1. Field of the Invention
One or more embodiments of the invention are related to the field of registers of identification as well as the field of tools. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, embodiments of the invention enable an identification tag with breakaway tool, for example one or more tool such as knives, saws, screwdrivers, pry bars, can openers, bottle openers, chisels, awls and ice picks or any other relatively flat tool with a working edge or point or any combination thereof. Embodiments may be constructed from materials that can withstand hostile environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
Registers with identification information are generally utilized to hold information in printed, bar code, magnetic information, electronic chip form. Example registers with identification information include credit cards for example or identification tags for luggage. Known identification tags for luggage for example may include a compartment to hold an identification card and optionally another compartment to hold a small tool or other item. Other identification tags may include “dog tags” that have a plastic border, which when removed exposes a sharp edge on the tag.
Tools that may exist in relatively flat form with a working edge or point include knives, saws, screwdrivers, pry bars, can openers, bottle openers, chisels, awls and ice picks for example. Some existing tools are found in card format, but have sharp exposed edges that form knife blades or other cutting implements for example and must be sheathed or covered to prevent injury.
Knives generally include a long, yet thin blade with a handle. The blade generally includes one cutting edge, and an opposing non-cutting edge. Some knives have cutting edges on both sides of the blade. Knives also are built in folding varieties and generally have a pivot on one or both ends of the handle. However, most knives are non-folding and have one cutting edge. Folding knives are generally more portable and tend to enclose the sharp cutting edge of the knife when folded for safety reasons. Some folding knives include multiple types of blades including saws, can openers, screwdrivers, and other tools, but generally only provide one function per blade or only provide cutting blades that have no other function. Some knives have one or more areas on the blade with serrations, or a saw blade. The serrations may be used to cut through wood or metal for example. Other knives include a variety of tools, generally one per blade in multi-blade holding bodies. The problem with knife blades, serrated edges and pointed tools with handles, for example non-folding knives, is the susceptibility to accidental cutting, either of body parts or other items. Hence, tools with sharp edges or points must be sheathed to cover the dangerous portions of the tool for safety reasons.
Generally, survivalists and military personnel in hostile or hazardous environment carry a multitude of tools. In minimalistic survival scenarios, carrying a multitude of tools is not possible. In such hostile environments, life may depend on having a survival tool such as a knife. May military personal already carry some sort of identification as well, and civilians are known to carry credit cards and other identification tags for example.
There are no known identification tags that break apart to form one or more tools separately. For example, there are no known identification tags that breakaway along a tear line to form one or more knives, saws, screwdrivers, pry bars, can openers, bottle openers, chisels, awls and ice picks. For at least the limitations described above there is a need for an identification tag with breakaway tool.
One or more embodiments described in the specification are related to an identification tag with breakaway tool. The identification tag may include identification information and one or more breakaway tools that may be utilized by uncoupling, or otherwise breaking the tool or tools away from the identification tag to expose a working edge or point for example. The tool or tools may include but are not limited to one or more knives, saws, screwdrivers, pry bars, can openers, bottle openers, chisels, awls and ice picks or any other relatively flat tool with a working edge or point or any combination thereof.
One or more embodiments of the invention generally include a substantially flat material configured to hold identification information wherein the substantially flat material has a first side and a second side that are on opposing sides of the substantially flat material and wherein the substantially flat material has a least a first thickness between the first side and the second side. The substantially flat material may be of uniform thickness, or have raised letters, or compressed or cut-out or partially cut-out, such as is found on a credit card for example, while still maintaining a substantially flat form factor. Any other form factor is in keeping with the spirit of the invention including luggage tags, or any other type of identification apparatus coupled to another object. In one or more embodiments of the invention, the substantially flat material may have one or more thicker portions or areas between the two sides as long as that thickness is less than the height or width of the substantially flat material. For example less than, equal to or thicker than 1 mm, 2 mm, 5 mm, one quarter inch, three-eights of an inch, 1 inch or any other thickness less than, equal to or greater than these dimensions. The first thickness may for example represent the minimum distance between the two sides, not counting any indentations configured to tear or break. The material may have a linear or curvilinear cross section as well, in which case the material includes at least a second thickness, or range of thickness up to the second thickness for example. This enables portions of the tool or identification card to have a stronger portion corresponding to the second thickness, or flat portions orthogonal to the two sides configured to enable manual manipulation for example.
The substantially flat material may be of any shape including rectangular, square, trapezoidal, triangular, circular, elliptical, or any other shape whether straight line segment or curved segment shape or any combination thereof. The substantially flat material may constructed from or include any known material including metal, plastic, glass, materials that include resin, such as composites, or any other material or combination thereof so long as the material is capable of holding identification information and may be configured to decouple into a portion that may be utilized as a tool for example.
One or more embodiments may hold the identification information in printed form, magnetic form or electronic form or in any other form. The printed form information may be in the form of raised, or indented lettering as previously described or visible printing or both. Alternatively, or in combination, the magnetic form of information may be held for example on a magnetic strip that is configured to be read by a magnetic strip reader. Smart cards having electronic chips or other electronic media or memory may also be used alone or in combination to hold the identification information. The identification information may identify a bank account, a person, an address, or identify any other person, place, thing, service, task, or any other item.
Embodiments of the invention also generally include a portion of the substantially flat material configured to physically break the substantially flat material into a first substantially flat portion and a second substantially flat portion. In one or more embodiments, the portion of the substantially flat material configured to physically break is configured with a thickness that is less than the first thickness. This may be in the form of dots or line that are indented into the material for example. Alternatively or in combination, the location to break may include holes, for example in a tear pathway or be of a hardness which differs from the rest of the material to enable tearing or other mechanisms of breakage to occur along a desired path so long as the substantially flat material is configured to physically break into at least two parts.
Embodiments of the invention break into at least two parts wherein the first substantially flat portion includes a tool having a working edge or point or both said working edge and said point. In one or more embodiments, the tool includes a knife having two substantially flat faces and wherein the working edge includes a blade. Alternatively or in combination the working edge or blade may include a serrated edge, or the serrated edge may be on an opposing side of the blade with respect to the working, e.g., sharp edge or cutting edge. One or more embodiments of the tool include a flat non-cutting edge opposite of the working edge. The flat edge enables a finger to press on the flat portion to transfer force to the cutting edge of the blade for example. One or more embodiments of the knife include a first indentation toward the blade that is configured to engage a bottle cap on a top side of the bottle cap with a first portion of the first indentation and configured to engage a bottom edge of the bottle cap with an opposing side of the first indentation to enable removal of the bottle cap. Alternatively, the first or second portion may include a sharp portion enabling the portion to be utilized as a can opener. Any portion of the apparatus, for example an exposed portion after break off, or an outer portion may be hardened, or combined with, or coupled with an object having carbide or plasma coated to enable use as a knife sharpener.
One or more embodiments of the blade may include a second indentation configured to engage a wire to enable lateral angular movement of the blade to break the wire. The indentation enables a wire breaker and is also known as the wire break notch. The wire break notch is situated near the handle and also acts as a “choil” that allows sharpening for the entire blade length. The wire break notch may be aligned to indent towards the bottle cap opener indentation and visa versa so that the top and bottom indentations cooperate in the lashing configuration.
One or more embodiments may implement a tool that includes a knife having two substantially flat faces and wherein the working edge includes a blade and having a flat non-cutting edge opposite of the working edge and wherein the non-cutting edge includes a first indentation toward the blade that is configured to engage a bottle cap on a top side of the bottle cap with a first portion of the first indentation and configured to engage a bottom edge of the bottle cap with an opposing side of the first indentation to enable removal of the bottle cap and wherein the blade comprises a second indentation configured to engage a wire to enable lateral angular movement of the blade to break the wire and wherein the first indentation and second indentation are indented toward one another to enable said blade to be lashed to another object with a line wrapped around the other object and the first indentation and second indentation. This enables the knife to be utilized as a spear, axe or dead drop trap for example when lashing the blade to a pole for example.
One or more embodiments of the tool include a knife having two substantially flat faces and wherein said working edge comprises a blade and having a flat non-cutting edge opposite of the working edge and wherein the non-cutting edge further includes jimping. Jimping slots on the top of the blade near the handle enable thumb contact with the blade that provides better control. The jimping in one or more embodiments is configured to provide a thumb grip on the non-cutting edge wherein the jimping is configured as two or more indentations of different size configured to grip wire insulation of different gauge to enable lateral translation movement of the blade to remove the wire insulation.
One or more embodiments of the tool include a flat section configured as a handle having a long axis and a short axis. Although the examples herein disclose variations of knives, embodiments of the tool may also include any combination of one or more saws, screwdrivers, pry bars, can openers, chisels, awls, ice picks, knife sharpeners.
The above and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention will be more apparent from the following more particular description thereof, presented in conjunction with the following drawings wherein:
An identification tag with breakaway tool will now be described. In the following exemplary description numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. It will be apparent, however, to an artisan of ordinary skill that the present invention may be practiced without incorporating all aspects of the specific details described herein. In other instances, specific features, quantities, or measurements well known to those of ordinary skill in the art have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention. Readers should note that although examples of the invention are set forth herein, the claims, and the full scope of any equivalents, are what define the metes and bounds of the invention.
One or more embodiments of the invention generally include a substantially flat material shown as side cross section 110 configured to hold identification information 101 wherein the substantially flat material has first side 111 and second side 112 that are on opposing sides of the substantially flat material and wherein the substantially flat material has a least a first thickness between the first side and the second side. The substantially flat material may be of uniform thickness, or have raised letters, that extend out of identification area 101 for example, such as is found on a credit card for example, while still maintaining a substantially flat form factor. The outer edges of the apparatus may also be utilized for handles as shown in
One or more embodiments may hold the identification information 101 in printed form, for example as shown, or as shown in the rear view on the right side as magnetic form 101a or electronic form, for example a chip internal to the card as embodied with a smart card, which is not shown for brevity, or in any other form. The printed form information may be in the form of raised lettering or visible printing or both or as previously discussed, may be cut into or through the apparatus. Alternatively, or in combination, the magnetic form of information may be held for example on a magnetic strip that is configured to be read by a magnetic strip reader. Smart cards having electronic chips or other electronic media or memory may also be used alone or in combination to hold the identification information. The identification information may identify a bank account, a person, an address, or identify any other person, place, thing, service, task, or any other item.
The substantially flat material may be of any shape including rectangular as is shown in
Embodiments of the invention also generally include a portion 102 of the substantially flat material configured to physically break the substantially flat material into a first substantially flat portion and a second substantially flat portion. In one or more embodiments, the portion of the substantially flat material configured to physically break is configured with a thickness that is less than the first thickness as shown at 102a, which may be indented on both sides as shown on the left or on one side as shown on the right with a deeper indentation for example. This may be in the form of dots or lines or any combination thereof that are indented into the material for example. Alternatively or in combination, the location to break may include holes 102b, for example in a tear pathway or be of a hardness 102c which differs from the rest of the material to enable tearing or other mechanisms of breakage to occur along a desired path so long as the substantially flat material is configured to physically break into at least two parts. The indentations or holes may be vertical, spherical or angled in any manner as shown with angled break areas 102d and 102e. Although break areas 102d are shown having a finite width at the bottom, the break areas may angle or otherwise meet at a point at or near the bottom or rear of the apparatus to form extremely sharp edges when the two portions of the apparatus are separated. Angled portions may thus form cutting edges once the tool is decoupled with the other portion of the apparatus and the indentions or angled break areas may extend in any depth including to or nearly to the opposing side to make a sharp cutting edge for example. Any combination of any of the described break areas 102a-e or any other mechanism may be utilized in any combination as is shown in the bottommost embodiment that includes indentations and hardness break areas for example.
Alternatively, the first or second portion, which are shown as the left and right sides of the indentation, may include a sharp portion enabling the portion to be utilized as a can opener. One or more embodiments of the blade may include a second indentation 402 configured to engage a wire to enable lateral angular movement of the blade to break the wire. The indentation enables a wire breaker and is also known as the wire break notch. The wire break notch is situated near the handle and also acts as a “choil” that allows sharpening for the entire blade length. The wire break notch may be aligned to indent towards the bottle cap opener indentation and visa versa so that the top and bottom indentations cooperate in the lashing configuration. This enables tool 104 to be utilized as a spear, axe or dead drop trap for example when lashing the blade to a pole for example.
One or more embodiments of the tool may further include jimping 403. Jimping slots on the top of the blade near the handle enable thumb contact with the blade that provides better control. The jimping in one or more embodiments is configured to provide a thumb grip on the non-cutting edge wherein the jimping is configured as two or more indentations of different size configured to grip wire insulation of different gauge to enable lateral translation movement of the blade to remove the wire insulation. One or more embodiments of the apparatus may include a lashing hole 410 or other method of coupling the apparatus to another object. In one or more embodiments, the lashing hole is formed in tool 104, in other embodiments the lashing hole may be in the other portion of the material that holds the identification information, which is not shown for brevity. Alternatively, the other portion and the tool portion may include holes or other coupling devices, as one skilled in the art will appreciate.
While the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention set forth in the claims.
This application is a continuation in part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/400,535 filed 20 Feb. 2012, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,707,490, which is a continuation in part of U.S. Utility patent application Ser. No. 13/312,965 filed 6 Dec. 2011 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,695,138, and also claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/496,602 filed 14 Jun. 2011, the specifications of which are all hereby incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 13400535 | Feb 2012 | US |
| Child | 13523844 | US | |
| Parent | 13312965 | Dec 2011 | US |
| Child | 13400535 | US |