Commemorative figurine

Abstract

A commemorative object for memorializing an event comprises a 3-D plastic figurine that is representative of the event to be memorialized. The figurine has an egg-shaped head/body made of a material suitable to be handwritten on with a writing implement, such as a felt-tip pen. Accordingly, a personalized message can easily and permanently be written directly on the figurine by a donator to a recipient.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to objects for commemorating events and, more particularly, to such an object which can be personalized.

[0003] 2. Description of the Prior Art

[0004] It is known to use a variety of articles, such as medals, plaques, trophies, pins, etc., to commemorate an event or memorialize an achievement. It is also known to engrave a design, lettering or a message on such commemorative objects with a burin or other sharp tool to provide information regarding the event to be memorialized. However, known engraving techniques used to personalized commemorative objects all necessitate special tools and skills, whereby the services of a specialized technician are typically required and the donator receive after some delay the personalized object from the technician.

[0005] Accordingly, there is a need for a new commemorative object which can be easily and readily personalized by the donator himself without requiring any special tools or skills.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006] It is therefore an aim of the present invention to provide a commemorative object which is relatively easy to personalize.

[0007] It is also an aim of the present invention to provide a new method of depicting an event to be memorialized.

[0008] Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a commemorative object for memorializing an event, comprising a figurine having a three-dimensional body representative of an event to be memorialized, said body having a writable surface for substantially permanently receiving a personalized handwritten message commemorating the event.

[0009] In accordance with a further general aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of depicting an event to be memorialized, comprising the steps of: providing a figurine having a three-dimensional body representative of the event to be memorialized, and handwriting a personalized message on said body with a writing implement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] Having thus generally described the nature of the invention, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, showing by way of illustration a preferred embodiment thereof, and in which:

[0011] FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a commemorative sport figurine in the process of being personalized by a donator in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention;

[0012] FIG. 2 is a rear elevational view of the commemorative sport figurine of FIG. 1; and

[0013] FIG. 3 is a front perspective view of a second commemorative sport figurine illustrating a possible variant of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] Now referring to the drawings, a new object or article for commemorating an event, such as a won in a given sporting contest, or memorializing an achievement, such as a graduation, will be described.

[0015] As will be seen hereinafter, the present commemorative object is generally provided in the form of a three-dimensional figurine which is selected and arranged to memorialize a desired event or achievement and which is provided with a writable surface for receiving a personalized handwritten message from a donator to a recipient.

[0016] For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a commemorative object 10 comprising a three-dimensional figurine 12 holding a tennis racquet 14 in one hand and a ball 16 in the other hand. It can be appreciated that the figurine 12 is intended for congratulating a tennis player. However, it is understood that similar figurines but with different sport articles could be provided depending on the sporting event to be memorialized.

[0017] More particularly, the figurine 12 includes an egg-shaped head/body member 18, a pair of movable arms 20 depending from opposed sides of the egg-shaped head/body member 18, and a pair of movable legs 22 projecting downwardly from a lower end of the egg-shaped head/body member 18. The figurine 12 is also provided with short pants 24 covering the upper portion of the legs 22 and a pair of sport shoes 26 at the lower end of the legs 22 for supporting the head/body member 18 in an upstanding position on a given support surface (not shown). The shoes 26 act as a base for supporting the figurine 12 on a support surface. The short pants 24 and the sport shoes 26 are preferably molded from a rigid plastic material and respectively secured to the egg-shaped head/body member 18 and the legs 22, as by bonding. The short pants 24 can be provided in the form of a separate rigid piece defining a pair of holes (not shown) for receiving the legs 22 and having an arcuate recess (not shown) on a top surface thereof for receiving in a complementary fashion the lower convex end of the head/body member 18.

[0018] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the short pants 24 includes front and rear half portions (not shown) adapted to be secured together about the legs 22 under the head/body member 18. The arms 20 and the legs 22 are made of a malleable plastic material, thereby allowing the same to be moved and bent as desired in a variety of configurations. By reconfiguring the arms 20 and the legs 22 in a desired fixed position, it becomes possible to recreate a particular moment of the event to be memorialized.

[0019] A facial expression defined by a pair of eyes 28, a pair of eyebrows 30 and a mouth 32 is provided on a frontal portion of an exterior surface 34 the egg-shaped head/body member 18. The facial expression can be permanently painted on the egg-shaped head/body member 18 during the manufacturing process of the 3-D figurine 12. It is also noted that the eyes 28, the eyebrows 30 and the mouth 32 can project integrally outwardly of the frontal portion of the exterior surface 34 of the egg-shaped head/body member 18.

[0020] The egg-shaped head/body member 18 is made of a material suitable to be handwritten on with a writing implement, such as a felt-tip pen P (FIG. 1). For instance, the egg-shaped member 18 can be made of a light color plastic material having a sufficient porosity for permanently retaining the ink left thereon by the felt-tip pen P. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the exterior surface 34 is white. As seen in FIG. 1, the exterior surface 34 of the egg-shaped head/body member 18 provides a uniform and regular “writable” surface such that a personalized message or labeling 36 commemorating the event to be memorialized can easily and permanently be written thereon by the purchaser or donator of the figurine 12 to the recipient.

[0021] FIG. 3 illustrates another example of a commemorative object 10′ which is, this time, suitable for memorializing a basketball event. The commemorative object 10′ includes a 3-D figurine 12′ similar to the figurine 12 of FIG. 1 with the exception that the ball 16 and the tennis racquet 14 have been replaced by a basketball 16′ and the sport shoes 26 by basketball shoes 26′. Like the figurine 12, the figurine 12′ includes an egg-shaped head/body member 18′ having a uniform exterior 34′ surface suitable for writing on.

[0022] It is understood that the present invention is not limited to the commemoration of sporting events but could be used for commemorating a variety of events, such as a graduation, a promotion, a wedding, a birth, a birthday, etc.

Claims

1. A commemorative object for memorializing an event, comprising a figurine having a three-dimensional body representative of an event to be memorialized, said body having a writable surface for substantially permanently receiving a personalized handwritten message commemorating the event.

2. A commemorative object as defined in claim 1, wherein said body includes a main body member and limbs depending therefrom, at least part of said limbs being configurable into a variety of positions for allowing said figurine to represent a selected moment of the memorialized event.

3. A commemorative object as defined in claim 2, wherein said limbs are at least partly made of a malleable material.

4. A commemorative object as defined in claim 2, wherein an article representative of the event to be memorialized is mounted to said figurine, said article being displaceable relative to said main body member.

5. A commemorative object as defined in claim 1, wherein said body includes a main body member and limbs depending therefrom, and wherein said writable surface is provided on a uniform exterior surface of said main body member.

6. A commemorative object as defined in claim 5, wherein said main body member is egg-shaped.

7. A commemorative object as defined in claim 5, wherein said writable surface is made of a material adapted to retain the ink transferred from a writing implement to the writable surface.

8. A method of depicting an event to be memorialized, comprising the steps of: providing a figurine having a three-dimensional body representative of the event to be memorialized, and handwriting a personalized message on said body with a writing implement.

9. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein said figurine has limbs depending from said three-dimensional body, and wherein the method further includes the step of: moving said limbs to a fixed position representing a particular moment of the event to be memorialized.

10. A method as defined in claim 8, wherein said writing implement is a felt-tip pen.