Abstract:
The present invention concerns a deck of playing cards ( 1 ), whereon one or two signs distinctive of each card are represented, and is characterized in that each card provides one or two hollowed areas ( 41, 42 ) to thereupon facilitate placement of the fingertips when fanning out said cards as a playing hand, with said zone or zones positioned in an identical fashion on each card of the

Description:
SCOPE OF THE INVENTION The present invention concerns a set of playing cards, the holding of which by a player is facilitated. 
     STATEMENT OF THE PRIOR ART 
       [0001]    Playing cards are usually made of thin, rectangular card stock, bearing on one side one or several distinctive marks, such as one of several faces, icons, and/or colored numbers, and with which various games are played. 
         [0002]    At the beginning of a card game, each player receives from a set of cards (pack of cards) a hand typically made up of 5 to 20 cards, depending on the rules of the game. In order to facilitate the sequence of the game, he generally classifies the cards received by color, then in order of increasing value, and arranges them in a fan in his hand in such a way as to make apparent, for each of the cards, the icon that identifies it best, generally the one positioned in the upper left corner of the card. In the course of play, he will successively search for the cards in this fan with the other hand, in the order the rules and skill in the game require.  FIG. 1  illustrates a set of playing cards  1 , held by a player to form a fan  10 . For example, these cards are traditional playing cards, Tarot cards, or any type of other playing cards. 
         [0003]    Making up the fan and keeping it in order may turn out to be hard for children, elderly people, or anyone with reduced dexterity. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0004]    The present invention has the aim of facilitating composing and keeping this in a fan in order. 
         [0005]    To do this, the invention has as its objective a set of playing cards, upon which are depicted one or several marks distinctive of each card, characterized by the fact that each card exhibits one of several incised areas intended for locally pinching the card between the thumb and the index finger of an adult player to facilitate holding in a fan the said cards, the dimensions of said incised area or areas being adapted to pinching the card between the thumb and index finger of an adult player, and thereby the said incised area or areas being positioned in an identical manner on each of the cards in the set. 
         [0006]    According to one embodiment, the cards being essentially rectangular in shape, the incised area or areas are two in number, positioned symmetrically with respect to the card&#39;s center of symmetry. 
         [0007]    According to one embodiment, the said incised area or areas are formed of holes or bosses. 
         [0008]    According to one embodiment, the said holes or bosses are of an essentially circular shape. 
         [0009]    According to one embodiment, an incised area is positioned in a lower left region of the card. 
         [0010]    According to one embodiment, each card exhibits two incised areas positioned in the lower left and upper right regions of the card. 
         [0011]    According to one embodiment, the cards are of an essentially rectangular shape, cut out in their lower right portion. 
         [0012]    According to one embodiment, the said incised area or areas are formed of notches. 
         [0013]    According to one embodiment, the cards are of an essentially rectangular shape, and a notch is executed at the level of the lower side of the card, essentially centered between the two (lateral) sides. 
         [0014]    According to one embodiment, the cards are cut out in their upper right portion. 
         [0015]    According to one embodiment, the cards exhibit a main body of essentially circular shape with a protuberance on which appears a mark distinctive of the card, each card exhibiting the said incised area. 
         [0016]    According to one embodiment, the said incised area is formed of hole or a boss, essentially positioned at the center of the card. 
         [0017]    According to one embodiment, the said incised area is formed of a notch, positioned essentially in a manner diametrically opposed to the protuberance. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0018]    These objects, both characteristic and advantageous, as well as others of the present invention, are stated in detail in the following description of particular embodiments, in a non-restrictive manner in relation to the attached figures, among which are: 
           [0019]      FIG. 1 , an example of a set of cards held in a fan (described already); 
           [0020]      FIGS. 2 to 9  of the first examples of playing cards according to the invention; 
           [0021]      FIGS. 10A and 10B , a first example of the holding device for cards according to the invention; 
           [0022]      FIGS. 11A to 11C , a second example of a holding device for cards according to the invention; 
           [0023]      FIGS. 12A to 12D , a third example of a holding device for cards according to the invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0024]    For purposes of clarity, identical elements have been designated by the same reference numbers on the different figures. 
         [0025]    The invention concerns a set of cards (pack of cards) in which each card exhibits one or several incised areas intended for locally pinching the card in order to facilitate holding the cards in a fan, the said incised area or areas being positioned in an identical manner on each of the cards. 
         [0026]      FIGS. 2 to 9  represent examples of cards according to the invention. 
         [0027]      FIG. 2A  illustrates a playing-card example 1 according to the invention, with an essentially rectangular shape, exhibiting two small lower and upper sides,  11 A and  11 B respectively, and two long lateral sides left and right,  11 C and  11 D respectively. In this example, each card exhibits an incised area formed by a hole  20  with an essentially circular or polygonal shape, whose size is adapted to pinching the card between the thumb and index finger of an adult player. Typically, the diameter of the hole is on the order of 12 to 20 mm. In this example, the hole is located in the lower part of the card, essentially centered between the two lateral sides, typically at a distance from the lower edge of 6 to 15 mm, approximately. According to the invention, the hole is set at the same place on all the cards. Thus, if the all the cards dealt in the same game are gathered together, typically in the form of a hand of 4 to 20 cards, the aligned holes of the various cards will form a space in which the player&#39;s thumb and index finger can meet by pinching, in order to form the fixed axis of the fan that the player wants to form. In this example, the hole is positioned equidistant from the lateral edges. 
         [0028]      FIG. 2B  illustrates an example of a playing card essentially identical to that of  FIG. 2A , but in which the incised area forms a boss  21 . For example, the boss comprises a portion of a sphere, with diameter between 12 and 20 mm and 2 to 3 mm in height at its center, achieved, for instance, by punching the card at the desired location. When the player has in his hand a hand of cards, the superposition of the bosses pinched between the thumb and index finger constitute an axis for the desired fan. The boss, achieved by punching the card, in particular allows the card to be kept intact, without hiding any of the distinctive marks that characterize it. 
         [0029]      FIG. 3  represents a card  1  of the same type as that of  FIG. 1 , but on which the incised area is formed not by a hole but by a notch  30 , made in this example at the lower edge  11 A of the card. In the same way as previously, the dimensions of the notch allow for pinching the cards together in the player&#39;s hand between the thumb and the index finger, facilitating the holding of a hand in a fan. 
         [0030]      FIG. 4  illustrates a card  1  of type identical to that of  FIG. 2A , but on which two incised areas  41 ,  42  are provided, laid out in essentially symmetrical manner relative to the center of the card. In this example, the incised areas are holes, essentially identical to that formed in the card according to the example of  FIG. 2A . According to one variant, notches could likewise be formed at the lower and upper edges of the card. The presence of two symmetrical incised areas facilitates putting the cards to face in the same direction at the very start, since all the cards are perfectly symmetrical and can therefore be grasped by the player in any direction. 
         [0031]    In order to have a playing card be symmetrical, it is also possible to provide an incised area positioned at the center of the card, for instance in the shape of a hole such as is illustrated in  FIG. 2A  or in the shape of a boss as is illustrated in  FIG. 2B . However, the positioning of the incised area or areas in proximity to the upper and lower edges allows for a better spacing of the cards when they are held by the player, due to the fact that rotation of the cards will not be hampered by the player&#39;s hand and thus permit the formation of a fan with a larger number of cards. 
         [0032]    The card illustrated in the example of  FIG. 5  is essentially identical to that illustrated in  FIG. 4 , but in this example, the holes  51 ,  52  are positioned respectively in the lower left and upper right corners of the card. This allows manipulation of the cards to be facilitated, and thus a fan can be formed with a larger number of cards. 
         [0033]      FIGS. 6 to 8  represent three examples of cards according to the invention, in which the cards are cut out, for instance in the lower right portion. In the example of  FIG. 7 , only the lower right corner is cut out. In the examples of  FIGS. 6 and 8 , in addition to the lower right corner, a lower strip is cut from the card, thus forming “half-cards”. These configurations allow the size of the card to be reduced, and thus render their manipulation more facile, in particular for children, while still keeping the presence of the card&#39;s distinctive marks. In these examples, the incised area is positioned in the lower left portion. 
         [0034]      FIG. 9  illustrates an example of a card according to the invention, with a shape essentially different from that represented in the preceding figures. This card exhibits a main body  90  of essentially circular shape, with a protuberance  91  on which appears a mark distinctive of the card. The incised area  92  is positioned at the center of the card. It involves, for instance, a hole with an essentially circular shape, like that illustrated in  FIG. 9 . This embodiment has the advantage for the player of being perfectly symmetrical and offers a card of reduced size which is practical for children in particular. 
         [0035]    It may be noted that other shapes of incised areas are possible in order to attain the objective of the invention. For instance, the incised area may be composed of a boss such as is illustrated on  FIG. 2B . The boss may be positioned in particular at all the positions described by the examples illustrated in  FIGS. 4 to 5 . 
         [0036]      FIGS. 10A and 10B  illustrate an example of a device  100  (front view reference is  100 A, side view reference is  100 B), to facilitate holding a set of cards  1  according to the invention. The device is shown in this example with a card of the type represented in  FIG. 1 , but it is also adapted to any other type of card according to the invention. The device  100  comprises a disk  101  made of a flexible transparent material, for instance plastic, provided with a boss  102  with a diameter slightly less than that of the hole  20  provided in the card  1 , and essentially centered on the disk. The disk allows the pressure of the thumb to be distributed over a greater surface area of the card, when the cards are pinched between the thumb and index finger, as is illustrated in  FIG. 10B . In addition, the transparent disk allows the card to be protected from possible soiling by the thumb, while still allowing the player to see the set of distinctive marks on the card. 
         [0037]      FIGS. 11A to 11C  represent a variant of the card as illustrated in  FIG. 9 , as well as a holding device adapted to this example of card according to the invention. According to this example, the hole or boss  92  ( FIG. 9 ) is replaced by a notch  93  ( FIG. 11A ), essentially diametrically opposed to the protuberance  91 . For instance, the notch is of a narrower width than the normal size of a player&#39;s thumb, its width advantageously being between 5 and 20 mm, for a length, for instance, between 15 and 30 mm.  FIG. 11B  illustrates an example of a card-holding device  110  adapted to this type of example. As in the preceding example, the holding device includes a disk  111 , made, for instance, of a plastic material, either transparent or not. The disk is provided at its center with a pin  112  which serves as an axis for the fan desired.  FIG. 11C  represents a fan  10  shaped from the cards of  FIG. 11A  and held by the device  110 . When the cards are held in a fan, the set of notches  93  forms a space at the center in which the pin  112  of the card-holding device will be engages. Each protuberance  91  of the card appears with the distinctive mark characteristic of each card, here the numerals 1 to 18. The player can then very easily choose the card that he should draw from the hand and pull it from the holding device, while still keeping the fan in shape which is made up of the other cards. Although described to illustrate holding cards of the type in  FIG. 11A , the device  110  is also used to hold cards according to the invention, which have a different shape and are provided with a notch. 
         [0038]    A large number of devices for facilitating the holding of cards according to the invention may be conceived of, and  FIGS. 12A to 12D  show another example of this. 
         [0039]    According to the example, the device  120  for holding the fan consists of a flexible card  121  provided with two holes through which a crosspiece  122  passes. On the crosspiece is mounted a disk  123 , made of transparent plastic, for instance. The crosspiece allows the flexible card to be bent in a arc, as is illustrated in  FIG. 12B . The hand of playing cards  1  can then be pinched between the transparent disk  123  and the flexible card, as is illustrated in  FIG. 12C . The disk being chosen advantageously in a transparent material, it can be large enough, some centimeters in diameter, for instance, that the legibility of the playing card is not hampered ( FIG. 12D ). Since the playing card is held between this disk and the flexible card  121 , the notch may be any size whatever, as long as it remains greater than the width of the crosspiece, in order to be able to slide over it. As before, the disk allows thumb pressure to be distributed better over a greater surface area of the card, and thus improves the player&#39;s comfort in holding the fan. 
         [0040]    Although described by some number of examples of detailed embodiments, the invention includes different variants, modifications, and improvements which will appear obvious to the expert, it being understood that these different variants, modifications, and improvements are part of the spirit and the scope of the invention. 
         [0041]    In particular, the invention applies to playing cards executed in all types of material, for instance, cardstock or plasticized cards. 
         [0042]    By this fact, the description is only given by way of example and should not be interpreted in a restrictive manner. The invention is only limited by the definition which is given for it in the claims which follow, and their equivalents.