Advent calendar

Abstract

The present invention relates to an advent calendar (1) comprising: a central axis (10), from which at least three side parts (2) extend substantially radially outwards, wherein i) the side parts are joined together, preferably in the region of the central axis, ii) at least one side part is removable or can be swung or folded over onto an adjacent side part and can preferably be attached to the adjacent side part, iii) there are distributed over the side parts at least 24 pre-punched recess fields (3), which can be removed from the side parts and, after removal, each provide recesses (4) in the side parts, each of which has a first suspension device (5), for example a hook (6, 7) for hanging an article in the recess and/or wherein there are distributed on fields of the side parts at least 24 pre-punched second suspension devices, which can preferably be folded or bent out of the fields.

Claims

1. An advent calendar comprising: at least three side parts extending substantially radially outwards from a central axis, wherein i) the side parts are joined together proximate the central axis, ii) at least one side part is at least one of removable or foldable with respect to at least one other side part, iii) the side parts define at least 24 pre-punched recess fields, iv) each pre-punched recess field is a region of one of the side parts defined by perforation in the one of the side parts, v) the side parts define a plurality of first suspension devices, each first suspension device proximate an upper portion of one of the recess fields, the first suspension devices for hanging an article in an aperture formed when a corresponding one of the recess fields is removed; and vi) a second suspension device is disposed on at least one of the pre-punched recess fields.

2. The advent calendar of claim 1, wherein the advent calendar is made of cardboard.

3. The advent calendar of claim 1, wherein the angles between adjacent side parts extending radially outwards are substantially identical.

4. The advent calendar of claim 1, wherein the at least one side part is plugged into the at least one other side part in a releasable manner proximate the central axis.

5. The advent calendar of claim 1, wherein the advent calendar has four side parts.

6. The advent calendar of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first suspension devices includes a hook.

7. The advent calendar of claim 1, wherein the advent calendar comprises a fixing means for attaching the advent calendar to a wall or ceiling in an upper region of at least one side part.

8. The advent calendar of claim 1, comprising a hinge mechanism joining the at least one side part to the at least one other side part.

9. An advent calendar comprising: at least three side parts extending radially outwards from a central axis, wherein at least one of the side parts is at least one of removable or foldable with respect to at least one other side part, wherein the side parts define at least 24 suspension devices and at least 24 removable panels, wherein at least one of the suspension devices and at least one of the removable panels is defined by perforation in one of the side parts, wherein at least one of the suspension devices is configured to be bent out of a plane of at least one of the side parts, wherein at least one of the suspension devices is disposed outside of the removable panels, adjacent an upper portion of at least one of the removable panels, and wherein at least one of the suspension devices for hanging an article in an aperture is formed when at least one of the removable panels is removed.

10. The advent calendar of claim 9, wherein the advent calendar is made of cardboard.

11. The advent calendar of claim 9, wherein angles between adjacent side parts extending radially outwards are substantially identical.

12. The advent calendar of claim 9, wherein the at least one side part is plugged into the at least one other side part in a releasable manner proximate the central axis.

13. The advent calendar of claim 9, comprising a plurality of second suspension devices disposed on the removable panels.

14. The advent calendar of claim 9, wherein the at least three side parts include four side parts.

Description

(1) Further advantages and features of the advent calendar of the invention will become clear from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments with reference to the attached drawing, in which

(2) FIG. 1 shows a schematic illustration of an embodiment of an advent calendar of the invention with four side parts, recess fields and first suspension devices;

(3) FIG. 2 shows a schematic illustration of a recess with a first suspension device;

(4) FIG. 3 shows a schematic illustration of a recess with a further alternative first suspension device;

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic illustration of a recess field with a second suspension device;

(6) FIG. 5 shows a cross-section through an advent calendar of the invention with four side parts, and

(7) FIG. 6 shows the advent calendar in the cross-section according to FIG. 5 with a side part folded over.

(8) FIG. 7 shows a further schematic illustration of an embodiment of an advent calendar of the invention in the form of a snowman with side parts, recess fields and first suspension devices.

(9) FIG. 1 shows an advent calendar 1 of the invention in the form of a christmas tree. The advent calendar 1 comprises four side parts 2, three of which can be seen in FIG. 1, while the fourth side part 2 is largely concealed. The side parts 2 extend radially outwards from a central axis. The side parts 2 can be joined together by means known to persons skilled in the art. For example, the individual side parts 2 can be joined together by a tongue-and-groove system, though it is also conceivable, for example, to glue the side parts together, especially if the individual parts are not intended to be separable from one another after assembly.

(10) Each side part 2 has six pre-punched recess fields 3, which the user can easily press out of the side parts 2 or remove in some other way when assembling the advent calendar 1. After the pre-punched recess fields 3 have been removed from the side parts 2, there remains within a recess 4 formed (cf. FIGS. 2 and 3) a first suspension device 5 for receiving an item (present, not shown) in the recess 4.

(11) The recesses 4 shown in FIG. 1 are substantially square. It is, however, obvious that any other shape of the recesses 4 which is suitable for hanging up items/presents can be provided as long as a first suspension device is provided within the recess 4.

(12) A first suspension device 5 is shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 2. In FIG. 2, in the upper region of the recess 4, the first suspension device 5 in the form of a hook is illustrated, the lower part 6 of which can folded over substantially upwards at the dashed line in order to provide a hook.

(13) In a further embodiment of this first suspension device, it is conceivable that a lip 9 projects into the upper region of the recess 4. A hook 7 which can be bent or folded out may be provided on that lip, so that packages, such as pet food packages, can be hung on it. An embodiment of this kind is shown in FIG. 3.

(14) In this way, when the pre-punched recess fields 3 are taken out, items/presents can be hung in the respective recesses using the first suspension device. The pre-punched recess fields 3 can be removed in the case of the advent calendar 1 of the invention especially if the advent calendar is to be used as a standing advent calendar.

(15) The pre-punched recess fields 3 do not, however, necessarily have to be removed when the advent calendar 1 is used. That can be dispensed with, for example, if the advent calendar is to be set up against a wall. In that case, it is not advantageous to hang up items/presents inside the recesses. Instead, if the advent calendar 1 is to be set up against a wall, it is more advisable to add the items/presents to the second suspension devices 8, which are pre-punched on the side parts 2. This is shown in FIG. 4, in which a side face 2 is illustrated schematically with a pre-punched second suspension device 8. That second suspension device 8 can simply be bent or folded out of the field of the side part by the user when setting up the calendar in order likewise to provide a hook or the like, on which items/presents can be hung up. When these second suspension devices 8 are used, there are no problems in using the advent calendar 1 as a wall advent calendar. In a particularly preferred embodiment, the second suspension devices 8 are arranged on the pre-punched recess fields 3. If these second suspension devices 8 are not required, they can easily be removed by removing the pre-punched recess fields 3. In an alternative embodiment, it is of course equally well conceivable to provide the second suspension devices 8 on the non-removable fields of the side parts 2.

(16) The choice between use as a standing advent calendar and a wall advent calendar can be made easily by a user in that he swings or folds over at least one side part 2 of the advent calendar onto an adjacent side part 2, as is shown in cross-section in FIGS. 5 and 6.

(17) The advent calendar 1 shown in FIG. 5 has four side parts 2, which are joined together in the region of the central axis 10. A side part 2 is configured to be folded/swung over and is shown by dashed lines in FIG. 5.

(18) If this advent calendar 1 is to be used as a wall calendar, the side part 2 drawn with hatching can simply be folded/swung over onto an adjacent side part 2 in order to enable the advent calendar to be fixed to a wall. A person skilled in the art is aware of various possibilities for configuring the side part such that it can be folded/swung over, such as by means of a hinge. If, when it is used as a wall calendar, only one side part 2 is folded over, it goes without saying that, of four side parts originally used, one side part 2 projects into the room substantially perpendicularly from the wall. For the side part which projects into the room perpendicularly from the wall, preferably 12 suspension devices 8 are required in order to distribute the presents evenly. When, in an advent calendar 1 of the invention, two, preferably opposing, side parts 2 can be folded over onto adjacent side parts 2, an advent calendar in a substantially two-dimensional flat form is obtained.

(19) Finally, FIG. 7 shows a further embodiment 1′ of an advent calendar of the invention in the form of a snowman, with side parts 2′, recess fields 3′ and suspension devices 5′, which emphasises the flexibility of the possible blanks and shapes of the advent calendar of the invention. Other blanks and shapes are readily available, such as an advent calendar in the shape of a star, a sleigh, an angel, a Father Christmas, etc.

(20) The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, and in the claims and in the drawing can be essential to implementing the invention both individually and in any combination.