FR2738940A1 - Credit card holder - Google Patents

Abstract

The holder is made from moulded plastics of slightly larger dimensions than the credit card (21) and has a slot in one end to receive the card. An aperture in the front of the holder enables the card to be slid out with the thumb, while its back carries a table (3), either moulded or on a self-adhesive label which helps the card owner to memorise a PIN. The table has four rows of letters or words corresponding to the 10 numbers, from 0 to 9, used for the PIN. The letters or words corresponding to the numerals in the PIN are used to form a word or sentence which can be easily memorised by the card holder, allowing the PIN to be read off when required. Anyone other than the card holder would be unaware of the word or sentence used.

Description

PROTECTIVE CASE FOR CREDIT CARD OR THE LIKE
The present invention relates to a protective case for a credit card (bank card) or a similar card such as, in particular, a telephone card, a transport card, a health card, an identity card, or other credit cards. identification.

 The invention relates more particularly to a case intended to receive a card whose use is subject to the knowledge of a digital code assigned to said card, and which is normally known only to the user, or users, of said card.

 Consequently, if one is dealing with a bank card, the indication of the code is required so that its owner can withdraw money from a cash machine, or to make the payment of a purchase using his card in a store.

 The digital code assigned to the card is usually a four-digit number.

 It is important that the owner, or any other user who authorizes said card, remember this number at all times.

 Otherwise, not only will he not be able to use his card, but he will also be exposed to the risk of it being retained in a reading device, in particular in an ATM; indeed, such a device "swallows" the card - that is to say, does not return it to the user - if an incorrect code has been formed several times in succession.

 However, memorizing a number of four digits is not always easy to do.

 In addition, with the recent development of credit cards and the like, it is common for the same person to have in his possession several cards which, of course, have different codes, which is a source of frequent errors.

 On the other hand, it is not prudent for the user of a card to keep close to it an inscription clearly indicating the code assigned to it.

 Indeed, in case of loss or simultaneous theft of the card and said registration, third parties could use it, and the responsibility of the card holder could be engaged.

 In an attempt to overcome this drawback, some people have permanently on them messages indicating in coded form - for example hidden inside a false telephone number - the number constituting the code in question.

 Unfortunately, this is also a source of errors, and is not convenient to use.

 Receiver cases are also known for this type of card, the role of which is to provide mechanical protection for the card, in particular to prevent it from bending.

 Different types of protective cases are known, rigid, semi-rigid, or flexible in which the card slides.

 The objective of the invention is to give this protective case an additional function, this function being to make it easier for the user of the card to memorize the code assigned to it.

 Of course, the means to make this digital code more easily memorized, which will be carried by the case and therefore risk being directly accessible to an unauthorized person having unexpected access to the card and its protective case, must not no way to allow this person to find the code in question.

 The protective case which is the subject of the present invention is therefore intended to receive a credit card or the like, the use of which is subject to the knowledge of a digital code assigned to said card and formed of a certain number n of numbers.

 The objective mentioned above is achieved thanks to the fact that this case is provided with a visual correspondence table which corresponds to each of said digits of the decimal numbering system a series of letters or group of letters, the number of which is equal to the number n of digits of the code, the letters - or group of letters - of the same rank in each series being all different, which allows the user of the card to match a literary message more easily memorized.

 Indeed, the Applicant has found, following tests, that it was much easier to record and remember literary messages, that is to say formed of letters - and in particular short sentences - a series of figures.

 The table will therefore first be used by the user of the card to transform his code into a literary message, which he will easily record and remember when he wants to use his card, and find the digital code, he will just need to '' perform the reverse transformation, by reading the correspondence of the letters with the numbers on the table.

 Because the table is on the card holder, he will be sure to always have the correspondence table close at hand, when he has to use his card.

 There is no danger in associating the table with the card, because the table has no meaning for a third person and is in no way likely to allow him to find the code.

Different ways can be envisaged for affixing this correspondence table to the case. Thus, by way of nonlimiting examples:
- the table is directly affixed to the exterior surface of the case, for example by pad printing or screen printing;
- the table is printed on a sheet stuck on the outside surface of the case:
- the case being made of molded plastic, the table is printed on a support film which is heat sealed on its surface, or is composed of raised characters coming from molding with the wall of the case.

 In one possible embodiment, the case is of a known type, having a flat shape, with a rectangular outline, provided with a lateral slot for placing and removing the card, and the table is affixed on the one of the two large faces, for example the rear face, of the case.

 In this case, preferably, the correspondence table also has a rectangular outline, of dimensions slightly smaller than those of the large faces, so that it occupies almost the entire surface of the large face on which it is affixed.

 In one possible embodiment of the table, the groups of letters form words.

 In this case, when the digital code assigned to the card is made up of four digits, it can be decided that the words of the first row in the series are nouns (proper and / or common), the words of the second row are verbs, words in the third row are nouns, and words in the fourth are adjectives.

 It is thus possible to compose small sentences made of a subject, a verb, a complement - complement of object in particular if the verb is transitive -, the complement being accompanied by a qualifier.

 Of course, the adjective (epithet) could, in a variant, be attributed to the subject. In another variant, it could be placed (in third row) before the name additional object (in fourth row).

 Such an arrangement of the table makes it possible to compose funny and unusual messages, which further facilitates memorization.

 In another embodiment, the digital code assigned to the card also being formed by four digits, the letter of the first and third row of each series is a consonant while that of the second and fourth row is (forms) a vowel or a diphthong.

 Thus, it is possible to compose small words of two syllables, which sometimes will have a meaning (words from the dictionary) and sometimes will be completely arbitrary, - with unusual consonances - which will not necessarily harm their ease of memorization.

 The subject of the invention is also a self-adhesive label comprising an adhesive sheet carrying a visual correspondence table between said digits of the decimal numbering system and a series of n letters or group of letters, this adhesive sheet being intended to be stuck on a case. protector for credit card, or the like, in order to constitute a case in accordance with the invention, as described above.

 Other features and advantages of the invention will emerge from the description and the appended drawings which represent, by way of non-limiting examples, possible embodiments.

In the drawings:
- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a protective case and the credit card it receives, the latter being very partially inserted inside the case, their front faces being visible;
- Figure 2 is a perspective view similar to Figure 1, but 1 reverse, their rear faces being visible;
- Figure 3 shows, still in perspective, a self-adhesive label whose adhesive sheet is partially peeled off (being torn off) this sheet being intended to be glued to a protective case for credit card or the like;
- Figures 4 and 5 are examples of visual correspondence tables that can be affixed to the case.

 In Figure 1 is designated by the reference 1 a rigid protective case of known type, of molded plastic material intended to receive a credit card 2, for example a bank card, the front face of which carries a chip and the rear face a magnetic strip; it is a thin case, flat in shape with rectangular outline, the dimensions of which are very slightly larger than those of card 2.

 The front face (recto) and the rear face (verso) of the card holder case have been designated by the references 10 and 11 respectively.

 Similarly, the references 20 and 21 have been assigned respectively to the front face (recto) and to the rear face (verso) of the card 2.

 In known manner, one of the short sides of the case 1 has a slot 12 making it possible to insert therein by translation - in the manner of a drawer - the card 2; in the face 10 is formed an opening 13 allowing the user to engage the thumb against the card when it is inside the case, in order to make it slide in the opposite direction and to remove it from 1 case. A case of this kind is known for example from EP-B-0 121 598.

 According to the invention, there is provided on the back of the case 1, that is to say on the face 11, a table of correspondence numbers / letters.

 In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 2, this table - referenced 3 is a grid comprising ten columns and four rows.

 Above the upper line - or first row - are inscribed all the ten Arabic digits constituting the decimal numbering system, namely the digit 0 and the digits 1 to 9.

 Each digit corresponds to a column.

 At the intersection of each of the four rows of the table and each column is a box in which is written a letter or a group of letters, for example a word.

 In the schematic representation of FIG. 2, each of these literary inscriptions has been symbolically designated by the letter A, B, C or D, this letter being assigned a numerical index whose number corresponds to the number of the column.

 Thus, for example, Ao corresponds to the box in the first row, column 0, B4 to the box in the second row, column n "4, C6 to the box in the third row and in column n" 6, D3, the box in the fourth row and in column no. 3.

 It is assumed that the secret code assigned to credit card 2 is a four-digit number, in this case the number "0463".

 The translation of this digital code into literary code is therefore "Ao B4 C6 D3ss.

 As will be seen below, more particularly with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, by choosing these different letters or groups of letters judiciously, it is possible to make a message of them which it is easy to memorize.

 As already said, the table 3 can be affixed in different ways on the card holder case 1, and in particular come from molding with it, or be printed directly on it. The characters in the table could be reliefs forming integral parts of the material making up the case, similar but "hollow" characters being provided in the injection mold to make them.

 However, it is also possible to distribute such a table independently of the card holder case, so that it is possible to use it with an already existing card holder case.

 Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, the correspondence table 3 can be affixed to a self-adhesive label 5, comprising an adhesive sheet 50 carried by a detachable support 51.

 Naturally, this label has dimensions suitable for being able to be affixed to a standard card holder case; thus the label 50 has a rectangular shape, with dimensions slightly smaller than those of the large faces of a case 1.

 The user need only detach the sheet 50 to transfer it and then stick it to the back of a commercial card holder case to obtain a case according to the invention.

 The boxes in the table can naturally be pre-printed.

 It is however also possible to leave these boxes blank, so that they can be completed freely by the user.

 Thus, it is possible for the latter to personalize the table by using letters or group of letters - in particular words - which allow him to compose a message having for him a special meaning, which consequently favors his memorization.

 It is important, of course, that for the same rank in a series - that is, in the same row on the table in Figure 2 - each box has different literary inscriptions.

 Otherwise, the literary message would correspond to more than one numeric code.

 In Table 3 illustrated in Figure 4, each of the boxes has a word.

 The words in the first row are first names.

 The words in the second row are transitive verbs.

 The words in the third row are common names (with their indefinite article).

 The words in the fourth and last row are adjectives, in this case, which designate colors.

 For example, if the card code number is "6203", the person to whom this code has been assigned will begin by establishing a correspondence between these four digits and a sentence.

 For this it will match the first digit, namely the number 6, with the word in the first row of column 6, that is to say "Paul".

 He will do the same with the next three rows, to finally get the message "Paul is drawing a green train".

 It is clear that this message is recorded and retained in memory much more easily than the number "6203".

 When this person wants to use his card, he will transpose in the opposite direction by observing the table, which is directly at his disposal, since it is affixed to the card holder case.

 He thus rediscovers "in plain text" his code number, which he will use, for example by typing it on the keyboard of an ATM.

 The sentences obtained can be more or less unusual, even funny, which does not necessarily harm memorization.

 Thus, the code "2891" will give the sentence "therefore raise a pink cloud".

 The case which is the subject of the invention can advantageously find application in the field of advertising.

 Indeed, it may be interesting for a company to include in the table the name of some of its products, including their brand, in order to promote them.

 Thus, in a table whose arrangement would be similar to that of FIG. 4, if we are dealing with the promotion of dairy products, we can construct sentences of the type "Jean-Yves appreciates yogurt X", X being a brand .

 The company providing this advertising may offer its customers either the complete case provided with the table, or only the table in the form of a sticker, as illustrated in Figure 3.

 In the example illustrated in Figure 5, the first and third rows have consonants, while the second and fourth rows have vowels or diphthongs.

 Thus, the transposition of the digital code leads to building words of two syllables, real or imaginary.

 For example, the code "0215" leads to the word "BIDON", which can be easily memorized because it is a word from the dictionary.

 The numeric code "6398" gives "MOTIN", which is not a dictionary word, but is still relatively easy to remember.

 The invention applies to different types of card holders, flexible, semi-rigid or rigid, in one or more parts.

It also applies to card holder devices suitable for receiving several credit cards, such as for example the device described in
FR-A-2 705210.

 In this case, it goes without saying that it suffices to affix a single table to the card holder, the same table being able to be used to construct several different literary messages, each corresponding to the digital code of one of the cards stored in the device.

Claims (10)

 1. Protective case (1) for credit card or similar (2), the use of which is subject to the knowledge of a digital code assigned to said card (2) and formed of a certain number n of digits, characterized by that it is provided with a visual correspondence table (3) which corresponds to each of the ten digits of the decimal numbering system a series of letters, or groups of letters, A, B, C, D, the number is equal to the number n of digits of the code, the letters - or groups of letters - of the same rank in each series being all different, which allows the user of the card to match a numerical message more easily memorized.  2. Protective case according to claim 1, characterized in that said table (3) is directly affixed to its outer surface, for example by pad printing or screen printing.  3. Protective case according to claim 2, characterized in that said table (3) is printed on a sheet stuck on its outer surface.  4. Protective case according to claim 1, which is made of molded plastic, characterized in that said table (3) is printed on a heat-sealed support film on its surface, or is composed of characters in relief coming from molding with the wall from the case.  5. Protective case according to one of claims 1 to 4, which has a flat shape, with a rectangular outline, and is provided with a lateral slot (12) for fitting and removing the card (2), characterized by the fact that said table (3) is affixed to one (11) of its two large faces (10, 11).  6. Protective case according to claim 5, characterized in that said table (3) also has a rectangular outline, of dimensions slightly smaller than those of the large faces (10,11).  7. Protective case according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the groups of letters in the table (3) form words.  8. Protective case according to claim 7, characterized in that, the digital code assigned to the card being formed by four digits, the words of the first row in the series are nouns, the words of the second row are verbs, the third row words are nouns, and fourth row words are adjectives.  9. Protective case according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, the digital code assigned to the card being formed by four digits, the letter of the first and third row of each series is a consonant, while that (s) of the second and fourth row is (form) a vowel or a diphthong.  10. Self-adhesive label (5) comprising an adhesive sheet (50) carrying a visual correspondence table (3), intended to be stuck on a protective case for credit card or the like, in order to constitute a case conforming to one of the claims 1 to 9.