DEFINITION and DOMAIN The present invention concerns a coin holder or a chip or token holder, device with juxtaposed compartments, each forming a receptacle for coins, chips, tokens or other pieces. The body of this device is a container, having a generally elongated shape, for example, that of a cone or of a cylinder, comprising on the one hand an opening for the insertion and the removal of the coins or other pieces and on the other hand inner partitions in order to define compartments.

The whole unit is protected and closed by a soft jacket or envelope, which surrounds entirely the device or only its access opening, for inserting and removing the pieces.

The invention falls into the category of coin holder devices and more generally in the domain of chip or token holders or round thin and flat pieces holders.

GENERAL PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED

On a daily basis, it is necessary to have coins easily and rapidly at your disposal, in order to pay for small purchases and expenses or highway tolls. It is also necessary to be able to store the coins that are given back from merchants or shopkeepers after a purchase paid in cash. It can also be necessary to store and to have at disposal a supply of coins or tokens for one or several automatic machines, for example a dispenser or for using a pressurized washer in a washing station or for other needs.

These coins or tokens are preferably stored in a small space and it must be possible to see them and to insert and remove them easily by hand. Ideally this container is aesthetic, small and it is possible to attach it to a bunch of keys. STATE OF THE ART

There are a lot of devices for the storage of coins, but no one of them provides complete or sufficient satisfaction as expected.

Compartments for coins integrated inside leather wallets are known, but the compartments are deformed in a non aesthetic way and these wallets are not very practical. One knows also coin holders that have a hollow flap, containing the coins which can be taken out by sliding them on the bottom of the flap. These coin holders are convenient but relatively big, non aesthetic and they cannot be attached to a bunch of keys. Furthermore, circular coin holders are known in which the coins are stored according to their size in specific compartments and held biased by springs. These devices are practical but quite bulky; too much space is lost between the compartments. Leather coin holders, which have soft juxtaposed compartments for each type of coins are also known.

The devices according to the following patents differ largely from the present invention and show numerous drawbacks.

GB 1 293 281 HOLT

This invention concerns a coin holder with lateral stacks of coins, one pile adjacent to the other, inside a housing body, and the coins are inserted and extracted laterally through lateral slots.

The coin stacks are disposed laterally moreover the central axis of the coins is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the housing body.

The compartments for the coins are only lateral hollowing-outs made in the body of the coin holder, between its upper and lower faces. These hollowing-outs lead to the upper face.

There are elastic bias means, as springs, between two end discs pressing the coins to and against the upper face.

The insertion and removal means for the coins, are lateral spaces formed between the upper coin and the upper face of the housing body, by the insertion of the coins and occupied by the upper coin before and during its extraction or removal. This allows the loading, the storage of the coins by means of stacking which is transversal to the body of the coin holder and their removal one after the other only by a single transversal movement.

EP 1 352 584 SORRENTINO

The parallelepipedic body of the housing body forms two series of superposed compartments, in the form of transversal compartments for the stacking of the coins.

The removal and the insertion of coins are made through a lateral slot, on the bottom or on the top, of each hollowing-out in the body.

In order to avoid the coins falling out, through the distribution opening, a flexible tongue, in a hook shape, is provided at the edge of the opening of each hollowing-out.

There is no compression spring. It is necessary to tilt this holder in order to use the gravity force as showed in figure 3.

EP 2 876 551 NOVAPAC

This is a coin cellular holder made by thermoforming of plastic material; the body is composed of two hollow parts, having cells, articulated between them by means of hinges.

The two parts are next to each other, in order to form close cells, which serve as transversal compartments to hold the coins.

The scope of this previous invention is far away from the one of the present invention.

FR 1 226 127 LELONG

This invention concerns only a holding means in the form of a rod which pivots and keeps the coins in the chosen position in a case.

This device allows you to fold up, to open or to close the case with only one hand, by keeping the retaining rod in a retracted or in a blocking position previously defined.

This device is no more than a means for withholding the coins. GOAL OF THE INVENTION

For this invention, the goal is to provide a coin holder which enables the user to store, in the smallest possible space, a set of coins in an orderly way, in order to allow easy storage and quick and easy removal by hand and to constitute a reasonable supply of coins. This invention can be adapted to all type of coins and chips or tokens. The goal is also to obtain an aesthetic item which can be put in a pocket or can be used as a key holder.

According to the invention, the coin holder, enables the user to store easily all the coins and can be borne and used in all kinds of circumstances and situations.

INVENTIVE SOLUTION

In order to solve the technical problem of storing coins in a small space and the problem of easily removing them by hand, the invention is related to laterally stacking the coins, side by side one against the other, flat face against flat face and to the storage of the stacked coins in compartments, that are partially open on their lateral surface, having an inner diameter and a width adapted to each type of coins. The coin holder has a global elongated shape, which is preferably conical but also possibly cylindrical, allowing you to store on one side the big coins and on the other side the smaller coins. The coin holder comprises a stiff or half stiff housing body and a soft cover or envelope, which closes over the opening of the housing in order to maintain the coins in position and withhold them and which can be opened, releasing the upper half of the coin holder and provides the required access for storing or taking out the coins.

This coin holder comprises end side walls, intended to close the end faces of the housing and inner and intermediary separating partition, intended to delimit the different compartments in which the coins are to be stacked. These inner partitions and end side walls preferably have a global circular shape and have notches or cut-outs, permitting an easier removal of the coins. But the inner partitions and the end side walls can also have a global polygonal shape, for example triangular or square, or oval or any other polygonal shape. In case of square or triangular end side walls and partitions, the coin holder will have a global pyramidal form.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the user can hang up the coin holder and use it like a key holder made possible by the snap hook or the ring fixed to the upper end side walls.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention concerns a coin holder or a chip or token holder device, with juxtaposed compartments, open on their lateral surface, forming a receptacle for coins, chips, tokens or other pieces. The device has a body forming a container or a case which is a housing for the coins and is preferably rigid, having a global shape of a cone, a cylinder or another shape. This device has an access opening, in order to permit the putting in and taking out the coins and inner separating partitions to delimit the compartments. The ends are closed by enclosing end side walls.

The compartments have different lengths and widths for receiving the coins and other pieces from all current sizes arranged side by side flat face to flat face one against the other.

The whole unit is protected and enclosed with a rigid or soft envelope, fixed to the housing and surrounding it entirely to constitute a temporary closing of the access opening. During the putting in and taking out of the coins, the envelope is opened.

The flap of the envelope closes the access opening but a different closing solution can be provided especially by a soft or a rigid cover, connected to the housing or articulated on it.

The end side walls and the inner separating partitions are fixed to the housing body. The separating partitions and preferably the end side walls have a notch or a cut-out in order to facilitate the removal of the coins.

The cover can be carried out by means of a soft membrane, which withholds the coins in the housing body, in its close position. In its open position, the soft membrane releases completely the upper side of the housing body, in order to allow the user, the putting in and taking out of the coins by hand. One of the end side walls, in principle the upper one, comprises a hole, preferably in the middle, which enables the user to fix a snap hook or a ring intended to attach the coin holder.

The coins are stored, one against the others, inside the juxtaposed compartments from different sizes, corresponding to the coin dimensions. A part of the lateral surface of the housing body can be taken off, or the housing body can be opened all over the upper part in his horizontal position, in order to allow the putting in of the coins or their removal or extraction.

This protection is provided by the side end of the envelope or by a cover specially adapted for this use. This temporary opening and closing means can take different technical forms. It can be provided for a solid closing by any mechanical means for the storage or non-use periods.

The flexible covering membrane provides an entire surrounding means of the coin holder, giving it an aesthetic and uniform look and a soft feel. It is fixed or interlocked to the housing body. Its free extremity is maintained closed by a clip- system, by press studs, or with stretch tapes or other means for. ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

The flat storage of coins or tokens or mixed, depending on their value, makes it possible, to store a maximum of them in a given volume. The storage per type and per value, allows you, to find them more easily when paying. It is also easier to visualize and to identify them. The coin holder according to the invention has a small size, similar to the remote control key of a modern car. The soft membrane gives it a pleasant look and feel. It is particularly possible to choose, according to the planned use, the number, the diameter and the length of the compartments, the shape of the section (round, oval, square, polygonal) of it, as well as the fixing means or mechanism of the cover. LIST OF THE FIGURES

Other features and advantages of the invention are contained in the following detailed description, which refers to the attached drawings. They represent several preferred embodiments of the invention and several versions. These drawings are composed of the following figures:

. figure 1 is a perspective view of the housing body alone without its envelope,

. figure 2 is a perspective view of the whole unit constituted by the housing body and its envelope shown in its open position and the one of the lock,

. figure 3 is a transversal section of the lock of the housing body envelope according to this embodiment,

. figure 4 is a perspective view showing the coin holder and its envelope closed around the housing,

. figure 5 is a perspective view of a version where the coin holder is constituted of a rigid housing body, closed with a rigid cover, articulated to the housing with an hinge placed along a generatrix of the housing body with a pivoting rod or a metallic wire, in a loop shape in order to retain the coins,

. figure 6 is a perspective view of another version according to which the rigid cover can be connected to the housing body by an hinge fixed on the lower part of the housing body,

. figure 7 is a perspective view of another version where the coin holder comprises a rigid or semi-rigid sliding cover, guided in translation on the housing body,

. figure 8 is a perspective view of an additional version showing a housing body with a rectangular section represented without the external envelope, in which the coins are placed perpendicularly to the principal axis of the housing,

. fig 9 is a cross section view along the longitudinal direction of the housing body and the closed cover of the main embodiment showing the maximal possible slope of a coin in a compartment,

. figures 10, 11 and 12 are perspective views of other housing body shapes which sections are oval, square or triangular,

. fig 13 is a perspective view of a coin holder device provided with a retractable tongue intended to withhold the coins, the housing comprising a snap hook with an axis which comes through the upper base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The coin holder or equivalent, designed to contain coins 1, will now be described in detail, with reference to all the figures 1 to 13, with a special look at the housing body 2 which has compartments and the envelope 3 which surrounds it, allowing to close and to protect it.

It can serve as a coin holder, or as any other container for a supply of coins, chips, tokens or other flat objects preferably circular and which can be stacked.

The coin holder has a global elongated shape, that is to say, along its length and preferably conical or cylindrical.

The housing body 2 is rigid or semi-rigid. It is composed of a lateral surface 4 in a closed skirt, closed at the upper end 5 by an upper end side wall 6 and at its lower end 5' by a lower end side wall 7, forming the base of the coin holder. The housing body 2 comprises an access opening 8, which extends all over the length of the housing body 2 and over a large part of its lateral surface, so that the housing body is open, as shown in the first pictures. The housing body 2 comprises also a certain number of internal transversal separating partitions 9, 10 and 1 1, connected to the skirt 4, allowing you to separate the internal volume of the housing body and to divide it in several compartments 12, 13, 14 and 15. The number of compartments and partitions can be adapted to the needs of the user.

The whole unit will now be described, taking for reference as the horizontal axis, the principal longitudinal axis of the coin holder housing body.

There are two main embodiments, from which one can figure out different versions. These two main embodiments are represented and described hereinafter.

The skirt 4 comprises perforations or hollowing-outs or elongated shape holes 16 through which tenons 17 penetrate and join the end side walls 6 and 7 to the partitions 9, 10 and 11, to secure their setting. After having inserted the tenons 17 in the holes 16, the former are fixed for example by riveting, so as to secure the skirt 4 to the end side walls 6 and 7 and to the partitions 9, 10 and 11 , building so an inner unit which is used as a frame. The skirt 4 is made out of a preliminary shaped metal sheet, according to the desired geometrical form : conical, cylindrical or other.

This technique of fabrication, assembling and fixing, as well as the used materials, are not restrictive.

The upper end side wall 6, has a central hole intended to receive an axis 18, free in rotation. This axis 18, is secured to a flat disc 19 which leans on a shoulder 20 of the axis 18.

The dimensions of the axis 18 are such that a slight play remains between the washer 19 and the upper wall 6, allowing its free pivot around the upper end side wall 6 and therefore around the housing body 2 .

The end side walls 6 and 7 as well as the inner partitions 9, 10 and 1 1 have in the case of a conical or cylindrical housing body 2, a circular shape intended to sustain the envelop 3 when the envelop surrounds the housing body 2 and is closed on it. When viewed from its outside, the general shape of the coin-holder, for example conical or cylindrical, is given by this circular shape. In the case of a pyramidal housing body 2, the end side walls and the intermediary inner partitions have a square or polygonal form. One can imagine other forms of coin-holders, by means of oval end side walls and partitions, or any other possible geometrical shapes.

These end side walls and the inner partitions form an inner frame, which prevents the crushing of the coin holder, when it has been put in a pocket and is only partially full.

The end side walls 6 and 7 and the separating partitions 9, 10 and 1 1 are flat and thin pieces: for example discs made out of any suitable material such as metal, wood or plastic, or any others.

Each end side wall 6 and 7 has, for example, narrow and curvilinear notches or cut-outs respectively 20 and 21 intended to facilitate the removal by hand with the finger or fingers extremities of the coins which are placed in the adjacent end compartments 12 and 15. The inner separating partitions 9, 10 and 1 1 show also curvilinear notches, respectively 22, 23 and 24 wider, also intended to facilitate the removal by hand of the coins out of the housing body 2. The shape of the partitions may be the one of a crescent.

To be more general, the notches can be replaced by any suitable prehension means of the coins either simple or complicated such as a slidable element or a thin disc of plastic lying free or glued on the face of each partition or whatever suitable means.

Based on one of the features of the device size, according to the invention and illustrated by figure 9, the compartments 12, 13, 14 and 15 have a length which is smaller than the diameter of the coins to be stored in. So, the compartment 15 has a smaller length than the diameter, for example of a two euro coin, to prevent the relevant coins tilting or inclining and especially a flat position that is contrary to the desired position, that is to say, the flat stacked position. The dimensions of the other compartments respond to the same technical dimensional requirement, corresponding to the other coins which have to be stored in. In the present case, it was decided to attribute several coins to the same compartment: for example 2€, 1€ and 50 cents to compartment 15, the length of this compartment has to be smaller than the diameter of the smallest coin. Thanks to this particularity, the coins cannot lie down at the bottom of the compartment, but they will always stay in a vertical or inclined position, leaning on one of the side walls or partitions and piled flat one to the other.

In order to facilitate still more the taking-out during use, it is possible to incline a bit more the coin holder, to tip the coins up from one partition to the other and to separate that one, which is intended to be taken out.

According to this first embodiment, the housing body 2 of the coin holder is made out of sheet metal pieces for the skirt 4, the end side walls 6 and 7, and the inner partitions 9, 10 and 11. These parts are assembled together for example with tenon and mortice joints with a locking of the tenons in the openings by riveting or welding or any other method.

According to a second embodiment, the housing body 2 is made in one piece by molding of metal (aluminium, zamac, brass... etc) or in a synthetic thermoplastic resin (polyamide, ABS, PP, etc...) or thermoset resin.

One can imagine other intermediary or different embodiments, for example, in which the skirt 4 and the end side walls 6 and 7 are molded in one piece and the internal partitions 9, 10 and 1 1 are separate pieces, placed in circular slots, integrated in the inner surface of the skirt. According to this embodiment, one can carry out a lot of slots, in order to let the user choose the position of the inner partitions 9, 10 and 11. These partitions can also be placed in the mold and be overmolded. In this case their positions are definitive.

One can also imagine a skirt 4 made out of wood, carried out by milling and partitions 9, 10 and 11 made out of wood or metall. In this case, the end side walls 6 and 7 can be secured to the skirt 4 or they can be fixed on it.

One can also imagine a housing body 2 completely made out of leather. In this case, the skirt 4 is cut out in some rigid and curved leather. The end side walls 6 and 7 and the inner partitions 9,10 and 11 are then pieces made out of leather and fixed to the skirt 4 by means of glue and reinforced by stitching or by stapling. When it is wanted to use end side walls 6 and 7 and inner partitions 9, 10 and 11 made out of metal, the latter can comprise tenons which penetrate through the skirt 4 per stretched holes and are folded up at 90° on the other side. In case of a skirt 4 made out of leather, the flexible envelope 3 can completely surround the coin holder. The envelope 3 will be glued to the external surface of the skirt 4, which also allows you to cover the technical zones of the staples and tenons.

One can imagine a combination of all these versions and also use materials and processes which are different from those above described.

One can also imagine an end side wall free in rotation which would be associated to a withholding means of the coins during the opening and thereafter a complete opening of the access opening only when the position of the coin holder is correct.

Some embodiments are more or less judicious or aesthetic, depending on the general shape of the coin holder.

The following, more detailed description part, will only concern the first embodiment.

The housing body 2 has a general shape which spreads along the longitudinal axis. The adjacent compartments that form a housing for the coins have a length a bit smaller than the diameters of the coins meant to be stored inside. The depth of each compartment, measured from the upper edges 25 and 25 ' of the skirt 4 and delimiting in the length direction the access opening 8, is close to the radius of the coin intended to be housed in the relative compartment. But, this depth can be more important and even equal to the diameter of the coins.

The notches 22, 23 and 24 performed in the partitions 9, 10 and 11 have a shape and a size which makes the taking-out of a coin, for example the left or the right one, much easier; however the notches don't allow the coins to move from one compartment to another and to be stuck between the partitions and the means which serves as a cover.

In order to be more general, the coins in one or more compartments can be transversally disposed and withheld by a suitable means and preserved accordingly from an ugly bulging of the envelope 3.

However, the flap of the envelope 3 can serve as a cover, it is envisaged to maintain the coins in the compartments and to avoid their falling out, with a cover 26 which the housing 26 is provided with or can be integral with or which the envelope 3 can constitute. One can provide a soft or rigid cover 26, removable or movable, relative to the housing body 2 or articulated on it or temporarily detachable from it, from different forms of which several versions are represented in the pictures as examples. It is preferable and suitable, that the opening movement of the soft or rigid cover 26 allows you to render free all the upper zone of the housing body 2 and particularly the zone corresponding to the access opening 8. According to a particularly interesting embodiment of the invention, the cover 26 is formed by a flap 27 which is the extremity of the flexible envelope 3, surrounding entirely the housing body 2. The flexible envelope 3 can be glued on the skirt 4, forming the lateral surface of the housing 2, all over the contact surface between these two parts. In order to reinforce this liaison, particularly by the upper ends 25 and 25' of the skirt 4, the bonding can be reinforced with rivets. These are placed for example two by two on each side of the housing body 2, in the end compartments 12 and 15. This reinforcement by rivets is particularly interesting on the side of the hinge 28, where the glued liaison could release in the end.

By the opening, the wrap end 27 of the envelope 3 turns around a hinge zone

28. This zone can have a small groove in order to facilitate the folding of the envelope 3, specially in case of using a rather rigid envelope (thick leather for example).This groove allows you to localize the hinge 28 and to provide for it flexibility by keeping in the same time a relatively rigid envelope with a regular shape. In fact, if the envelop is too soft, it would deform in an unsightly way under the pressure of the inner partitions 9, 10 and 11 and due to the coins contained in the compartments, whereas a stiffer envelope 3 would keep a regular and harmonious global form.

In order to increase the stiffness of the extremity or of the wrap 26 of the envelope 3, a fastener 29 for example metallic and U-shaped is placed on its free end and covers the free end of the envelope 3. The fastener 29 is fixed by rivets or by integrated tongues 30 and 31. These tongues are secured to the free end of the flap 26 of the envelope 3, after the fastener 29 has been put in place. This rigid fastener 29 enables to achieve an aesthetic finish of the free end of the envelope 3, to facilitate the closing and opening and to guarantee the straightness of this free end.

The rigidity of the free end of the envelope 3 can also be achieved by any other technical known means, for example by folding back its free end if it is made out of leather or of a synthetic material.

For the fixing of the fastener 29 on the housing 2, according to the invention, one can arrange a male element 32 forming a lock, comprising a slope 33 and a notch 34. This element 32 cooperates for the locking with an elastic element 35 integrated in the clasp 29 for example by fastening.

In order to guarantee a correct working during a long time of use, the elements 32 and 35, for example lock and support, are preferably metallic.

According to a particularity of the invention, the male element 32 is connected to one of these separating end side walls 6 and 7 or partitions 9, 10 or 11. It can be provided two male elements per housing, interdependent for example to the inner partitions 9 and 11 or to the end side walls 6 and 7.

Favourably, the elastic element 35 can be worked out from a piano wire segment, attached at its two curved ends 36 and 36' (figure 4) in order to allow you the fixing to the fastener 29 with stamped elements or with rivets 37 and 37'.

The fixation of the end of the envelope 3 to the housing body 2 and therefore the closing of the access opening 8 for the introducing and the taking out of the coins can be realized with other known means, like press stubs, grip strips, magnets, locks or different fasteners used in the leatherwork.

In order to further simplify the realization, the housing body 2 can be made in one piece by injection molding for example in a rigid plastic material (polyamide, polypropylene or others...). The envelope 3 can also be made by overmolding on the housing for example of a soft plastic material (thermoplastic polyurethane or others...). The fastener 29 can then be molded in a rigid material. In this case, the fastening system can be made in metal and fixed to the housing and the envelope, or grip strips can be used.

Figure 8 shows a particular version where the housing has a rectangular section and where only one or several or all the coin stacks are transverse to the longitudinal axis of the housing body 2.

As shown in the pictures 10, 11 and 12, the section of the coin holder 1 can be round, oval, rectangular, triangular, polygonal, etc... what changes the global shape but retains the above expressed characteristics and without going out of the scope of the invention. According to the invention, it is also possible to use for closing the coin holder, a rigid or semi rigid cover 38, 39 or 40 connected to the housing 2 by a hinge, whose forms are represented respectively in the figures 5, 6 and 7.

For the version shown in figure 5, the cover 38 can be connected to the housing body 2 by a longitudinal hinge located on the upper edge of the housing. This hinge can be metallic (piano hinge) or plastic in the case of a two component molding process. The hinge can also be carried out as a flexible covering for example in leather, which surrounds the housing and the covering.

According to figure 6, the cover 39 can be connected to the housing by a transversal hinge positioned approximately in the middle of the lower end side wall 7. In this case, the fastener will be placed for example on the upper end side wall 6.

As represented in figure 7, it can be provided a cover 40, which slides against the housing 2 in line with the axial direction along the guiding edges 41 and 4 . The housing can, in this case, have a global cylindrical or conical shape, provided that the guiding edges are parallel.

To prevent the coins from falling out of the coin holder upon its opening, if it is held upside-down or inclined, it can be provided according to the invention, as showed in figure 13, a flap or a retractable tongue 42 with a spring bias function in direction of the coins and in prolongation of the envelope 3. This flap can be flexible and made out of the same material than the envelope 3. By inserting or taking out of the coins, the flap 42 is remote. When in place, due to its elasticity, it maintains the coins in the housing. This retaining function can also be obtained by other means. It can be provided, as represented in figure 5, a loop made out of a piano wire or a thin rod connected to the end side walls 6 and 7 but free in rotation per insertion of the folded extremities in the holes 44 and 44' performed in the end side walls. This loop is free in rotation and guided from near the centers of the end side walls 6 and 7, in order to be apt to pivot under a simple finger pressure around the holes 44 and 44'. The two holes 44 and 44' are a few millimeters spaced out from the centers of the end side walls 6 and 7, one above and one under the center, so that the loop 43 comes back to the locking position showed in figure 5. The loop 43 closes the access opening 8 and avoids the unintentional falling down of the coins. This loop 43 which constitutes a retaining means, is remote, retracted or removed so that the coins can be inserted or taken out of the housing body. It can also be provided a rigid cover which covers entirely the access opening 8 of the housing body 2, articulated in rotation in the center of the end side walls 6 and 7 in the same way than the loop 43. In this case, the inner radius of the cover is slightly bigger than the external diameter of the envelope 3 in order to enable a free revolving of the cover. The loop can be suppressed progressively in this configuration all along during the progressive opening by turning the cover against the housing to release the coins only when the access opening is completely open.