DE102022001641B3 - Pen - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a pen with a shaft, a lead with a working end, a pusher lying on the opposite side of the lead from the working end of the lead and a force sensor, the lead being adjustable between two operating positions in response to actuation of the pusher, namely a working position , in which the mine protrudes with its working end from the shank, and a rest position in which the working end of the mine lies in the shank, the force sensor is designed to detect a force acting axially on the mine, and the mine is in the Working position supported on the force sensor.

Description

The invention relates to a pen with a shaft, a lead with a working end, a pusher lying on the opposite side of the lead from the working end of the lead and a force sensor, the lead being adjustable between two operating positions in response to actuation of the pusher, namely a working position , in which the mine protrudes with its working end from the shank, and a rest position in which the working end of the mine lies in the shank, the force sensor also being designed to detect a force acting axially on the mine, and the mine itself supported in the working position on the force sensor.

Pens of the aforementioned type are known. If a user of the known pen pulls his thumb, with which he switches the pen, to the side of the pusher when switching to the rest position, the mine is accelerated by a switching spring in the direction of the end of the pen and when it reaches the end position (rest position) is braked abruptly. This results in high inertial forces, which can easily damage a sensitive force sensor, such as that installed in electronic pens to measure the pressure force of the writing tip on the writing surface. This problem is exacerbated in the case of an addition to the mine with this moving battery. In order to keep the mine and possibly the battery in the rest position in the shaft, even when the shaft is moved, the switching spring must also exert a minimum force on the mine and possibly the battery in the rest position. This force is further increased by the extension into the working position and the associated compression of the spring and acts on the mine and possibly the battery when retracting, so that it is/are accelerated in the retracting direction with a multiple of the acceleration due to gravity.

The US 2019/0 310 721 A1 shows a pen with the features of the preamble of claim 1. Similar pens are known from US Pat US 2017/0 108 948 A1 and from the JP 2005-022 215 A .

In view of the above problems, the invention is based on the object of further developing the pin of the type mentioned at the outset in such a way that the force sensor is better protected against damage.

According to the invention, the stated object is achieved with a pen of the type mentioned at the outset in that the refill is decoupled from the force sensor in the rest position.

The invention is based on the finding that decoupling the mine from the force sensor in the rest position means that the inertial forces occurring when braking when the rest position is reached cannot act on the force sensor. This relieves the force sensor of damaging forces when moving the mine from the working position to the rest position.

According to the invention, it is preferably provided that the force sensor is coupled to the pusher with regard to axial movements with respect to the shaft.

As a result, it can be achieved, for example, that the force sensor (together with the pusher) is moved axially by a longer distance than the mine when the mine is adjusted from the working position to the rest position, so that a distance decoupling the mine from the force sensor can be established.

According to the invention, the force sensor is preferably located at the end of the pusher facing the refill.

More preferably, an optional resilient means is provided which biases the trigger in a direction away from the refill.

This ensures that a distance decoupling the mine from the force sensor is automatically created and maintained.

However, even without this elastic element, the force sensor can be protected simply because of the longer adjustment path, as will be explained below.

According to the invention, a stop is provided on which the mine is supported directly or indirectly in the rest position.

This stop in turn serves to establish and maintain a distance that decouples the mine or the mine-battery combination from the force sensor in the rest position. In the rest position, the mine or the mine-battery combination is not supported on the force sensor.

To protect the sensor, it is preferably provided that it has a greater axial mobility than the mine. The mine hits the stop that is not supported on the sensor.

According to a further preferred embodiment of the invention, an electrical or electronic circuit coupled to the force sensor and a battery are provided, the battery being connected to the electrical or electronic circuit in the working position cal circuit is connected and disconnected from it in the rest position. The battery can be any type of battery, for example a rechargeable battery (accumulator).

As a result, the electrical or electronic circuit is switched on at the same time as the mine is moved from the rest position to the working position, and vice versa it is switched off.

It is preferably provided that the electrical or electronic circuit is coupled to the pusher with regard to axial movements with respect to the shaft.

As a result, the electrical or electronic circuit can be switched on and off in a particularly simple manner by actuating the push button.

In this embodiment, another spring is to be provided that prestresses the pusher into the rest position and actively lifts the pusher from the battery in the rest position, so that electrical contact via the contact springs is ruled out.

According to the invention, a circuit board is also preferably provided, which carries the electrical or electronic circuit and is located within the handle.

As a result, the space inside the handle is used. In addition, the board is protected with the circuitry it carries.

Finally, according to the invention, a carriage is preferably provided which holds the mine and the battery so that they can be displaced axially with respect to the shaft.

Such a common carriage for the mine and the battery has advantages not only when assembling or changing the mine and/or the battery, but is also helpful when realizing common axial movements of the mine and the battery. The carriage also allows axial force to be transmitted across the battery regardless of battery length tolerances. This means that the mine always exerts the same force on the sensor, regardless of the size and design of the battery.

• 1 eine Längsschnittansicht eines bevorzugten Ausführungsbeispiels des erfindungsgemäßen Stiftes in der Ruhestellung,
• 2 die gleiche Ansicht wie 1, jedoch in der Arbeitsstellung,
• 3 die gleiche Ansicht wie 2, jedoch um 90° um die Längsachse gedreht,
• 4 eine schematische Explosionsansicht von Teilen des Stiftes und
• 5 die gleiche Ansicht wie 4, jedoch um 90° um die Längsachse gedreht und mit zusätzlichen Axialansichten.

The invention is explained in more detail below using a preferred exemplary embodiment and with reference to the attached drawing. show it

• 1 a longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the pen according to the invention in the rest position,
• 2 the same view as 1 , but in the working position,
• 3 the same view as 2 , but rotated 90° around the longitudinal axis,
• 4 a schematic exploded view of parts of the pen and
• 5 the same view as 4 , but rotated 90° around the longitudinal axis and with additional axial views.

• Ein vorderer Schaft 1, der auch als Griffstück bezeichnet werden kann, ein Schaftrohr 2, ein Schaftabschluss 3 mit Schaltmechanik und optionalem Clip, ein Drücker 4 mit elektronischen Komponenten darin, ein Schlitten 10 zur Aufnahme einer Mine 11 und einer Batterie 12, eine Elektronikplatine 13, ein Steg 22, der den hinteren Anschlag für den Schlitten 10 darstellt, eine vordere Öffnung 101 zum Durchstecken einer Schreibspitze 110, eine vordere Wanne zur Aufnahme der Mine 11, eine hintere Wanne zur Aufnahme der Batterie 12, eine hintere Öffnung 104 für einen Massekontakt 122, eine Schreibspitze 110, Tinte 111, ein Nachläufer 112, ein Stopfen 113 der Mine 11, eine Feder 114 zum Einrücken der Mine 11, ein federnder Metallkontakt 121 am Minuspol der Batterie 12, eine Minuspolfeder 130, eine Drückerfeder 131 und ein Pluspol-Federkontakt 132 der Elektronik auf der Platine 13.

The drawing shows the following details of the pen shown:

• A front shaft 1, which can also be referred to as a grip, a shaft tube 2, a shaft end 3 with switching mechanism and optional clip, a pusher 4 with electronic components inside, a slide 10 for holding a mine 11 and a battery 12, an electronic circuit board 13 , a web 22, which represents the rear stop for the carriage 10, a front opening 101 for inserting a writing tip 110, a front trough for receiving the lead 11, a rear trough for receiving the battery 12, a rear opening 104 for a ground contact 122, a writing tip 110, ink 111, a follower 112, a plug 113 of the refill 11, a spring 114 for engaging the refill 11, a resilient metal contact 121 on the negative pole of the battery 12, a negative pole spring 130, a pusher spring 131 and a positive pole Electronic spring contact 132 on circuit board 13.

1 shows the pen in the off (rest) state. The spring 114 presses the carriage 10, which contains the mine 11 and the battery 12, backwards against the web 22, which is attached to the end of the shaft tube 2. At the same time, the spring 131 pushes the pusher 4 backwards against the stop of the switching mechanism, whereby the spring contacts 132 lift off the ground contact 122 and the positive pole 123 of the battery 12 and in this way electrically disconnect the electronics on the circuit board 13 from their power supply. As a result, every time the pen is switched off, the programming is reset at the same time, which is read from the program memory of the pen when it is started again. At the same time, the power consumption in the switched-off state (idle position) is limited to the self-discharge of the battery 12, so that a switched-off pen can be used for years.

When switching on, the pusher 4 is pushed onto the ground contact 122 and the positive pole 123 of the battery 12 and pushes the carriage 10 with the mine 11 and the battery 12 forward until the switching mechanism is in its forward switching position locks and the writing tip 110 emerges from the front shaft 1 at the front end. As a rule, the time that elapses when switching is sufficient to activate the electronics, so that switching off the pen completely does not impair the usability of the pen.

• Ein Schaltring 5, wobei die Nuten auf seiner Umfangsfläche nicht dargestellt sind, eine Drückerbasis 41, die aus einem spritzgegossenen Bauteil besteht und zwei Schalen aufweist, die durch ein Folienscharnier zusammengehalten werden, eine Drückerkappe 42 mit umlaufender Nut 43, eine Rastnase 44 am Ende der Drückerbasis 41, eine Kontaktfeder 132 für den Massekontakt 122, eine Kontaktfeder 133 für den Pluspol 123 der Batterie 12 und ein Kraftsensor 134.

Especially in the 4 and 5 the following details are shown:

• A switching ring 5, the grooves on its peripheral surface not being shown, a pusher base 41, which consists of an injection molded component and has two shells which are held together by a film hinge, a pusher cap 42 with a circumferential groove 43, a locking lug 44 at the end of the Pusher base 41, a contact spring 132 for the ground contact 122, a contact spring 133 for the positive pole 123 of the battery 12 and a force sensor 134.

In the present exemplary embodiment of the pen according to the invention, the pusher 4 consists of only two components, of which the pusher base 41 can be swung open by means of a film hinge attached at the side in order to insert the circuit board 13 . After closing, the switching ring 5, which runs in a groove between the two handle parts, can first be pushed onto the handle base 41. The assembly is completed by putting on and locking in the handle cap 42.

In 5 shows the view on the far right of the pusher 4 from the front. The view on the far left shows pusher 4 without the pusher cap and switch ring from behind.

The pusher cap 42 is elliptical to prevent the end portion of the stem tube 2 from rotating.

The two contact springs 132 and 133 are concentric with one another and protrude beyond the tip end of the pusher 4 . When the pusher 4 is disengaged, they lift off the ground contact 122 and the positive pole 123 of the battery 12, because the pusher 4 has more adjustment travel when switching than the carriage 10, which is prevented by the web 22 from moving further backwards.

The function of the ballpoint pen writing mechanism shown in the drawing is known and is therefore not described in detail.

1. 1. In ausgeschaltetem Zustand ist er unbelastet.
2. 2. Beim Einschalten wird die Schaltkraft vom Drücker 4 über den Kraftsensor 134 auf die Feder 114 zum Einrücken der Mine 11 übertragen. Hinzu kommen die Trägheitskräfte, die durch die Beschleunigung der Minen-Batterie-Kombination aus der Ruhestellung entstehen. Diese sind jedoch in aller Regel gering, weil die Summe aller dieser Kräfte der Kraft auf dem Finger des Anwenders gleich ist, mit der dieser den Stift aktiviert.
3. 3. In der Arbeitsstellung wirkt die Kraft der gespannten Feder 114 zum Einrücken der Mine 11 zusammen mit der Längskomponente der Schreibkraft, also derjenigen Kraft, mit der die Schreibspitze 110 auf die Schreibunterlage gedrückt wird, auf den Kraftsensor 134. In dieser Betriebsstellung ist mit der höchsten Belastung des Kraftsensors 134 zu rechnen. Um diese Kraft zu begrenzen, kann die Platine 13 elastisch im Inneren des Drückers 4 befestigt werden. Diese Lösung ist in der Zeichnung nicht gezeigt.
4. 4. Abgesehen von den Trägheitskräften sind dann, wenn der Anwender seinen Finger auf dem Drücker 4 lässt und den Vorgang damit abbremst, die Kräfte beim Einfahren gleich denen beim Ausfahren der Mechanik. Lässt er allerdings den Mechanismus zurückschnappen, lastet zunächst lediglich die Trägheitskraft des Drückers 4 selbst abzüglich der Kraft der Drückerfeder 131 auf dem Kraftsensor 134. Bei Erreichen der Endposition, die durch das Anschlagen des Schaltrings 5 an dem Anschlag an dem Schaftabschluss 3 gekennzeichnet ist, wird die Minen-Batterie-Kombination in dem Schlitten 10 jedoch jäh abgebremst und die gesamte dafür erforderliche Kraft müsste bei einer herkömmlichen Konstruktion des Stiftes über den Kraftsensor 134 geleitet werden.

The force sensor 134 experiences the following loads in the various operating positions:

1. 1. When switched off, it is unloaded.
2. 2. When switching on, the switching force is transmitted from the pusher 4 via the force sensor 134 to the spring 114 for engaging the refill 11. Added to this are the inertial forces that arise from the acceleration of the mine-battery combination from the rest position. However, these are generally small because the sum of all these forces is equal to the force on the user's finger with which the user activates the pen.
3. 3. In the working position, the force of the tensioned spring 114 to engage the refill 11 acts together with the longitudinal component of the writing force, i.e. the force with which the writing tip 110 is pressed onto the writing pad, on the force sensor 134. In this operating position, the the highest load on the force sensor 134 is to be expected. In order to limit this force, the plate 13 can be fixed elastically inside the pusher 4. This solution is not shown in the drawing.
4. 4. Apart from the forces of inertia, if the user keeps his finger on the pusher 4 and thus slows down the operation, the forces during retraction are the same as those during the extension of the mechanism. However, if he lets the mechanism snap back, initially only the inertial force of the pusher 4 itself minus the force of the pusher spring 131 weighs on the force sensor 134. When the end position is reached, which is characterized by the switching ring 5 striking the stop on the shaft end 3, the However, the lead-battery combination in the carriage 10 is abruptly braked and the entire force required for this would have to be conducted via the force sensor 134 with a conventional construction of the pen.

The special feature of the pen according to the invention compared to the conventional pen is that the lead-battery combination in the carriage 10 reaches its stop in the form of the web 22 located in the shaft tube 2 before the switching ring 5 moves into its stop. The entire inertial force from the braking of the mine-battery combination in the carriage 10 is absorbed by the web 22 and the force sensor 134 remains unloaded. In the embodiment shown in the drawing, the diameter of the carriage 10 at the location of the web 22 is therefore larger than the diameter of the pusher 4, which dips through the opening delimited by the web 22.

The features of the invention disclosed in the above description, the claims and the drawing can be essential both individually and in any combination for the realization of the invention in its various embodiments.

Claims (8)

Pen with a shaft (1, 2), a mine (11) with a working end, on the working end of the mine (11) opposite side of the mine (11) lying pusher (4) and a force sensor (134), wherein the Mine (11) can be adjusted between two operating positions in response to actuation of the pusher (4), namely a working position in which the working end of the mine (11) protrudes from the shaft (1, 2), and a rest position in which the Working end of the mine (11) is in the shaft (1, 2), the force sensor (134) is designed to detect an axially acting on the mine (11) force, and the mine (11) in the working position on the force sensor (134), characterized in that the mine (11) is decoupled from the force sensor (134) in the rest position and a stop (22) is provided on which the mine (11) is supported directly or indirectly in the rest position . pen after claim 1 , characterized in that the force sensor (134) is coupled to the pusher (4) with regard to axial movements relative to the shaft (1, 2). pen after claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the force sensor (134) is located at the end of the pusher (4) facing the refill (11). Pen according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by elastic means (131) which bias the pusher (4) in a direction away from the refill (11). Pen according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized by an electrical or electronic circuit coupled to the force sensor (134) and a battery (12), the battery (12) being connected to the electrical or electronic circuit in the working position and disconnected therefrom in the rest position is. pen after claim 5 , characterized in that the electrical or electronic circuit is coupled to the pusher (4) with regard to axial movements with respect to the shaft (1, 2). pen after one of Claims 5 or 6 , characterized by a circuit board (13) which carries the electrical or electronic circuit and is located within the pusher (4). pen after one of Claims 5 until 7 , characterized by a carriage (10) holding the refill (11) and the battery (12) so as to be axially displaceable with respect to the shaft (1, 2).

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