FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a recreational card, and more particularly to a
three-dimensional recreational card that may be used to play completely different
games due to its special structure.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Recreational cards are one of the favorite toys among children mainly because they
could be used to play many games and are usually printed with a series of different
patterns that attract children to collect them. Fig. 1 shows a conventional recreational
card for building up differently shaped toys. This conventional recreational card
mainly includes a module in the form of a flat disc made of paper of plastics . The
flat disc is provided along its peripheral edge with a plurality of spaced slits,
so that two modules could be discretionally connected by engaging two slits separately
provided on the modules. A player may create many differently built-up toys completely
depending on his or her imagination.
[0003] However, many players are not interested in building up toys through connection of
many modules that is a static activity less attractive to children. Moreover, it would
require a large number of modules of flat discs to build up a toy showing some special
configuration. To solve this problem, manufacturers of recreational cards also suggest
many different games with these cards, such as stacking, shutting, and throwing cards,
in an attempt to help players get more funs from the conventional recreational cards.
However, all these games are based on the same recreational cards, and what the players
need is a completely novel recreational card.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a three-dimensional
recreational card that provides new functions to give players different funs.
[0005] To achieve the above and other objects, the three-dimensional recreational card of
the present invention mainly includes a flat card body that is converted into a three-dimensional
shape through cutting and bending the flat body in predetermined manners, so that
the three-dimensional recreational card may be used to play a bouncing game to see
which player could cause the card to bounce higher. The three-dimensional recreational
card may also be used in a throwing game to produce sound while rotating in the air,
making the card more interesting for playing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006] The structure and the technical means adopted by the present invention to achieve
the above and other objects can be best understood by referring to the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein
Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a conventional recreational card for building up different
configurations;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a three-dimensional recreational card according to
the present invention;
Fig. 3A is a plan view of the recreational card of the present invention showing folding
lines thereon;
Fig. 3B is a side view of the three-dimensional recreational card of the present invention;
Fig. 4 shows the three-dimensional recreational card of the present invention is subjected
to a downward pressure while being played in a game; and
Fig. 5 shows the three-dimensional recreational card of Fig. 4 bounces off when the
pressure is released.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0007] Please refer to Fig. 2 in which a three-dimensional recreational card according to
the present invention is shown. The recreational card mainly includes a flat body
10 having a plurality or slits 11 radially spaced along a circumferential edge thereof.
A folding line 12 is provided between two inner ends of any two adjacent slits 11,
as can be clearly seen from Fig. 3A, so that each folding line 12 and two adjacent
slits 11 together define a flap 20 on the flat body 10. Each flap 20 may be bent about
the folding line 12 by a predetermined angle toward an upper or a lower side of the
flat body 10, as shown in Fig. 3B, so that a free end of each flap 20 offsets from
a plane containing a central portion of the flat body 10 to form the three-dimensional
recreational card of the present invention. The folding lines 12 may be grooves preformed
on the flat body 10 or lines scribed on the flat body 10, so that a user may bend
the flaps 20 along the folding lines 12 as desired.
[0008] It is to be noted that the flaps 20 are alternately bent upward and downward one
by one, such that when the three-dimensional recreational card is positioned on a
plane 30 on either side, the central portion of the flat body 10 is always supported
by the flaps 20 over the plane 30 by a distance, as shown in Fig. 4. With the three-dimensional
recreational card of the present invention positioned in this manner on the plane
30, a bouncing game may be played with the card to see which player could cause the
three-dimensional recreational card to bounce higher.
[0009] Please refer to Fig. 5. A player may apply a force on the central portion of the
flat body 10 so that the flat body 10 is depressed and becomes closer or completely
attached to the plane 30, depending on a magnitude of the force applied by the player.
At this point, the flaps 20 are also partially deformed and displaced due to the force
applied on the central portion of the flat body 10. At the instant the applied force
is removed, the flaps 20 generate an elastic restoring force, causing the whole flat
body 10 to generate a reaction force relative to the plane 30 and bounce off the plane
30.
[0010] When the three-dimensional recreational card is used to play a shutting or a throwing
game, the bent flaps 20 pass through air to produce a wind shear effect, so that the
recreational card produces sound while rotating in the air to create more funs.
[0011] The present invention has been described with a preferred embodiment thereof and
it is understood that many changes and modifications in the described embodiment can
be carried out without departing from the scope and the spirit of the invention that
is intended to be limited only by the appended claims.
1. A three-dimensional recreational card, comprising a flat body being provided along
a circumferential edge with a plurality of slits, and between inner ends of any two
slits that are adjacent to each other with a folding line, such that said any two
adjacent slits and each said folding line locating between said adjacent slits together
define a flap; and said flaps being separately bendable about said folding lines toward
either an upper or a lower side of said flat body by a suitable angle, so that free
ends of said flaps offset from a plane containing a central portion of said flat body
by a certain distance.
2. The three-dimensional recreational card as claimed in claim 1, wherein said a plurality
of slits are radially spaced along the circumferential edge of said flat body.
3. The three-dimensional recreational card as claimed in claim 1, wherein said flaps
are alternately bent upward and downward about said folding lines to alternately and
angularly locate at upper and lower sides of said flat body.
4. The three-dimensional recreational card as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said folding
line is a line scribed on each said flap.
5. The three-dimensional recreational card as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said folding
line is a groove formed on said flap.