The present invention relates to clips for holding money, and more particularly to a rotational money clip able to hold a bundle of paper and/or coin currency.
Devices for holding currency have been employed in many different variations. One common example of such a device is a money clip. The majority of the existing money clips are designed to hold paper currency, credit cards, driver licenses, etc. However, currency generally exists in the form of paper or coin. With the increased circulation of coin currency (e.g., one dollar coins in the United States), a money clip that, for example, is designed to securely hold coin currency as well as paper currency is highly desirable. Also, money clips having reduced size, improved ease of use, and/or stronger currency retention force are always welcome additions to the art.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a money clip having a spring, and a pair of arms joined by the spring, wherein at least one of the arms includes at least one recess configured to hold coin currency. The money clip can further include a pair of levers, wherein at least one of the levers is configured to rotate from a retracted position to a deployed position, and wherein the levers support coin currency when in retracted position and are used to open the money clip when in deployed position.
In one embodiment, the invention provides a method of retaining money in a money clip. The method includes positioning money between legs of a spring, and joining a pair of arms to the spring. Each arm includes at least one recess configured to hold coin currency. The method further includes coupling a pair of levers to the respective one of the pair of arms, rotating each lever from a retracted position to a deployed position, supporting the coin currency when the levers are in the retracted position, and opening the money clip by pinching the legs of the spring together when the levers are in the deployed position.
Before any embodiments of the invention are explained in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of construction and the arrangement of components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the following drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced or of being carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of “including,” “comprising” or “having” and variations thereof herein is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items. The terms “mounted,” “connected” and “coupled” are used broadly and encompass both direct and indirect mounting, connecting and coupling. Further, “connected” and “coupled” are not restricted to physical or mechanical connections or couplings, and can include electrical connections or couplings, whether direct or indirect.
In the illustrated embodiment, each arm 10 has an elongated rectangular form and is constructed from metal (e.g., steel, titanium, aluminum). In other embodiments, the arms 10 can have a different form or shape (e.g., square, oval, etc.) and/or can be constructed from different materials (e.g., durable plastic, wood, ceramic or other refractory material, fiberglass or other composite material, etc.). The arms 10 define a first end 45 (see
As shown in
In some embodiments, the arms 10 further include one or more springs 60 (see
In some embodiments, other spring types are used to retain one or more coins in the recesses 55, including without limitation an elastomeric or otherwise deformable element (e.g., a liner, protrusion, or other element made of, for example, urethane, neoprene, plastic, or other polymer material, felt, and the like) in or adjacent the recess 55. As used herein and in the appended claims, the term “spring” is intended to encompass all such elements. Such elements can be positioned to provide a degree of resistance to removal of a coin received within the recess 55, which resistance can be overcome by sufficient pulling, pushing, prying, or other force exerted upon the coin in the recess 55. In other embodiments, the money clip 5 can be constructed without one or more springs 60.
In the embodiment illustrated in
In those embodiments in which multiple coins are retained on each arm 10 of the money clip, such coins can be retained in a stacked relationship upon one another into a single recess 55. Alternatively, each arm 10 of the money clip can also or instead have multiple recesses 55 (e.g., two or three recesses along the length of the arm 10) each capable of receiving and retaining one or more coins as described herein.
With continued reference to the illustrated embodiment, the spring 20 joins the arms 10 and provides force to the arms 10 to securely hold paper currency in the money clip 5 (as shown in
In some embodiments, the legs 65A, 65B of the spring 20 further define apertures 68A and 68B through which pins 30 (described in greater detail below) can be received to secure the arms 10 to the respective legs 65A, 65B of the spring 20.
The rotatable levers 25 of the illustrated money clip 5 have an elongated rectangular form and are constructed from metal (e.g., steel). However, in other embodiments, either or both levers 25 can have any other shape desired, including without limitation other polygonal shapes, round or oval shapes, irregular shapes, and the like, and can be constructed of other materials (e.g., titanium, aluminum, or other metals, durable plastic, wood, ceramic or other refractory material, fiberglass or other composite material, etc.). As shown in
In the illustrated embodiment, the length of the levers 25 is smaller than the length of the arms 10, and the levers 25 have the same width as the arms 10. However, in other embodiments, the length of the levers 15 can instead be the same or longer than the length of the arms 10, and the width of the levers 25 can be larger or smaller than the width of the arms.
The illustrated levers 25 include a first end 70 adjacent to the pins 30, a second end 72 distant from the pins 30, and an opening 74 positioned between the first and second ends 70, 72. In other embodiments, either or both levers 25 can be constructed without the opening 74. The first end 70 of each lever 25 defines a first edge 77, and the second end 72 defines a second edge 79 opposite the first edge 77. With continued reference to the illustrated embodiment, when the levers 25 of the money clip 5 are in their retracted positions, the first edges 77 of the levers 25 align with the first edges 46 of the arms 10, and the second edges 79 of the levers 25 interact with the extended portions 27 of the arms 10. Specifically, the edges 79 align with the edges 28 of the extended portions 27 so the levers 25 “cover” the recesses 55 and the coins inserted in the recesses 55. In other embodiments, other lever shapes and sizes having edges or other peripheries (that may or may not align with features on the arms 10) are possible while still performing the function of providing deployed and retracted positions as described herein and/or coin covering and coin exposing positions as also described herein.
Each of the levers 25 in the illustrated embodiment further include an aperture 81 through which the pins 30 rotatably attach the levers 25 to the arms 10 and/or spring legs 65A, 65B. In some embodiments, the apertures 81 are positioned proximate the first end 70 of each lever 25 to enable each lever 25 to swing about an end of the lever 25. In other embodiments, the apertures 81 can be positioned elsewhere along the levers 25 to enable other types of lever movement, such as an aperture 81 located at the middle of each lever 25 to enable the lever 25 to swing about the center of each lever 25 (i.e., to and from a position covering one or more recesses 55 in the respective arms 10 as described above).
With continued reference to the illustrated embodiment, the aperture 81 can be aligned with the apertures 49 to accept the pins 30, which attach the levers 25 to the arms 10 and further provide for rotational movement of the levers 25 in relation to the arms 10. One example of a pin 30 used in the money clip 5 of the present invention is show in
The attachment of the levers 25 via pins 30 allows for rotation of the levers 25 in relation to the arms 10. Specifically, either or both levers 25 can pivot about an axis 86 (see
In some embodiments, the pin and aperture rotational connection between the levers 25 and the arms 10 and spring legs 65A, 65B can be an over-center connection. In other words, a rotational over-center mechanism (not shown, but well-understood to those skilled in the art) provides resistance to rotation or a rotational bias in one or more rotational positions (e.g., under spring-loaded force) of each lever 25. In such embodiments, the levers 25 can be biased toward their retracted positions over the arms 10 and/or toward their deployed positions as described above, thereby helping to insure that coins within the recesses 55 remain covered by the levers 25 to avoid falling out of the money clip 5, and helping the user place the levers 25 in their properly deployed position for actuation. In these embodiments, after a user employs sufficient rotational force to rotate the levers 25 from their over-center positions, the levers 25 can pivot easily to complete full rotation about the axis 86. Any over-center rotational device or mechanism can be utilized for this purpose, and falls within the spirit and scope of the present invention.
In some embodiments, both levers 25 rotate about their respective axes 86. In other embodiments, one of the levers 25 does not rotate. In such a configuration, the non-rotatable arm 10 can be constructed without the opening 74, and can include a logo on an outer surface. Also, in some embodiments, the outer surface of either or both arms 10, and/or the outer surfaces of either or both levers 25, can be covered with a removable plastic cap (not shown) that includes a text or graphics as desired. Further, the opening 74 can have different forms and shapes, and can be used as a bottle opener when the levers 25 are in their deployed positions.
In order to insert or remove coins or paper currency from the money clip 5, a user operates the money clip 5 as follows. When the money clip 5 is in the retracted state and a user wishes to open the money clip 5 to add or remove currency or other items between the legs 65A, 65B of the spring 20, the user pushes the levers 25 to rotate them into their deployed positions as described above. An example of such deployed positions (where the levers 25 are each rotated 180 degrees) is shown in
It will be appreciated that the dual function of the levers 25 described above and illustrated in the accompanying figures (i.e., providing stowable and deployable features for opening and closing arms 10 of the money clip 5, and well as providing elements that selectively cover and retain coins in recesses of the money clip 5) need not be provided in other embodiments of the present invention. In particular, in some embodiments the levers 25 need not perform the function of enabling a user to open the arms 10 of the money clip 5, but can still perform the function of providing elements that selectively cover and retain coins in recesses of the money clip 5. Likewise, in some embodiments the levers 25 still perform the function of enabling a user to open the arms 10 of the money clip 5, but do not also perform the function of providing elements that selectively cover and retain coins in recesses of the money clip 5. Also, it will be appreciated that other embodiments of the present invention need not necessarily utilize rotating levers 25 at all, opting instead for elements having a similar or different size and shape that each at least partially cover recesses 55 as described above in order to retain coins therein. In such embodiments, a user simply inserts or removes coins into the recesses 55 in an edge-wise manner as described above, which coins can in some embodiments be retained in the recesses 55 at least in part by the springs 60 (or alternatives thereto) described above. It should be noted that in these and other embodiments described and illustrated herein, the recesses 55 need not necessarily be defined in the exterior surfaces of the arms 10. Rather, either or both recesses 55 can instead be defined in interior surfaces of the arms 10 (whereby coins can thereby be retained between the arms 10 and the legs 65A, 65B of the spring 20) or between interior and exterior portions of the arms 10 (i.e., between layers of each arms 10).
Thus, the invention provides, among other things, a money clip 5 with levers 25 that are rotatable between retracted and deployed positions to enable opening of the money clip 5 and/or to provide selective access to coins held within recesses of the money clip 5. Various features and advantages of the invention are set forth in the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61663705 | Jun 2012 | US |