A U.S. patent on a card retainer for use of motorists traveling on toll highways has been granted to Earl G. Chetwynd, 6 Steele Avenue, Gloversville, and Anthony L. Griffin, 107 Division Street, Amsterdam.

The application for the patent, which consists of nine claims of originality, was filed on Feb. 28, 1969, and was granted last May 25. Entitled "Card Retainer," it is numbered 3,579,878.

When traveling on toll roads, the driver of an automobile receives a ticket or card at the toll house where he enters the road, according to the recipients of the patent. The card is divided into horizontal spaces upon which are printed the various exits from the toll road and the fees to be paid at whichever exit is used.

It frequently happens that the driver cannot readily locate the toll rate card when he stops at the desired exit. Also, he frequently has to search through his pockets to locate the necessary coins for paying the toll; often this involves considerable fumbling, especially when he is wearing a seat belt. On many occasions the driver will spend considerable time fumbling through his pockets only to discover that he does not have the necessary change.

To cope with these problems, Messrs. Chetwynd and Griffin have devised a card retainer in the form of an envelope-like enclosure which may be hung or supported effectively in a readily visible and available place in the vehicle and within which a toll rate card or the like may be inserted easily. The front of the retainer has a window through which the various printed destinations and prices on the card may be viewed, and included also is an adjustable magnifying bar which may be moved into position to magnify a selected printed destination or interchange noted on the toll card and thus simplify the task of reading the card.

As an additional feature, the card retainer of this invention has a number of coin-retaining receptacles from which coins of different values may readily be withdrawn for paying a toll fee, and it also has a special clip which may be used for supporting paper money in a convenient location for easy access by the driver of the vehicle. It is claimed also that the card retainer is of simple construction, easy to use, economically feasible, long lasting, and relatively trouble-free in operation.