Advances to animated media (e.g., greeting cards, books, etc.) are provided that do not require electricity to effect the animation.
An animated printed medium according to one embodiment includes two pages that define a pocket therebetween. At least one of the pages has a window with a plurality of spaced apart transparent sections, and a pushsleeve is coupled to an element that is rotatable relative to the two pages. The pushsleeve extends in the pocket and has a coded image positioned to move beneath the window. A fold line is between the pushsleeve and the element to allow the pushsleeve to rotate relative to the element. The pushsleeve is movable between a first position in which the element is between the fold line and the window and a second position in which the fold line is between the element and the window. Movement of the pushsleeve between the first and second positions causes the coded image to move beneath the window. Rotation of the element away from the two pages causes the pushsleeve to advance into the pocket, and rotation of the element toward the two pages causes the pushsleeve to retract from the pocket.
An animated printed medium according to another embodiment includes four consecutive pages of unitary construction separated by folds. The second and third pages collectively define a spread with an uninterrupted gutter area, the first and second pages are generally adjacent to one another, and the third and fourth pages are generally adjacent to one another. At least one of the second and third pages has a window with a plurality of spaced apart transparent sections, and the page having the window defines a pocket with the generally adjacent page. A pushsleeve is separated from an adjoining page by a fold line, and the adjoining page is the first page or the fourth page. The pushsleeve extends in the pocket and has a coded image positioned to move beneath the window. The pushsleeve is movable between a first position in which the adjoining page is between the fold line and the window and a second position in which the fold line is between the adjoining page and the window. Movement of the pushsleeve between the first and second positions causes the coded image to move beneath the window.
A greeting card or book according to an embodiment includes two pages that define a pocket therebetween. At least one of the pages has a window with a plurality of spaced apart transparent sections. A third page is coupled to at least one of the two pages. The third page and one of the two pages collectively define a spread with an uninterrupted gutter area. A pushsleeve is coupled to an element rotatable relative to the two pages. The pushsleeve extends in the pocket and has a coded image positioned to move beneath the window. A fold line is between the pushsleeve and the element to allow the pushsleeve to rotate relative to the element. Graphics are located along the gutter area. The pushsleeve is movable between a first position in which the element is between the fold line and the window and a second position in which the fold line is between the element and the window. Movement of the pushsleeve between the first and second positions causes the coded image to move beneath the window.
a is a side view of the animated printed medium of
b is a side view of the animated printed medium of
c is a side view of the animated printed medium of
a is an unassembled view of the animated printed medium of
b is an unassembled view of the animated printed medium of
a is a font view of a transparent sheet having a plurality of lines according to an embodiment.
b is a front view of a cutout having a plurality of sections that define a plurality of lines from a page.
a is a side view of a transparent sheet adjacent a pushsleeve according to an embodiment.
b is a side view of a transparent sheet adjacent a pushsleeve according to another embodiment.
c is a side view of the animated printed medium of
a is an unassembled view of the animated printed medium of
b is an unassembled view of the animated printed medium of
a is a side view of the animated printed medium of
b is a side view of the animated printed medium of
b show one embodiment of an animated printed medium 10 (e.g., a greeting card, book, etc.). Animated printed medium 10 has four pages 100 (i.e., page 101, page 102, page 103, page 104), but it should be understood that more pages may be included. The first and last pages 100 (e.g., pages 101, 104) may be referred to herein as the “cover”, and the pages 100 therebetween (e.g., pages 102, 103) may be referred to herein as “inner panels”. Gutter areas 105 (also referred to herein as “fold lines”) may be defined between consecutive pages 100 that define a spread (i.e., pages that may be simultaneously viewed), as shown between pages 102 and 103 in
Graphics 110 may be printed, adhered to, or otherwise provided on the pages 100, as is well known in the art, and graphics 110 may optionally be located adjacent or along the gutter areas 105, so long as those graphics 110 do not prevent the pages 100 from pivoting along the gutter areas 105.
At least one page 100 defines a cutout 120, which may be created by any appropriate method, and a transparent sheet 125 with a plurality of lines 126 (preferably parallel straight lines, as shown in
A pushsleeve 130 is positioned beneath the window 121 in a pocket 135 defined by the page 100 having the window 121 and an adjacent page 100. For example, an edge 103a of page 103 is coupled to an edge 104a of page 104 to define the pocket between pages 103, 104 in animated printed medium 10. The pushsleeve 130 is pivotally coupled to an element that pivots relative to the pages that define the pocket 135. In animated printed medium 10, for example, the pushsleeve 130 is of unitary construction with the first page 101 and separated from the first page 101 by a fold line 131. The pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 131) between the pushsleeve 130 and the element (e.g., first page 101) is positioned such that the pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 131) is movable to a position inside the pocket 135 (
Pages 100 may be adhered or otherwise coupled together in a way that does not disrupt or prevent movement of the pushsleeve 130 in the pocket 135. For example, page 101 may be adhered to page 102 to form a single collective page that does not separate, and page 103 may be adhered to page 104 in areas 150a (
Various materials may be used to construct the animated print medium 10. For example, papers, cardstocks, vinyls, and/or other appropriate materials may be used for the pages 100 and/or the pushsleeve 130; acetate, cellophane, vinyl, and/or other transparent materials may be used for the transparent sheet 125; and ink or any other appropriate adornment may be used for the graphics 110 and the coded image 140. If a very thin material (e.g., 0.10 mm thick clear PVC) is used for the transparent sheet 125, the transparent sheet 125 may be drawn to—and lay against—the pushsleeve 130; this may be desirable since contact between the transparent sheet 125 and the pushsleeve 130 may enhance the animated effect of moving the pushsleeve 130 relative to the transparent sheet 125. This is shown in
In use, the animated print medium 10 may start such that the cover (e.g., pages 101, 104) is closed, and the front cover (e.g., page 101) may be opened (i.e., rotated) away from the rear cover (e.g., page 104), as shown in
As shown in
As will be appreciated by comparing
Animation effected by moving a coded image beneath a ruled transparent sheet is commonly known as moveable display animation and is shown, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,967 to Schwartz, the contents of which are expressly incorporated herein by reference. However, while prior art devices have been proficient in utilizing the basic technique of sliding a coded image beneath a ruled transparent sheet to cause animation, prior art devices show the mechanics behind moving the coded image (see U.S. Pat. No. 2,367,967 to Schwartz, for example), which can be a distraction and may remove some of the marvel associated with the animation. In contrast, the animated printed medium 10 hides the mechanics behind moving the coded image 140 and allows full and complete sceneries (i.e., graphics 110) that surround the animated features (i.e., window 121) and extend across pages 100 (i.e., across gutter areas 105) to be created. In addition, the method of construction set forth herein is believed to be more commercially acceptable than prior art methods.
In animated print medium 90, the page 100 that defines the pocket 135 with the page 100 having the window 121 also defines a window 121′. The window 121′ may be substantially aligned with the window 121, the window 121′ may not overlap with the window 121 at all, or the window 121′ may only partially overlap with the window 121. The window 121′ may include a transparent sheet 125′ with a plurality of lines 126′ that is substantially similar to the transparent sheet 125, or the window 121′ may otherwise be configured as set forth above regarding the window 121.
The pushsleeve 130 has an additional coded image 140′ configured to travel beneath the window 121′. In other words, the additional coded image 140′ is on the opposite side of the pushsleeve 130 than the coded image 140.
Movement discussed above relative to the animated print medium 10 and
As shown in
Graphics 1210 may be printed, adhered to, or otherwise provided on the pages 1201, as is well known in the art, and graphics 1210 may optionally be located adjacent or along the gutter areas 1205, so long as those graphics 1210 do not prevent the pages 1201 from pivoting along the gutter areas 1205.
At least one page 1201 defines a cutout 1220, which may be created by any appropriate method, and a transparent sheet 1225 with a plurality of lines 1226 (preferably parallel straight lines) may be adjacent each cutout 1220 and coupled to the respective page 1201 by adhesive or any other appropriate fastener. In another embodiment, the transparent sheet 1225 is omitted and the cutout 1220 includes a plurality of sections that define a plurality of lines from the page 1201, as discussed above relative to
For each page 1201 having a window 1221, a pushsleeve 1230 is positioned beneath the window 1221 in a pocket 1235 defined by the page 1201 having the window 1221 and an adjacent page 1201. For example, in animated print medium 1200, an edge 1201a of one page 1201 is coupled to an edge 1201b of another page 1201 to define a pocket between pages 1201′ and 1201″″ and another pocket 1235 between pages 1201″ and 1201′″ (
The pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 1231) between the pushsleeve 1230 and the element (e.g., activating section 1232) is positioned such that the pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 1231) is movable to a position inside the pocket 1235 (
Pages 1201 may be adhered or otherwise coupled together in a way that does not disrupt or prevent movement of a respective pushsleeve 1230 in a respective pocket 1235, and various materials may be used to construct the animated print medium 1200, such as those discussed above relative to the animated print medium 10.
As shown in
It should be understood that an embodiment that has a spread with only one page 1201 having a window 1221 and a pushsleeve 1230 may nevertheless be automated in a similar way (i.e., by moving the pages 1201 relative to one another) by coupling the activating section first portion 1232a to a folding element (similar to the activating section first portion 1232a, for example) of the other page 1201.
As shown in
Additional pages (noted above) may be traditional pages bound together at a spine and/or pages that form pockets 1235 as described above, and additional pages may optionally include additional animation features (including, but not limited to, those set forth herein). Additional animation features (including, but not limited to, those set forth herein) may also be incorporated into a single page.
Graphics 1710 may be printed, adhered to, or otherwise provided on the pages 1701, as is well known in the art, and graphics 1710 may optionally be located adjacent or along the gutter areas 1705, so long as those graphics 1710 do not prevent the pages 1701 from pivoting along the gutter areas 1705.
At least one page 1701 defines a cutout 1720, which may be created by any appropriate method, and a transparent sheet 1725 with a plurality of lines 1726 (preferably parallel straight lines) may be adjacent each cutout 1720 and coupled to the respective page 1701 by adhesive or any other appropriate fastener. In another embodiment, the transparent sheet 1725 is omitted and the cutout 1720 includes a plurality of sections that define a plurality of lines from the page 1701, as discussed above relative to
For each page 1701 having a window 1721, a pushsleeve 1730 is positioned beneath the window 1721 in a pocket 1735 defined by the page 1701 having the window 1721 and an adjacent page 1701. Each pushsleeve 1730 is pivotally coupled to an element that pivots relative to the pages 1701 that define the corresponding pocket 1735. In animated printed medium 1700, for example, each pushsleeve 1730 is coupled to a pop-up portion 1750. The pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 1731) between the pushsleeve 130 and the element (e.g., pop-up portion 1750) is positioned such that the pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 1731) is movable to a position such that the element (e.g., pop-up portion 1750) is between the pivotal connection (e.g., fold line 1731) and the gutter area 1705 (
Pages 1701 may be adhered or otherwise coupled together in a way that does not disrupt or prevent movement of a respective pushsleeve 1730 in a respective pocket 1735, and various materials may be used to construct the animated print medium 1700, such as those discussed above relative to the animated print medium 10.
As shown in
It should be understood that additional animation features (including, but not limited to, those set forth herein) may also be incorporated into a single page 1701 and/or other pages coupled to the pages 1701.
Those skilled in the art appreciate that variations from the specified embodiments disclosed above are contemplated herein and that the described embodiments are not limiting. The description should not be restricted to the above embodiments, but should be measured by the following claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20100011636 A1 | Jan 2010 | US |