US20060062494A1

US20060062494A1 - Bag with card holder

Info

Publication number: US20060062494A1
Application number: US10/891,596
Authority: US
Inventors: Larry Aptekar
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-07-15
Filing date: 2004-07-15
Publication date: 2006-03-23

Abstract

A bag includes an upright bag body having a rectangular mouth portion confined by opposite longer walls and opposite shorter walls that interconnect the longer walls. At least one of the longer walls is formed with a set of first strap holes there through. A carrying strap has opposite sections that extend respectively through the first strap holes and that are formed with a respective knotted end for connecting the carrying strap to the bag body. A card holder with a means of connecting to the straps includes an upright plate and a folded lower part that confines an upwardly opening card receiving space adapted for holding a portion of a greeting card therein.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a bag, more particularly to a bag with a card holder for holding a greeting card where the card holder is attached to the straps of the bag.

BACKGROUND

Conventional gift bags are generally formed as an upright rectangular bag body made of paper or plastic. The bag body has two opposite longer walls which are provided with a respective set of strap holes near a top opening of the bag body for extension of a string member or the like to facilitate carrying. Such a conventional gift bag provides better support over conventional soft plastic bags, and defines a generally rectangular receiving space for neat placement of articles therein. Besides, the bag body of the conventional gift bag is often printed with various patterns to enhance the appearance thereof. Some people have the habit of sending a greeting card along with a gift in a gift bag. Oftentimes, the greeting card is simply put inside the gift bag, and the recipient may not notice it immediately to be able to respond to it in an opportune time. This is especially true when decorative tissue paper is added to the bag (which is often the case).
Even when a gift card with (or without) an envelope is added to a gift bag, it usually does not match the color scheme of the bag very well.
At other times a hang tag is attached to the straps of the bag. However, these hang tags usually do not have any pre-printed greeting on them (e.g., “happy birthday to the world's best mother”), because a store would only be able to sell those bags to people who liked a specific bag color, size, design, and pre-printed greeting. Most people have a difficult time writing their own greetings and would like to use a greeting card, while enjoying the ease of use of a gift bag. Additionally a huge amount of space would be required to offer consumers a large selection of bags colors, sizes, designs, and pre-printed greetings on cards already attached to the bags.
Another problem is that even if the bags came with hang tags attached to their straps, they offer little opportunity to keep a greeting private.

SUMMARY

Therefore, the main object of the present invention is to provide a bag with a card holder attached to the straps of the bag for retaining a greeting card. No one of the above-discussed problems is critical and different implementations of the inventions may solve different problems.
Accordingly, a bag of the present invention is capable of holding a greeting card, and includes an upright bag body, a carrying strap, a card holder, and a way to connect the card holder to the straps. The bag body has a rectangular mouth portion confined by opposite longer walls and opposite shorter walls that interconnect the longer walls and that are shorter than the longer walls. At least one of the longer walls is formed with a set of strap holes there through. The carrying strap has opposite sections that extend respectively through the first strap holes and that are formed with a respective knotted end for connecting the carrying strap to the bag body. The card holder with a way of connecting to the straps includes an upright plate and a folded lower part that confines an upwardly opening card receiving space adapted for holding a portion of a greeting card therein. A single strap hole through which the straps are fed is a good and inexpensive way of attaching the card holder to the straps.
The card holder provides privacy for the greeting that is printed on it on the card it holds. Also the inclusion of the card holder makes the reading of the greeting card more ceremonious. Opening an envelope to read the message contained therein is part of a lot of special events.
An envelope is a perfect type of card holder. It is relatively inexpensive, can easily have a strap hole punched through it, and can be sealed for privacy. The envelope can be produced in whole in part with the same exact designs or materials used to make the bag. This would make it better match the color scheme of the bag. Other good types of card holders would be ones that are similar in design to common office file folders (but smaller in size).
A separate collection of pre-printed greeting cards can be offered to consumers in a store so that the consumer can pick the bag that they like the best and match it the card that best suits their needs. A blank card or one with room to add a personalized message can also come in the card holder so a consumer does not have to buy another card. In any case, cards that are used can have a strap hole through which the strap can be fed. A slit between the hole and the edge of the card would make it easier to add or remove a card from the card holder. Also this would minimize the needed size of the card holder (when the card holder has a strap hole through which the strap is fed). The card holder (when it has a strap hole) could also have a slit from the hole to the edge of the card holder so it too can more easily be removed or added to a bag.
While the card would often be made of paper or paperboard, it can be made of the other material such as plastic. The card could also have electronic data on it so that it could be used like a store gift card redeemable for products or used like a credit or debit card.
The ability to move the card holder along the straps of the bag allow the card holder to be positioned in many locations along the straps. This enables the card to be moved to a location out of the way when carrying the bag and to another location when presenting the bag to the intended recipient of the bag.
A bag of this sort helps to better combine the best aspects of greeting cards (e.g., nice designs, pre-printed messages, etc.), and the best aspects of gift bags (eg., ease of carrying, nice designs, no need to gift wrap, low price, etc.)
The card holder can be also be attached to the straps by a loop, a hook, a ribbon, a clip, and/or an adhesive strip.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a bag with a card holder according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the preferred embodiment; and
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a bag with a card holder according to the present invention which uses a loop to connect the card holder to the straps of the bag.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, the preferred embodiment of a bag 1 according to the present invention is capable of retaining a greeting card 2 and is shown to include an upright bag body 3, a carrying strap 4, a card holder 5, and a means of connecting the card holder to the straps of the bag 6.
The bag body 7 has a rectangular mouth portion 8 confined by opposite longer walls 9 and opposite shorter walls 10 that interconnect the longer walls 9 and that are shorter than the longer walls 9. Each of the longer walls 9 has a top edge 16. At least one of the longer walls 9 is formed with a set of first strap holes 12 therethrough proximate to the top edge 16. In this embodiment, both of the longer walls 9 are formed with a respective set of first strap holes 12 there through. Each of the shorter walls 10 has two opposite lateral edges connected foldably and respectively to the longer walls 9, and is further foldable along an upright folding line to form two shorter wall sections.
The carrying strap 4 has opposite sections that extend respectively through the first strap holes 12 and that are formed with a respective knotted end 13 for connecting the carrying strap 4 to the bag body 3. In this embodiment, the bag 1 includes two carrying straps 4 to facilitate carrying.
The card holder 5 is preferably an envelope capable of being sealed and includes a means for connecting to the straps 4 of the bag 1 which is preferably a strap hole 14 with a slit 6 extending from the hole 14 to the edge 15 of the card holder.
In its preferred embodiment, during assembly, the hole 14 in the envelope 5 is fed through the straps 4 of the bag 1 so that it can be positioned in multiple locations along the strap 4 and at multiple distances away from the mouth 8 of the bag 1.
It is noted that although the card holder 5 is disposed outward to a respective one of the longer walls 9 in this embodiment, the card holder 5 can also be disposed inward thereto.
As the bag 1 of the present invention provides a card holder 5 to allow the user to place a greeting card 2 therein, when the bag 1 is used as a gift bag, the recipient of the gift can immediately notice the presence of the greeting card 2. Moreover, the card holder 5 detached from the bag body 7 in a very convenient manner so that the bag can be reused. Additional the card holder 5 provides the user of the bad with a more private message.
A loop 17 can also be used to connect the card holder 5 to the straps of the bag 1.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A bag capable of retaining a greeting card, said bag comprising:

an upright bag body having a rectangular mouth portion confined by opposite longer walls and opposite shorter walls that interconnect said longer walls and that are shorter than said longer walls, at least one of said longer walls being formed with a set of first strap holes therethrough;

a carrying strap having opposite sections that extend respectively through said first strap holes and that are formed with a respective knotted end for connecting said carrying strap to said bag body;

a card holder including an upright plate and a folded lower part that confines an upwardly opening card receiving space adapted for holding a portion of the greeting card therein; and

a means of connecting the card holder to the carrying straps.

2. The bag of claim 1, wherein the means for connecting the card holder to the carrying straps is one of: a hole, a clip, an adhesive strip, a hook, a hole connected to a slit which ends from the edge of the card holder, a ribbon, a clip, or a loop.

3. The bag of claim 1, wherein the card holder is one of: a folder, an envelope, or an adhesive strip.

4. The bag of claim 1, wherein said card holder holds a card.

5. The bag of claim 1, wherein each of said shorter walls has two opposite lateral edges connected foldably and respectively to said longer walls, each of said shorter walls of said bag body being further foldable along an upright folding line to form two shorter wall sections.

6. The bag of claim 1, wherein said card holder is made in whole or in part of the same material used to make the bag.

7. The bag of claim 4, wherein the card includes electronic data.

8. The bag of claim 4, wherein the card has a hole connected to a slit which extends from the edge of the card.

9. The bag of claim 7, wherein the card has a hole connected to a slit which extends from the edge of the card.