) and observing the luminescent particles in the expected
area of the top face of the ticket.
[0043] Referring again to FIG. 3, attempts may be made to prescreen
the lottery tickets 10 by removing minute portions of the
scratch-off layer or layers 22, 24 that overlie the game play
indicia 18. For example, fine scratches, pinholes, or other
breaches may be etched into the scratch-off layers 22, 24 in an
attempt to discern the underlying game play indicia 18. To provide
an optical indication that an attempt has been made to compromise
the lottery ticket 10 by removing a portion of the scratch-off
layers 22, 24, the luminescent particulate material 26 embedded in
the one or more underlying primer layers 14, 16 generates a
luminescent signal that is detectable visually or by an
instrumental device upon being exposed to an excitation energy or
source 38 incorporated with a scanner. Any number of commercially
available particulate luminescent compounds (e.g., fluorescent,
phosphorescent, etc.) may be used for this purpose. The excitation
source 38 emits a particular radiation that excites the luminescent
particulate material 26. Any material 26 that is exposed to the
excitation source 38 through a breach in the scratch-off layer 122,
24 will react to the radiation and emit an optically detectable
luminescent signature that is visible to the naked eye or to
detection circuitry in a scanner or reader. For example, the
luminescent particle material 26 may be a fluorescent compound, and
the excitation source 38 may be a UV light source that causes any
of the exposed material to "glow."
[0044] Applicant has found that a suitable source of the aqueous
particulate luminescent materials 26 is available from Roymal,
Inc., of Newport, N.H., USA, under the trade #47660 Clear Aqueous
Security Coating-Luminescent Marker.
[0045] In one embodiment, latex microparticles that are labeled
with a fluorescent dye may be utilized. Suitable particles may be
described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,381 to Jou, et al.; U.S. Pat. No.
5,252,459 to Tarcha, et al.; and U.S. Patent Publication No.
2003/0139886 to Bodzin, et al. Commercially available examples of
suitable fluorescent particles include fluorescent carboxylated
microspheres sold by Molecular Probes, Inc. under the trade names
"FluoSphere" (Red 580/605) and "TransfluoSphere" (543/620), as well
as "Texas Red" and 5- and 6-carboxytetramethylrhodamine, which are
also sold by Molecular Probes, Inc.
[0046] The present invention also encompasses various methods of
producing the tickets 10 having the unique advantages, as discussed
and enabled in the above description.
[0047] It should be understood that the present description is not
limiting, but instead serves to show and teach various exemplary
implementations of the present subject matter. As set forth in the
attached claims, the scope of the present invention includes both
combinations and sub-combinations of various features discussed
herein, along with such variations and modifications as would occur
to a person of skill in the art.
* * * * *