Not applicable.
The present invention relates to gift card holders. More specifically, the present invention is directed to a combination gift card holder and message delivery package that positions associated gift cards for identification while being supported by the package.
Gift cards have become a popular way to present someone with an amount of credit that may be used to purchase goods or services at specified retailers. Some types of gift cards include a magnetic strip that has magnetic encoding for storage of information about the particular card. The magnetic strip controls activation of an account associated with the card, and typically must be swiped through a card reader connected with a central computer that authorizes subsequent purchases with the gift card. Alternatively, a bar code or other types of scanable identification markings may be present on the gift card. The identification markings allow for electronic scanning of the card to register the purchasing of the card and automatically display a retail price for the card. In either case, the magnetic strip or other identification markings enable the gift card to be associated with a particular credit account holding a credit value that can be applied to a retail purchase.
When gift cards are presented, the giver may wish to provide some sort of sentiment or message to go along with the card. For instance, the gift card may be given in association with a recognized holiday or other special occasion for the receiver (e.g., a birthday). Gift giving in this fashion, however, can be burdensome because a separate sentiment item, such as a greeting card, must often be purchased along with the gift card, and then the gift card placed inside of an envelope holding the greeting card in order to secure the items together. Furthermore, once the recipient opens the greeting card, they may focus on the gift card without considering the message of the greeting card that the gift giver intended them to read. It would be beneficial to provide a gift card and sentiment delivery device integrated together as one packaged unit. This would increase the likelihood of the recipient focusing on the sentiment or message along with the gift card.
A combination gift card holder and message delivery package facilitates the purchase of an associated gift card by exposing a portion of the card for identification so that removal of the card from the packaging at the point-of-purchase is unnecessary. In one aspect, the present invention provides a gift card holding package including first, second and third panels. The first and second panels are connected with one another along a common edge such that the second panel is pivotable with respect to the first panel and juxtaposes the first panel. The third panel extends from the second panel and is oriented to at least partially overlap the second panel. In this way, the package supports and positions the gift card between the second and third panel such that the third panel at least partially conceals the gift card while exposing an identification marking on the gift card through a cutout of the second panel. The identification marking may be a bar code, magnetic strip, or other type of marking that assists the retailer in the purchase transaction while eliminating the need to remove the card from the package to complete the transaction. The third panel may also be formed as a flap pivotable with respect to the second panel, and may have a cutout located to expose indicia on a side of the card opposite of the identification marking while such identification marking is exposed through the cutout of the second panel. This provides the gift recipient with some information about the gift card before the card is fully accessed.
In another aspect, the gift card holding package is provided with a first panel having a cutout sufficiently sized to expose indicia on a first side of a gift card, and a second panel having a cutout sufficiently sized to expose an identification marking on a second side of a gift card. The first and second panels are connected with one another along a common edge such that the second panel is pivotable with respect to the first panel and is juxtaposed the first panel. The package is adapted to support and position the gift card between the first and second panels such that the indicia on the first side of the gift card is exposed through the cutout of the first panel and the identification marking on the second side of the gift card is exposed through the cutout of the second panel while the second panel functions to at least partially conceal the gift card. A third panel may be connected with the second panel along a common edge for pivoting with respect to the second panel. This facilitates the third panel pivoting to overlie the first panel folded over the second panel to conceal the cutout of the first panel. The gift card holding package recipient would therefore be presented with a package where the optional third panel is first viewed, then the third panel folded back to reveal the first panel and the gift card indicia through the associated cutout, and finally the first panel folded back to reveal the second panel and the full gift card.
An integrated gift assembly of the present invention includes a gift card holder and a gift card. The gift card holder includes first, second and third panels, with at least the second panel having a cutout. The first and second panels are pivotably connected with and juxtaposing one another, and the third panel extends from the second panel with an orientation to at least partially overlap the second panel. The gift card has a first side with an identification marking and a second side. The gift card holder is adapted to removably secure the gift card between the second and third panels to at least partially conceal the gift card while exposing the identification marking on the gift card through the cutout of the second panel.
In another aspect, the integrated gift assembly includes a gift card holder having first and second panels, and a gift card. The first and second panels are pivotably connected with and juxtaposed one another, and each panel has a cutout. The gift card has a first side with an identification marking and a second side with indicia. The gift card holder is adapted to removably secure the gift card between the first and second panels such that the indicia on the first side of the gift card is exposed through the cutout of the first panel and the identification marking on the second side of the gift card is exposed through the cutout of the second panel while the second panel at least partially conceals the gift card.
Additional advantages and novel features of the present invention will in part be set forth in the description that follows or become apparent to those who consider the attached figures or practice the invention.
In the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the specification and are to be read in conjunction therewith and in which like reference numerals are employed to indicate like parts in the various views:
With initial reference to
Another line of weakness or fold line B is formed by bending portions of the back panel 20 with respect to one another along an indicated line extending from the intersection of fold line A and the primary bottom edge 16 of the package 10 laterally to a rearmost edge 22. Fold line B is therefore perpendicular to fold line A, generally collinear with the primary bottom edge 16, and forms the back panel 20 into a primary back panel member 24, minoring the outline of the front panel 18, and covering flap 26. The covering flap 26 has a height dimension defined as the distance between fold line B and a secondary bottom edge 28 of the package 10 in the unfolded position shown in
Upon folding the covering flap 26 upwardly to the position illustrated in
The primary back panel member 24 of the package 10 has a cutout 34 sized to expose an identification marking on an item placed between the primary back panel member 24 and the covering flap 26. Similarly, the covering flap 26 has a cutout 36 sized to expose certain indicia on a side of the item opposite of the identification marking. As one exemplary fabrication method, each of the patterned cutouts 34 and 36 may be die cut into the cardstock forming the package 10.
Turning to
More specifically, the back side 104 of the gift card 100 may be removably affixed to the primary back panel member 24 on the package inner surface 32 at a position to expose the bar code 108 through the cutout 34, as depicted in
Although each of the cutouts 34, 36 is shown to be generally rectangular, the cutouts 34, 36 may take on other shapes in order to expose the indicia 106 and identification markings 108 while at the same time permitting the concealing of at least some regions of the front and back sides 102, 104 of the gift card 100 that have graphics or wording present. It may be desirable to conceal certain parts of the gift card 100 when the package 10 is first presented to the gift recipient in the closed position. This encourages the gift recipient to read any message or sentiment presented on the package outer surface 30, as well as any additional message presented on the package inner surface 32 after unfolding the front panel 18 of the package 10 and prior to unfolding the covering flap 26 downwardly to fully reveal the entire front side 102 of the gift card 100. For instance, as can be seen in
In an alternative arrangement, the package 10 may be made of other materials besides cardstock, and may take the form of another package structure, such as a plastic case (e.g., CD jewel case). Thus, the front panel 18 and the primary back panel member 24 would be pivotably connected with one another in the same fashion as the front and back portions of a plastic case. The covering flap 26 could extend from a paper insert mounted to the back portion of the plastic case to partially or fully conceal items accessed by opening the case. It should also be understood that the covering flap 26 may be fixedly positioned on the primary back panel member 24 as a pocket for holding the gift card 100. Thus, opposed side regions 38 of the covering flap 26 may be attached with the primary back panel member 24 so that the flap 26 does not unfold downwardly to the position shown in
Another embodiment of a gift card holding package 50 is depicted in
The package 50 is preferably arranged such that the front panel 52 is pivoted or folded over the back panel 54 along fold line C, and then, if provided, the cover panel 56 is pivoted or folded over the front panel 52 along fold line D to form the closed package 50, the folding process being depicted in
The front panel 52 is shown to have essentially the same dimensions as the back panel 54 so that the folding of the front panel 52 over the back panel 54 will fully conceal the package inner surface 62 of the back panel 54. However, the front panel 52 may, for instance, be dimensioned similarly to the covering flap 26 of the embodiment of the package 10 depicted in
The back panel 54 has a cutout 66 sized to expose the bar code 108 or other identification marking on the back side 104 of the gift card, while the front panel 52 has a cutout 68 sized to expose the indicia 106 on the front side 102 of the gift card. These cutouts 66 and 68 may be die cut into the cardstock forming the package 50, or may be formed by other methods. A series of slits 70 may be cut into the back panel 54 and arranged with respect to one another for accepting corner regions 110 of the gift card 100 to secure the card 100 with the back panel 54 such that the card back side 104 faces the inner surface 62 of the back panel 54. These slits 70 are also disposed at a specific location, relative to the cutout 66, necessary to position the gift card 100 mounted onto the back panel 54 with the bar code 108 exposed through the cutout 66, as depicted in
Alternatively, the slits 70 may be formed on the front panel 52 instead of the back panel 54 to properly position card 100 secured thereto for exposing the barcode 108 through the back panel cutout 66. In another variation, the back side 104 of the gift card 100 may be removably affixed (e.g., with adhesives) to the primary back panel 54 on the package inner surface 62 at a position to expose the bar code 108 through the back panel cutout 66. As seen in the partially opened/closed position of the package 50 in
When the package 50 is presented to a recipient, the cover panel 56 may be unfolded along fold line D to fully reveal the message or sentiment 74 present on the front panel 52, as shown in
As with the embodiment of the package 10 depicted in
Therefore, various embodiments of the integrated gift card holder and message delivery package of the present invention provide a means for packaging a gift card for ease of scanning at a point-of-purchase location while focusing the recipient's attention on an accompanying message. Since certain changes may be made in the above invention without departing from the scope hereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is also to be understood that the following claims are to cover certain generic and specific features described herein.
The present application is a continuation application of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 13/448,935, entitled “GIFT CARD HOLDER”, filed Apr. 17, 2012, having attorney Docket No. HALC.168858, which was a divisional of now abandoned U.S. application Ser. No. 11/249,289, entitled “GIFT CARD HOLDER”, filed Oct. 13, 2005, having attorney Docket No. HALC.119365.
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 11249289 | Oct 2005 | US |
Child | 13448935 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 13448935 | Apr 2012 | US |
Child | 14557082 | US |