Mobile Lottery Ticket Ordering via Machine-Readable Code Images
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current lottery ticket distribution systems are inefficient, requiring physical brick and mortar locations, expensive hardware, and paper-based processes, which increase costs and inconvenience for customers, while also limiting the speed and reliability of sales.
Innovation Solution
A system allowing users to make lottery selections on mobile devices, generating machine-readable codes that can be scanned for ticket purchases, eliminating the need for paper play slips and enabling direct on-screen reading, with options for electronic ticket delivery and winnings notifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If thermal printing machines are used to print lottery tickets, then high-speed printing can be achieved, but expensive thermal paper and frequent maintenance are required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical thermal paper tickets with electronic copies displayed on mobile device screens. The machine-readable code is generated and displayed as an electronic image on the customer's mobile device, eliminating the need for thermal paper while maintaining the ticket's functionality for verification and winning determination.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent substitutes the mechanical thermal printing system with an electronic display system. Instead of using thermal print heads and thermal paper, the system uses mobile device screens to display machine-readable codes, replacing the mechanical printing process with electronic image generation and display.
2Productivity
If thermal printing machines are used to print lottery tickets, then tickets can be printed on demand, but frequent maintenance and downtime occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical thermal printing system with software-based electronic code generation on mobile devices. This eliminates mechanical components that require maintenance, such as thermal print heads and paper cutters, thereby improving system reliability and eliminating downtime associated with mechanical failures.
Solution Approach 2:
The mobile device itself performs the function of generating and displaying the ticket code, eliminating the need for external printing machinery. The customer's own device serves the purpose of ticket generation, making the system more reliable and eliminating single points of failure associated with centralized printing machines.
3Productivity
If customers fill out play slips at brick and mortar distributors, then ticket purchases can be processed, but customer convenience is reduced and operational costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables customers to independently generate their own lottery ticket codes using mobile devices without requiring visits to physical distributors. Customers can select their numbers, generate the machine-readable code, and receive electronic tickets entirely through self-service on their mobile devices, greatly improving convenience while reducing operational costs for distributors.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of customers going to distributors to purchase tickets, the system inverts the process by bringing the ticket purchasing capability to the customer's mobile device. The distributor's role shifts from selling physical tickets to providing the platform and machine-readable codes that enable customers to purchase and receive tickets electronically.
4Loss of information
If paper play slips are used for ticket ordering, then customer selections can be recorded, but the process is time-consuming and resource-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the manual paper play slip process with electronic data input and processing. Customer selections are entered directly into the mobile device, automatically processed, and converted into machine-readable codes, eliminating the time-consuming steps of writing, imaging, and manually entering data from paper slips while maintaining accurate recording of customer selections.
Data Source
AI summary
A mobile application or mobile website allows a user of a mobile device to make player selections associated with the order of a lottery ticket. The mobile device then displays a machine-readable code image. When a lottery retailer scans the image, the code conveys the lottery ticket order to the retail system, allowing the retailer to sell lottery tickets corresponding with the order. The mobile application or website may record player selections for reuse, record purchased tickets to report lottery status to the player, and assist the player in locating a lottery retailer. Further, a lottery image ticket may be transmitted to the user's mobile device or to an account which can be accessed through the user's mobile device. The lottery image ticket can then be presented to the retailer equipment for winnings check and redemption.