WO2012046104A1

WO2012046104A1 - Foldable 3-dimensional card

Info

Publication number: WO2012046104A1
Application number: PCT/IB2010/054529
Authority: WO
Inventors: Ching Fun Elisa Tang
Original assignee: Ching Fun Elisa Tang
Priority date: 2010-10-07
Filing date: 2010-10-07
Publication date: 2012-04-12

Abstract

A foldable 3-dimensional card is disclosed. The card comprises a front panel, a back panel and a bottom panel. A front opening is provided at the front panel, and the top edge of the front panel is connected to a top edge of the back panel. The bottom panel has a front edge that is connected to a bottom edge of the front panel, and a back edge that is connected to a bottom edge of the back panel. The bottom panel is foldable so that the card can reversibly alternate between a closed position and an open position. The card is completely flat in the closed position. The front panel, back panel and bottom panel define a volume therebetween in the open position. When an ornamental piece is hung from the front and/or back panel, the ornamental piece is freely movable without hindrance from the front panel and back panel. The ornamental piece is further visible from the front through the front opening.

Description

FOLD ABLE 3-DIMENSIONAL CARD

FIELD OF INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to a foldable card, in particular a foldable 3-dimensional card.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

[0002] In a traditional card, a viewer can only see an image printed on the front surface of the card when the card is standing. This can be dull to a viewer visually as the image is flat and static.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

[0003] In the light of the foregoing background, it is an object of the present invention to provide an alternate foldable 3-dimensional card.

[0004] Accordingly, the present invention, in one aspect, is an article of manufacture comprising a front panel, a back panel and a bottom panel. A front opening is provided at the front panel, and the top edge of the front panel is connected to a top edge of the back panel. The bottom panel has a front edge that is connected to a bottom edge of the front panel, and a back edge that is connected to a bottom edge of the back panel. The article is characterized in that the bottom panel is foldable such that the article can reversibly alternate between a closed position and an open position. The bottom panel is folded in the closed position to allow the article to form a flat package in the closed position. The bottom panel is unfolded such that the front panel, back panel and bottom panel defines a volume therebetween in the open position. When an ornamental piece is hung from the front panel and/or back panel, the ornamental piece is freely movable and without hindrance from the front panel and back panel. The ornamental piece is further visible from the front through the front opening. [0005] In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the back panel comprises an openable back window.

[0006] In another exemplary embodiment of the present invention, the back window comprises two foldable leaves openable from the middle of the back window and can be opened by folding the foldable leaves away from the middle of said back window.

[0007] In one embodiment, a left frame and a right frame of the front opening is reinforced by folding more than one layer of cardboard together. In another embodiment, a front portion of the bottom panel is reinforced by adhering more than one layer of cardboard together.

[0008] In an embodiment, the ornamental piece is attached to the article by a thread hanging downwards from the article to the ornamental piece.

[0009] In another embodiment, the bottom panel is folded along the center between the front edge and the back edge.

[0010] The card of the present invention allows the ornamental piece hanged to move freely, especially forward and backward, therefore the card is more appealing to a viewer. A viewer can also simultaneously see the front panel, the ornamental piece and sometimes the back panel, which are all at a different depth, which makes the card more 3- dimensional than traditional cards. The 3-panel structure also provides stability when the card is standing upright or being hung.

[0011] Apart from allowing the ornamental pieces to be freely movable, the volume defined between the front panel, back panel and bottom panel when the card is unfolded also provides a space for various decorations. In addition, functional devices such as audio device and light source may also be attached to the 3-dimenional card utilizing the space within the defined volume. This is advantageous to convention 2-dimenional cards wherein the space for placement of additional features therein is limited and may makes the 2- dimenional card unstable when it is folded into a conventional standing position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF FIGURES

[0012] Fig. la is a plan view of a piece of cardboard that is foldable to form a 3- dimensional card, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] Fig. lb is a plan view of a piece of cardboard that is foldable to form a 3- dimensional card, according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0014] Fig. 2 is a front view of a back panel of a 3-dimensional card with an openable back window opened, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] Fig. 3a is a side view of a foldable 3-dimensional card in a closed position, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Fig. 3b is a side view of a foldable 3-dimensional card in an open position, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Fig. 4a is a perspective view of an exemplary foldable 3-dimensional card folded from the piece of cardboard in Fig. la.

[0018] Fig. 4b is a front view of an exemplary ornamental piece, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] As used herein and in the claims, "unfolded" means the two panels at the two sides of a fold crease do not touch each other. "Connect" means either direct or indirect attachment.

[0020] Fig. la is a plan view of a piece of cardboard that is foldable to form a 3- dimensional card, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The dashed lines in this figure represent fold creases and the solid lines within the cardboard represent cut lines. The cardboard comprises a front panel 20, a back panel 22, and a bottom panel comprising a first bottom panel 24a, a second bottom panel 24b and a third bottom panel 26. One edge of the first bottom panel 24a is connected to one edge of the front panel 20, which is then connected to the back panel 22 at the opposite edge. The back panel 22 is connected to the third bottom panel 26 which is in turn connected to the second bottom panel 24b. The front panel 20 has two front opening leaves 28 defined at a left side and a right side of the front panel 20, and comprises a front opening 32 between the two front opening leave 28. The back panel 22 comprises two back window leaves 30 defined at a left side and a right side of the back panel 22. A bottom opening 34 is provided between the second bottom panel 24b and the third bottom panel 26.

[0021] It is clear to one skilled in the art that modifications can be made to specific details and will not depart from the scope of the invention. For example, the bottom opening 34 can be eliminated in one embodiment. The bottom opening 34 is introduced to prevent the bottom panel being visible in a closed position, which is described in detail below.

[0022] In another embodiment, the two front opening leaves 28 can have a same size as the back window leaves 30. In yet another embodiment, the back window is eliminated.

[0023] When forming the foldable 3-dimensional card, the cardboard is folded along the creases as shown. The horizontal creases are folded to define the front panel 20, the back panel 22, the third bottom panel 26 and the second bottom panel 24b. The first bottom panel 24a and the second bottom panel 24b is attached together using adhesives, staples or other known methods to form a front bottom panel. The two front opening leaves 28 are folded away from the middle of the front opening 32 and glued to the front panel 20, such that a left frame and aright frame of the front panel 20 is reinforced to increase the card's strength.

[0024] Fig. lb is a plan view of a piece of cardboard that is foldable to form a 3- dimensional card according to another embodiment of the present invention. For ease of description, the parts that are the same as Fig. la are indicated with the same reference numeral. As in Fig. la, the cardboard comprises a front panel 20, a back panel 22, and a bottom panel comprising a first bottom panel 24a, a second bottom panel 24b and a third bottom panel 26. Front opening 32 and bottom opening 34 are also defined as in Fig. la. The back window leaves 30 are shown of a different shape from Fig. la to illustrate the variations that can exist according to the user's preference. Extending outward from the front panel 20 at the left and right sides are two front supporting leaves 27. The two front supporting leaves can be folded towards either surfaces of the front panel 20 and glued thereto to reinforce the left and right frames of the front panel 20.

[0025] The two back window leaves 30 are openable to show a back window 36 by folding away from the center of the back window 36 and away from the front panel 20. In different embodiments, the back window 36 is opened to left and right, to top and bottom, fully open, partly open, closed or could be eliminated. Fig. 2 is a front view of a back panel of a 3 -dimensional card with the back window 36 opened, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Fig. 3a is a side view of a foldable 3-dimensional card in a closed position, according to an embodiment of the present invention. Only the bottom part of the card is shown to magnify the relationship between different panels at the bottom when the card is folded. The bottom edge of the front panel 20 is connected to the front edge of the first bottom panel 24a. The first bottom panel 24a is attached to the second bottom panel 24b to form the front bottom panel 24 which is reinforced. The second bottom panel 24b is connected to the third bottom panel 26 which is in turn has its back edge connected to the bottom edge of the back panel 22. When the card is in the closed position, the first bottom panel 24a is substantially parallel to the third bottom panel 26 and preferably in contact with the third bottom panel 26 such that the card forms a flat package.

[0027] Fig. 3b is a side view of a foldable 3-dimensional card in an open position, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The front panel 20 and the back panel 22 are connected at their respective top edges. The bottom part of the card is similar to as described in Fig. 3a except that the bottom panel is unfolded such that the front bottom panel 24 does not touch the third bottom panel 26. The front edge and the back edge of the bottom panel simultaneously engage to an external surface such that the card can stand upright alone. The two back window leaves 30 are opened towards the back. As shown in the figure, the front panel 20, the back panel 22 and the bottom panel define a volume 38 therebetween.

[0028] Fig. 4a is a perspective view of an exemplary foldable 3-dimensional card folded from the piece of cardboard in Fig. la. The foldable 3-dimensional card may stand alone on a surface in an open position as shown in Fig. 4a. In an embodiment, the card is used as a greeting card. An ornamental piece 42 is attached to the article by a thread 40 hanging from the article to the ornamental piece 42. The front opening 32 allows the viewer to see the ornamental piece 42 from the front. The ornamental piece 42 lies within the defined volume 38 such that the ornamental piece 42 can move freely without any hindrance from the front panel 20 and the back panel 22. For example, when attached by a thread 40, the ornamental piece 42 can rotate horizontally within the defined volume 38. This movement has a depth component, i.e. the ornamental piece 42 will change its depth when rotating. The change of depth gives a viewer a perception of 3-dimensional effect, thus is more appealing to the viewer.

[0029] The card itself is 3-dimensional as the front panel 20, the ornamental piece 42 and the back panel 22 are all at different depths. The viewer can see all layers simultaneously from the front in general, therefore more 3-dimensional effect can be perceived by the user, especially when viewing the card at a short distance. Printed pattern, image, handwriting on the layers and also the back window leaves (not shown) can be viewed by the user so that the there can be more variety to the design of the card.

[0030] When the ornamental piece 42 is hung to the article, the supporting strength of the cardboard becomes more important as the card may collapse if the ornamental piece 42 is too heavy. In one embodiment, the front opening leaves 28 are folded and glued to the front panel 20 to reinforce the left and right frame of the front panel 20 as described above. In another embodiment, the left and right frames of the front panel 20 are supported by folding and gluing the front supporting leaves 27 to the front panel 20. As the left and right frames are the most likely source of collapse, this can greatly reduce the chance of the card collapsing due to the weight of the ornamental piece 42.

[0031] The thread 40 can be extended through the top of the card to give a hanging loop 46 which provides a site for hanging the card.

[0032] Fig. 4b is a front view of an exemplary ornamental piece 42, according to an embodiment of the present invention. The ornamental piece 42 has multiple layers, each layer having at least one object 44 being separated by a thread 40. Each layer can freely rotate within the defined volume 38. Each object 44 can have different shapes or made from different material. For example, the top layer in this embodiment is shown as a rectangle and the bottom layer in this embodiment comprises two circles. It is clear than any arbitrary shapes can be used for each object 44 and any arbitrary number of objects 44 may be present in the ornamental piece 42.

[0033] The exemplary embodiments of the present invention are thus fully described. Although the description referred to particular embodiments, it will be clear to one skilled in the art that the present invention may be practiced with variation of these specific details. Hence this invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein.

[0034] For example, the position of the crease at the bottom panel does not need to be at the middle. The height of the front panel 20 and the back panel 22 also do not need to be the same. However, the supporting strength of the card changes depending on the heights of the panels, and the strength is at a maximum if their heights are the same. Therefore it should be clear that although the card is described as standing upright in the embodiments above, it is possible to vary the height of the front panel or the back panel such that the two panels are of different heights and thereby resulting in a card that leans forward or backward.

[0035] In addition to providing a hanging loop 46 at the top of the card, any other convention means for hanging the card are also possible.

[0036] In the above embodiments, although the front opening leaves 28 and back window leaves 30 are defined at the left and right sides of the front and back panels 20 and 22 respectively, it should be understood that other arrangements for the front opening leaves 28 and back window leaves 30 are also possible. For example, the front opening leaves 28 or back window leaves 30 can be opened from the top and bottom of the front and back panels 20 and 22. Furthermore, the front opening leaves 28 or back window leaves 30 may comprise one or multiple of leaves.

[0037] The back window leaves 30 may also be omitted from the card such that the back window 36 is a hole on the back panel 22.

[0038] In the embodiments disclosed above, the bottom edge of the front panel 20 and the back panel 22 is connected through the bottom panel(s) 24a, 24b and 26. It is clear that other objects such as threads or wires can be used to connect the front panel 20 and the back panel 22 together and still falls within the scope of the invention as long as the panels still define a volume 38 therebetween.

[0039] Although in the embodiments disclosed above, either the front opening leaves 28 or the front supporting leaves 27 are folded and glued onto the front panel 20 to reinforce the left and right frames of the front panel, it should be clear that both front opening leaves 28 and front supporting leaves 27 can be folded and glued to the front panel 20 to provide extra support. Depending on the required strengthening point on the front panel 20, different arrangements and folding patterns of the front opening leaves 28 are also possible. Further reinforcement of the card may also be provided by attaching additional supporting elements to the front, back or bottom panels of the card.

[0040] While the front opening leaves and front supporting leaves are described as being glued to the front panel to provide reinforcement, it is to be understood that other means of attachment are also possible.

[0041] Any number of ornamental pieces 42 can be hanged from anywhere in the front panel 20 and the back panel 22. Apart from using threads, wires or other separators can also be used to hang ornamental pieces 42. When using threads, the thread is hanged downwards from the article to the ornamental piece 42, whereas when using wires or other separators, the wire or separator can be hanged downwards or extended sideways or even upwards. The wires or separators can even extend outside the defined volume 38.

[0042] Apart from the ornamental pieces 42 described above, other decorative materials may also be placed within the defined volume 38. For example, these decorative materials may enhance the visual attractiveness of the card by means of lighting effect. Lighting sources such as LED lights may be provided to illuminate the card. Light reflective materials may also be attached onto the card or be used on the ornamental pieces 42 so as to enhance the visual effect when the card is illuminated.

[0043] Sensor which detects the presence of human nearby may be provided. Once the sensor detects a human being is nearby, the sensor may activate a response from the card, e.g. an audio device may be provided that can respond by playing a sound track, or a lighting device may be provided that can respond by lighting up. The sound track or the lighting may be selected according to the purpose of the card.

[0044] Therefore, it should be clear to a skilled person that due to the presence of the volume 38, a variety of decorative or functional materials may be placed within the card and provide the card with extra visual or functional effects. [0045] Also, the cardboard as shown uses the bottom panel as the panel for the two ends of the cardboard to attach together. As long as the card can be folded from a single piece of cardboard or attached and folded from pieces of cardboard, the arrangement of the panels in the cardboard can be arbitrary and the embodiment as described above is only by way of example.

[0046] The 3-dimensional card may be made from any substance or material, including but not limited to cardboards, plastics and aluminium foil.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. An article of manufacture comprising:

a front panel having a front opening provided therein;

a back panel having a top edge connected to a top edge of said front panel;

a bottom panel having a front edge and a back edge, said front edge connected to a bottom edge of said front panel and said back edge connected to a bottom edge of said back panel;

characterized in that said bottom panel is foldable such that said article can reversibly alternate between a closed position and an open position, wherein

said bottom panel is folded in said closed position to allow said article to form a flat package in said closed position; and

said bottom panel is unfolded such that said front panel, said back panel and said bottom panel define a volume therebetween in said open position, such that any ornamental piece hanging from said front and/or back panel is freely movable within said defined volume without hindrance from said front panel and said back panel, and further visible from the front through said front opening.

2. The article of manufacture according to claim 1 , further characterized in that said back panel comprises an openable back window.

3. The article of manufacture according to claim 2, further characterized in that said back window comprises two foldable leaves openable from said back window and can be opened by folding said foldable leaves away from said back window.

4. The article of manufacture according to any one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that a left frame and a right frame of said front opening are reinforced by folding more than one layer of cardboard together.

5. The article of manufacture according to any one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that a front portion of said bottom panel are reinforced by adhering more than one layer of cardboard together.

6. The article of manufacture according to any one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that said ornamental piece is attached to said article through a separator.

7. The article of manufacture according to any one of the preceding claims, further characterized in that said bottom panel is folded along the center between said front edge and said back edge.

8. A piece of cardboard for a 3-dimensional greeting card comprising:

a first panel having a plurality of first leaves, said first leaves define an opening therebetween;

a second panel having a plurality of second leaves, said second leaves define a window therebetween, said second panel connected to said first panel;

a third panel connected to said first panel;

a fourth panel connected to said second panel;

a fifth panel connected to said fourth panel, said fifth panel adapted to attach to said third panel;

characterized in that crease is defined between each pair of connected panels and also between each of said plurality of leaves and the connected panel in said piece of cardboard, such that said piece of cardboard forms a foldable 3-dimensional card when folded along said fold creases, said foldable 3-dimensional card can reversibly alternate between a closed position and an open position, wherein

a bottom panel formed from said fourth panel, and also said third panel and fifth panel attached together, is folded in said closed position to allow said card to form a flat package in said closed position; and

said bottom panel is unfolded such that said first panel, said second panel and said bottom panel define a volume therebetween in said open position, such that any ornamental piece hanging from said first and/or second panel is freely movable within said defined volume without hindrance from said first panel and said second panel, and further visible through said opening and/or said window.