CREDIT CARD EJECTOR HAVING BREAK COUPLING

Abstract

Disclosed is a holder for cards, including a housing which tightly fits around a stack of cards and has a card opening for locating and removing cards. Within the housing a card eject feature is provided such that the cards through the card opening can be partly slid from the housing. The card eject feature has an ejector arm which is moved by operating a finger button and forces the cards simultaneously to partly exit the housing. The card eject feature includes a barrel for normal duty operation and a trigger for heavy duty operation to engage and force cards to partly exit the housing.

Claims

1-14. (canceled)

15. A holder for cards, comprising a housing which tightly fits around a stack of at least three cards and has at least one card opening for locating and removing cards, while within the housing, opposite the card opening, a card eject feature is provided such that the cards through the card opening can be partly slid from the housing, which card eject feature comprises an eject arm mounted to the housing by a pivot feature, wherein the housing has two opposite main sides providing a mutual spacing defining the thickness direction of the cards stack and of the eject arm, and wherein the eject arm is designed to pivot within the housing between and parallel to the main sides from a first, retracted position to a second, extended position and during said movement ejects the cards by engaging and forcing the cards simultaneously to partly exit the housing, wherein the eject arm has a free longitudinal end and the holder comprises an external actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, to provide the force to eject the cards by the eject arm and to drive the eject arm from the first to the second position, and wherein the eject arm comprises a part for normal duty operation and a part for heavy duty operation, both which parts are designed to engage and force cards to partly exit the housing, wherein the part for heavy duty operation is designed to provide an at least 10% bigger force to the to be ejected cards for the same force applied to the external actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, in that the part for heavy duty operation provides a short lever arm engaging the cards with a distal end region and the part for normal duty operation provides a long lever arm engaging the cards with a distal end region, wherein the long lever arm is at least 10% longer compared to the short lever arm, and the part for normal duty operation has a stepwise increase of thickness longitudinally from the free longitudinal end of the eject arm that provides step shaped contact faces for ejecting the cards stack in a staggered fashion wherein the thickness of the part for normal duty operation covers the complete thickness of the cards stack such that said part is designed to simultaneously engage and eject the complete cards stack.

16. Holder according to claim 15, wherein the part for normal duty operation and the part for heavy duty operation of the eject arm are two separate parts, each designed to engage and force the cards to partly exit the housing, which are mutually coupled by a break coupling of reversible type, said break coupling comprising a first coupling part at the part for normal duty operation and a second coupling part at the part for heavy duty operation, wherein the first and second coupling parts are designed to mutually couple to mutually couple the part for normal duty operation and the part for heavy duty operation, and wherein said break coupling is designed to disconnect the coupling between the first and second coupling part above a threshold load applied to the external actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, to eject the cards which break coupling is of reversible type since it disconnects the coupling damage free above a threshold load and can be re-coupled such that disconnecting and re-coupling the break coupling can be repeated many times during the service life of the product, wherein the driving force from the external actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, is transmitted from the part for heavy duty operation via the break coupling to the part for normal duty operation.

17. Holder according to claim 15, wherein the part for normal duty operation is an extension of the part for heavy duty operation and wherein, viewed along the length of the eject arm, the part for heavy duty operation is located between said pivot feature mounting the eject arm to the housing and the part for normal duty operation.

18. Holder according to claim 15, wherein the part for heavy duty operation has a cards engagement face smaller in width to simultaneously engage not all cards of the stack during ejection and the thickness of the part for heavy duty operation covers not more than 80% of the thickness of the cards stack such that said part is designed to simultaneously engage and eject only part of the cards stack, which part of the cards stack has at least one card less compared to the complete cards stack.

19. Holder according to claim 16, wherein the eject arm extends from the pivot feature to the free longitudinal end and wherein the break coupling is located between the pivot feature and the free longitudinal end of the eject arm.

20. Holder according to claim 16, the break coupling comprises a biasing reset means, e.g. spring, and an assembly of two oppositely sloping stop faces at the one of the first and second coupling parts and a contact edge at the other of the first and second coupling parts in sliding engagement with alternatingly one of said two stop faces, and the biasing reset means keeps the first and second coupling parts biased in coupling engagement and wherein the design is such that the load acting on the coupling to mutually engage or disengage the coupling parts causes the contact edge and the relevant stop face to mutually slide opposite the bias of the biasing reset means.

21. Holder according to claim 15, the part for heavy duty operation and the part for normal duty operation are commonly mounted to the housing by said pivot feature, the pivot feature comprises an elongated pivot hole allowing the free longitudinal end of the part for normal duty operation to move away from said pivot feature at least 0.5 millimeter.

22. Holder according to claim 15, wherein a reset means, e.g. a spring, is fixed on the one hand to the eject arm at a location and is fixed on the other hand to the housing at a location such that, when the eject arm is in the first position, i.e. the retracted position, a straight line connecting both said locations extends from the location at the eject arm towards the pivot feature where the eject arm is mounted to the housing.

23. Holder according to claim 15, the part for heavy duty operation and the part for normal duty operation have said pivot feature in common.

24. Holder according to claim 16, wherein the break coupling is provided by form fit of parts an a biasing reset means, e.g. spring, biases the first coupling part and the second coupling part in mutual coupling engagement to provide the form fit of the break coupling.

25. Holder according to claim 17, wherein the eject arm is designed to elongate at least 0.5 millimetre in that the part for heavy duty operation and the part for normal duty operation are mutually telescoping parts.

26. Holder according to claim 15 wherein the external actuating feature is provided by a finger operated button and the part for heavy duty operation and the part for normal duty operation have this finger operated button in common.

27. Holder according to claim 15, wherein the part for heavy duty operation has two pivot features.

28. Holder according to claim 15, wherein the part for heavy duty operation is provided by a projection along the length of the part for normal duty operation in such a manner that there are provided at the eject arm a first engagement area, providing the part for normal duty operation, and longitudinally remote from said first engagement area a second engagement area, providing the part for heavy duty operation, both designed for engagement with the to be ejected cards stack within the housing wherein, starting from the first position of the eject arm and moving to the second position, the second engagement area will always engage the cards stack first and eject it a slight distance and subsequently, with continued movement of the eject arm to its second position, the first engagement area will take over the engagement and eject the cards further, wherein the second engagement part is designed to eject the cards for at least 10 millimeter.

29. Holder according to claim 28, wherein the eject arm has a side facing towards the cards stack and wherein the projection providing the part for heavy duty operation is located between the pivot feature mounting the eject arm to the housing and the first engagement area, and the projection is located at the side of the eject arm facing towards the card stack.

30. Holder according to claim 16, wherein a reset means, e.g. a spring, is fixed to the part for normal duty operation and is not fixed to the part for heavy duty operation and the reset means biases the eject arm towards the first position.

31. Holder according to claim 15, wherein the actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, projects outside the housing and wherein the eject arm and the actuating feature are connected in a rigid manner such that the movement of the actuating feature is directly transferred to the eject arm and both these members move as one since both these members are integrated in a single, rigid piece.

32. A holder for cards, comprising a housing which tightly fits around a stack of at least three cards and has at least one card opening for locating and removing cards, while within the housing, opposite the card opening, a card eject feature is provided such that the cards through the card opening can be partly slid from the housing, which card eject feature comprises an eject arm mounted to the housing by a pivot feature, wherein the housing has two opposite main sides providing a mutual spacing defining the thickness direction of the cards stack and of the eject arm, and wherein the eject arm is designed to pivot within the housing between and parallel to the main sides from a first, retracted position to a second, extended position and during said movement ejects the cards by engaging and forcing the cards simultaneously to partly exit the housing, wherein the eject arm has a free longitudinal end and the holder comprises an external actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, to provide the force to eject the cards by the eject arm and to drive the eject arm from the first to the second position, and wherein the eject arm comprises a part for normal duty operation and a part for heavy duty operation, both which parts are designed to engage and force cards to partly exit the housing, wherein the part for heavy duty operation is designed to provide an at least 10% bigger force to the to be ejected cards for the same force applied to the external actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, in that the part for heavy duty operation provides a short lever arm engaging the cards with a distal end region and the part for normal duty operation provides a long lever arm engaging the cards with a distal end region, wherein the long lever arm is at least 10% longer compared to the short lever arm and the part for normal duty operation has a stepwise increase of thickness longitudinally from the free longitudinal end of the eject arm that provides step shaped contact faces for ejecting the cards stack in a staggered fashion wherein the thickness of the part for normal duty operation covers the complete thickness of the cards stack such that said part is designed to simultaneously engage and eject the complete cards stack; wherein at the inner side of the housing a friction element is located which exerts a friction force to the side edge of each individual card within the housing to retain the cards against gravity force, which friction element is of sufficient dimension to simultaneously engage all cards in the stack and is not rigid; the cards receiving space is sleeve or shaft like; the receiving space is designed such that the cards through the card opening parallel to their top face must be slid from this space; wherein there are provided at the eject arm a first engagement area, providing the part for normal duty operation, and longitudinally remote from said first engagement area and present between said pivot feature and said first engagement area, a second engagement area, providing the part for heavy duty operation, both designed for engagement with the to be ejected cards stack within the housing wherein, starting from the first position of the eject arm and moving to the second position, the second engagement area, providing the part for heavy duty operation, will always engage the cards stack first and eject it a slight distance and subsequently, with continued movement of the eject arm to its second position, the first engagement area will take over the engagement from the second engagement area and eject the cards further wherein the actuating feature, e.g. finger operated button, projects outside the housing and wherein the eject arm and the actuating feature are connected in a rigid manner such that the movement of the actuating feature is directly transferred to the eject arm and both these members move as one since both these members are integrated in a single, rigid piece.

33. Holder according to claim 32, wherein the second engagement area is designed to eject the cards for at least 10 millimeter.

Description

[0046] The invention will now be further explained by way of the drawing, showing presently preferred embodiments. The drawing shows in:

[0047] FIGS. 1-2 a card holder, in perspective view;

[0048] FIG. 3 a cross section of the FIG. 1 card holder;

[0049] FIG. 4 in perspective view a pivoted ejector arm engaging a staggered cards stack;

[0050] FIGS. 5-12 in perspective view a first embodiment of the invented ejector arm during different stages of its operation;

[0051] FIGS. 13-17 in perspective and side view the FIG. 5 ejector arm in different positions;

[0052] FIGS. 18 and 19 a perspective exploded view of the FIG. 5 ejector arm from opposite sides;

[0053] FIGS. 20-23 perspective views of two alternative embodiments of a double hinged ejector device of the invention in two operating states;

[0054] FIG. 24A-B in perspective side view an embodiment of mutually separate and independent normal duty and heavy duty ejector arms;

[0055] FIG. 25 in perspective side view an embodiment of normal duty and heavy duty operation provided by a unitary ejector arm;

[0056] FIG. 26A-B in perspective side view another embodiment of normal duty and heavy duty operation provided by a unitary ejector arm;

[0057] FIG. 27A-E elaborate the operation of the break coupling;

[0058] FIG. 28A-F elaborate the operation of another break coupling;

[0059] FIG. 29 a top view of the FIG. 5 embodiment; and

[0060] FIG. 30 a bottom view of the FIG. 5 embodiment.

[0061] FIGS. 1-3 show a perspective view of the housing of the card holder which tightly fits around the shown stack of at least three cards (four are shown), wherein one of the two longitudinal ends of the housing is referred to as a card opening because it is opened to receive and remove cards. The tightly fit around the card stack implicates a main shape based on a right angled brick, but it can of course, for reasons of design or ergonomics, differ, e.g. by providing chamfers, roundings, ribs, etc.

[0062] FIG. 1 shows the holder 1 and a neat stack 2 of four cards in register, ready to be loaded into the holder through the cards opening 3. If completely located in the holder, the lower side of each card is in register with a relevant engagement face of the ejector arm in its first (retracted) position. Starting from this position of the ejector arm and moving (pivoting) it to its second position, the cards will be forced by the associated engagement face such that the cards stack is partly ejected. Since each engagement face has a different distance to the pivot point of the ejector arm, each card will travel a different distance such that a staggered ejected stack 2 is obtained (shown in FIG. 2 in which the ejector arm (not shown) is in its second position), each card presenting an exposed narrow strip of a main side as shown.

[0063] FIG. 3 shows in sectional view a holder (without cards) with a card eject feature (in the first (retracted) position) provided by the stepped element 16 which can pivot around an axis 17 if the user exerts in the pivot direction (according to the arrow B) a force through the actuator 18 outside the housing. The stepped element is made from steps providing card contact faces 19 designed to exert force against the minor side of the cards to be ejected. The card contact faces 19 can be regarded as the thickness of the steps in the stepped shape and the height of these faces is equal to or smaller then the nominal card thickness (approx. 0.8 mm), whereby each step contacts a different card. A reset spring 20 ensures that the stepped element 16 after releasing the button 18 returns immediately and automatically to the initial (first) position shown. Friction elements 4, e.g. pads of rough fibre like material, e.g. felt, are located mutually opposite within the housing at the housing minor sides to engage each individual minor card side to retain the cards against gravity force.

[0064] In a possible variant of FIG. 3, the stepped element 16 can translate in the direction in which the cards are slid through the card opening 3 and out the housing and which by means of a reset spring 20 after releasing the operation part 18 returns immediately and automatically to the initial position.

[0065] FIG. 3 shows the connection between the button 18 and the ejector arm 16 extending through a passage in the bottom edge, meaning the edge opposite the opening 3. Alternatively such passage could be present in a side edge or even in a main side 31. The button 18 is shown adjacent the bottom edge, however could be located adjacent a side edge or even a main side 31. The bottom edge or side edge is a minor side, bridging the main sides 31. These locations of the passage and button 18 are known from the prior art.

[0066] In FIG. 4 the housing is removed such that the elements within the housing are visible. The eject arm 16 is pivoted to its second (extended) position, engaging the staggered cards stack 2 (only partly shown). Arm 16 is, by pivot 17, pivotably mounted to a fixture 10 which is fixedly located in the housing opening opposite the card opening 3, thus providing a closure of the housing.

[0067] As is clear from all FIG. 1-4, the thickness of the ejector arm stepwise decreases from the proximal (close to the pivot point 17) to the distal (free or remote) end 5. The maximum ejector arm 16 thickness equals the height of the housing determined by the clearance between the two main sides of the housing which equals the maximum thickness of a cards stack tightly fitting in the housing. The maximum ejector arm 16 thickness could be slightly thinner to allow movement of the arm 16 within the housing without undue friction with the inner faces of the opposite housing main sides along which the top and bottom side, respectively, of the arm 16 slide.

[0068] The opposite main side walls 31 have smooth, level and flat inner faces, extending mutually parallel.

[0069] FIGS. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of the invention during normal operation. Also the modified application of the reset spring 20 is illustrated, clearly different from the prior art solution (as shown in FIG. 3). At location 9, spring 20 is mounted to barrel 6. The opposite end (not visible) of spring 20 is mounted to the ejector arm fixture 10 adjacent the pivot 17. In this manner spring 20 remains parallel to arm 16 during pivoting of arm 16.

[0070] The arm 16 is assembled from two separate parts: barrel 6 and trigger 7, sharing a common pivot 17 and mutually reversibly coupled by slide cam 8 at barrel 6. Trigger 7 is rigidly coupled with button 18. Barrel 6 is biased towards the retracted position according to FIG. 5 by the spring 20. By operating button 18, trigger 7 is pivoted to the FIG. 6 position, carrying barrel 6 along due to engagement between the distal or free end 11 (also called nose) of the trigger 7 and the slide cam 8.

[0071] FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate heavy duty operation. During pivoting of the trigger 7 towards its extended state, when the barrel 6 experiences resistance, e.g. due to jamming of barrel 6 or the cards stack, the nose 11 and the slide cam 8 mutually move, causing the barrel 6 to move longitudinally (see arrow C), opposite to the bias of the spring 20. While nose 11 and slide cam 8 are still engaged, if actuation of button 18 is stopped, spring 20 returns barrel 6 to its original state. If actuation of button 18 is continued with increasing force, nose 11 pushes slide cam 8 and thus barrel 6 forward such that finally nose 11 can pass slide cam 8, at which time the coupling between trigger 7 and barrel 6 breaks reversibly and trigger 7 is free to pivot further towards its extended state (FIG. 8). As soon as barrel 6 is uncoupled from trigger 7, the spring 20 returns barrel 6 to its retracted state as FIG. 8 shows.

[0072] From the FIG. 8 position, the trigger 7 is pivoted back to its initial position by operating button 18, during which nose 11 will hit slide cam 8 from above. Application of some additional force to button 18 will cause that nose 11 pushes slide cam 8 and thus barrel 6 forward such that finally nose 11 can pass slide cam 8, after which spring 20 moves barrel 6 back and the engagement between nose 11 and slide cam 8 as shown in FIG. 7 is recovered.

[0073] The skilled person is able, without inventive effort, to adapt the shape of the nose 11 and the slide cam 8 to obtain the reversible break coupling between trigger 7 and barrel 6.

[0074] FIGS. 9 and 10 show the arm 16 from the opposite side, illustrating the elongated pivot hole 29 in the barrel 6 to allow barrel 6 to move longitudinally (arrow C) during heavy duty operation. FIG. 9 shows the initial state and FIG. 10 the forward moved barrel 6, caused by engagement of the nose 11 and slide cam 8.

[0075] FIGS. 11 and 12 show the arm 16 from the opposite side during normal operation (FIG. 11) and heavy duty operation (FIG. 12), in both states the trigger 7 is pivoted to its second position. In FIG. 11 trigger 7 is pivoted together with barrel 6, such that trigger 7 is hidden behind barrel 6, reason why trigger 7 is referred by a dotted arrow in FIG. 11.

[0076] FIGS. 13 and 14 illustrate the forward movement of the barrel 6, against the bias of spring 20. Appreciate that trigger 7 slightly pivots relative to barrel 6 to cause barrel 6 to move forward. The dotted line at the right hand side of the drawing illustrates the rate of forward movement of barrel 6.

[0077] FIGS. 15 and 16 illustrate the same as FIGS. 13 and 14, this time in perspective view.

[0078] FIG. 17 illustrates the separate arm 16 while trigger 7 uncoupled from barrel 6.

[0079] FIGS. 18 and 19 show perspective exploded views from opposite sides of parts 6, 7 of arm 16 and the fixture 10, in FIG. 19 the shaft of pivot 17 is visible.

[0080] FIGS. 20-26 show five alternative embodiments of the arm 16 designed for reversibly switching between normal and heavy duty operation.

[0081] FIG. 20-21 and FIG. 22-23, respectively, show a first and second example in two operating states of a double hinged embodiment, wherein the barrel 6 is hingedly mounted to the distal end of the trigger 7 by a pivot 21 in addition to the pivot 17. Trigger 7 and barrel 6 are mutually separate parts and kept mutually in line by a reversible break coupling.

[0082] FIG. 20-21 show an at location 22 active friction coupling (viz. FIG. 21) which disengages above a predetermined load acting on the barrel 6 while ejecting the cards, at which time barrel 6 is released for free pivoting around pivot 21 (viz. FIG. 21) such that the distal end of trigger 7 only will urge the cards out of the housing. Operating button 18 opposite the direction of ejecting the cards forces the trigger 7 and barrel 6 mutually in line, recovering the friction coupling acting as reversible break coupling.

[0083] FIG. 22-23 show a different reversible break coupling, provided by form fit, wherein a flexible backward extension 23 of the barrel 6 carries a hooking edge 24 which during normal duty use (not shown) when the trigger 7 and barrel 6 are mutually in line, hooks behind a corresponding hooking edge 25 at barrel 6. Above a predetermined load carried by the barrel 6 during ejecting the cards, extension 23 yields such that hooking edge 24 moves free from hooking edge 25, causing the break coupling to disengage. By operating button 18 opposite the direction of ejecting the cards recovers the break coupling.

[0084] FIGS. 22 and 23 also show the application of the reset spring 20 corresponding to the prior art, thus similar to FIG. 3 and clearly different from FIG. 5 which shows an inventive example.

[0085] FIG. 24A-B show a normal duty ejector arm 6 operated by button 18 and a heavy duty ejector arm 7 operated by button 26, such that operation of these arms 6, 7 is mutually independent. FIG. 24A shows the retracted and FIG. 24B the extended position of both arms 6, 7. In stead of mutually opposite as shown, in an alternative the arms 6, 7 and/or buttons 18, 26 could be located differently, e.g. side by side.

[0086] FIG. 25 shows the trigger 7 and barrel 6 as a single part wherein barrel 6 can pivot relative to trigger 7 by application of a living hinge 27 at the area where barrel 6 and trigger 7 merge. This living hinge provides a virtual hinge, thus a physical pivot axis 21 is absent. The fully extended position of the eject arm during heavy duty operation is shown. The dashed lines show the barrel 6 position during normal duty operation. Arrow d indicates the direction of pivoting of barrel 6 when switching from normal to heavy duty operation.

[0087] FIG. 26A-B show an ejector arm 16 as a unitary item, similar to FIG. 3, carrying a fixed projection 28 at the side facing the cards within the house. When pivoting from the retracted state of FIG. 26A to the extended state of FIG. 26B, the projection 28 first engages the facing edge of the cards urging them outwards, subsequently the distal end of arm 16, carrying the stepped profile, takes over the engagement with the facing cards edge to further urge them outwards. In this manner, projection 28 operates similar to the trigger 7 during heavy duty operation, and the distal end of arm 16 operates similar to the barrel 6. In this example, however, projection 28 always engages the cards during the initial phase of pushing the cards outward, while the distal end of arm 16 only engages the cards after the initial phase is completed. Thus, with this example, the initial phase is always as if heavy duty operation is required.

[0088] FIG. 27A-E illustrate operation of the break coupling applied in the embodiment shown in e.g. FIG. 13. Starting from FIG. 27A showing the engaged coupling, the one inclined stop face and the contact edge of the two coupling parts start mutually bearing and sliding (FIG. 27B) when operating the button 18 (viz. FIG. 13) to eject the cards, opposite the bias of spring 20. At arrival of the threshold load the coupling becomes disengaged since the coupling parts no longer provide a mutual barrier for the load from the trigger 7 to pivot the barrel 6 (FIG. 27C). To re engage the coupling parts the button 18 is operated oppositely and the other inclined stop face and the contact edge start mutually bearing and sliding (FIG. 27D) until they can mutually pass (FIG. 27E), after which the reset spring 20 moves the parts to the initial stage (FIG. 27A) completing re engagement.

[0089] FIG. 28A-E illustrates the same stages as FIG. 27A-E for a different shape of the contact face. FIG. 28F shows additionally an intermediate stage between FIG. 28E and FIG. 28A, illustrating the movement caused by the reset spring 20.

[0090] FIG. 29 the view when looking into the holder 1 from the entrance 3 and illustrates the small thickness of the trigger 7 compared to the barrel 6 in the area provided with the faces 19 (here barrel 6 fits tightly between the main sides 31). The trigger 7 is sandwiched between the thin part of barrel 6 adjacent pivot 17 and a spacer 30 (also illustrated in, e.g., FIGS. 4 and 6) to locate the trigger 7 stably between the opposite main sides 31 of the housing 1. Thus, the trigger 7 is kept spaced from both main sides 31.

[0091] FIG. 30 the view according to arrow Z in FIG. 7 (the view opposite FIG. 29). The one minor side 32 is shown by a dashed line since covered by button 18. The fixture 10 contains a window 33 (also referred to in FIG. 9) through which the barrel 6 and trigger 7 are visible. The barrel 6 and the trigger 7 project into this window 33.

[0092] The mutual spacing of the components shown in FIGS. 29 and 30 is exaggerated for clarity.

[0093] FIGS. 5-8 and 11 show the reset spring 20 is present straight aside the trigger 7 and barrel 6 and extends parallel to these parts 6, 7 and covers these parts 6, 7 partly. This is different from FIG. 3 in which the spring 20 is present straight above the eject arm and also the steps 19. The spring 20 is merely fixed to the barrel 6.

[0094] The drawing, the specification and claims contain many features in combination. The skilled person will consider these also individually and combine them to further embodiments. Also different embodiments belong to the invention. Features of different in here disclosed embodiments can in different manners be combined and different aspects of some features are regarded mutually exchangeable. All described or in the drawing disclosed features provide as such or in arbitrary combination the subject matter of the invention, also independent from their arrangement in the claims or their referral.