Patent Publication Number: US-10322599-B1

Title: Greeting card with gift card holder pouch

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     There are no applications related to this application. 
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is in the field of social expression products and is more specifically directed to greeting cards with integral gift card holders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In one embodiment, the greeting card of the present disclosure and related inventions, includes a greeting card body, a portion of the greeting card body having an aperture therethrough and a pouch attached to the rear surface of the opening on the greeting card body, creating an open cavity. 
     In another embodiment, the greeting card includes a greeting card body having a front surface, an inside left surface, an inside right surface and a rear surface, an aperture which extends through the front and inside left surface of the greeting card body, a pouch attached around the aperture beneath the inside left surface of the greeting card body, a sound module contained within the greeting body, the sound module operative to store and playback at least one audio file, and a switch contained within the greeting card body, the switch operative to control activation of the sound module. 
     In another embodiment, the greeting card contains a greeting card body having an aperture contained through at least a portion thereof, a pouch attached to a rear surface of the aperture, and a sound module contained within the greeting card body, the sound module operative to store and playback at least one audio file, wherein reaching into the pouch activates the sound module. 
    
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a front perspective view of the Greeting Card with Gift Holder Pouch of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a front perspective view of the Greeting Card with Gift Card Holder Pouch of  FIG. 1 , with pouch turned inside out. 
         FIG. 3  is a right side cross-sectional view of the Greeting Card with Gift Card Holder Pouch of  FIG. 1 , from the perspective of arrows  3 - 3 . 
         FIG. 4  is a right side cross-sectional view of the Greeting Card with Gift Card Holder Pouch 
         FIG. 5  is a right side cross-sectional view of the Greeting Card with Gift Card Holder Pouch of  FIG. 2   
         FIG. 6  is a front partial tear-away view of the Greeting Card with Gift Card Holder Pouch of  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the Greeting Card with Gift Card Holder Pouch of  FIG. 6  from the perspective of arrows  7 - 7 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND ALTERNATE EMBODIMENTS 
     The greeting card  100  of the present disclosure and related invention includes a greeting card body  10  having an integral pouch  12  into which a gift card  14  may be inserted and removed. The greeting card  100  may additionally contain sound capabilities or other special effects. 
     The greeting card body  10  may include a foam core (interchangeably referred to as “the core”)  16  which serves as the center or core of the greeting card  100 . While the core  16  will be described herein as being made of foam, other materials have been contemplated and are considered to be within the scope of this invention. The core  16  contains a front surface, a rear surface and a perimeter surface which extends between the front and rear surfaces. In one embodiment, the front and rear surfaces of the core are substantially planar. The core  16  may contain one or more compartments, openings, apertures, pockets or cavities therein. The core  16  may also be covered with a sheet material  18 . In one embodiment, the sheet material  18  covers the entire outer surface of the core  16  with a sentiment panel  20  attached along one edge to the sheet material  18  covering the rear surface of the core  16 . The sentiment panel  20  may have greeting card sentiment printed thereon or provide a place wherein a user may sign his/her name or write a personal note to the greeting card recipient. In other embodiments, the sheet material  18  may only cover a portion of the core  16 , such as the front and rear surfaces, the front surface only, or any other combination thereof, or the core  16  may remain completely uncovered. The sheet material  18 , in one embodiment, may be made of paperboard, however, other materials may be used. In one embodiment, as shown in the figures, the sheet material  18  attached to the front surface of the core  16  serves as the front panel or cover of the greeting card  100 . The sheet material  18  attached to the rear surface of the core  16  serves as the inside left panel of the greeting card. A front surface of the sentiment panel  20  serves as the inside right panel of the greeting card  100  and the rear surface of the sentiment panel  20  serves as the rear or back cover of the greeting card  100 . The sheet material  18  and sentiment panel  20  may be contiguous, or they may be separate and attached via glue, staples, or any other attachment device or mechanism. In one embodiment, the sheet material  18  and sentiment panel  20  are made of the same material, such as paperboard. In other embodiments, they may be made of different materials. The sheet material  18  and sentiment panel  20  may have printing thereon, such as text, photos, pictures, drawings, or any other printable matter. Additional embellishments may be applied as well, such as googly eyes, gems, faux fur, etc. The greeting card  100  is opened and closed by pivoting the sentiment panel  20  away from and towards the core  16  of the greeting card  100 . 
     In one embodiment, the core  16  (and sheet material  18  covering at least a portion of the core) contains a main opening or aperture  22  which extends therethrough. The core  16  may also contain one or more minor openings or apertures wherein electronic components of the greeting card bay be contained and concealed. The main opening or aperture  22  may be located in a center area of the core  16 , as shown in the figures, although in other embodiments, the main opening or aperture  22  may be located elsewhere. A pocket or pouch  24  is attached to the rear surface of the core  16 , beneath the sheet material  18 , and surrounding the main opening or aperture  22 , as shown in  FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 . The pocket or pouch  24 , in one embodiment, may be made of a nylon fabric material, although any other type of material may be used. The pocket or pouch  24  attached to the rear surface of the core  16  and surrounding the main opening or aperture  22  therethrough, creates an open cavity into which an item, such as, in one embodiment, a gift card  14 , may be inserted and removed. A gift card sleeve  15  may be attached to an inside surface of the pocket or pouch  24 , as shown in  FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 . The gift card sleeve  15  is dimensioned to have a traditional sized gift card  14  inserted therein. A small gift or novelty item may be placed into the pouch  24  in addition to or in lieu of the gift card  14 . Additionally, a plurality of foam elements  26  are attached to the front surface of the core  16 , beneath the sheet material  18 , and surrounding the main opening or aperture  22  and extending at least partially into the main opening or aperture  22 . In one embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1, 2 and 6 , the foam elements  22  are triangular shaped and arranged in a square pattern over the main opening or aperture  22 . The sheet material  18  or front surface of the core  16  of the greeting card  100  may contain printing and/or other embellishments that tie the sheet material  18  or front surface of the greeting card  100  and the plurality of foam elements  26  to the theme of the greeting card  100 . For example, as shown in the figures, the front surface of the greeting card  100  contains printing indicating a game where the user may reach to the pouch  24  to retrieve a gift or prize. In another embodiment, the foam elements  26  could be shaped to represent the teeth of the shark and the pouch  24  would represent the inside of the shark&#39;s mouth. Different decorative combinations may be used which use the main opening or aperture  22  through the greeting card  100  as a mouth or opening of some sort. Instructions may be printed on the front surface of the card  100 , instructing the user to reach into the opening for a fun surprise. While the plurality of elements  26  surrounding the opening on the front of the greeting card  100  are described herein as being foam, other materials may be used and are considered to be within the scope of the invention. These elements  26  may also be of any conceivable shape. 
     The greeting card  100  of the present disclosure and related inventions may additionally contain audio capabilities. A sound module may be contained within one or more minor openings or apertures in the core of the greeting card  100 . The sound module may include, but is not limited to: an electronic circuit with integrated circuit chip and controller  28 , a power source such as one or more batteries  30 , a speaker  32 , a memory device (may be part of integrated circuit chip) onto which at least one audio file is saved, a switch  34 , various wires and circuitry which connect various components, and any other component which is required for or which facilitates special effects such as audio playback of the at least one audio file. In one embodiment, the switch  34  is a leaf switch which is located behind one of the plurality of foam elements  26  surrounding the main opening  22  on the front of the greeting card  100 , as shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . In other embodiments, additional leaf switches  34  may be contain behind other of the plurality of foam elements  26 . When a user reaches his/her hand into the pouch  24  to retrieve the gift card  14  or other gift item, as shown in  FIG. 4 , the plurality of foam elements  26  are pushed or thrust into the pouch  24 , thereby moving the switch  34  from an “off” position to an “on” position and causing playback of the at least one audio file through the speaker  32 . Removing one&#39;s hand from the pouch  24  allows the foam elements  26  to retract back to their original position, thereby moving the switch  34  back to the “off” position. Once the switch  34  is moved to the “on” position, the at least one audio file may play for a predetermined amount of time or until it has reached the end, or it may cease to play as soon as the user&#39;s hand is removed or the switch  34  retracts back to the “off” position. The at least one audio file may contain sounds, spoken word, music, singing, a movie clip, or any other recordable sound. In one embodiment, there may be a plurality of sound clips which each play in a particular order or series each successive time the switch is activated, or the sound clips may be randomly replayed. While the switch  34  has been described herein and shown in the figures as being a leaf switch, other types of switches may be used, such as, for example, an infrared switch, a motion sensitive switch, or any other type of switch. 
     In operation, the user receives the greeting card  100  and may open the greeting card  100  by pivoting the sentiment panel  20  away from the rest of the greeting card to read the sentiment or other matter written and/or printed thereon. The user may return to the front of the greeting card  100  where instructions are either printed on the front surface of the greeting card  100  or printed onto a sticker or label attached to the front surface of the greeting card  100  which instruct the user to reach into the greeting card  100  to retrieve a fun surprise. Upon reaching his/her hand into the aperture or opening  22  and pushing through the plurality of foam elements  26  attached around the aperture or opening  22 , audio is played back through the speaker  32  and the user may retrieve the gift card  14  or other gift item which is contained within the pouch  24 . 
     The foregoing embodiments of the present invention have been presented for the purposes of illustration and description. These descriptions and embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above disclosure. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principle of the invention and its practical applications to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention in its various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It is intended that the invention be defined by the following claims.