A pencil holder for storing a pencil includes a hollow basic body which has an elongated interior that opens out in an insertion opening for partially receiving the pencil. In the region of the insertion opening the basic body merges into a least one retaining tongue which juts out from the basic body in the longitudinal direction and which is set up for the purpose of holding the pencil on the basic body as a result of clamping.

A cover for a writing instrument having a body, a protrusion, and a decorative element. The body has a first end, a second end, an inner surface, an outer surface, and a space bounded by the inner surface. The space is operatively arranged to hold a writing instrument. The protrusion has a first end and a second end, where the first end is secured to and extends upwardly from the second end of the body. The decorative element has an extension member extending downwardly, where the extension member is secured to the second end of the protrusion. The body further includes at least one hinge means extending longitudinally about the body and at least one latch.

The present invention pertains generally to marking surfaces by using gravity system and marking object that is being placed in a marking tube and allowing by its gravity to touch the surface, predominantly to mark the surface. The marking tube is adjustable allowing the marking object to touch the surface accordingly; the marking tube is located on a supporting guide. Particularly, the present invention should and/or will be useful for marking any flooring surfaces and/or any other surfaces where applicable.

A utility retractor having a utility adaptor, and having a retractable tether comprised of Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE) material. The UHMWPE exhibits many important qualities suitable in a utility retractor, including abrasion resistance, the ability to be knotted without tangling, and it is very slippery to achieve a significant useful life. The retractor may also include an energy absorber disposed on the tether configured to prevent the danger of the utility adapter flailing indiscriminately during retraction. The energy absorber can be selectively positioned.

A marker storage accessory includes a main body having marker-engaging structure and writing surface engaging structure. The main body may also include cap-engaging structure or, alternatively, blocking structure. The marker-engaging structure includes a plurality of circumferentially positioned teeth adapted to be conformingly inserted into the complementarily shaped channels defined by the ribs located on the non-writing end of a writing instrument such as a dry-erase marker. The cap-engaging structure can include ribs creating a geometry adapted to conformingly receive the protruding end of a cap for the writing instrument. The blocking structure can be a protrusion adapted to prevent attachment of the marker storage accessory on the nub-end of the writing instrument while permitting attachment of a marker cap. When the marker storage accessory is attached to the writing surface, the marker self-positions to a generally nub-down orientation.

The present disclosure is directed to an object gripping apparatus that solves the above-described problems. Generally, in various embodiments, the object gripping apparatus includes a plurality of individually deformable gripping members configured to wrap around, grip, and hold the outer surface of an object. Because the gripping members are individually deformable, the object gripping apparatus may hold objects of varying shapes and sizes, such as objects having outer surfaces of varied diameters.

A device for connecting two objects, especially for holding a writing instrument on a notebook or the like, with a clamping body having clamping arms extending across a narrow side, for example, of the notebook, which clamping body grips one of the objects in pliers-like fashion with its clamping arms and forms a holder for holding the other object, e.g., the writing instrument, parallel to the longitudinal direction of the narrow side. Mechanisms are provided to spread open the clamping arms.

A convertible writing instrument can be put into either a compact capped configuration, 3 to 4 inches in length, or an extended writing configuration, 5 to 6 inches in length. A relatively elongated cap, which covers most of the relatively shortened pen member in the compact configuration, can be re-attached to the back of the pen, so as to lengthen the instrument in preparation for writing. Multiple interchangeable caps and rear modules can be coupled to the pen member to provide a variety of appearances and functions.

A holder apparatus for pen holder for mounting a pen or other writing implement to a wall includes a base, a receiver, and a stabilizer. The receiver is coupled to the base and defines a hole for receiving the writing implement. The stabilizer is spaced away from the receiver and has lateral portions which extend around the writing implement to retain the writing implement in alignment with a center axis of the hole of the receiver.

A ball spinning device for dynamically balancing a ball includes a device body, the device body including a concave cup portion for receiving a portion of a ball that is to be dynamically balanced, the concave cup portion having an air discharge aperture configured to discharge a stream of pressurized air at an outer surface of the ball; and a pressurized air source fluidly coupled to the air discharge aperture of the concave cup portion, the pressurized air source configured to deliver the pressurized air to the air discharge aperture so as to induce a rotational displacement of the ball within the concave cup portion until a balanced state of the ball is achieved.