Sliding Cover Credit Card Case Friction Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional credit card protective cases cause premature wear due to friction during card insertion and extraction, and are costly and unsuitable for mass production, with existing solutions not effectively addressing the friction issue and often damaging card components.
Innovation Solution
A protective case design featuring a cover element with a transverse rim as a stop for the card's rear edge, allowing limited longitudinal sliding, and elastic fingers for assembly, reducing friction and wear, along with a closure strip for secure attachment to clothing, and optional fixed studs for secure closure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a traditional flat case with integral bottom and cover elements is used, then the case structure is simple and cost-effective, but the card experiences friction and wear during insertion and extraction
Solution Approach 1:
The case is divided into a bottom element and a cover element that can move relative to each other. The cover element is separable from the bottom element, allowing independent movement to facilitate card extraction without friction against the entire case structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover element is made movable relative to the bottom element through guide grooves and elastic fingers. This dynamic structure allows the cover to slide forward during card extraction, reducing friction and wear on the card while maintaining structural integrity.
2Ease of operation
If a control rod with slider mechanism is added to facilitate card extraction, then card handling becomes easier, but the device complexity and manufacturing cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The complex control rod and slider mechanisms are completely removed from the design. Instead, the cover element itself performs the extraction function through its movable structure, which slides forward to expose the card for easy removal without requiring additional control components.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover element automatically performs the card extraction function through its own movement. When the user accesses the card, the cover element slides forward on its own to expose the card, eliminating the need for separate control mechanisms while maintaining ease of operation.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the cover element is made movable to reduce friction, then card wear is reduced, but the case structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
Only the cover element is made movable while the bottom element remains fixed. This localized movement is sufficient to reduce card friction and wear during extraction, without requiring the entire case structure to be complex or movable, thus balancing protection with structural simplicity.
Data Source
Figure 1~5
Figure 6~9
Figure 10a~10c
AI summary
This case is made up of a bottom element (1) and of a lid element (4), both comprising a small rectangular plate (2; 5), the two plates being superimposed in such a way as to define a slim space into which the card (C) can be inserted, this space being open along one short side - termed “front side” - and closed along the other short side - termed “rear side”. The case is noteworthy in that the lid element (4) comprises a pair of longitudinal rims (3) exhibiting guide slots for the longitudinal edges of the small plate (5) of the lid element (4), the latter also being provided, on the rear side, with a transverse rim (50) which acts as an end stop for the rear transverse edge of the card so that it is possible to slide the lid element (4) and the card (C) that it covers, with one another, in the longitudinal direction, towards the front side, over a determined length of travel, thus making it easier to extract the card.