Ink Inhaler

Abstract

To provide a push-type ink suction device which does not malfunction due to contact of an operating member with a part of a cylinder when the ink suction device is inserted into the cylinder after completion of ink suction.SOLUTION: An operating member 60 has a pressing member 64 connected to a piston member 50 and a rotating member 65 rotating with respect to a main cylinder 30. The rotating member 65 has a contact portion 65b that contacts the main cylinder 30. The main cylinder 30 has an insertion portion 43 through which the contact portion 65b is inserted. By rotating the rotating member 65 and aligning the contact portion 65b with the insertion portion 43, the operating member 60 can be pushed forward.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an ink suction device used in writing instruments such as fountain pens.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in writing instruments such as fountain pens, an ink suction device that sucks ink into the interior thereof, stores the ink, and supplies the ink to the pen tip during writing has been used. The ink suction device has an ink storage portion and an ink suction mechanism for sucking ink into the ink storage portion.

[0003] The ink suction mechanism generally has a mechanism that generates a negative pressure inside the ink suction device and sucks ink by utilizing the air pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the ink suction device. As a method of generating a negative pressure inside the ink suction device, for example, a slide type in which an operating member is linearly operated rearward to move a piston member connected to the front of the operating member rearward to generate a negative pressure inside the ink suction device, a rotary type in which the operating member is rotated around an axis to move a piston member screwed with the operating member rearward to generate a negative pressure inside the ink suction device, a push type in which a piston member provided at the rear of the ink suction device is pressed forward and then released to generate a negative pressure inside the ink suction device, etc. can be mentioned. In particular, in the push type ink suction device described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-182181), the length of the operating member can be reduced as compared with slide type and rotary type ink suction devices. As a result, it becomes possible to reduce the size of an ink suction device of the same capacity or increase the capacity of an ink suction device of the same size.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In a fountain pen having the ink suction mechanism, generally, a shaft cylinder is formed by screwing a barrel onto a neck. When sucking ink, the barrel is unscrewed from the neck to expose an ink suction device connected to the pen core, and the pen core inserted into the ink in the ink bottle sucks the ink. After sucking the ink, the exposed ink suction device is inserted into the barrel, and then the neck and the barrel are screwed together. In a conventional push-type ink suction device, an operating member protruding rearward is provided to press the piston member forward. When inserting the ink suction device into the barrel, it is necessary to prevent the operating member from touching a part of the barrel. If the operating member touches a part of the barrel and causes the ink suction device to malfunction, ink will leak from the pen core. When screwing the barrel onto the neck, since the neck is pinched with a finger, the hand will be soiled with the leaked ink, and also the desktop will be soiled with the leaked ink.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and an object thereof is to obtain a push-type ink suction device in which, when inserting the ink suction device into the barrel after completion of ink suction, the operating member does not touch a part of the barrel and malfunction.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] The ink suction device according to the present invention is "1. A main cylinder having a reduced-diameter portion on its inner surface and defining an ink storage portion behind the reduced-diameter portion, A piston member disposed movably back and forth with respect to the main cylinder, An operating member connected to the piston member, A pipe extending through the reduced-diameter portion and into the main cylinder and held movably back and forth with respect to the piston member, and includes The operating member has a pressing member connected to the piston member and a rotating member that rotates with respect to the main cylinder, The rotating member has a contact portion that contacts the main cylinder, The main cylinder has an insertion portion through which the contact portion is inserted, An ink inhaler in which the rotating member is rotated so that the positions of the contact portion and the insertion portion coincide, enabling the operating member to be pressed forward. 2. The ink inhaler according to item 1, wherein the contact portion of the rotating member is a protrusion protruding outward, and the insertion portion of the main cylinder is a groove. 3. The outer surface of the pressing member has a convex portion, and the inner surface of the rotating member has a concave portion in which the convex portion of the pressing member rotates. On the inner surface of the concave portion, when the positions of the contact portion and the insertion portion coincide, there is a first step portion over which the convex portion climbs, and when the positions of the contact portion and the insertion portion are displaced, there is a second step portion over which the convex portion climbs. The ink inhaler according to item 1 or 2 having the same. 4. The ink inhaler according to any one of items 1 to 3, having a flange portion bulging outward at the rear end portion of the rotating member. 5. The ink inhaler according to item 4, wherein the flange portion is made of a friction member.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, when inserting the ink inhaler into the body, a push-type ink inhaler can be obtained that does not malfunction even if the operating member touches a part of the body.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings attached to this specification, for the convenience of illustration and easier understanding, the scale, the aspect ratio of the vertical and horizontal dimensions, etc. are appropriately changed and exaggerated from those of the actual object.

[0011] Also, with regard to the terms used in this specification for specifying shapes, geometric conditions, and their degrees, such as terms like "parallel", "orthogonal", "identical", etc., and values of lengths and angles, etc., they are not restricted to strict meanings and are to be interpreted to include ranges to the extent that similar functions can be expected.

[0012] FIGS. 1 to 4 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment according to the present invention. Among these, FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a cross-section of a writing instrument 10 incorporating an ink suction device 20, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the ink suction device 20, FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a state where a rotating member 61 of the ink suction device 20 is rotated, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the ink suction device 20 is pushed forward with its operating member 60 facing forward. In this embodiment, an example where the writing instrument 10 is a fountain pen will be described, but the writing instrument 10 is not limited to a fountain pen. In this specification, the direction (longitudinal direction) in which the central axis A of the main cylinder 30 of the ink suction device 20 extends is the axial direction, the direction orthogonal to the central axis A is the radial direction, and the circumferential direction around the central axis A is the circumferential direction. Also, in the writing instrument 10 and the ink suction device 20, along the axial direction, the side closer to the writing surface such as the paper surface when writing (for example, the lower side in FIG. 1) is taken as the front, and the side spaced apart from the writing surface (for example, the upper side in FIG. 1) is taken as the rear.

[0013] The writing instrument 10 shown in FIG. 1 includes a shaft cylinder 11, a pen tip 12, and a pen tip support portion 13 located in front of the shaft cylinder 11 and supporting the pen tip 12. The shaft cylinder 11 is a member having a longitudinal direction along the central axis A, and is composed of a neck 11a and a body 11b that are screwed together, and has a cavity that opens forward inside. In the present embodiment, at least a part of the ink inhaler 20 is accommodated in the cavity of the shaft cylinder 11. The pen tip 12 is a member that forms a writing on the writing surface with the ink supplied from the ink inhaler 20. The pen tip support portion 13 has an ink flow hole 14 and an air flow hole 15 inside. The ink flow hole 14 communicates with the pen tip 12 and functions as a passage for guiding the ink supplied from the ink inhaler 20 toward the pen tip 12. The air flow hole 15 extends generally along the axial direction and opens in the vicinity of the pen tip 12. The air flow hole 15 functions as a passage for guiding the external air flowing in from the opening toward the ink inhaler 20. An attachment portion 16 to which the ink inhaler 20 is attached is formed on the pen tip support portion 13. In the present embodiment, the attachment portion 16 is configured as a protruding portion facing rearward, and the front end portion of the ink inhaler 20 is externally fitted to the attachment portion 16, whereby the ink inhaler 20 is detachably attached to the pen tip support portion 13. Note that the present invention is not limited to this, and the attachment portion 16 may be configured as a groove portion that opens rearward, and the front end portion of the ink inhaler 20 may be press-fitted into the attachment portion 16, whereby the ink inhaler 20 is attached to the pen tip support portion 13. A male screw portion is formed on the neck 11a to which the pen tip support portion 13 is fitted, and a corresponding female screw portion is formed on the front inner surface of the body 11b. Then, the shaft cylinder 11 is constituted by screwing the female screw portion of the body 11b with the male screw portion of the neck 11a.

[0014] The ink inhaler 20 of the present embodiment is a push-type ink inhaler and has an ink storage portion 21 inside for storing ink to be supplied to the pen tip 12. The ink inhaler 20 includes a main cylinder 30 that defines the ink storage portion 21, a piston member 50 that is disposed to be movable back and forth with respect to the main cylinder 30, a pipe 70 that is held to be movable back and forth with respect to the piston member 50, and a fixed member 80 that is fixed to the pipe 70. In the illustrated example, the ink inhaler 20 further includes the main cylinder 30, an operation member 60 attached to the rear portion of the piston member 50, and a movable member 90 loosely fitted to the pipe 70 behind the fixed member 80. Hereinafter, each member constituting the ink inhaler 20 of the present embodiment will be described in order.

[0015] The main cylinder 30 is a member having a substantially cylindrical shape and has an inner surface 30a and an outer surface 30b extending in the axial direction. The inner surface 30a has a reduced-diameter portion 31 with a reduced inner diameter. The reduced-diameter portion 31 is a protruding portion formed annularly along the circumferential direction on the inner surface 30a. In particular, the reduced-diameter portion 31 is a protruding portion where the inner surface 30a protrudes toward the central axis A. The ink storage portion 21 is formed behind the reduced-diameter portion 31. A rear inclined surface 31a that faces the ink storage portion 21 and is inclined with respect to the axial direction and the radial direction is formed behind the top of the reduced-diameter portion 31 that is closest to the central axis A, and a front inclined surface 31b that is inclined with respect to the axial direction and the radial direction is formed in front of the top. The rear inclined surface 31a is a surface that extends outward in the radial direction as it goes rearward, and the front inclined surface 31b is a surface that extends outward in the radial direction as it goes forward.

[0016] The main cylinder 30 includes a tail cylinder member 40 attached to the rear portion. The tail cylinder member 40 houses at least a part of the operation member 60. A flange portion 44 protruding inward is formed at the rear end opening 42 of the tail cylinder member 40, and the flange portion 44 abuts against a convex portion 63 (described later) of the operation member 60 in the open state of the operation member 60. The flange portion 44 may be a single protruding portion provided over the entire circumference along the circumferential direction, or may be a plurality of protruding portions arranged discretely in the circumferential direction.

[0017] The piston member 50 has a flange portion 51 and a connecting convex portion 55 provided behind the flange portion 51. The flange portion 51 is located inside the main cylinder 30, and the outermost end portion in the radial direction of the flange portion 51 is in liquid-tight contact with the inner surface 30a of the main cylinder 30. Thereby, the ink storage portion 21 is defined as a space surrounded by the inner surface 30a of the main cylinder 30, the reduced-diameter portion 31, and the flange portion 51 of the piston member 50. The flange portion 51 has a recess 53 that is recessed rearward from the front end surface 51a. The connecting convex portion 55 functions as a connecting portion that connects the piston member 50 to the operating member 60. A hole 57 that opens rearward is provided in the connecting convex portion 55. The piston member 50 has a partition wall 58 that closes the front of the hole 57 and a through hole 59 that communicates the recess 53 and the hole 57 on the central axis A. A pipe 70 is loosely inserted into the through hole 59. That is, the inner diameter of the through hole 59 is larger than the outer diameter of the pipe 70 main body, whereby the pipe 70 is held so as to be movable back and forth with respect to the piston member 50. The hole 57 serves as an introduction portion when inserting the pipe 70 into the through hole 59 and defines the movable range when the pipe 70 moves back and forth with respect to the piston member 50.

[0018] Note that the partition wall 58 has a plurality of grooves 59a communicating with the through hole 59 in order to ensure smooth flow of ink and air between the ink storage portion 21 and the hole 57, and one of the grooves 59a is provided in the surface direction of the pen tip 12 shown in FIG. 1. The plurality of grooves 59a are arranged radially in four around the through hole 59, and extend in the axial direction so as to communicate the recess 53 and the hole 57 in the same manner as the through hole 59. Thus, when writing with the surface of the pen tip 12 facing upward, the air in the ink storage portion 21 easily enters the hole 57 of the piston member 50 via the groove 59a, and the ink in the hole 57 of the piston member 50 easily flows out into the ink storage portion 21. At the rear end portion 74 of the pipe 70, a diameter-expanded portion 76 in which the pipe 70 main body is expanded in the radial direction is formed. The outer diameter of the diameter-expanded portion 76 is larger than the inner diameter of the through hole 59 of the piston member 50, but smaller than the maximum width of the groove 59a. Therefore, even when the pipe 70 advances and the diameter-expanded portion 76 abuts against the partition wall 58, smooth flow of ink and air through the groove 59a can be ensured.

[0019] The operating member 60 is restricted in its forward and backward movement with respect to the piston member 50, and is a member that is operated by the user when moving the piston member 50 forward and backward with respect to the main cylinder 30. The operating member 60 has a connecting recess 62 that opens at the front end face and fits with the connecting convex portion 55 of the piston member 50. In the illustrated example, an engaging recess is provided on the side surface of the connecting recess 62, and an engaging convex portion corresponding to the engaging recess of the connecting recess 62 is provided on the side surface of the connecting convex portion 55. Then, when the connecting convex portion 55 is inserted into the connecting recess 62 and the engaging convex portion of the connecting convex portion 55 engages with the engaging recess of the connecting recess 62, the piston member 50 is connected to the operating member 60. The connecting convex portion 55 of the piston member 50 is attached to the connecting recess 62 in a liquid-tight manner so that the ink flowing into the hole 57 does not leak to the outside. A convex portion 63 that protrudes radially outward is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the operating member 60. An urging member 25 is disposed between the main cylinder 30 and the convex portion 63. In the illustrated example, the urging member 25 is a coil spring and is inserted between the rear end portion of the main cylinder 30 and the front end portion of the convex portion 63 in a state compressed in the axial direction. Thereby, the operating member 60 is urged rearward with respect to the main cylinder 30. The convex portion 63 abuts against the flange portion 44 of the tail cylinder member 40 from the front in the open state of the operating member 60 (the state where it is not pressed forward by the user). Therefore, the rear end of the movable range of the operating member 60 is defined by the flange portion 44.

[0020] The pipe 70 is disposed so as to extend through the reduced-diameter portion 31 and into the main cylinder 30. In both the open state (see FIG. 2) and the pressed state (the state where it is pressed forward by the user, see FIG. 4) of the operating member 60, the front end portion 72 of the pipe 70 is located in front of the reduced-diameter portion 31. Since the outer diameter of the portion of the pipe 70 other than the enlarged-diameter portion 76 shown in the figure is smaller than the inner diameter of the through-hole 59, the pipe 70 is movable in the front-rear direction when inserted through the through-hole 59, and is located at the most forward position with respect to the piston member 50 when the enlarged-diameter portion 76 is locked to the partition wall 58 from the rear. The inside of the pipe 70 is hollow, and through the pipe 70, the portion in front of the reduced-diameter portion 31 of the main cylinder 30 communicates with the hole 57 of the piston member 50.

[0021] The material for forming the pipe 70 is not particularly limited, but as an example, a metal material such as a stainless steel material can be used. The material for forming the piston member 50 is not particularly limited, but as an example, a resin material such as a polyethylene resin, a polypropylene resin, or a polyacetal resin can be used. The pipe 70 made of a stainless steel material has ink resistance and better wettability to ink than resin materials such as the polyethylene resin, polypropylene resin, and polyacetal resin for forming the piston member 50. Therefore, when the air in the ink storage portion 21 enters the hole 57 of the piston member 50, the ink in the hole 57 of the piston member 50 flows out through the pipe 70 to the vicinity of the ink flow hole 14, and writing with the pen tip 12 becomes possible. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, by setting the axial distance from the rear end surface of the partition wall 58 of the piston member 50 to the rear end surface of the pipe 70 in a state where the pipe 70 advances and the diameter-expanded portion 76 abuts against the partition wall 58 to be 0.5 mm or less, the ink in the hole 57 of the piston member 50 easily flows into the pipe 70, and the ink in the hole 57 of the piston member 50 can be smoothly discharged into the ink storage portion 21. When the central axis A of the ink suction device 20 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction during writing, the pipe member 70 is inclined with respect to the central axis A with the partition wall 58 of the piston member 50 as a fulcrum, and the axial distance from the rear end surface of the partition wall 58 of the piston member 50 to the rear end surface of the pipe 70 changes, but the maximum distance is also 0.5 mm or less. When the pipe 70 has better wettability to ink than the piston member 50, in addition to the ink in the hole 57 of the piston member 50 flowing out through the pipe 70 into the ink storage portion 21, the ink also passes through the through hole 59 and the groove 59a of the piston member 50, travels along the outer surface of the pipe 70 with good wettability, and flows into the ink storage portion 21.

[0022] The fixed member 80 is fixed to the pipe 70 behind the reduced-diameter portion 31. More specifically, the fixed member 80 is fixed to the outer surface of the pipe 70 behind the reduced-diameter portion 31. The fixed member 80 is formed of an elastic material. As this elastic material, for example, fluororubber can be used. The fixed member 80 has a closing surface 82 at the front. In the illustrated example, the closing surface 82 includes a surface inclined in the axial and radial directions so as to be separated from the pipe 70 in the radial direction as it goes rearward. The closing surface 82 abuts against the rear inclined surface 31a of the reduced-diameter portion 31 to close the reduced-diameter portion 31 when the pipe 70 and the fixed member 80 move forward.

[0023] The movable member 90 is loosely fitted to the pipe 70 behind the fixed member 80. That is, the movable member 90 is movable in the front-rear direction along the pipe 70 behind the fixed member 80. The movable member 90 is formed in a cylindrical shape as a whole, and the pipe 70 is inserted therein. The material forming the movable member 90 is not particularly limited, but for example, a metal material such as a stainless steel material can be used.

[0024] In the open state shown in FIG. 2, the ink inhaler 20 described above is biased rearward by the biasing member 25. The convex portion 63 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the operating member 60 abuts against the flange portion 44 provided at the rear end opening 42 of the tail cylinder member 40 from the front, thereby restricting further rearward movement of the operating member 60. At this time, the piston member 50 connected to the operating member 60, the pipe 70 held by the piston member 50, the fixed member 80 fixed to the pipe 70, and the movable member 90 loosely fitted to the pipe 70 are also located rearward.

[0025] When inhaling ink into the ink storage portion 21 of the ink inhaler 20, prepare an ink bottle or the like in which ink is stored, and with the ink inhaler 20 attached to the pen tip support portion 13, immerse the pen tip support portion 13 in the ink with the pen tip 12 facing downward until the ink flow hole 14 and the air flow hole 15 are positioned below the liquid level of the ink.

[0026] When the operating member 60 faces upward and, for example, the operating member 60 is pressed forward (downward) by a user's finger, the pressing state shown in FIG. 4 is achieved. When shifting from the open state to the pressing state, as the operating member 60 moves forward, the piston member 50, the pipe 70, the fixed piece member 80, and the movable piece member 90 also move forward. During this movement, first, the closing surface 82 of the fixed piece member 80 abuts against the rear inclined surface 31a of the reduced-diameter portion 31 to close the reduced-diameter portion 31. As a result, the pipe 70, the fixed piece member 80, and the movable piece member 90 stop. When the operating member 60 further moves forward, the piston member 50 further moves forward. At this time, the air compressed in the ink storage portion 21 flows out from the front end portion 72 of the pipe 70 through the gap between the through-hole 59 of the piston member 50 and the pipe 70, through the hole 57 and the cavity in the pipe 70. The air flowing out from the pipe 70 is discharged to the outside through the pen tip support portion 13. Since the through-hole 59 of the piston member 50 has a plurality of grooves 59a communicating with the through-hole 59, sufficient air circulation between the ink storage portion 21 and the hole 57 is ensured, and the air can be quickly and stably moved from the ink storage portion 21 into the hole 57, ensuring smooth circulation of the ink from the hole 57 in the piston member 50 into the ink storage portion 21.

[0027] In this state, for example, when the finger of the user pressing the operating member 60 forward is released and the pressing force applied to the operating member 60 is released, the operating member 60 rapidly retreats due to the biasing force of the biasing member 25. Along with this, the piston member 50 also rapidly retreats, and the pressure in the ink storage portion 21 becomes negative pressure. When the operating member 60 and the piston member 50 further retreat, the enlarged-diameter portion 76 provided at the rear end portion 74 of the pipe 70 is locked to the through-hole 59 of the piston member 50, and the pipe 70, the fixed piece member 80, and the movable piece member 90 retreat together with the piston member 50. When the closing surface 82 of the fixed piece member 80 separates from the rear inclined surface 31a of the reduced-diameter portion 31, due to the pressure difference between the inside of the ink storage portion 21 and the outside, the ink in the ink bottle flows into the ink storage portion 21 through the pen tip support portion 13 and the reduced-diameter portion 31.

[0028] By repeating this, ink is sucked into the ink storage unit 21. When the operating member 60 is pressed forward with ink in the ink storage unit 21, a small amount of ink can flow out from the ink storage unit 21 through the reduced-diameter portion 31. However, after the reduced-diameter portion 31 is blocked by the fixed member 80, the ink does not flow out from the ink storage unit 21, and the air existing in the upper part of the ink storage unit 21 flows out through the pipe 70. After the suction of ink into the ink suction device 20 is completed, the barrel 11b is attached to the neck 11a, and the writing instrument 10 becomes ready for writing.

[0029] In the ink suction device 20 of the present embodiment, the operating member 60 includes a pressing member 64 connected to the piston member 50, a rotating member 65 that rotates with respect to the main cylinder 30, and a friction member 66 fixed to the rotating member 62. The pressing member 64 is a shaft-shaped member in which the connecting concave portion 62 and the convex portion 63 are formed, and has a small-diameter portion 64a at the rear. The rotating member 65 has an opening 65a at the front, and the small-diameter portion 64a of the pressing member 64 is rotatably inserted into the opening 65a. Further, on the side surface of the rotating member 65, a contact portion 65b, which is a protrusion extending in the axial direction and protruding outward, is formed so that it can be inserted into an insertion portion 43 formed by removing a part of the rear end surface 41 of the tail cylinder member 40 to form a groove. The friction member 66 is an annular member made of silicone resin, and a convex portion 65c formed on the outer surface of the rotating member 65 is fitted into a concave portion 66a formed on the inner surface, and both operate integrally. Examples of the material of the friction member 66 include natural rubber, butadiene rubber, acrylic rubber, urethane rubber, chloroprene rubber, neoprene rubber, etc., which make it difficult for the contacting finger to slip.

[0030] In the state shown in FIG. 2, the contact portion 65b of the rotating member 65 contacts the rear end surface 41 of the tail cylinder member 40, restricting the forward movement of the operating member 60. In the state shown in FIG. 3, the positions of the contact portion 65b of the rotating member 65 and the insertion portion 43 of the tail cylinder member 40 coincide, and as shown in FIG. 4, the operating member 60 can be pressed forward. Therefore, after the ink inhalation is completed, if the rotating member 65 is in the state shown in FIG. 2, when the ink inhaler 20 is inserted into the barrel 11b, even if the operating member 60 touches a part of the barrel 11b, it will not malfunction. In addition, since the friction member 66 at the rear end of the rotating member 65 is a flange portion that bulges outward, when pressing the operating member 60, the surface that the finger contacts becomes wider, making it easier to press. Also, when rotating the rotating member 65, a rotational torque acts and it is easy to rotate. Since the friction member 66 bulges outward, when the ink inhaler 20 is inserted into the barrel 11b, naturally, the operating member 60 is likely to contact the inner surface of the barrel 11b. However, as described above, if the rotating member 65 is in the state shown in FIG. 2, there will be no malfunction. Furthermore, the outer surface of the pressing member 64 has a convex portion 64b, the inner surface of the rotating member 65 has a concave portion 65d in which the convex portion 64b of the pressing member 64 rotates, and on the inner surface of the concave portion 65d, when the position of the contact portion 65b of the rotating member 65 and the insertion portion 43 of the tail cylinder member 40 coincides, a first-stage portion 65e that the convex portion 64b climbs over is formed, and when the position of the contact portion 65b and the insertion portion 43 is displaced, a second-stage portion 65f that the convex portion 64b climbs over is formed. As a result, it becomes easier to recognize the rotation state of the rotating member 65, and it is possible to further reduce the occurrence of malfunction. When climbing over the first-stage portion 65e and the second-stage portion 65f, a sense of resistance occurs in the rotation of the rotating member 65, and after climbing over, a sense of release occurs in the rotation of the rotating member 65, enabling the user to recognize the rotation state of the rotating member. It is preferable to provide a mark on the rear end surface of the rotating member 65, or the rear end surface or side surface of the friction member 66 so that the rotation position of the rotating member 65 can be known. In the states of FIGS. 2 and 4, since the key projection 64c formed on the outer surface of the pressing member 64 is locked to the insertion portion 43 of the tail cylinder member 40, the rotating member 65 can be rotated relative to the pressing member 64 reliably.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0031] 10 Writing instrument 11 Shaft cylinder 11a Neck 11b Barrel 12 Pen tip 13 Pen tip support portion 20 Ink inhaler 21 Ink storage part 25 Biasing member 30 Main cylinder 30a Inner surface 31 Reduced-diameter part 31a Rear inclined surface 31b Front inclined surface 32 Groove part 35 Corner part 40 Tail cylinder 41 Rear end face 42 Rear end opening 43 Insertion part 44 Flange part 50 Piston member 51 Flange part 51a Front end face 53 Concave part 55 Connecting convex part 57 Hole 58 Partition wall 59 Through hole 59a Groove 60 Operating member 62 Connecting concave part 63 Convex part 64 Pressing member 64a Small-diameter part 64b Convex part 64c Key protrusion 65 Rotating member 65a Opening 65b Contact part 65c Convex part 65d Concave part 65e First-stage part 65f Second-stage part 66 Friction member 66a Concave part 70 Pipe 72 Front end part 74 Rear end part 76 Enlarged-diameter part 80 Fixed member 82 Closing surface 84 Rear end part 86 Upper edge 90 Movable member 92 Front end part 94 Upper edge

Claims

1. A main cylinder having a reduced-diameter portion on its inner surface and defining an ink storage portion behind the reduced-diameter portion, a piston member arranged to be movable back and forth with respect to the main cylinder, an operating member connected to the piston member, and a pipe extending through the reduced-diameter portion and into the main cylinder and held to be movable back and forth with respect to the piston member. The ink inhaler is provided with: The operating member has a pressing member connected to the piston member and a rotating member that rotates with respect to the main cylinder. The rotating member has a contact portion that contacts the main cylinder. The main cylinder has an insertion portion through which the contact portion is inserted. An ink inhaler configured such that by rotating the rotating member to align the positions of the contact portion and the insertion portion, the operating member can be pressed forward.

2. The ink inhaler according to Claim 1, wherein the contact portion of the rotating member is a protrusion protruding outward, and the insertion portion of the main cylinder is a groove.

3. The outer surface of the pressing member has a convex portion, and the inner surface of the rotating member has a concave portion in which the convex portion of the pressing member rotates. The inner surface of the concave portion has a first step portion over which the convex portion climbs when the positions of the contact portion and the insertion portion coincide, and a second step portion over which the convex portion climbs when the positions of the contact portion and the insertion portion are misaligned. The ink inhaler according to Claim 1 or 2.

4. The ink inhaler according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein a flange portion bulging outward is provided at the rear end portion of the rotating member.

5. The ink inhaler according to Claim 4, wherein the flange portion is made of a friction member.

Images