Three-dimensional recreational card

Abstract

 A three-dimensional recreational card is formed from a flat card body that is provided along a circumferential edge with radially spaced slits and between inner ends of any two adjacent slits with a folding line, so that each folding line and two slits adjacent to the folding line together define a flap on the card body. The flaps are alternately bent upward and downward about the folding lines to angularly locate above and below the flat card body and thereby support a central portion of the card body over a plane. When the central portion of the card body is subjected to a pressure, the flaps are partially deformed; and when the pressure is removed, the deformed flaps generate a restoring elasticity to bounce the whole recreational card off the plane. When the recreational card rotates in a throwing game, the flaps produce sound due to a wind shear effect.

Description

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.

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.

Drawing