Foldable viewer

• US 4,846,553 A
• Filed: 07/14/1987
• Issued: 07/11/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Richard Rice
• Original Assignee: Richard Rice
• Inventors: Rice, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Arnold, Bruce Y.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ben, Loha
• Application Number:
  US07/072,887
• Time in Patent Office: 728 Days
• Field of Search: 350/250, 350/546, 350/140, 40/365, 248/460, 248/461
• US Class Current: 359/817
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 30/37 Collapsible stereoscopes

Abstract

A foldable viewer includes a front wall having a pair of lens-receiving openings and a pair of optical lenses affixed thereto. A rear wall is included and has a pair of openings over which transparencies depicting stereoscopic images are affixed. The front and rear walls are attached to top, bottom and side walls to create a box-like structure when assembled. The walls cooperate to form a bellows-like structure that permits the viewer to be flattened for storage, mailing or placement in a magazine-like publication.

Claims

1. A foldable viewer, foldable from a collapsed condition to an assembled condition;

said viewer being for mass distribution by binding within magazines or the like for mailing, which type of distribution requires extremely thin outer edges; and

said viewer comprising;

a front wall of sheet material having a pair of lens-receiving openings defined therein and a pair of optical lenses affixed thereto, said front wall having top, bottom, left side and right side boundaries defined at least in part by fold lines;

a rear wall of sheet material having image means affixed thereto for viewing, said rear wall having top, bottom, left side and right side boundaries defined at least in part by fold lines; and

means for moving said front and rear walls from the collapsed condition to the assembled condition;

said moving means comprising;

a bottom wall of sheet material that is continuous with both the front and rear walls, along the respective fold lines that form the respective bottom boundaries of the front and rear walls;

said bottom wall thereby interconnecting said bottom boundaries, and

a top wall of sheet material that is continuous with both the front and rear walls, along the respective fold lines that form the respective top boundaries of the front and rear walls;

said top wall thereby interconnecting said top boundaries, and

left and right side walls of sheet material that are each continuous with both the front and rear walls, along the respective fold lines that form the left and right side boundaries respectively;

said side walls thereby interconnecting said side boundaries;

at least three of said bottom, top and side walls being each in the form of a pair of separate sections, each separate section terminating in a substantially vertical tab;

whereby there are at least three pairs of substantially vertical tabs;

each pair of substantially vertical tabs being secured together while they both project away from the associated wall, so that each pair of tabs forms a combination tab that has exactly two thicknesses of sheet material and that projects outward from the viewer;

whereby there are at least three of said outward-projecting two-thickness combination tabs;

said front and rear walls in the collapsed condition being directly juxtaposed to each other, to form in combination an extremely thin region of only two thicknesses of sheet material;

said pair of top wall sections in the collapsed condition being directly juxtaposed to each other, to form in comibination an extremely thin region of only two thicknesses of sheet material;

said pair of bottom wall sections in the collapsed condition being directly juxtaposed to each other, to form in combination an extremely thin region of only two thicknesses of sheet material;

said pair of left side wall sections in the collapsed condition being directily juxtaposed to each other, to form in combination an extremely thin region of only two thicknesses of sheet material; and

said pair of right side wall sections in the collapsed condition being directly juxtaposed to each other, to form in combination an extremely thin region of only two thicknesses of sheet material;

whereby in the collapsed condition said at least three outward-projecting two-thickness combination tabs maintain the extreme thinness of the other regions, particularly along outer edges of the viewer to satisfy requirements for mass distribution by binding in such magazines for mailing.

2. The viewer of claim 1, wherein:

two of said at least three outward-projecting two-thickness combination tabs are parts of said side wall respectively; and

each of said combination tabs in said side walls forms a side holding tab that extends substantially vertically along said side wall.

3. The viewer of claim 2, wherein:

one of said at least three outward-projecting two-thickness combination tabs is a part of said top wall; and

said combination tab in said top wall forms a top holding tab extending transversely across said top wall.

4. The viewer of claim 3, further including:

a rectangular wall having one edge pivotally affixed to said top holding tab, said rectangular wall being foldable over said front wall when said viewer is in the collapsed position; and

means for fastening at least a portion of said bottom wall against said rectangular wall.

5. The viewer of claim 4, wherein:

the boundary between said top holding tab and said rectangular wall is a perforated line.

6. The viewer of claim 5, wherein:

said fastening means comprises adhesive tape.

7. The viewer of claim 2, wherein:

the sheet material has a fold line between each side-wall section and its tab, whereby each side wall is connected with its outward-extending two-thickness side holding tab along a pair of fold lines;

the side walls can be buckled inward by reverse folding along said pair of fold lines at each side holding tab, to lock the viewer in the assembled condition, and while buckled inward can be adjusted by manipulation of the side holding tabls to focus the optical lenses relative to the image means;

the two top-wall sections consist of a rear top-wall section that is continuous with the rear wall and a front top-section that is continuous with the front wall, and the length of the rear top-wall section has a first ratio to the length of the front top-wall section;

the two bottom-wall sections consist of a rear bottom-wall section that is continuous with the rear wall and a front bottom-wall section that is continuous with the front wall, and the length of the rear bottom-wall section has substantially said first ratio to the length of the front bottom-wall section;

the lengths of the rear and front bottom-wall sections being measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to the bottom boundary;

at each side, the two side-wall sections consist of a rear side-wall section that is continuous with the rear wall and a front side-wall section that is continuous with the front wall, and the length of the rear side-wall section has a second ratio to the length of the front side-wall section;

the lengths of the rear and front side-wall sections being measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side boundaries; and

said second ratio is significantly smaller than said first ratio so that, when the side walls are buckled inward to lock the viewer in the assembled condition, the optical lenses are very nearly focused relative to the image means;

whereby when the side walls are buckled inward the manipulation of the side holding tabs is only to make a small correction in the focusing.

8. The viewer of claim 7, futher including:

means for holding said viewer in a magazine-like publication.

9. The viewer of claim 8, wherein:

said holding means comprises a holding wall extending from said viewer, said holding wall being adapted to extend into the spine of said magazine-like publication.

10. The viewer of claim 9, wherein:

said holding wall has a perforated line extending thereacross.

11. The viewer of claim 1, further including:

means for holding said viewer in a magazine-like publication.

12. The viewer of claim 11, wherein:

said holding means comprise a holding wall attached to said viewer, said holding wall being adapted to extend into the spine of said magazine-like publication.

13. The viewer of claim 12, wherein:

said holding wall includes a perforated line extending thereacross.

14. The viewer of claim 1, futher including:

a substantially rectangular wall extending from said viewer and means for fastening said viewer to said rectangular wall.

15. The viewer of claim 14, wherein:

said fastening means comprises adhesive tape.

16. A blank for a viewer, comprising:

a first portion defining a front wall having a pair of lens-receiving openings defined therein, said first portion having first or top, second or first-side, third or bottom, and fourth or second-side boundaries;

said first and third boundaries being substantially opposite each other and said second and fourth boundaries being substantially opposite each other, and all of said boundaries being at least in part fold lines;

a second portion defining a front section of a top wall, said second portion extending along said first or top boundary;

a third portion defining a front section of a first side wall, said third portion extending along said second or first-side boundary;

a fourth portion defining a front section of a second side wall, said fourth portion extending along said fourth or second-side boundary;

a fifth portion defining a bottom wall, said fifth portion being divided by a fold line into a front section extending along said boundary and a rear section having a fifth boundary extending opposite said third boundary;

a sixth portion defining a rear wall, said sixth portion having sixth or first-side, seventh or top, and eighth or second-side boundaries;

said sixth boundary being substantially opposite said eighth boundary and said seventh boundary being opposite said fifth boundary, and all of these boundaries being at least in part fold lines;

a seventh portion defining a rear section of the first side wall, said seventh portion extending along said sixth boundary;

an eighth portion defining a rear section of the second side wall, said eighth portion extending along said eighth boundary; and

a ninth portion defining a rear section of the top wall, said ninth portion extending along said seventh boundary;

the length of the ninth portion having a first ratio to the length of the second portion;

the length of the rear section of the fifth portion having substantially said first ratio to the length of the front section of the fifth portion;

the lengths of the rear and front sections of the fifth portion being measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to the fifth boundary;

the length of the seventh portion having a second ratio to the length of the third portion;

the length of the eighth portion having substantially said second ratio to the length of the fourth portion;

the lengths of the third, fourth, seven and eighth portions being measured in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sixth boundary; and

said second ratio being significantly smaller than said first ratio so that when assembled the viewer is lockable near a desired focal distance between said front and rear walls.

17. The blank of claim 16:

wherein said ninth portion includes a ninth boundary extending opposite said seventh boundary and

further including a tenth portion defining a holding wall, said tenth portion extending along said ninth boundary.

18. The blank of claim 17, wherein:

each of said second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth and ninth portions includes a tab portion that extends outward from the blank;

said tab portions being for securing together in pairs while they extend outward so that no part of the viewer when assembled has more than two layers of the blank.

19. The blank of claim 18, wherein:

said sixth portion has at least one opening defined therein.

20. The blank of in claim 19, wherein:

each of said first, second and fifth portions has an opening defining a nose opening therein.

21. The blank of claim 16, wherein:

said fifth portion has a transverse fold line extending thereacross.

22. The blank of claim 16:

wherein said ninth portion includes a ninth boundary extending opposite said seventh boundary and

further including a tenth portion to define a retangular wall for fastening the blank into a magazine or the like for mass distribution, when said blank is configured as said viewer but still collapsed, said tenth portion extending along said ninth boundary.