US3420359A

US3420359A - Coin holder

Info

Publication number: US3420359A
Application number: US671009A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hugh M Cochrane
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: C-CLEAR PACKAGING Ltd
Priority date: 1966-10-03
Filing date: 1967-09-27
Publication date: 1969-01-07
Anticipated expiration: 1986-01-07

Description

Jan. 7, 1969 Y H. M. COCHRANE 3,420,359

COIN HOLDER Filed Sept. 27, 1967 FIG. 3

g m *MW United States Patent 3,420,359 COIN HOLDER Hugh M. Cochrane, 23 Taber Road, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada Filed Sept. 27, 1967, Ser. No. 671,009 Claims priority, application Canada, Oct. 3, 1966, 971,944

US. Cl. 206-.82 Int. Cl. A45c 11/00 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to improved coin holders for use in handling coins in banking and other financial institutions and business concerns which handle large quantities of coins including the packaging and transportation thereof.

This invention provides for a coin holder which is inexpensive to manufacture, durable and convenient to use and one in which the coins are retained in the coin holder in a stack by converging side walls thereof until they are ready for use.

Conventional coin holders of a type similar to the present invention are generally of semicircular cross-section with the result that when the conventional coin holders are axially opened or the tops thereof are removed, the coins are free to escape therefrom. For this reason conventional coin holders must either always be closed or held in such a position that the coins cannot roll or fall out.

The above mentioned disadvantage has been overcome in the present invention by moulding or forming the coin holder from resilient plastic material in such a manner that the transverse cross-section thereof is in the shape of a major segment of a circle with the result that the longitudinal edges of the coin holder converge at the open portion thereof therby retaining the coins within the coin holder but permitting such coins to be removed or replaced with a snap action.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to a coin holder comprising a moulded or formed receptacle for receiving a stack of coins in the shape of a major segment of a cylinder closed at each end by end walls. The longitudinal edges of said cylinder converge to retain within the said coin holder, coins in a stack. The said receptacle is moulded or formed from a resilient plastic material so that a coin can be removed from or placed in said receptacle by causing said converging sides to spread thereby providing a snap closure action.

Other features of the invention particularly relating to details of construction and operation will become apparent from the following description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention by way of example and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through the coin holder and showing the same complete with an attached cap and in open position;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view similar to FIGURE 1 but showing the attached cap in closed position;

FIGURE 3 is a horizontal plan view of a coin holder showing the attached cap in an open position;

FIGURE 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view taken through a coin holder in accordance with an alternative embodiment and showing the longitudinal edges of the coin holder reinforced by a flange; and

FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG- URE 4.

The coin holder illustrated in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 comprises a receptacle 1 in the shape of a major segment of a cylinder closed at each end by

end pieces

2 and 3, complete with a cap 4, in the shape of a minor segment of a cylinder, being closed at each end by

end pieces

5 and 6. The segments 1 and 2 and

end pieces

3, 4, 5 and 6 may be moulded or formed in one piece from any suitable resilient material such as polyethylene or polystyrene.

The cylinder segments 1 and 4 are hingedly connected together along adjacent longitudinal edges as at 7 in such a manner as that they may be folded toward each other in closing relationship. The opposite or outer

longitudinal edges

8 and 9, respectively, of the cylinder seg ments 1 and 4 may each be provided with suitable locking members indicated at 10 and 11 which so co-act when the cylinder segments are moved into engagement with each other, as to interlock with one another for maintaining the coin holder in closed position. The locking members 10 and 11 can extend substantially the entire length of the cylinder segments or can be at one or more points only along the outer longitudinal edge of the cylinder segments. Locking member 10 is in the form of a trough 10a having a re-entrant neck 10b in a flange 10c. Locking member 11 has a protrusion 11a on the surface of flange 11b. Protrusion 11a mates with trough 10a and is releasably engaged by re-entrant neck 10b. There is thus provided the rigidifying effect of flanges 10c and 11b together with a sealing eifect and also a locking action.

The inside diameter of the cylinder segments comprising the coin holder and cap should be in conformance with the diameter of the coin intended to be held in the said holder. The length of the coin holder is determined by the number of coins intended to be held therein.

The coin holder may also be constructed as illustrated in FIGURE 4 wherein the longitudinal edges of the major segment of the cylinder 1, are reinforced by a flange 12 which is in a unitary plane parallel with the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. In this case the top or cap of the coin holder in the shape of a minor segment of a cylinder is eliminated. As shown in FIGURE 5, the end walls have an edge 13 which is in unitary plane with flange 12. The provision of edge 13 and flange 12 is particularly advantageous since the desired snap action is enhanced. It is therefore possible to make an inexpensive, disposable unit from thin sheet material in which there is suflicient reinforcement at the margins to give a snap action which will retain the coins.

In operation, the coins are placed in the coin holder by spreading the resilient longitudinal side walls .1 and inserting the coins and, when the coins have been inserted, by releasing the said side walls which snap back to their original position. The resiliency of the material assists in ejecting the coins as the coins in the centre can readily be released by finger pressure against the outside wall.

The coin holder may be fabricated from any suitable resilient plastic material such as polyethylene or polystyrene which may be transparent so as to facilitate observation of the contents of the coin holder or which may be coloured. Where the coin holder is transparent, transverse lines can be marked on the cylindrical wall to indicate the spacing of the coins. Then if there is an unusually large number of thin or thick coins the exact number contained in the holder will be apparent from inspection. The lines will provide a guide to indicate if the correct number of coins has been inserted. The coin holder may also be used as a holder for various types of discs such as poker chips, milk tokens and the like.

The preferred method of manufacture is by forming. A sheet of a resilient thermoplastic plastic is softened by heat and air can be used to force the sheet into a concave mould. Alternatively, vacuum could be used to shape the sheet on a convex mould.

I claim:

1. A coin holder comprising a receptacle for receiving a stack of coins in the shape of a major segment of a cylinder closed at each end by end walls, the longitudinal edges of said cylinder and the edges of said end walls having a reinforcing flange in a unitary plane, the longitudinal edges of said cylinder converging to retain within the said coin holder, coins in a stack, said receptacle being made from a resilient plastic material so that a coin can be removed from or placed in said receptacle by causing said converging sides to spread thereby providing a snap closure action.

2. A coin holder as in claim 1 in which the major segment of the cylinder comprising the receptacle is hingedly connected along one of the longitudinal edges to a cap of resilient plastic material comprising the minor segment of said cylinder with end pieces of the same material and with a similar flange in a unitary plane along the longitudinal edges and end walls of said cap, constructed in such a manner that the cap will fold upon the said major segment to form a cylinder of approximately the diameter of the coins contained therein.

3. A coin holder as in claim 2 in which the two outer flanges on the longitudinal edges of said cylinder are in the form of locking devices.

4. A coin holder as in claim 2 in which one of the said outer flanges is formed to provide a trough with a reentrant neck and the other of said flanges is formed to provide a protrusion mating with said trough and being releasably engaged by the re-entrant neck.

5. A coin holder as in claim 1 in which the coin holder is formed from a sheet of thin thermoplastic material such as polystyrene or polyethylene.

6. A coin holder as in claim 2 in which the coin holder is formed from a sheet of thin thermoplastic material such as polystyrene or polyethylene.

7. A coin holder as in claim 3 in which the coin holder is formed from a sheet of thin thermoplastic material such as polystyrene or polyethylene.

8. A coin holder as in claim 4 in which the coin holder is formed from a sheet of thin thermoplastic material such as polystyrene or polyethylene.

9. A coin holder as in claim 1 in which the plastic material is transparent.

10. A coin holder as in claim 1 in which the plastic material is coloured.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,194,192 8/1916 Kittrell 2060.82 2,909,280 10/1959 Furno et al. 2060.82

JAMES B. MARBERT, Primary Examiner.