US2851754A - Card case construction - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 16, 1958- w. J. ECKER CARD CASE CONSTRUCTION /N L/ENTOR. WILL J Ec/(ER,

Filed Feb. 4, 1957 United States Patent CARD CASE CONSTRUCTION Will J. Ecker, St. Louis, Mo.

Application February 4, 1957, Serial No. 638,045 2 Claims. Ci. zit-es The present invention relates to a novel and improved card case construction including a foldable outer casing of leather or like material, a holder of tissue paper wherein visiting or business cards are releasably contained, a manually operable clamp assembly rigid with the casing for detachably securing said card holder in position, and fastener means for releasably maintaining the folded outer casing in closed protective disposition about the elements therein enclosed.

The outer casing is comprised of a single piece of material creased to provide a base segment, a top flap seg ment approximately coextensive with said base section, and a closure flap segment adapted to overlie one end portion of the top flap segment. Conventional means, preferably of the well known glove fastener type, are incorporated in the overlapping flap segments to facilitate the opening and closing operations thereof.

The holder for the cards, similar to the holders disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,869,803 issued to me on August 12, 1932, and No. 1,877,565 issued to me on September 13, 1932, includes a plurality of tissue paper sheets adapted to retain the cards between successive sheets, and to preserve them from becoming soiled or otherwise rendered unattractive for presentation.

In accordance with the disclosures of the patents afore-- said, the tissue paper sheets would be so disposed relatively to the cards, that in consequence of tearing the particular sheet immediately above the topmost card in the holder, said card would be released for presentation.

In these prior art conceptions, the casings for the card holders were considered disposable subsequent to the removal of the final card from a holder, whereas the present invention contemplates a casing of durable material that incorporates means facilitating the removal of a card-depleted holder, to be followed by the insertion of a fresh card holder.

Stated otherwise, it is an object of the present invention to provide a foldably formed outer casing of leather or similar durable material adapted to repeatedly serve as an enclosure for any number of fresh card holders successively positioned therein following the removal and discarding of previously depleted card holders.

It is another object of the present invention to incorporate in the said casing, novel means in the form of a clamp assembly for releasably retaining said card holders until the final card therein has been removed.

The preferred embodiment of my invention is illustrated on a sheet of drawings thataccompanies this specification. Features and advantages not specifically mentioned hereinbefore will be apparent o'r pointed out in the detailed description of' the invention to follow with reference to said drawings wherein: a Figure 1 is a top plan view of a closed flexible casing of leather or the like constructed in accordance with and embodying the concepts of the present invention; 7 Figure 2 is a fragmentary bottom plan view thereof; Figure 3, is a View of the Figure 1 casing in fully open 2,851,154 Patented Sept. 16, 1958 2 status, exhibiting the appearance of the clamp assembly and the cardholder of-the invention in top plan;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary top plan view of the intermediate portion of Figure 3, illustrating the pivotally mounted member of the clamp assembly disposed in vertical or non-clamping status;

Figure 5 is anenlarged longitudinal vertical section taken on the line5-5 of Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5;

Figure 7 is'an enlarged longitudinal section taken on the line 7--7 of Figure 4; v

Figure 8 is a similar view-taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 4; i

Figure 9 is afragmentary plan view of the pivotally mounted member of the clamp assembly, particularly 1 llustrative of the pintle formation on each end of said member;

Figure 10 is a fragmentary top plan view of the base member of the clamp assembly, a wing portion thereof being shown partly insection, and particularly illustrative of a pintle receiving opening therein; I

Figure 11 is a bottom plan view of a card holder in condition for proper placement in the clamp assembly; and t Figure 12 is a top plan view of one of the tissue paper sheetsemployed in constructing the card holder shown in Figure 11.

In the illustrated card case construction of the present invention, the casing thereof is generally designated 20, the clamp assembly is generally designated 22, and the card holder is generally designated 24.

The casing 20 comprises a single piece of flexible material such as leather or the like, fashioned as shown particularly in Figure 5, to provide a base segment 26, a top flap segment 28 approximately coextensive with said base segment, and a closure flap segment 30 adapted in the closed position of the casing to overlie what will for descriptive purposes herein be termed the right end portion 32 of the top flap segment. The material of the casing is preferably creased during the manufacturing process, so as to provide an arcuate connecting segment 34 between the base and the top flap segments, and a similar segment 36 between the base and the closure flap segments. Suitable means, preferably of the glove fastener type as shown, are incorporated in the right end portion 32 of the top flap segment'and the closure flap segment, for maintaining the casing in closed position.

The clamp assembly 22 includes a transversely disposed substantially rectangular base plate and a substantially L-shaped clamping member that is pivotally supported thereby and associated therewith.

The plate is designated 318, and is rigidly secured to the upper surface of the casing base segment 26 by means of a pair of transversely spaced rivets 40. At its left end, the base plate 38 terminates in an upstanding flange 42 that merges at its ends into a pair of transversely spaced vertically disposed wing segments 44 as shown.

Formed in the upper right end portion of each wing segment is a circular aperture 46, as seen to best advantage in Figures 7 and 10. Numerals 48 designate a pair of transversely spaced hollow, knobs formed integrally in the base plate 38 as best seen in Figures 5 and 6.

The clamping member is designated 50, and is of substantially L-shaped configuration in longitudinal section. It includes a relatively wide leg section 52 merging into a narrower leg section 54. The width of the clamping member 50 issuch as to have a close fit within the wing segments 44 of the base plate, and intermediate its ends as bestseen in Figure 3, the wide leg section 52 of said clamping member has formed integrally therewith a projecting formation 56,- hereinafter termed a fingerpiece.

Projecting laterally from eachend of the member 50 at the mergence of the leg sections thereof, is a pintle 58 that extends into one of the circular apertures 46 of said base plate wing segments,,44, asshould; be clear. from an inspection ofFiguresG, 7, and}. The terminal edge 60 of the clamping. plate, narrowv leg, section 54 has formed therein a pair of transversely spaced arcuate indentations 62. Theseqindentations are spaced corre spondingly with the knobs 48 of :the base plate, as shown particularly in Figure 6, and preferably; are; formed'on radii slightly larger than those of said knobs for a reason to appear. 1

The card holder 24 is comprisedofa-plurality of tissue paper sheets that, are: preferably; transparent, a stiffener sheet of thin cardboard, and-an adhesive sticker.

The tissue sheets. 64 are.identical-,'jand one of them is shown in Figure 12 as it would appear prior to incorporation in the holder 24-. Asdemonstrated, the sheet is of generally rectangular configurationg. the main body portion 66 thereof having alineof perforations 68:,formed therein. The right hand end portion of the sheet will be termed its flap segment 70, land as shown, is preferably contoured to have. asemicircular periphery that merges into a segment 72v connecting the flap 70 with; the main body portion 66 of the sheet as should be apparent. Numeral 74 designates aline ofperforations formed in the flap segment in spaced-parallel relationship to the similar line 68 formed in the main body 66 of the sheet.

The stiffener sheet of thin cardboard material is designated 76. It is of, rectangular configuration, the right hand marginal edge thereof, (as viewed in'the drawings), being indicated by thebroken lines 78,,that appear in Figure 11. In Figure 5, thisedge isclearly indicated also. The adhesive sticker referred toabove appears in Figures 5 and 11 where; it is identified; by the numeral 80. The business and visiting cards. 82- contemplated by the invention are of customary rectilinear'type, as shown. in Figure 3.

It will be remembered that the primaryobjective of the present invention is; to provide; a durable card case that may be replenished with another card; holder whenever the final card of the previous holder has. been removed therefrom. That is'to. say, the casing and its clamp assembly 22 are designed to. serve repetitiously for any number of card packs or; holders. 24; that maybe successively inserted thereinto. A preferred card holder would be assembled in themanner to. follow.

Assuming that a blockofytissue sheets 64 were at hand, and that the left hand edgesof the sheets were bound together by an adhesive-strip: in the: usualmanner,

a segment of the block would ,be; removed therefrom, said segment including one sheet of tissuepaper foreach card to be contained in the contemplated holder.

Ordinarily, a holder 24,;would contain ten of the cards 82, wherefore segments comprising; ten sheets of tissue would be taken from theblock However in the interest of illustrative clarity with respect to, the drawings, it will be assumed that a holder containingsix cards 82 is to be constructed. Consequently; a segment-comprising six sheets 64.would be separated from the block, the left hand edges being integrated, bythe; adhesive strip 84, as indicated in Figures 5 and 11; With; the six sheet segment of tissue papers superimposed on and aligned with the left hand end of the stiffener sheet 76,;a line of stitching 86 would be applied,the stitchingextending through all of the tissue sheets 64: and the stiffener sheet 76, as bestseen in FigurevS; V

Thereupon, a card 82 would;- be. deposited between the sheet 76 and the lowermosntissue, sheet 64, .and duplicate cards would be deposited .between each adjacent pair of tissue sheets thereabove, the-uppermost card 82 lying between the topmost and lthenextther'ebelow sheets 64 asFigure 5- demonstrates. This: view also demonstrates that in the thus assembled status of the holder, the right hand marginal edge. 78 of the 4 stiffener sheet preferably lies short of the corresponding edges of the cards 82.

It is also noted with attention directed to Figure 3, that the tissue sheets 64 are wider than the cards 82, so that said sheets overlap the cards transversely.

The final step in producing a holder 24 would consist in curving all of the right hand flap segments 70 of the tissue sheets tautly about the adjacent edges of the cards 82 to bring said flap segments flatly against the undersurface of the stiffener sheet 76, and applying to them and said sheet the retaining sticker 80. The resultant disposition of the flap segments 70 relatively to the sheet 76 and to one another is exhibited in Figure 11. This final operation also places the tissue sheets under tension for a purpose to appear.

Use

Although the advantages inherent in the invention and its use are believed manifest, a brief explanation will be given. Thus, it will be assumed for example, that a business executive orders two hundred engraved cards, a small quantity of which he desires to carry on his person. In accordance with the concepts of the present invention, he would be furnished one casing 20, and twenty holders 24 each containing ten cards 82, whereon his name, affiliation and so on had been printed or engraved.

With the casing in an open position such as that presented in Figure 3, the clamping member 50 would first be flipped by means of fingerpiece 56 to the substantially vertical status thereof illustrated in Figures 4 and 8. Thereupon, with for example the left hand sustaining the member 50 in thesuggested status, a holder 24 would be inserted into the clamp assembly 22 with the right hand, the upstandingfiange 42 serving to limit leftward movement of the holder.

Thereupon, the clamping member 50' would be depressed leftwardly downwardly, in consequence whereof the edge 60 of the narrow leg 54 would compress the portions of the tissue papers 64 adjacent the stitching 86 together with the corresponding portion of the sheet 76, thus obviating fortuitous displacement of the holder 24 in a longitudinal direction.

Concurrently, in consequence of said leftward and downward depression of the clamping member 50, the portions of the tissue sheets 64 and the stiffener sheet 76 that overlie the knob formations 48'would-first be deformed, and then compressed between the upper surfaces of said knobs and the indentations 62, as an inspection of Figure 6 should tend to clarify. It should also be apparent, that this arrangement obviates fortuitous displace ment of the holder 24 in a transverse direction.

Although as stated, the holders 24 are first positioned with the strip 84 abutting against the flange 44, (at whichtime the stitching 86 would be in vertical alignment with the knob formations 48 and the pintles 58), it is to be noted that in consefuence of the incrementally applied resultant compression of the tissue sheets incident to the depression of the clamping member 50, the holder 24 would automatically move slightly rightwardly to the position therof shown in Figures 3 and 5.

Assuming that the card holder 24 had been attached as described, and as illustrated in Figures 3 and 5, the casing 20 would be folded into and releasably maintained in the Figures 1 and 5 portrayal thereof for carriage in wearing apparel until the opportunity of proffering a card 82 presented itself.

At such time, the procedure would be simple. It would only be necessary to open the casing 20 and apply rightward thumb pressure to the connecting segment 72 of the uppermost tissue sheet 64. As a result, inasmuch as the main body portion 66 and said connecting segment are taut, the line of perforations 68 would produce the separation of the segment 72 from the main body 66 of the sheet 64, thus releasing the uppermost card 82 for ready presentation. If desirable in the interest of neatness for the next card presentation occasion, the now loosely disposed segment 72 would be torn from the holder, the line of perforations 74 facilitating this action.

The main body portion 66 of the severed sheet could be left in the holder for memoranda purposes if desired or it could be torn from the holder along the stitch line 86 and discarded.

When the last card 82 in the holder had been dispensed, the clamping member 52 would be swung to the Figure 8 position thereof, the empty holder would be removed and discarded, and a fresh card holder 24 would be clamped into place in the manner described.

What I claim is:

1. A manually operable clamp assembly for detachably securing one end portion of a card holder to a flexible casing, said assembly comprising: a transversely disposed substantially rectangular base plate rigidly attached to the casing; an upstanding flange on one end of the base plate; a pair of transversely spaced vertically disposed wing segments on the base plate, said upstanding flange merging at its ends into said wing segments; a circular aperture in each of the wing segments; a pair of transversely spaced hollow knobs formed in the base plate; a substantially L-shaped clamping member having a relatively wide leg section merging into a narrower leg section; a pintle projecting laterally from each end of the clamping member at the mergence of the leg sections thereof, said pintles extending into the circular apertures aforesaid of the base plate wing segments to pivotally support said member between them; a finger piece projecting from the terminal edge of the wide leg section to facilitate moving the clamping member into and out of clamping position; and a pair of transversely spaced arcuate indentations formed in the terminal edge of the narrow leg section, the spacing of said indentations corresponding with that of the knobs in the base plate, and the radii of said indentations being slightly larger than the radii of said knobs.

2. A manually operable clamp assembly for detachably securing one end portion of a card holder to a casing, said clamp assembly comprising: a base plate of substantially rectangular configuration rigidly secured to the casing by means of a pair of transversely spaced rivets; a vertical flange extending upwardly from one end of the plate; a pair of transversely spaced wing segments each extending upwardly from one side of the plate, said vertical flange merging at each end into one of said Wing segments; a circular aperture in each wing segment; a pair of transversely spaced knob formations in the base plate; a clamping member of substantially L- shaped configuration including a wide leg section merging into a narrower leg section; a pair of pintles each projecting laterally from the clamping member at the mergence of the leg sections thereof and extending into one of the circular apertures of said wing segments whereby to pivotally support said member between them; and a pair of transversely spaced arcuate indentations in the terminal edge of the narrow leg section, said indentations being spaced correspondingly with the knob formations aforesaid and adapted to overlie said formations when the clamping member is swung to clamping position, the radii of the indentations being slightly larger than the radii of the knob formations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 356,810 Weeks Feb. 1, 1887 381,702 King Apr. 24, 1888 807,648 Wiggins Dec. 19, 1905 1,089,557 Henderson Mar. 10, 1914 1,736,558 Van Buren Nov. 19, 1929 1,835,909 Shoemaker Dec. 8, 1931 1,836,161 Gates Dec. 15, 1931 2,123,903 Lane et a1. July 19, 1938 2,576,571 Chauvin Nov. 27, 1951

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