Pivoting Card Holder Arms for Contactless Reader Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing card holder devices require users to directly touch card readers, increasing the risk of infectious disease transmission and are not designed for convenient insertion and removal of credit or debit cards.
Innovation Solution
A holder device with pivotally coupled arms biased apart, allowing for card insertion between them, and equipped with a key ring for carrying, and domes made of resilient material for gripping, enabling cards to be inserted into and removed from card readers without direct user contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If users directly hold credit cards to insert into card readers, then the operation is simple and direct, but the risk of infectious disease transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a card holder device as an intermediary between the user's hand and the card reader. The device includes a pair of arms that can be squeezed together to grip the card, allowing users to insert cards without direct contact with the card reader surface, thus reducing infection risk while maintaining ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The card holder device segments the card handling function into separate components: the gripping mechanism (pair of arms) and the card interface. This segmentation allows the gripping portion to remain in the user's hand while the card interface contacts the card reader, separating the user's skin from potential contamination sources
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a card holder device with pivotally coupled arms is used, then card insertion without touching the reader is enabled, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamically movable arms that can pivot and be squeezed together, transforming the device from a static holder to an active gripping mechanism. This dynamic design enables the arms to open for card insertion and close for gripping, achieving contactless card reader interaction with relatively simple mechanical motion
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing mechanism automatically returns the arms to their original position after being squeezed, making the device self-resetting. This self-service feature eliminates the need for manual resetting or complex control systems, reducing overall device complexity while maintaining the contactless operation capability
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Reduces the risk of infectious disease transmission by allowing card insertion and removal without touching the card reader, enhancing user safety and convenience.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the domes is comprised of a resiliently compressible material for gripping the credit card or debit card
Implementation Method 2
Each of the arms is biased apart from each other for having a credit card inserted between the arms
Data Source
AI summary
A credit card holder assembly for inserting a credit card or debit card into a card reader includes a pair of arms that is each pivotally coupled together having each of the arms being oriented parallel to each other. Each of the arms is biased apart from each other for having a credit card inserted between the arms. Each of the arms is urgeable to engage each other to compress the credit card between the pair of arms. In this way the credit card can be inserted into and removed from a credit card reader without requiring a user to touch the credit card reader. A key ring is disposed on the pair of arms such that the key ring can be attached to a user's keys for carrying the pair of arms.