Abstract:
A wallet (apparatus for card arrangement) that maintains card arrangement in a secure position while allowing the user to more quickly and efficiently insert and remove their cards by exposing a greater card surface area. An apparatus for card arrangement comprises a base wallet ( 202 ) bound to small and large inner pocket partitions ( 204  and  206 ) covered by a top cover ( 212 ). Furthermore the invention increases the life of the wallet, effectively decreasing the cost of ownership over the life of the wallet.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims benefit of provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/508,560 filed 2011 Jul. 15 by present inventor. 
    
    
     FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH 
     None 
     SEQUENCE LISTING 
     None 
     BACKGROUND 
     The present invention relates to a wallet, particularly to an apparatus for card arrangement used in wallets (or called billfolds, notebooks, handbooks) or any other kind of personal card storage, transportation, or management container. 
     At present some conventional apparatus for card arrangement are commonly set in all kinds of wallets. Referring to  FIG. 1 , as an example, a conventional apparatus consist of a base wallet  102  and a number of stepwisely overlapped pocket partitions  104  to form the tops of the card pockets. A flimsy liner material  106  extends below the pocket partitions  104  and at the bottom is bound to the liner material of the pocket adjacent to it at pocket bottom rim  112 . The front most pocket that is fully exposed is often made out of a whole piece of leather  108 . All pockets are bound to the base wallet by the outer rim  110 . 
     This conventional apparatus has two main drawbacks:
         1) Due to the stepwisely overlapping pockets only a limited surface area of the card can be exposed without grossly increasing the height of the wallet. I have found that this limited surface area of card exposure makes it difficult for a user to discern and get a strong grip on the card they would like to select and remove from the pocket. Thus making user interaction with his/her cards inefficient.   2) The lining material  106  used to limit the overall thickness of the wallet easily tears and forces the user to repair or replace the wallet.
 
U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,917 B2 to Hui attempts to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks with an accordion file folder style apparatus for card receival. While this apparatus eliminates the need for a lining material it restricts the accessibility to the cards. The user of U.S. Pat. No 7,730,917 B2 an apparatus for card receival cannot access his/her cards without fully opening the wallet. This makes it cumbersome and inefficient for the user to access the cards.
       

     Hence it is desired to provide an apparatus for card arrangement which can overcome the foregoing drawbacks of the prior art. 
     SUMMARY 
     An improved apparatus for card arrangement has material such as leather (but other materials are also suitable) cut and bound together to form pockets for card arrangement. The material is cut and bound together in such a way that allows the user to efficiently insert or remove cards from the pockets. 
     Accordingly several advantages are to provide an improved apparatus for card arrangement, to provide a means of accessing cards quickly and efficiently, to provide an apparatus for card arrangement that is durable, and to provide an apparatus for card arrangement that securely holds cards in place. Still further objects and advantages will become apparent from a study of the following description and the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is an exploded assembly view of a conventional apparatus for card arrangement in a wallet. 
         FIG. 2  is an exploded assembly view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet. 
         FIG. 3  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet before cards are received in the pockets. 
         FIG. 4  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet after a card is received in the top back pocket. 
         FIG. 5  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet after a card is received in the top back pocket and the bottom middle pocket. 
         FIG. 6  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet after a card is received in the top back pocket, the bottom middle pocket, and the center front pocket. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded assembly view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet, showing the base wallet  202 , the large inner pocket partition  204 , the small inner pocket partition  206 , the inner pocket edge  208 , the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 , the top cover  212 , and the outer rim  214 . The base wallet  202 , the large inner pocket partition  204 , the small inner pocket partition  206 , and the top cover  212  are cut from a material such as leather (but other materials are also suitable). The inner pocket edge  208 , the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 , and the outer rim  214  are created using a binding material such as nylon thread (but other materials are also suitable). Assembly of this embodiment is achieved by first binding small inner pocket partition  206  to large inner pocket partition  204  along inner pocket edge  208 . Large inner pocket partition  204  is then bound to base wallet  202  along bottom edge of top back pocket  210 . Finally top cover  212  is bound to base wallet  202 , small inner pocket partition  206 , and large inner pocket partition  204  along outer rim  214 . 
       FIG. 3  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet before cards are received in the pockets, showing the base wallet  202 , the large inner pocket partition  204 , the small inner pocket partition  206 , the inner pocket edge  208 , the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 , the top cover  212 , and the outer rim  214 . Depending on the width of top cover  212 , small inner pocket partition  206  may be completely hidden. However to aid in illustration of card receival in  FIGS. 4-6  the edge of small inner pocket partition  206  is exposed in this embodiment. 
       FIG. 4  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet after a card is received in the top back pocket, showing the base wallet  202 , the large inner pocket partition  204 , the small inner pocket partition  206 , the inner pocket edge  208 , the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 , the top cover  212 , the outer rim  214  and card  402 . Card  402  in the top back pocket is inserted in the space on top of base wallet  202  and behind large inner pocket partition  204 . The bottom edge of the pocket for card  402  ends at the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 . 
       FIG. 5  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet after a card is received in the top back pocket and the bottom middle pocket, showing the base wallet  202 , the large inner pocket partition  204 , the small inner pocket partition  206 , the inner pocket edge  208 , the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 , the top cover  212 , the outer rim  214 , card  402  and card  502 . Card  502  in the bottom middle pocket is inserted in the space on top of large inner pocket partition  204  and behind small inner pocket partition  206 . 
       FIG. 6  is a flat view of an apparatus for card arrangement of the invention in a wallet after a card is received in the top back pocket, the bottom middle pocket, and the center front pocket, showing the base wallet  202 , the large inner pocket partition  204 , the small inner pocket partition  206 , the bottom edge of top back pocket  210 , the top cover  212 , the outer rim  214 , card  402 , card  502 , and card  602 . Card  602  in the center front pocket is inserted in the space on top of small inner pocket partition  206  and behind top cover  212 . 
     REFERENCE NUMBERALS 
     
         
           102  base wallet 
           104  inner pocket partition 
           106  liner 
           108  outer pocket cover 
           110  outer rim 
           112  pocket bottom rim 
           202  base wallet 
           204  large inner pocket partition 
           206  small inner pocket partition 
           208  inner pocket edge 
           210  bottom edge of top back pocket 
           212  top cover 
           214  outer rim 
           402  card 
           502  card 
           602  card 
       
    
     OPERATION 
     In operation one uses the invention in a normal manner like inserting and removing cards from regular wallet card pockets. When the user interacts with the apparatus for card arrangement four unexpected effects improves the experience:
         1) The apparatus for card arrangement ( 202 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 ) allows cards to be stored horizontally and inserted or removed in a left to right (or right to left) motion. This exposes a large surface area of the cards when fully inserted. This makes it easier for the user to identify, grip, and efficiently remove a card.   2) The apparatus for card arrangement ( 202 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 ) allows cards to be inserted or removed horizontally from the left or right edge of the wallet. This allows the user to access their cards more quickly and efficiently by only partially opening the wallet.   3) The arrangement of cards in the apparatus for card arrangement ( 202 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 ) is spread out which maintains a thin profile for the wallet. This also eliminates the need for a lining material to avoid overthickness of the overlapped pockets. I have found lining materials to quickly wear out and fall apart, hurting the life of a wallet. The apparatus for card arrangement has no lining materials, which makes the apparatus for card arrangement strong and durable. A user of prior art with lining material that wears out will have to replace or repair his/her wallet more frequently than a user of a wallet with the apparatus for card arrangement. Therefore the user of a wallet with the apparatus for card arrangement will enjoy a lower cost of wallet ownership over the life of the wallet.   4) Although cards in the apparatus for card arrangement ( 202 ,  206 ,  208 ,  210 ,  212 ,  214 ) appear to be dangling out of their pockets, which aids in quick and efficient user interaction with the cards, the assembly of the apparatus for card arrangement holds all cards tightly and securely.