Holding Device for Cards And/Or Bank Notes

This application is a divisional of and Applicant claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §§ 120 and 121 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/055,322 filed on Nov. 13, 2020, which application is a national stage application under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of PCT Application No. PCT/EP2019/064937 filed on Jun. 7, 2019, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 from German Patent Application No. 10 2018 114 512.8 filed on Jun. 18, 2018, the disclosures of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference. A certified copy of priority German Patent Application No. 10 2018 114 512.8 is contained in parent U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/055,322 The International Application under PCT article 21 (2) was not published in English.

The invention relates to a holding device for cards and/or bank notes.

A holding device is known from EP 2 773 235 B1, which holding device permits functional storage of cards, in particular of credit cards and/or of bank notes, wherein the removal of these from the holding device can be performed without any problems.

Said holding device requires little expenditure of material and has a low overall weight. Furthermore, the known holding device permits the reliable storage both of individual cards and/or of bank notes and of a large number of the same.

The known holding device has side members which are arranged parallel to one another and between which cards are received in a stacked manner, wherein a clip acts on the cards from above. Bank notes can be arranged between the clip and the cards.

Cards, in particular credit cards or cards for being loaded with money or so-called loyalty points, ever more commonly have sensitive magnetic strips, chips or laminates, which must be handled as gently as possible.

Also, bank notes, in particular bank notes outside the area of the EU, may be manufactured from very thin paper and in particular have a tendency to tear after a relatively long duration of use.

Against this background, there is a requirement to receive as far as possible all card types and/or bank note types in the holding device in the most material-preserving manner possible and in a permanently reliable manner.

Furthermore, there is the requirement to design the housing of the holding device to be as stable as possible, in order to avoid material fatigue of the housing as far as possible.

Furthermore, there is the requirement to configure the housing to be as individual as possible, in order to adapt it to the bank note types and/or card types to be received.

Finally, there is the requirement for it to be possible for the haptics, the weight and the visual properties of the housing to be designed to be as individual as possible.

Therefore, the invention is based on the object of producing a housing of a holding device for cards and/or bank notes without problems, and of ensuring protection of the bank notes and/or cards to be introduced as far as possible in the process.

This object is solved according to the features of the invention.

According to the invention, the housing is produced by way of powder injection molding and/or has at least one sliding means.

According to the invention, it has been recognized that inorganic materials such as metals or ceramics can be processed by way of powder injection molding. A housing which consists substantially completely of inorganic material can be shaped in an individually three-dimensional manner in a way which is relatively free from problems, and can be modified with regard to its physical properties, its roughness and/or its haptics in such a way that cards and/or bank notes are received in a protected manner.

A protection of cards and/or bank notes can likewise be achieved by way of the provision of a sliding means on a housing, regardless of the material, from which the housing is manufactured. If, for example, the housing is manufactured from a rough plastic, sliding means can bring about a protection of cards and/or bank notes.

If the housing consists of a relatively rough injection molded inorganic material, sliding means likewise bring about the protection of the cards and/or bank notes.

The housing could comprise metal or consist of metal. The housing can advantageously be cast from a metal with plastic. The plastic is removed after the casting, with the result that there is a pure cast metal housing. The housing could be produced by way of metal powder injection molding (MIM). Titanium could be used as metal. Titanium produces virtually no allergic reactions of the user of the holding device.

The housing could comprise a ceramic or consist of a ceramic. The housing can advantageously be cast from a ceramic with plastic. The plastic is removed after the casting, with the result that there is a pure cast ceramic housing. The housing could be produced by way of ceramic powder injection molding (CIM).

The sliding means could be assigned to the base of the housing, and its sliding surface could be accessible from above in such a way that a credit card can slide on the sliding means in the case of the introduction into the housing. The card advantageously does not slide directly on the base and is thus protected if the material of the housing is rough.

The sliding means may be present intrinsically in the material of the housing and even in the same material as the latter. It is also conceivable to use a sliding coating as sliding means. Extruded separate elements are preferred, however, which are formed in the manner of a dome, in the manner of a rounded head, or in the manner of a lens. PA 6 or polycarbonate is conceivable as material for the sliding means. The coefficient of friction of the material for the sliding means can be greater than that of metal or ceramic, but nevertheless no damage is produced for the laminate of a card when the latter slides on the sliding means.

The sliding means could be received at least partially in a clearance or depression of the base, with the result that its sliding surface protrudes at least partially from the base and/or lies at least partially at a lower level than the base. The sliding means can advantageously be adhesively bonded or fixed in another way as a separate part into a type of crater in the base. If the sliding means lies at a lower level than the base, for example if the base area of the clearance or depression is oblique or inclined, the sliding means do not crumble and are not ejected as a result of the continuous insertion.

The sliding means could project by way of its sliding surface from the base or could protrude from a clearance or depression of the bottom in such a way that the surface is inclined at least partially with respect to the base and configures a ramp. A ramp is advantageously formed, and a card can bear against a clip under improved tension. The ramp also facilitates the introduction of a card.

A plurality of sliding means could be provided. An improvement in the sliding effect is advantageously achieved.

A plurality of sliding means could be provided, wherein the sliding surface of a rear sliding means in the insertion direction has a higher coefficient of friction than the sliding surface of a front sliding means in the insertion direction. During the removal, a card is advantageously initially fixed to a relatively pronounced extent, and is fixed to a lesser and lesser extent the further it is pushed out.

The sliding means could be manufactured from a plastic, a textile material, from leather or from synthetic leather. Textiles such as felt plugs are advantageously inexpensive. Higher quality sliding means could comprise leather or synthetic leather.

The housing could be assigned a clip or a plurality of clips made from plastic. As an alternative or in addition, a clip or a plurality of clips could be arranged in the housing in a reversibly removable manner. The holding device is advantageously configured in two pieces here if namely the housing consists of an inorganic material and the clip consists of a plastic. A clip can advantageously be provided as a replacement part, regardless of the material, of which it consists. If the clip is fixed by way of a hot melt adhesive, the user can remove the consumed clip himself/herself, by heating the inorganic housing. A clip can then be replaced without problems.

A clip could have at least one plug-in tongue for plugging into a slot of the housing, wherein a clearance is configured in the plug-in tongue. Struts or ribs which extend from one longitudinal wall of a slot to the opposite longitudinal wall could be provided in the slots. The clip could have two clearances in its two plug-in tongues, in order to receive or to engage around said struts or ribs when said clip is plugged into the slots.

The same applies to relatively long grooves, into which, for example, a cover is inserted. The cover can also have corresponding clearances, in order to engage around struts or ribs.

The longitudinal walls of a slot or a groove could have thinner wall thicknesses as a result of the struts or ribs. Struts or ribs are preferred means, in order to keep slots or grooves straight during powder injection molding, and in order to avoid deformations of the slots or grooves.

The housing could consist of a precious metal or could comprise a precious metal of this type. The holding device can advantageously be manufactured from a high quality metal. Merely a plaster mold is necessary to this end.

The side members together with the base could form, at least in certain portions, an insertion compartment which has, at least in certain portions along a defined clamping length, an insertion width which is greater than 52 mm and less than 53.98 mm. As a result of this undershooting of a conventional credit card width, the cards are subjected to uniform clamping at least along the clamping length as they are inserted into the housing. Even after a relatively long duration of use, the housing can still impart a clamping force even if the material of the housing has become fatigued or stretched.

If the housing were assigned a clip, a spring force that this would need to exert in the direction of the cards in order to fix these in the housing would be considerably reduced, because the lateral clamping of said cards already imparts a fixing action. A relatively weak clip would also preserve sensitive paper money and protect this against tearing. Chips, laminates and magnetic strips of cards would also be preserved.

If a clamping force that a clip must exert is reduced, said clip is subject to less wear and less fatigue. This is related to the fact that a modulus of elasticity that must act in a plastic is reduced. Plastics with a lower modulus of elasticity have a lesser tendency to fatigue and wear out.

The insertion width could widen in an upward direction. In this way, it would be possible for cards to deflect upwards without any problems if they were to have an oversize that disrupts an insertion movement.

Against this background, the insertion width in an upper area could lie between 54 and 54.2 mm and/or widen from 53.98 mm to a value that lies in the range between 54 mm and 54.2 mm. In this way, it would be ensured that conventional credit cards can be received without any problems and nevertheless in an effectively fixed manner.

The clamping length could lie in the range of 3 mm to 85.6 mm. These length ranges have proven to be expedient in order to effect adequate lateral fixing and clamping of cards. What is preferable is a somewhat longer clamping length of 6 mm to 85.6 mm, particularly preferably a long clamping length of 10 mm to 85.6 mm.

The inner contact surfaces of the side members could be arranged parallel to one another at least along the clamping length. In this way, cards are held with clamping action by the side members alone over a particular height.

The inner contact surfaces of the side members could be shaped or inclined such that a card inserted into the housing is received in an upwardly or downwardly bulged manner or so as to be inclined obliquely relative to the base. In this way, a card is held in non-positively locking fashion in the housing with slight deformation.

The base or a part of the base could be, at least in certain portions, reversibly deformable and/or formed so as to be bulged or curved under pretension. In this way, a part of the base can deflect and change its shape in order to compensate, reduce or prevent excessive clamping of a card to be inserted.

The same could be achieved if a connecting member of the housing were, at least in certain portions, reversibly deformable and/or formed so as to be bulged or curved under pretension.

The housing could be manufactured by means of a two-component injection molding process. In this way, individual regions or parts of the housing, in particular a clip thereof, can be manufactured from different materials with different moduli of elasticity. For example, a clip can be manufactured from a relatively elastic plastic, and the rest of the housing can be manufactured from a relatively rigid plastic.

The holding device is characterized by a simple design and provides for a functional storage of cards and/or bank notes, wherein the insertion as well as the removal thereof can be carried out without any problems.

A holding device of the type described here could have one or more clips in order to press cards and/or bank notes against the base from above.

At least one clip could be assisted in terms of its damping force by a separate spring means. In this way, a clip can exert an adequate spring force in the direction of the base even if the material thereof exhibits fatigue phenomena.

The separate spring means could be designed as a leaf spring, spiral spring or spring bow. Such spring means are inexpensive and easily workable.

The housing could be embodied in one piece and the clip could be an integral component thereof in a preferred manner. Advantageously, the holding device is embodied as a case and serves to store cards, such as credit cards or bank cards, in particular in the common so-called bank card format, as well as bank notes, documents, memos or the like.

The bank notes as well as the cards are clipped in the housing by means of the clip or clips, wherein additional means for separately holding the cards are not required, but may be provided.

The housing has two side members, which stick out from the base, which are located opposite one another and between which the card or cards can be fixed. If no cards or bank notes are arranged in the housing, the clip or clips reach(es) at least approximately to the base of the housing.

The base preferably includes a recess, through which the at least one spring-elastic clip engages or can engage, as long as no cards or bank notes are located in the holding device. The area above the base and the members is free and an upper part is not present, so that the clip reaches at least to the base and/or the recess of the base and can preferably at least partially engage through the recess.