CONTAINER FOR CARDS OR THE LIKE FLAT OBJECTS

Abstract: A credit/debit/security card dispenser consists of a casing (10) in which one or more trays (14) are slidable to a limited extent between a fully retracted position; and an extended position in which a card may be removed from or reinserted onto the tray(s) (14), this being facilitated by the front portion (54) being hingedly (56) connected to the rest (55) of the tray (14). The sliding movement of the tray (14) is actuated by the user's finger via a button (78) projecting from the tray (14) to the outside of the casing (10), the movement being guided and limited by a specially shaped aperture (30) in the casing (10).

Description: CONTAINER FOR CARDS OR THE LIKE FLAT OBJECTS FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention concerns a container for cards or the like flat objects. Although it is not so restricted, it will hereafter be described with reference to a container capable of functioning as a holder and as a dispenser for plastic cards such as credit cards, charge cards, security cards, cash dispenser cards and the like; such cards will hereafter compendiously be termed "credit cards". BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Credit cards are nowadays issued by a very large variety of institutions and commercial es ablishments. They are generally thin, flat, rectangular plastic cards having an embossed surface area bearing identity information in the form of words and numerals, a signature-bearing area, often a hologram, and also frequently a 'magnetic stripe 1 extending across the width of the card and having magnetically encoded verification and security information thereon. For the proper functioning of machinery intended to co-operate with a credit card inserted into it, it is very important that the physical condition of such cards should be good, e.g. that the magnetic stripe should be intact and/or that the embossed area should not be worn. From a user's point of view the proliferation of credit cards has meant a problem of storage. It is quite common for a user to wish to have at least two but frequently as many as six credit cards available for use at all times. Conventional wallets are not suitable for storing large numbers of credit cards because they become very bulky; nor are they able to keep the sensitive surfaces of credit cards scratch-free and clean. DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Various proposals have been made, and credit card containers developed, in an attempt to overcome the above disadvantages. They are, however, all bulky and removal of a selected card is ,„. ft ^ PCT/GB90/01 01096 not slick. Those types which seek to protect the card surfaces tend to do so by providing a transparent cover made e.g. of PVC. This has, however, proved unsa isfactory because PVC tends to suffer from a build-up of static electricity and tends to cling to the credit cards. The location and removal and reinsertion of a selected card is by no means rapid. The ingress of dirt, fluff or the like is not prevented in an effective manner. From EP-A-0 283 594 a credit card holder or casing is known which inter alia seeks to protect magnetic stripes by means of internal projections in the casing to keep the stripes away from the casing surface. However, this casing has fingerhole cutaway recesses " for manually gripping and removing the credit card and has no dispense mechanism as such. Nor can it accommodate more than one card. GB-A-2 181 038 discloses a container for compact discs (CDs) in which a stack of CDs may be held, one in each of a plurality of sliding trays. The trays each have abutments co-operating with slots in the container and also have a front portion connected with the rest by way of a 'film hinge' to allow relative pivotal movement of the front portion; in other words, in the extended position, the front portion drops downwardly to facilitate the removal or reinsertion of a CD. However, this is a quite complicated mechanical construction generally unsuited to credit cards. Thus, tray movement is actuated by a spring the bias of which has to be overcome to reinsert a CD. The actuation means and the abutment/stop means are two separate mechanisms. SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION The present invention seeks to reduce or eliminate the above inconveniences by providing a credit card container which as a holder stores cards safely, cleanly and maintains them in good condition and which, as a dispenser, functions smoothly and reliably to enable a selected card to be dispensed and subsequently readily to be reinserted for storage. According therefore to the present invention, there is provided a container for cards or the like flat objects comprising a casing having a dispense opening, at least one tray accommodated in said casing slidable to a controlled extent between a storage position in which said tray is fully retracted within the casing and an extended position in which a forward portion of said tray extends through said opening to enable a credit card held thereon to be removed or to accept a credit card to be placed thereon, said forward portion being hingedly connected to the remainder of the tray so as to pivot away from the plane of sliding movement to improve access thereto, and actuating means for actuating the limited sliding movement of the said tray between the said positions, the actuating means comprising an actuating projection accessible to the user from the outside through an aperture in said casing, the aperture being sized to form abutment stops for said projection at said positions . In a preferred embodiment, the tray consists of a flat member having a credit card receiving surface which includes said hinging front portion as well as marginal rebates or steps so as to keep a magnetic stripe away from the receiving surface. The tray may have a resilient tongue which is hinge- connected e.g. integrally, with the rear edge of the receiving surface and which extends forward ly towards the front edge of the tray spacedly above the receiving surface to form a card- receiving gap therebetween. The underside of the tongue is preferably also provided with marginal rebates or steps so as to keep a magnetic stripe away from the tongue. The upper side of the tongue is advantageously provided with an upstanding lug or button to constitute said projection, which may e.g. be arrowhead-shaped and may be provided with a central circular depression to receive a user's fingertip. The receiving surface may have a central recess generally co-extensive with, but slightly larger than, the said tongue. The casing is preferably provided with a shaped opening of predetermined length taken in the direction of sliding movement of the tray, the edges of the aperture being shaped in a complementary fashion to that of the said lug or button so that in use as said lug or button projects through the aperture for external access, the edges of the aperture act as limit/stop abutments to sliding movement of the tray. The casing is preferably a transparent, injection-moulded, hard plastic material made in two symmetrical, interengageable halves. The material is chosen for strength to protect the cards, transparency to allow the cards to be viewed, resistance to scratching and scuffing, and of course ease of manufacture and wipability. Advantageously, two like trays are mounted back-to-back in said casing each half of which latter is provided with a shaped aperture for co-operation with a said lug or button. The casing and/or the upper surface of the tongue have free surface areas available for affixing information, advertising messages or a logo thereto; thus, the container for cards or the like flat objects according to the invention, being relatively cheap to make and being mass— producible, may be used to be given away or sold as part of a promotion campaign by a sponsoring card-issuing institution. DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be described, purely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is a plan view of the casing of a container for cards or the like flat objects according to a first embodiment of the invention, Fi g ure 2 is a sectional view of the casing, taken along the plane indicated by the lines Z-Z in Figure 1, Figure 3 is a plan view of one of two trays to be mounted in the casing of a container for cards or the like flat objects according to a first embodiment of the invention, Figure 4 is a sectional view of the tray, taken along the plane indicated by the lines Y-Y in Figure 3, Figure 5 is an end view taken on the arrow 5 in Figure 3; Figure 6 is a side elevation of the tray of Figures 3 to 5; and Figure 7 is a perspective view of an intermediate tray for use in a second embodiment of the invention, applicable to a card dispenser capable of accommodating more than two credit cards or the like. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring first to Figures 1 to 6 of the drawings, a container for cards or the like flat objects comprises as its main constituents a casing 10 made up of two essentially identical interengageable halves 12 serving to accommodate two essentially identical sliding trays 14 captively and slidably mounted in a back-to-back arrangement in the casing 10, each tray 14 being adapted to accommodate a credit card (not shown) and to store it securely within the casing 10 in its fully retracted end position; and to offer it up to a user for removal, or to offer itself up for the reinsertion of a credit card. The casing 10 is essentially parallelepipedal , having an arcuate closed rear 16 and an open front 18. Marginal lugs 20, 21 are provided for the interengagement of the two casing halves 12. The front 18 is lipped at 22 and small lugs (not shown) may, if desired, be provided to help the front portion of the tray 14 over the lips 22. Stop lugs 26 extend internally from the rear 16 to locate the tray 14 in its fully retracted position. Laterally inwardly projecting lugs 28 serve for receiving and guiding the trays 14. An arrowhead-shaped aperture 30 is provided at the top of the half-casing for receiving an actuator (described below) of the tray 14. The front and rear edges 32, 34 of the aperture 30 are shaped complementar ily to the actuator and serve as stops therefor. The two sides 36 of the aperture 30 are each formed with depending rail-shaped lugs 38 to guide a tongue (to be described below) of the tray 14. Each tray 14 is a generally flat rectangular member having raised rims 50 on all four sides. Next to the rims 50 along the longer sides the tray 14 has a slight step or rebate 52 serving to raise a card on the tray and thus to protect a magnetic stripe or other sensitive surface area of the card. A front portion 54 of the tray 14 is connected to the remainder 55 by way of a transverse film hinge 56 and is formed e.g. with a 'shape memory' so that in its natural or unconstrained position the portion 54 pivots down from the plane of the main part 55 of the tray 14 (Figure 5). The front portion 54 is provided also with marginal rebates 58 forming continuations of the rebates 52. It may also have a broader central rebate 60. The rim 62 at its front edge serves as a card- retaining lip when the tray 14 is in its retracted position. The main part 55 is formed with a central recess or cut-out 64, provided in order to facilitate moulding the tray, extending from a short distance inward of the film hinge 56 to the rear edge 66 of the tray. The rear edge 66 has a raised portion 68 flanking the cut-out 64 and from it a tongue 70 extends by way of an integral articulated connection forwardly towards, but terminating short of, the front transverse edge of the cut-out 64. The tongue 70 is, however, narrower than the cut-out 64. The longitudinal side edges of the underside 72 of the tongue 70 are rebated at 74. The upper side 76 of the tongue 70 carries an actuator 78 in the form of an arrowhead-shaped boss formed with a central depression 80 for engagement by a user's finger. Thus the tongue 70 and the upper surface of the tray body have between them a gap the size of which varies as the tongue 70 pivots resiliently, to facilitate the insertion of a credit card. In the assembled condition of the container two trays 14 are held back-to-back in the casing. The rear edge 66 of each tray abuts the lugs 26. The side edges of each tongue 70 ride in the guide lugs 38. The actuator 78 is received in the aperture 30. Thus each tray 14 is capable of limited longitudinal sliding movement defined by the aperture edges 32, 34. The aperture is so dimensioned that in the fully retracted position of a given tray 14 the latter is wholly within the casing 10 while in its maximally extended position the film hinge 56 is just forwardly of the lip 22 of the casing, whereby to allow the front portion 54 to pi Jt downwardly. In this position, a credit card may readily be removed from the tray 14 or may readily be inserted into the gap formed between the"main portion 55 of the tray and the tongue 70. It will be appreciated that the container for cards or the like flat objects according to this first embodiment of the invention provides an effortlessly smooth and very rapid action of card dispensing and retraction. Either one or two cards may be selected. The cards and their magnetic stripes are well protected and maintained in a good condition. The cards cannot stick to the casing and cannot be jammed. There is no risk of static build-up because of the minimisation of contact surfaces. Figure 7 illustrates a second embodiment of the .invention in which the casing (not shown in this Figure) is made large enough to accommodate a sliding tray 114 as an addition to, and disposed between, two sliding trays 14 according to the embodiment of Figures 1 to 6. This additional tray will be referred to as "the intermediate tray 114". The intermediate tray 114 consists of a rectangular-section frame 120 having a front member 121, a rear member 122 and two side members 123. The rear and side members 122, 123 are formed with aligned ledges 124 serving to support a credit card when placed thereon and to separate it from other credit card(s) held within the frame 120. The front member 121 has two rearwardly facing flanges 125 each having an inwardly facing pivot pin 126 adapted to co-operate with complementarily shaped recesses 127 formed on the adjacent front ends 128, of reduced thickness, of the side members 123. The pivotal or hinge connection 126, 127 is loose, i.e. the front member 121 can pivot freely relative to the remainder of the frame 120, as shown by the double-headed arrow 129. As already mentioned, the casing in the Figure 7 embodiment is not shown but it contains lateral slots to accommodate a laterally outward projection 130 on each side member 123. These slots are dimensioned so as to enable the projections 130 to be engaged from the outside by the fingers of a user and to slide the intermediae tray 114 to a limited extent defined by the length of the slots. When the intermediate tray 114 is in at one end of its movement defined by the slots and projections 130, the intermediate tray is fully retracted within the casing, while at its other end position it projects out of the casing, in which state the front member 121 freely pivots or "flops" by gravity, enabling the user to remove a credit card from within the "well" of the frame 120, and subsequently to reinsert it. There may be several superposed, spaced apart ledges 124 if the intermediate tray 114 is to hold more than two credit cards. The pivotal or hinge connection 126, 127 may be an integral one or a conventional pivot hinge. There may also be more than one intermediate tray 114. Many other modifications are possible within the scope of the invention. Thus there may be only one tray. The shapes of the actuator and its co-operating aperture may vary. The cut-out in the main part of the tray may be obviated. Instead of a boss-shaped actuator 78 carried by the tray, a latch mechanism may also be provided. Thus e.g. a displaceable detent in the casing may engage in a groove in the upper surface of the tongue to free the sliding movement of the tray. Optionally, this sliding movement may be promoted by a spring.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. A container for cards or the like flat objects comprising a casing (10) having a dispense opening (18), at least one tray (14) accommodated in said casing (10) slidable to a controlled extent between a storage position in which said tray (14) is fully retracted within the casing (10) and an extended position in which a forward portion (54) of said tray (14) extends through said opening (18) to enable a credit card or object held thereon to be removed or to accept a credit card or object to be placed thereon, said forward portion (54) being hingedly (56) connected to the remainder (55) of the tray (14) so as to pivot away from the plane of sliding movement to improve access thereto, and actuating means for actuating the limited sliding movement of the said tray (14) between the said positions, characterised in that the actuating means (78) includes an actuating projection (78) accessible to the user from the outside through an aperture (30) in said casing (10), the aperture (30) being sized to form abutment stops (32, 34, 36) for said projection (78) at said positions . 2. A container according to claim 1, characterised in that the tray (14) consists of a flat member having a credit card- receiving surface which includes said hinging front portion (54) as well as marginal rebates (52) so as to keep a magnetic stripe away from the receiving surface. 3. A container according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterised in that the tray (14) has a resilient tongue (70) which is hinge- connected e.g. integrally, with the rear edge (66) of the receiving surface and which extends forwardly towards the front edge of the tray spacedly above the receiving surface to form a card-receiving gap therebetween. 4. A container according to claim 3, characterised in that the underside (72) of the tongue (70) is provided with marginal rebates (74) so as to keep a magnetic stripe away from the tongue (70). 5. A container according to claim 3 or claim 4, characterised in that the upper side (76) of the tongue (70) is provided with an upstanding button (78) to constitute said projection, which is e.g. arrowhead-shaped and provided with a central circular depression (80) to receive a user's fingertip. 6. A container according to any of claims 3 to 5 characterised in that the receiving surface (55) has a central recess (64) generally co-extensive with, but slightly larger than, the said tongue (70). 7. A container according to claim 4, characterised in that the edges of the said aperture (30) are shaped in a complementary fashion to that of the said button (78) so that in use as said button (78) projects through the aperture (10) for external access, the edges (32, 34, 36) of the aperture (78) act as limit/stop abutments to sliding movement of the tray (14); and further characterised in that, optionally, the casing (10) is a transparent, injection-moulded, hard plastic material made in two symmetrical, interengageable halves (12). 8. A container according to any preceding claim characterised in that two like trays (14) are mounted back-to-back in said casing (10) each half (12) of which latter is provided with a shaped aperture (30) for co-operation with an actuating button (78). 9. A container according to any of claims 1 to 8, characterised in that at least one intermediate tray (114) is disposed between two like trays (14) facing in opposite directions, the or each said intermediate tray (114) having a freely pivotable front portion (121) and lateral actuator/stop projections (130) cooperable with movement guiding and limiting slots in the casing (10). 10. A container according to claim 9 characterised in that the or -each intermediate tray (114) is a hollow frame (120) having internal ledge(s) (124) serving to separate as well as to support credit cards or like flat objects therein.

Inventors: COZENS RAYMOND DEREK, COZENS, RAYMOND, DEREK
Applicants: COZENS RAYMOND DEREK, COZENS, RAYMOND, DEREK
Application year: 1990
Main classification: A45C11
IPC codes: A45C11