Gift card with balance indicator panels
OwnerRobert C. Rinaldiinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A gift card includes a card body having a retailer's or credit card company name and logo, a pre-printed gift card account balance representing the balance on the card when initially purchased, and a user-fillable Card Balance data field which can be completed using an ordinary pencil or pen. The gift card also may be printed with one or more prompts, such as a graphic or written instruction, to provide a user with sufficient instruction to use the re-writable functionality of the present invention, and may include dollar and cents indicators to facilitate a user to write the current and updated balance clearly and accurately.
Claims14
A gift card system, comprising:
- a gift card having a body, a unique identifier, an initial card balance data field having a writing surface and a currency indicator, a plurality of successive card balance data fields having a writing surface and a currency indicator, and a plurality of pre-printed prompts on said card body to prompt a user to complete said card balance data fields, said plurality of pre-printed prompts comprising a text prompt above said card balance data fields, a graphics prompt next to said card balance data fields, and a currency indicator next to each of said card balance data fields;
- a card balance database corresponding to said unique identifier;
- a computer system connected to a data network and having a central processing unit and access to said card balance database;
- and
- means to identify said unique identifier of said gift card,
- wherein said computer system is configured to send and receive database information with other computer systems via said data network, the database information containing at least a verification of available funds associated with the gift card.
A gift card system, comprising:
- a gift card having a body, a unique identifier, an initial card balance data field having a writing surface and a currency indicator, a plurality of successive card balance data fields having a writing surface and a currency indicator, and a plurality of pre-printed prompts on said card body to prompt a user to complete said card balance data fields, said plurality of pre-printed prompts comprising a text prompt below said card balance data fields, a graphics prompt above said card balance data fields, and a currency indicator next to each of said card balance data fields;
- a card balance database corresponding to said unique identifier;
- a computer system connected to a data network and having a central processing unit and access to said card balance database;
- and
- means to identify said unique identifier of said gift card,
- wherein said computer system is configured to send and receive database information with other computer systems via said data network, the database information containing at least a verification of available funds associated with the gift card.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.