Abstract:
A gift package includes a greeting card and an integrated gift card holder sized and shaped to receive a gift card such as that issued by various retail stores and restaurants, to provide a convenient, efficient and attractive way to present a recipient with a greeting card suited for the occasion. The gift package also includes a cover which covers a portion of the gift card holder. The gift card holder is movable between a first position relative to the cover when the greeting card is in a closed state, and a second position relative to the cover when the greeting card is in an opened state. When a gift card is placed in the gift card holder, at least a substantial portion of the gift card is displayed to a recipient from behind the cover when the greeting card is opened.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is directed to a greeting card having an integrated holder for presenting a gift card to a recipient. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Gift certificates to various stores or restaurants are a popular gift idea for birthdays or the holidays. They allow the sender to give a gift from a store at which the sender knows the recipient enjoys shopping, while relieving the sender of the burden of selecting a specific item of the right size or according to the tastes of the recipient. A gift certificate to a restaurant enables the recipient to enjoy a meal at the selected restaurant with whomever the recipient chooses. Gift certificates may be purchased in incremental amounts as determined by the vendor, or in any amount desired by the purchaser. 
     In the prior art, gift certificates were essentially a paper-based, printed IOU issued by the store, and coming in a variety of different shapes and sizes, according to the preferences of the vendor. Typically, the gift certificate was presented to the recipient in a matching envelope from the vendor, along with a greeting card appropriate for the occasion as selected by the sender. 
     Recently, gift certificates have evolved into a form similar to debit cards, having a magnetic stripe, bar code, or other read/write capability. The new generation of gift certificates are more uniformly sized and shaped similarly to credit/debit cards and are “refillable,” so as to be reusable by the recipient as an access card for a pre-paid, declining balance-type account. Moreover, the capability to automatically update the value of the card enables the vendor to avoid having to issue a new or replacement certificate, or to cash out any remainder if the recipient does not use the whole amount at once. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention takes advantage of the more uniform format of gift cards issued by various retail stores and restaurants to provide a convenient, efficient and attractive way to present a recipient with a greeting card suited for the occasion, along with a gift card simultaneously displayed in the greeting card. More particularly, the present invention relates to a greeting card having an integrated gift card holder which eliminates the need to obtain and present the user with both a greeting card and also a separate envelope or other holder or container for a gift card. 
     The present invention functions as a greeting card, and also includes a gift card holder and a cover which covers a portion of the gift card holder. The gift card holder is movable between a first position relative to the cover when the greeting card is in a closed state, and a second position relative to the cover when the greeting card is in an opened state. When a gift card is placed in the gift card holder, at least a substantial portion of the gift card is displayed to a recipient from behind the cover when the greeting card is opened. 
     Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the invention which refers to the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the present invention as it may appear in a retail display, showing a closed greeting card attached to a hangar unit for being hung from a display rack; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates the greeting card of FIG. 1 in a partially opened state; 
     FIG. 3 illustrates the greeting card of FIG. 1 in a fully opened state; 
     FIG. 4 is an exemplary greeting card of the present invention containing a gift card in the holder thereof, as shown in a partially opened state; 
     FIG. 5 illustrates the greeting card of FIG. 4 showing a gift card displayed therein with the greeting card in a fully opened state; 
     FIG. 6 shows an unassembled blank of the integrated greeting card and gift card holder of the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 illustrates a step in the process of assembling/folding the blank shown in FIG. 6 to obtain the integrated greeting card and gift card holder shown in FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 8 illustrates a step in the process of assembling/folding the blank shown in FIG. 6 subsequent to the step illustrated in FIG.  7 . 
     FIG. 9 illustrates a step in the process of assembling/folding the blank shown in FIG. 6 subsequent to the step illustrated in FIG.  8 . 
     FIG. 10 illustrates a step in the process of assembling/folding the blank shown in FIG. 6 subsequent to the step illustrated in FIG.  9 . 
     FIG. 11 shows the gift card holder portion of the greeting card according to the present invention, with a gift card being held therein. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 shows an exemplary embodiment of an integrated greeting card and gift card holder  10  in accordance with the present invention. As seen in FIG. 1, the integrated card  10  includes a greeting card portion  12  and an optional hangar portion  14 . Greeting card portion  12  includes a front panel  16 , which is printed with words, images, and/or patterns, etc. in various styles as typical on most greeting cards. The printed matter  15  may contain messages or images appropriate for a particular holiday, situation or occasion, i.e., birthday, Christmas, Hanukah, thank you, congratulations, graduation, wedding, new baby, etc. As seen in FIG. 2, front panel  16  is connected to rear panel  24  along central fold line  30 . Rear panel  24  may optionally also contain printed matter, as found on many typical greeting cards. 
     Inside left panel  18 , shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, is aligned with front panel  16  and forms the rear surface of front panel  16  and is visible when greeting card  12  is opened. Inside left panel  18  may also contain additional printed text, images, patterns, etc.  17 , as determined by the theme of the greeting card content and/or message. Opposite the inside left panel  18  is a pocket  40  formed by inside right panel  20  and rear panel  24 . Inside right panel  20  is aligned over rear panel  24  at their respective right edges, as seen in the drawings, and has a left edge  22  significantly short of reaching center fold line  32 , to allow room for presentation of a gift card between the left edge  22  of inside right panel  20  and the central fold line  30 , as will be described further below. As with inside left panel  18 , inside right panel  20  may also contain printed text, images, patterns, etc.  19  related to the greeting card content/message. Preferably, sufficient blank space is provided on inside left panel  18  and/or inside right panel  20  for a handwritten salutation or message from the sender to the recipient. 
     In this exemplary embodiment, hangar  14  is attached to inside right panel  20  along the top edge thereof. Hangar  14  includes a tab portion  34  with a cutout hole  36  formed therein for hanging the greeting card on a display rack at the retail or vendor location. After purchase by a consumer/sender of the card and before giving the card  12  to a recipient, hangar  14  can be detached from greeting card  12  by tearing along perforated line  38  die cut along the top edge of inside right panel  20 . 
     A gift card panel  26  is connected to inside left panel  18  along interior fold line  32 , and is cut away slightly along its top and bottom edges so that gift card panel  26  has a smaller height dimension than that of the inside left panel  18 , front panel  16 , rear panel  24  and inside right panel  20 . The reduced height of gift card panel  26  allows it to easily fit into and slide in and out of pocket  40 . Similarly with the other panels, gift card panel  26  may contain decorative or informative print, especially on the portion thereof which remains exposed when the greeting card  12  is opened. Gift card panel  26  includes a gift card holder  28 , which in this embodiment is formed by a pair of slits cut into gift card panel  26 . As can be seen more clearly in FIGS. 6 and 11, the slits are cut in a manner such that a gift card  44  can be inserted into the slits without slipping through and falling completely behind gift card panel  26 . 
     The interior fold line  32  connecting gift card panel  26  to inside left panel  18  is offset from the central fold line  30  toward the left edge of inside left panel  18 . With this configuration, when a gift card  44  is inserted into the holder  28  of the gift card panel  26 , most of the gift card  44  will be inserted behind edge  22  and into the pocket  40  when the greeting card  12  is closed. Furthermore, as can be seen in FIGS. 2 and 4 showing the greeting card  12  in a partially opened state, a gap is formed between rear panel  24  and gift card panel  26  due to the offset distance  42  along front panel  16  between center fold line  30  and interior fold line  32 . 
     Optionally, an adhesive strip  46  may be provided for holding the greeting card  12  closed. Other materials or mechanisms may alternatively be used to maintain closure of the greeting card  12  until desired to be opened. Examples include any of various types of light, resealable and/or removable adhesives spot applied on one or both of inside left and right panels  18 ,  20  near the peripheral edge thereof, and fasteners such as Velcro®, snaps, etc. 
     FIG. 4 shows a greeting card  12  containing a prepaid gift card  44  in a partially opened state, as may be viewed by a recipient. As the greeting card  12  is opened by rotating front panel  16  and inside left panel  18  about the axis of central fold line  30 , the offset distance  42  of the interior fold line  32  from the central fold line  30  causes the gift card panel  26  to slide partially out of pocket  40 . The gift card  44  thus “pops out” from behind the edge  22  of inside right panel  20  so that a significant portion of the gift card  44  is displayed to the recipient, as seen in FIG.  5 . The movement of the gift card  44  out of the pocket  40  as the greeting card  12  is opened provides an eye-catching effect and serves similarly to an “unwrapping” of the gift. In the illustrated embodiment, at least about half of the gift card  44  extends outward and is exposed to the recipient when the greeting card is opened, although the exposed amount may be greater or lesser as desired by the manufacturer. This relationship is important because it provides the desired balance between providing a sufficient amount of the card  44  to be recognized, while keeping enough of the card  44  in the pocket  40  to provide stability. Similarly, upon closing the greeting card  12 , the gift card panel  26 , and hence gift card  44 , slides back into pocket  40 . 
     Next, a description will be provided of the integrated greeting card and gift card holder  10  of the present invention in an unassembled state, and a process for assembling the integrated greeting card and gift card holder  10  from a blank  50 , shown in FIG.  6 . 
     Blank  50  is preferably made from a cardboard or paperboard material, such as those typically used for making greeting cards, or from a light plastic material, and includes gift card panel  26  adjoining a first side of inside left panel  18  along interior fold line  32 ; a first side of front panel  16  adjoining a second side of inside left panel  18  along a front exterior fold line  52 ; a first side of rear panel  24  adjoining a second side of front panel  16  along central fold line  30 ; a first side of inside right panel  20  adjoining a second side of rear panel  24  along a rear exterior fold line  62 ; first and second flaps  54  and  56  adjoining third and fourth sides of rear panel  24 , respectively, along first and second flap fold lines  58  and  60 , respectively; and hangar tab  34  adjoining a second side of rear panel  24  along perforated line  38 . 
     In this exemplary embodiment, gift card panel  26 , inside left panel  18 , front panel  16 , rear panel  24 , and inside right panel  20  are arranged linearly, as seen in FIG.  6 . With this configuration, only one side of the blank  50  needs to be printed to provide text, images, etc. on the viewable sides of all the panels of the assembled product. For example, with a linear configuration, the printed matter  15 ,  17  and  19  on panels  16 ,  18  and  20 , respectively, can all be printed on the same side of the blank  50 . 
     Other configurations are possible, however, and are within the scope of the present invention. For example, inside left panel  18  (and hence front exterior fold line  52 ) may be formed to adjoin front face panel  16  along either the top edge or the bottom edge of the latter, according to the orientation shown in the drawing, instead of along the left side thereof. With such an alternative configuration, gift card panel  26  would adjoin inside left panel  18  along the right side of the latter, so as to be oriented properly upon assembly of the blank  50 . 
     In another alternative configuration, inside right panel  20  may be formed to adjoin rear panel  24  along either the top edge or the bottom edge of the rear panel  24 , according to the orientation shown in the drawing, instead of along the right side thereof. As such, one of first and second flaps  54 ,  56  would be formed to adjoin either rear panel  24  along the right edge thereof, as seen in the drawing, or inside right panel  20  along any available edge thereof, other than edge  22 . Moreover, hangar tab  34  may be formed to adjoin any available edge of inside left panel  18 , front panel  16 , rear panel  24 , or inside right panel  20  other than edge  22 . 
     Further alternative configurations may be provided in which first and second flaps  58 ,  60  may be formed to adjoin any combination of edges among the top and bottom edges of rear panel  24  and inside right panel  20 , according to the orientation shown in FIG. 6, and/or hangar tab  34  may be formed to adjoin an available upper or lower edge of any of panels  16 ,  18 ,  20 , and  24 . Further still, other combinations of the configurations described hereinabove may be used, as especially where the blank can be assembled into the integrated greeting card and gift card holder  10  shown in FIG. 1, with the same functional aspects described above. 
     When starting with the blank  50  shown in FIG. 6, the integrated greeting card and gift card holder  10  is formed by first folding along front exterior fold line  52  to bring inside left panel  18  into contact with front panel  16 , as shown in FIG.  7 . As seen in FIG. 8, inside left panel  18  and front panel  16  are aligned along the front exterior fold line  52 , and their upper and lower edges. The right edge of front panel  16  corresponds with central fold line  30 , and extends past the right edge of inside left panel  18 , which corresponds with the interior fold line  32 . Optionally, the two panels may be sealed together with an adhesive applied to one or both confronting surfaces of the two panels  16  and  18 . 
     Next, with the gift card panel  26  overlapped onto rear panel  24 , flaps  54  and  56  are folded along flap fold lines  58  and  60 , respectively, so as to overlap the corners of gift card panel  26 , as illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9. An adhesive is then applied to the surfaces of flaps  54 ,  56  which face away from gift card panel  26  (FIG.  9 ). 
     Inside right panel  20  is then folded toward gift card panel  26  along rear exterior fold line  62 , as shown in FIG. 10, and is secured in place upon contact with the adhesive-coated flaps  54  and  56 , to thereby form pocket  40 . Assembled in this manner, the blank  50  is transformed into the integrated greeting card and gift card holder  10 . Similar assembly operations are performed with the various alternative collapsed configurations to obtain similar integrated greeting card and gift card holders in accordance with the present invention. 
     As mentioned above, gift card panel  26  is smaller in height than adjoining inside left panel and rear panel  24  such that gift card panel  26  appears to have been cut away along both its top and bottom edges thereof. Also, the width of gift card panel  26  is substantially less than the width of rear panel  24 , such that when the greeting card  12  is in a closed position, only approximately one-half of gift card panel  26  is inserted behind the flaps  54  and  56 , and edge  22  of pocket  40 . The reduced height and width of the gift card panel  26  allows the panel  26  to move with relative ease back and forth in the pocket  40  upon opening and closing the card  12 , by reducing the potential for the edges of gift card panel  26  being hindered by frictional resistance in the creases along fold lines  58  and  60 . 
     Gift card panel  26  is not necessarily permanently retained inside pocket  40  during the assembly of the invention. Optionally, pocket  40  may be formed while the gift card panel  26  is positioned outside thereof, and may be later inserted into the pocket at the time a gift card is to be placed in the holder  28 . Similarly, depending on the dimensions of the gift card panel  26  relative to the depth of pocket  40  as well as the ease of insertion of a gift card into holder  28 , the gift card panel  26  may be removed from pocket  40  for inserting a gift card therein, and then reinserted into the pocket thereafter. Removal of the gift card panel  26  from the pocket  40  or providing an assembled greeting card and gift card holder with the gift card panel  26  outside the pocket  40 , however, is more feasible when the dimensions of gift card panel  26  are such that the gift card panel  26  extends only shallowly into the pocket  40  when inserted therein. 
     In the preferred embodiment, gift card holder  28  is formed in gift card panel  26  as a pair of slits die cut through the panel  26 . As can be seen in FIG. 6, inter alia, the slits are formed as a pair of substantially parallel cuts having a portion  28   a  spaced apart to the same width as or slightly wider than the width of a standard credit card-sized gift card, and then tapering together to a second parallel portion  28   b  which is spaced apart to a width narrower than the width of the gift card. FIG. 11 shows a gift card  44  inserted into the slits of holder  28 , with the lower corners of the card  44  placed behind the narrower second portion  28   b , and the remainder of the card  44  positioned on the front surface of panel  26 . The gift card crosses from being behind the gift card panel  26  to being on the front surface of the panel  26  at the ends of the slits at portion  28   b . Thus, gift card  44  is prevented from slipping completely through the slits to fall behind the gift card panel  26 . 
     The slits forming holder  28  may be formed according to other shapes, as desired. For example, the holder may be formed as a pair of short diagonal cuts through which the bottom corners only of a gift card  44  can be inserted. Alternatively, holder  28  may be formed as other embodiments entirely, such as a shallow pocket or transparent sleeve attached to the surface of gift card panel  26 . 
     In the exemplary embodiment described herein, the pocket  40  is formed at the right side of the opened greeting card. This is the preferred arrangement for a typical greeting card in which the front panel opens like a book toward the left, because it produces a dynamic effect which is more noticeable to the recipient when the greeting card is opened. However, the integrated greeting card and gift card holder of the present invention also encompasses variations of the disclosed embodiment in which the pocket and gift card holder is provided on the left side of the opened card. The present invention further encompasses greeting cards which open vertically, in which the pocket and gift card holder is provided preferably in the upper portion, but alternatively in the lower portion of the opened card. Of course, for each of these variations, corresponding changes to the unassembled blank may be made, while still preserving the function of a “pop-out” display of a gift card. Further still, although the embodiment discussed herein is shown in the drawings as a greeting card which is substantially square in shape, the greeting card may be formed to be of other shapes and sizes as designed, with the unassembled blank designed accordingly to be assembled in a similar manner and to function as described herein. 
     Although the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments thereof, many other variations and modifications and other uses will become apparent to those skilled in the art. It is preferred, therefore, that the present invention be limited not by the specific disclosure herein, but only by the appended claims.