Writing Instrument Closure Device with Segmented Safety Plug
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing writing instruments without capillary application elements cannot be easily refilled with writing fluid, and those with capillary elements often require complex filling procedures, posing safety risks, especially for children.
Innovation Solution
A writing instrument design featuring a closure device with a rotatable outer part and a screwable closure plug that requires a specific tool for opening, incorporating an air duct for breathing safety and a storage container with the tool, allowing for easy and safe refilling of the reservoir.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a simple closure plug is used to close the filling opening, then the device complexity is reduced and ease of manufacture is improved, but the child safety is worsened because the closure device can be easily removed and swallowed
Solution Approach 1:
The closure device is divided into two main segments: an outer part that remains attached to the shaft and a closure plug that can be removed. The outer part includes a closure cavity that receives the closure plug, creating a segmented structure that improves child safety while maintaining manufacturing simplicity. This segmentation allows the larger outer part to act as a barrier against swallowing while the smaller closure plug can be easily manufactured and replaced.
Solution Approach 2:
The closure plug is nested within the closure cavity of the outer part, creating a nested structure. The closure plug fits into the closure cavity with complementary threading, allowing the smaller plug to be housed within the larger outer part. This nesting arrangement ensures that the closure functionality is maintained while the outer part provides an additional safety barrier.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the closure device is made larger to improve child safety, then the risk of swallowing is reduced, but the device complexity increases due to the additional outer part structure
Solution Approach 1:
The outer part serves multiple functions: it acts as a safety barrier against swallowing, provides a closure cavity for the plug, and includes an air duct for breathing safety. By combining these functions into a single outer part structure, the patent reduces overall device complexity while maintaining enhanced child safety features.
Solution Approach 2:
The air duct is merged into the outer part structure, running through the closure cavity and connecting to the reservoir. This integration combines the safety barrier function with the breathing safety function in a single structural element, reducing the need for separate components and simplifying the overall device complexity.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a tool is required to open the closure plug to improve child safety, then accidental opening is prevented, but the ease of operation is worsened due to the need for a special tool
Solution Approach 1:
The actuating element on the closure plug has an asymmetric profile with specific flat surfaces and contours that do not match common tools like screwdrivers or hex keys. This asymmetric design ensures that only the specifically designed tool can effectively open the closure plug, providing enhanced child safety while maintaining a straightforward opening mechanism for authorized users.
Solution Approach 2:
A specifically designed tool acts as an intermediary between the user and the closure plug. The tool features an actuating element with a complementary asymmetric profile that interfaces with the closure plug's actuating element, enabling controlled access to the filling opening while preventing unauthorized or accidental opening by children who do not have the specialized tool.
4Object-affected harmful factors
If the outer part encompasses the closure plug to improve child safety and design variety, then the safety and adaptability are improved, but the device complexity increases due to the additional rotational and axial fixing requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The outer part is designed to be rotatable relative to the shaft while maintaining axial positioning. This dynamic capability allows the outer part to be easily installed and removed by rotation, simplifying the fixing mechanism while maintaining the safety benefits of the encompassing structure. The rotational freedom eliminates the need for complex locking mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The air duct is positioned and sized in advance to provide a breathing passage that cushions against the harmful effect of choking. The duct's dimensions and positioning are predetermined during design to ensure adequate airflow even if the closure device is misplaced, providing a safety buffer without requiring complex active control systems.
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
Enhances child safety by preventing accidental ingestion and allows for simple and clean refilling of the writing fluid reservoir, while enabling design versatility and secure closure.
Implementation Method 1
between the sealing plug and the outer part that penetrates the sealing device in the longitudinal direction of the sealing plug
Implementation Method 2
there is an application element made, for example, from a material with a capillary action, such as plastic fibers or sintered plastic material
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 3
AI summary
The invention relates to a writing implement having a shank (2), which has a reservoir (3) for a writing fluid, having an application element (4), which is present at the front end of the shank and is connected fluidically to the reservoir (3), and having a filling opening (7), which is arranged at the rear end of the shank (2), serves for refilling writing fluid into the reservoir, has an internal thread (8) and is closed by a closure device (5), wherein the closure device comprises a closure plug (15), which is screwed into the filling opening (7) and has an actuating element serving for the rotary actuation of the plug by means of a tool, and an outer part (14), which is retained on the closure plug in an axially fixed manner, but such that it can be rotated about the centre longitudinal axis (9) thereof, and engages around at least part of the outer circumference of the closure plug (15). The invention also relates to a set of parts comprising a writing implement and a storage container (48) for writing fluid, this container having a closure cap (47), wherein an actuating tool serving for the screw-action actuation of the closure plug (15) is present on the closure cap.