Abstract:
A covered money holding tray with a series of toy money holding compartments and a cavity for receiving a book such that when the cover is closed with the book in place, the compartments are closed off, preventing the contents of the open compartments from spilling out should the tray be moved about, with the cover in a preferred embodiment being clear or translucent so that the cover or back of the book can be read when the cover is closed.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to money holders and, more particularly, to money holders that are particularly well adapted to be used in teaching children about the use of money.  
           [0002]    It is well recognized that providing children with toy money in the form of bills and coins in the course of teaching the use of money makes the lessons more real and therefore easier to grasp. Since sorting the coins and bills is an important part of these lessons, systems for segregating and holding coins would be an important adjunct to such hands-on teaching. In order to meet the rigorous requirements of active children using such systems, it is important that such systems hold the coins and bills securely in appropriate sorting compartments.  
           [0003]    Also, instructional books are often provided to aid in the learning process. It would advance the art if the system included a single container that would hold not only the coins and bills, but also an instructional book. This would ensure that the book is always at hand when it is desired to use the container in teaching the use of money. Also, if the top surface of the book could be seen when inside the closed container to identify the book (and optimally also its purpose) it would further facilitate the use of the system.  
           [0004]    The present invention satisfies the above needs by providing a system including a container with a series of secure compartments for holding and segregating coins and bills. It ensures that the coins and bills do not spill over into adjacent compartments when the container is jostled or even turned over. Also, the single container holds not only the coins and bills, but also an instructional book to ensure that the book is always at hand when it is desired to use the container in teaching the use of money. Also, in a preferred embodiment, the top surface of the book can seen when inside the closed container.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    The invention comprises a system for teaching children about the use of money including an instruction book having a cover and a back, a tray with a compartment area for holding different denominations of play money, a cover for closing the tray, and a cavity for receiving the book. The cavity for receiving the book may be either in the cover or it may be in the compartment area. The cover maybe translucent or clear so that when the book is positioned in the cavity with either its cover or its back exposed, the back or the cover can be seen. The invention also comprises a method system for teaching children about the use of money using the system described above.  
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0006]    The features of this invention which are believed to be novel are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention, together with its objects and advantages, may be best understood by reference to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals identify like elements in the several figures and in which:  
         [0007]    [0007]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the system of the present invention, in its closed and locked configuration;  
         [0008]    [0008]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the system of the invention, in its open position, with the bills and coins distributed in the compartments of the tray of the system;  
         [0009]    [0009]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the system of the invention corresponding to that of FIG. 2, in which the bills and coins are absent;  
         [0010]    [0010]FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial perspective view of a portion of the front of the tray of the above figures, illustrating the mounting of the handle within a cavity in the front of the tray;  
         [0011]    FIGS.  5 A- 5 B are partial perspective views of the locking mechanism of the system of the invention; and  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of the invention in which a book may be positioned in the tray of the system.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0013]    Turning now to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is illustrated a system in accordance with the present invention for teaching children about the use of money comprising a toy money holder  10 , having a cover  12  and a tray  14 . Cover  12  is attached to tray  14  by a series of three hinges  16 . When the cover is closed upon the tray, as illustrated in FIG. 1, it may be locked in the closed position by two latches  18 , which are described in more detail below.  
         [0014]    Tray  14  includes a front angled wall  20 , a rear vertical wall  22 , and pair of sidewalls  24  and  26 . The front and rear walls and the side walls include a continuous generally horizontal ledge  28  extending from the front, rear, and side walls.  
         [0015]    As shown in FIG. 3, tray  14  includes a series of five generally rectangular adjacent rear compartments  30   a ,  30   b ,  30   c ,  30   d  and  30   e . The rear walls of these adjacent rear compartments comprise portions of the inner surface of rear vertical wall  22  of the tray. The sidewalls of compartments  30   a ,  30   b ,  30   c ,  30   d  and  30   e  comprise respectively a portion  34   a  sidewall  24  and vertical divider  34   b , vertical dividers  34   b  and  34   c , vertical dividers  34   c  and  34   d , vertical dividers  34   d  and  34   e , and vertical divider  34   e  and portion  34   f  of sidewall  26 . The floor of each of these compartments is generally horizontal. Also, the tray includes a generally vertical dividing wall  36 . Ramps  38  optimally are located at the front of each of the compartments. These ramps  38  are at approximately a 45-degree angle to the bottom of the tray. Compartments  30   a ,  30   b ,  30   c ,  30   d  and  30   e  are respectively dimensioned to receive play money, which in the illustrated embodiment of FIG. 2 comprises $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50 bills. Ramps  39  in each of the compartments support the forward edge of the play money, as shown, making it easier to slide individual bills forward and out of the compartments when the tray is used in teaching how to handle money or in purely play situations.  
         [0016]    The tray is partitioned at approximately its midpoint by dividing wall  36 . Portions of this wall form the back walls of a corresponding series of adjacent forward compartments  42   a ,  42   b ,  42   c ,  42   d  and  42   e . The front walls of these compartments comprise the back surface of front angled wall  20  of the tray. The individual compartments consist of portion  44   a  of sidewall  24  and vertical wall  44   b , vertical walls  44   b  and  44   c , vertical walls  44   c  and  44   d , vertical walls  44   d  and  44   e , and vertical wall  44   e  with portion  44   f  of side wall  26 . Compartments  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c  and  44   d , which are of varying widths, are intended to receive different play coins, including pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters and either half dollar or one dollar coins, as illustrated in FIG. 2. The sizes of the compartments are chosen to correspond to the sizes of the coins, i.e., larger compartments for larger coins.  
         [0017]    As can be seen, for example, in FIGS. 1 and 4, the front edge of the tray includes a cutout portion  50  for receiving a handle  52 . Handle  52  includes a contoured gripping portion  54  and horizontally outwardly disposed pins  56  at the ends of the handle. These pins are received in holes  58  in portions  60  in cutout portion  50  of the front wall of the tray.  
         [0018]    As illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, latches  18  are provided to lock the cover onto the tray when it is in its closed position (FIG. 1). These latches include an “L” shaped support member  55  protruding forwardly from the tray to slidingly retain a locking member  57  which engages locking block  59  protruding forwardly from the tray when the cover is closed down upon the tray to lock the tray in place.  
         [0019]    Finally, cover  12  includes a book-receiving cavity  60  which is formed in the top surface  62  of the cover, as illustrated in FIG. 2. This cavity is of a depth generally corresponding to the thickness of an instructional book  64  intended to be placed in the tray and stored there when the tray is not in use. Cavity  60  includes a flat horizontal bottom surface  64  surrounded by an adjacent vertical wall  66  of a height preferably corresponding to the thickness of book  64  (FIG. 3), although its height may be slightly larger than the thickness of the book. When the book is in place, the exposed surface (cover or back of the book) is generally co-planer with the portion  68  of surface  62  surrounding cavity  60 , thereby presenting a continuous generally flat bottom surface which touches or is spaced slightly from walls to top edges of  30   b - 30   f ,  44   b - 44   f , and  36  when the cover is closed, effectively isolating each of the cavities from the other, to prevent either coins or bills from sliding between cavities and interfering with the order established by child using the toy money holder.  
         [0020]    In a preferred embodiment, cover  12  is clear or translucent, so that the front or back of the book positioned therein can be read without opening the box. This aids in identifying the nature and purpose of the box, as when, for example, the cover of the book is entitled “Learning About Money” which can be viewed as shown in FIG. 1. It also adds interest to the toy money holder, making it more likely it will be used by a child as intended.  
         [0021]    In an alternate embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 6, cover  12 A and  44 B- 44 E, as well as the corresponding portion of wall  36  have been undercut to a depth  70  corresponding to the thickness of book  64 . The length and width of the undercut area correspond respectively to the length and width of the book. Thus, in this embodiment, when the child has completed play with the system of the invention, he or she simply lays the book in the cavity formed by these wall cutouts and closes cover  12 A down onto tray  14 A, and locks the cover in place on the tray. As in the previous embodiment, the bills and coins remain trapped in their corresponding compartments, so that the covered tray can be transported without mingling its contents.  
         [0022]    In yet another embodiment, corresponding cavities may be formed in both the cover and tray, generally as illustrated in FIGS.  1 - 3  and  6 , where the total height of the cavities in the cover and tray together correspond to the height of the book. This would also enable the book to be positioned in a cutout in the tray and the cover closed down upon it to trap the bills and coins in appropriate compartments.  
         [0023]    While the present invention is described above in connection with preferred or illustrative embodiments, these embodiments are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the invention. Rather, the invention is intended to cover all alternatives, appended claims.