GB2303355A - Card holder - Google Patents

Description

A CARDHOLDER The present invention relates to a cardholder which eases the placement of a used card onto the bottom of a pack of cards in the holder.

In many card games and games which utilise cards it is necessary for a card which has been played to be placed on the bottom of a pack of cards from which it was originally drawn. Unfortunately, this technique can lead to difficulties especially when the player only has one hand free. The pack of cards will tend to move unless it is held by the player's other hand as the used card is placed on the bottom of the pack. In order to prevent friction between the existing bottom card and the new bottom card it is often necessary to lift the pack of cards off the playing surface in order to place another card on the bottom.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome these problems.

According to the present invention there is provided a cardholder comprising at least one compartment for receiving a pack of cards, the said compartment being defined by a base and side walls upstanding from the said base, wherein a raised ridge extends substantially laterally across the front portion of the base, the said ridge having an upward and rearward sloping front face.

Advantageously, the ridge provides support on one side of the pack of cards so that the front edge of an incoming card which is to be placed on the bottom of the pack may ride up the front slope of the ridge to meet the lower face of the bottom card of the pack and is thus easily placed on the bottom of the pack.

Preferably, the compartment has a downward and rearward sloping front side wall converging with the sloping front face of the said ridge. Thus, the incoming card may slide down the sloping front side wall of the compartment before meeting and riding up the ridge to thereafter pass under the pack of cards.

Preferably, the compartment has substantially vertical lateral and rear side walls. The lateral and rear side walls hold the existing pack of cards in position while the incoming card is placed on the bottom of the pack as previously described. It is preferred that the ridge extends from one lateral side wall to the second opposing lateral side wall and is thus marginally wider than the incoming card which eases the placement of the card onto the bottom of the pack.

Typically, there is a small gap between the sloping front side wall and the front face of the existing bottom card so that the replacement card may pass through. In an alternative embodiment, the front sloping side wall could be removed altogether but care would need to be taken so that the cards did not spill out of the open side of the compartment.

Care must be taken to position the raised ridge sufficiently forward of the rear of the compartment to cause a pack of cards placed thereon to slope downwardly from the front to the rear of the compartment. In this manner, greater clearance between the front edge of the existing pack and the base of the compartment is produced than would be present if the rear of the pack was also raised off the base or if the ridge was so far back in the compartment to cause the opposite tilt and this gives a greater margin for error in placing a used card underneath the existing pack.However, it is important that the apex of the ridge is positioned sufficiently rearward of the front sloping wall or the front of the pack of cards resting thereon to allow a small overhang between the ridge and the front edge of the pack of cards so that the edge of an incoming card meets with the smooth lower face of the bottom card and not with the front edges of the existing cards.

In a typical cardholder, there will be a plurality of compartments which are produced by partitions. A typical partition arrangement would be found in a cardholder with a base tray having two opposed inwardly sloping side walls extending along opposed edges thereof, a coextensive vertically upstanding, longitudinal partition disposed midway between the said sloping side walls and a plurality of spaced lateral partitions extending between the said sloping side walls, the said partitions forming a plurality of compartments off the longitudinal partition in the cardholder. If symmetrical partitions on each side of the longitudinal partition are not required the lateral partition may simply extend from one of the lateral sloping side walls to the central partition only. This will leave smaller compartments on one side of the central partition and larger compartments on the other side.The cardholder may or may not be provided with a lid. The invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows a perspective view of a cardholder in accordance with the present invention and; Figure 2 shows a sectional side view along line A-A.

Referring to Figure 1, a cardholder 2 has a plurality of compartments 4-8 which are each defined by a rectilinear rim, three vertical side walls 20-24 depending from said rim, a fourth inwardly depending side wall 26 and a rectilinear base 28. The inwardly depending side wall 26 merges at its base with a curvedly sloped lip 30 which protrudes from the base 28 and extends laterally across the compartment. The curved slope 32 of the lip 30 effectively forms an extension to the inner face of the inwardly sloping side wall 26 and terminates at the apex of the lip 34 to thereafter curvedly descend downwardly back to the base of the compartment.

In order to place a card in the compartment the front edge of the card is pushed down the inwardly sloping side wall 26 where it meets the outer slope of the lip 32 which causes it to ride upwards to meet the apex of the lip 34 and thereafter to slide over the apex 34 until it abuts against the rear vertical side wall 22. When a set of cards is already present in the compartment it will rest upon the apex of the lip 34 but in such a manner that it overhangs the lip. Thus, when it is desired to place a card on the bottom of the pack, the process as hereinbefore described causes the front edge of the incoming card to meet the lower face of the bottom card of the pack where it rests on the apex 34 of the lip 32. This causes the incoming card to slide under the face of the bottom card until it meets the rear vertical side wall of 22.The presence of the lip 30 has the effect of lifting the front edge of the pack of cards and also allows an incoming card to ride up the lip to be easily placed on the bottom of the pack of cards. The whole operation can conveniently be carried out with only one hand of the user and the user may thus keep the other hand free for other activities.

The whole operation would not be possible without the use of the lip as the incoming card would jar or abut against the front edges of the bottom cards of the pack. In addition, the unique combination of the inwardly sloping front side wall 26 together with the lip and the rear side wall 22 provide easy access to the bottom of the pack of cards for an incoming card and also prevents movement of the pack of cards caused by the frictional interaction of the incoming card.

The embodiment of the invention has been described with reference to a single compartment of the cardholder but as can be seen from Figure 1 the same would apply to all the compartments shown.

Variations and modifications to the invention are envisaged which would not depart from the invention as described.

For instance, although it is essential, if a front side wall is present, to have a gap between the front edge of the pack of cards and the front rim of the side wall in order to allow an incoming card to be placed under the pack of cards in the compartment, it is possible to completely remove the front side wall so that the incoming card could be simply placed under the pack by directing it horizontally towards the front face of the lip. It is thus only essential to have a gap when a front side wall is present. Furthermore, it is not essential for the lip to extend completely across the compartment it is only necessary for it to be sufficiently wide to support the pack of cards and to allow the incoming card to ride over the lip to slide under the said pack. Thus, the lip may be centrally disposed with respect to the pack but with optional gaps on either side thereof or it may comprise two parts at either side of the compartment with a gap in the centre. In all cases, the function of leaving an overhang between the lip and the bottom front edge of the pack in order to place an incoming card underneath the pack while still allowing the incoming card to slide easily into place would still be provided.

Claims (12)

1. A card holder comprising at least one compartment for receiving a pack of cards, the said compartment being defined by a base and side walls upstanding from the said base, wherein a raised ridge extends substantially laterally across the front portion of the base, the said ridge having an upward and rearward sloping front face.

2. A card holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein the compartment has a downward and rearward sloping front side wall converging with the sloping front face of the said ridge.

3. A card holder as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the compartment has substantially vertical lateral and rear side walls.

4. A card holder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the ridge extends from one lateral side wall to a second opposing lateral side wall.

5. A card holder as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the front side wall is sloped so as to leave a gap between the said side wall and the front edge of the bottom card of a pack of cards placed in the compartment, the gap being sufficient for the rear edge of an incoming card to slide through to meet the ridge.

6. A card holder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the raised ridge is positioned sufficiently forward of the rear of the compartment to cause a pack of cards resting thereon to slope downwardly from the front to the rear of the compartment.

7. A card holder as claimed in claim 7, wherein the apex of the ridge is positioned sufficiently rearward of a front sloping wall to allow the front portion of a pack of cards resting thereon to overhang the ridge.

8. A card holder as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there are a plurality of compartments in the said card holder.

9. A card holder as claimed in claim 8, wherein the compartments are of differing sizes.

10. A card holder as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a base tray having two opposed inwardly sloping side walls, a substantially vertical central longitudinal partition disposed midway between the said sloping side walls and a plurality of spaced lateral partitions extending between the said sloping side walls, the said partitions forming a plurality of compartments in the card holder.

11. A card holder as claimed in claim 10, wherein one or more partitions extend from one sloping side wall to the central partition only.

12. A card holder as claimed in any of claims 10 or 11, wherein two of the lateral partitions respectively form end side walls of the holder.