EP1331610A2

EP1331610A2 - Coin holder

Info

Publication number: EP1331610A2
Application number: EP02425161A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Maurizio Floris
Original assignee: Finpart SpA
Current assignee: Finpart SpA
Priority date: 2002-01-24
Filing date: 2002-03-15
Publication date: 2003-07-30
Also published as: ITMI20020035V0; ITMI20020035U1; EP1331610A3

Abstract

A coin holder (1), in particular for Euro coins, comprises:

a lower half-shell (2) comprising a base plate (20) wherefrom rise a plurality of substantially semi-cylindrical walls (23), defining respective containing seats (24) for containing coins in a position stacked one on top of another;
an upper half-shell (4) that can be assembled on said lower half-shell (2) and comprising a cover plate (40) having a plurality of openings (44) disposed to coincide with said containing seats (24) and a plurality of slots (50) coinciding with said openings (44) and of a greater width to allow horizontal removal/insertion of coins from/into said containing seats (24),
screw means (3) disposed in said containing seats (24) to urge the coins stacked inside the containing seats and disposed above spring means (3) toward the top of the container.

Description

The present invention relates to a coin holder, in particular for Euro coins.
With the introduction in Europe of the single currency (Euro), the need is felt for coin holders suitable for containing said new coins.
The coin holders for Euros proposed at present are in the form of purses or containers to contain a plurality of coins in scattered or random order. For this reason, said purses are not very practical, since they oblige the user to carry out a search for the desired coin inside the purse each time a payment is to be made.
Said drawback is further worsened by the presence of coins of different values, which can often be confused with one another. In fact it sufficient to think that in the majority of the European countries coins of eight different sizes are used, these being, in ascending order, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents and 1 and 2 Euros.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art by providing a coin holder of the portable type that is practical and able to allow the user to group the coins in an orderly manner, avoiding the possibility of errors.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a container for coins that is versatile and adaptable to various types of shapes of coins.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a coin holder that is compact, economical and simple to make.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a container with a flattened shape, which can easily be held in the palm of a hand.
These objects are achieved according to the invention with the characteristics set forth in appended independent claim 1.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are apparent from the dependent claims.
The coin holder according to the invention comprises a lower half-shell comprising a plurality of containing seats able to receive the coins in a stacked position one on top of the other, spring means disposed within said containing seats to urge the coins stacked above them towards the top of the container, and an upper half-shell that can be assembled on the lower half-shell.
The upper half-shell has a cover plate to retain said coins. A plurality of openings disposed to coincide with the containing seats is formed in the cover plate. A plurality of slots coinciding with said openings and larger in width is provided in the upper half-shell to allow horizontal insertion/removal of coins into/from said containing seats.
The advantages of the coin holder according to the invention are apparent in that it allows the coins to be kept in order, in a precise manner, in the respective containing seats, avoiding errors on the part of the user on removal of the coins.
Further characteristics of the invention will be made clearer by the detailed description that follows, referring to a purely exemplary and therefore non limiting embodiment thereof, illustrated in the appended drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a perspective, exploded view illustrating a coin holder according to the invention, wherein a single spring device is shown and the upper half-shell or cover is shown upside down so that the inward facing part thereof is visible;
Figure 2 is a perspective view of the coin holder of Figure 1, assembled;
Figure 3 is a top plan view of the coin holder according to the invention;
Figure 4 is a side view of the coin holder according to the invention;
Figure 5 is a cross section along the sectional plane V-V of Figure 3.
The coin holder according to the invention, denoted as a whole by reference numeral 1, is described with the aid of the figures.
The coin holder 1 comprises a substantially flattened parallelepiped body consisting of a lower half shell 2 acting as base or coin holding body and an upper half-shell 4 acting as a cover or coin retaining element.
The lower half-shell 2 comprises a base plate 20, substantially rectangular in shape, wherefrom a rectangular peripheral frame 21 defining a coin holding space rises. The peripheral rectangular frame 21 has a rectangular peripheral edge with a double lip 22.
A plurality of dividing walls 23 rise upward within the containing space, said dividing walls 23 being substantially semi-cylindrical in shape with concavities facing toward the major sides of the peripheral frame 21, so as to define, with the peripheral frame 21, respective seats or compartments 24 for containing coins in a configuration stacked one on top of another.
The semi-cylindrical dividing walls 23 have a greater height than the height of the peripheral frame 21. Furthermore, the dividing walls 23 have a step-shaped notch 25 in their upper and side end part.
Eight dividing walls 23 disposed on two parallel rows of four dividing walls each are preferably provided. In this case, the radius of curvature of the dividing walls 23 is designed so that the respective seats 24 can house, respectively, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins and 1 and 2 Euro coins.
Respective disc-shaped protrusions 26 are provided on the upper surface of the base plate 20, in a central position inside the seats 24.
The holder 1 comprises a plurality of spring devices 3 equal in number to the containing seats 24. Each spring device 3 comprises a disc-shaped plate 30 wherebeneath a helical spring is mounted axially. The free end of the helical spring 31 ends in a circular coil 32 able to engage around the disc-shaped protrusion 26 provided on the base plate 20.
The various plates 30 of the spring devices 3 have a slightly smaller diameter than the inside diameter of the respective semi-cylindrical wall 23 wherein they are received. In this manner, the plates 30 can slide axially inside the respective seats 24, supported by the respective helical springs 31. Distinctive marks are depicted on the upper surface of the plates 30, such as, for example, the value of the coins intended to be supported on the respective plate 30.
Again on the inner surface of the base plate 20, on the outside of the containing seats 24, a plurality of tangs 27 rise up, axially supporting respective upward projecting pins 28.
The upper half-shell 4 comprises a cover plate 40 surrounded by a peripheral rectangular frame 41. The peripheral frame 41 of the upper half-shell has a lower edge 42 with a double lip complementary to the upper edge 22 of the frame of the lower half-shell.
The cover plate 40 has in its side portions a plurality of openings or through holes 44 to allow the coins to be gripped. The openings 44 are destined to be put in register with the containing seats 24 defined in the lower half-shell. The semicircular openings 44 of the cover plate of the upper half-shell have a slightly smaller diameter than the diameter of the respective plates 30 of the spring means, so as to be able to retain them inside the respective seats 24 of the lower half-shell.
It should be noted that the cover plate 40 is slightly raised with respect to the peripheral frame 41 by means of small bridges 45, disposed between each coin insertion opening 44, which define a step between the frame 41 and the cover plate 40. In this manner, as also shown in Figures 2 and 3, the peripheral frame 41 of the upper half-shell has at the top in the two major sides an edge 49 that is lowered with respect to the cover plate 40.
In this manner, a plurality of windows or concave slots 50 are defined on the upper edge 49 of the major sides of the peripheral frame 41 of the lower half-shell between the bridges 45, with their concavities facing toward the concavity of the semicircular openings 44 in the cover plate 40. The distance between the bridges 45 on the respective slots 50 is greater than the diameter of the respective coins destined to be contained in the respective containing seats 24 of the lower half-shell. In this manner, the coins can be inserted into/removed from the containing seats 24 through the slots 50.
Returning to Figure 1, a plurality of tangs 47 having axial holes 48 able to receive the pins 28 of the tangs 47 of the lower half-shell protrude from the inner surface of the cover plate 40.
Assembly and operation of the coin-holder 1 according to the invention will now be illustrated.
The various spring devices 3 are mounted inside the respective containing seats 24 of the lower half-shell 2, so that the free end 32 of the helical spring 31 of each spring device engages around the respective disc-shaped protrusion 26 of the base plate 20 of the lower half-shell.
The upper half-shell 4 is subsequently mounted on the lower half-shell 2, so that the pins 28 of the tangs 27 of the lower half-shell engage in the holes 48 of the tangs 47 of the upper half-shell. In this situation the double lip 22 of the edge of the lower half-shell engages with the double lip 42 of the edge of the frame of the upper half-shell. Furthermore, the inside step of the bridges 45 abuts against the step 25 generated in the semi-cylindrical dividing walls 23.
Clearly the two shell halves 2 and 4 can be assembled by means of other tongue and groove coupling systems or by other engagement means, such as gluing, screw means, welding, ultrasound welding and the like.
When the two shell halves 2 and 4 are assembled together, the plate 30 of each spring device is in abutment in its peripheral part against the part of the cover plate 4 that is situated around the slots 44. For loading of the container 1, the user inserts the coins horizontally into the relative slots 50 above the relative plate 30, so as to move the plate vertically downward and arrange the coins in abutment against the part of the abutment plate around the slot 44. As the coins are inserted in a stacked position one on top of the others, the helical spring 31 of the spring device 3 is compressed and the coins are inserted into the special containing seats 24.
For removal of the coins from the container 1, the user extracts the coin at the top of the stack with a fingertip, causing it to exit through the slot 50, by moving the coin in the horizontal direction of removal. Once the coin at the top of the stack has been removed, the helical spring 31 pushes the plate 30 upward, bringing a new coin (if present) into the top position of removal.
Numerous changes and modifications of detail within the reach of a person skilled in the art can be made to the present embodiment of the invention, without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

Claims

A coin holder (1), in particular for Euro coins, comprising:

a lower half-shell (2) comprising a base plate (20) wherefrom a plurality of substantially semi-cylindrical dividing walls (23) rise, defining respective containing seats (24) for containing coins in a position stacked one on top of the other,

an upper half-shell (4) which can be assembled on said lower half-shell (2) and comprising a cover plate (40) to retain said coins stacked inside the containing seats (24), said cover plate having a plurality of openings (44) disposed to coincide with said containing seats (24) and being smaller in size than said containing seats, there being provided in the side part of said upper half-shell, level with each opening (44), a respective slot (50), larger in width than the diameter of the relative coin intended to be contained in the corresponding containing seat (24), to allow horizontal removal/insertion of said coin from/into said slot (50),

spring means (3) disposed in said containing seats (24) to urge said stacked coins upward inside said containing seats and disposed above said spring means (3).
A coin holder (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that it comprises eight containing seats (24) sized to contain 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cent coins and 1 and 2 Euro coins.
A coin holder (1) according to the claim 1 or 2, characterised in that it is substantially parallelepiped in shape and said containing seats (24) are disposed in parallel rows.
A coin holder (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said spring means (3) comprise a helical spring (31) disposed beneath a disc-shaped plate (30) designed to support said coins in a stacked configuration, said plate having a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the respective coins to be supported.
A container (1) for coins according to claim 4, characterised in that a distinguishing mark is provided on the upper surface of said disc-shaped plate (30) to indicate the value of the coin to be disposed on the respective plate.
A coin holder (1) according to claim 4 or 5, characterised in that respective disc-shaped projections (26) able to engage inside the free end (32) of said helical spring (31) are provided on the inner surface of said base plate (20) in a central position with respect to said containing seats (24).
A coin holder (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that said lower half-shell (2) and said upper half-shell (4) comprise substantially rectangular respective peripheral frames (21, 41) and that said containing seats (24) are defined between said semi-cylindrical dividing walls (23) and said peripheral frames (21, 41).
A coin holder (1) according to claim 7, characterised in that said cover plate (40) is raised with respect to said peripheral frame (41) of the upper half-shell, by means of small bridges (45) disposed between said openings (44) of the cover plate (40) and said slots (50) for removal/insertion of coins are formed on the upper edge of said peripheral frame (41) of the upper half-shell and the width of said slots (50) is defined by said bridges (45).
A coin holder (1) according to claim 7 or 8, characterised in that provided on the upper peripheral edge of said peripheral frame (21) of the lower half-shell is a double lip (22) able to engage in a complementary double lip (42) provided on the lower peripheral edge of said peripheral frame (41) of the upper half-shell.
A coin holder (1) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterised in that tangs (27) with pins (28) able to engage in holes (48) formed in tangs (47) provided on the inner surface of said upper half-shell (4) are provided on the inner surface of the base plate of said lower half-shell (2).