HK1095659B - Device for use as a bookmark or for promotional purposes - Google Patents

Description

Devices for use as bookmarks or for promotional purposes

Technical Field

The present invention relates to devices used as bookmarks or for promotional purposes, which may carry advertising, promotional material and other information.

Background

Advertisers wish to distribute advertising pages and promotional material specifically for a particular socio-economic group. For example, advertisements may be posted in magazines and other periodicals, while advertisement pages are specifically tailored to the status of the reader population of the respective title. At present, the kinds of books published and sold are extremely wide, and the books are attractive to various groups in the society.

To date, it has been suggested that bookmarks can have more functionality in addition to marking the last read page of a book. For example, U.S. patent specification No. 5462006 discloses a bookmark with a pocket for photos and flowers, while U.S. patent specification No. 6446803 discloses a bookmark attached to the spine with a pocket for a pencil.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present invention there is provided a device for use as a bookmark or for promotional purposes, the device being usable to carry advertising messages and to contain removable items which may contain advertising material or promotional items. When used as bookmarks, advertising and promotional material may be specifically organized for various subject matter, and various layout bookmarks with organized advertising material may be distributed at the book point of sale along with corresponding subject matter categories of books.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided a generally flat shaped device for use as a bookmark or for promotional purposes, the device comprising: first and second cover members of sheet material, one overlying the other, having generally coextensive sides on at least a portion of the cover members, and at least one pocket between the two cover members, the pocket having an opening defined by the sides of the cover members, the pocket being for receiving an insert removable from the pocket opening.

The window may be open on at least one of the cover pieces to display a portion of the article as it is inserted into the bag. The device may comprise a plurality of pockets having their openings side by side and defined by coextensive side edges. One or more wheels may be mounted between the cover pieces for rotation to project from the side of the cover. The wheel(s) may cooperate with one or both cover pieces upper windows to display a message such as the last read page of a book or other advertising or promotional message.

The insert(s) may include advertising and promotional material specific to the targeted customer base. For example, when used as a bookmark, the target group of customers may be based on the subject matter category of the published book.

The present invention also includes an improved method of distributing advertising material in a printed publication. More particularly, the present invention provides a method of distributing advertising material performed by an issuer that publishes various publications, and the issuer distributes the advertising material as an agent for advertisers, causing the advertising material to be distributed to users along with the publications that are sold. The method comprises the following steps: gathering information of a specific publication among publications to be distributed together with advertisement material from a publisher; arranging the production of the advertisement data and the provision of the advertisement data by acting as an agent of the advertiser, so that the advertisement data are distributed to the user along with the sold books free of charge; collecting rewards from advertisers; the payment paid to the publisher depends on the number of copies of the publication that are distributed with the advertising material.

The issuing authority may comprise the issuing company and the publisher may be a holdings stockholder of the issuing company, thereby encouraging effective distribution of advertising material with the published book title. The share of holdings of a publisher and their return on dividends may depend on the extent to which they sign up to distribute advertising material with their publication.

The present invention also includes an improved method of placing an insert into the pocket of the present device. The invention provides a method of placing an insert into a pocket of a generally flat device comprising first and second generally coextensive cover members superimposed on one another, the pocket having an opening located along the periphery of the cover members and a back edge between the cover members opposite the opening, the method comprising forming the first and second cover members so as to provide access to the back edge of the pocket, introducing the insert into the pocket using one of the cover members as a guide surface, passing the insert through the back edge and placing the insert into the pocket, and then closing the back edge.

The present invention also provides an improved method of placing a wheel into the apparatus. More specifically, the present invention provides a generally flat device for use as a bookmark or for promotional purposes comprising a rotatable wheel assembly comprising: a roller for a roller having a base, a generally disc-shaped rotatable wheel member having an axial bore for pressing on the base, a stub shaft upstanding from the base to provide a rotational axis of the roller, the stub shaft having a proximal end portion and a distal end portion spaced from the base, the axial bore radius of the roller being smaller than the distal end radius of the shaft, the arrangement being such that the roller is press-fitted on the distal end portion of the stub shaft such that the roller is captured on the shaft for rotation about the shaft when the roller is press-fitted on the shaft.

The device of the present invention may contain electronic components that may be powered by a battery. Preferably, a paper battery is used. The electronic components may include a telephone audio dialer, a timer, a light or electronic tag (RFID) detector or other similar element.

When the device has an RFID detector, the insert into the pocket of the device may include an RFID tag that can be removed by the user and placed on an item to be identified, such as luggage to be transported on an airport luggage conveyor.

The device may also include other components to provide additional utility to the recipient, such as a ruler, a flat pencil, a compass, various product samples, a kit of needles, or other items. These components are packaged within the device and are typically particularly thin and compact.

The device can be used for other purposes than bookmarks. It can be used as a compact carrier of information to be held and used by the recipient and distributed directly to the recipient through various channels including direct mail, dispatch at the point of sale of the relevant product. For example, it may be contained in so-called gift bags that are issued to passengers of the aircraft with tickets and other travel documents inside. The device may contain targeted advertising and promotional material.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are described below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a first embodiment of a bookmark of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear view showing the bookmark shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view of an insert showing a bookmark, shown folded in FIG. 3a and unfolded in FIG. 3 b;

FIG. 4 shows three inserts;

FIG. 5 shows an example of a foldable ruler in a pocket of a bookmarker, FIG. 5a shows the folded state ready for bookmarking, and FIG. 5b shows the unfolded blank;

FIG. 6a is a top view of the pivot shaft about which the ruler and wheel pivot;

FIG. 6b is a side view of the corresponding pivot shaft;

FIG. 7 shows components of an unassembled bookmark;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a bookmark when partially assembled;

FIG. 9a is a left side view of a bookmark;

FIG. 9b is a right side view of the bookmark;

FIG. 9c is a top view of a bookmark;

FIG. 9d is a bottom view of the bookmark;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the bookmark showing the insert partially withdrawn from the pocket;

FIG. 11 shows four different bookmark embodiments having different numbers of different sized pockets;

FIG. 12a shows a fifth embodiment of a bookmark viewed from the front;

FIG. 12b shows a fifth embodiment of a bookmark viewed from the back;

FIG. 13 illustrates how the bookmark shown in FIG. 12 is placed in a book;

FIG. 14 shows the bookmark of FIG. 12 viewed from the front of a closed book;

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of each in a method of distributing advertising and promotional material using bookmarks;

FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram of a production flow between participants;

FIG. 17 is a schematic illustration of the flow of funds associated with the distribution of bookmarks;

FIG. 18 is a schematic illustration of holdings shares in a publishing company that organizes bookmark distribution;

FIG. 19 is a front view of a sixth embodiment of the device of the present invention that may be used as a bookmark or for promotional purposes;

FIG. 20 is a rear view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 21 shows the insert opened and closed, respectively;

FIG. 22a shows the wheels of the rotating wheel assembly of the apparatus of FIG. 19;

figure 22b shows a stub shaft in the rotating wheel assembly;

FIG. 22c is a cross-sectional view of the assembly taken along line A-A' in FIG. 23;

FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the wheel when mounted on the device;

FIG. 24 shows a semi-finished product corresponding to the bookmark of FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 25 shows a guide strip applied to the semi-finished product of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 shows how the blank of FIG. 25 is folded to form a bag;

FIG. 27 illustrates a method of inserting an insert into a bag;

FIG. 28 shows how the wheel is assembled to the bookmark;

FIG. 29 shows how the blank is folded to enclose the wheel;

FIG. 30 shows how the blank is folded to obtain a finished bookmark;

FIG. 31a shows an alternative stub shaft for the rotating wheel assembly;

FIG. 31b is a cross-sectional view of the assembly shown in FIG. 31 a;

FIG. 32a shows an alternative stub shaft for the rotating wheel assembly;

FIG. 32b is a cross-sectional view of the assembly shown in FIG. 32 a;

FIG. 33 is a front view of another embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 34 is a plan view of a blank for making the device of FIG. 33;

FIG. 35 is a front view of another embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 36 is a plan view of a blank for making the device of FIG. 35;

FIG. 37 is a front elevational view of the device of FIGS. 35 and 36 showing a legend on the insert and its cover;

FIG. 38 is a schematic view of the electronic components contained in the present device;

FIG. 39 is a circuit diagram of an electronic assembly;

FIG. 40 is a schematic perspective view of the use of the present device to detect RFID baggage tags on an airport baggage conveyor belt;

FIG. 41 is a circuit diagram of an electronic assembly for an RFID tag;

FIG. 42 is a partial front view of the present device showing a paper battery configuration for driving LEDs via a switch;

FIGS. 43a and 43b show the switch and battery configuration in more detail;

FIG. 44 is a partial front elevational view of the device showing the batteries driving the LEDs and the rotation mechanism, with the switch shown in exploded view; and

FIG. 45 shows the front cover piece of the device shown in FIG. 44 in more detail.

Detailed Description

Device structure

Referring to fig. 1 and 2, the apparatus includes a first front main cover 1 and a second rear main cover 2 overlapped with each other. In this embodiment, the front and back main covers are rectangular, made of sheet material (e.g., cardboard), generally of the same general shape and coextensive in size. Thus, the device is generally flat and thus suitable for use as a bookmark, but may be used in other applications as a promotional device, as will be described in more detail below.

Considering first the construction of the device when used as a bookmark (the term "bookmark" is referred to below, but this term does not limit the more general promotional use of the device of the invention described below), the front and rear main covers 1, 2 of the bookmark have an outer surface which is printed with text and images (not shown) appropriate to the book to which the bookmark is attached. For example, if the bookmark is used in conjunction with a children's book, the bookmark may print information about the book or the picture of a person in the book. Alternatively, if the bookmarks are distributed with a travel book or a travel guide, the bookmarks may be printed with travel-related information. The bookmarks may be distributed together at the time of sale of the book, for example, pre-packaged in pages of the book or delivered to the user together at the time of sale of the book, and the information printed on the surface of the main covers 1, 2 may be selected according to the category of the book (e.g., children's book, travel, medicine, science).

The bookmark also includes portions between the front and back main covers 1, 2 as a pocket 3, the pocket 3 having an opening located along the left longitudinal edge as shown in FIG. 1. The covers 1, 2 have left sides 1a, 2a and the pouch has an opening 3a coextensive with the left sides 1a, 2 a. The recess 4 at each bag opening 3a facilitates the extraction of the contents of the bag 3. The pouch 3 may be loaded with an insert 5 carrying advertising and promotional material 5a, 5b, 5c, 5 d. The advertising and promotional material may be targeted to a target market corresponding to the subject matter of the book, thereby targeting a particular reader population. Thus, the contents of the items in the bag may be selected according to the category of the book.

The advertising material may include printed matter. Promotional material can take many different forms, such as small packaged promotional samples or other small items that are attractive or attractive to the target market of book readers. For example, the bag 3 may contain samples of cosmetic and consumer products. Another possibility is to have a bag containing a first aid kit as an advertisement for the drug or a stationery kit as an advertisement for the stationery merchant.

The insert 5 may be contained in an insert cover 6 (shown in fig. 3 a) made of rectangular cardboard, the insert cover 6 being folded in half along a line 7, forming two covers 6a, 6b, which are superimposed on each other, as shown in fig. 3 b. Each insert cover 6a, 6b is generally the same size and shape as the bookmark pouch 3. The insert covers may be printed on both sides with indicating indicia and a product kit may be attached between the covers. Alternatively, an insert cover can be formed into a pouch containing the consumer product. It will be appreciated that many different designs may be used for the insert 5 placed in the bag 3.

Fig. 4 shows some examples of inserts 5. Figure 4a shows a first aid kit containing a sheet thermometer to be placed in a bookmark in a medical handbook. Figure 4b shows how a sachet that can be torn off along the centre line 7 can be inserted in place of one of the cover sheets. Figure 4c is an example of an insert in the form of a patch kit to be placed in, for example, a city guide. The patch kit is convenient for travelers and can be distributed freely by travel agencies as a marketing strategy.

As shown in FIG. 1, the front main cover 1 of the bookmark includes a window 8 to enable a reader to view the insert 5 placed in the pocket 3, for which purpose the insert itself may be made with a legend or similar display aligned with the corresponding window 8. For example, if a game is placed in the bag, the window will show the name or type of game, and if an advertisement for a carbonated beverage is placed in the bag, the window will show the brand name of the carbonated beverage.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bookmark also has a top pocket 9 for receiving items or other items that are attractive or useful to the reader. In this example, a folding ruler 10 is placed in the top pocket 9, while in another embodiment a stretchable rectangular cardboard with a book light is placed in the top pocket 9. As described in british patent specification No.2336657, the book light may include a light emitting diode, a battery and an operable drive circuit. The ruler itself may be made by folding a thin cardboard sheet as shown in figure 5, the blade parts 11, 12 and 13 being folded over the blade part 14 and the parts being glued together. In the case of the book light, the light emitting diodes LED1 are embedded in the cardboard so that the book light can be hung in a position where it is convenient for the reader to use. The end 15a of the ruler or light can pivot about point 15b on the pivot shown in fig. 6, which is mounted in the bookmarked position shown in fig. 7 and 8.

As shown in FIG. 1, wheels 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d, and 16e protrude from the left side of the bookmark located between covers 1, 2. As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the wheels rotate about pivots 17a fixed to the main covers 1, 2. Messages printed on the wheel can be displayed in windows 18 and 19. In this case, the main purpose of the wheel is to provide a method for the user to record the last page read. In this embodiment, the wheels 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d are printed with numbers 0-9 on their front sides and the wheels can be rotated until the corresponding numbers are displayed on the window 18. The combination of the four windows 18 shows a number corresponding to the number of pages of the last reading page of the bookmark insertion. In the present embodiment, the maximum recordable number of pages is 9999. Obviously, the number of wheels and windows can be varied to suit the type of book to which the bookmark is attached. The wheel 16e contains information on which part of the page the reader has stopped reading, which is selected by turning the wheel and displayed on the window 19. Examples of suitable information messages are top left, top right, bottom left and top right.

Windows 20, 21 and 22 show messages on the rear side of the wheel. The message is printed on the rear side of the wheel, which can be used to display more information and advertising. The information displayed on the window will vary as the wheel rotates. The information on the wheel may be pre-selected to suit the target market. In one embodiment, the window 20 may display a message containing words used in a field related to the subject matter of the book. Therefore, if the bookmarks are released together in a medical book, words used in several medical fields can be displayed in a rotating wheel. Alternatively, the message may include words and phrases that make up the advertisement portion.

The windows 21 and 22 are used to represent conversion tables between currency units such as pounds (£) and dollars ($), or different units such as degrees celsius and degrees fahrenheit. For a given pound displayed in the upper window 21, the corresponding dollar amount will be displayed in the lower window 22. The currency conversion function is useful for use with travel books.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a semi-finished bookmarkable product. The blank may be made of substantially rigid cardboard or other suitable sheet material, the blank consisting of front and rear main covers 1, 2 folded together along fold line 23. The back main cover 2 has flap portions 24, 25 and 26 to be folded protruding therefrom. The wheels 16a, 16b, 16c and 16d are mounted on the pivot 17a, and the ruler is mounted on the pivot 15 a. Of course, the pivot may be replaced by a single moulding or the projection may be formed by a sheet of plastic if plastic is used instead of cardboard to make the semi-finished product. In this case the wheels are made of thin cardboard, the wheel edges of the wheels overlapping each other. The flap 24 is folded along the line on the back main cover 2 and the strips 25 and 26 catch the wheel 16 and the ruler 10. The ends of the strip 25 project into the notches of the flaps 24 and constitute the portions defining the pocket 3, while their lateral edges are defined by the strip 25. The parts 24, 25 and 26 are glued to the front main cover.

FIG. 9b is a view of the right side of the bookmark. The edges of the wheels 16a, 16b, 16c, 16d and 16e may be serrated to facilitate manual rotation by the user. The wheel 16 may be made of plastic.

Figure 10 shows the insert 5 with advertising material partially inserted in the pocket. As is also clear from fig. 10, the small arms 10 can be folded to fit into the top pocket 9.

Fig. 11 shows four different bookmark embodiments in which the insert 5 has different sizes. The size of the pocket is selected according to the size of the advertisement to be placed in the pocket. Figure 11a shows a bag of the same dimensions as shown in figures 1 and 2. The bookmark of FIG. 11b has three advertising pockets, two of which, 5a and 5b, are smaller and one pocket 28a is medium sized. Figure 11c shows two medium sized advertising bags. FIG. 11d shows a bookmark with a big pocket for advertising. Thus, the configuration of the blank in FIG. 7 can be varied to create different numbers of pockets of different sizes.

FIG. 12 shows another embodiment of a bookmark. Fig. 12a and 12b show the front and back covers of the bookmark, respectively. The front and back surfaces of the bookmark have advertising or indicator marks (not shown) associated with the book. Arrows of four different colors are drawn. The top and bottom of the bookmark have boxes colored in the color of each arrow. Each arrow points to a specific part of the book when it is opened, i.e. left page-upper half 30, right page-lower half 31, right page-upper half 32, left page-lower half 33.

FIG. 13 illustrates how the bookmark can be used. When the reader finishes reading and he records the last reading line 42, the side of the bookmark is placed in the spine 43 of the book 44 and the appropriate arrow is aligned with the last reading line 42. As shown in fig. 14, when the book is closed, one of the colored boxes 34-41 will protrude from the top or bottom of the book, indicating the color corresponding to the appropriate arrow. In this example, the reader stops reading on top of the right page. Thus, the colored boxes visible in FIG. 14 have the same color as the arrows aligned with the last read row 42. Thus, even before the book is opened, the user knows which part they turned to when they finished reading, and when the book is opened, the reader finds the part turned to and then looks for the line indicated by the arrow.

This embodiment of the bookmark may contain several pockets as described above. The arrows on the cover surface may replace at least some of the wheels and therefore this embodiment may provide more advertising space.

Issuing method

The bookmarks described may be used to distribute advertising and promotional material. Bookmarks bearing advertising and promotional material as described above in connection with fig. 1-14 may be distributed free of charge to users purchasing books or other publications. The sales scheme is described below.

Referring to fig. 15, the issuing authority 45 includes an issuing company, i.e., a company having issued equity capital, which is constructed according to laws of the corresponding jurisdiction, and the equity of the issuing company will be described in detail below.

The issuing company 45 enters into contracts 46, 47, 48 with publishers 49, 50 and 51 (hereinafter referred to as publishers A, B and C, respectively). The publishers make up publishing companies in a conventional manner, publishing a large number of books or other publications in various subject areas or categories, such as children's books, travel and gardening books.

Publishers 49, 50, and 51 agree in a contract with the publishing company 45 to attach to their publication the bookmark that the publishing company supplies to them. For example, if a publisher produces a book that is wrapped with shrink-wrap plastic film, the bookmark is inserted into the book at the publisher's print job and placed under the shrink-wrap plastic film. Publishers 49, 50, 51 provide bookmarked published articles to retailers 52, 53 for sale to users through their normal supply channels 54-58. Thus, bookmarks bearing advertising material may be distributed to users for free by the points of sale of the retailers 52, 53.

The issuing company 45 arranges for the advertisement on the bookmark to be sold to the advertiser. In this example, the issuing company 45 sells the advertisement placement using a service agent of the advertisement agent 59, and alternatively or additionally, the issuing company 45 may set up a selling unit for selling the advertisement placement in its own company. FIG. 15 shows two advertisers 60, 61, although in practice there may be many. The business relationship between the publisher 45 and the advertising agency 59 is determined by the contract 62 between them.

In this example, the manufacture and printing of bookmarks is outsourced by the publishing company 45 to the printing company 63 under contract 64. The printing company 63 produces bookmarks and advertising material in accordance with the design approved by the issuing company 45, and advertising templates and other promotional material are specified by the advertising agency 59 in accordance with instructions received from advertisers 60, 61. Bookmarks are made in various versions, one version for each book category, and printed matter and other details are intended to appeal to readers of that particular category.

Referring to fig. 16, the publishing company 45 coordinates the supply of bookmarks to publishers 49, 50 and 51. The distribution company 45 collects the bibliographies of the publications to be bookmarked by the publishers 49, 50, and 51 and the print quantity for each bibliography, that is, the information of the number of bibliographies to be bookmarked. Various versions of bookmarks are designed specifically to attract a wide variety of readers identified by the bibliography of the publication. An example is given in Table 1 below, in which the version of the bookmark is designed specifically for the target reader population in the following categories: travel, children, gardening, science, and general. An example of data gathered from publishers is listed in table 1 below, where table 1 represents the number of categories of bookmarks that a publisher is contractually willing to distribute with their publication over a predetermined period of time (e.g., 6 months, with 6 month intervals lasting 3 years):

table 1

Categories	Publisher A	Publisher B	Publisher C	Total number of
					Travel toy	10000	20000	50000	80000
Children's toy	30000	40000	15000	85000
					Gardening technology	40000	-	30000	70000
Science of	5000	60000	20000	85000
					In general	50000	20000	5000	75000
Accumulation	135000	140000	120000	395000

The issuing company 45 calculates the number of bookmarks required for each category to be supplied to the publisher from this data. This information is provided to the bookmarker 63 and the advertising agent 59.

The bookmark printer 63 produces the required number of versions of each category of bookmarks. For example, bookmarks can be made as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and bookmarks of the same shape and structure can be used for all five categories listed in Table 1. However, for each bookmark version, the content printed on the covers 1, 2 and other above-described features of the bookmark are specifically designed and printed to attract readers of the respective bibliographies within the five categories listed in Table 1. Also, the inserts 5 placed in the pockets 3 contain advertising or other promotional material specifically targeted to five categories, and the master or design of the insert is submitted to the printer by an advertising agent 63, as will be explained in more detail below. In this way, the advertising panels can be sold specifically for a particular target group by category of publication.

The advertising agent 59 sells advertisements to advertisers 60, 61 according to the five bookmark categories listed in Table 1. The advertising agent's curator may develop advertisements and promotional material specific to the targeted reader population contained in each of the heterogeneous bookmarks according to the categories listed in 1. Moreover, the price for placing an advertisement may depend on the production volume projected by the categories of bookmarks listed in Table 1. The advertising layout on the bookmark may include the insert 5 shown in fig. 1 and 2 or a message associated with the windows 20, 21 and 22. The advertising agency 59 hands the template to the issuing company 45, and the issuing company 45 in turn hands the template to the printer 63.

Thus, the printer 63 produces or obtains the insert 5, places the insert 5 in the corresponding version of the bookmark, and supplies a corresponding number of bookmarks to the publishers 49, 50, 51 according to the data listed in Table 1.

Publishers 49-51 place respective versions of bookmarks in their publications and supply retailers 52, 53 for sale to users. As described above, for shrink-wrapped books, bookmarks can be put in when shrink-wrapping. Alternatively, the bookmark may be inserted into the page without having been shrink-wrapped. Bookmarks may also be supplied separately from the book and inserted into the book at the point of sale.

FIG. 17 shows the flow of funds in connection with the distribution of bookmarks. Advertisers 60, 61 pay for the advertising impressions they purchase, in this case advertisers 60, 61 pay advertising agents 59. The advertising agency 59 deducts its own fee according to an agreed upon scheme specified by a contract 62 with the publisher 45, and then pays the remainder of the revenue obtained from the advertiser to the publisher 45.

The issuing company 45 pays the printer 63 and the publications 49-51. The printer 63 is paid for under a contract 64 (fig. 15) that can specify the price of each bookmark, although other forms of contracts will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

There are two modes of payment by the issuing company 45 to the publishers 49-51. The first payment mode calculates the amount of money according to the number of bookmarks served to an individual publisher (e.g., each bookmark priced in n cents), so in the example of Table 1, publisher A would receive an amount of 135000 x n cents of money served to its bookmarks. This amount is small to compensate for the extra work of publishers placing bookmarks into books and distributing them to retailers.

Also, the publisher becomes a stockholder of the issuing company 45, and they share dividend according to the profit of the issuing company 4. The share of holdings of the various publishers 49, 50, 51 is determined by the number of books they provide to the publishing company 45 of publications to be bookmarked. As described above, the publishers 49, 50, 51 enter into contracts 46, 47, 48 that specify the number of bookmarked publication bundles that the publishers promise, as shown in fig. 15, and the share of the publication is in accordance with their contractual commitments. The holdshare protocol is schematically depicted in fig. 18. The issued equity of the issuing company is held by publishers 49, 50, 51, among other investors 64. In one non-limiting example, the other investors hold 75% of the equity, while the remaining 25% are distributed among publishers A, B and C. Each publisher holds X%, Y%, Z% holdings of the remaining 25% of the distributor 45, where X, Y and Z are based on the relative number of bookmarked in its publications promised by the publisher in contracts 46-48 with the distributor 45. Thus, the dividends a publisher may receive individually depend on the degree of intervention they have bookmarked in their publication. This arrangement may encourage publishers to distribute bookmarks.

This arrangement is very attractive to advertisers because different versions of bookmarks all provide advertising media that is tailored to a particular user population, i.e., readers of a particular category of books, so that the advertising page can be particularly focused on those readers.

Obviously, many modifications and variations are possible in the disclosed distribution method. For example, while the issuer is described as a corporate community, it may be an entity organized in different ways, such as a partnership, a limited liability partnership, or a specializer. Also, there may be more or less than three publishers participating in the subscription.

Fig. 19 and 20 show another embodiment of the device of the present invention that may be used as a promotional device or bookmark. The same reference numerals are used for the same components as in fig. 1 and 2. The device comprises a generally coextensive front and back main covers 1, 2 superimposed on one another. In this embodiment, the front and rear main covers 1, 2 are rectangular and made of sheet material (e.g., cardboard) and generally have the same overall shape and size. The front and rear main covers 1, 2 have outer surfaces on which appropriate text and legends (not shown) for the bookmarked book are printed in the manner described above in connection with figures 1 and 2.

The bookmark is further comprised between the front and back main covers 1, 2 as portions of the pocket 3. As shown in FIG. 20, the pocket 3 has openings located along the left longitudinal peripheries 1a, 2a of the covers 1, 2. Each pocket has an opening 3a at the periphery 1a, 2a of the cover 1, 2. The recess 4 of each pocket opening 3a facilitates the extraction of the contents of the pocket. Each pocket 3 has a back edge 3b and a side edge 3c opposite the opening 3a between the covers 1, 2, as shown by the dashed line in one of the pockets. As described above in connection with fig. 1 and 2, the bag 3 contains an insert 5 carrying advertising and/or promotional material for a target audience. The advertisement may include printed matter, any of the examples described above in connection with FIG. 4 may be used.

For example, fig. 21 shows yet another embodiment of the insert 5. The insert may be cut and folded from rectangular cardboard to form a booklet having front and rear covers 6a, 6b and a plurality of pages 6c, 6d, etc. The insert 5 is generally the same size and shape as the bag 3 of the bookmark. Indication marks may be printed on both sides of the insert covers 6a, 6b and on the pages 6c, 6d, etc.

The front main cover 1 of the bookmark includes a window 8 to enable the reader to view the items placed in the pocket, and the items themselves may be made with legends or similar displays aligned with the corresponding windows, as described above in connection with fig. 1 and 2.

As shown in fig. 19 and 20, the device may also have a top pocket 9 between the front and back covers 1, 2 for receiving articles or other items that are attractive or useful to the reader, such as a folding ruler 10 made of cardboard or a stretchable arm with a book light powered by a thin battery (not shown).

The device shown in figures 19 and 20 has wheels 16 which function generally the same as described in connection with figures 1 and 2. The wheel is printed with index marks on one side, shown through windows 18 and 19 in the front cover 1. When the device is used as a bookmark, the wheel 16 can be used to provide a method for the user to record the last page read. The numbers 0-9 may be printed on the front side of each wheel 16 and the wheels may be rotated until the window 13 displays the last read page of the book. The wheel 16e contains information on which part of the page the reader stopped reading, by rotating the wheel until the appropriate message is displayed in the window 19. Other information may be printed on the rear side of the wheel 11, displayed in respective windows 20 of the rear cover 2 of the bookmark.

Wheel assembly

Fig. 22a and 22b illustrate the components of the wheel 16 assembly according to one embodiment of the present invention. One of the wheels 16 shown in figure 22a is generally disc-shaped with a centrally located axle bore 65, the axle bore 65 being adapted for insertion of a stub shaft 66 as shown in figure 22b, the stub shaft 66 having a conical shape with an end face 67 of greater diameter than an end face 68. As shown in fig. 22c, the end surface 68 is fixed to the inner surface of the front cover 1 as a substrate for the rotation of the wheel. The stub shaft 66 rises from the substrate provided by the cover 1, providing the axis of rotation X-X' of the wheel 16. Radius r near the end face 68 of the cover 1₁Less than the radius r of the distal section₂. The effective radius of the axial bore 65 of the wheel 16 is slightly larger than the radius r of the proximal portion 67 of the stub axle₁But is smaller than the radius r of the distal end portion 68₂

The stub shaft 66 is fixed to the substrate 1 by, for example, an adhesive method, and the wheel 16 is press-fitted to the stub shaft 66 so that the wheel 16 can rotate about the axis X-X' of the stub shaft 66 on the substrate 1. The radii of the proximal and distal portions of stub shaft 66 and the radius of shaft bore 65 and the elasticity of the material of stub shaft 66 and wheel 16 are such that when the wheel is press fit onto the stub shaft, the periphery of shaft bore 65 of wheel 16 is elastically deformed to allow the distal portion 67 of the stub shaft to pass through and be captured on the stub shaft so that wheel 16 can rotate about axis X-X'.

Both the wheel 16 and the stub shaft 66 may be made of cardboard or any other stiff sheet material such as plastic, paper or fiberboard. In an alternative embodiment, the stud 66 and cover 1 may be formed from a sheet material by die pressing.

The inner edge 69 of the axle hole 65 of the wheel 16 is serrated so as to be easily elastically deformed when being press-fitted on the stub shaft 66, and also to make it possible to firmly snap on the stub shaft. Thus, the wheel 16 can be turned by hand, but the wheel 16 is in frictional engagement with the stub shaft to prevent free slippage. Thus, the user may rotate the wheel 16 to align the indicator mark on the wheel with the window 18 and thereafter remain in the set position without any chance of leaving the aligned position. The length of the stub shaft 66 in the axial direction X-X' is equal to or greater than the axial thickness of the wheel 16 so that the wheel can rotate without generating significant friction on the surface of the cover 1, as will become more apparent hereinafter.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 22a, the inner edge 69 of the shaft hole 65 has a regular polygon shape. This shape results in a shaft bore 65 having a maximum diameter that is substantially equal to the diameter of the distal portion 67 of the stub shaft 66 and a minimum diameter that is substantially equal to the diameter of the proximal portion 68 of the rotating wheel assembly. Typical dimensional values are 8.00mm diameter for the distal portion 67 of the minor axis and 7.8mm diameter for the proximal portion 68 of the minor axis. The outer diameter of the wheel may be 32mm and the average diameter of the serrated shaft bore 69 may be 7.9 mm. The typical thickness of the minor axis in the axial direction X-X' is 1.00mm, while the typical thickness of the wheel in the axial direction is 0.34 mm. In one embodiment, the polygonal shaft aperture 69 provides maximum and minimum radial dimensions on axis X-X', the minimum dimension being less than the radius of the distal portion 67 of the minor axis 66 and the maximum dimension being greater than the radius of the proximal portion 68 of the minor axis 66.

Figure 23 shows schematically four wheels 16 of each stub shaft 66 mounted on the front main cover 1. All of the stub shafts 66 are affixed to the cover 1 and the wheels 16 have been press fit onto the stub shafts 66. The recess 4 allows the wheel to be rotated from the side of the bookmark. It can be seen from fig. 23 that the wheels 16 are thin enough to overlap each other.

Assembling method

FIG. 24 illustrates one embodiment of a blank that may be bookmarked. The blank may be made from cardboard or other suitable sheet material, for example by stamping. The blank shown in fig. 24 has no portion 9 for holding a ruler or a book light 10, but the blank can be easily adjusted if a top pocket 9 is required. The blanks may be printed and cut prior to assembly.

The semi-finished product consists of front and rear main covers 1, 2 connected along a fold line 23. The front main cover 1 has first and second attachment portions 70 and 71 projecting therefrom that are foldable along fold lines 72, 73. Guide and barrier strips 74, 75 as shown in figure 25 are also used to define the edges of the pockets. Glue is applied to the first, conformable portion 70 in area 76, and the strips 75 are adhered to the respective areas 76 to define the sides of the bag. Similarly, glue is applied to the area 77 of the attachment portion 71 and the barrier strip 74 is applied to the area 77 to define the rear edge 3b of the pouch when the bookmark is assembled. A further barrier strip 75 may be adhered to the region 78.

In addition, the stub shaft 66 is glued to an area 79 on the inner side of the front main cover 1. The next step is to apply glue to the exposed surface of the guide strip 75 which is applied to the area 76 and then fold the first attachment portion 70 along fold line 72 towards the front main cover 1 to form a pocket. Fig. 26 shows the semi-finished product after the stop strip, the guide strip and the inner wheel have been fixed. Also, the first attaching portion 70 is partially folded toward the front main cover 1 along the folding line 72. The guide strip 76 is then attached to the inner surface of the cover 1 of the blank to define the pocket in the bookmark.

Fig. 27 shows a method of placing the insert 5 into the pocket 3. The method comprises first placing the insert into the bag from the rear edge 3b of the bag, as indicated by arrow 80, rather than from the opening 3a of the bag. This method ensures faster assembly than placing the pocket through the opening 3a because the front main cover 1 can be used as a guide surface when the insert 5 is inserted from behind, without requiring precise placement of the insert between the front and rear main covers 1, 2 when trying to place the insert into the pocket through the opening 3 a.

More specifically, the production worker places the partially assembled blank as shown in FIG. 27 on a horizontal surface with the pocket facing upward, and applies a downward force to the insert toward the front main cover 1 as the insert is slid into the pocket 3 in the direction of arrow 80 over the cover 1. The inner surface of the cover 1 thus acts as a guide surface for the insert 5 to enter the pocket. Thus, the insert 5 will be inserted into the bag quickly and accurately.

FIG. 28 illustrates the next step in the manufacturing process, where the wheel 16 is mounted on the bookmark blank. The wheels 16 are press fit over the stub shafts 66 in overlapping relation with one another as described above in connection with fig. 22 and 23. When the second attaching portion 71 is to be folded toward the front main cover 1, glue is applied to the surfaces of the barrier ribs 74 and 75, in the regions 77 and 78 and in the region 81 corresponding to the position of the distal end 67 of the stub shaft 66. As shown in FIG. 29, the second attachment portion 71 is folded over the front main cover 1 along line 73. The stop strip 74 in the region 77 defines the rear edge 3b of each pocket, ensuring that the inserts contained in the pockets do not hit the wheel. Glue is applied to the inner surface of the front cover 2, as shown in the shaded area of figure 29, folding the cover along line 23 towards the front main cover 1. Fig. 30 shows the assembled bookmark as viewed from the rear just before the cover 2 is adhered to the attaching portions 70, 71.

Figures 31 and 32 illustrate an alternative embodiment of stub shaft 66. Figure 31 shows an embodiment of a stub shaft 66 made of an elastomeric material that is generally cylindrical with proximal and distal ends having substantially equal radii and being larger than the radius of the axle bore 65 of the wheel 16. The stub shaft 66 is typically adhesively secured to the substrate provided by the cover 1 using glue. When the wheel 16 is press fit onto the stub shaft, the resilient material of the shaft 66 will elastically deform by exerting a force on the periphery of the shaft, thereby allowing the wheel to nest on the shaft. The wheel 66 does not significantly deform during the press-fitting process itself. When assembled, the radius of the central portion of the stub shaft 66 is reduced compared to the radius of the proximal and distal portions as shown in FIG. 31 b. The wheel is thus locked on the stub axle and can rotate about the axis X-X'. The resilient material of the stub axle 16 provides a sliding surface for the wheel 16 to easily rotate so that the wheel can be rotated by hand with only a slight grip on the wheel so that the wheel remains in its original angular rotational position when the hand is released.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 32A, the stub shaft 66 is formed with concave cylindrical sides 82 such that the proximal and distal portions of the stub shaft have a radius greater than the radius of the central portion. The stub 66 may be adhesively secured to the substrate 1 with glue. When wheel 16 is press fit onto stub shaft 66, both wheel 16 and stub shaft 66 will elastically deform, and the wheel will snap over the center of the stub shaft as shown in fig. 32B. The wheel 16 can rotate about an axis X-X'. Stub shaft 66 is made of cardboard, paper, or plastic, according to this embodiment. In this embodiment, the shape of the stub shaft provides an air gap between the wheel and the substrate. This air gap reduces the friction between the wheel and the substrate, enabling easy rotation of the wheel.

OTHER EMBODIMENTS

Fig. 33 shows another embodiment of the present apparatus, and fig. 34 shows a semifinished product used to constitute the present apparatus. The device comprises front and back covers 1, 2, and as mentioned above, the front and back covers 1, 2 comprise pockets 3 for receiving inserts 5. The wheels 16a-d fixed to the stub shafts 66 engage the windows 20, 21, 22 as described above. The window 18 is used to display the contents of the bag 3.

The device is made from a semi-finished product as shown in fig. 34, in a substantially similar manner as described with reference to fig. 24-30. The blank shown in fig. 34 has a main attachment portion 82. The device has four pockets 3-1 … 3-4 defined between barrier ribs 75. A stop strip 74 is provided at the rear edge of each pocket.

Looking at bag 3-1, it has a front edge 3a and a rear edge 3 b. The seam 83-1 extends behind the bag 3-1 and the corresponding seam 82-2, 3, 4 is behind the bag 3-2, 3, 4.

To assemble the device, the wheel 16 is placed on the stub shaft 66 previously glued to the cover 2 in the manner described above. Thereafter, the attaching portion 82 is folded along the line 73 so as to overlap the back cover portion 2. A layer of glue is applied to the distal end of the shaft 66, together with the strips 74, 75, so that when the attachment portion 82 is folded over the cover 2, the attachment portion 82 locates the shaft and covers the wheel. Also, as shown in fig. 34, a pocket 3 is formed between the strips 74, 75 at the right portion of the cover 2 and between the attaching portion 82 and the cover 2. The rear edge 3b of the access pouch is accessible through the access opening 83-1 … 83-4. Such that insert 5 is inserted through access opening 83-1 … 83-4 with folded over conformable portion 82 acting as a guide surface.

Electronic components, which will be described in more detail below, may be placed on the back cover 2 in an overlapping shadow 83. This corresponds to the pocket 9 in the previous example. The electronic assembly may be placed on the cover 2 before the attachment portion 82 is folded into place, and thereafter held in place by the flap 84 forming part of the blank, the flap 84 being foldable over and over the electronic assembly to hold the electronic assembly in place within the device. The shaded area 86 of the conformable portion 82 overlaps the front cover upper area 83 when folded.

The front cover 1 is then folded along line 23, overlapping the reentrant portion 82. The cover 1 is glued in place so that the access opening 83 to the rear opening pocket 3 is sealed, thereby holding the inserted article 5 securely within the pocket. The shaded area 87 on the inside of cover 1 overlaps the shaded area 85 of cover 2, defining the area 9 where electronic components are placed.

Fig. 35-37 show another version of the present device. This version has two pockets with larger openings 8 to show the detail of the inserted items 5-1, 5-2, as shown in fig. 37. The device also has a third pocket 9, as shown in fig. 35, and another inserted item 5-3 is placed in this pocket 9, as shown in fig. 37. The construction and assembly of the present device shown in fig. 35-37 is generally similar to that described in connection with fig. 24-30, with corresponding parts being labeled with the same reference numerals. Referring to figure 37, the device is configured to be used as a health care related promotional tool, with appropriate health care related graphics printed on the covers 1, 2. The device may be used as a free gift, such as in a mailed advertisement to a medical insurance company, or such as in a premium update notice mailed to the applicant. The device may be used as a bookmark or simply as a promotional device. In this example, the inserted items 5-1, 5-2 are provided with free samples of sterile towels and waterproof adhesive, while the items in the pockets are clearly visible through the window 8. The pocket 9 contains a further insert 5-3, in this case a disposable thermometer.

The wheels 16a-c display the telephone numbers of different medical hotlines for different medical conditions when turned. The wheel 16d cooperates with the windows 21, 22 to serve as a conversion table for converting from one unit of weight to another.

Electronic assembly

Fig. 38 shows an example of an electronic component to be incorporated in the area 9 of the present apparatus. The electronic assembly includes a circuit board 88, an Integrated Circuit (IC) semiconductor chip 89 and a light emitting diode LED2 mounted on the circuit board 88, a planar metal key switch 90 and a sound generating device 91. The LED2 may be driven by the circuit described in GB2336657 above. The circuit is powered by Paper batteries 92, 93 made by Power Paper Ltd (POB3353, Israel49130), although conventional generally flat batteries may also be used. The electrical circuit of the electronic assembly is shown in fig. 39.

Referring again to fig. 33 and 34, the LED2 is used to emit light through the hole 94 of the front cover 1. The key switch 90 can be operated by hand by squeezing the front and rear main covers 1, 2 so that the switch 90 is electrically connected during the time the device is pressed. Alternatively, the switch 90 may be a bi-stable device that can be turned on and off in successive operations.

The chip 89 may be programmed to perform many different functions. For example, the chip 89 may be configured as an audio dialer that emits a dial tone, such as a dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) telephone dial tone. The advertising material printed on the front and back covers 1, 2 of the device may be associated with a pizza chain and the chip 89 may be configured to emit a sequence of DTMF tones corresponding to a telephone number for ordering a pizza. Thus, the user can automatically order pizza by manipulating the switch 90 and placing the device adjacent the telephone microphone. In another embodiment, the chip 89 is configured to act as a timer, such as an egg-whisking timer, such that the sound generator 91 emits an audible sound and/or the LED2 flashes to indicate that the timer has expired.

In another embodiment, the chip 89 is configured to include an integrated gas analyzer for analyzing the alcohol content of the user's breath for use as an alcohol meter to determine whether the user is driving properly. In another embodiment, the chip 89 may include a radio, a clock, and a calculator. Various modifications can be made to the structure shown in fig. 38, for example, a paper battery may be constructed not to have a simple rectangular shape but to be the entire space of the receptacle 9 or somewhere between the covers 1, 2, thereby increasing the battery capacity of the present device. Further, a printed battery may be provided inside the reentry portion 82 and/or the front and rear covers 1, 2.

RFID tag detection

In another embodiment, the electronic assembly within receptacle 9 is configured to detect a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag that may be placed within a user's luggage so that the user can determine the location of the luggage, for example, on an airport conveyor belt.

Referring to fig. 33, in this example, the inserted item 5 contained in the pocket 3 contains a self-adhesive RFID tag that can be removed by the user and attached to the item of luggage. RFID tags are known per se, an example being the TI-rf ID TI tag manufactured by Texas instruments, which operates in the 13.56Mhz frequency band in accordance with International Standard ISO 15693. The label 5 has a self-adhesive layer covered with a backing paper which can be torn off to attach the label to the article of luggage.

Fig. 41 shows the circuitry of the electronic assembly to be placed into receptacle 9, which is generally similar to the circuitry of fig. 39, except that an antenna 95 is added to transmit the search pulse and receive the RFID tag reply signal.

It is well known in the art that RFID tags are programmed with an individual code, so that when looking up with an RF pulse, the tag emits a reply signal corresponding to the code. The antenna 95 detects the RFID reply signal and the circuit 89 demodulates and compares it with the stored value corresponding to the code stored on the tag constituting the inserted item 5.

Fig. 40 shows the use of the RFID tag identification system. The present apparatus 100 is held in the hand of a user standing near a baggage conveyor belt 101 on which packages 102, 103 are conveyed in the direction of arrow a. Before traveling, the user takes one of the RFID tags 5 shown in fig. 33 out of the pocket 3 and sticks the tag to the luggage case 102. To locate the luggage 102 on the luggage conveyer belt 101 at the end of the trip, the user depresses the switch 90, causing the IC89 to issue an RFID lookup pulse. When the luggage case 102 is moved closer to the device 100, the RFID tag 5 emits a unique reply signal. The reply signal is received by the antenna 95, sent to the IC89, demodulated by the IC89, and compared with a stored value corresponding to the digital code of the RFID tag included in the device. When this occurs, the sound emitting device 91 emits a sound and/or the LED2 emits a light to notify the user that the luggage case 102 is in the vicinity of the present device 100.

The antenna 95 may be of any suitable design and may for example comprise a circuit pattern printed on the inner side of the cover 1 with dipoles appropriately arranged to provide a suitable pattern.

Many modifications may be made to the RFID system described, for example, as shown in fig. 38, an airport may have its own RFID detection system controlled by the transponder 104. In this case, the device 100 may operate in a receive-only mode, in which the response of the RFID tag is excited by the transponder 104, rather than by the device itself. This arrangement significantly reduces power consumption of the present device 100, thereby extending battery life.

In another variation, the device 104 transmits data to and receives data from an RFID tag and transmits the received data to another station (not shown). In such a case, the present device 100 may be configured to eavesdrop on data transmitted from the device 104 without directly retrieving the reply signal from the RFID tag.

Switch structure

Fig. 42 and 43 show an alternative construction for a paper battery for use in the present device. The receptacle 9 contains overlapping first and second paper batteries 92, 93, which may be of the type generally described in connection with fig. 38 and 39. The paper batteries 92, 93 have respective positive and negative polarity terminals as shown, each rated at 1.5V. The cells 92, 93 are oppositely stacked on each other with adjacent polarity terminals. The light emitting diode LED2 is connected at opposite polarity ends of the two batteries 92, 93. A conductive spring contact tab 105 is secured to the negative terminal of the battery 92. The light emission of the LED presses the front and rear covers 1, 2 by hand, thereby pressing the batteries 92, 93 toward the arrow direction P. In this way, the contact tab 105 is electrically connected to the positive terminal of the battery 93, thereby completing the circuit of the LED2 and thus turning on the diode to emit light. The natural resilience of the covers 1, 2 and the spring contact strip 105 ensures that the circuit is broken when the hand is removed from the covers. This arrangement provides a convenient and inexpensive push button switch structure. The structure of fig. 42 and 43 may instead include the circuit board 88 and associated circuit components shown in connection with fig. 38-41.

Fig. 44 and 45 show another switch configuration. This configuration uses an oblate lithium battery 106 having positive and negative polarity terminals on opposite circular surfaces. The battery 106 is fixed on a folded rectangular plastic film 107, and the surface of the plastic film 107 has printed circuit patterns 108, 109, 110. The amber light emitting diode LED2 is mounted flat on the plastic film 107 with its two ends connected to the printed circuit patterns 109, 110 respectively. The pattern 110 is also connected to one polarity terminal of the battery 106. The other polarity terminal of the battery 106 is connected to a circuit pattern 108, which is turned on by the switching section S. During manufacture, the plastic film 107 is folded into a flat bag and inserted into the receptacle 9 of the device. One of the wheels 16 is formed as a rotary switch with a switch contact 111. The wheel 16 is turned between the two folded portions of the plastic film 107 so as to bring the switch contact blade 111 into the switching zone S. In such a position, the switch section S makes an electrical connection between the ends of the circuit patterns 108, 109, and the contact 111 completes the circuit between the two battery polarity terminals via the LED 2.

As shown in fig. 44, the opening and closing action of the wheel 16 may be used to operate other electronic devices (not shown) in the device, and a window 112 may be provided to cooperate with a marker 113 on the wheel 16 to enable the various circuits to be switched on and off by aligning the marker 113 with an indicator mark 114. For example, the device may contain radio circuitry or RFID circuitry as described above, and corresponding contact pads, such as contact pad 115 shown in FIG. 44, may be provided for such circuitry on the wheel 16. Which is configured to mate with another stationary contact (not shown) to energize such additional circuitry in the device.

Bookmarks need not be configured as described herein, and other bookmark designs may be used. Moreover, the bookmark does not have to be made into various versions, and the same advertisement material can be provided for all different kinds of bookends. Moreover, bookmarks need not necessarily be distributed to users for free, but may be offered directly to retailers for sale at non-zero prices.

Alternative modes of use

The bookmarks described herein may also be used as a promotional tool with promotional inserts or advertising material for a particular promotional program. Such promotional tools do not have to be supplied with books at the point of sale as described above, but may instead be distributed at any new product or service issuing venue, for example as a free gift.

For example, the device may be used as a promotional tool, contained in a so-called gift bag for travellers. The gift bag may contain an airline ticket or other travel documents. The device of the present invention can be used as a promotional tool with targeted advertising, with promotional items placed in the pocket as insert items. For example, an airline may use an advertising page on the device to promote duty-free services on the airline, and the inserted item may contain a sample of the duty-free purchasable item.

The bookmarks described thus far are primarily exemplified by five rotating wheels and four pockets. However, it will be apparent to the skilled reader that the device can be assembled with any feasible number of wheels and pockets. Moreover, the present invention is not limited to the size of the pockets and wheels described in the bookmark embodiments described above. The details of the blank may be modified in order to accommodate different sized pockets and devices.

Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to use in bookmark assemblies with printed advertising material. The blanks described in connection with fig. 7 and 8 or fig. 24-30 may be used as advertising media independent of bookmarks or may be embellished for use as novelty items, wherein the pockets constitute photo frames or the like, with information printed on the wheel regarding the date or countdown of a particular event important to the user of the novelty item. Also, the rotating wheel assembly may be used alone for a toy.

Claims (60)

1. An apparatus for use as a bookmark or for promotional purposes and displaying promotional and advertising information, the apparatus comprising:

a first cover piece and a second cover piece made of a sheet material, one of which is superposed on the other, having co-extending side edges on at least a portion of said first and second cover pieces,

at least one pocket between the first and second cover pieces, the pocket having an opening defined by sides of the first and second cover pieces, the pocket configured to receive a removable insert through the pocket opening, and

at least one wheel mounted for manual rotation between the first and second cover members.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein a window is provided in at least one of the cover pieces to display a portion of the insert when in the pocket.

3. The device of claim 1, comprising a plurality of pockets having their openings arranged side by side and defined by coextensive side edges.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one wheel is mounted to project from the side edges of the first and second cover members.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein a window is provided in at least one of the first cover piece and the second cover piece for displaying information on the wheel based on the angular rotational position of the wheel.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one wheel includes messages on both sides thereof and the first and second covers further include windows provided at positions corresponding to portions of both sides of the wheel for displaying the messages according to angular rotational positions of the wheel.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the cover pieces includes two windows positioned to display related messages from different portions of the wheel.

8. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the wheel is arranged to project from a first portion of the side edges of the first and second cover pieces and the pocket opening is defined by a second portion of the side edges of the first and second cover pieces, the first and second portions of the side edges being opposite portions of the side edges.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one wheel is plural in number and the plural wheels are configured to have overlapping edges.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one wheel has a first side and a second side, and is configured to display a page number on the first side and other messages on the second side.

11. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the at least one wheel is configured to display transition information for transitioning from one unit of data to another unit of data.

12. The device of claim 1, wherein the first and second cover members are coextensive and are formed by folding a blank of sheet material.

13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the blank includes a reentrant portion disposed between the first cover piece and the second cover piece.

14. A device according to any preceding claim, wherein an insert is contained in the at least one pocket.

15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the insert displays information, advertising, and promotional material.

16. The device of claim 14, wherein the insert is a product.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein the insert is a consumer product.

18. The device of claim 14, wherein the insert is a small kit comprising: first aid products, puzzles, cosmetic samples, play items or other consumer products.

19. The device of claim 14, wherein the insert is a cartridge containing a utensil.

20. A device according to claim 1, comprising a ruler extendable from the device.

21. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 13, comprising electrical drive circuitry.

22. The device of any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a light emitting diode, a battery and an electrical drive circuit.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein the light is mounted on an extendable arm.

24. The device of any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising a battery-powered electronic assembly located between the first and second cover pieces.

25. The device of claim 24, wherein the electronic component comprises an integrated circuit chip, a light emitting device, and/or a sound emitting device.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuit comprises an RFID detector.

27. The apparatus of claim 26, wherein the insert in the bag contains an RFID tag that is detectable by the detector.

28. The device of claim 27, wherein the RFID tag comprises a self-adhesive layer.

29. The device of claim 24, wherein the electronic assembly comprises at least one of an electrical timer, a radio device, a calculator, and a clock.

30. The apparatus of claim 24 wherein said electronic component comprises a telephone dial tone generator.

31. The device of claim 1, comprising at least one paper battery.

32. The device of claim 31, comprising two paper batteries with opposite polarity ends overlapping each other, said batteries being connected in series with an electrical load, the polarity ends of the batteries being selectively connectable by hand pressing on the cover to complete the circuit.

33. The apparatus of claim 21, including a rotary electrical switch for controlling operation of the circuit.

34. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a stub shaft standing from the first cover member as a rotation shaft of the wheel, the stub shaft having a proximal end portion and a distal end portion with respect to the substrate, the shaft hole radius of the wheel being smaller than the distal end portion radius of the shaft, such a structure that the wheel is press-fittable on the distal end portion of the stub shaft, so that the wheel is caught on the shaft to rotate around the shaft when being press-fitted on the shaft.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the stub shaft and the wheel are configured such that at least one of the stub shaft and the wheel elastically deforms when the wheel is press fit onto the shaft.

36. The device of claim 34, wherein the proximal end radius of the shaft is less than the distal end radius, and the shaft and the wheel are configured such that when the wheel is press fit onto the stub shaft, the wheel is elastically deformed along the shaft bore such that the wheel is rotatable about the proximal end of the shaft.

37. The device of claim 34, wherein the stub shaft is frustoconical.

38. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the wheel has an axial thickness less than an axial length of the stub shaft.

39. The device of claim 34, wherein the axle bore of the wheel has a serrated inner edge so as to be elastically deformable on a distal portion of the stub axle.

40. The apparatus of claim 39, wherein the axle bore of the wheel has an inner edge of a regular polygon.

41. The device according to claim 40, wherein the polygonal shaft bore exhibits a maximum radial dimension and a minimum radial dimension on the shaft, the minimum radial dimension being less than the radius of the distal portion of the minor axis and the maximum radial dimension being greater than the radius of the proximal portion of the minor axis.

42. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the stub shaft is elastically deformable to enable the wheel to be press fit onto the shaft.

43. An apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the stub shaft has a concave cylindrical side to receive the wheel.

44. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the wheel is configured to pivot between the first cover piece and the overlapping piece of sheet material.

45. The apparatus of claim 44, wherein said overlapping piece of sheet material comprises a reentrant portion of said substrate folded along a line to overlap a distal end of a minor axis with an opening along a fold line from which said wheel extends.

46. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the wheel and the stub shaft are made of a sheet material.

47. An apparatus according to claim 34, wherein the wheel and the stub axle are made of paper, cardboard, plastic or fiberboard.

48. The apparatus according to claim 34 including indicia printed on the wheel and a cutout in the first cover member to selectively display the indicia in accordance with rotation of the wheel.

49. The apparatus of claim 34 including a plurality of said stub shafts and a plurality of said wheels, wherein the second cover member is formed by an outer cover member of said apparatus.

50. Apparatus according to claim 49, wherein the peripheries of the wheels overlap.

51. A method of assembling an apparatus according to any of claims 34 to 50, comprising the steps of: the stub shaft is secured to the first cover member and the wheel is press fitted over the distal end of the stub shaft to cause elastic deformation of the wheel about the shaft bore so that the wheel is retained on the shaft for rotation about the shaft when fitted over the shaft.

52. A method of placing an insert into a pocket in a device, the device comprising first and second cover pieces that are coextensive, the first and second cover pieces overlapping one another such that a perimeter of the device is formed along side edges of the first and second cover pieces when the device is assembled, the pocket having an opening between the perimeters of the first and second cover pieces and a rear edge opposite the opening between the first and second cover pieces within the perimeter of the device, the pocket being configured to enable insertion of a removable insert through the opening, the method comprising the steps of: forming a first cover piece and a second cover piece to provide access to a rear edge of the bag; placing the insert in the pocket through the rear edge using a portion of one of the cover pieces as a guide surface for guiding the insert into the pocket; and closing the rear edge.

53. The method of claim 52, wherein the apparatus includes a first reentrant portion for defining a side region of the bag, the method comprising the steps of: forming a first reentrant portion in the first cover piece to overlie a portion thereof to define a side region of the bag extending from the opening to the rear edge; the insert is guided from the rear into the pocket using the surface of the first cover piece not covered by the first re-entrant section as said guide surface.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein a barrier strip is disposed between the first re-entrant section and the first cover piece to define a side region of the pocket.

55. The method of claim 54 including the step of adhering the barrier strip to the first cover piece and the first reentrant portion.

56. A method as claimed in claim 53, 54 or 55, wherein the apparatus comprises a second reentrant portion and comprises the steps of: a second reentrant portion is formed on the first cover piece to close the posterior edge after the insert has been placed in the pocket.

57. The method of claim 53, 54 or 55 wherein the first reentrant portion is connected to the first cover piece and the configuring step comprises folding the first reentrant portion to cover the first cover piece.

58. The method of claim 57, comprising the steps of: after the insert has been placed in the pocket, the second cover piece is placed so that it covers the first cover piece.

59. The method of claim 58 wherein the second cover piece is connected to the first cover piece, comprising the steps of: the second cover piece is folded over the first cover piece and positioned by gluing.

60. The method according to claim 59, wherein the first and second cover pieces are made of a continuous sheet of material together with the first and second re-entrant sections.