Storage container for cards

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage container (1) for cards (2), comprising an outer first container part (3) and an inner second container part (4). The two housing parts (3, 4) are substantially rectangular in shape and are connected in corner regions by means of bearings such that the second container part (4) can be pivoted relative to the first container part (3) between an open position and a closed position and can be locked in these positions. In order to connect the container parts (3, 4), a profiled mounting pin (5) is used as a bearing, which mounting pin passes through a respective profiled through-opening (6) of the container parts (3, 4), said through-opening being arranged coaxially. A ball (7a, 7b) is rotatably mounted in the second container part (4), which ball rests against a side wall (S31) of the first container part (3) from the inside and engages in a mounting groove (10) of the first housing part (3) for locking, and / or the second container part (4) is rotatably mounted in the mounting groove (10) of the first housing part (3). In the second container part (4), a positioning aid (11) is arranged on the inner side, said positioning aid protruding into the interior space, clamping the card (2), preferably made of an elastomer material.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a storage container for cards such as credit cards, identity cards and the like. Background Art

[0002] A storage container for cards such as credit cards, identification cards, etc. comprises an outer first container part and an inner second container part. The two housing parts are designed in a basically cuboid shape and are connected in the corner regions to bearings forming pivot axes, so that the second container part can be pivoted relative to the first container part between an open position and a closed position, wherein the second container part can be locked relative to the first container part in the open position and the closed position respectively.

[0003] "Cuboid in basic shape" here means that the first and second container parts each have a hexahedron shape, each having a rectangular top surface, a rectangular bottom surface (main surface), two rectangular long sides, and two rectangular short sides. Of these existing surfaces, one or more surfaces may be completely or partially (regionally) missing without affecting the basic cuboid shape. According to the present application, surface rounding is also not considered to affect the basic cuboid shape.

[0004] Such a storage container for cards is known from German utility model DE 94 058 87 U1. This document describes a two-part container, particularly for credit card-sized cards, ID cards, or the like, comprising a first cuboid container part having two main faces connected to one another on three sides by side faces, the first container part being open on the fourth side; and a second container part assembled with the first container part, the second container part having two main faces adapted to the main faces of the first container part, the two main faces being connected to one another on two adjacent sides by side faces, and the second container part being open on the remaining two sides. One container part has mutually aligned projections on its two main faces, and the other container part has mutually aligned recesses on its two main faces. When the two container parts are assembled, the projections engage and are thereby locked in the recesses, forming a pivot axis about which the two container parts can be pivoted relative to each other between a closed position and an open position of the container.

[0005] The container thus comprises a first container part and a second container part, each made of plastic. The two housing parts are connected at a corner by a snap-on spring connection, which consists of mutually aligned grooves and engaging projections forming a pivot axis, allowing the second part to pivot on the first part. The first container part has an opening for a card on its end face, meaning that a card can be inserted with its short side facing forward. The first container part is otherwise closed. Its two main surfaces have a stepped edge profile. Furthermore, the main surfaces have spring tongues with outward-facing projections in the corners. The second container part has an opening that extends along the upper side and the end face. Therefore, the second container part is closed on its second end face to cover the opening in the first part. The main surface has a groove into which the projection engages, forming the pivot axis.

[0006] Other different types of card storage containers are also known from documents US 2021 / 0251354 A1, WO 2011 / 067981 A1 and EP 2 756 774 B1. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a secure card storage container of the type mentioned at the outset with low technical expenditure and in a cost-effective manner, which container is also characterized by ergonomically simple operability.

[0008] According to the invention, the aforementioned object is achieved, on the one hand, in accordance with claim 1, by virtue of the fact that, in order to connect the outer first container part to the inner second container part in the corner region, a molded assembly pin is passed through corresponding, coaxially arranged, molded through-openings in the first and second container parts, respectively, wherein the maximum pivoting of the second container part into and out of the first container part is limited by the interaction of the geometric contour of the assembly pin with the contours of the through-openings in the upper and lower shells. The assembly pin can, in particular, be designed as a double hollow rivet.

[0009] Additionally or alternatively, according to the invention, the aforementioned object is also achieved according to claim 3 by rotatably mounting balls in the inner, second container part, which rest against the inner wall of the outer, first container part both in the open and closed positions. These balls can be spring-loaded in the second container part in a receptacle, in particular a hollow cylindrical receptacle, which itself is fixed in the wall of the inner, second container part. Advantageously, this results in primarily only rolling friction between the walls of the container parts, which simplifies handling and minimizes wear.

[0010] The first outer container part can have on its inner side at least one receiving groove for engaging a rotatably mounted ball, wherein, after the rotatably mounted ball is engaged, the pivoting of the second inner container part from the closed position to the open position and back again relative to the first outer container part is limited and fixed in a non-positive manner.

[0011] By limiting the maximum pivoting of the second container part relative to the first container part, it is advantageously possible—both through the interaction of the geometric contour of the mounting pin with the contours of the through-openings of the upper and lower shells according to the invention, and through the snapping of the rotatably mounted ball into the mounting groove of the first housing part according to the invention—to achieve a stable positioning of the housing parts relative to one another. In this positioning, in particular, the long sides of the rectangles of the top and bottom surfaces of the first and second container parts are at a 90° angle to one another in the open position and at a 0° angle to one another in the closed position. In particular, it can be provided that the main surface of the second housing part is connected by a side surface extending along the long side of the rectangle and two side surfaces extending along the short sides of the rectangle, so that the second housing part is closed on three sides and is configured as a pocket for a card. The existing surfaces form container walls having a thickness to be determined by a person skilled in the art, so that the terms "surface" and "wall" are synonymous in this context for the purposes of this application. Thus, unlike the prior art, the second container part has an opening for the card on its broad side, so that in the open position, the card can be inserted more ergonomically with its long side facing forward.

[0012] Furthermore, according to the invention, the object on which the invention is based is additionally or alternatively achieved according to claim 8 as follows: the inner second container part has on its inner side at least one positioning aid for the card, which projects into the interior of the container part and has a clamping effect on the card, in particular cylindrical or prismatic, preferably made of an elastomeric material, wherein the positioning aid—like the receiving part for the ball—is held in a receiving opening of the second container part, which is in particular located on or in a side wall of the second container part and is open at the side in such a way that it allows the positioning aid to project into the interior of the second container part. The positioning aid can advantageously be covered with a cover made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, such as silicone tape or polytetrafluoroethylene tape. The positioning aid is therefore advantageously designed with low technical expenditure in such a way that the card can be easily inserted, wherein the positioning aid yields during insertion without generating any significant resistance, but after insertion, the card is pressed against the opposite short side of the second container part by the spring action on the card edge, so that the card is clamped and - even if at least one main surface, preferably both main surfaces, of the inner second container part have a large recess for easier card access - the card is reliably prevented from falling out. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Further advantageous developments of the invention can be gathered from the following description of the figures and from the dependent claims.

[0014] The accompanying drawings show:

[0015] Figure 1 A front view of a preferred embodiment of a storage container for storing cards of the present invention in an open state;

[0016] Figure 2 For the Figure 1 A sectional view taken along the II-II plane, wherein the storage container of the present invention is in a closed state;

[0017] Figure 3 For the Figure 1 Sectional view along the III-III plane;

[0018] Figure 4 A perspective exploded view of a preferred embodiment of a storage container of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 5 A perspective exploded view of the inner second container component of a preferred embodiment of the storage container of the present invention, with respect to its bottom surface;

[0020] Figure 6 For the Figure 1 A sectional view along the VI-VI plane, wherein only a partial region of the assembly pin is enlarged and shown, the assembly pin passing through the corresponding through openings of the first container component and the second container component, respectively;

[0021] Figure 7 This is an exploded perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a storage container of the present invention and a container component with its corresponding through-opening.

[0022] In the different figures of the drawing, identical components are always provided with the same reference symbols and are therefore generally described only once below. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] With regard to the following description, it should be emphasized that the invention is not limited to this embodiment and not to all or several features of the described feature combination, but rather each individual partial feature of this embodiment can be meaningful in its own right for the subject matter of the invention independently of all other partial features described in connection therewith.

[0024] If first from Figures 1 to 4As can be seen in the figure, the storage container 1 for cards 2 such as credit cards, identification cards, etc. according to the present invention comprises an outer first container part 3 and an inner second container part 4, wherein the two housing parts 3, 4 are of rectangular parallelepiped design in terms of basic shape and are connected in the corner areas by forming a pivot axis SS ( Figure 3 、 Figure 6 ) bearing connection, so that the second container part 4 can be relative to the first container part 3 in the open position ( Figure 1 、 3 ) and closed position ( Figure 2 ), wherein the second container part 4 can be locked in the open position and / or the closed position relative to the first container part 3. In particular, the second container part 4 is reliably prevented from being pivoted to a position greater than the position in the open position ( Figure 1 、 3 ) is an angle specified in (preferably 90°).

[0025] According to the invention, in order to connect the outer first container part 3 to the inner second container part 4 in the corner region of the pivot axis SS, a molded assembly pin 5 is passed through corresponding, coaxially arranged, molded through-openings 6 of the first container part 3 and the second container part 4, respectively, wherein the maximum pivoting of the second container part 4 into the first container part 3 and out of the first container part 3 is limited by the interaction of the geometric contour K5 of the assembly pin 5 with the corresponding contour K6 of the through-opening 6 of the first container part 3 and / or the second container part 4. The assembly pin 5 can be designed as a double hollow rivet (parts 5a, 5b, in Figure 4 Shown separately and in Figure 6 ), and is preferably made of metal, in particular of stainless steel. Compared to the spring tongues used according to the above-mentioned prior art, the mounting pin is advantageously relatively simple to install, and the connection is more load-bearing and more durable.

[0026] The first outer container part 3 and / or the second inner container part 4 can be made of metal or of a thermoplastic material, for example polyamide (PA) or polyoxymethylene (POM).

[0027] As mentioned at the outset, the cuboid basic shape of the two housing parts 3 and 4 implies that the first container part 3 and the second container part 4 each have the shape of a hexahedron, each having a rectangular top surface S31, S41 and a rectangular bottom surface S32, S42 (main surfaces), two rectangular long side surfaces S33, S34, S43, S44, and two rectangular short side surfaces S35, S36, S45, S46. Therefore, from a basic perspective, the two housing parts 3 and 4 each have a rectangular top surface S31, S41 and a rectangular bottom surface S32, S42 as main surfaces. These two surfaces are not completely congruent, but as shown in the figure, they are adapted to each other in terms of size and are each larger than the area A2 of the card 2 to be accommodated in the storage container 1.

[0028] One or more of the above-mentioned surfaces S31 to S36 and S41 to S46 may also be completely or partially (partially) missing, which does not affect the basic cuboid shape. In this way, the surfaces S34 to S36 do not exist and are not shown in the figure, because the main surfaces S31 and S32 of the first housing part 3 are connected only by the side surface S33 extending along the long side of the rectangle, so that the first housing part 3 is open on three sides and has a C-shaped structure in cross section to accommodate the second housing part 4 without obstruction. The only existing long side surface S33 of the first housing part 3 is rounded in an ergonomically advantageous manner (see Figure 2 、 Figure 3 ).

[0029] The long side S43 is missing in the second shell part 4 because the main surfaces S41 and S42 of the second shell part 4 are connected only by a side S44 extending along the long side of the rectangle, and by two side surfaces S45 and S46 extending along the short sides of the rectangle, so that the second shell part 4 is closed on three side surfaces S44, S45, and S46, and is thus constructed as a accommodating pocket for the card 2.

[0030] Furthermore, it is provided that the balls 7a, 7b are rotatably mounted in the inner second container part 4, and that they rest from the inside on the side wall S31 of the outer first container part 3. The balls 7a, 7b in the second container part 4 are spring-loaded in, in particular, hollow-cylindrical receiving parts 8a, 8b, which are themselves fixed in receiving openings 9a, 9b in the walls S44 / S45, S46 of the inner second container part 4. One receiving opening 9a is located approximately in the middle of the short side S46 of the second container part 4, and the other receiving opening 9b is located in the corner region of the side wall S44 / S45, which is opposite the corner region S44 / S46 on the long side S44 with the pivot axis S. This is indicated in the Figure 5 In the illustration, the inner second container part 4 is relative to its Figure 4The illustration in is rotated 180°.

[0031] The first outer container part 3 has at least one, in particular Figure 4 As can be clearly seen in the figure, there is a placement groove 10 for the rotatably placed balls 7a and 7b to be snapped into. In this way, after the rotatably placed balls 7a and 7b are respectively snapped into the placement grooves 10, the inner second container part 4 is moved from the closed position ( Figure 2 ) to the open position ( Figure 1 、 3 ) and the return pivoting is limited and fixed in a force-locking manner. The receiving groove 10 extends in particular in the edge region of the inner, i.e. outer, side wall (bottom surface S31) of the container part 3 parallel to the only long wall S33 present in the present case. In the closed position ( Figure 2 ) a ball 7a is inserted into the placement groove 10, in the open position ( Figure 3 ) another sphere 7b is inserted.

[0032] The card storage container 1 according to the present invention is further characterized in that the inner second container part 4 has, on its inner side (side wall S46), at least one positioning aid 11 for the card 2, which projects into the interior of the container part 4 and, in particular, has a clamping effect on the card 2 and is in particular cylindrical or prismatic in shape and preferably made of an elastomeric material. In order not to hinder the pivoting movement of the inner container part 4 in the outer container part 3, the positioning aid 11 can be covered with a cover 12 made of a material with a low friction coefficient, such as silicone tape or polytetrafluoroethylene tape.

[0033] Like the receiving parts 8a, 8b for the balls 7a, 7b, the positioning aid 11 can be held in the receiving opening 9c of the second container part 4, which is located on or in the side wall S46 of the second container part 4. The receiving opening 9c for the positioning aid 11 is open at the side so that it allows the positioning aid 11 to extend into the interior space of the second container part 4. When the card 2 is inserted into the second container part 4, the positioning aid 11 is slightly elastically deformed and then clamps the narrow side of the card 2 against the opposite side wall S45 of the second container part 4.

[0034] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, it can be provided that at least one main surface S41, S42, preferably both main surfaces S41 and S42, of the inner second container part 4 have a recess 13 in the long side of the rectangle which facilitates the insertion and removal of the card 2, wherein Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, the groove 13 can start from two edge areas on the short sides S45 and S46 of the rectangle of the main surfaces S41 and S42, respectively, and preferably, the groove 13 becomes larger toward the center of the main surfaces S41 and S42. Figure 1 Instead, a smaller, rectangular recess 13 is shown in the central region of the top surface S41 .

[0035] The present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and described, but also encompasses all embodiments that are equivalent in the sense of the invention. It should be explicitly emphasized that these exemplary embodiments are also not limited to all combinations of features, but rather each individual partial feature can also have inventive significance independently of all other partial features. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the feature combinations defined in claims 1, 3, and 8 to date, but can also be defined by any other combination of certain features from all the generally disclosed individual features. This means that, in principle, each individual feature in the independent claims can actually be omitted or replaced by at least one individual feature disclosed elsewhere in this application.

[0036] Furthermore, a person skilled in the art may implement additional technical measures suitable for the purpose within the scope of the claims, such as those known from the prior art, without departing from the scope of the invention.

[0037] Reference Signs List

[0038] 1 Storage container

[0039] 2 cards

[0040] 3. External first container part

[0041] 4 Internal second container part

[0042] 5 Assembly pins

[0043] 5a, 5b Assembly pin parts

[0044] 6 Through-openings for assembly pins in the first and second container parts

[0045] 7a, 7b Ball in the second container part

[0046] 8a, 8b Receiving parts for balls

[0047] 9a, 9b Receiving opening in the second container part for receiving the part

[0048] 9c Receiving opening in the second container part for the positioning aid

[0049] 10 Receiving groove for ball in first container part

[0050] 11 Positioning aid for the card in the second container part

[0051] 12 Cover for positioning aid

[0052] 13 Groove in the second container part

[0053] A2 card area

[0054] K5 assembly pin profile

[0055] K6 Profile through opening

[0056] SS Pivot axis of the second container part

[0057] S31-S36 Side of the first container part

[0058] S41-S46 Side of the second container part

Claims

1. A storage container (1) for cards (2) such as credit cards, identity cards, etc., comprising an outer first container part (3) and an inner second container part (4), wherein: The two housing parts (3, 4) are of rectangular shape in basic shape and are connected in the corner area by bearings forming a pivot axis (S), so that the second container part (4) can be pivoted relative to the first container part (3) between an open position and a closed position, wherein the second container part (4) can be locked in the open position and / or the closed position relative to the first container part (1), characterized in that, in order to connect the outer first container part (3) with the inner second container part (4) in the corner area, a molded assembly pin (5) passes through corresponding, coaxially arranged molded through-openings (6) of the first container part (3) and the second container part (4), wherein the maximum pivoting of the second container part (4) into the first container part (3) and out of the first container part (3) is limited by the interaction of the geometric profile (K5) of the assembly pin (5) and the profile (K6) of the through-openings (6) of the first container part (3) and the second container part (4).

2. The storage container (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that: The assembly pin (5) is constructed as a double hollow rivet (5a, 5b).

3. A storage container (1) for cards (2) according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that Balls (7a, 7b) are rotatably mounted in the inner second container part (4), and rest from the inside against the side walls (S31) of the outer first container part (3).

4. The storage container (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that: The balls (7a, 7b) are spring-loaded in the inner second container part (4) in particularly hollow cylindrical receiving parts (8a, 8b), which are themselves fixed in receiving openings (9a, 9b) in the wall (S44 / S45, S46) of the inner second container part (4).

5. The storage container (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: The outer first container part (3) has at least one receiving groove (10) on the inner side (S31) for engaging a rotatably mounted ball (7a, 7b), so that after the rotatably mounted ball (7a, 7b) engages in the receiving groove, the pivoting of the inner second container part (4) from the closed position to the open position and back relative to the outer first container part (3) is limited and fixed in a force-locking manner.

6. The storage container (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that: The receiving groove (10) extends parallel to the longitudinal wall (S33) in the edge region of the inner, ie outer, side wall (S31) of the first container part (3).

7. The storage container (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that At least two balls (7a, 7b) are rotatably mounted in the inner second container part (4), wherein one ball (7b) is in an open position and the other ball (7a) is engaged in a mounting groove (10) of the outer first container part (3) in a closed position.

8. Storage container (1) for cards (2) according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that The inner second container part (4) has on one of its inner sides at least one positioning aid (11) for the card (2) which projects into the inner space of the container part (4) and has a clamping effect on the card (2), and is in particular cylindrical or prismatic and preferably made of an elastomeric material.

9. The storage container (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that: The positioning aid (11) for the card (2) is covered by a cover (12) made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, such as a silicone tape or a polytetrafluoroethylene tape.

10. The storage container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that: The receiving part (8a, 8b) for the ball (7a, 7b) and / or the positioning aid (11) are held in a receiving opening (9a, 9b, 9c) of the second container part (4), the receiving opening being particularly located on or in a side wall (S45 / S44, S46) of the second container part (4), wherein the receiving opening (9c) for the positioning aid (11) is open at the side such that the receiving opening allows the positioning aid (11) to extend into the interior space of the second container part (4).

11. The storage container (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The two housing parts (3, 4) respectively have a rectangular top surface (S31, S41) and a rectangular bottom surface (S32, S42) as main surfaces in terms of basic shape, and the top surface and the bottom surface are adapted to each other in size and are respectively larger than the area (A2) of the card (2) to be accommodated in the storage container.

12. The storage container (1) according to claim 11, characterized in that: The main surfaces (S31, S32) of the first housing part (3) are connected only by side surfaces (S33) extending along the long sides of the rectangle, so that the first housing part (3) is open on three sides and has a C-shaped structure in cross section so as to accommodate the second housing part (4) without obstruction.

13. The storage container (1) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that: The main surfaces (S41, S42) of the second housing part (4) are connected by a side surface (S44) extending along the long side of the rectangle and two side surfaces (S45, S46) extending along the short side of the rectangle, so that the second housing part (4) is closed on three sides and is constructed as a receiving pocket for the card (2).

14. The storage container (1) according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that: The long sides of the respective rectangles of the top surface (S31, S41) and the bottom surface (S32, S42) of the first container part (3) and the second container part (4) form a 90° angle with each other in the open position and a 0° angle with each other in the closed position.

15. The storage container (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 14, characterized in that: Of the balls (7a, 7b) rotatably arranged in the inner second container part (4), at least one ball (7a) is arranged in the region of a long side (S44) of the rectangle of the inner second container part (4), and at least one ball (7b) is arranged in the region of a short side (S46) of the rectangle of the inner second container part (4).

16. The storage container (1) according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that: At least one main surface (S41, S42), preferably both main surfaces (S41, S42) of the inner second container part (4) have a groove (13) on the long side of the rectangle, wherein the groove (13) in particular starts from two edge areas on the short sides (S45, S46) of the rectangle located on the main surface (S41, S42), wherein preferably, the groove becomes larger towards the center of the main surface (S41, S42).

17. The storage container (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The outer first container part (3), the inner second container part (4) and / or the formed-on assembly pin (5) are made of metal.

18. The storage container (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that The first outer container part (3) and / or the second inner container part (4) are made of a thermoplastic material, for example polyamide or polyoxymethylene.

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