The current invention relates to a multi tool as described in the introductory portion of claim 1.
It is well known in the art to have writing devices housing multiple writing utensils inside a single housing. For example, multi ink pens are known having a single housing with multiple different coloured pens arranged in the housing. The user can then choose between different pens by sliding buttons on the housing. An example of such a device is provided in EP1362711.
It is also known to have different types of writing utensils, for example a pencil and a ball point pen arranged in a single housing. One such device is disclosed in WO 2010/024346.
Lately other types of devices have also been introduced where non-writing utensils are combined with writing utensils. For example, one multi tool disclosed in the prior art is WO 2018/162015 which discloses a multi tool comprising both a pen and a knife. Another multi tool disclosed in the prior art is shown in FR2207034. In these tools, a very small knife is added to the tip of a shaft, said shaft having similar dimensions to a normal ball point pen.
While the combination of a writing utensil and a knife seem to show a number of benefits for many different people, the prior art devices have not been successful and have not made it to market as disclosed.
It is a first aspect of the current invention to provide a multi tool as mentioned in the introductory paragraph which has a more effective knife that the prior art.
It is a second aspect of the current invention to provide a multi tool as mentioned in the introductory paragraph which provides a stable knife position and a stable writing utensil position.
These aspects are provided at least in part by a multi tool as mentioned in the introductory paragraph which further comprises the characterizing features of claim 1.
Additional beneficial features are disclosed in the dependent claims.
It should be emphasized that the term “comprises/comprising/comprised of” when used in this specification is taken to specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps or components but does not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, components or groups thereof.
In the following, the invention will be described in greater detail with reference to embodiments shown by the enclosed figures. It should be emphasized that the embodiments shown are used for example purposes only and should not be used to limit the scope of the invention.
Of interest in this embodiment, is the fact that one of the tools is a knife 8. The knife in this embodiment, comprises a replaceable scalpel blade 14 and a holder 16 mounted to the end of the shaft 12. The blade is a scalpel of the kind known in the art and can be purchased from many different office supply stores and or medical stores. The blade can be exchanged by removing the housing 2 of the multi tool and removing the blade from the holder 16 and then inserting a new blade. However, within the scope of the invention, a multi tool with a non replaceable blade, for example a blade which is glued to the shaft 12, could also be imagined.
Of special interest in this embodiment, is that the blade is quite large and has a significant surface area. This makes the blade much more effective than prior art type blades. However previously this type of large blade was not possible to use. In this current embodiment, the frontal portion of the housing is provided with two separate openings placed on top of each other. A first opening 20 is an opening with a circular cross section and is roughly the same size as the outer diameter of the writing utensil 6. In this way, when the writing utensil is activated by pushing the writing utensil shaft 10 out through the housing via the displacement mechanism, then the writing utensil is held firmly in place during writing by the circular opening. However, on top of (or concentrically with) the circular opening is also a rectangular opening 22. The rectangular opening has a height (in the orientation of the figures) which is greater than the diameter of the circular opening and a width which is smaller than the diameter of the circular opening. In this way, the rectangular opening just fits the blade of the knife 14. In this way, when the knife is pushed out of the housing via the displacement mechanism, the knife is held firmly in place by the rectangular opening.
As can be seen from
Hence, in this embodiment, by providing two separate openings, one which is shaped to correspond to the outer shape of the writing implement and one which is shaped to correspond to the outer shape of the knife, a multi tool is provided where both the writing implement and the knife are held firmly in place during use. This makes the tool easier and safer to use and more effective.
In this embodiment, a flat support surface 60 is provided inside the frontal portion of the housing to support the motion of the knife inside the housing.
It is to be noted that the figures and the above description have shown the example embodiments in a simple and schematic manner. Many of the specific mechanical details have not been shown since the person skilled in the art should be familiar with these details and they would just unnecessarily complicate this description. For example, the specific materials used and the specific manufacturing procedures have not been described in detail since it is maintained that the person skilled in the art would be able to find suitable materials and suitable processes to manufacture the multi tool according to the current invention.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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PA201970591 | Sep 2019 | DK | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/EP2020/076951 | 9/25/2020 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2021/058766 | 4/1/2021 | WO | A |
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Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
202010004932 | Jul 2010 | DE |
1362711 | Nov 2003 | EP |
2207034 | Jun 1967 | FR |
2415160 | Dec 2005 | GB |
102091564 | May 2020 | KR |
2010024346 | Mar 2010 | WO |
2018162015 | Sep 2018 | WO |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20220331997 A1 | Oct 2022 | US |