Special receptacle or package – For coin – Multiple pocket or compartment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-02
2001-03-20
Bui, Luan K. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
For coin
Multiple pocket or compartment
C206S564000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06202835
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices which retain coins. More particularly, the present invention relates to a change card, as well as methods for using the change card, which retains a specific combination of coins with which exact change for any purchase may be made. The methods for using the change cards of the present invention allows all of the change resulting from a purchase to be received by the change card. The methods and devices of the present invention, by maintaining and controlling an exact predetermined combination coins with which a person may make any purchase, eliminate the burden of loose change.
2. Description of the Related Art
Throughout the course of a day of making purchases, a person accumulates loose change. This gradual accumulation results a pocket or a purse filled with coins at the end of the day. Although it may be carried with a person day after day, a coin purse eventually becomes too full and needs to be emptied. In contrast, a pocket filled with coins is typically dumped on top of a dresser or into a tray upon returning home at the end of the day. Eventually, a person ends up with a substantial supply of coins. On a national scale, the collective supplies of loose change represents a massive amount of coins removed from circulation.
To return their supply of coins back into circulation, individuals need to roll the coins into paper wrappers, which is time consuming and a nuisance, or to take the coins to a bank for this purpose. However, many banks no longer provide this service. To fill this void, companies have developed machines which are often placed in supermarkets which, in return for coins, provide cash, albeit for a not insubstantial commission.
To cope with the accumulation of loose change, a person may use a coin purse which is typically kept in a pocket or a larger purse. Other devices have been developed to retain coins. For example, a portable coin holder and dispenser disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,499,710 holds and retains two quarter dollars. One apparent drawback of such a device is that other coins cannot be held and retained, resulting in a build up of loose change once again.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing, one of the objectives of the present invention is to provide methods and devices for retaining coins which overcome the drawbacks of conventional techniques.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a change card for holding a particular combination of coins which enables a user to make exact change for any purchase.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a change card for holding a particular combination of coins which enables a user to make any purchase in such a way that each coin of any change received in return is receivable by the change card.
These and other objects are achieved by the change card of the present invention which enables a person to make exact change on any purchase and/or to receive all of the change resulting from a purchase, thereby eliminating the accumulation of pocket change.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a change card includes a body and a plurality of bays disposed on the body. Each of the bays is adapted to releasably receive a coin. One of the many features of the invention is that the change card may be configured to be about the same size as a credit card so that the change card may be conveniently carried in a wallet or a purse. The advantages of this features are augmented by a particular configuration of the change card in which a predetermined number of bays are provided which receive a combination of coins which enables exact change of any fraction of a monetary unit to be made. For example, in the United States, the predetermined number of bays includes four bays each for receiving a penny, one bay for receiving a nickel, two bays each for receiving a dime, and three bays each for receiving a quarter, which totals 10 coins. Accordingly, exact change may be made for a purchase of given dollar amount and any fractional amount in cents, ranging from 1¢ to 99¢. Another advantage of the change card of the present invention is that any change resulting from a purchase made in accordance with the present invention is always receivable on the change card, which will be discussed in detail in the description below.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the present invention in the context of a change card configured to hold United States coins, but which are equally relevant to other monetary systems of the world.
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Bui Luan K.
Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP
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