Credit card holder having adjustable bias friction element

Abstract

A holder for cards, comprising a housing which tightly fits around a stack of at least three cards and has a 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. At the inner side of the housing a friction element is located to provide the cards a stable position inside the housing. The friction element is associated with movement means of the housing to selectively generate a movement of the friction element or at least its friction surface in thickness direction of the friction element, which is the direction in which the friction element is urged against the stack, which also is the widthwise direction.

1 . A holder for a stack of cards comprising:
 a housing , having a card receiving space provided between opposite, mutually spaced first and second main walls , which determine a maximum thickness of the stack between them and opposite, mutually spaced first and second minor walls, perpendicular to the main walls and joined with the main walls, the main walls configured for a tight fit of the height of a stack of at least three cards between them, the minor walls configured to accommodate the width of the stack between them, the housing having at least one card opening for inserting and ejecting the stack into and from the card receiving space;   a card ejector, configured to be manually operated and having an eject arm within the housing, configured to be moved, by manual actuation, by the card ejector, between a first, retracted, position and a second, extended, position, to bring the stack from an entirely inserted state in which the stack is entirely received within the card receiving space to an ejected state in which the stack through the card opening is partly slid from the housing;   a card engaging device inside the housing configured to engage a side wall of the stack facing a minor wall, in the ejected state and/or in the entirely inserted state, the card engaging device comprising or provided by a friction pad opposing movement of the stack in stack ejection direction and configured to switch between a first and second engaging state providing a low and a high friction force, respectively, provided on the stack;   an internal detector within the housing, configured to detect at least part of the stack within the card receiving space, the detector making physical contact with a surface of the stack; and   an internal elongated structural transmission arm within the housing,   wherein the detector is mechanically coupled to the card engaging device via the transmission arm to cause a switching between the first and second engaging state of the card engaging device by the transmission arm as a result of the detector detecting the stack.   
     
     
         2 . The holder according to  claim 1 , wherein the detector is a stack arresting element inside the card receiving space and near or inside the card opening and configured to move between a stack releasing position, allowing the stack to pass the stack arresting element during ejection and a stack arresting position, retaining the entirely inserted stack entirely inside the card receiving space by physical obstruction and avoiding that the stack passes the stack arresting element. 
     
     
         3 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the stack arresting element is configured to move at least 1 millimetre, between the stack releasing position and the stack arresting position, in the direction from the one minor side to the opposing minor side of the holder in a widthwise direction of the holder. 
     
     
         4 . (canceled) 
     
     
         5 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the card engaging device comprising a transmission arm that extends longitudinally from the housing inside the card receiving space and adjacent a minor wall which provides the transmission arm and carries the friction pad and the stack arresting element. 
     
     
         6 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the transmission arm, the stack arresting element and the friction pad are retained in a channel of the card receiving space, said channel is provided between a minor wall of the holder and a boundary remote from said minor wall, said boundary retaining the transmission arm, the stack arresting element and the friction pad to enter the card receiving space beyond said boundary. 
     
     
         7 . (canceled) 
     
     
         8 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the card engaging device has a narrowing of at least 0.4 millimetre at the location of the stack arresting element to allow the stack arresting element to leave the channel in the direction from the first to the opposite second minor wall when moving to the stack arresting position. 
     
     
         9 . The holder according to  claim 2 , comprising a transmission arm associated with and/or extending along the first minor wall and having a first longitudinal end located at or near the card opening, which carries the stack arresting element which is located at or near the first longitudinal end of the transmission arm, wherein a first length part of the transmission arm, extending from the first longitudinal end and carrying the stack arresting element, is
 curved or angled; and/or   diverges away from the first minor wall, as viewed along the transmission arm in the direction of the first longitudinal end, and extends inward into of the card receiving space and/or towards the opposite second minor wall of the card receiving space.   
     
     
         10 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the transmission arm is an elongated part of the card engaging device or forms the card engaging device, positioned along the minor wall of the card receiving space, said part connecting or carrying the stack arresting element and the friction pad, wherein the part is positioned against the first minor wall, at a local tilting area of the part to be tiltable, such that if the stack arresting element moves away from the opposing second minor wall the friction pad simultaneously and correspondingly moves towards the opposing second minor wall by tilting of the transmission arm at the tilting area located between the friction pad and the stack arresting element. 
     
     
         11 . (canceled) 
     
     
         12 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the stack arresting element is embodied by a curl shaped metal part, formed from a metal sheet. 
     
     
         13 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the stack arresting element is coupled to the friction pad via a tilting area to cause an increase in pushing force by the friction pad onto the stack of cards in the partly ejected state of the stack of cards compared to the entirely inserted state in the card receiving space, in that if the stack arresting element moves away from the opposing second minor wall the friction pad simultaneously and correspondingly moves towards the opposing second minor wall by tilting of the tilting area. 
     
     
         14 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein in the entirely inserted state of the stack of cards the stack arresting element opposes movement of ejected cards in card ejection direction by physical or mechanical interference rather than friction. 
     
     
         15 . (canceled) 
     
     
         16 . The holder according to  claim 2 , wherein the stack arresting element and the friction pad are supported by and/or fixed to a transmission arm, each at a side of a tilting feature wherein the transmission arm has sufficient flexural rigidity or stiffness such that a diverging movement, or attempt for it, of the stack arresting element causes pivoting of the transmission arm at the tilting feature resulting in an opposite diverging movement, or attempt for it, of the friction pad, or vice versa, wherein the tilting feature is provided by a local area of the transmission arm positioned against the first minor wall. 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . The holder according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the main and minor walls are rigidly connected mutually; the card receiving space being shape-retaining and/or configured to entirely contain the stack.   
     
     
         19 . The holder according to  claim 8 , wherein the narrowing is in a direction from the first to the opposite second main wall. 
     
     
         20 . The holder according to  claim 9 , wherein the first length part of the transmission arm is curved or angled at least 5 or less than 40 degrees relative to the immediately joining length part of the transmission arm. 
     
     
         21 . The holder according to  claim 9 , wherein the first length part of the transmission arm has a length of at least 2 or less than 10 millimetre. 
     
     
         22 . The holder according to  claim 10 , wherein the wherein the elongated part pushes against the first minor wall. 
     
     
         23 . The holder according to  claim 13 , wherein the increase in pushing force is at least 5 or 10%. 
     
     
         24 . The holder according to  claim 16 , wherein the tilting feature is provided by a local area of the transmission arm pushing against the first minor wall.