Patent Application
20230173374
Playing card games bring fun and excitement to children and adults alike. Most often, playing cards are provided and stored in boxes. Traditional card boxes are rectangular boxes having a top portion with an opening. When the top portion is lifted upwardly, a gameplayer may access the playing cards stored therein. When a game is over, he or she may return the cards to the box for later use.
Many playing card boxes are designed to be beautiful, and many may become (or may be originally created to be) collector's items. As such, owners may wish to show off their collections. Unfortunately, there is not currently a good way to store card boxes when not in use. They are often simply thrown into a drawer, or tossed empty onto the table where a game is taking place. When a box is sitting flat on a table or other surface during gameplay, it is prone to damage. Furthermore, if the box includes any sort of decoration, rules explanation, or other graphic thereon, a gameplayer cannot see any such information if the box is sitting flatly on the gameplay surface.
A playing card sleeve is provided in which a playing card box can be received. The playing card sleeve includes an upper body member and a lower body member. When the sleeve is pulled upwardly, and then the upper portion is rotated rearwardly, a stand is formed by the upper and lower portion. The card box (which may include playing cards) may still be positioned in the lower portion, and in such a position, the box or the playing cards contained therein are prominently displayed and easily accessible.
The improved playing card sleeve hereof also provides additional marketing opportunity. The sleeve may include custom graphics, marketing, and the like that is easily visible during game play. Furthermore, the sleeve may conceal the identity of a deck of cards contained in a card box thereof. Such “surprise boxes” make for a fun and exciting surprise when a consumer purchases a card game that remains a surprise until he or she opens the sleeve to reveal the card type.
The invention provides a playing card sleeve 1 that can also act as a stand to contain and display a box of cards 5 (hereinafter referred to simply as “the box 5”).
A top portion 25 of the sleeve 1 is preferably closed so that if the sleeve 1 were inverted, the box 5 would not fall through the top portion 25. Thus, the top portion may not be selectively openable and closeable. In some embodiments, the top portion 25 may include a flap member and/or alternatively constructed closure member (not illustrated) that may open and close so that the box 5 can be accessible via the top portion 25.
The sleeve 1 is generally comprised of an upper body member 30 and a lower body member 35, the lower body member 35 being hingedly connected to the upper body member 30 along a hinge member 40 extending across at least a portion of a back side 45 of the sleeve 1. The hinge member 40 may be a living hinge or another type of hinge as would be understood. Side portions 50 of the upper body member 35 may include a downwardly ramped profile 55 (one of which is illustrated in
In
Turning to
In the open position, at least part of the bottom portion 10 of the sleeve 1 preferably abuts the table 70 or other surface. Similarly, a bottom cover member 85 of the box 5 may rest on a table or other surface when the sleeve 1 is in its open position. In the open position, the upper body member 30 and the lower body member 35 substantially form legs that together form a stand for displaying and easily accessing the box 5.
To return the sleeve 1 to its closed position, one may simply take the reverse steps set forth above, namely pushing the box 5 downwardly though the bottom portion 10 of the sleeve 1 enough to allow the upper body member 30 to rotate about the hinge member 40 toward the lower body member 35 until the lips 75, 80 abut one another. Then the sleeve 1 and box 5 may be turned upside down, or the sleeve 1 may be pushed downwardly such that the box 5 abuts an interior surface (not illustrated) of the top portion 25 of the sleeve 1.
It will be appreciated that various of the above-disclosed embodiments and other features and functions, or alternatives or varieties thereof, may be desirably combined into many other different systems or applications. Also, various presently unforeseen or unanticipated alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements therein may be subsequently made by those skilled in the art which are also intended to be encompassed by the following claims.
