Patent Application
20070036608
The present invention relates generally to product and service promotion and, more particularly, to the promotion of healthcare-related products and services.
The use of promotional items has proliferated in today's increasingly competitive marketplace, where companies are constantly seeking more effective and new ways to market their products. In the healthcare industry, physicians and other healthcare providers often receive promotional articles from vendors of healthcare-related products, such as pharmaceutical products. These promotional articles often include “everyday” items, such as writing pads, calendars, and pens that have promotional information (indicia) printed thereon. For example, pharmaceutical companies often provide physicians with writing pens having the name of a particular pharmaceutical product printed thereon with the hopes that the pens will help remind the physicians to prescribe the particular pharmaceutical product.
Unfortunately, because of lack of distinctiveness, many promotional articles provided to healthcare providers often become “lost-in-the-shuffle” with other promotional articles. Thus, there is a need for distinctive, more effective promotional products directed to healthcare providers as well as to others.
In view of the above discussion, a promotional writing instrument is provided that includes an elongated barrel having a writing end and having first and second longitudinally adjacent transparent chambers. Translucent fluid substantially fills the first and second chambers. A first object is disposed within the first chamber and a second object is disposed within the second chamber. The first and second objects are configured to move through the translucent fluid in the same longitudinal direction when the writing instrument is inverted relative to horizontal. Movement of the first and second objects is viewable through the transparent first and second chambers.
According to embodiments of the present invention, a portion of the barrel between the first and second chambers is substantially non-transparent and blocks from view adjacent respective portions of the first and second chambers. When the first object moves downwardly through the fluid in the first chamber, the first object disappears behind the non-transparent portion of the barrel substantially at the same time as the second object appears from behind the non-transparent portion of the barrel as the second object moves downwardly through the fluid in the second chamber. Thus, the non-transparent portion is configured such that only one of the first and second objects is viewable at a time.
According to embodiments of the present invention, the second object is a reduced scale replica of the first object. For example, the first and second objects may be replicas of a human prostate gland. The first object represents an enlarged human prostate gland before medical treatment and the second object represents the human prostate gland after medical treatment. Thus, as the second object appears from behind the non-transparent portion, it represents the first object after medical treatment.
According to other embodiments of the present invention, a writing instrument includes elongated first and second barrel portions. The first barrel portion has a first end and a second end. The second barrel portion is hollow and transparent, and includes opposite third and fourth ends. When assembled, the third end of the second barrel portion is secured to the second end of the first barrel portion. A partition is positioned within the second barrel portion and divides the second barrel portion into first and second longitudinally adjacent transparent chambers. A translucent fluid substantially fills the first and second chambers.
A first object is disposed within the first chamber, and a second object is disposed within the second chamber. The first and second objects are configured to move through the translucent fluid in the same longitudinal direction when the writing instrument is inverted relative to horizontal (i.e., when the second barrel portion fourth end is oriented generally upward or oriented generally downward). Movement of the first and second objects is viewable through the respective first and second chambers because of the transparency of the second barrel portion and because of the translucency of the fluid.
An annular panel is attached to the second barrel portion and is configured to block from view respective portions of the first and second chambers adjacent the partition. Upon inverting the writing instrument such that the second barrel fourth end is pointing upwardly, the first and second objects move downwardly through the translucent fluid in the respective first and second chambers. The first object moves downwardly through the fluid in the first chamber and disappears behind the annular panel substantially at the same time as the second object appears from behind the annular panel as the second object moves downwardly through the fluid in the second chamber. Thus, the annular panel is configured such that only one of the first and second objects is viewable at a time.
According to other embodiments of the present invention, a writing instrument includes an elongated barrel having a writing end and comprising first and second longitudinally adjacent transparent chambers. A portion of the barrel between the first and second chambers is substantially non-transparent and blocks from view adjacent respective portions of the first and second chambers. Translucent fluid substantially fills the first and second chambers, and one or more objects are disposed within the first and second chambers. The one or more objects are configured to move through the translucent fluid in the same longitudinal direction when the writing instrument is inverted relative to horizontal, and movement of the one or more objects is viewable through the transparent first and second chambers.
According to other embodiments of the present invention, a writing instrument includes an elongated barrel having a writing end and comprising first, second and third longitudinally adjacent transparent chambers, wherein adjacent chambers are separated by partitions. Translucent fluid substantially fills the first, second and third chambers. A first object is disposed within the first chamber, a second object is disposed within the second chamber, and a third object is disposed within the third chamber. The first, second and third objects are configured to move through the translucent fluid in the same longitudinal direction when the writing instrument is inverted relative to horizontal. Movement of the first, second and third objects is viewable through the transparent first, second and third chambers. A first portion of the barrel between the first and second chambers is substantially non-transparent and blocks from view adjacent respective portions of the first and second chambers such that, when the first object moves downwardly through the fluid in the first chamber, the first object disappears behind the first barrel non-transparent portion substantially at the same time as the second object appears from behind the first barrel non-transparent portion as the second object moves downwardly through the fluid in the second chamber. A second portion of the barrel between the second and third chambers is substantially non-transparent and blocks from view adjacent respective portions of the second and third chambers such that, when the second object moves downwardly through the fluid in the second chamber, the second object disappears behind the second barrel non-transparent portion substantially at the same time as the third object appears from behind the second barrel non-transparent portion as the third object moves downwardly through the fluid in the third chamber.
The present invention now is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In the figures, the thickness of certain lines, layers, components, elements or features may be exaggerated for clarity. Broken lines illustrate optional features or operations unless specified otherwise. All publications, patent applications, patents, and other references mentioned herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. As used herein, phrases such as “between X and Y” and “between about X and Y” should be interpreted to include X and Y. As used herein, phrases such as “between about X and Y” mean “between about X and about Y.” As used herein, phrases such as “from about X to Y” mean “from about X to about Y.”
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the specification and relevant art and should not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein. Well-known functions or constructions may not be described in detail for brevity and/or clarity.
It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on”, “attached” to, “connected” to, “coupled” with, “contacting”, etc., another element, it can be directly on, attached to, connected to, coupled with or contacting the other element or intervening elements may also be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being, for example, “directly on”, “directly attached” to, “directly connected” to, “directly coupled” with or “directly contacting” another element, there are no intervening elements present. It will also be appreciated by those of skill in the art that references to a structure or feature that is disposed “adjacent” another feature may have portions that overlap or underlie the adjacent feature.
Spatially relative terms, such as “under”, “below”, “lower”, “over”, “upper” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that the spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is inverted, elements described as “under” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “over” the other elements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “under” can encompass both an orientation of “over” and “under”. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly. Similarly, the terms “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “vertical”, “horizontal” and the like are used herein for the purpose of explanation only unless specifically indicated otherwise.
It will be understood that, although the terms “first”, “second”, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a “first” element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could also be termed a “second” element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the present invention. The sequence of operations (or steps) is not limited to the order presented in the claims or figures unless specifically indicated otherwise.
Referring now to
The illustrated first and second barrel portions 12, 14 have generally cylindrical configurations. However, writing instruments according to embodiments of the present invention may have barrel portions with various other shapes and configurations, without limitation.
The second barrel portion 14 is hollow and transparent, and includes opposite third and fourth ends 14a, 14b. The transparent second barrel portion 14 may be formed from various transparent materials including, but not limited to, thermosetting polymers, thermoplastic polymers, glass, etc.
When assembled, the third end 14a of the second barrel portion 14 is secured to the second end 12b of the first barrel portion 12. The first and second barrel portions 12, 14 may be secured together in various ways, without limitation. For example, the third end 14a of the second barrel portion 14 may be adhesively secured within the second end 12b of the first barrel portion 12; the third end 14a of the second barrel portion 14 may be threadingly secured within the second end 12b of the first barrel portion 12; or the third end 14a of the second barrel portion 14 may be press-fit within the second end 12b of the first barrel portion 12.
In the illustrated embodiment, a partition 20 (
A translucent fluid 26 substantially fills the first and second chambers 22, 24. Exemplary translucent fluids which may be utilized include, but are not limited to, water, glycerin, mineral oil, etc. Preferably, a non-toxic, environmentally-neutral fluid is utilized for the fluid 26. According to embodiments of the present invention, the fluid 16 may have color as long as the objects therewithin can be viewed externally, as described below.
The partition 20 illustrated in
A first object 30 is disposed within the first chamber 22, and a second object 32 disposed within the second chamber 24, as illustrated. The first and second objects 30, 32 are configured to move through the translucent fluid 26 in the same longitudinal direction (indicated by arrows A) when the writing instrument 10 is inverted relative to horizontal (i.e., when the second barrel portion fourth end 14b is oriented generally upward or oriented generally downward. Movement of the first and second objects 30, 32 is viewable through the respective first and second chambers because of the transparency of the second barrel portion 14 and because of the translucency of the fluid 26.
In the illustrated embodiment, an annular panel 40 (e.g., a label) is attached to the outer surface 15 of the second barrel portion 14 and contains promotional indicia 42 disposed thereon. The promotional indicia 42 may be for virtually any product or service and is preferably for a medical product/service. Various types of promotional indicia including, but not limited to, lettering, designs, characters, logos and other symbols, may be utilized in accordance with embodiments of the present invention. The term “lettering” as used herein includes, but is not limited to, alphabetical characters and alphanumeric characters.
The annular panel 40 is configured to block from view respective portions of the first and second chambers 22, 24 adjacent the partition 20. Upon inverting the writing instrument 10 such that the second barrel fourth end 14b is pointing upwardly, the first and second objects 30, 32 move downwardly through the translucent fluid 26 in the respective first and second chambers 22, 24. The first object 30 moves downwardly through the fluid 26 in the first chamber 22 and disappears behind the annular panel 40 substantially at the same time as the second object 32 appears from behind the annular panel 40 as the second object 32 moves downwardly through the fluid 26 in the second chamber 24. Thus, the annular panel 40 is configured such that only one of the first and second objects 30, 32 is viewable at a time. Stated another way, the annular panel 40 blocks from view the first object 30 when the first object 30 is in contacting relationship with the partition 20, and blocks from view the second object 32 when the second object 32 is in contacting relationship with the partition 20.
According to other embodiments of the present invention, the annular panel 40 may be attached to an inner surface of the second barrel portion 14. Alternatively, the second barrel portion 14 may have a substantially non-transparent portion that serves the function of the annular panel 40 and that blocks from view respective portions of the first and second chambers 22, 24 adjacent the partition 20. This non-transparent portion may contain promotional indicia.
In the illustrated embodiment, the second object 32 is a reduced scale replica of the first object 30. Specifically, the first and second objects in the illustrated embodiment are replicas of a human prostate gland. The first object 30 represents an enlarged human prostate gland before medical treatment and the second object 32 represents the human prostate gland after medical treatment. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the promotional indicia 42 on the annular panel 40 relates to the medical treatment applied to the human prostate gland.
According to embodiments of the present invention, the first and second objects 30, 32 may be replicas of any type of biological object of a subject including, but not limited to, organs, glands, bones, muscles, ligaments, tissue, etc. The first object 30, thus, represents the biological object before medical treatment and the second object 32 represents the biological object after medical treatment.
According to embodiments of the present invention, the first and second objects 30, 32 may be replicas of any type of object or may be the actual objects, themselves. Exemplary first and second objects 30, 32 Include, but are not limited to, replicas of vehicles, electronic components, molecules, drug delivery devices, pharmaceuticals, biological objects, medical devices, etc.
Embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the configuration and size of the illustrated first and second objects 30, 32. Objects 30, 32 may have any size, color, shape and the like depending on the overall appearance desired. In addition, various numbers of objects 30, 32 may be utilized.
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The foregoing is illustrative of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few exemplary embodiments of this invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of this invention. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.
