Card storage container

Abstract

To provide a card storage container characterized by ergonomically easy operability in a low-cost manner with almost no technical effort.SOLUTION: Balls 7a, 7b are rotatably supported in a second container part 4, the balls 7a, 7b abutting from the inside against a side wall S31 of a first container part 3 and being engaged in bearing grooves 10 of the first housing part 3 to lock the position, and / or the second container part 4 is provided, on one of inner surfaces, with a positioning aid 11, preferably made of an elastomeric material, which penetrates into the internal space and acts in particular to clamp against a card 2.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a storage container for cards such as credit cards, identification cards, etc., which has an outer first container part and an inner second container part, both housing parts having a rectangular parallelepiped basic shape and connected in their corner areas by 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, and the second container part can be locked relative to the first container part in each of the open and closed positions.

[0002] In this context, "configured as a rectangular parallelepiped in terms of its basic shape" means that the first and second container parts each have the shape of a hexahedron with a rectangular top and bottom (main faces), two long rectangular sides, and two short rectangular sides. One or more of the existing faces may be completely or partially (in partial areas) absent without the basic rectangular shape being compromised. In the present application, chamfering of the faces is also not considered to be disruptive to the basic rectangular shape. [Background technology]

[0003] Such a card storage container is known from German Utility Model No. 9405887U1, which describes a two-part container, in particular for credit card format cards, identification cards, etc., comprising a first rectangular container part having two main faces joined together laterally on three sides and open on a fourth side, and a second container part combined with the first container part, having two main faces joined together laterally on two adjacent sides and adapted to fit the main faces of the first container part, and open on both remaining sides, one of the container parts having aligned raised portions on both of its main faces and the other container part having aligned cutouts on both of its main faces, in which the raised portions engage to form a pivot axis around which the container parts can pivot relative to one another between their closed and open positions when combined, thereby locking them.

[0004] Accordingly, the container has a first container part and a second container part, each made of plastic. Both housing parts are connected in one corner region by a spring-catch connection in which a swivel axis is formed by a ridge engaging with a notch aligned with one another, allowing the second part to pivot via the first part. The first container part has an opening for a card in one end face, i.e., the card can be inserted with its short side facing forward. The first container part is otherwise closed. Both main faces have stepped edge contours. Furthermore, the main faces have resilient tongues with outwardly facing ridges in the corner regions. The second container part has an opening extending along the upper side and end faces. The second container part is closed at its second end face to cover the opening of the first part. The main face has a notch in which the ridge engages to form the pivot axis.

[0005] Various types of other card storage containers are known from US Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0251354 A1, WO 2011 / 067981 A1, and EP 2756774 B1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0006] [Patent Document 1] German Utility Model No. 9405887U1 [Patent Document 2] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0251354A1 [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2011 / 067981A1 [Patent Document 4] European Patent No. 2756774B1 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to provide a secure card storage container of the type mentioned at the outset that is also characterized by ergonomic ease of handling in a cost-effective manner and with little technical effort. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] This object is achieved according to the invention, on the one hand, in that a contoured assembly pin is inserted through corresponding coaxially arranged contoured through-openings in the first and second container parts to connect the outer first container part to the inner second container part in the corner region, and the maximum rotation of the second container part into and out of the first container part is limited by the geometrical contour of the assembly pin in cooperation with the contours of the through-openings in the upper and lower shells. The assembly pin may in particular be configured as a double hollow rivet.

[0009] Additionally or alternatively, this problem is also solved by the invention according to claim 3, in that balls are rotatably supported in the inner second container part, and these balls abut against the inner side wall of the outer first container part in both the open and closed positions. The balls may be spring-loaded in the second container part and supported in, in particular, hollow cylindrical receiving parts, which are attached to the wall of the inner second container part. This has the advantage that mainly only rolling friction occurs between the walls of the respective container parts, which simplifies operation and minimizes wear.

[0010] The outer first container part may have at least one bearing groove on its inner surface for locking a rotatably supported ball, and after the rotatably supported ball is locked, the inner second container part is restricted from pivoting relative to the outer first container part from a closed position to an open position and back, and is fixed in a friction-fit manner.

[0011] The limited maximum rotation of the second container part relative to the first container part—not only through the inventive cooperation of the contours of the through-openings in the upper and lower shells and the geometric contours of the mounting pins, but also through the inventive engagement of the rotatably supported balls in the bearing grooves of the first container part—has the advantage that the respective housing parts can be stably positioned relative to one another, in particular so that the long sides of the rectangles of the top and bottom surfaces of the first and second container parts form an angle of 90° with each other and, in the closed position, an angle of 0° with each other. In particular, the main surface of the second housing part may be joined by one side extending along the long side of the rectangle and by two side surfaces extending along the short side of the rectangle, so that the second housing part is closed on three sides and configured as a storage pocket for cards. The respective surfaces then form container walls having a thickness that can be determined by a person skilled in the art, so that in this case, the terms "surface" and "wall" are used synonymously in the present application. Thus, the second container part - unlike the prior art - has an opening for the card on its wide side, so that in the open position the card can be inserted in an ergonomically improved manner, with its long side forward.

[0012] Additionally or alternatively, the problem underlying the invention is also solved by the invention according to claim 8 in that the inner second container part has on one of its inner surfaces at least one positioning aid for the card, which penetrates into the interior space of the container part and has a clamping effect on the card, in particular a cylindrical or prismatic shape, preferably made of an elastomeric material, and which—similar to the receiving part for the ball—is held in a receiving opening of the second container part, which receiving opening is in particular located on or in the side wall of the second container part and is laterally open, allowing the positioning aid to penetrate into the interior space of the second container part. The positioning aid may preferably be covered with a cap made of a material with a low coefficient of friction, such as silicone tape or PTFE tape. In this way, the positioning aid has the advantage that it is configured so that the card can be inserted easily with minimal technical effort; the positioning aid flexes during insertion so as not to create much resistance, but after insertion, its elastic action on each side of the card presses it against the opposing short sides of the second container part, thereby clamping the card and reliably preventing it from falling out - even if at least one of the main surfaces of the inner second container part, and preferably both main surfaces, have relatively large cutouts to simplify access to the card.

[0013] Other preferred embodiments of the invention will become apparent from the following description of the drawings and the dependent claims. The drawings show: [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of a card storage container according to the present invention in an open position. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view along the II-II plane of FIG. 1, but in the closed position of the storage container according to the invention. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane III-III of FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing a preferred embodiment of a storage container according to the present invention. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the inside second container portion of a preferred embodiment of a storage container according to the present invention, looking at its bottom. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along plane VI-VI of FIG. 1, but only a partial area of ​​the assembly pin passing through the corresponding through-openings of the first and second container parts is shown enlarged. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing the assembly pins of a preferred embodiment of a storage container according to the present invention and of a container portion having a corresponding through opening. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] In the different figures of the drawings, the same parts are always given the same reference numerals and will therefore generally only be described once in the following. It is to be asserted in the following description that the invention is not limited to the examples and not limited to all or some of the combinations of elements described therein, but rather that each individual subelement of the example has significance for the subject matter of the invention in itself, apart from the subelements described in connection with it.

[0016] 1 to 4, the card storage container 1 for credit cards, identification cards, etc. according to the invention has a first outer container part 3 and a second inner container part 4, both housing parts 3, 4 being rectangular in basic shape and connected in their corner regions by bearings forming pivot axes SS (FIGS. 3, 6), so that the second container part 4 can be pivoted relative to the first container part 3 between an open position (FIGS. 1, 3) and a closed position (FIG. 2), and the second container part 4 can be locked in each of the open and / or closed positions relative to the first container part 3. In particular, this reliably prevents the second container part 4 from being pivoted too far beyond an angle (preferably 90°) intended for the open position (FIGS. 1, 3).

[0017] According to the invention, a contoured assembly pin 5 is inserted through corresponding, coaxially arranged contoured through-openings 6 in the first and second container parts 3 and 4 to connect the outer first container part 3 with the inner second container part 4 in the angular region of the pivot axis SS. The maximum pivoting of the second container part 4 into and out of the first container part 3 is limited by the geometrical contour K5 of the assembly pin 5 in cooperation with the corresponding contour K6 of the through-openings 6 in the first container part 3 and / or the second container part 4. The assembly pin 5 is configured as a double hollow rivet (individual parts 5a, 5b in FIG. 4 (shown alone) and in FIG. 6 (shown assembled)) and can be made of metal, preferably stainless steel. Its assembly has the advantage of being relatively simple, and the connection is more load-bearing and robust than the elastic tongues used in the prior art described above.

[0018] The outer first container part 3 and / or the inner second container part 4 may consist of metal or may consist of a thermoplastic material such as, for example, polyamide (PA) or polyoxymethylene (POM).

[0019] As already mentioned at the beginning, the rectangular parallelepiped basic shape of both housing parts 3, 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 bottom surface S32, S42 (main surfaces), two long rectangular sides S33, S34, S43, S44 and two short rectangular sides S35, S36, S45, S46. In other words, both housing parts 3, 4 have, by virtue of their basic shape, rectangular top surfaces S31, S41 and rectangular bottom surfaces S32, S42 as main surfaces, which are not completely congruent but are adapted to each other in terms of size as shown in the drawings and which are each larger than the surface A2 of the cards 2 to be stored in the storage container 1.

[0020] One or more of the aforementioned surfaces S31 to S36 and S41 to S46 may be completely or partially (in partial regions) absent without affecting the basic rectangular parallelepiped shape. For example, surfaces S34 to S36 do not exist and are not shown in the drawings. This is because the main surfaces S31, S32 of the first housing part 3 are connected only by a side surface S33 extending along the long sides of the rectangle. As a result, the first housing part 3 is open on three sides and configured as a C-shape in cross section in order to accommodate the second housing part 4 unhindered. The only existing long side surface S33 of the first housing part 3 is chamfered in an ergonomically preferable manner (see Figures 2 and 3).

[0021] The second housing part 4 lacks a long side surface S43 because the main surfaces S41, S42 of the second housing part 4 are bounded only by a side surface S44 extending along the long side of the rectangle and by both side surfaces S45, S46 extending along the short sides of the rectangles S41, S42. The second housing part 4 is thereby closed on three sides S44, S45, S46 and thus forms a storage pocket for the card 2.

[0022] Furthermore, it is intended that balls 7a, 7b are rotatably supported in the second inner container part 4, abutting from the inside against the side wall S31 of the first outer container part 3. These balls 7a, 7b in the second container part 4 are supported under elastic load in, in particular, hollow-cylindrical receiving parts 8a, 8b, which are in turn attached to receiving openings 9a, 9b in the walls S44 / S45, S46 of the second inner container part 4. One receiving opening 9a is approximately in the center of the short side S46 of the second container part 4, and the other receiving opening 9b is in the corner region of the side wall S44 / S45, which faces the corner region S44 / S46 on the long side S44, where the pivot axis S lies. In the view of FIG. 5, which clearly shows this, the second inner container part 4 is rotated by 180° compared to the view of FIG. 4.

[0023] The outer first container part 3 has at least one bearing groove 10—best seen in FIG. 4—on its inner surface S31 for locking the rotatably supported balls 7a, 7b, so that, after the rotatably supported balls 7a, 7b are locked in the bearing groove 10, the inner second container part 4 is limited in pivoting relative to the outer first container part 3 from the closed position (FIG. 2) to the open position (FIGS. 1 and 3) and back again, and is frictionally fixed. The bearing groove 10 extends, in particular, on the inner side, in the edge region of the side wall (bottom surface S31) of the outer container part 3, parallel to the only longitudinal wall S33 present in this example. In the closed position (FIG. 2), one ball 7a is locked in the bearing groove 10—under the action of a spring (not shown) supported inside the respective receiving parts 8a, 8b—and in the open position (FIG. 3), the other ball 7b is locked.

[0024] Furthermore, the card storage container 1 according to the invention is also characterized in that the inner second container part 4 has on one of its inner surfaces (side wall S46) at least one positioning aid 11 for the card 2, in particular cylindrical or prismatic, preferably made of an elastomeric material, which protrudes into the interior space of the container part 4 and acts in particular to clamp the card 2. In order not to hinder the pivoting movement of the inner container part 4 inside 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 silicone tape or PTFE tape.

[0025] Like the storage parts 8a, 8b for the balls 7a, 7b, the positioning aid 11 may also be held in a storage opening 9c of the second container part 4 on the surface of or inside a side wall S46 of the second container part 4, the storage opening 9c for the positioning aid 11 being open at the side to allow the positioning aid 11 to enter the interior space of the second container part 4. When a card 2 is inserted into the second container part 4, the positioning aid 11 undergoes slight elastic deformation to pinch the short side of the card 2 together with the opposing side wall S45 of the second container part 4.

[0026] In an expedient and preferred embodiment of the invention, at least one, and preferably both, of the main surfaces S41, S42 of the inner second container part 4 may be provided with a notch 13 in one or more of the longer rectangular sides to facilitate insertion and removal of the card 2, the notch 13 starting in both edge regions, in particular located in the shorter rectangular sides S45, S46 of the main surface(s) (S41, S42), as shown in Figures 4 and 5, and preferably widening towards the centre of the main surface(s) S41, S42. Figure 1 alternatively shows a relatively small rectangular notch 13 in the central region of the top surface S41.

[0027] The present invention is not limited to the examples shown and described, but includes all embodiments that perform the same function within the meaning of the present invention. It is emphasized that each example is not limited to all the elements in the combination, but rather that each individual element can have inventive significance in itself, separated from all other elements. Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the element combinations defined in claims 1, 3, and 8, but can be defined by any other combination of specific elements of all the individual elements disclosed throughout. This means that, in principle, virtually any element of an independent claim can be omitted or replaced by at least one element disclosed elsewhere in the application.

[0028] Furthermore, within the scope of the claims, a person skilled in the art can implement various technical measures known from the prior art without departing from the framework of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0029] 1. Storage container 2. Cards 3...First outer container part 4...Second inner container part 5...Assembly pin Individual parts of 5a, 5b...5 3,4 through openings for 6…5 7a, 7b...balls in 4 8a, 8b...accommodating parts for 7a, 7b 4 receiving openings for 9a, 9b...8a, 8b 4 accommodation openings for 9c…11 10...3 bearing grooves for 7a, 7b 11...4 positioning aid for 2 Cap for 12...11 13...4 notch A2...2nd side K5...5 Outline K6...6 outline SS...4 pivot axis S31-S36…3 rectangular parallelepiped faces S41-S46...4 rectangular parallelepiped faces

Claims

1. A storage container (1) for cards (2), such as credit cards, identification cards, etc., comprising an outer first container part (3) and an inner second container part (4), the first container part and the second container part (3, 4) being of rectangular parallelepiped basic shape and connected at their corner regions by bearings forming pivot axes (S), whereby the second container part (4) can be pivoted relative to the first container part (3) between an open position and a closed position, and the second container part (4) can be locked relative to the first container part (3) in the open position and / or the closed position, respectively.

1. A storage container (1) comprising: a first container part (3) and a second container part (4) to be connected at their corner regions, characterized in that a contoured assembly pin (5) passes through corresponding, coaxially arranged contoured through-openings (6) in the first container part (3) and the second container part (4), and a maximum rotation of the second container part (4) into and out of the first container part (3) is limited by a geometrical contour (K5) of the assembly pin (5) in cooperation with contours (K6) of the through-openings (6) in the first container part (3) and the second container part (4).

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

3. The storage container (1) for the cards (2) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that balls (7a, 7b) are rotatably supported in the second container part (4), and the balls (7a, 7b) abut against the side wall (S31) of the first container part (3) from the inside.

4. 4. The storage container (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the balls (7a, 7b) in the second container part (4) are supported under elastic load in, in particular, hollow cylindrical receiving parts (8a, 8b), which are further attached to receiving openings (9a, 9b) in the wall parts (S44 / S45, S46) of the second container part (4).

5. 5. The storage container (1) according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the first container part (3) has at least one bearing groove (10) on its inner surface (S31) for locking the rotatably supported balls (7a, 7b), whereby, after the rotatably supported balls (7a, 7b) are locked in the bearing groove (10), the second container part (4) is restricted from pivoting relative to the first container part (3) from a closed position to an open position and back again, and is fixed in a frictional manner.

6. 6. A storage container (1) according to claim 5, characterized in that the bearing groove (10) extends on the inside, parallel to the longitudinal wall (S33), in the edge region of the side wall (S31) of the first container part (3).

7. 7. A storage container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that at least two balls (7a, 7b) are rotatably supported in the second container part (4), one of which (7b) is engaged in the bearing groove (10) of the first container part (3) when in the open position and the other ball (7a) is engaged in the closed position.

8. 8. A storage container (1) for cards (2) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the second container part (4) has on one of its inner surfaces at least one positioning aid (11) for the cards (2), in particular cylindrical or prismatic, preferably made of an elastomeric material, which extends into the interior space of the second container part (4) and acts in particular to clamp the cards (2).

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

10. 10. The storage container (1) according to any one of claims 4 to 9, characterized in that the storage parts (8a, 8b) for the balls (7a, 7b) and / or the positioning aids (11) are held in the storage openings (9a, 9b, 9c) of the second container part (4), in particular on or in the side walls (S45 / S44, S46) of the second container part (4), the storage openings (9c) for the positioning aids (11) being open laterally to allow the positioning aids (11) to enter the interior space of the second container part (4).

11. The first container part and the second container part (3, 4) have, as their basic shapes, rectangular top surfaces (S31, S41) and rectangular bottom surfaces (S32, S42) as their main surfaces, which are adapted to each other in terms of size and are larger than the surface (A2) of the card (2) to be stored in the storage container (1). A storage container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. 12. The storage container (1) of claim 11, characterized in that the main faces (S31, S32) of the first container part (3) are joined only by side faces (S33) extending along the long sides of the rectangle, whereby the first container part (3) is open on three sides for unhindered accommodation of the second container part (4) and is configured in a C-shape when viewed in cross section.

13. 13. A storage container (1) according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the main faces (S41, S42) of the second container part (4) are joined by a side (S44) extending along a long side of the rectangle and by two side faces (S45, S46) extending along the short sides of the rectangle, whereby the second container part (4) is closed on three sides and configured as a storage pocket for the card (2).

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

15. A storage container (1) according to any one of claims 3 to 14, characterized in that at least one ball (7a) of the balls (7a, 7b) rotatably supported inside the second container part (4) is supported in the area of ​​one or more long sides (S44) of the rectangle (S44) of the second container part (4), and at least one ball (7b) is supported in the area of ​​one or more short sides (S46) of the rectangle of the second container part (4).

16. 16. A storage container (1) according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that at least one of the main surfaces (S41, S42) of the second container part (4), preferably both main surfaces (S41, S42), has a notch (13) in one or more long rectangular sides, the notches (13) originating in both edge regions, in particular located on the short rectangular sides (S45, S46) of the main surfaces (S41, S42), respectively, and preferably the notches (13) widening towards the centre of the main surfaces (S41, S42).

17. 17. A storage container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the first container part (3), the second container part (4) and / or the contoured assembly pin (5) are made of metal.

18. 18. A storage container (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the first container part (3) and / or the second container part (4) are made of a thermoplastic material, such as polyamide (PA) or polyoxymethylene (POM).

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