Package for promotional or other articles such as lottery tickets

Packages for sets of promotional or other articles (such as lottery tickets or coupons) which conceal information included on the articles, and methods of forming the packages, are disclosed. Embodiments of the package include even (or odd) numbers of integrated panels of equal size, pairs of which panels are separated by fold lines. A four-panel package may be folded along the first and third fold lines so that the inner face of each panel contacts the inner face of an adjacent panel. The package then may be folded along the second fold line so that the exposed outer faces of the remotest panels contact, thereby forming a package having the length and width of a single panel. Sets of tickets or articles equal to the number of panels (or multiples thereof) may then be formed simultaneously by creating areas in the folded package completely defined by lines of weakness. To separate the tickets from the remainder of the package and reveal the concealed information, the customer merely tears, or "punches out," the tickets along the lines of weakness.

This invention relates to packaging for promotional or other articles and 
more particularly to sets of tickets concurrently detachable from an 
integrated package to reveal information which was previously concealed by 
the arrangement of tickets within the package. 
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
A variety of overlays exist to mask individual promotional materials, 
including single lottery tickets, prior to a specific event such as 
purchase of the tickets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,512,780, for example, discloses a 
three-panel coupon blank folded twice and adhered to conceal between first 
and second panels a single puzzle piece contained on the third panel. The 
piece may be revealed by tearing interconnecting lines of weakness formed 
parallel to three edges of each panel and then unfolding the blank along 
the fold line which forms a common edge of the first and second panels. 
Only then may the piece be removed from the blank by tearing its 
surrounding lines of weakness. 
British Patent Specification No. 1,459,343 discloses a paper article having 
upper and lower sections adhered at their peripheries, the upper section 
of which includes lines of weakness defining a single, multi-panel lottery 
ticket. Information printed on the face of the ticket adjacent the lower 
section is concealed until the ticket is removed by tearing the upper 
section along the lines of weakness. Rather than being scored 
(perforated), however, at least one edge of each panel must remain 
connected to a corresponding edge of an adjacent panel or panels. The 
unscored lower section, moreover, remains intact during the ticket removal 
process. 
U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,153, commonly assigned to Dittler Brothers, 
Incorporated, illustrates in FIGS. 29-32 a single, three-panel promotional 
article in which initially non-adjacent first and third panels contain 
scored, separately removable sections. The scored sections overlay one 
another when the article is folded and, when removed, (ultimately) reveal 
concealed information or indicia contained on the second panel. The second 
panel contains no lines of weakness, however, and is designed to remain 
intact even after the concealed information is revealed. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention provides a means to package sets of promotional or 
other articles, such as coupons or lottery tickets, and conceal 
information included thereon until the articles are removed, typically 
concurrently, from the package. In one embodiment of the invention, the 
package includes four integrated panels of equal size, pairs of which 
panels are separated by first, second, and third fold lines. The package 
may be folded along the first and third fold lines so that the inner face 
of each panel contacts the inner face of an adjacent panel. Folding in 
this manner conceals information printed or otherwise contained on the 
inner faces. The package then may be folded along the second fold line so 
that the exposed outer faces of the remotest panels contact, thereby 
forming a package having the length and width of a single panel. Placing 
adhesive around the peripheries of appropriate inner and outer faces 
permits the information to remain concealed until the package is opened. 
Crimping or knurling the periphery of the folded package provides 
additional security against tampering. 
Sets of tickets or promotional articles equal to the number of panels (or 
multiples thereof) may then be formed simultaneously by creating area in 
the folded package completely defined by lines of weakness. To separate 
the tickets from the remainder of the package and reveal the concealed 
information, the customer merely tears, or "punches out," the tickets 
along the lines of weakness. Other embodiments of the invention include 
packages formed of even numbers of panels greater than four (or odd 
numbers of panels greater than or equal to three), providing an almost 
infinite variety of tickets or promotional articles available in the 
package. 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a package 
containing multiple tickets or promotional or other articles. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a package 
for concealing information printed (or otherwise placed) on the articles 
until a specific event such as purchase of the package occurs. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a package 
permitting the articles to be removed concurrently. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a package in 
which lines of weakness defining each article may be formed 
simultaneously. 
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will 
become apparent with reference to the remainder of the written portion and 
drawings of this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
FIGS. 1-3 detail an embodiment of strip 10 used to form package 14 of the 
present invention. Strip 10 may be any elongated, opaque material such as 
paper, foil, or a laminated, multi-ply composite of paper, foil, or other 
suitable substrates. In an embodiment of package 14 consistent with FIGS. 
1-3, strip 10 is capable of receiving ink so that indicia 18 representing 
lottery or other information may be printed thereon. Strip 10 
alternatively or additionally may be coated with thermally reactive, 
"scratch off," or other chemicals or coatings if desired. If "scratch off" 
or similar removable coatings or devices are used to mask indicia 18, 
strip 10 need not be opaque. 
As shown in FIGS. 1-2, strip 10 comprises four panels 22A-D of equal size. 
Panels 22A-D include respective inner surfaces 24A-D and outer surfaces 
25A-D, with inner surfaces 24AD defined as those visible in FIG. 1. Fold 
line 26 separates adjacent panels 22A and 22B, while fold line 30 
separates adjacent panels 22B and 22C. Adjacent panels 22C and 22D are 
separated by fold line 34. Folding along each of fold lines 26, 30, and 34 
causes its adjacent panels 22 to leave the plane of the page containing 
FIG. 1 and move toward the reader. 
Each panel 22A-D also includes perforations, or lines of weakness 38, 
defining its central, or ticket, portion 42A-D. Tickets 42A-D each include 
corresponding inner surfaces 46A-D, which inner surfaces 46A-D are each 
coincident with a portion of respective inner surfaces 24A-D. Tickets 
42A-D are designed for use with a lottery or to be promotional or other 
articles removable from package 14 after occurrence of a specific event 
(such as purchase of the package). For lottery tickets or promotional 
articles, inner surfaces 46A-D of tickets 42A-D typically will include 
indicia 18, which may, but in many cases will not, be identical for each 
ticket 42A-D. 
FIGS. 1-2 detail adhesive 50 placed on inner surfaces 24B and 24C and outer 
surface 25A. Adhesive 50, which surrounds tickets 42A-C, permits surfaces 
of panels 22A-D to adhere, concealing indicia 18 as appropriate and 
decreasing the likelihood that indicia 18 could be revealed through 
tampering prior to purchase or other suitable event involving package 14. 
Adhesive 50 alternatively may be placed on inner surfaces 24A and 24D and 
outer surface 25D or, if one or more fold lines 26, 30, or 34 is modified, 
alternatively or additionally placed on other inner (24) or outer (25) 
surfaces. 
FIG. 2 illustrates formation of package 14 from strip 10. Folding strip 10 
along fold line 26 causes panel 22A to overlay adjacent panel 22B, with 
inner surfaces 24A and 24B facing each other. Folding (opaque) strip 10 in 
this manner causes ticket 42A to overlay and be aligned with adjacent 
ticket 42B as well, so that adjacent inner surfaces 46A and 46B face each 
other and conceal indicia 18 printed or otherwise contained thereon. 
Adhesive 50 (placed on panel 22B) causes panel 22B to adhere to adjacent 
panel 22A, further helping to conceal the indicia 18 and decrease the 
possibility of tampering until tickets 42A and 42B are removed 
concurrently from package 14. 
Folding strip 10 along fold line 34 similarly causes panel 22D and ticket 
42D to overlay adjacent panel 22C and ticket 42C, respectively. As folded 
in this manner, adjacent inner surfaces 46C and 46D too face and align 
with each other and conceal the indicia 18 contained thereon. Thus, in the 
present invention all of the indicia 18 contained on inner surface 46A-D 
may be concealed merely by folding along fold lines 26 and 34. Adhesive 50 
placed on panel 22C causes it to adhere to panel 22D. 
To complete formation of package 14 (FIG. 3), strip 10 then may be folded 
along fold line 30, causing panel 22A to overlay panel 22D with outer 
surfaces 25A and 25D in contact and tickets 42A-D to align. Adhesive 50 
placed on outer surface 25A adheres it to outer surface 25d, forming 
integrated package 14. If outer surface 25B is nominally labelled the 
"front" of package 14 (as illustrated in FIG. 3 with promotional indicia 
58), panels 22A-D are arranged so that 22B overlays panel 22A, panel 22A 
overlays panel 22D, and panel 22D overlays panel 22C. Knurling or crimping 
panels 22A-D provides an additional tamper-resistant fastening means 54 
for package 14. Alternatively, some or all of adhesive 50 may be omitted 
if fastening means 54 is used. 
Because tickets 42A-D are aligned in package 14, the tickets 42A-D may be 
removed simultaneously merely by tearing, or "punching out," their 
corresponding lines of weakness 38, which also are aligned. This action 
separates the lottery tickets or other articles comprising tickets 42A-D 
from the remainder of package 14, revealing the previously-concealed 
indicia 18 contained on inner surfaces 46A-D. 
Illustrated in FIG. 4 is an alternate embodiment of the present invention. 
Strip 110 includes six panels 122A-F, each having respective inner 
surfaces 124A-F, outer surfaces 125A-F, and tickets 142A-F (each defined 
by lines of weakness 138 and having inner surfaces 146A-F bearing indicia 
118). The interconnection of pairs of adjacent panels 122 and fold lines 
126, 130, 134, 135, and 136 is as follows: 
______________________________________ 
Fold line Connects adjacent panels 
______________________________________ 
126 122A and 122B 
130 122B and 122C 
134 122C and 122D 
135 122D and 122E 
136 122E and 122F 
______________________________________ 
As shown in FIG. 4, adhesive 150, placed on inner surfaces 124B-D and outer 
surface 125A, surrounds tickets 142A-D. Panel 122A initially may be folded 
along fold line 126 so as to overlay and adhere to panel 122B and conceal 
indicia 118 on inner surfaces 146A and 146B of tickets 142A and 142B. 
Folding strip 110 along fold line 135 then overlays panels 122B and 122C, 
respectively, with panels 122F and 122E and causes them to adhere, 
concealing indicia 118 contained on inner surfaces 146C-F. Again, indicia 
118 may thus be concealed in their entirety merely by folding along two 
fold lines, 126 and 135. Folding panels 122B and 122C along fold line 130 
causes outer surfaces 125A and 125F to contact and adhere to each other. 
To complete the integrated package of this embodiment, adjacent panels 
122C and 122D of strip 110 finally may be folded along fold line 134 
(which operates in accordion fashion, opposite the other fold lines 126, 
130, 135, and 136), adhering outer surfaces 125C and 125D. As with package 
14, the package formed from strip 110 may then be crimped, knurled, or 
otherwise redundantly fastened as appropriate or if additional security 
from tampering is desired. 
Those ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize that many of the steps 
used to form the integrated packages of the present invention may be 
performed in any order. Lines of weakness 38 and 138, for example, may be 
created after the packages are formed, permitting a single blade or 
cutting mechanism to score all of the panels 22A-D or 122A-F 
simultaneously. Scoring in this manner assures proper alignment of the 
lines of weakness 38 and 138, facilitating the simultaneous tearing, or 
"punching out," of the respective tickets 42A-D and 142A-F. 
Persons having ordinary skill in the art also will recognize that lines of 
weakness 38 or 138 may be created to form tickets 42 or 142 of virtually 
any shape, including but not limited to the rectangular tickets 42 and 142 
illustrated in FIGS. 1-4. More than one ticket 42 or 142 may be included 
as part of each panel 22 or 122, permitting the package to contain tickets 
42 or 142 equal to any multiple of the number of panels 22 or 122 formed 
in strip 10 or 110. Similarly, additional pairs of (or single) panels may 
be included on a strip to increase the number of tickets contained in the 
package. As a result of these variables, an almost infinite number and 
variety of tickets may be available from the packages of the present 
invention. Additional modifications will be apparent to those having 
ordinary skill in the art and may be made without departing from the scope 
or spirit of the present invention.