Paper slip holding file card

A file card for a paper slip holder and dispensing unit comprises a substantially flat stiff support panel having a generally rectangular configuration, a front face, a back face, a top edge and a bottom edge, a mounting attachment at the bottom edge for mounting on a support shaft, and a coupon clip on the front and back faces, the clip formed of a substantially rectangular sheet of semi-rigid material having a fixed end and a free end, the fixed end secured to the support panel adjacent an edge thereof, the sheet formed with a rounded fold along a transverse line forming a long panel and a short panel having a common edge, the short panel having the free end, the short panel disposed adjacent the face of the support panel, and the free edge of the short panel curved toward the face of the support panel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to file cards and pertains particularly to a 
file card having improved clip means for holding paper slips and the like. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
In my prior patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,383 I disclose a coupon organizing 
and dispensing apparatus for shoppers to use in a supermarket or similar 
store environment. The dispensing apparatus includes an elongated housing 
or frame which houses a coupon holder. The coupon holder includes a rotary 
mechanism to which coupon file cards are removably mounted. The rotary 
mechanism is made up of a shaft journaled to the frame and having knobs 
disposed at each end for manually rotating the shaft. Circumferential rods 
or rails spaced apart along the shaft extend around the shaft and are 
adapted to removably hold the coupon file cards. The file cards are 
capable of removably holding store discount coupons in a fixed position. 
When the shaft is turned by manually rotating the knobs, the shaft operates 
to sequentially present coupon file cards containing coupons for the 
shopper to visually inspect, remove and redeem for a purchased item to be 
discounted by the coupon's stated amount. Alternatively, the coupon file 
cards may be mounted in the housing in other suitable ways. The coupon 
apparatus also includes a calculator for the shopper's use and a storage 
bin to hold coupons selected for redemption. 
The housing is formed with a lower notch or hook adapted to engage and hook 
to a handle of a shopping cart. The notch is also capable of serving as a 
carrying handle for when the apparatus is being transported by the 
shopper. The file cards have a clip on one face and are capable of 
removably holding store discount coupons, or other similar paper slips, in 
a fixed position. While that apparatus was designed primarily to hold 
store discount coupons, it is useable to hold many other slips of paper 
such as business cards, receipts, recipes, tickets and many other articles 
in the form of slips of paper or the like. 
The clip as originally illustrated in the patent proved to be 
unsatisfactory in that it could not consistently and reliably hold paper 
slips. A further design as illustrated in FIG. 1 also proved 
unsatisfactory for other reasons. In that design a card 10 of somewhat 
rigid material has a strip, or overlay of semi-rigid material which is 
folded over with a hard or sharp crease 12 forming two panels. The crease 
is positioned off center forming a long panel 14 and a short panel 16 
which together form the clip. The long panel is formed with a free edge 18 
secured along an outer edge of card 10. The short panel has a free edge 20 
extending toward the card 10 forming a gripping edge of the clip. The free 
edge is pressed toward the card surface with enough force to removeably 
hold one or more sheets of paper or cardboard. 
However, the design has some drawbacks. One problem encountered was that 
the gripping edge 20 would occasionally hang up on the slip or coupon 
being pulled and be pulled out from under the longer panel distending the 
short panel rendering it non-functional. It required pushing back into its 
original position to again become functional. Another problem with that 
design was its inability to hold multiple slips of thin material such as 
paper. Even though several slips could be inserted fully under the clip, 
the combined thickness caused them to engage the underside of the longer 
panel pushing it out and preventing the short panel exerting sufficient 
force to hold the multiple slips. Accordingly, it is desirable that a clip 
for a paper slip holding card be available that is reliable and effective 
to hold multiple coupons or other similar paper slips. 
SUMMARY AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a paper slip 
holding file card having a clip that is reliable and effective to hold 
multiple coupons or similar paper slips. 
A paper slip holding file card for a paper slip holder and dispensing unit, 
said card comprises a substantially flat stiff support panel having a 
generally rectangular configuration, a front face, a back face, a top edge 
and a bottom edge, mounting means at said bottom edge for mounting said 
card on support means, and a paper slip holding clip on at least one of 
said front and back face, said clip comprising a substantially rectangular 
sheet of semi-rigid material having a fixed end and a free end, the fixed 
end secured to said support panel adjacent an edge thereof, said sheet 
formed with a rounded fold along a transverse line forming a long panel 
and a short panel having a common edge, said short panel having said free 
edge, said short panel disposed adjacent said face of said support panel, 
and said free edge of said short panel curved toward said face of said 
support panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now to FIG. 2, a rotary store coupon holder and dispensing 
apparatus designated generally at 22 which includes paper slip holding 
file care designated generally at 24 disposed in an elongated open top or 
front housing is illustrated. The housing has notch or hook 26 formed at 
one end adapted to engage and hook or attach to the handle of a shopping 
cart. The notch 26 may also serve as a carrying handle to enable the 
apparatus to be easily carried by the user. The frame is composed of 
spaced parallel sides 28 and 30 having a curved sheet or panel 32 secured 
between them. The curved sheet 32 is of stiff material and preferably 
extends from the top, around the bottom, around and through notch 26, 
ending in rear external wall 34 and forming a card or coupon cavity 36. 
Coupon holder 22 incorporates a rotary mechanism designated generally at 38 
which includes external knobs 40 and central shaft 42. The central shaft 
is provided with spaced circumferentially disposed or extending rails 44 
for rescissably holding or mounting file cards. The knobs 40 enable hand 
rotation of the shaft for positioning file cards for selection. The 
central shaft 42 may also be referred to as a drum and is journaled in a 
conventional manner in sidewalls 28 and 30. Rails 44 are adapted to 
removably slidably engage and mount file cards 46 in a conventional 
manner. The card is formed with two slots 48 at the bottom edge for 
releasably engaging the rails 44. The cards could be releasably and 
pivotally attached to the shaft in any suitable manner. When the shaft is 
rotated different file cards sequentially come into position to reveal 
coupons for selection by the user. A variety of techniques for securing a 
paper slip to a file card were initially envisioned. It will also be 
appreciated that the file card of the present invention may be used with 
any number and kind of different card holders for holding any number of 
different slips of paper and the like. 
The present invention provides an improved file card and clip that overcome 
the previously discussed and other problems of the prior art. Referring to 
FIGS. 3-5, a file card 46 having at least one clip designated generally at 
50 for securing one or more slips of paper or other thin material is 
secured in a fixed position on at least one side of the card. There could 
also be two or more such clips at spaced intervals on each side of the 
card. Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the file card 46 is illustrated as 
having one clip 50 on each side of the card which would enable slips of 
paper to be removably secured to each side of the file card. The clips are 
illustrated as being at the top edge of the file card, but may also be 
positioned on or along a side or the bottom. 
The card 46 may be constructed of cardboard, plastic or any other suitable 
material. The clip 50 may be constructed of a semi-rigid flexible material 
such as polypropylene or any other suitable plastic. The file card and 
clip may also be formed of the same material and formed of a unitary 
construction. 
In a preferred embodiment, the clip is formed of a generally rectangular 
sheet of polypropylene folded with a soft or rounded crease along a 
transverse line at 52 dividing the sheet into a long panel 54 and a short 
panel 56. The crease is rounded rather than sharp and preferably has a 
radius of curvature from about two to about six times the thickness of the 
panel. The as illustrated in FIG. 5, the crease or fold is uniformly 
rounded or symmetrical with respect to a plane lying parallel to the 
panels. This more rounded crease enables the shorter panel 56 to extend 
slightly toward and lie closer at its free end to the long panel 54. This 
forms a long panel having a free end or edge 58 (which becomes fixed upon 
mounting) and a short panel having a free end or edge 60 and both panels 
sharing a common end at the fold or crease. The free or outer end 58 of 
the long panel is secured by appropriate means such as an adhesive to a 
face of the file card 46 at the top or outer edge thereof along a line or 
strip 64 as shown in FIG. 3. It is positioned and secured with the short 
panel disposed adjacent the face of the file card. 
The short panel 56 lies beneath the long panel adjacent the file card with 
a free end 60 curved toward the face of the file card and defining a 
gripping edge. It has a length of about 40% to about 70% of the long panel 
and extends with the gripping edge within this range, preferably to about 
the mid point or beyond of the long panel. This makes the short panel long 
enough that it will not be pulled from beneath the long panel. The panel 
56 extends substantially parallel to the surface of the file card for most 
of its length before curving away from panel 54 and toward the file card 
at the outer free end. This gives it a large surface area to contact and 
hold a slip of paper or other thin material. The curved end or edge of the 
short panel may curve inward toward the file card at an angle of from 
about five degrees to about fifteen degrees. This curved edge can be 
formed by the cutting process in forming the panels from larger sheet or 
roll stock. The edge 60 may engage or be slightly spaced from the surface 
of the file card. In any event it will be sufficiently close to engage the 
surface of a thin slip of paper or other material inserted into the space 
between them. The sheet will be selected to have sufficient stiffness to 
bias the gripping edge with sufficient force to hold a slip of paper or 
the like engaged by it. 
As seen in FIG. 6, the end or edge 60 of the short panel is preferably 
formed as a serrated edge forming gripping teeth or points 62 which engage 
and grip a sheet placed under the panel. This form of edge provides a 
positive grip of the surface of slips of paper engaged by it. The edge 60 
will preferably be positioned in engagement with the face of the file 
card. In any event it will be spaced less than the expected thickness of a 
slip to be engaged by it. 
It will be appreciated that while the present invention was devised as a 
coupon file card, it may be used for holding any number of other slips of 
paper including business cards, photographs, receipts, tickets, recipes, 
and the like. It will also be appreciated that the file cards may be used 
in any suitable card holder of any type for holding any number of small 
paper or other slips. 
In operation, slips to be stored will be inserted between panel 56 and the 
face of file card 46 until its upper edge extends beyond the gripping edge 
60. The uppermost slip will be engaged by the edge 60 retaining it in 
place. The clip has sufficient stiffness to clamp and hold one or more 
slips against falling out. 
While I have illustrated and described my invention by means of specific 
embodiments, it is to be understood that numerous changes and 
modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and 
the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.