Abstract:
The present invention reduces the cost of producing a sticker book by incorporating stickers on the book&#39;s cover. As a result, the need for sticker pages is eliminated. In turn, the cost of manufacturing a sticker book is reduced.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
       [0001]     This applicant claims the benefit of Provisional U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/515,329 filed on Oct. 28, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     Traditional sticker books consist of a front cover, pages with die-cut stickers, pages adapted to receive die-cut stickers, and a rear cover. One example of such a traditional sticker book is discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,691.  
         [0003]     The sticker-containing pages of a traditional sticker book are located in the interior pages of the sticker book. Occasionally, traditional sticker pages are located in a sticker book as the pages closest to, or farthest away from, the book&#39;s cover. Furthermore, the pages of a traditional sticker book are occasionally fabricated as sheets that are folded such that each side of the fold is a separate page of the book (or pair of page surfaces).  
         [0004]     Books are occasionally manufactured as picture books. The standard picture book has a length of 32 pages and is fabricated from page sheets cut from manufacturing sheets. The page sheets are folded and bound together by a book cover in order to form the picture book.  
         [0005]     A traditional sticker book, however, is substantially more expensive to manufacture than a picture book. The increased cost is a result of the need to make three separate types of components—sticker sheets, book covers, and page sheets. The manufacturing process has to be able to organize and utilize all three components. As a result, the manufacturing process for a sticker book is more complex, and therefore more expensive, than the manufacturing process for a two component picture book. Additionally, sticker sheets and book covers are occasionally the high cost items for a sticker book. It is therefore desirable to provide sticker books that are inexpensive, and relatively simple, to manufacture.  
         [0006]     Furthermore, traditional sticker sheets do not provide a utility to the user after the stickers are removed from the sticker sheets. Without stickers, traditional sticker pages are blank and unappealing. It is therefore desirable to increase the whimsical and festive nature of sticker books.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     One object of the present invention is to provide a two component sticker book. As a result, traditional two component picture book manufacturing processes may be utilized to fabricate a sticker book without any substantial modifications. Put another way, the present invention provides a simplified and compact process for fabricating sticker books.  
         [0008]     In particular, a sticker book is provided with a book cover that houses removable stickers such as die-cut stickers. In this manner, at least four page surfaces may be utilized to house die-cut stickers (more surfaces are available if, for example, the exterior surface of the spine is utilized). As a result of including removable stickers on a sticker book&#39;s cover, interior sticker sheets are not needed to realize the functionality of a sticker book. Such a two component sticker book may therefore cost considerably less to manufacture that a traditional sticker book.  
         [0009]     As a result of a sticker functionality without a sticker sheet, one or more additional non-sticker pages may be included in the sticker book. Sticker sheets are occasionally thicker than, for example, single-layer paper sheets. Thus, removing one sticker sheet may allow for multiple single-layer paper sheets to be included in the location of the removed sticker sheet. Looking at the cost advantage of a two component sticker book from a different perspective, the cost of replacing a book cover with a sticker-based book cover may be less than the cost of replacing a non-sticker sheet with a sticker sheet. The cost savings may then be utilized as profit, to increase the number of books that are manufactured, or reinvested back into the book (e.g., by adding additional non-sticker sheets). Even if the cost savings per book is only a nickel, the savings may be a considerable portion of the manufacturing costs (e.g., 5%). For example, a savings of $0.05 for a sticker book that costs $1.00 per unit may translate to a savings of $2,500 if, for example, 50,000 books are manufactured  
         [0010]     Furthermore, by including stickers on the exterior cover of the sticker book, a user is visually presented with the stickers of the sticker book. As a result, a user does not have to open the sticker book in order to enjoy the whimsical and festive nature of the sticker book. Moreover, a user does not have to open the sticker book in order to remove stickers from the sticker book—allowing the user to more easily remove stickers and place these stickers on nearby objects (e.g., the user&#39;s skateboard).  
         [0011]     Indicia may be provided underneath each sticker such that, after a sticker is removed from the book&#39;s cover, the book cover retains at least a portion of its whimsical and festive nature. The indicia located underneath the sticker may be identical to the indicia located on the sticker. Alternatively, the indicia located beneath the sticker may be different than the indicia located on the sticker. Both the indicia located beneath the sticker and the indicia located on the sticker may have a similar theme (e.g., the sticker-indicia may be a sleeping animal while the underlying indicia is an animal “on the prowl”). 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  is an illustration of the exterior of a sticker book cover constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  is an illustration of the interior of a sticker book constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is an illustration of a sheet of sticker book covers on a manufacturing sheet constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is an illustration of a sticker book cover constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention; and  
         [0017]      FIG. 5  is an illustration of a sticker book constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0018]      FIG. 1  shows the exterior of sticker book cover  100 . Sticker book cover  100  includes front cover  101  and rear cover  102  defined by fold line/portion  103 . Sticker book cover  100  may include removable stickers  111 ,  112 , and  141 . Stickers  111 ,  112 ,  141  may be, for example, die cut stickers.  
         [0019]     Stickers  111 ,  112 , and  141  may include indicia that are part of an overall illustrative scene on sticker book cover  100  (or a portion of sticker book cover  100 ). For example, front cover  101  may include indicia associated with the theme of a life-infested forest. In this manner, stickers  111 ,  112 , and  141  may include indicia of forest life that adds to a life-infested forest illustration and/or the theme of a life-infested forest. Alternatively, front cover  101  may not include any indicia, but stickers  111 ,  112 , and  141  may include indicia that exclusively create an overall illustrative scene.  
         [0020]     Alternatively, the stickers may not form any overall illustrative scene. For example, stickers  121 ,  122 , and  131 , as shown, are organized in a tabular format (e.g., organized in columns and rows). As shown by sticker  131 , the stickers of the present invention may be cut in shapes other than their respective indicia. Sticker  131 , for example, is a rectangular sticker that includes indicia  133 . Indicia may also be provided beneath the stickers of the present invention. For example, indicia  132  may be included on a portion of book cover  102  beneath sticker  131 . Additionally, indicia  132  may share common attributes with indicia  133  (e.g., both may show the same animal, but the two animals may be in different poses).  
         [0021]      FIG. 2  illustrates sticker book  200  that includes cover  201  that is operable to house stickers such as, for example, die cut stickers. Sticker book cover  201  is fixed to non-sticker pages  202  by staples  213  and  204 . Other fixing means, however, may be employed. For example, sticker book cover  201  may be glued or velo-binded to pages  202 . Stickers may also be included on the spine (portion  203 ) of sticker book cover  201 .  
         [0022]     Indicia  204  may be included on non-sticker book pages  202 . Indicia  204  may have the same theme, for example, as the stickers housed on sticker book cover  201  (e.g., marine life or African wild-life). Indicia  204 , like any sticker of the present invention, may be in color. Alternatively, Indicia  204  may be black and white. Outlines may be included on indicia  204  (or may be embodied as indicia  204 ). Such outlines may have shapes that correspond to the shapes of the die-cut stickers (not shown) of sticker book  200 . For example, outline  241  may be provided that corresponds to sticker  141  of  FIG. 1 . In this manner, outlines may provide the functionality of markers for possible, or visually preferable, sticker locations. Such a functionality would be beneficial to young users and would also provide the functionality of a game as young children tried to match sticker shapes to outline shapes.  
         [0023]     Pages  202  and/or indicia  204  may be operable to receive marks created by markers, crayons, or other customizable devices. For example, pages  202  may be fabricated from a paper that is able to receive marks from crayons, pencils, and/or pens. Such pages  202  may be operable to permanently receive stickers such that the stickers may not be removed once the stickers are placed on pages  202 . For example, the stickers may include an adhesive (e.g., a glue) that permanently attaches to paper (i.e., removing a sticker would most likely tear the sticker or the paper). Alternatively, pages  202  may be operable to temporarily receive stickers such that the stickers may be removed from, and reattached to, pages  202 . For example, the stickers may be static-cling stickers and pages  202  may be operable to receive static-cling stickers. For the purposes herein, a static-cling exists between a medium and a sticker when that sticker can firmly attach to the medium without an adhesive. Accordingly, the stickers, pages, and book covers of the present invention may be fabricated from a polymer or have, for example, a polymer-based coat.  
         [0024]     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that sticker pages may also be included in sticker book  201 . For example, sticker book pages may be included between pages  202  and book cover  201 . As per another example, one or more of pages  202  may be sticker pages housing additional stickers.  
         [0025]      FIG. 3  shows manufacturing book cover sheet  300  that includes sheets  302  and  301 . Sheet  302  may be, for example, a polymer sheet that includes indicia—such as indicia intended to become one or more stickers (or a portion of sticker). Sheet  301  may be, for example, a backing sheet such as a piece of paper or cardboard. Sheet  301  may be attached to sheet  302  by means of, for example, an adhesive. For example, an adhesive (e.g., a glue) may be placed on a portion of sheet  301  (e.g., the perimeter of sheet  301 ) and sheet  302  may accordingly be fixed to sheet  301 . Alternatively, the adhesive may be placed on sheet  302 . Such adhesives may have a weak bond such that the stickers of sheet  302  may be removed (if the adhesive is placed beneath the stickers of sheet  302 ). Alternatively, sheets  302  and  301  may be pressed together. The adhesive may, however, allow the die-cut stickers to adhere to another surface (e.g., the surface of the pages of the sticker book). Alternatively, the stickers may adhere to the sticker book pages through a static, or other type of natural, bond. The perimeter of each of the individual sticker book covers of sheet  302  may also be permanently adhered to sheet  301  (e.g., around the perimeter of the individual sticker book covers). This may be done, for example, with a permanent glue. A secondary adhesive may be utilized to provide the sticker-functionality.  
         [0026]     As the manufacturing process continues, the combined sheets  301  and  302  are preferably cut into individually sticker book covers and attached to sticker book pages. A second sticker sheet may also be attached to the reverse side of sheet  301  such that both sides of sheet  301  houses stickers. Furthermore, the stickers of sheet  300  may be cut, for example, through a mechanical process that cuts through sheet  302 , but not sheet  301 . Sheets  301  and  302  may also be kept together by mechanically crushing the sheets together. Generally, a adhesive may be provided on the back of sheet  302 , and sheet  302  may be attached to sheet  301 , such that when portions of sheet  302  (e.g., stickers) are removed from sheet  301 , these portions may be attached, or fixed, to other surfaces by means of the adhesive.  
         [0027]     Backing sheets of different thickness and/or firmness, however, may be utilized depending upon whether the sticker sheet is being utilized as a interior sticker page or a sticker cover. For example, a thick cardboard may be utilized to fabricate a backing sheet while one or more layers of paper may be utilized to fabricate a interior sticker book page.  
         [0028]      FIG. 4  shows a portion of sticker book cover  400 . Stickers  410  and  420  may be included as a part of sticker sheet  401 . For example, sticker  420  may be removable from die-cut area  422  (as shown by removed portion  421 ). Adhesive  499  may be included on a surface of sheet  401  and/or stickers  410  and  420 . Such an adhesive may be operable, for example, to allow stickers  410  and  420  to fix to a nearby surface after stickers  410  and  420  are removed from sheet  402 . Sheet  401  may be similar to, for example, sheet  303  of FIG.  3 . Sheet  402  may be similar to, for example, sheet  301  of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0029]     Sheet  450  may also be provided, for example, such that book cover  400  may house stickers on both sides. Sheet  450  may include adhesive  499  and may be attached to, for example, sheet  402  similar to the way sheet  401  is attached to sheet  402 .  
         [0030]     Sheet  400  of  FIG. 4  may take the form of, for example, configuration  460 . Configuration  460  includes sheet  461  attached to backing sheet  463 . Adhesive  462  is provided between sheet  461  and backing sheet  463 . Adhesive  462  may be provided, for example, such that a stronger bond exists between adhesive  462  and sheet  461  than the bond between adhesive  462  and sheet  463 . For example, adhesive  462  may be a double-sided tape with a different type of adhesive on each side (e.g., glues with different bonding strengths).  
         [0031]     Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the strength of the bond between an adhesive and a sheet may be changed by changing the properties of the sheet instead of changing the properties of the adhesive (e.g., the attributes of the surface of a sheet). For example, the strength of a bond between a tape and a smooth surface may be different than the bond between that same tape and a rough surface. Alternatively, the strength of a bond between a tape and a plastic may be different than the bond between a tape and a paper. In this manner, sheet  461  may be, for example, a sheet of paper with a gloss finish on the side of sheet  461  opposite adhesive  462 . Sheet  463  may then be, for example, a sheet of paper with a gloss finish (e.g., a smooth friction-reduced finish) on the side of sheet  463  adjacent to adhesive  462 . As a result, adhesive  462  may have a stronger bond with sheet  461  than sheet  463  such that when a sticker (e.g., the sticker defined by cuts  467 ) is removed from sheet  461 , adhesive  462  remains bonded to the portion of sheet  461  defining the sticker—but separates from sheet  463 .  
         [0032]     A transparent protection sheet (e.g., layer  469 ) may be provided, for example, above a surface of a book cover that defines a removable sticker. If, for example, the exterior of a book cover defines a removable sticker then, for example, a transparent sheet may be provided over the exterior of the book cover (or a portion of the exterior of the book cover) such that the transparent sheet has to be removed to remove the sticker. As a result, users viewing the sticker book at a book store may be deterred from removing a sticker. The users, however, would still be able to view the sticker. Alternatively, the overlying sheet may be non-transparent (or have non-transparent portions) such that the user does not know what stickers are defined in the exterior of the book cover. Thus, an element of curiosity, wondering, and ultimately surprise is introduced.  
         [0033]     A sticker may then be formed, for example, by cutting lines  467  into sheet  461 . Adhesive  461  may alternatively be selectively provided between sheet  461  and sheet  463 . For example, adhesive  461  may only be provided beneath the area between cuts  467 . Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that cuts  467  may extend into adhesive  462  and extend to (e.g., abut) layer  463 . If a book cover with stickers on both the interior and exterior surface is desired, stickers may be provided, for example, on the side of sheet  463  opposite sheet  461 . For example, sheet  461  and adhesive  464  may be provided.  
         [0034]     Sheet  400  of  FIG. 4  may alternatively take the form of, for example, configuration  470 . Configuration  470  includes two sheets  473  and  474 . Sheets  473  and  474  may be fixed together with an adhesive such as, for example, a glue. The advantages of configuration  470  are numerous. Configuration  470 , for example, may be manufactured by a process that manufactures a single-sided sticker sheet. To fabricate configuration  470 , two such single-sided sheets may be fabricated and fixed together. Configuration  470  additional may be less-flexible than, for example, configuration  460 . As a result, configuration  470  may provide additional benefit as a book cover. Configuration  470  includes sheet  471  disposed above adhesive  472 . Adhesive  472  is disposed above sheet  473 . Sheet  473  is attached to sheet  474  (e.g., via a permanent glue). Adhesive  475  is disposed between sheets  474  and  476 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows sticker book  500  that includes pages  502  and  504  bound to the interior surface of sticker book cover  501 . Removable stickers may be provided on any surface of sticker book  500 . For example, sticker  591  may be provided on the exterior surface of book cover  501 . As a result, a user may remove sticker  591  and apply sticker  591  to a different surface (or a different portion of the exterior of front cover  501 ). Sticker  592  may be provided on page  504  such that a user may remove sticker  592  and apply sticker  592  to a different surface (or a different portion of page  504 . Sticker  593  may be provided on the interior surface of book cover  501 . As a result, a user may remove sticker  591  and apply sticker  591  to a different surface (or a different portion of the interior of book cover  501 ).  
         [0036]     Book cover  501  may be provided as sheet that is folded over one or more fold lines. Alternatively, book cover  501  may be provided as two or more separate covers (e.g., pages or sheets) that are fixed together to form book cover  501 . Indicia may also be printed on any surface of book  500 —including those surfaces that are not stickers. Indicia  505 , for example, may be provided on a sticker sheet (or a non-sticker sheet) and may not be provided as a sticker. Indicia  505  may be a black and white outline such that a user may color indicia  505 . In this manner, a coloring book functionality may be provided. Stickers may also be black and white and provided with a surface is adapted to receive a mark. In this manner, a sticker coloring functionality may be provided. Marking objects (e.g., crayons, markers, and/or pencils) may be packaged with (e.g., attached to) book  500 . Book  500  may take on any illustrative form. For example, book  500  may be a story book or a game book.  
         [0037]     Additionally, book  500  may be provided such that removable stickers are only provided on the exterior surface of book cover  501 . Book  500  may alternatively be provided such that removable stickers are only provided on the interior surface of book cover  501 .  
         [0038]     From the foregoing description, persons skilled in the art will recognize that this invention provides a sticker book with stickers defined in the book&#39;s cover. In addition, persons skilled in the art will appreciate that the various configurations described herein may be combined without departing from the present invention. It will also be recognized that the invention may take many forms other than those disclosed in this specification. Accordingly, it is emphasized that the invention is not limited to the disclosed methods, systems and apparatuses, but is intended to include variations to and modifications thereof which are within the spirit of the following claims.