FR2846910A1 - COMBINED BUSINESS CARD AND LETTER CARD HOLDER - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a combined business card and letter card holder, consisting of a sheet (1) having a central fold line (2), said sheet (1) being folded along the central line (2), so so that its opposite edges meet to form a two-part support along the center line (2). The sheet (1) has in its lower part a horizontal line (3) of perforations defining an upper zone (5) and a lower zone (4) which can be separated from each other. The lower zone (4) has the dimensions of a standard business card and includes the identification elements of the issuer for later consultation. Applications: advertising and corporate communication.

Description

I

  COMBINED BUSINESS CARD AND LETTER CARD HOLDER

  The present invention relates to a combined business card - letter card fold, in which a linear pattern of horizontal perforation is cut from a sheet to define two zones of differentiated formats intended

  respectively to form a business card and a letter card.

  For the purposes of their external communications, companies of all sizes are increasingly using media that

  can use different modes.

  Independently of the development of digital and transmission techniques observed in recent years, it has been observed that the paper medium retains a certain favor with businesses, because of its ease of use and its advantage in

  allow immediate perception of the information it conveys.

  This is how various media were developed allowing the company to communicate, in particular by post, in the form of an information card in the format of a postcard on which is listed one side of the information concerning the company, as well as, if necessary, a form to be completed by the recipient to receive other information, and on the other side the address of the company with a zone

  for postage or prepaid postage.

  There are also known communication media in the form of small notebooks of suitable format, designed to be introduced into envelopes, and in which various sheets are grouped together.

  presenting the information to be communicated.

  According to a variant of this method, the book is in the form of a checkbook comprising a stump, the detachable sheet can then be used by the recipient to request clarifications or other information from

  of the company that communicates through this.

  However, these known communication media include a

major drawback.

  Indeed, faced with the multiplication of communication and advertising methods, the recipient has a certain tendency to perform a primary and rapid sorting among his mail to get rid of media that he considers

  non-essential, without even sometimes knowing it.

  In addition, and even when the recipient takes care to open the fold, the notebook or the brochure addressed to him to read the information contained therein, he will not be inclined to archive and keep these media for '' any subsequent consultations, in particular because of technical difficulties resulting from the use of formats and

very varied dimensions.

  The present invention intends to remedy these drawbacks by proposing a card combining both a standard format business card comprising the elements of identification of the company and a letter card which can receive different elements of information presenting the company, its activity, its products or its services.

  The prior art is known for combined supports intended to provide

  different information or perform different functions.

  Thus, US Pat. No. 3,762,630 describes a fold which is in fact made up of two cards which are joined by three sides to form a pocket for

  inside which we can insert sheets or other elements.

  One of the cards has a graphic decoration on its outside, like a portal card.

  The other part is reserved for sender and address information.

  In this prior document, perforations are provided to separate the 35 cards forming the combination, in order to allow the recipient to

  keep the illustrated part as a postcard if desired.

  This method is not fully satisfactory, even if one can easily envisage replacing the purely decorative part with

  technical or commercial information.

  Indeed, this combined support is expressly designed to form a pocket, that is to say a kind of envelope inside which

will place information.

  It is therefore not designed to allow a durable conservation and an easy archiving of the informative data which it conveys.

  The present invention is characterized in that it consists of a support sheet divided into two zones by a line of horizontal perforations, one of the zones being defined to form a business card 15 in standard format and the other zone being provided to define a letter card

  to receive different information.

  The present invention will be better understood through the description given below of a preferred embodiment, and with reference to the appended figures in which:

  - Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a combined support according to the present invention, - Figure 2 is a diagram illustrating the different processes of use

  of the combined support according to the invention.

  With reference to the appended figures, and more particularly to Figure 1, the combined support according to the present invention consists of a sheet (1) 30 comprising a central fold line (2).

  When the sheet (1) is folded along the central line (2), so that its opposite edges meet, it forms a support in two parts along the central line (2), the dimensions of which are defined to allow 35 insertion in a standard size envelope.

  The sheet (1) has in its lower part a perforation line (3)

defining two areas.

  The perforations are brought together and go from one edge to the other of the sheet 5 along a horizontal line to thus allow to quickly separate and

  without risk of damage to both parts of the sheet.

  The lower zone (4), which is detachable from the support by means of the perforation line (3), has the dimensions of a standard business card. 10 The upper zone (5) will be reserved for corporate communication and may receive any kind of information, such as images or editorials presenting the elements that the sender wishes to transmit. The lower zone (4) in standard business card format will contain the identification elements of the issuer for later consultation. The use of the combined support according to the present invention is

  particularly simple, as shown in the diagram in Figure 2.

  It will suffice to insert the support inside an envelope and to proceed with its dispatch (in the case of addressing by portal) or at its distribution, to various recipients who will have been previously selected.

  Upon receipt, the recipient will be able to read the information presenting the sending company and contained in the upper part 30 (5) of the support.

  If he does not wish to keep them but nevertheless preserve a trace or a reference of the shipment received, he will then only have to detach the business card formed by the lower part (4) of the sheet (1), which may thanks to its standard dimensions be easily stored in any support

  or folder for business card or classic agenda.

  Thus, the recipient will not be confronted with any archiving or classification problem but may nevertheless keep a

  reference for future reference.

  According to an alternative embodiment, the lower part (4) forming a business card may also include a detachable reply coupon, this in the event that the recipient wishes not only to keep the sender's references but also to request from him all

further information.

  In this case, the lower part (4) forming a business card will be subdivided

  in two detachable zones around the central fold (2) of the sheet (1).

  The left part could for example take the form of a classic single-sheet business card, while the right part could take the form of a reply coupon, comprising for example a form to be filled in.

  and to be returned by the recipient.

  Of course, and even if the embodiment illustrated above describes a sheet in two flaps folded around a central line to form a support in the standard format of an envelope, nothing prevents the provision of additional flaps which could themselves be folded, the dimensions of the assembly once folded retaining those of

the standard envelope.

  It is thus possible, for example, to design a combined support according to the present invention comprising three or more components, formed and arranged on the principles defined above, without departing from the scope of the invention, insofar as the The assembly will keep a division between a lower part forming a business card and an upper part forming a letter card. According to another possible variant embodiment, use will be made of a combined support according to the invention comprising only some basic information, and which would be used in conjunction with printing software, for

  allow the user to personalize their support.

  The software that will be used as part of this variant will then integrate the standard formats commonly used in business cards of a

  on the one hand, and letter cards and envelopes on the other.

  The above description shows that the invention fulfills the

goals pursued.

  The combined support as described above achieves a perfect synthesis between business card and presentation brochure and makes it possible to gather 10 on a single support all the useful information that can

  wish to communicate a business to its customers.

  Within a single operation of grouped shipments, the company will be able, through a single medium and in standard envelopes 15, to send at the normal rate, distribute or deliver, both information and provide the recipient with a means standard practice and easy to store

  basic identification elements.

  Thus, thanks to the possibility for the recipient to keep in the standard format of a business card the essential elements of the message received, the sender will have an increased chance of being both recognized and contacted.

by its recipient in the future.

Claims (5)

  1. Combined business card and letter card holder, consisting of a sheet (1) comprising a central fold line (2), said sheet (1) being   folded along the central line (2), so that its opposite edges meet to form a support in two parts along the central line (2), characterized in that the sheet (1) has in its lower part a line ( 3) of perforations defining an upper zone (5) and a lower zone (4).   2. Support according to claim 1, characterized in that the perforations are close together and go from one edge to the other of the sheet (1) along a horizontal line. 3. Support according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized in   that the lower zone (4) is detachable from the support.   4. Support according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower zone (4) includes the identification elements of the transmitter.   5. Support according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the lower zone (4) is subdivided into two detachable zones around the central fold (2) of the sheet (1).