Holder for protectively displaying flat objects

A holder for protectively displaying flat collectible items such as sports cards and photographs is made of a jacket and an insert member shaped to slide into and closely fit within the jacket. The insert member, fabricated of opaque sheet material, contains a centered rectangular aperture which accommodates a flat collectible item. The jacket is constructed from two identical sheets of semi-rigid non-breakable transparent plastic bounded by four straight edges in a rectangular configuration, and bonded together at three edges.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention concerns a holder for protecting and displaying flat 
objects, and more particularly relates to a holder which visually enhances 
both sides of collectible sports cards. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
It is often sought to protectively display a flat rectangular object such 
as a photograph or collectible sports card with the addition of a 
surrounding border that enhances the appearance of the object. In the case 
of collectible sports cards, it is important to be able to view both sides 
of the card. 
Sports cards are generally of elongated rectangular shape, and depict 
professional players in sports such as baseball, football, basketball, 
hockey, soccer, wrestling, tennis, golf, auto racing, and other sports. 
The depiction is generally in the form of photographs which appear on both 
faces of the card. Performance statistics, team affiliation, special 
accomplishments, and other information relevant to the player and/or sport 
may also be printed on either or both faces of the card. 
The economic value of the card is dependent in part upon its physical 
condition. Accordingly, any display-type holder should also protect the 
card from the affects of handling and exposure to air, humidity and strong 
light. 
Although protective display holders for collectible cards have earlier been 
disclosed, they are in general of complicated construction, expensive, or 
difficult to utilize. Most such earlier holders do little to enhance the 
appearance of the card. 
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a holder 
device for protectively displaying flat objects. 
It is another object of this invention to provide a holder as in the 
foregoing object which is easy to use. 
It is a further object of the invention to provide a holder of the 
aforesaid nature which enhances the appearance of one or both surfaces of 
the flat object, and is of durable, simple construction amenable to low 
cost manufacture. 
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be 
apparent from the following description. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The above and other beneficial objects and advantages are accomplished in 
accordance with the present invention by a holder comprised of: 
a) a jacket formed from two identical sheets of semi-rigid non-breakable 
transparent plastic bounded by four straight edges in a rectangular 
configuration elongated upon a center axis, said sheets disposed one atop 
the other and sealed together along three edges by bonding to intervening 
transparent plastic spacer strips of uniform thickness disposed 
contiguously with said edges and parallel thereto, whereby the unsealed 
fourth edges define an entrance opening to an enclosure bounded by said 
spacer strips and said sheets, and 
b) an insert member comprised of a piece of opaque sheet material slidably 
insertable through said opening, having a thickness and outer perimeter 
adapted to perfectly fill said enclosure, and having a substantially 
centered aperture of elongated rectangular configuration having a long 
axis disposed coaxially with the long axis of the jacket.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Referring to FIGS. 1-4, an embodiment of the holder of the present 
invention is shown comprised of jacket 10 and insert member 11 adapted to 
slidably fit into said jacket. A sports card 12 is shown properly emplaced 
within the holder. 
Jacket 10 is formed from identical top and bottom sheets 13 and 14, 
respectively, fabricated of semi-rigid non-breakable transparent plastic. 
Suitable plastics include plasticized polyvinyl chloride, polycarbonate, 
polyacrylic esters, and ionomer resins. Said sheets are of elongated 
rectangular configuration, bounded by opposed short edges 15 and long 
edges 16, and having a center axis 17 parallel to said long edges and 
midway therebetween. Said sheets are disposed one atop the other and 
sealed together by bonding to intervening transparent plastic spacer 
strips 18 placed in contiguous relationship to three of said edges. Said 
spacer strips are of uniform thickness, measured in the direction 
orthogonal to said sheets, and are of uniform width, measured in the plane 
of said sheets. 
The sheets will typically have a uniform thickness in the range of about 
0.2 to 0.1 millimeter. The length of the jacket, measured orthogonally 
between short edges 15 will be in the range of about 13 to 20 cm. The 
width of the jacket, measured between long edges 16 will be in the range 
of about 9 to 14 cm. The ratio of length to width is preferably within the 
range of about 1.1 to 1.6. 
The sealed sheets define an enclosure 19 bounded by said sheets and spacer 
strips. The unsealed fourth edges of said sheets define an entrance 
opening 20 providing access to enclosure 19. The thickness of the spacer 
strips is between about 0.2 mm and 1.0 mm. The sealing of the sheets to 
the spacer strips may be achieved by adhesives or cohesive binding 
techniques which include ultrasonic welding, microwave heating and the use 
of heated platens or rollers. 
Insert member 11 is a monolithic piece of semi-rigid sheet material having 
a uniform thickness comparable to the thickness of the spacer strips, and 
an outer rectangular perimeter dimensioned to exactly fit within said 
enclosure. An aperture 21 of elongated rectangular configuration is 
substantially centrally disposed within said insert member in a manner 
wherein the long axis of aperture 21 becomes coaxially disposed with 
center axis 17 of jacket 10 when said insert member is properly seated 
within said jacket. Insert member 11 is preferably fabricated of plastic 
material whose front and rear surfaces are modified so as to impart 
special optical or illusory effects. In particular, the preferred 
specialized optical effect is one which produces a perception of depth. 
Modified surfaces that provide suitable optical illusions are described 
for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,357,772; 3,357,773 and 3,893,795. In 
general, the illusory effects are produced in an otherwise transparent 
plastic sheet by curvilinear lens-like embossments disposed on the front 
surface of the sheet and a multiplicity of closely spaced reflective 
embossments on the rear surface. 
The insert member serves the following several purposes: A) it facilitates 
the sliding insertion of a card or photograph into the jacket, B) it 
eliminates the need to grasp the card or photograph by the fingers, which 
would leave fingerprints that may cause long-term deterioration, C) it 
automatically centers the card within the jacket, D) it functions as a 
separator to prevent sheets 13 and 14 from pressing hard upon the surfaces 
of the card, and E) in the preferred embodiment, it causes the card to 
appear as though it is either recessed behind or floating atop the plane 
of the holder when viewed from above top sheet 13. 
Aperture 21 is cut so as to exactly fit the card, photograph or other flat 
collectible item. Other flat items may be placed within the jacket either 
by being attached to the faces of the insert member, or by being recessed 
into auxiliary apertures fashioned into the insert member. For example, a 
pennant or flag 22 may be employed, or rectangular cards or papers 23 
containing printed indicia associated with the player whose picture 
appears on the card. By virtue of the aforesaid components and their 
interaction, the flat collectible item is protectively enclosed in a 
holder that enhances the appearance of both sides of the item. The 
assembled holder, containing the flat collectible item is sufficiently 
rigid so that it can be supported in a substantially upright position by a 
stand. In view of the relatively flat nature of the holder, it can be 
stored in stacks that occupy relatively little space. 
While particular examples of the present invention have been shown and 
described, it is apparent that changes and modifications may be made 
therein without departing from the invention in its broadest aspects. The 
aim of the appended claims, therefore, is to cover all such changes and 
modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.