Flexure Tip Holder for Secure and Tool-Free Marker Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pen-styluses lack easy and tool-free replacement mechanisms for wearable parts, such as marker tips, which are crucial for maintaining performance and longevity, especially in active pens used with devices like e-paper tablets.
Innovation Solution
A container with a marker tip holder box featuring flexible leaflets and arresters that allow marker tips to be easily inserted and removed by hand, utilizing a conical shape that narrows to form a flexure for secure retention and easy extraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional containers are used to hold marker tips, then storage and transportation are achieved, but easy and tool-free replacement of marker tips is not enabled
Solution Approach 1:
The container employs a dynamic spring-loaded ejector mechanism that automatically propels marker tips outward when the container is shaken or compressed. This dynamic response enables tool-free replacement by allowing users to easily remove marker tips through simple mechanical actions, resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The container performs the ejection function automatically through its spring-loaded mechanism, eliminating the need for external tools or complex manual operations. The system serves itself by using the user's simple actions (shaking or compressing) to trigger the marker tip ejection, thereby achieving easy replacement without increasing operational complexity.
2Ease of operation
If marker tips are securely retained in the container, then secure fit and prevention of rattling during transportation are achieved, but easy removal by hand becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded ejector provides a dynamic retention system that maintains strong holding force during static conditions (preventing rattling and ensuring secure fit) but allows easy release when dynamic forces are applied (shaking or compressing the container). This resolves the contradiction between secure retention and ease of removal.
Solution Approach 2:
The container pre-positions marker tips in an ejected state ready for immediate removal. The spring mechanism maintains constant pressure to keep tips securely held during transportation, but the design anticipates user needs by allowing instant release through simple container manipulation, thereby achieving both secure retention and easy removal.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple marker tips are stored in the container, then availability and user convenience are improved, but the complexity of the holder mechanism increases
Solution Approach 1:
The container is divided into multiple independent holder compartments, each with its own spring-loaded ejector mechanism. This segmentation allows multiple marker tips to be stored independently while maintaining simple, modular architecture. Each compartment operates autonomously, preventing the overall system complexity from increasing proportionally with the number of stored tips.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder pad and ejector mechanism are designed as universal components that can accommodate multiple marker tip sizes and types. The standardized spring-loaded design serves multiple functions: securing tips during storage, enabling easy ejection through shaking, and supporting various marker tip configurations, thereby achieving multi-functionality without proportionally increasing complexity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables quick and tool-free replacement of marker tips, maintaining pen-stylus performance and user convenience, while ensuring secure fit and preventing rattling during transportation.
Implementation Method 1
The flexible leaflet has an interference shape that also narrows in diameter as it approaches an arrester, the arrester, located below the flexible leaflet, holds a retained object of the plurality of objects in the holder. The flexible leaflet has two states: a first state that holds the retained object of the plurality of objects with sufficient firmness to retain the retained object of the plurality of objects in the holder and a second state in which the interference shape of the flexible leaflet interferes with an outer housing of the retained object of the plurality of objects in the holder to form a flexure that enables removal of the retained object of the plurality of objects from the holder pad.
Data Source
AI summary
Embodiments of the invention provide a container (e.g., marker tip holder box) that comprises a holding pad (e.g., marker tip holder pad) having a plurality of holders to retain objects (e.g., marker tips for use with a pen-stylus). Each holder has an opening to receive an object (e.g., a marker tip). Each holder further comprises a flexible leaflet, that surrounds the opening in the holder, wherein the flexible leaflet has an irregular but nearly conical shape that narrows in diameter as it approaches an arrester that is located below the flexible leaflet, such that a retained object rests in the arrester in the holder. The flexible leaflet has two states, a first state that holds the retained object (e.g., a marker tip) with sufficient firmness to retain the object in the holder, and a second state in which the irregular but nearly conical shape of the flexible leaflet interferes with an outer housing of the object retained in the holder to form a flexure that enables removal of the retained object from the container.