PLAYING CARD DISPENSER AND DISPLAY APPARATUS

Abstract

A card dispenser and display apparatus for securely loading, maintaining, removing and displaying game cards during the playing of a game. The apparatus includes a housing and a generally planar base. The inner space of the housing is configured to contain a plurality of cards having a uniform height and width. The inner space of the housing has a width that is substantially equal to the uniform width of the plurality of cards, at least a portion of which housing has a height that is lower than the uniform height of the plurality of cards, thereby enabling a user to manually lift a card from the front of the housing to move the card to the back of the housing, as well as enabling the removal of a deck of playing cards from the housing.

Claims

1. A card dispenser and display apparatus for securely loading, maintaining, removing and displaying standard game cards during the playing of a card game, said apparatus comprising: a generally horizontal planar base having a top surface and a bottom surface; a housing on the top surface of the planar base configured, for maintaining, dispensing and displaying one or more standard playing cards of the type dealt to each of the players to play the card game, from therewithin said housing, one at a time, said housing including a rear wall substantially adjoining the planar base; a front wall substantially parallel to the rear wall; two opposite side walls substantially parallel to one another, extending between the front wall and the rear wall to join same respectively, said side walls being spaced apart from one another the approximate width of a standard playing card; a bottom wall substantially proximate to said planar base, said front, rear, side and bottom walls collectively forming a substantially rectangular deck storage and displaying region so as to be capable of containing an entire deck of standard playing cards of the type being dealt to the players and displaying said one or more standard playing cards, one at a time, said deck storage and displaying region configured to display said one or more standard playing cards one at a time simultaneously to all of the players for the collective use thereby, and to contain said deck of standard playing cards having a uniform height and width, without to the position of the playing, cards to ensure the display of only one said playing card at a time; at least one of said front, rear and side walls being lower than the uniform height of the playing plurality of cards; wherein the width and the height of the housing are configured to enable a user to manually lift a card from one of the front and rear of the housing, and to move the card to the other of the front and rear of the housing, as well as to lift at least a portion of the entire deck of playing cards from within said deck storage and playing region, said front wall enabling the displaying of at least a portion of only the forward-most playing card to reveal its value and suit, while blocking the display of the other playing cards contained within the apparatus, to preclude the inadvertent premature displaying of the value and suit of any of said other playing cards positioned behind said forward-most playing card.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which the rear wall forms an angle ranging from 0? to about 180? degrees relative to the planar base.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus is at least partly made of a transparent material, and the housing comprises a front shield to cover at least the bottom portion of the front wall, so that when the card is lifted from the front of the housing, the front shield blocks the bottom of the remaining deck of cards.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each side wall of the housing includes a side shield to cover at least a bottom portion of said side wall of the housing.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the bottom wall of the housing forms a generally right angle relative to the rear wall of the housing.

6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the angle between the rear wall and the planar base ranges from about 65 degrees to about 85 degrees.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the angle between the rear wall and the planar base is fixed.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the angle between the rear wall and the planar base ranges is adjustable.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each side wall of the housing is in the shape of one of a rectangle, a parallelogram, and a trapezoid.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein each side wall of the housing is in a the shape of a trapezoid.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the front wall and rear wall of the housing is in the shape of a rectangle.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of the front wall and rear wall includes a cut-out portion for lifting and placing the cards.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the front wall and rear wall are of substantially the same height.

14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each side wall of the housing further includes a triangle-shaped side wing extending between the rear wall of the housing and the planar base.

15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the housing is rotatable relative to the planar base.

16. The invention according to claim 1 in which the apparatus further comprises a back support element for supporting the housing, said back support element being attached at one end to at least one of said housing and said planar base.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the back support element is attached at said one end to said housing, and at its other end to said planar base.

18. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the back support element is pivotally attached to at least one of said housing and said the planar base.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, in which the back support element includes a hinge where it is attached to said at least one of said housing and said planar base.

20. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein said back support element is pivotally attached to both said housing and said planar base at respective hinges.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the planar base further includes a strip to restrain the position of housing.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the planar base includes two or more strips to impart adjustability to the display angle of the housing.

23. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the back support element is pivotally attached to the rear wall of the housing as well as to the top surface of the planar base.

24. The apparatus of claim 20, further comprising one or more stop elements on the planar base, for adjustably maintaining the position of the housing, relative to the planar base.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the stop element comprises one or more of a notch, a groove, a strip, and a ledge.

26. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the stop element comprises a non-skid layer as the top surface of said planar base.

27. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the angle between the rear wall of the housing and the top surface of the planar base is adjusted by positioning the housing at a different stop element.

28. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the planar base has a non-slip bottom surface.

29. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which one or more of said front, side and rear walls of said housing includes a notation region for displaying promotional information

30. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the planar base includes a notation region for displaying promotional information.

31. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the invention further includes a top cover for covering the top of said housing, said top cover including a notation region for displaying promotional information.

32. The apparatus according to claim 1 in which the invention further includes at least one or more height, width and depth adapter inserts, capable of being juxtaposed to one of said bottom, side, front and rear walls, respectively, to convert the dimensions of said housing to, in turn, accommodate standard playing card decks of varying height, width and depth.

33. The apparatus according to claim 32 in which one or more of said adapter inserts has an adhesive material on at least one side thereof to enable its being restrainably juxtaposed to a respective one of said walls.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] The following drawings illustrate by way of example and not limitation. For the sake of brevity and clarity, every feature of a given structure is not always labeled in every figure in which that structure appears. Identical reference numbers do not necessarily indicate an identical structure Rather, the same reference number may be used to indicate a similar feature or a feature with similar functionality, as may non-identical reference numbers.

[0022] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of card dispenser and display apparatus according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0023] FIG. 2 is an elevated front view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0024] FIG. 3 is an elevated side view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0025] FIG. 4 is an elevated rear view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0026] FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0027] FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 1, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0028] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another embodiment of card dispenser and display apparatus according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0029] FIG. 8 is an elevated front view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 7, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0030] FIG. 9 is an elevated side view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 7, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 10 is an elevated rear view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 7, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0032] FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 7, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0033] FIG. 12 is a bottom plan view of the card dispenser and display apparatus of FIG. 7, according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

[0034] FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a housing width insert adapter for adjusting the width of the housing to accommodate a non-standard or different standard playing card deck width.

[0035] FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a housing height insert adapter for adjusting the height of the housing to accommodate a non-standard or different standard playing card deck height.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. While the invention will be described in conjunction with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the invention to these embodiments. To the contrary, the invention is intended to cover alternatives, modifications and equivalents, which may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the claims. Furthermore, in the detailed description of the present invention, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, and other features have not been described in detail as not to unnecessarily obscure aspects of the present playing card dispenser and display apparatus.

[0037] Generally speaking, various embodiments of the present invention provide for a card dispenser and display apparatus for securely loading, maintaining, removing and displaying standard sized game cards during the playing of a card game, such as Gin Rummy. Particularly, the cards are standard playing cards (e.g., knock cards for Gin Rummy games). A user may place a deck of playing cards into the housing in a front-facing manner. When the deck is placed in the housing, at least a top portion of the forward-most playing card is revealed to show its value and suit, while at least a bottom portion of the forward-most playing card is blocked to preclude the inadvertent pre-mature displaying of any playing cards behind the forward-most playing card, while the cards are maintained within the deck, until (and while) the Knock Card is changed. During the playing of the game (e.g., Gin Rummy games), the user can preferably lift the forward-most playing card and move it to the back of the housing, thereby displaying the next front card of the deck. The apparatus according to this invention is configured to avoid accidentally, purposefully or mistakenly revealing other cards behind the forward-most playing card, thereby ensuring the fairness of the game, while maximizing viewing by all of the players.

[0038] FIGS. 1-6 show card dispenser and display apparatus 100 according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the card dispenser and display apparatus 100, and FIGS. 2-6 show the front, side, rear, top, and bottom view of apparatus 100, respectively.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 1, card dispenser and display apparatus 100 includes generally horizontal planar base 10, and housing 20 for dispensing and displaying a deck of standard playing cards from therewithin. Particularly, FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 show apparatus 100 containing a deck of standard playing cards in housing 20, displaying forward-most card 32 as the eight of diamonds. Promotional text region 33 is likewise shown.

[0040] Generally, horizontal planar base 10 includes top surface 11 and bottom surface 12, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6. When in use, apparatus 100 is usually placed on a flat surface (e.g., a table). To increase the stability of apparatus 100, preferably, bottom surface 12 of apparatus 100 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) may be made of a non-slip material, or include one or more non-slip tabs or pads. For instance, as shown in FIG. 6, there are four friction pads 13 attached to the bottom of base 10.

[0041] Housing 20 is positioned atop surface 11 of base 10, as shown in FIGS. 1-6. More specifically, housing 20 includes front wall 21, rear wall 22, bottom wall 23, and two opposite side walls 24 and 25. Those five walls collectively form an inner spacea deck storage and displaying regionhaving a width, as determined by the spacing between side walls 24 and 25, which is just slightly larger than the width of a standard playing card, so as to snugly, yet telescopically, receive the deck.

[0042] Front wall 21 of housing 20, as well as other parts of housing 20, and apparatus 100, may be made of an opaque material, as long as the top portion of the top forward-most portion of playing card 32 is sufficiently revealed to display its value and suit. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, front wall 21 is made of an opaque material, and is substantially lower than the height of standard playing card 32. As such, the top portion of the forward-most playing card is sufficiently revealed to show that the card is the eight of diamonds. Further, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, front wall 21 is in the shape of a rectangle. In other embodiments, front wall 21 may also include a cut-out portion for more easily grabbing and lifting (or inserting) the card, or the deck as a whole.

[0043] Rear wall 22 of housing 20, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, is substantially parallel to front wall 21. Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, rear wall 22 may include a cut-out portion, such as slot 26, for more easily grabbing the cards, either individually or by the deck, as a whole.

[0044] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, rear wall 22 substantially adjoins base 10, forming an angle relative to base 10. That angle serves to improve the comfort and the convenience for a user to view the Knock Card during the playing of the game. Specifically, that angle may range from zero (0?) degrees to about one hundred eighty) (180?) degrees, or more preferably from about sixty-five (65?) degrees to about eighty-five (85?) degrees. The angle between rear wall 22 and base 10 may be fixed or adjustable. In some embodiments, the housing may be movable or rotatable relative to the planar base.

[0045] To support or adjust rear wall 22, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, housing 20 may also include a back support element, such as supporting leg 27, pivotally attached to rear wall 22, at hinge 28, and likewise pivotally attached to base 10 at hinge 29. In some embodiments, back support element 27 may be bendable or flexible. With back support element 27 being pivotally attached to the rear wall of the housing and/or the planar base at hinges 28 and 29 (as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3), a manufacturer or user of the apparatus can collapse the supporting leg, for storage or shipping of apparatus 100.

[0046] In other embodiments, top surface 11 of base 10 may include non-slip material 46, or have one or more stop elements (e.g., a notch, a groove, a strip or a ledge) such as strips 30 and 31 along top surface 11 of planar base 10, adjustably maintaining the position of the housing or the support element. As such, the angle between the rear wall and the planar base may be adjusted by positioning the housing or the support element at different stop elements, to enhance the viewing of displayed card 32.

[0047] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, rear wall 22 may include a cut-out portion (e.g., slot 26) for a user to more easily grab the cards, either individually or by the deck.

[0048] Regarding the side walls of housing 20, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, two opposite side walls 24 and 25 are substantially parallel to one another, and are spaced apart from one another just slightly wider than the approximate width of a standard playing card, such as either a Poker-style or Bridge-style playing card. As such, undesired skewing or shifting of the playing cards in the housing is limited, thereby reducing the risk of the inadvertent premature displaying of any playing cards behind the forward-most playing card. While some playing card decks are thicker than others, it is contemplated that the depth of the housing will be of such a dimension to accommodate most such standard thicknesses. Alternatively, the use of an additional adapter insert is contemplated to accept a thinner deck, where any such adapter can be adhered to the insides of the front, rear, side or bottom walls by an adhesive layer for example, to accommodate variations in the height, width or depth of a deck.

[0049] Further, according to this invention, each side wall 24, 25 of housing 10 may be shaped as a rectangle, a parallelogram, or a trapezoid. For instance, as shown in FIG. 3, opposite side walls 24 and 25 both have a rectangular shape.

[0050] Bottom wall 23 of housing 20, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, is substantially proximate to top surface 11 of base 10. Preferably, the angle between bottom wall 23 and rear wall 22 is about 90 degrees, so that there is no skewing of the cards when the deck of playing cards is placed in the housing. This further precludes the inadvertent premature displaying of any playing cards behind forward-most playing card 32.

[0051] Optionally, apparatus 100 may further include a country club logo or other indicia at a suitable place, such as top surface 11 of base 10, before front wall 21, at logo position 33.

[0052] FIGS. 7-12 show another embodiment of card dispenser and display apparatus 200, according to the present invention. FIG.7 shows a perspective view of the card dispenser and display apparatus 200, and FIGS. 8-12 show the front, side, rear, top, and bottom view of apparatus 200, respectively.

[0053] Card dispenser and display apparatus 200 includes a generally horizontal planar base 40, and housing 50 for dispensing, maintaining and displaying a deck of standard playing cards from therewithin, including forward-most card 32. Particularly, FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show apparatus 200 containing a deck of standard playing cards in housing 50. The deck storage and display region formed by the wails of housing 50 accommodates thickness 35 of a standard playing card deck contained therewithin, through depth 37 (FIG. 9) between front wall 51 and rear wall 52. Likewise, side walls 54 and 55 are spaced apart to width 36 to closely receive the standard playing cards, while preventing shifting.

[0054] Generally, horizontal planar base 40 includes top surface 41 and bottom surface 42, as shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 12. To increase the stability of apparatus 200 on a surface (e.g., a table), bottom surface 42 of base 40 may be made of a non-slip material, or includes one or more non-slip tabs. For instance, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 12, there are nine friction pads 43 located at the bottom of base 40.

[0055] Housing 50 is positioned on top surface 41 of base 40, as shown in FIGS. 7-12. Housing 50 includes front wall 51, rear wall 52, bottom wall 53, and two opposite side walls 54 and 55. Those five walls collectively form an inner space i.e., a deck storage and displaying region which has a width closely approximate to the width of a standard playing card.

[0056] Front wall 51 of housing 50, as well as other parts of apparatus 200, may be fabricated of a substantially transparent material. As such, forward-most playing card 32 in housing 50 is also partially visible through the transparent portion of front wall 56. As shown in FIG. 7, forward-most playing card 32 (i.e., eight of diamonds) is also visible through the transparent portion of front wall 51. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, front wall 51 includes a front shield or barrier region 56 to block at least the bottom portion of forward-most playing card 32, thereby precluding the inadvertent premature displaying of any playing cards behind the forward-most playing card, while removing the forward-most playing card, toward relocating it, after use, to the back of housing 50 adjacent back wall 52. Though less preferred, the Knock Card can also be changed by drawing a card from the rear of the Knock deck and placing it over the front of the current Knock Card. Using that technique, the display of the cards in front of the rear card should be precluded. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, front wall 51 is in the shape of a rectangle. In some other embodiments, front wall 51 may also include a cut-out portion for a user to more easily grab and lift the card, or the deck as a whole.

[0057] Side walls 54 and 55 of housing 50, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 are opposite one another, and are substantially parallel to each another. Side walls 54 and 55 are spaced apart from one another at distance 36, the approximate width of a standard playing card. This serves to limit or avoid the undesired migration or shifting of the playing cards, and reduces the risk of the inadvertent premature displaying of any of the playing cards positioned behind forward-most playing card 32. Each of side walls 54 and 55 of housing 50 may be in the shape of a rectangle, a parallelogram, or a trapezoid. For instance, as shown in FIG. 9, side walls 54 and 55 each have a trapezoidal shape. Further, similar to front wall 51, when the housing is substantially transparent, preferably each of side walls 54 and 55 may also include a side shield (e.g., 57) to block at least the bottom side portion of the forward-most playing card, as well as the cards behind it.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 9, rear wall 52 is substantially parallel to front wall 51 and may be also in the shape of a rectangle, as shown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, rear wall 52 may adjoin base 40 to form an angle relative to base 40. That angle may range from about zero (0?) degrees to about one hundred eighty (180?) degrees, or more preferably from about sixty-five (65?) degrees to about eighty-five (85?) degrees, thereby improving the position from which users can view the card(s) displayed by apparatus 200 during the playing of the game.

[0059] Further, as shown in FIGS. 7, 9 and 11, to support or balance rear wall 52, housing 50 may include two opposite side wings (e.g., triangle-shaped side wings 58 and 59), and, optionally, top cover 60 extending between rear wall 52 and base 40. Apparatus 200 may also include a country club logo on top cover 60, at logo position 61 (FIG. 10), or on side walls 54 and 55, or front wall 51.

[0060] Bottom wall 53 of housing 50 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, substantially proximate to base 40. Preferably, the angle between bottom wall 53 and rear wall 52 is about 90 degrees, so that there is no skewing or shifting of the cards within the deck, when playing cards are placed in, and maintained by, housing 50. This could further preclude the inadvertent premature displaying of any playing cards behind the forward-most playing card.

[0061] In some other embodiments, while the angle between the rear wall and the base is less than 90 degrees, the bottom wall may have a tapered thickness, in order to form a generally 90-degree angle between the bottom wall and the rear wall, and to ensure that there is no skewing of the playing cards in the housing.

[0062] FIG. 13 shows width adapter insert 44 for insertion into housing 20 to adjust the width of the apparatus to accommodate a different size or format of deck, as also shown, in phantom, in FIG. 2. Insert 44 can be attached through the use of a peel-off-exposable adhesive.

[0063] FIG. 14 shows height adapter insert 45 for insertion into housing 20 to adjust the height of the apparatus to accommodate a different size or format of deck, as also shown, in phantom, in FIG. 2. Insert 45 can likewise be attached in the inside of the housing through a suitable adhesive.

[0064] The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the present invention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.