CA2185265C

CA2185265C - A system for and method of dispensing lottery tickets

Info

Publication number: CA2185265C
Application number: CA002185265A
Authority: CA
Inventors: Raymond G. Stoken; Bernard J. Dobransky, Jr.
Original assignee: Cory Consultants Inc
Current assignee: Cory Consultants Inc
Priority date: 1995-09-14
Filing date: 1996-09-11
Publication date: 1999-06-29
Anticipated expiration: 2016-09-11
Also published as: CA2185265A1; US5915588A; US5927541A; US5735432A

Abstract

A lottery ticket dispensing system is for improved pull-tab lottery tickets of atype that include a plurality of normally closed windows that can be opened to reveal play symbols thereunder with some of the play symbols being winning symbols. Each of the improved lottery tickets is also provided a normally closedbar code window with bar code markings hidden thereunder which includes ticket information for indicating each of the play symbols as aligned with its respective window. A lottery ticket dispensing machine includes a ticket storage area and means for initiating the dispersing of the ticket from the storage area toward the front panel of the machine. When the ticket is being dispensed, the bar code window is opened and the bar code revealed thereunder is aligned with a bar code reading device that is operably connected to electronic control circuitry of the machine that receives and stores the ticket information included in the bar code markings of the dispensed ticket. The front panel of the machine includes aplurality of display areas and associated switches that correspond to the windows of the ticket. Selective activation of each switch causes the electronic controlcircuitry to generate a display symbol in the corresponding display area which indicates the play symbol that is under the selected window of the ticket. The ticket information also includes winning information to provide a separate winning display area on the front panel when any of the play symbols are winning symbols. If the play symbols are not winning symbols, bonus winning markings may be added to some of the regions of the ticket but not shown on any display screen to encourage the opening of all of the windows of the tickets that are dispensed even if they do not include any winning display symbols.

Description

, ~ 2~85~
A SYSTEM FOR AND METHOD OF DISPENSING LOTTERY TICKETS
This -rrl " I is a continuation-in-part of Application No. 081643 313 filed May 6 1996 which was a continuation-in-part of Application No. 08/527 946 filed September 14 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention.
This invention relates to a system for diauel ,:,i"g of lottery tickets and to the method of doing the same and more specifically to such a system v~hich allows a player to obtain and ele~ l,o,~ '!y "play " a lottery ticket of the type v~hich has a plurality of normally closed window areas for hiding play symbols printed on an inside portion thereof. Such tickets can normally be d~ "~i"ed to include a ~,vinning array of such symbols only upon the opening of the windows to reveal the play symbols thereunder. A ~iapel~i"g machine of the system includes a pluralityof display areas which directly c~ a~uOlld to the window areas of a ticket whichhas been dispensed and enables a player to ~le-l,u" 'Iy "play" the window areas to cause the play symbols thereunder to be seen in the respective display area of the machine without physically opening the normally closed windows of the lottery ticket. Tickets which do not have a winning array of such symbols can be configured to include an additional bonus winning indication in the window areas of the ticket if it is desirable to insure that the player will open the window areas of all tickets including those that were eleul,u,~ica 'y =played~ and include no winning array of the play symbols.

~ 2 ~8~

2. Brief Description of the Prior Art.
It has known to make "pull-tab" lottery tickets of the type which contain a plurality of windows which arQ to be opened by the player such as those disclosed in U. S. Patent Nos. 3,900,219; 4,033,611; and 4,740,016. The configurations employed to produce the tickets disclosed in U. S. Patent Nos. 3,900,219 and 4,033,611 are relatively c~"~ ' and have tended to lessen their a~,ce~ ' 'y as secure, reliable games of chance. The multi-layered configuration of the lottery tickets of U. S. Patent No. 4,033,611 has been found to be more susceptible to fraudulent alteration or reconstruction. While the lottery ticket of U. S. Patent No. 3,900,219 includes features that tend to make fraudulent opening or tampering less likely, the use of three layers of different size sheets of paper much more co" ,~': ' .. to manufacture and expensive to provide.
These less attractive features have been v'i~ ldlvd in the lottery ticket disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 4,740,016 which are formed of two sheets of paper 15 material. One problem that could exist with such pull-tab tickets is that a losing ticket, after the windows thereof have been opened by a player, could be relatively easily and fraudulently changed into a winning ticket. Prior to the design disclosed therein, because of the relatively thick, non-l,d"af,d,~"~ paper material forming the sheets, the winning symbols could be removed from a 20 previously honored v~/inning ticket and inserted into a losing ticket. The paper which contained the winning symbols could be removed from the winning ticket by rnaking cuts along the four edges of the window down to the middle level of the 3 2~265 Once the v~inning symbols have been placed in the losing ticket, it is difficult to detect the alteration.
U. S. Patent No. 4,740,016 discloses a means for altering the original design of the tickets to help eliminate such fraudulent reconstruction of the tickets.
5 The improved tickets still include the front sheet, the rear sheet, means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet together, and a plurality of plurality of symbols on the rear sheet facing the front sheet, which could include a set of v~/inning symbols. However, they further include security indicia on the side of the rear sheet ~GI I ~:~,UUI Idil l9 to the set of winning symbols. Specificdlly, the security 10 indicia includes a paffem on a portion of the rear sheet that contains the winning symbols which pattern extends beyond the winning window and is partially covered by the front sheet. Another ~"lbo.li",~"~ disc~osed therein includes an additional or alternative security indicia in the form of a winning prize code which can also be printed on the rear sheet in a location not related to the winning 15 symbols and not aligned with the windov,ls. In either case, the sheets of the "winning" ticket could be separated to confirm that it is truly a winning ticket.
It is also possible to include other illrulllldLiul, within a window or tab area of a game coupon to confirm that it is in fact a game winner. The game coupon of U. S. Patent No. 4,~80,964 appears to be intended of a different purpose than the 20 loffery tickets discussed above. Because it is to be used for ,ululllu~iulldl purposed in retail ~;dL:,li~lllll~:lllo, it must have means for accurate accounting records and be relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture to permit mass 4 2l~6~
paper material and rely on bar code il lru~ dliol1 beneath a window that must beopened by a customer of the e:,ldL,li;,l ~ in order to be read by a common retail scanner to determine if the game coupon is a winner.
U. S. Patent No. 5,253,899 discloses a different type of lottery ticket device and U. S. Patent Nos. 5,118,109 and 5,451,052 disclose very cu,,,,l ' ~
scratch-off games cards but again do not appear tû be related to the type of pull-tab lottery tickets discussed above.
U. S. Patent No. 5,290,033 discloses a gaming machine and game cûupons that could be in a form that is similar to the "pull-tab" lottery tickets discussed above. In some prior art machines, the player purchases game coupons from a pull-tab machine by inserting cash or game tokens. Such game coupons themselves are commonly packaged in game coupon sets. Each game coupon set comprises a knov,m total of individual game coupons and a known number ûf winning game coupons within the total. Individual game coupons usually formed of two sheets: a facing sheet and a backing sheet. Serrated windows or tabs are formed in the facing sheet of the coupon. The backing sheet is imprinted with game symbo~s or other It~ a~llldliUII~ beneath the windûws or tabs. To determine whether or not an individual game coupon was a winning coupon, a player peelr~d back the window or tab to reveal the game symbols.
Winning game coupons could be redeemed for cash winnings, game tokens or other prizes with a cashier.

5 2 ! ~526~
- both the player and the proprietor of the gaming ~LdL,li~.l "l~ , in, ~de~"li, lg the winning coupons for cash. During the time it took to cash in a v~inning coupon, a player could lose interest in the game. Accordingly, the improved gaming machine and game coupons included means for the p~ayer to continue playing a 5 game ~,vithout interruption by the utilization of the winning game coupons at the machine itself to purchase additional game credits. The improved means taught therein includes providing the game symbols and a bar code on the back surface of a single, removed playing portion of a ,,,~r~"~d game coupon ~,vhich includesonly the single playing portion or v~indow. The single playing portion, after 10 removal from the facing and backing layers of the game coupon by the player, is said to be advantageous because it can be provided such a bar code and is in a single sheet form that can easily be inserted into a game coupon reader, as partof a bill validator~ for verification and for issuing game credits. The pull-tab lottery tickets discussed above, which include a plurality of windows or tabs, retain the 15 two layers form and are not ,onsid~,~d preferred in U. S. Patent No. 5,290,033 because of the difficulty of providing any coupon verification device that couldaccept lottery coupons or tickets that have a plurality of opened windows or tabs extending from the surface thereof. In any case, the bar code of these playing portions of the improved game coupons are said to include ten decimal digits 20 which can be decoded by a standard bar code reader. The illrUlllldIiu~l in the bar code appears to be generally limited to the game set or lot number v~hich is identical for all of the game coupons of the set, to a unique coupon i~,Itiri~d~iUn .

6 Z ~ 3~5265 code that can be recorded to insure that the same coupon is not verified twice and to a prize code indicating the number of prize credits ~ssQ~ d v~ith the v~inning game coupon U. S. Patent Nos. 5,348,299; 5,377,975; and 5,487,544 disclose a different 5 electronic gaming apparatus that includes yet another form of pull-tab coupon configuration. Rather than individual tickets, the game apparatus includes a primary strip of a suitable substrate in the form of a roll. Indicia is printed in individual strip segments. Upon actuation of the apparatus, a segment of the strip is severed to providQ a strip segment or game card and is dispensed. If the 10 indicia on the severed segment co" t~ d::~ to a winning indicia, the player v~ould win the game and the game card or ticket could be redeemed for v~innings. The preferred configuration includes a duplicate copy of each severed segment of the primary strip, Cullldillill9 the same indicia as the primary strip segment, v~hich is ",di"t~.;.,ed on a duplicate strip and stored for purposes of later auditing. This 15 s~cond strip is in roll form that is to be stored within the apparatus.
Although this overall configuration, including a primary strip in roll form and a secondary strip in roll form for retention within the apparatus, may tA~.elie,lce limited ac~,.,ld"ce in the gaming art, U. S. Patent Nos. 5,348,299; 5,377,975; and 5,487,544 do disclose addition features which are of interest. It appears that the 20 s~condary strip of indicia also contains a bar code printed on the back thereof l_.UI I ~I IUI l~il l9 to the indicia printed on each strip segment of the primary strip that is to be ui~ellsed. The apparatus includes an electronic display and means for ; 7 21~52~5 strip is di~ a~d from the apparatus, the results of the play of the dispensed segment is simultaneously displayed on the screen. It should be noted that the segments of the strip are similar to the preferred game coupons of U. S. Patent No. 5,290,033 haYing only one window or tab. They appear to include only one 5 play area which is revealed after the segment is separated from the primary strip and dispensed from the apparatus. Accordingly, when the segment of the strip is ens~d, the indicia of the of the entire play area is displayed on the screen. A
recently issued U. S. Patent No. 5,536,008 discloses a similar preferred configuration of segment of strips but also suggests the possible use of separate 10 ticket means which are configured for the same type of displaying feature on a screen.
U. S. Patent Nos. 5,290,033; 5,348,299; 5,377,975; 5,487,544; and 5,536,008 include i, ~ slil ,g pull-tab lottery ticket dia,uel lail 19 machines that employ game coupons or strip segments that include bar code i"r." ",dlion for the 15 purposes disclosed therein. However, both of these configurations are missing one of the primary features of the type of pull-tab lottery ticket disclosed in U. S.
Patent No. 4,740,016. Many popular pull-tab lottery tickets include the multi-window configuration having a plurality of play areas that enhance the playing enjoyment of the player. With such a pull-tab lottery ticket, the player has several 20 chances to win within the same lottery ticket and, by allowing the separate and selective opening of the plurality of windows or tabs, there is l~eiyl ,~ned s~lspense during the play as each window or tab is opened. Such pull-tab lottery 8 2 ~ 3~6~
~p~,ienctsd wide accepId"c~ among players because each ticket appears to provide multiple opportunities to win.
U. S. Patent Nos. 4,677,553 and 4,725,079 disclose instant lottery tickets that include different forms of numerical or bar codes on the surfaces thereof to assist in the verification and validation of winning tickets but are not directed to nor configured for the preferred pull-tab lottery tickets having a plurality of v~indows as discussed above. U S. Patent No. 4,373,726 discloses an automatic gaming system that includes a plurality of gaming cards that are dispensed from a machine that has a display screen. The gaming cards include bar code markings t~lereon that are used to verify the location of each of the playing symbols on the gaming card. In addition to the various ~i~,o~"si"g machines discussed above, U. S. Patent Nos. 2,657,750; 4,272,001; and 5,335,822 disclose different machineconfigurations that have previously been employed to dispense tickets or the like.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide a lottery ticket di~ il ,g system for lottery tickets v,lhich include a plurality of windows or tabs having a plurality of play symbols thereunder, some of which may be winning symbols, wherein the system employs a machine for the selective displaying of the play symbols in each window after a lottery ticket is dispensed from the machine.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a lottery ticket di~ si"g system which includes a winning display on the machine which is ; ~ 9 2 ~ ~5265 It is a further object of the invention to provide such a lottery ticket si"g system which includes game illrUlllldliOn on the front panel of the machine regarding all of the possible winning symbols for the lottery tickets in the ticket storage area and the winning display is posiliu"ed relative to the game 5 i"ru", IdliOl~ on the front panel.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide an improved lottery ticket having the plurality of play areas printed on an interior surface that are hidden by t~le normally c~osed windows thereof which ticket also includes a bar code on the interior surface which includes the ticket and winning illfulllldlio~ needed to 10 e~able the displaying on the machine.
It is still another object of the invention to provide the improved lottery ti~kets with a normally closed bar code window hiding the bar code to prevent access to the ticket and winning i, If vl lI~diiUI I therein unless the bar code window is opened.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a lottery ticket di~el1si"9 system for the improved lottery tickets which includes a di~,uel~ ,;"g machine having means for opening the bar code window of each ticket that is dispensed therefrom to provide access to the bar code ll ,e, ~bel ,~ , and means for selectively displaying the play symbols in each window after the lottery ticket is 20 di:".el~sed from the machine.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a lottery ticket di;"J~,~si"9 system and the tickets therefor which includes means for encourage - 2i~

the playQr to open the windows or tabs even if the display on the machine in~icates that the play symbols are not winning symbols.
These and other objects of the invention are provided in a preferred e,l,L.o.li",e,)l thereof which includes a lottery ticket .li,~,e,lsi"~ system for lottery 5 tickets of the type which includes a front sheet having a window configuration which is normally closed and a rear sheet, which front sheet and rear sheet are bonded together. There are play symbols on an inward side of the rear sheet toward an inward side of the front sheet which play symbols are capable of being winning symbols. The play symbols are located in piay regions on the inward side 10 of the rear sheet in alignment with the window configuration which is for being opened to reveal the play symbols in the play regions thereunder. The lottery ticket di~ si"g system includes a bar code window in one of the front sheet and the rear sheet of the lottery ticket which bar code window is normally closed.
There are bar code markings for each lottery ticket on at least one of the inward 15 side of the bar code window and the inward side of the other of the rear sheet and the front sheet in alignment with the bar code window. The bar code markings include ticket i"ru""d~i,,,~ for indicating the play symbols in the play regions as aligned with the window configuration. A lottery ticket di;".~"~i"~ machine includes a housing and a front panel. There is ticket storage in the housing for 20 storing a plurality of the lottery tickets. An electronic control circuit in the housing includes ticket di~ i"g fom~ si"~ each lottery ticket from the ticket storage for advancement toward the front panel. A bar code window opening element is in each lottery tiGket dispensed from the ticket storage. A bar code reading device in the housing adjacent to the bar code window opening element is operably c~ ,e~ d to the electronic control circuit for reading and identifying the bar Gode markings of each loffery ticket and for storing the ticket i~r n~dIio~ in the 5 electronic control circuit regarding the play symbols as located in the piay regions as each loUery ticket advances toward the front panel. The front panel has display areas which directly co~ o"d to the play regions on the inward side of the rear sheet of the lottery ticket. The display areas are operably connected to the electronic control means for receiving display signals therefrom. An actuation 10 signal is provided to the electronic control circuit to cause it to generat~ the display signals for the display areas to produce display symbols in the display areas. For each lottery ticket having been dispensed from said ticket storage, the dlisplay symbols in the display areas are directly indicative of the play symbols of the play regions v,lhich co" es,uond to the display areas. An additional feature can 15 il1clude at least some of the lottery tickets having the play symbols which are not v,/inning symbols being capable of including a bonus win marking in at least one of the plurality of regions i"depende~ ,l of the play symbols therein;
In the preferred loffery ticket di~p~":i;llg system, the bar code window opening element includes a ticket advancing device in the housing for ad~ancing 20 each loffery ticket dispensed from the ticket storage tov~ard the bar code reading device. The preferred loffery ticket includes a center and a leading end edge during the advancing toward the bar code reading device. The bar code window 12 21 i352~iS
opening edge which forms part of the leading end edge of the loHery ticket and a hinge edge which is parallel with the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and is displaced therefrom toward the center of the lottery ticket. The bar code window opening element includes a retarding feature for retarding the opening edge 5 relative to a remainder of the lottery ticket to cause the bar code window to hinge at the hinge edge during the advancing toward the bar code reading device. The retarding feature can include a hook element for hooking the opening edge of the bar code window during the advancing toward the bar code reading device. The opening edge of the bar code window preferably includes an edge strip of the rear 10 sheet aiong the leading end edge of the loHery ticket to reinforce the opening edge during the opening of the bar code window by the hook element.
In the prefenred loHery ticket diOuel~Oi~ ,g system the ticket storage includes a discharge chute for passagQ of the lottery ticket from an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing at the front panel. The discharge chute includes the 15 ticket advancing device for advancing each lottery ticket dispensed from the ticket storage toward the bar code reading device. The bar code reading device is aligned with the discharge chute and any lottery ticket therein.
The ticket i, I~u~ " IdliUI~ of the bar code markings can include winning i~rulllld~iùl\whentheplaysymbolsarewinningsymbols. Thefrontpanelincludes 20 a winning display area. The electronic control circuit identifies and stores the winning i"fu""dliûn and generates a winning signal when the winning i,,ru,,,,a~iu,~
is in the ticket i"fu""dliu. ,. The winning display area is operably co,~"ecltsd to the 13 2 t ~.~26~
signal produces a winning indication in the winning display area after the electronic control circuit generates the display signals for the display areas.
Additionally, the front panel includes game i, Iru~ II,d~iun indicating a plurality of possible winning symbo~s Acsû~ d with the lottery tickets in the ticket storage 5 and the winning indication in the winning display area is displayed relative to a ~o" ~s~ di"~ winning symbol in the game i"rul " Id~iUI~ on the front panel. Still further, the winning display area can include bonus win i, Ir~ ,,,. regarding a possible bonus win marking on the lottery ticket when the ticket i"~" Illd~iUI I of the bar code markings does not include any winning i~ru""d~io~
In the preferred lottery ticket diO~uel~sillg system, there can be provided switch element for providing the actuation signal which switch element is on the front panel ~cso,;~l~d with the display areas. The switch element is operably c~""eu~t:d to the electronic control circuit. The switch element is for being selectively actuated to provide the actuation signal to the electronic control circuit to cause the electronic control circuit to generate the display signals for the display areas.
In the preferred lottery ticket diOpel1si"g system, the bar code window is in the front sheet and the bar code markings are on the inward side of the rear sheet of each lottery ticket.
In another ~ L,o.li",~"~ of the invention, a lottery ticket ~i:,~"Oil~g system for lottery tickets of the type which includes a front sheet having windows which are normally closed and a rear sheet with the front sheet and the rear sheet being ' 14 2 1 8~65 sheet toward an inward side of the front sheet. At least some of the play symbols are capable of being winning symbols. The play symbols are respectively located itl various regions of the inward side of the rear sheet aligned with the windows.
The windows are for being selectively opened to reveal the play symbols in the 5 various regions thereunder. The lottery ticket di5pt:l~5il Iy system includes a bar code window in one of the front sheet and the rear sheet of the lottery ticket which bar code window is normally closed. Bar code markings for each lottery ticket are on at least one of the inward side of the bar code window and the inward side of the other of the rear sheet and the front sheet in alignment with the bar code 10 v/indow. The bar code markings include ticket i,,fu,,r,dliol~ for indicating each of the play symbols in the various regions as aligned with the windows. A lottery ticket ~i~,Jel~si"g machine includes a housing and a front panel. There is ticket storage in the housing for storing a plurality of the lottery tickets. An electronic control circuit in the housing includes ticket ~iapdl~aill~ element is for ~ia,ut:l~ai~
15 each lottery ticket from the ticket storage for advancement toward the front panel.
A bar code window opening element is in the housing for opening the bar code window to reveal the bar code markings of each lottery ticket dispensed from the ticket storage. A bar code reading device in the housing adjacent to the bar code windo~,v opening element is operably cu""e~,lts.l to the electronic control circuit for 20 reading and identifying the bar code markings of each lottery ticket and for storing the ticket illr~ ld~ in the electronic control circuit regarding each of the play symbols as located in the various regions as each lottery ticket advances toward :--' 15 ~185265 t~le front panel. The front panel has a plurality of display areas which directly co"~spo,~d to the various regions on the inv~/ard side of the rear sheet of the lottery ticket. Each of the display areas is operably w""eul~d to the electronic control circuit for receiving display signals therefrom. The front panel has switch 5 elements associdLad with each of three display areas. Each of the switch elements is operably co,~,~eul~d to the electronic control circuit to provide an actuation signal to the electronic control circuit to cause the electronic control circuit to generate the display signal for each display area ~C~o~ rd v,/ith the sv,litch elements. The display signal produces a display symbol in the display 10 area. For each lottery ticket having been dispensed from the ticket storage, the display symbol in each display area is directly indicative of the play symbol of each of the various regions which CO~ S~ull~ to the display area assoc~ viith each switch element that has been selectively actuated. Additionally, the bar code window opening element can include a ticket advancing feature in the 15 housing for advancing each lottery ticket dispensed from the ticket storage toward the bar code reading device. The ticket storage includes a discharge chute for passage of the lottery ticket from an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing at the front panel. The discharge chute includes the ticket advancing feature for advancing each lottery ticket toward the bar code reading device. The 20 bar code reading device is aligned viith the discharge chute and any lottery ticket therein.

16 21~35~65 - play symbols are winning symbols The front panel includes a winning display area. The electronic control circuit identifies and stores the winning il ,tu, Illd~iUI I
and generates a winning signal when the winning i"tu""dlion is in the ticket il ItUI 11 IdLion. The winning display area is operably connected to the electronic 5 control circuit for receiving the winning signal therefrom. The winning signal produces a winning indication in the winning display area after the electronic control circuit generates the display signals for the display areas. The front panel can also include game i, Iru, IlldLiol~ indicating a plurality of possible winning symbols associdted with the lottery tickets in the ticket storage. The winning 10 indir;ation in the winning display area is displayed relative to a ~" t~ on~i"g v,linning symbol in the game illfUrllld~iOn on the front panel. Still further the vvinning display area can include bonus win illfUlllldliol~ regarding a possible bonus win marking on the lottery ticket when the ticket i, If ul " ,.~t;o,~ of the bar code markings does not indude any winning i, If ul " IdLiO( 1.
The lottery ticket di~-ensi"g system can inciude the front panel having a combined switch element. The combined switch element is operably connected to the electronic control circuit and is capable of being actuated to generate the display signals for all of the display areas ~cso~ d with the switch elements for each lottery ticket having been dispensed from the tick0t storage means to 20 ploduce the display symbols in all of the display areas.

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Still further/ the preferred el,Ibodi~ of the invention cdn include a method of diD~ si~ l~ lottery tickets of the type which includes a base sheet having a plurality of play symbols respectively disposed within a plurality of regions on an inward side of the base sheet. A cover sheet has an inward side 5 disposed over the inward side of the base sheet. The cover sheet having normally closed window means aligned with the plurality of regions to hide the play symbols thereunder, and at least some of the play symbols capable of being winning symbols. The method comprises the steps of: (1 ) providing bar code markings for each loffery ticket on a bar code portion of the inward side of one of 10 the base sheet and the cover sheet which bar code markings include ticket il~Fulllldliull for indicating each of the play symbols as arranged in the plurality of regions on the inward side of the base sheet; (2) providing a machine having a housing and a front panel; (3) storing a plurality of the lottery tickets in the housing; (4) 1;~ , IDil IU a lottery ticket from the housing to the front panel; (5) 15 relatively se~dl dlil 19 the bar code portion of the inward side of said one of the base sheet and the cover sheet and a cul, ~DpOl lUil 19 portion of the inward sid~ of the other of the base sheet and the cover sheet to reveal the bar code markings of each lottery ticket during the cliD~uel IDil 19 from the housing; (6) reading the bar code markings to identify the ticket illrullll~liull and storing the ticket illfulllldli~l~
20 regarding each of the play symbols as arranged in the plurality of regions on the inward side of the base sheet after the relatively sepdl dlil ,y, (7) providing a plurality of display areas on the front panel which directly c~"t:Dpo,~d to the ~ 18 2l~5~65 the storing to display a display symbol in the dispiay area which is directly indicative of the play symbol of each of the regions on the inward side of the base sheet of the lottery ticket that has been dispensed from the housing; and (9~
providing at least some of the lottery tickets having play symbols which are notwinning symbols with a bonus win marking in at least one of the plurality of regions i"depe,~de"l of the play symbols therein.
The method of ~iispel1si"g lottery tickets can further include the providing the bar code markings for each lottery ticket to include the steps of providing a bar code window in one of the cover sheet and the base sheet of each lottery ticket which bar code window is normally closed and locating the bar code portion on at least one of the inward side of said bar code window and the inward side of the other of the base sheet and the cover sheet in alignment with the bar code window to hide the bar code markings thereunder when the bar code window is closed. The relatively se~d,d~i"g the bar code portion and the c~"~,o~1 ii"~
portion includes the step of opening the bar code window. The method of il IÇj lottery tickets can also include the providing the bar code window is in the cover sheet and the locating the bar code portion is on the inward side of the base sheet in alignment with the bar code window in the cover sheet of each lottery ticket.
In the preferred method of ~ "~ lottery tickets the opening the bar code window occurs during a step of advancing the lottery ticket prior to the reading the bar code markings during the ~ ":,i"g to the front pane~. With the ~ 19 21 ~5265 method further inciudes the step of providing the bar code window adjacent the leading end edge of the lottery ticket with an opening edge which forms part of the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and a hinge edge which is parallel with the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and is displaced therefrom toward the center 5 of the lottery ticket. The opening the bar code v,lindow includes retarding the opening edge relative to a remainder of the lottery ticket to cause the bar code v~indow to hinge at the hinge edge during the advancing prior to the reading of the bar code markings. The retarding includes hooking the opening edge of the bar code window during the advancing.
The method of dii" e,~si"g lottery tickets can include, in the d;spe"si"g the lottery ticket, di:,~lld~yi"g the lottery ticket from an interior of the housing to an exterior of the housing at the front panel along a discharge chute. A further step includes ad~/ancing the lottery ticket along the discharge chute during the reading of the bar code markings for continued passage to the front panel after the storing 15 of the ticket ill~ulllldLioll. Additionally, the method of ~ si"g lottery tickets further includes the step of l~ o,~,lly discontinuing the advancing of the lottery ticket along the discharge chute with the bar code markings of the lottery ticket aligned in the discharge chute for the reading of the bar code markings until the reading is properly completed.
In the preferred method of diD,oel~Dillg lottery tickets, the providing of the bar code markings on each lottery ticket can further include winning illru",ld~iu"
when the play symbols are winning symbols. The reading of the bar code ;. 20 21'~26~
disp~a~d from the housing. Further steps include providing a v~inning display area on the front panel displaying a winning indication in the winning display area Y~hen displaying the display symbols in the display areas when an A~o....~
region has play symbols v~hich are winning symbols and displaying bonus Y~in 5 il lru~ dliol l in said winning display area regarding a possible bonus win marking on the lottery ticket when the ticket i-lFulllldliol~ of the bar code markings do not illclude the winning illfulllldliull. Additional steps include proYiding currency receiving cu,,,~.o,~e,,l in the housing for receiving currency oF a ,c,c,.lel~""i"ed amount and disl-~"si,~ the lottery ticket after the currency of the ~ d~ ""i"ed 10 amount has been received in the currency receiving c.""~,ol~e-,l.
An improved lottery ticket is for being dispensed by a machine and is of the type which includes a front sheet having windows which are normally closed and a rear sheet with bonding between the front sheet and the rear sheet. Play symbols are on an inv,/ard side of the rear sheet toward an inY,lard side of the front 15 sheet The play symbols are capable of being winning symbols The play symbols are located in play regions on the inv~ard side of the rear sheet in alignment with t~e windows. The windows are for being opened, after the loffery ticket is ~ial,ensed from the machine to reveal the play symbols in the play regions thereunder. The improvement includes a bar code cover on one of the front sheet 20 and the rear sheet of the loffery ticket. There are bar code markings for the lofferY
ticket on one of the front sheet and the rear sheet in alignment v~ith the bar code cover. The bar code cover is normally in a position to coYer the bar code ~ 21 21 ~5~65 - code cover is for being removed by the machine during the d;~ i"g thereof to reveal the bar code markings thereunder. The bar code markings include ticket il,fu,l"dlion capable of being read by the machine after the removal of the bar cûde cover by the machine for indicating the play symbols in the play regions as 5 aligned with the windows. At least one of the plurality of regions having the play symbols which are not winning symbols may include a bonus win marking i" ;;lepe"d~"L of the play symbols in the plurality of regions.
Another improved lottery ticket is of the type which includes a front sheet having windows which are normally closed a rear sheet and features For bonding 1û the front sheet and the rear sheet together. Play symbols are on an inward side of the rear sheet toward an inward side of the front sheet. The play symbols are capable of being winning symbols and are located in play regions on the inward side of the rear sheet in alignment with the windows and the windows are for being opened to reveal the play symbols in the play regions thereunder. The 15 improvement includes a bar code window in one of the front sheet and the rear sheet of the lottery ticket which bar code window is normally closed. Bar code rllarkings for the lottery ticket are on at least one of the inward side of the bar code window and the inward side of the other of the rear sheet and the front sheet in alignment with the bar code window. The bar code markings include ticket 2û il lru~ d~iul l for indicating the play symbols in the play regions as aligned with the window means. The bar code window is for being opened to reveal the bar code markings thereunder. The tid<et i"rul " Id~iOI~ of the bar code markings can include --)' 22 218526~
- bar code window is in the front sheet and the preferred bar code markings are on the inward side of the rear sheet of each lottery ticket. At least one of the plurality of regions having the play symbols which are not winning symbols may include a bonus win marking i"d~,uel1clel l~ of the play symbols in the plurality of regions.
The improved lottery ticket includes a center and an end edge. The bar code window is preferably disposed adjacent the end edge of the lottery ticket to include an opening edge which forms part of the end edge of the lottery ticket and a hinge edge which is parallel with the end edge of the lottery ticket and is displaced therefrom toward the center of the lottery ticket. The bar code windowis for being opened by being hinged at the hinge edge relative to a remainder ofthe lottery ticket. The opening edge of the bar code window includes an edge strip of the rear sheet along the end edge of the lottery ticket to reinforce the opening edge during the opening of the bar code window.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a back view of a lottery ticket which includes various features of the invention and which can be employed in a preferred ~,,IL,o.li,,,e,,L of the invention.
Figure 2 is a front view of the lottery ticket of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is another front view of the lottery ticket of Figure 2 with the windows open to reveal the play symbols thereunder.

23 ~ 2 k 5 - Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the display screen of the lottery ticket dialJe,~sil ,9 machine of Figure 4.
Figure 6 is a block diagram d~lllolla~,d~ the It:ld~iol~slliys of the operating G~lll,o()l~ell~a of the lottery ticket machine of Figure 4 including various 5 features of the invention.
Figure 7 is a front view of the inside surface of the rear sheet of another preferred lottery ticket which includes various features of the invention and which can be employed in another preferred ~ ,ellsi"g machine of the invention Figure 8 is a front view of the lottery ticket of Figure 7 showing the outside 10 of the front sheet.
Figure 9 is a front view of the lottery ticket of Figure 7 showing the back of the rear sheet.
Figure 10 is another front view of the lottery ticket of Figure 2 with the play v,/indows open to reveal the play symbols thereunder and the bar code window 15 open to reveal the bar code markings thereunder.
Figure 11 is a view of the bar code window opening device and ticket advancing ~ a of the lottery ticket diapel~ lg machine of the invention as generally seen along line 11-11 of Figure 12 which is configured to dispense a lottery ticket of Figures 7 through 10 after it has been dispensed from a storage 20 rack.
Figure 12 is a side view of the bar code window opening device and ticket advancing c~",~u,~"~i, of the Figure 11 as seen along line 12-12.

i 24 2T85265 Figure 13 is a view of the ticket advancing cu",~uvl ,~l lla as seen along line 13-13 of Figure 12 with the bar code window opening hook element removed to shown the leading edge of the lottery ticket.
Figure 14 is a view like that of Figure 12 with the lottery ticket advanced to a position at which the bar code window is partially opened.
Figure 15 is a view like that of Figure 14 with the lottery ticket further advanced to a position at which the bar code window is opened just prior to being ui~ sed from the front of the machine.
Figure 16 is a block diagram cl~lllv~ lldl;llg the l~ldli~ i,us of the operating u~"~pone"~a of the lottery ticket machine of Figures 11 through 15 including various features of the invention.
Figure 17 is an enlarged view of the display screen of the loUery ticket ~ia~,el1si"g machine of Figures 11 through 15 for di~pe~,ai,,u the lottery ticket of Figures 7 through 10.
Figure 18 is an enlarged view of the display screen of the lottery ticket il 1~ machine of Figure 4 including an altemative feature of the invention.
Figure 19 is a front view of an alternative lottery ticket similar to that of Figure 2 with the windows open to reveal the play symbols thereunder and an additional bonus win feature of the invention.
DETAIL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As seen in Figures 1, 2 and 3, a preferred lottery ticket di~ l ,;,i"g system of the invention includes lottery tickets 12 of the type v~hich are similar to the pull-25 2l~r~6~
includes a front sheet 14 and a rear sheet 16 which are generally joined together to provide a unitary structure for the ticket 12. The front sheet 14 includes a plurality of "closed" windows or tabs 18 which are formed by the pt,, ru, d~iVI 15 20 of the front sheet material along three edges of the window 18 (as seen in Figure 2) 5 and can be opened by tearing along the p_~ruld~iulls 20 and bending the front sheet material back along the fourth edge of the v,/indow 18 (as seen in Figure 3).
The front sheet 14 and the rear sheet 16 are bonded along the edges of the ticket 12 and in the regions 22 between the windows 18.
The preferred lottery ticket 12 includes the plurality of v,lindows 18 v,/hich 10 are to be selectively opened by the player to reveal a plurality of play symbols 24 printed on the inside surface 25 of the rear sheet 16 in alignment with each of the v,/indows 18. The objective of the game is find various play symbols 24 which are particularly configured to be classihed as winning symbols 26. The particular lottery ticket 12 shown in Figure 2 includes a play symbol 24 in the first or upper 15 v,~indow 18 which includes a ~ villcdivll of a "~ ' ",~Iu,l", an "orange", and "~rapes" that is not winnings symbol 26. However, the fourth window 18 includes a play symbol 24 of two "sevens" and a "clover" that is a winning symbol 26.
Consequently, the player of the particular lottery ticket 12 shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3 would find that a winning symbol 26 in the fourth window 18 exists and that 20 there is further indication of a win by the printing of "~Mn" 28 and an additional "line" 30 across the winning symbol 26. Still further, to provide another level of security, of a type generally disclosed and discussed in U. S. Patent No.

:-- 26 2~ 3~2~
4,740,016, the fifth or bottom window 18 includes an additional winning indication in the form of the printed "monetary amount" 32.
As seen in Figure 1, the back 33 of the rear sheet 16 preferably includes a significant amount of i,lru""dlio,~ that is both helpful to the player and useful for 5 the practice of some of the ~lvodi~ of the invention. Specifically, the back 33 includes game illfUlllld~iol~ 34 in the form of a series or list of symbols which comprise all of the possible vYinning symbols 26 for the particular game of this ticket 12. Such lottery tickets are typically printed in lots of several thousand with the specific number of winning symbols and the U~f ,~spu~,di, ,9 monetary amount 10 for each win being included among the lottery tickets of the lot. The back 33 of the rear sheet 16 also includes a "tot number" 36 for this particular lot which is printed on each and every lottery ticket 12 of the lot to further assure the integrity o~ the entire lot of such lottery tickets 12.
As thus described, the lottery ticket 12 includes features which are well-15 known in the prior art. The manufacture of such lottery tickets is fairlyGvll, '; ' ' in order to be able to include all of the proper play symbols 24, vYinning symbols 26, "wins" 28, "lines" 3û, and "monetary amounts" 32 in the ploper locations and in the proper numbers. After the rear sheets 16 are printed and bonded to the front sheets 14, the lottery tickets 12 are ')_'~,.11 " '~y 20 shuffled so that no one would be able to determine which lottery tickets 12 include vYinning symbols 26. The player is able to purchase a lottery ticket 12 and to 5~ 'y open the v/indows 18 to reveal the play symbols 24 thereunder to see 27 21 ~-265 elljoys the ability to separately open all of the v,lindows 18 with the affendant suspense of a possible win each time a window 18 is opened. It gives the player the feeling that there are severa~ opportunities to win with each lottery ticket 12.
In fact, some pull-tab lottery tickets can include more than one set of viinning 5 symbols and can even be configured to include winning symbols in vertical or diagonal lines that extend across adjacent windows.
Nevertheless, loffery tickets 12 differ from those of the prior art by the inclusion of preferred bar code markings 38. The bar code markings 38 on each of the lottery tickets 12 includes ticket i~rulllldliùl~ for indicating each of the play symbols 24 as aligned with its respective window 18 in the front sheet 14. As will b~ discussed below, the preferred bar code markings 38 also include winning il lful ~ liul l to indicate which of the play symbols 24 are winning symbols 26. The purpose of bar code markings 38 on each lottery ticket 12 is to include enough i"ru""dliu,~ to allow a preferred lottery ticket ~ nsi"g machine 4û of the 15 invention to dispense the particular ticket 12 in a manner which will enable a player to s~ ly determine the play symbol 24 in each window 18 and to see if arly are v,linning symbols 26. It should be clear that the inclusion of such bar code markings 38 on the tickets 12 further c~", ' - the manufacture of the pull-tab tickets as discussed above. The printing of the bar code markings 38 including 20 the specific ticket illfUlllldliUII and winning i~rullll~lliùl~ must be coo~di"~d with the printing of the specific play symbols on the opposite sides of the rear sheet 16 prior to it being joined to the front sheet 14.

:--' 28 ~}~5~5 As seen in Figures 4 5 and 6 the preferred lottery ticket dk."~:n5,"g machine 40 includes a housing 42 and a front panel 44. The interior 46 of the housing 42 includes ticket storage means v,/hich preferably includes three ticket racks 48 for holding stacks of lottery tickets 12. The housing 42 also includes 5 ticket, i~uens" ,u initiation means in the form of a currency accepting and verifying device 50 of the type v~hich is v~ell-knov~n in the vending machine art. The preferred currency accepting and verifying device 50 v,/ili accept bills but could be of the type that accepts coins or even credit cards to record game credits v~hich v~ill be reduced each time a lottery ticket 12 is dispensed from one of the ticket racks 48. The ticket 12 is di~ sed each time a "play" button 52 of the ticket di:~u~l Isil 19 initiation means is pushed after a proper amount of currency is dr~posited in the device 50. The device 50 and button 52 are operably cu""e- L~d to electronic control means (Figure 6) v,/hich is preferably in the form of a printed circuit board and ~cso~ d v~iring in the housing 42 v~hich connects various 15 11"uu"t~ of the machine 40.
The bottoms of the ticket racks 48 are aligned ~,vith a discharge chute 54 which is adapted to direct the passage of each ticket 12 from the ticket storage means in the interior 46 of the machine 40 to a tray 56 on the front panel 44. The chute 54 narrov~s to direct the ticket 12 i"depende"l of which of the racks 48 20 provides the ticket 12 to ticket retarding means (Figure 6) which is preferably in the form of a normally closed gate 58. The electronic control means controls the gate 58 to cause is to remain closed to align the ticket 12 in the chute 54 v,/ith a 29 2 ~ ~26~
bar code markings v,/hen the ticket 12 is in a stationery position. Such bar code reading devices 60 are capable of reading the bar code markings 38 several times, if necessary, to insure an accurate reading and the electronic control means is configured to not open the gate 58 until the ticket illru,,~,dliùl~ in the bar 5 code markings 38 is identified and stored in the electronic control means. When the gate 58 is opened, the lottery ticket is deposited in the tray 56 to be retrieved as desired by the player. Of course, the player can physically take the ticket 12 and selectively open each of the windows 18 to determine if there are any winning symbols therein.
However, the front panel 44 of the preferred machine 40 includes an electronic display screen 62 which is capable of displaying the various play symbols 24 on the lottery ticket 12 for the player. The display screen 62 includes a plurality of display areas 64 which cvl~ ,,uulld to the windows 18 of the lottery ticket 12 which has been di~"ense~ from the machine 40. The front panel 44 also 15 includes a plurality of switches 66 which are directly r~ with the display areas 64. Each of the sv~/itches 66 and display areas 64 are operably cu""e~ d to the electronic control means so that an activation signal from one of the switches will cause the electronic control means to generate a display signal for its c~"t::i~"di"~3 display area 64. As seen in Figure 4, the first and second 20 switches 66 have been activated and the first and second display areas 64 of the di~play screen 62 have been energized to display the play symbols 24 which are aligned with the first and second windows 18 of the ticket 12.

.
2 } ~26S
The player can selectively energize each of thQ switches 66 in any desired order to eAp~,iel1ce the complete suspense and enjoyment of the game to the same eAtent that would be possible by directly opening the v,/indovYs 18 of thQ
lottery ticket 12. Hoviever, since some players may p~lio.!; lly wish to quicklyobserve the play symbols 24 under all of the v~indows 18, the front panel 44 alternatively includes a combined switch 68 vihich can be activated to cause theelectronic control means to generate a display signal for each of the display areas 64 to reveal all of the play symbois 24 aligned with the windows 18 of the ticket 12 dii,u~"~ed from the machine 40.
The display screen 62 also includes a game illrulllldIioll display area 70 and a v~inner display area 72 in order to provide additional features of the invention which can be conveniently used to play the game. As best seen in Figure 5, the game i"rul " Idliùl~ display area 70 is similar to the back surface 33 of the rear sheet 16 of the lottery ticket 12. In other v,/ords, all of the i"fu""dli~n available to a player regarding possible wins, the amount of winnings and the likelihood of obtaining such winning tickets 12 is included in the game illfUlllldliol~
display area 70. The area 70 including the game illfUlllldliull is generated by the electronic control means (Figure 6) v,lithin the housing and would be changed toreflect a different game if different lottery tickets 12 v~ere to be supplied to the ticket storage means of the machine 40. The game ill~vlllldliull of the preferred machine 40 is not included in the ticket illfUlllldliull of the bar code markings 38 bLlt is included in the memory of the electronic control means so that it may be " 31 2 ~ ~3526S
the machine 40 and until al~ of the tickets 12 are dispensed and a different ticket is to be provided thereby.
With the game illru~ dliotl display area 70 and with the display areas 64 which could include all of the play symbols 24 under the various windows 18 of 5 the ticket 12 which has been dispensed from the machine, a player should be able to determine if there are any winning symbols 26 without having to physically open any of the windows 18. However, the preferred display screen 62 of the rnachine 40 also includes the winning display area 72 to provide a positive indication of a winning ticket 12 in the event that a player does not recognize the 10 winning symbols 26 or is not sure what the winning amount of the winning ticket 12 might be. Accordingly, The preferred bar code markings 38 of each lottery ticket 12 includes winning i~rv~ dLiol~ in the ticket illfUlllldliol~ When the bar code reading device 60 reads the markings 38 on the lottery ticket 12 being ,uensed from the ticket storage means, the electronic control means stores the 15 winning illrulllld~iull. As seen in Figure 4, the winning display area 72 includes no winning i"rul Illdliul~ because neither of the play symbols 24 in the first two display areas 64 are v~inning symbols 26. Although the ticket 12 having been dispensed form the machine 40 of Figure 4 includes winning illru""d~io,~ (because of the winning symbol 26 in the fourth window 18), the winning signal is not generated 20 for use in the winning display area 72 until after the fourth switch 66 (or the combined switch 68) has been activated. To do otherwise would aliow winning illrulllld~iull to be provided to the player before desired and would ruin the 2 ~ ~2~
the invention be generated i""l,edidl~ly after the switch d~O~ J with a display area 64 having a winning symbols 26 in the preferred machine 40 the existing winning signal or signa~s will be generated by the electronic control means only after all of the switches 66 have been activated or the combined switch 68 has 5 been activated to provide some indication in the winning display area 72 of the existence of a winnin3 ticket 12. By delaying the winning signal in this manner full suspense is Illdi,lldi,16d during the play of the game and the player will not prematurely assume that there is only one winning symbol 26 when there might be two or more.
As seen in Figure 5 the display screen 62 includes all of the display signals having been provided to the display areas 64 to reveal that the first second third and fifth windows 18 included play symbols 24 which are not winning symbols 26. The fourth display area 62 shows that the u~ pur~di~g wjndow 18 includes a winning symbol 26. The preferred display area 62 with the winning symbol 26 includes a line 80 as a visible indication of the winning status.
As will be seen the line 80 is a desirable cumulative indication of a winning ticket 12 but may not be necessary in view of the preferred winning display area 72.
The winning display area 72 includes repeated indication of a 'WIN and an arrow 82 including the amount 84 of the win which is $.50' for the particular ticket 12 shown in Figures 1 2 and 3 The preferred arrow 82 is located relative the game illrUlll~dLioll display area 70 and points to the particular winning symbol thereof which is like the winning symbol 26 of the fifth v~indow 18. With the arrow 82 (or 33 2 ~ S ~
- are on the ticket 12 and qulckly verify the amount 84 to be paid for the winnin3 ticket 12. The preferred game illru,l,,dliù,~ display area 70 is provided as a portion of the display screen 62 to provide the desired ,~Idliolla~, with respect to the winning display area 72. Hov~ever, it would be possible to provide an 5 alternative game i"r,,""dLiù" display area outside of the area of the display screen. The alternative game illrulllld~iul~ display area could be located on a portion of the front panel of the machine in alignment with a side of the display screen and an alternative winning display area thereof.
As seen in Figure 6, a diagram primarily de"lo"aL,dl~s the si,~,liricdl,ce of 10 the electronic control means as it relates to the other prefenred c~""po,~el l~a of the lottery ticket lial~e~lsillu system including various features of the invention. The electronic control circuitry, including the program to processl store and utilize i~ru.~dliol1 from other c~",,uol1~"l:, and to initiate various signa~s and COlllllldll~S
to other ~UIIl~Joll~ a is the central c~",~uon~"l of the preferred machine 40. The 15 diagram of Figure 6 is a simplified indication of the existence of the most significant ope, dLio,~al co,m~liuna between the various cu",,uul ,~l lla of the preferred ticket lottery ~i~"el1si"~ system as discussed in detail he,t~ du.sve. It should be noted that other co,~,~e~,~iu"a between the c~",luùlle,l~a which are v"ell-known in the vending machine art may not have been discussed l1~,~i"dLuve as 20 being outside the scope of the invention as claimed. For example, as explained, the electronic control circuitry is operably ~n,,c.,l~d to the racks of the ticket storage means but there has heretofore been no discussion of other electronic .--' 34 2 ~ 5 - control circuitry. Numerous sensors in the racks are employed to determine which rack is to be next used, that there are tickets therein, and/or that one or more of the racks no longer includes any tickets therein. Similarly, there are various continuous signals from the currency receiving and identifying means and from 5 the bar code reading device to the electronic control circuitry to monitor their operation and their ability to properly function to provide the more significant features which were discussed above as they relate to the overall operation of the preferred lottery ticket dia~ g system. Accordingly, the various co""euli"g lines between the cc",po,~e,lt~i not only provide the primary functions discussed 10 above but additional routine functions that are v~ell-known in the vending machine art and outside the scope of the invention as claimed It should be clear that the d~s~ .lion provided h~ i"d~ove is directed to a preferred ~",bodi",e,ll but that numerous al~erd~iu"~ could be made to the lottery ticket dispensing machine without departing from the scope of the invention as 15 claimed. The particular ticket 12 is shown for ~IllUll~ldliol1 purposes only and one skilled in the art v,~ould recognize that an unlimited variety and form could be employed to alter the number of v,/indows, the type of play symbols, the number and type of winning symbols, and the amount to be paid for various v,linning tickets for other lottery tickets that could be provided to practice the invention In fact, with the preferred ticket i,,fu,,,,dliun including the winning il ~ru~ dliù~1, the preferred electronic control means is able to process and store the v~inning i~fulllld~iu~ for use in the winning display area. However, having the ' ^ 35 ;~ 1 3~5 for one skilled in the electronic control art to include a bar code marking which have ticket illru""dLio,1 which does not directly include winning i~rulllldliull. An alternative electronic control means could be configured to process specific ticket illrulllldliull that clearly includes the location and character of each of the play 5 symbols for each ticket. The program of the alternative electronic control means could being configured to compare the specific ticket illrulllldli~l1 to all of the possible winning symbol configurations stored therein. Consequently, the alternative electronic control means itself would determine if there were play symbols that are winning symbols and then create the d,U,UI UUI idl~,- winning signals 1û to be provided to a v,linning display area for a similar indication of a winning ticket having been dispensed from the ticket dk.,ue~sil Ig machine. Any number of other alternatives to the preferred ~ odi~ could be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed.
As thus described, the ticket 12 and machine 4û would be a significant 15 improvement over the prior art of record since they employ a basic two layer ticket configuration that has been approved by numerous gaming licensing agencies.
Such gaming licensing agencies are primarily cu"~.el"ed with security and with possible fraud in the use and sale of such tickets. The use of the two layer configuration with the playing symbols hidden beneath normally closed windows 20 or tabs tends to discourage any tampering v,/ith the tickets that could result in the ticket distributor or public being defrauded. It is generally assumed that the unauthorized opening of the windows to reveal the symbo~s thereunder would be ~ 36 2l~J26~
to find Uwinning" tickets by players who may obtain access to the entire ~ot of tickets or by operators who may wish to pull "winning" tickets from the lot to cheat players.
The lottery ticket lia,udl~sillg system discussed above would discourage 5 such physical tampering with the various windows of the tickets because the operating meul,d",;,,ns for .lisp~"~i"~ tickets from the storage racks might not properly function if the tickets are bent or physically altered to prevent neat, aligned stacking within the racks. Accordingly, the system described above would appear to have some of the same physical security features as previous such 10 tickets that have been approved by various gaming licensing agencies. Hov/ever, because of the inclusion of the bar code on the outside of the tickets, some concern has been ~I,~ssed that the bar code itself might allow"access" to the status of the hidden play symbols within the tickets. Generally, it is felt that those skilled in the art are capable of devising and creating such bar codes that are not 15 easily or readily deci,ul~t:, dL,le without having detailed il lru~ dLi~l~ within the ,UIUy~d~ g of the electronic control means. Simply 'scanning" the bar code markings without such a program would not reveal the ticket i~ulllldlion.
Additionally, those skilled in the art are capable of devising numerous means within the ,ulUyldll,,,,i,,g of the electronic control means for preventing the 20 machine itself from being used to identify and select 'winning" tickets from others within the lot. For example, the system may include means for storing the lot numbers of the tickets ~i~pellsed therefrom within the electronic control means for . ` 37 21 ~}5~6~
It may also be possible to program the electronic control means to identify and store lot number illfUlllldliull so that any attempt to dispense mofe than the authorized number of tickets from a particular lot would be detected and prevented. Accordingly, it is felt that the loffery ticket ~ e"~i"g system 5 described he,t:i"diJove is as secure or more secure than any other means of selling and di~pensi"g similar such lottery tickets in the past.
Neverthelessl because of any concerns that may exist regarding the bar code markings including ticket i~rulllldliùn being on the outside of the lottery ticket, another preferred ~ iJodi~ ll of the invention includes an improved lottery 1û ticket and an alternative machine s,ue~ cally adapted for the ~i~,u~rl~ g the improved tickets which have features to further estabiish the security and integrity of the lottery ticket system.
As seen in Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10, another preferred lottery ticket ~;liapellsillg system of the invention includes lottery tickets 112 of a type wnich are 15 similar to lottery tickets 12 and the pull-tab lottery tickets disclosed in U. S. Patent No. 4,740,016. The lottery ticket 112 again includes a front sheet 114 and a rear sheet 116 which are generally joined together to provide a unitary structure for the ticket 112. The front sheet 114 includes a plurality of normally closed windows or tabs 118 wilich are formed by p~,ru,d~iuns 120 of the front sheet material along 20 three edges of the windov~ 118. The windows 118 can be opened by tearing along the p~lru~dli~lls 120 and bending the front sheet material of the v~indo~,vs 118 back along the fourth edge of the window 118 as seen in Figure 10. The front ~ ` 38 2 1 ~,2~S
sheet 114 and the rear sheet 116 are bonded along the edges of the ticket 112 and in the regions 122 between the windows 118.
More ~!Je~ir~ yl the preferred lottery ticket 112 includes only four v~indows 118 which are to be selectively opened by the player to reveal four sets 5 of play symbols 124 printed on the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116 in alignment with the four windows 118. In the particular lottery ticket 112 shown as an example in Figures 7 through 10, the fourth window 118 includes a play symbol 124 that is a winning symbol 126. There is further indication of a winning lottery ticket 112 by the printing of "win" 128 and an additional "line" 130 across 10 the winning symbol 126. Still furtherl to provide another level of security, of a type generally disclosed and discussed in U. S. Patent No. 417401 0161 the third window 118 includes an additional winning indication in the form of the printed "monetary amount" 132.
As seen in Figure 7, each preferred rear sheet 116 of the lottery tickets 112 15 is printed in sheet form with a plurality of other rear sheets (not shown~ to be later joined to a sheet of matching front sheets prior to being partially cut to form the pelru,tlL~d lines and then being further cut into separate pieces to form the individual lottery tickets 112. During the manufacturing process, the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116 is provided glue areas 127 to insure that each 20 of the front sheets 114 are joined to its,~a~e~ l;,l~ rear sheet 116 along the edges and the regions 122 between the windows 118. More a~e..iri~a:~yl the inside surface 125 of the preferred rear sheet 116 is provided one less set of play - 39 2 ~ ~265 112, the bottom set of play symbols have been replaced with bar code markings 138 that include the ticket illfolllldliol1 and v~linning illru~ dliull in the same manner as the bar code markings 38 of the ticket 12.
vVhile the method of applying the bar code markings 38 to the back or 5 outer side 33 of the rear sheet 16 v,/as a sdli~rdulùly v,lay of forming the lottery ticket 12, providing the bar code markings in a location which is remote frûm the play symbols 26 themselves could present some alignment and c~"~:"uù,~d~"ce problems during printing. Such problems could occur v~hile trying to insure that there is proper co~l di~ Id~iUI~ betv,leen the bar code markings 38 on the back 33 of 10 the rear sheet 16 and the cu"c:~,u~"~i"g play symbols 24 on the inside surface 25 of each of the rear sheets 16. On the other hand, providing the bar code markings 138 to the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116 in the same area as the play symbols 124 tends to simplify proper matching and co"t::,,uu"d~,~ce II,e,~iJ3t~ . It should be noted that v~hen the iarge sheet fomms containing 15 numerous rear sheets are printed, some sheets wili contain all winning symbols v,lhile others v~ill contain no winning symbols. In either case, when initially setting up the printing elements, the fact that the bar code markings 138 properly represent the specific play symbols 124 for the ticket 112 can be more readily verified because of their close proximity on the same inside surface 125 of the 20 rear sheets 116. After the large sheets containing the front and rear sheets of each loffery ticket are joined together, they are partially cut to form the per orated lines 120 dehning the v~lindov~s 118 and then severed into individual tickets 112.

~ 40 2 1 $~ ri 2 ~
" le.:l ldnic3lly shuffled to randomly disperse all of the winning lottery tickets among those which have no winning symbols 126.
As seen in Figures 8 and 9, the individual lottery ticket 112 includes the front sheet 114 and the rear sheet 116 joined together in a manner suitable for 5 installation in a stacked array of other such tickets 112 in a storage rack of a ticket ,uensi"g machine. The outer surface of the front sheet 114, shown in Figure 8, appears to be the same as that of lottery ticket 12 but includes only four windows 118 for covering the four sets of play symbols 124 printed on the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116. Additionally, and most si,J"iriCdll~ly, the improved lottery ticket 112, and the front sheet 114 thereof, is further perforated, during the p~l ruldlil l9 step discussed above, to form a normally closed bar code window 140 v,~hich is adapted to be opened to reveal and allow access to the bar code markings 138 ~ lt,bt:l ''I. S! n ~Iy~ the preferred perForating step includes providing side perforated lines 142 that can be easily severed and a ~veakened hinge line 144 that can be easily bent. As best seen in Figure 10, the preferred bar code window 140 is to be opened at an end edge 146 of the lottery ticket 112 and to be hinged along an hinge edge of the bar code window 140 formed by the line 144 which is parallel with the end edge 146. As will be discussed lL ~'~vi, the preferred .li~ ":,i"g machine 40' for the tickets 112 is 20 configured to autu" ' "y open the bar code window 140 during the passage of the lottery ticket 112 from the storage racks to the front of the machine.

41 2 1 ~
- di~rpQ~ 9 machine 40'~ the preferred rear sheet 116 includes a edge strip 148.
As seen in Figure 9, the edge strip 148 is defined during the pe,~rdli"y step of the manufacturing process to include weakened edges 150 that allow the strip 148 to be easily severed from the remainder of the rear sheet 116. Because of 5 the location of the glue 127 on the lower portion of the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116 in Figure 7, the edge strip 148 is glued to the inside surface 149 (Figure 10~ of the opening edge 146 of the bar code window 140. Accordingly, a proper force applied to the edge strip 148 tends to separate the edge strip 148 from the remainder of the rear sheet 116 and to open of the bar code window 140 10 as it hinges along the hinge line 144. The opening of the bar code window 140 in this manner reveals the bar code markings 136 on a portion of the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116 which is unaffected by the severing of the edge strip 148.
As seen in Figure 9, the back or outer surface 133 of the rear sheet 116 is 15 similar to the back 33 of the rear sheet 16 to again include a significant amount of il ,ru""dlion that is both helpful to the player and useful for the practice of some of the ~Illbodill~ of the invention. The back 133 includes game i~rulllldlk~l~ 134 in the form of a series or list of symbols which comprise all of the possible winning symbols 126 for the particular game of this lottery ticket 112. The back 133 of the 20 rear sheet 116 also includes a particular "lot number" 136 which is printed on each and every lottery ticket 112 of the lot to further assure the integrity of the entire lot of such lottery tickets 112. However, because the bar code markings 42 2 ~ ~5~65 the bar code markings 38, such as those on the back 33 of the ticket 12, are not included. Consequently, as seen in Figures 8 and 9, neither the back nor front of the loffery ticket 112 includes any illr~llllld~ioll that could be used to determine if any of the play symbols 124 within the loffery ticket 112 are winning symbols 126.
5 If any player or operator were to affempt to open the windows 118 or the bar code window 140 prior to the lottery tickets 112 being installed in a ticket lib~
machine, the upsetting of the windows 118 or 140 could sufficiently alter the structure of the tickets 112 to eflectively prevent the proper ~ispe~ 9 of the tickets from the machine. It has been found that a plurality of lottery tickets that 10 have their windows or bar code windows opened prior to their i" ' " ' ~ in the storage racks may not be properly stacked therein or reliably ~ ,l,a,y~d from the storage racks to the front of the machine.
As seen in Figure 10, after the lottery ticket 112 is properly dispensed from the machine, only the bar code window 140 has been opened v~ithin the machine 15 to reveal the bar code markings 138 thereunder. Consequently, the player is again able to purchase a lottery ticket 112 and use the machine to determine if there are any winning symbols therein. After the ticket 112, with only the bar code window 140 being opened, is dispensed from the machine 40', the player is able to selectively open the four windows 118 to reveal the play symbols 124 20 thereunder to verify vlhether or not it includes the winning symbols 126 as displayed on the display screen 62.

'-- 43 21~)~J265 machine 40' of Figures 11 through 17 to allow the player to determine ele.,L,u,~ica''y the play symbols in the lottery ticket 112. The preferred lottery ticket di~ si"g machine 40' is very similar to the machine 40 and, from the exterior of the machine, one would not be able to see any difference except for 5 the possible removal of or inactlvation of the fifth switch 66 and the absence of the play symbols in the fifth display area 64 of the display screen 62 on the front panel 44 of the machine 40. Clearly, because of there being only four sets of play symbols and ~so~ .od display areas, the electronic control circuitry ~Figure 16 would be altered aucul di~ Iyly.
However, as seen in Figures 11 through 15, the preferred lottery ticket ue, lail Ig machine 40' for .liajue,lsi~ Ig the lottery tickets 112 is most ~iu,li~ ly configured to open the bar code window 140 and to read the bar code markings 138 thereunder during the dia,uensi"g of the ticket 112 from the storage racks 48 to the front panel 44 of the machine 40'. Physically, the machine 40', which is not 15 shown in its entirety in the figures, is similar to the machine 40 except in the lower region of the discharge chute 54, the upper portion of which is aligned with the bottom of the racks 48 to initially receive all of the tickets therefrom prior to their being ~i~u~ d to the tray 56 on the front panel 44 of the machine. The machine 40' includes the housing 42 wjth the interior 46 having ticket storage means in the 20 form of the three ticket racks 48 for holding stacks of lottery tickets 112. The tickets 112 are stacked in the racks 48 with the front sheets 114 up in order to have the bar code markings 138 disposed upwardly after the opening of the bar -- 44 2 } ~35~6~
sheets 12 down in order for the back of the rear sheets 14, v~hich have the bar code markings 38, to be disposed upwardly when each ticket 12 is dispensed into the discharge chute 54.
The housing 42 of the machine 40' again includes ticket ~i91Jtn lai~ ~9 5 initiation means in the form of a currency accepting and verifying deYice 50 of the type which is well-knov~n in the vending machine art. A ticket 112 is dispensed each time a "play" button 52 of the ticket ~ Jtnlsi"g initiation means is pushed after a proper amount of currency is deposited in the device 50. The device 50 and button 52 are operably connected to electronic control means (Figure 16) 10 ~vhich is preferably in the form of a printed circuit board and associdted wiring in the housing 42 which connects various cu",~,o~ of the machine 40'.
The bottoms of the ticket racks 48 are aligned with an alternative discharge chute 154 (Figures 11 through 15) v~hich is adapted to direct the passage of each ticket 112 from the ticket storage means in the interior 46 of the 15 machine 40' to a tray 56 on the front panel 44. The machine 40' does not include a ticket retarding means or normally closed gate 58 as provided in the machine 40. While there is a bar code reading device 160, it is not disposed in the same location the bar code reading device 60 of the machine 40.
The front panel 44 of the preferred machine 40' again inc~udes an 20 electronic display screen 62 (Figure 17) v~hich is capable of displaying the various play symbols 124 on the lottery ticket 112 for the player. The display screen 62 includes only four display areas 164 which w" t:~, O~ld to the four windov~s 118 of .-- 45 2 1 ~5265 includes a plurality of switches 66 which are directly ~ d vl/ith the display areas 164. The fifth switch 66 is removed or inactivated for this particular lottery ticket 112. Each of the switches 66 and display areas 164 are operably c~",le~ d to the electronic control means (Figure 16) so that an activation signal 5 from one of the switches 66 will again cause the electronic control means to generate a display signal for its ~"~p~ ii"g display area 164. The front panel 44 can again include the combined switch 68 which can be activated to cause the electronic control means to generate a display signal for each of the display areas 164 to reveal all of the play symbols 124 aligned with the windows 118 of the 10 ticket 112 ii~ sed from the machine 40'. The display screen 62 also includes the game il~fullllaliull display area 70 and the winning display area 72, for the machine 40', in order to provide additional features of the invention which can be conveniently used to play the game.
To dispense and play the lottery tickets 112, a player will operate the 15 machine 40' in the same manner as the machinQ 40. However, as best seen in Figures 11 through 15, the interior 46 of the machine 40' is configured to include the alternative discharge chute 154, the upper portion of which is aligned v~ith the bottom of the storage racks 48 to receive each of the lottery tickets 112 therefrom.
The chute 154 narrows to define a lower portion 156 which is slightiy wider than 20 the ticket 112 to cause the end edge 146 to first proceed toward the front panel 44. Bar code window opening means 161 is disposed in the lower portion 156 of the chute 154 for opening the bar code window 140 to reveal the bar code 46 2ti~5265 ~,ue~irica:ly includes ticket advancing means 162 for positiYely advancing the lottery ticket 112 through the lower portion 158 toward the front panel 44.
After activation of the ticket Ui~,~)el~::iill9 initiation means, the ticket 112 is advanced by gravity to the lower portion 156 of the chute 154. In the preferred 5 ~IIlI,o~i,llt",l of the invention, a first light emitting sensor 166 will sense the passage of the end edge 146 of a ticket 112 into the lower portion 156 and activate the bar code window opening means 161 and the ticket advancing means 162. Specifically, a motor 168 of the ticket advancing means 162 causes a drive roller 170, which extends through an opening in the bottom wall 172 of the lower 10 portion 156 to be slightly above the upper surface thereof, to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in Figures 12, 14 and 15. The drive roller 170 is preferably made of metal and knurled to produce l,.Olll:D,l)Ol~dill9 rotation of an aligned knurled, metal roller 174 to cause the ticket 112 to be entrapped li lel ~b~ tv.~n and advanced down the lower portion 156. The knurled surfaces of 15 the rollers 170, 174 insure positive gripping of the tickets 112 and have been found to form an indented pattern in the surfaces of the ticket 112 to provide an additional feature of ~marking" the ticket 112 during its passage therethrough.
Consequently, each ticket 112 dispensed from the machine 40' should include only one set of such NllldlhillU~'' to serve as a positive indication that the particular 20 ticket 112 has not been previously advanced through the ticket advancing means 47 2l~6~
the slightly raised position of the lower roller 170. However as best seen in Figure 13 a pair of free rolling side rollers 176 are aligned with the outer edges of the ticket 112 to cause the center of the leading end edge 146 to be bowed upwardly above the bottom wall 172. A hook element 178 of the bar code window 5 opening means 161 is mounted to rotate or pivot about the shaft of the upper roller 174 to cause a hook end 180 thereof the lie by gravity against the bottom wall 172 of the lower portion 156 The hook end 180 is in alignment with the advancing leading end edge 146 of the ticket 112. The bov,/ing of the leading end edge 146 insures that the hook end 180 will catch the edge strip 148 and the 10 center portion of the end edge 146 which forms the leading part of the bar code window 140 Cngag~",e"l with hook end 180 tends to retard the edge strip 148 and the end edge 146 of the window 140 as the remainder of the lottery ticket continues to advance down the lower portion 156 of the chute 154. With the side edges of the lottery ticket being hsld down by the side rollers 176 there is a tearing of the weakened edges 150 of the strip 148 and the side lines 142 of the bar code window 140. As seen in Figure 14 the continuing forced ad\~ancement of the ticket 112 by the rollers 170 174 causes the bar code window 140 to be opened as it hinges along the hinge line 144.
During the opening process the hook element 178 is capable of rotating 20 upwardly until it makes contact with the hook stop 182. Prior to the hook element 178 being sufficiently rotated to make contact with the stop 182 the edge strip 148 and end edge 146 of the bar code window 140 will be released from the hook ~ 48 21~5 6~
In order to insure that the bar code window 140 does not close after dis~ngdg~ "l from the hook end 180, guide means 184 will cause the bar code window 140 to remain in the opened position as shown in Figure 15.
As the lottery ticket 112, with the bar code v,lindow 140 opened, advances 5 to the position as generally shown in Figure 15, the bar code reading device 160 will read the bar code markings 138 and store the ticket illrUlllldliùll thereof in the electronic control circuit. rhe preferred bar code reading device 160 is capable of reading the bar code markings 138 as the ticket 112 continues to move down the lower portion 156 of the chute 154.
To insure that the lottery ticket 112 continues to advance to the Front panel 44 on the machine 40' with the window 140 in the opened position, an additional set of rollers 188, 190 are disposed at the end of the lower portion 156. A pulley 192 mounted on the opposite end of the shaft of the drive roller 170 from the motor 168 supports a belt 194 that extends to a similar pulley 196 on the 15 cu"~p.s,~di"~ end of the shaft of the roller 188. The rollers 188, 190 have rubber surfaces and are closely spaced one from the other to receive the ticket 112, with the window 140 opened, therebetween for positive advancement to the front panel 44. With both roller 170 and roller 188 rotating in the same direction as soon as a ticket 112 is sensed by the first light emitting sensor 166, the ticket 112 quickly 20 and continuously advances down the lower portion 156 of the chute 154 until it is di~ dl yed from the front panel 44 to the tray 56 to be collected by the player.

49 2 ~ ~265 138 and storing the ticket i, If ul IlldliOIl in the electronic control circuit. Accordingly, a second light emitting sensor 198 is located in the lower portion 156 adjacent the rollers 188, 19û. The second sensor 198 is operably cùllll~u~d to the electroniccontra circuit and is capable of directing a signal thereto when the presence of a lottery ticket 112 is detected. If there is a lottery ticket 112 aligned with the second sensor 198 and the electronic control circuit has not properly received any ticket illrulllldlio,~ from the bar code reading device 160, the electronic control circuit will cause the motor 168 to stop and ~instruct" the bar code reading device 160 to attempt another reading of the bar code markings 138. If the second attempt is s~ces~SI~l, the electronic control circuit will re-energize the motor 168 to cause the ticket 112 to be advanced out of the machine 40' to the player.
However, if an accurate reading of the bar code markings 138 can not be obtained after several attempts, the electronic control circuit would activate some type of alarm means to indicate that an attendant is required to correct a problem with the machine 40'.
As seen in Figure 16, a diagram primarily de,nollalldl~s the ~iylliric~"-,e of the electronic control means as it relates to the other preferred cu" ,,uu, ,~"l~ of the lottery ticket ~i~p,:"~i"g system of Figures 7 through 15 and 17 including various features of the invention. The electronic control circuitry, including the program to process, store and utilize illfu""dlion from other uu~ ol~elll~ and to initiate various signals and CUlllllldll~ to other ~u",pol1e~ , is the central co",uu"~,ll of the preferred machine 40'. The diagram of Figure 16, like that of Figure 6, is a .--- 50 2 ' ~5265 c~,""e~ liu"~ between the various w",pone~ of the preferred ticket lottery si"~ system as discussed in detail l~e,~i"dl,~.ve.
As seen in Figure 17 the display screen 62 for the machine 40 includes all of the display signals having been provided to the display areas 164 to reYeal that 5 the first second and third windows 118 of the particular lottery ticket 112 included play symbols 124 which are not winning symbols 126. The fourth display area 164 shows that the ~"t,s~,on~ii"~ fourth window 118 includes a winning symbol 126. The preferred display area 164 with the winning symbol 126 includes a line 80 as a visible indication of the winning status. The winning display area 72 again 10 includes repeated indication of a 'WIN and an arrow 82 including the amount 84 of the win which is "$ 50 for the particular ticket 112 shown in the Figures 7 through 10. The preferred arrow 82 is located relative the game i"ro""dlion display area 70 and points to the particular winning symbol thereof which is like the winning symbol 126 of the fourth window 118. With the arrow 82 (or arrows 15 82) the player can quickly see which winning symbol (or winning symbols) are on the ticket 112 and quickiy verify the amount 84 to be paid for the winning ticket 112.
Clearly numerous dli~n ,s could be made to the preferred loffery ticket 112 and the preferred machine 40 without departing from the scope of the 20 inYention as claimed. For example although the preferred machine 40 includes the first light emitting sensor 166 to indicate the passage of the lottery ticket 112 into the lower portion 156 of the chute 154 for starting the motor 168 it is possible 51 2 ~ 83~65 electronic control circuit. Because all of the tickets 112 dispensed from each of the racks 48 will tend to take about the same amount of time to arrive at the rollers 170, 174, the motor 168 could be configured to start, after a short time delay, each time that the ticket ~ a, lai~ "J initiation means is activated.
It is clear that the preferred lottery ticket 112 includes the windows 118 and the bar code window 140 on the same front sheet 114. However, the physical features providing the bar code window 140 are such that it could just as ,tasol~dL,ly be formed in the rear sheet 116 of th0 same ticket 112 as long as it is located in the same general region thereof so as not to overlie the windows 118.If tha bar code window 140 were to be on the back of the rear sheet 116, the tickets would be installed in the storage racks with the rear sheet 116 up in order to properly present the bar code window 140 to the bar code window opening means 161. Of course, with the window 140 on the rear sheet 116, one might assume that the bar code markings 138 would be printed on the inside surface 149 of the front sheet 114 rather than on the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116. While physically such a configuration would be ~ J~ * and v~ithin the scope of the invention as claimed, this would appear to negate one of the advantages of the lotter,v ticket 112 which includes the preferred feature of printing the play symbols 124 and the bar code markings 138 on the same inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116. However, as seen in Figure 15, when the bar code window 140 is opened, the inside surface 149 of the front sheet 114 would also be aiigned with and exposed to the bar code reading device 160.

.
.- 52 2185~65 - be opened in the di~ e~1sill~ machine, the bar code markings 138 could be printed on the inside surface 125 of the rear sheet 116 in the same general position as shown in Figure 7 since it could be properly presented to the bar code reading device 160 on the inside surface of the bar code window itself after it is 5 opened.
The preferred bar code v,lindow 140, which conceals bar code markings on the inside surface of one sheet of the ticket, is located at the leading edge of the ticket as it is advanced though the machine 40'. The preferred position has been selected to offer a simple and convenient means for aulu"ld~il 'Iy opening the bar 10 code window in the preferred machine. However, it should be le-,o~ ed that one skilled in the vending machine art might be able to provide a bar code window with a different configuration and/or at a different location on a lottery ticket and to provide a different, and perhaps more c~",, '; ' ~, bar code window opening device in a machine which could again open the v,lindow to read the bar code 15 markings thereunder. Such a conf guration would still be within the scope of the invention as claimed.
As discussed above, the preferred e~ odilllel lla of the basic pull-tab tickets have a plurality of normally ciosed windows with possible winning play symbols hidden Lllelebell ",. Each of the preferred pull-tab tickets includes a 20 bar code printed on an exterior or interior surface thereof that includes ticket illru~ d~iu~ that can be read by a bar code reader. The preferred di:i~Jel~sillg machines include means for reading the bar code to process the ticket i"f~" " ldliun - hidden beneath the closQd windows are capable of being displayed on a display screen of the dis~" ," ,~ machine at the time each ticket is being purchased from the machine.
Consequently, the player or purchaser of the pull-tab ticket will be able to 5 "selectively' use the display screen to see if it is a "winner". Whether the player uses the di~ l ,si"g machine to "read~ the pull-tab ticket or not, the pull-tab ticket itself is redeemed if it is a winning ticket. However, it is expected that most players would primarily use the display screen on the dis~,~"~i"~ machine to see if the pull-tab tickets have winning symbols and would probably open only the 10 winning tickets at the gaming facility in order to reduce the playing time and quickly collect the winnings. On the other hand, it was also felt that many players would probably keep the losing pull-tab tickets for opening at a later time to insure that they are, in fact, Ulosing~ tickets prior to their being discarded. Consequently, most of the dispe~lsad pull-tab tickets would eventually be opened for verification 15 of the playing symbols therein.
However, the preferred ~:,,,Lodi,,,~,,ic, of the lottery ticket di~el~si,lg machines may prove to be so reliable that many players might eventually assume the accuracy of the machine and discontinue opening the losing pull-tab tickets for verification of the play symbols therein. This may not be desirable for two 20 reasons. First, even if the preferred ~isp.3,~si"g machines approach 100%
reliability, the gaming facility will want to verify this reliability to maintain the R~ r"~ , cu.,ri~ ce and good will of its customers. There is always a ~ 2~35~65 soon as possible. Second, if the windows 18 of the ~losing" pull-tab tickets 12 are not opened, there would be nothing physically done to the tickets 12 to insure that they would be destroyed when discarded to prevent them from being sold or used again. On the other hand, because the bar code window 140 is opened when the pull-tab ticket 112 is di~,uensed from a machine, all of the tickets 112 would be physically "upset' v1hen dispensed to discourage any co~ dLiol~ oF reselling them or ,~i" ' " ,g them in a machine in an effort to defraud future players.
Clearly, if all of the play windows 118 are also opened, the possible reuse of the used tickets 112 would be even less likely.
As seen in Figures 18 and 19, an alternative pull-tab ticket 212 and ~o" ~s,uul l~i"~ display screen 62 of a cli~,uel ,si, l9 machine are intended toencourage the player to open all of the play windows 218 on all of the "winning" or Ulosing' pull-tab tickets 212. For the purposes of these ~",bo.li",~"t;" they are configured similar to the ticket 12 but would be equally applicable for the tickets 112 and the cu"~o"di"~ display screen 62 therefor. The d,UUl~ lid~t3 .li:",el ,:,i"g machine will continue to display winning i~ ~ru~ dliol~ on the screen 62 in the winning display area 72 if the ticket 212 has play symbols 224 that are winning symbols therein. However, when the pull-tab ticket 212 has no winning symbols beneath the windows 218, the winning display area 72 of the screen 62 will include bonus win i"ru""d~io,~ in the form of an instruction to the player to "OPEN PULL TAB FOR POSSIBLE BONUS WINNERI!" This ~instruction' would flash several times to attract the attention of the player.

55 2 . ~ ~ ~ 6 5 Most "losing" pull-tab tickets will simply include the "losing" pla~ symbols and the player may or may not open all of the wjndows to confirm that the play areas on the ticket are identical to those that have been shown on the screen.
However as seen in Figure 19 the alternative pull-tab tickets 212 are capable of 5 including additional "bonus win' markings or printing 230 in one of the play areas of a limited number of "losing" pull tab tickets 212. This feature gives the player an additional 'bonus win" not included among the normal winning WIllUilldliOl~s shown in the game i, If ul " IdLiul I area 70 and on the back of the ticket 212. The bar codes of the ~losing" tickets 212 will primarily include ticket i~lrulllld~iùll to 10 generate the "losingl' display areas of Figure 18 and i"~e"Lic,ll~"y include no indication that a particular ticket 212 has a "bonus v,/in" marking 230 at any location on the regions of the tickets beneath the windows 218. It should be noted that it would be possible for some portion of the bar code on the "losing"
pull-tab ticket 212 that has the bonus vYin" has some additional illfUillldLiull that 15 may be i"d~,end~"Ll~read" by the gaming facility to verify the "bonus win' when the ticket 212 is redeemed to collect the bonus. This additional il~ru~ dliu~ might be included in the bar code but configured in a manner v,lhich would not be read or u,ucess~d by the di~u~ s;~g machine for the display on the display screen 62.
The ~bonus winneP feature added to the pull-tab tickets 212 will tend to 20 insure that all tickets are opened to provide feed-back to the gaming facility to confirm the accuracy of the di~p~"~;"g machine and to virtually eliminate the possibility that any di"~e"sed tickets 212 could be resold or ,t:i, ' 'l~i in the 2~26~

212 v,lill be opened at the time of ,t:.i~,,,,u~io,~ it is expected that the windows of all winning7 tickets v~ill be opened. Accordingly the preferred tickets 212 are configured to include the bonus winner feature on losing" tickets 212 on which the v,/indows would not tend to be opened by the player. Although there would be 5 nothing to prevent the inclusion of ~bonus winners~ on winning tickets 212 this is not the preferred configuration would not appear to be particularly beneficial and might needlessly confuse to normal playing of the tickets 212.
Obviously other al~e,d~iu"s to the preferred ~",bo~i",e"L~ taught herein could be provided without departing form the scope of the invention as c~aimed.
10 For example it might be possible for one skilled in the vending machine art to devise a lottery ticket that has some other form or means for covering the bar code markings to prevent them from being observed by 13~dlllilld~iUII of the exterior of the ticket. It is felt that the use of a machine to a~",d~ic ~lly remove such a cover to ~,ue- iri~3:'y reveal the bar code markings thereunder by a different 15 ",e.l,d"ical or chemical means than that spe- iri~lly disclosed herein would still be a 111~111dl~icdl equivalent of the present invention and v~ithin the scope of the invention as claimed herein.

Claims

1. A lottery ticket dispensing system for lottery tickets of the type which include a front sheet having a plurality of windows which are normally closed, a rear sheet, means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet together, a plurality of play symbols on one side of the rear sheet toward the front sheet, at least some of the play symbols capable of being winning symbols, each of the play symbols being respectively aligned with one of the windows, and each of the plurality of windows for being selectively opened to reveal the play symbol thereunder, said lottery ticket dispensing system comprising:
bar code markings on each of the lottery tickets including ticket information for indicating each of the play symbols as aligned with its respective window;
a lottery ticket dispensing machine including a housing and a front panel;
ticket storage means in said housing for storing an plurality of the lottery tickets;
ticket dispensing initiation means in said housing;
electronic control means in said housing for responding to activation of said ticket dispensing initiation means and for dispensing a lottery ticket from said ticket storage means to said front panel;
a bar code reading device in said housing operably connected to said electronic control means for reading and identifying said bar code markings of each lottery ticket and for storing said ticket information in said electronic control means regarding each of the play symbols as aligned with its respective window as the lottery ticket is being dispensed from said ticket storage means;

said front panel including a plurality of display areas which directly correspond to the plurality of windows of the lottery ticket;
each of said display areas being operably connected to said electronic control means for receiving display signals therefrom;
said front panel having switch means associated with said each of said display areas;
each of said switch means being operably connected to said electronic control means;
said switch means for being selectively actuated to provide an actuation signal to said electronic control means to cause said electronic control means to generate said display signal for said display area associated with said switch means;
said display signal producing a display symbol in said display area; and, for each lottery ticket having been dispensed from said ticket storage means, said display symbol in said each display area being directly indicative of the play symbol aligned with the window which corresponds to said display area associated with said each switch means which has been selectively actuated.

2. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 1, wherein said bar code markings include winning information for indicating when the play symbols are winning symbols, said front panel includes a winning display area, said electronic control means identifies and stores said winning information, said electronic control means generates a winning signal when said winning information is in said ticket information, said winning display area is operably connected to said electronic control means for receiving said winning signal therefrom, and said winning signal produces a winning indication in said winning display area after said switch means associated with said window having said play symbols which are winning symbols is actuated.

3. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 2, wherein said front panel includes game information indicating a plurality of possible winning symbols associated with the lottery tickets in said ticket storage means and said winning indication in said winning display area is displayed relative to a corresponding said winning symbol in said game information on said front panel.

4. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 1, wherein said ticket storage means includes a discharge chute for passage of the lottery ticket from an interior of said housing to an exterior of said housing at said front panel, said discharge chute includes ticket retarding means for retarding said passage of the lottery ticket to said exterior of said housing, said bar code reading device is aligned with said discharge chute and any lottery ticket therein which is being retarded by said ticket retarding means, and said bar code reading device is capable of reading said bar code markings when the lottery ticket is maintained in a fixed position in said discharge chute by said ticket retarding means.

5. A lottery ticket dispensing system for lottery tickets of the type which includes a front sheet having window means which are normally closed, a rear sheet, means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet together, play symbols on an inward side of the rear sheet toward an inward side of the front sheet, the play symbols capable of being winning symbols, the play symbols being located in play regions on the inward side of the rear sheet in alignment with the window means, and the window means for being opened to reveal the play symbols in the play regions thereunder, said lottery ticket dispensing system comprising:
a bar code window in one of the front sheet and the rear sheet of the lottery ticket which said bar code window is normally closed;
bar code markings for each lottery ticket on at least one of the inward side of said bar code window and the inward side of the other of the rear sheet and the front sheet in alignment with said bar code window;
said bar code markings including ticket information for indicating the play symbols in the play regions as aligned with the window means;
a lottery ticket dispensing machine including a housing and a front panel;
ticket storage means in said housing for storing a plurality of the lottery tickets;
electronic control means in said housing including ticket dispensing means for dispensing each lottery ticket from said ticket storage means for advancement toward said front panel;
bar code window opening means in said housing for opening said bar code window to reveal said bar code markings of each lottery ticket dispensed from said ticket storage means;

a bar code reading device in said housing adjacent to said bar code window opening means operably connected to said electronic control means for reading and identifying the bar code markings of each lottery ticket and for storing said ticket information in said electronic control means regarding the play symbols as located in the play regions as each lottery ticket advances toward said front panel;
said front panel having display areas which directly correspond to the play regions on the inward side of the rear sheet of the lottery ticket;
said display areas being operably connected to said electronic control means for receiving display signals therefrom;
means for providing an actuation signal to said electronic control means to cause said electronic control means to generate said display signals for said display areas;
said display signals producing display symbols in said display areas; and, for each lottery ticket having been dispensed from said ticket storage means, said display symbols in said display areas being directly indicative of the play symbols of the play regions which correspond to said display areas.

6. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 5, wherein said bar code window opening means includes ticket advancing means in said housing for advancing each lottery ticket dispensed from said ticket storage means toward said bar code reading device.

7. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 6, wherein the lottery ticket includes a center and a leading end edge during the advancing toward said bar code reading device; said bar code window is disposed adjacent the leading end edge of the lottery ticket; said bar code window includes an opening edge which forms part of the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and a hinge edge which is parallel with the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and is displaced therefrom toward the center of the lottery ticket; and said bar code window opening means includes retarding means for retarding said opening edge relative to a remainder of the lottery ticket to cause said bar code window to hinge at said hinge edge during the advancing toward said bar code reading device.

8. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 7, wherein said retarding means includes a hook element for hooking said opening edge of said bar code window during the advancing toward said bar code reading device.

9. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 5, wherein said ticket information of said bar code markings include winning information when the play symbols are winning symbols, said front panel includes a winning display area, said electronic control means identifies and stores said winning information, said electronic control means generates a winning signal when said winning information is in said ticket information, said winning display area is operably connected to said electronic control means for receiving said winning signal therefrom, and said winning signal produces a winning indication in said winning display area after said electronic control means generates said display signals for said display areas.

10. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 5, future including, for at least some of the lottery tickets having play symbols which are not winning symbols, a bonus win marking in at least one of the plurality of regions independent of the play symbols therein.

11. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 10, wherein said ticket information of said bar code markings include winning information when the play symbols are winning symbols, said front panel includes a winning display area, said electronic control means identifies and stores said winning information, said electronic control means generates a winning signal when said winning information is in said ticket information, said winning display area is operably connected to said electronic control means for receiving said winning signal therefrom, said winning signal produces a winning indication in said winning display area after said electronic control means generates said display signals for said display areas, and said winning display area including bonus win information regarding a possible said bonus win marking on the lottery ticket when said ticket information of said bar code markings do not include said winning information.

12. A method of dispensing lottery tickets of the type which include a base sheet having a plurality of play symbols respectively disposed within a plurality of regions on one side of the base sheet, and at least some of the play symbols capable of being winning symbols, said method comprising the steps of:
providing bar code markings on each lottery ticket which include ticket information for indicating each of the play symbols as arranged in the plurality of regions on the one side of the base sheet;
providing a machine having a housing and a front panel;
storing a plurality of the lottery tickets in said housing;
providing ticket dispensing initiation means in said housing;
determining when said ticket dispensing initiation means is actuated and dispensing a lottery ticket from said housing to said front panel;
reading said bar code markings to identify said ticket information and storing said ticket information regarding each of the play symbols as arranged in said plurality of regions on the one side of the base sheet as the lottery ticket is dispensed from said housing;
providing a plurality of display areas on said front panel which directly correspond to the plurality of regions having play symbols;
providing switch means on said front panel for each of said display areas; and separately actuating each of said switch means respectively associated with each of said regions and displaying a display symbol in said display area which is directly indicative of the play symbol of each of regions on the one side of the base sheet of the lottery ticket that has been dispensed from said housing.

13. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 12, further including the step of providing at least some of the lottery tickets having play symbols which are not winning symbols with a bonus win marking in at least one of the plurality of regions independent of the play symbols therein.

14. A method of dispensing lottery tickets of the type which includes a base sheet having a plurality of play symbols respectively disposed within a plurality of regions on an inward side of the base sheet, a cover sheet having an inward side disposed over the inward side of the base sheet, the cover sheet having normally closed window means aligned with the plurality of regions to hide the play symbols thereunder, and at least some of the play symbols capable of being winning symbols, said method comprising the steps of:
providing bar code markings for each lottery ticket on a bar code portion of the inward side of one of the base sheet and the cover sheet which bar code markings include ticket information for indicating each of the play symbols as arranged in the plurality of regions on the inward side of the base sheet;
providing a machine having a housing and a front panel;
storing a plurality of the lottery tickets in said housing;
dispensing a lottery ticket from said housing to said front panel;
relatively separating said bar code portion of the inward side of said one of the base sheet and the cover sheet and a corresponding portion of the inward side of the other of the base sheet and the cover sheet to reveal said bar code markings of each lottery ticket during said dispensing from said housing;
reading said bar code markings to identify said ticket information and storing said ticket information regarding each of the play symbols as arranged in said plurality of regions on the inward side of the base sheet after said relatively separating;
providing a plurality of display areas on said front panel which directly correspond to the plurality of regions having play symbols; and utilizing said ticket information from said storing to display a display symbol in said display area which is directly indicative of the play symbol of each of the regions on the inward side of the base sheet of the lottery ticket that has been dispensed from said housing.

15. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 14, wherein said providing said bar code markings for each lottery ticket includes the steps of providing a bar code window in the cover sheet of each lottery ticket which said bar code window is normally closed and locating said bar code portion on the inward side of the base sheet in alignment with said bar code window to hide said bar code markings thereunder when said bar code window is closed and said relatively separating said bar code portion and said corresponding portion includes the step of opening said bar code window.

16. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 15, wherein said opening said bar code window occurs during a step of advancing the lottery ticket prior to said reading said bar code markings during said dispensing to said front panel.

17. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 16, wherein the lottery ticket includes a center and a leading end edge during said advancing; further including the step of providing said bar code window adjacent the leading end edge of the lottery ticket with an opening edge which forms part of the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and a hinge edge which is parallel with the leading end edge of the lottery ticket and is displaced therefrom toward the center of the lottery ticket; and said opening said bar code window includes retarding said opening edge relative to a remainder of the lottery ticket to cause said bar code window to hinge at said hinge edge during said advancing prior to said reading said bar code markings.

18. The lottery ticket dispensing system according to Claim 17, wherein said retarding includes, hooking said opening edge of said bar code window during said advancing.

19. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 14, wherein said dispensing the lottery ticket includes discharging the lottery ticket from an interior of said housing to an exterior of said housing at said front panel along a discharge chute, further including the step of advancing the lottery ticket along said discharge chute during said reading of said bar code markings for continued passage to said front panel after said storing of said ticket information.

20. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 19, further including the step of temporally discontinuing said advancing the lottery ticket along said discharge chute with said bar code markings of the lottery ticket aligned in said discharge chute for said reading said bar code markings until said reading is properly completed.

21. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 14, wherein said providing said bar code markings on each lottery ticket to further include winning information when the play symbols are winning symbols, said reading said bar code markings to identify and store said winning information as the lottery ticket is dispensed from said housing and further including the steps of providing a winning display area on said front panel and displaying a winning indication in said winning display area when displaying said display symbols in said display areas when an associated region has play symbols which are winning symbols.

22. The method of dispensing lottery tickets according to Claim 14, further including the step of providing at least some of the lottery tickets having play symbols which are not winning symbols with a bonus win marking in at least one of the plurality of regions independent of the play symbols therein.

23. An improved lottery ticket for being dispensed by a machine and being of the type which includes a front sheet having window means which are normally closed, a rear sheet, means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet together, play symbols on an inward side of the rear sheet toward an inward side of the front sheet, the play symbols capable of being winning symbols, the play symbols being located in play regions on the inward side of the rear sheet in alignment with the window means, and the window means for being opened after the lottery ticket is dispensed from the machine to reveal the play symbols in the play regions thereunder, said improvement comprising:

a bar code cover on one of the front sheet and the rear sheet of the lottery ticket;
bar code markings for the lottery ticket on one of the front sheet and the rear sheet in alignment with said bar code cover;
said bar code cover being normally in a position to cover said bar code markings to prevent any viewing thereof when stored in the machine;
said bar code cover for being removed by the machine during the dispensing thereof to reveal said bar code markings thereunder; and said bar code markings including ticket information capable of being read by the machine after the removal of said bar code cover by the machine for indicating the play symbols in the play regions as aligned with the window means.

24. An improved lottery ticket of the type which includes a front sheet having window means which are normally closed, a rear sheet, means for bonding the front sheet and the rear sheet together, play symbols on an inward side of the rear sheet toward an inward side of the front sheet, the play symbols capable of being winning symbols, the play symbols being located in play regions on the inward side of the rear sheet in alignment with the window means, and the window means for being opened to reveal the play symbols in the play regions thereunder, said improvement comprising:
a bar code window in one of the front sheet and the rear sheet of the lottery ticket which said bar code window is normally closed;
bar code markings for the lottery ticket on at least one of the inward side of the bar code window and the inward side of the other of the rear sheet and the front sheet in alignment with said bar code window;
said bar code markings including ticket information for indicating the play symbols in the play regions as aligned with the window means; and said bar code window for being opened to reveal said bar code markings thereunder.

25. The improved lottery ticket according to Claim 24, wherein ticket information of said bar code markings include winning information when the play symbols are winning symbols.

26. The improved lottery ticket according to Claim 24, wherein said bar code window is in the front sheet and said bar code markings are on the inward side of the rear sheet of each lottery ticket.

27. The improved lottery ticket according to Claim 26, wherein the lottery ticket includes a center and an end edge, said bar code window is disposed adjacent the end edge of the lottery ticket to include an opening edge which forms part of the end edge of the lottery ticket and a hinge edge which is parallel with the end edge of the lottery ticket and is displaced therefrom toward the center of the lottery ticket, and said bar code window is for being opened by being hinged at said hinge edge relative to a remainder of the lottery ticket.

28. The improved lottery ticket according to Claim 24, further being capable of including a bonus win marking in at least one of the plurality of regions independent of the play symbols therein when the play symbols of said improved lottery ticket are not winning symbols