| Lottery games having non-numeric characters -> Monitor Keywords |
|
|
 
Lottery games having non-numeric charactersRelated Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Chance DevicesLottery games having non-numeric characters description/claimsThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20060017224, Lottery games having non-numeric characters. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) [0001] This application claims the benefit of the filing date of Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/582,325 entitled "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLAYING NEW LOTTERY GAMING SYSTEMS" filed Jun. 23, 2004, the contents of which are incorporated fully herein by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to lottery games and more particularly to lottery games involving random drawings of characters. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Lottery games are played by individuals on a daily basis. Some lottery games can produce an almost immediate determination of whether a player wins, such as the scratch-off type games where a lottery player purchases a lottery ticket and scratches off one or more fields on the lottery ticket to determine if it is a winning ticket. In this type of lottery game, the scratch-off field itself might alert the lottery player that they have won a prize and the extent of the win or particular prize that was won. In other versions, while the lottery player may scratch off the fields, the determination of whether the player has won is made by a comparison to an already determined list of winning fields or combinations of fields or by a later determined list of winning fields/combinations of fields. [0004] Other types of lottery games provide for the determination of a winner based upon randomly drawn numbers corresponding to the number fields of a lottery ticket. These randomly determined numbers are referred to as "drawings" that take place at a predetermined time. Some drawings take place on a daily basis while others take place on a weekly basis or other periodic/regular basis. In this type of lottery game, a lottery player either selects a number for each field of a lottery ticket or has a randomly determined number selected for each field by a lottery ticket computer/ticket machine. The lottery player then takes the lottery ticket containing the selected/generated numbers and waits for the appropriate drawing for which the lottery player has purchased a ticket. Following the drawing, a lottery player then compares the numbers on the lottery ticket against the published winning numbers drawn for the particular lottery game being played at the particular time designated on the lottery ticket. If the numbers or combinations of numbers on the lottery ticket correspond to the numbers drawn, the lottery player is a winner and is entitled to collect the prize that is designated for the particular numbers or combinations of numbers that were drawn. [0005] In some lottery games, in addition to selecting the numbers, the lottery player is permitted to pick a wager type, such as a straight wager or a boxed wager. A straight wager requires that the order of each of the numbers in each number field of the lottery ticket must correspond exactly to the order of each of the numbers drawn for those specific number fields in the lottery drawing. A boxed wager allows the lottery player to win if the numbers in each number field of the lottery ticket correspond to the numbers drawn, regardless of the specific order of the drawing. The payouts or prizes associated with the drawing will vary depending upon the wager type. A straight wager could have a higher payout or larger prize than a boxed wager, because the odds against successfully picking a straight wager (with the exact numbers in the exact order of the drawing) are greater than the odds of correctly selecting a boxed wager (exact numbers of the drawing, but appearing in any order). [0006] An example of a lottery game involving randomly drawn numbers is the Pennsylvania DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM offered by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM involves the selection of a three-digit number by the lottery player which is then printed on a lottery ticket. Each digit of the three-digit number can range from 0-9 for a total of 1,000 possible winning combinations from 000-999. A predetermined betting range is set from $0.50 to $5.00. A lottery player picks the time and date that the lottery player wishes to play the DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM with bets being allowed up to one week in advance of a drawing. Drawings are regularly scheduled, with a first or afternoon drawing taking place every day at 1:35 p.m. and a second or evening drawing taking place every day at 7:00 p.m. The drawings involve the random selection of a ball from three different hoppers, each hopper containing 10 balls numbered from 0-9. A separate ball is selected (one from each hopper) for each of the three spots. When selecting the number, the lottery player is allowed to select the three-digit number or have the computer randomly select a three-digit number for them. Pennsylvania refers to a computer generated number as a QUICK PICK.TM.. The lottery player is also allowed to select the wager type from a predetermined list of wagers that includes straight, boxed, boxed two digits plus one, play front pair, play back pair, play super straight, play super straight plus one. The payout odds for these wager types range from 50 to 1 for the play front pair and play back pair options to 500 to 1 for the straight, play super straight, and play super straight plus one wager types. The information--number, date and wager type are all printed on a lottery ticket. The lottery ticket serves as the lottery player's receipt in the event of a winning combination. If a player has a winning ticket, the player turns the winning ticket in to the place of purchase or some other designated location by a lottery commission to confirm the prize that corresponds to the lottery ticket information. For this example, the payout equals the odds for a particular bet, multiplied by the actual bet. Payouts for the DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM thus range from $25.00 for a $0.50 bet at 50 to 1 odds, up to $2,500 for a $5.00 bet at 500 to 1 odds. Note that the payout odds for this example are one half of the actual odds. The balance (approx. the other one half of the actual odds) goes to the lottery host, in this case the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. [0007] Similar to the DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM is The BIG 4.sup.SM lottery game. The BIG 4.sup.SM lottery game involves the selection of a four-digit number, with each of the four digits ranging from 0-9. This provides a total of 10,000 possible numbers ranging from 0000-9999. The winning or payout odds for this game range from 200 to 1 up to 5,000 to 1 for the various wagers permitted. For this game, the wagers include--straight, boxed, box two pairs, box one pair plus two digits, and box four different digits. Similar to the DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM, the bets range from $0.50 up to $5.00. The BIG 4.sup.SM has a first/afternoon drawing each day in the afternoon at 1:35 p.m. and each a second/evening drawing each evening at 7:00 p.m. The lottery player's ticket for The BIG 4.sup.SM would have four number fields (for the four digit number) instead of the three number fields of the DAILY NUMBER.sup.SM. [0008] Some lottery games have the prizes determined based upon the pool of monies wagered in a particular lottery game. This structure of payout is also referred to as a "pari-mutuel" system. Moreover, some payout structures are referred to as a "fixed" payout. An example of a lottery game using both the pari-mutuel and fixed payout systems is the Pennsylvania CASH 5.sup.SM lottery game. In the CASH 5.sup.SM lottery game, a player selects (or has the computer select) five separate numbers with each number ranging from 1-39. In the CASH 5.sup.SM lottery game, fifty percent of the gross sales are allocated to the total winnings pool. A winning ticket occurs if a player matches anywhere from two of five numbers of the drawn five numbers. If a match occurs, the lottery player is awarded a predetermined percentage of the respective winning subset pool (a pari-mutuel payout), with the exception that a match of only two of the five drawn numbers wins a predetermined distribution of $1.00 (a fixed payout)--which is also the cost of the lottery ticket for this game. If there are multiple winners for any of the other match levels (3 of five numbers, 4 of five numbers or 5 of five numbers), the winners for each level divide the allocated prize award for that particular level by the numbers of winners at that level. [0009] Another type of lottery game is the Pennsylvania POWERBALL.RTM., a multi-state game. The POWERBALL.RTM. lottery drawing takes place twice weekly. This is a progressive lottery game starting at a $10 million dollar jackpot that grows each drawing until there is a winner. POWERBALL.RTM. involves six numbers--five numbers plus the POWERBALL.RTM. number. Each of the five numbers range from 1-53 and the POWERBALL.RTM. number ranges from 1-42. POWERBALL.RTM. allows the lottery player to play up to 26 drawings in advance. If designated an advance drawing(s), the player marks the number of advance draws desired in the "advance draws" column of the ticket. A bet is required for each drawing selected. Predetermined combinations of drawing numbers correspond to predetermined prizes. The grand prize or jackpot is awarded if all five balls plus the power ball correctly match all numbers drawn for the designated drawing. If five balls (but not the 6.sup.th, POWERBALL.RTM.) match, a predetermined prize of $100,000 is awarded. If four balls and the POWERBALL.RTM.) match a predetermined prize of $5,000 is won. In the POWERBALL.RTM., multiple winners at each prize level are each awarded the predetermined, fixed prize at that level, except for the grand prize/jackpot, which is a pari-mutuel event (based on amount wagered and number of jackpot winners). [0010] The POWERBALL.RTM. lottery has an additional variation called the POWER PLAY.RTM.. For an additional $1.00, the cost of the ticket, the POWER PLAY.RTM. entitles the lottery player to enroll in the POWER PLAY.RTM. number selection. The POWER PLAY.RTM. number is a multiplier that ranges from 2-5. Before the POWERBALL.RTM. numbers are drawn, the POWER PLAY.RTM. multiplier is drawn. This allows the lottery player the chance to multiply their winnings between two and five times the regular prize levels, depending upon the POWER PLAY.RTM. number selected. The instructions and payouts for these Pennsylvania lottery games are listed on the Pennsylvania lottery website at "palottery.com." This website and each web page of the website is incorporated by reference, as if fully set forth herein. [0011] The states that host lottery games will typically use the lottery revenue to help the state with its various programs or budget. For example, Pennsylvania revenue uses portions of the revenues for benefit programs for the Commonwealth's older residents. For this reason, it is beneficial for a state or lottery organization to continue to attract lottery players to its lottery games. Providing additional games or new games may serve to attract new users or attract additional bets from existing players. With the ability in many states to play lottery games from other states (and countries), it is desirable to have new lottery games available. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION [0012] The present invention is embodied in a method for a lottery game in which characters are drawn. The characters are drawn from character sets in accordance with a template. The template has multiple character positions associated with the character sets with at least one of the sets including non-numeric characters. Winners of the lottery game are determined by comparing characters selected by players to the drawn lottery characters. In an exemplary embodiment the template represents a license plate. Also disclosed are a lottery ticket, a play slip, and a lottery game entry machine in accordance with the lottery game. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0013] The invention is best understood from the following detailed description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, with like elements having the same reference numerals. When a plurality of similar elements are present, a single reference numeral may be assigned to the plurality of similar elements with a small letter designation referring to specific elements. When referring to the elements collectively or to a non-specific one or more of the elements, the small letter designation may be dropped. The letter "n" may represent a non-specific number of elements. This emphasizes that according to common practice, the various features of the drawings are not drawn to scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of the various features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity. Included in the drawings are the following figures: [0014] FIG. 1 is a picture of an actual license plate for use with the present invention; [0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting license plate formats for multiple states grouped into multiple regions in accordance with aspects of the present invention; [0016] FIG. 3 is an illustration of a simulated license plate for use with the present invention; [0017] FIG. 4 is an illustration of an exemplary lottery ticket and an exemplary designated template for the lottery ticket in accordance with aspects of the present invention; [0018] FIG. 5 is a flow chart of exemplary steps for playing a lottery game in accordance with aspects of the present invention; [0019] FIG. 6 is an illustration of another exemplary lottery ticket and designated template in accordance with aspects of the present invention; Continue reading about Lottery games having non-numeric characters... Full patent description for Lottery games having non-numeric characters Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Lottery games having non-numeric characters patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Lottery games having non-numeric characters or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Stick for a hockey game table Next Patent Application: Method of conducting wagering dice games Industry Class: Amusement devices: games ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Lottery games having non-numeric characters patent info. IP-related news and info Results in 0.20189 seconds Other interesting Feshpatents.com categories: Computers: Graphics , I/O , Processors , Dyn. Storage , Static Storage , Printers 174 |
 * Protect your Inventions * US Patent Office filing 
PATENT INFO |
|
