The material from which the cards are made is preferably cardboard or plastic laminated cardboard but it could be made of other materials.

Background art Standard playing cards are generally held in a rectangular cardboard box made by stamping a net from cardboard and folding the net into a rectangular shaped box. The net includes tabs and the box is maintained in its folded state by gluing the tabs to other parts of the box. A suitable net is shown, for example, in US design patent 147096.

It is also known to dispense cards, particularly in a casino, using a shoe, see e. g. US 4377285. Such shoes have a channel for holding cards at an oblique angle to the perpendicular. The channel has, at one end, a wall provided with an opening and, at the other end, a spring-loaded or weighted wedge which urges cards in the slot against the end wall. Cards in the shoe can be dispensed by a user through the opening in the end wall by sliding the card through the opening one at a time.

DE-C-41 42 383 describes a rectangular box for holding index cards and having an L-shaped lid that forms the top and front of the box when closed.

The lid can be pivoted to open the box and to provide an angled support surface for index cards within the box that lie in front of a card being inspected.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention provides a box for holding and dispensing cards and other sheets of stiff material, the box being generally parallelepiped in shape and comprising : a pair of opposed parallelogram-shaped side faces each with opposed acute angles between 15 and 75°, preferably 20-50° and more preferably 30- 40° ; and a top face terminating in an edge that extends between two opposed acute angles of the two opposed side faces, the top face being provided with an opening extending from the edge, said edge being open to allow cards held within the box to be dispensed via the edge, whereby a user can engage a card within the box through the opening and slide it out of the box via the edge.

As is clear from the following description, the box of the present invention is generally small and can readily be manipulated and turned over in the hand.

Thus the term"top"refers to a face that, when the box is in use dispensing cards, will generally on the top of the box facing upwards so that the cards may be accessed, via the opening, from above to slide them through the opening so that they can be dispensed readily from the box.

The edge referred to above between two acute angles of the parallelogram sides is open so that cards can be slid out of the box via the edge. The opening may extend across the whole of the edge but the retention of cards within the box is improved if the opening does not extend along the whole length of the edge,

and the part (s) of the edge either side of the opening may be in the form of a slot through which cards can be dispensed.

Thus, the box of the present invention not only provides an attractive, eye- catching and unusually shaped parallelepiped packaging for selling packs of cards but also can be used as a shoe for dispensing individual cards.

The box may be made from stiff flexible material, e. g. cardboard (including laminated cardboard) or pliable plastic sheeting. Alternatively, it could be made by injection moulding.

The box preferably includes a lid ; if made of stiff flexible material, the lid may be such that it can be folded to cover the opening to prevent cards being engaged and dispensed. In a preferred embodiment, the lid can be folded underneath the box to support the box, when placed on a horizontal surface, in a stable card dispensing position with the slot located adjacent to the surface.

The lid may be capable of being secured in its position to support the box in the card dispensing position, e. g. by means of tabs on the lid engaging in an opening provided in the box for that purpose. In the card dispensing position, the box and the stack of cards within the box are held at an angle between the horizontal and vertical so that the cards within the box can be readily dispensed one at a time by engaging the uppermost card in the stack of cards through the opening and sliding it through the slot onto the horizontal surface. Such an arrangement requires the card to be flexed during dispensing but prevents the person dispensing the card and also other player (s) from seeing the card as it is dispensed.

The present invention also provides a net of sheet material that can be folded to form the box and a box filled with cards to be dispensed.

Description of drawings Boxes of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 shows three perspective views of a box of the present invention in a closed configuration (Figure la), an opened configuration (Figure lb) and a dispensing position (Figure lc) ; Figure 2 is a perspective view of the box of Figure 1 illustrating the manner in which the box is opened; Figure 3 is a perspective view of the box of Figure 1 showing the manner in which it is secured in the dispensing position; Figure 4 is a perspective view of the box of Figure 1 showing the manner in which cards are dispensed from the box in the dispensing position; Figure 5 is a plan view of the net for forming the box illustrated in Figures 1 to 4; Figure 6 is a perspective view of the box showing cards being dispensed by hand; Figures 7 to 11 show alternative embodiments of the box; Figures 12 and 13 are perspective views of two embodiments of a box, one with a lid and one without a lid; Figures 14 and 15 are a front view of the box and lid of Figurel2 and a sectional through the line A-A of Figure 14 (respectively); and Figure 15 a to d are, respectively, a front perspective, a rear perspective, a front and a side view of a business card dispenser of the present invention.

Best Mode for Carrying out the Invention Referring initially to Figure 1, it can be seen that the box of the present invention has a generally parallelepiped shape when closed (Figure 1 a). It includes a top face 10 provided with a generally semicircular opening 12 that extends from an edge 14. However, the opening 12 does not extend along the full extent of edge 14 and the rest of the edge is formed as a slot 36, as will be described later.

The box also includes a pair of opposed side faces 16,17, each having a parallelogram shape and two acute angles 18, one acute angle of each face lying adjacent to the edge 14.

The other faces of the box are a pair of end faces 20,21 and a rear face 11. A lid section 24 (see Figure lb) forms end face 20 of the box and is pivotable about a hinge formed by edge 22. The lid also includes a flap 26 that is tucked under the top surface 10 in the arrangement shown in Figure la and is visible through the opening 12. In Figure la, the box is closed and the cards are held within the box.

In the arrangement shown in Figure lb, an end 28 of the box itself is open; the open end 28 lies directly underneath end face 20 shown in Figure 1. In order to open the box from the configuration of Figure la to that of Figure lb, the flap 26, which is tucked under the top 10, is engaged by the thumb of one hand through the opening 12. The thumb pushes the flap 26 in the direction of arrow A while the other hand of the user pulls the flap in the same direction, as shown by arrow B of Figure 2.

Returning to Figure 1, the lid 24 can be bent about edge hinge 22 to form a support to hold the outside surface of end face 21 flat on a horizontal surface so

the cards 30 within the box can be dispensed. As can be seen from Figure lc, the flap 26 is bent about a hinge crease 27 (i. e. coplanar with the end face 21) ; the other end face 20 is then vertical and supports the box on a horizontal surface in the position shown in Figure 1 c. The flap 26 is held in place by a tab 32 engaging in a slot 33 provided in edge 34 between the rear face 11 and the end face 21 (visible in Figure lb). This is illustrated in Figure 3, which shows the flap 26 and the tab 32 being moved in the direction of arrow C to engage the tab 32 in the slot 33. Although it is preferred for the face 20 to be vertical, that is not essential.

The box with a stack of cards 30 is shown in Figure lc in a position in which the cards can be dispensed.

Most of the edge 14 between the top 10 and the end face 21 is provided by the opening 12. However, slots 36 are provided on either side of the opening 12 along edge 14.

The top most card 31 of the stack 30 is visible in Figure lc through the opening 12. It can be engaged by a user and slid out through the slot 36, as illustrated in Figure 4. Because the edge 14 rests on a horizontal surface, the user has to flex the card 31 to slide it over the horizontal surface, in the direction of arrow D shown in Figure 4.

Thus, the present invention provides an attractive and unusual shape of box for selling the cards and simultaneously allows it to be used a shoe for dispensing cards.

Figure 5 shows a suitable net for forming the box shown in Figures 1 to 4. As shown in Figure 5, two tabs 17 are shown on either side of the net. These tabs

overlap with each other in the finished box and are glued together to form face 17 of the finished box. Further tabs 40,42 are also provided to glue against end wall 21 to maintain the rigidity of the box.

The net is stamped from plastic-laminated card having a weight of 380 gsm.

However, other stiff flexible materials can readily be used.

The acute angles 18 of faces 16 and 17 are approximately 32°. This angle produces a width X of end face 20 (see Figure la) that provides the height Y in the configuration shown in Figure 1 c such that the flap 26 and end face 21 are coplanar and both lie flat on a horizontal surface for a standard-size pack of playing cards.

Numerous modifications to the box shown in Figures 1 to 5 are possible. For example, the tab 32 could be formed in different shapes (with corresponding changes in slot 33). Furthermore, it is not essential that the lid 24 should provide the support for the box shown in Figure lc ; instead, the box may merely be supported by the user's hand as shown in Figure 6, where cards are dispensed by pushing the uppermost card 31 in the direction of arrow E. In Figure 6, the box is not resting on any surface.

It is also not essential that the flap 26 be tucked under top face 10. Instead, in the closed pack, it could overlie face 10, thereby obscuring the opening 26 in the closed position. An adhesive tab (or other fastening mechanism) could be provided to hold the flap 32 against top surface 10.

Dust panels can be added at the top of side surfaces 16,17 to underlie the end face 20 when the pack is closed to prevent dust getting into the pack of cards.

Four alternative embodiments are shown in Figures 7 to 11.

In Figure 7a, it can be seen that the box can be formed in two parts, a body part 50 and a lid part 52. The side panels 54 of the body part are parallelograms with acute angles 56 (only one side panel is shown). As described above, the body part 50 has an opening 26 through which cards held within the box can be engaged for dispensing through the opening 26.

Cards are loaded into the top 52, which is inserted into the body part 50 in the direction of arrow F.

Figure 7b shows the configuration of the box once the lid 52 has been pushed into the body part 50.

The arrangement of Figure 8 is substantially the same as Figure 7 except that the lid 58 of Figure 8 acts merely as a closure and not as a tray, as is the case with lid 52 of Figure 7. In the arrangement of Figure 8 cards are loaded into the body part 50 through an open top 60, which is then closed by the lid 58.

The arrangement shown in Figure 9a is the same as that shown in Figure 7 except that two strips 62 are formed at the top of the body part 50, which can be pushed inwardly to close the open end 64 of the body part 50.

Figure 9b shows a top view of this arrangement. When it is desired to load cards into the box, strips 62 are pushed outwardly in the direction of arrows G to the position shown in broken lines 66 of Figure 9b. Once the cards have been loaded, the strips 62 are pushed inwardly in the direction opposite to arrows G to close the box once again.

Figure 10 is generally the same as Figure 8 except that, instead of a lid 58, a removable side panel 68 is provided to allow cards to be inserted into the box.

Figure 11 shows an arrangement in which the back panel 70 of the box can be opened, e. g. by pivoting about a hinge 72 to load cards into the box. The opening 26 is shown in broken lines in Figure 11 since it is not directly visible.

If it is desired to have two packs of cards that can be dispensed simultaneously, a box design with two cavities for holding the cards can be provided side by side, each cavity having an opening 12 and a slotted edge 14.

Turning now to Figures 12,14 and 15, which show a box that includes a lid 80 and a base 82 that are each made by injection moulding. The base 82 has a top face 10 provided with an opening 12 and a slot 36 in the same manner as Figure 1, for dispensing cards held within the box. The lid 80 has a flange 84 that fits over a lip 86 of the base to close the box. However, a slot 88 is provided at the rear of the lid that can be used for returning a card to the rear of a pack held within the box, as required in some card games. The wall 90 forms a backwardly sloping face against which the cards at the rear of the pack rest.

The top section 92 of the wall is bulbous and curves outwardly to provide a space 94 behind the rear card of the pack (shown by the dotted line 96) ; the slot 88 in the lid is in line with the space 94 and so the leading edge of a card posted through the slot will enter the space 94 and be pushed by the section 92 to lie behind the card that, until then, was the rearmost in the pack.

The lid 80 can also form a plinth for the base (as shown in Figures 14 and 15) to make the dispensing of cards easier since the slot 36 is then raised above the surface on which the box is supported and will make the flexing of the card on

dispensing easier (see Figure 4). The lid 80 and the base 82 can have mating surfaces to stop the base 82 securely on the lid/plinth.

The box of Figure 13 is identical to that of Figure 12 except that the box of Figure 13 does not include the lid 80 and the lip 86 whereas the box of Figure 12 does.

Figure 16 is a box for holding business cards and is formed as a single piece by injection moulding. The arrangement is the same as that already described except that a closure 100 is provided for opening and closing the box, which is connected to the rest of the box by a plastic hinge 101. In addition, a support 102 may be provided to prop the box in the card dispensing position shown in Figure 16. Support 102 is connected to the rest of the box by a plastic hinge 103 and can be folded into a recess 104 in the adjacent wall of the box.

The rear face 11 (Figures 1 to 11) and 90 (Figures 12 tol6) slopes backwardly when the box is in the card dispensing position, and the leading edges of the cards will then slide forward under their own weight towards the slot 36 as cards are dispensed from the box. The interior of the box should be made as smooth as possible to facilitate such sliding.