Pencil Grip Zone Using Solidified Plastisol for Sharpenability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing pens with grip zones face issues with adhesion of materials, creating consistent non-slip structures, and rapid hardening, which affects the haptic properties and sharpenability, particularly when using liquid materials that require immediate solvent removal.
Innovation Solution
A pen with a grip zone formed by solidified plastisol, a mixture of powdered thermoplastic polymer and plasticizer, allowing for adjustable consistency and easy application through various processes like screen printing, coextrusion, or injection molding, ensuring effective adhesion and quick drying with minimal hardness for optimal grip and sharpenability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If liquid materials are applied to form grip zones, then application flexibility is improved, but adhesion reliability deteriorates due to poor material adhesion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical-chemical parameters of the starting material by using plastisol with specific viscosity and consistency characteristics. This allows the material to maintain applicability while achieving reliable adhesion to the pencil surface, resolving the contradiction between ease of application and adhesion reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite materials by combining plastisol (a mixture of polymer particles and plasticizer) with the pencil surface. This composite approach enables the grip zone to achieve both good adhesion and the desired non-slip properties, addressing the adhesion reliability issue while maintaining application flexibility.
2Adaptability or versatility
If material is applied to create separated structures, then design versatility is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to inability to create consistent contours
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adjusts the consistency and viscosity parameters of the plastisol to optimize it for creating separated structures. By controlling the material's flow characteristics and solidification behavior, the invention enables precise formation of consistent contours in knobs, stripes, and other grip zone elements while maintaining design versatility.
3Ease of manufacture
If starting material is applied in liquid form, then application ease is improved, but processing complexity increases due to need for immediate hardening
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the parameter of 'hardening speed' by selecting plastisol formulations with appropriate solidification characteristics. This allows the material to remain applicably soft during application but harden sufficiently quickly to prevent flow, eliminating the need for complex immediate hardening measures while maintaining application ease.
4Stability of the object's composition
If material hardness is increased to prevent flow, then structural stability is improved, but sharpenability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the hardness parameter of the grip zone material by selecting appropriate plastisol compositions and curing conditions. The material achieves sufficient structural stability to prevent flow during application but maintains adequate softness to allow proper sharpening, resolving the contradiction between stability and sharpenability.
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
The solution provides a pen with a non-slip grip zone that maintains haptic properties and allows for easy sharpening, with adjustable consistency and quick drying, enabling reliable and efficient production in series and varied designs.
Implementation Method 1
A pen with a sharpenable cover and a non-slip grip zone on the pen surface, which consists of a material that can be used in a simple manner and is particularly suitable for series production in a variety of different designs. Apply variations to the pen surface and can be easily removed by cutting when sharpening the pen.
Implementation Method 2
At room temperature, a polymer generally dissolves relatively slowly in the plasticizer, which means that only areas of the polymer particles close to the surface are dissolved and a relatively low-viscosity starting material is present.
Implementation Method 3
At higher temperatures, the polymer particles become increasingly dissolved, with the starting mass changing into a gel-like state with increased viscosity and then being processable in the form of sprayable or extrudable pastes.
Implementation Method 4
only a short drying time is required for the plastisols applied to the pin surface to solidify, although this can be shortened by applying heat, in particular infrared radiation.
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to a pencil with a sharpenable casing and a grip zone on the pencil surface, wherein the grip zone is formed of a solidified plastisol. The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing such a pencil, in which a plastisol in a flowable state is applied to the pencil surface and subsequently solidified.