Pen

Abstract

To provide a pen capable of supplying liquid in a pen shaft to a pen tip with a weaker pressing force than that of a conventional squeeze-type pen.SOLUTION: The pen includes a pen shaft 3 which has a liquid storage chamber 2 inside and can be deformed by pressure, and a pen tip 5 which receives a supply of liquid from the liquid storage chamber 2 via a valve body 4. The valve body 4 is housed within the liquid storage chamber 2 and has a flexible tubular member 4a which has one end which can communicate with the pen tip 5 and the other end which is closed, and the tubular member 4a can be flexibly deformed as the pen shaft 3 is pressed and deformed, and has an opening forming portion 4d which opens when flexibly deformed and is closed when not deformed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to pens such as brush pens, felt-tip pens, and makeup pens, and more particularly to squeeze-type pens that contain a liquid such as ink in a flexible pen barrel and supply the liquid to the pen tip by deforming the pen barrel by pressing it with a finger. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, a known example of this type of pen is a squeeze-type writing instrument in which liquid is contained within the pen barrel, and the liquid is dispensed to the pen tip attached to the pen barrel by pinching and pressing the pen barrel with the fingers (Patent Document 1, etc.). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Publication No. 4-36294 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the conventional squeeze-type writing implements described above, the pen barrel cannot be pushed from both sides with a considerable amount of force to deliver the liquid inside the pen barrel to the pen tip, which can make them difficult to use for people such as elderly people who have weak fingers.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a pen that can supply liquid from within the pen barrel to the pen tip with a weaker pressure than conventional squeeze-type writing implements. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the pen of the present invention comprises a pen barrel having a liquid storage chamber therein and capable of being deformed when pressed, and a pen tip that receives a supply of liquid from the liquid storage chamber via a valve body, the valve body being housed within the liquid storage chamber and comprising a flexible tubular member having one end that is communicable with the pen tip and the other end that is closed, the tubular member being capable of being flexibly deformed when the pen barrel is pressed and having an opening forming portion that opens when flexibly deformed and is closed when not deformed.

[0007] The cylindrical member may include a coil spring with closely spaced coils, and the opening forming portion may be formed by the coils that open when the coil spring is bent due to bending deformation of the pen shaft.

[0008] The pen body may include a rear body having the liquid storage chamber therein, and a front body that holds the nib and is screwed to the rear body, and the cylindrical member may include an outer plug that is connected to the one end side of the coil spring and has a first liquid passage in the center that communicates with the nib, and is fitted into the front end of the rear body, an inner plug that opens and closes the first liquid passage, and a rear end plug that closes the other end side of the coil spring.

[0009] The outer plug has a connection portion that is fitted into and connected to the one end side of the coil spring, and the connection portion may have a screw thread formed on its outer circumferential surface that is screwed into the coil spring.

[0010] The rear end plug has a fitting portion that is fitted into the other end side of the coil spring, and the fitting portion can be formed with a screw thread that is screwed onto the coil spring.

[0011] The one end side of the coil spring has a protrusion that protrudes radially inward of the coil spring at the tip of the wire that constitutes the coil spring, and the protrusion can engage with the outer peripheral surface of the outer plug.

[0012] The coil spring may be configured to have different degrees of flexibility depending on the type of pen tip.

[0013] The cylindrical member may include a rubber tube having one end communicating with the pen tip and the other end closed, and the opening forming portion may be a notch provided on the circumferential surface of the rubber tube.

[0014] The cut may extend in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube.

[0015] A plurality of the cuts may be provided at different positions in the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube.

[0016] A plurality of the cuts may be provided at different positions in the circumferential direction of the rubber tube.

[0017] The cut may be formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube. [Effects of the Invention]

[0018] According to the pen of the present invention, the cylindrical member constituting the valve body flexes and deforms in response to the pressure deformation of the pen shaft, and the valve body opens due to the flexural deformation, so that the valve body can be opened even if the force pressing on the pen shaft is smaller than in the conventional case. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0019] [Figure 1] 1 is a central vertical cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a pen according to the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is an exploded cross-sectional view of the pen of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is an exploded front view of the pen of FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a central vertical cross-sectional view showing the pen of FIG. 1 in use. [Figure 5] 2 is a plan view showing a valve body incorporated in the pen of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a front view of the valve body of FIG. 5. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the valve body of FIG. 5. [Figure 9]9 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cylindrical member of the valve body of FIG. 8 is bent and deformed. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a modified embodiment of the valve body, which is a component of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a front view of FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the valve body of FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the valve body of FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing another modified embodiment of the valve body that is a component of the present invention. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the pen of FIG. 1 in use. [Figure 16] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing yet another modified embodiment of the valve body that is a component of the present invention. [Figure 17] FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the valve body of FIG. 16. [Figure 18] FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the valve body of FIG. [Figure 19] 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the cylindrical member of the valve body of FIG. 16 is bent and deformed. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing yet another modified embodiment of the valve body, which is a component of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view of the valve body of FIG. 20. [Figure 22] 21 is a front view showing an end of a coil spring of the valve body of FIG. 20. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0020] An embodiment of a pen according to the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 19. Note that the same or similar components are designated by the same reference numerals throughout all the figures and all the embodiments.

[0021] 1 and 2, pen 1 has a liquid storage chamber 2 therein, a pen barrel 3 that can be deformed by pressure, and a pen tip 5 that receives a supply of liquid from liquid storage chamber 2 via a valve body 4.

[0022] The pen barrel 3 has a front barrel 3a and a rear barrel 3b. The front barrel 3a is screwed to the rear barrel 3b. The ink reservoir 2 is formed inside the rear barrel 3b. In this specification, the pen tip side is referred to as the front side, and the opposite side is referred to as the rear side. A cap 6 is placed over the front barrel 3a.

[0023] The pen barrel 3 is made of plastic. The front barrel 3a is rigid, while the rear barrel 3b is flexible. The rear barrel 3b is generally made by blow molding polyethylene resin. Blow molding allows for the thickness to be varied by, for example, changing the inner diameter. Specifically, the larger inner diameter portion is thinner than the smaller inner diameter portion. The rear barrel 3b has a shape in which the inner diameter gradually increases from the rear to the front, and has a thin-walled portion 3c near the front barrel 3a that is easily deformed by pressure. By marking this thin-walled portion 3c with a label such as "PUSH," it is possible to clearly indicate the area that must be pressed to deliver the liquid in the ink storage chamber 2 to the pen tip 5 (Figure 3). When the pressure is released after deformation by pressure, the rear barrel 3b returns to its original shape due to its inherent elasticity.

[0024] An outer plug 7 is fitted into the front end of the rear barrel 3b. A first liquid passage 7a is formed in the center of the outer plug 7. An inner plug 8 is inserted into the first liquid passage 7a of the outer plug 7. The first liquid passage 7a has a small-diameter portion at its front, into which the front end of the inner plug 8 is fitted. During use, as shown in FIG. 4, the inner plug 8 is pushed from the outside by a means described below, forcing the inner plug 8 into the first liquid passage 7a. This causes the front end of the inner plug 8 to disengage from the small-diameter portion at the front of the first liquid passage 7a and move to the rear side. The rear side of the first liquid passage 7a has a slightly larger inner diameter than the small-diameter portion at the front, forming a small gap between the outer surface of the inner plug 8 and the inner surface at the rear side of the first liquid passage 7a, allowing liquid to flow through, thereby opening the first liquid passage 7a. The rear barrel 3b can be provided as a replacement ink cartridge with the inner plug 8 fitted into the outer plug 7. As will be described later, since the valve body 4 is closed when not deformed, the inner plug 8 can be omitted.

[0025] 5 to 9, the valve body 4 includes a flexible cylindrical member 4a. The front end of the cylindrical member 4a is connected to the rear part of the outer plug 7, and the rear end is closed. The interior of the cylindrical member 4a communicates with the first liquid passage 7a.

[0026] The cylindrical member 4a is provided with a flexible rubber tube 4c, one end of which is connected to the outer plug 7 by fitting and the other end of which is closed by a rear end plug 4b. A cut 4d is formed in the circumferential surface of the rubber tube 4c.

[0027] By pressing the thin-walled portion 3c of the rear axle 3b in the direction of arrow X in Figure 4, for example, the cylindrical member 4a is pressed against the inner wall of the rear axle 3b and elastically flexes and deforms, as shown in Figure 9. This flexing causes the radially outer side of the cylindrical member 4a to be pulled by the radius of curvature of the cylindrical member 4a and the radially inner side to be compressed, opening the notch 4d provided on the radially outer side. In this way, the notch 4d forms an opening-forming portion that is closed when not deformed and opens when flexed and deformed.

[0028] In the example of FIG. 5, the notch 4d constituting the opening-forming portion extends in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube 4c. The notch 4d constituting the opening-forming portion can be provided obliquely with respect to the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube 4c as shown in FIGS. 10 to 13, or can be provided parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube 4c as shown in FIG. 14. It is preferable to provide multiple notches 4d at different positions in the axial direction of the rubber tube 4c. In order to use up as much of the liquid in the liquid storage chamber 2 as possible, it is preferable to provide notches 4d near the base of the rubber tube 4c as well. It is also preferable to provide multiple notches 4d at different positions in the circumferential direction of the rubber tube 4c so that the thin-walled portion 3c can be opened even when different positions around the thin-walled portion 3c are pressed. The notch 4d can also be formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube 4c.

[0029] When the rear barrel 3b is pressed, the liquid storage chamber 2 is pressurized, and the liquid in the liquid storage chamber 2, for example, black ink, enters the tubular member 4a through the open notch 4d and is supplied to the pen tip 5 through the first liquid passage 7a of the outer plug 7.

[0030] 15, rear barrel 3b can be pressed by placing the tip of the middle finger on front barrel 3a, the base of the index finger on rear barrel 3b, and pressing thin-walled portion 3c of rear barrel 3b with the thumb between them to deform thin-walled portion 3c of rear barrel 3b. By doing so, rear barrel 3b can be deformed with less force than when rear barrel 3b is pinched and pressed from both sides with the tips of two fingers, and tubular member 4a can be flexibly deformed.

[0031] The cylindrical member 4a extends in the longitudinal direction of the pen barrel 3. The length of the cylindrical member 4a is sufficient to allow the cylindrical member 4a to flex and deform when the thin-walled portion 3c is pressed, thereby opening the slit 4d that forms the opening-forming portion. Therefore, the length of the cylindrical member 4a is sufficient to fall within the range of the thin-walled portion 3c that presses against the rear barrel 3b. The length of the cylindrical member 4a can be set to less than half the length of the rear barrel 3b, and preferably less than one-third the length of the rear barrel 3b. The length of the cylindrical member 4a can be, for example, 2.5 cm to 5 cm. By shortening the cylindrical member 4a, the liquid storage chamber 2 can have a larger volume for storing liquid, and sufficient space can be secured to accommodate an agitating ball in the liquid storage chamber 2 when storing liquid that requires agitation.

[0032] In this embodiment, the pen tip 5 is a pen tip of a brush pen having a tip of a writing brush, but the pen tip 5 may be a pen tip of a felt-tip pen, a makeup pen, or the like.

[0033] The pen tip 5 is held in a holder 9, with its tip protruding from the holder 9 (FIGS. 1 to 3). A protruding stopper 10 having a second liquid passage 10a that communicates with the first liquid passage 7a of the outer plug 7 is provided at the rear of the holder 9. The holder 9 and the protruding stopper 10 are housed and held within the front barrel 3a. After removing the front barrel 3a from the rear barrel 3b and removing the spacer collar 11 that was sandwiched between the front barrel 3a and the rear barrel 3b, the male thread portion 3b1 of the rear barrel 3b is again screwed into the female thread portion 3a1 of the front barrel 3a. As shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 10b of the protruding stopper 10 pushes the stopper 8 into the first liquid passage 7a, opening the first liquid passage 7a.

[0034] 16 to 19 show modified examples of the cylindrical member. The modified cylindrical member 4e includes a coil spring 4f with closely spaced coils. The rest of the configuration is the same as that of the pen with the cylindrical member including the rubber tube described above, so detailed description will be omitted.

[0035] The coil spring 4f is a tension coil spring (a tension coil spring without hooks on either end) in which adjacent coils are closely spaced with no gaps between them. One end of the coil spring 4f is fitted into and connected to the outer plug 7, and the other end is closed by the rear end plug 4g. When the coil spring 4f is not deformed, the coils are closely spaced and closed, as shown in Figure 18, and when it is flexibly deformed, the coils are open 4h, forming an opening forming portion.

[0036] By constructing the cylindrical member 4e using a coil spring 4f, the opening forming portion formed between the coils of the coil spring 4f is formed in a predetermined range over the entire length of the cylindrical member 4e, so that within the predetermined range, the opening forming portion can be opened by pressing any position on the thin-walled portion 3c of the pen body 3, regardless of the position at which the thin-walled portion 3c is pressed.

[0037] Figures 20 and 21 show still another embodiment of the tubular member. In the tubular member 4e shown in Figures 20 and 21, the shapes of the outer plug 7 and rear end plug 4g are different from those of the outer plug 7 and rear end plug 4g shown in Figures 16 to 19.

[0038] 20 and 21, the coil spring 4f is fitted onto the connecting portion 7b of the outer plug 7. Therefore, the connecting portion 7b of the outer plug 7 shown in Figures 20 and 21 is formed by a small-diameter cylindrical portion having an outer diameter that fits inside the coil spring 4f. The rear end plug 4g is also attached to the coil spring 4f by fitting a small-diameter cylindrical fitting portion 4g1 into the coil spring 4f.

[0039] As shown in Figure 21, the connecting portion 7b has a screw thread 7b1 formed on its outer peripheral surface, and the screw thread 7b1 is screwed onto the coil spring 4f. This type of screw connection prevents the coil spring 4f from coming off the outer plug 7 even if the coil spring 4f is repeatedly deflected as shown by the dashed line in Figure 20 by using the pen. Furthermore, the screw connection does not require the use of adhesive to connect the coil spring 4f to the outer plug 7, making the connection simple. A screw thread 4g2 is also formed on the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 4g1 of the rear end plug 4g, and this screw thread 4g2 is screwed onto the rear end of the coil spring 4f.

[0040] Referring to Figure 22, in the manufacturing process of the coil spring 4f, after the steel wire is wound into a coil, it is cut with a cutting tool, resulting in a burr that forms a protrusion 4f1. The protrusion 4f1 protrudes radially inward from the tip of one end of the wire that constitutes the coil spring 4f. Therefore, the protrusion 4f1 catches on and locks onto the outer peripheral surface of the outer plug 7. This more effectively prevents the coil spring 4f from coming off the outer plug 7.

[0041] The coil spring 4f is not limited to being made of metal such as stainless steel or spring steel, but may also be made of resin. A resin coil spring 4f is easy to recycle because there is no need to separate the metal and resin parts when disposing of a used pen.

[0042] Depending on the type of nib, it may be desirable to be able to change the amount of ink supplied from the ink reservoir 2 (FIG. 1) to the nib 5 (FIG. 1). For example, a thicker nib requires a larger amount of ink supply than a thinner nib. A nib made of a material that allows ink to pass through easily requires a larger amount of ink supply than a nib made of a material that allows ink to pass through less easily. The degree of flexibility of the coil spring 4f can be changed by changing the wire diameter of the wire that makes up the coil spring 4f. Alternatively, the degree of flexibility of the coil spring 4f can be changed by changing the initial tension setting of the coil spring 4f during the manufacturing process. Compared to a coil spring 4f with a smaller degree of flexibility, a coil spring 4f with a larger degree of flexibility will bend more when bent with the same force, resulting in a larger gap between the coils, and therefore a larger amount of ink supplied from the ink reservoir 2 to the nib 5. Therefore, coil springs 4f with different flexibilities can be used depending on the type of pen tip, such as the thickness and material of the pen tip.

[0043] In all of the above-described embodiments, the cylindrical members 4a, 4e can be made shorter than the pipes (inner pipe 4, outer pipe 5) in the above-described prior art (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-36294), for example, and therefore the path for supplying liquid such as ink in the liquid storage chamber 2 to the pen tip 5 can be made shorter. As a result, the generation of air bubbles (bubble entrapment) in the liquid (ink, etc.) when it is ejected to the pen tip 5 is reduced. This reduces the risk of bubbles bursting at the pen tip 5 and soiling the artwork.

[0044] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the pen body 3 is illustrated as having the front body 3a and the rear body 3b screwed together, but the pen body may also be one in which the front body and the rear body are integrally molded. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 1 pen 2 Liquid storage chamber 3 Pen holder 4 Valve body 4a Cylindrical member 4c rubber tube 4d Cut (opening formation) 4e Cylindrical member 4f coil spring 4h Between coils (opening formation area) 5. Pen Tip

Claims

1. a pen body having a liquid storage chamber therein and capable of being deformed by pressure; a pen tip that receives a supply of liquid from the liquid storage chamber via a valve body, the valve body is accommodated in the liquid storage chamber and comprises a flexible tubular member having one end capable of communicating with the pen tip and the other end closed; the cylindrical member is capable of being flexibly deformed in response to pressure deformation of the pen shaft, and has an opening forming portion that opens when flexibly deformed and closes when not deformed; pen.

2. the cylindrical member includes a coil spring with closely spaced coils; The pen according to claim 1 , wherein the opening forming portion is formed by the gap between the coils that opens when the coil spring is bent by a bending deformation of the pen shaft.

3. the pen body includes a rear body having the ink reservoir therein, and a front body that holds the pen tip and is screw-coupled to the rear body; The cylindrical member includes an outer plug fitted into the front end of the rear barrel, the outer plug having a first liquid passage in the center thereof that is connected to the one end of the coil spring and communicates with the pen tip, an inner plug that opens and closes the first liquid passage, and a rear end plug that closes the other end of the coil spring.

3. The pen of claim 2.

4. the outer plug has a connection portion that is fitted into and connected to the one end side of the coil spring, The pen according to claim 3 , wherein the connecting portion has a screw thread formed on an outer circumferential surface thereof for screwing onto the coil spring.

5. the rear end plug has a fitting portion that is fitted into the other end side of the coil spring, The fitting portion has a screw thread formed on an outer circumferential surface to be screwed into the coil spring.

4. The pen of claim 3.

6. the one end side of the coil spring has a protrusion protruding inward in the radial direction of the coil spring at a tip of the one end side of the wire material constituting the coil spring, The protrusion engages with the outer peripheral surface of the outer plug.

5. The pen of claim 4.

7. The pen according to claim 1 , wherein the coil spring is configured to have different degrees of flexibility depending on the type of the pen tip.

8. the cylindrical member includes a rubber tube having one end communicating with the pen tip and the other end closed; The pen according to claim 1 , wherein the opening forming portion is a notch provided on the circumferential surface of the rubber tube.

9. The pen according to claim 8 , wherein the notch extends in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube.

10. The pen according to claim 9 , wherein the rubber tube has a plurality of cutouts at different positions in the longitudinal direction.

11. The pen according to claim 8 , wherein the rubber tube has a plurality of cuts at different positions in the circumferential direction.

12. The pen according to claim 8 , wherein the cut is formed in a spiral shape along the longitudinal direction of the rubber tube.

Images