Abstract:
A card, a first panel, a second panel opposing the first panel, and a detachable tab connected to at least one of the first panel and the second panel taken together form a card carrier system. The card is provided between the first panel and the second panel and secured to at least one of the first panel and the second panel such that the card is at least partially covered by at least one of first panel and the second panel. The detachable tab taken together with at least one of the first panel and the second panel covers a greater portion of the card than either the first or second panel alone. The card has an exposed portion extending past both the first panel and the second panel such that when the detachable tab is removed, the exposed portion of the card may be encoded.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates generally to card display packages and their methods of manufacture. 
   BACKGROUND 
   Debit cards distributed by financial institutions are typically forwarded to retail merchants for sale to individual purchasers. These cards allow the holder prepaid access to existing credit networks for making purchases, eliminating the need to carry cash on hand. They may be used to provide authorization for the rental or purchase of goods and services, or may be used as a gift certificate granting the holder credit for various goods and services. 
   It has been the practice with prepaid debit cards that a merchant purchases a stock of cards just as he would any other good, at which time he incurs a charge from the vendor for the value of the debit card. By displaying these cards for sale in his store, the merchant exposes himself to the loss of the valuable cards through shrinkage and theft. Furthermore, the merchant must maintain individual inventory stocks for each different value of debit card he wishes to sell. the merchant&#39;s working capital is restricted by the need to maintain these stocks well in advance of when the debit cards are actually sold as retail items to individual purchasers. 
   To address these problems, merchants have begun to sell non activated, or “zero balance” debit cards which have no intrinsic value until they are activated by the merchant&#39;s magnetic card reader. It is now a common practice to sell such cards to purchasers with the activation taking place at the merchant counter at the time of sale. 
   In this manner, the merchant reduces his overhead because the value of the inactivated debit cards is not payable to the wholesale vendor of the cards until the card itself is actually distributed by the merchant at the point of sale (“POS”). Theft is also no longer a concern given that the inactivated debit cards have very little value. 
   Upon sale of a debit card to a purchaser, the merchant encodes the debit card with a specific balance paid for by the purchaser. To do so, the magnetic stripe on the debit card must be exposed so that the card itself may be passed through the merchant&#39;s magnetic card reader. These cards are often sold mounted in or on some sort of card carrier or protective/display packaging. In order to keep this packaging from interfering with the encoding operation carried out by the merchant at the time of purchase, prior art packages exist wherein a card is mounted so that it is permanently exposed, and so that none of the packaging overlaps the exposed portion of the card containing the magnetic strip to be encoded. 
   These prior art packaging systems may not fully and securely enclose the card to be sold, nor do they provide for an attractive graphical display area. This reduces the surface area of the holder useful for marketing materials and other promotional items. It may be desirable, according to one embodiment, that a packaging system be provided with an attractive graphical display that surrounds the card mounted within, while at the same time allowing a merchant to easily encode the card when purchased without first removing the card from the packaging in which the card is displayed. 
   SUMMARY 
   In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a card package comprises a card carrier for mounting a card having an encodable magnetic strip disposed transversely across a portion of the card. A detachable tag is provided as part of the card carrier, wherein the tag of the card carrier is manipulated to expose the card within the card carrier, allowing the card to be swiped though an encoding device without fully removing the card from the card carrier. 
   A card carrier system comprises a card, a first panel, a second panel opposing the first panel, and a detachable tab connected to at least one of the first panel and the second panel. The card is provided between the first panel and the second panel and secured to at least one of the first panel and the second panel such that the card is at least partially covered by at least one of first panel and the second panel. The detachable tab taken together with at least one of the first panel and the second panel covers a greater portion of the card than at least one of the first panel and the second panel alone. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  shows a planar view of one embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier; 
       FIG. 2  shows an alternative embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier having the dimensions shown; 
       FIG. 3  shows a further view of an embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier wherein a removable tab including a window therein has the dimensions shown; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier having a card therein, and shown suspended from a display peg, wherein the removable tab and the bottom front border have been removed from the foldable envelope carrier; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view illustrating the embodiment of  FIG. 4  wherein the card disposed within the foldable envelope carrier is being swiped through an encoding device; 
       FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the foldable envelope carrier of  FIG. 1 ; and 
       FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a method used to produce a foldable envelope carrier. 
   

   Before any embodiment of the invention is explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and arrangements of components set forth in the following description, or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of alternative embodiments and of being practiced or being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of illustrative description and should not be regarded as limiting. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     FIG. 1  shows a planar view of one embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier  100  comprising a front panel  110  and a rear panel  120  formed out of a sheet of material having a central perforation  150  dividing the front panel  110  and the rear panel  120 . A card  160 , which is in one embodiment a debit card allowing the holder prepaid access to existing credit networks for making purchases, is secured to at least one of the front panel  110  or the rear panel  120 , more specifically the rear panel  120  in the embodiment shown in  FIG. 1 . In a further embodiment, the card  160  is selectively detachable from adhesive glue securing it to the foldable envelope carrier  100 . 
   The foldable envelope carrier  100  is prepared by cutting a sheet of material to a designated size, typically 9⅞″ by 8½″ in dimension. The foldable envelope carrier  100  must then be correctly matched with a corresponding card  160 , which has been separately prepared. The nature of this preparation will be made evident in later figures. The card  160  may be attached to the foldable envelope carrier  100  by an adhesive, by inserting the card  160  into a plurality of slits (not shown) formed in the foldable envelope carrier  100 , or any other appropriate method known to one skilled in the art. 
   A top perforation  151  is provided along one edge of the foldable envelope carrier  100 . The top perforation  151  runs perpendicular to the central perforation  150  and separates a pair of top border pieces from the remainder of the foldable envelope carrier  100 . Specifically, a top front border  116  is formed as a subdivision of the front panel  110  and a top rear border  126  is formed as a subdivision of the rear panel  120  by the top perforation  151 . The top front border  116  is provided with a front peg aperture  113 , and the top rear border  126  is provided with a rear peg aperture  123 . In one embodiment, were the foldable envelope carrier  100  to be folded along the central perforation  150  such that the front panel  110  was disposed facing the rear panel  120 , the front and rear peg apertures  113  and  123  would align with one another. 
   The front panel  110  and the rear panel  120  are in one embodiment formed as substantially rectangular sections having a pair of long sides and a pair of short sides. One pair of long sides of the front panel  110  and the rear panel  120  meet at the central perforation  150 . The remaining front panel edge  112  of the front panel  110  and rear panel edge  122  of the rear panel  120  comprise the opposing long side of each of the front panel  110  and the rear panel  120 . 
   In one embodiment of the foldable envelope carrier  100 , a pair of side perforations are provided running substantially parallel to the central perforation  150 , and are disposed proximate to the front panel edge  112  of the front panel  110  and the rear panel edge  122  of the rear panel  120  to comprise a side front perforation  111 , and a side rear perforation  121  respectively. 
   In much the same way that the top perforation  151  separates the top front border  116  from the remainder of the front panel  110 , the side front perforation  111  separates the side front border  114  from the remainder of the front panel  110 . Likewise, the side rear perforation  121  separates the side rear front border  124  from the remainder of the rear panel  120 . The intersection of the top perforation  151  with the side front perforation  111  and the side rear perforation  121  delineates a front corner  115  and a rear corner  125  respectively as further subdivisions of the front panel  110  and the rear panel  120 . 
   Thus, a foldable envelope carrier  100  is provided having a front panel  110  and a rear panel  120  separated by a central perforation  150 . The front panel  110  and a rear panel  120  of the foldable envelope carrier  100  may be folded against each other along the central perforation  150 . Subsequently, the side front border  114  may be secured to the side rear border  124  and the top front border  116  to the top rear border  126  to provide a semi-enclosed envelope or pocket to contain the card  160  which, as discussed above, is secured to one of the front panel  110  or the rear panel  120 . The securing of opposing borders of the foldable envelope carrier  100  may be carried out with adhesive, staples or any other appropriate method known to one skilled in the art. 
   In an alternative embodiment, the side front border  114  and the side rear border  124  may be the only point of attachment; in this case no union is necessary between the top front border  116  and the top rear border  126 . Furthermore, in the alternative embodiment just discussed the foldable envelope carrier  100  may be formed without any top perforation  151 , top front border  116  or rear front border  126 . In another alternative embodiment, the card  160  may be secured to both the front and rear panels  110  and  120  using an adhesive such that this adhesive bond between the card  160  and the front and rear panels  110  and  120  is the sole means of securing the front rear panels  110  to the rear panel  120 . 
   The card  160  (which in one embodiment comprises a magnetic stripe encoded plastic card and substrate) is inserted into the foldable envelope carrier  100  which is then sealed to ensure the card  160  stays within the foldable envelope carrier  100  despite jostling or other agitation. The foldable envelope carrier  100  holds the card  160  within and serves to display additional information to potential purchasers including promotional information, variable bar codes and purchaser information. 
   In an alternative embodiment, a second card (not shown) may be attached to the foldable envelope carrier  100  in that same manner as the card  160 . This requires the preparation of a second card, matching the second card with the foldable envelope carrier  100  and attaching the second card to the foldable envelope carrier  100 . As with the card  160 , the second card may be attached to either the front panel  110  or the rear panel  120 . However, in this embodiment, the weight of the contents in the foldable envelope carrier  100  has increased, and thus so has the weight of the entire assembly of the foldable envelope carrier  100  and the cards within. 
     FIG. 2  shows one alternative embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier  200  having the dimensions shown. It is understood that these measurements are exemplary and that the invention may be carried out with a foldable envelope carrier  200  having substantially different proportions. The measurements shown, which for the most part comprise distances between elements of the envelope carrier  200 , also include the radii of curvature for elements such as the chamfers  271  and  272  of the front peg aperture  213  and the rear peg aperture  223 , as well as others. 
     FIG. 3  shows a further view of an embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier wherein a removable tab  368  including a window  366  therein has the dimensions shown. As with  FIG. 2 , it is understood that  FIG. 3  shows only one alternative embodiment of a foldable envelope carrier  300  having the dimensions shown, and that other embodiments are possible.  FIG. 3  shows but one specific embodiment for the placement and size of a window  366  on the removable tab  368 . 
   Returning now to  FIG. 1 , the foldable envelope carrier  100  has been provided with the central perforation  150  so that in one embodiment, the foldable envelope carrier  100  may be folded along the central perforation  150  so that opposing borders of the foldable envelope carrier  100  have been secured to each other to enclose the card  160 . Specifically, the side front border  114  may be secured to the side rear border  124 , and the top front border  116  may be secured to the top rear border  126 . A purchaser of the foldable envelope carrier  100  and enclosed card may tear off the side front border  114 , side rear border  124 , top front border  116  and top rear border  126  along adjacent perforations in order to unfold the foldable envelope carrier  100 . This allows the purchaser easier access to the card  160 , and permits the card  160  to be more easily removed from the arrangement securing it to the foldable envelope carrier  100 . 
   However, a merchant must have access to the card  160  at the time of sale in order to encode a specific balance on the magnetic strip  185 . Substantially all of the card  160  is blocked by the structure of the foldable envelope carrier  100  in the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1 . While it is desirable to enclose the card  160  with the structure of the foldable envelope carrier  100  in order to protect and conceal the card  160 , it is not desirable to require a merchant to completely disassemble the foldable envelope carrier  100  in the manner described above to access the magnetic strip  185  of the card  160 . 
   As such, a removable tab  168  is provided adjacent to the rear panel  120  and separated from the front panel  110  by a first removable tab hinge  162  and a second removable tab hinge  167 . The removable tab  168  is furthermore attached to the rear panel  120  by a bottom rear perforation  164 . The removable tab  168  provided as part of the foldable envelope carrier  100  may be partially or completely detached from the foldable envelope carrier  100  to further expose the card  160  within the foldable envelope carrier  100 . 
   In one embodiment, the removable tab  168  includes a window  166  allowing a merchant to view certain information on the card  160  without the foldable envelope carrier  100  in any way. This is useful because the card  160  may be provided with a unique control number allowing a merchant and/or the original vendor to track their inventories of debit cards sold within foldable envelope carriers. 
   At the time of sale of an assembled foldable envelope carrier  100  having an enclosed card  160 , a merchant need only grasp the grip  180  or some other portion of the removable tab  168  and tear along the bottom rear perforation  164  to fold the removable tab  168  along the first and second removable tab hinges  162  and  167 . In this manner, the merchant exposes the magnetic strip  185  of the card  160  for encoding without removing the card  160  from the foldable envelope carrier  100 . 
   In one embodiment, the first removable tab hinge  162  connects the removable tag  168  with a bottom front border  161  of the front panel  110  of the foldable envelope carrier  100 . This bottom front border  161  is separated from the remainder of the front panel  110  by a bottom front perforation in much the same way that the top perforation separates the top front border  116  from the remainder of the front panel  110 . The bottom front border  161  is provides additional protection to the portion of the card  160  extending past the edge  199  of the rear panel  120 , but it too may be removed by folding or tearing along the bottom front perforation to allow additional access to the card  160 . 
   In one embodiment, the bottom rear perforation  164  comprises a region wherein an alternate perforation  165  having a higher teeth per inch and/or blade to tie ratio is provided to allow a handler of the foldable envelope carrier  100  to more easily start the tearing along the bottom rear perforation  164 . 
   In this manner the integrity of an assembled foldable envelope carrier can be maintained while access is granted to encode the magnetic strip of the enclosed card.  FIG. 4  shows a perspective view of an embodiment of an assembled foldable envelope carrier  400  having a card  460  therein, and shown suspended from display peg  419  by a peg aperture  413 , wherein the removable tab and the bottom front border have been removed from the foldable envelope carrier  400 . The front panel  110  and rear panel  120  of the foldable envelope carrier  400  have been folded against each other along a central perforation  450  to provide an enclosed space to contain a portion of the card  460 . 
   In an embodiment of the present invention, because the removable tab  168  and the bottom front border  161  shown in  FIG. 1  are not present in  FIG. 4 , the foldable envelope carrier  400  has a portion of the card  460  projecting therefrom. These two elements have been completely detached from this embodiment of the foldable envelope carrier  400  to expose the portion of the card  460  having the magnetic strip  485 . An encodable magnetic strip  485  is disposed transversely across the portion of the card which projects from the foldable envelope carrier  400 . As such, the card  460  may be swiped though an encoding device without removing the card from the foldable envelope carrier  400 . 
   Accordingly,  FIG. 5  shows a perspective view illustrating the embodiment of  FIG. 4  wherein a card  560  disposed within the foldable envelope carrier  500  has a magnetic strip  585  which is swiped through card reader  589 . In a similar manner to the aforementioned embodiments, the foldable envelope carrier  500  is provided with an aperture  513 , a front panel  510  and a rear panel  520  folded at a central perforation  550 . 
     FIG. 6  is a cross sectional view of the embodiment of the foldable envelope carrier of shown in  FIG. 1 . A card display package comprises a foldable envelope carrier constructed of a sheet of material  612  laminated with a plastic material  614  to produce a laminated sheet of material  610 . 
     FIG. 7  is a block diagram of an embodiment of a method used to produce a foldable envelope carrier. A foldable envelope carrier is formed by first passing a sheet of material  710  through a non-variable printing station  715  where non-variable data of the foldable envelope carrier  100 , such as art work, instructional information and promotional information is disposed on a sheet of material  612 . This data may, in alternative embodiments, be disposed on each side of the sheet of material  612 . 
   The sheet of material  612  is next passed through a variable printing station  720  where the unique data such as control numbers, bar codes serial numbers are disposed on the sheet of material  612 . In alternate embodiments, either the variable or non-variable data may comprise data displayed beneath the window  160  of the removable tab  168  of  FIG. 1 . After the unique data has been disposed on the sheet of material  612 , it is passed through a laminating station  725  where each side of the sheet of material  612  is laminated with the plastic material  614  in a manner known to one skilled in the art. 
   The laminated sheet of material  610  is then passed through a die cut and perforating station  730  where it is cut to the desired size. The laminated sheet of material  610  is perforated so as to define the front panel  110  and the rear panel  220  of  FIG. 1 , as well as other portions of the foldable envelope carrier  100  discussed above. 
   In one alternative embodiment of the present invention, the side front perforation  111 , side rear perforation  121 , top perforation  151  and alternate perforation  165  all comprise perforation lines having seventeen teeth per inch, and a blade to tie ratio of 70%. In another alternative embodiment, the central perforation  150  and bottom front perforation  163  both comprise perforation lines having two teeth per inch, and a blade to tie ratio of 50%. Further, in another alternative embodiment, the second removable tab hinge  167  comprises a straight bladed cut with no perforation. It is understood that these perforation specifications are exemplary and that the invention may be carried out with a foldable envelope carrier having different perforation specifications. 
   For example, in yet another alternative embodiment, the central perforation  150  comprises a “perforation” line having a blade to tie ratio of 0%; i.e. the central perforation line may be simply a fold line having no perforations therein. 
   With the foldable envelope carrier  100  correctly sized and shaped, the card  160  is passed through a magnetic strip applicator and encoder station  735  to apply the magnetic strip  185 , followed by the foldable envelope carrier  100  being passed through a folding station  740 . The card  160  is then assembled together with the foldable envelope carrier  100 , by one of the methods described above.