ACCESSORY FOR STATIONERY ARTICLEThe present invention relates to an accessory for a stationery article.
According to one aspect, the present invention provides an accessory for a stationery article having a surface provided by sheet material, the accessory comprising a body mountable, or mounted, to said surface of a stationery article; the body having a predetermined three-dimensional outline shape defining an interior space within the body, and access means defining an openable and closeable portion on the body enabling access to the interior space.
According to ' another aspect, the present invention provides a stationery article having a surface provided by sheet material, there being mounted on a region of such surface a body having a predetermined three-dimensional outline shape defining an interior space within the body, and wherein access means defines an openable portion enabling access to the interior space.
In this specification the term 1stationery article" refers to any article comprising at least a surface provided by relatively thin sheet material and which article bears, or is adapted to bear, indicia, diagrams, pictures or other similar devices for communicating information or ideas. Thus, greetings cards, books, prints, photographs, calendars and pictures are all examples of stationery article within the meaning of this specification, but this list is exemplary rather than exhaustive. A blank card, intended for completion by a user, for example by addition of a written message, is also included.
The accessory of the present invention may provide a body defining a substantially closed interior space to which access may be gained through the access means. Alternatively, the body may be open at one region or face, but being closed, when the body is mounted on a stationery article, by a region of the surface thereof provided by the sheet material; in this case the access means will, again, give access to the then substantially closed interior space.
The access means may be provided on the body, for example in the form of a hinged or detachable portion, to give access through the body itself to the interior space. Alternatively, the access means may be provided on or in the region of the surface of the sheet material of the stationery article over which the interior space lies when the body is mounted thereon, to give access through the sheet material to the interior space.
The interior space within the body receives, or is intended to receive, a substance and/or article(s).
This may be for the purpose of enhancing the appearance or appeal of the stationery article, enhancing or conveying information or ideas to be communicated by the stationery article, or for conveying a novelty or gift, or a combination of such purposes.
The accessory is preferably made of a transparent plastics material.
In its currently most preferred form the present invention provides an accessory mountable, or mounted, on a greetings card and having an interior space shaped and dimensioned to receive a plurality of coins for gifting to the recipient of the card.
The present invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing given only by way of nonlimitative example and in which:Figure 1 is a perspective view of an accessory of the present invention in the form of a number "2";Figure 2 is a perspective view of a stationery article of the present invention in the form of a greetings card; andFigure 3 is a plan view and two side views of a modification of an accessory of the present invention in the form of a number "2".
Figure 1 shows an example of an accessory 1 of the present invention in the form of a number "2".
The accessory 1 comprises a body 2 which has a threedimensional outline shape. Although in the present example such outline shape takes the form of a number "2", any desired outline shape may be used, such as any other alphanumeric shape, a star, a cross or an abstract shape.
The outline shape defines within the body an interior space which may replicate the outline shape or be of a different shape. The body 2 may be substantially closed, having one or more substantially continuous external surfaces. In the present example there are front and rear surfaces, each in the form of a number "2", and sidewall surfaces which define the thickness of the body (and, hence, the thickness of the interior space). Access means defines an openable and closeable portion 4 on the body 2 enabling access to the interior space by hinging upwards (in the direction of the arrow) about a hinge line 3.
As an alternative to a substantially closed body 2 there may be provided a body 2 whose external surface(s) is/are open at some region(s) thereof. In the present example of a body 2 in the form of a number "2", there may be no rear surface. The body 2 will, thus, have a front surface in the form of a number "2" II and sidewall surfaces which define the thickness of the body (and, hence, the thickness of the interior space). Access means is provided, and may take the form substantially as above described and illustrated.
Figure 3 shows an example of an accessory 1 whose body 2 has no rear surface. Access means is not shown in Figure 3, but will be provided in accordance with the invention. Here, the body 2 has a front surface, again in the form of a number "2", and sidewall surfaces 2a which define the thickness of the body.
A continuous periphery flange 5, extending outwardly beyond the outline of the body 2 from the rear edge(s) of the sidewall surfaces 2g, affords a flat surface by which the accessory may be mounted to a surface of a stationery article.
Instead of the flange 5 extending outwardly, as shown, it may extend inwardly within the outline of the body 2. Alternatively, both outwardly and inwardly-extending flanges may be provided. Further, although a continuous flange 5 has been illustrated, a segmented (discontinuous, or interrupted) flange may be provided and extending outwardly or inwardly or both. Although the flange 5 has been shown which follows precisely the outline shape of the body 2, this need not be so.
An accessory 1 having either the closed or the open form of body 2 is intended to be mounted on a stationery article. This may be accomplished in any one of various ways. For example, the accessory 1 may be mounted to a surface of the stationery article having an outline equal to, or larger than, the outline shape of the body 2.
If the body 2 is of the open form, without a rear surface, a region of the surface of the stationery article will then form a rear face closure for the interior space within the body 2. Thus, if the stationery article is a greetings card, the body 2 may be mounted to a leaf thereof with a region of the surface of the leaf closing off the interior space within the body 2. The access means may take the form of a hinged openable and closeable portion of the body 2, for instance similar to the portion 4 already described; alternatively the access means may be provided on, or in, a region of the surface of the stationery article forming a rear face closure for the interior space. Access means in the latter instance may be provided by a hingeable flap formed at a region of the leaf of the greetings card which will mount the accessory 1. Such hingeable flap may be delimited by one or more lines of weakening in the material of the stationery article, and will preferably be openable and closeable. However, a one-use flap or removable area, delimited by one or more lines of weakening in the material of the stationery article, may be provided if desired.
If the body 2 is of substantially closed form, for example with a rear surface, it is unnecessary for any region of the stationery article to form any part of a closure for the interior space within the body 2.
Nevertheless, the body 2 may be mounted to the stationery article in the manner described above, for instance to a leaf of a greetings card.
The access means, whether provided on the body 2 or on the stationery article, enables the interior space within the body 2 to receive any desired substance and/or article(s) and, where appropriate and/or desirable, the substance and/or article(s) to be removed (for instance, by a recipient of the stationery article). The substance or article(s) may be intended merely to be decorative, for example coloured "glitter", or have some other purpose, for example coins of the realm being a gift, sweets and so on.
Other ways of mounting the accessory 1 on a stationery article may be employed. One such other way, and a currently preferred way, is illustrated inFigure 2 which shows a representation of the interior of a greetings card 10 having a rear leaf 11, a front leaf 13 and a spine 12 joining the leaves 11, 13.
The accessory 1 is substantially as described above with reference to Figure 1, having a body 2 of outline shape in the form of a number "2", the body 2 being substantially closed, except for a hingeable portion 4. Thus, the body 2 has a rear surface and a front surface, each in the form of a number "2", and sidewall surfaces which define the thickness of the body 2.
The spine 12 of the greetings card 10 is of a width slightly larger than the thickness of the body 2 of the accessory 1, to accommodate the latter within the card 10 when the front leaf 13 is folded down to the "closed" condition of the card 10. The accessory 1 is mounted to the spine 12 by regions of its sidewall surfaces. The accessory 1 may additionally/alternatively be mounted to the rear leaf 11 by means of its rear surface, but this is not preferred because the rear leaf 11 may be required to be accessible for the purpose of inscribing and/or reading any message thereon.For instance, if the rear leaf 11 is pre-printed with a greetings message, the body 2 of the accessory 1 may partially overlie such printing but, by virtue of mounting of the accessory 1 solely to the spine 12, it will be possible for the accessory 1 to be hinged upwardly away from the rear leaf 11 to allow the message to be read.
The accessory 1 may be mounted to the stationery article by any suitable means, for example adhesive or the well-known "hook-and-loop" material sold under theTrade Mark "VELCRO". The accessory 1 may be made of any suitable material, or combination of materials, but is preferably made from transparent plastics material. An accessory 1 so made may have a body 2 of one-piece form and, if access means in the form of hingeable portion 4 is provided on the body 2, the portion 4 may hinge about a line of weakening 3 of the plastics material.
Although access means on the body 2 has been shown and described as taking the form of a hingeable portion 4, it may take alternative forms. For example, the access means may take the form of a slidable portion, or a fully detachable portion, of the body 2. Moreover, the interior space within the body 2 may be sub-divided, if desired, into separate zones and, in this case, a separate access means for each zone may be provided. These separate access means may all be of the same, or different, form.
In a specific example of the preferred forms shown and described above, the lateral dimensions of the interior space within the body 2 are just sufficient to enable the interior space to contain coins of the realm of fl denomination. Such coins may be placed within the interior space, and/or removed therefrom, through the access means.
The outline shape of the body 2 may be chosen to be of significant relevance to the nature of the greetings card and/or an event in the life of the intended recipient; for example, by the provision of an accessory 1 whose body 2 is in the form of a number "2", the greetings card may be made appropriate for use as a second birthday card.
Although the foregoing description sets out details of currently preferred embodiments of the present invention, these are not to be taken as limiting the scope of the present invention which embraces all such modifications as fall within the appended claims.