US2811363A - Card holder - Google Patents

Description

Oct. 29, 1957 F. A. McDANlEL CARD HOLDER Filed Oct. 31, .1955

Fig. 2

INVENTOR. Fred A. M DQnieI ATLORNEY United States Patent O CARD HOLDER Fred A.. McDaniel, Denver, Colo. Application October-31, 1955, Serial No. 543,753 3 Claims. (61. 273-150 This invention relates to facilities useful in the play ing of card games to hold, to retain in various desired arrangements, and topresent for inspection and use the separate cards comprising. the hand of an individual player, and has as an object to provide a: novel and improved' such facility characterized by enhanced convenience and utility.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved construct-ion and organization of elements constituting a card holder for individual use intheplaying of card games.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for playing cards that is capable of securely retaining a large variable number of individual cards without damage thereto.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for playing cards that accommodates convenient edge insertion and removal of individual cards with no ma terial disturbance of other and adjacent cards mounted therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for playing cards that is susceptible of adjustment at will to vary the retentive pressure applied to the cards mounted therein.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holder for playing cards that is adapted for inexpensive production from readily-available materials in any expedient or desired range of sizes, that is durable and long-lived in repetitious use, and that is positive and etficient in attainment of the ends for which designed.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement, and operative combination of elements as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in my claims, and illustrated by the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front face elevation of a typical embodiment of the invention as arranged for practical use; broken lines in the view representing conventional playing cards as associated with the holder.

Figure 2 is a cross section taken substantially on the indicated line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary section similar to the upper portion of Figure 2 illustrating a modification within the contemplation of the invention.

The difficulties of holding and manipulating individual hands of cards in the playing of many popular card games are so well known as to obviate occasion for elaboration. Efforts directed to the easing of such difiiculties have resulted in the provision of various types and construction of card holders for individual player use, but all known such devices have been less than adequate in one or another respect, hence the instant invention is directed to the provision of a novel and improved such device characterized by a unique and simple construction of enhanced convenience and utility.

As is clearly shown in the drawings, a primary element of the improved card holder is a fiat, substantiallv ICC rigid member formed in any desired manner and of any appropriate light-weight material, such as heavy paperboard, plywood, pressed wood, molded or fabricated plastic, or the like, to present a generally-circular head portion 10 and an integral handle portion 11' extending radially from said head portion. Margins of the head portion 10 and of the" handle portion 11. may be contoured as may be desired for-purposes of attractive design and to facilitate gripof the handle portion by the human hand, and the size and relative proportions of said head and handle portions may be varied as may be deemed expedient in adapting the improvement for various particular uses with cards' of various dimensions, all with consequent obvious variation in the capacity of a given holder construction.

concentrically and loosely overlying one face of the head portion 10, a relatively thick disc 12 of highly resil ient material having a high coefficient of" friction, such as sponge of foam rubber, or the like, is provided in a diameter considerably less than that of the associated head portion, whereby to leave" an annular marginal. border of the head portion flat surface exposed peripherally of and uniformly about said disc; and a circular plate I3, of substantially rigid material expediently the same as" that from which the head and handle portions 10 and 11 are formed, loosely and concentrically overlies the face of" the disc 12 remote from the associated head per: tion 10 in a diameter slightly less than that of the disc to effect a consequent exposure of an annular area of the disc face peripherally of and uniformly about said plate. Holes formed centrally through the head portion 10, disc 12, and plate 13 determine through coaxial registration the desired interrelation of said elements and as so registered accommodate a headed pin 14, rivet, or equivalent fastener, entered therethrough and secured at its ends to bear against the fully exposed faces of the head portion 10 and plate 13, preferably with some moderate compression of the disc area underlying said plate, in such manner as to unite and securely hold the said elements in the operative correlation shown and described and, desirably, to associate said elements for independent, relative rotation about their common axis.

Alternative to the foregoing and as represented by Figure 3, the fastener 14 of fixed-length type may be replaced by a threaded bolt 14, or the equivalent, wherewith a nut 15 bearing against the exposed surface of the head portion 10 coacts in a customary manner to unite the elements of the assembly with provision for selective adjustment in the effective length of the element 14' applicable to vary the compression imposed upon the disc 12 by the plate 13.

In the practical use of the improvement constructed as shown and described, the assembly is gripped and manipulated by means of the handle portion 11 to oppose the plate 13 to the view of the user. The individual cards of the players quota are separately engaged with the holder in any desired order and arrangement through edge, corner, or side insertion thereof between the loosely contacting areas of the head portion 10 and disc 12, as represented by the broken line showings of Figure 1, whereby a large number of the cards may be associated with the holder in a fan-shaped, partially-overlapping correlation that accommodates visual identification of the individual cards and convenient shift, insertion, or removal of any one thereof. The annular projection of the head portion 10 peripherally of and beyond the disc 12 provides a stop and guide against which the portion of a card to be mounted in the holder may be initially engaged and along which the edge of the card may be moved and guided beneath, and subject to the frictional grip of, the disc, and the annular exposure of said disc beyond the plate 13 provides a readily-yieldable and highly flexible peripheral disc zone whereunder the card edges engage readily during initial insertion and through which said card edges move freely into more secure engagement under the disc zone covered by the plate 13. The adherescent properties of the disc 12 as applied, perhaps variably, to the cards through, the pressure of the plate 13 provide a grip on the card portions exposed thereto that operates to securely position and hold the individual cards in their assigned dispositions and the resilience of said disc readily accommodates'insertion and removal of the individual cards without disturbance of the adjacent like elements.

Since changes, variations, and modifications in the form, construction, and arrangement of the elements shown and described may be had without departing from the spirit of my invention, I wish to be understood as being limited solely by the scope of the appended claims, rather than by any details of the illustrative showing and foregoing description.

I claim as my invention:

1. A card holder comprising a flat, substantially-rigid member formed with a circular head portion and an integralhandle portion extending radially therefrom, a disc of resiliently-compressible material loosely and concentrically overlying one face of said head portion in a diameter less than that of the latter, a flat, substantiallyrigid, circular plate loosely and concentrically overlying the face of said disc remote from said head portion in a diameter less than that of said disc, and a fastenercen- 4 trally through said head portion, disc, and plate in such end-bearing engagement with the opposite exposed faces of the head portion and plate as to slightly compress the disc area engaged by the plate.

2. A card holder comprising a fiat, substantially-rigid member formed with a circular head portion and an integral handle portion extending radially therefrom, a disc of resiliently-compressible material loosely and concentrically overlying one face of said head portion in a diameter less than that of the latter, a flat, substantiallyrigid, circular plate loosely and concentrically overlying the face of said disc remote from said head portion in a diameter less than that of said disc, and a length-adjustable fastener centrally through and revolubly intersecuring said head portion, disc, and plate.

3. The organization according to claim 2, wherein said disc is relatively thick and is characterized by a high coeflicient of friction.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,286,780 Ribeyre Dec. 13, 1918 2,564,315 Stark et a1. Aug. 14, 1951 2,729,452 Baumann Jan. 3, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,060 Great Britain A. D. 1904 7,992 Great Britain A. D. 1908 43,047 Switzerland Apr. 9, 1908 925,407 France Mar. 31, 1947

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