U.S. patent application number 11/838113 was filed with the patent office on 2007-12-20 for interactive book with detachable, pop-up device.
This patent application is currently assigned to Transglobal Communications Group, Inc.. Invention is credited to Steven C. Prescott.
Application Number | 20070293118 11/838113 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38830309 |
Filed Date | 2007-12-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20070293118 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Prescott; Steven C. |
December 20, 2007 |
INTERACTIVE BOOK WITH DETACHABLE, POP-UP DEVICE
Abstract
A foldable consumer product, such as book or card, has a
plurality of pages and a detachable toy, mask or other interactive
amusement device attached to at least one of the pages. The
detachable device is configured to pop-up or open upon exposing at
least one of the pages, and may be thematically related to the
subject matter of the book or card.
Inventors: |
Prescott; Steven C.; (Santa
Rosa, CA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
TOWNSEND AND TOWNSEND AND CREW, LLP
TWO EMBARCADERO CENTER
EIGHTH FLOOR
SAN FRANCISCO
CA
94111-3834
US
|
Assignee: |
Transglobal Communications Group,
Inc.
Santa Rosa
CA
95403
|
Family ID: |
38830309 |
Appl. No.: |
11/838113 |
Filed: |
August 13, 2007 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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PCT/US06/37161 |
Sep 25, 2006 |
|
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11838113 |
Aug 13, 2007 |
|
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60814556 |
Jun 19, 2006 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
446/148 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B42D 15/042 20130101;
B42D 15/045 20130101; A63H 33/38 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
446/148 |
International
Class: |
A63H 33/38 20060101
A63H033/38 |
Claims
1. An interactive book having a mask thematically related to the
subject of the interactive book, said book comprising: at least one
foldable surface having at least one of textual and visual material
thereon; and a mask detachably connected to said at least one
foldable surface, said mask having a first compact position and a
second expanded position, said mask being convertible between the
first and second positions when said at least one foldable surface
is folded or unfolded.
2. The interactive book of claim 1, wherein said mask pops up from
said at least one foldable surface as said at least one foldable
surface unfolds.
3. The interactive book of claim 2, wherein said at least one
foldable surface comprises two adjoining pages.
4. The interactive book of claim 1, wherein said mask is
re-attachable to said at least one foldable surface.
5. The interactive book of claim 4, further comprising an
attachment device to detach and re-attach said mask to said at
least one foldable surface repeatedly.
6. The interactive book of claim 5, wherein said attachment device
is at least one of a hook-or-loop type fastener, snap, magnet, clip
and sticky glue.
7. The interactive book of claim 1, wherein said mask comprises
openings arranged corresponding to eyes of a wearer.
8. The interactive book of claim 1, wherein said mask includes an
elastic band connected to side portions of said mask.
9. The interactive book of claim 8, wherein said mask further
comprises tabs arranged on said side portions of said mask, said
tabs being connected to said elastic band and configured to be bent
backward when said mask is placed on a wearer's face.
10. The interactive book of claim 1, wherein said mask is folded
along a plurality of folding lines to at least partially separate
the mask from said at least one foldable surface as said at least
one foldable surface unfolds.
11. An interactive greeting card having a mask thematically related
to the subject of the interactive greeting card, said greeting card
comprising: at least one foldable surface having at least one of
textual and visual material thereon; and a mask detachably
connected to said at least one foldable surface, said mask having a
first compact position and a second expanded position, said mask
being convertible between the first and second positions when said
at least one foldable surface is folded or unfolded.
12. The interactive greeting card of claim 11, wherein said mask
pops up from said at least one foldable surface as said at least
one foldable surface unfolds.
13. The interactive greeting card of claim 12, wherein said at
least one foldable surface comprises two adjoining pages.
14. The interactive greeting card of claim 11, wherein said mask is
re-attachable to said at least one foldable surface.
15. The interactive greeting card of claim 14, further comprising
an attachment device to detach and re-attach said mask to said at
least one foldable surface repeatedly.
16. The interactive greeting card of claim 15, wherein said
attachment device is at least one of a hook-or-loop type fastener,
snap, magnet, clip and sticky glue.
17. The interactive greeting card of claim 11, wherein said mask
comprises openings arranged corresponding to eyes of a wearer.
18. The interactive greeting card of claim 11, wherein said mask
includes an elastic band connected to side portions of said
mask.
19. The interactive greeting card of claim 18, wherein said mask
further comprises tabs arranged on said side portions of said mask,
said tabs being connected to said elastic band and configured to be
bent backward when said mask is placed on a wearer's face.
20. The interactive greeting card of claim 11, wherein said mask is
folded along a plurality of folding lines to at least partially
separate the mask from said at least one foldable surface as said
at least one foldable surface unfolds.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] The present application is a continuation application and
claims the benefit of priority to PCT/US2006/037161, filed Sep. 25,
2006, which claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No.
60/814,556, filed Jun. 19, 2006, the disclosures of which are
herein incorporated by reference in their entirety for all
purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The invention is directed generally to interactive books and
greeting cards and, more particularly, to an interactive book or
greeting card with a detachable pop-up device integrated into the
book.
[0004] 2. Related Art
[0005] Various attempts have been made to introduce children to
reading and make the reading experience more stimulating and
enjoyable, especially for young children. It has been found that
illustrations play an important role in attracting and maintaining
a child's interest in reading. Hence, children's story books have
been provided with large, colorful pictures illustrating the
subject matter or the background thereof. Pop-up books have been a
very popular choice among parents and children because these pop-up
books include hinged pop-up devices that provide surprise and
amusement to the children. The ability to stimulate a child's
imagination has been limited by currently available pop-up books as
the pop-up devices have been physically integrated into book.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The invention improves upon commercially available pop-up
books or greeting cards by integrating a removable pop-up device,
such as a toy, mask, or other amusement device, physically into the
book or card, which opens and/or pops out of the book or card as
the pages are turned. Once the device is popped open, it can be
detached from the book or card and independently played with or
interacted with by the child or user. In the case of a mask, it can
be worn, and in the case of a toy or amusement device, it can be
played with. The removable pop-up device of the invention may also
be thematically related to the subject matter of the book or card.
In this manner, the child's or user's imagination is further
stimulated and enhanced beyond the normal reading experience. Once
the removable device has been played with or interacted with, it
may be re-attached to the book or card for future use/enjoyment as
a pop-up feature. The invention may be implemented in a number of
ways, and is not limited to books or cards, but may be used in
various other implementations.
[0007] According to one aspect of the invention, an interactive
book has a mask thematically related to the subject of the
interactive book. The book includes at least one foldable surface
having at least one of textual and visual material thereon. The
mask is detachably connected to the at least one foldable surface.
The mask has a first compact position and a second expanded
position, and is convertible between the first and second positions
when the at least one foldable surface is folded or unfolded.
[0008] The mask may pop up from the at least one foldable surface
as the at least one foldable surface unfolds, and the at least one
foldable surface may include two adjoining pages. The mask may be
re-attachable to the at least one foldable surface. The book may
further include an attachment device to detach and re-attach the
mask to the at least one foldable surface repeatedly. The
attachment device may be at least one of a hook-or-loop type
fastener, snap, magnet, clip and sticky glue. The mask may include
openings arranged corresponding to eyes of a wearer. The mask may
include an elastic band connected to side portions of the mask. The
mask may further include tabs arranged on the side portions of the
mask, and the tabs may be connected to the elastic band and
configured to be bent backward when the mask is placed on a
wearer's face. The mask may be folded along folding lines to at
least partially separate the mask from the at least one foldable
surface as the at least one foldable surface unfolds.
[0009] According to another aspect of the invention, an interactive
greeting card has a mask thematically related to the subject of the
interactive greeting card. The greeting card includes at least one
foldable surface having at least one of textual and visual material
thereon. The mask is detachably connected to the at least one
foldable surface. The mask has a first compact position and a
second expanded position, and is convertible between the first and
second positions when the at least one foldable surface is folded
or unfolded.
[0010] The mask may pop up from the at least one foldable surface
as the at least one foldable surface unfolds, and the at least one
foldable surface may include two adjoining pages. The mask may be
re-attachable to the at least one foldable surface. The greeting
card may further include an attachment device to detach and
re-attach the mask to the at least one foldable surface repeatedly.
The attachment device may be at least one of a hook-or-loop type
fastener, snap, magnet, clip and sticky glue. The mask may include
openings arranged corresponding to eyes of a wearer. The mask may
include an elastic band connected to side portions of the mask. The
mask may further include tabs arranged on the side portions of the
mask, and the tabs may be connected to the elastic band and
configured to be bent backward when the mask is placed on a
wearer's face. The mask may be folded along folding lines to at
least partially separate the mask from the at least one foldable
surface as the at least one foldable surface unfolds.
[0011] According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method
of using a consumer product having readable material and a pop-up
device thematically related to the readable material includes
positioning the consumer product such that the readable material
may be seen, opening or exposing the pop-up device thematically
related to the readable material, removing the pop-up device from
the consumer product, playing with the pop-up device, and
re-attaching the pop-up device to the consumer device for
re-use.
[0012] According to yet another aspect of the invention, an
interactive book includes means for folding and unfolding a
foldable surface and means for amusing a reader. The amusing means
is configured to pop up or open upon unfolding the foldable
surface. The amusing means comprises means for interacting with a
reader, and the interacting means is configured to be detached from
and reattached to the interactive book.
[0013] Additional features, advantages, and embodiments of the
invention may be set forth or apparent from consideration of the
following detailed description, drawings, and claims. Moreover, it
is to be understood that both the foregoing summary of the
invention and the following detailed description are exemplary and
intended to provide further explanation without limiting the scope
of the invention as claimed.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a
further understanding of the invention, are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of
the invention and together with the detailed description serve to
explain the principles of the invention. No attempt is made to show
structural details of the invention in more detail than may be
necessary for a fundamental understanding of the invention and the
various ways in which it may be practiced. In the drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 schematically shows a pop-up book or greeting card
constructed according to the principles of the invention having a
pop-up device in the form of a mask detachably connected to the
book or card;
[0016] FIG. 2 shows the detachable mask of FIG. 1 separated from
the book or card; and
[0017] FIG. 3 shows the pop-up book or card of FIG. 1 without the
mask.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0018] The embodiments of the invention and the various features
and advantageous details thereof are explained more fully with
reference to the non-limiting embodiments and examples that are
described and/or illustrated in the accompanying drawings and
detailed in the following description. It should be noted that the
features illustrated in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to
scale, and features of one embodiment may be employed with other
embodiments as the skilled artisan would recognize, even if not
explicitly stated herein. Descriptions of well-known components and
processing techniques may be omitted so as to not unnecessarily
obscure the embodiments of the invention. The examples used herein
are intended merely to facilitate an understanding of ways in which
the invention may be practiced and to further enable those of skill
in the art to practice the embodiments of the invention.
Accordingly, the examples and embodiments herein should not be
construed as limiting the scope of the invention, which is defined
solely by the appended claims and applicable law. Moreover, it is
noted that like reference numerals represent similar parts
throughout the several views of the drawings.
[0019] FIG. 1 schematically shows a pop-up book or greeting card
with a detachable object in the form of a mask connected thereto
according to an embodiment of the invention. For ease of reference,
this description will refer to the disclosed embodiment as a book.
The pop-up book 10 may include a conventional cardboard or
paper-bound book 12 and a detachable mask 14. The invention may be
employed in any type of object having surfaces that may be folded
and opened to hide and show a detachable object, such as mask 14.
Thus, the invention is not limited to conventional books with pages
and covers or greeting cards, but may be applied to any other
device such as a hinged, flap-type consumer product that can be
folded and opened. In the embodiment below, the product is
described as a pop-up book 10, which is very popular among
children.
[0020] The pop-up book 10 may have a number of pages with readable
print, text, graphics or other illustrations thereon, although only
two pages are shown for ease of illustration. FIG. 1 shows two
adjoining pages 30a, 30b, which may be folded and connected to the
hinge of the book along the transverse edge 28a. As is known in the
art, the object 14 may be configured to open or pop out of the book
when the hinge mechanism of the binding of the book 12 is opened to
expose the pages 30a and 30b. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the
detachable mask 14 is folded along folding transverse lines 16a,
16b, 16c such that the detachable mask 14 may be at least partially
separated and pop-out from the pages 30a, 30b when the book 12 is
opened to expose the pages 30a and 30b.
[0021] The detachable mask 14 may be attached to the book 12 using
an attachment mechanism, which may be any type of mechanism capable
of detachably connecting the detachable mask 14 to the book 12. For
example, FIG. 2 shows first fastener pieces 20a, 20b formed on the
rear surface of the detachable mask 14 and FIG. 3 shows second
fastener pieces 32a, 32b formed on the surfaces 30a, 30b, which may
be removably engaged together to attach and detach the mask 14 to
and from the book 12. The fasteners may be any type of hook or
loop-type fasteners such as those marketed under the VELCRO name.
Any kind of detachable connection is contemplated by the invention
including snaps, magnets, clips, post-it type glue or any other
adhesive, or other attachment mechanism known in the art to form a
detachable connection suitable for the purposes described herein.
Also, it is not necessary to attach the detachable mask 14 to both
pages 30a, 30b. For example, the detachable object 14 may be
attached to only one page, as long as at least a portion of the
detachable mask 14 is configured to pop up or open upon exposing
the page 30a or 30b.
[0022] While the detachable object is shown in the form of mask 14,
it may take any form of any interactive device, toy (such as a
building, animal, figure, car, bus, boat, train, airplane, rocket
ship, etc.), or any other amusement device. The detachable object
may be thematically related to the subject matter (e.g., printed
material) of the book 12 to enhance the learning experience or
imagination of the child or other user For example, the book 12 may
be about interesting animals, such as elephants or monkeys, and the
mask 14 may be an attractive elephant or monkey mask, respectively,
to stimulate the child's imagination and play experience. Thus, in
FIG. 1, the detachable object 14 is an elephant face mask, which a
child can detach from the book 12 and wear on his or her face. The
openings 26a, 26b are located corresponding to the eyes of the
wearer. The mask 14 may be equipped with an elastic band 24 to fix
the mask 14 on the wearer's face. The elastic band 24 may be tied
to the holes 22a, 22b. The mask 14 may have cut-out portions in the
form of die-cut tabs 18a, 18b located near the holes 22a, 22b,
which may be bent backward along the folding lines 16b, and 16c to
provide more comfortable fit to the wearer's face. After playing
with the mask 14, the child or his or her parent can readily
reattach the mask 14 to the book 12 for re-use as a pop-up
device
[0023] FIG. 1 shows the fastener pieces 20a, 20b formed at the
cut-out portions 18a, 18b, but the locations of the pieces 20a, 20b
can be changed. The detachable object, such as mask 14, may be
formed of any type of material such as paper, board, plastic and
the like. Also, as should be clear from above, the detachable
object 14 may be in any kind of shape or form. The detachable
object, such as mask 12, also may be attached to a pop-up device
that itself is attached, either fixedly or removably, to the book
itself.
[0024] FIG. 2 shows a rear review of the mask 14 detached from the
book 12. FIG. 3 shows the book 12 without the mask 14. As shown
therein, the fastener pieces 20a, 20b of the mask 14 and the
fasteners pieces 32a, 32b of the book 12 are arranged as
complementary to each other to form a detachable connection. Also,
as mentioned above, the elastic band 24 is connected to the cut-off
portions 18a, 18b via the holes 22a, 22b. The die-cut tabs 18a, 18b
may be bent backward to provide better fit to the wearer's
face.
[0025] While the invention has been described in terms of exemplary
embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the
invention can be practiced with modifications in the spirit and
scope of the appended claims. For example, while the invention is
described and illustrated herein in the form of a book, it may be
implemented in a number of other devices, such as hinged, flap-type
consumer products (e.g., greeting cards or the like). These
examples given above are merely illustrative and are not meant to
be an exhaustive list of all possible designs, embodiments,
applications or modifications of the invention.
* * * * *