Writing instrument

Claim 1

A BALLPOINT PEN COMPRISING: A TUBULAR CASING HAVING AN UPPER AND A LOWER END AND OPEN ONLY AT SAID ENDS; UPPER AND LOWER TUBULAR HOODS EXTENDING THROUGH SAID ENDS OF SAID CASING AND LONGITUDINALLY MOVABLE RELATIVE TO SAID CASING; SPRINGS WITHIN SAID BARREL URGING SAID HOODS OUTWARDLY RELATIVE TO SAID CASING; A RIGID WRITING ASSEMBLY HAVING AN UPPER WRITING POINT AND A LOWER WRITING POINT AT A FIXED DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER, SAID ASSEMBLY INCLUDING A TUBULAR CARTRIDGE CONNECTING MEMBER AND UPPER AND LOWER BALLPOINT CARTRIDGES CARRIED BY SAID CONNECTING MEMBER, SAID ASSEMBLY BEING LONGITUDINALLY MOVABLE WITHIN SAID BARREL BETWEEN (1) A FIRST POSITION WHEREIN SAID LOWER WRITING POINT EXTENDS THROUGH THE OUTER END OF SAID LOWER HOOD AND SAID UPPER WRITING POINT IS CONCEALED WITHIN SAID UPPER HOOD AND (2) A SECOND POSITION WHEREIN SAID UPPER WRITING POINT EXTENDS THROUGH SAID OUTER END OF SAID UPPER HOOD AND SAID LOWER WRITING POINT IS CONCEALED WITHIN SAID LOWER HOOD; AND LATCHING MEANS DEFINED BY SAID CONNECTING MEMBER AND SAID CASING TO SELECTIVELY HOLD SAID ASSEMBLY IN SAID FIRST AND SAID SECOND POSITIONS AGAINST NORMAL WRITING PRESSURE APPLIED TO THE EXTENDED WRITING POINT, BUT YIELDABLE UPON THE APPLICATION OF INWARDLY DIRECTED PRESSURE TO SAID EXTENDED WRITING POINT AND THE ADJACENT HOOD IN EXCESS OF NORMAL WRITING PRESSURE; SAID INWARDLY DIRECTED PRESSURE BEING OBTAINABLE AND SAID ASSEMBLY BEING SHIFTED BETWEEN SAID POSITIONS BY PRESSING SAID EXTENDED WRITING POINT AND SAID ADJACENT HOOD INTO CONTACT WITH A RIGID SURFACE TO THEREBY LONGITUDINALLY MOVE SAID EXTENDED WRITING POINT AND SAID ADJACENT HOOD INWARDLY INTO SAID CASING AND THEN RELEASING SAID EXTENDED WRITING POINT AND SAID ADJACENT HOOD FROM SAID CONTACT, WHEREBY (A) SAID ADJACENT HOOD RETURNS TO ITS ORIGINAL POSITION, (B) SAID EXTENDED WRITING POINT HAS NOW BEEN MOVED TO A CONCEALED POSITION WITHIN SAID ADJACENT HOOD AND (C) SAID ASSEMBLY HAS BEEN SHIFTED FROM ONE OF SAID POSITIONS TO THE OTHER OF SAID POSITIONS.