Patent Application
20240407514
The present invention relates generally to the field of electromagnetic shielding enclosures. More particularly, the present invention relates to using a wallet as an RF-shielded enclosure which provides a multifunction bi-fold wallet that defines in an unfolded position a faraday bag for housing and protecting a smartphone.
A Faraday cage or Faraday shield is an enclosure used to block electromagnetic fields. A Faraday shield may be formed by a continuous covering of conductive material, or in the case of a Faraday cage, by a mesh of such materials. Faraday bags are a type of Faraday cage made of flexible metallic fabric. Faraday bags may be used by the public to protect against data theft or to enhance a person's digital privacy with respect to their electronic devices.
RF shielded wallets are designed to protect a person's credit cards and identity from RFID skimming, a type or form of digital pickpocketing. RFID stands for radio-frequency identification, which uses electromagnetic fields to identify and track tags attached to objects. RFID-enabled credit cards, also known as contactless cards, are vulnerable to skimming, wherein thieves use an RFID reader to wirelessly steal the person's credit card information through their wallet.
In use RF shielded wallets incorporate a shielding material that blocks the electromagnetic signal thereby preventing skimming attempts. More specifically, materials used in prior art RF shielded wallets range from blocking films which are typically placed in the lining of the wallet to help prevent radio frequency signals from penetrating through or alternatively use just a slim piece of aluminum foil which although is a very cost-effective option to line the wallet, the inside layering of aluminum foil may help to block some but not all electromagnetic radiation. Lastly, prior art shielded wallets do not provide an effective solution for additionally protecting a user's smartphone from RFID skimming.
The bi-fold wallet of the current invention solves the problem of unauthorized and/or inadvertent theft of contactless cards and smartphones by blocking all electromagnetic fields when housed within the bi-fold wallet of the current invention.
A bi-fold wallet is provided for securely storing RFID contactless cards from RFID skimming by incorporating multiple sheets of a faraday fabric which are then layered, bound, and attached within the interior of the bi-fold wallet for enabling the blocking of all electromagnetic signals including Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, Cellular 5G, Radio and RFID. Additionally, in the unfolded position the bi-fold wallet defines an interiorly defined faraday bag for housing a smartphone.
A more detailed understanding may be had from the following description, given by way of example in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:
In today's high-tech environment, credit cards, debit cards, key fobs and other electronic devices transmit electronic signals containing personal information. Accordingly, the possibility of unauthorized collection of this information occurs. Electromagnetic (EM) shielding is the practice of surrounding electronics and cables with conductive or magnetic materials to guard against incoming or outgoing emissions of electromagnetic frequencies (EMF). This shielding practice involves surrounding electronics and cables with conductive or magnetic materials to prevent theft of electronic transmissions. Electromagnetic shielding that blocks radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic radiation is also known as RF shielding. Electromagnetic shielding also blocks magnetic frequency (MF) transmissions also known as MF shielding.
Referring now to
Turning once again to
The two rectangular pieces 12 and 14 with the layered Faraday nickel copper mesh and diamond Faraday material 26 are now all stitched together using a needle and thread (not shown). It should be noted that the stitching is evenly spaced and as close together as possible so that the stitching is tight. One or more interior slots are now added into the newly formed interior of the bi-fold wallet 10 for housing credit cards 16 wherein an exterior longitudinal pocket 24 is created along the front side of one of the rectangular pieces 12 such that the pocket 24 may be used for storing a frequently used credit or debit card. Lastly the assembly of the bi-fold wallet 10 forms a folding flap portion 20 at one end of the bi-fold wallet 10 as shown in
It should be understood that the size of the rectangular pieces 12 and 14 with the layered Faraday nickel copper mesh and diamond Faraday material 26 determines the size of the bi-fold wallet 10 created. By way of example but not of limitation, in one preferred embodiment a folded wallet 20 would define a length of 4.5 Inches, a width of 4 inches and a thickness of ½ inch as shown in
When stitching the two rectangular pieces 12 and 14 with the layered Faraday nickel copper mesh and diamond Faraday material 26 together two interior compartments are formed. The first interior compartment defines a first longitudinal compartment 30 for housing cash 18 and credit cards 16 as shown in
Referring now to
Referring now to
In summary, different materials and techniques may be assembled and used interiorly within the interior compartments of a bi-fold wallet for EM shielding to block errant electromagnetic interference (EMI). It should be understood that it is not necessary to have a complete, continuous enclosure so long as any openings are smaller than the electromagnetic waves that are to be blocked which by way of example may be a layered Faraday nickel copper mesh. Additionally, magnetic materials may be used for EM shielding in environments where the magnetic fields are slowly varied below the 100 Khz range. The use of magnetic materials draws the EMI into the magnetic field of the shielding and blocks other transmission.
The bi-fold wallet of the present invention is used for carrying items typically including personal identification, credit cards and/or currency. The bi-fold wallet may be carried containing RF emitting debit/credit while being protected against any RF hacking attempts. The bi-fold wallet may be comprised of portions, such as a front portion and a rear portion. These portions may comprise an outer material on the exterior and one or more portions of inner material in a defined interior incorporating RF blocking technology that is layered between an inner soft filler material attached to the inside of the outer material.
The bi-fold wallets inner filler material may be a thin sheet of diamond Faraday material to prevent abrasion covering one or more layers of RF blocking material such as a Faraday nickel copper alloy mesh. This soft filler is typically not visible to the device user. In one embodiment, two soft filler sheets are used, one on either side of each RF blocking material. The bi-fold wallets outer material may be on its exterior portions, forming the front and back of the bi-fold wallet may be water and dust proof nylon ripstop. The RF blocking material may be cut to a size and shape to ensure a perfect fit cut for maximum RF Blocking.
It should be understood that many variations are possible based on the disclosure herein. Although features and elements are described above in particular combinations, each feature or element can be used alone without the other features and elements or in various combinations with or without other features and elements.
