Patent Grant
12162305
This specification relates to at least a clicking type writing instrument that can minimize volatilization of ink from the pen tip.
Conventionally, there are many known clicking type writing instruments that have an anti-dry structure for preventing volatilization of ink from the pen tip.
Examples include:
However, all of the clicking type writing instruments and the like of Patent Documents 1 to 4 include a sealing means that uses an O-ring or the like on the pen tip side in addition to a sealing mechanism that prevents the pen tip from drying out by enabling the pen tip to project and retract with a seal lid or the like. In this way, the structures are complicated and expensive with problems such as awkward design. Further, there is no mechanism to reliably prevent volatilization of ink from the pen tip before use. Thus, there is a strong demand for a clicking type writing instrument that can further improve the prevention of drying from the pen tip.
The present disclosure aims to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, it is an object to provide a clicking type writing instrument that can reliably suppress volatilization of ink from the pen tip before the start of use and also provide a clicking type writing instrument having a structure capable of suppressing volatilization of ink from the pen tip as much as possible even after the start of use.
The inventor hereof intensively studies to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and resultantly has found a clicking type writing instrument satisfying the above object, thereby completing the present disclosure, by providing a clicking type writing instrument comprising a refill provided in a barrel cylinder; a pen tip configured to discharge ink from an ink storage member accommodated in the refill by capillary action and to be allowed to be projected from and retracted into the front end of the barrel cylinder by an operation of a clicking mechanism provided in the barrel cylinder; and a specific configuration, arranged around an outer periphery of the pen tip near a front end side of the pen tip, and formed with a through-hole in a center of the seal member, through which the pen tip becomes slidable back and forth when the pen tip is housed inside the barrel cylinder.
Specifically, a clicking type writing instrument of the present disclosure comprises a refill provided in a barrel cylinder; a pen tip configured to discharge ink from an ink storage member accommodated in the refill by capillary action and to be allowed to be projected from and retracted into a front end of the barrel cylinder by means of a clicking mechanism provided in the barrel cylinder; and at least a seal member, arranged around an outer periphery of the pen tip near a front end side of the pen tip, and formed with a through-hole in a center of the seal member, through which the pen tip can slidably move back and forth when the pen tip is housed inside the barrel cylinder.
It is preferable that the seal member has a sealing piece that can be removed by pressing the pen tip, arranged in front of a front end of the pen tip.
It is preferable to provide a sealing mechanism that seals a circulation of air between a rear portion of the barrel cylinder and an outside of the writing instrument before use or when not clicked and allows air to flow to the outside of the writing instrument when clicked so as to keep internal and external pressures uniform to prevent ejection of ink from the pen tip when not clicked.
It is preferable that an anti-volatilization member that surrounds the outer peripheral of the pen tip is formed with a helical groove in a rear of the seal member.
It is preferable that a helical groove is formed on an inner surface of the seal member.
It is preferable that a tip-mouth member is provided in a rear of the pen tip of the refill, and a helical groove is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the tip-mouth member.
It is preferable that the barrel cylinder is formed with an interior wall against which a rear endface of the refill is abutted, and a groove is formed on a surface of the interior wall.
It is preferable that the pen tip of the refill is separated from the ink storage member by a projecting and retracting movement.
It is preferable to provide a clicking mechanism arranged on the rear portion of the barrel cylinder, the clicking mechanism allowing the refill to be projected and retracted by a pressing operation, wherein the clicking mechanism is comprised of a cam mechanism comprising an actuator and a rotor, and the rotor is equipped with a valve portion that is opened by an inner pressure acting on an inner surface of the barrel cylinder.
The present disclosure provides the clicking type writing instrument that can reliably suppress volatilization of ink from the pen tip before the start of use and also provides the clicking type writing instrument capable of suppressing volatilization of ink from the pen tip as much as possible even after the start of use.
The objects and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized and obtained by the configurations particularly specified in the claims and their combinations. Further, in the specification, both of the foregoing general description and the following detailed description herein are given for exemplary and explanatory purposes, and will not limit the disclosure claimed in the scope of claims.
Next, at least some embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, it should be noted that the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to each embodiment described in detail below, but includes the inventions recited in the claims and equivalents thereof.
As shown in
In this embodiment, as will be described later, at least the seal member 40 is provided around the periphery of the pen tip 30 near the front end side thereof, and is formed with a through-hole 42 in the center of the seal member 40, through which the pen tip 30 can slidably move back and forth when the pen tip 30 is housed inside the barrel cylinder 10.
The barrel cylinder 10, which serves as the body of the writing instrument, is made of, for example, polyacetal-based resin, polyethylene-based resin, acrylic-based resin, polyester-based resin, polyamide-based resin, polyurethane-based resin, polyolefin-based resin, polyvinyl-based resin, polycarbonate-based resin, polyether-based resin, polyphenylene resin, or other thermoplastic or thermosetting resins (hereinafter each of these resins will be simply referred to as “each resin”), and is tapered toward the front end with an opening 11 to which the seal member 40 is fixed while another opening 13 on the rear end side is attached with the clicking mechanism 70.
Provided inside the barrel cylinder 10 is the refill 20 accommodating the ink storage member 18.
The ink storage member 18 is impregnated with ink for writing instruments such as water-based ink, oil-based ink, and thermochromic ink, and may be formed of a bundle of fibers including, for example, natural fibers; animal hair fibers; fibers comprised of one or a combination of two or more of polyacetal-based resin, acrylic-based resin, polyester-based resin, polyamide-based resin, polyurethane-based resin, polyolefin-based resin, polyvinyl-based resin, polycarbonate-based resin, polyether-based resin, and polyphenylene-based resin; processed fiber bundles such as felt; and porous materials such as sponges, resin particles, and sintered bodies. The ink storage member 18 is configured to be accommodated in the refill 20.
The composition of the ink used for writing instruments is not particularly limited, and a suitable combination of water-based inks, oil-based inks and thermochromic inks can be used depending on the application of the writing instrument. For highlighters and the like, fluorescent dyes such as Basic Violet 11 and Basic Yellow 40 can be used, and thermochromic microcapsule pigments may be contained.
More preferably, formulating a composition of an ink for writing instruments containing at least water, a water-soluble organic solvent, a coloring agent and a glyceryl glycoside, makes it possible to produce an excellent effect in restraining the pen tip from drying, promote quick drying of the written ink surface without causing smudges even if rubbed, and prevent ink starvation even in a low temperature environment.
The glyceryl glycoside used includes α-glyceryl glycoside, which is formed by condensation of glycerol and glucose with α-links, and β-glyceryl glycoside, which is formed by condensation of glycerol and glucose with β-links, and may be either an enzyme reaction product obtained by reacting α-glucosidase on a mixture of malto-oligosaccharide and glycerol or a product obtained by a condensation reaction of glycerol and glucose. Glyceryl glycoside may include α-glyceryl glycoside and β-glyceryl glycoside, or α-glyceryl glycoside is more preferred as the glyceryl glycoside. Specific examples of α-glyceryl glycoside include α GG and α GG-L (manufactured by JST Corporation). The added amount of the glucosyl glycerols is preferably 0.5% by mass or greater and 30.0% by mass or lower relative to the total amount of the ink composition. Glyceryl glycoside may be used alone or two or more kinds of glyceryl glycosides may be used in combination.
The water that can be used for writing instrument ink includes tap water, groundwater, ion-exchanged water, pure water, and ultrapure water and the like, and is not particularly limited.
Dyes and pigments can be used as the coloring agent that can be used in the ink for writing instruments without any particular restrictions.
Water-soluble dyes can be used as dyes. Specific examples of water-soluble dyes include direct dyes, acid dyes, and basic dyes. These dyes may be used alone, or two or more dyes may be used in combination.
Specific examples of pigments include carbon blacks such as furnace black, contact black, thermal black, acetylene black; black iron oxide; yellow iron oxide; red iron oxide; ultramarine blue; Prussian blue; cobalt blue; titanium yellow; turquoise; molybdate orange; titanium oxide; gold powder; silver powder; copper powder; aluminum powder; brass powder; tin powder; mica pigment; C.I. Pigment Reds 2, 3, 5, 17, 22, 38, 41, 48:2, 48:3, 49, 50:1, 53:1, 57:1, 58:2, 60, 63:1, 63:2, 64:1, 88, 112, 122, 123, 144, 146, 149, 166, 168, 170, 176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 185, 190, 194, 206, 207, 209, 216, and 245; C.I. Pigment Oranges 5, 10, 13, 16, 36, 40, and 43; C.I. Pigment Violets 19, 23, 31, 33, 36, 38, and 50; C.I. Pigment Blues 2, 15, 15:1, 15:2, 15:3, 15:4, 15:5, 16, 17, 22, 25, 60, and 66; C. I. Pigment Browns 25 and 26; C. I. Pigment Yellows 1, 3, 12, 13, 24, 93, 94, 95, 97, 99, 108, 109, 110, 117, 120, 139, 153, 166, 167, and 173; C.I. Pigment Greens 7, 10, and 36; and the like. These pigments may be used alone, two or more kinds of pigments may be used in combination. Moreover, a pigment and a dye can be used in combination as a coloring agent.
When a pigment is used as a coloring agent, a dispersant can be used to stably disperse the pigment. As the dispersant, conventionally used water-soluble resins, water-soluble resins, anionic or nonionic surfactants, and the like, which are known to be used as dispersants for pigments, can be used. The added amounts of these water-soluble resins and surfactants are preferably 0.05% by mass or greater and 20.0% by mass or lower relative to 10.0% by weight of the pigment. These water-soluble resins and surfactants may be used alone, or two or more kinds of these water-soluble resins and surfactants can be used in combination.
A pigment dispersion in which a pigment is dispersed in an aqueous medium can also be used. Inorganic pigments, organic pigments, fluorescent pigments and the like can be used as pigment dispersions, and these may be used alone, or two or more kinds may be used in combination. However, when colored resin particles are used as a coloring agent, the resin particles that are insoluble in organic solvents should be used.
In addition to the coloring agents described above, colorless particles such as resin particles, wax particles, and resin emulsions can be used to adjust the shade. Among these, use of oxidized polyethylene wax particles can suppress unwanted transfer of ink to the back at the same time.
Regardless of coloring agents or colorless particles, setting the solid content concentration in the ink for writing instruments to 25% by mass or greater is preferable because unwanted transfer of ink to the back can be suppressed. In addition, use of oxidized polyethylene wax particles can suppress unwanted transfer of ink to the back even if the solid content concentration in the writing instrument ink is equal to or lower than 25% by mass. The content of oxidized polyethylene wax particles is, relative to the total amount of the ink composition, preferably 0.1% by mass or greater and 50.0% by mass or lower, more preferably 0.5% by mass or greater and 23.0% by mass or lower, and most preferably 1.0% by mass or greater and 15.0% by mass or lower.
The water-soluble organic solvent used for writing instrument ink refers to an organic solvent that can dissolve with 10 grams or more of the solvent in 100 grams of water. Among the water-soluble organic solvents, in terms of ink permeability into the paper and suppression of drying of the pen tip, glycol ethers and water-soluble organic solvents with cyclic structures are preferable, and water-soluble organic solvents having cyclic structures are more preferable. Moreover, among these water-soluble organic solvents, use of glycol ether and/or the water-soluble organic solvent having cyclic structures in combination with a polyhydric alcohol is more preferable to improve suppression of drying of the pen tip and ink permeability into paper, thanks to the mutual interaction between the glyceryl glycoside and the water-soluble organic solvent. The added amount of these water-soluble organic solvents is preferably 0.1% by mass or greater and 50.0% by mass or lower, more preferably 5.0% by mass or greater and 20.0% by mass or lower, relative to the total amount of the ink composition. These water-soluble organic solvents may be used alone, or two or more kinds of the water-soluble organic solvents may be used in combination.
The viscosity of the water-based ink for writing instruments is preferably 1.0 mPa·s or higher and 20.0 mPa·s or lower at a measurement temperature of 25° C. and a shear rate of 76.6 s−1. Also, the surface tension is preferably 30 to 60 mN/m.
In addition to the above components, additives such as lubricants, viscosity modifiers, lubricants, preservatives, antifungal agents, antirust agents, antifoaming agents, and pH adjusters may be used in combination as required. These additives may be used alone, or two or more kinds may be used in combination.
In order to produce a water-based ink for writing instruments, one or more coloring agents selected from the above pigments and/or pigment dispersions and dyes; water and/or an organic solvent; and a dispersant are mixed and stirred sufficiently by a dispersing machine such as a homomixer. Then, other additives such as a viscosity modifiers, pH modifiers, dyes for color tone adjustment, lubricants, etc. are blended and dissolved further until uniform. In some cases, the mixed ink may be further dispersed by a disperser, or the obtained ink may be filtered or centrifuged to remove coarse particles and insoluble components.
As shown in
As shown in
As shown in
This pen tip 30 is made of a porous member, which is a fiber core, a porous body (sintered core), or an extrusion molded core obtained by extrusion molding. The fiber core is obtained by processing or resin-processing a parallel fiber bundle or a fiber bundle of felt or the like, the parallel fiber bundle being made of one or a combination of two or more of fibers including, for example, natural fibers, animal hair fibers, polyacetal-based resin, polyethylene-based resin, acrylic-based resin, polyester-based resin, polyamide-based resin, polyurethane-based resin, polyolefin-based resin, polyvinyl-based resin, polycarbonate-based resin, polyether-based resin, and polyphenylene-based resin. The porous body (sintered core) is obtained by sintering a plastic powder of thermoplastic resin such as polyolefin-based resin, acrylic-based resin, polyester-based resin, polyamide-based resin, polyurethane-based resin, etc.
Preferred items of the pen tip 30 include fiber bundle cores, fiber cores, sintered cores, felt cores, sponge cores, inorganic porous cores, and the like. These items may be covered on their peripheral side with a resin film or the like to form a coated fiber core. The porosity, size, hardness, etc. of the pen tip 30 to be used vary depending on the type of ink, the type of writing instrument, etc. For example, the porosity is preferably 30 to 60%. Further, in the present disclosure, “porosity” is calculated as follows. First, the writing core having a known mass and apparent volume is dipped in water, and sufficiently saturated with water, and then the mass is measured in a state of being taken out from the water. From the measured mass, the volume of water soaked up in the writing core is derived. Assuming the volume of water as the pore volume of the writing core, the porosity can be calculated from the following formula:
Porosity(unit:%)=(water volume)/(apparent volume of the pen tip 30)×100.
As shown in
The sealing piece 43 is provided integrally to shut the exit of the through-hole 42, and is formed, for example, with a thin skin-like (ultra-thin) connecting portion 43a so that the sealing piece can be easily removed by the thrust of the pen tip 30 by a clicking operation, which will be described later, or by fingers or the like, while the seal member 40 including the connecting portion 43a and the sealing piece 43 is configured to be able to prevent volatilization of ink from the pen tip 30 before removal. The sealing piece 43 can be easily removed from the main body 41 of the seal member 40 by cutting the circumferential connecting portion 43a with the thrust of the pen tip 30 or fingers or the like. For the material of the seal member 40, from the viewpoint of satisfying sealing function and ease of removal, in addition to the above resins, thermoplastic elastomers such as styrene elastomer, vinyl chloride elastomer, olefin elastomer, polyester elastomer, polyamide elastomer and polyurethane elastomer (each of the above elastomers is hereinafter simply referred to as “each thermoplastic elastomer”) as well as synthetic rubbers such as nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), silicone rubber, ethylene propylene rubber (EPDM), fluorosilicone rubber, fluororubber, urethane rubber, natural rubber, chloroprene rubber, butadiene rubber and butyl rubber (each of the above synthetic rubbers is hereinafter referred to as “each synthetic rubber”) can be preferably used. Further, the seal member 40 and the barrel cylinder 10 may be integrally formed by two-color molding (for example, two-color molding of each resin and each thermoplastic elastomer described above).
In this embodiment, though the pen tip 30 can slide back and forth in the through-hole 42 of the seal member 40 by the click operation, a small gap X is formed between a peripheral edge 42a at the rear edge of the through-hole 42 and the peripheral edge of the pen tip 30 to suppress the evaporation of the ink and to perform efficient air replacement (to keep the internal and external pressures uniform). Specifically, the gap X is specified co be 0.02 to 1.0 mm, and is 0.05 mm in the present embodiment [see
Attached by fitting to an opening 20b on the rear end side of the refill 20 is a lid member 50 for sealing the opening. This lid member 50 has a fitting body 51 for sealing the opening 20b and a tubular flange portion 52.
As shown in
The clicking mechanism 70 of the present embodiment enables the refill 20 to project and retract by a pressing operation, and has a publicly known mechanism (rotating cam mechanism) including the clicking body 66 serving as an actuator, the rotor 65 and an outer cam (not shown) provided on the inner peripheral portion of the inner sleeve 60. This clicking mechanism together with the refill 20 is urged rearward by an elastic member 71 consisting of a coil spring held between holding pieces 14, 14 . . . and hold steps 14a, 14a . . . , which are formed in the vertical direction at predetermined intervals on the inner circumferential surface in the front part of the barrel cylinder 10, and a mounting step 20a formed around the outer circumference on the front side of the refill 20. The clicking operation is performed by pressing the clicking body 66 forward. As the clicking operation is performed, the rotor 65 is pushed forward by the movement of the clicking body 66, and the rotor 65 and the front endface of the outer cam (not shown) of the inner sleeve 60 are locked so that the refill 20 is moved forward and the pen tip 30 fixed to the anti-volatilization member 35 in the refill 20 comes out from the exit of the through-hole 42 of the seal member 40 to establish a writing state (see
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the clicking mechanism 70 preferably has a stroke T of 2.0 to 15.0 mm, as shown in
The clicking type writing instrument A thus configured, is designed so that the sealing piece 43 of the seal member 40 can be removed when the clicking operation is done for the first time (an initial clicking operation). That is, as shown in
Further provided in the rear portion of the barrel cylinder 10 in this embodiment, together with the above-described embodiment, or as an independent embodiment, is a sealing mechanism that seals the communication of air between the rear portion of the barrel cylinder 10 and the outside of the writing instrument before use or when not clicked and allows air to flow to the outside of the writing instrument when clicked to keep internal and external pressures uniform, thereby preventing ejection of ink from the pen tip 30 when not clicked. That is, in the sealing mechanism of this embodiment, volatilization of ink from the pen tip 30 is suppressed by the sealing piece 43 of the seal member 40 before use. Further, as shown in
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, when the anti-volatilization member 35 is arranged in the rearward of the seal member 40, is fixed in the storage space 21a of the refill 20, and surrounds the outer circumference of the pen tip 30 and the outer circumference of the anti-volatilization member 35 is formed with the helical groove 37 having a helical configuration as described above and shown in
The clicking type writing instrument B of the second embodiment differs from the clicking type writing instrument A of the first embodiment in that a slip stopper 10a having a plurality of annular grooves disposed at regular intervals is formed around the gripping site on the outer circumference of the barrel cylinder 10; instead of the seal member 40 a seal member 45 having a configuration without any sealing piece is fixed by fitting or the like to the opening 11 of the barrel cylinder 10; the shape of the refill 20 is different; a clip 75 is formed on the outside of the inner sleeve 60; and the sealing mechanism on the rear part side is slightly different. The clicking mechanism 70 functions similarly to the clicking type writing instrument A of the first embodiment.
In this clicking type writing instrument B, as shown in
As shown in
In the clicking type writing instrument B thus configured, similarly to the clicking type writing instrument A of the first embodiment, the pen tip 30 ejects ink from the ink storage member 18 by capillary action, and the pen tip 30 can be projected out of and retracted into the front end of the barrel cylinder 10 by the clicking mechanism 70.
Since a through-hole 46 is formed in the center of a seal member 45 of this embodiment so as to allow the pen tip 30 to slide back and forth while a helical groove 47 having a helical configuration is formed on the inner circumference of the through-hole 46 of the seal member 45, volatilization of ink from the seal member 45 passes through the helical groove 47 of the helical configuration so that the route of volatilization becomes longer than a linear gape (groove) and the like thus making it possible to suppress volatilization of ink. Further, specifying the groove shape, width, length and the like of the helical groove 47 within suitable predetermined ranges, makes it possible to achieve both of suppression of ink volatilization and uniformity of internal and external pressures thanks to air circulation, in a highly compatible manner.
Thus, in the clicking type writing instrument B of the present embodiment, the helical groove 47 of the helical configuration of the seal member 45 contributes to providing a clicking type writing instrument that can reliably suppress volatilization of ink from the pen tip 30.
In addition, in this embodiment, the sealing mechanism on the rear end side of the barrel cylinder 10 works so that the contact between the abutment surface 65a of the rotor 65 and the front endface 63a of the inner sleeve portion 63 is sealed before use or when not clicked, and is released when clicked. Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, the present embodiment is equipped with a sealing mechanism that hermetically closes air circulation between the rear portion of the barrel cylinder 10 and the outside of the writing instrument before use or when not clicked while air is circulated to the outside of the writing instrument when clicked to make internal and external pressures uniform so as to prevent ink leakage from the pen tip 30 when unclicked. Thus, volatilization of ink from the rear end of the barrel cylinder 10 is also suppressed while when a clicking operation is performed from the non-clicked state, air is taken in through the pen tip 30 and the helical groove 47 of the seal member 45, and the taken air passes through the space (clearance) between the barrel cylinder 10 and refill 20 and the clearance between the inner sleeve 63 and the rotor 65 to be discharged out of the writing instrument so that the internal and external pressures become uniform, whereby it is possible to prevent ink ejection from the pen tip 30 due to an increase of the internal pressure in the barrel cylinder 10.
As shown in
In the clicking type writing instrument C thus configured, similarly to the clicking type writing instrument B of the second embodiment, the pen tip 30 discharges ink from the ink storage member 18 by capillary action while the pen tip 30 is configured to be projected from and retracted into the front end of the barrel cylinder 10 by means of the clicking mechanism 70.
A through-hole 46 is formed in the center of the seal member 45 of this embodiment so as to allow the pen tip 30 to slide back and forth therethrough. The through-hole 46 of the seal member 45 has a helical groove 47 of a helical configuration formed on the inner circumference of the seal member 45 while a helical groove 26 is formed on the front end side of the tip-mouth member 25, so that volatilization of ink only occurs from the exposed portion of the pen tip 30, thereby the volatilization of ink can be suppressed. Further, specifying the groove shapes, widths, lengths and the like of the helical groove 47 and the groove 26 having the helical configuration of the tip-mouth member 25 within suitable predetermined ranges, makes it possible to achieve both of suppression of ink volatilization and uniformity of internal and external pressures thanks to air circulation, in a highly compatible manner.
Thus, in the clicking type writing instrument C of the present embodiment, the helical groove 47 of a helical configuration of the seal member 45 and the helical groove 26 of the tip-mouth member 25 contribute to providing a clicking type writing instrument that can reliably suppress volatilization of ink from the pen tip 30.
In addition, in this embodiment, the sealing mechanism on the rear side of the barrel cylinder 10 works so that the contact between the abutment surface 53 of the lid member 50 and the interior wall 15 of the barrel cylinder 10 is sealed before use or when not clicked, and the contact is released when clicked. Therefore, similarly to the first and second embodiments, the present embodiment includes a sealing mechanism that hermetically closes air circulation between the rear portion of the barrel cylinder 10 and the outside of the writing instrument before use or when not clicked while air is circulated to the outside of the writing instrument when clicked to make internal and external pressures uniform so as to prevent ink leakage from the pen tip 30 when unclicked. Thus, volatilization of ink from the rear end of the barrel cylinder 10 is also suppressed while when a clicking operation is performed from the non-clicked state, as shown in
A clicking type writing instrument D of the fourth embodiment differs from the clicking type writing instrument B of the second embodiment in that a pen tip 30 of the refill 20 separates from an ink storage member 18 by a projecting and retracting motion; and a clicking mechanism that enables the refill 20 to project and retract by pressing is provided in the rear part of a barrel cylinder 10, the clicking mechanism is composed of a clicking body as an actuator of the clicking mechanism and a rotor form a cam mechanism, and the rotor is equipped with a valve member that is opened by the action of internal pressure on the inner surface of the barrel cylinder.
Specifically, in order to configure the clicking type writing instrument D of the fourth embodiment so as to allow the pen tip 30 of the refill 20 to be separated from the ink storage member 18 by the projecting and retracting motion, a tip fixing member 27 for fixing a pen tip 30 having a cushioning part is attached to a small-diametric tubular portion 21 of the refill 20. As shown in
A clicking mechanism 70, which is provided at the rear portion of the barrel cylinder 10 of this embodiment to allow the refill 20 to project and retract by pressing, is composed of a cam mechanism including a clicking body 66 serving as an actuator, a rotor 65 and the like. The rotor 65 is attached with a valve member 68 that is opened by the action of the internal pressure on the inner surface of the barrel cylinder 10.
As shown in
Attached to the outer peripheral surface and the endface of the small-diametric portion 65a of the rotor 65 is a valve member 68, which closes an opening. As shown in
The clicking mechanism in this embodiment is implemented by pressing forward the clicking body 66 as an actuator to move the rotor 65 forward to a predetermined position inside the inner sleeve 60, together with the clicking body 66.
In this embodiment, upon writing, the rear end 32 of the pen tip 30 is inserted into the ink storage member 18 so that ink is supplied to the writing part 31 of the pen tip 30. On the other hand, upon non-writing, since the rear end of the pen tip 30 is kept away (separated) from the ink supply member 18, volatilization of the ink from the ink storage member 18 is reliably suppressed in combination with the seal member 48. Also, even if the internal pressure in the barrel cylinder 10 increases, the rear end of the pen tip 30 is kept away (separated) from the ink supply member 18, so ink will not leak out.
Next, with reference to
In the non-clicked state of the clicking type writing instrument D of the present embodiment, when the internal pressure of the barrel cylinder 10 has increased due to fluctuations in the outside air temperature, air passes through the inside of the rotor 65 and reaches the interior surface of the valve element 68a of the valve member 68, as shown in
Further, when a clicking operation is performed on the clicking type writing instrument D of the present embodiment, the refill 20 moves forward, and the contact between the abutment surface 65a of the rotor 65 and the front endface 63a of the inner sleeve portion 63 is released as shown in
The clicking type writing instrument D of this embodiment has a mechanism for taking in air at the rear end side of the barrel cylinder 10 and purging air when the internal pressure of the barrel cylinder 10 increases, thus making it possible to implement the operation efficiently with a simple structure.
The clicking type writing instrument of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments and the like, and various changes can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present disclosure.
The configuration of the clicking type writing instrument D of the above embodiment in which the valve member 68 is attached to the rotor 65 may be applied to the rotors 65 of the writing instruments A to C of the first to third embodiments so as to purge air from the rear end side when the internal pressure in the barrel cylinder 10 has increased.
Furthermore, in each of the clicking type writing instruments A to D of the above embodiments, the pen tip 30 was described as being a rod-shaped, but may be shaped like a bullet.
Though in the above-described embodiments, ink for writing instruments (water-based inks, oil-based inks, and thermochromic inks) has been described, a liquid medium such as a liquid cosmetic, a liquid medicine, an application liquid, a correcting fluid may be used.
Next, the present disclosure will be described in further detail by giving examples, however the present disclosure is not limited to the following examples.
A clicking type writing instrument having the following configurations and a pen tip conforming to
(Writing Instrument Configuration)
An ink for writing instruments having the following composition (100% by mass in total) was used.
In the clicking type writing instrument A equipped with the ink for writing instruments composed as described above, when the initial clicking operation (first clicking operation) was performed in the state shown in
It was confirmed that the sealing piece 43 of the seal member 40 can be easily removed when the pen tip 30 is pressed (in a writing state by a clicking operation) and/or by being torn off with fingers or the like, thus a writing state could be achieved by the removal (see
It was also confirmed by a sensory evaluation that ink volatilization from the rear end portion of the barrel cylinder 10 did not occur thanks to the sealing mechanism provided on the rear end side of the barrel cylinder 10.
According to the present disclosure, it is at least possible to obtain a clicking type writing instrument that can reliably suppress volatilization of ink from the pen tip before the start of use.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-123622 | Jul 2020 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2021/026625 | 7/15/2021 | WO |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2022/019208 | 1/27/2022 | WO | A |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| 20230347683 A1 | Nov 2023 | US |
