Patent ID: 6929209

Claim:
A retractable and self-orienting card holder comprising: a) a housing and a circular cavity, having a broad-faced top and bottom, and a side with a tape-orienting slot therein; b) a longitudinally flexible and laterally stiff tape coiled within the cavity and passing through said slot, said tape having a central end affixed within the housing and a peripheral end external to the housing, and said tape having a cross-sectional long and short axis and dimensioned to pass snugly through the slot; c) a means for attaching a card to the peripheral tape end which maintains a fixed orientation of the card to the tape; and, d) a coil spring with a first end affixed to the housing a second end affixed to the tape such that the spring loads when the tape is withdrawn from the housing and dissipates as the tape withdraws into the housing.