Abstract:
A cardholder and dispenser including a housing for encasing the plurality of business cards. The housing having an entrance slot for allowing business cards to be inserted into a housing cavity. The housing further having an exit slot opposing the entrance slot for allowing single cards to be advanced out of the invented cardholder. A spring is utilized within the housing to bias the business cards to a position adjacent to the exit slot for easy ejection therefrom.

Description:
PRIORITY 
     This application claims priority from and incorporates by reference U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/234,777 filed on Sep. 25, 2000, entitled Business Card Dispenser. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to protective cases, and more particularly relates to protective cases used for holding and dispensing business cards and other items. 
     2. Background Information 
     It is common for business people to utilize business cards in order to help promote their businesses or professions. These same business cards are further utilized to distribute pertinent addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers, and e-mail information. It is common procedure during initial business meetings for the participants to shake hands and exchange business cards. Traditionally, a person will keep a small number of business cards in a dedicated compartment in his/her wallet/purse/pocket in order to have them handy during scheduled or unexpected meetings. The problem associated with carrying the cards in one&#39;s wallet/purse/pocket is that the cards become bent and are sometimes difficult to access, which causes fumbling which may be embarrassing. Additionally, carrying business cards in a wallet/purse/pocket often leads to damage to the cards, for instance creasing or bending of the card&#39;s corners. 
     Various devices for protecting, holding and distributing business cards are known in the prior art. Examples of such are shown in Archer, U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,456, Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 6,082,581, Gillespie, U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,823, Terner, U.S. Pat. No. 1,415,276, and Trusty, U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,435. These prior art devices lack the advantageous structural features and characteristics associated with the present invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The present invention is a cardholder and dispenser for holding, protecting and assisting in the dispensation of business cards. Likewise, other similar materials, such as tickets, etc. could be dispensed using the present invention. Use of the terms “business cards” and “cards” is intended to include all such materials. 
     One embodiment of the present invention has a housing having therein a cavity for receiving a stack of business cards. The housing is rectangular tubular in shape, having two pairs of opposing sides, namely a base wall, a top wall, and two side walls. Likewise, this tube has a pair of end openings, namely a first end opening and a second end opening. Being rectangular tubular in shape, the opposing side walls extending generally perpendicularly from the base wall to their juncture with the top wall. It is also preferred that at least one end wall extend generally perpendicularly from the base partially covering said first end opening, this covering resulting in the creation of an exit slot slightly larger than the cross-sectional diameter of a business card, this exit slot in register with the uppermost of said cards located in said cavity. 
     It is preferred that the top wall have a slot therethrough for allowing a user to manipulate the uppermost business card contained within the cavity. It is preferred that at least one spring means or resilient member be present in the present invention for biasing the stack of cards contained therein against the underside of the top wall. 
     Still other objects and advantages of the present invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in this art from the following detailed description wherein I have shown and described only the preferred embodiment of the invention, simply by way of illustration of the best mode contemplated by carrying out my invention. As will be realized, the invention is capable of modification in various obvious respects all without departing from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description of the preferred embodiment are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the present invention shown in a disassembled fashion. 
     FIG. 3 is a first end view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 3A is a partial view of a portion of FIG.  3 . 
     FIG. 4 is a top view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 5 is a second end view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 6 is a first side view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 8 is a second side view of the embodiment of FIG.  1 . 
     FIG. 9 is a view of one embodiment of the present invention in use. 
     FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9 along the line marked  10 — 10 . 
     FIG. 10A is a partial view of a portion of FIG.  10 . 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     While the invention is susceptible of various modifications and alternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof have been shown in the drawings and will be described below in detail. It should be understood, however, that there is no intention to limit the invention to the specific form disclosed, but, on the contrary, the invention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. 
     Referring initially to FIG. 1, shown is one embodiment of the present invention. The invented cardholder and dispenser  10  is used to hold a stack of business cards and to allow a user to dispense them one at a time. The cardholder  10  has a housing  12  defining a cavity  14  therein. The cards are able to be stored within the cavity  14 . The housing  12  has a base  20 , a pair of opposing sidewalls  40 ,  40 ′, a pair of flanges  42 ,  42 ′ extending from the sidewalls thereby defining a housing top  44 , and at least one end wall  50 . In the preferred embodiment, the housing top  44  has a slot through the center, as shown in FIG. 1, for allowing a user to manipulate and slide the topmost card out of the cardholder  10 . 
     The end wall  50 , the sidewalls  40 ,  40 ′ and the flanges  42 ,  42 ′ define an exit slot (as shown in FIG. 3A) through which an individual business card can be selectively manually ejected by the user from the cavity  14 . The end of the housing opposite the exit slot comprises an entrance slot  62  through which business cards may be inserted into the cavity. In such a manner, business cards are inserted into a first end via the entrance slot  62  either individually or en masse and said business cards are able to be ejected individually from the second end via the exit slot  60  (shown in FIG.  3 A). 
     Preferably, present within the housing  12  is at least one resilient member  70  for biasing the stack of cards held within cavity  14  against the inner face of the housing top  44 . The inner face  46 ,  46 ′ is shown in FIG.  5 ). The resilient member  70  improves the operation of the present invention by allowing the user to easily eject individual cards through the exit slot  60 . In the preferred embodiment, the resilient member  70  comprises a pair of tangs  72 ,  72 ′, which attach at or near the entrance slot  62  end of the housing  12  at the base  20  and extend biased upward towards the inner face of the housing top  44 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 2, shown is a second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment has a base  20 , a pair of sides  26 ,  26 ′, a first end  28 , a second end  30 , a pair of side walls  40 ,  40 ′, a pair of flanges  42 ,  42 ′, a pair of inner faces  46 ,  46 ′, a resilient member  70 , and a pair of tangs  72 ,  72 ′. This embodiment shows one method of manufacturing the present invention. This method of construction may be utilized on the first embodiment as well. This second embodiment is of single piece construction, being formed from a sheet of material such as aluminum or other rigid yet bendable material. 
     The cardholder  10  would be stamped out of such material in a form similar to what is shown in FIG.  2 . First, the tangs  72 ,  72 ′ would be folded along the lines marked A and A′ thereby creating the resilient member or springs. The cardholder  10  would then be folded along the lines B and B′ to form a pair of sidewalls. The end wall  50  would then be formed by folding along the line C. Flanges  42 ,  42 ′ would be created by folding the sidewalls inward along line D. This process would thus create a working embodiment of the present invention similar to the embodiment shown in FIG.  1 . Likewise, other methods of manufacturing the present invention, including differing ways of creating the sidewalls, the end wall, the flanges, and the resilient member/spring means, are also anticipated and included in this disclosure. 
     Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 3A, an end view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is shown. In this end view, shown is the end wall  50  extending between the ends of the sidewalls  40 ,  40 ′ (not shown). Also shown in this figure are the flanges  42  and  42 ′, which form the top of the housing  12 . As shown in FIG. 3A, the end wall, sidewalls, and flange cooperate to define an exit slot  60 . The exit slot  60  is slightly taller than the thickness of the business card to be contained therein thereby allowing a user to slide a single business card out of the exit slot  60 . 
     Referring now to FIG. 4, a top view of the embodiment of FIG. 1 is shown. This embodiment shows the cardholder  10  having an end wall  50 , a first end  28 , a second end  30 , and a pair of opposing flanges  42  and  42 ′. As can be seen in this view, the resilient member tangs  72  and  72 ′ are shown therein. As also can be seen, the end of the tangs  72 ,  72 ′ closest to the second end  30  of the base  20  are rigidly affixed thereto at a connection  74 ,  74 ′. The preferred method of affixing the tangs is through use of a press fit with a crimp, however other means of affixing the resilient member to the housing  12  are also envisioned, including the use of adhesives, pins, screws, bolts, nails, and other means. 
     Referring now to FIG. 5, a second end view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is shown. This view is shown from the perspective of looking through the entrance slot  62  and into the cavity of the cardholder  10 . This view shows the second end  30  of the base, the attachment of the tangs  72 ,  72 ′ and their biasing upwards and against the inner faces  46 ,  46 ′ of the respected flanges  42 ,  42 ′. These flanges  42 ,  42 ′ extending generally perpendicular from their respective sidewalls  40 ,  40 ′, which in turn attach generally perpendicularly to the base  20 . The end wall  50  can also be seen through this view. 
     Referring now to FIG. 6, and likewise to the opposite side view in FIG. 8, the sidewall  40 / 40 ′ and the end wall  50  are likewise shown. The opposite side views (FIG.  6  and FIG. 8) are generally mirror images of one another. Referring now to FIG. 7, shown is a base  20  of the invented cardholder  10 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, the housing is one-half (0.5) of an inch high, three and one-half (3.5) inches long and two (2) inches wide. The preferred spacing between the top flanges  42 ,  42 ′ is one (1) inch wide, thereby easily allowing a user to slide his/her thumb or finger therebetween for manipulating the uppermost (top) card. The preferred top flanges are one-half (0.5) inch wide. The preferred spring tangs  72 ,  72 ′ are one-half (0.5) inch wide. 
     Referring now to FIG. 9, a third embodiment of the present invention is shown in use. This view is a top view of the cardholder  10 , showing the flanges  42 ,  42 ′. The end wall  50  is also visible. An uppermost card  6 , as well as at least one other card  2  below the upper most card  6  within the cavity of the cardholder  10 , is shown. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 along the indicated lines. In this view, shown is a plurality of cards being held within the cavity  14  of the cardholder  10 . These cards being held against the inner face of the housing top, namely the underside of the flange  42  as shown in FIG. 10A particularly. In such a manner, the user is able to extend one of his or her fingers in the space between the flanges  42 ,  42 ′ producing a positive pressure slightly downwards and forwards (towards the end wall end) against the stack of cards and is able to manipulate and slide the upper most card  6  through the exit slot  60 . In such a motion, while the other cards in the cavity may also slide forward towards the end wall  50  of the cardholder  10 , the exit slot  60  is configured to be of a size so that only the upper most card is able to actually slide out of the exit slot with the advancing edges of the remaining cards contacting the end wall  50 . 
     While there is shown and described the present preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that this invention is not limited thereto but may be variously embodied to practice within the scope of the following claims. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims.