EP0525280A1 - Head-top for ink containers - Google Patents

Abstract

The head-top (10) for ink containers, with the facility for complete emptying of the ink glass, is designed as a retrofittable addition for commercial ink glasses, is provided with a collar section which can be connected to the neck of the container (145) and a sealing arrangement in the region of the connection to the container, and has a substantially cylindrical docking section (26) for the fluid-tight reception of a piece (48) for connection to a refillable ink volume (54), especially for receiving an end section (48), facing a writing pen (44), of a piston-type fountain pen or a refillable ink cartridge. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to an attachment for writing liquid containers, in particular for ink bottles or glasses for fountain pen ink, according to the preamble of claim 1.

Containers for fountain pen ink are usually shaped so that an essentially bulbous base section merges into a narrower collar section with an external thread on the upper side. A closure cover can be screwed onto the collar section, which receives a sealing washer on the inside, which is pressed against the end face of the collar section in a fluid-tight manner when the screw cover is put on.

Even though more and more writing instruments and fountain pens with ink cartridges have become more and more popular, it can be seen that fountain pens of high quality are designed in most cases as so-called piston fountain pens, i.e. have in their interior a generally cylindrical writing fluid volume that can be refilled by an externally actuated piston. This volume can either be integrated into the housing of the fountain pen or be formed by a piston cartridge, a so-called converter, which is inserted into the fountain pen as a unit that can be handled separately. In both cases, the ink supply volume is filled up by moving the piston to the foremost stop, so that the internal volume of the ink supply container delimited by the piston assumes a minimum value. A connection to the environment is established via the nib or the front opening of the refillable cartridge. For refilling, the pen or the front end of the piston cartridge is immersed or immersed in the inkwell, so that writing fluid or ink is sucked in by moving the piston back and the ink reservoir is filled.

In addition to the fact that this refilling process with piston fountain pens is somewhat more time-consuming than with the cartridge fountain pens anyway due to the separate handling of the ink fountain, there is the further problem that when refilling the ink one basically gets dirty on the hands. Because when refilling piston fountain pens the latter must always be immersed in the ink over the lower edge of the grip, so that the outer surface of the fountain pen is often wetted by the ink and thus contaminated well into the recessed grip. Blue or black ink is difficult to perceive on the often darkened outer surfaces of the fountain pen, so that the fountain pen must be washed and dried thoroughly before being used again.

Another problem arises from the fact that when filling fountain pens, care must be taken to ensure that the entire nib is surrounded by ink. This means that ink bottles or ink glasses are difficult to empty. If the ink level has dropped so far that when the nib is immersed, the latter is no longer completely submerged about 1 mm below the level of the writing fluid, the fountain pen draws "air" when it is filled. The ink reservoir in the fountain pen can therefore no longer be completely filled with ink, so that the refilling process must be carried out at ever shorter intervals. In addition, the air trapped in the ink reservoir acts when the fountain pen is thermally stressed, e.g. then, when the fountain pen is held in the hand for a long time or is exposed to sunlight, it has a negative effect in that the increasing volume of air pushes ink excessively out of the pen.

Even with fountain pens with refillable cartridges, the problems described above cannot be eliminated, especially since in this case the likelihood of getting dirty on the hands when refilling ink is greater because the cartridge can only be stabilized when immersed in that one supports yourself with your fingers on the upper edge of the ink glass neck.

Attempts have already been made to alleviate the above-mentioned problems by giving the ink tanks or glasses a special shape, so that, in addition to the actual main volume, a secondary volume is created separated by a partition. However, the ink glass is given a very complex shape, which makes it difficult to manufacture and increases the cost of the ink glass.

From DE-U-1 708 304 a device made of plastic is known which is inserted into the neck of ink bottles and which has the task of keeping the ink away from the outside when the writing instrument is being filled. The insertion opening tapers gradually inwards in order to fix the writing instrument and to achieve a seal so that the ink glass can be held upside down with the writing instrument.

DE-A-672 038 describes a plastic insert for ink glasses, the part of which projects into the glass has a metal insert approximately the length of the bottle neck.

DE-A-918 076 describes a multi-part insert for ink bottles as a filling aid for writing utensils. The device comprises a vessel insert, in the opening of which a rubber tube, which is held on the attachment by means of a clamping ring and in which a rubber nozzle is seated, is introduced. Gum The mixing hose and rubber spout protrude into the vessel. The writing instrument is inserted into the rubber grommet and held in the grommet by means of a thickening. The pen is completely enclosed by the rubber grommet; the pen can be guided into the vessel and to the floor due to the elastic hose element, without the device becoming soiled or damaged.

An ink bottle is known from DE-U-1 721 607 which is intended to fulfill the task of enabling precise metering during filling processes. For this purpose, temperature influences are switched off by using a double-walled insulated container. The bottle attachment used here reduces the actual bottle opening to a smaller diameter in the form of a tip, which is closed with a cap. The bottle, bottle cap and cap are each connected by a thread.

DE-U-1 704 989 describes an ink vessel with a guide tube. The glass is tapered under the guide tube for the writing instrument so that even the last ink residue can be sucked up. The transparent guide tube has a displaceable piston in its interior, which is provided with an opening for the writing instrument and at the same time fixes the writing instrument. The piston is held in place in the tube.

With all known devices and inserts for inkwell a complete emptying of the inkwell content is not possible; in some cases considerable remains remain. In addition, complicated designs are often required to extract the contents of an inkwell. Furthermore, the known technical solutions are not suitable as retrofit parts for standard writing fluid containers.

The invention is therefore based on the object to provide an attachment for an inkwell, with which it is possible to completely empty the inkwell except for an insignificant remaining amount and at the same time to facilitate the handling of the inkwell on the one hand and the fountain pen or the refillable cartridge on the other hand that the risk of getting dirty when refilled with ink is effectively contained.

This object is achieved by an essay with the features of claim 1.

According to the invention, an attachment is created for the neck of the ink bottle or ink glass, to which the piston fountain pen or the piston cartridge can be docked in a fluid-tight manner, wherein a latching device or snap device is advantageously provided in order to position the fountain pen or the cartridge to be filled in with respect to the position Ensure attachment or the ink glass. If the piston is then moved forward and air is accordingly displaced from the ink reservoir into the inkwell, a slight overpressure is generated in the inkwell or inkglass. Due to the fluid-tight seal between the fountain pen and the ink glass, the latter can now be brought upside down, i.e. be turned over so that the ink or residual ink in the ink glass runs into an area that immediately surrounds the nib of the fountain pen or the orifice of the refillable cartridge so that even a small amount of ink in the ink glass is sufficient to cover the entire nib of the Fountain pen to be surrounded with ink or to wash around. By turning the plunger back, the ink is sucked into the fountain pen or the refillable cartridge, supported by the slight excess pressure in the ink glass, free of air or bubbles, whereupon the ink bottle or ink glass can be turned back to the normal position. However, there is also the possibility of attaching the attachment to the end of the piston fountain pen, leaving the attachment attached and immersing it together with the fountain pen in the inkwell in order to carry out a filling.

During the entire refilling process, only the end face adjacent to the spring or the cartridge inlet opening is wetted with ink due to the fluid-tight and thus form-fitting enclosure of the fountain pen or the ink cartridge. In this area, the ink can be removed, for example wiped, with a significantly reduced effort. Accordingly, the fountain pen or the refillable cartridge can be handled without problems after refilling, without running the risk of getting dirty on the hands or fingers with ink when the fountain pen or the cartridge is touched again. The essay according to the invention is i.a. also suitable for some standard ink glasses and it is particularly suitable as a retrofit part for such writing fluid containers.

Advantageous developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

A minimization of the residual ink volume surrounding the fountain pen in the upside-down position of the ink glass results from the further development of claim 6. This minimum volume is easiest to provide if, according to claim 10, the docking section adjoins the collar section via a radial retracting shoulder .

In the case of already very narrow ink glass necks, however, it is also possible to move the docking section essentially radially within the collar section, thereby increasing the overall height of the attachment can be reduced in size.

According to an advantageous further development, the attachment can be equipped with adapters in order to take into account the different geometries of the fountain pen tips or the refillable cartridges.

The docking section can either itself at least in

Area of the sealing surfaces to the fountain pen to be designed radially elastic or to be equipped with elastic inserts.

• Fig. 1 eine Schnittansicht des oberen Bereichs eines Tintenglases mit aufgeschraubtem Aufsatz gemäß einer ersten Ausführungsform,
• Fig. 2 in etwas verkleinertem Maßstab eine Schnittansicht des oberen Tintenglasabschnittes mit angedocktem Füllfederhalter, wobei sich das Tintenglas in überkopflage befindet,
• Fig. 3 einen Halbschnitt des oberen Bereichs eines Aufsatzes gemäß einer zweiten Ausführungsform mit abgenommenem Verschlußdeckel und
• Fig. 4 einen Halbschnitt des oberen Bereichs eines Tintenfasses bzw. Tintenglases mit aufgeschraubtem Aufsatz gemäß einer dritten Ausführungsform.

Several exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with the aid of schematic drawings. Show it

• 1 shows a sectional view of the upper region of an ink glass with a screwed-on attachment according to a first embodiment,
• 2 is a somewhat reduced scale, a sectional view of the upper ink glass section with the fountain pen docked, the ink glass being in the upside-down position,
• Fig. 3 shows a half section of the upper region of an attachment according to a second embodiment with the cover removed and
• Fig. 4 shows a half section of the upper region of an inkwell or ink glass with a screwed-on attachment according to a third embodiment.

In Fig. 1, the reference numeral 10 denotes an attachment in the form of a plastic screw cap which is screwed onto a neck 12 of an ink glass 14. The neck 12 represents the tapered end of the otherwise bulbous ink glass. 16 denotes an external thread of the ink glass, which is in functional engagement with an internal thread 18 of a collar section 20. With 22, groove-shaped depressions are indicated in the outer peripheral surface of the collar section, which form lugs for facilitating the screwing and unscrewing of the attachment 10.

Via a radial constriction shoulder 24, the cylindrical collar section 20 merges into a likewise cylindrical docking section for all-round sealed, form-fitting reception of a connecting piece not shown in FIG. 1 to a refillable writing fluid or ink volume. This connector is formed, for example, by an end section of the plunger fountain pen facing the nib or by the end section of a refillable ink cartridge which can be inserted into the docking section 26 from above after a screw cap 28 has been removed.

For this purpose, the docking section 26 has an external thread 30 on the outside and the screw cap or the screw cap 28 has an internal thread 32, an annular web 36 projecting from the end wall 34 for the fluid-tight closure of the attachment 10, said ring web 36 protruding against the upper collar 38 of the docking section 26 is applied in a fluid-tight manner when the screw cap 28 is screwed on. The docking section 26 is adaptable to all fountain pen diameters; For this purpose, the docking section can consist of resilient, elastic material, such as plastic.

40 with a sealing lip area is designated, which when attaching the connector for the refillable writing fluid volume, i.e. for the fountain pen tip fits snugly against the outer circumference of the connecting piece, preferably latching or at least a snap connection between the docking section 26 and the fountain pen or the cartridge to be refilled. For this reason, a sealing lip ring bead 41 is used. The sealing lip area 40 or the ring bead 41 is therefore preferably adapted to the geometry of the end area of the fountain pen tip facing the spring in such a way that the sealing lips snap-fit at a predetermined point on the fountain pen or the refillable cartridge step with a corresponding outer surface area of the fountain pen or the cartridge, so that the fountain pen or the cartridge after docking is positioned radially on the one hand with respect to the attachment 10 and on the other hand is also precisely positioned in the axial direction. It is advantageous if the docking section 26 is at least partially radially elastic, which can be controlled by a suitable choice of the material for the attachment 10.

The screw connection of the attachment 10 to the neck 12 of the ink glass 14 is fluid-tight, an annular sealing web 42 being integrally formed on the underside of the radial constriction 24 for this purpose in the exemplary embodiment shown, as shown in FIG. 1, with increasing surface contact when the attachment 10 is screwed on with the neck 12 of the ink glass. Thus, the inner volume of the ink glass 14 is sealed gas and liquid-tight after the fountain pen or the refillable cartridge has been docked on. In this state, the entirety of ink glass 14 with attachment 10 and docked fountain pen can be brought upside down, which is shown in FIG. 2.

The ink or residual ink contained in the ink glass 14 accordingly runs into the neck 12 of the ink glass and accumulates there, even if only a small residual ink volume remains in the ink glass, up to a level P which is high enough , so that the entire nib 44 is washed with ink and submerged far enough. Because of the against Above the neck 12 of reduced inner diameter of the docking section 26 and by the provision of the sealing web 42, the filling level HF is kept sufficiently high even in the case that only the bottom of a bulbous ink glass 14 should be wetted with ink.

The preferably radially elastic design of the docking section 26 ensures that the inner wall 46 of the docking section clings to the outer surface 48 of the edge region of the fountain pen tip in a fluid-tight manner, with the sealing lips 41 being able to position the fountain pen axially with respect to the docking section 26 by the lip area behind the tip section, ie behind the outer surface 48, snaps. In the overhead position of the ink glass 14 according to FIG. 2, only the end face 50 facing the pen 44 is accordingly wetted with ink.

Either before turning the ink glass with the fountain pen docked or in the position according to FIG. 2, by actuating the filling piston 52 indicated by a dash-dotted line in FIG. 2, the latter is brought into the foremost position, whereby air from the ink reservoir 54 via a channel 56 and the nib 44 to the outside, ie is displaced into the ink glass 14. Since the docking section 26, in cooperation with the outer surface 48 of the fountain pen, closes the inner volume of the ink glass 14 in a fluid-tight and thus gas-tight manner, an internal pressure PI builds up in the ink glass 14 which is slightly greater than the ambient pressure. By turning back the plunger 52, the ink is sucked into the ink reservoir 54 without bubbles or air due to the fact that the nib 44 is completely flushed and supported by the slightly raised internal pressure PI.

Then the entirety of ink glass 14 and docked fountain pen is turned over again, so that the fountain pen can be removed from the docking section 26 or clicked out. Since only the end face 50 came into contact with the ink during the filling process, the fountain pen can be cleaned very easily by merely dabbing the end face 50 or rubbing it off with a dry cloth. In any case, it is excluded that ink residues remain in the grip area of the fountain pen.

After the use of the ink glass 14, this can be sealed airtight by placing the screw cap 28 on the docking section 26, so that the ink in the glass does not age.

FIG. 3 shows a further embodiment of the attachment for a writing liquid container. In this illustration, components which are comparable to those of the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2 have been provided with reference numerals, which are preceded by a "1".

The embodiment according to FIG. 3 does not differ in the area of the docking section 126 or in the area of the upper collar 138 from the previously described embodiment. An annular bead 141 is again provided in the sealing lip area 140 in order to form a sealing snap-in or snap connection with a connector of a piston fountain pen to be docked. The peculiarity of the embodiment according to FIG. 3 is that the docking section 126 receives an adapter 160 which can be positioned and sealed via the annular bead 141. The adapter 160 essentially has the shape of a hollow cylinder, the inside diameter DI of which is slightly larger than the outside diameter DA of a refillable cartridge designated 162, in which a filling piston 164 is also movably received. The inner surface of the adapter 160 has a sealing bead 166, which is made of elastic material and, when the refillable cartridge 162 is inserted, fits snugly and thus fluid-tightly against the outer wall of the cartridge 162. The adapter 160 can be adapted to different diameters of the fountain pen.

3, the design of the adapter 160 can also be such that when the refillable cartridge 162 is inserted, an axial stop is provided for the cartridge, so that the cartridge is prevented from either too little or too little is inserted far into the adapter 160. When the refillable ink cartridge is attached or docked, the whole of the ink glass 14 and cartridge 162 is brought into an upside-down position, as has already been described above.

It can be seen from the illustration according to FIG. 3 that the design of the attachment enables the ink glass to be emptied to a residual volume V ^* which surrounds the tip of the refillable ink cartridge in the region of the adapter 160.

The adapter is preferably designed in such a way that it can remain in the docking section in order to close the ink glass or the cap with the screw cap. According to a further advantageous embodiment, it can be provided that the adapter 160 is provided on the outer end face with mountings in order to facilitate the exchange and replacement of the adapter 160.

Finally, a further embodiment of the attachment for ink glasses will be described with reference to FIG. 4, which differs from the previously described embodiments in that the axial overall height is reduced. In this embodiment, those components are in turn comparable to the elements of the embodiment according to FIGS. 1 and 2 are provided with the same reference numerals, but a "2" is presented.

The collar section 220 of the attachment 210 is screwed onto the neck 212 of the ink glass. In a departure from the exemplary embodiments described above, the docking section 226 is arranged radially within the collar section 220 and is connected in one piece to the latter via a radial web 270. An outer circumferential surface 272 of the docking section 226 tapers inwards conically at an angle ALPHA, so that when the collar section 220 is screwed on, an increasingly intimate sealing contact is created between the docking section 226 and the ink glass neck 212. The docking section 226 therefore also functions in the embodiment according to FIG. 4 as a sealing collar.

An annular bead 240 formed on the inside of the docking section 226 makes the docking section adaptable to different fountain pen diameters.

In addition, the radial dimension MR can be influenced by more or less firmly screwing on the attachment 210, which results in the attachment 210 being universally usable for a wide variety of designs of connecting pieces, either the fountain pen or refillable cartridges. In the upper region of the docking section 226, an internal thread 274 is provided, into which a closure cover 228 for the airtight closure of the ink glass with attachment 210 can be screwed.

Of course, deviations from the previously described exemplary embodiments are possible without departing from the basic idea of the invention. For example, it is possible to finely adjust the radial inner width of the docking section with the aid of a clamping ring in order to adapt to different outer diameters of fountain pens. It is also possible to work with highly elastic docking sections, which are then expanded radially to a greater or lesser extent when fountain pen end sections of different thickness are inserted. The attachment is preferably made of plastic material, a transparent design of the plastic having the advantage that the ink level in the upside-down position of the ink glass can be monitored in relation to the position of the pen.

Claims (19)

1. Attachment for writing liquid containers, in particular for ink bottles, with a collar section that can be connected to the neck of the container and a sealing arrangement in the region of the connection to the container, characterized in that the attachment (10; 110; 210) has a substantially cylindrical docking section (26; 126; 226) for the fluid-tight reception of a connecting piece (48; 148) into a refillable writing fluid volume (54; 154), in particular for receiving an end section (48) of a piston fountain pen or a refillable ink cartridge facing the writing nib (44), (162) having. 2. Attachment according to claim 1, characterized in that the connecting piece (48; 148) in the docking section (26; 126; 226) can preferably be latched relative to the docking section with axial positioning. 3. Attachment according to claim 2, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126; 226) is designed so that the connector can be snapped into the docking section. 4. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the docking section (26; 226) is designed such that the connecting piece (48) with a sealing lip area (40,41; 240,341) can be positively gripped. 5. Attachment according to claim 4, characterized in that the sealing lip region (40; 240) is arranged such that it connects directly to an end face (50) of the connecting piece (48) when the connecting piece is inserted. 6. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126; 226) for receiving the end portion of a fountain pen has such a design that it preferably has the spring (44) of the fountain pen over its entire length small side distance (AS) surrounds. 7. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126; 226) is integrally connected to the attachment (10; 110; 210). 8. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the docking section (126) with at least one interchangeable adapter (160) for different geometries of the connector (148) can be fitted, each adapter (160) with a sealing lip (166 ) is equipped for fluid-tight enclosure of the connector. 9. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126, 160; 226) and / or an adapter (160) accommodated therein is at least partially made of elastic material, such as e.g. Plastic, consists of 10. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126) in extension of the collar section (20) adjoins this via a radial retraction shoulder (24). 11. An attachment according to claim 10, characterized in that the retracting shoulder (24) on the side facing away from the docking section (26) has a sealing collar (42) for engagement in the neck (12) of the writing liquid container (14). 12. An attachment according to claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the docking section (26) merges into an axial extension (38; 138) which can be brought into functional engagement with a sealing collar (36) of a closure cap (28). 13. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the docking section (226) lies substantially radially within the collar section (220). 14. An attachment according to claim 13, characterized in that the docking section (226) communicates with the collar section (220) via a radial web (224) overlapping the end face of the container neck (212). 15. An attachment according to claim 13 or 14, characterized in that the docking section (226) is integrally formed on the collar section (220). 16. An attachment according to one of claims 1 to 15, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126; 226) has a thread (30; 130; 274) for a closure cover (28; 228). 17. An attachment according to one of claims 1 to 16, characterized in that the docking section (26; 126; 226) is radially elastic. 18. Attachment according to one of claims 1 to 17, characterized in that the attachment (10; 110; 210) and / or the docking section (26; 126; 226) and / or an adapter (160) which can be inserted into the docking section at least in Partial areas made of elastic plastic. 19. An attachment according to one of claims 1 to 18, characterized in that the attachment (10; 110; 210) on the neck (12; 212) of the writing fluid container can be screwed.

Images