Patent Publication Number: US-6209918-B1

Title: Sun visor print presentation and coupon device

Description:
This application claims benefit to U.S. Provisional application No. 60/105,959 filed Oct. 28, 1998. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention pertains to a print presentation and coupon article that is provided to a customer for assembly by the customer in a loop around his or her motor vehicle sun visor for ready access when the customer is deciding to make a purchase. Within the advertising industry, it is believed that most of the households in America include adults who are employed outside of the home, and if there is a married couple, frequently both spouses are so employed. The time demands of outside employment combined with ordinary demands of family and social life frequently creates pressures on the working family members. People who work all day outside of the home may leave their place of employment at 5:00 PM, for instance, and then rush to get errands done, shopping, picking up children from schools or daycare facilities. These parents may not have thought about what to prepare for dinner, and have very little or no time to prepare a meal. Research has shown that many of these parents have not given a thought about planning a family meal until late in the afternoon, perhaps 4:00 PM. At that time, or during the time between when they leave their employment and when they arrive at home, they are in the advertising industry refers to as “a decision mode” or “purchase mode”. Obviously, TV advertising and most print advertising does not reach these people when they are in this “decision mode”. If they are traveling in their vehicles, radio is an option which has worked fairly well, but even this form of advertising doesn&#39;t generate a significant response either since the listener frequently changes channels when a commercial starts, or people may be listening to talk shows, or a musical cassette or compact disc. 
     A form of advertising or product promotion has long been needed which is designed to address the issue advertisers face because of the lack of a method by which to reach consumers when they are in the “decision mode” described above. It is known that consumers respond to print pieces and coupons, but frequently coupons are not at hand in an vehicle, perhaps being stored at home on a cupboard or stuck to a refrigerator or bulletin board, or in a drawer. To be effective, the coupons must be in the hands of a consumer when they are in their car and possibly in the purchase mode or when they are planning a meal, entertainment or other items that are needed by the consumer or his or her family. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The coupon holder and presentation article of the present invention provides an easy and readily available source of business product and service promotion, advertising, coupons and discount offers which is displayed in an automotive vehicle. The information provided on the article can stimulate awareness to various types of advertisers and products or services that are available to the consumer in his or her immediate area at the time the consumer is in a purchase mode. 
     The presentation article of the present invention comprises a band of flexible material. The article encircles the sun visor of a motor vehicle, for instance, and thereby provides consumers with readily visible and available product information, coupons, promotions, discounts, and the like, at a time when a consumer is in his or her vehicle and would be considering or reaching a purchase decision that can be prompted, influenced or enhanced by the availability of such information. The article is designed so that the customer could instead place it around the arm rest of a passenger seat, a vehicle storage compartment lid, or secure it to other surfaces within the vehicle where the band can encircle the surface. 
     One embodiment of the present invention provides an article that is separated into two or more zones on a first side. One zone might include, for instance, removable coupon offers, printed discounts, special offers, or similar advertising or promotional information. A second or other zones might include maps to business, business service information, photographs, illustrations, telephone numbers for call-ahead orders, drawings, graphics, and the like which might relate to those items displayed in the first zone. 
     Further, on a second side of the article there can be a second surface which has multiple zones. A first zone can include an adhesive material, for the purpose of affixing the band to itself encircling the sun visor, or adhering it directly to the sun visor, and other zones which can include instructions for positioning the band on the sun visor, emergency safety instructions, or other information. 
     In a further embodiment of the invention, a zone can be used to affix an address label or postage information to allow postal distribution of the article to consumers. 
     In a further embodiment of the invention, a zone can be used to configure accommodations for door hanging of the article as a door knobe hang tab to allow easy distribution of the article to consumers. 
     One embodiment of the article of this invention is adjustable in size and can be attached onto a sun visor without requiring other devices or aids to hold it in place. Furthermore, the article provides a convenient location for printed materials within the motorized vehicle which are commonly needed to induce or encourage a consumer purchase decision. Thus, the article of the present invention is easily visible and accessible to the consumer and places product or service information, special discounted offers, coupons, and the like, in a convenient location, readily available and accessible, for consumers who are likely to make decisions regarding purchases while in their vehicle and further to generate awareness in the consumer&#39;s mind that he or she has immediate access to desired information in the vehicle of discounted offers, coupons, and the like. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a front view of a first side of a coupon holder and presentation article incorporating features of the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a back view of the first side of the article of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is a side edge view of the article of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a side edge view of the article of FIG. 1 with one end folded over; 
     FIG. 5 is a back view of the first side of a further embodiment of the present invention incorporating a mailer; 
     FIG. 6 is a back view of the first side of a further embodiment of the present invention incorporating a door hanger; 
     FIG. 7 is a side edge view of another embodiment of this invention including a plurality of coupon zones incorporating features of the present invention; 
     FIG. 8 is a side edge view of an article in booklet form containing a plurality of bands incorporating features of the present invention; 
     FIG. 9 is a side edge view of an article with one end partially folded over; 
     FIG. 10 is a front view of an article in accordance with this invention positioned on a sun visor before attaching, showing the sun visor in a lowered position; 
     FIG. 11 is a side edge view of an article and sun visor shown in FIG. 10; 
     FIG. 12 is a side edge view of an article as shown in FIG. 10 which has been further folded around a sun visor; 
     FIG. 13 is a side edge view of an article as shown in FIG. 10 after attachment to the sun visor; 
     FIG. 14 is a side edge view of an article with a plurality of coupon zones and with the sun visor in the down position; 
     FIG. 15 is a front view of an article positioned on a sun visor after attaching with the sun visor in the down position; 
     FIG. 16 is a front view of an article on a sun visor after attaching with the sun visor in the up position. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     The coupon holder and presentation article of the present invention enables an advertiser to provide to a potential customer in their vehicles an easy and readily available source of printed business product and service promotion, advertising, coupons and discount offers. The advertising industry often refers to such printed material as a “print piece”. Therefore the terms “print” and “print piece” in this text refer to such an informational or promotional article. The article of this invention is a print piece designed to fit onto a sun visor of a vehicle. The article encircles the sun visor, and is adjustably fastened in place using an adhesive substance or holding device so that a consumer can fit the print piece around any size visor. The article includes a band  2  of material that is sufficiently long to wrap around various sizes of sun visors, and has an excess of length so that the band overlaps itself and can be self-adhered in a loop around the sun visor when wrapped around the sun visor. The band  2  has preprinted “coupons” which, as used herein refer to promotional advertising that usually involves a price discount or other incentive to buy a product or use a service. Coupons are detachable or separable from the band of the coupon holder as by perforation of the band itself or by peel-off application, so that one or more coupons can be removed from the holder and presented to a merchant, for example, in exchange for discounted goods or services, while other coupons remain affixed to the band of the coupon holder for future use. 
     As shown in FIG. 1, the coupon holder and presentation article has a band  2  of stiff and flexible material having a has a first planar surface  4  which can be dedicated to the presentation of information about one or more advertiser&#39;s products or services and which can be separated into two or more zones  10 ,  12 . The first planar surface  4  of the band  2  is the outside of the article and will be visible when the band is wrapped around the a sun visor  8  in either its down position as shown in FIGS. 10 and 15 or in its up position as shown in FIG.  16 . The first surface  4  has a first zone  10  which may include, for example, attached removable coupons  26 . A second zone  12  can include printed material such as information, photographs, drawings, maps, illustrations, graphics and the like about products, services, special offers, business locations or the like relating to those coupon items which may be contained on the first zone  10 . Obviously, these zones could be interchangeable in that coupons could be mounted so as to be visible to the consumer when the visor was in an up position or visible when the visor is in a down position. 
     As shown in FIGS. 2,  5  and  6 , a second planar surface  6  of the band  2  will be the inside surface of the band when it is wrapped around the sun visor  8  and will have most of its surface against sun visor  8  after mounting and therefore out of view of the user. The second surface  6  can also have two or more zones  10 ′,  12 ′ and may include, for instance, instructions for positioning the piece around the sun visor. Additionally, the second side  6  allows space for mailing or delivery addresses, or as shown in FIG. 6, for accommodating a door hanger, or any combination of these things. 
     The band  2  is made of flexible sheet material such as heavy, durable paper or cardboard, fabrics, leather, flexible plastics, thin foils and the like, which can be given to a consumer for mounting by the consumer on the sun visor of a motor vehicle for convenient access. When band  2  is made from a more durable material than, for instance, paper, it is possible to reuse band  2  by supplying a consumer with a single band and multiple books of coupons. 
     Each band  2  has a first end  14  and a second end  16 . As shown in FIGS. 1-6 and  10 , one or two sets of one or several closely spaced parallel fold line designations  18 ,  20  such as marked dashes, scores, perforations and the like can be printed or embossed into the band on either or both planar surfaces  4 ,  6  to allow a single size band to fit various sizes or models of sun visors. Thus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first end  14  of the band can be folded along any one or more of the fold lines in the first set  18  towards the center of the article. Likewise, second end  16  can be folded along any one or more of the fold lines in the second set  20 . As best shown in FIGS. 11-13, when the band is in its proper fixed position around sun visor  8 , the first end will be long enough to overlap the second end of the band  2 . The second end can then be fastened to first end on the second surface  6  of the band. In this manner, the folded band acquires a radius of curvature around the visor that approximates the radius of curvature of the edge of the visor. 
     The band  2  can incorporate any one or more of several means for fastening the second end  16  to the first end  14  and for holding the band securely on the sun visor  8 . FIGS.  2  and  5 - 6  show a longitudinal adhesive strip  22  extending between the coupons  26  on the second surface  6  which is used to affix the second end  16  to the first end  14 . In addition to or in place of the adhesive strips, the fastening means  22  could also include pressure sensitive adhesive, moisture activated strips, band extension straps, slots and tabs, hook and loop fastening material, an elasticized material or string, or by affixing the band  2  to the sun visor  8  by sliding the band  2  through a strap that may already be part of the sun visor based on manufacturer design features on the various types of sun visors. As shown in FIGS. 11-13, a transverse adhesive strip  24  to hold the ends of the band together can also be used. This transverse strip could be affixed to the second surface  6  near first end  14 , as shown, or on the first surface  4  near the second end  16  or in similar combinations wherein one end can overlap the other end and seal the band tightly in place on visor. The band does not require outside assistance or holding devices to be affixed to a visor. After fastening, a consumer can slide the band on and off the visor, as desired. However, the band can also be supplied with secondary holding means which are intended to contact the visor, such as a strip of hook or adhesive material, and preferably material that is easily releasable. For instance, the adhesive strip  24  could be extended sufficiently to contact no only the second end  16  of band  2  but also contact the surface of visor  8 . The secondary holding means would prevent the band from turning or sliding due to vibrations of the vehicle or to the weight of the coupon strips or for other reasons. Obviously, the band of the present invention can also provide for positioning the band on another feature in the vehicle, such as a dash, a glove compartment door, or other manufacturer drawer or slot-type compartments located on a dash, floor, seat or door. This type of band would include a means for holding the band tightly onto the chosen location. 
     Coupons  26  can be presented singly or in strips as shown in FIG. 1-2 and  5 - 6 . As shown in FIG. 7, coupons or strips of coupons can be presented in multiple layers. When presented in strips, coupons are perforated along their edges to make each coupon individually easily removable without destroying the integrity of band  2  mounted to visor  8  or the integrity of any remaining coupons. Coupons would be a single thickness of material with perforated edges to allow disengagement from the coupon strip. Coupons could also be a pull-tab arrangement where a single coupon is peeled from a backing material, and the backing material remains on the band after the coupon is removed. 
     Each strip of coupons  26  could be represented by a single or multiple advertisers. Coupons can be made available to consumers through a single booklet that contains multiple strips of coupons, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 14, or in a single package of multiple bands, as shown in FIG.  8 . Each band could be represented by a single advertiser. Multiple bands would be affixed into a single package whereby consumers would receive numerous advertising options. The consumer can then select the bands with the coupons that most appeal to their needs. Each band can be targeted to a particular audience. For example, for women, advertisements and coupons including food, laundry/dry cleaners, hair and/or nail products and services and the like would be represented. For teenagers, who also drive, bands could include, for example, foods, activities at youth centers, movie rentals, amusement facilities, and the like. Thus a single package of multiple bands would provide print pieces for every member of a family. The bands most representing likes of an individual member of a family can be removed from the booklet and used independently in that family member&#39;s car. 
     FIG. 15 shows an band  2  wrapped around the sun visor in its final position with coupons  26  in first zone  10  facing the consumer, and the visor  8  in the down position. 
     FIG. 16 shows is an band  2  wrapped around the visor  8  in its final position with the second zone  12  facing the consumer, and the visor in the up position.