Abstract:
A method for management of wires, cords, tubes, or tubing is provided. The method includes providing a unitary strip having adhesive regions at least at opposite ends of a surface of the unitary strip. At least one protective strip covers at least one of said adhesive regions. The unitary strip is made of a material capable of being shaped at least at a location intermediate its ends. The at least one protective strip is peeled off and at least one of said adhesive regions is adhered to a surface so that the wires, cords, tubes, or tubing can freely slide under the unitary strip at the location intermediate its ends.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/999,112, filed Oct. 16, 2007, which is incorporated by reference as if fully set forth. This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/251,044, filed Oct. 14, 2008. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to supports for cards and the like, and more particularly to a bendable support capable of assuming a bent shape and changing the bent shape to support and display cards as well as a variety of paper and cardboard documents including, among other applications, greeting and display cards. 
       BACKGROUND 
       [0003]    There are a number of applications wherein it is desirable to provide a card or other paper product with an ability to retain a given orientation in order to enable it to be self-supporting. As one particular application, greeting cards, in their simplest form, are comprised of a single, relatively stiff sheet of paper or cardboard which is typically folded substantially in half to form an outside front cover, an inside front cover, an inside back cover and an outside back cover. The fold line is typically considered to be a “hinge,” with the hinge or fold being sufficiently pliable to allow the card halves joined at the hinge to be moved relative to one another to facilitate observation and reading of any text and/or graphic material on any of the four aforementioned surfaces. 
         [0004]    There are a number of applications wherein it is desired to separate the front and back halves of the greeting card to permit at least partial, if not complete, observation of all surfaces of the card. As one example, let it be assumed that it is desirable to open the card about the hinge so that the two halves form an angle on the order of 45°. 
         [0005]    Although it is a simple matter to manually spread the two halves of the card so that they form the aforementioned angle about the hinge, the nature of the material of the typical card is such that it does not retain the desired angular orientation, especially, but not only, when the fold or hinge is oriented in a horizontal (as opposed to a vertical) direction. 
         [0006]    It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide a device which readily and easily attaches to a card such as a greeting card and enables the card to assume a given angular orientation of the card halves relative to one another for display or other purposes. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0007]    The present invention is characterized by comprising a bendable member formed of a relatively thin gauge material capable of retaining any angular position to which it is bent at a location generally intermediate the ends thereof and having means for adhering or affixing said bendable member to a card to retain the card in an angular orientation which is substantially the same as the angular orientation of the bendable member. The bendable member is narrow so as to cover or conceal only a minimal portion of the card to which it is affixed. 
         [0008]    The bendable member, in one preferred embodiment, comprises a thin gauge metallic material having the opposite end surfaces thereof provided with adhesive pads or an adhesive coating. A protective strip (or strips) is (are) used to cover the adhesive pads (or coating) to protect the adhesive surfaces and are easily peeled away preparatory to application of the bendable member to a card or other like structure to which the bendable member is affixed. The bendable member with adhesive coating or adhesive pads is also usable in a variety of other applications, use with a greeting card being only one possible application. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
         [0009]    The above as well as other objectives and embodiments will become apparent upon consideration of the detailed description and drawings wherein like elements are designated by like numerals and wherein: 
           [0010]      FIGS. 1 and 1A  are top and bottom plan views of a support device embodying the principles of the present invention. 
           [0011]      FIG. 1B  is a sectional view of one end of the embodiment of  FIG. 1  looking in the direction of arrows  1 B- 1 B of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0012]      FIGS. 2 and 2A  show different orientations of the combined card and support structure of  FIG. 2B . 
           [0013]      FIG. 2B  is a perspective view showing the embodiment of  FIG. 1  mounted for use on a card. 
           [0014]      FIGS. 2C ,  2 D and  2 E are lavational views of the support of  FIG. 1  employed in different applications. 
           [0015]      FIGS. 2F ,  2 G and  2 H are plan views showing different shapes that may be provided for ends of the support. 
           [0016]      FIG. 21  is a perspective view of another application for the support of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0017]      FIGS. 2J and 2K  show alternative arrangements for supporting two photographs. 
           [0018]      FIGS. 3 ,  3 A and  3 B respectively show plan, end and side views of another embodiment of the present invention and  FIG. 3C  shows as end view of a modification of the embodiment of  FIGS. 3-3B . 
           [0019]      FIG. 4  is a plan view showing another embodiment of the invention. 
           [0020]      FIG. 4A  is a partial view of the embodiment of  FIG. 4  looking in the direction of arrows  4 A- 4 A of  FIG. 4 . 
           [0021]      FIG. 4B  is a perspective view of a hat having a support for use in the embodiment of  FIGS. 4 and 4A . 
           [0022]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  are plan views of another embodiment of the support for holding cord or wire in place, wherein it is used to hold insulated wire or cord in place. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0023]    Making reference to  FIGS. 1 ,  1 A and  1 B, there is shown therein an embodiment  10  comprised of an elongated thin gauge metallic element  11  completely covered on the top surface thereof by a thin paper or cardboard sheet  12  having a central portion  12   a  of a length and width preferably, but not necessarily, commensurate with the exposed metallic member  11  shown in  FIG. 1  and having opposite ends  12   b  and  12   c  of enlarged width substantially covering the end portions  11   a  and  11   b  of metallic member  11 . The paper or thin cardboard sheet  12  is adhered to the metallic member by a suitable adhesive, epoxy, glue or other suitable material. The opposite surface of metallic strip  11  is covered by a layer or sheet-like member  13  having an adhesive quality on both opposing surfaces  13   a  and  13   b  thereof. Surface  13   a  adheres to the surface of metallic member  11  and a portion of the end  12   c  of cover  12 . The opposite adhesive surface  13   b  of adhesive member  13  is covered with a protective strip  14 , a portion of which has been removed in  FIG. 1  to expose a portion of the adhesive surface  13   b.  The left-hand end of embodiment  10  has a similar adhesive member  13  (not shown) and protective cover strip  14  which is identical in design and function to the adhesive member  13  and protective strip  14  provided at the right-hand end of the embodiment  10  and described above. As an alternative, the double-sided adhesive strip may be replaced by an adhesive applied directly to the ends  12   b,    12   c . Also, the central portion  12   a  of coversheet  12  may be omitted without reducing the effectiveness of the support  10 . 
         [0024]    In use, the protective strips  14  are peeled off and the exposed adhesive surfaces  13   b,    13   d  are pressed against surfaces of a card, such as a greeting card C shown in  FIG. 2 , and bent at or near the middle thereof to form a “hinge” H aligned with the “spine” H 1  of the card C along which the card is bent in half, as is conventional, to provide an outside front cover, an inside front cover, an outside back cover and an inside back cover, the front and back covers being joined to one another at hinge H 1 . The support  10  keeps the card from opening or closing. 
         [0025]    As an alternative, only one surface need be provided with adhesive or adhesive-like regions for attachment to a card or other like member, the adhesive regions being protected by a protective strip. 
         [0026]    The support  10  is preferably aligned along an interior surface Si of card C so that its midpoint is approximately in alignment with the hinge H 1  although this is not an absolute necessity and there is no need for a high degree of precision in making this alignment, since the effectiveness of the support is not diminished if the support is not bent exactly in half. The joined card and support  10  are then bent from the position shown in  FIG. 2  to the position shown in  FIG. 2A  where the card halves as well as the support  10  are bent to define an angle typically on the order of 45° to 90° although an angle of greater than 90° or less than 45° may also be selected. The card C may then be placed upon a surface S as shown in  FIG. 2A . The metallic member  11 , while being of a thin gauge material enabling it to be easily bent, is nevertheless capable of retaining the desired angular orientation of card C once released from the bending force applied thereto, which bending force is so slight that even a child can bend the support and card with relative ease. The card, whose rigidity is increased due to the support  10 , may then be displayed in this manner without concern for a force that may be exerted by card C upon support  10  since the force exerted by the card upon the support is insufficient to alter the angular orientation of support  10 . The cover  12  serves as a protective cover to prevent the user from any sharp edges on the opposite longitudinal sides of the exposed portion of metallic member  11 . 
         [0027]      FIG. 2B  shows another orientation of the card C with the support  10  secured thereto, wherein the card is arranged so that its lower edges E 1 , E 2  engage a supporting surface S, the card C standing upright on supporting surface S enabling viewing of both the inside and outside of the front and back covers. Again, the bending angle may be anywhere within or even outside of the range set forth above. The bending angle may be changed simply by holding and bending the card C and/or the support  10 . 
         [0028]    Support  10  may be provided near the lower edge of card C as shown in  FIG. 2B  or be arranged near the upper edges E 3 , E 4  of card C or, if desired, may even be provided at a location intermediate the upper and lower edges of the card, although a preferred location is one in which the least amount of text and/or graphics provided within the interior of the card is covered. The narrow width of support  10  also serves to reduce the portion of the card C covered by support  10  to a minimum. 
         [0029]    The support may be used for a variety of different applications. Noting  FIG. 2C , for example, a support  10  has a left-hand end  13  adhered to an outer surface of card C, such as, for example, the outside back cover of the card C. Support  10  is bent in half about its intermediate point P and its right-hand pressure sensitive surface  13  is adhered to a surface S which may be a wall, a door, a kitchen cabinet or, for example, any type of non-metallic or metallic but non-magnetic bulletin board which is not capable of being punctured by a pin or which is not capable of having a magnetic holder hold a card or paper in place. The surface may be an irregular surface such as a door knob or a rough surface such as a mailbox. The card C in  FIG. 2C  may also have an additional support  10  along its interior surface to hold it in an open position, as shown in  FIG. 2B . 
         [0030]      FIG. 2D  shows another application wherein the support  10  has its left-hand end  13  adhered to the rear surface PIC of a picture, photograph or index card PIC with the support  10  bent at substantially its intermediate point P, the left-hand pressure sensitive adhesive surface  13  adhering to the rear surface PIC&#39; of picture PIC and the right-hand pressure sensitive adhesive surface  13  adhering to a support surface S such as a desk, table or the like. Alternatively, the right-hand end of support  10  may simply rest on the surface and need not be adhered to the surface. This is also true for the embodiments of  FIGS. 2E ,  2 J and  2 K. 
         [0031]    In those instances in which the right-hand pressure sensitive adhesive  13  is adhered to surface S, the bending angle of the support  10 /card C is not critical and is not depended upon to stably hold the card C in the upright position. In view of the fact that support  10  covers only a minimal amount of the surface to which it adheres, back-to-back pictures or index cards such as PIC and PIC′ shown in  FIG. 2E  may be supported by a single support  10 . The support  10  may be modified to provide pressure sensitive adhesive surfaces on opposite sides of the ends of metallic strip  11  wherein the modified support  10 ′ shown in  FIG. 2E  is positioned between two pictures PIC and PIC′ with the double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive surfaces  13 ′ adhering to the surfaces of the pictures PIC and PIC′. In the arrangement shown in  FIG. 2E  the bend angle may be 90 degrees, if desired, due to the fact that the right-hand adhesive region  13  adheres to surface S. Depending upon the size of the pictures or other card being supported, a second support  10  or modified support  10 ′ may be employed to support the card, picture or the like. 
         [0032]      FIGS. 2J and 2K  other show alternative arrangements for supporting two pictures. The nature of the pressure sensitive adhesive surface is such that it does not permanently adhere to or mar the surface to which it is adhesively attached and is easy to peel off and will not leave an unsightly mark. 
         [0033]    Although the embodiment  10  shown in  FIGS. 1 through 1B  utilizes enlarged pressure sensitive adhesive members, as an alternative, the strip  12  and pressure sensitive adhesive member may be a constant width over the entire length of the structure as shown by the dotted lines D′, D 2  shown in  FIGS. 1 and 1A . This embodiment provides a pressure sensitive surface of significantly increased surface area. 
         [0034]    The ends of the support  10  may assume a variety of decorative, aesthetically pleasing shapes such as circular, triangular, hexagonal or any other polygonal shape, and thereby provide a more attractive support which may be festive and chosen to suit a particular occasion. For example, it may be star-shaped or snowflake-like or may provide a shape which follows a particular theme or holiday occasion such as Christmas (in the shape of Santa Claus′ head); Halloween (in the shape of a pumpkin or a witch&#39;s head), July 4 th  (in the shape of the flag and more particularly a waving flag) and the like. Decorative graphics and/or text may be printed on the sheet  12  to suit a particular occasion. In addition, the sheet may be provided with a color or colors appropriate for a particular holiday or theme (red and green for Christmas, for example). In the alternative embodiment described above wherein the metallic strip has an adhesive region or regions on only one surface, the opposite metallic surface may have a color or colors or images or other graphic material painted, printed or otherwise deposited thereon. 
         [0035]      FIG. 21  shows still another manner in which the support  10  may be utilized, support  10  having both of its pressure sensitive adhesives adhered to the outside back cover of a card C or a photo or child&#39;s paper project, such as a paper (or cardboard) cutout, which may be human, animal or doll-shaped or other configurations, for example, and bent at substantially its midpoint P, enabling a hook to be placed under the bent portion. As another example, one end of the support may be bent about a branch of a Christmas tree, for example, so as to suspend the card, or other paper object or photo from the tree. As another example, the support may be attached to a card, photograph, or child&#39;s paper ornament to form a loop that can be placed around a branch (or branches) of a Christmas tree. An additional support or supports may be provided inside the card to hold the card in the open position, if desired. 
         [0036]    As shown in  FIGS. 4 and 4A , a paper (or cardboard) item may comprise a body portion B and separate legs L 1 , L 2  and arms A 1 , A 2 , each joined to the body portion by one of the supports  10 ′″ which are shorter in length than the supports of 
         [0037]      FIGS. 1 through 3C  but otherwise similar in design and function. The supports  10 ′″ enable the arms and legs to be articulated to the body portion to provide an added dimension of enjoyment to the cutouts. If desired, the arms and legs may each be formed as independent upper and lower arms A 1   a , A 1   b , A 2   a , A 2   b  and legs L 1   a ,L 1   b , L 2   a,  L 2   b  and articulated to their respective leg/arm portions by supports  10 ′″. Additional supports  10 ″″ are provided at the lower ends of each lower leg portion Llb and L 2   b  to enable the cutout to be self-supporting. Noting  FIG. 2 , support  10 ″″ is bent in half and has one half  10   a ″″ attached to leg portion L 2   b  and the other half resting on a support surface S. The surface of half  10   b ″″ resting upon surface may have an adhesive or adhesive-like surface coating or the like to assure that the cutout is held in an upright manner. As another modification, the legs and arms may be integrally joined to the body and the supports  10 ′″ may be affixed at locations where legs and arms normally bend/rotate relative to the body such as shoulders, hips, elbows, knees ankles, etc. Also, cutout clothing items may be provided with supports  10 ′″ to retain the clothing item on the body.  FIG. 4B  shows a hat H with a tab T which is folded along bend line BL. A support  10 ′″ is attached to the hat H and bent together with the tab T to securely hold the hat H on the head of the item shown in  FIG. 4 , for example. It should be understood that the supports  10 ′″ and  10 ′″ may be used with a variety of other animate (i.e., animals) or inanimate (i.e., buildings or other the like) forms, limited only by the imagination of the user. 
         [0038]      FIGS. 3-3C  show still another embodiment  10 ″ of the present invention in which the bendable metallic member is a wire or wire-like member  11 ″ imbedded between a pair of sheets  15 ,  16 , as shown in  FIG. 3A . An adhesive  18  (or a double-sided adhesive strip) is provided between sheets  15 ,  16 . The ends of the sheets  15 ,  16  and wire  11 ″ each have a double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive sheet  13  covered by protective strips  14 ,  17 . The upper surface of the upper pressure sensitive adhesive strip  13  adheres to protective strip  14  and the bottom surface of the lower strip  13  adheres to a cover sheet  17  along the underside of the support  10 ″. Alternatively, an adhesive may be deposited on the exposed surfaces of the ends of the support. As another alternative, the top and bottom sheets  15  and  16  are made in the form of the ends  13  shown in  FIG. 1  so as to have an enlarged width relative to the width of the sheets over the intermediate length of the support  10 ″. The embodiment  10 ″ functions in substantially the same manner as the supports  10 ′ described above in that the wire  11 ″, while of a relatively thin gauge and capable of being easily bent, is nevertheless able to maintain a card or the like at a desired angle when the bending force applied by the user is removed and thus functions in substantially the same manner as the embodiments of the support described above. If desired, the single wire  11 ″ embodiment may comprise a pair of wires  11   a “,  11   b ”, shown in  FIG. 3C . Alternatively, sheets  15  and  16  may be paper, fiber, cardboard or a fabric and, in still a further alternative, the single wire (or two wires) may be embedded within a pair of sheets as well as being embedded in a suitable plastic which is preferably ejection molded or otherwise extruded to form a flat configuration similar to that shown in  FIG. 3A . 
         [0039]    As a further alternative, the width of the sheets,  15 ,  16  or plastic sheet may be increased as shown by dotted lines D 1   40  , D 2  and as an alternative similar to an embodiment described above, the entire surface of one or both sides of the support  10 ″ may be covered with double-sided pressure sensitive adhesive members to provide a pressure sensitive surface of significantly increased surface area. 
         [0040]    The embodiment  10 ″, like certain embodiments described above, may have end portions of a variety of different shapes of the nature described above. In addition, exposed surfaces, either excluding or including the removable protective strips, may be imprinted with colors, patterns or other arrangements to enhance the attractiveness of the supports. 
         [0041]    Briefly reviewing, the applications for the support which are described above, and which are merely representative and should not be considered as in way limiting, include: making a folded greeting card, recipe card or other folded paper item self-supporting, so as to facilitate easy and convenient viewing of the card or paper item, whether the fold thereof is on the side or top; supporting a photograph, postcard or a pair of photographs or postcards back to back so that they can be displayed standing up; attaching origami items, cards or other paper items to a slender support such as Christmas tree branches; hanging notes or papers such as recipes from cabinets such as kitchen cabinets and keeping the bottom corners from bending over or rolling; attaching sheet music to music stands; attaching all sorts of paper items to walls and doors for display; and holding open a page of a document, such as assembly instructions or repair instructions, by holding the top page; and holding a book, or acco-folder or pages open or to a surface to enable the desired page (or pages) to be viewed. 
         [0042]      FIGS. 5A and 5B  show supports used to hold down or hold in place one or more insulated wires or cords or a combination thereof.  FIG. 5A  shows a support  10  holding down a wire or cord W on surface S of a floor or wall. The support  10  can have an adhesive coating along its entire length. The center portion may be bent to conform to the shape of the wire or cord, if desired.  FIG. 5B  shows the support  10  holding down a group of wires or cords W. The wires or cords may be used to power a variety of different devices such as holiday lights and decorations. The wires or cords may couple earpieces to portable devices such as MP3s and the like. The adhesive is preferably of a composition that does not mar the surface to which the support is releasably affixed. 
         [0043]    While the invention has been shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and that certain parts of the invention may be used without other parts.