Pouch pets networking

Abstract

The invention is an article of manufacture and a method of its use to communicate information and even unite people sharing a common agenda or a concern. Included in the article of manufacture is a hanger, at least one soft sculpture and a garment. The hanger contains an interior side and an exterior side, and at least one pocket disposed on the exterior. The hanger also may or may not contain a display area designed to communicate a message received form a Global Computer Network. The garment component of the invention contains a similar pocket as the hanger, so that the soft sculpture can be easily transferred between the two items. The invention is very versatile. It can be used as a teaching too, as a fashion statement, as a medium of communication, or as a method of expression. Finally, the invention can be used to facilitate the expression of international solidarity and common interests of people around the world though the use of the Global Computer Network.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to utensils and methods used to communicate information about various life forms, and in particular, to raise awareness of any peril faced various zoological species.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates a method and items used in communicating information about different life forms. One of the innovative ideas behind the present invention is to couple the information sharing power of the Global Computer Network (GCN) with common puppetry, toys or demonstrations and to use these to teach about facts regarding various life forms inhabiting Earth. Humans, in particular youths, better absorb information that is presented in interactive ways, using entertaining examples and tangible representations of the subject matter. The present invention combines all three methods in an easy, practical and inexpensive way, which makes learning about life forms more fun, and helps the global environment by raising awareness amongst youngsters about the threat of extinction faced by so many living species. In a most preferred embodiment the invention is a means for children to learn about endangered species. The present invention can also be very entertaining and informative to adults, especially those wishing to actively express their solidarity with the challenges facing some life forms. While some individual components of the present invention have been known, while, the idea of using interchangeable, transportable miniature toy figures in concert with human clothing, based on information received from a GCN, is completely new and innovative.

The relevant prior art involving toy puppets attached to hangers or human clothing includes: U.S. Patent App. No. 2005/0022286; U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,745; U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,353; U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,493; U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,881; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,866.

Description of the Related Art

US Patent App. No. 2005/0022286, discloses an attachable novelty item for use in connection with a person's apparel. The attachable novelty item includes an item surface and one or more attachment areas positioned on the item surface having one or more item contact surfaces disposed thereon. The item is removably attachable to a surface of the apparel by contacting an attachment area with the surface of the apparel and/or an apparel contact surface. A kit for such a novelty item is also disclosed.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,745, discloses a garment including a front panel and a puppet toy comprising an elongated tubular puppet body constructed of flexible material and including three inwardly opening hollow fingerstall portions at one closed end portion of the body. The three inwardly opening fingerstall portions define a central hollow head portion and hollow outside arm portions. The second end portion of the body defines an entrance opening therein for the reception of a hand into the tubular body from the second end portion thereof and the second end portion of the body is anchored to the front panel of the garment. In a first form of the invention, the second end portion of the body is secured about a pocket opening formed in the garment front panel and the body of the puppet is receivable, in inside-out condition, within the pocket opening to define a pocket for the garment. In a second form of the invention, the front panel of the garment has a pocket patch secured thereover and the second end of the tubular puppet body is secured to the inner surface of the upper marginal edge of the pocket patch with the tubular puppet body being foldable and receivable within the pocket defined by the pocket patch. A third form of the invention is similar to the second form, but the second end of the tubular puppet body is secured to the outer surface of the front panel of the garment overlapped by the upper marginal edge of the pocket patch and the garment includes a pocket flap secured to the outer side thereof and overlapping the upper marginal edge of the pocket patch.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,353 shows body puppet comprising a garment worn about the trunk of a user which includes artwork and other indicia depicting a humanized face and mouth. The garment is formed of a substantially resilient material which when manually stretched by the hands of the user, causes the indicia on the puppet to momentarily distort and assume varying facial expressions. The body puppet of the present invention is additionally adapted to serve as a teaching aid, permitting children to non-verbally communicate with others and predict and record the actual response of a viewer.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,416,493 describes a wall mounted three-dimensional display case adapted to be mounted flush to a vertical wall, the display case simulating a wheeled vehicle, such as a circus wagon, having an animal cage thereon, and being adapted to contain therein and on top thereof a plurality of stuffed, flexible or non-flexible, animals, the heads and limbs of the animals being adapted to extend out of the bars of the cage to simulate animals caged in the wagon thereby presenting an overall pleasing effect.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,210,881 discloses a pocket for a garment adapted to removably receive an object having appendages partially visible therein, wherein the pocket is a panel of flexible yieldable material which has a top and sides, with openings therethrough, and the object may be inserted into the pocket with its appendages extending through the top and a side opening. The pocket may have a bottom side parallel to the top side and opposed parallel sides and tapered sides between the parallel sides and bottom side, and openings through the tapered sides. The garment may have graphic indicia arranged on it and the object, when secured in the pocket, forms a part of the graphic indicia.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,933,866 describes novelty apparel having a two-dimensional design imprinted thereon and a somewhat flexible three-dimensional removable portion of the design which represents a prominent portion of the design. The two-dimensional design is preferably of a creature and the three-dimensional portion is preferably formed of flexible hollow molded latex rubber into the shape and appearance of the head of the creature. Thus, when the design and the attached three-dimensional portion are viewed from generally forwardly thereof, the object matches and completes the overall design.

While all patents above disclose an animal figure attached to an article of clothing, none teach a combination that includes a hanging device, a garment, and sculptures that are used in accordance to information received from the GCN.

One embodiment of this invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be described in more detail herein below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention combines an article of manufacture and a method of its usage to communicate information and even unite people sharing a common agenda or a concern. Included in the article of manufacture is a hanger, at least one soft sculpture and a garment. The hanger contains an interior side and an exterior side, and at least one pocket disposed on the exterior. The hanger also may or may not contain a display area designed to communicate a message received from a GCN. The garment component of the invention contains a similar pocket as the hanger, so that the soft sculpture can be easily transferred between the two items.

Additionally, the present invention provides a multi-step method for effectively using this invention that includes the steps of retrieving information from a database via a GCN concerning a life form most preferable a zoological species; placing the soft sculpture representing this life form into the pocket on either the hanger or the garment; and optionally displaying the information obtained from the GCN in the display area specially provided for this purpose. Additionally, the users seeking to gain the most out of this invention have the ability to convey their interests or message to others by publicly wearing the garment containing the soft sculpture, and by actively communicating the information received via the global network to members of the public.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a combination used to process and display information about life forms in an efficient, practical and entertaining way.

Another object of the present invention is to provide individual people with the means of expressing their solidarity and unity with others sharing their concerns and interests regarding issues faced by a particular living species.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive means of disseminating information about life forms.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide the means and methods for educating children and adults from various different backgrounds about various life form

Another object of the present invention is to provide the means and methods for educating children and adults from various different backgrounds about various animals, and in particular endangered species.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a game that can be played by many participants simultaneously.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a children's toy that can be used independently or in conjunction with the information provided by the GCN.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a combination that converges articles of manufacture and digitally transmitted information into an invention that harnesses the strengths of each component and has no weaknesses found in the prior art.

Yet another object is utilizing the articles of manufacture in their individual capacity, for example as a hanger, or as toys or as a charmingly tasteful article of clothing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a preferred embodiment of the hanger component of the present invention. Shown is the exterior side of the hanger consisting of pockets containing soft sculptures.

FIG. 2 shows a frontal view of the preferred embodiment of the garment component of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a preferred embodiment of the software component of the present invention, including the equipment used by a user of the present invention to access the GCN.

FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of the preferred method of using the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Identical elements in the various figures are identified with the same reference numerals.

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the present invention. Such embodiments are provided by way of explanation of the present invention, which is not intended to be limited thereto. In fact, those of ordinary skill in the art may appreciate upon reading the present specification and viewing the present drawings that various modifications and variations can be made thereto.

The invention is directed to devices and methods of communicating information related to various life forms preferably, zoological species. The invention has several articles of manufacture and a method of combining them in accordance with the information received from the GCN, commonly known as the internet. FIG. 1 shows the preferred embodiment of the hanger component of the present invention. Shown are a hanger 10, a hanging means 20, an exterior side 40, pockets 50, an inner chamber 60, an outer chamber 70, a first opening 80, a second opening 90, a display area 100, a soft sculpture 110, second soft sculpture 120, an adult lion sculpture 130, a baby lion sculpture 140, an adult elephant sculpture 150, a child elephant sculpture 160, an adult pig sculpture 170, a baby big sculpture 180, an adult turtle sculpture 200, and a baby turtle sculpture 210.

The hanger 10 is shown to be in the form of the tapestry that has the dimensions from two to three feet in length and one to two feet in width. The main purpose of the hanger 10 is to provide support for the other components of the invention. Therefore, the hanger 10 can exist in any form or shape that will adequately fulfill this support functionality. The material used to make the tapestry-like hanger 10 as shown, can be made of a solid woven cloth or as a wire mesh of various densities. Alternatively, the hanger 10 can also appear in the form of a loose structure made from strings or wiring or other structural means used to support and tie the various components together. The hanger 10 may be of various colors or of one solid color. The hanger 10 is preferably mounted on a wall, but may also be suspended from the ceiling, or laid out on a flat surface.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the preferred embodiment of the hanging means 20 is a plurality of reinforced loops. The reinforcement can be accomplished utilizing rings made of metal, steel, rubber, plastic or any other durable and inexpensive material. The hanging means 20 does not need to be present to enable the invention, as the support can be achieved by spreading the hanger of a flat surface, or by driving fasteners directly though the material forming the hanger 10, and thereby pinning the hanger 10 to any upright support surface.

The pockets 50 in FIG. 1 are shown to be attached to the exterior side 40. The preferred embodiment discloses the pockets 50 as sewn unto the exterior side 40. Alternatively, the pockets 50 can be attached to the interior side 30 (not shown) of the hanger 10 and accessed from the exterior side 40 through the first opening 80, and a second opening 90. Under such a setup, only the aforementioned openings of pockets 50 will be visible from the exterior side 40.

Continuing with FIG. 1, the pockets 50 can also be removably attached to the hanger 10, by either hook and loop fasteners a button and buttonhole combination, zippers or any means of attachment that allows for a strong yet readily disengaging coupling. The term removably means that the attachment is very substantial. However, the option to remove is still available. The pocket 50 contains an inner chamber 60 and an outer chamber 70. The preferred embodiment discloses the outer chamber 70 as the smaller of the two chambers. Alternatively a single chamber or two chambers of equal sizes can be employed. The double chamber structure is used to better describe the social and familial relationship among the different life forms. Having the first and the second openings (80 and 90) separated is preferred since this setup enables all of the soft sculptures (items 110-210) to protrude from the pocket 50 without obstructing each other.

The first soft sculpture 110 and the second soft sculpture 120 in FIG. 1 are disclosed to be in form of miniature stuffed animals and reptiles. In a preferred embodiment the animals are endangered species. To better illustrate the familial relationship among these creatures, each animal is presented as an adult and child pair. Additionally the adult and child pairs are preferred since this increases the level of entertainment and charm of the invention, and improves the affinity with which humans relate to the various life forms presented in the invention. The adult/child relationship is made more authentic with the addition of distinct adult or child appearance. For example the adult pig sculpture 170 is presented having small ears 175, while the child pig sculpture 180 is presented with longer ears 185. Although the preferred embodiment presents the sculptures as zoological creatures, an individual skilled in the art will realize that the present invention is also suitable for describing any life forms, even purely social or religious human associations. The first soft sculpture 1 10 (including any adult animal or reptile sculpture disclosed in the present invention as shown in FIG. 1) is preferably from two inches to five inches in size, while the second soft sculpture 120 (including any child animal or reptile sculpture disclosed in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1) is preferably 1 inch to 3 inches in size. All sculptures disclosed in the present invention preferably consist of a soft non-toxic filling, such as sand, pebbles, jell, foam, cotton or polyester; and an exterior shell, made from a flexible material such as rubber, silk, cotton, rayon or any other durable, stretchable, tear-resistant material. In a preferred embodiment the animals are made from unusual fabrics and colors. All sculptures included in the present invention are retained within the pocket 50 by frictional forces. In preferred embodiments at least a portion of the sculpture protrudes from the pocket 50. Alternatively a Velcro fastener can be employed to reinforce the retention forces within the pocket 50.

Still referring to FIG. 1, the display area 100 is shown in the center of the hanger 10. The most basic form of the display area 100 is a decal, picture or a photograph that is either static or is based on something received by the user of the invention via the GCN 338 (FIG. 3). This is the most rudimentary level of display and requires the user to first render the picture into a tangible form from a digital form stored in the central processing unit 302 (FIG. 3), and paste it using adhesive tape, glue or tacks unto the hanger 10. A more sophisticated version of the display area 100 is in the form of a display unit (not shown). The images on the display unit can be received directly from the global area network by employing a myriad of technologies, such as a wireless digital receiver, a wire connecting the display unit to the GCN 338 (FIG. 3), or a manual upload by a user. Such a display unit will likely increase the cost of purchasing and using the invention, and will also require that the hanger 10 must be robust enough to support the additional weight a display unit.

FIG. 2 of the preferred embodiment discloses the garment component of the invention. Shown are a soft animal sculpture 230, a garment 220, and an exterior pocket 240. The exterior pocket 240 is disclosed as a single chamber embodiment. Alternatively, a double chamber embodiment, similar to the pockets 50 on the hanger 10, can also be employed. Additionally, more than one exterior pocket 240 may be utilized and placed on different garments 220.

The presence of the exterior pocket 240 is necessary to enable one of the features of the present invention; namely, the step of disseminating the information transmitted via the GCN to non-users of the present invention. This dissemination occurs when an inquiry or an opinion is elicited from someone as a result of that someone perceiving the soft animal sculpture 230 protruding from the exterior pocket 240. In the ensuing response or discussion, the user of the present invention imparts or shares any information received from the GCN 338 (FIG. 3), and thereby further spreads the message the life form in interest. The exterior pocket 240 is not limited to the torso part of the wearer, but can be placed on any conspicuous spot of the garment 220 worn by the user of the present invention. Any life form sculptures appearing on the hanger can serve as soft animal sculpture 230 and visa versa.

Although the illustrative embodiment of the information supply component, disclosed in FIG. 3, will be generally described in the context of an application program running on a personal computer, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be implemented in conjunction with operating system programs or with other types of program modules for other types of computers. Furthermore, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention may be implemented in a stand-alone or in a distributed computing environment. In a distributed computing environment, program modules may be physically located in different local and remote memory storage devices. Execution of the program modules may occur locally in a stand-alone manner or remotely in a client server manner. Examples of such distributed computing environments include local area networks and the GCN.

The detailed description that follows is represented largely in terms of processes and symbolic representations of operations by conventional computer components, including a processing unit (a processor), memory storage devices, connected display devices, and input devices. Furthermore, these processes and operations may utilize conventional computer components in a heterogeneous distributed computing environment, including remote file servers, compute servers, and memory storage devices. Each of these conventional distributed computing components is accessible by the processor via a communication network.

The processes and operations performed by the computer include the manipulation of signals by a processor and the maintenance of these signals within data structures resident in one or more memory storage devices. For the purposes of this discussion, a process is generally conceived to be a sequence of computer-executed steps leading to a desired result. These steps usually require physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, though not necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical, magnetic, or optical signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined, compared, or otherwise manipulated. It is convention for those skilled in the art to refer to representations of these signals as bits, bytes, words, information, elements, symbols, characters, numbers, points, data, entries, objects, images, files, or the like. It should be kept in mind, however, that these and similar terms are associated with appropriate physical quantities for computer operations, and that these terms are merely conventional labels applied to physical quantities that exist within and during operation of the computer.

It should also be understood that manipulations within the computer are often referred to in terms such as creating, adding, calculating, comparing, moving, receiving, determining, identifying, populating, loading, executing, etc. that are often associated with manual operations performed by a human operator. The operations described herein are machine operations performed in conjunction with various input provided by a human operator or user that interacts with the computer.

In addition, it should be understood that the programs, processes, methods, etc. described herein are not related or limited to any particular computer or apparatus. Rather, various types of general purpose machines may be used with the program modules constructed in accordance with the teachings described herein. Similarly, it may prove advantageous to construct a specialized apparatus to perform the method steps described herein by way of dedicated computer systems in specific network architecture with hard-wired logic or programs stored in nonvolatile memory, such as read-only memory.

FIG. 3 and the following discussion are intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computing environment in which the invention may be implemented. Referring now to FIG. 3, an illustrative environment for implementing the invention includes a conventional personal computer 300, including a processing unit 302, a system memory, including read only memory (ROM) 304 and random access memory (RAM) 308, and a system bus 305 that couples the system memory to the processing unit 302. The read only memory (ROM) 304 includes a basic input/output system 306 (BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information between elements within the personal computer 300, such as during start-up. The personal computer 300 further includes a hard disk drive 318 and an optical disk drive 322, e.g., for reading a CD-ROM disk or DVD disk, or to read from or write to other optical media. The drives and their associated computer-readable media provide nonvolatile storage for the personal computer 300. Although the description of computer-readable media above refers to a hard disk, a removable magnetic disk and a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM disk, it should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that other types of media are readable by a computer, such as magnetic cassettes, flash memory cards, digital video disks, Bernoulli cartridges, and the like, may also be used in the illustrative operating environment.

A number of program modules may be stored in the drives and RAM 308, including an operating system 314 and one or more application programs 310, such as a program for browsing the world-wide-web, such as WWW browser 312. Such program modules may be stored on hard disk drive 318 and loaded into RAM 308 either partially or fully for execution.

A user may enter commands and information into the personal computer 300 through a keyboard 328 and pointing device, such as a mouse 330. Other control input devices (not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish, scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected to the processing unit 300 through an input/output interface 320 that is coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such as a game port, universal serial bus, or firewire port. A display monitor 326 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus 305 via an interface, such as a video display adapter 316. In addition to the monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral output devices (not shown), such as speakers or printers. The personal computer 300 may be capable of displaying a graphical user interface on monitor 326.

The personal computer 300 may operate in a networked environment using logical connections to one or more remote computers, such as a host computer 340. The host computer 340 may be a server, a router, a peer device or other common network node, and typically includes many or all of the elements described relative to the personal computer 300. The LAN 336 may be further connected to a GCN service provider 334 (“ISP”) for access to the GCN 338. In this manner, WWW browser 312 may connect to host computer 340 through LAN 336, ISP 334, and the GCN 338. Such networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide computer networks, intranets and the GCN.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer 300 is connected to the LAN 336 through a network interface unit 324. When used in a WAN networking environment, the personal computer 300 typically includes a modem 332 or other means for establishing communications through the GCN service provider 334 to the GCN. The modem 332, which may be internal or external, is connected to the system bus 305 via the input/output interface 320. It will be appreciated that the network connections shown are illustrative and other means of establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

The operating system 314 generally controls the operation of the previously discussed personal computer 300, including input/output operations. In the illustrative operating environment, the invention is used in conjunction with Microsoft Corporation's “Windows 98” operating system and a WWW browser 312, such as Microsoft Corporation's GCN Explorer or Netscape Corporation's GCN Navigator, operating under this operating system. However, it should be understood that the invention can be implemented for use in other operating systems, such as Microsoft Corporation's “WINDOWS 3.1,” “WINDOWS 95”, “WINDOWS NT”, “WINDOWS 2000”, “WINDOWS XP” and “WINDOWS VISTA” operating systems, IBM Corporation's “OS/2” operating system, SunSoft's “SOLARIS” operating system used in workstations manufactured by Sun Microsystems, and the operating systems used in “MACINTOSH” computers manufactured by Apple Computer, Inc. Likewise, the invention may be implemented for use with other WWW browsers known to those skilled in the art.

Host computer 340 is also connected to the GCN 338, and may contain components similar to those contained in personal computer 300 described above. Additionally, host computer 340 may execute an application program for receiving requests for WWW pages, and for serving such pages to the requester, such as WWW server 342. According to an embodiment of the present invention, WWW server 342 may receive requests for WWW pages 350 or other documents from WWW browser 312. In response to these requests, WWW server 342 may transmit WWW pages 350 comprising hyper-text markup language (“HTML”) or other markup language files, such as active server pages, to WWW browser 312. Likewise, WWW server 342 may also transmit requested data files 348, such as graphical images or text information, to WWW browser 312. WWW server may also execute scripts 344, such as CGI or PERL scripts, to dynamically produce WWW pages 350 for transmission to WWW browser 312. WWW server 342 may also transmit scripts 344, such as a script written in JavaScript, to WWW browser 312 for execution. Similarly, WWW server 342 may transmit programs written in the Java programming language, developed by Sun Microsystems, Inc., to WWW browser 312 for execution. As will be described in more detail below, aspects of the present invention may be embodied in application programs executed by host computer 342, such as scripts 344, or may be embodied in application programs executed by computer 300, such as Java applications 346. Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that aspects of the invention may also be embodied in a stand-alone application program.

The present invention can be used as an instructional tool, as a social entertainment, or as a means of communicating ideas. The steps needed to use the present invention are similar no matter which mode of usage is being emphasized by a particular user. The preferable method of use is disclosed in FIG. 4. Referring to FIG. 4, shown are steps 1 through 5. Step 1 is accessing the GCN 338; step 2 is retrieving the information from the GCN 338; step 3 is the placement of a soft animal sculpture 230 on the hanger 10; step 4 is transferring the sculpture between the hanger 10 and the garment 220. Step 1 is a digitally interactive step. Here the various users of the present invention get the opportunity to communicate with each other via the GCN. It should be noted that steps 3 and 4 are interchangeable. For example, someone hosting a social event, teaching a class, or giving a presentation, may wish to place the hanger 10 in a location visible by everyone, and thereby try to elicit inquiries into the subject matter presented by the hanger 10. Alternatively, someone who is traveling may prefer to place the soft sculptures into the external pocket 240 and bypass the hanger 10 altogether. The present invention will also be enabled if a user accesses the GCN 338 and obtains depiction of relevant life forms. If a user is lacking a soft sculpture that corresponds to the depiction appearing on the GCN 338, he may simply convert the depiction from a computer readable format into a hard-copy human readable format. The hard-copy pictures and depictions of various formats can then be given out to members of the public. The user may also disseminate these depictions to members of the public via the computing environment shown in FIG. 3 who have access to GCN 338, but who are not accessing GCN 338 to obtain depictions of various life forms.

The present invention envisions an optional step (not shown) which can take place throughout the term of use of the present invention, but preferably at the beginning of any such use. The optional step includes accessing the GCN 338 to retrieve a pledge certificate. This pledge certificate can be left on the retriever's display monitor 326 or converted into a hard copy or a permanent, human-readable text (not shown). The pledge certificate contains a user's pledge to use the present invention in a prescribed way, such as, but not limited to, a pledge to learn and to teach about animals, the environment, and saving of our planet. The retriever or anyone else may place the hard copy on a wall or any other place with high visibility, and use it to recite or be mindful of a pledge contained therein.

The present invention is very versatile. It can be used as a teaching tool, as a fashion statement, as a medium of communication, or as a method of expression. Using puppets in lessons has long been a favorite teaching technique. The informational component of the present invention assists with research and enables a more structured and fulfilling learning experience. The pockets and their contents can serve as design features to create fashionable and clothing that boosts self-esteem and the same time serve as a communication medium among groups with a common agenda. Finally, the present invention can be used to facilitate the expression of international solidarity and common interests of people around the world through the use of the GCN.

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. An article of manufacture comprising:

a hanger having an interior side and an exterior side;

at least one pocket disposed on the exterior side of said hanger;

said pocket having an inner and an outer chamber;

a first soft sculpture fitting within said inner chamber of said pocket; and

a second soft sculpture fitting within said outer chamber of said pocket.

2. The article of claim 1, further comprising a display area disposed on said exterior side of said hanger.

3. The article of claim 1, wherein said display area incorporates an electronic display unit.

4. The article of claim 1, wherein said first soft sculpture and said second soft sculpture are each three dimensional animal dolls.

5. The article of claim 4, wherein said first soft sculpture and said second soft sculpture represent more than one living species within a living genus.

6. The article of claim 4, wherein said soft sculptures are capable of being disposed on each other.

7. The article of claim 4, wherein said first soft sculpture and said second soft sculpture are of different sizes.

8. A combination comprising:

A hanger having an interior and an exterior side;

at least one pocket disposed on said hanger;

with at least one soft sculpture capable of being inserted into said inner or said outer chamber of said pocket;

a garment having at least one exterior pocket that is capable of holding said soft sculpture received from said hanger; and

an electronic media accessed via a global computer network describing a living species represented by said soft sculpture.

9. The combination of claim 8, wherein said soft sculpture is partially protruding from said inner or said out chamber of said hanger.

10. The combination of claim 8, wherein said soft sculpture is partially protruding from said exterior pocket on said garment.

11. The combination of claim 8, wherein the display area incorporates an electronic display unit.

12. The combination of claim 8, wherein said first soft sculpture and said second soft sculpture represent an adult and a child of said zoological species.

13. The combination of claim 8, wherein said soft sculptures are capable of being disposed on each other.

14. A method of tracking living species comprising the steps of:

retrieving information about a living species from a database via a global computer network;

placing a first soft sculpture or a second soft sculpture of said living species into an inner chamber or an outer chamber of a pocket;

removing said first soft sculpture or said second soft sculpture from said pocket on said hanger; and

transferring said soft sculpture between said pocket on said hanger and an external pocket of a garment.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein said pocket is disposed on an exterior side of said hanger.

16. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of disseminating information about said soft sculpture.

17. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of sending information updates via said global computer network to a display screen disposed on said hanger.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of placing onto said display area a pictorial depiction of the information received via said global computer network.

19. The method of claim 14, further comprising the step of placing said soft sculptures into said outer or said inner chambers of said pocket, wherein said soft sculptures represent more than one living species within a living genus.

20. The method of claim 14, further comprising the steps of:

retrieving a pledge certificate from said global computer network.

creating a physical rendering of said pledge certificate;

placing said pledge certificate in a high visibility area;

reciting a pledge contained in said pledge certificate.