Motor vehicle registration card holder

A U-shaped holder made of a light flexible material having grooves in the inside walls and bottom thereof forming a slot to receive an automobile registration card or plate. Affixed to one face of the holder is a layer of flexible material coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive to facilitate securing the holder to the windshield of an automobile.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to holders for cards and the like and more 
particularly to a new and improved holder for an automobile registration 
card and the like which is adapted to be affixed to the windshield of a 
motor vehicle. 
With the advent of motor vehicles, each state in the Union developed a 
motor vehicle registration system which serves the dual purpose of 
identifying motor vehicles and providing revenues from registration fees. 
The universal registration system is the license plate which is secured 
either to the front and rear bumpers of a motor vehicle or, in some 
states, to the rear bumper only. Additional identification such as the 
registration sticker which is affixed to the inside of the windshield of 
the motor vehicle is required in some states. State law often provides 
that these identification devices be renewed yearly. Accordingly, the 
continued use of expired identification devices, or the absence of any 
identification device, indicates to the authorities that the motor vehicle 
is being operated illegally. 
Because of their exposure on the outside of the motor vehicle, license 
plates must be securely fastened to the vehicle. As such, they are not 
readily removable. Adhesive coated registration stickers, affixed to the 
windshield of a motor vehicle, cannot be removed without either mutilating 
or destroying the sticker. These registration identification devices are 
specifically designed to prevent ready and convenient removal from the 
motor vehicle. 
In the interest of deterring automobile theft and the unauthorized 
operation of a motor vehicle without a proper registration, it would be 
desirable to provide a highly visible registration card or plate that 
could be prominently displayed inside an automobile when the driver is 
present and easily removed by him when he leaves the vehicle. Apparatus 
suitable for this purpose, however, has not been available heretofore. 
It is known in the art to provide a metal frame to be attached by brackets 
to the moldings on the inside of the windshield of a car into which a 
transparent card can be inserted. In the rear of this assembly is a device 
which, when activated, illuminates the transparent card. The complexity, 
expense and bulk of this system, however, diminishes its usefulness as a 
practical means of identifying motor vehicles. Moreover, because of its 
size and complexity, it cannot conveniently be installed by the owner. 
Also, illuminated roof mounted identification signs have long been commonly 
used on taxicabs. While these signs often identify a taxicab by call 
number, their purpose is to indicate to the pedestrian whether a cab is 
occupied, off duty or available for hire. The use of this type of device 
on an automobile is prohibitively expensive and aesthetically displeasing. 
Moreover, such a device is permanently installed on the roof of the 
vehicle and cannot be readily removed by the operator when the vehicle is 
not being used. 
It is an object of the present invention, accordingly, to provide a 
compact, inexpensive and convenient device for identifying a motor vehicle 
that can be easily installed on the windshield by the owner of the vehicle 
without appreciably diminishing the driver's visibility. 
Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved card 
holder that is light in weight and easy and inexpensive to manufacture. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing a holder 
composing a sturdy but lightweight and slightly flexible U-shaped frame 
having substantially coplanar grooves formed in the inside walls and 
bottom leg within which a registration card or plate is adapted to be 
removably received. To one face of the holder is affixed a layer of 
flexible material coated with a pressure sensitive adhesive by means of 
which it may be firmly secured to the inside of a car windshield, for 
example.

Referring first to FIGS. 1 through 4, the holder of the invention comprises 
a substantially U-shaped frame 10 having upright legs 11 and 12 and a 
bottom leg 13. The inside walls of the legs 11, 12 and 13 are formed with 
substantially coplanar grooves 14, 15 and 16 in which a removable 
registration card or plate 17 is adapted to be slidably received. To 
facilitate entry of the card 17 into the grooves 14 and 15, deepened 
groove portions 14a and 15a are provided at the tops of the legs 11 and 
12, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 
Preferably, the frame 10 is made of a light plastic material and the 
outsides of the legs 11, 12 and 13 are grooved at 18, 19 and 20 to lighten 
the frame and impart some flexibility to it while insuring its essential 
rigidity. 
Secured on the front faces 21, 22 and 23 of the legs 11, 12 and 13 by a 
suitable adhesive is a layer 24 of flexible material such as a plastic 
foam. The layer 24 may be, say, 1/8 inch thick and it is coated with a 
pressure sensitive adhesive 25. For packing and shipping, the adhesive 
coating 25 may be protected by the usual peel-off covering 26. 
The registration card 17 may be made of cardboard, inserted in a clear 
plastic protective sheath (not shown), if desired, and the car 
registration data may be prominently displayed on one side. Alternatively, 
the card 17 may be in the form of a rectangular plate made of suitable 
colored plastic to simulate a conventional license plate. 
In use, the protective covering 26 is peeled off the adhesive coating 25, 
and the frame 10 of the holder is pressed against the inside face of the 
car windshield, as shown in FIG. 5. By virtue of the flexibility in the 
frame 10 and the flexible layer 24, the holder will readily accommodate 
itself to any curvature in the windshield. When the driver is in the car, 
he will insert the registration card, which he may carry in his wallet, 
into the holder where it will be prominently displayed. Whenever he leaves 
the car, he will remove the card and return it to his wallet. 
The present invention not only provides for identification of a motor 
vehicle, but also is useful in the prevention and detection of motor 
vehicle thefts. If the rightful operator removes the registration card 
from the holder and takes it with him when he leaves the motor vehicle, no 
other person can operate the motor vehicle without the risk of being 
detected by the authorities who will notice the absence of a registration 
card from the holder. Accordingly, the likelihood that the motor vehicle 
will be taken by an unauthorized person is diminished. 
In addition to deterring automobile theft, the present invention will 
reduce the likelihood of authorized operators and owners of motor vehicles 
operating a motor vehicle with a lapsed or expired registration card or 
with no registration card at all. The use of an expired registration card 
or the absence of any card at all will be noticed immediately by police 
officers and others charged with enforcing the motor vehicle laws. Upon so 
determining that a motor vehicle is being operated in violation of the 
traffic laws, the police officer can stop and summon the violator. 
The representative embodiment described above and illustrated in the 
drawings is obviously susceptible of modification in form and detail 
within the scope of the following claims.