GB2324477A

GB2324477A - Tamper proof information slide

Info

Publication number: GB2324477A
Application number: GB9708474A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Wharf
Original assignee: PEGASUS SALES PROMOTION LIMITE
Current assignee: PEGASUS SALES PROMOTION LIMITE
Priority date: 1997-04-25
Filing date: 1997-04-25
Publication date: 1998-10-28
Anticipated expiration: 2017-04-25
Also published as: GB9708474D0; GB2324477B

Abstract

A tamper proof information slide comprises a sealed unit having cover sheets 5 and 6 and an information carrier 9 with at least one cover sheet having a window 8 through which indicia on the information carrier can be viewed. The Information carrier has a tab portion 10 which is secured between two cooperating marginal portions of the cover sheet and the remaining sides of the cover sheet are secured together. The marginal portions of the cover sheets have lines of weakness so that by suitable manipulation they may be torn thus releasing the slide for movement with respect to a window. The arrangement may be used in a prize draw.

Description

Improved Information Slide The present invention relates to an improved information slide of the kind conventionally made of paper or cardboard and adapted to operate in the manner of a slide rule.

Conventionally, information slides have consisted of two cover sheets, folded and/or glued to form an envelope which is provided with windows and the information carrier in the shape of a card being made separately from the cover sheets and after which the card is slid into the envelope.

Examples of conventional information slides includes the envelope being formed from two cover sheets connected to each other via a fold line and which cover sheets on the edges away from the fold line are glued to each other and, also, the envelope being formed by two separate cover sheets glued to each other on their side edges via cardboard strips with the thickness of the information carrier. The information carrier is then slidably disposed within the envelope.

European Patent No. 0142892 discloses a method of manufacturing an information slide formed from one piece of planar material, the information carrier being partly cut loose from the planar material prior to the formation of the envelope from the cover sheets. During manufacture, the upper and/or lower edges of the envelope along with the remaining attachments of the information carrier to the planar material are cut off and discarded to release the information carrier which becomes slidably disposed within the envelope.

It has also been proposed to provide an information slide in the form of a promotional prize offering token having information that can be revealed by removing a scratchable layer in the manner of a known promotional so-called scratch card, see US-A-5,037,099 Although such information may be related to the information on the slide in a novel manner, an additional manufacturing process is required.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an improved information slide that can incorporate prize information in a secure manner.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a tamper proof information slide comprising a sealed unit, wherein once the seal is broken information may be revealed by slidable displacement of the information carrier portion to register with one or more windows in an outer envelope.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided an information slide comprising a pair of outer cover sheets between which is disposed an information carrier, at least one of the cover sheets having at least one window within which can be displayed information borne on the information carrier, the information carrier being secured immovably between the cover sheets by attachment of one edge thereof between registering marginal portions of the cover sheets, the remaining margins of the cover sheets being secured together around the information carrier to seal the unit and the arrangement being such that the said marginal portions can readily be detached from the cover sheets to allow movement of the information carrier to display information thereon that is concealed in the sealed state of the unit.

Advantageously the said marginal portions are defined by lines of weakness in the cover sheets, which may comprise lines of perforations, to enable the manual separation of the information slide by bending of the marginal portions thereof.

An arrangement according to the invention has the advantage that, whilst it can be constructed in a manner similar to that of known information slides it can provide a secure tamper proof unit containing prize information without the need to apply the.

removable layer conventional to scratch cards.

The concealed information on the information carrier may itself be the prize information or may simply be information selectable for viewing in the window. In the latter case prize information may be provided on another removable part of the sealed unit such as a removable section of a cover sheet on the inside surface of which the prize information is printed.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided a unitary blank of sheet material for forming an information slide comprising an area defined by side edges and an upper and lower edge and providing two foldable cover sheets, at least one cover sheet being provided with window areas, and an information carrier comprising a tab portion attached to a side edge of the said area and a slider portion of narrower width than the cover sheets, said area having a line of weakness for detachment of a separable portion of the cover sheets adjoining said tab, the separable portion and the tab portion of the information carrier, when folded, serving as a handle for displacement of the slider portion.

Advantageously, the line of weakness consists of perforations.

The information and/or an illustration may be directly printed on the cover sheets and/or the information carrier.

Alternatively, a further layer of printed material may be applied to the surface of the cover sheets and/or the information carrier.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention at least one cover sheet is provided with an openable or detachable section, which when removed reveals information printed on the reverse side.

In order to aid in understanding the invention a specific embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a unitary blank for an information slide according to the invention; Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a unitary blank 1 of cardboard material having a planar piece of material 2 with side edges 3 and upper and lower edges 4. The planar piece of material 2 consists of front 5 and back 6 cover sheets separated by a fold line 7. At least one of the front 5 and back 6 cover sheets is provided with windows 8. The unitary blank 1 also having an information carrier 9 attached via a tab portion 10 to a side edge 3 of the planar piece of material 2 at a fold line 11. A slider portion 12 of the information carrier 9 being attached to the tab portion 10 has text areas 13 and is of narrower width than the cover sheets 5 and 6. The front 5 and back 6 cover sheets have a line of weakness 14, in particular, consisting of perforations, for detachment of a separated portion 15 of the cover sheets 5 and 6. The separated portion 15 remains attached to the tab portion 10 of the information carrier 9. The blank 1 is formed into an information slide by folding along the fold lines 7 and 11 so that the two cover sheets 5 and 6 form a sleeve around the information carrier 9. The cover sheets 5 and 6 are attached to each face of the waste area of slider portion 12 by adhesive means to form a sealed unit. When assembled the separated portion 15 of the cover sheets 5 and 6 and the tab portion 10 of the information carrier 9 form a handle for the slider portion 12. The handle is detached via the line of weakness 14 and the information carrier 9 becomes slidably disposed.

In use, the assembled information slide is opened in the following manner, the line of weakness 14 on the front 5 and back 6 cover sheets is broken by alternate bending of the handle, which comprises the separated portion 15 and the tab 10, towards the cover sheets 5 and 6. Information in the window text areas 13 of the slider portion 12 can then be displayed by displacement of the handle attached to the slider portion 13 to align the window text areas 13 with the windows 8 in the front 5 and back 6 cover sheets.

The information slide may further include openable and/or detachable perforated sections within the cover sheets 5 and 6, which may be opened or detached to reveal further information provided on the reverse side of the cover sheet.

It will be understood that various alterations and modifications may be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the invention, and that the invention is applicable to many sorts of games, competitions and information. For instance, both the information carrier and the cover sheets may be formed in shapes other than the rectangular shapes indicated in the example, the tab portion of the information carrier may be connected to one or more side edges provided that when folded the information carrier is located between the two cover sheets. Also, the tab portion of the information carrier could be attached to the upper or lower edges with the line of weakness on the cover sheets running along the side edges. In another arrangement the cover sheets and the information carrier may be formed from separate sheets of material. It would also be possible for the information carrier to be disposed in a blank between the two cover sheets, which would then be folded in opposite directions to enclose the information carrier.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. An information slide comprising a pair of outer cover sheets between which is disposed an information carrier, at least one of the cover sheets having at least one window within which can be displayed information borne on the information carrier, the information carrier being secured immovably between the cover sheets by attachment of one edge thereof between registering marginal portions of the cover sheets, the remaining margins of the cover sheets being secured together around the information carrier to seal the unit and the arrangement being such that the said marginal portions can readily be detached from the cover sheets to allow movement of the information carrier to display information thereon that is concealed in the sealed state of the unit.

2. An information slide as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the marginal portions are defined by lines of weakness in the cover sheets, to enable manual separation of the information slide.

3. An information slide as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the lines of weakness comprise perforations.

4. An information slide as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein information and/or illustration is printed directly on the cover sheets and/or the information carrier.

5. An information slide as claimed in Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a layer of printed material is applied to the surface of the cover sheets and/or the information carrier.

6. An information slide as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein at least one cover sheet is provided with an openable or detachable section.

7. An information slide as claimed in Claim 6, wherein removal of the openable or detachable section reveals information printed on the reverse side.

8. A unitary blank of sheet material for forming an information slide comprising an area defined by side edges and an upper and lower edge and providing two foldable cover sheets, at least one cover sheet being provided with window areas, and an information carrier comprising a tab portion attached to a side edge of the said area and a slider portion of narrower width than the cover sheets, said area having a line of weakness for detachment of a separable portion of the cover sheets adjoining said tab, the separable portion and the tab portion of the information carrier, when folded, serving as a handle for displacement of the slider portion.

9. A unitary blank as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the line of weakness consists of perforations.

10. A unitary blank as claimed in Claim 8 or 9, wherein information and/or illustration is printed directly on the cover sheets and/or the information carrier.

11. A unitary blank as claimed in Claim 8 or 9, wherein a layer of printed material is applied to the surface of the cover sheets and/or the information carrier.

12. A unitary blank as claimed in any one of Claims 8 to 11, wherein at least one cover sheet is provided with an openable or detachable section.

13. A unitary blank as claimed in Claim 12, wherein removal of the openable or detachable section reveals information printed on the reverse side.

14. A unitary blank substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.