This invention relates generally to gift card holders and more particularly to a device for holding and presenting a gift card to entertain the recipient and enhance the value of the gift.
Transaction cards, stored value cards, or gift cards as they are commonly called based upon their intended use, have become popular gifts. Gift cards typically comprise a stored value card whereby a certain cash equivalent value is encoded upon a magnetic strip applied to the surface of the card. This stored value may be determined by the vendor prior to packaging and display for sale or, more commonly, is selected at the point of sale by the purchaser and loaded by the cashier using a magnetic card reader/writer. In other cases, a gift card may be provided with a barcode or serial number that is used to identify or link the card to a vendor or third party account that stores the value assigned to the card. In such cases, the bar code may be scanned by a bar code reader, or the account number may be entered into a vendor or third party computer system. While popular, gift cards are typically provided with a generic and impersonal design, typically identifying the associated merchant for which the card may be used to purchase merchandise, and therefore are not personalized in view of the intended recipient.
Gift card holders in the prior art that attempt to address some of the above deficiencies may contain pop-up elements to provide visual interest and serve as surfaces for bearing graphics but do create movement of the card itself in a way that conveys the presentation of the gift card to the gift recipient as an item of special significance or importance.
What is needed, therefore, is a device capable of readily holding a gift card while providing an entertaining and visually appealing presentation of the gift card to the recipient in a manner that enhances the perceived value of the gift card as a gift of special significance.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a pop-up presenter for holding and presenting a gift card when the presenter is opened. The presenter includes a slot for holding the gift card within a pop-up structure that moves and stands off from the major surfaces of the presenter when the presenter is opened. In addition, the presenter may include one or more enhancement elements such as graphics and text upon the presenter surfaces.
An embodiment of a card holder may include a relatively planar main body having a longitudinal axis and a transverse axis. The main body is folded along a fold line substantially parallel to the transverse axis to divide the main body into a first major panel and a hingedly connected second major panel. The main body may therefore be opened and closed with the major panels serving as covers or flaps. A first presentation panel and an adjacent second presentation panel project upward from the first major panel. Similarly, a third presentation panel and an adjacent fourth presentation panel project upward from the second major panel. The first and third presentation panels are adjacent to each other across the fold line and the second and fourth presentation panels are adjacent to each other across the fold line.
The first and third presentation panels are divided or separated from each other, at least partially, by a slit sized to accommodate a portion of a card, such as a gift card or other financial transaction card. The second and fourth presentation panels are divided or separated from each other, at least partially, by a slit sized to accommodate a portion of the transaction card. The transaction card may therefore be inserted into and held between the first and third presentation panels and the between the second and fourth presentation panels. Upon opening the major panels the card is thereby presented in an upstanding disposition to a user.
Other advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example an embodiment of the present invention.
As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed structure.
With reference to the figures,
The gift card presenter 100 may be constructed completely or principally from a single sheet 125 of cardstock or similar material.
A first extending panel 155 projects from, and bridges across, extending panel bases 160 and 165. A second extending panel 170 projects from, and bridges across, extending panel bases 175 and 180. Extending panel bases 160 and 165 are separated from major panels 130 and 135 by longitudinal fold line 185. Extending panel bases 175 and 180 are separated from major panels 130 and 135 by longitudinal fold line 190.
First extending panel 155 is divided transversely by slit 120a, circular cut-out or aperture 200a, fold line 205a, and triangular cut-out or aperture 210a, which all cooperate to allow extending panel 155 to fold about a line coincident with fold line 205a and thereby extend away from major panels 130 and 135 when in such a folded disposition. These same elements operate to divide extending panel 155 into two presentation fingers 115a and 115b. Presentation finger 115a is separated from extending panel base 160 by oblique fold line 162. Presentation finger 115b is separated from extending panel base 165 by oblique fold line 167. The angle between fold line 162 and fold line 185, and between fold line 167 and fold line 185, is approximately 45 degrees.
In a similar fashion, second extending panel 170 is divided transversely by slit 120b, circular cut-out or aperture 200b, fold line 205b, and triangular cut-out or aperture 210b, which all cooperate to allow extending panel 170 to fold about a line coincident with fold line 205b and thereby extend away from major panels 130 and 135 when in such a folded disposition. These same elements operate to divide extending panel 170 into two presentation fingers 115c and 115d. Presentation finger 115c is separated from extending panel base 175 by oblique fold line 177. Presentation finger 115d is separated from extending panel base 180 by oblique fold line 182. The angle between fold line 177 and fold line 190, and between fold line 182 and fold line 190, is approximately 45 degrees. The major panels 130 and 135, extending panel bases 160, 165, 175, and 180, and extending panels 155 and 170 combine to form a primary presenter structure 101, indicated in
Triangular apertures 210 are provided each of the two five-panel junctures of fingers 115, bases 160, 165, 175, and 180, and major panels 130 and 140, to reduce paper material at the juncture that would otherwise restrict movement of the fingers 115 and other elements when the presenter 100 is opened and closed. In addition, by thereby removing a portion of each extending panel 155 and 170 the force exerted by the fingers 115 against the sides of the gift card 105 is increased since the triangular apertures 210 allow the distal (typically upward) portions of the fingers 115 to be pressed together more tightly as the presenter 100 is opened and the fingers 115 rotate inwardly around fold lines 162, 167, 177, and 182. The removal of material at the triangular apertures 210 reduces overall thickness of the panel layers at the apertures 210 and reduces binding that would otherwise tend to occur at the juncture. Without the triangular apertures 210, the forces applied to the gift card 105 would not be moved upward to a higher leverage point on the card 105 and the fingers 115 would be anchored or braced at the juncture, which would tend to reduce the force applied at the distal portions of the fingers 115.
The card slits 120a and 120b formed by opposing sides of fingers 115a and 115b, and 115c and 115d, respectively, comprise the primary means for holding a gift card 105 within the presenter 100 in that the fingers 115 engage the sides of the gift card 105 when the gift card 105 is placed within the slots 120. Circular apertures 200a and 200b provide a secondary means for holding the gift card 105 in that the edges (which may be referred to as the lower edges in light of the typical presenter disposition) of each aperture 200 that oppose the intersection of the aperture 200 with a slit 120 abut and support the adjacent (lower) edge of the gift card 105. Because the gift card 105 rests upon and is supported upon the lower edges of the apertures 200, the finger edges that define the slits 120 may move across the planar surfaces of the gift card 105 when the presenter 100 opens and the fingers 115 extend, thereby providing lateral support to the gift card 105 while not restricting movement of the gift card 105 along the aperture edges as the presenter 100 is opened.
Turning to
In use, the gift card 105 is inserted into the card slots 120a and 120b by the gift giver who then folds the presenter as shown in
A presenter may be configured to hold a gift card 105 as shown in
This application claims the benefit of the prior filed, provisional application Ser. No. 61/315,978, filed Mar. 21, 2010.
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Entry |
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Jane Izumi Matsumoto, Pop up gift card holder tutorial, Whoopsie Daisy, Feb. 7, 2009, http://whoopsiedaisy-jane.blogspot.com/2009/02/pop-up-gift-card-holder-tutorial.html. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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61315978 | Mar 2010 | US |