WO2002069237A2

WO2002069237A2 - Device for matching data from a first data category with data from a second data category

Info

Publication number: WO2002069237A2
Application number: PCT/FR2002/000597
Authority: WO
Inventors: Marc-Henri Legrand
Original assignee: M.H.L. Distribution
Priority date: 2001-02-27
Filing date: 2002-02-15
Publication date: 2002-09-06
Also published as: WO2002069237A3; FR2821462B1; FR2821462A1; AU2002238661A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for matching data from a first data category with data from a second data category, characterised in that it comprises: an inner tube (1) bearing data (3) from the first category arranged in a line along the tube generatrices; an outer tube (4) which contains the inner tube (1) and which is fitted with bearings (9) that enable the inner tube to turn around its axis inside said outer tube. The wall of the outer tube (4) is provided with openings (5, 6) which are distributed on a line parallel to the axis of the tube, each window being marked on said outer tube with a piece of data from the second category.

Description

Device for matching data of a first category of data with data of a second category of data

The present invention relates to a device for matching data of a first category of data with data of a second category of data.

In modern life there are a large number of circumstances in which one wishes to be able to consult various information almost instantaneously.

In particular, in the euro area which is reflected in the ^January 1, 2002 through the use of coins and notes in euros, each citizen of a state should know quickly convert into euros the amounts usually expressed in its national currency. Similarly, people making trips appreciate having instantaneous timetables for means of transport such as train or plane or even kilometer distances between major cities.

Another example is that of time zones. For a region of the world concerned, it is useful to know the offset from a reference time.

The present invention aims to provide a device capable of meeting these needs in a particularly simple and economical manner.

The subject of the present invention is a device for matching data from a first category of data with data from a second category of data, characterized in that it comprises:

- an internal tube carrying data of the first category arranged in line according to generatrices of the tube,

- an outer tube containing the inner tube, provided with bearings allowing the inner tube to rotate around its axis inside the outer tube, the wall of the outer tube being provided with windows distributed on a line parallel to the axis of the tube , distributed so as to reveal the data of a line carried by the inner tube, each window being marked on said outer tube with data from the second category. The device according to the invention is very space-saving, both in the pocket and during its use, which constitutes an advantage for a data carrier which must be carried everywhere.

In addition, its fully mechanical operation without any energy source guarantees its availability in all circumstances.

In a first embodiment of the invention, the device is used to convert into a first unit amounts expressed in a second unit and the first category of data is a set of values expressed in the first unit while the second category of data is a set of equivalent values expressed in the second unit.

In this embodiment, the internal tube carries, on each data line of the first category, data of the second category, intended to be combined with the data carried by the external tube.

Such a device can be used for example to convert into national currency whole amounts from 1 to 99 euros, the external tube carrying, opposite each window, a unit from 0 to 9, while the internal tube carries formed lines, on the one hand, by a dozen from 0 to 9, on the other hand, by the equivalent in national currency of the combination of the dozen and the unit.

In a second embodiment of the invention, the device is used to indicate time zones and the first category of data is a set of hours while the second category of data is a set of longitudes or cities.

Advantageously, in this embodiment, hours of day are distinguished from hours of night by a choice of colors. For example, the night hours can be marked in light figures on a dark background and the day hours in dark figures on a light background.

Preferably, the inner tube protrudes at at least one of the ends of the outer tube so that a user can rotate the inner tube while immobilizing the outer tube. By internal tube is meant the tube itself and any complementary part which is integral with it. In other words, the inner tube proper may not protrude but have an end piece protruding from the outer tube. At its end projecting from the outer tube, the inner tube advantageously comprises a cylindrical wheel whose outer diameter is close to, or even slightly greater, than the outer diameter of the outer tube.

With this wheel, the user can easily rotate the inner tube in the outer tube.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the wheel has a non-slip knurling on its annular wall in order to facilitate the gripping of said wheel by the fingers of a user wishing to rotate the internal tube. In a particularly advantageous variant of this embodiment, the wheel has a width, taken in the longitudinal direction of the tubes, of less than 5 mm, preferably less than 3 mm, the external surface of the external tube being smooth at least in the immediate vicinity wheel. Thus, when the user seeks to rotate the internal tube by acting on the wheel, the very small thickness of the wheel does not pose any difficulty because the fingers of the user applied to said wheel, although also pressing on the outer tube, slide on the smooth outer wall of the outer tube and entrain only the inner tube. This alternative embodiment makes it possible to reduce the size of the device to its minimum by providing one or two knobs of a few millimeters in width. In addition, the wheel or knobs appear at the ends of the outer tube as simple shutters and do not alter the overall aesthetics of the device. The device according to the invention can be used as part of a pen. For this purpose, the internal tube must be hollow and include at least at one of its ends an opening allowing the introduction of the body or the lead of the pen.

Thus, the device can constitute the body of a pen crossed by a mine, or even the case of a pen.

The device can also be incorporated into an article of leather goods provided for this purpose with a specific housing. Examples of embodiments of the invention will now be described in order to facilitate understanding thereof, with the aid of the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a device according to the invention used to indicate conversions between francs and euros,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a pen incorporating a device identical to that of FIG. 1,

- Figure 3 is a perspective view of another pen incorporating a device similar to that of Figure 1, - Figure 4 is a perspective view of a purse incorporating a device identical to that of Figure 2 .

In Figure 1, we see a first tube 1, also designated internal tube, which carries several data lines parallel to its axis.

Each data line is made up of a data item 2 expressing ten and ten data items 3 indicating amounts in euros.

This first tube 1 is hollow, which does not affect the operation of the conversion device but allows the integration of the latter in a pen, as will be seen with reference to FIG. 2.

A second tube 4, also designated external tube, has an internal diameter greater than a few tenths of the external diameter of the first tube, so that the latter can engage in the second tube with sufficient clearance to allow it to rotate without rubbing against the inner wall of the second tube.

The wall of the second tube is pierced with eleven aligned windows 5, 6. One 5 of the two end windows is distinguished from the others by its elliptical shape, the other 6 being rectangular.

A specific indication is given below each window. Under the elliptical window 5, the two letters "DZ" indicate that this window has the function of letting see the data expressing ten carried by the first tube.

Under each rectangular window 6, a number from 0 to 9 indicates the unit to be combined with the ten visible in the elliptical window to obtain the number of euros to be converted. Two ends 7, 7 ′ are provided on either side of the first tube 1 to force fit into the latter. Each end piece is constituted by a hollow cylindrical body, a first part 8 of which has a diameter very slightly less, or even identical, to the internal diameter of the first tube 1 and which is intended to penetrate by force into said first tube, which ensures the retention of said tip on said tube.

This first part of the hollow cylindrical body is extended by an annular shoulder 9 the diameter of which is greater than the external diameter of the first tube 1 but nevertheless less than a few tenths of the internal diameter of the second tube 4, so that this shoulder 9 can rotate at inside the second tube by resting on its internal wall.

Next to this shoulder and opposite the first part of the body, each end piece has a wheel 10, 11 whose external diameter is at least equal to the external diameter of the second tube 4, so that this wheel rests on the thickness of the second tube.

Each wheel 10, 11 has a width, taken along the axis of the tubes, relatively reduced and in any case much less than the contact surface between the fingers of a user and said wheel. The annular surface of the wheel has undergone a surface treatment which makes it rough, for example a punching, so that the fingers of the user do not slip on said surface. However, they slide on the smooth surface of the second tube. Consequently, even if the user's fingers act not only on the wheel but also on the end of the second tube, this action effectively causes the rotation of the wheel, and therefore of the internal tube, and not that of the external tube which is held by the user's other hand.

One 10 of the two wheels is full while the other 11 is a ring whose internal diameter corresponds substantially to the internal diameter of the cylindrical body 9. The end piece comprising this annular wheel is hollow and provides an axial passage. The first tube 1 is shorter than the second tube 4, the difference corresponding to the sum of the axial lengths of the two shoulders 9.

Thus, when the two ends 7, 7 ′ are fitted into the first tube 1, the axial distance between the two knobs is equal to the length of the second tube. The two knobs 10, 11 ensure in particular the relative positioning of the first tube in the second tube. This relative positioning is taken into account when marking the first tube so that the data 2, 3 carried by the latter exactly coincide with the windows 5, 6 of the second tube.

The assembly of the device is carried out as follows.

One engages one 7 of the end pieces in force in one of the ends of the first tube 1. Then engages the end without end of the first tube in the second tube 4, taking care of the orientation of the inscriptions which must be identical on both tubes. Finally, the second end piece 7 'is force-fitted into the end of the first tube.

The shoulders of the tips are supported on the inner wall of the second tube and act as bearings, preserving the first tube from friction against the second tube, friction which could alter the inscriptions 2, 3 carried by the first tube.

The hollow endpiece clears access to the interior of the internal tube, as will be seen in Figure 2.

The device obtained is used in the following manner.

A user wishing to know the equivalent in euros of a sum in francs, for example the sum of 46 F, orients the device horizontally in front of him so as to read the data carried on the external tube as well as those visible through the windows through the inner tube.

The user is first of all interested in the elliptical window 5 which indicates the tens of francs. By keeping the outer tube stationary, it rotates the inner tube by acting on one at least two knobs so as to reveal the tens 10 in said elliptical window.

Once this operation has been carried out, all that remains is to read in the window 6 marked with unit 6 the (rounded) equivalent in euros of the sum expressed by the combination of ten tens is unit 6, or 46 F: 7.01 euros. The device described above can be integrated into a pen such as that shown in FIG. 2.

This pen comprises a mechanical pencil 12 of cylindrical shape whose diameter is very slightly less than the internal diameter of the body of the hollow tip 7 '. The mechanical pencil 12 is extended on one side by a frustoconical tip 13 for guiding the end of the lead and on the other side by an enlarged head 14 similar to the knurling of the tips but of greater width.

The length of the mechanical pencil, head excluded, is less than that of the inner tube 1.

The device of Figure 1 constitutes a case for the mechanical pencil, which engages in the hollow tip 7 '. The internal wall of the hollow tip rubs against the external wall of the mechanical pencil 12 and retains the latter in the tube.

The pen in Figure 3 incorporates a similar device for converting francs into euros. This device serves as a body 15 for the pen.

The wheel 16 secured to the internal tube and making it possible to drive the latter in rotation is situated on the side of the frustoconical end 17 of the mine guide.

At its opposite end, the body 15 of the pen carries, in a manner known per se, a pocket clip 18 and a push mechanism 19.

The purse represented in FIG. 4 is an article of leather goods which comprises two symmetrical panels 20, 21 connected by a hinge 22. Each panel comprises a pocket 23 closed by a zip 24, superimposed on an open pocket 25. On the one of the panels is sewn with an elastic loop 26 whose function is to retain a device 27, shown in broken lines, such as that of FIG. 2, in the vicinity of the hinge 22.

The length of the hinge is substantially identical to that of the device 27 and the width of the hinge is substantially equal to the external diameter of said device 27, so that when the purse is closed, the two sides being joined together against the 'other, the device is housed against the hinge being protected by the wallet.

The embodiments described above are provided by way of example only and should not be interpreted as bringing any limitation to the scope of the invention, which is defined by the appended claims. _ -

Claims

1 Device for matching data from a first category of data with data from a second category of data, characterized in that it comprises:

- an internal tube (1) carrying data (3) of the first category arranged in line according to generatrices of the tube,

- an outer tube (4) containing the inner tube (1), provided with bearings (9) allowing the inner tube to rotate around its axis inside the outer tube, the wall of the outer tube (4) being provided with several windows (5,6) distributed on a line parallel to the axis of the tube, distributed so as to reveal the data of a line carried by the internal tube, each window being marked on said external tube by a datum of the second category.

2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that one of the windows (5), located in the vicinity of one end of the outer tube (4), has a shape different from the other windows (6).

3. Device according to any one of claims 1 and 2, used to convert into a first unit amounts expressed in second unit, characterized in that the first category of data (3) is a set of values expressed in the first unit while the second category of data is a set of equivalent values expressed in the second unit.

4. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the internal tube (1) carries, on each data line of the first category, a data (2) of the second category, intended to be combined with the data carried by the external tube (4).

5. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, used to convert into national currency whole amounts from 1 to 99 euros, characterized in that the outer tube carries, opposite each window (6), a unit of 0 to 9, while the inner tube carries lines formed, on the one hand, by a dozen from 0 to 9 (2), on the other hand, by the equivalent (3) in national currency of the combination of the ten and unity.

6. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, used to indicate time zones, characterized in that the first category of data is a set of hours while the second category of data is a set of longitudes or a set of cities.

7. Device according to claim 6, characterized in that one distinguishes the hours of day from hours of night by a choice of colors.

8. Device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the internal tube protrudes at at least one of the ends of the external tube and advantageously comprises a cylindrical wheel (10,11) whose external diameter is close , or even slightly greater, than the external diameter of the external tube.

9. Device according to claim 8, characterized in that the wheel

(10,11) has a non-slip knurling on its annular wall.

10. Device according to any one of claims 8 and 9, characterized in that the wheel (10,11) has a width, taken in the longitudinal direction of the tubes, less than 5 mm, preferably less than 3 mm, the outer surface of the outer tube being smooth at least in the immediate vicinity of the wheel.

11. Pen case, characterized in that it is constituted by a device according to any one of claims 1 to 10.

12. Pen, characterized in that its body (15) is constituted by a device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.

13. Leather goods, in particular purses, characterized in that it comprises a housing (26) for receiving a device according to any one of claims 1 to 12.