Pass case closures

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, the pass 5 case may be formed of any suitable material, but it is usually made of leather, fabric, artificial leather, plastic, or combination thereof. It comprises a rear panel 10, a front panel 11 foldably connected to the rear panel 10 on a line of fold 12, । θ and a closure flap 13 foldably connected to an end of the rear panel on the fold line 14. These parts may be cut from a flat sheet of single thickness, such as leather. The flap 13 has a relatively long tongue extension 15 which is of somewhat less width than the flap 13, there being shoulders 16 connecting 15 the comer of the flap with the sides of the tongue. Preferably the sides 17 of the tongue are straight and parallel with the edges of the rear panel, but they may, if desired, be tapered somewhat. The inner end of the tongue is preferably cut on a V line 18. Spaced inwardly from the end of the front panel is a 20 slit 19, preferably V-shaped in plan view as in FIG. 4. The ends of the slit terminate sufficiently short of the side edges of the top panel to leave just enough stock at 20 so that there is no danger of tearing through the material. It is desirable to have the slit 19 as long as possible so that the tongue 15 may be 25 relatively wide. In this way there is a minimum of material at 16 to curl in use. The dimension a of the tongue is such with respect to the length of the slit 19 that there will be a fairly snug fit between the edges 17 of the tongue and the ends of the slit 19, so that an actual pull is necessary in order to cause 30 withdrawal of the tongue from the slit. The length of the tongue is such that there is always some part of the projecting through the slit, even when the case is overloaded.

In this type of case there are usually transversely-folded card-holding pockets 21 of a length slightly less than the 35 length of the front and rear panels held in leaf form within the case, usually by means of a metal clip 22 at the fold line 12. The card holders are usually formed of a transparent plastic material and are tubular with open ends 23 through which the cards may be inserted. The plastic material may be folded on 4θ the line 25.

When the case is closed, with a minimum of contents, it is contemplated that the tongue 15 be substantially fully inserted in the slit 19, as shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 6, which is an edge view of FIG. 2, shows that when there is full insertion of the tongue, ⁴⁵ the end 24 of the top panel projects a substantial distance beneath the flap 13. Also the tongue 15 projects a substantial distance beneath the top panel 11 so that there is a crisscross arrangement of the tongue and panel end as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. With this crisscross arrangement of the tongue and slit, ^U in conjunction with contents which project beneath both the tongue 15 and the end 24 of the front panel, the contents of the case tend to press the tongue 15 and the panel end 24 against the undersides of the panel 11 and the underside of the 55 flap 13 respectively. This pressure is aided by the fact that the plastic card holders 21 normally tend to open out on their fold lines 25 and the clip 22 also tends to promote spreading. The greater the number of cards within the case and, hence, the greater the bulk, the greater will be the pressure exerted on 60 the tongue 15 and front panel end 24 to thereby pressurably maintain the flap in closed condition in any adjusted position caused by the number of cards being carried.

FIGS. 3 an 7 illustrate a condition of expansion where there is a substantially greater amount of contents than in FIGS. 2 65 and 6. Here it will be seen that there is a substantial amount of the tongue 15 which is not inserted in the slit 19. In this condition of expansion the length of the inserted portion of the tongue 15 is shortened, as shown in FIG. 7, but there is still ample length which is urged tightly against the underside of the front 70 panel 11, and the larger number of cards causes this pressure to be grater. In any condition of expansion the length of the front panel end portion 24 which is acted upon by the contents is always the same.

Due to the V-shape of the slit as in FIG. 4, it may be made to 75 gap open when pressure is exerted on the opposite longitu1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains to pass cases of the type usually used in conjunction with a billfold to hold passes, credit cards and the like.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Pass cases are either a permanent part of a billfold or they are detachably connected so that they can be readily removed and carried separately when desired. Heretofore these pass cases have usually comprised a rear panel and a front panel, with the rear panel having a closure flap. In constructions as heretofore manufactured, the flaps have been detachably secured in closing position by means of bulky metal fasteners or by means of a harrow tongue inserted in a loop which projects above the surface of the front panel. Both of these arrangements result in increased bulk; In addition, in order to prevent curling of the flap comers, it has been customary to reinforce the edge of the closure flap with a metal bar which is held in position by a folded-back piece of material. This creates still additional objectionable thickness. Because of the large number of credit cards and other cards which are customarily carried, any increase in bulk is very objectionable, particularly if the user wishes to keep the pass case in association with the billfold.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a pass case wherein the closure flap has a wide tongue extension which is insertable through a slit in the front panel of the case to an position where it is engaged by the contents of the case. This contents acts pressurably on the inserted portion of the tongue to press it against the underside of the front panel and also acts on the end portion of the front panel to urge the latter against the underside of the closure flap. Thus there is a pressure action on two different portions to frictionally maintain the tongue Of the closure flap in closing position, regardless of the number of cards within the case, the greater the number of cards the greater the pressure which is exerted from the inside of the inserted portion of the tongue and on the end portion of the frontpanel.

A general object of the invention is to provide a pass case closure which eliminates the bulk customarily caused by conventional flap-fastening arrangements.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pass case as above described wherein the possibility of comers of the closure flap curling is minimized, and which eliminates the necessity of using metal stiffeners to prevent such curling.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pass case which may be readily opened and closed, and which is adapted to releasably maintain itself in closed condition, the construction being self-adjusting to readily adapt itself to the number of Cards within the case.

Still further objects of the present invention are to provide a pass case which is simple in design and construction, inexpensive to manufacture, neat in appearance, and otherwise well adapted for the purpose described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

In the drawing, illustrating one complete embodiment of the preferred form of the invention, in which the same reference numerals designate the same parts in all of the views:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved pass case in partially opened condition;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the case in closed condition with a minimum of contents;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the condition of the parts when the case is expanded by a relatively large amount of contents;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary view of the outer end of the top panel showing the tongue-receiving slit;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 5—S of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an edge view of the pass case of FIG. 2; and

3,548,907 dinal edges of the front panel. Thus insertion of that tongue may be facilitated. In a typical construction the front panel is 2¾ inches wide and the unslit portions 20 are one-quarter inch each.

From the above it is apparent that a very simple pass case construction has been provided having a closure arrangement which reduces the overall thickness of the case due to the elimination of metal fastenings or projecting loops. It is also apparent that the present case can be manufactured at reduced cost with respect to pass cases having the usual type of closures. It is also clear that there is a minimum amount of material at the comers of the flap which is subject to curling and that, therefore, no expensive or bulk-increasing metal bars need be used on closure flap.

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and all of such changes are contemplated as may come within the scope of the claims.