GB2188035A

GB2188035A - Packets containing articles for display and despatch

Info

Publication number: GB2188035A
Application number: GB08629601A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Thomas Josef Derrick Pau Karen; Roger Eric Thomas Mills
Original assignee: OGLE DESIGN Ltd
Current assignee: OGLE DESIGN Ltd
Priority date: 1985-12-17
Filing date: 1986-12-11
Publication date: 1987-09-23
Also published as: GB8530991D0; GB8629601D0

Abstract

A packet (10) containing an article (11) to be displayed and despatched therein has two substantially parallel walls (13, 14) between which the article is located, one wall being wholly or partially transparent whereby the article is visible. The packet is particularly intended to be despatched as a postcard through the ordinary mail, i.e. without any additional wrapping. Preferably the space between the walls is pressurised so as to prevent the walls from being pressed together and thereby protect the article. The article (11) is preferably secured to one of the walls (13, 14). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Packets containing articles for display and despatch This invention relates to an item of manufacture in the form of a packet for the display and despatch of article contained therein.

In view of the ease of travel nowadays, the size of the tourism and holiday business and the common desire to acquire holiday souvenirs or send holiday postcards and other greetings, there is a need for an item of manufacture which can fulfil these and other requirements and it is one of the purposes of this invention to provide a packet containing an article, which meets these needs.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide a packet containing an article which is capable of being sent through the mail as a postcard, i.e. without an envelope or other form of wrapping and carrying on a suitable part of its surface the name and address of the intended recipient of the article and, optionally, a greeting or other message from the sender, on another part of its surface.

The present invention provides an item of manufacture comprising an enclosed packet containing an article to be displayed and despatched therein, the packet having first and second substantially parallel walls between which the article is located, the first wall being opaque and the second wall being at least partially transparent whereby the article is at least partly visible, the packet being provided with means for resisting external forces tending to urge the first and second walls together.

The article may be a small object which can be accommodated in the container, such as a key-ring, a badge or a bookmark, or it can be a representation or model of, say, a vehicle, a building, a human or animal figure or a view.

Thus, the article can be a model of a car, taxi or bus as seen from the side, namely a representation in two dimensions, or as seen in perspective view, namely a relief model of such a view. Preferably, the article is secured to the inside surface of the first wall, and it may incorporate a background relevant to the main obiect included in it, such as a relief model of an airplane against a sky scene or a view of airport buildings. In one preferred form of the invention, the article is such a representation or model of a vehicle, building, figure or other major feature, and the inside surface of the first wall, on at least that part of it which is also visible through the second wall, carries a background picture or view relevant to the article.If the article includcs a representation or relief model in perspective view, the background may also be in perspective, most preferably so as to match the perspective of the relief model itself.

The first wall can be substantially co-extensive with the second wall, that is they have essentially the same length and width, or one can be smaller in length and/or in width than the other.

The breadth of the container is preferably small in relation to its length and its width, so that it is generally flat and thus small in its front-to-back dimension or thickness. The second wall of the package can be a part of a moulded component having a planar portion, defining the second wall, and an upstanding peripheral wall carrying a planar flange by which the component may be secured to a surface of the first wall. Preferably, the moulded component is made entirely from transparent plastics material. Preferably, the means for resisting external forces comprise a volume of gas, preferably air, within the packet at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.This ensures that the packet is not flattened or otherwise damaged even by the application of reasonable force, exerted upon it for instance when a postal address and possibly a greeting or message are written upon the packet, an adhesive postage stamp is applied for mailing purposes or when the package is franked or otherwise subjected to force when being handled by a postal service.

The means for resisting external forces may alternatively comprise ribs extending between the first and second wall or some other suitable means for holding the first and second walls apart.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, some embodiments of it are shown by way of example only in the accompanying drawings, each of Figs. 1 to 4 showing a packet according to the invention in diagrammatic perspective view; in the drawings, Figs. 1 and 2 show one form of packet in front and rear perspective view respectively and Figs. 3 and 4 show other forms of package in front perspective view.

Figures 1 and 2 show a packet 10 containing an article 11 in the form of a relief model of a bus. The packet includes first and second walls 13 and 14 between which the article is located. The first wall 13 is entirely opaque and the second wall 14 is entirely transparent.

The second wall 14 is part of a moulded component 12 which includes a peripheral wall 22 and a flange 23 by which it is sealed to the first wall 13. The space between the moulded component 12 and the wall 13 contains air at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure, whereby the first and second walls 13, 14 resist external forces tending to push them together. The inside surface 17 of the first wall 13 carries a background picture 19 related to the article 11. Part of the wall 13 is provided with appropriate lines indicated at 15 for filling in a postal address. In this embodiment of the invention, the wall 13 extends beyond the wall 14 and is provided with a hole 16 by means of which the packet can be hung up on an appropriate hook, for example in a shop, for display purposes.

The embodiment of the invention shown in figure 3 includes a packet 10 in the form of a substantially rectangular box having a first wall 13 which is opaque and a second wall 14 which includes a transparent portion 21. In this embodiment, the article 11 per se includes a background 20 in relief. The article 11 is visible through the transparent portion 21.

The embodiment of the invention shown in figure 4 corresponds to the embodiment shown in figures 1 and 2, but differs in that the first wall 14 extends further beyond the moulded component 12, so that the moulded component 12 and space 15 for a postal address may be situated on the same surface of the wall 14.

The moulded component may be entirely transparent, or may have an opaque peripheral wall 22 and a transparent central portion 21, as shown in Fig. 4.

The packet can have length and width dimensions which can range quite widely, from minimum values which make the item of manufacture just large enough to receive a postal address, in a legible form, however it is written or printed, up to the maximum length and/or width for a packet which allows it to be treated by a postal authority as a letter or postcard. The packet, of whatever size, generally is rectangular and, without implying any minimum or maximum limits, thus can have a length ranging from, say 6 to 30 cm, a width ranging from, say, 4 to 20 cm and a breadth which can in part be no more than the thickness of the backing sheet or the front sheet, say 0.5 mm, up to a value, for the part of the packet holding the article, in the range from 5 to 15 mm.

Thus, the invention provides an attractive mailing item, which is suitable for posting without the need for any additional wrapping.

The item is primarily intended as a holiday postcard/souvenir, but may have a variety of other applications, for example in the promotional/gift market, where the items might be used as eye-catching free gifts when promoting new products.

Claims

1. An item of manufacture comprising an enclosed packet containing an article to be displayed and despatched therein, the packet having first and second substantially parallel walls between which the article is located, the first wall being opaque and the second wall being at least partially transparent whereby the article is at least partly visible, the packet being provided with means for resisting external forces tending to urge the first and second walls together.

2. An item of manufacture as claimed in claim 1, wherein the article is secured to the inside surface of the first wall.

3. An item of manufacture as claimed in claim or 2, wherein the inside surface of the first wall carries a background picture related to the article.

4. An item of manufacture as claimed in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the first wall is substantially coextensive with the second wall.

5. An item of manufacture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the second wall is part of a moulded component having a planar portion, defining the second wall, and an upstanding peripheral wall carrying a planar flange by which the component may be secured to a surface of the first wall.

6. An item of manufacture as claimed in claim 5, wherein the moulded component is made entirely from transparent plastics material.

7. An item of manufacture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the means for resisting external forces comprise a volume of gas within the packet at a pressure higher than atmospheric pressure.

8. An item of manufacture as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the article includes a main object in relief and a background relating to the main object in relief.

9. An item of manufacture as claimed in claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.