Card issuing device

Abstract

A card issuing device comprising: a frame configured to receive a plurality of cards; a card arm pivotally mounted to the frame, the card arm including a staggered card contact surface configured to contact the plurality of cards in a staggered manner; a slider movably mounted on the frame and operatively engaged with the card arm, wherein movement of the slider causes the card arm to pivot and dispense the plurality of cards in a vertically staggered manner.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELDThe present application relates to a card issuing apparatus such as a credit card issuing apparatus.BACKGROUNDConventional purses and wallets have slot-like pockets for receiving a credit card (or other standard credit card size plastic card). Often users inadvertently place more than one card in a pocket, resulting in deformation of the pockets, particularly if they are made of materials such as leather. Moreover, natural tackiness of such pockets can make rapid removal of the card more difficult.An object of the present invention is to provide a card issuing apparatus which enables a user to issue credit cards more easily without the above problems.SUMMARYThe subject matter of the present disclosure is defined in the claims.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a perspective view of a card dispensing device according to embodiments of the present disclosure; and FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the card dispensing device of FIG. 1 in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENTFigure 1 shows a perspective view of a card dispenser 10. the card dispenser 10 includes a frame 12 that is generally U-shaped to receive therein a standard size credit card. The card dispensing device includes a pusher 34 mounted on the outside of one side of the frame 12 and acting on a card arm 16. The card arm 16 is disposed at the base of the frame 12 and pivots upwardly relative to the base as the pusher 34 is pushed downwardly to move credit cards upwardly within the frame. The card arm 16 has a staggered card contact surface so that the cards are moved upwards in a staggered manner. Not shown in Figure 1 is an outer housing in which the frame 12 is mounted to provide a secure, fully enclosing container for credit cards. A user-pushable button extends through a slot in the outer housing to be pushed down by the user's thumb or fingers to pivot the card arm 16 upwardly so that the cards project upwardly beyond an upper opening in the outer housing in a staggered manner.FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the card dispensing device 10 of FIG. 1 The card dispensing device 10 includes the frame 12 that is U-shaped by including a base 40 and legs 42 that protrude upwardly from opposite sides of the base 40. The legs have a thickness corresponding to the thickness of a stack of cards to be placed in the card dispensing device 10. The frame 12 includes a pivot pin 14 and a spring latch 28 on the base 40. the card arm 16 has a pivot hole 18 which receives the pivot pin to allow rotation of the card arm 16 about the pivot pin 14. The card arm includes staggered card contacts 44, each step change in thickness being the typical thickness of a credit card. That is, the thickness of the card arm 16 decreases from the pivot hole 18 to the distal end of the card arm 16 in steps of the thickness of a standard credit card. A spring 20 has a loop 24 at one end and an extended hook 22 at the other end. The loop 24 is connected to the spring latch 28 and the hook 22 extends through a hook hole 26 in the card arm 16 and the hook hole 26 is located between the pivot hole 18 and the staggered card contacts 44. The spring 20 serves to assist in the rotation of the card arm 16 in the direction of upward movement of the cards. The slider 34 slides along the outside of one of the legs 42 and is disposed between one of the legs 42 and the inside of the outer housing (not shown).The slider 34 includes an inside protrusion 32 that engages a knob 30 at the proximal end of the card arm 16 so that when the slider 34 is moved downwardly, the slider protrusion 32 acts against the knob 30 to rotate the card arm 16 about the pivot pin 14. The cards in the outer housing are moved in a staggered manner upwardly out of an upper opening in the outer housing by the shape of the card arm 16 and the staggered card contacts 44. That is, the card that is pushed from the distalmost staggered contact of card arm 16 moves further upward than the card that is pushed from a more proximal staggered contact.The slider 34 includes a finger trough 36 which projects outwardly from the outer housing through a slot for actuation by a thumb or finger of the user to push the slider down and move the cards upwardly, assisted by the bias of the spring 20.

Claims

A card dispensing apparatus comprising: a frame configured to receive a plurality of cards; a card arm pivotally mounted to the frame, the card arm comprising a staggered card contact surface configured to contact the plurality of cards in a staggered manner; a pusher movably mounted to the frame and operatively engaged with the card arm, wherein movement of the pusher causes the card arm to pivot and dispense the plurality of cards in a vertically staggered manner.The card dispensing device of claim 1, comprising a spring connected to the card arm and configured to urge the card arm to a dispensing position.The card dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the frame is U-shaped, comprises a base and a pair of legs projecting upwardly from opposite sides of the base, the legs having a thickness corresponding to the thickness of a stack of the plurality of cards.The card issuing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the card arm is pivotally attached to a base of the frame via a pivot pin received in a pivot hole of the card arm.The card dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the staggered card contact surface of the card arm comprises a plurality of steps, each step having a thickness change that approximately corresponds to the thickness of a standard credit card such that the thickness of the card arm decreases stepwise from the proximal end to the distal end.The card dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the slider is slidably mounted along an outer surface of a leg of the frame and comprises a protrusion that engages a knob on the card arm to cause pivoting of the card arm upon downward movement of the slider.The card dispensing device of claim 2, wherein the spring comprises a loop at one end connected to a spring latch on the frame and a hook at the opposite end passing through a hook hole in the card arm, the hook hole being disposed between a pivot point of the card arm and the staggered card contact surface.The card dispensing device of claim 1, further comprising an outer housing enclosing the frame, the outer housing comprising an upper opening through which the plurality of cards are dispensed and a slot through which a finger well of the slider protrudes for user operation.The card dispensing device of claim 8, wherein the slider is disposed between a leg of the frame and an inner surface of the outer housing.The card dispensing device of claim 1, wherein the card arm is configured such that a card contacted by the distal-most step of the staggered card contact surface protrudes further upward than a card contacted by a more proximal step when the card arm pivots to the dispensing position.The card dispensing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the frame, card arm, slider, and spring are configured to dispense standard size credit cards.

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