Patent ID: 8052365

Claim:
A pushpin device adapted to affix articles to different surfaces by piercing, by magnetic attraction, or by clamping and to enclose a pin to allow safer handling of the device by reducing the danger of injury being inflicted by an exposed point of the pin, the device comprising: a pin head comprising magnetically susceptible material, wherein the pin head is adapted to allow a user to apply pressure to the pin head without discomfort; a longitudinally extending pin having a proximal portion and a distal portion, the proximal portion of the longitudinally extending pin being coupled to the pin head and the distal portion of the longitudinally extending pin comprising a point at a distal end, wherein the point is adapted to allow the pin to penetrate user selected articles that are to be affixed to a surface; a base comprising a magnetic material and having an aperture, wherein the base is magnetically attracted to the pin head by a magnetic force such that when the pin head is positioned proximate to the base the magnetic force maintains the pin head in a position proximate to the base in opposition to a countering force, and the aperture is aligned with the pin and is configured to allow the pin to pass through the base as the pin head moves proximate to the base; and a deformable outer member coupled to the pin head at a first end and coupled to the base at a second end that is distal to the first end, wherein the deformable outer member further comprises a first position wherein the pin head is spaced from the base and the deformable outer member is substantially undeformed and surrounds the entire pin along the longitudinal axis of the pin; and a second position wherein the deformable outer member is deformed and wherein the pin head is proximate to the base, thereby allowing the pin to extend through the aperture in the base to penetrate an article, and wherein the deformable outer member exerts the countering force on the base and the pin head.