Stock material or miscellaneous articles – Layer or component removable to expose adhesive – Ornamental – decorative – pattern – or indicia
Reexamination Certificate
1997-08-15
2001-07-10
Warden, Jill (Department: 1743)
Stock material or miscellaneous articles
Layer or component removable to expose adhesive
Ornamental, decorative, pattern, or indicia
C428S013000, C428S041700
Reexamination Certificate
active
06258428
ABSTRACT:
RELATED APPLICATION
Ser. No. 08/452,737 entitled “Placemats Having Integrated Adhesive Stickers or Labels” in which Katherine C. Horton and Mark C. Rogers are inventors, filed on May 30, 1995.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for using an entertainment and sanitary placemat product having a built-in storage pocket.
Restaurants and other businesses that have a need to occupy and entertain children for unspecified periods of time, need tabletop placemats or tray liners for their patrons' sanitary protection during dining; entertainment products to occupy customers, particularly children; and a way to manage family outings efficiently. The placemats or tray liners must be relatively inexpensive and accommodate quick and easy clean-up.
It is known to provide placemats with liquid impervious pockets for displaying celebrity (such as baseball) cards. However, such pockets are provided on the sanitary portion of the placemat, are formed of a clear, preferably liquid impervious material and are shaped (sized) to hold only the displayed cards. It is also known to provide food such as a fast food meal in a combination food carrier and amusement device having bags to hold the meal itself. However, this carrier/device provides a multi-ply entertainment device with grease resistant bags inside a carrier, making the total package bulky and relatively expensive. Additionally, envelopes have been provided as part of a single unit construction for business forms but they are provided for mailing a business letter or form, not constructed for holding various items related to an entertainment placemat. Additionally, such business forms are not intended for food-related uses, so the construction materials may not meet FDA (Food And Drug Administration) recommendations for items used in the food services industry.
There is a need to provide a placemat product with a built-in storage pocket which customers can use for entertainment purposes while waiting for services and which restaurants and other businesses can provide customized information and store multiple related supply items in one easy to handle comprehensive and integrated product for customer entertainment and enjoyment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In accordance with the teachings of the present invention, a placemat product having a built-in storage pocket is provided. The placemat product provides the multiple functions of a sanitary tabletop placemat or tray liner, an entertainment device to occupy customers and a storage pocket to hold related entertainment items such as crayons, treats, games, children's menus, disposable wipes, small compact toys, promotional reply cards and the like all in one comprehensive, integrated product.
It is an important feature of the present invention that the placemat product with a built-in storage pocket allows businesses to add and store multiple related supply items in one easy to handle comprehensive, integrated product for customer entertainment.
Another important feature of the present invention is that the placemat product with a built-in storage pocket is primarily a paper product, requiring relatively inexpensive materials to provide an enjoyable dining product.
Still another important feature of the present invention is that the built-in storage pocket can be sealed shut and then reopened to reveal multiple related entertainment items. The built-in storage pocket can be used as a removable bag for the storage of take-home entertainment material or for the mailing in and registration for promotions, frequent user programs, registrations, contests, clubs, etc.
Yet another important feature is this product's one piece construction. According to the present invention, a single unit product replaces separate placemats, games, crayons, and containers to provide the business with increased operations efficiency, less inventoried items and lower supplies' cost.
Additionally, another important feature is the paper construction that has a singular plane(planographic) design which enables the business to print customized information. The product of the present invention can easily be processed through almost any impact and/or non-impact computer controlled printer to allow the placemat product to be customized to the exact needs of the business on site. The business can add variable data via a standard printer. This data can include information that changes regularly like addresses, phone numbers, menus, logos, promotional information, etc. The integrated product design adds great value in that the business does not have to purchase many individual custom orders every time one of the data elements change. Optionally, customized computer software can be used that supports multiple entertainment themes (games, promotions, puzzles, scenes, etc.), menu generation, in-store promotions, personalization, additional graphics, templates and general print-on-demand capabilities. A business can purchase one generic version in large quantity at lower production costs and then customize the generic version using the business' printer saving time and cost.
An alternative placemat product design provides the integrated pocket as a mail piece for contest entry, club entry, frequent guest entry programs that can all be integrated into the entertainment theme. This alternative design would further provide the user with improved guest service, additional repeat business, customer loyalty and value.
Construction of this product can be adjusted to different combinations of sizes, materials, perforations, die-cuts, to provide utility and value in many different customer systems and applications.
REFERENCES:
patent: D. 229915 (1974-01-01), Bradford
patent: D. 325145 (1992-04-01), Issac
patent: 416171 (1889-12-01), Mahoney
patent: 3383121 (1968-05-01), Singer
patent: 3750309 (1973-08-01), Tovar
patent: 4177846 (1979-12-01), Rountree
patent: 4235459 (1980-11-01), Callahan
patent: 4439941 (1984-04-01), Halperin
patent: 4510006 (1985-04-01), Lawson
patent: 4568108 (1986-02-01), Simpson
patent: 4627994 (1986-12-01), Welsch
patent: 4652239 (1987-03-01), Brimberg
patent: 4712673 (1987-12-01), Moore
patent: 4778153 (1988-10-01), Bachman et al.
patent: 4800108 (1989-01-01), Swartz
patent: 4809905 (1989-03-01), Goodman
patent: 4811951 (1989-03-01), Dorsey-Zinn et al.
patent: 4944968 (1990-07-01), Wagner
patent: 4983438 (1991-01-01), Jameson
patent: 5006191 (1991-04-01), Schmidt
patent: 5036472 (1991-07-01), Buckley et al.
patent: 5096752 (1992-03-01), Wagner
patent: 5106305 (1992-04-01), Grant
patent: 5129682 (1992-07-01), Ashby
patent: 5135789 (1992-08-01), Schmidt
patent: 5244394 (1993-09-01), Serabian-Musto
patent: 5248536 (1993-09-01), Du Katz
patent: 5262215 (1993-11-01), Shields
patent: 5269691 (1993-12-01), Waldman
patent: 5292154 (1994-03-01), Williams
patent: 5377904 (1995-01-01), Michlin et al.
patent: 5397052 (1995-03-01), Walz
patent: 5507901 (1996-04-01), Limina et al.
patent: 5512612 (1996-04-01), Brown et al.
patent: 5658620 (1997-08-01), Ross
patent: 5741561 (1998-04-01), Lenkin
patent: 441900 (1925-11-01), None
patent: 9315699 (1994-02-01), None
patent: 0745343 (1996-04-01), None
patent: 2090146 (1982-07-01), None
Hetrick Michael E.
Phillips Richard L.
Conte Francis L.
Cross LaToya I.
NCR Corporation
Warden Jill
LandOfFree
Method of using an entertainment placement product having... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method of using an entertainment placement product having..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method of using an entertainment placement product having... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2510077