Patent Grant
11485163
The present invention relates generally to gift cards or prepaid cards and their carriers. More particularly, the present invention relates to gift card carriers for use with, or incorporated into, greeting cards.
A gift card is commonly purchased for use by an individual and is usable up to its face amount in lieu of cash for goods or services supplied by an affiliated vendor. When gift cards or prepaid cards are given as gifts, they are often accompanied by a greeting card. Standard greeting cards, however, are generally larger than gift cards or prepaid cards. Thus, when combined with the greeting card, there are often shortcomings relating to one or more of packaging, presentation, security, and ease of use.
Forming one aspect of the present invention is a gift card carrier for use with a greeting card, the gift card carrier comprising:
Another aspect of the present invention is a gift card carrier for use with a greeting card, gift card carrier comprising:
A further aspect of the present invention is a greeting card for carrying a gift card, the greeting card comprising:
The present invention will now be described by way of example only with reference to the following drawings in which:
Referring to
Base panel 12 includes a front surface 18 and a back surface 20. Front surface 18 has a holding area 22 that is sized and dimensioned to receive an entire gift card therein. Base panel further includes a retention mechanism fixed to back surface 20 of base panel 12. The retention mechanism is adapted to secure gift card carrier 10 to a standard greeting card 100, see
Retaining member 14 is secured to front surface 18 for releasably securing the gift card in holding area 22. In this particular embodiment, retaining member 14 is a cover panel 26 that is secured about its edges to base panel 12. Cover panel 26 and base panel 12, thus, collectively form a double panel with a slot therebetween. The slot is positioned to cover holding area 22 and the slot is dimensioned to receive and hold the entire gift card therein.
Cover panel 26 further includes a front face 28, a back face 30, and a removable pane 32, where pane 32 is dimensioned and sized to correspond with the slot. As depicted, pane 32 is generally rectangular with rounded corners to correspond with the standard size and shape of gift cards and prepaid cards. Pane 32 is frangibly attached to the rest of cover panel 26 with a perforated boundary 34 along three of its edges. A fourth edge 36 is not attached to the rest of cover panel 26 and helps to define an opening 38 that provides access to the slot. Fourth edge 36 further includes a tab 40.
Metal shield 16 is made of metal. As depicted, metal shield comprises two layers of aluminum 42. One layer is secured to front surface 18 of base panel 12, and the other layer is secured to back face 30 of cover panel 26. Metal shield 16 is at least sized to cover, and positioned to correspond with, holding area 22. In that manner, metal shield 16 covers holding area 22.
In use, gift card carrier 10 may be coupled to greeting card 100 as shown in
Due to the fact that holding area 22 and the slot are shaped and dimensioned to hold the entire gift card 102 therein, gift card 102 may be fully inserted into holding area 22 and the slot through opening 38 as shown in
To subsequently access gift card 102, a user may grip fourth edge 36, such as at tab 40, and tear pane 32 along perforated boundary 34, as shown in
Referring to
Base panel 112 includes a front surface 118 and a back surface 120. Front surface 118 has a holding area 122 that is sized and dimensioned to receive an entire gift card therein.
Retaining member 114 is secured to front surface 118 for releasably securing gift card 102 in holding area 122. In the depicted embodiment, retaining member 114 is a cover panel 126 that is secured to base panel 112. Cover panel 126 and base panel 112, thus, collectively form a double panel with a slot therebetween. The slot is positioned to cover holding area 122 and the slot is dimensioned to receive and hold the entire gift card therein. Unlike the embodiment above, cover panel 126 and base panel 112 themselves also form one of the panels of greeting card 110.
Cover panel 126 further includes a front face 128, a back face 130, and a removable pane 132, where pane 132 is dimensioned and sized to correspond with the slot. As depicted, pane 132 is generally rectangular with rounded corners to correspond with the standard size and shape of gift cards and prepaid cards. Pane 132 is frangibly attached to the rest of cover panel 126 with a perforated boundary 134 along three of its edges. A fourth edge 136 is not attached to the rest of cover panel 126 and helps to define an opening 138 that provides access to the slot. Fourth edge 136 further includes a tab 140.
Metal shield 116 is made of metal. As depicted, metal shield comprises two layers of aluminum 142. One layer is secured to front surface 118 of base panel 112, and the other layer is secured to back face 130 of cover panel 126. Metal shield 116 is at least sized to cover, and positioned to correspond with, holding area 122. In that manner, metal shield 116 covers holding area 122.
In use, as before, gift card 102 may be inserted into the slot in greeting card 110. Tab 140 may be gripped by a user to assist him or her in separating pane 132 from base panel 112 for access to opening 138. In that manner, gift card 102 may be inserted through opening 138 in the slot between base panel 112 and cover panel 126 as shown in
Due to the fact that holding area 122 and the slot are shaped and dimensioned to hold the entire gift card 102 therein with a close fit, gift card 102 may be fully inserted into holding area 122 and the slot through opening 138 as shown in
To subsequently access gift card 102, a user may grip fourth edge 136, such as at tab 140, and tear pane 132 along perforated boundary 134 to separate pane 132 from cover panel 126 and reveal gift card 102 held within.
While two embodiments of a gift card carrier are described, variations are possible. For example, holding area 22, 122 may be recessed into base panel 12, 112.
While retaining member 14, 114 is shown to be cover panel 26, 126, gift card 102 may be retained in holding area 22, 122 by a different means, such as an adhesive, or corner cuts/folds.
Aluminum layers 42, 142 may instead, or additionally, be secured to back surface 20, 120 of base panel 12, 112, and may instead, or additionally, be secured to front face 28, 128 of cover panel 26, 126. In other embodiments, rather than two layers of aluminum, metal shield 16, 116 may only have one metal layer, positioned either on base panel 12, 112 or cover panel 26, 126.
As well, rather than aluminum layers 42, 142, metal shields 12, 112 may be made from a different metal that can block external scans, such as a nickel alloy or copper.
While removable pane 32, 132 is shown to be dimensioned and sized to cover the entire slot or holding area 22, 122, removable pane 32, 132 may instead be dimensioned and sized to cover a portion of the slot or slot or holding area 22, 122. In this manner, the portion of the slot or slot or holding area 22, 122 covered by the partial removable pane would be dimensioned and sized so its removal would reveal a sufficient section of gift card 102 so to allow access and removal of gift card 102 from gift card carrier 10 or greeting card 110.
While base panel 12, 112 and cover panel 26, 126 are shown to be formed from a single sheet of material, base panel 12, 112 or cover panel 26, 126 may instead be separate sheets of material.
It should be apparent to persons skilled in the arts that various modifications and adaptation of the structures described above are possible without departure from the spirit of the invention the scope of which defined in the appended claims.
The above described gift card carrier 10 and greeting card 110 may have a number of advantages.
For example, if retaining member 14 is cover panel 26, 126, the close fit of gift card 102 within the slot helps to hold gift card 102 in place relative to greeting card 100 or 110, so there is little to no relative movement between them when they are both placed in an envelope. In this manner, a person holding the envelope would not be able to tell that a gift card was inside from shaking the envelope. Once in place, it would be difficult to remove gift card 102 from the slot without tearing the pane. Perforated boundary 34, 134, thus, may also serve as a tamper-evident mechanism to reveal unauthorized access to gift card 102.
If retaining member 14, 114 is an adhesive or corner cuts/folds, gift card 102 may still be releasably held in place relative to greeting card 100 or 110, to prevent relative movement between them when they are placed in an envelope.
Held in this manner, gift card 102 is also abutting or pressed up against aluminum layers 42, 142. Another potential advantage is that the presence of metal shield 16, 116/aluminum layers 42, 142 help to prevent potential external scanning, such as RFID scanning, of gift card 102 from outsiders who may want to steal the value of the gift card held within. Such features may individually or collectively help to enhance the security of sending or transferring gift cards.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/905,520, filed Sep. 25, 2019.
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| 2917164 | Kehr | Dec 1959 | A |
| 7163152 | Osborn | Jan 2007 | B2 |
| 8181789 | Casella | May 2012 | B1 |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210086543 A1 | Mar 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62905520 | Sep 2019 | US |
