Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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`` BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
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This invention relates to printed paper novelty
items of various types and more particularly to
dimensional and specialty paper products of this general
character wherein a "pop-up" is provided that, upon
opening of the item, moves upward and out of the plane
of either of the cover panels.
`~ Advertising hand-outs, inserts, mailers and the
like are being used with greater and greater frequency
to promote a particular product or service. Moreover,
items of this general character are often used together
with accompanying text in order to illustrate a
particular theme or perhaps an incident in a story.
Although the value of such an item as an illustration in
a book or the like is obvious, its value in an
advertising or promotional item lies in the attention of
. the recipient which it hopes to gain. Accordingly,
commercially practical items of this general type which
incorporate attention-getting features remain in demand,
along with ways for mass-producing such items so as to
make distribution economically feasible.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF ~THE I~VENTION
The invention provides an item of this
character wherein a die-cut sheet is sandwiched between
front and back covers or basepieces. A printed subpanel
in the sheet, which can preferably be viewed through an
aperture in the front cover, upon opening of the item
pivots from a position parallel to the surface of the
rear cover to a position oriented edgewise thereto where
its front surface is no longer visible. Continued
opening movement, until the cover panels are spread
flat, preferably causes the subpanel to rotate a total
of 180 so that its rear s~rface is now visible and its
front surface lies adjacent the front surface of the
rear cover.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of an item
embodying various features of the invention shown in the
closed condition in which it would normally be
distributed;
FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of ~he item of
FIG. 1 shown in a partially open position;
FIGURES 3 and 4 are perspective views of the
item of FIG. 1 shown respectively in the half-open and
completely open positions;
- FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view,
enlarged in size, showing the item of FIGURE 3 partially
broken away so as to illustrate a hinge portion thereof;
FIGURE 6 is a schematic view of a
production-line fabrication method illustrating one
manner in which items similar to those of FIGURE 1 may
be made as a part of a web-press operation;
FIGURE 7 is an exploded perspective view
illustrating an alternative embodimant of an item
similar to that shown in FIGURE l;
FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the item
depicted in FIGURE 7;
FIGURE 9 is a schematic view illustrating a
production-line fabrication method by which an item
generally similar to that depicted in FIGURE 8 may be
made as part of a web-press operation; and
FIGURES 10 and 11 are schematic views of
alternative production-line fabrication methods wherein
items of the type depicted in FIGURE 8 may be made as
. part of a web-press operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
". Illustrated in FIGURES 1 through 5 is an item
11 of the type designed to promote a particular product
or service having a front cover or basepiece 13 and a
rear cover or basepiece 15 which are hinged together
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along a vertical fold line 17. Sandwiched between the
front and rear covers is a panel 19 which is die-cut and
preferably scored to provide three subpanels 21 of
precisely the same shape and dimension but which could
have different shapes and/or dimensions. Although three
subpanels are preferred, one, two or more than three
subpanels could be employed depending upon the size of
the item and the overall effect which it is desired to
create. The panel l9, at least in the region from which
the subpanels are die-cut, is preferably printed on both
. its front and rear surfaces as indicated in the
illustrated views by a diagonal line pattern on the
front surface and a crisscross line pattern on the rear
surface.
Each of the subpanels 21 is formed with upper
and lower extensions 23 which ex~end from about the left
one-half of the subpanel, as best seen perhaps in FIGURE
5 and in FIGURE 6 which is a schematic view of a
production-line method for fabricating items very
similar to the items 11. Each of the extensions 23
carries a tab 25 which is connected along the left-hand
lateral edge thereof by a hinge line 27, which is
preferably a score line. The right-hand or opposite
lateral edge of each of the extensions 23 is connected
to the remainder of the panel 19 by hinge line segments
29 which are preferably co-linear. In the preferred
embodiment, as best seen in FIGURE 5, the
interconnection between the subpanels and the remainder
of ~he die-cut panel l9 at the hinge line 29 is by two
generally square projections 31 that extend from the
border region into the central region of the panel
otherwise occupied by the subpanels.
~ In fabricating the items 11, the rear surfaces
:~ of the tabs 25 are joined to the inward facing surface
~`" of the rear cover 15, using any suitable adhesive or
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other method of joining. A section of the die-cut panel
1~ adjacent its left-hand edge is employed as a major
hinge element 33 and is preferably defined by a hinge
score line 35. The major hinge element 33 is attached,
preferably by adhesive or some suitable bonding agent,
to the interior surface of the front cover 13 in the
region adjacent the hinge line 17.
The length or height of the panel 19 and the
hinge element 33, in the illustrated embodiment, is
equal to about two-thirds of the length or height of the
basepieces 13,15, which are preferably rectangular in
shape but which could be of different shapes, if
desired. If desired, the height of khe die-cut panel 19
may be the same as the height o~ the covers as is the
case in the embodiment shown in FIGURE 6. Likewise,
although the subpanels 21 are preferably also
rectangular in shape, they could be die-cut with
different shapes to provide a particular desired
effect. The width of the major hinge element 33 is
preferably equal to the width of the extensions for a
purpose described hereinafter.
The recipient of item 11 will generally
initially view it in the form depicted in FIGURE 1
although the item could be fabricated so that the
printing is oriented 90 to that illustrated, as
mentioned hereinafter. The front cover 13 would
normally contain a printed message which might include
art work and contains an aperture 37 through which the
central portion of the die-cut subpanels 21 can be
seen. As the recipient begins to open the item 11, as
depicted in FIGURE 2, by pivoting the front cover 13
relative to the rear cover 15, the adhesive connection
between the major hinge element 33 and the interior
surface of the front cover pulls the die-cut panel 19
away from the plane of the rear cover lS. Because of
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the adhesive connections between the tabs 25 and the
interior surface of the rear cover 15, the subpanels 21
rotate relative to the plane of the die-cut panel 19
about axes defined by the hinge lines 29.
When the item is half-way open, as depicted in
FIGU~E 3, the subpanels 21 are disposed edgewise and
substantially perpendicular to the rear cover 15. In
this position, the indicia printed on the front surfaces
of the subpanels is no longer readily visible, and if
indicia i5 printed on the rear cover 15 in the region
behind the subpanels 21, such printed indicia or message
would be fully visible to a recipient with the item in
the half-way open position. One can recognize this as
being likened to looking through a venetian window blind
in the open position.
In the illustrated embodiment, when the item 11
has been fully opened so that the front cover and rear
cover are disposed at 180 to each other in essentially
the same plane, as illustrated in FIGURE 4, the
subpanels 21 have rotated substantially 180, and the
rear surfaces of the subpanels are now fully visible to
the recipientr as indicated by the crisscross line
pattern. The division of the central region in the
die-cut sheet 19 into a plurality o rectangles is
advantageous in that, following the 180 rotation oE
each of the subpanels, the central region remains
totally filled by the subpanels, and thus a complete and
contiguous message or picture can be displayed on both
surfaces, which will of course change to give the
desired and striking effect. Of course, as earlier
indicated, different subpanel shapes than rectangular
can be employed to achieve different effects.
As earlier indicated, the dimensioning of the
major hinge element 33 and the extensions 23 is such
that the widths are substantially equal. These widths
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control the amount of pivoting of the subpanels which
occurs as the front cover 13 is pivoted relative to the
rear cover 15. When the widths are equal, the subpanels
21 are substantially perpendicular when the cover 13 is
in the half open posi~ion as depicted in FIGURE 3 and
have rotated 180 when the front cover is in the fully
opened position. If, for example, the width of the
major hinge element 33 was only one-half of the width of
the extensions 23 (which constitute the length of the
arms about which rotation is occurring) and the left
hand edge of the panel 19 was located adjacent the hinge
line 17, when the cover 13 is in the fully open position
(as depicted in FIGURE 4), the subpanels 21 would be
edgewise or perpendicular to the rear panel 15. If, on
the other hand, the width of the major hinge element 33
was twice the width of the extensions 23, by the time
the item is opened to the position of the covers in
FIGURE 3, the subpanels 21 will have fully rotated
substantially 180.
Although the item has been described in its
preferred embodiment wherein the hinge line 17 is
located at the left hand edge, it could also be
fabricated so that it was at the top or bottom edge. In
such a case, all of the hinged connections would be
oriented horizontally. Accordingly, it should be
understood that the term "vertical" is used in the
specification and claims as a convenient term of
reference and does not constitute any specific
directional limitation.
Depicted in FIGURE 6 is a method for the
fabrication of an item lla which is essentially the same
as the item 11 except that the die-cut panel 19a is of
full height whereas the panel 19 was of only partial
height. Accordingly, the elements in FIGURE 6 which are
the same as the elements in FIGURES 1 through 5 are
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referred to by the same reference numbers.
FIGURE 6 illustrates a diagrammatic view of the
production of the item lla as a part of an in-line web
printing press arrangement which i5 capable of
high-speed mass production operation. A printed web 41
is delivered first to a die-cutting station A where
die-cutting and press scoring is carried out. Although
lines of demarcation are shown in the web 41 between the
region which constitutes the front cover panel and the
region which constitutes the rear cover panel 15, and
likewise between it and the region which constitutes the
panel l9a, it should be understood that these are for
purposes of aiding in the explanation and that these
lines of demarcation are normally formed as a part of
the folding operations which subsequently occur during
the continuous movement of the web from left to right in
FIGURE 6. At Station A, the aperture 37 is die-cut in
the region of the panel 13, and the subpanels 21, the
extensions 23 and the tabs 25 are die-cut from the
region that constitutes the panel l9a. At the same
time, the web is preferably press-scored to impress the
score line 35 which defines the major hinge element 33
and the hinge lines 27 and 29 at the lateral side edges
of the extensions 23.
At Station ~r an adhesive pattern 43 is applied
to the web in the region of the front cover 13 ad~acent
what will become the hinge line 17. Another adhesive
pattern 45 is applied to six locations in the region of
the rear cover panel 15 which will be aligned with the
tabs 25. If desired, these adhesive patterns could be
applied directly to the tabs and to the major hinge
element 33. As the web moves from Station B to Station
C, the region constituting the die-cut panel l9a is
folded over onto the rear cover panel 15, and the tabs
25 are bonded thereto by means of the adhesive pattern
45. At Station C, the lower edge 47 is trimmed from the
two folded panels so as to separate the panel l9a from
the rear cover except for the attachment in the region
of the six tabs 25. Trimming may be deferred until the
we~ leaves Station D.
As the web moves from Station C to Station D,
the front cover 13 is folded onto the other two panels
to bring it into superimposition thereupon. This
creates the attachment between the interior surface of
the front cover 13 and ~he major hinge element 33 by
means of the adhesive pattern 43 and completes the
fabrication of the item. As the web leaves Station D,
it is severed transversely to separate it into
individual units. The completed item lla appears the
same as that depicted in ~IGURES 2 through 4 with the
exception that the die~cut panel l9a extends all the way
to the bottom edge of the item.
~` Depicted in FIGURES 7 and 8 is an alternative
embodiment of an item wherein, instead of utilizing a
natural hinge line between the front and rear cover, the
sheet material is cut into separate sheets (or, if
desired, different paper stock can be employed), and the
left-hand region of each of the sheets is adhesively
attached to the adjacent sheet to make what is referred
to as a false backbone. In FIGURE 7, the cover 13b may
be provided with a score line 51 which defines the edge
region, or the score line may be optionally omitted.
` The die-cut panel l9b is formed with a pair of score
lines 53 and 35 which respectively define the edge
backbone region and the main hinge element; however,
again either of these can be omitted. Likewise, the
rear cover panel 15b may also be provided with a score
line 55 which defines the edge region, but the line 55
is often omitted.
~ glue pattern 57 is applied to the edge region
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of the bottom panel, and a glue pattern 45 is applied to
the central region of the bottom panel for the purpose
previously indicated. A glue pattern 59 is applied
along the left-hand edge of the die-cut panel l9b
covering both the backbone edge portion and the main
hinge element.
When the three panels are supeximposed with the
die-cut panel l9b sandwiched between the cover panels,
the adhesive patterns 57 and 59 create the three-layer
thick false backbone 61 shown in FIGURE 8 and secure the
major hinge element 33 to the in~erior surface of the
cover 13b. Likewise, the adhesive pattern 45 attaches
the tabs 25 to the interior surface of the rear cover
15b, completing the fabrication of the item llb shown in
FIGURE 8. When the item is~ opened by pivoting the
covers relative to each other, the appearance, as seen
in FIGURE 8, is substantially the same as that of the
item 11 depicted in FIGURES 1 through 5.
FIGURE 9 shows an alternative embodiment of a
fabrication method designed for producing an item
similar to the item lla depicted in FIGURE 6 wherein all
three of the panels are oE the same height. The
fabrication method depicted in FIGURE 9 is also suitable
for fabrication at the end of a web-press operation.
The web can be thought of as comprising an endless
series of sheets 63 each of which will be fabricated
into a promotional item llc.
As exemplified in view 9A, the sheet 63 is
initially die-cut in its central region l9c and to
remove the aperture 37 from the region 13c at the
bottom. Score lines are also preferably impressed in
the die-cut region as indicated hereinbefore, and a
score line 65, which extends all the way across the web
along what may be visualized as the trailing edge oF the
yet uncut sheet 63, is also preferably impressed to
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create the backbone edge region. The parallel score
line 35 is preferably also impressed in the center
region l9c. The adhesive pattern 45 is applied to what
will become the interior surface of the rear cover panel
15c, and an adhesive pattern 67 is also applied along
the edge region of the same panel.
The panels l9c and 13c are then folded over
onto the panel 15c as depicted in view 9B, effecting
adhesive attachment between the rear cover panel and the
die-cut panel l9c in the region of the tabs and the
left-hand or trailing edge. An adhesive pattern 69 is
then applied to the trailing edge of the central panel
l9c from the score line 35 back to the edge . Next, the
cover panel 13c is folded into superimposed position
atop the panel l9c as depicted in FIGURE 9C, completing
the formation of the ~alse backbone and adhesively
attaching the major hinge element 33 to the interior
surface of the cover panel 13c. Following this folding
step, the upper edge 71 and the lower edge 73 are
trimmed from the three-layer thick longitudinally moving
web, completing the fabrication, and the web is then
severed transversely to create the individual units
llc. As depicted in FIGURE 9D, the unit llc has a false
backbone 61c and is generally similar to the item llb
depicted in FIGURE 8 with the exception that the die-cut
panel l9c extends for the full height of the item.
Illustrated in FIGURE 10 is another alternative
embodiment of a web-press production method for making
an item substantially the same as the item 11 depicted
in FIGURES 1 through 5. A web 75 at Station A is
die-cut to remove the aperture 37 and to die-cut and
score the subpanels 21 in the central region which
constitutes the panel l9d. The score line 35 which
defines the major hinge element 33 and a score line 77,
which extends completely across the web along the
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trailing edge to define the false backbone region, arepreferably impressed.
At Station B, the adhesive pattern 45 is
applied to the region of the web which constitutes the
rear panel l5d. As the web leaves the station B, the
front cover panel 13d is cut from the remainder of the
web. Between Stations B and C, the center panel l9d is
folded atop the rear cover panel 15d, and the adhesive
attachment of the tabs 25 is effected. At the Station
C, an adhesive pattern 79 is applied along the trailing
edge region of the rear and center panels and in the
region of the major hinge element 33.
As the web moves between Stations C and D, the
strip of the web constituting the cover panels 13d is
superimposed with the remainder of the web and brought
into surface contact therewith. Adhesive joinder is
effected by means of the adhesive pattern 79, and the
upper edge 81 is then trimmed from the three-layer web,
completing the fabrication method. The web is then cut
transversely to create the individual units which are
substantially the same as the unit llb depicted in
FIGURE 8.
Illustrated in FIGURE 11 is still another
embodiment for creating an item generally similar to
that depicted in FIGURE 8. A web 81 is die-cut and
press scored in essentially the same manner as the web
75 in FIGURE 10, except that the die-cut panel l9e
appears at the upper edge of the web, the rear cover
panel 15e in the center and the front cover panel 13e at
the lower edge. At Station B, an adhesive pattern 83 is
applied to the die-cut panel l9e in the backbone edge
region, and an adhesive pattern 85 is applied to the
~ront cover panel 13e along the edge region and also in
the region which will register with the major hinge
element 33. The adhesive pattern 45 is also applied to
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what will be the interior surface of the rear cover
panel 15e.
As the web moves from Station B to Station C,
the upper panel l9e is folded onto the rear panel 15e
effecting adhesive attachment in the backbone edge
region and at the six tabs 25. As the web moves from
Station C to Station D, the front cover panel 13e is
folded up onto the central portion of the web to
superimpose it atop the other two layers, effecting
adhesive attachment at the backbone edge region and in
the region of the major hinge element 33. At the
Station D, a thin strip 87 is trimmed from the top of
the web, and a similar strip 89 is trimmed from the
lower edge of the web. This completes the fabrication
method, and the web is cut transversely to produce the
individual uni~s which, when opened by a recipient, will
have the same appearance as that depicted in FIGURE 8.
Although the invention has been described with
regard to certain preferred embodiments, it should be
understood that changes and modifications as would be
obvious to one having the ordinary skill in the art may
be made without departing from ~he scope of the
invention which is set forth in the appended claims.
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For example, although fabrication has been illustrated
with respect to web press operation where the folding is
effected about lines that are longitudinal to the
direction of web travel, folding can also be carried out
about lines transverse to the direction of travel by
laying out the items in multiple groups and in an
orientation at 90 to that illustrated in FIG. 11. The
web is the sheeted by cutting it transversely, and the
sheets are then folded twice by suitable apparatus,
which may operate similar to a blade or knife-folder or
to a buckle plate folder, before being trimmed and cut
into individual units in a conventional manner.
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Likewise a stack of individual sheets can be similarly
fabricated.
Moreover, should it be desired to obscure the
hinges from the view of the recipient, a frame can be
provided in ~he form of a fourth panel that is disposed
between the die-cut panel and the basepiece which forms
the front cover. In such an instance, the adhesive
connection is made indirectly by joining the rear
surface of the fourth panel to the remainder of the
die-cut panel and attaching its front surface to the
rear surface of the front cover. As for specific
examples of fabricating such a piece, the fourth "frame"
panel could be located at the top of the web 41 in FIG.
6 or at the bottom of the wéb 81 in FIG. ll, and in
either instance the original connec~ion between it and
the basepiece 13 would be removed as a part of the final
trimming operation.
Particular features of the invention are
emphasized in the claims which follow,
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