Card – picture – or sign exhibiting – Check – label – or tag – Holder
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-13
2003-08-05
Miller, William L. (Department: 3677)
Card, picture, or sign exhibiting
Check, label, or tag
Holder
C040S642020, C206S807000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06601329
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to the general field of card holders and is particularly concerned with a card holder for securely linking together a pair of cards and for allowing the selective display of the cards.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There exists a plurality of situations wherein cards are used for identifying owners of given rights.
For example, so-called validation cards such as transit fare cards, museum passes or the like, typically procure the owner of the card with the right to certain services or access to restricted areas.
Since such cards procure access, services or the like to a limited number of individuals, their acquisition typically requires purchasing thereof or membership to a given subset of individuals or group such as appurtenance to a given municipality or the like. Since the so called validation cards procure given rights to only a limited number of individuals, there exists a risk that fraudulent individuals may try to pass off these rights to other individuals in a fraudulent manner without the other individuals purchasing or legally acquiring the right associated with possession of the validation card.
In order to reduce such risks, some validation cards are provided with identification features allowing for identification of the individual to which the card belongs. However, in some instances, it is not desirable or feasible to provide identification information on the validation card itself. For example, in situations wherein the validation card is periodically changed, it may become a tedious process to provide the validation card with individualized information identifying its owner.
This type of situation commonly occurs with public transit fare cards emitted monthly by municipalities and typically purchased by individuals at various retail sites. In such situations, it is common practice to couple or link the validation card to an identification card bearing identification information, such as a photograph and identifying inscriptions.
The prior art shows various card holders allowing for coupling of identification card to validation cards. However, these prior art card holders suffer from a major drawback in that both the identification card and the validation card are not secured to the card holder and thus allow relatively easy removal of both the identification card and the validation card from the card holder.
This proves to be a major drawback since it allows fraudulent individuals to switch and exchange identification and validation cards. For example, the owner of an identification card having purchased a valid validation card may remove the validation card from the card holder. Once removed, the validation card could easily be fraudulently sold or otherwise transferred to another identification card owner. The second owner merely needs to insert the fraudulently acquired validation card into the card holder to combine it with the identification card in order to be able to fraudulently use the identification and validation card combination. Conversely, a fraudulent user merely needs to remove an identification card from a prior art card holder in order to insert it into another card holder already holding a valid validation card in order to be able to again fraudulently use an identification and validation cards combination. The fraudulent exchange of validation cards in certain industries and services such as in the public transfer systems results in considerable financial losses. Accordingly, there exists a need for an improved card holder.
Advantages of the present invention include the fact the proposed card holder allows for securely linking together an identification card to a validation card so as to reduce the risks of having either the identification card or the validation card removed from the card holder without noticeable clues to the effect that the cards have been removed from the card holder. More specifically, the proposed card holder ensures that once the identification and validation card have been inserted thereinto, the removal of either the identification or the validation card requires either noticeable tampering of the card holder or destruction of the cards. The risks of fraudulent exchange of validation and identification cards is thus reduced.
Still further, the proposed card holder is specifically designed so as to allow the securement thereinto of only one identification card and only one validation card. More specifically, once the validation and identification cards have been inserted into the card holder, the latter prevents another identification or validation cards from being inserted thereinto so as to reduce the risks of having fraudulent identification and validation cards masking legally acquired identification and validation cards.
Still further, the proposed card holder optionally provides means for selectively facilitating the destruction of a validation card without tampering the card holder so as to facilitate the withdrawal of the second card from the card holder without tampering or destruction of the latter, for example in situations wherein the same identification card is to be used with periodically changing validation cards.
Still further, the proposed card holder allows for the selective display of either one or both cards through a set of easy and ergonomic steps. The proposed card holder also allows for attachment thereto of a specially designed validation card through a single ergonomical step.
The proposed card holder is also specifically designed so as to be configurable between a storage configuration minimizing required storage space and a display configuration allowing the simultaneous display of both the identification and validation cards. The proposed card holder allows for switching between the storage and display configurations through a step of quick and ergonomical steps.
The proposed card holder is specifically designed so as to be manufacturable using conventional forms of manufacturing so as to provide a card holder that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.
In accordance with an embodiment of the invention, there is provided a card holder for securely linking together a first card and a second card and for allowing the selective display of the first and second cards, the first card having a generally flat configuration defining a first card first face and an opposed first card second face, the second card having a generally flat configuration defining a second card peripheral edge, a second card marginal section extending from the second card peripheral edge, a second card first face and an opposed second card second face, the card holder comprising: a first card holding component for holding the first card, the first card holding component being provided with a first card securing means for securing the first card to the first card holding component, the first card securing means ensuring that once the first card is secured to the first card holding component the removal of the first card from the first card holding component requires tampering of the first card or of the first card holding component; a second card holding component for holding the second card, the second card holding component being provided with a second card securing means for securing the second card to the second card holding component, the second card securing means ensuring that once the second card is secured to the second card holding component the removal of the second card from the second card holding component requires the destruction of the second card or tampering of the second card holding component; a component linking means for securely linking together the first and second card holding components, the linking means ensuring that once the first and second card holding components are linked together, the separation of the first and second card holding components from each other requires tampering of the component linking means.
Preferably, the component linking means allows the first and second card holding co
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