Adjustable crayon holder

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6322267
  • Patent Number
    6,322,267
  • Date Filed
    Wednesday, February 21, 2001
    23 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, November 27, 2001
    22 years ago
Abstract
An adjustable holder is disclosed for holding a marking material, such as a crayon, comprising an elongated housing with first and second end portions, a hollow cylindrical cavity for housing marking material and a centerline therethrough. A tubular interior portion having a threaded inner bore and an outer wall is coaxially positioned within the housing cavity. A collar adjacent to the first end portion is attached to the housing, rotatable about the centerline. The collar has a hole for insertion of the crayon therethrough. There is provided a device for advancing the tip of the crayon along the longitudinal centerline within the housing. A receptacle portion is coaxially positioned within the tubular interior portion for retentively receiving one end of the crayon. The crayon is rotated by rotation of the collar, which cooperate to linearly traverse the receptacle portion within the tube threaded bore along the centerline. A second advancing device, a slide portion, is attached to the outer wall of the tubular interior portion. The slide portion extends through a slot in the housing and is movably positioned to permit the slide portion to slide in a direction parallel with the centerline and at least a portion of the length of the hollow cavity, the tube having a longitudinal dimension less than that of the cavity.
Description




BACKGROUND




A crayon or lumber crayon, is commonly used by craft persons, such as carpenters, loggers, metal workers, lumber graters and others. These workers frequently carry a crayon on their person in order to mark dimensions, instructions, cutting lines and other information on a work piece. Frequently field conditions and the general environment are rough. The crayons must be stored in tool pouches, pockets, nail bags and the like. The soft crayon material is often broken or ground to small pieces by contact with the nails, tools or other solid items, leaving useless remnants of crayon. Without a holder, the entire crayon is exposed to abuse.




For the foregoing reasons, there exists a need for a rugged-body crayon holder which allows the user to adjust the length of exposed crayon tip and to retract the tip of the crayon when not in use.




SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION




What is disclosed is an adjustable holder for holding a marking means, such as a crayon, comprising an elongated housing with first and second end portions, a hollow cylindrical cavity for housing marking material and a centerline therethrough. A tubular interior portion having a threaded inner bore and an outer wall is coaxially positioned within the housing cavity. A collar adjacent to the first end portion is attached to the housing, rotatable about the centerline. Collar portion has a hole for insertion of the crayon therethrough. There is provided means for exposing the tip of the crayon by advancing the crayon along the longitudinal centerline within the housing. A receptacle portion is coaxially positioned within the tubular interior portion for retentively receiving one end of the crayon. The crayon is rotated by rotation of the collar, which cooperate to linearly traverse the receptacle portion within the tube threaded bore along the centerline.




A second movement means, a slide portion, is attached to the outer wall of the tubular interior portion. The slide portion extends through a slot in the housing and is movably positioned to permit the slide portion to slide in a direction parallel with the centerline and at least a portion of the length of the hollow cavity, the tube having a longitudinal dimension less than that of the cavity.




It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a plastic device for holding a lumber crayon.




A further object of the present invention is to provide a device in which a crayon is secured within a protective holder by a rubber ring, and the length adjustable by means of a rotatable collar or a thumb slide.




Another object of the present invention is to provide a retractable crayon holder.




Yet another object is to provide a crayon holder which includes a rotating collar that allows a consumer to advance the crayon for use and to retract it for storage.




Another object is to provide an efficient, simple design for ease of operation and manufacturing.











DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS





FIG. 1

is a perspective view of the device;





FIG. 2

is an alternate perspective view in which showing the thumb slide in a retracted position;





FIG. 3

is a sectional view taken along lines


3





3


of

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 4

is a sectional view taken along lines


4





4


of FIG.


1


.





FIG. 5

is a sectional view taken along lines


5





5


of

FIG. 3

;





FIG. 6

is a perspective view of threaded cup


24


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




Referring now to FIG.


1


. an adjustable crayon holder is generally designated as


10


. The elongated housing or body


12


defines a hollow cylindrical cavity and includes first end portion


13


and second end portion


15


, with a slot


20


in the top. Slot


20


is provided to accept thumb slide


18


connected to a tubular portion


22


. A crayon


14


having a hexagonal cross-section is inserted into end portion


13


. Collar


16


is rotatable about centerline


52


. As shown in

FIG. 3

, hexagonal portion of collar


16


is attached by means of housing sleeve


36


to a circular collar flange


32


which projects radially outward into groove


35


in housing


12


. The groove is formed by a shelf


34


at first end portion


13


of body


12


. Shelf


34


projects radially inward towards sleeve


36


to retentively position said hexagonal end portion if collar


16


between shelf


34


and sleeve


36


, so that flange


32


may rotate freely within groove


35


.




Referring now to

FIG. 2

, the crayon holder


10


is shown in a retracted position. Crayon


14


is entirely encased within housing or body


12


. Thumb slide


18


is shown in the extreme rear portion of slot


20


indicating the crayon


14


is in the retracted position. Opening or hole


50


is used to insert the crayon


14


into threaded cup or receptacle portion


24


which is coaxially positioned with the tubular portion


12


. The inner surfaces


48


of the hexagonal opening


50


defined the octagonal frame of collar


16


which engages crayon


14


when crayon


14


is extended into or through opening


50


. The engagement with inner surface


48


allows the rotation of crayon


14


, which in turn, as is more evident from

FIG. 3

, rotates threaded cup


24


within tubular portion


22


to advance or retract the length of crayon


14


which is exposed outside of holder


10


.




Referring again to

FIG. 3

, a sectional view taken along lines


3





3


in

FIG. 1

illustrates a cross-sectional view of holder


10


. At one end


13


shown at the left side of

FIG. 3

a rotatable collar is maintained in position by collar flange


32


. The shelf


34


of housing


12


contacts collar flange


32


, between housing sleeve


36


, to retain collar


16


adjacent to housing


12


. The perimeter of collar flange


32


is circular as opposed to the hexagonal perimeter shape of collar


16


. The circular perimeter of flange


32


permits rotational movement within groove


35


, which is also circular to accommodate the circular collar flange


32


. Neck portion


33


is an annular portion extending from collar


16


to connect collar flange


32


. As seen in

FIG. 3

, opening


50


is the end through which crayon


14


extends beyond collar


16


, exposing, a portion of crayon for which the individual will use for marking.




The opposite end of crayon


14


is inserted into threaded cup


24


. Rubber ring


44


sits within a partial notch which is designed to hold rubber ring


44


in place while crayon


14


is inserted into cup


24


, resulting in a frictional fit between rubber ring


44


and crayon


14


sufficient to prevent the crayon from sliding forward along axis


52


and out of cup


24


. The interior recess of threaded cup


24


is shaped in a hexagon, corresponding to collar


16


, so as to accommodate the shape of crayon


14


as well. The external side wall of threaded cup


24


, contains threads which are engaged with the threaded interior of tubular portion


22


. By extending the crayon through opening


50


and into threaded cup


24


, rotating collar


16


operates to rotate threaded cup


24


within the threads of tubular portion


22


to either extend or shorten the exposed portion of crayon


14


. This is accomplished by the engagement of crayon


14


with inner wall surfaces


48


of collar


16


. An adjustment opening


28


is provided at end


15


opposite from collar


16


. Opening


28


exposes slot


30


in the end of tubular portion


22


. Slot


30


accepts a screwdriver or other similar tool, to permit the rotation of tubular portion


22


within cavity


26


. Alignment of threaded cup


24


with the hexagonal opening


50


in collar


16


is thereby accomplished, so as to permit crayon


14


to be inserted into threaded cup


24


in proper alignment. Preferably, adjustment of the exposed portion of crayon


14


is accomplished while thumb slide


18


is in the forward, non-retracted position. Thus, once a desirable length of crayon


14


is selected, thumb slide


18


may be used to retract crayon


14


by movement of the entire threaded tubular portion


22


within cavity


26


. This movement is achieved by depressing thumb slide


18


to deflect armature


42


downward, releasing tab


40


from slot


40




a


. While thumb slide


18


is depressed, tab


40


is released from notch


40




a


, permitting transverse movement, whereby movement of thumb slide


18


towards the right end of slot


20


permits the alignment of notch


38


with tab


40


. Release of pressure from thumb slide


18


permits armature


42


to apply spring pressure upward into notch


38


and retain thumb slide


18


in the retracted position, the distance of retraction being equal to the distance between notch


40




a


and notch


38


. This distance should be greater than or equal to the length of crayon


14


which is exposed, in order that the movement of thumb slide from notch


40




a


to notch


38


will retract essentially all of crayon


14


, leaving little or no crayon


14


exposed. In order to permit the deflection of armature


42


, it is necessary that an air gap


43


be provided along a side of threaded tubular portion


22


, adjacent slot


20


. Air gap


43


permits the downward deflection of armature


42


in order to release tab


40


, thereby permitting slidable movement and re-engagement with notches


38


,


40




a


. Threads


22




a


internal to threaded tubular portion


22


, mesh with external threads


24




a


of threaded cup


24


for finer adjustment of the exposed length of crayon


14


. It is a further requirement that cavity


26


have a longitudinal dimension greater than threaded tubular portion


22


along center line or axis


52


, in order to provide sufficient movement within cavity


26


of tubular portion


22


, to retract thumb slide


18


at least the distance between notches


38


and


40




a


. Thus, the minimum length of cavity


26


must be equal to the length of tubular portion


22


plus the retractable distance defined as the distance between notches


38


and


40




a.






Referring now to

FIG. 4

, a cross sectional view taken along the lines


4





4


in FIG. No.


1


, the tolerances between crayon


14


, body


12


, and thumb slide


18


become apparent. The crayon


14


at this point of cross-section is supported by collar


16


, and threaded cup


24


. Threaded tubular portion


22


fits within cavity


26


of body


12


. The interior surface of body


12


and exterior surface of tubular portion


22


are circular and smooth, so as to allow free slide movement along the longitudinal axis


52


. However, the gap between them should be sufficiently minimal so as to achieve a slight friction fit in order to retain alignment and avoid relative axial movement between the crayon


14


and collar


16


which may tend to deform or otherwise harm the crayon material. Also illustrated in

FIG. 4

is a ridge


21


formed in slot


20


, which abuts armature


42


and prevents armature


42


from extending beyond ridge


21


into opening


20


.




In the foregoing description, a hexagonal cross-sectional geometry of the crayon is described. This is a common shape for crayons utilized in the industry. However, it is readily apparent that any two-dimensional cross-section may be used (with the possible exception of a circular crayon and opening.) For example, an oval shaped crayon, or a circular arrangement with a partially flat side, when inserted through a complementary shaped opening, will be capable of rotation by the collar


16


. Further, the perimeter shape of collar


16


need not be the same as the opening


50


, although it is shown that way in the preferred embodiment to facilitate manufacturing.




According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle, preferred construction and mode of operation of my invention and have illustrated and described what I now consider to represent its best embodiments. However, it should be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.



Claims
  • 1. An adjustable holder for holding a marking material comprising:an elongated housing having a first and second end portions, a hollow cylindrical cavity for housing the marking material, and a centerline therethrough; a tubular interior portion coaxially positioned within said hollow cavity, having a threaded inner bore, and an outer wall: a collar adjacent to said first end portion, said collar being attached to said housing rotatably about said centerline, and having a hole for insertion of said marking material there through; and at least one means for advancing said marking means along said longitudinal centerline within said housing.
  • 2. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 1, wherein:said at least one means for advancing said marking material comprises a receptacle portion positioned coaxially within said tubular interior portion for retentively receiving one end of said marking material such that said marking material when rotated within said hole in said collar cooperates to linearly traverse said receptacle portion within said threaded bore of said tubular portion along said centerline.
  • 3. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 2, wherein said second end portion also has an adjustment opening coaxial with the centerline, and said receptacle portion having a slot facing said second end portion such that an implement may be inserted through said adjustment opening into said slot for aligning the receptacle portion with said hole in said collar hole.
  • 4. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 2, wherein said receptacle portion also has an open end and a closed end and a recess adjacent said open end, and a rubber ring partially engaging said recess and said marking material to frictionally maintain said material means within said receptacle portion.
  • 5. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 1, wherein:said at least one means for advancing said marking material comprises a slide portion attached to said outer wall of said tubular interior portion, said slide portion extending through a slot in said housing and being movably positioned to permit said slide portion to slide in a direction parallel with the centerline and at least a portion of the length of said hollow cavity, said tubular portion having a longitudinal dimension less than that of the cavity.
  • 6. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 3, further comprising a deflecting armature on said slide portion, said armature having at least one tab portion projecting outward, and wherein said slot in said housing includes at least one notched recess which cooperates with said tab portion when said armature is deflected and said slide portion is moved along the length of the slot to engage said notched recess.
  • 7. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 1, wherein:said collar also comprising a hexagonally shaped perimeter, said hole having hexagonal shaped inner wall surfaces connected with a circular collar flange, said circular collar flange extending radially into a groove located adjacent to said first end portion within said housing.
  • 8. The adjustable holder for holding a marking material as set forth in claim 1, said housing having a configuration to facilitate gripping of said holder.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Number Name Date Kind
202654 Holland Apr 1878
272948 Fiske Feb 1883
D. 276537 Tabachnik Nov 1984
394053 Boman Dec 1888
394054 Boman Dec 1888
4468146 Tabachnik Aug 1984
5002182 McGinnis Mar 1991
5044805 Kosteniuk et al. Sep 1991
5048989 Stageman Sep 1991
5477983 Davis Dec 1995
5490738 Pearce Feb 1996
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
3618602 Dec 1987 DE