Abstract:
A pencil sharpener is particularly favorable in production terms and advantageous in handling terms. In a first variant, the pencil sharpener has at least two sharpener units, of which each has a sharpener body and a shaving blade fastened thereon, the sharpener bodies of adjacent sharpener units being connected integrally via film strips acting as a predetermined bending point and/or predetermined separating point. In a second variant, the pencil sharpener has a sharpener body and a shaving blade fastened thereon. The sharpener body has a guide sleeve with a bore defining a pencil-guiding channel for a pencil to be sharpened, and at least one flat supporting wing which projects approximately radially in cross section from the guide sleeve. In an end region of the supporting wing that is directed away from the guide sleeve a functional element is provided for protecting or for working on the tip of the pencil. The or each supporting wing can be bent along a film strip acting as a predetermined bending point or predetermined separating point, such that the functional element can be moved away from a position in which it engages with the pencil-guiding channel.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
     Field of the Invention  
       [0001]     The invention relates to a pencil sharpener for sharpening a pencil, in particular a cosmetic pencil.  
         [0002]     A sharpener is usually used in order to sharpen the core of the pencil and, in the process, to shave off any core casing which may be present in the region of the pencil tip. A sharpener customarily comprises an approximately cuboidal or wedge-shaped sharpener body into which a substantially circular-conical sharpening cone is introduced, as a guide for the pencil tip, such that its lateral surface is approximately tangent to an outer surface of the sharpener body. In the vicinity of this tangent, the sharpening cone is open, via a shaving-discharge slot, in the direction of the abutting outer surface of the sharpener body. A sharpener also comprises a shaving blade which is fastened on the sharpener body tangentially in relation to the lateral surface of the sharpening cone and projects into the shaving-discharge slot by way of a cutting edge, so that, when a pencil which has been pushed into the sharpening cone is rotated in relation to the sharpener body, a shaving is removed from the pencil by the cutting edge of the shaving blade.  
         [0003]     In the case of a so-called multiple sharpener, a plurality of sharpener units each with a sharpener body and a shaving blade fitted thereon are integrated to form a single structural unit. The sharpener units of such a multiple sharpener are usually designed differently in respect of the diameter of the pencil-guiding channel or of the opening angle of the sharpening cone, in order for it to be possible to sharpen pencils of different diameters and/or in order to fashion different tip shapes.  
         [0004]     U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,071 and its counterpart German published patent application DE 40 00 122 A1 disclose a pencil sharpener wherein the substantially cuboid sharpener body is provided with complementary protrusions or depressions on its longitudinal side walls. The protrusions or depressions here allow a plurality of pencil sharpeners to be plugged together and thus to be combined to form a multiple sharpener.  
         [0005]     Pencil sharpeners for sharpening cosmetic pencils, which are usually provided with a comparatively soft, plastic core, often have, in addition to the shaving blade, a so-called core former by means of which, during the sharpening operation, the core substance produced in the region of the pencil tip is formed into a predetermined, in particular rounded tip. A pencil sharpener which is known from German published patent application DE 199 52 039 A1 has a plurality of differently shaped core shapers which are arranged on a carousel-like adjustment mechanism and, by virtue of the adjustment mechanism being rotated, can alternatively be brought into engagement with the pencil-guiding channel.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a sharpener, which overcomes the above-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices and methods of this general type and which is particularly favorable in production terms, yet is intended to be flexible to use and/or easy to handle.  
         [0007]     With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, in accordance with the invention, a pencil sharpener, comprising: 
        at least one sharpener body formed with at least one film strip defining a predetermined bending or separating point configured to enable at least one of the following: 
            at least one part of said sharpener body can be bent;     at least one part of said sharpener body can be detached;     one sharpener body can be bent relative to another said sharpener body;     one sharpener body can be detached from another said sharpener body.    
               
 
         [0013]     In other words, the objects of the invention are achieved, in a first variant of the invention, by a pencil sharpener that comprises at least two sharpener units, of which each has a sharpener body and a shaving blade fastened thereon. In this case, the sharpener bodies of adjacent sharpener units are connected integrally via a film strip, i.e. a material strip which is thin-walled in comparison with each sharpener body, and is therefore flexible, and, in the manner of a film hinge, acts as a predetermined bending point or predetermined separating point.  
         [0014]     The fact that the plurality of sharpener units are connected according to the invention by one or more film strips is advantageous in a number of respects. In particular, the connected sharpener bodies can be produced easily and cost-effectively in a single operation, in particular by injection molding, a high level of flexibility as far as the subsequent use of the sharpener units is concerned being ensured at the same time. It is thus possible for the sharpener units to be easily separated in a following step and used as individual sharpeners with or without a shaving-collecting housing. According to an advantageous variant, provision is made, as an alternative, to use the sharpener units in the connected state as a multiple sharpener, the structural unit which is formed from the sharpener units preferably being inserted as a whole into a common shaving-collecting housing. The film strips here make it possible for the structural unit which is formed from the sharpener units to be folded and thus for the sharpener units to be inserted into the shaving-collecting housing in a state in which they have been tilted in relation to one another, in which case one and the same sharpener-unit-containing structural units can be adapted extremely easily to a multiplicity of different shapes of housing. The self-stabilizing assembly of sharpener units here makes it possible, in particular, to realize particularly compact and straightforwardly designed shapes of housing and to install the sharpener units in the shaving-collecting housing in a manner which is easy to implement.  
         [0015]     In order to realize a very compact multiple sharpener, or multi-sharpener, sharpener units are expediently folded in the same direction in relation to one another, so that the structural unit approximately forms the outline of a polygon or polygon segment in cross section. In a particularly compact and stable variant, the sharpener units here are folded up to form a regular polygon—that is to say, in the case of three interlinked sharpener units, to form an equilateral triangle.  
         [0016]     As an alternative to this, provision is made for folding the sharpener units alternately in opposite directions in relation to one another, so that the structural unit approximately forms a “zigzag line” in cross section. This is particularly advantageous in order to adapt the structural unit to flat shapes of housing of different widths.  
         [0017]     In a particularly advantageous form of the pencil sharpener, each sharpener body comprises a guide sleeve with a bore which defines a pencil-guiding channel for a pencil which is to be sharpened, there being integrally formed on the outer periphery of this guide sleeve at least one supporting wing, which is flat (in comparison with the external diameter of the guide sleeve) and projects approximately radially from the guide sleeve in cross section, i.e. as seen along the axis of the pencil-guiding channel of one of the sharpener units). Adjacent sharpener units here are connected to one another at the adjacent outer edges of a respective supporting wing. In this configuration, the sharpener body of each sharpener unit is reduced to the bare essentials, so that, while maintaining a high level of stability in relation to the torsional forces occurring during the sharpening operation, the sharpener body is nevertheless realized in a particularly material-saving manner. At the same time, the above-described shaping allows particularly compact folding of the sharpener units.  
         [0018]     Each sharpener body preferably comprises two supporting wings which are integrally formed on the guide sleeve in opposite directions to one another, so that each sharpener body approximately assumes the shape of a wing nut, as seen in cross section through the guide sleeve. In an expedient development, the two supporting wings are joined together in an end region which is spaced apart from the guide sleeve, so that the supporting wings, with the guide sleeve, form a closed supporting frame which is particularly advantageous in terms of stability.  
         [0019]     It is preferable for the guide sleeve for the different sharpener units of the same structural unit to be configured differently in each case, so that the pencil-guiding channels, which are defined by the bore of the respective guide sleeve, differ in terms of their diameter and/or of the cone angle of their respective sharpening cone. As an alternative, or in addition, provision is made for the various sharpener units to differ in the way in which a core former assigned to the respective sharpener unit is embodied.  
         [0020]     For example, the structural unit comprises three sharpener units, of which a first-sharpener unit does not have any core former, while the second and third sharpener units are assigned core formers which round the pencil tip to different degrees.  
         [0021]     According to a second variant of the invention, a body of the pencil sharpener comprises a guide sleeve with a bore which defines a pencil-guiding channel for a pencil which is to be sharpened, there being integrally formed on the outer periphery of this guide sleeve at least one supporting wing, which is flat (in comparison with the external diameter of the guide sleeve). The or each supporting wing projects approximately radially from the guide-sleeve in cross section and, in an end region which is spaced apart from the guide sleeve, bears a functional element for protecting or for working on the core tip of the pencil which is to be sharpened. The functional element is, in particular, a core former.  
         [0022]     According to the invention, the or each supporting wing has incorporated in it a film strip which acts as a predetermined bending point or predetermined separating point and along which the end region of the supporting wing can be bent such that the functional element is moved away from a position in which it engages with the pencil-guiding channel.  
         [0023]     A handling-related advantage is achieved by the bendable supporting wing in that the pencil sharpener can be used optionally with or without a functional element and, if required, can be converted by a simple bending operation. This handling flexibility is achieved with a simultaneously extremely simple design, as a result of which the pencil sharpener can be produced particularly easily and cost-effectively—in particular in relation to conventional pencil sharpeners with similar functions.  
         [0024]     The film strip may be designed such that the end region of the supporting wing is irreversibly detached from the rest of the supporting wing during bending. However, the film strip preferably acts in the manner of a film hinge and allows reversible and repeated pivoting of the end region, and thus of the functional element arranged thereon, out of and into the engagement position.  
         [0025]     It is also the case in the above-described variant of the pencil sharpener that two supporting wings are preferably provided, these projecting in opposite directions to one another from the guide sleeve and giving the sharpener body a wing-nut-like shape, as seen in cross section through the guide sleeve. The supporting wings are preferably brought together, once again, in their end region to form a closed supporting frame.  
         [0026]     According to both variants of the pencil sharpener, the bore, which defines the pencil-guiding channel of the or of each sharpener body, passes all the way through the associated guide sleeve, so that the pencil-guiding channel projects beyond the two axial ends of the guide sleeve. In other words, the guide sleeve is designed such that a pencil which has been pushed into the sharpening position passes right through the guide sleeve and at least part of the pencil tip projects out beyond the guide sleeve through an outlet end of the bore. In this configuration, a blade holder is expediently integrally formed on the guide sleeve, this blade holder projecting axially beyond the outlet end of the bore provided in the guide sleeve. The blade holder flanks the pencil-guiding channel on one side here, so that the pencil-guiding channel is open toward a side which is directed away from the blade holder. The, for the most part, open configuration of the pencil-guiding channel in the region of the blade holder, and thus, with a pencil pushed in, in the region of the pencil tip, has the advantage of it being possible for core substance which is shaved off during the sharpening operation to drop off particularly easily from the blade holder. This particularly effectively counteracts a problem, which is typical of cosmetic pencils in particular, where the core substance, which in these pencils is usually soft and plastic, forms sticky clumps on the blade holder during the sharpening operation and smears over the pencil as sharpening continues.  
         [0027]     Other features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in the appended claims.  
         [0028]     Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodied in a pencil sharpener, it is nevertheless not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scope and range of equivalents of the claims.  
         [0029]     The construction of the invention, however, together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be best understood from the following description of the specific embodiment when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0030]      FIG. 1  is a plan view of one design principle of a sharpener body having a guide sleeve, a blade holder integrally formed thereon, and having two supporting wings which are integrally formed on the guide sleeve and are connected to one another to form a supporting frame;  
         [0031]      FIG. 2  shows a schematic side view of the sharpener illustrated in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0032]      FIG. 3  is a schematic side view of a longitudinal section through the sharpener of  FIG. 1 , taken along the line III-III in  FIG. 1 ;  
         [0033]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a first variant of the pencil sharpener according to the invention, having three sharpener units which are based on the design principle according to FIGS.  1  to  3  and are connected integrally to one another via film strips acting as a predetermined separating point or predetermined bending point;  
         [0034]      FIG. 5  is a front view of the pencil sharpener assembly according to  FIG. 4 ;  
         [0035]      FIG. 6  is an end view of the pencil sharpener assembly of  FIG. 4 , illustrated similar to  FIG. 5 , with the sharpener units being folded alternately in opposite directions in relation to one another along the film strips in order to be inserted into a shaving-collecting housing;  
         [0036]      FIG. 7  shows the pencil sharpener assembly from  FIG. 4 , illustrated as in  FIG. 5 , with the sharpener units being folded in the same direction in relation to one another along the film strips in order to be inserted into a shaving-collecting housing;  
         [0037]      FIG. 8  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of a second variant of the pencil sharpener according to the invention, having a sharpener body which is based on the design principle according to FIGS.  1  to  3 , there being provided within the supporting wings a respective film strip which acts as a predetermined separating point or predetermined bending point and along which it is possible to bend an end region of the supporting wings which is directed away from the guide sleeve; and  
         [0038]      FIG. 9  shows the pencil sharpener from  FIG. 8  illustrated as in  FIG. 8 , the end region of the supporting wings being bent in relation to the position which is illustrated in  FIG. 8 . 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0039]     Referring now to the figures of the drawing in detail, a common design principle for a sharpener body  2  is realized in the embodiments of the pencil sharpener  1  according to the invention which are described hereinbelow (in relation to  FIGS. 4-9 ), and this design principle will be described in more detail first of all in general terms with reference to  FIGS. 1-3 .  
         [0040]      FIG. 1  shows the sharpener body  2 , which is produced from plastic or metal, and a shaving blade  3 , which is fastened on the sharpener body  2 . The sharpener body  2 , in turn, comprises a guide sleeve  4 , a blade holder  5  integrally formed thereon, and two supporting wings  6  and  7  integrally formed on the guide sleeve  4 .  
         [0041]     The guide sleeve  4  has a central bore  8  ( FIG. 3 ) passing through it, which, during the sharpening operation, bears a pencil S which is to be sharpened, and thus defines a pencil-guiding channel  9  ( FIG. 3 ). The pencil-guiding channel  9  thus refers to the volume which the pencil S which is to be sharpened takes up, in the sharpening position, inside and outside the guide sleeve  4 . Outside the guide sleeve  4 , the pencil-guiding channel  9  here is formed by the imaginary extension of the wall of the bore  8  beyond the guide sleeve  4 . The guide sleeve  4  and, in particular, the bore  8  thereof have an introduction end  10 , at which a pencil S which is to be sharpened can be introduced into the bore  8  during the sharpening operation. That end of the guide sleeve  4 , and of the bore  8  thereof, which is axially opposite the introduction end  10 , and in relation to which the tip of the pencil S projects out of the guide sleeve  4  again in the sharpening position, is referred to as the outlet end  11 .  
         [0042]     In a portion  12  of the guide sleeve  4  which is adjacent to the introduction end  10 , the bore  8  is of cylindrical configuration, i.e. it is configured, in particular, with a constant diameter. This cylindrical portion  12  serves for ensuring good guidance of the pencil S along an axis  13  of the pencil-guiding channel  9 . In a portion  14  of the guide sleeve  4  which is adjacent to the outlet end  11 , in contrast, the bore  8  tapers conically in the direction of the outlet end  11 . This conical portion  14  of the bore  8  serves as a stop for fixing the pencil S axially in the sharpening position.  
         [0043]     The outer periphery  15  of the guide sleeve  4  can be configured basically as desired. In the exemplary embodiments illustrated, however, the outer periphery  15  of the guide sleeve  4  is always configured to be circular.  
         [0044]     As can be gathered from  FIGS. 2 and 3  in particular, the blade holder  5  is essentially in the form of a wedge, of which the horizontal surface  16  ( FIG. 3 ) is oriented parallel to the axis  13  of the pencil-guiding channel  9 , at a small distance therefrom. The sloping surface of the wedge shape, in contrast, forms a bearing surface  17  ( FIG. 3 ), on which the shaving blade  3  is positioned at an angle in relation to the axis  13 . For this purpose, the bearing surface  17  is enclosed, in particular at its border which is directed away from the axis  13 , by a railing-like positioning aid  18 , against which the shaving blade  3  is positioned. The shaving blade  3 , in this position, is oriented such that its cutting edge  19  forms a line which approximately intersects the axis  13 . The shaving blade  3  is fixed on the bearing surface  17  by means of a fastening screw  20 .  
         [0045]     The blade holder  5  has its longitudinal center axis arranged offset from, and parallel to, the axis  13 , so that its wedge tip  21  is directed away from the guide sleeve  4  and the wedge base  22 , which is opposite the wedge tip  21 , is correspondingly directed toward the guide-sleeve  4 . In the region of the wedge base  22 , the blade holder  5  overlaps with the guide sleeve  4  in an axial region which exceeds the axial length of the conical portion  14  of the guide sleeve  4 . As a result of this overlapping, the pencil S is neatly shaved to its outer periphery. In the overlapping region, the guide sleeve  4  is provided with a shaving-discharge slot  23 , into which the cutting edge  19  of the shaving blade  3  projects.  
         [0046]     Over most of the region of its axial extent, the blade holder  5  projects beyond the outlet end  11  of the guide sleeve  4 . In this region, the blade holder  5  flanks the pencil-guiding channel  9  just on one side, while the pencil-guiding channel  9  is not bounded in the outward direction over the rest of the circumferential-angle region, so that, during the sharpening operation, the shaving blade  3  and the pencil S filling the pencil-guiding channel  9  hang more or less freely in space. In specific terms, the pencil-guiding channel  9  is enclosed by the blade holder  5  and the shaving blade  3  merely over a circumferential-angle region of slightly more than 90°. Over most of the circumferential-angle region of approximately 250°-270°, in contrast, the pencil-guiding channel  9  is open in the outward direction, so that shaving waste and shaved-off core substance can readily drop off from the shaving blade  3  and the blade holder  5 .  
         [0047]     Each supporting wing  6  and  7  is integrally formed, in an initial region  24 , on the outer periphery  15  of the guide sleeve  4  and, from there, projects radially from the guide sleeve  4 —as seen in cross section along the axis  13 . The two supporting wings  6  and  7  here are arranged, in particular, on mutually opposite circumferential regions of the guide sleeve  4 , so that the sharpener body  2  is approximately in the form of a wing nut.  
         [0048]     Each supporting wing  6 ,  7  is of small thickness, in comparison with the diameter of the guide sleeve  4 , and is of elongate, flat form, of which the longitudinal extent is oriented parallel to the axis  13 . Starting from the initial region  24 , each supporting wing  6 ,  7  extends axially in the direction of the outlet end  11  and beyond the latter. The supporting wings  6 ,  7  thus flank the blade holder  5  and the shaving blade  3  in the axial direction. The blade holder  5  here is optionally integrated in the supporting wing  7 .  
         [0049]     In an end region  25 , which is arranged opposite the initial region  24 , the supporting wings  6 ,  7  are brought together and connected integrally to one another. The supporting wings  6 ,  7  thus form an essentially rectangular, closed supporting frame  31 , in which the guide sleeve  4  and, if appropriate, also the blade holder  5  are integrated.  
         [0050]     According to FIGS.  4  to  7 , a first embodiment of the pencil sharpener  1  according to the invention comprises three sharpener units  30 ,  31  and  32  each with a sharpener body  2  and a shaving blade  3  fastened thereon, of which each sharpener unit  30 ,  31 ,  32  is based on the design principle described above. The sharpener units  30 ,  31  and  32  are provided for sharpening pencils S of different thicknesses and, accordingly, differ in terms of the diameter of the respective guide sleeve  4 —as can be seen from  FIG. 5 —and also, in particular, in terms of the diameter of the bore  8  which is made in the guide sleeve  4  in each case. The sharpener bodies  2  of the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  are lined up in a row parallel to one another such that the supporting wing  7  of the sharpener unit  30  and the supporting wing  6  of the sharpener unit  31  as well as the supporting wing  7  of the sharpener unit  31  and the supporting wing  6  of the sharpener unit  32  have their respective outer edges  33  ( FIG. 5 ) located one beside the other. The adjacent sharpener units  30 ,  31  and  31 ,  32  here are connected in each case by a thin film strip  34  ( FIG. 5 ), which is positioned between the outer edges  33  of the respectively abutting supporting wings  6 ,  7 .  
         [0051]     In the unaltered state illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , the sharpener units  30 ,  31  and  32  are oriented in a colinear manner in relation to the plane defined by their supporting wings  6 ,  7 , and they are interlinked via the film strips  34 . On the one hand, then, the pencil sharpener  1  can be used in this unaltered state. On the other hand, the pencil sharpener  1  can also be separated or folded along the film strips  34  in order for the individual sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  to be used separately from one another or for the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  to be inserted in a space-saving manner into a shaving-collecting housing  35   a,    35   b,    35   c  ( FIGS. 6 and 7 ). In the former case, the film strips  34  act as a predetermined separating location along which the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  can easily be cut or torn off. In the latter case, the film strips  34 , in the manner of a film hinge, act as a predetermined bending point, which allows the sharpener units  30 ,  31  and  32  to be tilted in relation to one another in a reversible manner, without being destroyed.  
         [0052]     The folding capability of the subassembly formed from the interlinked sharpener units  30 ,  31  and  32  makes it possible for this subassembly to be flexibly adapted as a whole to shaving-collecting housings  35   a,    35   b,    35   c  of different shapes.  
         [0053]      FIG. 6  shows the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  folded in adaptation to a flat housing  35   a.  The sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  here are folded alternately in opposite directions, i.e. in a “zigzag” manner, in relation to one another. In an alternative arrangement of the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  according to  FIG. 7 , these sharpener units have been folded up approximately to form an equilateral triangle in cross section (the units thus being folded, in particular, in the same direction as one another). This very compact folding is suitable in particular—as is indicated in  FIG. 7 —in order to insert the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  into a shaving-collecting housing  35   b  of round cross section or a shaving-collecting housing  35   c  of hexagonal cross section. As can be gathered from  FIGS. 6 and 7 , the interlinked sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32  stabilize themselves in the shapes of housing illustrated, so that there is no absolute need for additional fastening means, e.g. latching hooks, stop surfaces, etc., on the inner wall of the respective shaving-collecting housing  35   a,    35   b,    35   c  for the purpose of fixing the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32 . The shaving-collecting housing  35   a,    35   b,    35   c  can thus be realized extremely easily and cost-effectively. Such fastening means however may nevertheless be provided as an option for improved fixing of the sharpener units  30 ,  31 ,  32 .  
         [0054]     In a second variant, the pencil sharpener  1  according to  FIGS. 8 and 9  comprises a sharpener body  2 , which is likewise based on the above-described design principle, and a shaving blade  3  fitted thereon. In this configuration, the sharpener body  2  additionally comprises a core former  36 , which is realized by a rounded contour of the inner border  37  of the supporting wings  6 ,  7  in the common end region  25  of the latter. The core former  36  is arranged such that, when the supporting wings  6  and  7  are oriented in a planar manner, it engages in the cone tip of the pencil-guiding channel  9 , so that the core of the pencil S which has been pushed into the sharpening position is formed into a rounded tip.  
         [0055]     In order for it to be possible to move the core former  36  away from this engagement position if required, the end region  25  of the supporting wings  6  and  7  can be pivoted in a reversible manner, in relation to the respective initial region  24 , into the position which is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . The pivoting capability of the supporting wings  6 ,  7  is made possible, once again, by a film strip  38 , which is incorporated in each of the supporting wings  6  and  7 . The film strips  38  assigned to the supporting wings  6  and  7  are oriented along a common axis  39 , which is arranged perpendicularly to the axis  13  of the pencil-guiding channel  9  and acts as an axis of rotation for tilting the end region  25 .  
         [0056]     The film strip  38  is optionally designed to be of such a strength that (in particular in the case of just slight tilting from the starting position according to  FIG. 8 ) it acts in the manner of a leaf spring which forces back the end region  25 , and thus the core former  36 , elastically into the starting position as soon as the end region  25  is relieved of loading, i.e. as soon as the tilting pressure to which the end region  25  is subjected is removed.