Storage container for cards

Abstract

The invention relates to a storage container (1) for cards (2), such as credit cards, identification cards, etc., comprising a first, outer container part (3) and a second, inner container part (4), wherein the two housing parts (3, 4) are cuboid in their basic shape and are connected at a corner via a bearing, 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 and can be locked in these positions. It is proposed that a contoured mounting pin (5) be used as a bearing to connect the container parts (3, 4), the pin passing through corresponding, coaxially arranged contoured through-openings (6) of the container parts (3, 4).Alternatively or additionally, it is also provided that balls (7a, 7b) are rotatably mounted in the second container part (4), which bear against a side wall (S31) of the first container part (3) from the inside and snap into a bearing groove (10) of the first housing part (3) to lock the positions and / or that a positioning aid (11) is provided in the second container part (4) on one of its inner sides, projecting into the interior, acting in particular clamping force on the card(s) (2), and preferably made of an elastomeric material.

Description

[0001] The invention relates to a storage container for cards, such as credit cards, identification cards, etc., comprising a first, outer container part and a second, inner container part, wherein the two housing parts are cuboid in their basic shape and are connected in a corner area by a bearing forming a pivot axis, 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 both the open position and the closed position.

[0002] "Cuboid in its basic shape" means that the first and second container parts each have the form of a hexahedron (six-sided polyhedron) with a rectangular top face and a rectangular base (main faces), two rectangular long faces, and two rectangular short faces. One or more of the existing faces may be completely or partially missing (in certain areas) without affecting the cuboid basic shape. According to the application, rounded surfaces are also not considered to impair the cuboid basic shape.

[0003] Such a storage container for cards is known from German utility model DE 94 058 87 U1. The document describes a two-part container, particularly for cards, identification cards, or the like in credit card format, comprising a first cuboid container part with two main surfaces connected to each other on three sides by side surfaces, and which is open on the fourth side, and a second container part assembled with the first container part, comprising two main surfaces adapted to the main surfaces of the first container part, which are connected to each other by side surfaces on two adjacent sides, and which is open on the remaining two sides, wherein one container part is formed with aligned projections on its two main surfaces and the other container part is formed with aligned recesses on its two main surfaces.in which the projections, in the assembled state of the two container parts, are engaged and thereby locked to form a pivot axis about which the two container parts can pivot relative to each other between a closed position and an open position of the container.

[0004] The container accordingly comprises a first container part and a second container part, both made of plastic. The two parts are connected at one corner by a snap-spring connection formed by aligned recesses and engaging projections, creating a pivot axis, with the second part pivoting over the first. The first container part has an opening on one end face for the cards, allowing them to be inserted with their short edge first. Otherwise, the first container part is closed. Both main surfaces have a stepped edge contour. Furthermore, the main surfaces have a spring-loaded tongue with an outward-facing projection at the corner. The second container part has an opening that extends along one upper side face and one end face.The second container section is thus closed on its second end face to cover the opening in the first section. The main surfaces have a recess into which the raised sections engage to form the pivot axis.

[0005] Other card storage containers of different types are also known from documents US 2021 / 0251354 A1, WO 2011 / 067981 A1 and EP 2 756 774 B1.

[0006] The invention is based on the objective of providing a secure card storage container of the type mentioned above in a cost-effective manner with minimal technical effort, which is also characterized by ergonomically simple operation.

[0007] This problem is solved according to the invention, on the one hand, in accordance with claim 1, by the fact that, for connecting the first, outer container part to the second, inner container part in the corner region, a contoured mounting pin extends through corresponding, coaxially arranged contoured through-openings of the first container part and the second container part, wherein a maximum pivoting of the second container part into and out of the first container part is limited by a geometric contour of the mounting pin in conjunction with the contours of the through-openings of the upper and lower shells. The mounting pin can, in particular, be designed as a double hollow rivet.

[0008] This problem is additionally or alternatively solved according to the invention, also according to claim 3, by rotatably mounting balls in the inner, second container part, which bear against an inner side wall of the first, outer container part in both the open and closed positions. The balls can be spring-loaded in the second container part and mounted, in particular, in hollow cylindrical receiving parts, which in turn are attached to a wall of the second, inner container part. Advantageously, this results in predominantly only rolling friction between the walls of the container parts, which facilitates operation and minimizes wear.

[0009] The first, outer container part can have at least one bearing groove on its inner side for engaging the rotatably mounted balls, wherein, after the rotatably mounted balls have engaged, the pivoting of the inner, second container part from the closed position to the open position relative to the first, outer container part and back is limited and positively locked.

[0010] By limiting the maximum pivoting of the second container part relative to the first container part, a stable positioning of the housing parts relative to each other can advantageously be achieved – both through the interaction according to the invention of the geometric contour of the mounting pin with the contours of the through-openings of the upper and lower shells, and through the engagement according to the invention of the rotatably mounted balls in the bearing groove of the first housing part – in which, in particular, the long sides of the respective rectangles of the top surfaces and base surfaces of the first container part and of the second container part are at an angle of 90° and, in the closed position, at an angle of 0° to each other.In this context, it can be provided, in particular, that the main surfaces of the second housing part are connected by a side surface extending along one long side of the rectangles and by two side surfaces extending along the short sides of the rectangles, so that the second housing part is closed on three sides and designed as a receiving pocket for the card(s). The existing surfaces form container walls with a thickness to be determined by a person skilled in the art, so that in this case, as per the application, the terms "surface" and "wall" are used synonymously. Thus, in contrast to the prior art, the second container part has an opening for the cards on one of its short sides, so that, in the open position, the cards can be inserted in an ergonomically improved manner with their long edges leading.

[0011] Furthermore, the problem underlying the invention is additionally or alternatively solved according to claim 8 in that the second, inner container part has at least one positioning aid for the card(s) projecting into the interior of the container part on one of its inner surfaces, in particular acting as a clamping element on the card(s), and in particular being cylindrical or prismatic, preferably made of an elastomeric material, wherein the positioning aid – like the receiving parts for the balls – is held in a receiving opening of the second container part, which is located in particular on or in a side wall of the second container part and is laterally open such 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 cap made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, such as a silicone or PTFE strip.The positioning aid is thus advantageously designed with minimal technical effort in such a way that the cards can be easily inserted, whereby the positioning aid yields during insertion and does not offer any significant resistance, but then, after insertion, a spring action on the edge of the card presses it against the opposite short side surface of the second container part, so that the card is clamped and – even if at least one of the main surfaces, preferably both main surfaces, of the inner, second container part have a larger recess to facilitate access to the card – is reliably prevented from falling out.

[0012] Further advantageous embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the figures and the dependent subclaims.

[0013] They show: Fig. 1 a front view of a preferred embodiment of a storage container for cards according to the invention in an open position, Fig. 2 a sectional view along plane II-II in Fig. 1 , however, when the storage container according to the invention is in the closed position, Fig. 3 shows a sectional view along plane III-III in Fig. 1 Fig. 4 a perspective exploded view of the preferred embodiment of the storage container according to the invention, Fig. 5 a perspective exploded view of a second, inner container part of the preferred embodiment of the storage container according to the invention, looking at its base surface, Fig. 6 a sectional view along the plane VI-VI in Fig. 1 , however, only the portion of a mounting pin is shown enlarged, which passes through corresponding access openings of the first container part and the second container part, Fig. 7 a perspective exploded view of the mounting pin of the preferred embodiment of the storage container according to the invention and of a container part with its corresponding access opening.

[0014] In the various figures of the drawing, identical parts are always provided with the same reference symbols, so that they are usually only described once below.

[0015] The following description claims that the invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiment and not to all or several features of the described combinations of features; rather, each individual partial feature of the exemplary embodiment is also significant for the subject matter of the invention independently of all other partial features described in connection therewith.

[0016] As initially seen Fig. 1 bis Fig. 4 As can be seen, a storage container 1 according to the invention for cards 2, such as credit cards, identification cards or the like, has a first, outer container part 3 and a second, inner container part 4, wherein the two housing parts 3, 4 are cuboid in shape and are connected in a corner area by a pivot axis SS ( Fig. 3 , Fig. 6 ) forming bearing are connected, so that the second container part 4 is in an open position relative to the first container part 3 ( Fig. 1, 3 ) and a closed position ( Fig. 2 ) is pivotable, wherein the second container part 4 can be locked relative to the first container part 3 in the open position and / or in the closed position. In particular, the second container part 4 cannot be pivoted to an angle greater than that of the first container part 3 in the open position ( Fig. 1, 3 The intended angle (preferably 90°) is reliably prevented by this.

[0017] According to the invention, a contoured mounting pin 5 connects the first, outer container part 3 to the second, inner container part 4 in the corner region of the pivot axis SS, passing through corresponding, coaxially arranged contoured through-openings 6 of the first container part 3 and the second container part 4, whereby a maximum pivoting of the second container part 4 into and out of the first container part 3 is limited by a geometric contour K5 of the mounting pin 5 in conjunction with the corresponding contours K6 of the through-openings 6 of the first container part 3 and / or the second container part 4. The mounting pin 5 can be designed as a double hollow rivet (individual parts 5a, 5b, in Fig. 4 - shown individually - and in Fig. 6 (shown assembled) and preferably made of metal, in particular stainless steel. Its assembly is advantageously simpler, and the connection is more resilient and robust than those using spring tongues according to the aforementioned prior art.

[0018] The first, outer container part 3 and / or the second, inner container part 4 can be made of metal or of a thermoplastic polymer material, such as polyamide (PA) or polyoxymethylene (POM).

[0019] As mentioned at the outset, the cuboid 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 form of a hexahedron with a rectangular top surface S31, S41 and a rectangular base S32, S42 (main faces), two rectangular long faces S33, S34, S43, S44, and two rectangular short faces S35, S36, S45, S46. Thus, the two housing parts 3 and 4 each have, as their main faces, a rectangular top surface S31, S41 and a rectangular base S32, S42, which are not completely congruent but, as the drawing shows, are adapted to each other in size and are each larger than the area A2 of the card(s) 2 to be held in the storage container 1.

[0020] Of the aforementioned surfaces S31 to S36 and S41 to S46, one or more may be completely or partially (in certain areas) missing without affecting the cuboid shape. For example, surfaces S34 to S36 are not present and are not shown in the figures because the main surfaces S31 and S32 of the first housing part 3 are connected only by a side surface S33 running along one long side of the rectangles, so that the first housing part 3 is open on three sides and has a C-shaped cross-section to allow unimpeded access to the second housing part 4. The only long side surface S33 of the first housing part 3 is ergonomically rounded (see figure). Fig. 2, Fig. 3 ).

[0021] The second housing part 4 lacks the long side surface S43 because the main surfaces S41, S42 of the second housing part 4 are only connected by the side surface S44 running along one long side of the rectangles, and by the two side surfaces S45, S46 running along the short sides of the rectangles S41, S42, so that the second housing part 4 is closed on three sides S44, S45, S46 and is thus formed as a receiving pocket for the card(s) 2.

[0022] Furthermore, it is provided that four balls 7a, 7b are rotatably mounted in the inner, second container part, bearing against a side wall S31 of the first, outer container part 3 from the inside. These balls 7a, 7b in the second container part 4 are spring-loaded and mounted in, in particular, hollow cylindrical, receiving parts 8a, 8b, which in turn are fastened in receiving openings 9a, 9b in walls S44 / S45, S46 of the second, inner container part 4. One receiving opening 9a is located approximately in the middle of a short side S46 of the second container part 4, the other receiving opening 9b is located in a corner region of the side walls S44 / S45, which is opposite the corner region S44 / S46 with the pivot axis S on the long side S44. In the illustration according to Fig. 5 , which illustrates this, is the inner, second container part 4 compared to its representation in Fig. 4 rotated 180°.

[0023] The first, outer container part 3 has at least one feature S31 on its inner side – particularly in Fig. 4 The clearly visible bearing groove 10 allows the rotatably mounted balls 7a, 7b to engage, whereby, after the rotatably mounted balls 7a, 7b have engaged in the bearing groove 10, the inner, second container part 4 pivots out of the closed position ( Fig. 2 ) into the open position ( Fig. 1, 3 ) relative to the first, outer container part 3 and back, and is fixed by force-fit. The bearing groove 10 runs, in particular, inside, in an edge region of the side wall (base surface S31) of the outer container part 3, parallel to a longitudinal wall S33, in this case the only existing one. In the closed position ( Fig. 2 ) a ball 7a engages in the bearing groove 10 under the action of a spring (not shown) located inside the respective receiving part 8a, 8b and in the open position ( Fig. 3 ) the other ball 7b.

[0024] The card storage container 1 according to the invention is further characterized in that the second, inner container part 4 has at least one positioning aid 11 for the card(s) 2 projecting into the interior of the container part 4, in particular clamping the card(s) 2, and in particular cylindrical or prismatic, preferably made of an elastomeric material. To avoid hindering the pivoting movement of the inner container part 4 in the outer container part 3, the positioning aid 11 can be covered with a cap 12 made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, such as a silicone or PTFE strip.

[0025] Like the receiving parts 8a, 8b for the spheres 7a, 7b, the positioning aid 11 can be held in a receiving opening 9c of the second container part 4, which is located on or in a side wall S46 of the second container part 4, wherein the receiving opening 9c for the positioning aid 11 is laterally open such that it allows the positioning aid 11 to project into the interior of the second container part 4. When the card(s) 2 are inserted into the second container part 4, the positioning aid 11 is slightly elastically deformed and then clamps the narrow side(s) of the card(s) 2 against the opposite side wall S45 of the second container part 4.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, it can be provided that at least one of the main surfaces S41, S42, preferably both main surfaces S41, S42, of the inner, second container part 4 have a recess 13 in one long side of the rectangle(s) / rectangle(s) that facilitates the insertion and removal of the card(s) 2, wherein the recess 13, as Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 show, in particular, that the opening can originate from both edge areas located on the short side S45, S46 of the rectangle of the main area(s) (S41, S42), and that the recess 13 preferably increases towards the center of the main area(s) S41, S42. Fig. 1 In contrast, an alternative smaller rectangular recess 13 is shown in the central area of ​​the top surface S41.

[0027] The invention is not limited to the embodiments illustrated and described, but also encompasses all embodiments that have the same effect in terms of the invention. It is expressly emphasized that the embodiments are not limited to all features in combination; rather, each individual feature can have inventive significance independently of all other features. Furthermore, the invention is not yet limited to the combinations of features defined in claims 1, 3, and 8, but can also be defined by any other combination of specific features from all disclosed individual features. This means that, in principle, virtually any individual feature of the independent claims can be omitted or replaced by at least one individual feature disclosed elsewhere in the application.

[0028] Furthermore, within the scope of the claims, the person skilled in the art can implement additional appropriate technical measures, as known from the prior art, without departing from the scope of the invention. Bezugszeichenliste

[0029] 1 Storage container 2 Card 3 First, outer container part 4 Second, inner container part 5 Mounting pin 5a, 5b Individual parts of 5 6 Through-holes of 3, 4 for 5 7a, 7b Balls in 4 8a, 8b Receptacles for 7a, 7b 9a, 9b Receptacles in 4 for 8a, 8b 9c Receptacle in 4 for 11 10 Bearing groove in 3 for 7a, 7b 11 Positioning aid for 2 in 4 12 Cap for 11 13 Recess in 4 A2 Surface of 2 K5 Contour of 5 K6 Contour of 6 S-S Swivel axis of 4 S31-S36 Cuboid faces of 3 S41-S46 Cuboid faces of 4

Claims

1. Storage container (1) for cards (2), such as credit cards, identification cards, etc., comprising a first, outer container part (3) and a second, inner container part (4), wherein the two housing parts (3, 4) are cuboid in their basic shape and are connected in a corner area by a bearing 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 relative to the first container part (1) in the open position and / or in the closed position. characterized by the fact thatTo connect the first, outer container part (3) with the second, inner container part (4) in the corner area, a contoured mounting pin (5) engages corresponding, coaxially arranged contoured through-holes (6) of the first container part (3) and the second container part (4), whereby a maximum pivoting of the second container part (4) into and out of the first container part (3) is limited by a geometric contour (K5) of the mounting pin (5) in conjunction with the contours (K6) of the through-holes (6) of the first container part (3) and the second container part (4).

2. Storage container (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that the mounting pin (5) is designed as a double hollow rivet (5a, 5b).

3. Storage container (1) for cards (2) according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by the fact thatIn the inner, second container part (4) spheres (7a, 7b) are rotatably mounted, which rest against a side wall (S31) of the first, outer container part (3) from the inside.

4. Storage container (1) according to claim 3, characterized by the fact that the balls (7a, 7b) in the second, inner container part (4) are spring-loaded in, in particular, hollow cylindrical, receiving parts (8a, 8b), which in turn are fastened in receiving openings (9a, 9b) in walls (S44 / S45, S46) of the second, inner container part (4).

5. Storage container (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized by the fact thatThe first, outer container part (3) has at least one bearing groove (10) on an inner side (S31) for engaging the rotatably mounted balls (7a, 7b), whereby, after the rotatably mounted balls (7a, 7b) have engaged in the bearing groove, a pivoting of the inner, second container part (4) from the closed position to the open position relative to the first, outer container part (3) and back is limited and positively locked.

6. Storage container (1) according to claim 5, characterized by the fact that the bearing groove (10) runs inside, in an edge area of ​​the side wall (S31) of the outer container part (3) parallel to a longitudinal wall (S33).

7. Storage container (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatin the inner, second container part (4) at least two balls (7a, 7b) are rotatably mounted, one ball (7b) of which engages in the open position and the other ball (7a) in the closed position in a bearing groove (10) of the first, outer container part (3).

8. Storage container (1) for cards (2) according to the preamble of claim 1, in particular according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized by the fact that the second, inner container part (4) has at least one positioning aid (11) for the card(s) (2) projecting into the interior of the container part (4), in particular clamping the card(s) (2), in particular cylindrical or prismatic, preferably made of an elastomeric material.

9. Storage container (1) according to claim 8, characterized by the fact thatthe positioning aid (11) for the card(s) (2) is covered with a cap (12) made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, such as a silicone or PTFE band.

10. Storage container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized by the fact that the receiving parts (8a, 8b) for the balls (7a, 7b) and / or the positioning aid (11) are held in receiving openings (9a, 9b, 9c) of the second container part (4), which are located in particular 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 laterally open in such a way that it allows the positioning aid (11) to project into the interior of the second container part (4).

11. Storage container (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe two housing parts (3, 4) as main surfaces each have a rectangular top surface (S31, S41) and a rectangular base surface (S32, S42) which are adapted to each other in size and which are each larger than the area (A2) of the card(s) (2) to be held in the storage container.

12. Storage container (1) according to claim 11, characterized by the fact that the main surfaces (S31, S32) of the first housing part (3) are connected only by a side surface (S33) running along one long side of the rectangles, so that the first housing part (3) is open on three sides and has a C-shaped cross-section to allow unimpeded access to the second housing part (4).

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

14. Storage container (1) according to one of claims 11 to 13, characterized by the fact that In the open position, the long sides of the respective rectangles of the top surfaces (S31, S41) and base surfaces (S32, S42) of the first container part (3) and of the second container part (4) are at an angle of 90° to each other, and in the closed position at an angle of 0° to each other.

15. Storage container (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 14, characterized by the fact thatof the spheres (7a, 7b) rotatably mounted in the inner, second container part (4), at least one sphere (7a) is mounted in the area of ​​one of the long sides of the rectangles (S44) of the inner, second container part (4) and at least one sphere (7b) is mounted in the area of ​​one of the short sides (S46) of the rectangles of the inner, second container part (4).

16. Storage container (1) according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized by the fact that at least one of the main surfaces (S41, S42), preferably both main surfaces (S41, S42), of the inner, second container part (4) have a recess (13) in a long side of the rectangle(s) / (e), wherein the recess (13) extends in particular from both edge regions located on the short side (S45, S46) of the rectangle of the main surface(s) (S41, S42), wherein the recess preferably increases in size towards the center of the main surface(s) (S41, S42).

17. Storage container (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact thatthe first outer container part (3), the second inner container part (4) and / or the contoured mounting pin (5) consists of metal.

18. Storage container (1) according to any of the preceding claims, characterized by the fact that the first, outer container part (3) and / or the second, inner container part (4) consists of a thermoplastic polymer material, such as polyamide (PA) or polyoxymethylene (POM).

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