Patent Application
20090185850
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a pen, more particularly to a rotary-type pen.
2. Description of the Related Art
The field of writing implement design is well established and mature. Familiar types of writing implements include pencils and ballpoint pens. Pens are commonly designed with rotary mechanisms or push button mechanisms for extending a refill to a writing position. Recently, the design of writing implements has seen little innovation that can enhance appeal of the writing implements to consumers.
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a rotary-type pen that has a novel configuration to enhance its appeal to consumers.
According to the present invention, there is provided a rotary-type pen adapted for receiving an elongated refill therein. The rotary-type pen comprises a barrel unit, a refill seat and a rotary drive unit.
The barrel unit includes a barrel that is adapted for receiving the refill therein, that defines a barrel axis, and that has an inner barrel surface formed with a helical first guiding unit surrounding the barrel axis.
The refill seat is disposed rotatably in the barrel and is adapted to be coupled to one end of the refill. The refill seat is guided by the first guiding unit to move along the barrel axis for moving the refill relative to the barrel when the refill seat is rotated relative to the barrel.
The rotary drive unit includes a rotary knob and a force transmitting member. The rotary knob is retained rotatably on the barrel and is operable to rotate relative to the barrel about the barrel axis. The force transmitting member extends from the rotary knob into the barrel, and is coupled co-rotatably to the rotary knob. The force transmitting member drives the rotation of the refill seat in the barrel.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Before the present invention is described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying preferred embodiments, it should be noted herein that like elements are denoted by the same reference numerals throughout the disclosure.
The barrel unit 3 includes a barrel 31 having an inner barrel surface. The barrel 31 is adapted for receiving the refill 100 therein and defines a barrel axis. The inner barrel surface is formed with a helical first guiding unit 313 surrounding the barrel axis. Preferably, the barrel unit 3 further includes a hollow tip cap 32, which is mounted removably to a bottom portion of the barrel 31, and which permits extension of the refill 100 therethrough.
The refill seat 5 is disposed rotatably in the barrel 31, and is adapted to be coupled to one end of the refill 100. The refill seat 5 is guided by the first guiding unit 313 to move along the barrel axis for moving the refill 100 relative to the barrel 31 when the refill seat 5 is rotated relative to the barrel 31.
The rotary drive unit 4 includes a rotary knob 41 and a force transmitting member 43. The rotary knob 41 is retained rotatably on the barrel 31 and is operable to rotate relative to the barrel 31 about the barrel axis. The force transmitting member 43 extends from the rotary knob 41 into the barrel 31 and is coupled co-rotatably to the rotary knob 41. The force transmitting member 43 drives the rotation of the refill seat 5 in the barrel 31. Preferably, the rotary knob 41 is formed with an axial groove adapted for retaining an eraser 101.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the first guiding unit 313 is a groove formed in the inner barrel surface, and the second guiding unit 53 is a pair of axially spaced apart ribs protruding from the seat body 51 and extending into the groove. Alternatively, the first guiding unit 313 may be a rib protruding from the inner barrel surface, and the second guiding unit 53 may be a groove formed in the seat body 51.
In this embodiment, the inner barrel surface is formed with an annular engaging groove 312, and the force transmitting member 43 is formed with an engaging rib 431 that extends into and that is slidable along the engaging groove 312.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the barrel unit 3 further includes a mounting ring 314 mounted on the top end of the barrel 31 and disposed coaxial to the barrel axis. The rotary drive unit 4 further includes a limiting member 42 that extends from the rotary knob 41 into the barrel 31, that is spaced apart from the force transmitting member 43, and that abuts against the inner barrel surface. Preferably, the limiting member 42 and the force transmitting member 43 are formed with a pair of radial holes 420,430 respectively. The first retainer 61 is ring-shaped, is mounted non-rotatably in the mounting ring 314, and has an inner ring surface. The second retainer 62 is ring-shaped, is coupled to the force-transmitting member 43 and the limiting member 42, and is mounted in the mounting ring 314. The second retainer 62 has an outer ring surface that is capable of resilient intermittent engagement with the inner ring surface of the first retainer 61.
Preferably, the mounting ring 314 has a polygonal inner ring wall 315. The first retainer 61 includes an outer ring part 611, an inner ring part 613, and three connecting ribs 615. The outer ring part 611 has a polygonal outer ring surface 612 for engaging non-rotatably the polygonal inner ring wall 315 of the mounting ring 314. The inner ring part 613 is disposed in and is spaced apart from said outer ring part 611. The inner ring part 613 has the inner ring surface of the first retainer 61. The inner ring surface of the first retainer 61 is formed with a plurality of angularly spaced positioning grooves 614. The connecting ribs 615 are spaced apart from each other and interconnect the outer ring part 611 and the inner ring part 613. In this embodiment, the non-rotatable mounting of the first retainer 61 in the mounting ring 314 is achieved through the engagement between the polygonal outer ring surface 612 of the first retainer 61 and the polygonal inner ring wall 315 of the mounting ring 314. However, the manner in which the first retainer 61 is non-rotatably mounted in the mounting ring 314 should not be limited to what is disclosed herein.
In addition, the second retainer 62 includes an engaging ring part 621, a pair of protruding parts 622 and a plurality of positioning parts 623. The engaging ring part 621 is disposed in the inner ring part 613 of the first retainer 61 and is sleeved on the force transmitting member 43 and the limiting member 42. The engaging ring part 621 has the outer ring surface of the second retainer 62. The pair of protruding parts 622 extend from the engaging ring part 621 and engage the radial holes 430, 420 in the force transmitting member 43 and the limiting member 42, respectively. The plurality of positioning parts 623 are angularly spaced and are formed on the outer ring surface of the second retainer 62 for engaging resiliently and removably the positioning grooves 614 of the first retainer 61.
Returning to
In this embodiment, the mounting ring 314 has an outer ring wall formed with a base marker 316, as shown in
Referring to
When the refill 100 is moved relative to the barrel 31, the force transmitting member 43 and the limiting member 42, which are driven by the rotary knob 41, will drive the second retainer 62 to rotate relative to the first retainer 61. When the second retainer 62 rotates, the positioning parts 623 engage the respective corresponding positioning grooves 614. The inner ring part 613 is resiliently deformable so as to enable each positioning part 623 to be shifted to a neighboring one of the positioning grooves 614, thus repositioning the rotary knob 41. Correspondingly, another digit of the indicia 412 will be aligned with the base marker 316, giving the user an indication of the current extended length of the refill 100.
It has thus been shown that, through the operation of the rotary drive unit 4, the refill 100 is moved via the refill seat 5 up and down relative to the barrel 31. Moreover, through the design and function of the first and second retainers 61,62, the rotary knob 41 is rotatably retained on the barrel 31. Furthermore, through the design and function of the base marker 316 and the indicia 412, the extended length of the refill 100 can be accurately indicated.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what are considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
