Business card retainer system

Abstract

A business card retainer system for storing business cards within a convenient location upon an individual that allows for efficient distribution of the cards. The business card retainer system includes a container, a bias member within the container and a clip member attached to a rear portion of the container for securing to an individual. The bias member extends from a rear wall of the container thereby forcing cards within the container forwardly against a front wall of the container.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not applicable to this application.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not applicable to this application.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] 1. Field of the Invention

[0004] The present invention relates generally to business card holders and more specifically it relates to a business card retainer system for storing business cards within a convenient location upon an individual that allows for efficient distribution of the cards.

[0005] 2. Description of the Related Art

[0006] Business card holders have been in use for years. The typically type of business card holder is a wallet-like structure having one or more pockets within for receiving a plurality of business cards. The user typically stores the conventional business card holder within a pocket within their pants or jacket.

[0007] The main problem with conventional business card holders is that they do not provide quick and efficient access to the business cards for distribution. Another problem with conventional business card holders is that the user sometimes must search for the holder within various pockets thereby creating an unfavorable representation with a potential customer. A further problem with conventional business card holders is that they do not allow for the open display of the business cards upon the individual. A further problem with conventional business card holders is that they eliminate the usage of a pocket for other items such as keys, wallets and the like.

[0008] Examples of patented devices which may be related to the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,294 to Goodfellow; U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,929 to Morales; U.S. Pat. No. 4,790,435 to Trusty; U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,602 to Lage et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 3,286,823 to Gillespie; U.S. Pat. No. 328,542 to Carstens; U.S. Pat. No. 6,026,873 to Van Geer; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,170,914 to Carrier.

[0009] While these devices may be suitable for the particular purpose to which they address, they are not as suitable for storing business cards within a convenient location upon an individual that allows for efficient distribution of the cards. Conventional business card holders are difficult and awkward to utilize.

[0010] In these respects, the business card retainer system according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of storing business cards within a convenient location upon an individual that allows for efficient distribution of the cards.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] In view of the foregoing disadvantages inherent in the known types of business card holders now present in the prior art, the present invention provides a new business card retainer system construction wherein the same can be utilized for storing business cards within a convenient location upon an individual that allows for efficient distribution of the cards.

[0012] The general purpose of the present invention, which will be described subsequently in greater detail, is to provide a new business card retainer system that has many of the advantages of the businesses card holders mentioned heretofore and many novel features that result in a new business card retainer system which is not anticipated, rendered obvious, suggested, or even implied by any of the prior art business card holders, either alone or in any combination thereof.

[0013] To attain this, the present invention generally comprises a container, a bias member within the container and a clip member attached to a rear portion of the container for securing to an individual. The bias member extends from a rear wall of the container thereby forcing cards within the container forwardly against a front wall of the container.

[0014] There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and that will form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

[0015] In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of the description and should not be regarded as limiting.

[0016] A primary object of the present invention is to provide a business card retainer system that will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art devices.

[0017] A second object is to provide a business card retainer system for storing business cards within a convenient location upon an individual that allows for efficient distribution of the cards.

[0018] Another object is to provide a business card retainer system that may be attached to various portions of an individual including but not limited to a belt.

[0019] An additional object is to provide a business card retainer system that visibly displays the business cards for third parties to view.

[0020] A further object is to provide a business card retainer system that assists in attracting clientele.

[0021] Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become obvious to the reader and it is intended that these objects and advantages are within the scope of the present invention.

[0022] To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, this invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that changes may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described within the scope of the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Various other objects, features and attendant advantages of the present invention will become fully appreciated as the same becomes better understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a front upper perspective view of the present invention.

[0025] FIG. 2 is a front upper perspective view of the present invention with a plurality of business cards stored within.

[0026] FIG. 3 is a front view of the present invention.

[0027] FIG. 4 is a side view of the present invention.

[0028] FIG. 5 is a top view of the present invention.

[0029] FIG. 6 is a top view of the present invention with a plurality of business cards within.

[0030] FIG. 7 is a rear view of the present invention.

[0031] FIG. 8 is a front upper perspective view of an alternative embodiment including a penholder.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0032] Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout the several views, FIGS. 1 through 8 illustrate a business card retainer system 10, which comprises a container 20, a bias member 30 within the container 20 and a clip member 40 attached to a rear portion of the container 20 for securing to an individual. The bias member 30 extends from a rear wall 22 of the container 20 thereby forcing cards 12 within the container 20 forwardly against a front wall 24 of the container 20.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 1 through 8 of the drawings, the container 20 is comprised of a structure capable of receiving, storing and dispensing a plurality of cards 12, such as but not limited to business cards 12. The container 20 may be comprised of various shapes, sizes and structures. In addition, the container 20 is preferably comprised of a transparent or semi-transparent material for allowing viewing of the cards 12 within the container 20. The container 20 is preferably constructed from but not limited to a transparent plastic material.

[0034] As shown in FIGS. 1 through 8 of the drawings, the container 20 preferably includes a rear wall 22, a first sidewall 26 and a second sidewall 27 extending forwardly from the rear wall 22, a front wall 24 attached to the sidewalls 26, 27 opposite of the rear wall 22, and an upper opening. The container 20 preferably has a rectangular cross sectional area, though various other cross sections may be utilized. The front wall 24 preferably extends in a curved manner to the rear wall 22 in order to create a floor within the container 20, however, a separate member may also be utilized to create the floor within the container 20.

[0035] A front cutout 28 preferably extends into an upper portion of the front wall 24 for allowing access to the cards 12 within the container 20 as best illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The cutout is preferably comprised of a curved structure, however, various other structures may be utilized to construct the cutout. The cutout may extend various distances into the front wall 24 as can further be appreciated.

[0036] A bias member 30 is attached within the container 20 for applying a biasing force against the cards 12 within the interior of the container 20. The biasing member is preferably comprised of a flexible member attached to the rear wall 22 extending downwardly and forwardly as best illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings. The biasing member is preferably comprised of a looped structure having a lower portion 32 that is angled with respect to an upper portion thereof. The lower portion 32 preferably extends in a substantially parallel position with respect to the front wall 24 as shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings.

[0037] As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of the drawings, a clip member 40 is pivotally attached to the rear wall 22 opposite of the interior portion thereof. The clip member 40 is preferably pivotally attached to a plurality of support brackets 46 as best shown in FIG. 5 of the drawings. The clip member 40 preferably includes a distal portion having a hooked end 42 with a handle member 44 opposite of the hooked end 42 as best illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 7 of the drawings. The hooked end 42 of the clip member 40 preferably is formed for catchably engaging the bottom edge of a belt or similar object. At least one bias spring 48 is preferably attached between the clip member 40 and the container 20 thereby providing a biasing force for closing the clip member 40 against the rear wall 22 of the container 20. The bias spring 48 may be comprised of various structures commonly utilized to apply a biasing force against the cards 12. It can be appreciated that various other clip structures may be utilized to construct the clip member 40 that may or may not be pivotally attached to the container 20. In addition, the clip member 40 may be rotationally and/or removably attached to the container 20.

[0038] In an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 8 of the drawings, a holder member 50 comprised of a tubular structure is attached to the container 20 for removably receiving a writing instrument 14 such as a pen or pencil. The holder member 50 may have various structures and attached upon various locations of the container 20, however the holder member 50 is preferably attached to a side of the of the container 20 to prevent interference with the retrieval of cards 12 from the container 20.

[0039] In use, the user positions a plurality of business cards 12 within the upper opening of the container 20. As the cards 12 are positioned within the interior of the container 20, the bias member 30 applies a forward force upon the cards 12 thereby forcing the cards 12 forwardly within the container 20 adjacent the front wall 24 as shown in FIG. 6 of the drawings. Once the cards 12 are properly positioned within the container 20, the user then opens the clip member 40 for attachment to clothing or similar articles. For attaching to a belt, the user would open the clip member 40 and then position the hooked end 42 past the inner surface of the belt until catchably engaged with a lower edge of the belt. The user would then release the clip member 40 whereas the bias spring 48 would maintain catchable and/or frictional engagement with the object such as the belt thereby supporting the container 20 in a convenient location. The user is then able to remove one or more of the cards 12 from the container 20 as needed as shown in FIG. 2 of the drawings. The bias member 30 ensures that none of the cards 12 within the container 20 are accidentally removed by maintaining a constant frictional engagement of the cards 12 within the container 20 at all times. When the user is finished utilizing the present invention, the user simply opens the clip member 40 and then removes the invention from the object.

[0040] As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of the present invention, the same should be apparent from the above description. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage and operation will be provided.

[0041] With respect to the above description then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations in size, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are deemed to be within the expertise of those skilled in the art, and all equivalent structural variations and relationships to those illustrated in the drawings and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed by the present invention.

[0042] Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A business card retainer system, comprising:

a container having an opening and an interior portion for receiving a plurality of cards;

a bias member attached within said interior portion of said container, wherein said bias member applies a forward force upon cards within said interior portion; and

a clip member attached to said container.

2. The business card retainer system of claim 1, wherein said bias member is comprised of a looped flexible structure.

3. The business card retainer system of claim 1, wherein said bias member has a lower portion, wherein said lower portion is substantially parallel to a front wall of said container.

4. The business card retainer system of claim 3, wherein said bias member is comprised of a looped flexible structure.

5. The business card retainer system of claim 4, wherein said bias member is attached to a rear wall of said container.

6. The business card retainer system of claim 1, wherein said bias member is attached to a rear wall of said container.

7. The business card retainer system of claim 1, including a bias spring positioned between said clip member and said container for applying a biasing force upon said clip member.

8. The business card retainer system of claim 7, wherein said clip member includes a hooked end.

9. The business card retainer system of claim 8, wherein said clip member includes a handle member.

10. The business card retainer system of claim 1, wherein said clip member includes a hooked end.

11. A business card retainer system, comprising:

a container having a rear wall, a first sidewall, a second sidewall and a front wall connected to form an opening and an interior portion for receiving a plurality of cards;

a bias member attached within said interior portion of said container, wherein said bias member applies a forward force upon cards within said interior portion; and

a clip member attached to said container.

12. The business card retainer system of claim 11, wherein said bias member is comprised of a looped flexible structure.

13. The business card retainer system of claim 11, wherein said bias member has a lower portion, wherein said lower portion is substantially parallel to said front wall of said container.

14. The business card retainer system of claim 13, wherein said bias member is comprised of a looped flexible structure.

15. The business card retainer system of claim 41, wherein said bias member is attached to said rear wall of said container.

16. The business card retainer system of claim 11, wherein said bias member is attached to said rear wall of said container.

17. The business card retainer system of claim 11, including a bias spring positioned between said clip member and said container for applying a biasing force upon said clip member.

18. The business card retainer system of claim 17, wherein said clip member includes a hooked end.

19. The business card retainer system of claim 18, wherein said clip member includes a handle member.

20. The business card retainer system of claim 11, wherein said clip member includes a hooked end.