Patent Application
20110133441
I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a book having a bound-in removable interactive element. More particularly, the present invention relates to a book having at least one cover or page comprising at least one bound-in removable interactive element that is functional both separate from and within the book. The invention also relates to an interactive element that is integral with and can be removed through either side of a cover or page.
II. Background of the Related Art
A variety of books are currently on the market which are provided with, for example, puzzles as well as manipulative and interactive pieces for use with the book. These types of books have an especially high educational value for children. One example is a book provided with manipulative pieces which may be placed on a page of the book to complete a picture on the page. In another example, a number of manipulative pieces need to be placed adjacent to each other in order to complete a picture. In some instances, the pieces are assembled in a manner analogous to a jigsaw puzzle.
An example of a puzzle book is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,857,706 to McQueeny which incorporates a plurality of interlocking puzzle pieces disposed in a cavity on the exterior side of the front cover. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,507 to Ozrovitz discloses a child's story and picture book having at least one page which includes text on one or more sides and a puzzle on the other side. The puzzle has a plurality of interlocking puzzle pieces that fit into a cavity centered on a page. Another example is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,586 to Miller which discloses a book with puzzle parts included in the pages of the book for use in combination with a board.
In the examples provided above, the puzzle pieces or game pieces within the book are constrained to specific recessed locations provided within a particular cover or page. Furthermore, the recessed portions are supported by a backing material which closes off the rear of the recessed portion. It is not possible to use the pieces in multiple instances such as within a plurality of recessed portions on the same page or throughout the book. Furthermore, these puzzles provide minimal or no interactivity with the book itself. Accordingly, the use of components provided within books disclosed in the prior art is unduly limiting. It is therefore desirable to provide books with interactive pieces which provide the user with a higher degree of interactivity.
The present invention is directed to a book comprising a front cover, a back cover, at least one page between the front and back covers, a binding means, and at least one bound-in removable interactive element having a front and back side, wherein the front and back sides of the removable interactive element are integral with front and back sides of the front cover, back cover, or page of said book. The bound-in removable interactive element is provided by die-cutting the interactive element into the covers or pages of the book. Further, the bound-in interactive element is constructed of a material that is substantially the same as the front cover, back cover and pages of the book. In alternative embodiments the front cover, back cover, and pages of the book may comprise any combination of different materials. The bound-in removable interactive elements may be the same or a different material as that used for the page or cover in which it is contained. The die-cut bound-in removable interactive element has substantially the same width as the front and back covers and pages of the book, and optionally, comprises printing on its front and back surfaces.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the front cover, back cover and the pages of the book are prepared from supporting material of sufficient rigidity and structural integrity to facilitate die-cutting of bound-in removable interactive elements having various interactive shapes while retaining the outline of the thus-formed shape in the cut material. Further, the front and back covers and pages of the book along with the removable interactive element are comprised of the same supporting material so that the removable interactive element can be removed and inserted from the covers or pages of the book without loss of the book's overall structural integrity. In still another embodiment the plurality of components, including the front and back covers, pages, and individual interactive elements may each comprise a different material.
The shapes of the removable interactive elements may be configured such that they can be removed from the book and used in a story, game, puzzle, or other activity within or apart from the book. When complete, the removable interactive elements can be re-inserted into its outline in the supporting material of the covers or pages of the book. Optionally, the supporting material also has a surface, or laminate, capable of being printed upon such that words, pictures, or drawings and the like, may be formed thereon. Supporting material which has been printed, cut, and sized may be incorporated as a cover and/or one or more pages in a book. By combining a plurality of these pages, an activity, story, or game which includes these removable interactive elements may be created for use within or apart from the book.
Accordingly, these objects and others are achieved by the book of the present invention which comprises a front cover, a back cover, and at least one page between the front and back covers. The front cover, back cover, and at least one page are bound together by a binding means. At least one of the front cover, back cover, and a page of the book comprises at least one outline of a shape formed therein and a corresponding die-cut bound-in removable interactive element having an analogous shape. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a book which employs die-cut bound-in removable interactive elements in a manner such that they cooperate to form a picture, present a story, play a game, puzzle, or other activity either within or apart from the book.
Also contemplated within the scope of the present invention is the provision of a means for holding the die-cut bound-in removable interactive elements. According to one embodiment of the invention, this is accomplished by a “press-in fit” effect in which the bound-in removable interactive element maintains its integral position within the covers or pages of the book by a precise die-cut fit within the supportive material. Accordingly, once the removable interactive element is placed within the appropriately sized die-cut of the covers or pages of the book, the front and back surfaces of the removable interactive element are virtually flush or level with the surfaces of the covers and pages. The press-in fit being so exact that once the removable interactive element is placed into the die-cut space of the covers or pages of the book, the shape of the bound-in removable interactive element is substantially indistinguishable from the corresponding cover or page surface.
According to yet another embodiment of the invention, the removable interactive elements may also be provided with a magnetized surface, light source, sound capabilities, or interactivity with stickers or any other element known to those skilled in the art.
The above and other objectives of the invention will become more apparent from the following description and illustrative embodiments which are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Similar elements in each Figure are designated by like reference numbers and, hence, subsequent detailed descriptions thereof may be omitted for brevity.
The present invention relates generally to a book comprising a die-cut bound-in removable interactive element. The pages and covers of the book are constructed from a material of sufficient rigidity and structural integrity to facilitate insertion and removal of at least one removable interactive element provided in at least one page or cover. The removable interactive element is contained entirely within and is supported by either a page of the book, a front cover, or a back cover. The support required to secure the removable interactive element to the page or cover is provided by the “bound-in fit” between the removable interactive element and its outline within the page or cover of the book. The secured bound-in fit is made possible by the precise die-cutting and materials, e.g., expanded polystyrene or any material with similar properties, used to make the removable interactive element as well as the covers and/or pages of the book. The precise die-cutting and physical properties of the material, e.g., compressibility and uneven texture of the polystyrene edges, provides for a secure bound-in fit, which facilitates insertion and removal of the interactive element. The choice of materials also provides for greater flexibility in the use of the removable interactive element in, for example, a game, story, puzzle, or other activity that is provided within or apart from the book.
Referring to
The front and back surfaces of the removable interactive element(s) are substantially flat with the surfaces of the page or cover in which they are contained. That is, when fully seated, or “bound-in,” the surface of the cover or page appears essentially continuous to an ordinary observer with no breaks, steps, or corrugations being present on the surface. The lettering or graphics formed on the page may or may not reveal the location and shape of the removable interactive element depending on the particular story, game, or activity being displayed. Furthermore, the lettering or graphics may be designed such that when the removable interactive element is taken out from its location within a cover or page of the book, other pictures and/or puzzles may be revealed. The pictures/puzzles on one cover or page may be associated with those on a subsequent page or cover. This interactivity may also extend to removable interactive elements which are taken from different components and used together either outside of the book or within the book. As will be described using the examples below in combination with
The five pages (12A-E) of the exemplary book (4) are bound along one side by a binding means (14) to form the book (4). In a preferred embodiment the front cover (6), back cover (6A), and pages (12A) through (12E) are bound together by a spiral wire (14) to form a spiral-bound book. In an alternative embodiment the book may be bound together by a suitable adhesive which is known to those of ordinary skill in the art. An exemplary adhesive system would comprise the combination of heating and melting a type of glue to bind all of the elements together. With specific reference to the spiral wire (14) illustrated in
The book (4) illustrated in
In
The pages (12A-E) are made of a material having sufficient rigidity and thickness to facilitate ease of removal of the removable interactive elements while still providing for secure attachment within its outline. The bound-in fit is preferably sufficient to maintain the removable interactive elements in position despite rigorous and repeated transport and/or opening and closing of the book (4). The bound-in fit between the removable interactive elements and their corresponding outline may be adjusted by, for example, adjusting the thickness of the base material or increasing the tightness of the bound-in fit between them. It is to be noted that no backing material or impediment is provided either in front of or behind the outlines formed on each page. Thus, the removable interactive elements may be inserted and removed from either side of the cover or page in which it is contained. When the removable interactive element is removed from its outline it may reveal, for example, a word or graphic on an adjacent page. As previously indicated, the removable interactive elements may also be designed such that a plurality of removable interactive elements may interact outside of the book (4) to form, for example, a puzzle.
The removable interactive elements may be fabricated from the same material as the cover or page in which it is contained or a different material and to either the same or a different thickness. However, removable interactive elements comprised of a different material or thicknesses are fashioned to maintain their die-cut bound-in fit within the cover(s) or page(s). As an example, the removable interactive element may be thinner than the cover or page such that it is recessed within the outline or it may be thicker than the cover or page such that it protrudes from one or both sides. If the removable interactive element and cover/page are manufactured from the same material, each may be cut from a separate sheet and then joined at a later stage to maintain a tight press fit between the removable interactive element and its corresponding outline.
The interactivity between the plurality of removable interactive elements and printed characters is further illustrated in
Each stand (20) and (41) illustrated in
As
The interactive elements shown and described in
The use of a plurality removable interactive elements which can be inserted/removed from either side of the front cover, back cover, or any of the pages of the book lends itself to a large number of possible uses or combination of uses which are recognized as being within the spirit and scope of the present invention. A number of possible variants will now be described in detail below. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not limited to those variants disclosed below.
In one embodiment of the invention, the book (4) is equipped with a storage compartment or pouch which is capable of storing the removable interactive elements when not in use. This may be in the form of, for example, a substantially cylindrical tube which is attached to the back cover as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,247,729 to Shari Kaufman which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth in this specification. The tube is equipped with a type of cap which may be opened and closed to gain access to the pieces stored therein. It is noted that the use of any storage compartment is not critical to the present invention and any storage means may be employed without departing from the spirit of the claimed invention. The use of such a storage compartment provides removable interactive elements which may, for example, be inserted into the front/back covers or pages of the book while reading a story or playing a game. Use of a storage compartment minimizes the probability that removable interactive elements become lost when not in use. The storage compartment may also be used to provide extra pieces in the event a removable interactive element becomes damaged or lost.
In another embodiment the removable interactive elements may be provided with a magnetized material such that the removable interactive element will adhere to, for example, a suitable metal surface. The magnetized material may be fastened to one side or to a specific location on the removable interactive element in any manner which is well-known to those skilled in the art. Typically the magnet is in the same shape as the removable interactive element and is glued to the bottom side of the removable interactive element using an adhesive. The magnet itself may be of any thickness and strength sufficient to cause the manipulative to attach to a sheet of metal or to another magnet of opposite polarity. An example is provided by U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,383 to Michael Levins which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth in this specification. The magnetized removable interactive element(s) may be contained within the cover or pages of the book in a manner analogous to that shown in
In still another embodiment, the book may comprise removable interactive elements which are employed in a variety of games. Examples include checkers, chess, backgammon, and the like. The game board itself may be contained within a page of the book and the game pieces contained within cutouts formed within the page. The game pieces themselves may be constructed by die-cutting the page or cover or the game pieces may be constructed and provided separate from the book. The removable interactive element would be round discs for checkers and backgammon and chess men for chess. The game itself may be played within the book itself, on a pull-out, or on a separate game board. When played within, for example, a page of the book the pieces may be moved by removal from one location and insertion in a different location. Furthermore, when used within a page or cover, the tight fit between the removable interactive element and its outline facilitates maintaining the removable interactive element in a specified position.
Additional embodiments relate to the use of the removable interactive element(s) in conjunction with, for example, stickers, lights, and sounds. For example, the removable interactive element may have a surface suitable for the adhesion and removal of stickers. In another instance the removable interactive elements may be of sufficient size and thickness to contain a source of light such as a light emitting diode and accompanying power source. The power source may be a small battery or even a solar cell attached to one side of the removable interactive element. The source of light and its power source are contained entirely within the removable interactive element and the light source may be activated by, for example, a pressure sensitive switch. In this manner the light source can be activated either within the book or separate from it depending on whether the removable interactive element is inserted into an outline or not. In still another example the removable interactive element may comprise a miniature speaker which is encapsulated within the removable interactive element itself in a manner analogous to that described above for the light source in order to produce a desired sound effect. The magnets, stickers, lights, and sounds may be used in conjunction with a game, activity, or story which is provided within the pages of the book or on other removable interactive elements.
It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the present invention is not limited to what has been particularly shown and described hereinabove. Rather, the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims which follow. It should further be understood that the above description is only representative of illustrative examples of embodiments. For the reader's convenience, the above description has focused on a representative sample of possible embodiments, a sample that teaches the principles of the present invention. Other embodiments may result from a different combination of portions of different embodiments.
The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. The alternate embodiments may not have been presented for a specific portion of the invention, and may result from a different combination of described portions, or that other undescribed alternate embodiments may be available for a portion, is not to be considered a disclaimer of those alternate embodiments. It will be appreciated that many of those undescribed embodiments are within the literal scope of the following claims, and others are equivalent. Furthermore, all references, publications, U.S. patents, and U.S. patent Publications cited throughout this specification are hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set forth in this specification.
