EP1352585A1

EP1352585A1 - Classifying coin purse

Info

Publication number: EP1352585A1
Application number: EP03380078A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Roberto Martinez Ferruz; Carlos Marquina Marquina; Aristides Maurel Millán
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-04-02
Filing date: 2003-03-31
Publication date: 2003-10-15
Anticipated expiration: 2023-03-31
Also published as: ES1051649U; EP1352585B1; ES1051649Y

Abstract

The coin purse is comprised by a body made of a soft and resiliently deformable material, in which a plurality of cylindrical seats (4) is arranged, with two small, diametrically-opposed tabs (5) level with their opening, acting as retention means for the different types of coins housed in the inside thereof, body adopting an elongated configuration and in which a deep, middle and transversal groove (2) is arranged on it, determining a weakness line or hinge (3) which permits folding one (1) of two halves of the body onto the other (1'), reducing its dimensions considerably. One (1) of the two halves of the body incorporates a small projection (6) opposite to said hinge (3) for its matched coupling by pressure, in closed state, to a small seat (8) with a constricted opening arranged on the other half (1') of the body.

Description

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The present invention refers to a coin purse, which has been especially designed to receive and classify different types of legal tender coins, such as, for example, the new Euro coins and its cents.
The object of the invention is to achieve a structurally -simple coin purse, usable as an advertising object, providing great accessibility to the coins, as well as adequate stability thereof, and all this with minimum size and foldable character, making its transport very comfortable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is an infinity of coin carriers or coin purses that consist of a receptacle, with different closing systems, where coins are housed indiscriminately, creating problems for locating each coin of each specific value, especially when the number thereof is considerable.
Different types of coin purses are also known, complementarily capable of classifying the coins so that these are easily identifiable.
In this sense, there are coin purses materialized in a body of a plastic and rigid nature, with seats formally and dimensionally coinciding with each type of coin, with retention means at the level of their opening and generally with springs or other resilient means in the bottom thereof which tend to project the coins outwards. These coin purses turn out to be bulky and uncomfortable by their own rigid nature.
Trying to obviate this drawback, coin purses made of rubber of other soft materials are also known that, because of their own nature, turn out to be more comfortable and, furthermore, permit the removal of the aforementioned springs, because their own resilient nature is usable as a retention means for coins, by slightly under-sizing the diameter of their openings with regard to the diameter of the latter.
Being that this restraint means might be rendered inoperable after a relatively short period of coin purse usage, coin purses based on soft materials are also known, with cylindrical seats with different diameters and all of them with their opening provided with a peripheral constriction, but these coin purses have a two-sided drawback, on one hand, they are still bulky and consequently uncomfortable, and on the other, they create problems for unitary extraction of the coins from their respective seats.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The coin purse proposed by the invention, belonging to the last type of the aforementioned, that is, to the type constituted by means of a body of a soft nature, made of rubber, plastic, or a foam-like material, solves in a wholly satisfactory manner the drawback described above, permitting greater ease in the extraction of coins, total security or impossibility that they become accidentally dislodged from their seats, and a drastic volumetric reduction making it much more comfortable.
Additionally, the coin purse of the invention provides, as an added advantage of great relevance due to its structuring, the ease of use and, essentially, its suitability for a user sector with such peculiar features as that of the blind.
Therefore, and more specifically, the coin purse proposed by the invention has as its essential feature the fact that it incorporates a dorsal and middle line of weakness, which permits folding one of its two halves over the other, with the consequent volumetric reduction in use, since, for example, in the case that the coin purse provides for eight different coins, its front does not require anything other than the appropriate dimensions for four types of coins since one of its two halves can be folded over the other.
Closing means opposite to said weakness line ensure the coin purse's stable positioning in such a folded situation, by which one of the two halves thereof acts as a closing lid for the other, and vice versa, rendering the accidental dislodgment of the coins absolutely impossible.
Finally, and according with another of the invention's features, instead of providing the cylindrical coin seats with a peripheral constriction at their opening level, they have two opposite constrictions affecting two circular sectors that may have different amplitudes, which considerably facilitates extraction of the coins, whose rims are directly accessible where no such tabs exist.
The coin purse's foldable character furthermore implies another considerable advantage which is that, in the closed, folded-on-itself situation, the coins are not accessible from a friction or contact standpoint, preventing said coins from generating stains in the user's pockets or in any other place where the coin purse is carried, which provides an ample outer surface, wholly devoid of coins, that can be integrally used for advertising.
Clearly, the coin seats will be duly distributed from one to the other of both halves of the coin purse, so that these halves are counterbalanced in size as well as in weight.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to complement the description being made and with the object of helping to better understand the features of the invention, according to a practical, preferred embodiment example thereof, a set of figures is attached to said description as an integrating part thereof in which, with an illustrative and non-limiting character, the following has been shown:
Figure 1. Shows a plan view of a classifying coin purse carried out according to the object of the present invention, which is extended, that is, in an open situation, and what must be its inner face, the coin receiver.
Figures 2, 3, and 4.- Show respective side elevation views in longitudinal section of the coin purse in figure 1, along section lines A-B, C-D and E-F of said figure.
Figure 5.- Finally shows a perspective view of the same coin purse and in the same extended position as in figure 1.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION

In view of the indicated drawings, it can be seen how the coin purse-classifier proposed by the invention is constituted from an elongated and relatively flat body (1), preferably made of rubber or another resiliently deformable material, in which a marked, transversal and intermediate groove (2) is arranged determining a marked weakness zone (3) on said body, acting as a hinge, which permits folding one half (1) of its two halves over its other half (1').
Each of these two halves (1-1') of the body (1) is provided with a plurality of recesses or seats (4) of different sizes, according to the different types of coins to be housed in the coin purse, each one of these seats (4) having a pair of diametrically-opposed tabs (5), level with the opening, slightly constricting said opening and acting as retention stops for the coin sets housed in the inside thereof, said tabs allowing easy deformation thereof for coupling of the coins by simple pressure as well as their subsequent extraction by directly acting on their rim portion not covered by the flaps (5).
As follows from observing Figure 1, the seats (4) are duly positioned, according to coin size, so that both halves (1-1') of the body are duly counterbalanced.
The disclosed structure is complemented with a lug (6) with a truncated-cone-shaped expanded head (7), placed on one of the sections of the body (1) defined by the hinge or weakness (3) in opposition to the latter, head (7) intended for penetrating by pressure in a small seat (8) of the other half (1') of the body with constricted opening, a closure being thus obtained that keeps both halves (1-1') of said body stable when one is folded over the other along the hinge (3), situation in which the dimensions of the coin purse are reduced considerably, the length specifically being reduced in half at the expense of a thickness increase, situation in which all the seats (4) are closed by the body's own folding, specifically with its openings arranged in correspondence with the imaginary middle plane thereof, situation in which neither the accidental release of the coins is possible nor the release by these of any type of residue, generated by rusting or any other cause, which could stain or damage the container receptacle of the coin purse.

Claims

A classifying coin purse, of the type incorporating a body made of a soft and resiliently deformable material, wherein a plurality of cylindrical seats (4) for respective coin types is arranged, characterized in that said body (1) adopts an elongated configuration and a deep, middle and transversal groove (2) is made on it, determining a weakness line acting as a hinge (3), which permits folding one (1) of two halves of the body onto the other half (1'), reducing its dimensions considerably.
A classifying coin purse according to claim 1, characterized in that one (1) of the two halves of the body incorporates a small projection (6) opposite to said hinge or weakness line (3) for its matched coupling by pressure, in closed state, to a small seat (8) with a constricted opening arranged on the other half (1') of the body, also opposite to said hinge (3).
A classifying coin purse according to the previous claims, characterized in that the coin seats (4) incorporate two small, diametrically-opposed tabs (5) at the opening's level acting as retention means for the coins housed in the inside thereof.
A classifying coin purse according to the previous claims, characterized in that the coin seats (4) are properly arranged on the body (1) so that in loaded situation the weight of one (1) of such halves is noticeably close to that of other (1').