Greeting card holder apparatus and method

A greeting card holding and displaying apparatus (10) including a folder (11) having a front panel (12), a rear panel (13), and a central spine (14) foldably joining the front panel (12) to the rear panel (13). An inner lining (15) mounted to interior surfaces (21, 22) of the folder (11) is included formed from a single continuous piece of material having a front section (16), a rear section (17) and central section (20) of the foldably joining the front section (16) to the rear section (17) in a spaced apart manner. A plurality of side-by-side strands (25) each continuously extending from a backside surface (26) of the central section (20) over a central section upper edge (23), across an opposite frontside surface (27) of the central section (20) and over a central section lower edge (24) back to the backside surface (26). A method of forming the apparatus (10) is also provided.

TECHNICAL FIELD 
The present invention relates, generally, to greeting cards, and, more 
particularly, relates to methods and devices for holding greeting cards. 
BACKGROUND ART 
During the various annual holidays and special occasions, greeting cards 
are often the preferred form of salutation. Generally, these cards are 
proudly displayed in a tented manner atop tables and counters, or are 
affixed to walls or the like. Other more inventive techniques for 
displaying greeting cards, however, are well known in the art which 
provide a plurality of spaced-apart, side-by-side elastic strings or 
strands formed to seat in the fold of a card so that the card can be 
suspended or supported therefrom. Typical of these patented card and sheet 
paper holders may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 104,415; 104,863; 158,839; 
308,295; 936,223; 3,789,526; 4,840,407; and 4,852,280. 
While these devices adequately retain the cards or paper sheets therein, 
several problems are inherent in many of these devices. Most of these card 
holding devices are laborious and time consuming to manufacture since 
special care is required to mount the side-by-side elastic strands to a 
holding device such as a folder. Typically, a central bar, core or post 
member must be provided to support and secure the series of strands in a 
side-by-side relation, which is then mounted to a spine of the folder. As 
a result, manufacture is more complex and costly. 
Moreover, the series of elastic strands are usually resilient to retain the 
strands neatly against the bar or post member, or the spine of the folder. 
These resilient strands, however, tend to stretch after repeated use which 
ultimately causes a reduction of resiliency in each strand. Hence, the 
strands start to sag which is aesthetically unappealing, often resulting 
in premature discardation of the card holder. 
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a holder 
apparatus and method for displaying a plurality of greeting cards in a 
decorative and functional manner. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a greeting card 
holder apparatus and method which is noncomplex and relatively simple to 
manufacture. 
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a greeting card 
holder apparatus and method with which the cards can be organized easily 
and conveniently. 
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a greeting card 
holder apparatus and method which is capable of accommodating different 
sized greeting cards. 
Another object of the present invention is to provide a greeting card 
holder apparatus and method which retains its aesthetic and displaying 
appeal for longer periods of time. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a greeting card 
holder apparatus and method that is durable, compact, easy to maintain, 
has a minimum number of components, and is easy to use by unskilled 
personnel. 
In accordance with the foregoing objects, the present invention provides a 
greeting card holding and displaying apparatus including a folder with a 
front panel, a rear panel, and a central spine foldably joining the front 
panel portion to the rear panel in a spaced apart manner along respective 
height dimensions thereof. An inner lining is included formed from a 
single continuous piece of material having a front section mounted to an 
interior surface of the front panel and extending substantially along the 
front panel height dimension proximate the spine. Further, the lining 
includes a rear section mounted to an interior surface of the rear panel 
and extending substantially along the rear panel height dimension 
proximate the spine. A central section of the lining foldably joins the 
front section to the rear section in a spaced apart manner which defines 
an upper edge and an opposing lower edge. A plurality of side-by-side 
strands each continuously extending from a backside surface of the central 
section over the upper edge, across an opposite frontside surface of the 
central section and over the lower edge back to the backside surface. 
A method of the present invention for forming the greeting card holding and 
displaying apparatus, briefly, comprises the steps of: sliding a plurality 
of strands formed of continuous loops around the lining material in a 
side-by-side manner until each loop encircles the central section of the 
lining material from the upper edge to the lower edge, each loop being of 
sufficient length to be supported on the central section in a relatively 
taut manner; mounting the front section to an interior surface of the 
front panel to cover at least a portion thereof such that the front 
section extends substantially along the front panel height dimension 
proximate the spine; and mounting the rear section to an interior surface 
of the rear panel to cover at least a portion thereof such that the rear 
section extends substantially along the front panel height dimension 
proximate the spine.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
While the present invention will be described with reference to a specific 
embodiment, the description is illustrative of the invention and is not to 
be construed as limiting the invention. Various modifications to the 
present invention can be made to the preferred embodiments by those 
skilled in the art without departing from the true spirit and scope of the 
invention as defined by the appended claims. It will be noted here that 
for a better understanding, like components are designated by like 
reference numerals throughout the various figures. 
Attention is now directed to FIG. 1 where a greeting card holding and 
displaying apparatus, generally designated 10, of the present invention is 
illustrated. Briefly, card displaying apparatus 10 includes a folder 11 
having: a front panel 12 with a height dimension (H.sub.1) and a width 
dimension (W.sub.1); a rear panel 13 having a height dimension (H.sub.2) 
and a width dimension (W.sub.2); and a central spine 14 foldably joining 
front panel 12 to rear panel 13 in a spaced apart manner along respective 
height dimensions (H.sub.1), (H.sub.2). A single continuous sheet of inner 
lining material, generally designated 15, includes a front section 16, a 
rear section 17, and a central section 20 foldably joining front section 
16 to rear section 17. The front section 16 and the rear section 17 are 
mounted to and cover at least a portion of respective interior surfaces 
21, 22 of front and rear panels 12, 13, respectively. Further, each of the 
front and rear section 16, 17 of lining material 15 extend substantially 
along or in the direction of respective front and rear panel height 
dimensions (H.sub.1), (H.sub.2) proximate spine 14. FIGS. 1 and 2 
illustrate that central section 20 foldably joins front section 16 to rear 
section 17 in a spaced apart manner, and forms an upper edge 23 and an 
opposing lower edge 24 thereof spanning a width dimension (W.sub.3) of 
spine 14. Finally, card displaying apparatus 10 includes a plurality of 
side-by-side strands or strings, generally designated 25, each mounted to 
display apparatus 10 by encircling lining sheet 15 in the area of spline 
14. Thus, each strand 25 continuously extends from a backside surface 26 
of central section 20 over the central section upper edge 23, across a 
frontside surface 27 (FIGS. 2 and 4) of central section 20, and over lower 
edge 24 back to central section backside surface 26. 
Accordingly, the present invention provides a greeting card holding 
apparatus which employs the inner lining of the folder to retain and 
support the plurality of card holding strands. In contrast, the prior art 
devices above-discussed required additional retaining structure mounted to 
the spine or the folder upon which the strands were supported. Such 
arrangements were more difficult to manufacture, as well as increasing 
overall material and production costs. 
Briefly, to mount or support a greeting card 30 to displaying apparatus 10, 
one edge of the greeting card is slid underneath a chosen strand 25', as 
illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, until a fold line 31 of the card receives or 
seats strand 25' therein for retainment. Because of the relatively taut 
disposition of the strand, the fold of greeting card 30 will be retained 
and supported against the lining central section 20. Further, depending 
upon the height dimension of the strands, most card sizes can be 
accommodated even if they are substantially smaller in height than the 
strand, as viewed in FIG. 1. Several cards may be retained on a single 
strand, or a whole collection may be supported and retained by the 
remaining strands. 
In accordance with the present invention, the individual strands 25 
preferably fully encircle central section 20 of the inner lining, each of 
which are supported by the central section in a taut manner. As the 
individual strands 25 extend over the central section upper edge 23 and 
lower edge 24, backside portions 32 of the strands, as shown in FIGS. 2 
and 4, extend through a crescent shaped pocket 33 formed between the 
folder central spine 14 and the lining central section 20 where the 
strands can be anchored to keep them taut. Moreover, in the preferred 
embodiment, the plurality of strands are provided by a single cord member 
34 which continuously encircles or wraps around central section 20 to form 
the successive, side-by-side loop strands 25. Each individual loop is of a 
sufficient length to retain the strands tautly to prevent excessive 
sagging. It will be understood, however, that separate independent loops 
of sufficient length may be provided without departing from the true 
nature and spirit of the present invention. Further, each independent 
strand may not fully encircle central section 20 as long as they employ 
and extend over both upper edge 23 and lower edge for support, as shown in 
FIG. 4. 
While only six (6) individual loops are provided for illustrative purposes, 
any number of loops may be provided. It is desirable to decrease the 
spacing between the loops so that they are more densely situated along the 
central section as long as they are not overlapping. In the preferred 
form, approximately twenty-five (25) loops are successively wound around 
the central section. 
Cord member 34 is preferably formed of a thermoplastic material, such as a 
plastic resin, providing limited flexibility or deflection in directions 
perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of each strand. The strands only need 
to deflect a sufficient amount to slide the edge of the greeting card 
therethrough. More importantly, each strand is relatively inelastic in the 
longitudinal direction of the strand so that after repeated use, each 
strand will generally retain its original shape and length. This will 
assure resistance to sagging, as well as prevent permanent deformation or 
stretching in the longitudinal direction. One such plastic resin material 
may be provided by extruded low density polyethylene. 
Since this preferable thermoplastic material is relatively longitudinally 
inelastic and of limited deformation ability, strands 25 are preferably 
bent at regions proximate upper edge 23 and lower edge 24 (FIGS. 1 and 4) 
so that the frontside portion of the strand laying across the frontside 
surface 27 of the central section is substantially parallel therewith. 
This assures that portions of the individual strands near and in contact 
with the central section upper and lower edges do not bulge too far 
outwardly due to the limited flexibility of the strand material. These 
upper and lower bends 35, 36, respectively, are aligned with the 
corresponding upper and lower edges 23, 24, respectively, for receipt 
therein. 
FIG. 3 illustrates that the backside portions 32 of strands 25 are secured 
together for additional support. This also facilitates mounting of the 
strands to central section 20 since they all can be mounted together as a 
unit. In the preferred embodiment, the plurality of strands are melted or 
welded together at a melted portion 37 which is substantially transverse 
the side-by-side thermoplastic loop strands 25 to form a single unit. 
Preferably, a first melted portion 37 (FIG. 3) is to be oriented and 
positioned at backside surface 26 of central section 20 proximate lower 
edge 24. Similarly, an opposing second melted portion 37 is to be oriented 
and positioned at backside surface 26 proximate upper edge 23 (not shown, 
but the reverse of the lower edge portion). These opposed melted portions 
near the upper and lower central section edges prevent puckering of the 
strands, and more importantly, substantially prevent tangling and 
cross-over of the strands at the upper and lower bend portions. 
A sonic welding technique, well known in the art, is preferably employed to 
cause localized melting or welding of the strands transversely thereof. 
This technique can be performed in bulk whereby individual groups of the 
plurality of strands can be cut therefrom for each application. 
It is further advantageous for inner lining material 15 to be sufficiently 
rigid to provide support to loop strands 25 to assure tautness. Too 
flexible of a lining material may cause the central section upper and 
lower edges to bend due to the forces applied by the strands. Additional 
support is provide by mounting the lining to the folder interior surfaces 
21, 22, which in combination with relatively thick paper or cardboard 
lining, provides sufficient support. 
It will be understood that while front section 16 and rear section 17 
preferably cover a substantial whole of the respective interior surfaces 
21, 22 of the folder, only a portion of the interior surfaces need be 
covered to provide the novel attributes of the present invention. As 
mentioned, however, it is important to support the front and rear sections 
of the lining along the height dimensions proximate the central spine 
portion of the folder section so that the central section of the lining 
spans the width (W.sub.3) of the spine (FIG. 2). This may be accomplished 
by the application of an adhesive between a backside surface of front 
section 16 and rear section 17 and the opposing front and rear panel 
interior surfaces 21, 22, respectively. Accordingly, each loop is 
permitted to slide along upper edge 23 and lower edge 24 without sliding 
off of from the central section. 
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of forming a greeting 
card holding and displaying apparatus is provided comprising the steps of: 
providing a folder 11 including front panel 12, rear panel 13, and central 
spine 14 foldably joining front panel 12 to rear panel 13; and providing a 
single continuous sheet of inner lining material 15 including front 
section 16, rear section 17, and central section 20 foldably joining front 
section 16 to rear section 17. The next step includes sliding a plurality 
of strands 25 formed of continuous loops around lining material 15 in a 
side-by-side manner until each loop encircles central section 20 of lining 
material 15 from upper edge 23 to lower edge 24 thereof. Each loop is of a 
sufficient length to be supported on central section 20 in a relatively 
taut manner. The next steps include mounting the front and rear sections 
16, 17 of the lining to respective interior surface 21, 22 of front and 
rear panels 12, 13 to cover at least a portion thereof such that front and 
rear section 16, 17 extends substantially along their height dimensions 
(H.sub.1), (H.sub.2) proximate central spine 14. 
Before the sliding step, the plurality of strands may be constructed by 
forming a series of continuous loops in a side-by-side manner; and melting 
the successive strands 25 together at melted portions 37 thereof 
substantially transverse the side-by-side loops to form a single unit. As 
mentioned above, the preferred melting technique is performed by sonic 
welding. 
To slide the plurality of strands onto the central section of the lining, 
the lining may be bowed or bent, and then slid through the strands. Upon 
orienting the melted portions 37 proximate the upper and lower sections 
backside, and upon aligning the upper and lower bends 35, 36 with the 
corresponding upper edge 23 and lower edge 24, the bowed lining material 
may be opened until the strands are tautly supported by central section 
20.