Patent Application
20210112936
The present invention relates to an assembly that is used to carry money and cards. The assembly is modular and can be releasably attached to a cell phone case.
Money and credit/identification cards are typically stored in a standard wallet, which can become quite bulky. With cell phones being ubiquitous these days, people need to carry around both a wallet and a cell phone, which can be cumbersome.
It would be beneficial to provide a money and card carrier that is smaller than a wallet and, if desired, can also be releasably attached to a cell phone.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.
In one embodiment, the present invention is a money and card carrier assembly that includes a first component having a first portion, wherein the first portion includes a plurality of pockets formed therein. Each of the plurality of pockets is sized to allow a credit card to be releasably retained therein. The assembly also includes a second portion, with a first hinge connecting the first portion and the second portion. A second component has a sleeve sized to allow the second portion of the first component to be removably inserted therein and a plurality of pockets located on either side of the sleeve. Each of the plurality of pockets is sized to allow a credit card to be releasably retained therein. A third component has a first generally planar portion, a second generally planar portion, and a second hinge connecting the first generally planar portion to the second generally planar portion. Each of the first and second generally planar portions is sized to be removably insertable into the sleeve.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, illustrate the presently preferred embodiments of the invention, and, together with the general description given above and the detailed description given below, serve to explain the features of the invention. In the drawings:
In the drawings, like numerals indicate like elements throughout. Certain terminology is used herein for convenience only and is not to be taken as a limitation on the present invention. The terminology includes the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import. The embodiments illustrated below are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed. These embodiments are chosen and described to best explain the principle of the invention and its application and practical use and to enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention.
Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the invention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments necessarily mutually exclusive of other embodiments. The same applies to the term “implementation.”
As used in this application, the word “exemplary” is used herein to mean serving as an example, instance, or illustration. Any aspect or design described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other aspects or designs. Rather, use of the word exemplary is intended to present concepts in a concrete fashion.
Additionally, the term “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive “or”. That is, unless specified otherwise, or clear from context, “X employs A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusive permutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both A and B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoing instances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in this application and the appended claims should generally be construed to mean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form.
Unless explicitly stated otherwise, each numerical value and range should be interpreted as being approximate as if the word “about” or “approximately” preceded the value of the value or range.
The use of figure numbers and/or figure reference labels in the claims is intended to identify one or more possible embodiments of the claimed subject matter in order to facilitate the interpretation of the claims. Such use is not to be construed as necessarily limiting the scope of those claims to the embodiments shown in the corresponding figures.
The present invention is used to provide a slim carrier assembly 100 (“assembly 100”) for money and/or cards, such as credit cards, driver's licenses, and work identification cards, resulting in a slimmer carrier, without the bulk of a standard wallet. Assembly 100 is provided in three separate pieces that can be used separately or combined in various combinations as a user sees fit.
A central internal strip 126 is inserted between pockets 116, 118 and pockets 120, 122 and defines outside 124 and inside 125 of first portion 114. Central internal strip 126 can be formed from a first external fabric 127 that is attached to a second internal fabric 129.
A first fabric 128 wraps around central internal strip 126 and cooperates with central internal strip 126 to form outside pocket 116 and inside pocket 120. As shown in
Similarly, a second fabric 132 wraps around first fabric 128, but slightly below first fabric 128, so that a portion of first fabric 128 is visible. Second fabric 132 cooperates with first fabric 126 to form outside pocket 118 and inside pocket 122. Similar to first fabric 128, second fabric 132 is a single piece fabric that is connected with an inside seam 134 on the inside 125 of first fabric portion 114. The location of seam 134 hides seam 134 from view and also avoids edge stitching, which allows first component 110 to be a minimum width while still being able to receive cards 50, 52 therein.
Both first fabric 128 and second fabric 132 are attached to central internal strip 126 by a stitched seam 135 that extends along a free end 136 of first portion 114. A shielded magnet 138 is embedded inside pocket 122.
A connected end 137 of first portion 114 is connected to a living hinge 140. Living hinge 140 is constructed from first external fabric 127 and second internal fabric 129, with a separation between first external fabric 127 and second internal fabric 129 so that a money clip 142 (shown in
Living hinge 140 is connected to a connected end 144 of a second portion 146. Second portion 146 has an internal portion 148 that includes two pockets 150, 152. Pockets 150, 152 are constructed from a single piece of fabric 154 that cooperates with an extension of central internal strip 126 such that central internal strip 126 and a first part 156 of fabric 154 form pocket 150 and first part 156 of fabric 154 and a second part 157 of fabric 154 form pocket 152. Pockets 150, 152 are sewn to each other and to central internal strip 126 at free end 158 of second portion 146. Additionally, first part 156 of fabric 154 is sewn to central internal strip 126 above free end 158 along a seam 159 so that a card 54 inserted into pocket 150 extends above a card 56 (shown in
With magnetically attractive member 161 inserted between the arms of fabric 154 that form pocket 152, when second portion 146 is folded toward first portion 114 at living hinge 140, magnet 138 releasably magnetically attaches to magnetically attractive member 161 to releasably keep first portion 114 and second portion 146 together until pulled apart by a force stronger than the magnetic force between magnet 138 and magnetically attractive member 161. Magnetically attractive member 161 can be a metal plate.
As shown in
Referring to
Similarly, second component 160 includes an outside portion 172 having pockets 174, 176 that are sized to allow cards 54, 56 to be releasably inserted thereinto. Pockets 174, 176 are staggered so that a card 54 inserted into pocket 176 is partially exposed, while a card 56 inserted into pocket 174 is less exposed.
A magnetically attractive material 178 can be embedded in either the front of pocket 166 or pocket 176 (magnetically attractive material 178 is shown in
Third component 180 includes a first generally planar portion 182 attached to a second generally planar portion 184 by a living hinge 186. Similar to living hinge 140, living hinge 186 can be constructed from a first external fabric 188 and a second internal fabric 190. Money clip 142 can be inserted between first external fabric 188 and second internal fabric 190 as shown in
First generally planar portion 182 can include a magnet 192, while second generally planar portion 184 can include a magnetically attractive member (not shown), such as a metal plate. First and second generally planar portions 182, 184 are each sufficiently narrow so that either one of first and second generally planar portions 182, 184 can be inserted into central sleeve 162 so that third component 180 (with money clip 142) can be used together to hold money and cards.
Different combinations of pieces 110, 160, 180 and a cell phone case 60 are shown in
It will be further understood that various changes in the details, materials, and arrangements of the parts which have been described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of this invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as expressed in the following claims.
The present application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/916,466, filed on Oct. 17, 2020, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62916466 | Oct 2019 | US |
