1. A pocket knife comprising:
a retaining body having a first side wall and a second side wall, said side walls defining a retaining area therebetween;
at least one operational tool pivotably coupled to said retaining body, whereby said operational tool is movable from a storage position within said retaining area and an extended position outside said retaining area;
a first scale mounted on said first side wall; and
a second scale mounted on said second side wall;
wherein:
at least one of said scales being made of a transparent plastic material and provided with at least one groove-type retaining area arranged therein and accepting an additional operational tool, said additional operational tool can be inserted into said at least one retaining area through an opening in a border area of said at least one scale, wherein said additional operational tool is held in its storage position within said at least one retaining area in a friction-mounted or form-fitted fashion and is visible from outside of said at least one scale.
2. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein at least the first or second scale is designed and constructed so as to function as a light reflecting element to further increase the illumination provided by the light.
3. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said transparent plastic material is formed with thermal properties permitting heating of said additional operational tool rather than heating of said transparent plastic material.
4. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said scales are formed from a material comprising at least one of a copolymer, a thermoplastic, a thermoplastic copolymer, a polyester, and a polycarbonate.
5. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said scales are formed from the group consisting of: methacrylate-acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene, methyl methacrylate-styrene-butadiene, styrene-butadiene, acrylonitrile-styrene-butadiene, polyethylene terephtalate, amorphous modified polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, a polycarbonate, polyvinyl chloride, polypropylene, PMMA, PETR, MABS, MBS, acrylnitrile styrene-butadiene, and polyamide.
6. A pocket knife according to claim 1, wherein said scales are formed from an amorphous polymer.
7. A pocket knife as in claim 1, further comprising a chip within one of said scales.
8. A pocket knife as in claim 7, wherein signals and data from said chip are transmitted through said one scale.
9. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein at least one of said scales is covered with a phosphorogen foil, or designed so as to be phosphorogenic.
10. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said at least one groove- type retaining area is disposed partly in said side wall and partly in said at least one scale on an inner surface.
11. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said at least one groove-type retaining area is disposed only within said at least one scale.
12. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said first and second scales are made of transparent plastic material and provided with at least one groove-type retaining area arranged therein and accepting an additional operational tool.
13. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein said additional operational tool has a somewhat L-shaped handle end rising in said opening and, at least over one section, being at least equal in size to the cross-sectional shape of said opening.
14. A pocket knife as in claim 1, further comprising a memory chip within one of said scales or one of said side walls or being arranged between one of said side walls and scales.
15. A pocket knife as in claim 1, further comprising a computer chip within one of said scales or one of said side walls or being arranged between one of said side walls and the scales.
16. A pocket tool as in claim 15 wherein signals and data from said computer chip are transmitted through said one scale.
17. A pocket knife as in claim 1, further comprising at least one lighting device within one of said scales.
18. A pocket knife as in claim 1, further comprising a printing format within one of said scales or arranged between one of said side walls and scales.
19. A pocket knife as in claim 1, wherein at least one groove-type retaining area provided with an inscription or printing format so as to be visible through said at least one scale.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A voltage regulating DC-DC converter comprising:
a pulse width modulator switch that receives an input voltage and provides a modulated voltage;
a power filter in electrical communication with the pulse width modulator switch that filters the modulated voltage to facilitate use thereof by a load; and
a magnetic element comprising a first winding and a second winding orthogonal to the first winding,
wherein the second winding is adapted to provide a load current to the load, and
wherein the magnetic element defines a part of a feedback circuit that uses magnetic feedback effected by the load current through the second winding to vary an inductance of the magnetic element so as to vary current through the first winding and thus effect voltage regulation.
2. The DC-DC convener as recited in claim 1, wherein the magnetic element comprises an inductor of the power filter.
3. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the magnetic element comprises a law profile magnetic material.
4. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the magnetic element has a variable inductance that facilitates closed loop feedback control of an output voltage of the DC-DC converter.
5. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the magnetic element uses magnetic feedback effected by a load current to vary an inductance of the magnetic element while inhibiting saturation of a winding of the magnetic element.
6. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the magnetic element uses magnetic feedback effected by a load current to vary an inductance of the magnetic element the feedback being negative feedback.
7. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the pulse width modulator comprises an enhancement mode, n-channel, metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor.
8. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the power filter comprises at least one of an inductor and a capacitor.
9. The DC-DC convener as recited in claim 1, wherein the power filter comprises an inductor and a capacitor.
10. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, wherein the power filter comprises an inductor and a capacitor, the capacitor being configured to provide current to a load while the inductor is being charged and the inductor being configured to provide current to the load while the inductor is being discharged.
11. The DC-DC converter as recited in claim 1, further comprising a rectifier coupled so as to allow current to flow in a manner that charges a capacitor and also so as to inhibit the capacitor from discharging through the pulse width modulation switch.
12. A method for performing voltage regulated DC-DC conversion, the method comprising:
applying a DC input voltage to a pulse width modulated switch;
pulse width modulating the DC input voltage to provide a pulse width modulated voltage;
power filtering the pulse width modulated voltage to provide a filtered voltage;
applying the filtered voltage to a load;
providing feedback representative of a load current to a low profile magnetic element so as to cause the magnetic element to enhance voltage regulation; and
wherein the magnetic element uses magnetic feedback effected by an output load current through an orthogonal winding to vary an inductance of the magnetic element.
13. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the magnetic element comprises an inductor of a power filter.
14. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the magnetic element comprises a magnetic material and has two orthogonal windings.
15. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the magnetic element has a variable inductance that facilitates closed loop feedback control of an output voltage of the DC-DC converter.
16. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the magnetic element uses magnetic feedback effected by an output load current to vary an inductance of the magnetic element while inhibiting saturation of windings of the magnetic element.
17. The method as recited in claim 12, wherein the magnetic element uses magnetic feedback effected by an output load current to vary an inductance of the magnetic element, the feedback being negative feedback.