Card holder

Abstract

A transparent card holder covers only a portion of a card while a portion of the card protrudes from the card holder allowing it to communicate with appropriate device interfaces. The dimensions and stretchy nature of the card holder provide a snug fit to prevent the card from falling out. A tab on the card holder allows it to be attached to a display device attached to a user's clothing to provide quick access to the card while minimizing the risk of loss.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A card holder comprising: a flat front wall; and a flat back wall lying in face-to-face relation with the front wall, said walls being joined at opposite ends to create a pocket defined by the walls and said ends, said walls each having two longer sides with a pair of adjacent edges being unjoined to form an entry to said pocket, said pocket being sized to permit a section of a flat card to be inserted into said pocket with a remaining portion of the card protruding from the pocket so that if there is a magnetic stripe on the protruding portion that portion can be placed in a slot of a sensing device while card said section remains in the pocket, said holder being configured to grip said card section so that the card cannot be inadvertently dislodged from the pocket.  
     
     
         2 . The holder in  claim 1  in which a tab is joined to one of said walls, said tab being configured to be removably connectable to a display device.  
     
     
         3 . The holder of  claim 2  in which the tab is joined to one of said ends.  
     
     
         4 . The holder in  claim 1  in which said walls have a pair of side edges which are joined.  
     
     
         5 . The holder of  claim 1  in which one of said ends is less than half the length of one of the sides.  
     
     
         6 . The holder in  claim 1  in which one of the sides is approximately three times longer than one of the ends.  
     
     
         7 . The holder in  claim 1  in which the side is approximately 3⅜ inches and the end is approximately 1 inch.  
     
     
         8 . The holder in  claim 1  in which the walls are made of a transparent plastic.  
     
     
         9 . The holder in  claim 8  in which said plastic is a stretchy material which allows the card holder to grip the ends of the inserted card section.  
     
     
         10 . The holder in  claim 8  in which said plastic includes a plasticizer giving the plastic a softness rating of 1S or softer.  
     
     
         11 . The holder in  claim 8  in which said plastic removably adheres itself to a card when the card is inserted.  
     
     
         12 . The holder of  claim 1  in which one of said unjoined edges protrudes beyond the other unjoined edge to facilitate opening said pocket.  
     
     
         13 . A card holder comprising: a flat front wall; and a flat back wall engaging the front wall, said walls being sealed at opposite ends and along a pair of side edges to create a rectangular pocket, said walls having a pair of adjacent side edges which remain sealed to form an entry to said pocket, said pocket being sized to permit a section of a stiff flat card to be inserted through said entry into said pocket with a remaining portion of the card protruding from the pocket, said holder being made of a transparent, flexible, somewhat elastic material and dimensioned so that when a card is inserted into the pocket entry, the walls are separated by the card and the wall material between the ends is stretched causing the holder ends to grip the card so that the card cannot be inadvertently dislodged from the pocket.  
     
     
         14 . The holder in  claim 13  in which said plastic material is a vinyl which includes sufficient plasticizer to give the material a softness rating of 1S or softer.  
     
     
         15 . A card and holder assembly comprising: a flat card, and a holder creating a pocket sized to receive a section of said card with a portion of the card protruding from the holder when said section is fully inserted in said pocket, and said pocket is configured to grip the card so that the card cannot be inadvertently dislodged from the pocket.  
     
     
         16 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said holder has a tab extending from said pocket to provide for attachment to a display device.  
     
     
         17 . The assembly in  claim 16  including a retractable reel having a cord attached to said holder.  
     
     
         18 . The assembly in  claim 16  including a neck lanyard connected to said tab.  
     
     
         19 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said protruding portion is at least half of said card.  
     
     
         20 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said protruding portion is at least one third of the card.  
     
     
         21 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said protruding portion has indicia indicating a right to access.  
     
     
         22 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said card has a magnetic stripe on said protruding portion.  
     
     
         23 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said card has machine readable information thereon that remains operable while the card is fully inserted in the holder.  
     
     
         24 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said card has a graphical indicia that remains visible while the card is in the card holder.  
     
     
         25 . The assembly in  claim 15  in which said card is rectangular approximately 2⅛ inches by 3⅜ inches, and said pocket is approximately 3⅜ inches by 1 inch.  
     
     
         26 . A method of using a card holder comprising inserting a card into said holder with a portion of said card protruding beyond said card holder and with indicia on said card remaining available for visual inspection and communication with a sensing device, and inserting said card protruding portion into a desired location without removal of said card from said card holder.  
     
     
         27 . A method of using a card and card holder assembly in which a portion of said card which protrudes from said holder is inserted into a receiving device without removal from said card holder.  
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 27  including swiping said portion into a sensing device without removing said card from said holder.  
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 26  including connecting said holder to a holder connection and said swiping is performed without removing said card from said holder and without removing said holder from the holder connection attached to a user.  
     
     
         30 . A method of utilizing a card having a section of machine readable information thereon comprising the steps of: 
 inserting the card into a holder with said card section protruding from the holder; and    grasping the holder and positioning the card section adjacent to a device which senses said information.    
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 30  including the steps of: 
 attaching the card holder to a cord secured to a retractable reel;  
 attaching the reel to a person;  
 extending the cord during said positioning step without disconnecting the holder from the cord; and  
 allowing the cord to be retracted into the reel with the holder, carrying the card, still attached to the cord.  
 
     
     
         32 . The method of  claim 30  including the step of: 
 removably attaching the card holder to a neck lanyard;  
 removing the holder from the lanyard to perform the positioning step; and  
 reattaching the holder to the lanyard after the positioning step.  
 
     
     
         33 . The method of  claim 30  wherein said machine readable information is captured within a magnetic stripe on the card, and said positioning step includes swiping the card through a slot in said device so that the information on the stripe is sensed by the device.  
     
     
         34 . A method of holding a stiff rectangular card comprising inserting a section of the card into a pocket formed by the walls of a rectangular card holder with a portion of the card protruding from the holder, said card holder being made of material which is somewhat elastic and the holder is dimensioned such that said inserting requires stretching the holder slightly to receive and grip the card section so that the card cannot be inadvertently dislodged from holder.