Gift cards, coupons and lottery tickets have used scratch-off regions to conceal amounts, codes or symbols. A user scratches the scratch-off regions to remove a scratch-off surface so as to reveal the amount, code or symbol. Users use various techniques to scratch off such scratch-off surfaces. For example, a fingernail, a coin, scissors, or any other similar object can be used to scratch off the scratch-off surfaces. One difficulty is that different users tend to use different objects as well as techniques (e.g., angle, direction and pressure) to perform the scratch off. Another difficulty is that the characteristics of scratch-off regions are not consistent across different usages (e.g., gift cards, coupons, lottery tickets) or across different manufacturers. As a result, each user's experience with scratching off surfaces tends to be different and unique.
This inconsistency in design and variation in user techniques can lead to user frustration, such as when a user accidentally scratches and/or removes the concealed information while attempting to merely remove the scratch-off surface. In other words, users can mistakenly scratch even through the concealed information under the scratch-off surfaces, thereby losing the ability to access the concealed information. Additionally, scratching off a scratch-off surface produces undesired debris.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds