Ballpoint pen

Abstract

To facilitate separate-disposal by making it possible to easily separate a ball-point pen tip from an ink storage tube when a ball-point pen refill is discarded.SOLUTION: A ball-point pen refill 11 comprises: a cylindrical ink containing tube 12 made of a non-metallic material; and a ball-point pen tip 13 made of a metal material or a joint member 14 supporting the ball-point pen tip is fitted into a tip of the ink containing tube. In an outer peripheral surface on a writing ball 13a side exposed from the ink containing tube or the joint member at the ballpoint pen tip 13, a concave groove 13e that goes around along the outer peripheral surface is formed. In this configuration, preferably, a writing ball side falling surface 13f forming the concave groove 13e is formed perpendicular to an axial direction of the ball-point pen tip.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] This invention is a ballpoint pen refill that makes it easy to separate and dispose of. Le Regarding the ballpoint pen used. [Background technology]

[0002] Ballpoint pen tips, which hold the writing ball at the tip, are mostly made from metal materials such as stainless steel, and this ballpoint pen tip is attached to one end (front end) of the ink collection tube by press-fitting or other means to form a ballpoint pen refill. The ink storage tube is made of a transparent or semi-transparent resin material, such as polypropylene, in order to ensure ease of molding and visibility of the remaining ink level.

[0003] This ballpoint pen refill is designed so that when the ink runs out, it can be replaced with a new ballpoint pen refill. Therefore, unlike the barrel body which functions as the exterior of the ballpoint pen, the ballpoint pen refill has traditionally been treated as a disposable component. For this reason, a proposal has been made for a ballpoint pen refill that is environmentally friendly by making it easy to separate and dispose of it by designing the ballpoint pen tip made of a metal material so that it can be easily removed from the ink collection tube made of a resin material or the like; this is disclosed in Patent Document 1. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-1047 A DISCLOSURE OF THEINVENTION [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, the ballpoint pen refill disclosed in Patent Document 1 employs a configuration in which a plurality of grooves are provided along the axial direction at the end of the ink containing tube into which the ballpoint pen tip is press-fitted. According to this, when a load greater than a predetermined value is applied to the refill body, the press-fit portion of the ballpoint pen tip in the ink storage tube becomes deformed or damaged due to the presence of the multiple grooves described above, making it possible to easily separate the metal ballpoint pen tip from the resin ink storage tube.

[0006] However, the presence of the above-mentioned multiple grooves in the ink storage tube makes the press-fit portion of the ballpoint pen tip in the ink storage tube mechanically weak, making it difficult to adjust and manage the bonding strength of the ballpoint pen tip when this is commercialized. That is, when used with a heavy writing load or when the pen is subjected to an impact due to being dropped, problems such as ink leakage can occur at the portion where the ballpoint pen tip is pressed into the ink storage tube.

[0007] This invention was made with attention to the problems with the conventional ballpoint pen refills described above, and aims to make it possible to easily separate the ballpoint pen tip from the ink collection tube when disposing of the ballpoint pen refill by incorporating a feature on the ballpoint pen tip side that facilitates removal from the ink collection tube side.This makes it easier to separate and dispose of the ballpoint pen refill, and thereby aims to provide a ballpoint pen refill and a ballpoint pen using the same that take into consideration their impact on the environment. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] The ballpoint pen refill according to the present invention, which has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, comprises an ink reservoir tube formed in a cylindrical shape from a non-metallic material, and a nozzle hole at the tip of the ink reservoir tube. Mated and installed A ballpoint pen tip formed from a metal material or a joint member supporting the ballpoint pen tip WithA ballpoint pen refill, characterized in that the outer peripheral surface of the ballpoint pen tip on the writing ball side exposed from the ink reservoir tube or joint member is provided with a groove recessed axially from the surface of the outer peripheral surface.

[0009] In this case, it is preferable that the groove extends all the way around the outer circumferential surface, and that the depth from the outer circumferential surface is uniform along the circumferential direction of the groove. Furthermore, it is preferable that the downwardly extending surface on the writing ball side that forms the groove is formed so as to be perpendicular to the axial direction of the ballpoint pen tip.

[0010] On the other hand, the ballpoint pen of the present invention is a ballpoint pen that houses the above-mentioned ballpoint pen refill within a barrel, and a tip opening through which the tip of the ballpoint pen tip protrudes is formed at the tip of the barrel or at a ferrule attached to the tip of the barrel, and when the ballpoint pen tip is protruding from the tip opening and ready for writing, all of the grooves are located inside the tip opening.

[0011] In this case, it is desirable that a step portion be formed at the tip of the barrel body or within the tip opening formed in the ferrule, which can engage with the groove of the ballpoint pen tip and pull the ballpoint pen tip toward the writing ball. Also preferably, the step portion is formed by enlarging an inner diameter relative to the tip opening. Effect of the Invention

[0012] According to the ballpoint pen refill of the present invention, the outer peripheral surface of the ballpoint pen tip on the writing ball side exposed from the ink reservoir tube or the joint member is provided with a groove running along the outer peripheral surface. Therefore, by engaging a part of a tool or a ferrule constituting the exterior part of the ballpoint pen with this groove and pulling the ballpoint pen tip toward the writing ball side, the ballpoint pen tip made of a metal material can be easily separated from the ink reservoir tube side made of a non-metallic material such as a resin material. This makes it possible to provide a ballpoint pen refill and a ballpoint pen using the same that facilitate separate disposal and take into consideration the impact on the environment.

[0013] On the other hand, in the ballpoint pen of the present invention, when the ballpoint pen tip is protruding from the tip end of the barrel or from the tip opening formed in the ferrule attached to the tip end of the barrel, allowing writing, all of the grooves on the ballpoint pen tip are configured to be positioned inside the tip opening. Therefore, the ballpoint pen tip is supported on the outer peripheral surface of the writing ball side, avoiding the groove, with a small clearance between the tip opening and the ballpoint pen tip, thereby providing a ballpoint pen with stable writing. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1A shows an embodiment of a ballpoint pen according to the present invention, in which (A) is a front view, (B) is a central cross-sectional view, and (C) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the writing tip. [Diagram 2] 2A to 2C show an embodiment of a ballpoint pen refill used in the ballpoint pen shown in FIG. 1, where (A) is a front view, (B) is a central cross-sectional view, and (C) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tip of the refill. [Diagram 3] 1 shows the individual components of a ballpoint pen tip, where (A) is a perspective view, (B) is a front view, and (C) is a central cross-sectional view. [Figure 4] 1 shows the individual components of the base, where (A) is a front view, (B) is a perspective view, and (C) is a central cross-sectional view. [Diagram 5] 1A shows an example of pulling a ballpoint pen tip using a ferrule, where (A) is a front view, (B) is a central cross-sectional view, and (C) is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of the ferrule and the ballpoint pen tip. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] A ballpoint pen refill according to the present invention and a ballpoint pen using the same will be described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. Fig. 1 shows an embodiment in which the ballpoint pen refill according to the present invention is used in a knock-type ballpoint pen. In this knock-type ballpoint pen 1, the ferrule 3 is removably attached to the front end of the barrel 2 by screwing a female thread on the ferrule 3 into a male thread on the front end of the barrel 2 that constitutes the exterior body. A clip support tube 5, which has a clip 4 molded integrally therewith, is inserted into the rear end of the barrel 2 and attached to the barrel 2, and a knock bar 6 is attached to the rear of the clip support tube 5 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

[0016] A ballpoint pen refill 11 is contained within the barrel 2. Details of this ballpoint pen refill 11 will be described later with reference to Figure 2, but in this embodiment, a ballpoint pen tip 13 is attached to the tip of the ink containing tube 12 via a coupling member 14. FIG. 1 shows a state in which the ballpoint pen tip 13 protrudes from a tip opening 3a formed in the ferrule 3, enabling writing.

[0017] An axial spring 8 is disposed between the ferrule 3 and the coupling member 14 of the ballpoint pen refill 11, and this axial spring 8 applies a biasing force in a direction that causes the ballpoint pen refill 11 to retract within the barrel 2. As a result, the shaft spring 8 applies a biasing force toward the rear end side of the shaft tube 2 to the knock rotor 7 and the knock rod 6 via the ink containing tube 12.

[0018] The knock rotor 7 interposed between the ink containing tube 12 and the knock rod 6 constitutes a well-known Kern knock mechanism, and on the inner peripheral surface of the clip support cylinder 5 in which the knock rotor 7 is housed, long and short notches (not shown) are arranged circumferentially along the axial direction. Further, a configuration (not shown) is adopted in which a protrusion is formed in the outer periphery of the tip end of the knock rotor 7 in the outer diameter direction. As a result, by knocking the knock rod 6 against the biasing force of the axial spring 8, the ballpoint pen tip 13 is repeatedly brought into a writable state in which it is protruded from the tip opening 3a of the ferrule 3, and brought into a stored state in which the ballpoint pen tip 13 is stored within the ferrule 3.

[0019] When replacing the ballpoint pen refill 11, the ballpoint pen refill can be pulled out from the barrel 2 by removing the ferrule 3 screwed onto the front end of the barrel 2, and the replacement of the ballpoint pen refill 11 is completed by attaching a new ballpoint pen refill 11 into the barrel 2 and screwing the ferrule 3 into the barrel 2. In this case, the shaft spring 8 can be attached along the inner diameter portion of the base 3 by utilizing its own elastic force, which makes it possible to prevent the shaft spring 8 from being lost.

[0020] An anti-slip portion made of a resin elastic material is formed on the peripheral surface of the front end portion of the barrel 2, and this is configured to function as a grip portion 2a of the barrel 2. In this embodiment, the shaft cylinder 2, the mouthpiece 3, the clip 4, the clip support cylinder 5, the knock rod 6, and the knock rotor 7 are each made of a resin material.

[0021] FIG. 2 shows the ballpoint pen refill 11, and as already described, this ballpoint pen refill 11 has a ballpoint pen tip 13 attached to the front end of an ink containing tube 12 via a joint member 14. The ink containing tube 12 is made of a resin material such as polypropylene, and is formed into a straight cylindrical shape with a uniform wall thickness from the front end to the rear end. An ink backflow prevention body (follower) 12a is contained within the ink containing tube 12, which comes into contact with the rear end of the ink within the ink containing tube 12 and moves forward as the ink is consumed.

[0022] The joint member 14 is also preferably made of a resin material such as polypropylene, and this joint member 14 is press-fitted and connected to the ink containing tube 12 at the front end of the ink containing tube 12 so as to sandwich the inner diameter portion and the outer diameter portion of the ink containing tube 12. The rear portion of a ballpoint pen tip 13 made of a metal material such as stainless steel is press-fitted into the front end portion of the joint member 14 along its inner circumferential surface.

[0023] 3, the tip of the ballpoint pen tip 13 is formed into a cone shape, and a writing ball 13a is attached to the top end of the cone shape. In the illustrated example, a spring 13b is attached inside the internal space of the ballpoint pen tip 13. The tip of the spring 13b is formed into a straight rod shape to form a push rod 13c, which pushes the writing ball 13a in the forward direction. A part of the rear end of the ballpoint pen tip 13 is crimped inward, and the rear end of the spring 13b is locked by this crimped part 13d.

[0024] Furthermore, from the center of the ballpoint pen tip 13 toward the front in the longitudinal direction, a groove 13e is provided that runs along the outer circumferential surface of the cylindrical ballpoint pen tip 13. This groove 13e is formed so as to be recessed in the axial direction from the surface of the ballpoint pen tip 13. Moreover, the depth from the outer circumferential surface of the ballpoint pen tip 13 is formed so as to be uniform along the circumferential direction of the groove 13e, and the groove width is also formed so as to be the same along the circumferential direction. 3C, the downward facing surface 13f on the writing ball 13a side forming the recessed groove 13e is formed in a state perpendicular to the axial direction of the ballpoint pen tip 13 indicated by the line aa.

[0025] In other words, by making the downward-facing surface 13f on the writing ball 13a side of the groove 13e perpendicular to the line aa, it is possible to easily engage the tip of a tool or a part of the ballpoint pen ferrule 3 described below with this groove 13e. This makes it easy to pull the ballpoint pen tip 13 toward the writing ball 13 side from the relay member 14 or ink containing tube 12 side to separate the ballpoint pen tip 13 from the writing ball 13 side. Since the above-mentioned groove 13e has the function of engaging a part of the ferrule 3 of a tool or a ballpoint pen, the groove 13e needs to be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the writing ball 13a side exposed from the joint member 14, as shown in Figure 2(C). This is also true in the case where the ballpoint pen tip 13 is connected to the ink containing tube 12 without the joint member 14 being interposed therebetween.

[0026] On the other hand, when the ballpoint pen tip 13 is protruding from the tip opening 3a of the ferrule 3 so as to be ready for writing as shown in FIG. 1(C), preferably the entirety of the groove 13e is configured to be located inside the tip opening 3a. As a result, the ballpoint pen tip 13 is supported with a small clearance between the tip opening 3a and the outer peripheral surface on the writing ball 13a side, avoiding the recessed groove 13e. Therefore, no unnecessary rattling occurs between the ballpoint pen tip 13 and the tip opening 3a, and writing stability can be ensured. In this embodiment, the ballpoint pen tip 13 is supported at the tip opening 3a of the ferrule 3, but the same effect can be obtained in a ballpoint pen that does not have a ferrule as a separate component and has a tip opening 3a at the tip of the barrel.

[0027] FIG. 4 shows a specific configuration of the base 3 used as a tool when the ballpoint pen tip 13 is pulled out from the relay member 14 or the ink containing tube 12 and separated, and FIG. 5 shows an example of the pulling out operation. 4, which shows the individual component of the base 3, the base 3 is formed in a conical shape toward the front as is well known, and has a tip opening 3a with a cylindrical inner peripheral surface at its front end. The inner diameter of the tip opening 3a is determined so that the ballpoint pen tip 13 can be inserted and removed with an appropriate clearance from the outer peripheral surface of the ballpoint pen tip 13.

[0028] In addition, a female thread 3b is formed in the rear opening of the nozzle 3, and this female thread 3b screws into the male thread formed on the front end of the aforementioned barrel 2, thereby allowing the nozzle 3 to be detachably attached to the barrel 2. A plurality of ribs 3c are formed along the axial direction on the inner peripheral surface, where the inner diameter gradually narrows from the region where the female thread 3b is formed toward the inside, and the aforementioned axial spring 8 is held in place by radial elastic force by the plurality of ribs 3c. Furthermore, a step portion 3e is formed between the tip opening 3a and a cylindrical space portion 3d formed toward the tip opening 3a, the step portion 3e being formed by expanding the inner diameter relative to the tip opening 3a.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows a state in which the step portion 3e of the ferrule 3 is engaged with the falling surface 13f of the groove 13e formed in the ball-point pen tip 13, and the ball-point pen tip 13 is pulled toward the writing ball 13a. That is, as shown in Fig. 5(C), the ballpoint pen tip 13 is inserted into the tip opening 3a of the ferrule 3, and the ferrule 3 is tilted so that the rear part of the ferrule faces slightly downward, so that the step part 3e of the ferrule 3 engages with the downward facing surface 13f of the ballpoint pen tip 13. By pulling the ferrule 3 in this state, the ballpoint pen tip 13 can be pulled out from the ink containing tube 12 side.

[0030] In the example shown in FIG. 5, the ferrule 3 is used as a pulling tool for the ballpoint pen tip 13. However, even in a ballpoint pen that does not have a ferrule as a separate component and has a tip opening 3a at the tip of the barrel, the ballpoint pen tip 13 can be pulled out from the ink containing tube 12 in a similar manner by utilizing the stepped portion where the inner diameter is larger than the tip opening of the barrel.

[0031] As is clear from the above description, with the ballpoint pen refill and ballpoint pen according to the present invention, the ballpoint pen tip made of a metal material can be easily pulled out from the ink storage tube side made of, for example, a resin material. This makes it easier to separate and dispose of ballpoint pen refills, and provides ballpoint pen refills and ballpoint pens that are environmentally friendly, thereby achieving the effects described in the Effects of the Invention section above. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 1 ballpoint pen 2 shaft cylinder 2a Grip part 3. Base 3a Tip opening 3b Female thread 3c Rib 3d Cylindrical space 3e Step part 4 Clips 5 Clip support tube 6 Knock stick 7 Knock rotor 8-axis spring 11 Ballpoint pen refills 12 Ink reservoir tube 12a Follower 13 Ballpoint Pen Tip 13a Writing ball 13b Spring 13c Push Stick 13d Crimping part 13e Groove 13f Falling surface 14 Joint members

Claims

[Claim 1] A ballpoint pen in which a ballpoint pen refill is accommodated in a barrel, the ballpoint pen refill comprising an ink reservoir tube formed in a cylindrical shape from a non-metallic material, and a ballpoint pen tip or a joint member supporting the ballpoint pen tip ... being fitted and attached to a tip end of the ink reservoir tube and made of a metallic material, a groove recessed in an axial direction from a surface of the outer circumferential surface of the ballpoint pen tip on the writing ball side exposed from the ink reservoir tube or the joint member; A tip opening through which the tip of the ballpoint pen tip protrudes is formed in the tip of the barrel or in a ferrule attached to the tip of the barrel, and when the ballpoint pen tip is protruding from the tip opening and ready for writing, all of the grooves are located inside the tip opening.

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