Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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REUSABLE GREETING CARD
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention broadly relates to greeting cards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There is a large number of greeting cards available on the market and
choosing the right one can be long and difficult process. The main factors
which motivates a buyer to chose a particular card are the printed indicia
found on the cover of the card and the message found inside the card.
A number of greeting cards having different constructions such as those
having a removable decal (US 4,200,222) or those having detachable
sections (US 4,613,157) have been proposed. However, none of these
cards are reusable, in that they may form a completely new card.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a reusable greeting card.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a kit for creating a
reusable greeting card.
Accordingly, the objects of the present invention are achieved by providing
a reusable greeting card comprising:
-a sheet member having an inner and outer face, and
-a cover member having an inner and outer face, the outer face having
a front and back sides,
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wherein the outer face of the sheet member is adapted to be temporarily
secured on the inner face of the cover member.
The present invention is also concerned with a kit for creating a reusable
greeting card, the kit comprising:
-at least one cover member, each of the at least one cover member
having an inner and outer face, each of the at least one cover member
further having a front and back sides , and
-at least one sheet member, each of the at least one sheet member
having an inner and outer face, each of the at least one sheet member
being adapted to be temporarily secured to the inner face of each cover
member,
wherein the greeting card is created by combining a pre-selected sheet
member to a pre-selected cover member and temporarily securing them
together.
The invention further provides a method for creating a reusable greeting
card, the method comprising the steps of
a) selecting a cover member having an inner and outer face, the
outer face having a front and back sides;
b) selecting a sheet member having an inner and outer face, the
sheet member being adapted to be temporarily secured to the inner
face of the cover sheet; and
c) securing the outer face of the sheet member on the inner face of
the cover member.
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The present invention provides an easy and fast way of creating a greeting
card which is reusable.
Another advantage of the present invention is that the kit according to the
invention allows room saving since the sheet members are stored in a
binder. Hence there is no need to produce a plurality of cards having the
same message but a different cover.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front perspective view of a reusable greeting card according to
a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a perspective view of a sheet member according to a preferred
embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 3 is a schematic view of a kit for creating a reusable greeting card
according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As can be seen in Figure 1, the present invention is concerned with a
reusable greeting card 1. In accordance with the invention, the greeting
card 1 comprises a sheet member 21 and a cover member 3. The cover
member 3 has an inner and outer face 5,7. The outer face 5 of the cover
member 3 further comprises a front and back sides 9, 11 which define the
front and back sides of the greeting card 1.
In a preferred embodiment, the cover member 3 is provided with an indicia
on at least the font side 9. In the context of the present invention, indicia
includes any illustration, emblem, writing, greeting, wish or poem. The
indicia may also be an ornamental feature which forms a separate or
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integral part of the outer face of the cover member. It may further be a
textural aspect of the material by which the cover member is formed.
In another preferred embodiment, the front side 9 of the cover member 3
may be blank so to allow a person to execute an artistic work thereon such
as, a painting.
As seen in Figure 2, the sheet member 21 has an inner and an outer faces
23, 25. The outer face 25 of the sheet member 21 is adapted to be
temporarily secured to the inner face 7 of the cover member 3. In the
context of the present invention, the term "temporarily" signifies that the
sheet member 21 is removably secured to the cover member 3 so as to be
detachable from the latter. Hence, it is possible to reattach the same sheet
member to the cover member or to the attach a completely different and
new sheet member on the cover sheet.
As further seen in Figure 2, the outer face 25 of the sheet member 21
comprises a bonding surface for allowing it to stick on the inner face 7 of
the cover member 3. Preferably, the bonding surface comprises a non-
permanent self-adhesive glue. In the illustrated embodiment, the glue
forms a vertical strip 31 which extends parallel and next to the folding line
of
the greeting card 1. However, it will be apparent that other configuration are
well within the scope of the present invention.
Preferably, the glue strip 31 is placed on the outer face 25 of the sheet
member 21 so as to stick on the front side portion of the cover member 3.
Preferably, the non permanent self-adhesive glue is a double stick tape. In
storage, the double stick tape is provided with a protective liner (not shown)
which is torn away when the sheet member 21 is secured on the cover
member 3.
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Hence, it is possible to interchange for a same cover member 3, different
sheet members 21 which contain different messages, without damaging the
cover member 3.
Referring now to Figure 3, the present invention is also concerned with a kit
5 for creating a greeting card. The kit comprises at least one cover member
(A, B, C) and at least one sheet member (a, b, c). Thus it is possible to form
a greeting card by first selecting a cover member and then a sheet member
containing the appropriate message. It should be understood that a blank
sheet member may be used just as well. Then, the selected sheet member
is temporarily secured on the cover member thereby forming the card.
In a preferred embodiment of the kit of the present invention, the sheet
members are indexed in a binder and the cover members are displayed on
a shelf. To form a card, the person only needs to first look over the binder,
select the sheet member and then look over the cover member displayed
on the shelf and choose the appropriate one. Of course, the order of
selection is not important.
It is believed that the reusable card according to the present invention is
highly efficient and more environmentally friendly since it allows direct
recycling of the components of the card such as the cover member by
directly reusing them.
Although the present invention has been explained hereinabove by way of
a preferred embodiment thereof, it should be pointed out that any
modifications to this preferred embodiment within the scope of the present
description is not deemed to alter or change the nature and the scope of
the present invention.
