Patent Publication Number: US-2011076468-A1

Title: Kit For Decorating An Article

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application number 61/246980 titled “Article Decorating Kit”, filed on Sep. 30, 2009 in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 
     The specification of the above referenced patent application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     Consumers often like to decorate an article, for example, clothing or other merchandise with a design, for example, an outline of an animal, an emblem, a logo, etc. and to color that design with their color preferences. One method for providing artwork on an article is to embed an outline of a design on the article and allow the user to color the design on the article within the outline of the design. However, coloring within the outline of the design and avoiding over-marking or coloring the material of the article with the design is a painstaking process and requires a lot of time and effort and it may still not be free from error. 
     Hence, there is a long felt but unresolved need for decorating an article with a design and for coloring the design with the consumers&#39; color preferences without coloring the material of the article beyond the design. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described in the detailed description of the invention. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential inventive concepts of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     The method and decorating kit disclosed herein addresses the above stated need for decorating an article with a design and for coloring the design on the article to suit the color preferences of a user, without coloring the material of the article beyond the design. The decorating kit disclosed herein enables a user to decorate an article in a precise and error free manner. The decorating kit disclosed herein comprises an article the material of which has a color that conceals color applied to the article, one or more designs applied on the article, and one or more coloring markers for coloring the designs on the article. The article is, for example, clothing, an accessory, leather shoes, a handbag, a pet product, etc. The color of the article is a color on which colors applied to the article are not visible on the article. For example, the color of the article is a dark color such as black that conceals colors, for example, green, blue, etc. applied to the article. 
     The color of the material of the article is selected so that colors applied by the coloring markers that inadvertently extend beyond the designs onto the article is concealed by the article and is therefore not visible on the article. In an embodiment, the color of the material of the article is dark, for example, black so that colors from the coloring markers that over-mark or extend beyond the designs are concealed and do not show on the black colored material of the article. In another embodiment, the color of the material of the article is a light color, which does not show lighter colors applied to the designs on the article using the coloring markers. 
     In another embodiment, the article is made of a material that allows erasing or wiping off the colors that over-mark or extend beyond the designs onto the article during coloring. In this embodiment, the article is coated with a layer of synthetic oil or a silicone spray; the designs are then embedded or applied onto the article. The colors applied to the designs that over-mark or extend beyond the designs onto the article are erased or washed out, for example, by a detergent wash. 
     In another embodiment, the article comprises one or more configurable layers comprising multiple designs. As used herein, “configurable layers” refers to layers of the article that can be configured by a user into any shape and style to reveal different designs on an inner surface and an outer surface of the layers of the article. The configurable layers enable the user to expose and color the designs applied on the configurable layers in multiple styles and colors. 
     The decorating kit disclosed herein further comprises multiple decorative elements, for example, ornaments, beads, glitter, etc. that can be attached to the designs and the article itself for decorating the designs applied on the article and the article itself. In another embodiment, the decorating kit disclosed herein further comprises a color chart with color codes for aiding the user to select colors for coloring the designs applied on the article. The color codes in the color chart indicate modes of changing an appearance of the designs applied on the article and an object enclosed by the article. 
     The designs applied to the article are of different shapes and sizes. In an embodiment, cut-away or peelable designs are provided in the decorating kit disclosed herein, where the cut-away or peelable designs are cut out from materials, for example, paper, cardboard, fabric, etc. and attached to the article. The designs are applied to the article, for example, by screening or by attaching the designs to the article. The designs are applied to the article, for example, by a screen printing technique, a heat transfer printing technique, etc. In an embodiment, the designs are applied on both the inner surface and the outer surface of the article to render the article decoratable on both the inner surface and the outer surface of the article. 
     A user applies color from the coloring markers to color the designs applied on the article. Each of the coloring markers comprises a color dissolved in a solvent, or a color suspended in a solvent. Each of the coloring markers produces a washable color or a permanent color on the designs applied on the article. The colors from the coloring markers that inadvertently extend beyond the designs onto the article are not visible on the article. The user can therefore color the designs on the article using the coloring markers, without the colors that over-mark the designs, visible on the article. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The foregoing summary, as well as the following detailed description of the invention, is better understood when read in conjunction with the appended drawings. For the purpose of illustrating the invention, exemplary constructions of the invention are shown in the drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the specific methods and instrumentalities disclosed herein. 
         FIG. 1  exemplarily illustrates a decorating kit for decorating an article. 
         FIG. 2  exemplarily illustrates an article with designs applied on the article. 
         FIG. 3A  exemplarily illustrates an article with designs applied on an outer surface of the article. 
         FIG. 3B  exemplarily illustrates the article folded inside out to show designs applied on an inner surface of the article. 
         FIG. 3C  exemplarily illustrates the article configured to display the designs on the inner surface and the outer surface of the article. 
         FIG. 4  exemplarily illustrates an embodiment where an article comprises configurable layers that are selectively configured to display the designs colored with the color preferences of a user on the inner surface and the outer surface of each of the configurable layers of the article. 
         FIGS. 5A-5B  exemplarily illustrate an embodiment of the decorating kit comprising a color chart with color codes for aiding a user to select colors for coloring designs applied on the article. 
         FIG. 6  exemplarily illustrates a method for decorating an article. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       FIG. 1  exemplarily illustrates a decorating kit  100  for decorating an article  101 . The decorating kit  100  disclosed herein comprises an article  101  having a material with a color that conceals color applied to the article  101 , one or more designs  102  applied on the article  101 , and one or more coloring markers  103  for coloring the designs  102  and  104 . As used herein, the term “article”  101  refers, for example, to an article  101  of clothing, an accessory, a pet product, etc., with designs  102  embedded or applied on the article  101 . The article  101  shown by way of an example in  FIGS. 1-2  is a clothing article, for example, a pair of socks, stockings, pantyhose, scarves, etc. The accessory is, for example, a handbag, a shoe, a belt, a hat, etc. The pet product is, for example, a collar, a saddle, etc. The material of the article  101  has a color that conceals color applied to the article  101  by a coloring marker  103 . The color of the article  101  does not show colors that inadvertently extend beyond the designs  102  onto the article  101 . In an embodiment, the color of the article  101  is a light absorbing color or dark color, for example, a black color that conceals colors that over-mark and extend beyond the colors applied to the designs  102 . In another embodiment, the color of the article  101  is a light color, which does not show lighter colors applied to the designs  102  on the article  101  using the coloring markers  103 . 
     The material of the article  101  is configured to conform to a shape of the article  101 . For example,  FIG. 1  illustrates a clothing article  101 , such as a black colored sock, with white or silver colored designs  102  applied to the black colored sock  101  in the decorating kit  100 . When a user uses one or more of the coloring markers  103  to color the designs  102  applied on the article  101 , the colors from the coloring markers  103  that inadvertently over-mark and extend beyond the designs  102  onto the article  101  are concealed by the color of the article  101  and are therefore not visible on the article  101 , thereby allowing the user to impart the desired colors on the designs  102  without any over-mark of the colors showing on the material of the article  101 . For purposes of illustration, the detailed description refers to the article  101  being a sock; however, the article  101  in the decorating kit  100  disclosed herein may be extended to include stockings, pantyhose, scarves, pet products, accessories, and other articles. 
     In an embodiment, the color of the article  101  is of a darker color than the colors applied on the designs  102  so that the colors that inadvertently extend beyond the designs  102  are not visible on the darker colored material of the article  101 . For example, if a design  102  applied on the article  101  is to be colored a light green or a teal blue color, the color of the article  101  is dark blue. 
     In an embodiment, cut-away or peelable designs  104  that are attachable to the article  101  are provided in the decorating kit  100  disclosed herein. The decorating kit  100  disclosed herein provides materials, for example, paper, cardboard, fabrics, sticker material, etc. from which the designs  104  can be cut out or peeled and attached onto the article  101 . In an embodiment, the decorating kit  100  disclosed herein provides, for example, an adhesive, a fastener, etc., for attaching the cut-away or peelable designs  104  to the article  101 . 
     Coloring markers  103  for coloring the designs  102  are also provided in the decorating kit  100  disclosed herein. A user applies colors from the coloring markers  103  on the designs  102  for coloring the designs  102  applied on the article  101 . The coloring markers  103  are of different colors and may have one or more tips. Each of the coloring markers  103  contain a color dissolved or suspended in a solvent, for example, alcohol. Each of the coloring markers  103  produces a washable color or a permanent color on the designs  102  applied on the article  101 . In an example, the coloring markers  103  are multiple double tipped calligraphy markers. A user uses one or more of the double tipped calligraphy markers to write or draw on the designs  102  applied or marked on the surface of the article  101 . 
     In an embodiment, the article  101  is made of a material from which the colors that inadvertently extend beyond the designs  102  onto the article  101  during coloring can be readily erased or wiped off the article  101 , for example, by the application of a synthetic removable coating such as a silicone coating on the article  101  before the designs  102  are embedded or applied on the article  101 . In this embodiment, the article  101  is coated with a layer of synthetic oil or a silicone spray; the designs  102  are then embedded or applied onto the article  101 . The use of silicone or other coating applied on the material of the article  101  allows the designs  102  to be marked by colors that are visible and not concealed on the material of the article  101 . Colors applied to the designs  102  that extend beyond the designs  102  onto the material of the article  101  are wiped off or washed out, for example, by a detergent wash. 
     In another embodiment, the decorating kit  100  disclosed herein further comprises decorative elements  105 , for example, ornaments, beads, glitter, etc. that can be attached to the designs  102  and the article  101  for decorating the designs  102  on the article  101  and the article  101  itself. The decorative elements  105  attached to the article  101  can be colored using the coloring markers  103 . The decorative elements  105  provide a means for further decorating the article  101 . In an example, the user decorates the article  101  by attaching decorative elements  105 , for example, beads and stars onto the article  101  using an adhesive and thereafter coloring the decorative elements  105  with the coloring markers  103 . 
       FIG. 2  exemplarily illustrates an article  101  with designs  102  applied on the article  101 . The designs  102  applied on the article  101  are of different shapes and sizes. For example, a streaked design is applied on a black colored sock article  101  as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 2 . In an embodiment, the designs  102  are screened on the article  101 , for example, by screen printing. Screen printing uses a woven mesh to support a screen stencil, for example, an ink-blocking stencil. The screen stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink as sharp-edged designs  102  onto the surface of the article  101 . A roller is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink past the threads of the woven mesh in the open areas. Materials used for screen printing are, for example, made of plastisol, water based inks, polyvinyl chloride (PVC)/pthalate free discharge inks, flocking, glitter/shimmer, metallic inks, expanding ink, caviar beads, four color process, gloss, nylobond, mirrored silver, suede ink, etc. Screen-printing presses that can produce designs  102  on the article  101  comprise, for example, fabric flatbed presses, cylinder presses, rotary presses, etc. In another embodiment, the designs  102  are applied onto the article  101 , for example, by heat transfer printing. In the heat transfer printing technique, the designs  102  are transferred to the article  101  by pressing a carrier paper that houses ink and the designs  102  onto the article  101  and applying heat. 
       FIG. 3A  exemplarily illustrates an article  101  with designs  102  applied on an outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 .  FIG. 3B  exemplarily illustrates the article  101  folded inside out to show designs  102  applied on an inner surface  101   b  of the article  101 . In an embodiment, the designs  102  are applied on the inner surface  101   b  and the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101  to render the article  101  decoratable on both the inner surface  101   b  and the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 . Consider an example where a starred design is applied on the inner surface  101   b  of the article  101  and a streaked design is applied on the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 , for example, a nylon sock. The user colors the starred design applied on the inner surface  101   b  of the sock with, for example, a light green color. The user colors the streaked design on the outer surface  101   a  of the sock with, for example, a tan color. The user can then wear the sock on the inner surface  101   b  or on the outer surface  101   a,  to show a design  102  colored with the user&#39;s preferences on either surface  101   a  or  101   b  of the article  101 . In an example, a user wears the black colored sock article  101  to display the designs  102 , for example, curved lines or streaks, on the outer surface  101   a  of the black colored sock article  101 . The user can also wear the black colored sock article  101  inside out to display the designs  102  on the inner surface  101   b  of the black colored sock article  101 . 
     In another embodiment, the user can configure the article  101  in a style that reveals the designs  102  on the inner surface  101   b  and the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 . For example, the user can fold the upper portion of the black colored sock article  101  outwardly as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 3C  to reveal the designs  102  on the inner surface  101   b  along with the designs  102  on the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 .  FIG. 3C  exemplarily illustrates the article  101  configured to display the designs  102  on the inner surface  101   b  and the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 . Selective configuration of the article  101  allows the user to expose the designs  102  colored with the color preferences of the user, applied on the inner surface  101   b  and/or the outer surface  101   a  of the article  101 , without the applied colors that extend beyond the designs  102 , visible on the material of the article  101 . 
       FIG. 4  exemplarily illustrates an embodiment where an article  101  comprises configurable layers  401  and  402  that are selectively configured to display the designs  102  colored with the color preferences of the user on the inner surface  402   b  and the outer surface  401   a  or  402   a  of the article  101 , without the applied colors that extend beyond the designs  102 , visible on the material of the article  101 . In this embodiment, the article  101  provided in the decorating kit  100  disclosed herein comprises one or more configurable layers  401  and  402  comprising multiple designs  102 . As used herein, “configurable layers” refers to layers  401  and  402  of the article  101  that can be configured by a user into any shape and style to reveal and display different designs  102  on the inner surface  402   b  and the outer surface  401   a  or  402   a  of the article  101 . The configurable layers  401  and  402  enable the user to expose and color the designs  102  applied on the configurable layers  401  and  402  in multiple styles and colors. Consider an example where the article  101  comprises two configurable layers namely an inner layer  401  and an outer layer  402 . The outer layer  402  comprises designs  102  applied on both the inner surface  402   b  and the outer surface  402   a  of the outer layer  402 . The inner layer  401  comprises designs  102  applied on the outer surface  401   a  of the inner layer  401 . The user configures the article  101  to selectively expose the layers  401  and  402 , revealing different designs  102  colored with the color preferences of the user on the layers  401  and  402 , thereby enabling the article  101  with the colored designs  102  to be decorated in multiple styles, without the applied colors that extend beyond the designs  102 , visible on the material of the article  101 . 
     Consider an example of a two-layered black colored sock article  101  as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The outer layer  402  encloses the inner layer  401 . The outer surface  401   a  of the inner layer  401  and the outer surface  402   a  of the outer layer  402  have a streaked design of curved lines. The inner surface  402   b  of the outer layer  402  has a starred design with stars. The outer layer  402  can be configured, that is, the outer layer  402  can be folded outwardly to reveal a part of its inner surface  402   b  comprising the starred design and a part of the outer surface  401   a  of the inner layer  401  comprising the streaked design. If a user wants both the streaked design and the starred design to be displayed alternately, the user folds the outer layer  402  of the black colored sock article  101  downwards to reveal a part of the streaked design on the outer surface  401   a  of the inner layer  401 , a part of the inner surface  402   b  of the outer layer  402  which has the starred design, and the rest of the outer surface  402   a  of the outer layer  402  which has the streaked design. The user therefore creates a style that alternately displays the streaked design and the starred design as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 4 . This created style reveals a selective combination of two designs  102 . When the user wants only the streaked design to show on the black colored sock article  101 , the user unfolds the outer layer  402  of the black colored sock article  101  upwards such that the outer layer  402  fully encloses the inner layer  401  of the black colored sock article  101 , thereby revealing only the streaked design on the outer surface  402   a  of the black colored sock article  101  colored with the color preferences of the user without the applied colors that extend beyond the designs  102 , visible on the material of the black colored sock article  101 . 
       FIGS. 5A-5B  exemplarily illustrate an embodiment of the decorating kit  100  comprising a color chart  501  with color codes  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e,  and  501   f  for aiding a user to select colors for coloring designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  applied on the article  101 . The color chart  501  as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 5A  indicates the colors to be applied on the designs  102  applied on the article  101 .  FIG. 5B  exemplarily illustrates an article  101  with multiple designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  applied on the article  101 . The color chart  501  comprises color codes  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e,  and  501   f  that correspond to the colors to be applied on the designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  respectively on the article  101 . The color codes  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e,  and  501   f  indicate modes of changing an appearance of the designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  applied on the article  101  or an object enclosed by the article  101 . Consider an example where the color codes  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e,  and  501   f  in the color chart  501  exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 5A  correspond to the colors blue, white, orange, red, indigo, and yellow respectively, to be applied on the designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  respectively on the article  101 . The appearance of an object enclosed by the article  101  changes when the designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  applied on the article  101  are colored as indicated by the color codes  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e,  and  501   f  on the color chart  501 . Consider an example, where the article  101  is a sock. The object is, for example, the user&#39;s leg enclosed by the sock. The color chart  501  indicates the color code  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e  or  501   f  which when applied to the designs  102   a,    102   b,    102   c,    102   d,    102   e,  and  102   f  on the sock, gives an object, for example, the calf muscles of the user a slimming appearance or a fuller appearance. 
       FIG. 6  exemplarily illustrates a method for decorating an article  101 . A decorating kit  100  comprising an article  101  having a color that conceals color applied to the article  101 , one or more designs  102  applied on the article  101 , and one or more coloring markers  103  as disclosed in the detailed description of  FIG. 1  is provided  601 . The user decorates  602  the article  101  as follows: The user applies  602   a  colors from the coloring markers  103  on the designs  102  for coloring the designs  102  applied on the article  101  with the user&#39;s color preferences. The user changes  602   b  the appearance of the designs  102 , or an object enclosed by the article  101  using the color codes  501   a,    501   b,    501   c,    501   d,    501   e,  and  501   f  from a color chart  501  as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 5 . The user colors  602   c  multiple designs  102  on the configurable layers  401  and  402  of the article  101  with multiple colors and configures them in different styles as exemplarily illustrated in  FIG. 4 . The user can then attach  602   d  decorative elements  105 , for example, ornaments, beads, glitter, etc. on the article  101  and color the attached decorative elements  105  with the user&#39;s color preferences. The user can further decorate the article  101  by attaching  602   e  cut-away or peelable designs  104  onto the article  101  and coloring them with the user&#39;s color preferences. The user can therefore color the designs  102  and  104  on the article  101  using the coloring markers  103  without the colors that over-mark or extend beyond the designs  102  and  104 , visible on the material of the article  101 , as the article  101  conceals the colors that extend beyond the designs  102  and  104  onto the article  101 . 
     The foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the invention disclosed herein. While the invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, it is understood that the words, which have been used herein, are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Further, although the invention has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. Those skilled in the art, having the benefit of the teachings of this specification, may effect numerous modifications thereto and changes may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention in its aspects.