U.S. patent application number 10/512079 was filed with the patent office on 2006-01-19 for coin holder particularly for euros.
Invention is credited to Elpidio Onifares Squadroni.
Application Number | 20060011494 10/512079 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 11456292 |
Filed Date | 2006-01-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060011494 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Squadroni; Elpidio
Onifares |
January 19, 2006 |
Coin holder particularly for euros
Abstract
A coin holder comprises at least a through cylindrical seat (8),
having a diameter corresponding to that of one of the coins in due
course, within which is located, at a short distance (H) from the
bottom (10), a stop elastic means such as an O-ring or elastic ring
(14) that reduces the diameter thereto, so preventing the coins to
fall down. It will be sufficient for the user to exercise by a
single finger a slight pressure on the first coin of the stack to
overcome the resistance provided by the elastic ring and to cause
the fall of the coin that is located at the bottom of the
stack.
Inventors: |
Squadroni; Elpidio Onifares;
(Civitanova Marche, IT) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE
FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
11456292 |
Appl. No.: |
10/512079 |
Filed: |
May 6, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
May 6, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/IB03/01752 |
371 Date: |
July 25, 2005 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/.8 ; 206/.84;
206/445 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 1/10 20130101; G07D
9/004 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
206/000.8 ;
206/000.84; 206/445 |
International
Class: |
A45C 1/00 20060101
A45C001/00; B65D 85/00 20060101 B65D085/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 8, 2002 |
IT |
RM2002A000254 |
Claims
1-11. (canceled)
12. A coin holder comprising at least one through cylindrical seat,
open at its upper and bottom ends, having a diameter adapted to
receive at its upper end a coin to be received in the holder,
within which is located, at a short distance (H) from the bottom
end of the cylindrical seat, an elastic element that elastically
reduces the effective diameter of the cylindrical seat and prevents
coins received within said cylindrical seat, inserted from the
upper end thereof, to fall down through the cylindrical seat
without the intervention of an external force.
13. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein the diameter of
the cylindrical seat is selected to correspond with a diameter of
multiple similar coins to be stacked in the cylindrical seat, and
wherein the number of coins that may be inserted within the
cylindrical seat varies in accordance with the height of the
cylindrical seat.
14. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein the elastic
element is an annular ring housed inside a corresponding annular
seat provided along an inner surface of said cylindrical seat.
15. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein the resistance
provided by the elastic element may be overcome by exercising a
slight pressure on a top coin of a stack of coins received in the
cylindrical seat, such that the release of the coin that is located
at the bottom of the stack is effected.
16. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein the distance (H)
of the elastic element from the bottom of the cylindrical seat is
substantially equal to the thickness of a coin to be received the
cylindrical seat.
17. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein the elastic
element comprises a radially inwardly projecting protrusion
obtained by moulding of the material of the annular seat.
18. The coin holder according to claim 17, wherein said protrusion
comprises a tab or lip overhanging inwardly and slightly sloping
downwards within the cylindrical seat, displaceable from a
completely overhanging position located towards the inside of the
cylindrical seat to a retracted position within a wall of the
cylindrical seat formed within the thickness of the cylindrical
seat.
19. The coin holder according to claim 12, including a plurality of
laterally connected cylindrical seats of varying size arranged in a
pattern.
20. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein in order to
avoid the accidental release of a coin from the cylindrical seat
upper end, when the coin holder is tilted or turned upside down the
upper end is provided with a stop elastic element that prevents a
coin, once it is inserted into the cylindrical seat through the
upper end, to fall through said upper end.
21. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein the elastic
element is located between an upper ledge of an annular recess in
an inner wall of the cylindrical seat formed by reducing the
thickness of an area of the cylindrical seat from the bottom of the
cylindrical seat to the upper ledge, and a lower fixing ring
inserted in said reduced thickness area partly up to said upper
ledge.
22. The coin holder according to claim 12, wherein said elastic
element comprises an elastic O-ring.
Description
[0001] The subject of the present invention is a coin holder
intended in particular for the containment and the distribution of
Euros.
[0002] With the coming into effect of the single European currency,
the management of the new currency coins has become a widespread
problem, since the coins of different value distributed on the
market are at least eight, from one cent of Euro to two Euros.
[0003] The purses of the conventional type, wherein the coins are
put in confusion, even if they can contain many coins, have the
critical drawback of not to allow the easy selection of the wanted
value coin.
[0004] To overcome such an inconvenience, several alternative
solutions have been suggested, all based upon the previous division
of the coins having different values. There have been used, for
instance, semi-rigid coin holders formed of a plate of a certain
thickness wherein prints or seats of different diameter are
obtained, within which a certain number of coins is inserted by
pressure one upon another, by elastically enlarging an holding
little rim that surrounds the inlet thereto. The collection of the
wanted value coin takes place by exercising a certain pressure, by
means of the fingers, on the basis of the stack of the involved
coins, so to make the first available coin going out from the same
side from which it entered. To this purpose, at the basis of each
holding seat of the coins a circular window is made, having a
diameter sufficient to ensure the contact between a fingertip and
the overlaying coin.
[0005] However, solutions of such a kind, with or without a
protection cover, are not satisfactory since, in order to collect
the coin, the attendance of both hands as well as a certain
manipulation ability are needed, due to the fact that a pressure
sufficient to make the wanted coin going out has to be exercised,
bottom-up, with the fingers.
[0006] It is a task of the invention to overcome the inconveniences
now cited, by providing a coin holder characterised in that it
comprises at least a through cylindrical seat, having a diameter
corresponding to that of one of the coins in due course, within
which is located, at a short distance from the bottom, an O-ring or
elastic ring that reduces the diameter thereto, so preventing the
coins to fall down. It will be sufficient for the user to exercise
by a single finger a slight pressure on the first coin of the stack
to overcome the resistance provided by the elastic ring and to
cause the fall of the coin that is located at the bottom of the
stack. The operation could be facilitated by putting the coin
holder upon any rigid plane before exercising the pressure on the
different columns. It goes without saying that, having at disposal
in a limited space the seats for the whole series of the coins in
due course, it will be possible in a very short time to easily
select all the wanted coins.
[0007] Alternatively, according to a different embodiment, when the
material used in manufacturing the coin holder is a sufficiently
elastic material, the O-ring can be replaced by a swelling or
annular cord obtained by moulding inside the cylindrical surface of
the holding seat of each coin. Said swelling can advantageously be
present not only immediately upstream the outlet aperture of the
seat itself, but at the inlet too, in order to avoid that, once it
is inserted, the coin itself could go out if the coin holder is
tilted or turned upside down.
[0008] Further features and advantages of the invention will become
evident from the attached drawing plates that illustrate, by way of
not limiting example, a preferred embodiment.
[0009] In te drawings:
[0010] FIG. 1 schematically shows, in section, the operating
principle of the invention, with an O-ring housed inside the
cylindrical seat wherein the coins are stacked;
[0011] FIGS. 1a and 1b show how an O-ring can be built in within an
its own housing, inside the cylindrical seat, in case the material
employed does not allow to obtain by moulding a suitable annular
seat;
[0012] FIG. 2 shows in section a first variant wherein the O-ring
is replaced by an annular swelling;
[0013] FIG. 3 shows, always in section, a further variant according
to which a lip or inclined tab is used, acting as stop means for
the coins;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a coin holder for Euros
according to the invention, having a round shape;
[0015] FIG. 5 is another perspective view of another coin holder
according to the invention, having a rectangular shape.
[0016] With reference to the figures, the coin holder subject of
the invention is substantially formed of a body of any shape and
having the wanted thickness, wherein at least a cylindrical tubular
seat 8 is obtained, open at its ends, whose diameter is fit for
receiving, except for the needed play, one of the Euro coins in due
course. The coins are located within their seat by stacking them
one upon another and obviously their number will vary in function
of the coin holder thickness.
[0017] In accordance with a peculiar feature of the invention, at a
short distance from the outlet aperture 10, on the internal wall of
said cylindrical seat 8 it is located, inside a corresponding
annular seat 12 obtained from along the surface of said seat, an
O-ring 14 that acts as a ledge for the overlaying coins and prevent
them from falling down.
[0018] As it is visible in FIG. 1, the H letter denotes the
distance of the O-ring 14 from the basis 10 of the cylindrical seat
8. Said distance H is only slightly greater than the thickness of
one of the coins stacked in the container. In this way the space
underlying the O-ring in each stack, when the coin holder is put on
a plane, can receive one coin only. With such a trick, at each
pressure exercised by the user to the stack, the O-ring will let
one coin only pass, such coin going to occupy the space underlying
and being recoverable by lifting again the coin holder from the
plane where it was put on.
[0019] The Euros-holder subject of the invention can be
manufactured with any material fit to be moulded or injected, of
elastic, semi-rigid or rigid kind. It is possible to utilise, for
example, a rubber, TR, TPU, polyurethane and also rigid materials
such as acetates, ABS, etc.
[0020] Depending on the kind of the material used, it is possible
to apply different manufacturing techniques, some illustrative
examples of which are given hereinafter.
[0021] As it is visible in FIGS. 1a and 1b, in case a material of
rigid kind is employed, a seat or annular recess that originates
from the lower rim 10 of the cylindrical seat can be obtained by
reducing the thickness and the O-ring 14 is built in between the
ledge of said recess and a proper fixing or holding ring or clip
21.
[0022] As an alternative to the use of an O-ring, which implies the
presence of a proper housing obtained on the internal surface of
the container, it can be provided, when the material is
sufficiently elastic, the realisation of an annular swelling or
cord 16 suitably shaped, preferably rounded, obtained by moulding
from the same material, as it is visible in FIG. 2. The following
FIG. 3 shows another alternative solution according to which the
swelling functions are performed by a tab or lip 18 suitably shaped
and slightly sloping downwards, able to change from a completely
overhanging position towards the inside of the container to an
indented position within an its own seat 20 obtained in the
thickness of the container itself.
[0023] In all that cases wherein the coin holder is not equipped
with an its own cover, in order to avoid the accidental release of
the coins from the inlet aperture, this latter is provided with
appropriate stop elastic means 22 such as a second O-ring, a little
rim or a lip, which prevent the coin, once it is inserted, to come
back.
[0024] From what has been said above, it is evident that the given
teaching refers to a mechanism by which the coins can be inserted
and collected from the relevant containers. Consequently the
arrangement of the containers themselves inside the coin holders
can vary as much as one likes, this allowing to obtain for these
latters the more pleasant geometrical shapes. In FIGS. 4 and 5 two
preferred illustrative arrangements are shown, according to which
eighth cylindrical seats for the relevant eighth values of the
coins in due course are, respectively, radially arranged in a round
coin holder having a total diameter of about 8 cm, and arranged in
two rows in a rectangular coin holder.
[0025] In both cases, it is possible to equip the coin holder with
a cover, preferably of the type able to be taken off, of the more
appropriate material, from the synthetic transparent one that
allows to let the seats for the different coins visible, up to a
valuable material such as the true skin.
* * * * *