1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers, and particularly to a lottery scratch ticket container for holding a lottery scratch ticket.
2. Description of the Related Art
After an individual buys a lottery scratch-off ticket, it is necessary for the individual to scratch the surface of the ticket, thereby revealing whether the individual has purchased a winning ticket or not. The problem faced by the lottery player is that to effectively scratch the surface of a scratch ticket, the ticket must be placed on a flat surface. The layer of film on the surface of the ticket is then scratched off by the individual, generally using a coin or other scratch-off device. The residual scratchings, i.e., the shards or fragments made as a result of scratching the lottery ticket, are left scattered over the surface on which the ticket was placed.
The individual is then left with the residual scratchings, which are difficult to clean from the surface upon which the ticket was placed, and the scratchings are typically simply scattered by the user into the environment. It is often difficult for the lottery player to find an available hard, flat surface and a coin, or other scratching device, when the individual wants to scratch off the ticket. Some lottery ticket devices provide a surface on which to scratch the ticket and an implement to use to scratch the film off the ticket, but often lack a place in which to easily clean off the residual scratchings.
In addition, those who often buy and play lottery scratch-off tickets may not always be able to immediately redeem the tickets and may be left with numerous scratched tickets. These tickets often are lost because there is no particular place to store them, and the lottery player ends up missing out on redeemable winnings. There are some lottery ticket containers available that provide a space in which to store the lottery tickets. However, these containers may not distinguish between larger and smaller tickets, which results in decreased organization. Further, these containers do not incorporate a scratch-off surface, a scratching implement and a place in which to store residual scratchings.
Accordingly, there is a need for a lottery scratch ticket container that is able to store lottery tickets of varying sizes, that provides a surface on which to scratch the ticket, and that allows an individual to easily and effectively clean the film scratchings left over after the ticket is scratched.
Further, typical surfaces utilized for the scratching of lottery tickets do not offer any sort of receptacle or holder for receiving the coin or other scratching implement, thus requiring the user to carry the implement separately. It would be desirable to provide a lottery scratch ticket container that includes a coin holder. Further such surfaces, and containers for cards, such as lottery tickets, are typically not well adapted for transport or display purposes. It would be desirable to provide such a system that may be easily suspended within a vehicle, on a display rack or on a hanger.
Thus a lottery scratch ticket container solving the aforementioned problems is desired.
The lottery scratch ticket container provides a surface upon which to scratch lottery tickets and hold the scratchings, or shavings, from the scratched tickets. The lottery scratch ticket container is also able to hold a variety of lottery tickets within the container, including daily tickets, lotto tickets and betting slips, as well as scratch tickets. The lottery scratch ticket container is a hinged container, connecting a lid portion to a container base portion.
The lid portion has a top portion, a bottom end wall, and opposing sidewalls that connect the top portion and the bottom end wall. The lid portion also includes a base surface onto which a lottery ticket may be placed and the top coating scratched off. The base surface is attached to the top portion and the bottom end wall and is recessed between the top portion, bottom end wall and opposing sidewalls. The bottom end wall and opposing sidewalls each have a raised, rounded overhang that extends over the base surface, upon which the user may rest the user's hand or wrist while scratching off the lottery tickets. Apertures are formed between the base surface and the overhang of the opposing sidewalls. Apertures along the bottom end wall are also formed between the base surface and the overhang of the bottom end wall where the bottom end wall is not attached to the base surface.
The container base portion includes a top portion, a bottom end wall and a pair of opposing sidewalls that connect the top portion and the bottom end wall. The top portion, the bottom end wall and the opposing sidewalls of the container base portion define a recess therein in which tickets may be placed. A large ticket holder and a small ticket holder may both be situated within the recess. The bottom end wall and the opposing sidewalls each have a gutter defined therein.
A user is able to clear residual scratchings made from rubbing the top layer of film off of the lottery ticket into the apertures defined between the overhangs and the base surface of the lid portion. The scratchings are wiped through the apertures and fall into the gutters, which are designed to receive the scratchings.
The lottery scratch ticket container includes a coin holder affixed to the lid portion and a tab affixed to the container base portion for suspending the container within a car or on a hanger.
These and other features of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings.
Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.
The present invention is a lottery scratch ticket container that provides a surface on which to scratch lottery tickets and hold the shavings from the scratched tickets. The lottery scratch ticket container, designated generally as 10 in the drawings, is also able to hold a variety of lottery tickets within the container.
Referring first to
The lid portion 12 includes a base surface 20 onto which a lottery ticket 100 may be placed and the top coating thereof scratched off. The lid portion 12 also has a top portion 22, a bottom end wall 24, and opposing sidewalls 26 defining a generally rectangular frame (although the top portion 22 may be arched, as shown in the drawings). The sidewalls 26 connect the top portion 22 and the bottom end wall 24. The base surface 20 is attached to the top portion 22 and the bottom end wall 24. The base surface 20 may be affixed to the entire length of the top portion 22, to the bottom end wall 24 only, or may only be affixed at various attachment points along the top portion 22 or bottom end wall 24, thereby allowing for a plurality of apertures to be defined between the attachment points and the opposing sidewalls 26.
The base surface 20 is recessed between the top portion 22 and bottom end wall 24 and the opposing sidewalls 26. The bottom end wall 24 and opposing sidewalls 26 each have a raised, rounded overhang or lip 28 that extends above the base surface 20. An aperture 29 extending along the length of each of the opposing sidewalls 26 is formed between the base surface 20 and the overhang 28 of the opposing sidewalls 26. The apertures along the bottom end wall 24 are also formed between the base surface 20 and the overhang 28 of the bottom end wall 24 where the bottom end wall is not attached to the base surface.
While the base surface 20 is attached to the top portion 22 and the bottom end wall 24, the base surface 20 may optionally also be attached at various attachment points along the opposing sidewalls 26. If attached to the opposing sidewalls 26 at these attachment points, a plurality of apertures will be defined between the attachment points and the top portion 22 and bottom end walls 24. A user is then able to clear residual scratchings 104 (seen more clearly in
The top portion 22 of the lid portion 12 preferably includes a platform 30 to which the base surface 20 is attached. The platform 30 has a coin holder 32 attached thereto that is able to hold a coin 34 or any other suitable disc for scratching off the surface of the scratch lottery ticket 100. The coin holder 32 generally comprises and arcuate or substantially semicircular wall with an inwardly extending top flange defining a slot adapted for receiving an edge of the coin. Preferably, a frictional element 114 is mounted to surface 30 within the arc of coin holder 32. Frictional element 114 frictionally engages coin 34 to releasably secure coin 34 within holder 32. Further, a recess 116 may be formed in platform 30 positioned substantially adjacent the open end of coin holder 32, allowing the user to grasp coin 34 for removal from holder 32.
A locking tab 118 may be mounted to the lower edge of lid portion 12 for releasable locking engagement with a recess 120 (shown in
Turning now to
Mounted within the recess 46 are a first ticket holder 50, which is able to hold smaller lottery tickets 100, and a second ticket holder 52, which is able to hold larger lottery tickets 102. Also, a break-off tab 60 is affixed to the top portion 40 of the container base portion 14 to hang the lottery scratch ticket container 10 onto a hook or the like.
Turning now to
In the alternative embodiment of
In the embodiment of
In the embodiment of
It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/689,077, filed Jun. 10, 2005.
Number | Date | Country | |
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60689077 | Jun 2005 | US |