Ballpoint pen body

Abstract

To accommodate a plurality of types of refills having different shapes and sizes, and to enable a user to load a refill selected from the corresponding plurality of types of refills into a ballpoint pen body that the user likes and use a ballpoint pen.SOLUTION: The ballpoint pen body includes a body 10 into which a refill 2 is loaded, a ferrule 31 attached to the front end of the body, a pen end 32 attached to the rear end of the body, a cap 20 attached to the front end of the body to cover the ferrule when not in use and attached to the pen end when in use, and a plurality of spacers 41 to 44 for fixing and holding the refill inside the body. The spacers 41 to 44 each have a different overall length in the axial direction of the body, and at least one spacer 41 has an abutment portion 41a that is perpendicular to the axial direction and abuts against a rear end 2a of the loaded refill 2, and multiple types of refills can be accommodated by changing the position and / or orientation of the spacer.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ballpoint pen body that is compatible with a plurality of types of refills having different shapes, overall lengths, outer diameters, and other dimensions, allowing a user to use a refill of their choice. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, when it comes to ballpoint pens, which are considered luxury items, users tend to choose products based on their exterior design. In addition, manufacturers who manufacture and sell these ballpoint pens supply refills that match the exterior design of the product, so there are many cases where the shape and dimensions of refills are incompatible not only between products of different manufacturers, but also between products of the same manufacturer. On the other hand, ISO12757-2 specifies the shape and dimensions of ballpoint pen refills, and if this standard is adopted, refills from different manufacturers may be usable. However, each manufacturer does not guarantee the quality of refills from other manufacturers, so there is no guarantee that they will write in the same way. Furthermore, refills for high-end ballpoint pens are often only available at specific stationery stores that carry the product, and tend to be difficult to obtain.

[0003] Regarding the ink of ballpoint pen refills, there are water-based, oil-based, gel, etc., ball diameters vary, and ink colors also differ slightly. Users may want to use a ballpoint pen body with an exterior design that they like, with a refill that has a writing feel that they like, or they may want to use a refill that is easily available.

[0004] Patent Document 1 discloses an invention in which two types of refills with different outer diameters and lengths are selectively attached to a holder, and the holder is attached to a ballpoint pen body for use. Specifically, when a high-end ballpoint pen is sold with an inexpensive synthetic resin refill attached in order to reduce costs, the invention allows users who purchase the ballpoint pen to replace it with a high-end stainless steel refill (paragraph 0007). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the holder has a total length of 17 mm and a maximum outer diameter of 5.8 mm, and the stainless steel refill has an outer diameter of 2.3 mm and a length of 67 mm conforming to the international standard, and the synthetic resin refill has an outer diameter of 3 mm and a length of 60 mm. In other words, a refill with a large outer diameter (thick) must be shorter than a refill with a small outer diameter (thin), and the shape and dimensions are limited. In addition, although the stainless steel refill is compatible with products from other manufacturers, the ballpoint pen itself has only two types of refills to choose from. Furthermore, if one refill is made to comply with the international standard, the other refill will become a special-purpose product, and the problem of only being available at specific stationery stores that handle that product will not be resolved. Furthermore, Figure 2 shows a comparison with a cross-type ballpoint pen refill, which is an international standard, and it is clear that both the stainless steel refill and the synthetic resin refill have less ink capacity than the cross-type ballpoint pen refill. Therefore, for users who use the refill frequently, there is little benefit to using the refill in the holder, as they will have to replace the refill frequently and always have new refills on hand. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2003-94878 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] The present invention has been made from the standpoint of a manufacturer that produces only ballpoint pen bodies and does not manufacture and sell refills, and has an object to provide a ballpoint pen body that is compatible with a plurality of refills of different shapes and sizes from the many types of refills available on the market, and that can be used by loading a refill selected from the corresponding plurality of refills into a ballpoint pen body with an exterior design that the user likes. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The ballpoint pen body according to the present invention comprises a body in which a refill is loaded, a ferrule attached to the front end of the body and through which a tip at the front end of the refill passes, a pen end attached to the rear end of the body, and a plurality of spacers for fixing and holding the refill inside the body; In the axial direction of the body, The plurality of spacers each have a different overall length, At least one spacer among the plurality of spacers has an abutment portion that abuts against a rear end portion of a staple-refill to be loaded, By changing the positions and / or orientations of the plurality of spacers, the position of the abutting portion is moved, thereby making it possible to load a plurality of types of refills having different overall lengths into the body. It is characterized by:

[0008] In the above configuration, the inside of the body may be configured to have a refill holding portion that has a predetermined dimensional tolerance with respect to the outer diameter of the refill when the refill is loaded, has a first inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the refill, and holds the vicinity of the center of the refill, and a spacer holding portion that is formed between the refill holding portion and the pen end attached to the rear end of the body, has a second inner diameter larger than the first inner diameter, and is fitted into the multiple spacers.

[0009] At least one of the plurality of spacers may be configured to be a cylindrical body having no abutment portion.

[0010] Alternatively, one of the multiple spacers may be a disk-shaped body, with a first abutment portion protruding in the axial direction of the body formed on a first surface and a second abutment portion formed on a second surface, and configured so that the position at which the spacer abuts against the rear end of the refill can be fine-tuned by changing the orientation of the spacer.

[0011] Also, an identification mark may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the plurality of spacers to distinguish the length of that spacer from other spacers.

[0012] The end of the pen may have a threaded portion that is threadedly engaged with the rear end of the body, and a reverse thread may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the body and on the outer peripheral surface of the threaded portion of the end of the pen.

[0013] The pen may also be configured so that a spacer holding portion is formed inside the screw-on portion of the end of the pen, into which at least one of the plurality of spacers is fitted.

[0014] The pen may further include a cap that is attached to the front end of the body to cover the ferrule when not in use and that is attached to the end of the pen when in use, and after the cap is attached to the end of the pen, the end of the pen can be removed from the body by rotating the cap together with the end of the pen clockwise. Effect of the Invention

[0015] In this way, according to the configuration of the present invention, by changing the position and orientation of a plurality of spacers each having a different overall length in the axial direction of the body, the position of the abutment portion formed on at least one spacer can be moved. Therefore, by appropriately selecting the number and overall length of the spacers, any refill selected from a plurality of types of refills having different overall lengths can be loaded into the body of the ballpoint pen main body. The user can select and use a refill that has a writing feel that he or she likes from a plurality of types of refills that have been set in advance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views showing the structure of a ballpoint pen with a refill loaded into the ballpoint pen body according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) shows the ballpoint pen in an unused state and (b) shows the ballpoint pen in a used state. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the ballpoint pen body before a refill is loaded. [Diagram 3] 4A to 4C are diagrams showing the process of removing the end of the ballpoint pen from the main body of the ballpoint pen. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the state in which the spacer is removed from the ballpoint pen body. [Diagram 5] A diagram showing the ballpoint pen structure when the refill with the longest overall length among the refills that can be loaded into the ballpoint pen body. [Figure 6] The structure of the ballpoint pen when a refill with a slightly different overall length from the other refills is loaded into the ballpoint pen body is shown. [Figure 7] The ballpoint pen structure is shown when the refill with the shortest overall length among the refills that can be loaded into the ballpoint pen body. [Figure 8] 13 is a diagram showing a combination of two spacers, one of which is a cylindrical body and the other of which is a cylindrical body with a bottom. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a combination of two spacers each having a bottomed cylindrical shape. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] A ballpoint pen body according to one embodiment of the present invention and a ballpoint pen loaded with any refill selected from a plurality of refills having different shapes and sizes will be described.

[0018] Fig. 1 shows the structure of the ballpoint pen when a refill 2 conforming to the ISO12757-2 or JIS G2 standard is attached to a ballpoint pen body 1 according to this embodiment, (a) shows the unused state, and (b) shows the used state. Fig. 2 shows the structure of the ballpoint pen body when no refill is loaded.

[0019] As shown in each figure, the ballpoint pen main body 1 includes a body 10 in which a refill is loaded, a ferrule 31 attached to the front end 10a of the body 10, a pen end 32 attached to the rear end 10b of the body 10, a cap 20 that is attached to the front end 10a of the body 10 to cover the ferrule 31 when not in use and that is attached to the pen end 32 when in use, and a number of spacers 41-44 that are fitted between the rear end of the refill and the pen end 32 when the refill is loaded into the body 10 and that fix and hold the refill inside the body 10. Note that, since this ballpoint pen main body 1 can also be loaded with a number of types of refills 3-5 with different shapes and dimensions as described later, reference numerals will be omitted when referring to unspecified refills.

[0020] The body 10 is composed of a substantially cylindrical resin molded product 11 having flanges at the front end 10a and the rear end 10b, and an exterior part 12 fitted to the outer periphery of the resin molded product 11. Similarly, the cap 20 is composed of a bottomed tubular resin molded product 21 and a bottomed tubular exterior part 22 fitted to the outer periphery of the resin molded product 21. The exterior parts 12 and 22 may be, for example, a hollowed-out piece of wood, a metal with a mirror finish or hairline treatment, or a coating such as lacquer or lacquer. A female thread of a predetermined pitch is formed on the inner periphery near the open end of the resin molded product 21 of the cap 20, and a male thread is formed on the outer periphery of the front end 10a of the resin molded product 11 of the body 10 and the outer periphery of the rear end side of the pen butt 32 to be screwed into the female thread of the cap 20. Similarly, male and female threads are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the rear end of the ferrule 31 and the inner peripheral surface of the front end 10a of the body 10, respectively, and the ferrule 31 can be attached to and detached from the front end 10a of the body 10 via a collar 33, a threaded bush 34, etc. This ballpoint pen body 1 is provided with a number of ferrules 31 with different diameters of through holes at the tip corresponding to the outer shape of the tip tip of the refill or the ball diameter, and the user can replace them by themselves depending on the refill to be used. Note that reference numerals will be omitted for these structures as they are well known.

[0021] Except for the threaded portion near the front end 10a, the inside of the body 10 (i.e., the inside of the resin molded product 11) is composed of a plurality of portions with different inner diameters. In the part of the inside of the body 10 following the threaded portion near the front end 10a, a refill holding portion 13 is formed, which has a predetermined dimensional tolerance with respect to the maximum outer diameter of the refill 2 etc. that can be loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1, has a first inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the refill 2 etc., and holds the vicinity of the center of the refill 2 etc. The length of the refill holding portion 13 in the axial direction of the body 10 is set to be shorter than the length of the refill 2 etc. And, between the refill holding portion 13 and the pen butt 32 attached to the rear end 10b of the body 10, a spacer holding portion 14 is formed, which has a second inner diameter larger than the first inner diameter of the refill holding portion 13 and into which the spacers 41 to 44 are fitted.

[0022] A female thread 14a is formed on the inner circumferential surface of the spacer holding portion 14 of the body 10 near the rear end 10b, which is screwed with a male thread 32a formed on the front end of the pen butt 32. A typical screw is designed to move forward when rotated clockwise and backward when rotated counterclockwise. However, these male threads 32a and female threads 14a are designed as so-called "reverse threads" that move backward when rotated clockwise and move forward when rotated counterclockwise. FIG. 3 shows the process of removing the pen butt 32 from the ballpoint pen main body 1 or the body 10. The female thread of the cap 20 and the male thread of the pen butt 32 are both typical threads, so that the female thread of the cap 20 is screwed with the male thread of the pen butt 32 by rotating the cap 20 clockwise. As shown in FIG. 1(b), the rotation of the cap 20 is stopped at this stage in normal use. To remove the pen end 32 from the body 10, the cap 20 is further rotated clockwise, and the male thread 32a of the pen end 32 starts to move backward against the female thread 14a of the spacer holder 14 of the body 10. Figure 4 shows the state after the pen end 32 has been completely removed from the body 10, and the spacers 41-44 have been removed from the spacer holder 14. By removing all of the spacers 41-44, the used refill can be removed from inside the body 10, and a new refill can be loaded into the body 10 together with the spring.

[0023] In the ballpoint pen body 1 according to this embodiment, four spacers 41-44 are used as the spacers, and each spacer 41-44 is set to have a different length in the axial direction of the body 10. As is clear from each figure, the length in the axial direction of the body 10 when all the spacers 41-44 are combined (excluding the fitting portion 41c of the spacer 41 described later) is constant. The maximum outer diameters of the spacers 41-44 are the same, and are set to have a predetermined dimensional tolerance with respect to the second inner diameter of the spacer holding portion 14 of the body 10. In addition, a spacer holding portion 32b having an inner diameter equal to the second inner diameter of the spacer holding portion 14 is formed on the inner side of the male thread 32a of the pen end 32 so as to be fitted with any of the spacers 41-44. By forming the spacer holding portion 32b on the inner side of the male thread portion 32a of the pen end 32, the overall axial length of the body 10 can be shortened.

[0024] The spacer 41 having the shortest length in the axial direction of the body 10 is substantially disk-shaped, and does not have a through hole in the axial direction of the body 10. A first abutment portion 41a protruding in the axial direction of the body 10 is formed on one side, and an annular fitting portion 41c that fits with the inner circumferential surface of another spacer is formed on the other side. The bottom surface surrounded by the fitting portion 41c becomes the second abutment portion 41b, and it is possible to correspond to refills of different lengths by selecting the orientation of the spacer 41. The second shortest spacer 42 is substantially a cylindrical body with a bottom, and abutment portion 42a for abutting against the rear end of the refill is provided at one end. In addition, a fitting hole 42b that fits with the first abutment portion 41a of the spacer 41 is formed in the abutment portion 42a. The longest spacer 44 and the second longest spacer 43 are each cylindrical, and do not have abutment portions for abutting against the rear end of the refill. One or more annular grooves (identification marks) corresponding to the overall length are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the spacers 42 to 44. When determining the position and orientation of the spacers 41 to 44 corresponding to the refill to be used according to the specifications attached to the ballpoint pen main body 1 when it is purchased, the user can easily load the refill into the body 10 by referring to these identification marks.

[0025] In the example of use shown in FIG. 1, the longest spacer 44 is fitted near the rear end of the refill 2, and the first abutment portion 41a of the second shortest disk-shaped spacer 41 abuts against the rear end 2a of the refill 2. In this case, the positions of the spacer 42 and the spacer 43 may be reversed if the spacer 42 is reversed and fitted into the fitting portion 41b of the spacer 41. As mentioned above, the refill 2 complies with the G2 standard, and has a maximum outer diameter of 6.0 mm and a total length of 98.1 mm. This standard is adopted by many manufacturers, and many types are available and are easy to obtain. The refill 2 has an impeller-shaped engagement portion formed at its rear end, and is originally for a ballpoint pen of the type in which the tip portion at the front end enters and exits from the front end of the ballpoint pen body by rotating the cap, and although the rear end is not flat, this does not cause any particular problem in practical use.

[0026] On the other hand, in addition to international standards such as the G2 standard, there are also refills with flat ends that are compatible with multiple manufacturers. For example, the C300 series refills used by many European manufacturers have a total length of 111.1 mm. The refills of the well-known Swiss manufacturer C have a total length of 96 mm, while the refills of the well-known domestic manufacturer P have a total length of 86.8 mm, so the lengths are slightly different.

[0027] 5 shows the ballpoint pen structure when the refill 3, which has the longest overall length among the refills that can be loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1, such as a C300 series refill, is loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1. The spacer 42 has the contact portion 42a facing the pen end 32, and the inside of the contact portion 42a abuts against the rear end 3a of the refill 3. The fitting portion 41b side of the spacer 41 faces the pen end 32, and the first contact portion 41a is fitted into the fitting hole 42b of the spacer 42. There is no particular problem if the positions of the spacers 43 and 44 are reversed.

[0028] FIG. 6 shows the structure of the ballpoint pen when a refill 4 with a slightly different overall length from other refills 2, such as the above-mentioned refill with a total length of 96 mm, is loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1. The overall length is only about 2 mm shorter than the G2 standard refill 2 shown in FIG. 1. Comparing FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, a spacer 43 whose overall length in the axial direction of the body 10 is shorter than the overall length of the spacer 44 is fitted near the rear end of the refill 4, and the abutment portion 42a of the spacer 42 is abutted against the rear end 4a of the refill 4. In other words, the overall length of the spacer 43 is set so that the rear end 4a of the refill 4 and the rear end of the spacer 43 are flush with each other. In this case, there is no particular problem even if the positions of the spacer 44 and the spacer 41 are reversed.

[0029] 7 shows the ballpoint pen structure when the refill 5, which has the shortest overall length among the refills that can be loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1, such as the refill with a total length of 86.8 mm, is loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1. The spacer 42 has the contact portion 42a facing away from the pen end 32, and the outside of the contact portion 42a is in contact with the rear end 3a of the refill 3. The other spacers 41, 43, and 44 are the same as in the other examples of use. In other words, the starting point of the spacer holding portion 14 of the body 10 corresponds to the refill 5, which has the shortest overall length among the refills that can be loaded into the ballpoint pen body 1.

[0030] Thus, according to the configuration of the ballpoint pen main body 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention, a spacer holding portion 14 having a second inner diameter larger than the maximum outer diameter of the refills 2 to 5 is formed inside the body 10 and near the rear end 10b, and a plurality of spacers 41 to 44, for example, four spacers 41 to 44 having different lengths in the axial direction of the body 10 are fitted therein. The spacer 41 is formed with a first contact portion 41a and a second contact portion 41b, and the spacer 42 is formed with a contact portion 42a perpendicular to the axial direction. Therefore, by changing the positions and orientations of these four spacers 41 to 44, the positions of the contact portions 41a, 41b, and 42a that contact the rear ends 2a to 5a of the refills 2 to 5 can be moved or changed.

[0031] In the above embodiment, four types of refills 2 to 5 are described, but since four spacers 41 to 44 are used and three contact parts 41a, 41b, and 42a are provided, the number of combinations is enormous, and other refills can be used in addition to the four types of refills shown as examples. Although not shown, when the four spacers 41 to 44 are used, seven types of refills can be used. The corresponding refills are pre-selected types of refills, such as easily available refills from the many types of refills available on the market and compatible products from famous manufacturers. Therefore, the user can load a refill selected from the corresponding multiple types of refills into the ballpoint pen body 1 with the appearance design that the user likes and use it.

[0032] The present invention is not limited to the configuration of the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, the number of the spacers is not limited to four, and may be at least two. As shown in FIG. 8, even in the combination of the spacers 42 and 43, the position of the abutment portion 42a in the axial direction of the body 10 is four different. In this example, one spacer 42 is a bottomed cylindrical body, and the other spacer 43 is a cylindrical body. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, when the two spacers 42 and 42' both have the abutment portions 42 and 42', there are only three different positions of the abutment portion 42a or 42' in the axial direction of the body 10 (the position of the abutment portion 42' has not moved in FIGS. 9(c) and (d)). Therefore, it is preferable that at least one of the spacers is a cylindrical body without a contact portion.

[0033] Also, the more spacers there are, the more combinations there are, so it is not preferable to have too many spacers. Generally, when replacing refills, removing the spacers from the body 10 results in the order of the spacers being mixed up, and if the order is incorrect, the pen butt 32 cannot be attached to the rear end 10b of the body 10. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of the ballpoint pen body 1 by reducing the number of spacers and the types of refills that can be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0034] 1 Ballpoint pen body 2, 3, 4, 5 Refills 2a~5a Rear end of refill 10. Body 10a Front end of body 10b Rear end of body 11 Resin molded products 12 Exterior parts 13 Refill holder 14 Spacer holder 14a Reverse thread female thread 20 Cap 21 Resin molded products 22 Exterior parts 31 Cap 32 Pencil end 32a reverse thread male thread 32b Spacer holder 33 Color 34 Threaded bushing 41, 42, 42', 43, 44, 45 Spacer 41a 1st contact part 41b 2nd contact part 41c Fitting part 42a, 42a' Contact part 42b Fitting hole

Claims

1. The pen comprises a body in which a refill is loaded, a base attached to the front end of the body and through which a tip at the front end of the refill passes, a pen end attached to the rear end of the body, and a plurality of spacers for fixing and holding the refill inside the body, In the axial direction of the body, The plurality of spacers each have a different overall length, At least one spacer among the plurality of spacers has an abutment portion that abuts against a rear end portion of a staple-refill to be loaded, By changing the positions and / or orientations of the plurality of spacers, the position of the abutting portion is moved, thereby making it possible to load a plurality of types of refills having different overall lengths into the inside of the body. A ballpoint pen body.

2. The ballpoint pen body according to claim 1, characterized in that the inside of the body, when the refill is loaded, has a refill holding portion which has a first inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the refill and which holds the vicinity of the center of the refill, and a spacer holding portion which is formed between the refill holding portion and a pen end attached to the rear end of the body, has a second inner diameter larger than the first inner diameter, and into which the multiple spacers are fitted.

3. 3. The ballpoint pen body according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of spacers is a cylindrical body having no abutment portion.

4. A ballpoint pen body as described in claim 2 or claim 3, characterized in that one of the multiple spacers is a disk-shaped body, a first abutment portion protruding in the axial direction of the body is formed on a first surface, and a second abutment portion is formed on a second surface, and the position at which the spacer abuts against the rear end of the refill can be fine-tuned by changing the orientation of the spacer.

5. 4. The ballpoint pen body according to claim 3, wherein an identification mark is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each of the plurality of spacers to distinguish the length of the spacer from other spacers.

6. 2. The ballpoint pen body according to claim 1, wherein the end of the pen has a threaded portion that is threadedly engaged with the rear end of the body, and a reverse thread is formed on the inner surface of the body and on the outer surface of the threaded portion of the end of the pen.

7. 7. The ballpoint pen body according to claim 6, wherein a spacer holding portion into which at least one of the plurality of spacers is fitted is formed inside the screw-on portion of the pen end.

8. The ballpoint pen body according to claim 6, further comprising a cap which is attached to the front end of the body to cover the ferrule when not in use and which is attached to the end of the pen when in use, and after the cap is attached to the end of the pen, the end of the pen is removed from the body by rotating the cap together with the end of the pen in a clockwise direction.

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