Abstract:
A gift card holder including a sliding panel for holding a gift card, the panel being mounted in a sleeve or box so that when the cover flap of the sleeve is opened the panel may be pulled upward and out of the sleeve to reveal a gift card secured upon the panel.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of the prior filed, provisional application Ser. No. 61/412,391, filed Nov. 10, 2010. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates generally to gift card holders and more particularly to a device for holding a gift card or gift card packet while providing graphical and mechanical enhancements to entertain the gift card recipient and add value to the gift, namely a sliding panel for holding a gift card, the panel being mounted in a sleeve or box so that when the cover flap is opened the panel may be pulled upward and out of the sleeve to reveal a gift card secured upon the panel. 
     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. 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. 
     What is needed, therefore, is a gift card holder that provides graphical and mechanical enhancements to entertain the gift card recipient and add value to the gift. 
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The purpose of this invention is to provide a holder for receiving and holding a gift card. The gift card holder provides graphical and mechanical enhancements to entertain the gift card recipient and add value to the gift. The gift card holder presents a gift card mounted on a sliding panel that rides upon slots or tracks enclosed in a sleeve or box that houses the panel. For presentation to the gift recipient, the user pulls on a ribbon or pull tab mounted proximate the top edge of the panel, thereby drawing the panel out of the sleeve to a predetermined stop. The gift card may then be removed from a pocket in the panel. When the panel is housed within the sleeve, a cover flap is folded over the top of the sleeve to secure the panel in place. 
     An embodiment of the holder may include a sliding panel held within a sleeve, the panel including means to attach a card, such as a pocket. The sleeve includes a cover that, when closed, operates to retain the panel within the sleeve. Closure of the cover may be maintained and the cover restrained from opening by cooperating hook and loop structures on the interior surface of the cover and on an underlying outer portion of the sleeve. A tab projecting from the panel passes into or insert into a slot within the sleeve. Preferably two tabs insert into two parallel slots so that the tabs ride within the slots when the panel is withdrawn from or retracted into the sleeve. A pull tab projects from an upper portion of the panel to provide a structure for the user to grasp to pull the panel from the sleeve. 
     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. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front view of a gift card sleeve with the cover flap closed. 
         FIG. 2  is a front view of the gift card sleeve showing the sliding panel drawn upward from the sleeve. 
         FIG. 3  is an additional front view of a gift card sleeve with the cover flap closed. 
         FIG. 4  is an additional front view of the gift card sleeve showing the sliding panel drawn upward from the sleeve. 
         FIG. 5  is a plan view of a cardstock sheet that may be folded to form a sliding panel. 
         FIG. 6  is an insert sheet that is attached to cover a slider core. 
         FIG. 7  is a slider core. 
         FIG. 8  is a plan view of a cardstock sheet that may be folded to form a sleeve. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     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,  FIGS. 1 through 8  illustrate embodiments of a gift card holder  100  comprising a sliding panel  105  and a sleeve  110 .  FIG. 1  is a front view of a holder  100  with the cover flap  115  closed upon the front surface of the sleeve  110 . The sleeve  110  and other elements may bear graphics or other indicia or decorations  120 .  FIG. 2  is a front view of the holder  100  showing the sliding panel  105  drawn upward from the sleeve  110  to reveal a gift card  125 . The gift card  125  is mounted on a backer card  130 , as known in the prior art. The backer card  130  and gift card  125  may comprise a packet  135 . As shown, the packet  135  is housed within the sliding panel pocket  140 . 
       FIG. 3  is an additional front view of a holder  100  with the cover flap  115  closed.  FIG. 4  is an additional front view of the holder  100  showing the sliding panel  105  drawn upward from the sleeve  110 . 
       FIG. 5  is a plan view of a cardstock sheet that may be folded to form a sliding panel  105 . The panel  105  is formed of three sheets folded in upon each other. Sheet  155  forms an inner frame that supports the edges of a gift card packet  135  when such is mounted within the pocket  140 . During assembly, sheet  155  is folded upon sheet  160 . The insert sheet  170  is adhered to the slider core  175  and both are attached to sheet  165 . Sheet  160  and  155  are then folded upon sheet  165  and the slider core assembly. 
       FIG. 6  is an insert sheet  170  that is attached to cover a slider core  175 . 
       FIG. 8  is a plan view of a cardstock sheet that may be folded to form a sleeve  110 . After assembly of the sliding panel, the tabs of sheet  165  are bent outward and passed into slots  210  and  215  in the sleeve where they provide some stability to the sliding panel and also act to limit travel, particularly upward travel, of the panel by providing a positive stop when a tab comes to abut the upper edge of a slot  210  or  215 . 
     For presentation of a gift card  125  to the gift recipient, the user pulls on a ribbon or pull tab  180  mounted proximate the top edge  185  of the panel  105 , thereby drawing the panel  105  out of the sleeve  110  to a predetermined stop. The gift card  125  may then be removed from a pocket  140  in the panel  105 . When the panel  105  is housed within the sleeve  110 , a cover flap  115  is folded over the top of the sleeve  110  to secure the panel  105  in place within the sleeve  110 . 
     Note that drawings are not to scale or to relative scale but are representative of aspects of one or more embodiments of the present invention.