GB2404626A

GB2404626A - Greeting card

Info

Publication number: GB2404626A
Application number: GB0310370A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Rebecca Elizabeth Partridge
Original assignee: ARCH
Current assignee: ARCH
Priority date: 2003-05-06
Filing date: 2003-05-06
Publication date: 2005-02-09
Also published as: GB0310370D0

Abstract

A greeting card 10 comprising a card body, a container 15 secured to the body which holds plant nourishment 20, a seal 17 on the open end of the container 15 to prevent leakage, the seal 17 being arranged to receive a plant 19 and enable it to receive nourishment 20. The container 15 may be a test tube, and it may be secured to the card body by double sided adhesive tape 16. The container seal 17 may comprise a cap, which may be made of rubber and provided with a hole to receive the plant 19. The nourishment 20 may be water, which may be added to the container 15 by a pipette. The greeting card may be mailed in a reinforced, addressable box envelope. A method of providing a user with the described greeting card has also been claimed.

Description

GREETING CARD The present invention relates to greeting cards. In particular, but not exclusively, the present invention relates to a greeting card which includes a plant or plant portion, such as a flower or leaf, fed by a nourishment source so that the flower or leaf remains healthy. There are many different types of greeting card which are known. Many of these are simple folded card structures on which an image or sentimental verse may be included. To provide a greater selection or choice many cards have been developed which include added content to amuse an end user. For example cards are known which play a suitable jingle when opened. However there is a requirement to provide users with greater choice when selecting greeting cards. It is also known that many recipients enjoy receiving flowers or plants or parts of plants as gifts. These are attractive and may subsequently be used as displays by recipients. However in the past there has been a requirement for such gifts to be handed over either by the sender in person or as a bunch of flowers or gift via some intermediary. This can be costly and/or time consuming. It is an aim of the present invention to at least partly mitigate the above-referenced problems. According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a greeting card comprising: a card body portion; a container, secured to said body portion, arranged for holding plant nourishment; and sealing means for sealing an open end of said container to thereby prevent outflow of said plant nourishment from said container; wherein said sealing means is arranged to receive a plant or plant portion to thereby locate said plant or plant portion at a location where said plant or plant portion is provided with access to said plant nourishment. According ' to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for providing a user with a greeting card comprising: a card body portion; a container securable to said card body portion and arranged for holding plant nourishment; sealing means for sealing an open end of said container to thereby substantially prevent outflow of said plant nourishment from said container; and an addressable box envelope, including reinforcement members, for receiving said card body portion. According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a method for providing a user with a greeting card comprising the steps of: providing a card body portion; securing a container arranged for holding plant nourishment to said body portion; sealing said container via a sealing means; locating a plant or plant portion through said sealing means at a location where the plant or plant portion is provided with access to plant nourishment contained in said container; and sending said card body portion to said user via a postal service. Embodiments of the present invention provide a greeting card which includes a flower or portion of a plant or whole plant which a recipient will find very pleasurable. This may be delivered without recourse to a third party thus reducing costs. By providing a source of nourishment, such as water, or other mineral rich gel, the flora will remain healthy and last longer. Embodiments of the present invention will now be described hereinafter by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 illustrates a greeting card; Figure 2 illustrates a sheet of card; Figure 3 illustrates how a nourishment source may be added; Figure 4 illustrates a greeting card in an envelope; and Figure 5 illustrates a sealing cap. In the drawings like reference numerals refer to like parts. Figure 1 illustrates a greeting card according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The greeting card 10 is formed by folding a sheet of card in half. The card may for example be a form of solid bleached sulfate (SBS) board such as Truecard. The front portion 11 of the card may include some written text 12 such as a greeting, for example happy birthday. The rear portion 13 may have some further text (not shown) printed on the inside face 14. The rear portion 30 acts to stabilise the card in an upright position. As an alternative a single sheet of card could be used with a rear support such as a foot attached thereto. A test tube 15 is secured to the front portion 11 of the card by means for a securing adhesive strip 16 one suitable form of securing tape is tesa 64621 double sided transparent self adhesive tape. A securing cap 17 is fastened over the open end of the test tube 15 and a plant or portion of a plant such as a flower or leaf is placed through a central opening in the cap 17. A lower portion 18 of the plant or plant portion 19 extends into a lower region of the test tube where a nourishment source such as water or mineral enriched gel 20 is held. Figure 2 illustrates how a sender of a greeting card may be provided with a kit for production of the card. the card itself begins its life as a sheet of card with dashed line 21 illustrating a fold line. The front half of the sheet 11 has marked on it a position for the final container 15. It will be understood that any shaped container could be used which can contain a predetermined quantity of plant nourishment. After folding the left hand side 22 of the sheet becomes a rear portion of the greeting card. Printed instructions 23 may be included to inform a user how to prepare the greeting card. Figure 3 illustrates a further phase of the assembly of the kit of parts for the greeting card. A customer selects a container which is test tube shaped and locates a sealing cap 17 on the top of the test tube.It will be understood that as an alternative a preformed container with cap could be used. This is secured to the greeting card by means of a strip of adhesive tape which is placed in the zone shown by the dotted line 24 in figure 2. In this way the test tube and sealing cap are secured to the greeting card. It will be understood that alternative forms of securing means could be used for example by making holes in the greeting card and tying the container to the card using cords or wire. Subsequent to securing the container 15 to the greeting card 10 a form of plant nourishment is introduced into the container. This is carried out by use of pipette 30. The pipette is filled with the nourishment source 31 which is for example water although any other form of mineral rich gel in which plant life can be promoted or sustained would suffice. This may then be injected into the container and flows therein. Figure 4 illustrates how the greeting card 10 may be placed in a preformed box envelope prior to sending. Subsequent to the steps illustrated in figure 3 the consumer selects a flower or leaf or plant to be sent to the end user who is the recipient of the greeting card. The plant portion or plant is loaded through a central hole of the cap over the container and the cap seals against an outer portion of the stem of the plant portion or plant. In this way outflow of water or other plant nourishment source is prevented from the container. Once loaded the plant is thereby located at a predetermined location with respect to the greeting card. In this position an upper portion of the flower is highly visible to a end user whilst a lower portion extends into the water so that the plant portion or plant is fed continually with nourishment.In this way a plant will be sustained during a subsequent delivery process and thereafter. The consumer then places the greeting card with plant form in the preformed box envelope 40. The box envelope includes rigid or semi-rigid structural members 41 which provide protection for the pldllt during transit to an end user. Both side pillars and top and bottom pillars 42 may be used if required. A lid 43 hinges around line 44 so that when closed the lid can be secured to form a box surrounding the greeting card. In this way the chances of the plant life being crushed are substantially reduced. The envelope 40 may be then addressed to an address associated with an end recipient for example that recipients home address and thereafter posted using the normal postal services or a courier service. Figure 5 illustrates a cap which can be used to seal an open end of a test tube. It will be understood that embodiments of the present invention are not restricted to use of such a sealing member. Alternative sealing members such as a cork with a predrilled hole may be used. The cap 17 is formed from a substantially disc like portion 50 from which a rim 51 extends at a substantially perpendicular angle. The center 52 of the cap has a preformed hole which is small enough to prevent outflow of fluid or gel from the container but large enough to admit a small plant or plant portion. The innermost peripheral edges of the hole 52 formed by the disc like cap portion are thin so that the resilient nature of the material of which the cap- is formed can be maximised. One particularly suitable material from which the cap may be manufactured is santoprene rubber 8211-35.The rim portion 51 of the cap includes cut out portions 53 which help the cap snap fit over the top of a test tube and thereafter help secure the cap about a rim of the test tube (not shown). Figure 5b illustrates the cap from above showing the outer peripheral edge 54 and central hole 52. It will be understood that such a hole may be replaced by a cross shaped slit arrangement and may be off-center. Embodiments of the present invention provide a card or other information store which is a combination of a greeting card and a bunch of flowers. This may be used for any suitable occasion such as a valentines day, mothers day, birthday card or Christmas day card. A customer or florist will select a flower either from their own garden or from a florist shop and cut the flower to a predetermined size with respect to the greeting card height. Using a pipette provided with a kit bought with the greeting card the test tube will be filled with water enabling the flower to survive during a journey through the postal system. As an alternative embodiments of the present invention provide for a customer to fill a test tube and then place the securing cap over the open end of the test tube. The flower is gently placed through a hole in a container lid. This is designed to seal around the stem of the so located plant life to prevent the water spilling in transit. The greeting card is then placed into a suitable box which may be a preformed addressable box envelope which prevents the greeting card from being squashed in transit. Embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail hereinabove. It will be understood that modifications and alternations may be made to these examples without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A greeting card comprising: a card body portion; a container, secured to said body portion, arranged for holding plant nourishment; and sealing means for sealing an open end of said container to thereby prevent outflow of said plant nourishment from said container; wherein said sealing means is arranged to receive a plant or plant portion to thereby locate said plant or plant portion at a location where said plant or plant portion is provided with access to said plant nourishment.

2. The greeting card as claimed in claim 1 further comprising: securing means arranged to secure said container to said card body portion.

3. The greeting card as claimed in claim 2 wherein said securing means comprises double sided adhesive tape.

4. The greeting card as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein said container comprises a cylindrical body having a first sealed end and an open end.

5. The greeting card as claimed in claim 4 wherein said container comprises a test tube.

6. The greeting card as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein said sealing means comprises a cap having a substantially disc-shaped cap top portion and a rim portion extending perpendicularly from the outer peripheral edge of said cap top.

7. The greeting card as claimed in claim 6 wherein said cap top and rim portion are integrally formed.

8. The greeting card as claimed in claim 6 or claim '7 wherein said cap top has a hole located therein to receive said plant or plant portion.

9. The greeting card as claimed in any one of claims 6 to 8 wherein said sealing means is made of rubber.

10. The greeting card as claimed in any one of claims 9 to 10 wherein said plant nourishment is water.

11. Apparatus for providing a user with a greeting card comprising: a card body portion; a container securable to said card body portion and arranged for holding plant nourishment; sealing means for sealing an open end of said container to thereby substantially prevent outflow of said plant nourishment from said container; and an addressable box envelope, including reinforcement members, for receiving said card body portion.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 further comprising: a pipette for locating plant nourishment in said container subsequent to said sealing means being located to seal said container.

13. A method for providing a user with a greeting card comprising the steps of: providing a card body portion; securing a container arranged for holding plant nourishment to said body portion; sealing said container via a sealing means; locating a plant or plant portion through said sealing means at a location where the plant or plant portion is provided with access to plant nourishment contained in said container; and sending said card body portion to said user via a postal service.

14. The method as claimed in claim 13 further comprising the step of folding a sheet of card to thereby provide said card body portion.

15. The method as claimed in claim 13 or 14 further comprising the steps of: placing said card body portion in an addressable box envelope subsequent to said step of locating a plant or plant portion at said location and subsequently addressing said envelope with an address associated with said user.

16. The method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15 further comprising providing plant nourishment in said container by pouring water into said container prior to a step of sealing said container with said sealing means.

17. The method as claimed in any one of claims 13 to 15 further comprising providing plant nourishment in said container by sealing said container with said sealing means and subsequently pouring water into said container via a pipette.

18. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said plant portion comprises at least one flower.

19. The method as claimed in claim 13 wherein said plant portion comprises at least one leaf.

20. Apparatus constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

21. A method substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.