U.S. patent application number 14/243916 was filed with the patent office on 2015-10-08 for card holder.
The applicant listed for this patent is Li-Hua Chen. Invention is credited to Li-Hua Chen.
Application Number | 20150282580 14/243916 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54208581 |
Filed Date | 2015-10-08 |
United States Patent
Application |
20150282580 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chen; Li-Hua |
October 8, 2015 |
CARD HOLDER
Abstract
A card holder includes an inner casing connected pivotally to an
outer casing, several inter-connected card-reception boxes disposed
in and connected to the inner casing, and several propeller rods
respectively disposed below and pivoted to bottom of the
card-reception boxes such that each rod has a propeller section
extending into bottom of a respective box. Pivotal action of the
inner casing away relative to the outer casing results in
simultaneous rotation of the card-reception boxes away from the
outer casing while the cards received in the boxes are lifted
upward by the propeller sections of the propeller rods.
Inventors: |
Chen; Li-Hua; (Taoyuan
County, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Chen; Li-Hua |
Taoyuan County |
|
TW |
|
|
Family ID: |
54208581 |
Appl. No.: |
14/243916 |
Filed: |
April 3, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/425 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A45C 13/007 20130101;
A45C 11/182 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A45C 11/18 20060101
A45C011/18; B65D 25/06 20060101 B65D025/06; B65D 25/38 20060101
B65D025/38; A45C 13/02 20060101 A45C013/02 |
Claims
1. A card holder comprising: an outer casing defining an interior
space, having an entrance for access into said interior space, a
side wall formed with a limiting slot and a press button at one end
of said entrance and provided with a first engagement element; an
inner casing defining an inner space, connected pivotally to said
outer casing so as to be kept within said interior space of said
outer casing and shielding said entrance, said inner casing having
a side wall formed with a first curved slot and a second engagement
element for engaging said first engagement element; a plurality of
card-reception boxes disposed in and connected pivotally to said
inner casing via a common pivot, each card-reception box having
left and right side walls formed with a protrusion and a curved
slot slidably engaging with said curved slot and said protrusion of
adjacent card-reception box, each card-reception box further having
a slide groove formed at bottom of said left and right side walls
and a card space extending through top and bottom of each
card-reception box, wherein one card-reception box adjacent to said
outer casing has a limiting tab slidably engaging said limiting
slot of said outer casing; a plurality of propeller rods
respectively disposed below said card-reception boxes, each
propeller rod having a coupler section formed with a pin extending
into said slide groove of a respective card-reception box, a
propeller section integrally formed with one end of said coupler
section and extending into said bottom of the respective
card-reception box and a pivot section provided with
protrusion-and-recess mechanism so that said pivot sections of said
propeller rods are connected to one another.
2. The card holder according to claim 1, wherein said propeller
section extends from a first end toward a second end of said
propeller rod and has a width smaller than that of said coupler
section and said pivot section which extends from said second end
toward said first end, said coupler section and said pivot section
of said propeller rod cooperatively defining a width greater than
said width of said propeller section and smaller than a width
defined between said left and right side walls of a respective
card-reception box.
3. The card holder according to claim 2, wherein said press button
is mounted to said outer casing via an axle provided with a first
torsion spring which applies a torque upon said press button, said
torsion spring capable of providing a restoring force upon release
of an applied external force therefrom.
4. The card holder according to claim 2, wherein said entrance of
said outer casing is an inverted U-shaped consisting of at least
one short section and one long section with said press button
installed at said short section.
5. The card holder according to claim 2, wherein said first
engagement element and second engagement element are
tongue-and-groove fastening mechanism.
6. The card holder according to claim 2, further comprising a
second torsion spring sleeved around said common pivot and biasing
said inner casing so as to disengage said first and second
engagement elements relative to each other, thereby permitting
rotation of said inner casing relative to said outer casing.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a card holder,
and more particularly to a card holder which includes several
assorted card-reception boxes for holding different kinds of cards,
such as credit card, name cards and member cards.
[0003] 2. The Prior Arts
[0004] Nowadays, a person may possess several credit cards or ATM
cards issued by different banks in addition to member cards,
department store cards through which some bonus can be accumulated.
He or she may also possess several names cards graded according to
profession and are generally kept in man's wallets or women hand
bag. The cards are sometimes kept in specially designed files. So
far, no card holder is available to facilitate a user to keep the
assorted cards.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a
card holder having a novel appearance and card-reception boxes to
provide protection to the cards kept therein.
[0006] Another objective of the present invention is to provide a
card holder including an inner casing connected pivotally to an
outer casing and a plurality of card-reception boxes movably
disposed in the inner casing. Each card-reception box defines a
card space extending through its bottom. A plurality of propeller
rods are used for interconnecting the card-reception boxes while
one coupler pin is used to connect pivotally the inner casing and
one of the card-reception boxes so that rotation of the inner
casing relative to the outer casing results in keeping the
card-reception boxes within the inner and outer casings via a press
button and a first engagement element. When the user wishes,
pressing the press button results in disengagement of the inner
casing from the first engagement element, thereby releasing the
inner casing from the outer casing while the card-reception boxes
are also release simultaneously from the outer casing such that the
card-reception boxes are spread out in a sequential manner. Owing
to the propeller section of the propeller rod extending into the
respective card-reception box and simultaneously movement of the
propeller rod together with the respective card-reception box, the
cards (like credit cards or visiting card) kept therein are lifted
upward to facilitate the user fetching of the same.
[0007] The card holder of the present invention includes an outer
casing defining an interior space, having an entrance for access
into the interior space, a side wall formed with a limiting slot
and a press button at one end of the entrance and provided with a
first engagement element; an inner casing defining an inner space,
connected pivotally to the outer casing so as to be kept within the
interior space of the outer casing and shielding the entrance, the
inner casing having a side wall formed with a first curved slot and
a second engagement element for engaging the first engagement
element; a plurality of card-reception boxes disposed in and
connected pivotally to the inner casing via a common pivot, each
card-reception box having left and right side walls formed with a
protrusion and a curved slot slidably engaging with the curved slot
and the protrusion of adjacent card-reception box, each
card-reception box further having a slide groove formed at bottom
of the left and right side walls and a card space extending through
top and bottom of each card-reception box, wherein one
card-reception box adjacent to the outer casing has a limiting tab
slidably engaging the limiting slot of the outer casing; and a
plurality of propeller rods respectively disposed below the
card-reception boxes, each propeller rod having a coupler section
formed with a pin extending into the slide groove of a respective
card-reception box, a propeller section integrally formed with one
end of the coupler section and extending into the bottom of the
respective card-reception box and a pivot section provided with
protrusion-and-recess mechanism so that the pivot sections of the
propeller rods are connected to one another. Owing to the propeller
section of the propeller rod extending into the respective
card-reception box and simultaneously movement of the propeller rod
together with the respective card-reception box, the cards (like
credit cards or visiting card) kept therein are lifted upward to
facilitate the user fetching of the same.
[0008] In order to facilitate fetching of two visiting cards
disposed within two adjacent card-reception boxes, the propeller
section extends from a first end toward a second end of the
propeller rod and has a width smaller than that of the coupler
section and the pivot section which extends from the second end
toward the first end. The coupler section and the pivot section of
the propeller rod cooperatively defining a width greater than the
width of the propeller section and smaller than a width defined
between the left and right side walls of a respective
card-reception box. During the pivotal action of the inner casing
relative to the outer casing, the two visiting cards disposed
respectively within adjacent pair of the card-reception boxes are
raised by the propeller sections of the propeller rods, thereby
disposing the two adjacent card-reception boxes at two different
elevations and two angular angles to facilitate fetching of the
visiting cards from the desired boxes.
[0009] Preferably, the press button is mounted to the outer casing
via an axle provided with a first torsion spring which applies a
torque upon the press button. The torsion spring is capable of
providing a restoring force upon release of an applied external
force therefrom.
[0010] To facilitate the manipulation, the entrance of the outer
casing is an inverted U-shaped consisting of at least one short
section and one long section with the press button installed at the
short section.
[0011] Preferably, the first engagement element 144 and second
engagement elements are tongue-and-groove fastening mechanism for
engaging each other.
[0012] The card holder of the present invention further includes a
second torsion spring sleeved around the common pivot for biasing
the inner casing so as to disengage the first and second engagement
elements relative to each other, thereby permitting rotation of the
inner casing relative to the outer casing for exposing the
care-reception boxes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The present invention will be apparent to those skilled in
the art by reading the following detailed description of a
preferred embodiment thereof, with reference to the attached
drawings, in which:
[0014] FIG. 1A is a partly exploded view of a card holder of the
present invention;
[0015] FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the card holder of the
present invention;
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the card holder of the present
invention;
[0017] FIG. 3A illustrates pivotal action of an inner casing
relative to an outer casing upon pressing of a press button
installed on the outer casing in the card holder of the present
invention viewed from a first angle;
[0018] FIG. 3B illustrates pivotal action of the inner casing
relative to the outer casing upon pressing of the press button
installed on the outer casing in the card holder of the present
invention viewed from a second angle;
[0019] FIG. 3C illustrates pivotal action of the inner casing
relative to the outer casing upon pressing of the press button
installed on the outer casing in the card holder of the present
invention viewed from a third angle;
[0020] FIG. 3D illustrates pivotal action of the inner casing
relative to the outer casing upon pressing of the press button
installed on the outer casing in the card holder of the present
invention viewed from a fourth angle;
[0021] FIG. 4 illustrates pivotal action of the inner casing toward
the outer casing for closing the card holder of the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 5 illustrates the card holder of the present invention
in a closed position, the dotted lines show how the card-reception
boxes are kept with the inner and outer casings of the card holder
of the present invention; and
[0023] FIG. 6 illustrates how a first torsion spring engages the
press button in the card holder of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0024] The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and
constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate
embodiments of the invention and, together with the description,
serve to explain the principles of the invention.
[0025] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, wherein FIG. 1A is a partly
exploded view of a card holder of the present invention; FIG. 1B is
a perspective view of the card holder of the present invention; and
FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the card holder of the present
invention. As illustrated, the card holder of the present invention
includes an outer casing 1, an inner casing 2 connected pivotally
to the outer casing 1 so as to be kept within an interior space
defined by the outer casing 1, a plurality of card-reception boxes
3 and a plurality of propeller rods 4. The outer casing 1 has a
press button 14 pressing of the same against biasing action results
in pivotal action of the inner casing 2 relative to the outer
casing 1, and exposing the inner casing 2 from the outer casing 1
as best shown in FIG. 3. For external aesthetic beauty, two
decorated plates 17A, 17B are mounted adhesively on two side walls
of the outer casing 1 and one generally L-shaped side plate 17C is
mounted at one side of the outer casing 1. The decorated plates
17A, 17B, 17C are made from metal to provide rigidity to the outer
casing 1, which, in turn, is made from plastic materials.
Preferably, the decorated plates 17A, 17B are formed with enforcing
ribs to provide additional strength of the outer casing 1.
[0026] The outer casing 1 defines an entrance 11 for access into
the interior space, has a side wall formed with a limiting slot 16
which limits the pivotal action of the inner casing 2 relative to
the outer casing 1, a detailed description will be given in the
following paragraphs.
[0027] The outer casing 1 is generally rectangular while the
entrance 11 formed at one side thereof is inverted U-shaped
consisting of at least one short section and one long section with
the press button 14 installed at the short section. In this
embodiment, the entrance 11 is shielded by the generally L-shaped
side plate 17C while a common pivot 35 extends through pivot holes
12, 21 in the inner and outer casings 2, 1 for pivotally connecting
the former two.
[0028] As shown in FIG. 6, the press button 14 is mounted to the
outer casing via an axle 15 that extends through holes 13 of the
outer casing 1, two pivot holes 142 formed in two symmetric lugs
141 of the press button 14. The press button 14 has a first
engagement element 144, which in fact is an engagement hole. The
bottom of the press button 14 is formed with an L-shaped retention
groove 145. A first torsion spring 143 has a central hole 146
sleeved around the axle 15, and one end portion engaging the
retention groove 145, thereby permitting rotation of the press
button 14 relative to the outer casing 1. Note that the first
torsion spring 143 is capable of storing restoring force upon being
pressed and retrieves to its initial position when an applied
external force is released therefrom.
[0029] The inner casing 2 defines an inner space, is generally
triangle when viewed from a lateral side, has a side wall formed
with a first curved slot 23 and a second engagement element 24 for
engaging the first engagement element 144 when kept within the
outer casing 1 (see FIG. 3A). The card holder of the present
invention further has a second torsion spring 34 sleeved around the
common pivot 35 and biasing the inner casing 2 so as to disengage
the first and second engagement elements 144, 24 relative to each
other, as best shown in FIG. 3. Preferably, the first engagement
element 144 and the second engagement element 24 are
tongue-and-groove fastening mechanism, however the structure
thereof should not be construed only thereto.
[0030] Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 3, three card-reception boxes
3A, 3B, 3C are disposed in and connected pivotally to the inner
casing 2 and the outer casing 1 via the common pivot 35, which
extends through pivot holes 33A, 33B, 33C of three card-reception
boxes 3A, 3B, 3C. Note that only three card-reception boxes are
used for explanation herein but the number can be added according
to the need. Each card-reception box 3A, 3B, 3C has left and right
side walls formed with a protrusion 36A, 36B, 36C and a curved slot
38A, 38B, 38C slidably engaging with the curved slot and the
protrusion of adjacent card-reception box 3A, 3B, 3C. Each
card-reception box 3A, 3B, 3C further has a slide groove 32A, 32B,
32C formed at bottom of the left and right side walls and a card
space extending through top and bottom of each card-reception box
3A, 3B, 3C. Note that the card-reception box 3C adjacent to the
outer casing 1 has a limiting tab 37 slidably engaging the limiting
slot 16 of the outer casing 1.
[0031] Three propeller rods 4A, 4B, 4C are respectively disposed
below the card-reception boxes 3A, 3B, 3C. Each propeller rod 4 has
a coupler section formed with a pin 41A, 41B, 41C extending movably
into the slide groove 32A, 32B, 32C of a respective card-reception
box 3, a propeller section 46 integrally formed with one end of the
coupler section and extending into the bottom of the respective
card-reception box 3A, 3B, 3C and a pivot section provided with
protrusion-and-recess mechanism (42A, 43A), (42B, 43B), (42C, 43C)
so that the pivot sections of the propeller rods 4A, 4B, 4C are
connected to one another. Note that a coupler pin 44 extends
through pivot hole 22 in the inner casing 2 and the recess 42A of
the propeller rod 4A to permit simultaneous rotation of the
card-reception box 3A and the inner casing 2 while the former two
pivot away from the outer casing 1 during opening of the card
holder of the present invention, a detailed description will be
given in the following paragraphs.
[0032] In this embodiment, in each propeller rod 4A, 4B, 4C, the
propeller section 46 extends from a first end toward a second end
of the propeller rod, has a width smaller than that of the coupler
section and the pivot section which extends from the second end
toward the first end. In other words, the coupler section and the
pivot section of each propeller rod 4A, 4B, 4C cooperatively define
a width greater than the width of the propeller section 46 and
smaller than a width defined between the left and right side walls
of a respective card-reception box 3A, 3B, 3C. Under this
condition, the propeller rods 4A, 4B, 4C are pivotally retained at
the bottom of the card-reception boxes 3A, 3B, 3C so as to permit
holding of cards within the card space in the card-reception boxes
3A, 3B, 3C.
[0033] Referring to FIGS. 3 to 5, when the inner casing 2 is kept
within the outer casing 1, the first and second engagement elements
144, 24 are fastened together so that the card-reception boxes 3A,
3B, 3C are also kept within the inner casing 2 and the propeller
rods 4A,4B,4C generally extend in a horizontal direction. The card
space 31A-31C of the card-reception boxes 3A, 3B, 3C are occupied
by two assorted cards 5A1, 5A2 which do not slip off through the
bottom thereof owing to supporting action by the structure of the
propeller rods 4 described above.
[0034] Referring to FIG. 3A, upon pressing of the press button 14,
the second engagement element 24 (a hook) disengages from the first
engagement element 144 (in fact is an engagement hole) such that
the inner casing 2 pivots away from the outer casing 1 owing to
biasing action of the first torsion spring 34. The card-reception
box 3C moves together with the inner casing 2 away from the outer
casing 1 due to sliding of the limiting tab 37 of the
card-reception box 3C in the limiting slot 16 of the outer casing
1. Hence, the inner casing 2 rotates about the largest angle
(35.degree.), where all the card-reception boxes 3A-3C are
juxtaposed to one another, so that it is not convenient for the
user to take off the cards 5A1, 5A2 from the card-reception boxes
3A-3C.
[0035] As illustrated in FIG. 3B, the user can at this time move
the inner casing 2 downward further away from the outer casing 1 to
a first angle A (15.degree.) until the protrusion 36A of the
card-reception box 3A engages one end of the first curved first
curved slot 23 in the inner casing 2. Since the card-reception box
3C is prevented from moving downward due to engagement of the
limiting tab 37 of the card-reception box 3C in the limiting slot
16 of the outer casing 1 and since the card-reception boxes 3A, 3B,
3C are inter-connected relative to one another via the protrusion
36A, 36B, 36C and the curved slot 38A, 38B, 38C, only the inner
casing 2 rotates about the first angle A (15.degree.), which in
turn, pulls the card-reception box 3A downward together such that
the propeller rod 4A rotates about the pin 41A while the propelling
section 46 lifts the card 5A1 upward from the card-reception box 3A
while the card 5A2 in the card-reception box 3B are retained in
their initial position, thereby disposing the cards 5A1, 5A2 at
different elevations and different angular positions to facilitate
the user fetching the desired card.
[0036] As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the user can further move the
inner casing 2 downward further away from the outer casing 1 to a
second angle B (30.degree.), wherein the propeller rod 4A pulls the
propeller rod 4B downward until the protrusion 36B of the
card-reception box 3B engages one end of the curved slot 38 of the
card-reception box 3C. At this time, the propeller rod 4B rotates
about the pin 41B while the propelling section 46 lifts the card
5B1 upward from the card-reception box 3B while 5B2 in the
card-reception box 3B are retained in their initial position,
thereby disposing the cards 5B1, 5B2 at different elevations and
different angular positions to facilitate the user fetching the
desired card.
[0037] As illustrated in FIG. 3D, the user can further move the
inner casing 2 downward further away from the outer casing 1 to a
third angle C (about 45.degree.), wherein the propeller rod 4A
pulls the propeller rods 4B, 4C downward until the protrusion 36C
of the card-reception box 3C engages one end of the curved slot 38B
of the card-reception box 3B. At this time, the propeller rod 4C
rotates about the pin 41C while the propelling section 46 lifts the
card 5C1 upward from the card-reception box 3C while the card 5C2
in the card-reception box 3B are retained in their initial
position, thereby disposing the cards 5C1, 5C2 at different
elevations and different angular positions to facilitate the user
fetching the desired card.
[0038] FIG. 4 illustrates pivotal action of the inner casing 2
toward the outer casing 1 for closing the card holder of the
present invention, wherein the card-reception boxes 3A-3C and the
propeller rods 4A-4C acts in the reverse operation relative to the
above-mentioned performances such that FIG. 5 illustrates the card
holder of the present invention in a closed position, the dotted
lines show how the card-reception boxes 3A-3C, the propeller rods
4A-4C and the cards 5A-5C are kept within the inner and outer
casings 2, 1 of the card holder of the present invention.
[0039] Although the present invention has been described with
reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it is apparent to
those skilled in the art that a variety of modifications and
changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present
invention which is intended to be defined by the appended
claims.
* * * * *