Method and apparatus for validating instant-win lottery tickets

• US 5,317,135 A
• Filed: 05/24/1991
• Issued: 05/31/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/1991
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Finocchio, Richard
• Original Assignee: Finocchio, Richard
• Inventors: Finocchio, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Turner, Samuel A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): SIKORSKI, EDWARD
• Application Number:
  US07/705,332
• Time in Patent Office: 1,103 Days
• Field of Search: 235/375, 235/380, 235/382, 235/437, 273/139, 364/412
• US Class Current: 463/17
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 50/34 Betting or bookmaking, e.g. Internet betting
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 15/005 with dispensing of lottery tickets
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking
• CPC Class Codes: G07G 5/00 Receipt-giving machines cash registers giving receipts G07G1/00

Abstract

The status (`paid` or `not yet paid`) of each ticket to be validated is stored in the main memory of a computer, and a flag indicating whether the ticket is valid, the ticket amount and information necessary to locate the status information for the ticket is encoded into a validation number which is printed on each ticket. When the ticket is presented for validation, the encoded information on the ticket is read, forwarded to the computer and decoded into a status flag, the ticket amount and the status location. The status flag is then checked to determine if the ticket is valid; if it is, the decoded information regarding the status is used to locate the status information in the computer memory and change the status to `paid` so that the ticket cannot be cashed again.

Claims

1. A method for cashing instant-win lottery tickets, some of said tickets being winning tickets with a predetermined prize value and some of said tickets being non-winning tickets, by means of a computer system having a main memory and a disk memory, said method comprising the steps of:

A. storing information for at least some of said winning tickets in said computer main memory at a predetermined location and storing information for others of said winning tickets in said computer disk memory at a predetermined location;

B. printing a validation code on each of said tickets, said validation code comprising a flag indicating whether said each ticket is a winning ticket with sufficient information contained within said validation code to cash said each ticket, said sufficient information including the prize value of said each ticket and information identifying said predetermined computer main memory location;

C. reading said validation code from a ticket presented for cashing at a validation location;

D. partially decoding said validation code read from said presented ticket;

E. reading said flag from said partially decoded validation code;

F. decoding a predetermined portion of said validation code and accessing said predetermined computer main memory location using said identifying information to mark said presented ticket as cashed only when said flag indicates said presented ticket is a winning ticket with sufficient information contained within said validation code to cash said presented ticket;

G. decoding a predetermined portion of said validation code to determine a disk address when said flag indicates that said presented ticket is a ticket with insufficient information contained within said validation code to cash said presented ticket; and

H. accessing said computer disk memory using said disk address to locate said additional ticket status information to determine if said presented ticket is a winning ticket.

2. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 1 wherein step F further comprises the steps of:

F1. modifying said stored ticket information in said predetermined computer main memory location to indicate that said ticket has been cashed.

3. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 1 wherein step H further comprises the steps of:

H1. modifying said additional ticket status information in said computer disk memory to indicate that said ticket has been paid.

4. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 1 wherein step B comprises the steps of:

B1. composing a validation code for each of said tickets, said validation code comprising a flag indicating whether said each ticket is a winning ticket with a prize value of less than a predetermined award, information indicating the prize value of said each ticket and information identifying said predetermined computer memory location;

B2. encrypting each of said validation codes to prevent unauthorized reading; and

B3. printing an encrypted validation code on each of said tickets.

5. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 4 wherein step D comprises the steps of:

D1. decrypting an encrypted validation code read from said presented ticket; and

D2. decoding said flag from said encrypted validation code.

6. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 1 wherein step A further comprises the steps of:

A1. storing information only for winning tickets in said computer main memory and storing information for each winning ticket in said computer main memory at a separate predetermined location.

7. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 6 wherein step A1 further comprises the steps of:

A1A. designating a single bit location in said computer main memory for at least some of said winning tickets and storing in said single bit location information indicating whether said each winning ticket has been cashed.

8. In a method for validating a printed ticket, the improvement according to claim 1 wherein step A comprises the steps of:

A2. encoding into said validation code additional information which identifies ticket characteristics, but is not necessary for validating a ticket.

9. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 8 wherein step B comprises the step of:

B1. printing a validation code on said ticket, said validation code comprising additional information which identifies ticket characteristics, but is not necessary for validating a ticket.

10. A method for validating a printed ticket according to claim 1 wherein

the validation code printed on each of said tickets comprises additional date information, geographical information and ticket selling agent information.

11. A method for cashing instant-win lottery tickets by means of a computer system having a main memory and a disk memory, said tickets being sold in a book having a book number and a game number, some of said tickets in said being winning tickets with a prize value less than a predetermined prize value greater than said predetermined prize value and some of said tickets being non-winning tickets, said method comprising the steps of:

A. storing paid information for each winning ticket with a prize value less than a predetermined prize value in said computer main memory at a location determined by said book number;

B. composing a validation code for each of said tickets, said validation code comprising information identifying said book number and said game number, a flag indicating whether said each ticket is a winning ticket with a prize value of less than a predetermined the prize value of said each ticket;

C. encrypting each of said validation codes to prevent unauthorized reading;

D. printing an encrypted validation code on each of said tickets;

E. reading said encrypted validation code from a ticket presented for cashing at a validation location;

F. decrypted an encrypted validation code read from said presented ticket;

G. decoding said decrypted validation code at a decoding location;

H. reading a validation number from said decoded validation code;

I. decoding said flag from said validation number;

J. decoding said ticket value, said game number and said book number from said validation number only when said flag indicates said presented ticket is a winning ticket with a prize value of less than a predetermined prize value;

K. returning said decoded value, said game number and said book number from said decoding location to said validation location;

L. accessing said computer main memory using said book number and said game number to modify said paid ticket information to indicate that said presented ticket has been cashed;

M. decoding said validation number to determine a disk address when said flag indicated that said presented ticket is not a winning ticket with a prize value of less that a predetermined prize value; and

N. accessing said computer disk memory using said disk address to locate said additional ticket status information to determine if said presented ticket is a winning ticket when said flag indicates that said presented ticket is not a winning ticket with a prize value of less than a predetermined prize value.

12. Apparatus for cashing instant-win lottery tickets, some of said tickets being winning tickets with a predetermined prize value and some of said tickets being non-winning tickets, said apparatus comprising:

a computer system having a main memory and a disk memory;

means for storing information for each winning ticket in said computer main memory at a predetermined location;

means for printing validation code on each of said tickets, said validation code comprising a flag indicating whether said each ticket is a winning ticket with sufficient information contained within validation code to cash said each ticket, said sufficient information including the prize value of said each ticket and information identifying said predetermined computer main memory location;

means connected to said computer system for reading said validation code from a ticket presented for cashing at a validation location;

means responsive to said validation code for generating a winner flag;

means responsive to said winner flag for decoding said identifying information from said validation code and for accessing said predetermined computer main memory location only when said flag indicates said presented ticket is a winning ticket with sufficient information contained within said validation code to cash said presented ticket;

means responsive to a predetermined portion of said validation code and to said winner flag for generating a disk address when said flag indicates that said presented ticket is a ticket with insufficient information contained within said validation code to cash said presented ticket; and

means responsive to said disk address for accessing said computer disk memory to locate said additional ticket status information to determine if said presented ticket is a winning ticket.