LUMINESCENT SECURITY MARKER

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of lottery tickets, and more particularly to security measures for instant scratch-off lottery tickets.

BACKGROUND

"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,

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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 iottery tickets.

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 Iottery game. One or more scratch-off layers are then applied over the play indicia in the play area.

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.

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 I R light.

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.

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 between1% to 5% by volume of the primer material.

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.

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.

Any number of additional layers, including various overprinting layers, may be applied to the substrate in the printing press iine, 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.

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).

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.

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:

Fig. 1 is an illustration of a typical scratch-off lottery ticket;

Figs. 2 is a layer view of a scratch-off lottery ticket in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 3 is a depiction of a scratch-off lottery ticket in accordance with the invention illuminated with an excitation source.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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 piayer whether or not the game ticket 10 is a winning or losing ticket.

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.

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.

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 piayer scratches or otherwise removes the layers 22, 24 to reveal the underlying game indicia 18, which determines the status of the ticket 10.

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.

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 ail areas of the substrate 12

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

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.

Referring again to Fig. 3, attempts may be made to prescreen the lottery tickets 10 by removing minute portions of the scratch-off iayer 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 Iayer 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." Applicant has found that a suitable source of the aqueous particulate luminescent materials 26 is available from Roymal, Inc., of Newport, New

Hampshire, USA, under the trade #47660 Clear Aqueous Security Coating- Luminescent Marker.

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. Commercialiy 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.

The present invention also encompasses various methods of producing the tickets 10 having the unique advantages, as discussed and enabled in the above description.

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.