GB2348109A

GB2348109A - Extendable ski-pass holder with watch

Info

Publication number: GB2348109A
Application number: GB9907104A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Philip Nicolas Macve
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-03-26
Filing date: 1999-03-26
Publication date: 2000-09-27
Also published as: GB9907104D0

Abstract

The body 1 is attachable at 4 to clothing and includes a ski-pass holder 3 attached to a spring-loaded retractable cord 2. A watch 6 is included in the body. In an embodiment (Fig 2) for a child the body is shaped as a figure and has flashing LEDs and a sound generator which operate when the cord is extended.

Description

AN EXTENDABLE SKI-PASS HOLDER The present invention relates to a skiing accesory and in particular to an extendable ski-pass holder. Extendable ski-pass holders, which avoid the need for a skier to take the ski-pass repeatedly in and out of his or her pocket, are known. This is a cumbersome task when wearing thickly padded ski gloves. The holder allows the ski-pass to be kept on the outside of the skiers clothing.

When skiing it is also difficult to gain access to wrist watches or pocket watches, again due to the type of clothing worn for the sport, such as padded jackets and gloves.

According to the present invention there is a provided an extendable ski-pass holder comprising a body for receiving an extendable connector, a first end of the connector being connected to the body and a second end of the connector being connected to a holding means for holding a ski-pass, wherein the body or the holding means includes a watch.

The present invention allows a skier easy access to his watch without the need to move or remove any items of clothing since the ski-pass holder will be connected to an external item of the skier's clothing.

Preferably, the watch is provided on the body of the ski-pass holder so that the bulky part of the holder is provided with the watch. However, to enable the skier to obtain easier access to the watch, the watch may alternatively be mounted on the holding means connected to the extendable connector.

Examples of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure I shows a diagram of an example of the ski-pass holder according to the present invention; Figure 2 shows a diagram of a further example of a ski-pass holder according to the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a diagram of an example of the ski-pass holder according to the present invention. The ski-pass holder has a body 1 for receiving an extendable connector, which in this example is a piece of cord 2. At one end of the cord 2 there is a holding means 3 for holding a ski-pass, in the form of any suitable clip. Alternatively, the holding means may simply comprise a knot at the end of the cord. The body 1 of the ski-pass has a jacket clasp 4 with which a skier attaches the ski-pass holder to his outer jacket. On one of the external surfaces 5 of the body 1 there is a watch 6 fitted into a recess.

In operation, when a skier approaches a gate to a lift he pulls his ski-pass which is held by the holding means 3 causing the cord 2 to be pulled from the housing of the body 1 thereby enabling the ski-pass to be entered into a card reader at the lift or to be read or inspected by an attendant. Once the ski-pass has been read or inspected, it is released by the skier and the cord 2 will be drawn back into the body 5 by a spring mechanism (not shown). This may comprise a coil spring which drives a spool on which the cord may be wound and unwound. Such a system of extendable ski-passes is known. However, if at any time when the skier is wearing skiing clothes such as a padded jacket and gloves he needs to view his watch, he simply turns the face of the ski-pass holder towards him and the watch 6 is clearly visible. There is no need to remove his jacket and gloves and expose himself to the cold.

Furthermore, the process of telling the time will be quick and effortless.

The clock may be a digital time display as shown or an analogue watch face and preferably is as large as possible. The body 1 may be made from plastic of any colour, shape or texture to improve the holder's aesthetic qualities. The body may be manufactured using conventional injection moulding processes. A recess is preferably formed in one external surface of the body 1 to hold the watch 6. The watch 6 comprises a self contained unit and access may or may not be provided to the battery. In the case of a watch using a nonreplaceable battery (so that the ski-pass holder is disposable) means may be provided for preventing the start of the watch until initiated by a user. For example, this means may comprise an insulating film disposed to cover one of the battery terminals to prevent current flowing. The insulating film may be connected to a tab accessible by a user arranged such that when the user pulls the tab the film is removed from the battery terminal and current is allowed to flow, thereby starting the watch. The watch 6 has a number of control buttons 7 used as time adjustment switches and optionally the watch may have the function of a stopwatch as well as any other conventional functions of a wrist watch.

Figure 2 shows a diagram of a further example of a ski-pass holder according to the present invention. In addition to the features possesed by the first example of the present invention shown in Figure 1, the ski-pass holder shown in Figure 2 has a number of features to make the device suitable for and attractive to young children. The body 1 is manufactured in the shape of a childs character to provide immediate aesthetic appeal to a young child. The head 8 of the character has a number of Light Emmitting Diodes (LEDs) 9 which flash when the cord 2 is extended. The ski-pass holder also has an inbuilt sound generating device responsive to the the cord 2 being extended. When the cord 2 is extended, a loud speaker is operated to say'let me in'or other suitable words or sounds. Coupled with the flashing LEDs 9 this will give the impression to a young child that the ski-pass holder 1 is an animate object.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. An extendable ski-pass holder comprising a body for receiving an extendable connector, a first end of the connector being connected to the body and a second end of the connector being connected to a holding means for holding a ski-pass, wherein the ski-pass holder includes a watch.
2. An extendable ski-pass holder according to claim 1, in which the body includes the watch.
3. An extendable ski-pass holder according to claim 1, in which the holding means includes the watch.
4. An extendable ski-pass holder according to any preceeding claim, further comprising a removeable means for initiating the functioning of the watch.
5. An extendable ski-pass holder substantially as shown in and/or described with reference to any of Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.