pen

Abstract

The invention relates to a pen including a tubular section having a longitudinal axis, a holder which is inserted into the tubular section in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and a clip which has a holding section on which the holder holds the clip, the holder having a first locking device which is adjustable between two positions with respect to the tubular section, namely a) an operating position in which it engages behind a second locking device formed on the tubular section in such a way that it locks the holder against being pulled out of the tubular section, an b) an assembly position in which it releases the holder. According to the invention, a blocking device is provided which is adjustable between two positions with respect to the holder, namely a) an operating position in which it holds the holding section of the clip in the holder and blocks the first locking device against adjustment into its assembly position, and b) an assembly position in which it holds the holding section of the clip in the holder, but does not block the first locking device against adjustment into its assembly position.

Description

[0001] PEN

[0002] The invention relates to a pen including a tubular section having a longitudinal axis, a holder which is inserted into the tubular section in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and a clip having a holding section on which the holder holds the clip, the holder having a first locking device which is adjustable between two positions with respect to the tubular section, namely a) an operating position in which it engages behind a second locking device formed on the tubular section in such a way that it locks the holder against being pulled out of the tubular section, and b) an assembly position in which it releases the holder.

[0003] Pens of the type mentioned at the beginning are known. For example, known pens have a tab clip inserted into a pocket. On some pens, the clip is positively locked by means of a pin. Other clips have a flange ring that is held between the end of the pen shaft and a plug.

[0004] With the well-known pens, the clip often becomes loose and has a low pull-out force. Also, with well-known pens, the pull-off force for end caps is often not as high as required by the BS (British Standard) 7272 end cap standard, for example.

[0005] The invention is based on the objective of further developing the pen of the type mentioned at the beginning in such a way that a robust, solid and durable clip fastening is achieved, which can preferably only be disassembled with tools. The aforementioned BS 7272 end cap standard should also be complied with.

[0006] According to the invention, the objective set for a pen of the type mentioned at the beginning is solved by a blocking device which is adjustable between two positions with respect to the holder, namely a) an operating position in which it holds the holding section of the clip in the holder and blocks the first locking device against adjustment into its assembly position, and b) an assembly position in which it holds the holding section of the clip in the holder, but does not block the first locking device against adjustment into its assembly position.

[0007] When the operating position is mentioned above, this refers to a position that is assumed when the pen is fully assembled. In contrast, the assembly position is a position that is assumed during the manufacturing or assembly process of the pen.

[0008] According to the invention, it is provided in particular that the first locking device engages behind the second locking device in the operating position due to its blocking by the blocking device and thus locks the holder against being pulled out of the tubular section. This ensures that the holder cannot be pulled out of the tubular section, or can only be pulled out with the application of considerable extraction forces, so that the requirements of the BS 7272 end cap standard are met.

[0009] This also ensures a robust, solid and durable clip fastening, especially due to the fact that the holder, which cannot be removed or can only be removed with great force, holds the clip.

[0010] In addition, the assembly of the pen can be simplified because the clip, the holder and the blocking device can form a pre-assembled assembly. The holder and the blocking device are already assembled together, with the blocking device being in the assembly position and holding the clip. If the holder with the blocking device assembled on it and the clip held on it is now pushed into the tubular section of the pen and moved into the operating position, in which the first locking device engages behind the second locking device, and if the blocking device is then adjusted from its assembly position into its operating position, the first locking device continues to engage behind the second locking device and locks the holder against being pulled out of the tubular section, so that the assembly of the pen is complete.

[0011] Thus, only two steps are required in total, namely inserting the pre-assembled assembly into the tubular section and adjusting the blocking device into its operating position. This assembly process is very simple.

[0012] A further simplification of the assembly process can be achieved according to the invention by the fact that the operating position of the blocking device differs from its assembly position by a changed relative position with respect to the holder in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the tubular section.

[0013] In other words, the blocking device only needs to be moved in the direction of the longitudinal axis to block the first locking device.

[0014] A particularly simple configuration of the pen is achieved if the first locking device is an extension and the second locking device is a section of a wall of a recess.

[0015] For further simplification of assembly, it can be provided according to the invention that the first locking device is elastically biased into the assembly position. Preferably, the elastic restoring force only occurs during adjustment into the operating position, but not in the assembly position. This means that the holder can be stored. There is no need to worry about fatigue due to biasing.

[0016] Pens are often used as advertising media. If advertising is attached on the pen, the clip should be arranged in such a way that it does not cover the advertising. Therefore, according to the invention, it is preferably provided that the clip can be held in only one rotational position about the longitudinal axis with respect to the tubular section.

[0017] In this case, only the advertising must be placed outside the area foreseeably covered by the clip.

[0018] According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the holder is connected to the tubular section in the operating position in the manner of a shaft-hub connection. This absorbs any torques introduced by operating the clip and the locking device is not sheared off by torsion. Finally, the invention particularly preferably provides that the shaft-hub connection has two tongue-and-groove connections, which represents a particularly simple realization of the shaft-hub connection.

[0019] In the following, the invention is explained in more detail by means of a preferred embodiment example with reference to the accompanying drawings with further details. In the figures:

[0020] Fig. 1 shows a clip, a holder and a blocking device of a pen according to a preferred embodiment of the invention,

[0021] Fig. 2 shows the holder and the blocking device according to Fig. 1 in a first position,

[0022] Fig. 3 shows the holder, the blocking device and the clip in a second position,

[0023] Fig. 4 shows the same elements as Fig. 3, but in a third position,

[0024] Fig. 5 shows the same elements as in Figs. 3 and 4, but in a fourth position,

[0025] Fig. 6 shows the same elements as in Figs. 3 to 5, but in an operating position and

[0026] Fig. 7 shows the complete pen.

[0027] The pen shown in the drawings includes a clip 10 with a holding section 12, a holder 14 and a blocking device 16. The elements mentioned are shown individually in Fig. 1 in various representations.

[0028] Fig. 2 shows the holder and the blocking device after a first assembly step. Then, the blocking device 16 is partially inserted into the holder 14. They now have a common longitudinal axis L, which corresponds to the longitudinal axis of the pen. In the position shown in Fig. 2, the blocking device 16 hits with a stop 18 against a stop 20 of the holder 14. As a result, as shown in Fig. 2, the relative position of the blocking device 16 with respect to the holder 14 in the direction of the longitudinal axis L is fixed.

[0029] The blocking device 16 only fits into the holder 14 in a single rotational position about the longitudinal axis L. The reasons will be explained later.

[0030] In the next step, the clip 10 is inserted with its holding section 12 into a slot 22 of the holder 14. This state is shown in Fig. 3. As the clip 10 is only inserted into the slot 22 without any further action having been taken, it can still fall out in this position.

[0031] However, this is no longer the case after the next assembly step.

[0032] In the next step, the blocking device 16 is pushed further into the holder in the direction of the longitudinal axis L until the stop 20 engages in a recess 24 on the blocking device 16. This position is shown in Fig. 4.

[0033] Furthermore, Fig. 4 shows that in this position the clip 10 is secured against falling out of the slot 22 because ribs 26, 28 engage in bays 30, 32 on the holding section 12 of the clip 10. The bays 30, 32 and the ribs 26, 28 are not the same. This inequality is again due to the fact that the clip 10 should only be inserted into the slot 22 from one side with its holding section 12 in order to ensure a clear rotational position about the longitudinal axis L.

[0034] As can be seen from the section C3-C3 in Fig. 4, the clip 10 still has some play S in this position and therefore degrees of freedom to tilt. These degrees of freedom simplify further assembly.

[0035] In the position shown in Fig. 4, the clip 10, the holder 14 and the blocking device 16 form an assembly that can be pre-assembled.

[0036] In the next step, the pre-assembled assembly described above is pushed into a tubular section 33 of the pen 34 in the direction of the longitudinal axis L until the holder 14 rests on the tubular section. As a result, the clip 10 loses its degree of freedom of tilting and can only be moved slightly in the direction of insertion into the slot 22. However, it can no longer fall out.

[0037] The fourth position shown in Fig. 5 is the assembly position in which the assembly described above is displaceable in the direction of the longitudinal axis L with respect to the tubular section 33.

[0038] This displaceability is no longer present in the operating position shown in Fig. 6. The operating position shown in Fig. 6 differs from the assembly position shown in Fig. 5 in that the blocking device 16 has been pushed into the holder 14 in the direction of the longitudinal axis L. As a result, a first locking device 36 is displaced in such a way that it engages behind a wall of a recess 40 of the tubular section 32 of the pen 34, which wall represents a second locking device 38.

[0039] The adjustment of the first locking device 36 from the assembly position according to Fig. 5 into the operating position according to Fig. 6 takes place with elastic deformation of the relevant part of the holder 14 against an elastic restoring force. The holder 14 is not biased in the assembly position shown in Fig. 5. Rather, the elastic restoring force only acts when the first locking device 36 is adjusted into the operating position according to Fig. 6 due to the insertion of the blocking device 16 into the holder 14, in which it engages behind the second locking device 38, i.e. the wall of the recess 40.

[0040] Fig. 5 also shows that the blocking device 16 has a nose 42 and the holder has a trough 44. In the operating position shown in Fig. 6, they interlock and thus secure the blocking device 16 in the holder 14.

[0041] In the operating position shown in Fig. 6, a depth stop 46 hits the holding section 12 of the clip 10. Furthermore, the play S shown in Fig. 5, section C4-C4 is no longer present, see section C5-C5 in Fig. 6, which is why the clip 10 no longer has any degrees of freedom.

[0042] As can be seen in Fig. 6, section R5-R5, a shaft-hub connection of the holder 14 with the tubular section 33 of the pen 34 ensures that torques introduced by operating the clip 10 are absorbed and the locking device 36 cannot be sheared off.

[0043] The reason why the blocking device 16 and thus the clip 10 can only be assembled in a certain rotational position about the longitudinal axis L is that the pen may be used as an advertising medium and is printed accordingly, which is why it must be ensured that the clip 10 does not cover any advertising messages.

[0044] The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, the claims and the drawing may be essential both individually and in any combination for the realization of the invention in its various embodiments.

Claims

Claims1. A pen including a tubular section (33) having a longitudinal axis (L), a holder (14) which is inserted into the tubular section in the direction of the longitudinal axis, and a clip (10) having a holding section (12) on which the holder holds the clip, wherein the holder has a first locking device (36) which is adjustable between two positions with respect to the tubular section, namely a) an operating position in which it engages behind a second locking device (38) formed on the tubular section in such a way that it locks the holder against being pulled out of the tubular section, and b) an assembly position in which it releases the holder, characterized by a blocking device (16) which is adjustable between two positions with respect to the holder (14), namely a) an operating position in which it holds the holding section (12) of the clip (10) in the holder and blocks the first locking device (36) against adjustment into its assembly position, and b) an assembly position in which it holds the holding section of the clip in the holder, but does not block the first locking device against adjustment into its assembly position.

2. The pen according to claim 1 , characterized in that the operating position of the blocking device (16) differs from its assembly position by a changed relative position with respect to the holder (14) in the direction of the longitudinal axis (L) of the tubular section (33).

3. The pen according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first locking device (36) is a projection and the second locking device (38) is a section of a wall of a recess (40).

4. The pen according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first locking device (36) is elastically biased into the assembly position.

5. The pen according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the clip (10) can be held in only one rotational position about the longitudinal axis (L) with respect to the tubular section (33).

6. The pen according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the holder (14) is connected to the tubular section (33) in the operating position in the manner of a shafthub connection.

7. The pen according to claim 6, characterized in that the shaft-hub connection has two tongue-and-groove connections.

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