Abstract:
A luggage tag for providing identifying indicia having a front and a back panel, at least the outer surface of the front panel having features to realistically visually and tactilely imitate and resemble an article, a back panel having attached thereto a substantially transparent pocket suitable for holding and viewing identifying indicia of the owner of the luggage to which the tag is attached.

Description:
INDEX TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/201,324, filed Aug. 29, 2008, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application 60/969,288 filed Aug. 31, 2007 the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention is a novel identifying luggage tag. The tag comprises at least two substrates that are connected. The outer portion of at least one of the substrates has surface features to create a realistic appearance and texture of a desired article. The realistic appearance and texture may be of any desired article. In some preferred embodiments the desired article may include a baseball, a basketball, a football, a tennis ball, a hockey puck, and the like. It is preferred, that the realistic appearance and texture has the look and feel of the article selected. For example, in an article selected to resemble a baseball, the appearance and texture is the white leather and characteristic red stitching of a baseball. The depiction of the desired article is formed with similar or identical materials used in the manufacture of the actual article. For example, if the desired article is a tennis ball, actual or simulated tennis ball felt is used as the outer substrate of the luggage tag to create the look and feel of an actual tennis ball. The present invention is not intended to be limited to displaying the appearance of baseballs, tennis balls, and the like, but, may be used to show the realistic depiction of any desired article. 
         [0003]    The luggage tag includes a back panel having a substantially transparent pocket for a user to insert identifying indicia or information for identification of the owner of the luggage to which the tag is attached. The identifying indicia would include the name and address of the owner of the luggage or other article to which the tag is attached. The identifying indicia may also be electronic and or computer readable information identifying the owner and or destination of the article to which the novel identifying luggage tag is attached. In one embodiment, the identifying indicia may also include information applied directly to the tag. This may be printed or embedded into the tag or applied with a label adhered to the tag. 
         [0004]    The luggage tag will have at least one slot that is used for attaching a string, rope, belt, strap, tether, and the like to the tag and further securing the tag to a desired article for identification. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0005]      FIG. 1  is a front view of an embodiment of the invention. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a rear view of the embodiment of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a front view of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a rear view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is a front view of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0013]      FIG. 9  is a rear view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  is a front view of another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  is a side view of the embodiment of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0016]      FIG. 12  is a rear view of the embodiment of  FIG. 10 . 
           [0017]      FIG. 13  is a perspective exploded view of the embodiment of FIG.  7  of the invention. 
           [0018]      FIG. 14  is a sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  of the invention, shown for clarity without the relief and texture. 
           [0019]      FIG. 15  is a side sectional view of the embodiment of  FIG. 7  of the invention, shown for clarity without the relief and texture. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0020]    Luggage tag  10  has a front panel  11  (identified in the several embodiments with a letter e.g.  11 A,  11 B,  11 C etc.), and a back panel  12 . Front panel  11  and back panel  12  are secured one to another by peripheral stitching  14 . A tether strap  13  passes through luggage tag  10  at slot  15 . A display compartment  16  is attached to the outer back panel  12  and forms a display compartment  17  for holding an identification tag  20 . Display compartment  16  is attached to panel  12  by stitching  21 . 
         [0021]    Luggage tag  10  has an interior portion having a first rigid support  24 , a second rigid support  25 , and padding  26  positioned between front panel  11  and back panel  12 . 
         [0022]    Each front panel  11 , as disclosed herein, has surface indicia features to realistically tactilely imitate an article. The examples disclosed herein of surface indicia features to realistically tactilely imitate an article are meant to be illustrative and in no way limit the invention. 
         [0023]    As seen in  FIGS. 1 and 2 , front panel  11 A has surface indicia constructed and arranged to look and feel like a basketball, with a textured pebbled surface  11 A′ and indented ribs  11 A″. 
         [0024]    As seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , front panel  11 B has surface indicia constructed and arranged to look and feel like a football, with a front shape that is nearly a prolated spheroid and having a textured leather, or leather-like, surface  11 B′ and lacing  22  and  23 . 
         [0025]    As seen in  FIGS. 7 and 8 , front panel  11 C has surface indicia constructed and arranged to look and feel like a tennis ball, with a textured felt surface  11 C′ and rubber seams  22 A. 
         [0026]    Luggage tag  10  may also have a front panel  11  constructed and arranged with surface indicia to imitate other articles. As seen in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , front panel  11 D has surface indicia constructed and arranged to look and feel like a “hand” of playing cards, in a hand of a card game, and each individual card has peripheral stitching  14 . 
         [0027]    The surface indicia of front panel  11  and back panel  12  described herein may be constructed from an identical material of the article intended to be resembled, or of material closely resembling the look and feel of the article intended to be resembled. By way of example, the tennis ball luggage tag  10  of  FIG. 7  may have actual tennis ball felt and actual rubber seams of a commercial tennis ball on the outer surface of front panel  11 , or may be a material that closely resembles tennis ball felt and characteristic tennis ball seams. Likewise, the same is true for the luggage tag that resembles a baseball, basketball, football etc. 
         [0028]    Tag  10  is constructed and arranged to be a facsimile of the shape of an article. Tag  10  is intended to mimic, with textured relief including visual and tactile imitations of the mimicked article depicted on front panel  11 . Optionally, the surface indicia having textured relief may also be on back panel  12 . Between front panel  11  and back panel  12  are interior components comprising a first rigid support  24 , a second rigid support  25 , and padding  26 , which are each generally formed in substantially identical shape as front panel  11 . The padding may be any acceptable padding such as polyurethane foam and the like. In a preferred embodiment, the padding or foam may be between about 2-8 mm thick, preferably about 5 mm thick. The rigid support may be any acceptable support that may be sized and shaped as needed and may include cardboard paperboard and the like. In a preferred embodiment, each of the rigid supports may be between about 1-6 mm thick. Each of front panel  11  and back panel  12  may be about 0.5-4 mm thick. The preferred embodiments are not intended to be limiting and the thickness may be varied as needed. Front panel  11  and back panel  12  are secured one to another by peripheral stitching  14 . 
         [0029]    Luggage tag  10  is constructed and arranged to imitate a specific article. In most configurations, the articles intended to be imitated, such as baseball, basketball, football, and tennis ball, are clearly three dimensional objects, even the several playing cards in  FIGS. 10 and 11  are three dimensional e.g. the hand of cards are stacked and fanned on one another. Although luggage tag  10  is three dimensional, and has front panel  11 , back panel  12 , and a plurality of inner components, and a depth, luggage tag  10  is in a relatively planer configuration. The overall configuration is such that the visual look of luggage tag  10  is substantially flat in relation to the articles intended to be imitated. As used herein, substantially flat configuration is not intended to describe luggage tag  10  as two dimensional. Luggage tag  10  is relatively planer to each article it is intended to imitate. The three dimensional aspect of tag  10  also includes the indicia  11  of tag  10  such as football laces, baseball stitching, and the texture of the surface of luggage tag  10  on front panel  11 . 
         [0030]    As stated above, display compartment  16  is on the exposed outer side of back panel  12  and encloses a display compartment cavity  17 . Display compartment  16  is attached to back panel  12  by display compartment stitching  21 . Display compartment stitching  21  encompasses a portion of the periphery of display compartment but not the entire periphery. The portion of display compartment  16  not having stitching allows for insertion of identification card  20  into display compartment cavity  17  as indicated by arrows next to identification card  20  in  FIGS. 13 and 14 . 
         [0031]    Display compartment  16  may be formed of any transparent or substantially transparent material that may include, but would not be limited to plastics, organic films, inorganic films, and the like. In another embodiment, an identification tag may be secured directly to tag  10  with a suitable adhesive and would not need display compartment  16 . 
         [0032]    In other embodiments, tag  10  has front panel  11  formed of actual material used in the manufacture of articles from the sport of golf. Tag  10  is formed having front panel  11  of actual material used in the manufacture of the surface of golf balls. Additionally, tag  10  can be formed having a surface formed of actual material used in the manufacture of golf clubs such as use of actual golf club iron or wood materials. 
         [0033]    While the invention has been described in its preferred form or embodiment with some degree of particularity, it is understood that this description has been given only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction, fabrication, and use, including the combination and arrangement of parts, may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.