US2480484A - Safety attachment for billfolds or like articles - Google Patents

Description

E. KRAUSE Aug. 30, 1949.

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR BILLFOLDS OR LIKE ARTICLES Filed Nov. 20, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR, ERICK KHAUSE ATTORNEY Aug. 30, 1949. E. KRAUSE 2,480,484

SAFETY ATTACHMENT FOR BILLFOLDS OR LIKE ARTICLES Filed Nov.. 20, 1946 ZSheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. ERICK KRA USE ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 30, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE SAFETY A'r'rAorrMENrFon BILL'roLDs or. LIKE ARTICLES Erick Krause, Jamaica, N. Y.,,assi gnr ofone-half to Bernard R. Peukert, Stapleton, N. Y.

Application November 20, 1946, Serial No. 711,086

I 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates generally to pocket wallets, and more particularly to means or attachments or inserts for such wallets, and aims to provide a novel attachment or'insert for wallets whereby their securityfrom pickpockets is very substantially enhanced.

More particularly, it is a main object of the invention to provide a separate insert which possesses resiliency so that, when inserted in the wallet and the wallet is folded to slip it into the pocket, the resilient insert urges the two flaps of the folded wallet to swing in mutually opposite directions in their own planes. As a result, the corners of the two flaps dig into or press against the upright end walls of the pocket thereby offering resistance and a check to the withdrawal of the wallet. Hence, if a pickpocket attempts to remove the wallet, it is inevitable that his unsuccessful pull on the wallet will arouse the owner so that the theft will be foiled.

The above and additional objects will become apparent in the following description wherein characters of reference refer to like-numbered parts in the accompanying drawing. It is to be noted that the drawing is intended for the purpose of illustration only and that it is neither desired nor intended to limit the invention to any or all of the specific details of construction shown excepting insofar as they may be deemed essential to the invention.

Referring briefly to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side view of the wallet insert per se, with parts broken away and partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view of the wallet insert per se, showing the manner in which it is manipulated, when contained within the wallet, as the first step in folding the wallet from the fully open or unfolded position to the folded condition.

Fig. 5 is a View of the wallet insert per se, as it appears when in the wallet when the latter is in fully folded condition.

Fig. 6 is a side view of an open wallet, with the insert of the invention mounted therein.

Fig. '7 is an edge view of the same, looking into the opening into the wallet.

Fig. 8 is a view of the wallet of Fig. 6 in fully folded condition prior to its insertion and release into the pocket.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view of a garment having a wallet pocket, with parts broken away to expose the interior of the pocket, illustrating the position taken by the two flaps or wings of the wallet after insertion into the pockets and released by the hand of the user.

Referring in detail to the drawings, the numeral fit indicates a fiat bag or the like, made of a flexible fabric of any kind but preferably provided with a very smooth or glazed outer surf-ace such as, for instance, an oiled cloth. The bag has one end open, which is adapted to be closed by a flap II.

A spring wire l2, which is preferably of such material that it possess strength and resiliency, such as, for instance, piano wire, and of a length sufficiently greater than the length of the bag It so that the Wire may be arched substantially as shown in Fig. 1 when confined within the bag with the flap H in closed condition. To prevent damage to the fabric, each extremity of the wire I2 is provided with a smooth-surfaced ball or the like l3.

The bag ill with the wire therein, may be readily bent or folded in the manner illustrated in Fig. 4, along the diagonal line I4, whence the wire I2 is twisted somewhat. Then the lower end l5 of the bag may be rotated about the upper extremity of the diagonal it, that is, the point It, remaining the while substantially within the plane of the portion l5, into position of parallelism and juxtaposition with the upper end I1, shown in broken lines in Fig. 8. It is apparent that if the grip of the hand of the user is released from the bag shown in Fig. 5, and assuming that the bag of Fig. 5 is inserted into a compartment such as a pocket of a suit of clothes wherein the opposed walls of the pocket serve as limit stops to separation of the two flaps l1 and I5 of the wallet in a hingle-like manner and the two end walls of the pocket serve as limit stops to the shearing movement of the two flaps l1 and I5 with respect to each other, then the resiliency of the wire I2 will normally urge the bag into the shape shown in Fig. 5.

If the bag as shown in Fig. 6 is inserted into the long compartment of a wallet l9, that is, either the currency compartment or a similar compartment next to the same, it is apparent that the bag with the wire it! therein will cause the wallet to behave, when folded and manipulated as described in reference to the bag, in the same manner as described in reference to the bag. In other words, with the bag It in the wallet ill, the wallet is first folded along the line Ma, Fig. 6, to bring the lower end 55a into the same position with respect to the upper end Ha as shown in Fig. 4 in the case of the ends I5 and I! of the bag. Then the two sections I50. and "a are swung mutually with respect to each other while remaining mutually parallel, into juxtaposition as shown in Fig. 8. The wallet is then inserted into the pocket 20 of the garment 2| either in the position shown in Fig. 9, or in the reversed position, not shown. In either case the wire I2, not shown in Fig. 9, will both urge the two wallet flaps la and Ila outward in hingelike fashion against the opposed walls 22 of the pocket 20, and simultaneously the outer corners 23 and 24 of the flaps l5a and I'Ia, respectively, against the end walls 25 of the pocket. Thus, the wallet will have frictional engagement with the pocket walls and hence will offer substantial resistance to any effort to lift it from the pocket. If the wallet is inserted into the pocket 20 in a position upside-down to that shown, then the corners 23 and 24 would tend to press the pocket end walls 25 outward at the points of contact, as is obvious, making the wallet even more securely locked in the pocket. It is of course a very simple matter for the owner to remove his own wallet, but no pickpocket could do so without arousing the owner.

Obviously, modifications in form and structure may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

In combination with a conventional billfold having a lengthwise pocket therein and adapted to be folded about a center fold line, a safety 4 attachment comprising a, closed, flat bag of approximately the dimensions of said pocket insertible into said pocket. said bag having an arched resilient spring wire confined therein of a length greater than the length of the bag so that one of its two extremities registers in one end corner of the bag on one longitudinal side wall thereof and its other extremity frictionally engages the opposite end wall of the bag and the bulge of said arched spring wire engages the other longitudinal side wall of the bag, whereby when the billfold is folded and inserted into a pocket its end portions are displaced both laterally and toward open position, to eflect a multiple wedging action of the billfold within the pocket.

ERICK KRAUSE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 896,004 Gaskill Aug. 11, 1908 1,225,692 Willis May 8, 1917 1,404,278 Davis Jan. 24, 1922 1,446,293 Gilmore Feb. 20, 1923 1,733,848 Yorde et al. Oct. 29, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,502 Switzerland Oct. 26, 1889

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