CA1042389A - Clip actuated retractable ball point pen - Google Patents

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE
A retractable ball point pen includes a barrel which houses a replaceable ball point cartridge which is slidably pre-tractable and retractable and spring biased to a retractable position. A follower bears on the cartridge inner end and a clip member includes a bracket project through an upper slot in the barrel and having opposing inclined slots slidably and swingably engaging pivot projections on the upper faces of the follower. The lower end for the clip member includes a cam sur-face which engages the follower so that inward pressure on the follower lowers it to protract and latch the cartridge and the clip is provided with an arm projecting above the bracket and pressure on the arm swings the cam outwardly to release the follower and cartridge to their retracted positions.

Description

The present inventlon relates generally to improvements ln writing implements and lt relates more particul~rly to an lmproved retractable, replaceable cartrldge ball point pen in which the advance and retraction Or the writing element is er-rected by the simple manipulation of a clip member carried bythe writing implement.
~; There are many types Or propel-repel mechanisms em-ployed and proposed ~or use in the protra~ion and retraction of the writing element in ball point pens but these have be~n 10- generally of a complex nature or dl~icult and inconvenient to operate and ~requently unreliable. Among such propel-repel mechanlæms whLch have heretorore been avallable or proposed is a type in wbich the advance of the writing element to its ex-`tended posltion is errected by the radial inward depresslon Or ;I5~'à cIIp member carried by the pen. While such an arrangement is hlghly convenient, the assocInted mechanLsm possesses numerous drnwbacks~and dlsadvantages. It ls generally complex, incon-venient to employ, or little reliablllty and commonly subJect to malrùnctloning and damage~and otherwise leaving much to be `20`-desired.
'It ls~a~princlpal obJect of the present invention to ~-provlde an improved wrltlng element o- the writlng element propel-repel~type.
Another obJect~ Or~ the present Invention ls to provide 25 ~an lmproved replaceable cartridge~bàll point pen o~ the car-trIdge propel-repeI type, ln~whlch-the point ls lnherently wlthdrawn berore~the pen can be cllpped in a pocket.
A 8tlll rurther obJect Or the pre8ent invention ls to provlde an improved protractable retractable ball polnt pen ln whlch the advance and retractlon or the writln~ element is :

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~04'~389 er~ected by manipulation of a clip member carried by the pen.
Yet another ob~ect o~ the present invention i9 to provide a devlce Or the above nature characterized by its re-liability, ruggedness, ease and convenience o~ operation, simplicity and low cost and high versatility and adaptability.
The above and other ob~ects of the preæent invention will become apparent from a reading of the following description taken in con~unction with the accompanying drawings which illus-trate a preferred embodiment thereof.
In a sense the present invention contemplates the - provision Or a retractable writing implement comprising a barrel member, an elongated writing element disposed in the barrel member and longitudinally movable bett~een a retracted position and an advanced position pro~ecting through an opening at the ...
lS bottom Or the barrel, a spring urging and writing element to its retracted position, a follower Iongitudinally slidably disposed ; in the upper part of the barrel and in engagement with the upper part of the writing element, the barrel member having an open-ing registering with the follower and a clip mounted on the 20~ upper part Or the barrel for swinging about a transverse axis between the top and bottom Or the clip, the clip including upper and lower arms extending above and below the transveræe axis, the lower arm having a cam at lts lower end registering with the barrel openlng and provided with an inwardly upwardly inclined . ~
downwardly facing cam race engaging an upwardly racing portion or the rollower whereby inward æwinglng Or the lower arm ef-ects the downward movement Or the follower and writing element and the outward swinging Or the upper arm to an outwardly ex-- tended posltion and the lnward swlnging Or the upper arm rrom 1ts extended posltion swlngs the lower arm outwardly and the - - .

raising of the rollower and wrlting element.
In the preferred ~orm o~ the writing implement the follower is provided at its upper part with laterally axially aligned opposite pivot pro~ections provided wlth outwardly con-verging end faces and a depending transversely offset pair ofparallel transversely spaced arms joined by a bottom ledge pro~ecting transversely toward the barrel opening. The clip includes a pair Or laterally spaced bracket plates having in-clined longitudinal slots slidably swingably engaging the pivot lC elements and the cam engages thé upper face of the follower bottom ledge. The writing element extends longitudinally in-clined to the vertical, between the ~ollower spaced arms and into engagement with a downwardly facing sur~ace at the upper part Or the follower. ~~
The improved writing implement is rugged, reliable, æimple, inexpensive and easy and convenient, to use.
In drawings which illustrate an embodlment of the inventlon:
Flgure 1 is an exploded perspective view o~ a ball point pen embodying the present invention;
Figure 2 is a medial longitudinal sectional view o~
the assembled pen shown in a retracted condition;
- Figure 2A is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the pen in a protracted condition;
Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 2;
Figure 4 is a sectional ~iew taken along line 4-4 in Figure 2; and Flgure 5 i8 a sectlonal view taken along line 5-5 3C in Figure 2.

lU42389 Referring now to the drawings which illustrate a pre-~erred embodiment of the present Lnvention as applied to a re-placeable cartridge ~all point pen, the reference numeral lC
generally designates the improved pen which comprises a hollo:J
elongated barrel 11 rormed of metal or other suitable material.
The barrel 11 includes separable upper and lower coaxial end vo end sections 12 and 13 respectively, whi'ch are separably joined by a s~epped collar 14 having upper and lower portions o~ re-duced and increased diameter delineated by a peripheral shoulder.
The barrel lower section 13 is provided with a coni-cal bottom portion 16 taperin~ to restricted end opening 17 at the tip thereof and the barrel upper section 12 is provided wi~h a conical top portion 18 terminating in a closed end wall 19.
Formed in the wall of barrel top section 12 and extending longi-tudinally from the base cf,conical porti~ 18 is a relatively short first rectangular opening or slot 2C and a second rela-tively long rectangular opening or slot 21 is ~ormed in upper barrel section 12 in longitudinal alignment'with first slot 2C
and extending from a point below the bottom edge of first slot 2C to a point above the bottom edge of barrel sec~ion 12.
Longitudinally slidably registering with a~ en~a~ing the interior face of the upper cyiindrical portion of barrel section 12 is a follower 22 which is advantageously integrally molded as a unit of a synthetic organic polymeric resin. The- -follower 22 includes an upper narrow block section 23, which extends diametrically of the barrel section 12 at about the level o~ slot 20 and has a cylindrical ver~ical end face 24, which confronts the slot 20 and is subctantially coplanar with the interior cylindrical race o~ barrel section 12. The verti-3~ cal end ~ace o~ bloc~ section 23 opposite to ~ace 24 does not reach the wall of barrel section 12.
Formed in the parallel vertical side faces 26 Or blocksection 23 proximate the upper inner corners thereo~ are a pair of laterally coaxially aligned slide pivot derining pro~ections 27 of cylindrical con~iguration. The half 28 of the outer end - ~ace of each pivot 27 remote from face 24 is parallel ko the faces 26 and the opposite half 29 of the outer end face of each pivot 27 proximate khe face 24 is inclined from the raised end face half 28 toward faces 24 and 26 and reaches at its medial - 10 portion the respective face 26. Medially depending ~rom the block seckion 23 is an approximately cubic shaped section 3C
having bevelled vertical edges 32 which slidably engage the in-terior-cylindrical face of barrel section 12. The vertical front face 33 of seckion 3G is spaced inwardly of the cylindrical face 24 Or block section 23.

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A pair of laterally spaced parallel ve r~tLcal arms 34 depend from the follower section 30 and a rectangular recess 36 is mediaIly formed in khe lower rear corner of section 3C and has slde faces 37 coplanar with the inside faces ~8 of arms 34, ; ~ 20 an inner vertical face 39 coplanar with the front faces 4G of ;~ arms 34 and a downwardly directed horizontal top face 41 aligned witb the space between arms 34. Formed ak the lower front faces 4~ of arms--34 and connecking the arms 34 is a forwardly pro-Jecting horizontal ledge 42 having bevelled vertical corners 43 - 25 slidably engaging the barrel wall interior face and the ouker vertical edges Or arms 34 are likewise so bevelled. The ledge : ~ , 42 haæ a horizontal top face 44 and has formed in its ~ront face a forwardly proJecting medial wlde rlb 46 coextensive in height with ledge 42 and registerlng wlth the slot 21, Formed along the upper front edge of rib 46 is an upwardly directed laterally ' 104;~
extending lip 47.
A cl~p 48 integrally for~ed of .~etal or other suit-able ~aterial is swingabl~ ~ounted on the upper part of the pen 10, a nor~ally vertical relatively long lower ar~ 49 and a nor~ally upwardly in~Jardly inclined relatively short upper ar~
50 and a rearwardly projecting bracket 51 between the ar~s 49 and 50. The bracket 51 includes a-pair of laterally spaced rearwardly projecting parallel vertical plates 52 which are coplanar with flanges 53 formed along the edges of lower ar~
49. Plates 52 have for.~ed therein transversely aligned upward-ly rearwardly inclined parallel slots 54. m e bracket plates 52 project through barrel slot 20 and e~brace follo~er section 23 with the slots 24 slidably s~Jingably engaging the pivots 27.
The inclined faces 29 of pivot 27 facilitate the assernbly of the clip 48, follower 22 and barrel section 12.
For~ed at the lower end of ar~ 49 is an inwardly pro-~ectlng ca~ ~e~ber 56 having an upwardly inwardly inclined bot-` to~ ca~ face 57 which projects through the botto~ portion of slot 21 and engages the follower lip 47. It should be noted ~20 that when the ar~ 49 is in ~ts depressed or inner advanced posi--~tion, as shown in Figure 2A, the botto~ apex 58 of ca~ 55 en-gages the ledge top face 44 i~ediately inwardly of lip 47 and the ar~ 50 diverges upwardly fro~ the face of barrel section 18 and when the arm 53 is in its outer or`retracted position as æhown in Figure 2, the upper border of ca~ surface 57 engages follower lip 49 and the ar~ 50 lies along the surface of barrel conical section 18.
Replaceably housed in the barrel 11 i5 a writing ele-ment 59 which is a ball polnt cartridge of conventional construc-tion and extends fro~ proxi.~ate the top end opening 17 at an lO~Z389angle sllghtly inclined to the barrel axis upwardly between the ar~s 34 o~ follo~ler 22 and into the follower recess 36 and into enga~e.~ent with the reces~ top face 41. Ears 60 are for~ed on the lower part of cartridge 59 and the cartrid~e terminates at its botto.m ln a bcll point .~e~ber ~1 of reduced cross section which is allgned with opening 17. A helical spring 65 engages the cartridge 59 and is entrapped between the ears 50 and the inside ~ace o~ the lower barrel bottom section 16 to nor.~ally resiliently urge the cartridge 59 and : -,10 the foll~ler 22 to their raised retracted positions with the ball point me~ber 61 being ~ully drawn into the barrel tapered :portion 16, as best shown in Figure 2.
Considering now the operation o~ the i~proved writing mplement 10 described above, when the cartridge 59 is in its :~
}5~ spring biased retracted position, as shown in Figure 2, the ~- ' upper arm:~50 rests on the surface of barrel.section 18 and the lower~arm~49 is retracted with the cam 56, the upper border of cam face~57 engaging follower lip 47 to release the follower , w~ and cartridge to~thei.r raised retracted posltions under the ln-

2~ f1ùence~of~s~pring 65.~ To protract the cartridge 59, the lower ~' çllp,~arm:49;1~pressed inwardly to advance ca~ face 57 along ~' ::ro110wer~1ip:47 to~thereby~advance the follower 22 which in turn~protrects the cartridge~:,to its fully advanced position :~
with writing element 61 pro~ecting through tip opening I7 and :25~fully loads the spring 65. In the fully.depressed position of ar~ 49 the oa~ apex 58 rests~on foll~er led~e ~ace 41 ~medi-ately inwardly of llp 47 to releasably lock the ~ollower 22 in : its depressed posltlon. Wlth the rull inward depression Or . ,, . ~
~ lower cllp arm 49, the upper ar~ S0 i8 8wung rrom the surface ~ " , , ~ .
~ 30 of barrel portlon 18 and the bracket slots 54 swlng rro~ their 7- ~
,, f.
. ,,` -, ` 1~)4;~3~3~
lnclined positions to vertical positions as shown in Figure 2A.
To retract the cartridge 59 into the barrel the upper arm 5~ is ~erely pressed to swing it inwardly to the face of barrel portion 18, thereby swinging the ~ower arm 49 outwardly so that the cam 56 releases the follo~Jer 22 to be ~oved upwardly by the spring loaded cartridge 21. m e writing ;imple~ent thus returns to the cartridge retracted condition as shown in Figure 2.
- While collar 14 was shown illustratively as a stepped cylinder, its upper portion 15 may have at least three longitudinal ribs or s~ines on its outer diameter shown in dotted lines at 15a for aiding in positioning cap 12. Other means for separably joining cap 12 can be utilized such as 15~threads or the like. Also, while folIower 22 was illustrated as being molded of a plastic ~aterial, it ~ay also advantage-ously be cast or molded of a ~etal, such as zinc.
While there has been described and illustrated a ;preferred e~bodiment of the present invention, it is apparent ; 20 that numerous alterations, o~issions and additions may be made without departing ~rom the spirit thereof.

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Claims (10)

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE
PROPERTY OR PRIVILEGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:

1. A retractable writing implement comprising a barrel member, an elongated writing element disposed in said barrel member and longitudinally movable between a retracted position and an advanced position projecting through the bottom of said barrel member, spring means urging said writing element toward its retracted position, a follower member longitudinally slid-ably disposed in the upper part of said barrel member and in engagement with the upper part of said writing element, said barrel member having a first opening therein registering with said follower member, and a clip member mounted on the upper part of said barrel for swinging about a transverse axis be-tween the top and bottom of said clip member, said clip member including upper and lower arms extending above and below said axis, said clip member lower arm having a cam at its lower end registering with said first opening and provided with an in-wardly upwardly inclined downwardly facing cam face engaging an upwardly facing portion of said follower member, said barrel having a second opening therein above said first opening, and said clip member including an inwardly directed bracket between said upper and lower arms projecting through said second open-ing and swingably connected to said follower member whereby inward swinging of said lower arm of said clip member effects the downward movement of said follower member and writing ele-ment and the outward swinging of said upper arm to an outwardly extended position and the inward swinging of said upper arm from its extended position swings said lower arm outwardly and the raising of said follower and writing element.

2. The writing implement of claim 1 wherein said fol-lower member has a pair of laterally aligned oppositely projecting pivot elements therein and said bracket includes a pair of laterally spaced parallel vertically extending slots formed therein slidably and swingably engaging said pivot elements.

3. The writing implement of claim 2 wherein said slots are alternatively inclined to the vertical and vertical when said lower arm is in its outer and inner positions respectively.

4. The writing implement of claim 1 wherein said writ-ing element is inclined to the vertical and said follower member includes a downwardly facing surface bearing on the top of said writing element.

5. The writing element of claim 2 wherein said pivot elements are integrally formed with said follower and include end faces having portions thereof proximate said opening in said barrel converging relative to each other toward said barrel.

6. The writing implement of claim l wherein the upper part of said barrel is of conical configuration and said clip member upper arm in its inner position extends along the face of said barrel upper part.

7. The writing implement of claim 2 wherein said follow-er member comprises an integrally formed unit including a rela-tively thin upper section on opposite faces of which said pivot elements are positioned and a relatively wide section below said thin upper section and including a pair of laterally spaced depending parallel side arms joined at their bottoms by a hori-zontal ledge projecting toward said first opening and terminating in an upwardly extending projection engaged by said cam.

8. The writing implement of claim 2 wherein said bracket includes laterally spaced parallel plates aligned generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said clip, each of said plates containing one of said slots.

9. The writing implement of claim 7 wherein said brack-et includes laterally spaced parallel plates, each plate con-taining one of said slots, said plates embracing said thin section of said follower and said slots engaging said pivot elements on said thin section.

10. The writing implement of claim 7 wherein said writ-ing element is disposed between said pair of laterally spaced depending parallel side arms of said follower member.