Integrated Flexible Textile Footwear with Graphic Insert

Abstract

A greeting card having a pair of nested textile foot-coverings, a rigid planar insert and a graphic insert for including a message to a recipient. Alternatively, said card may be enclosed in an envelope or clear plastic packaging.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS AND PRIORITY CLAIM

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61,185,944 filed Jun. 10, 2009.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Greeting cards are vastly popular. They create a sense of delight and intimacy between a sender and a recipient who may be in proximity when the card is exchanged, but who also may be separated by a geographic distance that precludes physical contact. Unlike telephonic communication, a greeting card provides visual and tangible stimulus for the recipient and as well as a species of permanence that allows the delight of the card to be experienced again and again, for as long as the recipient desires. Moreover, unlike other forms of written correspondence that are primarily text-based, a greeting card provides a pre-existing visual message that may include both text and graphic illustration, often whimsical and cartoonish, that can convey a broad spectrum of emotional messages from humorous to poignant, with a convenient and de minimus effort by the sender. In short, they are convenient and effective means for communicating and for injecting a certain sense of specialness into said communication.

The popularity of greeting cards has spawned innumerous variations on the simple theme of folded cardstock with message-appropriate text and images. Examples of such variants include cards that fold up into various three dimensional structures (U.S. Pat. No. 4,433,780 to Ellis), “pop-up” three-dimensional greeting cards (U.S. Pat. No. 5,697,992 to Finkelshteyn), cards including pleasing odor-emanating frangible containers (U.S. Pat. No. 4,484,769 to NorFleet), cards with integrated dog biscuits (U.S. Pat. No. 4,203,516 to Stonoga, et al.), cards with translucent inserts (U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,569 to Bean), cards that include integrated electronic sound recordings with playback apparatus (U.S. Pat. No. 5,063,698 to Johnson, et al.), cards that include integrated prepaid phone cards (U.S. Pat. No. 5,629,977), cards that include integrated battery powered illuminated messages (U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,126 to Dejean), cards that include integrated transparent containers for holding thematically associated ornamental objects (U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,404 to Lithwick), cards that include integrated mini-flashlights (U.S. Pat. No. 5,289,917 to Chabria), mechanical cards with metallic hinges and leaves (U.S. Pat. No. 5,979,942 to Ivicic), cards with integrated, removable bookmarks (U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,793), cards that include an integrated hanging mobile (U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,319 to Saxton), combinations of greeting cards and phonographic records (U.S. Pat. No. 3,430,761 to Pelkey) and even fabric cards from which the recipient can, assuming a requisite number are received, construct a memory quilt commemorating the event or events that precipitated the delivery of the card in the first place (U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,415 to Selga). In short, the public's hunger for charming and amusing variations on the humble greeting card is limited only by the imagination of those who create these delightful mailable novelties.

At the same time, consumers are very fond of socks. In addition to their common, workaday purpose as liners for more robust footwear such as shoes or boots, socks constitute a comfortable form of footwear on their own accord for times of relaxation. Socks combine the flexible, unrestrained comfort of a barefoot experience with an additional component of warmth and protection. Worn on their own, socks protect feet from dirt and other contaminants and are easily both removed and washed. Moreover, unlike slippers, socks are not overly warm, are inexpensive, and have the added comfort benefit of being worn both in and out of bed. In addition, given their relative cheapness, consumers can acquire a variety of colored and patterned socks, which allows for an additional element of whimsy and enjoyment to the wearing of socks that is not as readily available with other forms of footwear. Given the manifold advantages and joys of socks, it is unsurprising that socks are so widely popular and almost uniformly favored by consumers.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an increased sense of delight and comfort imparted to the recipient upon receipt of a greeting card, while simultaneously maintaining the convenience of the card for the sender and the fundamental requirement that the card be easily mailed, by combining the emotional pleasure of a greeting card with the sensual pleasure of socks.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment the invention may include a semi-rigid planar insert having the general shape of the sole of a foot; with a rounded heel section, a hip contour through the middle/arch section in and a slightly larger, bulbous, tapered forefoot section. Said insert can be made of paper, card stock, card board, polymer, plastic, or even a lightweight wood such as balsa. The face of the insert has a defined section from approximately mid-forefoot to mid-heel which is the display portion of said face. This section may include a pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message in the standard manner of a greeting card. Additional room through this section may also be available for a sender to inscribe a handwritten message to the recipient.

One possible embodiment of the invention may further include a pair of flexible, textile footwear, capable of being nested one inside the other. Said footwear may be a pair of foot-socks or slippers having an elastic opening and sized just to cover a foot—without extending up a wearer's ankle or leg—sometimes known as booties, micro-socks or running socks. The footwear may be constructed of cotton or any other natural fiber, synthetics, a blend of natural and synthetic fibers, or any functional equivalent. The flexible footwear may be colored or have a color pattern to as to coordinate with, highlight or otherwise increase the communicative effectiveness of the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message on the semi-rigid, planar insert.

In a further preferred embodiment, the semi-rigid, planar insert and footwear may be combined by inserting the planar insert into the nesting pair of footwear or socks, thereby giving the footwear or socks a semi-rigid planar shape, and exposing the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message through the contiguous openings of the nesting footwear, bordered by said elastic opening.

Embodiments of the invention may further have an envelope adequately sized to accommodate said combination of nested footwear and semi-rigid planar insert. Said envelope may similarly be colored or have a color pattern that coordinates with, highlights or otherwise increases the communicative effectiveness of the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message on the semi-rigid, planar insert. In its most preferred embodiment, the combination of insert, footwear and envelope are opened by a recipient to reveal the footwear, which, upon removal from said envelope further reveals the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message on the insert. As one, non-limiting example the best mode for the preferred embodiment, the footwear may be removed from said envelope to reveal the humorous message “Congratulations! You deserve a standing ovation!” Other foot-related humorous, sentimental, poignant or absurd messages may also be printed on the insert and should be obvious to one reasonably skilled in the art.

In alternative preferred embodiments, the combination of the insert, the nesting footwear and the envelope may be contained, marketed and displayed in a clear polymer package so that footwear, insert and envelope are simultaneously, protected, consolidated and visible to the consumer for examination prior to purchase.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a three-quarter view of the combination of a semi-rigid, sole-shaped planar insert with nested flexible footwear, in this case socks, as contemplated by one preferred embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a template for a semi-rigid, sole-shaped planar insert as contemplated by one preferred embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 3 depicts a template for a semi-rigid, sole-shaped planar insert with superimposed graphic/text portion to be visible when inserted into flexible footwear as contemplated by one preferred embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 4 depicts the combination of a semi-rigid, sole-shaped planar insert with nested flexible footwear, in this case socks, as contemplated by one preferred embodiment of the current invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Depicted embodiment FIG. 2 shows a semi-rigid planar insert 20 having the general shape of the sole of a foot; with a rounded heel section, a hip contour through the middle/arch section in and a slightly larger, bulbous, tapered forefoot section. Said insert 20 can be made of paper, card stock, card board, polymer, plastic, or even a lightweight wood such as balsa. FIG. 3 depicts the face of the insert, having a defined section from approximately mid-forefoot to mid-heel which is the display portion 10 of said face. This section may include a pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message in visible area 10a in the standard manner of a greeting card. Additional room through this section may also be available for a sender to inscribe a handwritten message to the recipient.

As depicted in FIGS. 1 and 4, one embodiment of the invention includes a pair of flexible, textile footwear 30, capable of being nested one inside the other. Said footwear may be a pair of foot-socks or slippers having an elastic opening and sized just to cover a foot—without extending up a wearer's ankle or leg—sometimes known as booties, micro-socks or running socks. The footwear may be constructed of cotton or any other natural fiber, synthetics, a blend of natural and synthetic fibers, or any functional equivalent. The flexible footwear may be colored or have a color pattern to as to coordinate with, highlight or otherwise increase the communicative effectiveness of the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message on the semi-rigid, planar insert 10.

As shown in FIG. 4, the semi-rigid, planar insert and footwear may be combined by inserting the planar insert into the nesting pair of footwear or socks, thereby giving the footwear or socks a semi-rigid planar shape, and exposing the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message through the contiguous openings of the nesting footwear, bordered by said elastic opening.

Embodiments of the invention may further have an envelope adequately sized to accommodate said combination of nested footwear and semi-rigid planar insert. Said envelope may similarly be colored or have a color pattern that coordinates with, highlights or otherwise increases the communicative effectiveness of the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message on the semi-rigid, planar insert. In its most preferred embodiment, the combination of insert, footwear and envelope are opened by a recipient to reveal the footwear, which, upon removal from said envelope further reveals the pre-printed graphic, design, illustration and/or written message on the insert.

In alternative preferred embodiments, the combination of the insert, the nesting footwear and the envelope may be contained, marketed and displayed in a clear polymer package so that footwear, insert and envelope are simultaneously, protected, consolidated and visible to the consumer for examination prior to purchase.

Claims

1. A greeting card comprising: a pair of flexible nesting footwear; and a semi-rigid, planar insert contained within said nesting footwear.

2. The greeting card of claim 1 wherein said footwear comprises socks.

3. The greeting card of claim 1 wherein said insert is shaped approximately like the sole of a foot, having a rounded heel, an arch contour and a bulbous tapered forefoot.

4. The greeting card of claim 1 wherein said insert has graphics, illustration or text on its face and said graphics, illustration or text are visible when the insert is contained within said nesting footwear.

5. The greeting card of claim 1 further comprising an envelope.