Abstract:
Techniques for providing cost effective and tamper evident prepaid card packaging are described. By containing a relatively wide glued area by gluing two relatively tin side panels together, the resulting package is highly resistant to being slit open on an edge without the effort to open the package being highly evident. A foldover magnetic stripe panel provides additional thickness to a portion of the package typically read by a magnetic strip reader while allowing very thin side panels.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/566,385 filed Dec. 10, 2014 which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/140,443 filed Jun. 17, 2008 which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,931,639 and which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/052,445 filed May 12, 2008 all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to improvements in prepaid card packaging, and more particularly to advantageous aspects of paper packaging of prepaid cards. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    As prepaid cards have become more and more prevalent, techniques for cost effectively packaging such cards in a tamper evident manner are highly desirable. While a wide variety of previous approaches have been tried, many such approaches have failed to provide the right balance of features. For example, a highly secure package may be too hard to open by a legitimate customer after purchase, too expensive or both. A very cost effective package may be too susceptible to fraud. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    To such ends, as well as to address other issues addressed further below, one aspect of the present invention addresses a bi-panel having a fold line with a first panel to one side of the fold line and a second panel to the other side of the fold line, the first panel having an area reserved for a product literature insert on an inside face and the second panel having an area reserved for a card located within a no glue region on an inside face; and a wide glue area between the no glue area and the edges of the second panel. 
         [0005]    According to a further aspect of the invention, the fold line may be scored. 
         [0006]    According to another aspect, the wide glue area is at least 0.5″ wide and may advantageously be approximately 0.625″ for standard credit card sized gift card. 
         [0007]    In another aspect, glue is applied to the wide glue area, the bi-panel is folded about the fold line, and the glue is activated to form a tamper evident seal which is at least 0.5″ wide and preferably is approximately 0.625″ wide for a card which has standard sized credit card size. 
         [0008]    In another aspect, the bi-panel is a material having a thickness ranging from 0.006″−0.016″. 
         [0009]    According to another aspect, the second panel has a magnetic stripe flap extending from a bottom edge. 
         [0010]    In a further aspect, the magnetic stripe flap is folded about a fold line and glued to the back of the second panel. In this arrangement the bi-panel may suitable be 8 point paper and the flap is approximately 0.75″ wide. 
         [0011]    According to a further aspect, a bar code or bar codes or a magnetic stripe or both are located on an outside face of either the first or second panel or both. 
         [0012]    Another aspect of the invention addresses a method for making a tamper evident card carrier comprising forming a bi-panel having a fold line with a first panel to one side of the fold line and a second panel to the other side of the fold line, the first panel having an area reserved for a product literature insert on an inside face and the second panel having an area reserved for a card located within a no glue region on an inside face; and a wide glue area between the no glue area and the edges of the second panel. 
         [0013]    In a further aspect, this method comprises scoring the fold line. 
         [0014]    According to another aspect, the method comprises applying glue to the wide glue area which is at least 0.5″ wide and preferably is approximately 0.625″ wide for a standard credit card sized card. 
         [0015]    In another aspect, the method comprises gluing a gift card to the area for a card with fugitive glue; and gluing a product literature insert to the area for a product literature insert with fugitive glue. 
         [0016]    Another aspect of a method addresses applying glue to the wide glue area; folding the bi-panel about the fold line; and activating the glue to form a tamper evident seal which is at least 5″ wide. 
         [0017]    In a further aspect of the method, the bi-panel is a material having a thickness ranging from 0.006″−0.016″. 
         [0018]    Another aspect of the method addresses forming a magnetic stripe on a flap extending from a bottom edge of the second panel. 
         [0019]    Another aspect of the method comprises folding the flap about a fold line; and gluing the flap to the back of the second panel. Further in this method, the bi-panel may advantageously be 8 point paper and the flap is approximately 0.75″ wide. Additionally the method may further comprise forming a bar code on a magnetic stripe on an outside face of either the first or second panel. 
         [0020]    A more complete understanding of the present invention, as well as other features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent from the following detailed description, the accompanying drawings, and the claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0021]      FIG. 1  shows an open card carrier blank utilized to form a gift card carrier in accordance with a first alternative of a first embodiment of the invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 2  shows the back of an assembled card carrier in accordance with a second alternative arrangement; 
           [0023]      FIG. 3  shows an assembled card carrier in accordance with a third alternative arrangement; 
           [0024]      FIG. 4  shows an open card carrier blank utilized to form a gift card carrier in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention; 
           [0025]      FIGS. 5-7  show the inside of an open paper blank utilized to form a gift card carrier in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention; the outside of the blank illustrating the foldover of a magstripe to the outside back; the magstripe folded over and glued to the outside back; and perforations of the outside back and front; respectively, of the third embodiment of the invention; 
           [0026]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  (collectively  FIG. 8 ) show a fourth embodiment of the invention; and 
           [0027]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  (collectively  FIG. 9 ) show a method for making a card carrier in accordance with the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0028]      FIG. 1  shows a card carrier blank utilized to form a gift card carrier  100  in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. More specifically,  FIG. 1  shows a bi-panel arrangement in which a first panel  110  and a second panel  120  are folded about a centerline  130  and glued shut to form a gift card carrier as described in further detail below. Aspects of two additional alternative gift card carriers of the first embodiment are illustrated in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , respectively. Illustrative dimensions are included in  FIG. 1  for the gift card carrier  100  for use with a gift card which is the size of a standard credit card. A presently preferred material for carrier  100  is 12 point white paper having a nominal thickness of 0.012″. It will be recognized that other dimensions may be suitably employed for cards having other dimensions and that materials other than paper may be suitably employed. 
         [0029]    First panel  110  has a rectangular area  112  where a terms and condition pamphlet or other product literature insert  10  may be suitably attached with fugitive glue, for example, which allows the pamphlet or insert to be readily removed by a customer that purchases the gift card upon opening the carrier  100 . First panel  110  also includes a first smaller hangtag cutout  114 . 
         [0030]    Second panel  120  has a first rectangular area  122  where a gift card  20  is suitably attached with fugitive glue, for example, allowing the gift card to be readily detached from the carrier once a customer has purchased the gift card and opened the carrier  100 . A second area  124  is a tolerance area within which the gift card may be acceptably mounted. In  FIG. 1 , card  20  is shown centered within the tolerance area  124 . A third area  126  defines a no glue region. Third area  126  is larger than the acceptable card placement area  124  so that a no glue buffer surrounds the card  20 . Second panel  120  also includes a second larger hangtag cutout  128 . Additionally, the second panel  120  includes a semicircular slot  129 . 
         [0031]    In this embodiment, glue is adhered or otherwise applied around the edges of both panels  110  and  120 . In one approach, the glue is applied everywhere except the glue free zones with a glue applicator as part of the process of printing the card carrier with any text, such as the manufacturer&#39;s name or logo, the card company, name, logo and the like, or any other printed text, advertising materials and the like that are desired to be printed on the carrier  100 . 
         [0032]    Then, the gift card  20  is attached to the panel  120 , and the pamphlet or product literature insert  10  is attached to panel  110 . The panels are folded together about centerfold line  130  like a clamshell so that the cutouts  114  and  128  form a hangtag opening for hanging the gift card sealed in the carrier  100  for display. Where glue applied during printing is utilized, heat and pressure are applied to activate the glue and to seal the panels  110  and  120  together The seal formed is preferably at least 0.5″ wide and even more preferably is approximately 0.625″ wide which is the case when glue is applied everywhere except the glue free zones. In a second approach, after the booklet and card are attached, hot melt glue is applied to one or both of the panels  110  and  120  in a bead or in dots with a pressure gun applicator. Where hot melt glue is employed, the closed carrier is rolled between rollers as the glue cools and sets so that the glue is applied uniformly and a wide area seal is formed. 
         [0033]    In a first alternative of the first embodiment, the exterior of carrier  100  does not include any further external features though it will be recognized that as noted above a wide variety of printed material may be added as desired. 
         [0034]      FIG. 2  shows back panel  140  of a second alternative carrier  200  after the panels  110  and  120  have been glued together. In the alternative shown, a barcode  245  is printed on the back panel  240  of the carrier  200 . This barcode  245  may be utilized as an activation reference code. Additional bar codes not shown may be utilized as a sales reference code to be scanned by a bar code scanner in a known manner, for manufacturing tracking purposes, or the like. 
         [0035]    When the two panels  110  and  120  have been folded and glued together, it is seen from  FIG. 1  that the bottom edge of card  20  is 0.875″ above the bottom edge of carrier  100 . If the bottom edge of card  20  is placed at the bottom of the acceptable card placement area, it is still 0.750″ above the bottom edge of carrier  200 . It is further seen from  FIG. 1  that with the approach in which glue is applied during printing, glue can be applied in a relatively wide area 0.625″ wide all around the no glue region  126 . With the application of hotmelt glue a similarly broad swath of glue can surround the no glue region  126 . 
         [0036]    As further seen in  FIG. 2 , upon assembly of the carrier  100 , slot  129  results in an external opening tab  130  which can be pulled by a purchaser to begin to tear open the carrier  100  to get access to the gift card sealed inside. It also creates a vent which allows internal air to escape upon a change of temperature, pressure or the like without damaging the seal. Finally, it also allows a simple visual confirmation that a card is contained in the carrier  100 . It will be recognized that alternative venting slots may be employed, such as a simple parenthesis shaped arc or arcs, or a diagonal cut or cuts. As a first example, if a shipment of gift cards is being transported by truck to Phoenix on a hot summer day, the high temperature in the truck might cause the internal air to expand. If the package had an airtight seal, that seal or the packaging could be damaged. As a second example, if a gift card in a sealed carrier is purchased and sent by air as a Christmas gift, the change in air pressure as the plane goes from near sea level to altitude would result in expansion of the interior air if the package was perfectly sealed, again possibly damaging the seal or the package. 
         [0037]    A third alternative gift card carrier  300  is illustrated in  FIG. 3 . In this alternative, the gift card carrier  300  is preferably formed from a blank like that of  FIG. 1 ; however, the back surface  340  of the assembled card  300  has a magstripe  345  rather than the barcode  345  shown in  FIG. 2 . Although not shown, it will be recognized that a further alternative employs both a barcode or barcodes and a magstripe. 
         [0038]    It is presently preferred that the magstripe  345  of carrier  100  be readable by a standard magstripe reader designed for reading the magstripe on a standard credit card. Such a credit card has a nominal thickness of 30 mils or 0.030″. As a result, the rollers of the standard credit card reader are spaced so that a card somewhat thicker or thinner than 0.030 inches can be read, but cards substantially thicker or thinner may be susceptible to jamming or fail to read as a result of the failure of the magnetic stripe to register with the read head. 
         [0039]    With card  20  having a nominal thickness of 30 mils and two layers of 12 point paper, the thickness of carrier  100  where the card is sandwiched is approximately 0.054″. However, the bottom 0.750″ at the bottom of carrier  100  where magstripe  345  is found is only approximately 0.024″ thick and can be fed through the rollers of a standard swipe reader. 
         [0040]    A further advantage of all three alternative carriers  100 ,  200  and  300  of the first embodiment is that the thinness of the 12 point paper stock and the width of the glued area between the card  20  and the edges of carriers makes the resulting carriers highly tamper evident with respect to a type of fraud where someone intent on removing cards without detection takes a razor, knife, or the like and attempts to slit open the carrier on one of its edges. Where a glue is selected so that it is harder to cut or as hard to cut as the paper and the paper is thin so that it does not provide a guide for the cutting edge, one intent on fraud cannot readily cut the carrier open without the tampering being evident by causing visual damage to the carrier. 
         [0041]    Aspects of a second embodiment of a card carrier in accordance with the present invention are illustrated in  FIG. 4 . In  FIG. 4 , a top fold tablet card carrier  400  is illustrated. Similar to the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , a first panel  410  includes a first area  412  reserved for a terms and conditions pamphlet or other product literature insert. No literature is shown in  FIG. 4 . First panel  410  also includes a first smaller hangtag cutout  414 . 
         [0042]    Second panel  420  has a first area  422  reserved for attaching a gift card. No gift card is shown in  FIG. 4 . A second area  424  illustrates a larger tolerance area within which the gift card may be acceptably mounted. A third area  426  defines a no glue region. Second panel  420  also includes a second larger hangtag cutout  428 . Additionally, the second panel  420  includes a semicircular slot  429 . 
         [0043]    In this second embodiment, glue is applied around the edges of second panel  420  in either of the two ways described above in connection with  FIG. 1 . A gift card is attached to the panel  420 . A terms and condition pamphlet or other product literature insert is attached to panel  410 . Glue may be preapplied during printing as discussed above and the panels are then folded together about top fold line  430 . The package is then sealed using a high pressure heat press that activates the glue as discussed above. Alternatively, as also discussed above, hot melt glue may be applied and then after folding the panels together, the card carrier is rolled under pressure rollers to seal the package with a wide seal area. In a first alternative, the carrier  400  has no external barcode or magstripe. In a second alternative, the carrier  400  has a barcode as seen in  FIG. 2  and in a third alternative, the carrier  400  has a magstripe as seen in  FIG. 3 . 
         [0044]      FIG. 5  shows a gift card carrier blank used to form a gift card carrier  500  in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. More specifically,  FIG. 5  shows a bi-panel arrangement in which a first panel  510  and a second panel  520  are folded about a centerline  530  and glued shut to form a gift card carrier as described in further detail below. Illustrative dimensions are included in  FIG. 5  for the gift card carrier  500  for use with a gift card which is the size of a standard credit card. A presently preferred material for carrier  500  is 8 point white paper having a nominal thickness of 0.008″ It will be recognized that other dimensions may be suitably employed for cards having other dimensions. 
         [0045]    First panel  510  has a rectangular area  512  where a terms and condition pamphlet or other product literature insert  10  is suitably attached with fugitive glue, for example, which allows the booklet to be readily removed by a customer that purchases the gift card upon opening carrier  500 . First panel  510  also includes a first smaller hangtag cutout  514 . In this embodiment, area  512  is also a no glue area and glue may be applied during printing outside this area or hot melt glue may be applied as discussed above. 
         [0046]    Second panel  520  has a first area  522  where a gift card  20  is suitably attached with fugitive glue, for example, allowing the gift card to be readily detached from the carrier. A second area  524  illustrates a tolerance area within which the gift card may be acceptably mounted. A third area  526  defines a no glue region. Third area  526  is larger than the acceptable card placement area  524  so that a no glue buffer surrounds the card  20 . Second panel  520  also includes a second larger hangtag cutout  528 . Additionally, the second panel  520  includes a three quarter inch flap  527  with a half inch magstripe  528 . As discussed further in connection with  FIGS. 6 and 7  below, the flap  527  is folded over to the back of carrier  500  and glued to the back of second panel  520 . 
         [0047]      FIG. 6  shows back  540  of the carrier  500  with the flap  527  in the process of being folded about fold line  529 . In a presently preferred embodiment, the back of panel  520  also includes a white area  525  for the printing of a barcode or other desired information. 
         [0048]    As seen in  FIG. 7 , the flap  527  has now been glued to the back of the panel  520 . Since the flap has a thickness of 0.008″ and each panel has a thickness of 0.008″, the total thickness of the finished carrier  500  at the magstripe is 0.024″ so the magstripe can be read by a typical magstripe reader as discussed above. 
         [0049]      FIG. 7  further illustrates a number of lines of perforations  531 ,  533 ,  535  and  537 . In a presently preferred embodiment, these perforations are cut by a disc with 12 teeth per inch. The cuts are 0.0150″ and ties are 0.0075″. The resulting perforations allow the customer purchasing the end product to tear it open after purchase to obtain access to the card  20  and literature 10. Someone intent on fraud cannot readily open the package without it being tamper evident. 
         [0050]    In this third embodiment, after folding and gluing bottom panel  527  to the back panel, glue is applied around the edges of second panels  510  and  520 . In one approach, the glue is applied everywhere except the glue free zones  512  and  526  as part of the process of printing the card carrier with any text, such as the manufacturer&#39;s name or logo, the card company, name, logo and the like, or any other printed text, advertising materials and the like that are desired to be printed on the carrier  500 . In a second approach, hot melt glue is applied outside the glue free zones to one or both of the panels  510  and  520  in a bead or in dots with a pressure gun applicator. 
         [0051]    Then, the gift card  20  is attached to the panel  520 . The product literature booklet  10  is attached to panel  510 . The panels are folded together about scored centerfold line  530  like a clamshell so that the cutouts  514  and  528  form a hangtag opening for hanging the gift card sealed in its carrier  500  for display. Where printed glue is utilized, heat and pressure are applied to activate the glue and to seal the panels  510  and  520  together. Where hot melt glue is employed, the closed carrier is rolled between rollers as the glue cools and sets. 
         [0052]    When the two panels  510  and  520  have been folded and glued together, it is seen from  FIG. 8  that the bottom edge of card  20  is more than 0.750″ above the bottom edge of carrier  500 . With the bottom edge of card  20  placed at the bottom of the acceptable card placement area, it is still at least 0.750″ above the bottom edge of carrier  500 . It is further seen from  FIG. 7  that with the printed glue approach, glue can be applied in a wide area 0.625″ wide all around the no glue regions  512  and  526 . With the application of hotmelt glue, a similarly broad swath of glue can surround these no glue regions. 
         [0053]    Upon purchase of the carrier  500 , the perforations can be torn by a purchaser to tear open the carrier  500  to get access to the gift card sealed inside. 
         [0054]    It is presently preferred that the magstripe  528  of carrier  500  be readable by a standard magstripe reader utilized for reading the magstripe on a standard credit card. Such a credit card has a nominal thickness of 30 mils or 0.030″. As a result, the rollers of the standard credit card reader are spaced so that a card somewhat thicker or thinner than 0.030 inches can be read, but cards substantially thicker or thinner may be susceptible to jamming or fail to read as a result of the failure of the magnetic stripe to register with the read head. 
         [0055]    With card  20  having a nominal thickness of 30 mils and two layers of 8 point paper, the thickness of carrier  500  where the card is sandwiched is approximately 0.046″. However, the bottom 0.750″ at the bottom of carrier  300  where magstripe  345  is found is 0.024″ thick and can be fed through the rollers of a standard swipe reader. 
         [0056]    A further advantage of the carrier  500  is that the thinness of the 8 point paper stock and the width of the glued area between the card  20  and the edges of the carrier makes the resulting carrier highly tamper evident with respect to a type of fraud where someone intent on stealing cards takes a razor, knife, or the like and attempts to slit open the carrier on one of its edges. Where a glue is selected so that it is harder to cut or as hard to cut as the paper and the paper is thin so that it does not provide a guide for the cutting edge, one intent on fraud cannot readily cut the carrier open without the tampering being evident. 
         [0057]    While a presently preferred third embodiment is shown, it will be recognized that variations on this embodiment may be readily made by those of skill in the art. For example, with 6 point paper, inside front panel  510  can also have a foldover flap like the magstripe flap  527  but without a magstripe, so that the overall thickness is still 0.024″ a the bottom where the magstripe is to be passed through a magstripe reader. Decorative edging or printing may be applied to the front panel flap so it is aesthetically pleasing to purchasers. 
         [0058]      FIGS. 8A and 8B  (collectively  FIG. 8 ) show a fourth embodiment of a card carrier  800  in accordance with the present invention. In  FIG. 8 , a first panel  810  of 24 point white paper and a separate second panel  820  of 24 point white paper are shown. For standard credit card sized gift cards, the dimensions of these two panels will preferably be the same as those shown for panels  110  and  120  in  FIG. 1 , respectively. Panel  810  has a first smaller hangtag cutout  814 . Panel  820  has a second larger hangtag cutout  828 . As addressed above, it will be recognized that thinner paper may be employed in place of 24 point white paper and that an overall bottom thickness of 0.048″ will be too thick for reading with a standard magstripe reader with an approximately 30 mil reader head spacing. 
         [0059]    First panel  810  has a rectangular area  812  where a terms and conditions pamphlet or other product literature insert  10  may be suitably attached with fugitive glue, for example, which allows the booklet to be readily removed by a customer that purchases the gift card upon opening carrier  800 . Second panel  820  has a first area  822  where gift card  20  is suitably attached with fugitive glue. In this fourth embodiment glue is adhered round the edges of either of the two panels  810  and  820 . The two panels are aligned together and the glue is activated as discussed above. 
         [0060]      FIGS. 9A and 9B  (collectively  FIG. 9 ) illustrate aspects of a method  900  of making a tamper evident card in accordance with the present invention. In step  902 , a bi-panel is formed having a fold line with a first panel to one side of the fold line, the first panel having an area reserved for a product literature insert on an inside face and the second panel having an area reserved for a card located within a no glue region on an inside face. A wide glue area between the no glue area and the edges of the second panel is also established. 
         [0061]    In step  904 , the fold line is scored. In step  906 , glue is applied to the wide glue area. The wide glue area is preferably at least 0.5″ wide and for a standard credit card sized card may advantageously be 0.625″ wide. 
         [0062]    In step  908 , a gift card is glued to the area for a card with fugitive glue. In step  910 , a product literature insert is glued to the area for a product literature insert with fugitive glue. 
         [0063]    In step  912 , the bi-panel is folded about the fold line. In step  914 , the glue is activated to form a tamper evident seal which is at least 0.5″ wide. 
         [0064]    In an optional step  916 , a magnetic stripe is formed on a flap extending from a bottom edge of the second panel. In an optional step  918 , the flap is folded about a fold line and glued to the back of the second panel. 
         [0065]    In a further optional step  920 , a bar code or a magnetic stripe or both are formed on an outside face of either the first or second panel. 
         [0066]    While the present invention has been disclosed in the context of various aspects of presently preferred embodiments, it will be recognized that the invention may be suitably varied and applied to other environments consistent with the teachings above and the claims which follow. By way of example, while the present invention is described in connection with embodiments for standard credit card sized cards, it will be recognized that the present teachings may be adapted to other shapes and sizes of cards, such as key fob or key chain cards, smart cards, and the like. Further, while the present invention is described in connection with embodiments in which paper is employed, it will be recognized that various other types of materials, such as plastics and the like, may be suitably employed so long as that material can be cut, folded and adhered consistent with the teachings herein. Additionally, while presently preferred approaches to gluing panels together have been described, variations thereon will be readily adapted to the demands of a particular environment or context.