GB1582100A - Ballpoint pens - Google Patents

Description

(54) IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO BALLPOINT PENS (71) We, BEST SEMICONDUCTOR LIMI TED, of Block A, 11th Floor, 19 auk Yat Street, Acro Industrial Buildings, Tokwawan Kowloon, Hong Kong, a Hong Kong company, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement:- The present invention relates to a ballpoint pen.

According to the present invention, there is provided a ballpoint pen comprising a casing having two releasably engageable sections one of which houses a substantially bar shaped digital watch having a liquid crystal display which displays time indicating digits perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pen, the other section of the casing operatively constituting a cover for the watch.

The invention will now be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 illustrates a combined ballpoint pen and liquid crystal display digital watch, and Figure 2 is a section to an enlarged scale of the writing portion of the embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 1.

Referring to Figure 1, a combined watch and pen has a casing formed of separable halves 2 and 3. The parts 2 and 3 both have a non-circular section so that they may not be rotated relative to each other, the part 2 being received in the end of the part 3 with a push fit. The part 2 constitutes the writing part and houses a ballpoint refill which may be retracted and extended by rotation of a section 4. The watch part of the instrument includes a liquid crystal display and three readily accessible buttons Si, S3 and S4 respectively. The liquid crystal display normally displays the time of day in the form of hours, minutes and seconds. The watch has the additional facility for displaying the date, actuation of the button S1 being operative to change the display from the time to the date.

As liquid crystal displays cannot be seen in the absence of ambient light, a button S3 is provided which actuates a light source to enable the display to be read in the dark.

The stop watch in the illustrated embodiment in addition to providing an indication of the time and date is adapted to operate as a stop watch. In particular, the stop watch may not only measure an interval and display the lapsed time at the end of the interval but during an interval may freeze the display whilst time measurement continues. This is required, for example, when timing a racing car where it may be desired to measure both the total time in a race and the individual lap times. The switch S4 is provided for operating the watch as a stop watch, the steps involved in its operation, in common with the internal construction of the digital watch, being known in the art and therefore not requiring detailed explanation.

In addition to the three readily accessible switches Si, S3 and S4, the watch portion of the pen is provided with a switch S2 which may only be accessed by separation of the two portions 2 and 3 of the instrument. The switch S2 is provided for the purpose of setting the time and the date, this operation being required relatively infrequently and usually only upon battery replacement. The battery 13 is likewise only accessible upon separation of the two halves 2 and 3 of the open.

The portion 2 of the watch is illustrated in more detail and in section in Figure 2 of the drawings. The section 4 is freely rotatably mounted at the end of the casing 5 of the portion 2, the whole casing of the pen being made from a chromium plated metal. Slidably but non-rotatably mounted within the casing 5 is a carrier 7 which screw-threadedly engages a portion of the section 4 which extends into the casing 5. The carrier 7 is hollow, its end remote from the writing tip of the instrument being closed by a grub screw 8.

A refill 10 is disposed within the carrier 7, its free end being biased towards the grub screw 8 by means of a spring 11. As the end section 4 is rotated, the screw-threaded engagement of the section with the carrier 7 results in axial displacement of the carrier along the pen, thus enabling extension and retraction of the writing tip of the refill 10. A strip 9 is soldered or otherwise secured on the internal surface of the casing 5 with a view to limiting axial displacement of the carrier 7.

The writing instrument is provided on its side remote from the display 12, and therefore not shown in either of the drawings, with a pocket clip secured to the casing in a conventional manner.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS 1. A ballpoint pen comprising a casing having two releasably engageable sections one of which houses a substantially bar shaped digital watch having a liquid crystal display which displays time indicating digits perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pen, the other section of the casing operatively constituting a cover for the watch.

2. A ballpoint pen as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the watch is operable to indicate both the time of day and the date.

3. A ballpoint pen as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the watch is additionally operable to indicate the day of the week.

4. A ballpoint pen as claimed in aty preceding claim, wherein the watch s capable of operating a stop watch.

5. A ballpoint pen as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the said watch, whilst operating as a stop watch, is provided with means for freezing the display whilst enabling time measurement to continue so as to allow measurement in a race of both lap time and total time.

6. A ballpoint pen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the watch is provided with a means for illuminating the liquid crystal display.

7. A ballpoint pen as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a retractable writing mechanism.

8. A ballpoint pen substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (8)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. the writing tip of the refill 10. A strip 9 is soldered or otherwise secured on the internal surface of the casing 5 with a view to limiting axial displacement of the carrier 7. The writing instrument is provided on its side remote from the display 12, and therefore not shown in either of the drawings, with a pocket clip secured to the casing in a conventional manner. WHAT WE CLAIM IS

1. A ballpoint pen comprising a casing having two releasably engageable sections one of which houses a substantially bar shaped digital watch having a liquid crystal display which displays time indicating digits perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pen, the other section of the casing operatively constituting a cover for the watch.

2. A ballpoint pen as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the watch is operable to indicate both the time of day and the date.

3. A ballpoint pen as claimed in Claim 2, wherein the watch is additionally operable to indicate the day of the week.

4. A ballpoint pen as claimed in aty preceding claim, wherein the watch s capable of operating a stop watch.

5. A ballpoint pen as claimed in Claim 4 wherein the said watch, whilst operating as a stop watch, is provided with means for freezing the display whilst enabling time measurement to continue so as to allow measurement in a race of both lap time and total time.

6. A ballpoint pen as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the watch is provided with a means for illuminating the liquid crystal display.

7. A ballpoint pen as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a retractable writing mechanism.

8. A ballpoint pen substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.