Combined greetings card and gift package

Abstract

 The invention is concerned with a combined greetings card and gift package comprising a substantially rectangular container (10) for a T-shirt (30) or other gift and, folding onto the front face (12) of the container, a cover flap (22) which forms, with the face (12) a greetings card having "Happy Birthday" or other appropriate greetings printed thereon. The container (10) is made of the same card material as the cover flap (22) and is integrally formed with the latter as a result of making them both from a single blank (38).

Description

[0001] This invention relates to a combined greetings card and gift package.

[0002] It is usual for gifts to be accompanied by a greetings card which is either attached to the gift package by sticky tape or by twine or ribbon.

[0003] In EP-A-O 070 727, however, it has been proposed to combine a greetings card with a gift package by attaching a clear sheet of plastics material to the right-hand portion of the inner surface of the card so as to form a pocket or envelope containing a T-shirt having a picture printed thereon. A circular aperture or window is cut in the front portion of the card so that the picture on the T-shirt is visible from the front of the card.

[0004] It has also been proposed in GB-A-2 101 040 to attach a transparent "blister" of rectangular form on the right-hand portion of the inner surface of a greetings card to contain a T-shirt and, in front of the T-shirt but within the blister, a card bearing a replica of the T-shirt.

[0005] Both these prior constructions therefore demand the use of transparent materials to produce the container, and these transparent materials have to be attached in some way to the card. This makes for complication in the manufacture of the respective combined greetings cards and gift packages.

[0006] With this consideration in mind, the present invention is directed to a combined greetings card and gift package comprising a generally rectangular container for a gift and, folding onto the flat front face of the container, a flat cover flap of card material which forms, with the container, a greetings card having appropriate greetings printed thereon, characterised in that the container is made of the same card material as the cover flap and is integral with the latter.

[0007] Preferably the cover flap and the container are formed by folding a blank and sticking together opposing inner surfaces of the folded blank to produce the container with the cover flap extending from an edge of the container. In one particular construction in accordance with the invention, the contents of the container are not visible through the cover flap or the front face of the container but only through the container's rear face which has a cut-out portion or window for that purpose.

[0008] An example of a combined greetings card and gift package in accordance with the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which -

Figure 1 is a front view of the combined greetings card and gift package;

Figure 2 is a view of the inside of the greetings card when the cover flap has been folded back;

Figure 3 is a rear view of the combined card and package;

Figure 4 is a perspective view from above of the combined greetings card and gift package but with the printing on the card and the contents of the container omitted; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view similar to Figure 4 to illustrate the way in which the card and the container are formed from a single blank of card material.

[0009] The combined greetings card and gift package shown in the drawings comprises a container 10 made of card material and of rectangular shape. In this particular instance, the container has a thickness of just over 1 cm but it is to be understood that the actual dimensions of the container are not really critical. It has flat front and rear faces 12 and 14 respectively, and flaps 16 and 18 for opening and closing the container are provided, as integral portions, at its top and bottom edges. As will be seen from Figure 4, the rear face 14 has a cut-out portion or window 20 in the approximate shape of a T-shirt.

[0010] Integral with the front face 12 of the container 10 so that they are both made from a single sheet of the same card material is a cover flap 22 of the same overall dimensions as the front face 12 apart from an upper extension 24 which projects above the upper end of the container 10 once the flap 16 has been pushed into the end of the container. The front flap 22 and the front face 12 of the container 10 serve as a greetings card which is therefore integral with the gift package formed by the container 10. The front face 12 of the container 10 has a suitable greeting on it ("Happy Birthday" in this particular case), while the front 26 of the cover flap 22 has a suitable picture on it as shown in Figure 1. It will be noticed incidentally that the upwardly-projecting part 24 of the cover flap 22 also has appropriate printing on it, i.e., "Happy Birthday T-Shirt".

[0011] The rear face 14 of the container 10 likewise has printing on it as shown at 28 in Figure 3. This printed matter gives the contents of the container as one T-shirt 30 having the same design on it as the front of the greetings card, a metal or plastic badge 32, a balloon 34 and an envelope (not shown).

[0012] It is to be understood that the gift or other merchandise in the container 10 can be widely varied and that the combined greetings card and gift package shown in the drawings can be used to sell very many different products. Thus, the container can hold any suitable article of clothing, handkerchiefs, gardening tools, articles of stationery, records, cassettes, to name but a few.

[0013] Figure 5 illustrates the way in which the combined greetings card and gift package is formed from a single blank 38 of card material. The blank is initially flat but is then folded along the fold lines 40, 42, 44 and 46 to form the container 10. Thereafter the opposing surfaces 48 and 50 of the blank are stuck together to produce the container with the cover flap 22 extending from one edge of the container. This makes for simplicity in manufacture in that the container 10 is made of the same card material as the cover flap 22 and is integral with the latter.

[0014] It is to be noted that the T-shirt 30 is not visible through the cover flap 22 or the front face 12 of the container but only through the window 20 in the container's rear face 14. This encourages the receiver of the gift to read the greeting on the card - and particularly the name of the sender - before turning to the back of the package to see what is in the container.

[0015] The combined greetings card and gift package is preferably sold in an outer covering of transparent synthetic plastics film (not shown).

Claims

1. A combined greetings card and gift package comprising a generally rectangular container (10) for a gift (30) and, folding onto the flat front face (12) of the container, a flap cover flap (22) of card material which forms, with the container (10), a greetings card having appropriate greetings printed thereon, characterised in that the container (10) is made of the same card material as the cover flap (22) and is integral with the latter.

2. A combined greetings card and gift package according to claim 1, characterised in that the contents (30) of the container (10) are not visible through the cover flap (22) or the front face (12) of the container but only through the container's rear face (14) which has a cut-out portion or window (20) for that purpose.

3. A combined greetings card and gift package according to claim 2, characterised in that the cut-out portion or window (20) has the outline shape of a T-shirt and that the gift (30) in the container (10) is a T-shirt having a picture printed thereon which is visible through the window.

4. A combined greetings card and gift package according to any one of claims 1 - 3, characterised in that integrally-formed flaps (16, 18) for opening and closing the container (10) are provided at its top and bottom edges.

5. A combined greetings card and gift package according to any one of claims 1 - 4, characterised in that the cover flap (22) and the front face (12) of the container (10) are of substantially the same size.

6. A combined greetings card and gift package according to any one of claims 1 - 5, characterised in that an outer covering in the form of a transparent synthetic plastics film surrounds the card and package so as to maintain the cover flap (22) flat against the front face (12) of the container (10).

7. A combined greetings card and gift package according to any one of claims 1 - 6, characterised in that the container (10) is formed by folding a blank (38) and sticking together opposing inner surfaces (48, 50) of the folded blank with the cover flap (22) extending from an edge of the container.

Drawing