Business card wallet

Abstract

A business card wallet incorporating a pad of small paper notes is disclosed. The notes are in a stacked relationship and the pad of notes is attached to a pocket within the wallet. Each of the paper notes has an adhesive material applied to the reverse side thereof causing the notes to adhere to one another prior to use. A notation can be made on a note, and the note with the notation thereon, can be removed from the pad of notes and then adhesively attached to the business card prior to distributing the business card or upon receipt of a business card.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates, in general, to a business card wallet and, more particularly, to a business card wallet that incorporates small paper notes which can be adhesively applied to either side of a business card permitting the notation of relevant information thereon.

BACKGROUND ART

There are numerous types of business card wallets or holders that are presently available. Such wallets are typically formed from plastic or similar material and have oppositely disposed interior pockets with a fold line therebetween permitting the wallet to be folded on itself. The oppositely disposed interior pockets are sized so as to permit the insertion of a plurality of business cards in a stacked relationship therein for storage purposes and the easy removal therefrom for distribution purposes. One of the pockets may have a transparent cover permitting the viewing of the top business card therethrough. The other pocket typically has a cover formed from the same plastic or similar material that is used for the outer jacket of the wallet. Alternatively, leather or another type of material can be used in place of the plastic or similar material for the wallet and pocket material

When distributing and/or receiving business cards, it is a common practice to make a notation on the card regarding some matter relevant to the party receiving or distributing the business card. This writing task can be somewhat awkward since the writer must hold the card while writing a notation thereon. Thus, the present approach of making a written notation on a business card has an inherent disadvantage because it is somewhat awkward in nature.

In view of the foregoing, it has become desirable to develop a business card wallet that incorporates means for making the notation of relevant information with respect to the distributor or recipient an extremely simple task that is not awkward to perform.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention solves the problems associated with using presently available business card wallets and the relatively awkward procedure that is required when making a notation on the business card by incorporating a pad of small paper notes in a stacked relationship within the wallet. The pad of paper notes is attached to one of the pockets in the business card wallet. Each of the paper notes in the pad of notes has an adhesive material applied adjacent an edge thereof in order to hold the notes together within the pad before use. A notation can be made on the note that is on the top of the pad of notes, and then the note with the notation thereon can be removed from the pad of notes and applied to either side of the business card. The adhesive material on the reverse side of the note causes it to adhere to the business card providing the distributor or recipient of the business card with the relevant information noted thereon.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the business card wallet of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front plan view of the business card wallet of the present invention in the open condition.

FIG. 3 is a bottom plan view of the business card wallet of the present invention in the closed condition.

FIG. 4 is an end view of the business card wallet of the present invention in the closed condition.

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the business card wallet of the present invention in the closed condition.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the business card wallet of the present invention taken across section-indicating lines 6-6 in FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a note that is part of a pad of notes and which can be used for making a notation thereon and illustrates its adhesive attachment to a business card.

FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a pad of notes on which a notation can be made and then removed therefrom for application to a business card.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pad of notes shown in FIG. 8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the Figures where the illustrations are for the purpose of describing the preferred embodiment of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention disclosed herein, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the business card wallet 10 of the present invention. The outer jacket 12 of the wallet 10 is formed from polyurethane material and includes a first longitudinally extending portion 14, a second longitudinally extending portion 16, and a third longitudinally extending portion 18 which is interposed between first longitudinally extending portion 14 and second longitudinally extending portion 16 joining same. An elastic band 20 is attached to end 22 of first longitudinally extending portion 14 and to oppositely disposed end 24 of first longitudinally extending portion 14, as shown in FIG. 2. A first interior pocket 26 and a second interior pocket 28 are provided in the interior of the wallet 10. First interior pocket 26 is formed by the placement of panel 30 of polyurethane material in the interior of wallet 10 and adjacent first longitudinally extending portion 14. Second interior pocket 28 is formed by the placement of panel 32 of polyurethane material in the interior of wallet 10 and adjacent second longitudinally extending portion 16. The panels 30, 32 of polyurethane material have a configuration substantially complementary to first longitudinally extending portion 14 and second longitudinally extending portion 16, respectively. The polyurethane material used for panels 30, 32 is typically the same as the polyurethane material used for outer jacket 12. The inner-most edge 34 of each panel 30, 32 has a recess 36 therein, in the configuration of a chord of a circle, in the approximate center of each inner-most edge 34. Panel 32 is provided with a longitudinally extending slit 38 that is substantially equidistant from inner-most edge 34 and outer-most edge 40 of panel 32 and is substantially parallel thereto. The length of slit 38 approximates the width of the pad of paper notes hereinafter referred to. The jacket 12 is stitched along its outer edge 42 and adjacent the periphery thereof joining the first longitudinally portion 14 to panel 30 and joining the second longitudinally extending portion 16 to panel 32. The stitching is also along the oppositely disposed outer edges of the third longitudinally extending portion 18 and along the inner-most edge 34 of each panel 30, 32 for decorative purposes.

The pockets 26, 28 are sized so as to receive business cards 44 therein. The recess 36 in the inner-most edge 34 of each panel 30, 32 is sized so as to permit the gripping of the outer edge a business card 44 in a pocket 26, 28 allowing for the removal of same from the pocket 26, 28 or for the insertion of a business card 44 into same.

A pad 50 of paper notes 52 in a stacked relationship are adhesively attached to one another by an adhesive material 54 adjacent edge 56 of notes 52, as shown in FIG. 8. The adhesive material 54 permits the notes 52 to adhere to one another until used. A backing material 58, having the same size of paper notes 52 is adhesive attached to bottom-most paper note 60. Backing material 58 is received within slit 38 in panel 32 causing the pad 50 of paper notes 52 to be positioned on top of panel 32 and to be interposed between panels 30, 32 when wallet 10 is in the closed condition.

In use, when an individual is distributing business cards, the individual can enter a notation on a note 52, remove a business card 44 from either pocket 26 or 28 in the outer jacket 12, remove the note 52 with the notation thereon from pad 50, and affix the note 52 to the business card 44 before presenting same to the recipient. When an individual is receiving a business card 44, the individual can enter a notation on a note 52, remove the note 52 from pad 50, affix the note 52 to the business card 44, and then insert the business card 42, with the note 52 attached thereto, into pocket 26 or 28 in the outer jacket 12. When the user is done distributing or receiving business cards, the outer jacket 12 can be folded on itself along third longitudinally extending portion 18 so that first longitudinally extending portion 14 is substantially parallel to second longitudinally portion 16 with the pad 50 of notes 52 being interposed therebetween. In this closed condition, the elastic band 20 can be stretched over second longitudinally extending portion 16 so as to grippingly engage second longitudinally extending portion 16 causing the wallet 10 to remain in the closed condition until the elastic band 20 is stretched and moved so as not to contact second longitudinally extending portion 16 allowing the wallet 10 to be opened.

Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled in the art upon reading the foregoing. It is understood that all such modifications and improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of conciseness and readability, but are properly within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A business card wallet comprising an outer jacket having a first longitudinally extending portion, a second longitudinally extending portion and a third longitudinally extending portion joining said first longitudinally extending portion and said second longitudinally extending portion, said first, second and third longitudinally extending portions each having an inner surface and an outer surface, a first pocket formed adjacent said inner surface of said first longitudinally extending portion, a second pocket formed adjacent said inner surface of said second longitudinally extending portion, said first pocket having a longitudinally extending slit therein, and a pad of note papers with a backing member attached thereto, said backing member being received within said longitudinally extending slit operatively attaching said pad of note papers to said first pocket.

2. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said note papers are oriented in a stacked relationship.

3. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said note papers have an adhesive material on the reverse side thereof.

4. The business card wallet as defined in claim 3 wherein said adhesive material causes adjacent note papers to adhere to one another and permits said note papers to be removed from one another.

5. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said first pocket and said second pocket are sized so as to receive business cards therein.

6. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said first longitudinally extending portion has a laterally extending first edge and an oppositely disposed laterally extending second edge and further including an elastic band member having a first end and an oppositely disposed second end, said first end of said elastic band member being attached to said laterally extending first edge of said first longitudinally extending portion, said second end of said elastic band member being attached to said oppositely disposed laterally extending second edge of said first longitudinally extending portion, said elastic band member being of sufficient length when extended to cover said outer surface of said second longitudinally extending portion when said outer jacket is in the closed condition.

7. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said first longitudinally extending portion and said second longitudinally extending portion are foldable with respect to one another about said third longitudinally extending portion permitting said first longitudinally extending portion to be substantially parallel to said second longitudinally extending portion when said outer jacket is in the closed condition.

8. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein the material forming said first pocket and said second pocket has a recess formed therein permitting the removal and insertion of business cards in said first and second pockets.

9. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said outer jacket and said first pocket and said second pocket are formed from flexible material.

10. The business card wallet as defined in claim 1 wherein said outer jacket and said first pocket and said second pocket are formed from polyurethane material.