GB2263664A

GB2263664A - Greetings card including calendar, note pad, address book, chart or map.

Info

Publication number: GB2263664A
Application number: GB9200533A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Michael Humphrey Lewis
Original assignee: UNIVERSAL PENS
Current assignee: UNIVERSAL PENS
Priority date: 1992-01-10
Filing date: 1992-01-10
Publication date: 1993-08-04
Anticipated expiration: 2012-01-10
Also published as: GB2263664B; GB9200533D0

Abstract

A greetings card 1 comprises hingedly connected front and rear sheets 2, 3. Connected to an upper edge 6 of rear sheet 3 is a calendar, note pad, address book, conversion chart or map 5, whereby after display as a greetings card the card may serve an additional purpose. <IMAGE>

Description

"Greetings Card" This invention relates to a greetings card, such as for example a Christmas card or a birthday card.

Greetings cards are well known and are traditionally exchanged at various times of the year, for example at Christmas, Easter, Mothers day and Fathers day, on birthdays and anniversaries, and many other such occasions. Conventionally, however, such greetings cards are designed as single-use items, after being received and displayed for a few days they are normally thrown away. For a number of reasons including environmental, promotional and general desirability from a customer viewpoint, it would be desirable to provide a greetings card that after being displayed would have a further use. The card would then become a small gift.

According to the present invention there is provided a greetings card formed from front and rear sheets of card, or a like material, hingedly connected along one edge, one of said front and rear sheets having hingedly attached thereto along a second edge a calendar, address book, note-pad or the like.

In this way there is provided a greetings card which after being displayed may be re-used as a calendar, address book, note-pad or the like.

Preferably, the calendar or the like is hingedly connected to the rear sheet, and preferably to the upper edge thereof, such that the calendar or the like is disposed behind the rear sheet when the card is stood on display.

After use as a greetings card, the card may be used as a calendar or the like by being suspended from a hook or pin on a wall with the picture on the front of the greetings card acting as a decorative component of the calendar or the like. Preferably however the back of the rear sheet may be provided with a picture, design or the like to serve as this decorative element.

Preferably, the calendar or like element is provided with a relatively stiff reinforcing element, which may preferably be formed of the same material as the greetings card, and may even be formed integrally with the front and rear sheets of the greetings card.

The calendar or like element is preferably hingedly secured to the greetings card sheets by means of staples or like fastening elements.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment in a first configuration, Fig. 2 is a perspective view in a second configuration and, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the card unfolded.

Referring firstly to Fig. 1, there is shown in perspective view from the rear, a greetings card 1 formed from front 2 and rear 3 sheets of card or cardlike material, hingedly connected along one side edge 4.

Normally, of course, the front and rear sheets 2, 3 comprise a single sheet that is folded to define the hinged edge 4. As such the greetings card is conventional.

In this embodiment of the invention, however, the greetings card further comprises a calendar element, address book, note-pad or the like 5, which is hingedly secured to an upper edge 6 of the rear sheet 3. The calendar element, address book, note-pad or the like will consist of a number of sheets of paper having a size and shape corresponding to that of the rear sheet 3, or perhaps slightly smaller than the rear sheet.

After the greetings card has been displayed in a conventional manner to mark some particular occasion, it may subsequently be re-used by closing the front and rear sheets 2, 3 together and folding them upwardly about edge 6 into the configuration of Fig. 2. In this configuration, the calendar section, address book, notepad or the like is suspended beneath the overlying front and rear sheets 2, 3 of the card. As such the greetings card in its thus redeployed calendar, address book, note-pad etc. form may be suspended from a wall by means of a hook or pin or the like extending through an upper region (when in the Fig. 2 configuration) of the front and rear sheets. Conceivably holes could be provided on the front and rear sheets for this purpose.

As is seen in Fig. 2, the calendar section 5 or the like includes a relatively stiff reinforcing sheet 7 disposed behind the calendar section 5. This reinforcing sheet 7 is preferably made of the same card or card-like material as the sheets 2, 3 of the greetings card, indeed it may be formed integrally therewith and be hinged to the rear sheet upper edge 6 by means of a fold line as shown in Fig. 3.

As will be understood from a consideration of Figs.

1 and 2, when the card in the calendar configuration of Fig. 2, it is the rear side of rear sheet 3 that is displayed above the calendar or the like section.

This rear side of rear sheet 3 may therefore be provided with any desired decoration, pattern, print or writing, information or the like.

It will be appreciated that while reference has been made to a calendar, address book, or note-pad, many other possibilities exist for this additional element, e.g. a conversion chart, a map or any other such desired element.

Claims

1. A greetings card formed from front and rear sheets of card, or a like material, hingedly connected along one edge, one of said front and rear sheets having hingedly attached thereto along a second edge a calendar, address book, note-pad or the like.

2. A card as claimed in claim 1 wherein the calendar or the like is hingedly connected to the rear sheet.

3. A card as claimed in claim 2 wherein the calendar or the like is hingedly connected to the upper edge of the rear sheet.

4. A card as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3 wherein the calendar or like element is provided with a relatively stiff reinforcing element.

5. A card as claimed in claim 4 wherein the reinforcing element is formed integrally with the front and rear sheets of the greetings card.

6. A greetings card substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.