This invention relates to a coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus, and more specifically, to an improved coin and token holding and dispensing apparatus that is lightweight, adapted to organize, hold and dispense coins of varying sizes and denominations, additionally holds public transit tokens, and fits conveniently in a pocket or purse.
Many countries are increasing the number of coins in circulation. Coins have better durability and therefore are less expensive than paper notes to maintain in circulation. For example, in addition to circulating pennies, dimes, nickels and quarters Canada has a one-dollar and two-dollar coin. The United States has recently introduced a one-dollar coin and the European Union utilizes Euro coins in various denominations. Furthermore, many large public transit systems rely upon tokens rather than currency as payment. This plethora of coins in circulation means that the pockets and purses of the average consumer are often filled with coins. Modern billfolds and wallets are not large enough to hold and dispense coins in an organized and convenient fashion. Furthermore, people who are visually impaired or who have other physical impairments have difficulty handling and identifying coins. A number of coin holders have been proposed to overcome this problem. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,513 issued to Norris on Mar. 23, 1999 discloses a Combination Coin and Key Holder. This coin holder can only hold two coins and therefore is totally unsuited to situations where several coins of varying sizes and denominations must be held. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,710 issued to Hoffman on Mar. 19, 1996 discloses a Portable Coin Holder and Dispenser that is limited in the number and size of coins that it can carry. U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,532 issued to Mascherin on Jul. 11, 1978 teaches a Coin Holder Having Rib Retained Closure that is able to hold only a single size of coin at one time. U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,695 issued to Meijer on May 8, 1973 for a Coin Holder and Coin Dispenser discloses a device that is disadvantaged by the limited number of different denomination coins that it can hold. Furthermore, the circular shape of Meijer's invention means that it must be significantly increased in diameter to hold a full set of denominations of modern coins. This would result in a device that is too large to fit comfortably in hand or in a pocket. Additionally, since Meijer contains a number of spaces or voids in the various pieces of the device to save weight, the mold for making such a device would have to be intricate and therefore expensive. Finally, Meijer relies upon screw fasteners that complicates assembly and leads to ease of unwanted disassembly. Therefore, there continues to be a need for a lightweight apparatus that is able to conveniently organize, hold and dispense a plurality of coins and tokens of varying sizes and denominations, that is inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and shaped to fit conveniently and comfortably in hand, pocket and purse.
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus that overcomes the problems cited above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus that is adapted to organize, hold and dispense coins of varying sizes and denominations, additionally holds public transit tokens, and fits conveniently in pocket or purse.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a convenient coin and token holding, dispensing and organizing apparatus well suited for use by visually and physically impaired individuals.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus that can hold a plurality of coins of different denominations and nationalities.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus that can be easily manufactured using lightweight molded thermoplastic parts.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus that is shaped to fit conveniently and comfortably in hand, pocket and purse.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus that is manufactured from lightweight material and does not significantly add to the weight of coins in a purse or pocket.
Further objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a consideration of the following, summary, drawings and detailed description.
In accordance with the present invention an improved coin and token organizing, holding and dispensing apparatus comprises a lower housing for organizing, holding and dispensing a pre-determined number of coins and tokens of varying sizes and denominations. The lower housing has a substantially rectangular shape having a taper along its length so that the apparatus fits conveniently in pocket or purse and is comfortable to hold. The lower housing has a substantially open top surface, a closed flat bottom surface; and, closed vertical sides. The tapered shape and substantially open surface permits ready identification of coins by visually impaired individuals. Within the lower housing is a plurality of linearly disposed cylindrical wells. Each well is adapted to receive a coin or token of a predetermined size. To partially enclose each well of the lower housing so that the coins are retained in their respective wells, while at the same time permitting the charging and discharging of the holder, an upper plate is mounted on the top open surface of the lower housing. Means are provided to facilitate the smooth and easy charging of and discharging of coins from each well. The lower housing and upper plate are manufactured as unitary pieces from lightweight thermoplastic material having desired resiliency and duration while permitting various advertising material to be fixed to them, for example, adhesively.
One embodiment of my invention is shown in
To increase the commercial attractiveness of my invention, the upper plate (16) has sufficient surface space (17) for promotional advertising and logos of various entities. This advertising or logos may take the form of an adhesive sticker or may be engraved into the top surface of the upper plate.
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The base element of the dispenser is adapted to fit closely to the walls of the coin well while permitting unhindered up and down movement of the base element in the well. The rim of the base element is preferably rounded to permit easy loading and discharging of coins.
In operation, a plurality of coins will be loaded into each well of the lower housing. The biasing element will be compressed in the coin well. The upper surface of the top coin in the well will be in frictional contact with a portion of the bottom surface of the upper plate. A portion of the top surface of the top coin will be exposed through the slot. The bottom surface of the bottom coin will be in frictional contact with the top surface of the base element. The biasing element will bias the top of the top coin against the bottom surface of the upper plate. The combined action of the frictional engagement of the top of the coin with the bottom of the upper plate and the biasing action of the biasing element will exert sufficient force to prevent the coin from dropping out of the coin well by virtue of gravity or the jostling movement that the invention will encounter in someone's pocket or purse. To discharge a coin from the invention, a person need only to swipe a thumb or finger across the exposed upper surface of the coin towards the open end of the slot. This will exert sufficient force to overcome the friction between the coin and the upper plate and move the coin outwards. The cut down outer rim of the coin well, the outward curve of the open end of the slot, and the biasing force of the biasing element act together to facilitate smooth movement of the coin and avoid jamming of the coin in the slot. To insert a coin into a coin well, a person need only depress the top coin within a particular well and insert the coin into the mouth of the well.
Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodiments of this invention. Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2392678 | Jul 2002 | CA | national |
This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 60/305,845 filed Jul. 17, 2001.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
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2896892 | Berardinelli | Jul 1959 | A |
3242930 | Wilner | Mar 1966 | A |
3731695 | Meijer | May 1973 | A |
4099532 | Mascherin | Jul 1978 | A |
D252775 | Stoffel | Aug 1979 | S |
4540008 | Murphy | Sep 1985 | A |
5024629 | Murray | Jun 1991 | A |
5377828 | Jaroshewich | Jan 1995 | A |
5492504 | Wolters | Feb 1996 | A |
5499710 | Hoffman | Mar 1996 | A |
5833054 | Graves | Nov 1998 | A |
5884513 | Norris | Mar 1999 | A |
6302777 | Zoldan | Oct 2001 | B1 |
D455245 | Bakker | Apr 2002 | S |
20020195354 | Davis, Jr. | Dec 2002 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20040198211 A1 | Oct 2004 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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60305845 | Jul 2001 | US |