Telephonic-interface lottery system
First Claim
1. A telephonic-interface lottery control system for use with a communication facility including remote terminal apparatus for individual callers to call, wherein said remote terminal apparatus may comprise a conventional telephone instrument including voice communication means, and digital input means in the form of an array of alphabetic numeric buttons for providing identification data, said telephonic-interface lottery system comprising:
- interface means coupled to said communication facility to interface said remote terminal apparatus for voice and digital communication with said individual callers;
voice generator means coupled through said interface means for providing vocal instructions to an individual caller to enter identification data;
means for processing data supplied by said individual callers, said processing means coupled to said interface means and selecting at least one subset of at least one lottery winner;
qualification means coupled to said interface means for limiting access to said processing means; and
means for storing coupled to said interface means for storing said identification data.
5 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A telephonic-interface lottery system D interfaces with a multiplicity of individual terminals T1-Tn of a telephone network facility C to enable lottery players to call and play for at least one additional chance to possibly win by dialing a pay-to-dial telephone number indicated on a "scratch-off" or online game lottery ticket for use in the system. At the terminals, callers are prompted by voice-generated instructions to provide digital data, such as their telephone number, age, social security number, and/or drivers license number. In addition, the sequence number of the caller as well as the date and time of the call is recorded for positive association with a caller and is stored for processing. The caller'"'"'s identification data is confirmed using various techniques and callers may be ranked and accounted for on the basis of entitlement and sequence. In accordance with one format, an instant winner is selected online by utilizing techniques such as determining a random winning sequence number or a winning lottery number generated by a number generator. As an adjunct or alternative, the identification data is processed at a later time to determine a grand prize drawing winner by using various processing techniques for determining winners.
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Citations
34 Claims
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1. A telephonic-interface lottery control system for use with a communication facility including remote terminal apparatus for individual callers to call, wherein said remote terminal apparatus may comprise a conventional telephone instrument including voice communication means, and digital input means in the form of an array of alphabetic numeric buttons for providing identification data, said telephonic-interface lottery system comprising:
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interface means coupled to said communication facility to interface said remote terminal apparatus for voice and digital communication with said individual callers; voice generator means coupled through said interface means for providing vocal instructions to an individual caller to enter identification data; means for processing data supplied by said individual callers, said processing means coupled to said interface means and selecting at least one subset of at least one lottery winner; qualification means coupled to said interface means for limiting access to said processing means; and means for storing coupled to said interface means for storing said identification data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for conducting a telephonic-interface lottery for use with a communication facility including remote terminal apparatus for individual lottery players to call, wherein said remote terminal apparatus may comprise a conventional telephone instrument including voice communication means, and digital input means in the form of an array of alphabetic numeric buttons for providing identification data, comprising the steps of:
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developing a consumable key number for use with an interactive call processing format; providing said consumable key number on a lottery ticket for identification, said consumable key number entered by each individual caller via said digital input means; testing said consumable key number to limit access to said lottery; generating sequence data for each individual caller; and processing said consumable key numbers to select at least one subset thereof and corresponding sequence data by comparing external data with said consumable key number and sequence data to identify a winning subset. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for conducting a telephonic-interface lottery for use with a communication facility including remote terminal apparatus for facilitating calls from persons holding lottery tickets, wherein said remote terminal apparatus may comprise a conventional telephone instrument including voice communication means, and digital input means in the form of an array of alphabetic numeric buttons for providing identification data, comprising the steps of:
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developing a consumable key number for use with an interactive call processing format; providing said consumable key number on a lottery ticket for identification, said consumable key number entered by each caller via said digital input means; and receiving said consumable key number from a remote terminal apparatus and testing said consumable key number to limit access by each caller to said lottery, based on entitlement of each caller to a one time use. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. A telephonic-interface lottery control system for use with a communication facility including remote terminal apparatus for callers to call, wherein said remote terminal apparatus may comprise a conventional telephone instrument including voice communication means, and digital input means in the form of an array of alphabetic numeric buttons for providing identification data, said telephonic-interface lottery system comprising:
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interface means coupled to said communication facility to interface said remote terminal apparatus for voice and digital communication with said individual callers; voice generator means coupled through said interface means for providing vocal instructions to an individual caller to enter identification data; qualification means coupled to said interface means for limiting access to said lottery control system, wherein said qualification means further comprises a consumable key test means to qualify callers with respect to limited access, said consumable key test means including a check digit verification; and means for storing coupled to said interface means for storing said identification data. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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Specification