GB2524329A - Mechanical box or container for presenting promotional material - Google Patents

Abstract

A box suitable for the presentation of promotional material, such as samples, comprising two outer assemblies 2, 3 that form a box shape, and one inner assembly 1 that is positioned within the two outer assemblies 2, 3 e.g. within the box, and contains the promotional material; wherein the assemblies are joined together via connections that allow the assemblies to rotate with respect to each other, where in the rotation of the two outer assemblies from a closed (fig 1) to an open position (fig 2), causes the middle assembly 1 to be displaced to a position of increased visibility. The connection means between the two outer assemblies are preferably mechanical links such as a meshed gears (11, fig 4) and are such that the outer assemblies 2, 3 cannot move independently of each other. The connection means from the outer assemblies 2, 3, to the inner assembly 1, are elements (9, fig 4) that result in the displacement of the inner assembly 1.

Description

Mechanical box or container for presenting promotional material This invention relates to a box or container for holding and presenting promotional materials to the user in a dynamic manner.

The challenge of presenting marketing material to people in an engaging and novel manner is one that is always apparent to anyone involved in trying to market any goods or service. The traditional medium of printed flyers and leaflets is still very much the main strategy that the majority of organisations rely on. However with so much of this type of printed material being produced all the time it is very difficult to make one organisation's message stand out from the rest.

The perceived value of printed materials is also very low and they are often overlooked or disposed of without being read or considered. It is difficult both to engage the recipients attention to the material (and therefore it's message) and encourage them to retain the material for future reference. This retention needs to not only be the fact that the item is retained it must also be remembered. Most of the existing marketing materials are not memorable simply due to the fact that there is little to differentiate them from one another.

Many have tried to solve this problem by including commodity products as cheap gifts to accompany advertising. Items such as pens, other stationary or similar low value items bearing a brief message or logo that the recipient may retain to use in the context of a home or office. These items usually bear no relation to the goods or services that they are trying to advertise and due to their obvious low value are often treated with the same casual disregard as the flyers themselves.

The difficulty of imbuing printed marketing materials with perceived value on the part of the target audience and present them in an engaging fashion is still an area that lacks for innovative solutions.

The principle purpose of the present invention is to deliver a method for the packaging and displaying of printed material which both keeps multiple pieces of such material together in an organised fashion and draws the users attention to said material by moving the material into a more visible position through the action of opening the box. There by achieving a novel and engaging method of presenting such material.

The box is comprised of 3 main portions each portion composed of a multiplicity of layers of sheet material. The 2 outer portions act as the lids of the box and the middle portion acts as the body of the box. The items of printed material that are the contents of the box in this embodiment are placed in the middle portion. The 2 outer portions are linked to each other through a pair of meshing gears which are integrated into the layers that make up each portion. This means that the outer portions open in a symmetrical and controlled manner.

Elements of the 2 outer portions extend into the middle portion and interact with the contents. The box is opened by rotating the 2 outer portions in opposing directions. As the 2 outer portions are rotated, these elements change position relative to the middle portion and cause the contents to move. Thus as the box is opened the user can see the items being pushed into a more visible position. In the present embodiment the elements that cause the contents to move each contain a magnet that confers an attractive force on to the item and in so doing will also pull the item back into the middle portion as the outer portions are rotated in the opposite direction to close the box.

For the benefit of clear communication the box and its method of construction will normally be described as containing printed material, e.g. leaflets and the layers which comprise the box will be plastic. However it will be clear to anyone involved in design or manufacture that the box could be produced from layers formed of any normally rigid material manufactured and joined by any appropriate means and that the space for the contents could be altered to accommodate a wide variety of sizes and types of items.

The current embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference numbers represent the same or similar elements and in which; Fig 1 is a diagrammatic representation of the box in a closed configuration Fig 2 is a diagrammatic representation of the box in an open configuration Fig 3 is a diagrammatic representation of the box in a closed configuration illustrating the essential internal elements of the outer assemblies and the position of the contents of the box.

Fig 4 is a diagrammatic representation of the box in an open configuration illustrating the essential internal elements of the outer assemblies and the altered position of the contents of the box.

In the present embodiment of the invention the individual parts that comprise the box are cut from flat sheet materials to form three units which can move relative to each other.

The box can then be described as shown in fig 2, which is a representation of the box in an open position, as comprising of three separate assemblies 1,2,3 which are joined together at the axes of rotation 4, such that the outer assemblies 2,3 can rotate relative to each other and relative to the middle assembly 1. The assemblies 1,2,3 that comprise the box are constructed from a multiplicity of layers which are joined using a multiplicity of fasteners 7. Fig 1 illustrates the box in a closed configuration, which shows that the outer assemblies 2,3 of the box comprise the main outer surfaces which mainly enclose the middle assembly 1 when the box is in the closed configuration. The outer assemblies can rotate from the closed position as shown in fig 1 to the open position as shown in fig 2.

The extent of their motion is limited by the point at which they interfere with each other in the closed position 12 as illustrated in fig 1 and the point at which they interfere 6 in the open position as illustrated in fig 2. The motion of the outer assemblies is restrained relative to each other by means of meshing gears or partial gears 11 which are shown in fig 4 which is a representation of the box showing the normally hidden detail of the outer assemblies. In the present embodiment of the invention these partial gears are integrated into one or more of the layers that comprise each of the outer assemblies 2,3. In this way each outer assembly affects the motion of the other causing their motion to be symmetrical with respect to the middle assembly 1.

Rigid elements 9 which can be seen illustrated in fig 3 and fig 4 which show the details of the outer assemblies which would normally be hidden from view in the present embodiment, extend from the outer assemblies 2,3 into the slots 5 in the middle assembly 1. These slots Scan be seen illustrated in Fig 2 which shows the box in an open configuration. The said slots are the spaces in which the contents B of the box are retained. As the outer assemblies rotate the said elements push the said contents away from the axes of rotation 4 and cause them to protrude, as can be seen in fig 4, out of the middle assembly 1 of the box further than than their initial position when the box is closed as shown in fig 3. In the present embodiment the said elements that serve to move said contents of the box during the act of operating the box are of varied length so that the contents retained in different slots is moved to a different extent as is illustrated fig 4 which shows the box and contents in an open position illustrating the changed position of the contents. It will be obvious that the said elements could be varied in length to accommodate a range of different extents of movement of the said contents depending on what distance of movement of the said contents is desired.

In the present embodiment of invention each of the elements 9 contains a magnet which applies an easily severable attractive force to the contents S in the slots 5 enabling the said contents to be withdrawn into the said slots as the box is closed. In order to further aid the retraction of the said contents into the middle assembly 1, the outer assemblies 2,3 contain curved inner surfaces 10 on the side furthest away from the axes of rotation 4 that can interact with the contents B during the act of returning the box to a closed configuration as shown in fig 3.

In the present embodiment of the invention the multiplicity of layers of which the assemblies that comprise the box are constructed are joined together by the use of multiple fasteners. There exist many varied methods for joining materials and the method of joining of the different layers of the box to each other will be dependent on the material used and the degree of permanence required of the joint. The joining of the assemblies that comprise the box to each other will be achieved by a method appropriate to the material used but will be such that the different portions of the box are normally free to rotate relative to each other but are not normally separable.