Abstract:
A means and method of providing a novel collectible memorabilia item is disclosed. The present invention involves concealing a memorabilia item that is affixed to a carrier item by the manufacturer thereof. To ensure that the memorabilia item remains hidden, so that they can only be seen by buyers after they have paid for their purchase, the protective devices could optionally be tamper-proofed. Additionally, the means for concealment includes protective devices and/or the optional tamper-proofing devices in addition to components similar to those currently utilized in anti-theft systems. In addition to protecting the memorabilia item and ensuring that it remains with the carrier item, by concealing the memorabilia an element of chance is introduced to the purchasing process. Accordingly, the true value of the carrier item and the memorabilia item attached there to is not revealed until the carrier item is purchased and the protective device is then removed.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This application is related to and claims priority from earlier filed US Provisional patent application Ser. No. ______, filed Jul. 18, 2003, entitled Product and Method of Manufacturing Items with Hidden Memorabilia, and earlier filed U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/488,977, filed Jul. 22, 2003, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     The present invention relates generally to collectible memorabilia items. More specifically, the present invention relates to providing an item of historic or celebrity memorabilia that is concealed within specially designed areas of consumer products, such as wearing apparel, to provide an element of chance and surprise for the purchaser of the product as well as protecting the memorabilia item until the consumer product is purchased.  
         [0003]     It is well-known today that individual professional athletes in various sports such as basketball, baseball, football, tennis, hockey, etc. have attracted great followings in the public. Similarly, celebrities within the entertainment industry also attract a great deal of attention from the public at large. Further, the public regards these athletes and celebrities with a great deal of honor and esteem. Buyers of consumer products, especially sport-related apparel and equipment, place a higher degree of trust on their quality and performance if such items are endorsed by famous personalities and organizations. Consequently, there have been a number of products on the market relating celebrities and particularly to athletes. One example of such products relating to athletes are trading cards, wherein the picture of the individual athlete is printed on a card with statistics or other information relating to the player also printed on the card. Cards usually include the player&#39;s team, his position, uniform number, and other information.  
         [0004]     In addition to trading cards, various devices or implements and pieces of clothing, such as baseballs, baseball bats, footballs, basketballs, jerseys, shoes, musical instruments, etc., are marketed in conjunction with photographs, plaques, and the like, as memorabilia. Just a few examples include autographed baseballs, footballs, and the like, as well as photographs or trading cards with an actual autograph. Additionally, these items include some form of authentication in the form of a serial number, hologram, or the like. In some cases the memorabilia item (e.g., baseball, bat, football, etc.) is the one used for some particular memorable event (e.g., 40th home run, 100th touchdown pass, 1000th concert, etc.), and is retained by the famous figure involved. Alternatively, the memorabilia item may be sold at a relatively high price by that person or someone else. Unfortunately, the high price of such items generally places them outside of the ability of youngsters and average income families to purchase or otherwise obtain them.  
         [0005]     Accordingly, there is a well established market for “signature” products that bear an imprint of famous athlete&#39;s names, logo insignias, and/or replicas of their autographs. Similarly, as discussed above, another market exists for memorabilia such as sports jerseys, footwear, balls, caps, and costumes and props that have been either used and/or autographed by famous sports and entertainment personalities. Finally, it has also been established that yet another established market exists for collectible and/or souvenir items that display logos and names of sports teams, TV shows, or movies; pictures of famous athletes, TV actors and movie actors; and commemorate places and events. Examples of prior art memorabilia items that are particularly illustrative of the type referred to are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,803,501 and 6,142,532, both issued to Gluck, the contents of which are fully incorporated herein by reference.  
         [0006]     There is therefore a perceived need for a unique product that includes elements that satisfy the consumer&#39;s desires to possess such memorabilia at an affordable price that also allows cross-marketing within the above identified markets. Further, there is a perceived need for a means and method of providing discrete elements of memorabilia in connection with consumer marketed items, such as items of wearing apparel, while ensuring that the memorabilia remains intact on the items during shipping, storage, handling and retail sales so that it ultimately winds up in the end consumer&#39;s possession.  
       BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     In this regard, the present invention provides for a consumer item bearing an item of memorabilia. The memorabilia item may or may not be affixed to the consumer item in a concealed manner. As such, the general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a series of consume items containing a memorabilia item. Further, an additional purpose of the present invention is to provide a means and method of providing a “signature” series of consumer items wherein the majority of the items include a generic machine imprinted memorabilia item but also wherein a selected number of the series actually contain a real memorabilia item.  
         [0008]     The present invention involves providing a line of consumer items that includes a memorabilia item and/or a means of authentication and/or a means for concealing the memorabilia item affixed thereto. Additionally, the present invention provides for hiding one or a combination of the following: machine-imprinted signatures or authentic handwritten signatures of famous sports, historic or entertainment personalities such as athletes, actors, politicians, animated characters, persons who have accomplished particular achievements; imprinted logo insignia; and/or memorabilia such as pieces of event-used jerseys, costumes and sports equipment; (together referred to as “memorabilia”) on or within consumer products such as apparel, accessories, footwear, souvenirs, collectibles, and sports equipment (together referred to as “carrier items”). In accordance with the present invention, the “memorabilia” are hidden from view using labels, tags, stickers, sleeves, invisible and/or dissolvable inks or dyes, wrappers, cards, security devices or other such protective devices. To ensure that the “memorabilia” remain hidden, so that they can only be seen by buyers after they have paid for their purchase, the protective devices could optionally be tamper-proofed. Additionally, the protective devices and/or the optional tamper-proofing devices could be used as components in anti-theft systems similar to those currently available from Checkpoint Systems, Inc., Sensormatic Electronics Corporation and others. In addition, the memorabilia may directly relate to the carrier item (e.g., a shoe might incorporate a piece of a shoe from an athlete, a jersey may include material from an athlete&#39;s uniform, a baseball bat could incorporate a piece of a bat from a baseball player and item of clothing might incorporate a piece of clothing worn by an actor wearing the same or similar clothing.)  
         [0009]     In addition to protecting the memorabilia item and ensuring that it remains with the carrier item, by concealing the memorabilia an element of chance is introduced to the purchasing process. Specifically, only some of the carrier items bear an authentic original memorabilia item while the remaining carrier items bear a reproduction memorabilia item. The true value of the carrier item and the memorabilia item attached there to is not revealed until the carrier item is purchased and the protective device is then removed.  
         [0010]     Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a “signature” series of carrier items such as wearing apparel, sneakers, etc. having a memorabilia item affixed thereto. It is another object of the present invention to provide a “signature” series of carrier items such as wearing apparel, sneakers, etc. having a memorabilia item affixed thereto wherein the memorabilia item concealed from view until after the carrier item is purchased. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a “signature” series of carrier items wherein a majority portion of the carrier items have a reproduction memorabilia item affixed thereto and a remaining portion of the carrier items have an authentic memorabilia item affixed thereto, the identity of the nature of the memorabilia item being concealed until the carrier item is purchased. It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a carrier item having a memorabilia item affixed thereto wherein the memorabilia item is concealed from view by means that includes anti-tamper features.  
         [0011]     These together with other objects of the invention, along with various features of novelty which characterize the invention, are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed hereto and forming a part of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention, its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses, reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated several illustrative embodiments of the invention.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     In the drawings which illustrate the best mode presently contemplated for carrying out the present invention:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of a first preferred embodiment of the present invention showing a pair of athletic shoes having a memorabilia signature affixed thereto;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the athletic shoes in  FIG. 1  with a memorabilia seal applied over the memorabilia item;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a front perspective view of the athletic shoes in  FIG. 1  with a memorabilia shield applied over the memorabilia seal;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a front perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention showing a pair of athletic shoes having a memorabilia object affixed onto a secondary carrier;  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is a front perspective view of a third embodiment of the present invention showing a jersey having a memorabilia signature affixed thereto;  
         [0018]      FIG. 6  is a front perspective view of a fourth embodiment of the present invention showing a jersey having a memorabilia object affixed onto a secondary carrier;  
         [0019]      FIG. 7  is a front perspective view of a fifth embodiment of the present invention showing a baseball bat having a memorabilia signature affixed thereto;  
         [0020]      FIG. 8  is a front perspective view of a sixth embodiment of the present invention showing a football having a memorabilia signature affixed thereto;  
         [0021]      FIG. 9  is a front perspective view of a seventh embodiment of the present invention showing a baseball glove having a memorabilia signature affixed thereto;  
         [0022]      FIG. 10  is a memorabilia shield in accordance with the present invention installed onto an athletic shoe;  
         [0023]      FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view taken along line  11 - 11  of  FIG. 10 ; and  
         [0024]      FIG. 12  is a detail view of the fastening bold of the memorabilia shield of  FIG. 10 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     Now referring to the drawings, the means and method for providing a sports item with hidden memorabilia is shown and generally illustrated in the figures. As can be seen the general principle of the present invention provides a carrier item as will be more fully described below that has an item of memorabilia attached thereto. Once the memorabilia item is affixed to the carrier, the memorabilia item is concealed or obscured from view utilizing a tamper proof concealing means until the carrier item is purchased by the end consumer.  
         [0026]     Generally, within the scope of the present invention, a carrier item is intended to describe any object that serves as base consumer item to be sold within the context of the present invention. The following list while not meant to be exhaustive provides examples of various items that may be illustrative of what is intended as a carrier item. For example, a carrier item may be athletic shoes; athletic apparel such as jerseys, uniform shirts, accessories, swimsuits; event souvenirs; athletic equipment such as balls, bats, gloves, helmets; entertainment items such as musical instruments, hats, costumes, etc. The above list is meant only to illustrate a few possible items that may serve as a carrier item and the definition of carrier item is not intended to be limited to an item on the list. The scope of possible carrier items must be construed to extend to any possible consumer item associated with the field of sports, celebrity or historic memorabilia.  
         [0027]     Similarly, the term memorabilia item, within the context of the present invention is intended to describe any type sports, entertainment or historic memorabilia item that may be considered desirable for a consumer to acquire. Again, the following list while not meant to be exhaustive provides examples of various items that may be illustrative of what is intended as a memorabilia item. For example, a memorabilia item may be machine-imprinted or authentic handwritten signatures of famous sports, historic or entertainment personalities such as athletes, actors, politicians, animated characters, persons who have accomplished particular achievements; imprinted logo insignia; pieces of event-used objects such as jerseys, costumes, musical instruments, historic objects and sports equipment, etc. Further, it can be appreciated that a piece of an event used object may be shaped to resemble a miniature version of the original object. For example, if the memorabilia item is a piece of a baseball bat, the piece itself may be shaped in the form of a miniature baseball bat. The above list is meant only to illustrate a few possible items that may serve as a memorabilia item and the definition of memorabilia item is not intended to be limited to an item on the list. The scope of possible memorabilia items must be construed to extend to any possible memorabilia item associated with the field of sports, celebrity or historic memorabilia.  
         [0028]     Accordingly, the general concept provided in the disclosure of the present invention is as follows: 
        1) Provide a line of carrier items with a predetermined display location thereon.     2) Select a portion of the carrier items within the line to which an authentic memorabilia item is affixed in the display location.     3) Affix an optional decoy memorabilia item that is identical in shape and size to the authentic memorabilia item to the display location on the remaining portion of carrier items.     4) Conceal the authentic and decoy memorabilia items with memorabilia seal comprising a tamper proof concealing means.     5) Optionally, attach a memorabilia shield to the carrier item that serves to protect the memorabilia seal and further conceal the memorabilia item.        
 
         [0034]     Turning now to the  FIGS. 1 and 2 , the present invention is illustrated in the context of a pair of athletic shoes  10 . The athletic shoes  10  in this example are the carrier item  10 , although as stated above the carrier item  10  may be any consumer product. A manufacturer produces a series of carrier items  10  in the form of athletic shoes  10 , each having a display area  12  provided thereon. The series of athletic shoes  10  are separated into two portions. A first portion of the shoes  10  has an authentic memorabilia item  14  affixed thereto. In this case, the memorabilia item  14  is illustrated as an authentic, hand written celebrity signature that is signed directly onto the display area  12  of the athletic shoe  10 , although as described above the memorabilia item  12  could be a large variety of different items. A second portion of the athletic shoes  10  has a decoy memorabilia item  14  affixed thereto. The decoy memorabilia item  14  is a machine imprinted signature that is printed onto the display area  12  of the shoe  10 . If the memorabilia item  14  is an object such as a piece of athletic equipment, the display area  12  may consist of a pocket in the carrier item  10  into which the memorabilia item  14  is affixed. As can be seen best in  FIG. 2 , a memorabilia seal  16  is then applied over the display area  12  of all of the athletic shoes  10  in the series to conceal both the authentic and decoy memorabilia items  14 . Further, the memorabilia seal  16  can be seen to include a tamper proofing means  18  to prevent a person from trying to determine whether or not they have a pair of athletic shoes  10  bearing an authentic or decoy memorabilia item  14  prior to purchasing the athletic shoes  10 .  
         [0035]     Turning now to  FIG. 3 , the memorabilia seal  16  including integrated tamper-proof features is shown installed on top of the memorabilia item  14  so that a potential purchaser cannot tell what, if anything, is hidden beneath the memorabilia seal  16  without tampering with the memorabilia seal  16 . It is also noted that in the context of retail sales, the memorabilia seal  16  must not have been tampered with if a carrier item  10  is returned for a replacement or refund. To facilitate tracking and authentication of the discrete carrier items  10  within a particular series, the memorabilia seal  16  may have an optional Unique Identification Number (UIN)  20  imprinted or affixed thereon. As will be described more fully below, the UIN  20  can be used as part of the authentication process.  
         [0036]     As is also shown in  FIG. 3 , a memorabilia shield  22  may be optionally attached to the carrier item  10 . The purpose of the memorabilia shield  22  is to protect the memorabilia seal  16  from being disturbed while the carrier item  10  is being shipped, handled, stored, displayed, tried-out or tried-on. As is common in the retail industry, the memorabilia shield  22  is intended to be constructed similar to the plastic safety tags already in use by retailers. The memorabilia shield  22  is made from a mar-resistant and fingerprint-resistant plastic or metal material having a size and shape sufficient to cover the memorabilia seal  16  thereby making it virtually impossible for a person to accidentally damage or intentionally tamper with the memorabilia seal  16  without first removing partially or completely the memorabilia shield  22 . Further the memorabilia shield  22  is intended to be unobtrusive visually so as to not interfere with displaying the carrier item  10  while also being small and thin with no sharp corners or edges to ensure convenience and safety while trying out or trying on the carrier item  10 . The memorabilia shield  22  is made from rigid materials that make it difficult for a consumer to bend or dislodge the memorabilia shield  22  preventing the consumer from looking beneath the memorabilia shield  22 . Additionally, if a memorabilia shield  22  is used on the carrier item  10 , it may also be configured to include the required elements that would allow it to be used as part of an existing anti-theft system. For example, the memorabilia shield  22  may include special markings and/or signal emitters similar to those used in the Ultra*Gator® safety tags from Sensormatic Electronics Corporation. The memorabilia shield  22  is fastened to a carrier item  10  by means that prevent it from being removed except by an authorized person using special equipment after payment is made for the carrier item  10  or proof of ownership is shown. The memorabilia shield  22  may be attached with one or more pin tacks (not shown) similar to Ultra*Gator® safety tags from Sensormatic Electronics Corporation.  
         [0037]     Once a configuration for the use of memorabilia seals  16  and memorabilia shields  22  is determined, the configuration must be consistently used throughout a particular series of carrier items  10 . In particular, if it was decided to use memorabilia seals  16  by themselves to hide the memorabilia items  14  in a series of carrier items  10 , then every single carrier item  10  in the series would only have memorabilia seals  16 . Similarly, if a series of carrier items  10  included the use of memorabilia shields  22 , then every carrier item  10  would also include a memorabilia shield  22 .  
         [0038]     After a customer completes the purchase of the carrier item  10 , the purchaser of the carrier item  10  would then either remove the memorabilia seal  16  right at the point-of-acquisition, optionally leave the memorabilia seal  16  untouched for later sale, trade or display, or remove the memorabilia seal  16  in private at a later time. When the memorabilia seal  16  is removed and a memorabilia item  14  is revealed, the memorabilia item  14  may then be authenticated. The authentication of the memorabilia item  14  may be accomplished in several ways depending on the preferred method. For example, the sales clerk may fill in a certificate of authenticity for the memorabilia item  14 , the sales clerk may arrange to have a certificate of authenticity sent to the owner of the memorabilia item  14 , or the owner of the memorabilia item  14  may request the certificate of authenticity either at a website on the Internet or by telephone or facsimile. As was stated above, if a UIN  20  is provided on the memorabilia seal  16 , the UIN  20  may be used to verify that the memorabilia item  14  found on the carrier item  10  is an authentic memorabilia item  14  as originally affixed to the carrier item  10  by the manufacturer.  
         [0039]     Alternatively, the memorabilia item  14  may be affixed to the carrier item  10  and allowed to remain in plain view. Authentication of the memorabilia item  14  is accomplished through the use of a tag  23  affixed to the carrier item  10 . The tag  23  would include a UIN  20  or other form of verification or authentication thereon. Further the tag  23  may or may not include a memorabilia seal  16  that serves to conceal the UIN  20 . The tag  23  may be a hang tag as shown or a typical tag sewn into the carrier item  10  such as a shirt tag or a tag on the tongue of an athletic shoe.  
         [0040]     Turning now to  FIGS. 4 and 4 A the memorabilia item  14  may be affixed to a secondary carrier  24  that is installed onto the original carrier item  10  and concealed under the memorabilia seal  16 . In this manner, once the memorabilia item  14  is discovered, the secondary carrier  24  can be separated from the original carrier item  10  allowing the original carrier item  10  to be fully functional and used for its intended purpose while allowing the secondary carrier  24  and the memorabilia item  14  affixed thereto to be safely stored. Similarly, the concealed memorabilia item  14  may be a certificate that is redeemed by the manufacturer or the retailer for a secondary carrier item  24  that can be worn, stored or otherwise used, thus leaving the original carrier item  10  free to be stored, displayed, traded, or sold by its owner. Finally, in some cases, the certificate of authenticity may include a picture of the sport or entertainment personality wearing or using the memorabilia and/or could be a memorabilia card of the type described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,803,501 and 6,142,532.  
         [0041]     Turning now to  FIGS. 5-9 , the present invention is illustrated in the context of several different carrier items.  FIGS. 5 and 6  illustrate the carrier item as being a jersey or t-shirt  26 . In  FIG. 5 , a signature memorabilia item  14  is affixed to the display area  12  on the carrier item  26  and a memorabilia seal  16  with an optional memorabilia shield  22  is installed thereon. In  FIGS. 6 and 6 A, a memorabilia item  14  is provided that is an object  25  such as a piece of fabric that was originally a part of a game worn jersey. Alternatively, the memorabilia item  14  could comprise a redeemable certificate  25   a  thereby allowing the memorabilia item  14  to be separated from the shirt  26  and the shirt  26  to be worn without fear of damaging the memorabilia item  14 . Still further, as stated above, the memorabilia item  14  could be a piece of a bat formed into the shape of a miniature baseball bat.  
         [0042]      FIG. 7  shows a baseball bat  28  serving as a carrier item  10  in accordance with the disclosure provided above,  FIG. 8  shows a football  30  serving as a carrier item  10  in accordance with the disclosure provided above and  FIG. 9  shows a baseball glove  32  serving as a carrier item  10  in accordance with the disclosure provided above.  
         [0043]     Turning now to  FIGS. 10-12 , an embodiment of a memorabilia shield  22  is shown in the context of an athletic shoe carrier item  10 . The memorabilia shield  22  is shown as a clip the wraps around a portion of the top of the shoe lace area  34  of the athletic shoe  10 . The memorabilia shield  22  has an inside flap  36  and an outside flap  38 . While it is preferred that the inside  36  and outside  38  flaps are approximately the same length, this is not a required limitation. The memorabilia shield  22  extends over at least one of the shoelace holes  40  in the athletic shoe  10  and preferably extends over three of the lace holes  40 . Holes  42  are provided through the memorabilia shield  22  at locations corresponding to the covered shoelace holes  40  to allow the shoelace  44  to be correctly threaded. To allow for variation in the spacing of the shoelace holes  40  in athletic shoe  10 ,  FIG. 10A  illustrates that the holes  43  may be elongated. In at least one of the holes  42 , a hollow center security bolt  46  is installed extending through one of the flaps  36 ,  38  and being threadedly fastened to the opposite flap  36 ,  38 . The security bolt  46  is configured in a manner that required special tools for its removal. For example, the security bolt  46  shown here has a unique head  48  design with five notches  50  requiring a custom screwdriver for its removal. A hole  52  is provided in the center of the bolt  46  so that a shoe lace  44  can be threaded through the hole with the bolt  46  installed.  
         [0044]     The present invention has several benefits. First, similar to the use of special insert cards in packs of trading cards, one object of the present invention is to create an element of pleasant surprise that makes the consumer&#39;s shopping experience more exciting. Further the present invention adds a new design element to the line of carrier items  10 , thus enabling product manufacturers, distributors, dealers, and retailers to increase sales by creating a wider range of differentiated carrier items  10 . For example, the present invention makes it possible to offer different variations of the same carrier items  10  within the same product line, thereby creating a new market for collecting sets that may include more than one, and possibly all, of the versions of a carrier item  10 . One group of carrier items in a product line may include a memorabilia item in the form of silver colored machine-imprinted signatures, another group of carrier items may have gold machine-imprinted signatures, and yet another group of carrier items may have authentic handwritten signatures. Accordingly a collector could collect all three versions of the same carrier item  10  in order to make a complete set. Additionally, the present invention serves to generate an aspect of novelty, fun and excitement thus enabling a wide range of sales promotion and advertising opportunities for the manufacturers, distributors, dealers and retailers of the carrier items  10  while providing an opportunity for more consumers to own memorabilia  14 . Alternately, the memorabilia shield  22  may be shaped and decorated to provide additional novelty and fun by shaping the memorabilia shield  22  into a shape like a character, logo, image or piece or athletic equipment, such as for example a football or a cartoon character. Finally, the present invention may serve to create a friendlier anti-theft system.  
         [0045]     It can therefore be seen that the present invention provides a novel and unique means and method for providing carrier items  10  with valuable and collectible memorabilia items  14  affixed thereto in a manner that is easily controlled and monitored while adding an aspect of chance and excitement to a consumer&#39;s shopping experience. Further, the present invention provides for a method that can be utilized in connection with a wide variety of carrier items  10  and memorabilia items  14  ultimately expanding the overall market for auctions and online trading of consumer products that are manufactured in accordance with the disclosure provided herein. For these reasons, the instant invention is believed to represent a significant advancement in the art, which has substantial commercial merit.  
         [0046]     While there is shown and described herein certain specific structure embodying the invention, it will be manifest to those skilled in the art that various modifications and rearrangements of the parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the underlying inventive concept and that the same is not limited to the particular forms herein shown and described except insofar as indicated by the scope of the appended claims.