EP1696770A2

EP1696770A2 - Display unit for elements which are to be assembled

Info

Publication number: EP1696770A2
Application number: EP04805657A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Nicolas William Paillot
Original assignee: BIC SA
Current assignee: BIC SA
Priority date: 2003-12-24
Filing date: 2004-12-07
Publication date: 2006-09-06
Also published as: FR2864435B1; WO2005070262A3; FR2864435A1; WO2005070262A2

Abstract

A display unit for elements (3, 4, 5, 6) which are to be assembled in order to form an article (2), comprising a first body (10) having a radially outer surface (12) in relation to a centre axis (Z) on which at least one first housing (14) is accommodated in order to receive at least one first element (3) of the article, and at least one second body (20) which pivots, in relation to the first body, around a centre axis (Z) and having an outer surface on which a plurality of second housings (24) are accommodated in order to receive at least second elements (4) of the article. The first and second housings (14,24) are fitted in such a way as to correspond with each other by pivoting the second body in relation to each other such that at least one first element (3) and a second element (4) are in a configuration which is similar to that of the assembled article.

Description

DISPLAY FOR ELEMENTS INTENDED TO BE ASSEMBLED BETWEEN THEM

The present invention relates to a display, and more particularly to a display for elements intended to be assembled together so as to form an article. There are articles, and in particular writing articles of the ball point pen or felt tip pen type, or of the mechanical pencil type, the body of which is formed from different elements assembled together. It is known to produce the elements in different colors or materials, or even with different markings or different external shapes, so that each of the elements of the article can take different aspects. For example, the elements can be produced in 10 different colors, each of the colors itself being available in an opaque plastic version and a translucent plastic version, so that each element can take 20 different aspects. The elements of variable aspect can be combined to carry out new configurations of the body of the pen which present various aspects. For example, in the case of a pen body produced in two parts, a front part comprising the tip and a part of the barrel, and a rear part provided with a clip, the elements declined in 20 different aspects make it possible to achieve 400 combinations, so that the pen body can have 400 different configurations. In the case of a pen body comprising four parts: a point, a gripping element called "grip", a central barrel and a rear end provided with a staple, it is possible to carry out 160,000 different configurations, still using elements available in 20 different aspects. Of course, among these many configurations achievable, some have a particularly successful aesthetic appearance, while others are unsightly. To judge the final appearance of the pen that can be obtained by making a particular combination of the elements, the ideal is to concretely assemble these elements to have an assembled body to examine. However, in the case of a pen body produced in four elements declined in 20 aspects, this would require the manufacture of 640,000 elements and the assembly of 160,000 bodies in order to be able to examine all the configurations that can be achieved.

Of course, the cost of such an operation, mainly related to the time for assembling the elements, is economically unacceptable. In addition, examining 160,000 bodies of assembled pens to determine which configuration has a pleasant aesthetic appearance, would prove tedious. The object of the present invention is therefore to produce a display unit making it possible to examine configurations of the article which can be obtained by combining the elements thereof, while limiting the total number of elements to be produced and by limiting manipulations of these elements. To this end, the subject of the invention is a display for elements intended to be assembled together so as to form an article, characterized in that it comprises a first body which has a radially outer surface relative to a central axis, on which is arranged at least a first housing adapted to receive at least a first element of the article, in that it comprises at least a second body pivoting relative to the first body about the central axis, which has a surface radially outer on which are arranged a plurality of second housings adapted to receive at least second elements of the article, and in that said first and second housings are arranged to come into correspondence by pivoting of said second body relative to said first body, so that at least a first element and a second element are in a configuration similar to that of the assembled item. Thus, from a limited number of elements, corresponding to the sum of the different aspects that each of the elements may have, it is possible to make all the possible configurations of the article. In addition, the manipulations required are very limited since it suffices to pivot the second body relative to the first body to obtain one or more configurations of articles. For example, for a pen formed by a point in silver or gold metal, and a plastic barrel declined in 20 aspects, it is enough for 22 elements to carry out all the possible configurations. For this, the points are placed in two first housings of the first body and the barrels in 20 second housings of the second body. By pivoting the second body relative to the first body, we can examine the 40 possible configurations of this article. Note that even if the tip has only one aspect, the display unit produced according to the invention limits the successive assembly / disassembly operations making it possible to carry out the 20 possible configurations in the latter case. In the case where one or more elements of the article have a part which is not visible when the article is assembled, such as for example a threaded part entering the adjacent element, it is possible to cut this part before place this item in the display. Indeed, such a part used for assembly is no longer necessary since the elements are retained in the display housing. Furthermore, the elimination of these non-visible parts remains acceptable since it is carried out on a limited number of elements. In preferred embodiments of the invention, use is also made of one and / or the other of the following arrangements: the end of the first housing capable of facing one of the second housing is open, in order to minimize the space separating a first element from a second element; the first or second housings comprise elastic snap-fastening members adapted to engage with an element disposed in said housing; - The first and second bodies have an identical number of first and second housings, all of said first and second housings being arranged to come into correspondence simultaneously; a central body defines the central axis, the first and second bodies being both pivotally mounted on said central body; the first and second bodies are removably mounted on the central body, in order to be able to replace these by bodies suitable for another type of article; the central body has at least one external radial rim which forms a stop limiting the movement of one of said first and second bodies along the central axis; the central body has an interior space and a cover allowing access to said space; the central body comprises at least two parts connected to each other in a removable manner; the central body has one end forming a base. The display unit produced according to the invention lends itself particularly well to the presentation of writing articles having an elongated body composed of at least first and second elements which form sections of said body. In this system, a first element of the writing article is arranged parallel to the central axis in a first housing of the display, and a plurality of second elements having different aspects is arranged parallel to the central axis in the second housing. In this system, the height of the display unit along the central axis is preferably at most equal to 1.2 times the length of the assembled writing article, so that the elements making up the body of the article are in a configuration close to that obtained in the assembled state. Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear during the description which follows, given by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the appended drawings in which: - Figure 1 is a sectional view of a first display unit produced according to the invention; Figure 2 is an exploded view of the display shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a front view of one of the bodies of the display shown in Figure 1; Figure 4 is a sectional view of a second display produced according to the invention. In the various figures, identical references have been kept to designate identical or similar elements. In Figure 1, there is shown a display 1 for receiving elements of a writing article 2 of the ballpoint pen type. The writing article 2 is composed, in the example shown, of a first element 3 forming a cap, of a second element 4 forming a barrel, of a third element 5 forming a grip part also called "grip" and a fourth element 6 forming a point. These different elements (3, 4, 5, 6) are intended to be assembled together so as to form the outer body of the pen. The display unit 1 comprises a first body 10, a second body 20, a third body 30 and a fourth body 40. These four bodies are tubular and their internal faces (11, 21, 31, 41) are cylindrical. These four bodies (10, 20, 30, 40) are mounted adjacent to each other along a common central axis Z. In the embodiment shown, the central axis Z is defined by a central body 50 which has different cylindrical portions. The diameter of the different portions is adapted to the diameter of the internal faces (11, 21, 31, 41) to allow rotation with a small clearance of each of the four bodies (10, 20, 30, 40) on the central body. The first body 10 has an outer face 12 oriented in a radial direction relative to the central axis Z. As is better visible in FIG. 3, the outer surface 12 of the first body has first housings 14 adapted to each receive a first element of the article, that is to say the cap 3. The first housings 14 are twenty in number and regularly distributed over the entire periphery of the first body 10. A cap 3 made in a color or having a marking on the clip 3a is placed in each of the first housings 14, which is different from the other caps. In the embodiment shown, the different caps have the same shape and therefore, the first housings 14 have identical dimensions. But in the case of caps having shapes varied, it is conceivable to provide first housing adapted to the different possible forms. Each first housing 14 is delimited by two walls 15 extending generally along the central axis Z and in a radial direction relative to this axis. The walls 15 of the housings comprise, near the outer surface 12 of the first body, elastic members 16 which extend opposite each of the housings 14 over a short distance. The elastic members 16 are adapted to engage with a cap 3 placed in the housing. Thus, the caps 3 can be mounted in the first housings 14 by snap-fastening. This assembly is removable, so that the caps can be easily replaced. This is particularly advantageous for the caps, since their appearance can vary not only as a function of the color and of the type of material used, but also as a function of the different markings which can be produced on the external face of the clip 3a. The second body 20 has, in a similar manner to the first body 10, a plurality of second housings 24 which are adapted to receive a second element of the article, that is to say the barrel 4. The second housings 24 are in number identical to the first housings 14 and also distributed uniformly around the periphery of the second body, so that the angular distribution of the second housings 24 is identical to that of the first housings 14. The first housings 14 have an upper end 14a and a lower end 14b located on the side of the second body 20, which are both open. The fact that the lower end 14b is not delimited by a transverse wall makes it possible to position the caps 3 as close as possible to the drums 4 carried by the second body. The upper end of the second housings 24 is delimited by a transverse wall 27 which forms a stop for the drums 4, so that the drums 4 can easily be placed at the same height. The transverse walls 27 of the second housings form a planar annular surface against which the first body 10 or the caps 3 can rest and slide, without the risk of snagging hampering the relative pivoting between the first body 10 and the second body 20. The lower end 24b of the second housings is open, so that the drums 4 placed in the second housings 24 can extend beyond them. This arrangement makes it possible to produce a second body 20 with a height measured along the central axis Z, which is much lower than the elements which it must receive. The third and fourth bodies (30, 40) also have on their external peripheral face (32, 42) twenty housings (34, 44) identical and uniformly distributed on the periphery. The housings 34 of the third body have a configuration similar to the second housings 24, that is to say that they are delimited by longitudinal walls and a transverse wall 37 forming a flat ring. The housings 44 of the fourth body have open upper and lower ends and a bottom having a profile complementary to the points 6. A washer 60, of planar annular shape and of internal diameter slightly greater than the diameter of the central body 50, is disposed between the third body 30 and the fourth body 40. The washer 60 ensures a separation between the elements 5 and 6 contained in the third and fourth body (30, 40) so that the pivoting between these bodies can be done smoothly, without hooking between the elements 5 and 6. In the embodiment shown, the elements 4, 5 and 6 of the article are retained in the corresponding housings (24, 34, 44) by gluing. The bonding, which can be carried out using a point of glue or a film having two adhesive faces, preferably remains reversible in order to be able to change the elements if necessary. It is not compulsory to provide a removable mounting, because the second, third and fourth body (20, 30, 40) comprise housings in sufficient number for each of the elements (4, 5, 6) declined in their different aspects, namely ten different colors, each available in an opaque version and a translucent version. But of course, the second, third or fourth housing could be provided with elastic snap-in means similar to those of the first body, in particular in the case where one or the other of the second, third and fourth elements would have decorative patterns can give it a wide variety of external aspects. By relative pivoting between the different bodies (10, 20, 30, 40), the user can bring the various elements (3, 4, 5, 6) of the article into correspondence, that is to say in a configuration close to that which could be obtained by assembling the elements, and thus judging the aesthetic appearance conferred by the combination of said elements. It will be noted that the identical distribution of the housings on the different bodies makes it possible to obtain twenty article configurations simultaneously. In order for the presentation system thus produced to reflect as faithfully as possible the configuration obtained for article 2, the transverse walls (27, 37) and the washer 60 are relatively thin and do not create a significant day between the elements. It is considered that to obtain a correct rendering of the assembled article, the height of the display unit measured according to the central axis Z, between the upper end of the first element 3 and the lower end of the last element 6, must not exceed a value representing 1.2 times the length of the assembled article 2. The fact that each body (10, 20, 30, 40) is movable in rotation relative to the central body, allows the user to place a particular element facing him, for example one of the twenty caps, then to make rotate the other bodies to examine the different possible combinations with this particular element, without ever having to move the entire display. But it is conceivable that one of the bodies is integral with the central body, or even forms only one piece with the central body, the other bodies having to remain pivotable relative to the central axis Z. The central body 50 is formed of several parts assembled together in a removable manner. As best seen in FIG. 2, the central body 50 comprises an upper part 51, an intermediate part 52 and a lower part 53. The lower part 53 has a base 54 which forms a base on which the display unit 1 rests, and a cylindrical part extending from the base 54 along the central axis Z. The cylindrical part has on its outer face a first peripheral rim 53a which forms a stop on which the washer 60 rests. A second peripheral rim 53b is provided to limit the fitting of the intermediate part 52 to the upper cylindrical portion 53c of the lower part. The diameter of the upper portion 53c is suitable for obtaining a soft friction fit with the cylindrical inner face of the intermediate piece 52. The intermediate piece 52 has on its outer face a peripheral rim 52a on which the second body 20 rests and which allows to keep this one at distance from the third body 30. The upper part 51 comprises a cylindrical part, the lower portion 51a of which has an outside diameter suitable for fitting with gentle friction with the internal face of the intermediate part 52. A flange 51b makes it possible to limit the depth of this nesting. The part 51 comprises at its upper end a disc 55 covering the opening of the cylindrical part. When assembled, the upper, intermediate and lower parts (51, 52, 53) define an empty space inside the central body 50 which makes it possible to store elements (3, 4, 5, 6) of the writing article. The upper part 51 forms a cover which can be disengaged from the intermediate part 52 to access an interior space 56. The soft-friction interlocking of the parts forming the central body allows easy dismantling of all the parts of the display, including the pivoting bodies (10, 20, 30, 40) and the washer 60 which are simply slid over the parts (51, 52, 53) of the central body 50. But of course, this removable mounting can be achieved other than by interlocking , for example using bayonet type connections or threaded portions. Thus, the different bodies (10, 20, 30, 40) can be interchanged with other bodies whose housings contain items of articles of different appearance or shape. The removable mounting also makes it possible to reuse elements of the display to make a second display suitable for writing articles whose external body has a substantially different configuration. For example, the display shown in Figure 4 is composed of a first body 10, a second body 20, an upper part 51 and an intermediate part 52 which are identical to the corresponding elements used to make the display shown in Figures 1 and 2. Only the lower part 53 has a different geometry from the lower part used in the display shown in Figures 1 and 2. This second display is adapted to present different configurations of a second type of writing article, the body of which is composed of a first element 3 which can be identical to the cap of the previous pen, and of a second element 4 which forms both the barrel and the tip of the pen. Of course, it is also possible to use other pivoting bodies to present substantially different articles. The presentation system comprising the display 1 and the elements (3, 4, 5, 6) therefore makes it possible to examine a large number of configurations of a given type of writing articles, which are produced by combining the elements of 'different aspects that constitute this given type of articles. However, this system also makes it possible to examine different configurations of other types of articles using a limited number of additional parts and a reduced number of manipulations.

Claims

1. Display for elements (3, 4, 5, 6) intended to be assembled together so as to form an article (2), characterized in that it comprises a first body (10) which has a radially outer surface ( 12) relative to a central axis (Z), on which is arranged at least a first housing (14) adapted to receive at least a first element (3) of the article, in that it comprises at least a second body (20) pivoting relative to the first body about the central axis (Z), which has a radially outer surface on which are arranged a plurality of second housings (24) adapted to receive at least second elements (4) of the article, and in that said first and second housings (14, 24) are arranged to correspond by pivoting of said second body with respect to said first body, so that at least a first element (3) and a second element (4) are in a configuration similar to that of the assembled item.

2. Display according to claim 1, wherein the first housing (14) has an end (14b) capable of facing one of the second housing (24), said end being open.

3. Display according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first or second housings (14, 24) comprise elastic snap-fastening members (16) adapted to engage with an element (3) disposed in said housing.

4. Display according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first and second bodies (10, 20) have an identical number of firsts and second housings (14, 24), all of said first and second housings being arranged to come into correspondence simultaneously.

5. Display according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a central body (50) defines the central axis (Z), the first and second bodies (10, 20) being both pivotally mounted on said central body .

6. Display according to claim 5, wherein the first and second bodies (10, 20) are removably mounted on the central body (50).

7. Display according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the central body (50) has at least one outer radial rim (52a) which forms a stop limiting the movement of one of said first and second bodies (10, 20) according to the central axis (Z).

8. Display according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the central body (50) has an interior space (56) and a cover (51) allowing access to said space.

9. Display according to any one of claims 5 to 8, wherein the central body (50) comprises at least two parts (51, 52, 53) connected to each other in a removable manner.

10. Display according to any one of claims 5 to 9, wherein the central body has an end (54) forming a base.

11. System for presenting writing articles (2) having an elongated body composed of at least first and second elements (3, 4, 5, 6) which form sections of said body, comprising a display (1 ) according to any one of the preceding claims, in which at least a first element (3) is arranged, parallel to the central axis (Z) of the display, in a first housing (14), and in which a plurality of second elements (4) is arranged, parallel to said central axis, in the second housings (24).

12. Presentation system according to claim 11, wherein the height of the display unit along the central axis (Z) is at most equal to 1.2 times the length of the assembled article (2).