Abstract:
Various two-part articles, such as metal trading cards, which safely and advantageously combine a metal substrate having front and rear sides, and an insert sheet made of metal, glass or plastic. In some embodiments, both the metal substrate and a metal insert sheet are embossed. The metal substrate includes a central main portion, four edge marginal portions terminating in respective substrate edges, and four corner marginal portions. The marginal portions surround the central main portion, sharing respective boundaries therewith, and are rolled towards the substrate rear side and around such that the substrate edges contact the insert sheet so as to hold the insert sheet in position. The rolled marginal portions together define a continuous bead around the periphery of the card without any exposed sharp edges. In some embodiments the rolled edges are replaced by hinge sleeves. Thus, specific embodiments include a greeting card having two elements joined by a hinge, and a gift greeting box with an insert sheet in the cover, with a hinge joining the cover to a receptacle base.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/304,526, filed Sep. 12, 1994, entitled &#34;Dual-Medium Articles, Including Hinged Articles,&#34; which in turn is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 08/121,267, filed Sep. 14, 1993, entitled &#34;Embossed Metal Trading Card and Container Therefor,&#34; now U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,964. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates generally to two-part articles, which advantageously and safely combine two parts of sheet material, one part of metal, and the other of metal, glass or plastic. 
     One embodiment of the invention more particularly relates to polygonal two-part articles, such as collectible trading cards (e.g. baseball trading cards), bookmarks, and similar articles, of various sizes and shapes. 
     Traditionally, collectible trading cards have been made of thin cardboard, with a photograph on one side, and information printed on the other side. 
     Recently, for permanency and enhancement of appearance, it has been proposed to make such cards of lithographed sheet metal, for example as is disclosed in Miller U.S. Pat. No. 5,215,792. A disadvantage, recognized in the above-referenced Miller patent, is that a raw piece of sheet metal contains sharp edges and corners which would make such a piece unsafe for use as a trading card. In view of this, Miller proposes a construction wherein the edges are folded to form flat hems presenting radiused surfaces at least on the outer edges of the card, leaving unfolded edges only at the corners, which unfolded edges are short in length. 
     Another disadvantage of the card construction disclosed in the above-referenced Miller patent is that the malleable characteristic of metal is not fully utilized for maximum decorative effect. This, while Miller provides a raised framing border, central regions of the card are unembossed. In general, decorative raised surface embossing on the front of the card would result in relatively unattractive depressions on the rear side, which depressions moreover likely would not correspond or align with indicia such as writing on the rear side. 
     In my above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,964, there is disclosed a metallic trading card construction which combines an embossed metal front with a rear insert sheet made for example of cardboard. The rear insert sheet is retained by rolled edges of the metal front and, among other functions, conceals depressions on the rear side of the metal front piece resulting from decorative raised surface embossing. Further, high quality printing is possible on paper-based materials such as cardboard. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Very briefly, the present invention provides various articles of enhanced appearance in which an embossed metal substrate sheet is safely combined with an insert sheet. The insert sheet conceals rear-side depressions resulting from embossing of the metal substrate sheet, and itself may be an embossed metal insert sheet. By way of example, the insert sheet may comprise metal, metal with printed indicia, metal with printed indicia and embossing, polished metal, mirror-like polished metal, glass, mirrored glass, glass with indicia printed thereon, or plastic. A plastic insert sheet may have printed indicia thereon, with or without embossing. Good quality indicia printing is possible on all of these materials. 
     In one embodiment, a two-part article, such as a metal trading card, takes the form of a polygonal metal substrate having front and rear sides, a main portion, four edge marginal portions terminating in respective substrate edges and four corner marginal portions. The edge marginal portions and the corner marginal portions surround the main portion and share respective boundaries with the main portion. Substrate indicia is printed on the front side. Preferably, the substrate main portion has embossed areas which serve as design elements. 
     Adjacent the substrate rear side is an insert sheet which is made of metal, glass or plastic, with an exposed side which faces away from the substrate rear side. Advantageously, the insert sheet, if made of metal or plastic, may also be embossed. 
     To complete the construction, the edge marginal portions and the corner marginal portions of the metal substrate are rolled towards the substrate rear side and around such that the substrate edges contact the exposed side of the insert sheet so as to retain the insert sheet in position. The rolled edge marginal portions and the rolled corner marginal portions together define a continuous bead around the periphery of the card without any exposed sharp edges. 
     The two-part metallic article of the invention preferably is formed from a flat blank wherein the corner marginal portions have concave cutouts to avoid interference when the side marginal portions are rolled. However, each of the corner marginal portions has material remaining between its respective concave cutout and the boundary shared by the corner marginal portion and the main portion, which remaining material facilitates the forming of the continuous and smooth bead even around the corners of the finished article. 
     In another embodiment of the invention, a foldable article such as a greeting card is provided, comprising a pair of two-part elements joined by a hinge, each with a retained insert sheet. In another embodiment, the cover of a container has rolled edges which retain an insert sheet, and the cover is hinged to a receptacle. The invention is applicable to many other products, such as post cards and book covers. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     While the novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims, the invention, both as to organization and content, will be better understood and appreciated, along with other objects and features thereof, from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a metallic article in the representative form of a metallic trading card in accordance with the invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a rear view of the metallic card of FIG. 1, but omitting the insert sheet for purposes of illustration; 
     FIG. 3 is a section taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 2, but with the insert sheet in place; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail generally of the upper left corner of FIG. 2, but with the cardboard insert sheet in place, and indicia on the insert sheet; 
     FIG. 4A is a further enlarged section taken on line 4A--4A of FIG. 4 showing corner details; 
     FIG. 5 depicts a flat blank representing an initial step in the fabrication process; 
     FIG. 6 depicts a subsequent step in the fabrication process where edge and corner marginal portions have been bent towards the substrate rear side; 
     FIG. 7 is an end view on line 7--7 of FIG. 6; 
     FIG. 8 depicts another subsequent step in the fabrication process wherein the rear side insert sheet is being positioned, prior to completing the rolling of the marginal portions; 
     FIG. 9 depicts a boxed set of metallic trading cards; 
     FIG. 10 is an exploded view of card support members included within the storage tin of FIG. 9; 
     FIG. 11 is a three-dimensional view of a foldable metallic article in the representative form of a greeting card in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 12 is an exploded view of the greeting card of FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of the hinge portion of the greeting card of FIG. 11; 
     FIG. 14 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the greeting card of FIG. 11 when closed; 
     FIG. 15 is a fragmentary section taken on line 15--15 of FIG. 14; 
     FIG. 16 is a section taken on line 16--16 of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 17 is a section taken on line 17--17 of FIG. 13; 
     FIG. 18 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 18--18 of FIG. 11, with the hinge pin shown in full; 
     FIG. 19 is a front view of a metallic article in the representative form of a bookmark in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 20 is a rear view of the bookmark of FIG. 19; 
     FIG. 21 is a sectional view taken on line 21--21 of FIG. 20; 
     FIG. 22 is a three-dimensional view of a metallic container in the representative form of a gift greeting box in accordance with another embodiment of the invention; 
     FIG. 23 is an exploded plan view of the gift greeting box of FIG. 22 in its open position; 
     FIG. 24 is a plan view of the gift greeting box of FIG. 22 in its closed position; 
     FIG. 25 is a three-dimensional view of the receptacle portion of the gift greeting box of FIG. 22 during an intermediate step in the fabrication process; 
     FIG. 26 is a three-dimensional view similar to that of FIG. 25, but with hinge sleeves formed; 
     FIG. 27 is a section taken on line 27--27 of FIG. 24; 
     FIG. 28 is a section taken on line 28--28 of FIG. 24; and 
     FIG. 29 is a section taken on line 29--29 of FIG. 24. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Referring now to the drawings, FIGS. 1-4 depict a two-part article in the representative form of a metallic trading card 10 in accordance with the invention except that, for convenience of illustration, the insert sheet is omitted from FIG. 2. FIGS. 5-8 depict various intermediate steps in the process of fabricating the card 10 of FIGS. 1-4. Various elements of the card 10 are referred to hereinbelow both with reference to FIGS. 1-4 and with reference to FIGS. 5-8. 
     The trading card 10 includes a generally rectangular metal substrate 12 having a front side 14 (FIG. 1) and a rear side 16 (FIG. 2). The substrate 12 is formed from a generally rectangular flat sheet metal blank 18, represented in FIG. 5. 
     The substrate 12 includes a central main portion 20, which comprises most, but not all, of the portion visible in FIG. 1. In FIG. 5, the central main portion 20 is within a phantom boundary line 22. It will be appreciated that the boundary 22 depicted in phantom in FIG. 5 is not actually physically present in the blank 18; rather, the boundary 22 coincides generally with subsequent bends as the card 10 is formed from the blank 18. 
     As is also best seen in FIG. 5, surrounding the central main portion 20 are four edge marginal portions 24, 26, 28 and 30 terminating in respective substrate edges 32, 34, 36 and 38, and four corner marginal portions 40, 42, 44 and 46, also surrounding the main portion 20. Each of the edge marginal portions 24, 26, 28 and 30 and each of the corner marginal portions 40, 42, 44 and 46 shares a respective boundary with the main portion 20, the respective boundaries comprising segments of the boundary 22 depicted in phantom. 
     Substrate indicia 50 are provided on the front side 14 of the substrate 12, in the representative form of a baseball player 50. It will be appreciated, however, that the substrate indicia 50 is not so limited, and may comprise a player of any sport, any person who is to be featured on a collectible trading card, any image in general, or even mere information presented as writing. 
     For decorative purposes, the main portion 20 includes design elements in the form of raised or embossed areas 52. FIG. 2 depicts the same embossed areas from the rear side, which are in the form of corresponding depressions 52&#39;. Advantageously, the card 10 may be included in a set of cards having different indicia 50, but wherein the embossed areas 52 comprise design elements common to all the cards of the set. Printed design elements may or may not coincide with the embossed areas 52, depending upon the particular design of the card 10. 
     Adjacent the substrate rear side 16 is an insert sheet 56 having an exposed side 58 facing away from the substrate 12 rear side 16, with insert sheet indicia such as textual material 60 on the insert sheet 56 exposed side 58. The insert sheet 56 may be made of a variety of materials such as metal, metal with printed indicia 60 metal with printed indicia 60 and embossing 61, polished metal, mirror-like polished metal, glass, mirrored glass, glass with indicia printed thereon, or plastic. A plastic insert sheet 56 may have printed indicia 60, with or without embossing 61. In the case of a glass insert sheet 56, indicia thereon is preferably on the side facing the substrate rear side 16, visible through the glass. 
     To retain the insert sheet 56 in position, and also to form a smooth continuous bead 62 around the entire periphery of the card 10 without any exposed sharp edges, the edge marginal portions 24, 26, 28, 30 and the corner marginal portions 40, 42, 44 and 46 are rolled towards the substrate 12 rear side 16 and then around, such that the substrate edges 32, 34, 36 and 38 contact the exposed side 58 of the insert sheet 56. To avoid interference when the side marginal portions 24, 26, 28 and 30 are rolled, the blank 18 (FIG. 5) has concave cutouts 66, 68, 70 and 72 at the corners thereof. 
     It is significant that each of the corner marginal portions 40, 42, 44 and 46 has material remaining between the respective concave cutout 66, 68, 70 or 72 and that portion of the boundary 22 shared by the particular corner marginal portion 40, 42, 44 or 46 and the main portion 20. This is particularly evident in the partially formed view of FIGS. 6 and 7, where material remains on the side of the partially-formed piece as indicated at 74 and 76. In the finished card 10, the result is manifested as may be seen in the enlarged corner view of FIG. 4, as well as in the cross section of FIG. 4A wherein a corresponding portion 62&#39; of the rolled edge or bead 62 runs entirely around the depicted upper corner of the card. A terminating point 78 of the cutout 66 of FIGS. 5 and 6 becomes in the finished card 10 of FIGS. 4 and 4A, the point 78. The side edge 80 of the cutout 66 of FIG. 5 becomes in the finished card 10 the side edge 80 visible in FIG. 4 and in full in FIG. 4A. 
     Although aspects of the manufacturing process have been mentioned hereinabove, the manufacturing process for the card 10 will now be described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 5-8. 
     Typically, the manufacturing process begins with a large &#34;tin&#34; sheet (e.g. thirty six inches by twenty nine and one-half inches) being printed in a four color process, employing an automatic printing press which feeds into a drying oven. Typically, images for approximately sixty to eighty trading cards 10 are printed on each of the large sheets. A suitable material is known as steel sheet, and is approximately 0.009 inch in thickness. The finished cards 10 are approximately 21/2 by 31/2 inches in size, with a bead 62 thickness of, for example, 3/32 inch. 
     The approximately sixty to eighty images or substrates are then individually cut from the large printed sheets, and are transferred to presses which cut the substrates to exact size, as represented in FIG. 5. Typically, a first punch or press having appropriate tooling is employed to cut away any excess tin sheet to form a rectangle, and then a second punch or press having appropriate tooling is employed to remove material to define the concave cutouts 66, 68, 70 and 72. 
     Subsequently, a third punch or press is employed to bend the edge marginal portions 24, 26, 28 and 30 and the corner marginal portions 66, 68, 70 and 72 towards the substrate rear side 16, resulting in the configuration of FIG. 6. The forming operation of this third press deforms the metal in a manner related to that of a drawing operation, wherein a degree of metal stretching occurs in a transformation from a flat configuration to a three-dimensional configuration. Again, appropriate tooling is employed. 
     In addition, either prior to or immediately after the forming operation of the third press, a press with suitable embossing dies is employed to form the embossed areas 52 in the main portion 20. As noted hereinabove, the embossed areas 52 may or may not correspond to printed design elements, depending upon the design of the particular card 10 or set of cards 10. 
     Next, as is represented in FIG. 8, the partially formed card of FIG. 6 is turned over, and a previously-prepared insert sheet 56 is placed in the recess 82 resulting from the bending of the side marginal portions 24, 26, 28 and 30 and the edge marginal portions 40, 42, 44 and 46 towards the rear side 16. 
     Finally, the marginal portions are rolled so as to form the bead 62 and retain the cardboard insert sheet 56 in position. During this final metal forming operation, particular care is taken, employing suitable tooling, so as to provide round corners without exposed sharp edges, the result of which is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 4A described hereinabove. 
     Referring next to FIGS. 9 and 10, FIG. 9 depicts a boxed set 100 comprising a plurality of metallic trading cards 10, each orientable (with reference to FIG. 1) so as to have a lower edge 102 and two side edges 104 and 106. The cards 10 are contained within a storage tin 108, which is in the form of a generally rectangular receptacle having a bottom 110 and four upright sides 112, 114, 116 and 118. A press fit cover or lid 122 is provided, having a rolled edge 124, and a bead 126 is formed on the sides 112, 114, 116 and 118 of the receptacle, corresponding to the closed position of the lid 122. Although not illustrated in FIG. 9, preferably the storage tin 108 and cover 122 are provided with decorative designs, printing and embossing. 
     Within the tin 108, and best seen in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 10, are a lower card support member 130, and a pair of side card support members 132 and 134. The card support members 130, 132 and 134 have corresponding channels 136, 138 and 140 for respectively receiving the lower edges 102 and the side edges 104 and 106 of the cards 10. Illustratively, the card support members 130, 132 and 134 comprise vacuum-formed or molded plastic elements. However, it will be appreciated that the card support elements 130, 132 and 134 may take a variety of forms. 
     FIGS. 11-18 depict another embodiment of the invention, which is a foldable dual-medium article in the representative form of a greeting card 150. The greeting card 150 includes a pair of nearly identical rectangular elements 152 and 154 which are joined by a hinge, generally designated 156, and which generally comprise the front and back of the greeting card 150. Although the elements 152 and 154 are shown as rectangles, it will be appreciated that various other polygonal shapes may be employed. 
     It will be appreciated that the greeting card 150 is similar in appearance to conventional card stock folded greeting cards, with the exception that the front and back elements 152 and 154 each are constructed in a manner similar to the metallic trading card 10 of FIGS. 1-10. Two parts are thus combined, namely a metal substrate and an insert sheet, with rolled edges of the metal retaining the insert sheet in position. In addition, to form the hinge 156, the rolled edges are modified so as to form interdigitated sleeve elements which are part of the hinge 156. The resultant article is attractive and durable. 
     More particularly, the polygonal elements 152 and 154 comprising the front and back of the card 150 comprise polygonal metal substrates 160 and 160&#39; having outer sides 162 and 162&#39;, inner sides 164 and 164&#39;, main portions 166 and 166&#39;, pluralities of edge marginal portions 168 and 168&#39; terminating in respective substrate edges 170 and 170&#39;, and pluralities of corner marginal portions 172 and 172&#39;, all generally in the same manner as is described hereinabove in detail with reference to the metal trading card 10 of FIGS. 1-10. 
     Adjacent the inner sides 164 and 164&#39; are insert sheets 174 and 174&#39;, the insert sheets 174 and 174&#39; having respective exposed sides 176 and 176&#39; facing away from the inner sides 164 and 164&#39;. The insert sheets 174 and 174&#39; are retained by rolled substrate edges 170 and 170&#39;, likewise in the same manner as the card 10. 
     At least a portion of one of the edge marginal portions 178 and 178&#39; of the elements 152 and 154 comprises an element of the hinge 156. More particularly, sleeve elements 180 and 180&#39; for the hinge 156 are formed in at least a portion of the edge marginal portions 178 and 178&#39;. 
     As is perhaps best seen in FIG. 12, the sleeve elements 180 of one of the article elements 152 are interdigitated and aligned with sleeve elements 180&#39; of the other of the article elements 154, and a hinge pin 182 is positioned within the aligned sleeve elements 180 and 180&#39;. The interdigitation is further represented in FIGS. 16, 17 and 18. 
     Since the constructional details of the elements 152 and 154 are generally as described hereinabove with reference to the metal trading card 10 of FIGS. 1-10, further details thereof are not repeated here. 
     Indicia 184 (FIGS. 16 and 17) are printed on the outer side 162 or 162&#39; of at least one of the metal substrates 160 or 160&#39; as is appropriate for the example of a greeting card. At least one of the insert sheets 174 and 174&#39;, in this example the insert sheet 174&#39;, has indicia 186 on the exposed side 176&#39; thereof. 
     Referring next to FIGS. 19-21, represented is the manner in which the construction of the dual-medium trading card 10 of FIGS. 1-10 can be extended to any polygonal dual-medium article in general. For purposes of example, the article of FIGS. 24-26 is shown as a bookmark 250, having indicia 252 on the metal front side 254 thereof, and indicia 256 printed on the insert sheet back 258 thereof. In all other respects, the construction of the bookmark 250 is the same as that of the trading card 10 of FIGS. 1-10, and that description accordingly is not repeated here. 
     Referring finally to FIGS. 22-29, depicted is yet another embodiment of the invention comprising a container 300, which may comprise a gift greeting box. The container 300 includes a generally rectangular metallic receptacle 302 having a bottom 304 and four upright sides 306, 308, 310 and 312 having respective upper edges 314, 316, 318 and 320. Any suitable article, such as an attractive scene reproduced using three-dimensional techniques (not shown) may be contained within the receptacle 302. 
     The container 300 additionally has a generally rectangular cover 322 which is similar to either of the hinged front and back elements 152 and 154 of the greeting card 150 of FIG. 11. The cover 322 thus comprises a generally rectangular metal substrate 324 and an insert sheet 326 retained in position by rolled edges 328 (FIG. 34). The cover 322 is joined to the receptacle 302 by means of a hinge 330, similar in construction to the hinge 156 of FIG. 11. 
     As best seen in FIGS. 28, 29, 33 and 34, the hinge 330 thus comprises sleeve elements 332 on the cover 322 interdigitated and aligned with sleeve elements 334 on the upper edge 316 of the rear side 308 of the receptacle 302, with a hinge pin 336 positioned within the aligned sleeve elements 334. 
     For proper clearance, and as best seen in FIG. 29, there are gaps 338 between the sleeve elements 332 and 334, and the cover hinge sleeve elements 332 are nested within clearance notches 340 (FIGS. 30 and 31) formed in the receptacle 302 rear side 308. For clarity, FIG. 30 illustrates the structure at an intermediate point during manufacture, prior to forming of the sleeve elements 334. 
     As seen in FIG. 34, the upper edges 314, 316, 318 and 320 of the receptacle 302 sides 306, 308, 310 and 312 have a protective rolled edge 342. 
     Finally, appropriate indicia 344 is printed on the bottom side of the insert sheet 326, and a scene or other indicia 346 is printed on the metal top of the cover 322. 
     While specific embodiments of the invention have been illustrated and described herein, it is realized that numerous modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. It is therefore to be understood that the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications and changes as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.