Abstract:
A container and billfold for carrying credit cards and the like is provided with security protection for shielding surreptitious remote retrieval of the information stored in magnetic means on the cards. The upper edge portions of the cards are exposed in a staggered manner in the container for ready identification, selection and removal of a particular card during use. A paper currency clip is also provided in the container.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    This invention relates to a security protected billfold container for credit cards, debit cards, identity cards and the like and paper currency. More particularly, it relates to a wallet size billfold having protection against surreptitious remote retrieval of the information stored on the cards with electromagnetic scanning device such as RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) and similar electronic means. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Credit cards, smart cards, and debit cards which are commonly referred to as charge cards for payment of commercial transactions, and personal identity cards, are provided with magnetic means such as a magnet strip or a magnetic chip for storing on the cards the details of account and/or personal information of the card owner. The information is retrieved during use by scanning or inserting the card into a card reader for payment of a variety of services or for identification purposes. The information recorded on the card may however also be accessed remotely with an RFID or similar electronic means located in the close vicinity or proximity of the card. Since the cards are always carried by the owner in the owner&#39;s wallet or purse, it is invariably freely exposed to illegal or surreptitious access of the information by some one carrying a portable RFID or similar electronic scanning device by positioning the scanning device near or in close proximity of the card owner to retrieve the information from the cards for illegal purposes such as recreating duplicate cards for illegal uses or payments. Many methods have been employed to prevent such illegal remote surreptitious retrieval of the card information. Since RFID signals can not penetrate through a shielding plate such as a metal plate or alloy plate, one method is to locate one or two shielding plates on the outer or both sides of the outermost part of the container of the cards in a wallet or purse. The shielding plate or plates would block the RFID signal from reaching the cards to access the information. However, the inclusion of shielding plates invariably renders the card container rather bulky or the physical access of the cards during use by the owner difficult. 
         [0003]    Moreover, charge cards and identity cards are commonly contained in pockets or plastic sleeve envelopes provided in a wallet. In the case of plastic sleeve envelopes, they are clear plastic sleeve envelopes bound in a bundle or a stack manner in the wallet. One or more cards may be inserted into each sleeve envelope. In use, a required card can be removed from the particular sleeve envelope containing it. As the sleeve envelope are of the same size of the card, it is awkward and frustrating to remove the card out of the sleeve envelope or to insert it into the sleeve envelope, particularly when two or more cards are necessarily contained in each single sleeve envelope for accommodating a plurality of cards. Same problems exist when the cards are stored in pockets provided on the side panels in the wallet or inside the wallet. 
         [0004]    Furthermore, due to the stacking or bundling of the sleeve envelopes, particularly when two or more cards are contained in each sleeve envelope or pocket, some of the cards in the stack are not readily visible since they would be sandwiched or covered completely by other cards positioned in front, behind, or on top so that often it is difficult to locate a particular card from the stack or bundle. 
         [0005]    Hard plastic cases have also been employed for carrying the cards in a stacked manner. The cards must all be removed simultaneously from such a hard case for selecting a particular card required during use and that the simultaneous removal of all the cards are susceptible to accidental misplacement and loss of the removed cards. Moreover, most such plastic cases are provided with a cover which is held in the closed position with a latch, or the case consists of two half cases held together with a latch. Such cases are difficult or unwieldy to operate requiring the . user to operate it with both hands. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a billfold container for carrying and protecting the charge and identity cards contained therein from surreptitious access of the card information with a remote RFID or similar device. 
         [0007]    It is another object of the present invention to provide a billfold container in which the cards can be easily placed therein or removed therefrom. 
         [0008]    It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a billfold container in which all the cards stored therein are readily identifiable for selection of any card during use. 
         [0009]    It is still another object of the present invention to provide a billfold container for carrying charge and identity cards which is convenience to operate and can be operated with one hand. 
         [0010]    It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide a billfold container including means for carrying paper currency. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0011]    Other objects of this invention will appear in the following description and appended claims reference being made to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding parts in the several views. 
           [0012]      FIG. 1  is a front top and side perspective elevation view of the billfold container of the present invention in the closed condition. 
           [0013]      FIG. 2  is a back bottom and side perspective elevation view thereof. 
           [0014]      FIG. 3  is a side perspective elevation view thereof. 
           [0015]      FIG. 4  is a side perspective elevation view of the billfold container in an opened condition. 
           [0016]      FIG. 5  is a top and side perspective elevation view of the billfold container in the opened condition showing its interior construction. 
           [0017]      FIG. 6  is an upside down top and side perspective elevation view thereof showing the interior construction. 
           [0018]      FIG. 7  is an exploded top and side perspective elevation view thereof showing the various components of the top halve of the billfold container. 
           [0019]      FIG. 8  is an exploded bottom and side perspective elevation view of thereof showing the various components of the lower panel frame of the bifold container. 
           [0020]      FIG. 9  is a perspective rear end elevation view of the hinge side of the billfold container according to the present invention. 
           [0021]      FIG. 10  is a partial cross sectional rear end elevation view along cross sectional line X-X of  FIG. 1  showing the construction of the hinge construction of the billfold container according to the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
       [0022]    With reference to the drawings, the billfold container  10  of the present invention consists of a top housing  11  and a lower housing  12  mounted together with a hinge  13  so that the container can be opened and closed easily during use. The billfold container  10  may be made of a plastic material, metal or similar material, and may have convenient overall dimensions of 7.5 cm by 11 cm by 1 cm similar to a common small wallet. 
         [0023]    As best shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , the top housing  11  has a rectangular main frame  14  with an inner rectangular surrounding rim  15  formed on the outer side of the top housing  11 . The inner edges of the inner rectangular surrounding rim  15  defines a rectangular outer frame opening  16  of the top housing  11 . A top enclosure panel  17  is located in the rectangular frame  14  with its edge portions abutting the rectangular shoulder  15  and enclosing the rectangular outer frame opening  16  to form the enclosure top panel of the top housing  11 . A shielding plate  18  made of a material such as metal, metal alloy, or plastic impregnated with metal, having the property of shielding RFID or similar electronic transmission signals, is located on the top enclosure panel  17 . A top mounting frame  19  having outer dimensions equal to the inner dimensions of the inner dimensions of the top housing  11 , is located and secured to the inside of the top housing  11  for mounting the top enclosure panel  17  and the top shielding plate  18  securely in the top housing  11  such as by screws  20 ,  21 ,  22 ,  23 ,  24  and  25  to the inner side wall of the top housing  14 . The top mounting frame  19  preferably has an inner width of 5.3 cm which is equal to the width of a conventional charge card, a height of about 8.5cm, and a depth of about 0.3 cm such that a stack of a plurality of charge cards may be placed inside the top mounting frame  19  as best shown in FIG.  6 .. 
         [0024]    The lower inner side wall  26  of the top mounting frame  19  slopes downwardly and outwardly from the shielding plate  18  towards the inner rim surface of the top mounting frame  19  as best shown in  FIG. 7 . Also, the upper inner side wall  27  of the top mounting frame  19  preferably slopes upwardly and outwardly from the shielding plate  18  towards the inner rim surface of the top mounting frame  19 . A plurality of transverse steps  28  are formed on the sloping lower inner side wall  26 . 
         [0025]    Two retaining arms  29  and  30  having a transverse L shape are provided on opposite sides and are located about the middle portion of the inner rim of the top mounting frame  19 . The retaining arms  29  and  30  have an inner free edge extending in an overhanging manner towards one another so that charge cards may be inserted into the top mounting frame  19  under the retaining arms  29  and  30  in a stack manner. When the lower edges of the charge cards inserted into the top mounting frame  19  would invariably abut separate transverse steps  28  in the downwardly sloping inner side wall  26  so that the top edge portions of the charge cards in the stack would also invariably be exposed in a staggered manner to provide ready identification of the cards in the stack to facilitate easy selection of a particular charge card in the stack. The sloping upper inner side wall  27  of the top mounting frame  19  also facilitates the card stack in the top mounting frame  19  to be pushed forward in order that a selected charge card may be removed easily from the stack. 
         [0026]    Two torsion springs  31  and  32 , which may have a generally C shape, are mounted on the opposite inner side walls of the top mounting frame  19  and preferably located beneath the two retaining arms  29  and  30  respectively. The springs  31  and  32  press against the opposite sides of the stack of charge cards in the top mounting frame  19  to maintain the stack securely and neatly in place. 
         [0027]    The lower housing  12  has similar construction as the top housing  11 . As best shown in  FIG. 8 , it consists of a rectangular main frame  33  having a surrounding inner rim  34  formed on the outer side of the lower housing  12 . The inner edges of the inner rectangular surrounding rim  34  defines a rectangular bottom frame opening  35  of the lower housing  12 . A lower enclosure panel  36  is located in the rectangular frame  33  with its outer edge portions abutting the rectangular rim  34  and enclosing the rectangular bottom frame opening  35  to form the enclosure bottom panel of the lower housing  12 . A shielding plate  37  having the property of shielding electronic scanning waves such as RFID is located on top of the lower enclosure panel  36 . A lower mounting frame  38  having outer dimensions equal to the inner dimensions of the lower housing  12 , is located and secured to the lower housing  12  for mounting the lower enclosure panel  36  and the shielding plate  37  in the lower housing  12 . Screws  39 ,  40 ,  41 ,  42 ,  43  and  44  may be employed for securing the lower mounting frame  38  to the rectangular frame  33  of the lower housing  12 . The opening of the lower mounting frame  38  also preferably has an inner width of 5.3 cm which is equal to the width of the conventional charge card, a height of about 8.5 cm, and a depth of about 0.3 cm such that a stack of a plurality of charge cards may be placed inside the opening of the lower mounting frame  33  as best shown in  FIGS. 6 and 7 . The lower inner side wall  45  of the lower mounting frame  33  slopes outwards and upwards from the shielding plate  37  and the inner upper inner side wall  46  also slopes outwards and upwards from the shielding plate  37 , and a plurality of transverse steps  47  are formed on the inner lower side wall. Therefore the lower edges of cards placed in the lower mounting frame  38  will abut separate transverse steps  47  in the lower inner side wall  45  such that an upper edge portion of the cards will be exposed to facilitate identification, selection and removal of a particular card during use. The sloping upper inner wall  46  also facilitates the easy removal of the card. 
         [0028]    Two retaining arms  48  and  49 , preferably having a cross sectional L-shaped, are provided on the inner surface of the opposite sides of the lower mounting frame  38  and are located preferably just below the middle portion of the sides of the lower mounting frame  38 . The retaining arms  48  and  49  have an inner free edge located in an overhanging manner over the opening of the lower mounting frame  38  for retaining the stack of charge cards located within the lower mounting frame  38 . 
         [0029]    Two torsion springs  50  and  51 , which may have a C shape as shown, are mounted on the opposite side walls of the lower mounting frame  38  and preferably located beneath the retaining arms  48  and  49 . The torsion springs  50  and  51  press against the opposite sides of the stack of charge cards in the lower mounting frame  33  to maintain the stack in a secure and neat manner within the lower mounting frame  33 . 
         [0030]    As best shown in  FIG. 10 , the hinge construction of the billfold container  10  consists of two upstanding extension base portions  52  and  53  formed at the two end portions of the lower housing  12 . The extension base portions  52  and  53  are spaced from one another by a space  54 . A through opening  55  is formed in the extension base portion  52  and a through opening  56  is formed in the extension base portion  53 . A rear extension end portion  57  is formed at the lower middle portion of the top housing  11 . A through opening  58  is formed in the rear extension end portion  54  of the top housing  11 . A spring-loaded shaft  59  is located in the through opening  58  of the top housing  11 . The shaft  59  has one enlarged end portion  60  at one end and another enlarged end portion  61  at the opposite end. The enlarged end portion  60  has a rectangular end portion  62  and the enlarged end portion  61  has a similar rectangular end portion  63 . An adjusting pin  64  is located in the through opening  55  of the extension base portion  52 , and a similar adjusting pin  65  is located in the through opening  58  of the extension base portion  53 . The adjusting pins  64  and  65  have a slot formed on their outer end surface and a bifurcated inner end having two arms spaced from one another in a distance equal to the width of the rectangular end portions at the ends of the shaft  59 . The top housing  11  and the lower housing  12  are mounted together with the rear extension end portion  57  engaged with the middle portion of the space  54  of the lower housing  12 . The adjusting pins  64  and  65  are then inserted into the through openings  55  and  56  respectively with their bifurcated inner ends engaged with the rectangular end portions  62  and  63  respectively. Thus, the top housing  10  and the lower housing  12  may be pivotable with respect to one another relative to the shaft  59  to an opened condition with the top housing  10  located at an obtuse angle position slightly larger than 90 degrees relative to the lower housing  12 . The spring tension in the shaft  59  enables the top housing  10  and the lower housing  12  to be pivoted with a snap action to such opened condition with ease with a single hand operation. The spring tension also facilitates the top housing  10  and the lower housing  12  to be pivoted to the close condition juxtaposed to one another with a snap action. The angle of the opened condition of the billfold container  10  may be varied selectively by turning the adjusting pins  64  and  65  with a slot screw driver engaging with the slots formed on their end surface portion. Once the desired opening position of the billfold container  10  has been adjusted, the opening position may be fixed by securing the adjusting pins  64  and  65  in place with set screws  66  and  67  provided at the extension base portions  52  and  53  respectively of the lower housing  12 . 
         [0031]    A currency clip  68  may be mounted to the adjusting pins  64  and  65  exposed through the two spaces located between the end extension portion  57  of the top housing  11  and the extension base portions  52  and  53  of the lower housing  12  such that the currency clip  68  will be positioned in a raised angle position as best shown in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The currency clip  68  may be generally triangular in shape as shown and has a center pivotable spring arm  69  such that a small amount of paper currency in the folded condition may be held in the spring arm  69 . The raised angle position of the currency clip  68  when the billfold is in the opened condition, facilitates the easy removal of the paper currency therefrom or placement of the paper currency thereto. 
         [0032]    While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been described above. It will be recognized and understood that various modifications may be made therein and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications which may fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.