Abstract:
A flattening device for bank checks and other small documents, made of two transparent sheets of material that are rotatable at a common hinge point and attracted together with sufficient force to flatten creased or crumpled checks inserted between them to allow for easier viewing and photographing.

Description:
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY 
       [0001]    With the creation of banking apps, people can now deposit checks from home by taking a picture of the check with their phones. However, the deposit may not be successful if the check is not sufficiently flat or does not have an appropriately dark background and hence does not photograph well. My invention is a device that allows the user to sandwich the check between two pieces of non-glare acrylic and then lay it on a black felt bag, simultaneously flattening it and providing a dark background that will ensure a photograph that will be usable by the banking app. 
     
    
     
       THE DRAWINGS 
         [0002]      FIG. 1  is an exploded view showing the separate parts of the checkpress in spaced apart relation. 
           [0003]      FIG. 2  is a front elevational view of a checkpress 
           [0004]      FIG. 3  is a front elevational view of a storage/carrying bag for the checkpress that can also be used as a dark background for picture taking purposes. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0005]      FIG. 1  shows one form the checkpress can take. A small, black rectangular end piece of plastic  11  such as acrylic is attached by means of glue or other adhesive to a longer rectangular base of clear, non-glare plastic  10  at one end. Another rectangular piece of clear, non-glare plastic  12  is laid on top of the base piece  10  and flush against the black end piece  11 . The outer end of the top piece  12  is held securely against the base  10  by the small magnets  14 - 17  embedded in the corners of both pieces. The entire device is stored in a bag  18  depicted in  FIG. 3 , which is constructed of a dark material. The bag  18  will double as a background for photographs, hence its dark coloring. Color choices for the bag  18  include, but are not limited to, black, navy blue, brown, gray, or dark red. With the tape  13  acting as a hinge, the top piece  12  can rotate away from the base piece. As is shown in  FIG. 2 , the top piece  12  is of sufficient length to be slightly shorter than the base piece  10  so that a user can use a finger or thumb to hold the base  10  in place while rotating the top piece  12  up and away from it. With similar logic, top piece  12  is slightly wider than the base  10  so that a user can grasp it alone without simultaneously grabbing the base  10 . 
         [0006]    By opening and closing the top piece  12  and base  10  a check can be inserted between them. The attraction of the magnets will hold the two pieces  10 ,  12  tightly together, completely flattening the check. 
         [0007]    Other embodiments are possible through slight modifications of the components, while keeping the functionality of the unit the same. These include the following:
       1. The base piece  10 , the end piece  11 , and the top piece  12  can be shapes other than rectangular as long as there is sufficient space between the pieces to completely sandwich a check and as long as there is sufficient overlap to allow users to easily grasp the separate pieces and pry them apart.   2. The adhesive  13  can be replaced with actual hinges that hold the end piece  11  and the top  12  together and allow for rotation.   3. The magnets  14 - 17  can be replaced with a small plastic peg-and-hole system that will serve the same function. They can also be replaced by a clasp on the ends of the top piece  12  and base piece  10 .   4. The base piece  10  can be made of a dark, opaque material, obviating the need for a separate or external dark background.   5. Four extra magnets  19 - 22  can be used to provide a stronger attraction between the top piece  12  and the base  10  to better ensure that the enclosed check is flattened completely.   6. An RFID chip can be inserted into the endpiece  11  that can be synched with the banking app on the user&#39;s phone to facilitate use of the app.   7. The end piece  11  may have a company&#39;s logo engraved or otherwise depicted in it.     8 . Materials other than plastic may be used for the different pieces. For example, all three pieces  10 - 12  may be made of glass. The end piece  11  may be made of metal or wood. The base piece  12  may likewise be made of metal or wood if the above modification  4  is employed.   9. For each pair of joining magnets, one of the magnets can be replaced with a similar sized disc of magnetic material, such as—but not limited to—iron or steel, while retaining functionality.   10. An LED light can be inserted into the endpiece  11  that can be used to provide lighting for the camera on the user&#39;s phone.