Patent Application
20190247742
This patent application generally relates to lottery ticket apparatuses, and more specifically to lottery ticket holders having a tray configured to collect coating particulates scratched off of the lottery ticket by a user of the holder.
For various reasons, it may be desirable to have a portable surface on which to scratch coatings off of lottery tickets, for example as may be useful to help prevent damaging the ticket with a scratching-edged pen, or the like. Conventional systems for scratching lottery tickets have included containers, podiums, clipboards, etc. However, such systems have not been designed to be simple, lightweight, stackable, or otherwise convenient for on-the-go use. Rather, they have been heavy, bulky, and/or cumbersome to use. For example, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2006/0278540A1 to Schacht, for a Lottery Ticket Scratch Container, teaches “a hinged container, connecting a lid portion to a container base portion” and “gutters within the container base portion.” U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,720 to Shultz, for Lottery Ticket Tray, teaches a “surface surrounded by four walls,” including a “slidable drawer which serves as the storage compartment.” U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,959 to Allen et al., for Lottery Ticket Scrapings Catcher, teaches “a base surface for supporting lottery tickets . . . and a moat surrounding at least a substantial part of the base surface for catching the coatings scraped from the tickets.” And, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0007086A1 to Keatts et al., for Scratch Off Lottery Ticket Accessory, teaches a surface including “a planar surface disposed in a well between sidewalls” and “a movable gate and a cup for retaining debris.”
Further, the foregoing disclosures have presented surfaces for lottery ticket scratching that have been relatively expensive and complicated to manufacture, including requiring the assembly of multiple components using different materials. Thus, it would be desirable to further reduce manufacturing costs and lead time for the production of surfaces for the scratching of lottery tickets.
The present teachings disclose a portable lottery ticket holder comprising a substantially planar surface having a perimeter having a top edge, a bottom edge, a left side edge, and a right side edge, wherein the top edge is opposite to the bottom edge, and the left side edge is opposite to the right side edge. The lottery ticket holder also includes at least one slot disposed along the surface and configured to hold a lottery ticket thereon. Additionally, the lottery ticket holder includes a tray attached to the bottom edge of the surface and configured to collect particulates disposed there within. Further, the surface may be configured to support the scratching off of a coating from a lottery ticket disposed on the surface and held there by the at least one slot. In some embodiments, the at least one slot may be disposed along the top edge of the surface. Some embodiments may include only one slot while other embodiments may include two or more slots. For example, the at least one slot may include two slots, a first slot being disposed along the left side edge of the surface, and a second slot being disposed along the right side edge of the surface.
In embodiments having two or more slots, the first slot and the second slot may be configured to enable the lottery ticket to slide longitudinally onto the surface and toward the tray. In such embodiments, a first root of the first slot may be spaced apart from a second root of the second slot at a distance corresponding to a width of the lottery ticket that may be held on the surface. Additionally, in such embodiments, the first slot and the second slot may be disposed substantially parallel with the left side edge and the right side edge of the surface, respectively.
In some embodiments, the surface of the lottery ticket holder may include at least one raised portion on which the at least one slot is disposed. For example, the lottery ticket holder may include two or more raised portions, including a first raised portion on disposed the left side edge of the surface, and a second raised portion disposed on the right side edge of the surface. In such embodiments, the first slot may more specifically be a groove disposed along the left side edge, and the second slot may similarly be a groove disposed along the right side edge. Additionally, in some embodiments, the lottery ticket holder may include at least one high-friction material disposed on the surface and configured to reduce slippage of the lottery ticket on the surface. Additionally or alternatively, the at least one slot of the lottery ticket holder may be at least partially rubberized to thereby reduce slippage of the lottery ticket within the at least one slot.
In some embodiments, the tray may extend upward and away from the surface and inward from the perimeter of the surface. In some embodiments, the tray may be generally U-shaped in cross-section. In other embodiments, however, the tray may be generally V-shaped or L-shaped in cross-section. In some embodiments, the surface, the at least one slot, and the tray of the lottery ticket holder may form one continuous piece composed of substantially the same materials. In some embodiments, lottery ticket holders may be stackable with each other. For example, a first tray of a first lottery ticket holder may be stackable with a second tray of a second lottery ticket holder, such that the first tray fits on top of the second tray.
In some embodiments, at least one notch may be used instead of the at least one slot. That is, the present disclosure also teaches a lottery ticket holder comprising a substantially flat surface having a perimeter including a top edge, a bottom edge, a left side edge, and a right side edge, wherein the top edge is opposite to the bottom edge, and the left side edge is opposite to the right side edge. This lottery ticket holder also includes at least one notch disposed on the surface and configured to hold a lottery ticket on the surface, as well as a tray disposed along the bottom edge of the surface and configured to collect particulates disposed there within. In some embodiments, the at least one notch may include a first notch disposed near the left side edge of the surface and a second notch disposed near the right side edge of the surface. Embodiments having the at least one notch instead of the at least one slot may be otherwise substantially similar. Some embodiments may include both the at least one slot and the at least one notch.
Thus, various aspects of the present disclosure teach a novel approach to lottery ticket holders designed to reduce the complexity, weight, and/or bulkiness that may be associated with conventional lottery ticket scratching surfaces. Features, functions, and advantages of the present disclosure may be achieved independently in various embodiments, or may be combined in yet other embodiments. Further details of the disclosure may be seen in reference to the following Detailed Description and accompanying drawings.
Overview
The present disclosure contemplates portable lottery ticket holders for enabling scratching of an obscuring coating off of lottery tickets by a user with a scratching device to disclose hidden information on the tickets and that address the problem of conventional holders being relatively heavy, bulky, expensive, cumbersome to use, and/or complicated to manufacture. As disclosed herein, the lottery ticket holders offer a simple, lightweight, convenient, and economical alternative to such conventional systems, while still offering users suitable surfaces for supporting lottery tickets and the scratching off of a coating therefrom, as well as a solution for collecting the scratched-off coatings. The disclosed lottery ticket holders may be manufactured at relatively low costs, and require relatively low lead times to produce. Additionally, the lottery ticket holders are easily pocketable and carried around for use while on-the-go, stowed away in a desk drawer or glove compartment, and/or stacked together to save space. In fact, the slim design and portability of the disclosed lottery ticket holders may even offer significant opportunities for lottery ticket retailers to sell the holders along with lottery tickets, such as by making the holders available for purchase at lottery ticket vending kiosks.
Various aspects of the present disclosure are described below and illustrated in the associated drawings, using certain embodiments and examples intended to illustrate but not limit the disclosure. Additionally, certain aspects of the disclosure may be described as a “first”, a “second,” a “third,” and so forth. However, this numbering scheme is not intended to limit the disclosure to only the numbers described herein, nor to imply that any particular sequence or number of elements are necessary to the disclosure. The subject matter of the present invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed representing the scope of the invention in the concluding portion of this specification. However, both the organization and method of operation, together with further advantages and objects thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following descriptions taken in connection with accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like elements.
Examples, Components, and Alternatives
Additionally, the holder 10 may include at least one slot and/or groove 24 disposed along the surface 12 and configured to hold lottery tickets on the surface 12. The term “slot” is generally defined as an elongated aperture or slit in which an object may be inserted. Similarly, the term “groove” is generally defined as an elongated cut or depression, especially one made to guide motion or receive a corresponding “ridge” of an object (such as an edge or corner of a lottery ticket). For purposes of this disclosure, the at least one slot may be synonymous with the at least one groove, and the terms “slot” and “groove” may therefore be used interchangeably. However, for simplicity, the present disclosure will generally use the term “slot” to describe the embodiments.
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In some embodiments, the surface 12, the at least one slot 24, and the tray 26 of the holder 10 may be one continuous piece composed of substantially the same materials. For example, the holder 10 may be composed of one or more plastics commonly used in injection molding and/or additive manufacturing, such as but not limited to acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), polypropylene, polylactic acid, polyvinyl alcohol, polyoxmethylene (POM), polycarbonate, PVC, nylon 32% glass fiber, acrylic (PMMA), styrene, polyether imide (PEI), acrylonitrile, and/or other mixtures thereof. Additionally or alternatively, the holder 10 may be composed of one or more pure metals, metal alloys, woods, or any other suitable material(s). In some embodiments, the holder 10 may also include at least one high-friction material disposed on the surface and configured to reduce slippage of any lottery tickets thereon. Likewise, the surface 12 may be at least partially coated with rubber, silicone, or the like. Additionally or alternatively, the slot(s) of the holder 10 may be at least partially rubberized to reduce slippage of the lottery ticket there within. In some embodiments, the slot(s) may be composed entirely of a high-friction material or mixture of materials.
Generally, the slot(s) may extend in any suitable direction along the surface 30, such as longitudinally, transversely, and/or diagonally. Although
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In some embodiments, the holder 28 may accommodate lottery tickets having varying widths. Specifically, a first root of the first slot 42 and a second root of the second slot 44 may be spaced apart from each other at a distance corresponding to a width of a lottery ticket that the holder 28 is configured to hold. The term “root” may generally be defined as the deepest portion of a slot or groove. For example, the slots 42 and 44 may each be one-half inch deep. Accordingly, the slots 42 and 44 may be suitable to hold lottery tickets having widths that vary by approximately one-half inch or less. That is, the holder 28 may be suitable for holding lottery tickets having dimensions such as but not limited to 3.6″×9″, 3.8″×7″, 4.1″×6″, and so on. Different embodiments of the holder 28 may be configured to hold lottery tickets of different sizes.
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Specifically, the holder 56 may include a first notch 64 disposed, or located, near the left side edge 60 and a second notch 66 disposed along the right side edge 62. Like the slot(s) and/or groove(s) of other embodiments, the notches 64 and 66 may be configured to hold a lottery ticket 68 on the surface 58. The lottery ticket 68 is shown as slightly bent, or curved, and may be flattened to be flush against the surface 58 and more fully inserted into the slots 64 and 66. Embodiments may include any suitable mixture of slots, grooves, and/or notches. In fact, some embodiments may include one or more series of slots, grooves, and/or notches so that the lottery ticket holder may be “one size fits all” by accommodating various sizes of lottery tickets.
Advantages, Features, Benefits
The different embodiments of lottery ticket holders described herein may provide several advantages over previous systems. For example, the illustrative embodiments described herein provide a simple, lightweight, and portable solution for supporting the scratching off of coatings from lottery tickets, as well for collecting the scratched-off coatings.
Additionally, and among other benefits, illustrative embodiments described herein allow for relatively low manufacturing costs and assembly lead times, depending on the material(s) from which the holders are formed. The disclosed embodiments offer significant advantages over conventional systems because they may be mass manufactured through injection molding and/or 3D printing, in addition to conventional manufacturing methods. Furthermore, certain embodiments may be slim and stackable, thereby allowing opportunities for retailers to sell the disclosed holders in lottery ticket vending kiosks. No known systems can produce these results, particularly bulky systems having multiple and/or moving parts.
Thus, the illustrative embodiments described herein are particularly useful for the scratching of lottery tickets in locations where no other suitable structure (e.g., a desk, table, countertop, platform, or similar) may be available. However, not all embodiments described herein provide the same advantages or the same degree of advantage.
Conclusion
The disclosure set forth above may encompass multiple distinct inventions with independent utility. Although each of these inventions has been disclosed in its preferred form(s), the specific embodiments thereof as disclosed and illustrated herein are not to be considered in a limiting sense, because numerous variations are possible. To the extent that section headings are used within this disclosure, such headings are for organizational purposes only, and do not constitute a characterization of any claimed invention. The subject matter of the invention(s) includes all novel and nonobvious combinations and subcombinations of the various elements, features, functions, and/or properties disclosed herein. The following claims particularly point out certain combinations and subcombinations regarded as novel and nonobvious. Invention(s) embodied in other combinations and subcombinations of features, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed in applications claiming priority from this or a related application.
