Patent Application
20170189793
The present invention relates to a tool to aid a user in selecting randomly selected numbers for a lottery type game.
Lotteries are games of chance that have been adopted by a number of states to raise funds for specified funding priorities. Generally about half of the funds spent go to prizes, while the remaining amount is split between retailers, promotion, and the specified funding priority. The lottery administration is constantly looking for ways to promote and improve the lottery product.
Lottery games are commonly played using electronic systems. A player is given a slip of paper on which several grids of numbers are displayed. Each grid is used for one play of the lottery game. If a slip has five sets of grids, the user has the option of playing up to five tries using one slip. In one example, the PowerBall lottery game in California has an upper grid with 59 numbers in equally spaced rows of 9 and 7 equally spaced columns to give a choice of 1-59. A user selects 5 of these numbers. In addition, a lower grid has rows of 9 numbers and four columns to allow selection of a bonus number from 1-35. The user selects and marks numbers, which are then read by an electronic reader to produce a slip of paper indicating the selected pick. In a number of lottery games, an additional bonus number is selected from a second grid. Once the numbers are selected, a player pays a retailer for the games picked, the slip is electronically read, and a slip of paper generated showing the numbers picked.
In the prior art, U.S. published application 2012/0056372 to DeCastro shows a tool with a spinner having windows in the spinner for simultaneously picking numbers on a sheet below the spinner. U.S. Pat. No. 4,373,281 to Sebastian shows a spinner wheel having windows for revealing more than one letter on a wheel below the spinner wheel. A similar but more complicated spinner system is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,222 to Deutch where a number of wheels have data to be selected by an upper wheel having a window for viewing numbers on an underlying wheel. U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,393 to Taylor is similar.
Other patents for number selection include U.S. Pat. No. 2,546,441 featuring a rotating disk with a window for revealing numbers. U.S. Pat. No. 3,804,419 shows a rotating wheel with windows revealing a number of letters on an underlying disk. U.S. Pat. No. 2,246,633 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,118,110 are large spinners for multiple number selection. FIG. 3 of the '110 patent seems relevant. U.S. Pat. No. 4,875,411 to Turner shows a mechanical lottery marker with a random bet. U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,823 shows a scratching tool for a lottery ticket.
The prior art also includes numbers automatically selected by a computer. However a number of players prefer to pick their own numbers. It is an object to provide a novelty device and related method to aid in the selection of lottery numbers. It is a further object to have this same device aid in use of “scratcher” type lottery tickets.
The present invention includes a lottery tool or chip with a pattern of 5-10 holes therein and a method for selecting numbers for a lottery game, the type of game where 5-7 numbers are selected and filled into a lottery slip. This slip shows a grid of spaced rows and columns of numbers. A lottery tool of the invention is a rectangular chip that is randomly placed onto the lottery slip. It is placed to overlay the lottery slip on the grid of regularly spaced rows and columns of numbers. A plurality of numbers on the lottery slip are visible through 5 to 10 holes of a hole pattern on said lottery tool or chip, said holes having equal spacing to said rows and columns of numbers. The user then marks on the lottery slip a plurality of numbers visible through the holes on the lottery tool.
The step of randomly placing the lottery tool may be effected in a variety of ways. A user may align a selected tool edge with an edge of the rows and columns of numbers. The tool has four edges and the grid has four edges, resulting in a number of different combinations for alignment of the holes on any particular lottery tool. The user could also randomly place (e.g. drop) the lottery tool onto a lottery slip placed on a surface, such that holes in said tool overlay a plurality of numbers on said lottery slip.
Additionally, the step of randomly placing the lottery tool could use a stationary hub device. This hub device could be centered on the grid of regularly spaced rows and columns of numbers or could be placed on an edge of the grid of regularly spaced rows and columns of numbers. In either case, the lottery tool would be rotated on the hub, in a spinning motion for number selection when spinning stops and numbers are viewed through holes in the tool.
Lottery games would increase in popularity if there was a novel and diverting new method of selecting lottery numbers. A user would have a physical interaction with the lottery slip, without having to think about the numbers to choose. A user would simply randomly place the lottery tool such that it overlays the grid of numbers on a lottery slip. The user would then select two or more numbers shown in the holes in the lottery tool. This process could be repeated until all the numbers needed for a particular lottery game had been selected. The process of random of the placement of the lottery tool could be done in various ways:
The user could align one edge of the lottery tool with an edge of the grid of numbers. This allows a user a number of different ways of orienting the hole pattern over the lottery slip.
Alternatively, the user could simply drop the lottery tool over the grid of numbers, allowing the holes in the lottery tool to randomly place over numbers on the grid.
Another alternative is to use a spinner tool, which includes a base and a hub or post. The hub is placed in one of the holes on the lottery tool. The lottery tool is then spun on the hub. When the tool stops spinning, the holes will overlay numbers on the grid of numbers on a lottery slip. A plurality of numbers could be selected by marking the numbers using a pen or pencil through the holes to mark the number on the grid.
Any of the above steps could be repeated until all the required numbers for a lottery game are selected. In addition, a plurality of similar tools, but with different randomly generated hole patterns, could be manufactured and sold to avoid game bias by a particular hole pattern. The tools can be stamped and punched in thin plastic squares.
With reference to
The holes 12 are in the flat, planar body of the tool 10 which is a rectangular plastic chip roughly 2 inches on a side. These holes are designed to have the spacing at least equal to a distance for placement of numbers in the grid pattern of numbers in a lottery slip used for number selection in a lottery game. Since lottery numbers are not usually arranged in a perfect grid pattern, the spacing of holes in the tool may correspond to increments of the average distance for placement of numbers in both rows or columns. As seen in
With reference to
A way to create random numbers is shown with reference to
Opposed edges of the tool could be serrated as seen in
This application claims the benefit from U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 62/274,607 filed Jan. 4, 2016.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62274607 | Jan 2016 | US |
