Abstract:
A lottery card reader has a clip made from two separate pieces that are assembled together and a transparent flap attached to the clip. The clip has a first and a second pair of arms attached to a pivot. The arms in the first pair are separated and the arms in the second pair are resiliently biased towards each other. Moving the first pair of arms together moves the second pair of arms apart. The transparent flap can cover games on a lottery card to which the clip is attached. When a lottery card is inserted between the second pair of arms under the transparent flap it is releaseably gripped by the second pair of arms.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/745,524, filed Dec. 23, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,634,126. 

   BACKGROUND OF INVENTION 
   This invention relates to a lottery card reader that can be used to easily check a lottery card to determine if the numbers chosen were winning numbers. In particular, it relates to a lottery card reader that can be moved along a lottery card and can grip it at any position, and that has a transparent flap on which the winning numbers can be marked. 
   Numerous states in the United States operate lotteries as a way of raising money. Many of these lotteries use a card printed with groups of numbers, each group constituting a separate game of chance. A person may purchase any or all of the games on a card. He plays the games by marking his choice of numbers in each game he bought. A machine then reads the card and returns it to the player. 
   When the winning numbers are announced, the purchaser must compare the winning numbers to the numbers he chose on his card. If he purchased only one game, the comparison is easily accomplished. But if several games were played, the comparison must be made for each game, and that can be tedious, time-consuming, and prone to error. 
   Various types of lottery card readers have been invented to help a person determine his winning numbers. Some of these readers must be punched out in the proper position for each winning number, which may lead to errors if the hole is not made in precisely the correct position. Others are suitable for reading the cards of only one type of game, or the cards from only one state, and cannot be used for cards of other states or other types of games. 
   SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
   I have invented a lottery card reader that is simple, inexpensive, and can be used to accurately read almost any lottery card. Using the lottery card reader of this invention requires only marking the winning numbers on the reader and sliding it across the lottery card to the position of each game. 
   In a preferred embodiment, a clip is made from two separate pieces that assemble together, which simplifies manufacturing and lowers cost. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an isometric view of a certain presently preferred embodiment of a lottery card reader according to this invention. 
       FIG. 2  is an isometric view of the lottery card reader of  FIG. 1  clipped to a lottery card. 
       FIG. 3  is a front view of a certain presently preferred embodiment of an envelope for holding lottery cards. 
       FIG. 4  is an isometric view of an alternative certain presently preferred embodiment of a lottery card reader according to this invention. 
       FIG. 5  is an isometric view of the obverse side of the lottery card reader shown in  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 6  is a plan view of the lottery card reader of  FIG. 4 . 
       FIG. 7  is sectional view through VII—VII in  FIG. 6  (inverted). 
       FIG. 8  is a sectional view through VIII—VIII in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 9  is a sectional view through IX—IX in  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 10  is an enlargement of the circled area in  FIG. 9 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
   Referring to  FIG. 2 , lottery card  1  is printed with five arrays  2  of 40 numbers each, arranged in 8 rows and 5 columns, each array  2  being for a separate lottery game. Over lottery card  1  has been placed lottery card reader  3 . Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , lottery card reader  3  has a clip  4  and a transparent flap  5  attached to clip  4  by adhesive  6 . Flap  5  can also be attached to clip  4  by other means, such as rivets or using heat and pressure to bond it to clip  4 . Transparent flap  5  is rectangular and large enough to cover any one of the arrays  2  on lottery card  1 . Flap  5  is a single, unfolded sheet, preferable about 3 to about 4 inches long and about 1¾ to about 2 inches wide and can be eraseably written on in ink. Vertical reference line  7  printed on flap  5  enables the user to align flap  5  with any array  2  on lottery card  1 . 
   Clip  4  has a flexible, resilient bridge  8 , from which extend rigid four arms  9 ,  10 ,  11 , and  12 . Arms  9  and  10  make contact when lottery card  1  is not between them and grip lottery card  1  when it is between them. Arms  11  and  12  do not make contact and are shaped to hold a writing instrument  13 , such as a pen or marker, that can mark transparent flap  5 . Bridge  8  functions as a fulcrum so that squeezing arms  11  and  12  together separates arms  9  and  10 , releasing lottery card  1 . Clip  4  is preferably made of molded or extruded plastic, though it could also be made of metal or other materials. Clip  4  can also be releaseably attached to lottery card  1  by other means, such as a screw or easily releaseable adhesive. Clip  4  may be described as having (1) a first molded piece of plastic having a clasping arm, a gripping arm and a fulcrum therebetween; (2) a second molded piece of plastic having a clasping arm, a gripping arm, a fulcrum therebetween that engages the fulcrum of the first molded piece of plastic, and having a resilient member that extends from the second molded piece of plastic and contacts the first molded piece of plastic; (3) molded plastic means extending from one of the molded pieces of plastic for attaching the first molded piece of plastic to the second molded piece of plastic so that the clasping arm of the first molded piece of plastic opposes the clasping arm of the second molded piece of plastic and the gripping arm of the first molded piece of plastic opposes the gripping arm of the second molded piece of plastic, and the resilient member resiliently forces the clasping arms together and the gripping arms apart. 
   To use lottery card reader  3 , writing instrument  13  is removed and arms  11  and  12  are squeezed together, which separates arms  9  and  10 . Lottery card reader  3  is then placed over the top of a lottery card  1  so that reference line  7  is aligned with the numbers of at least one game, which can be seen through transparent flap  5 . The numbers chosen for two or more lottery games played have already been marked on lottery card  1 . For example, if six numbers out of 40 are picked for each game and 2 games have been purchased, one array of numbers might have numbers 5, 9, 19, 27, 29, and 34 marked and another array of numbers might have numbers 3, 7, 18, 21, 38, and 39 marked. If the winning numbers are 9, 18, 28, 34, 36, and 39, those numbers are circled or otherwise marked on transparent flap  5 . Arms  11  and  12  are squeezed together, separating arms  9  and  10 , and lottery card reader  3  is moved across lottery card  1  until the numbers marked on transparent flap  5  coincide with the same symbols on lottery card  1 . Arms  11  and  12  are then released, causing bridge  8  to move arms  9  and  10  together, attaching lottery card reader  3  to lottery card  1 . If a number is marked on both lottery card  1  and on transparent flap  5  it indicates that a winning number was chosen in that game. For example, numbers 9 and 34 would be marked on both lottery card  1  and flap  5  for the first game and numbers 18 and 39 would be marked on both lottery card  1  and flap  5  for the second game. Clip  4  can also be attached to the side of a lottery ticket (similar to a lottery card, but issued by a machine, which chooses the numbers played) so that the player can write the winning numbers on the transparent flap and align them with the numbers on the ticket. 
   In  FIG. 3 , an envelope  14  is of a size suitable for holding at least one lottery card. On the face of envelope  14  is printed a table  15 . The first column in table  15  has a row numbered for 10 lottery cards and the remaining columns indicated the games playable on each lottery card, in this case labeled A to J. The player can then enter the winning numbers that he selected in the proper row and column and thereby keep track of his winnings. Each of the player&#39;s lottery cards can be placed in envelope  14  and lottery card reader  3  can be clipped to envelope  14 . 
   In  FIGS. 4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 , and  10 , clip  16  is made from two pieces, an upper portion  17  and a lower potion  18 . Clip  16  is preferably made entirely of molded plastic, but could also be made of other materials, such as metal. Upper portion  17  is provided with an indentation  19  on each side and lower portion  18  has two extensions  20  with clasps  21  at the end. Upper portion  17  and lower portion  18  each have arms  22  and  23 . When arms  22  are forced together, arms  23  are forced apart, the arms pivoting on extensions  20 . The ends of arms  23  make contact when lottery card  24  is not between them and grip lottery card  24  when it is between them. Lower portion  18  is provided with a spring  25  that resiliently biases arms  23  together. At each end of spring  25  is a post  26  (see  FIG. 10 ) that fits into a well  27  in upper portion  17 . A flap  28 , made of a single, unfolded sheet of transparent material, has a aperture  29  at each end of greater diameter than posts  26 . To assemble clip  16 , posts  26  are inserted through apertures  29  of flap  28  and upper portion  17  and lower portion  18  are pushed together, forcing clasps  21  apart until they snap into indentations  19 . Flap  28  is also provided with a vertical reference mark  30  printed on it, on which numbers can be written. Clip  16  is used in the same manner as clip  4 . 
   The lottery card reader of this invention can be used to read virtually any lottery card, where the lottery card consists of a rectangular sheet on which are marked numbers, letters, or other symbols. Typically, the card is made of stiff or heavy paper, but plastic or other materials could also be used. A typical lottery card is about 8½ to about 9 inches long and about 3 to about 3½ inches wide. Each card typically holds 4 to 10 identical arrays of numbers, with each array being a separate game that must be purchased to play.