Multi-slot Wallet Segmentation for Item Accessibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wallets become bulky and make it difficult to access and remove items due to a single access point and lack of visibility into contents, leading to lost documents or cards.
Innovation Solution
A multi-slot access wallet design featuring multiple thin sheets with edge openings offset 90 degrees from each other, allowing independent access to each pocket from the sides and a top sheet with a slot for easy removal and visibility of contents.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a conventional bi-fold or tri-fold wallet design is used with a single access point, then the wallet structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the wallet becomes bulky and items become difficult to access and remove
Solution Approach 1:
The wallet is divided into multiple independent pockets, each accessible through its own slot opening. The sheets are segmented to create separate access points rather than a single folded structure, allowing items to be accessed and removed independently without disturbing other contents
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a traditional folded (3D volumetric) wallet structure to a multi-sheet stacked configuration with slot openings. This dimensional reorganization allows items to be accessed from the sides rather than requiring the wallet to be opened from the front, enabling easier item removal while maintaining a compact form
2Ease of manufacture
If traditional wallet designs are used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the wallet becomes bulky and important documents become lost or difficult to find
Solution Approach 1:
Each pocket is created as a separate compartment between sheets, with individual slot openings. This segmentation allows users to quickly locate and access specific items without searching through a single large compartment, while the manufacturing process remains relatively simple using standard sheet joining techniques
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the wallet (different pockets) are designed with specific local characteristics - each pocket has its own optimized slot opening and sheet configuration tailored to the type of items it stores, improving accessibility while maintaining overall manufacturing simplicity
3Ease of operation
If multiple sheets are stacked to create multiple pockets, then item accessibility improves, but the wallet weight and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses thin flexible sheets to create multiple pockets instead of heavy rigid dividers. These thin sheets provide the necessary structural separation for multiple compartments while minimizing added weight, allowing easy item accessibility without significantly increasing wallet mass
4Ease of operation
If slots are added to the top sheet for visibility and access, then item retrieval becomes easier with a swipe motion, but the sheet structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The top sheet is segmented with slot openings that create independent access points to each underlying pocket. This segmentation enables the swipe motion for easy item removal while the slot geometry itself remains relatively simple, avoiding excessive structural complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A multi-slot access wallet includes a substantially rectangular base sheet, one or more intermediate sheets, and a top sheet. Each sheet has a substantially similar configuration having a lower edge, a first side edge perpendicular to the lower edge, an upper edge parallel to the lower edge, and a second side edge parallel to the first side edge that connects ends of the upper and lower edge. An upwardly adjacent sheet is joined to an immediately lower adjacent sheet with three edges being joined together and one edge remaining unjoined so as to form an opening to a pocket defined between respective sheets. Each respective pair of sheets defines an opening and pocket offset by 90 degrees from the prior pair of sheets such that each side of the wallet has a slot opening to a respective pocket.