Coupon organizer

• US 5,480,192 A
• Filed: 12/29/1993
• Issued: 01/02/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/1993
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Mrs. A's Corporation
• Original Assignee: David G. Angerbauer, Rose H. Angerbauer
• Inventors: Angerbauer, Rose H., Angerbauer, David G.
• Primary Examiner(s): HAN, FRANCES CHIN
• Application Number:
  US08/174,307
• Time in Patent Office: 734 Days
• Field of Search: 281/38, 281/31, 281/32, 402/79, 402/80 P, D19/33, D19/32, D 3/35, D 6/626, 383/39, 383/124.2, 40/159, 40/537, 40/405, 206/455, 206/472
• US Class Current: 281/31
• CPC Class Codes: B42F 7/06 Filing appliances comprising a plurality of pockets or compartments, e.g. portfolios or cases with a plurality of compartments indexing features B42F21/00

Abstract

A coupon holder for efficiently organizing, storing, viewing and retrieving a variety of sizes of coupons. The holder includes a rectangular sheet of plastic including a tab, positioned along one edge, for attachment of the holder within a cover. Each sheet includes on its front and back face a first, second, third and fourth rectangular, transparent window, extending across substantially the entire width of the sheet. The windows are attached along their lower and lateral edges, with their upper edges unattached, thereby providing a pocket into which coupons may be placed. The first window is positioned within approximately the upper third of the front face of the sheet such that it covers less than the lower half of the upper third of the front face of the sheet. The second window is positioned within approximately the middle third of the front face of the sheet and the third and fourth window are positioned within approximately the lower third of the front face of the sheet.

Claims

1. A coupon holder for carrying rectangular coupons of various predetermined sizes and which may be carried in a cover, comprising:

a flat, generally rectangular sheet of plastic having a front face and a back face;

attachment means positioned along an edge of the sheet; and

a plurality of pockets capable of holding the coupons, each pocket comprising a rectangular, transparent window attached to the front face of the sheet, each window extending across substantially the entire width of the front face of the sheet,

wherein a first window is positioned within approximately the upper third of the front face of the sheet, a second window is positioned within approximately the middle third of the front face of the sheet and a third and a fourth window are positioned within approximately the lower third of the front face of the sheet such that the coupons may be located within the windows in an overlapping fashion thereby permitting certain information on the coupons to be exposed, the third and the fourth window being of approximate equal size, the windows being positioned on the sheet such that a lateral space is provided between adjacent windows thereby facilitating the insertion and removal of the coupons, and

wherein each of the windows has a lower edge and two lateral edges which are attached to the sheet, and an upper side which is unattached to the sheet, thereby providing a pocket into which the coupons may be placed.

2. A coupon holder as defined in claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of rectangular, transparent windows attached to the back face of the sheet, each window extending across substantially the entire width of the back face of the sheet,

wherein a fifth window is positioned within approximately the upper third of the back face of the sheet, a sixth window is positioned within approximately the middle third of the back face of the sheet and a seventh and an eighth window, being of approximate equal size, are positioned within approximately the lower third of the back face of the sheet, and

wherein each of the windows has a lower edge and two lateral edges which are attached to the sheet, and an upper side which is unattached to the sheet, thereby providing a pocket into which coupons may be placed.

3. A coupon holder as defined in claim 2, wherein the positioning of the windows on the front face of the sheet is substantially the same as the positioning of the windows on the back face of the sheet.

4. A coupon holder as defined in claim 1, wherein the third window is positioned in the upper half of the lower third of the front face of the sheet and the fourth window is positioned in the lower half of the lower third of the front face of the sheet.

5. A coupon holder as defined in claim 1, wherein first window covers less than the lower half of the upper third of the front face of the sheet.

6. A coupon holder as defined in claim 1, wherein the second window covers the entire lower half of the middle third of the front face of the sheet.

7. A coupon holder for carrying rectangular coupons of various predetermined sizes and which may be carried in a cover, comprising:

a flat, generally rectangular sheet of plastic having a front face and a back face;

attachment means positioned along an edge of the sheet; and

a plurality of rectangular, transparent windows attached to the front face of the sheet, each window extending across substantially the entire width of the front face of the sheet,

wherein a first window having a height of about 1.125 inches is positioned within approximately the upper third of the front face of the sheet such that it covers less than the lower half of the upper third of the front face of the sheet, a second window having a height of about 1.625 inches is positioned within approximately the middle third of the front face of the sheet and a third and a fourth window each having a height of about 1.125 inches are positioned within approximately the lower third of the front face of the sheet, wherein the third window is positioned in the upper half of the lower third of the front face of the sheet and the fourth window is positioned in the lower half of the lower third of the front face of the sheet, the third and the fourth window being of approximately equal size; and

a plurality of rectangular, transparent windows attached to the back face of the sheet, each window extending across substantially the entire width of the back face of the sheet,

wherein a fifth window is positioned within approximately the upper third of the back face of the sheet such that it covers less than the lower half of the upper third of the back face of the sheet, a sixth window is positioned within approximately the middle third of the back face of the sheet and a seventh and an eighth window, being of approximate equal size, are positioned within approximately the lower third of the back face of the sheet,

wherein the fifth window is positioned in the upper half of the lower third of the back face of the sheet and the sixth window is positioned in the lower half of the lower third of the back face of the sheet,

wherein each of the windows has a lower edge and two lateral edges which are attached to the sheet, and an upper side which is unattached to the sheet, thereby providing a pocket into which the coupons may be placed such that the coupons may be located within the windows in an overlapping fashion thereby permitting certain information on the coupons to be exposed, and

wherein each of the windows is positioned on the sheet such that a lateral space is provided between adjacent windows thereby facilitating the insertion and removal of the coupons.

8. A coupon holder as defined in claim 7, wherein the positioning of the windows on the front face of the sheet is substantially the same as the positioning of the windows on the back face of the sheet.

9. A coupon holder as defined in claim 7, wherein the second window covers the entire lower half of the middle third of the front face of the sheet and the sixth window covers the entire lower half of the middle third of the back face of the sheet.

10. A coupon holder as defined in claim 7, wherein the lateral space between the second and the third windows, between the third and fourth windows, between the sixth and seventh windows, and between the seventh and eighth windows is from about 0.25 to about 0.50 inches tall and extends along the entire width of the windows.

11. A coupon holder as defined in claim 7, wherein the height of the sheet is about 8.5 inches.

12. A coupon holder as defined in claim 7, wherein the sheet is about 6.5 inches wide.

13. A coupon holder as defined in claim 7, wherein the means for attachment of the holder to the cover comprises an elongate tab including three holes positioned to accommodate a cover having a three-ring binder mechanism.

14. A coupon holder as defined in claim 13, wherein the elongate tab extends outwardly about 0.5 inches from the edge of the sheet.

15. A coupon holder for carrying rectangular coupons of various predetermined sizes and which may be carried in a cover, comprising:

a flat, generally rectangular sheet of plastic having a front face and a back face;

an elongate tab positioned along an edge of the sheet, the elongate tab including three holes positioned to accommodate a three-ring binder mechanism;

a first, second, third and fourth rectangular, transparent window attached to the front face of the sheet, each window extending across substantially the entire width of the front face of the sheet, each window providing a pocket into which coupons measuring about 5.25 inches by about 2.25 inches may be held,

wherein the first window is positioned within approximately the upper third of the front face of the sheet such that it covers less than the lower half of the upper third of the front face of the sheet, the second window is positioned within approximately the middle third of the front face of the sheet and the third and fourth window are positioned within approximately the lower third of the front face of the sheet such that the coupons may be located within the windows in an overlapping fashion thereby permitting certain information on the coupons to be exposed, wherein the second window covers the entire lower half of the middle third of the front face of the sheet, and wherein the third window is positioned in the upper half of the lower third of the front face of the sheet and the fourth window is positioned in the lower half of the lower third of the front face of the sheet, the third and fourth window being of approximately equal size; and

a fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth rectangular, transparent window attached to the back face of the sheet, the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth windows corresponding in size and relative position to the first, second, third and fourth windows, respectively, such that the positioning of windows on the back face of the sheet is the same as positioning of the windows on the front face of the sheet,

wherein each of the windows has a lower edge and two lateral edges which are attached to the sheet, and an upper side which is unattached to the sheet, thereby providing a pocket into which the coupons may be placed, and

wherein each of the windows is positioned on the sheet such that a lateral space is provided between adjacent windows thereby facilitating the insertion and removal of the coupons.

16. A coupon holder as defined in claim 15, wherein the lateral space between the second and the third windows, between the third and fourth windows, between the sixth and seventh windows, and between the seventh and eighth windows is from about 0.25 to about 0.50 inches tall and extends along the entire width of the windows.

17. A coupon holder as defined in claim 15, wherein the sheet is about 8.5 inches tall and about 6.5 inches wide.

18. A coupon holder as defined in claim 15, wherein the elongate tab extends outwardly about 0.5 inches from the edge of the sheet.