Abstract:
A reading card is provided including at least one reading lens which is smaller in size than the card member and is carried thereby. The card member has the size of a typical credit card such that it can be readily fit into the sleeve or holder used for these cards in wallets, and the like. Preferably, the lens is of a material and configuration so that it is provided with a well-defined or sharp diopter rating to allow a user to select among reading cards each with different diopter lenses for their particular needs. The lenses are carried by the card member so that additional space is left thereon for placement of, for example, indicia and a magnetic strip such as in credit, debit, and phone cards.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention relates to cards and, more particularly, to cards that provide a viewing enhancement function. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Cards that people carry about in their wallets or purses issued by financial, retail and other consumer-orientated businesses for transmitting information relating to an individual carrying the card have become ubiquitous for enabling efficient transactions to occur in all sorts of daily applications. Credit cards are perhaps the most common type of such cards which allow purchases to be made without the need to pay cash for the items charged to the card. Similarly, debit cards and telephone cards allow consumers to use the cards in lieu of money to pay for items or calls, respectively, by drawing down the money deposited to a specified account tied to the card. In all of these cards, there is typically information encoded such as on a magnetic strip of the card relating to the identity of the card owner and/or which allows the status of the account associated with the card to be determined. 
     With telephone cards, public transportation or train cards, etc. the holder can add value to the card by feeding the card into a machine that accepts money and adds the indicated amount to the card. The holder of the card uses it by running the card through the card reader that detects the amount added to the card as encoded on the magnetic strip and deducts the amount needed to effect the transaction for which it is being used. One problem noted with these cards is that once the holder uses up the amount they have added to the card, typically rather than retaining the so called “empty” card for future use by adding money thereto as described, they simply discard the empty card and obtain a new one when needed and add the money to the new card at the time it is obtained and thereafter as is convenient. Accordingly, this raises cost to the card issuer as they need to increase the number of cards they produce to satisfy this need created by those who do not retain their cards when the value added thereto has been exhausted. 
     With a great many of cards, there generally is paperwork that is generated by their use. For example, with use of credit cards, an invoice is created that has to be read and signed by the user. Where the credit card is used in a restaurant, the amount is of particular importance as that determines the tip for the service provider that has to be calculated. Another example is prescription cards that are provided to the pharmacist for example, before a prescription is filled. In this instance, the label on the bottle indicates the type of medicine contained therein, the dosage and frequency at which the medicine is to be used, and various warnings regarding its use. These labels are typically fairly small with associated small print thereon to fit on the small bottles. Because the patients obtaining prescriptions are often elderly people, the prescription labels are usually very difficult to read without use of reading glasses. Other examples of where cards are employed in a context where reading can become important is with telephone cards where the user may need to refer to a telephone book and a vehicle warranty card provided with a vehicle owners manual. 
     The typical pair of eyeglasses are usually provided with a soft or hard case so that they can be carried about when not in use. Where people need glasses for reading or do not like to wear their glasses all the time, the cases are an important accessory as they protect them from damage. One problem with these cases is in their size as they have to be large enough to accommodate the glasses with their temple arms folded against the lenses. Thus, the cases are slightly larger than the size of a standard folded-up pair of reading glasses. The size of the cases does not permit them to be readily fit into most pockets on clothing. Accordingly, absent some sort of carrying bag or pouch for holding the case, eyeglasses that are used only periodically such as for reading, are usually left at home and thus, not otherwise available for their owners. Thus, despite the need, many card holders do not have reading glasses with them when needed such as in conjunction with use of their cards, as described above. 
     A Fresnel lens has been provided in the shape of long bookmarks having a length of approximately seven and a half inches as well as in the shape of rectangular cards of the credit card type size. The Fresnel lenses in these relatively large forms are a flat, thin piece of plastic material in which a series of small concentric stepped grooves are formed to produce raised prism ridges in the plastic material. Fresnel lenses are not particularly well suited for viewing enhancement such as for reading print like the typical lens used with reading glasses. Instead, Fresnel lenses are typically used in applications where magnification is the most important consideration over all others. In this regard, Fresnel lenses as reading lenses are typically not used because of their poor optics in terms of resolution creating blurring or distorted vision in their use. In this regard, the diopter rating for Fresnel lenses is not very well defined and can vary somewhere in the range of four to six, which generally is several orders beyond that needed for reading lenses. Another drawback of the high-power magnification provided by Fresnel lenses is that the focal length and field of view of the lens is not as desirable as it is with a typical lens for reading. With high-powered Fresnel lenses not only is resolution poor, but the lens needs to be held further from the eyes for proper focus and the high magnification and diopter rating they provide decreases the field of view beyond that which is desired when reading. Also, Fresnel lenses usually are formed of a relatively soft, plastic material such as PVC that can readily be pressed for forming the requisite ridges of the Fresnel lens. The soft plastic material renders Fresnel lenses particularly deficient as reading lenses as from a practical standpoint, these types of lenses are handled frequently and when they are formed with a soft plastic material will tend to more easily be scratched or marred as a result thereof. 
     Accordingly, there is a need for a card that allows for the reading of materials generally associated therewith without the need for a separate pair of reading glasses to be available. More particularly, a card that allows the owner to use the card for reading much in the manner of a pair of reading glasses would be desired. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In accordance with the present invention, a reading card is provided that has a size akin to that of a credit card and can be fit in a sleeve or holder that is incorporated into a wallet. In this manner, a separate pair of reading glasses and case therefor are not needed to provide precision viewing enhancement for a user. Instead, the present reading card can be carried in a space savings manner in a cardholder&#39;s wallet and when removed therefrom can be used for transactions, identification purposes and the like while also providing the holder with precision viewing enhancement. More particularly, the reading card has at least one reading lens which is smaller in size than the card member and is carried thereby and preferably has a configuration to provide it with a well-defined diopter rating so that the card can be adapted to a user&#39;s specific reading needs based on their eyesight deficiency, unlike the poor optics provided by Fresnel lenses. 
     A low-profile or surface mount light or LED can also be incorporated in the reading card so that the viewing area can be illuminated for enhanced reading, particularly in dimly lit locations. Other features incorporated into the present reading card can include a low-profile voice recorder/playback device and calculator features including low-profile keys and a display. All of these added electronic features do not add significantly to the size, and in particular the thickness of the present card thus adding significant value to the card while also keeping its compact size for carrying purposes. Where the card is used by paying to add cash value to the card, the reading lens and above-described electronic features will increase the likelihood that the holder will not discard the card when empty thus reducing costs to card issuers. Magnets can be attached to the card to allow the card to be placed on a metallic support surface, e.g. refrigerator door, when not in use. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a reading card in accordance with the present invention being employed by a user to read text material; 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the reading card showing a pair of reading lenses disposed along a long edge of the card with a bridge-notch intermediate the lenses, and raised indicia on one of the card surfaces; 
     FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the reading card showing a magnetic strip and a microchip on one of the card surfaces; 
     FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the card of FIG. 2; 
     FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  5 — 5  of FIG. 4 showing the relative thickness between the lenses and the card member; 
     FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line  6 — 6  showing one of the indicia being raised relative to the card member surface; 
     FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional, fragmentary view of the snap-fit interface between one of the lenses and card member; 
     FIG. 7A is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing an alternative snap-fit interface; 
     FIG. 8 is an elevational view of an alternative form of the reading card having two pairs of reading lenses carried thereby; 
     FIG. 9 is an elevational view of another reading card in accordance with the present invention showing a low-profile light and voice record/playback device thereon; 
     FIG. 10 is an elevation view of the reading card showing advertising-type written material included thereon; 
     FIG. 11 is an elevational view of another form of the reading card showing low-profile calculator features incorporated therewith; and 
     FIGS. 12A and 12B are perspective views of the reading card and a wallet and sleeve card holder thereof. 
     FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the reading card having magnets thereon; and 
     FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a lens fixture and cutting apparatus showing a groove being formed about the outer edge of the lens. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     In FIG. 1, the present reading card  10  is shown in use for reading of text. As shown, the user can hold the card  10  close to their eyes with one hand while their other hand holds the material to be read. Referring to FIGS. 2-4, it can be seen that the reading card  10  includes a card member  12  having a generally rectangular configuration similar to that of a standard credit card. In this regard, the card member  12  has a pair of long edges  14  and  16  extending generally parallel to each other and interconnected at their ends by a pair of short edges  18  and  20  also extending generally parallel to each other. Together, the edges  14 - 20  define the outer periphery of the reading card  10 . 
     In accordance with the invention, the card member  12  includes at least one inner edge  22  that is distinct from the outer edges  14 - 20 . The inner edge  22  is spaced inwardly of the card outer edges  14 - 20  and forms a window  23  in the card member  12  for receipt of at least one reading lens  24  therein. Preferably, the inner edge  22  forms the window without cooperation with the outer edges  14 - 20 . In other words, while the edge  22  can open to one of the outer edges  14 - 20 , it is preferred that it is a closed edge  22  that does not intersect with the card peripheral edges  14 - 20 . In this manner, outer edge  26  of the reading lens defining the outer periphery thereof will be spaced from the card member edges  14 - 20 . 
     The card member  12  preferably is of a relatively rigid material, such as plastic to provide it with a thickness akin to that of a credit card. In this regard, the card member  12  includes opposite parallel surfaces  28  and  30  having a predetermined spacing therebetween under approximately {fraction (1/16)}″, and preferably approximately 1.25 mm, again similar to that common to credit cards. 
     The reading lens  24  of the reading card  10  herein is of a predetermined configuration to provide the lens with a well-defined diopter rating. The reading lens  24  includes opposite light refracting surfaces  32  and  34  each having a substantially smooth configuration across their entire extent with no grooves or the like formed therein. The reading lens  24  is of the type that corrects for defects in vision which is due to errors of refraction in the human eye and thus, at least one of the surfaces will normally be curved to precisely correct for the defect being addressed in a particular individual that wishes to use the reading card  10  herein. A variety of lens types may be utilized including concave, convex, plano-convex, cylindrical, compound lenses and/or bi, tri, or tetrofocal lenses, although the reading card  10  is preferably adapted for use by those who are farsighted so that convexly configured lenses  24  will typically be employed. As mentioned, the preferred convex lens  24  will have a well-defined diopter rating for providing precision optics and high resolution for a user reading text therewith. In practice, lenses with diopter ratings of 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 are employed. 
     In the preferred and illustrated form, the spacing between the lens surfaces  32  and  34  is predetermined to be only slightly greater than that between the card member surfaces  28  and  30 . In this manner, the card member  12  can retain its thin profile, such as for fitting in a wallet  35  (FIG.  12 A) while providing the lens  24  with a thickness necessary to provide the precision optics thereof and a secure connection to the card member  12 , as described further herein. Preferably, the lens  24  is of an acrylic polycarbonate material which is a special plastic having a refractive intensity or index. This allows the thickness of the lens  24  to be kept to a minimum while still providing the magnification and high quality optics desired. In addition, the acrylic polycarbonate material is hard and durable, and has good scratch resistance properties. 
     For fitting the reading lens  24  into the card member window bounded by the inner edge  22  in a secure manner, the card member inner edge  22  and the reading lens outer edge  26  are provided with a snap-fit interface or connection therebetween. More specifically and referring to FIG. 7, the lens  24  has opposing flanges  35  and  36  bounding a groove  37  formed in body  38  of the lens at the outer edge  26  thereof by a fixturing and cutting apparatus  100  (FIG.  14 ), described more fully hereinafter. This provides the groove  37  with a general U-shaped configuration, albeit having flat sides  37   a  and a flat bottom or base  37   b  interconnecting the sides  37   a . The card member edge  22  has an end surface  40  extending in a generally perpendicular direction to the card surfaces  28  and  30 . The end surface  40  is disposed in the groove  37  facing the base  37   b  thereof with the lens  24  attached in the window  23  of the card member  12  such that the card member edge  22  is held captive between the lens flanges  35  and  36  tightly engaged on card member surfaces  28  and  30 . 
     To insert the lens  24  in the window  23 , it is initially noted that while the card member  12  is preferably of a relatively rigid plastic material such that it does not flex or bend absent some force being applied thereto, it is not nearly as rigid as the preferred lens material, namely the acrylic polycarbonate polymer material previously specified. As shown in FIG. 7, there is an interference between the edge  22  of the card member  12  about window  23  thereof and the lens flanges  35  and  36  over the distance, d. Accordingly, for snap-fitting the lens  24  in the window  23 , either the card edge  22  or flanges  35  or  36  or a combination of both resiliently shift to allow the edge end  40  to clear one of the flange ends  35   a  or  36   a . While it may be possible to generate some flexibility of flanges  35  or  36  due to their reduced thickness over the remainder of the lens body  38 , generally the card edge  22  will undergo the majority, if not all of the flexing necessary to resiliently shift the end surface  40  over the distance, d, due to the differences in the rigidity of the card member material versus the lens body material. Once the end surface  40  clear one of the flange ends  35   a  and  36   a  depending on the direction of insertion of the lens, the card edge  22  will resiliently rebound to its undeformed configuration and be captively held between the flanges  35  and  36 , as previously described. 
     As shown, it is preferred that there be a gap  41  between the card end face  40  and the groove base  37   b  with the lens  24  snap-fit in the card member window  23 . This obviates the tolerance problem of having the lens surface  37   b  potentially bearing so tightly against the card surface  40  that this engagement introduces tension forces into the card member  12  tending to distort or warp its shape from the desired flat configuration thereof. Such warping of the card member  12  can create instabilities in the retention of the lens  24  in the window  23  eventually causing it to pop-out therefrom. 
     In an alternate form depicted in FIG. 7A, the card member edge  22  and reading lens edge  26  include cam surface portions including portions  22   a  and  22   b  of the card edge  22  and portions  26   a  and  26   b  of the lens edge  26 . As shown, the edge portions  22   a  and  22   b  extend obliquely away from the card member surfaces  28  and  30 , respectively, and meet at their juncture to define a v-projection  43  at the card member edge  22 . Similarly, the lens edge portions  26   a  and  26   b  extend obliquely relative to the lens surfaces  32  and  34 , respectively, albeit in a direction inward relative to the body  38  of the lens and meet so as to define groove  37  as having an inwardly oriented v-shape at the reading lens edge  26  and to interfit with the v-projection  43 . 
     The lens  24  can be attached to the card member  12  by inserting it into the window  23  formed by the card edge  22  from a direction either from above the card top surface  28  or below the card bottom surface  30 . In the first instance, the reading lens  24  will cam against the card edge portion  22   a  at the juncture between the lens bottom surface  34  and the edge portion  26   b  thereof with the card material being sufficiently resiliently flexible to deflect until the aforedescribed juncture of the lens  24  clears the deflected tip of the v-projection  36  of the card member  12 . At this time, the v-projection  43  will snap into place in the v-groove  37  with the card member surface portions  22   a  and  22   b  in confronting, tight fitting relation to the corresponding lens surface portions  26   a  and  26   b , as shown in FIG.  7 . Similarly, if the lens  24  is inserted into the window of the card member  12  in the direction from below the card member surface  30 , it is the juncture of the lens top surface  32  and surface portion  26   a  thereof that cams against the card member surface portion  22   b  to cause the necessary deflection of the tip of the v-projection  43  for snap-fitting of the lens  24  into place, as described. In either direction, the snap-fit connection provides for easy assembly of the lens  24  to the card member  12 . 
     While the v-projection  43  and v-groove  37  can be reversed as to whether one is on the card member  12  or the lens  24 , it is preferred to have the projection  43  formed on the thinner card member  12  and the groove  37  on the thicker lens  24 , as described hereinafter. To form the card member inner edge  22 , the card member  12  can be molded with an insert in place having a v-groove substantially matching that of the lens groove  37 . Alternatively, the card member  12  can be stamped from the top and bottom with there being top and bottom punches that cooperate to form the card edge surface portions  22   a  and  22   b.    
     For forming the v-groove  37  in the reading lens body  38 , the lens body  38  can be mounted in the fixture  101  that holds the lens approximately at its center so that the outer edge  26  is free and clear for engagement by a cutting wheel  102 . The cutting wheel  102  can have a v-projection substantially matching that of the projection  43  formed at the card edge  22  so that when it is run along the lens edge  26  in a cutting operation, it forms the v-groove  37  therein which has a closely matching complimentary shape to the configuration of the card member v-projection  43 . 
     In the preferred form shown in FIG. 7, the card member edge  22  can be formed in a simpler single-action stamping operation as compared to process for forming the v-projection  43  by way of a punch having a shape corresponding to that of window  23  with a straight side surface to form the end surface  40 . With respect to the cutting wheel  102 , it will have a cutting periphery  104  matching either the u-shape of the groove  37  of lens  24  shown in FIG. 7 or a v-shape as mentioned for forming the groove  37  shown in FIG.  7 A. 
     The lens groove  37  can be machined by shifting and rotating the lens  24  in a precision path about the stationary cutting wheel  102  driven for rotation by motor drive  106  therefor. Shifting the lens  24  can be accomplished by a drive system  108  that can include, for example, a rack and pinion assembly  110  and a rotary drive  112  that cooperate to produce the desired shifting of the lens  24  in the precision path for bringing the lens edge  24  into proper engagement with the cutting wheel edge  104  about the entire extent of the edge  24 . 
     As can be seen in FIGS. 5-7, when the reading lens  24  is snap-fit in the window  23  formed by the inner edge  22  of the card member  12 , the thinner card member  12  will have its top and bottom surfaces  28  and  30  recessed slightly from the corresponding top and bottom surface  32  and  34  of the thicker reading lens  24 . As the reading lens  24  will generally be of a more rigid material, e.g. glass, than that of the card member  12  and the fact that it is desirable to maintain the card member  12  to a thickness akin to that of a credit card for fitting in a wallet, the greater thickness provided to the reading lens body  38  will be advantageous so that there is more material to be precisely configured to tailor the eyesight correction it provides in terms of light is refracted therethrough. In addition, the thicker lens  38  will allow it to be easily precision cut about its peripheral edge  26  to form either the u-shaped or v-shaped groove  37  therein via the cutting wheel  102 , as described above. 
     It is preferred that the reading card  10  be provided with a pair of reading lenses including reading lens  24  and an identical reading lens  42 . As can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 10, it is preferred that the pair of lenses  24  and  42  be disposed closer to one of the long edges  14  or  16  of the reading card  10  than the other. In the illustrated form, the lenses  24  and  42  have an elongate, obround configuration so that their length runs parallel to the edge  16 . The lenses  24  and  42  preferably have a length of slightly less than one and a half inches and are spaced from each other at their facing arcuate ends  44  and  46  by slightly less than one quarter of an inch so that when the reading card  10  is held closely adjacent to ones face, i.e. on the order of two to three inches, the lenses  24  and  42  generally will be disposed in alignment along the line of sight between the user and the item being read. For this purpose, a notch  61  having an arc-shape can be formed intermediate the lenses  24  and  42  along the card edge  16 . The notch  61  allows a user to rest the card  10  comfortably and in an easily maintained position high on the bridge of their nose to keep the lenses  24  and  42  in the desired position close to the users face similar to where reading glass lenses would be located which optimizes the vision correction and field of view provided thereby. 
     The lenses  42  and  44  preferably have a transverse width of slightly less than one half of an inch between the respective long sides  56  and  57 ,  58  and  59  thereof. For spacing the lenses  24  and  42 closely adjacent to the edge  16 , their long sides  57  and  59  are preferably spaced approximately 0.675″ from the card edge  16 . The illustrated and preferred card  10  has a length of approximately three inches along the edges  14  and  16 , and even more preferably 3.35 inches, and a width along the edges  18  and  20  of approximately two inches, and more preferably 2.13 inches. Thus, in the preferred and illustrated reading card  10 , the spacing of the lens sides  57  and  59  0.675″ from the card edge  16  leaves a large space  60  over the remainder of the card  10 , i.e. on the order of approximately one and a half inches to the edge  14  and the entire length of the card between the edges  18  and  20  for receiving indicia  62  thereon. 
     The indicia  62  can take the form of raised numbers and/or letters generally designated  64  which can be formed integrally in either one of the card member surfaces  28  and  30 . As shown in FIGS. 2,  4  and  6 , the raised indicia  64  formed in card member surface  28  will be those that are typically found on credit cards, such as to specify the name of the card holder, the expiration date of the card, and the account number, and which are run through a machine for creating an invoice having this information shown thereon. As is apparent, the small space required of the reading lenses  24  and  42  on the card member  12  enables the remaining space  60  on the card member  12  to be sufficiently large to include these typical fields of information that are normally provided on a credit card while still providing a user the added benefit of the reading enhancement function with the present reading card  10 . In this manner, the invoice that is generated by use of the reading/credit card  10  herein can be easily read by an individual who is farsighted without the need to carry a separate pair of eyeglasses and a case therefor. Instead, the present reading/credit card  10  can be utilized and when the transaction is complete and the user has finished viewing the information they need to read, the card  10  can be replaced in the user&#39;s wallet  35  such as via a sleeve card holder  37  thereof (FIGS. 12A and 12B) or the like in a compact space savings manner. 
     The reading card  10  also will have a magnetic strip which generally will be on the surface opposite that of the raised indicia  64  as in a typical credit card, and as shown in FIG. 3 on surface  30 . The magnetic strip  66  can be formed in film layer that is laminated onto the card member  12  and is encoded with machine readable information that when read links to that of a central processing station of the credit card provider to allow the retailer to obtain information regarding whether or not the status of the particular account associated with the card  10  will enable the transaction to take place, i.e. whether the account is in good standing or not. 
     The reading card  10  can also include a microchip  68  and power source therefor integrated into the card member  12  so as to provide a “smart” type card that includes greater data storage capacity than otherwise available via the magnetic strip  66 . The microchip  68  can store additional information unique to the card holder such as their driver&#39;s license number, social security number, medical information, etc. 
     In addition to using the space  60  on the card for the raised indicia  64  as described, the indicia can include information specific to the card issuer, such as indicia  70  that is printed on one of the card surfaces  28  or  30  for providing advertising and/or trade name information relating to the issuer, as shown in FIG.  10 . 
     Where the amount of space  60  for the indicia  64  and/or  70  is not as important, the card  10  can be provided with two pairs of reading lenses  24  and  42  and  72  and  74 , respectively, all having substantially identical construction so that the user can read with the card  10  with either of bridge pieces  61  or  75  along respective long edges  16  and  14  resting on the bridge of their nose. 
     In FIG. 9, the reading card  10  is shown as including low-profile electronic devices incorporated therein. More specifically, the reading card  10  can include a light source in the form of a surface mount LED  72  generally disposed in the area between the lenses  24  and  42 . In this manner, when a user activates the LED  72 , the viewing area or field of view provided by the lenses  24  and  72  will be illuminated for enhanced viewing performance particularly where lighting is not as good as desired, such as can occur in restaurants where the reading/credit card  10  may be used. Also, a surface mount speaker/microphone  74  and surface mount speak and play switches  76  and  78  can be integrated into the card to provide it with a voice recorder/playback device or digital memo recorder. In this manner, the reading card  10  can be used while reading to provide vision enhancement while also allowing one to record their thoughts as they come to them, such as based on the just read subject matter for playback at a later, more convenient time. In this form of the card  10  shown in FIG. 9, there is no need for a stand-alone light or memo recorder and the space and costs this entails. The previously described microchip  68  can be used for digitized recording of the user&#39;s voice, and all of the low-profile devices  72 - 78  can be powered from a single power source in the card  10 . The electrical interconnections for these devices can be embedded in the card member  12  or they can be mounted to a thin, printed circuit board including interconnection circuitry for lamination to the card member  12 . 
     FIG. 11 shows the reading card  10  having calculator features incorporated therein including a keyboard  79  having low-profile numeric keys generally designated  80  and low-profile mathematic function key generally designated  82 , and a low-profile or surface mount LCD display  84 . This allows a user of the card  10  to perform calculations therewith without the need for a separate calculator while still retaining the small size of the card  10  thereof for fitting in their wallet  35 , as previously described. Accordingly, the calculator card  10  allows a user, for example, to view an invoice therewith and calculate the tip owed to the service provider without resort to separate reading glasses and calculators. 
     FIG. 13 illustrates the reading card  10  with magnets  120  attached to one of the surfaces  28 ,  30  thereof. Preferably, there are two magnets  120  that are adjacent each end  18  and  20  of the card  12  so when it is secured to a metallic support surface when not in use, the card  12  is not loose at one of the ends thereof. In this manner, the card  12  can also be more effectively used to hold sheets of paper or pictures on the support or display surface, such as on a refrigerator door. The magnets  120  can be located on the surfaces  28 ,  30  at positions lacking the indicia  62  or the strip  66  where included with card  12 . Where the space on the card  12  is limited, only one magnet  120  need be provided thereon. 
     While there have been illustrated and described particular embodiments of the present invention, it will be appreciated that numerous changes and modifications will occur to those skilled in the art, and it is intended in the appended claims to cover all those changes and modifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.