ITMI20092025A1 - COMPASSO PERFECTED FOR TRACING CIRCLES IN COOPERATION WITH PENCILS, BALL PENS, PENNARS AND SIMILAR WRITING INSTRUMENTS. - Google Patents

Description

`` PERFECTED COMPASS FOR DRAWING CIRCLES IN COOPERATION WITH PENCILS, BALLPOINT PENS, MARKERS AND SIMILAR WRITING INSTRUMENTS ...

DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an improved compass for drawing circles in cooperation with pencils, ball-point pens, felt-tip pens and similar writing instruments.

As is known, the compass is a tool consisting of two finely pointed rods, hinged or sliding on a cylindrical or prismatic guide to trace circles or measure distances between two points.

Depending on the purpose, there are different types of compasses; however, the best known model of compass is undoubtedly the one with a removable point, also called "universal compass", in which one of the points can be replaced by a mechanical pencil or a scriber, depending on the needs of the case. This type of compass is used for tracing medium-range circles or arcs and requires the use of special extensions for tracing large radii.

By rotating the writing tip, that is the one equipped with mechanical pencil or drawing pen, a circular path is defined around the tip acting as a fulcrum.

The drawback of these known compasses is given by the fact that they are linked to the use of special drawing lines or mechanical pencils which are intended to be applied in place of the removable tip; in particular, both these accessories and the arm with removable tip must have conjugate connecting means, which require accurate, precise and laborious processing.

In cases where there is the need to draw circles with different writing tools, such as pencil, ballpoint pen, felt-tip pen or the like, these tools cannot be easily applied to traditional compasses, due to the considerable size of these tools compared to to these traditional compasses. Furthermore, even if special fittings are provided to connect the writing instruments to traditional compasses, this operation is rather laborious and not very easy.

To overcome the aforementioned problems, a compass is known for tracing circles with the use of any writing instrument, consisting of a rod equipped, at one end, with a seat for receiving the tip of the writing instrument. and of an elastic arm, connected to the shaft in a single point, disposed inclined at an obtuse angle with the shaft and suitable for receiving and supporting the body of said writing instrument.

The elastic arm compresses as a result of applying a compressive force on the writing instrument directed towards the shaft.

Furthermore, the shaft is equipped with a cursor, sliding along the shaft, which acts as a fulcrum for tracing the circle, which is obtained by moving the writing instrument circumferentially around the fulcrum, keeping said instrument always compressed against the elastic element.

The aforementioned compass has a drawback linked to the fact that, since the elastic arm is positioned immediately behind the pen, in a position aligned between the writing instrument and the fulcrum of the compass, it happens that, during the bending of the elastic arm, most of the time the pen collides with the elastic arm, which creates an obstacle to the correct use of the compass and goes to ruin the body of the pen: furthermore, the stem of the elastic arm must necessarily have a continuous and flat shape, as any other shape would aggravate the defect found; it follows that the elastic arm tends to become unnerved over time as it cannot contain any precautions that can regulate its correct elastic response. This answer is important, because with the elastic arm too rigid the compass easily causes the breaking of the writing instrument, and with the arm too weak the compass tends to slip as there is no pressure from the fulcrum on the writing surface.

This situation also causes an easy achievement of the yield point of the elastic arm, with the consequent onset of an irreversible and permanent plastic deformation, which could lead to an infrequent, but possible, situation of rupture of the elastic arm.

Another disadvantage of the aforementioned compass consists in the fact that the elastic arm positioned behind the writing instrument prevents the cursor from getting close to the writing tip, so that it is not possible to perform sufficiently small circles.

The aforementioned compass also has the disadvantage of easily losing the cursor, as there is no provision to prevent its involuntary extraction.

A further disadvantage of the aforementioned compass consists in the fact that the center point associated with the cursor tends to easily dissociate and get lost, since the fixing of a metal point in a cursor preferably made of plastic material is technically difficult and not very robust given the little available space.

The aim of the present invention is to provide an improved compass, for tracing circles with the use of any writing instrument, which overcomes the limitations and drawbacks of the known art.

Within the scope of this aim, an object of the present invention is to provide an improved compass for avoiding the yielding which does not collide with the body of the writing instrument during the marking of the circle.

A further object of the invention is to provide a compass which can be used in an easy and intuitive way.

Another object of the invention is to provide a compass which allows even inexperienced users to draw good quality circles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a compass which draws circles characterized by a precise, uniform and substantially well-defined stroke.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a compass which allows to trace sufficiently small circles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a compass which, in non-use configuration, can be of reduced dimensions.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a compass in which it is possible to avoid that, in the non-use configuration, the tip of the cursor from being blunted by blows received or from causing accidental injuries.

Not least object of the invention is to provide a compass which is sturdy, relatively easy to manufacture and at competitive costs.

This task, as well as these and other purposes which will appear better later, are achieved by an improved compass (1) for tracing circles (11) with any writing instrument (6), comprising a body (2) equipped in correspondence with an end part (3a) thereof of a seat (4) for receiving the writing tip (5) of said writing instrument (6) and equipped with means (7) suitable for receiving the body (8) of said writing instrument ( 6) and to keep it in a stable position with the writing tip inside said seat, said body (2) being equipped with a cursor (9) sliding along said body (2) and equipped with a pointed body (10) able to constitute the fulcrum for tracing a circle (11) obtained by moving said writing instrument (6) in a circumferential direction while maintaining applied on said instrument (6) a compression force (51) against said means (7), characterized in that said means acts to receive the body of the writing instrument incl have two arms (7a, 7b) associated below with said body (2), said arms being connected to each other above to define a seat for receiving said writing instrument.

Further characteristics and advantages of the invention will become clearer from the description of a preferred but not exclusive embodiment of the improved compass according to the invention, illustrated, by way of non-limiting example, in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved compass according to the invention, shown in an inoperative configuration;

Figure 2 is a side elevation view of the improved compass according to the invention, in an inoperative configuration;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the improved compass according to the invention, shown in an operative configuration;

Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the improved compass according to the invention, shown in the operative configuration;

figure 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the improved compass according to the invention;

figure 6 is a side elevation view of a third embodiment of the improved compass according to the invention, shown in the operative configuration;

figure 7 is a side elevation view of a third embodiment of the improved compass according to the invention, in an inoperative configuration;

With reference to the aforementioned figures, the improved compass according to the invention, globally indicated with the reference number 1, comprises a body 2 equipped at one of its end parts 3a with a seat 4 for receiving the tip 5 of a writing instrument 6 .

Furthermore, again in correspondence with its terminal part 3a, the body 2 is equipped with means 7 adapted to receive the body 8 of the writing instrument 6.

The body 2 further comprises a cursor 9 sliding along it. In detail, the slider 9 comprises on its lower face a pointed body 10 adapted to constitute the fulcrum around which the terminal part 3a of the body 2 rotates. The slider 9, and more particularly the pointed body 10, defines the center of a circle 11 to trace.

A peculiarity of the invention resides in the fact that the means 7 comprise two arms 7a and 7b which are associated at the bottom with the terminal part 3a of the body 2 at two points 12a and 12b mutually spaced along the transverse direction 13 of the body 2.

Advantageously, the arms 7a and 7b are elastically deformable.

More particularly, the arms 7a and 7b are connected to each other, at their ends 14a, 14b opposite the points 12a and 12b, without interruption, and define a curvilinear seat 15 for the writing instrument 6.

The curvilinear seat 15, which constitutes a support element for the writing instrument 6, in turn defines a space 16 within which the writing instrument 6 is housed, abutting it against the curvilinear seat 15.

The writing instrument 6 is therefore positioned in the space 16 between the two arms 7a and 7b in such a way as to have a lateral support, i.e. along the transverse direction 13 of the body 2, and to avoid the inclinations of the writing instrument 6 as a result the application of a tangential force 50 necessary to make the instrument 6 move in a circumferential direction and thus define the circle 11.

Furthermore, the fact that the points 12a and 12b of association of the arms 7a and 7b with the body 2 are mutually spaced allows to prevent the body 8 of the writing instrument 6 from touching the means 7, creating an obstacle and damaging the instrument of writing 6.

Advantageously, the body 2 is formed by two parallel rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b and joined together by a connecting tab 28 positioned in the end part 3b of the body 2 opposite the part 3a. The connecting tab 28 makes it possible to prevent the slider 9 from slipping out of the body 2, following the sliding of the latter.

The two rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b are respectively coupled to the arms 7a and 7b.

Preferably the seat 15 for the writing instrument 6 has a semicircular shape and extends on a plane substantially perpendicular to the arms 7a and 7b.

More specifically, the seat 15 defining the support element constitutes a single body with the arms 7a and 7b and is defined by two right-angled bends of the same arms, at the ends 14a and 14b, so as to define said semicircular shape.

Advantageously, each of the two arms 7a and 7b comprises a spring, 19a and 19b, which can be shaped like a spiral or zig-zag or with any other shape that allows a correct elastic behavior.

More particularly, the springs 19a and 19b can be wound in a spiral and be positioned substantially in the median portion of the arms 7a and 7b. The use of coiled springs 19a and 19b allows to increase the compression load that can be imparted in the longitudinal direction of the body 2 before reaching the elastic yield point of the arms 7a and 7b.

Further, each spring 19a and 19b divides the elastic arm 7a and 7b into an upper portion 70a and 70b and a lower portion 71a and 71b.

In the rest position of the arms 7a and 7b, the body of the writing instrument, held resting on the seat 15 and with the tip inserted in the hole 32, forms an obtuse angle with the body 2 of the compass.

Following the application of a compression force 51, easily obtainable by keeping the body of the writing instrument in a perpendicular position with respect to the writing plane 100, the lower portions 71a and 71b remain substantially stationary in the position they present during the rest configuration, that is the one in which no writing instrument 6 is inserted; otherwise, on the other hand, the upper portions 70a and 70b rotate in the direction of the body 2 around an axis 19 substantially passing through the centers of the springs 19a and 19b.

In this way, only the upper portions 70a and 70b are elastically deformed following the application of the compressive force 51, while the lower portions 71a and 71b are subjected to a lower compressive load, since the compressive force 51 is greatly part absorbed by the coils of the springs 19a and 19b.

As previously mentioned, the points 12a and 12b of association of the arms 7a and 7b with the body 2 are mutually spaced and this allows to create the space for the use of the spiral springs 19a and 19b, which otherwise would not be there.

Advantageously, the upper portions 70a and 70b of the arms 7a and 7b are mutually further apart with respect to the lower portions 71a and 71b of the same arms, ie the arms spread outward inclining. In this way, therefore, the ends 14a and 14b connecting the arms 7a and 7b with the seat 15 constituting the support element are more mutually spaced than the connecting points 12a and 12b of the arms 7a and 7b with the body 2.

This feature is particularly useful since it allows writing instruments 6 provided with a particularly bulky body 8 to be housed inside the space 16, such as for example felt-tip pens having a particularly thick body.

Advantageously, the cursor 9 is equipped with fixing means 20 capable of blocking the movement of the same cursor 9 during the tracing of the circle and of allowing the movement of the cursor 9 along the rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b to vary the radius of the circle 11 to trace.

More particularly, the fixing means 20 comprise two plates 21a and 21b, extending along the transverse direction 13 and arranged one above and one below with respect to the bars 2a and 2b.

The fixing means 20 comprise a screw 22, which crosses centrally, from side to side, the planes defined by the plates 21a and 21b, in such a way that the screwing of the fixing means 20 around it causes the relative approach of the two plates 21a and 21b with consequent locking on the rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b. The unscrewing of the fastening means 20 around the screw 22 instead causes the relative removal of the two plates 21a and 21b in such a way as to create a play which allows the plates 21a and 21b to slide on the rod-like elements 2a and 2b.

On the face of the lower plate 21b facing downwards, the pointed body 10 is associated.

Another peculiarity of the invention is constituted by the fact that the pointed body 10 and the screw 22 can be constituted by the same element.

In particular, the compass illustrated in Figures 1 to 4 has a single pointed element in the lower part and threaded in the upper part, which makes the construction very robust and economical.

This element has a prismatic protuberance in an intermediate section which, by fitting into the lower plate 21b of the slider 9, makes it integral with the latter and prevents the threaded body from rotating.

In this way, by rotating the fixing means 20, the only effect is constituted by the reciprocal approaching or distancing of the two plates 21a and 21b, which allows to free or block the sliding of the slider 9 with respect to to the rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b.

Advantageously, as shown in Figure 5, the body 2 can have a visual indication 80 of the radius of the circle 11 to be traced and defined by the distance included, along the development axis of the body 2, between the pointed body 10 of the cursor 9 and the tip 5 of the writing instrument 6. More specifically, this visual indication 80 is a metric scale with a level of detail suited to the precision required by the application.

Advantageously, the compass 1 according to the invention comprises at the end part 3a of the body 2 a connecting element 30 of the rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b.

The connecting element 30 comprises a base 31 provided with a hole 32 defining the seat 4 for receiving the tip 5 of the writing instrument 6. From the sides of the base, opposite to the transverse direction 13 of the body 2, two walls 33a rise. and 33b, slightly inclined outwards.

These walls 33a and 33b comprise at the top through holes 34a and 34b for housing and locking the rod-shaped elements 2a and 2b, and second holes 35a and 35b for housing and locking the arms 7a and 7b. In particular, the second holes 35a and 35b define the points 12a and 12b for connecting the arms 7a and 7b with the body 2.

The arms 7a and 7b are suitably inserted in the rod-shaped elements 2a, 2b which are constituted by tubular elements.

In a second embodiment of the compass, illustrated in figure 5, the arms 7a and 7b have a comb shape able to exploit the elasticity of the material they are made of without this being able to be stressed to yield in any of its stitches following the application of the compressive force 51.

The arms 7a and 7b thus shaped are hinged inferiorly to the body 2 in such a way as to be able to rotate around a hinging axis 53 substantially transversal to the body 2.

More particularly, by making the means 7 rotate around the rotation axis 53, they can come to face the lower surface of the body 2 and cover the slider 9 with the receiving seat 15; more specifically, the receiving seat 15 can be provided in its median portion with a hole or a depression for the insertion of the pointed body 10 of the slider 9.

The housing 15 for the writing instrument 6 can be made of rigid material, or substantially of a material different from that of the arms 7a and 7b.

Figures 6 and 7 illustrate a third embodiment of the compass where the means 7 are still rotating around an axis of rotation defined by the hinging of said means with the body 2 of the compass; in this embodiment the arms 7a and 7b are rigid and the elasticity is obtained by means of an elastic element 55 provided with a free end 56 and with another end 57 associated with a cavity 58 obtained on the body 2.

During the operative phase, following the application of the compression force 51 on the writing instrument 6, the latter comes into contact with the free end 56 of the elastic element 55 causing its elastic compression.

Also in this embodiment, as can be seen from figure 7, during the non-operative phase, the means 7 rotate until they face the lower side of the body 2 and allow the receiving seat 15 to cover the slider 9.

Another embodiment, particularly suitable for small children, can be obtained by replacing the potentially dangerous pointed body 10 with an anti-slip element (suction cup, rubber pad) associated with the cursor 9, designed so as to remain stationary on the writing surface despite the rotation of the compass.

The operation of the improved compass according to the invention is as follows.

The tip 5 of the writing instrument 6 is inserted inside the seat 4 so that the body 8 of the instrument is housed inside the space 16 between the two arms 7a and 7b and rests on the seat 15. Applying on the body 8 of the writing instrument 6 the compression force 51 directed towards the body 2, the pointed body 10 of the cursor 9 is fixed on the writing surface 100.

Subsequently, by keeping the writing instrument 6 perpendicular to the writing plane 100, and therefore always compressed against the arms 7a, 7b, and applying the tangential force 50, the writing instrument 6 is advanced in a circumferential direction to trace the circle 11. All the above procedure can be carried out with one hand only.

Therefore, the improved compass according to the invention has the advantage of being able to trace circles with the use of only one hand and using any writing instrument.

In practice it has been found that the improved compass according to the invention fully achieves the intended aim, since the presence of two arms, mutually spaced along the transverse direction of the body and arranged in such a way as to house the writing instrument in the space between them defined, it allows to provide a better lateral support to the writing instrument and, in particular, it allows to avoid the inclination of the instrument following the application of the tangential force necessary to move the writing instrument in a circumferential direction.

Furthermore, the elasticity of the arms allows the writing instruments, regardless of the size of their body, to be arranged perpendicularly to the writing surface; again, the elastic means make it possible to make the connection between the writing instrument and the compass more stable;

Furthermore, the elastic means allow to create a bending moment deriving from the presence of the compression force, which causes the pointed body to press towards the sheet to prevent it from slipping, and which generates a second force, equal and opposite to said compression force, which it would tend to raise the writing instrument but which is counteracted by the hand that presses said instrument downwards to keep it in contact with the writing surface.

Finally, the use of two arms equipped with a spiral spring or a zig-zag or otherwise shaped spring, allows to have an elastic element capable of withstanding greater compression loads along the longitudinal direction of the body, i.e. along the direction of application of the compressive force. This feature makes it more difficult to reach the yield point of the arms, and therefore the onset of irreversible plastic deformations, which could definitively compromise the correct use of the compass.

The compass thus conceived is susceptible of numerous modifications and variations, all of which are within the scope of the inventive concept; moreover, all the details can be replaced by other technically equivalent elements.

In practice, the materials used, as well as the dimensions, may be any according to the requirements and the state of the art.

Claims (10)

CLAIMS 1. Improved compass (1) for drawing circles (11) with any writing instrument (6), comprising a body (2) equipped at one of its end parts (3a) with a seat (4) for receiving the tip writing instrument (5) of said writing instrument (6) and equipped with means (7) adapted to receive the body (8) of said writing instrument (6) and to keep it stably with the writing tip inside said seat, said body being equipped with a cursor (9) having a pointed body (10) capable of constituting the fulcrum for tracing a circle (11) obtained by moving said writing instrument (6) in a circumferential direction while maintaining a force applied by said instrument (6) compression, characterized by the fact that said means adapted to receive the body of said writing instrument comprise two movable arms (7a, 7b) associated below said body (2), said arms being connected above each other to define a seat for receiving ento of said writing tool. 2. Improved compass (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said arms (7a, 7b) are elastically deformable. 3. Improved compass (1) according to claim 1, characterized by the fact that said arms (7a, 7b) are rigid and able to abut with an elastic element (55) constrained to the body (2), following the application of said compression force (51). 4. Improved compass (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said body (2) consists of two rod-shaped elements (2a, 2b), arranged parallel and mutually spaced along said transverse direction (13) of said body ( 2), said rod-shaped elements (2a, 2b), in correspondence with a termination (3b) opposite to said end part (3a) of the body 3, are connected by a connecting tab (28) to avoid accidental extraction of the slider ( 9). 5. Improved compass (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that said rod-like elements (2a, 2b) are respectively associated with said arms (7a, 7b). 6. Improved compass (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said seat (15) for accommodating said writing instrument (6) has a substantially semicircular shape and develops in a plane substantially perpendicular to said two arms (7a, 7b). 7. Improved compass (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that each of said two arms (7a, 7b) comprises a spiral wound spring (19a, 19b) or a zig-zag spring or a configuration suitable for avoiding the yielding of the material constituting said arms (7a, 7b). 8. Improved compass (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that said arms (7a, 7b), rotating around a hinging axis (53) of said arms (7a, 7b) with said body (2 ), cover and protect the pointed body (10) with the receiving seat (15). 9. Improved compass (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that the cursor (9) has fixing means (20) able to block the sliding of said cursor (9) along said body (2) to define the radius of curvature of the circle (11) to be traced. 10. Improved compass (1) according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises, at said end (3a) of said body (2), a connecting element (30) of said two rod-shaped elements (2a , 2b) comprising a base (31), provided with a hole (32) defining said seat (4) for receiving said tip (5) of said writing instrument (6), and two walls (33a, 33b) associated at the bottom to said base (31) and equipped at the top with first holes (34a, 34b) for housing and locking said rod-shaped elements (2a, 2b) and with second holes (35a, 35b) for housing and locking said two elastic arms (7a, 7b).