Description Context of the invention

The modern business card is generally used for work reasons and usually contains the company name and the company logo, the name and position of the person in addition to more or less complete personal data: the address and telephone number are typically always present, increasingly accompanied by the e-mail address.

Business cards are more commonly made of substantially paper material, typically 350 g/m ² paperboard. In order to limit the deterioration thereof, over time or accidental, paperboards are often used with high basis weights, multilayer and possibly with particular surface finishing, such as plasticization. Such business cards can be obtained in many various shapes and sizes according to the desired communicative function, but the most common format is the rectangular one, typically 8.5 cm x 5.5 cm with a thickness of a few hundred micrometers.

The main drawback of business cards made of paper material is their deterioration. This deterioration or wear occurs both over time, due for example to wear or to high humidity levels, and for accidental reasons. For example, if preserved in a wallet, paper business cards are subjected to irreversible bending or, should they inadvertently come into contact with water, the cards could be irreparably damaged. Indeed, the ink could be dissolved with consequent loss of the information of a person of interest, or in any case the business card could be worn, with consequent damage to the image of the owner, who would have made a poor impression on the receiver of such worn card. Therefore, it is necessary to preserve the business cards in particular cases, termed business card holders, which however are often not available for all card formats and thus may not be so convenient. As anticipated, one way to preserve paper business cards as much as possible is to plasticize them, a solution that is not durable, however, due to the delamination of the plastic layers. In order to overcome the disadvantages of paper business cards, recently the latter have been increasingly made of plastic material, mainly polyvinylchloride (PVC). Such cards are impermeable, more resistant to wear, and they also allow meeting the communicative and hence personalization needs of the client by allowing the obtainment of metalized, transparent, white cards etc. Also for such business cards, the most common format is the rectangular one, the thickness is generally about 300 micron, and they are characterized by a certain degree of mechanical flexibility.

Even if the above business card type is more resistant to the wear or accidental damage mentioned previously with respect to the paper cards, plastic cards are characterized by a relatively low rupture load, which renders them particularly subject to splitting, into at least two parts. This represents a serious limitation of this type of business card; indeed, if during daily use they are placed for example in garment pockets, in a handbag or wallet, the plastic business cards will be subjected to mechanical stresses of various type. For example, it is common to keep wallets in the rear pants pockets; consequently, when seated, most of a person's body weight load will lie on the wallet and on its contents, comprising the business cards which with high probability will be split, thus becoming unusable for the owner.

Brief description of the figures

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the business card 1 according to the invention with a radius, r, and a thickness, s.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a business card 1 according to a particular embodiment of the invention, in which a plurality of structures in relief 2 with cylindrical form are observed, projecting perpendicular from the upper face of the business card 1, and organized according to the Braille writing system.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pair of business cards 1, each provided with at least one notch 3 according to a particular embodiment of the invention, said business cards 1 reversibly penetrating each other by means of the notches 3 and held together by simple coupling or with the magnetic attraction force.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of two sides of a business card 1 provided with two notches 3' and 3 " of equal size but diametrically opposite, of which a first notch 3' is provided with a recess 4 (female) and a second notch 3" is provided with a projection 5 (male), due to which a plurality of business cards according to this embodiment of the invention can be reversibly coupled, once they have penetrated each other due to the notches 3' and 3 ". It is noted that the length, a, of the notches 3' and 3" is smaller than the radius, r, and that the width, b, is equal to about the thickness, s.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a business card 1 according to a particular embodiment of the invention, in which a through hole 6 is observed, placed in a peripheral zone of the business card 1.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of a business card 1 according to a particular embodiment of the invention, in which a single notch 3 is observed.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a support 7 of the business card according to the invention, in which the tongue 8 is observed, adapted to be coupled to any one suitable edge of a garment.

Figure 8 is a front view of a business card 1 according to the invention, reversibly coupled to its support 7, in which in addition the tongue 8 is observed, adapted to be coupled to any one suitable edge of a garment. Figure 9 is a second perspective view of a support 7 of the business card according to the invention, in which the tongue 8 is observed, adapted to be coupled to any one suitable edge of a garment. Figure 10 is a top view of the business card 1 according to one embodiment of the invention in which two diametrically opposite notches 3a and 3b are observed.

Figure 11 is a top view of the business card 1 according to one embodiment of the invention in which three notches 3c, 3d and 3e are observed.

Figure 12 is a top view of the business card 1 according to one embodiment of the invention in which four notches 3f, 3g, 3h and 3i are observed, of which two notches, 3g and 3i, are diametrically opposite and two notches, 3f and 3h, are diametrically opposite and perpendicular to said notches 3g and 3i.

Description of the invention

The invention will now be described in detail, also with the assistance of the enclosed figures and embodiments for exemplifying and non-limiting purposes.

In order to overcome the disadvantages of the business cards known at the state of the art, a rigid, light, durable business card 1 is provided that therefore does not deteriorate during its daily use, and is capable of always transmitting a quality image of the owner to the receiver. Indeed, the business card according to the present invention is highly resistant to impact, to wear and is impermeable to water and to liquids such as drinks, and in addition it does not absorb fats; if food should inadvertently come into contact with the business card according to the present invention, the latter can be easily cleaned with a cloth, without leaving residues and thus not preventing the normal use of the business card. The excellent mechanical properties of the business card, object of the present invention, render it particularly suitable for being preserved as such, i.e. without requiring any case or container, in any place of daily use, such as pockets, wallets, handbags etc. It is clear that also a plurality of business cards according to the present invention can be transported in this manner.

In the course of the present description, examples of supports or containers for the transport of one or more business cards according to the present invention will still be provided.

Such business card is made of ceramic material provided with opportune mechanical properties and is also characterized in that it has a substantially cylindrical form with radius, r, of the base circle that is greater than the thickness, s. According to the experience of the inventor, in fact, such form is particularly advantageous for the communicative purposes of the business cards. The length of the radius, r, is comprised between about 1 cm and 4 cm, preferably between 2 cm and 3 cm and more preferably is equal to 2 cm. The thickness, s, is comprised between 0.1 cm and 1 cm, preferably between 0.2 cm and 0.4 cm and more preferably is equal to 0.3 cm. Different forms of surface finishing can be used, such as glazing, and the personalization of the business card 1 according to the present invention can be carried out with nearly every printing technique, on the upper face, lower face and even on the lateral area.

In a particular embodiment of the business card 1 according to the present invention, on one or both upper or lower faces, structures in relief 2 are present, preferably cylindrical and with height preferably comprised between 0.5 mm and 2 mm, in a manner so as to form letters or numbers according to the Braille writing system. In this manner, even blind or visually- impaired people can utilize this innovative business card. A further particularly advantageous aspect for people with this type of disability is constituted by the fact that the business card 1 according to the present invention, if it should accidentally fall, for example to the ground, generates a sound with ground contact that is more audible than that made by conventional business cards made of plastic material and certainly more than that made by paper cards, in this manner allowing such person to perceive the inadvertent loss of the business card and recover it. One example of a business card 1 according to this embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 2. According to another embodiment of the business card, object of the invention, a common magnetic band (not shown) is present inside the business card, inserted during the production process. In this manner, a plurality of business cards can be stacked and reversibly held together by the magnetic attraction force, which can be modulated during production phase in accordance with the inserted magnetic band. The cards can then be separately distributed by exerting a force, normal or transverse, that is greater than the magnetic attraction force. This embodiment is particularly advantageous, for example, when an exhibitor at a fair or conference needs to rest the business cards on top of his display table. Due to this embodiment, in fact, it is possible to prevent the accidental loss or fall, due for example to gusts of wind or vibrations, of the business cards set on the table.

In another embodiment of the business card, object of the present invention, a notch 3 is present, with the length, a, smaller than the radius, r, and with the width, b, equal to about the thickness, s, as shown in Figure 6. A magnetic band (not shown) is also present inside the card in its central part, arranged in a manner such that when another business card 1 of the invention obtained according to this embodiment has penetrated the first business card 1 by means of the notch 3, both are held together due to the magnetic attraction force. A pair of business cards 1 that have penetrated each other as just described is represented in Figure 3. This embodiment is particularly useful when it is desired to transmit the relation existing between two subjects, whether they are people or companies. Indeed two different companies that are commercial partners can use the business cards according to this embodiment of the invention, each independently personalizing them and penetrating the cards as shown in Figure 6, in a manner such that a possible client perceives the connection existing between the two companies.

In a variant of the preceding embodiment, a pair of diametrically opposite notches 3' and 3" is present. As an alternative to the magnetic band of the preceding embodiment, a recess 4 (female) can be present on the central wall of the first notch 3' and a projection 5 (male) can be present on the central wall of the second notch 3 ", due to which a plurality of business cards according to this embodiment of the invention can be reversibly coupled, once they have penetrated each other due to the notches 3 ' and 3 ". One example of a business card 1 according to this embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4. The length, a, of the notches 3 ' and 3 " is smaller than the radius, r, and the width, b, is about equal to the thickness, s, of the business card 1.

Alternatively, a plurality of notches are present whose central wall is smooth and preferably two diametrically opposite notches, 3a and 3b, are present as shown in Figure 10, or three notches 3c, 3d and 3e are present as shown in Figure 11, or four notches 3f, 3g, 3h and 3i, are present of which two notches, 3g and 3i are diametrically opposite and two notches 3f and 3h are diametrically opposite and perpendicular to said notches 3g and 3i, as shown in Figure 12.

According to a further embodiment of the business card 1, object of the present invention, one or more through holes 6 are present, preferably arranged in a peripheral zone and with diameter comprised between 1 mm and 6 mm, preferably equal to 2 mm. One example of this embodiment is shown in Figure 5 where a single through hole 6 is present with diameter equal to 2 mm, arranged at the periphery of the business card 1. Due to this hole, it is possible to insert therein a common string or chain (not shown) to be hung from the neck, in a manner such that the business card according to the present invention is visibly situated on the chest of a person, at a height that can be adjusted as desired according to the length of the chain or string (not shown) used. In this manner, when the person who substantially wears the business card is at a social gathering such as a party, a conference or a fair, the other people present can quickly identify the identity, corporate name, role, company etc. of the person who wears the business card 1; such card can be given by simply unhooking it from the string or chain (not shown).

Another manner for substantially wearing the business card 1 according to the present invention is given by an embodiment in which the business card 1 is provided with a common support 7, e.g. with C-shaped form, which is reversibly and laterally coupled to the business card 1, in a manner so as to leave one or both faces thereof visible. The reversible coupling can be obtained by using a slightly flexible support 7, e.g. made of plastic material, in a manner such that by manually widening said support 7 it is possible to insert the business card 1 therein, which will be firmly coupled due to the elastic return of the material. Such support is further provided with a tongue 8 adapted to be inserted, for example, astride the upper edge of the upper pocket of a jacket, in a manner so as to make one face of the business card 1 quite visible. Alternatively, the support 7 is provided with a pointed member (not shown), in a manner so as to be a common garment pin. One example of a business card 1 housed in a support 7, according to this embodiment of the invention, is shown in Figure 8. Even if it is not necessary to use cases or containers for transporting the business cards 1 of the present invention, it is clear that any one container is suitable for such purpose. For example, a hollow cylindrical container is suitable for such purpose, with diameter slightly greater than that of the business cards 1 according to the present invention, said container with a lower base that forms a single piece with the lateral portion and with openable upper cover, possibly provided with a tongue for coupling, for example, to the pants belt.

In addition, it should be noted that the business cards according to the present invention can be used as playing chips. The previously described embodiment provided with structures in relief 2 arranged according to the Braille writing system is particularly advantageous for blind or visually-impaired people.