The present invention deals with a slide-out card and more specifically, a card that presents specific material when opened by laterally extending the material slidably passed the outer edge of the card.
This invention relates generally to mechanical card configurations where the card contains a mechanism that causes a piece or portion of the card to be presented to a user upon opening. The card consists of printed matter in a variety of forms including a package that is mailable to prospective customers. More specifically, the invention relates to the packaging of such material in forms permitting their manufacture by automated methods and techniques.
A popular direct-mail marketing and fund solicitation technique is to combine in one unified package printed matter soliciting contributions or offering merchandise for sale. The manufacture of such “mailers” can be a complicated process, involving the printing of a number of separate and distinct items and the assembly of these items into a common mailable enclosure. The process is particularly burdensome when the targeted audience is large, requiring mass production of mailers in a relatively short period of time.
To date, these advertising mailers typically include a number of pages in a booklet form, with each page having an advertisement printed thereon. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,889 to Littman purports to disclose a method for making a packet mailer that includes the steps of applying wet glue patterns to a sheet, then folding the sheet and perforating the sheet to form a packet mailer that resembles a booklet.
The present invention relates generally to a method of making a slide-out action product from a single, continuous web of material. For many years various advertising and promotional novelties incorporating sliding and slide-out members have been manufactured by various methods. To the best of the applicant's knowledge, however, none of these methods have produced a slide-out action product of the type described, fabricated from an initial single web of material. Such a method of fabricating slide-out action products is preferable in that the employment of a single roll of paper stock affords the convenient feeding of paper in one-pass through the printing and in-line finishing machinery at a high rate of speed. This allows for the production of thousands of pieces per hour, while minimizing both the time and the cost of production.
A slide-out card configuration is provided. A presentation section slides outwardly and laterally along the back cover of the card as it is opened. The card may be provided in a packaged form for use as a mailer to deliver advertising to specific recipients by mail. Alternatively, in card form, the present invention provides an integrated gift and greeting card.
Generally speaking, a slide-out card configuration made from a single piece of material comprising a first section, a second section, and a third section made from a different material than the first and second sections is provided. The first, second and third sections are constructed and arranged to cause the third section to laterally slide out passed the first section when the card is opened by moving the second section. The third section has a booklet attached.
In more detail, a slide-out card made from a single piece of material comprises a left section having a left-section front and back, a left-middle section having a left-middle front and back, a right-middle section having a right-middle front and back, a right section having a right-section front and back, and a slide-out section having a slide-out section front and back, with a booklet attached. The left section is adjacent to the left-middle section, the left-middle is adjacent to the right-middle, the right-middle is adjacent to the right section, the right section is adjacent to the slid-out section, the left-middle section front folds onto the right-middle section back, the right section back folds onto the right-middle section back, the slide-out section back folds onto the left-middle section back, and the left section back folds onto the slide-out section front.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment, a slide-out mailer, made from a single piece of material comprises a first page having a first page front and back, a second page having a second page front and back, a third page having a third page front and back, a back panel having a back panel front and back, and a presentation section having a presentation section front and back and a booklet attached. The back panel is adjacent to the first advertising page, the first advertising page is adjacent to the second advertising page, the second advertising page is adjacent to the third advertising page, the third advertising page is adjacent to the presentation section, the first page front folds onto the second page front, the third page back folds onto the second page back, the presentation section back folds onto the first page back, and the presentation section front folds onto the back panel back.
In accordance with further aspects of an embodiment of the present invention, a method for making a pop-out card configuration is provided comprising the steps of providing a single sheet of material, folding the sheet at a predetermined distance from a left edge to provide a left section, the fold creating a left section folded edge, the left section having a left section front and back, folding the sheet at a predetermined distance from the left section folded edge to provide a left-middle section, the fold creating a left-middle section folded edge, the left-middle section having a left-middle front and back, folding the sheet at a predetermined distance from the left-middle section folded edge to provide a right-middle section, the fold creating a right-middle section folded edge, the right-middle section having a right-middle front and back, folding the sheet at a predetermined distance from the right-middle section folded edge to provide a right section, the fold creating a right section folded edge, the right section having a right section front and back, folding the sheet at a predetermined distance from the right section folded edge to provide a slide-out section, the slide-out section having a slide-out front and back, folding the left-middle section front onto the right-middle section back, folding the right section back onto the right-middle section back, folding the slide-out section back onto the left-middle section back, folding the left section back onto the slide-out section front, and attaching a booklet to the slide-out section.
a shows a slide-out mailer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
b shows the mailer of
c is a bottom view of the mailer of
a shows a bottom view of a single continuous piece of material folded in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention to form the mailer of
b shows the piece of material of
c shows the piece of material of
a shows an integrated gift and greeting card according to an embodiment of the present invention.
b shows the card of
c shows the card of
a shows a bottom view of a continuous sheet of material used to make the card of
b shows the sheet of
c shows the sheet of
a is a front side view of a continuous sheet of material used to make a slide-out card configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.
b is a back side view of the sheet in
a shows a slide-out card configuration with a booklet in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.
b is a close-up view of the card in
c shows the booklet of
To bring special attention to a specific piece of material, a slide-out card is provided that, when opened, presents the specific material to a user in such a way that focuses a user's attention on the material. The card may also include a number of pages for additional advertising when used as a mailer.
a shows a mailer in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention generally indicated by reference numeral 10 in a closed configuration.
Special offers and advertising tied to the matter printed on the extension is included in the remainder of the mailer, in addition to separate advertisements and offers. For example, the extension can hold a discount card for a retail store and the other advertising pages have advertisements for products carried by that store printed thereon. A pre-paid credit card may be presented on the extension 12 as well, with the advertising pages 14, 16 and 18 containing further information about the card, such as instructions for use, locations where the card is accepted, advantages of using the card, and so on.
In the open configuration shown in
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the length 53 of the mailer is uniform for each section. The length 12.1 of the extension can be anywhere from about 25-75% of the mailer length 53. Preferably, the extension length 12.1 is 25-50% of the mailer length 53 and most preferably 25-35% of the mailer length 53. The extension distance 12.2 that the extension piece actually extends from the mailer 10 may be anywhere from 30-100% of the first page width 18.1. Preferably, the extension distance 12.2 is 40-80% and most preferably 50-70% of the first page width 18.1.
The width of each section does not have to be uniform and in a preferred embodiment, the inner pages are narrower than the outer pages so that the outer side edge of a back page is visible even when a page in front is laid over it. For example, referring to the exemplary embodiment in
c shows the mailer of
Generally speaking, the first page 18 provides a first section, and the third page 14 provides a second wherein movement of the second section causes a third section, namely, the presentation section 13 to slide out.
In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the slide-out mailer is formed from a single sheet of paper.
In accordance with an alternative embodiment of the present invention, an integrated gift and greeting card is provided where the extended material is a financial transaction card, e.g., gift card, phone card. With the advent of electronics, gift cards are becoming more and more popular as an alternative to money. They are considered a more personal gift because it requires more thought than merely writing a check or stuffing cash in an envelope, but still allows flexibility in gift-giving.
a shows an integrated gift and greeting card generally indicated by reference numeral 30 with a front cover 32 and a back cover 34 in closed form. The front cover has an exterior face 32.1 which adorns a greeting with best wishes for a certain occasion, a birthday in this example.
b shows the card of
A gift card 36 is presented through an opening in the back cover 34 as the card 30 is opened. The further the card is opened, the further the gift card 36 is presented until the card is fully opened as shown in
Generally speaking, the interior face 34.1 is a first section, the front cover 32 is a second section, and the presentation section 36.1 is a third section. Movement of the second section causes the third section to slide out.
a to 5c show the steps in the method of making the card of
The material 50 is further folded, as shown in
a shows the front of a single sheet of material 600, preferably some sort of paper, used to form a slide-out card configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention. The capital letters, such as “B”, show the sections of the sheet 600 that fold onto each other. A left section 60 is adjacent to a left middle section 62, which is adjacent to a right middle section 64, which is adjacent to a right section 66, which is adjacent to a slide-out section 68. There is a left fold line 71, a middle fold line 73, a right fold line 75 and a presentation fold line 77. A perforation line 70 is optional and when included, provides a means to detach an attached transaction card. Alternatively, in place of the perforation, easily removable glue may be used.
a shows the back side of the sheet 600. Again, the capital letters on the sheet indicate which sections fold onto each other and on which side. First, glue is applied to the back side of the sheet along left glue line 80, right glue line 82, and glue sections 84. The back side of the right middle section 64 is folded onto the back side of the right section 66 (A to A) along fold line 75, held together by glue lines 80 and 82. The front side of the left middle section 62 is then folded onto the front side of the right middle section 64 (B to B) along fold line 73. The front of the presentation section 68 is then folded onto the front side of the left middle section 62 (C to C) along line 77. The back side of the left section 60 is then folded onto the front side of the presentation section 68 (D to D) along line 71 and held together by glue sections 84.
In this folded and glued configuration, cuts are made along cut lines 61 and 63 to make the slide out mailer configuration. To make the integrated gift and greeting card, only cut line 63 would be cut.
a shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention with a booklet 70 presented on the slidable extension 12. A flap 72 closes over the booklet 70 to keep the booklet closed and to provide additional advertising space.
b is a close-up view of the booklet 70 in
c shows the booklet 70 and flap 72 open. In accordance with further aspects of an alternative embodiment, the flap 72 may be a transaction card, such as a phone card, or gift card. In that case, the flap 72, would be attached along a perforated line 74, so that the flap, or transaction card 72 can be removed and used.
In the preceding specification, the invention has been described with reference to specific exemplary embodiments thereof. It will however, be evident that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims that follow. The specification and drawings are accordingly to be regarded in an illustrative manner rather than a restrictive sense.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
2417982 | Histed | Mar 1947 | A |
3191328 | Lohnes | Jun 1965 | A |
5004271 | Piatt | Apr 1991 | A |
5141252 | Michlin | Aug 1992 | A |
5232087 | Schluger | Aug 1993 | A |
5513117 | Small | Apr 1996 | A |
5629977 | Fonseca | May 1997 | A |
5640447 | Fonseca | Jun 1997 | A |
5803889 | Littman | Sep 1998 | A |
5884770 | Galm | Mar 1999 | A |
5933989 | Volkert et al. | Aug 1999 | A |
5954369 | Seabrook | Sep 1999 | A |
6505737 | Sherman | Jan 2003 | B1 |
6732459 | Clark | May 2004 | B1 |
6877263 | Clark | Apr 2005 | B2 |
7024807 | Street | Apr 2006 | B2 |
7204048 | Kershner et al. | Apr 2007 | B2 |
20060000127 | Schindele | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20070094901 | Kibbe et al. | May 2007 | A1 |
20070193079 | Sepesy | Aug 2007 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20060101678 A1 | May 2006 | US |