Patent Publication Number: US-5020255-A

Title: Card holder

Description:
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a card holder. 
     In particular, this invention relates to a card holder that is attachable to or incorporates a key ring. According to this invention there is provided a card holder, which includes: 
     a moulded body having a base wall and two spaced side walls extending from the base wall and having holding formations for holding at least one card, the said holding formations having access openings permitting insertion of a card into and removal of a card from the holding formations; 
     a resiliently displaceable retaining tab extending from the body and having a lug at a free end thereof, the retaining tab being displaceable from a first position in which the lug restricts the removal of a card held in the holding formations to a second position in which a card can be inserted into or removed from the holding formations via the access openings; and attachment means for attaching a least one key to the card holder. 
     The side walls of the card holder may have holding formations for holding at least two cards in a spaced relationship with respect to each other. 
     Particularly, the holding formations may include pairs of channels, the channels of each pair being formed along each of the side walls respectively, the said pairs of channels permitting cards to be held in the card holder in a parallel spaced relationship to the base wall. 
     The body may include an end wall extending between the side walls at one end of the base wall, the access openings of the holding formations being located at the opposite end of the base wall. Further, the end wall may include a channel extending between the holding formations. 
     The end wall may also have a recess for permitting access to a card held in the holding formations for urging of a card out of the holding formations. 
     The retaining tab may be formed in one piece with the body and particularly, may be integral with the base wall. 
     In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the retaining tab is displaceable by manipulation of the lug, at least a portion of the lug being striated. 
     The attachment means may include a hole in the body, preferably in the end wall and typically may further include a key ring fitted in the hole. 
     The base wall may define at least one exposed surface on which printed matter can be applied and, as such, the body is of a material permitting printed matter to be applied thereon by screen printing. 
     Typically, the body is moulded from a synthetic plastics material, such as for example, polypropylene. 
     The invention is now described, by way of an example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 a front plan view of a card holder according to this invention; 
     FIG. 2 a rear plan view of the card holder of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 a cross-sectional view of the card holder along II--III of FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 a cross-sectional view of the card holder along line IV-IV of FIG. 1; and 
     FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of the card holder showing the retaining tab in the first position with cards in the holder; and 
     FIG. 6 is a side view of the card holder showing the retaining tab in the second position. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     A card holder according to this invention is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10. 
     The card holder 10 has a moulded body 12 of a synthetic plastics material such as polypropylene. 
     The moulded body 12 has a base wall 14 and two spaced side walls 16 extending from the base wall 14. The side walls 16 have holding formations in the form of channels 20 for holding two cards in a spaced relationship with respect to each other. The channels 20 have access openings 18 at one end thereof for permitting insertion of a card into and removal of a card from the channels 20. 
     As is clearly seen in the drawings, the channels 20 form pairs, the channels of each pair being formed along each of the side walls 16 respectively. 
     The body 12 also has an end wall 22 extending between the side walls 16 at one end of the base wall 14. The access openings 18 of the channels 20 and the end wall 22 are located at opposite ends of the base wall 14. 
     The end wall 22 has channels 26 extending between the channels 20 along the side walls 16. 
     The end wall 22 also has a recess 28 for permitting access to a card (not shown) held in the channels 20, for urging of the card out of the channels 20. 
     The card holder 10 has a resiliently displaceable retaining tab 30 extending from the body 12. The tab 30 has a lug 32 at a free end thereof. 
     The retaining tab 30 is displaceable from a first position, as shown in FIG. 5, in which the lug 32 restricts the removal of a card held in the channels 20 to a second position, as shown in FIG. 6, in which a card can be inserted into the channels 20, via the access openings 18. 
     The retaining tab 30 is formed in one piece with the body 12 and is integral with the base wall 14. 
     As can be clearly understood, the retaining tab 30 is displaceable by manipulation of the lug 32. For ease of manipulation, at least a portion 33 of the lug can be striated. 
     The card holder 10 also includes attachment means, in the form of a hole 34 in the end wall, for attaching a key ring 36 to the card holder 10. 
     As seen in FIG. 2, the base wall 14 defines an exposed surface 38 on which printed matter can be applied by screen printing, or any other application process. 
     In use, the card holder 10 can hold a variety of cards such as entry cards, credit cards or bank machine operating cards, security cards, and other like cards. 
     The card holder in accordance with the invention can be adapted to hold even more than two cards.