EP1050418A2

EP1050418A2 - Water refillable fibre-tip pen

Info

Publication number: EP1050418A2
Application number: EP99125369A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Luigi Barosso
Original assignee: Giodi SpA
Current assignee: Giodi SpA
Priority date: 1999-02-26
Filing date: 1999-12-20
Publication date: 2000-11-08
Also published as: IT1308391B1; ITTO990145A1; EP1050418A3

Abstract

A fibre-tip pen, of the type comprising a hollow body (2) which houses a reservoir for a water activable ink and which is equipped at one end with a writing tip (4); for the introduction of the filling water, the body (2) is associated with a further hollow tubular element (7), open at one end, which presents an end portion which is introduced into the body (2) until being substantially in contact with the ink reservoir (3), and which has a nozzle (8) for letting the water introduced into the cavity of the tubular element pass to the ink reservoir.

Description

The present invention refers to the so-called fibre-tip pens, that is to writing instruments wherein the ink reservoir consists of a fibrous element, and more particularly it concerns a water refillable writing instrument of that type.
Water refillable fibre-tip pens, which have the advantage that they do not become dry during storage and that they allow filling and refilling by water, are already commercially available.
A commercially available water refillable fibre-tip pen has, at the end opposite to the writing tip, a detachable hollow element (rear cap) which acts as a refilling element and is arranged around the end portion of a holder housing the ink reservoir, where the ink is maintained in dry condition.
For the pen filling, the rear cap is to be filled with water and laid upon a supporting surface. The end portion of the reservoir holder is then introduced into the rear cap, the pen is turned with the tip down, the cap is removed and the colouring of the tip is waited for. Under such conditions the pen is ready to be used. The operation is to be repeated at least twice for the first filling.
It is clear that the whole process is complex and relatively long. Another disadvantage lies in the use of dry ink, which requires an expensive process in order to be prepared and introduced into the reservoir.
On the contrary, according to the invention a water refillable fibre-tip pen is provided, which allows a simple and fast filling.
More particularly, the pen comprises a body housing the fibrous reservoir and, at one end, a writing tip in operational contact with the reservoir. In correspondence with the end opposite to the tip, the body is associated with a hollow tubular element having an open extremity and an end portion which is introduced inside the body until a point where it is substantially in contact with the ink reservoir and which has a nozzle for letting water pass from the cavity of the tubular element to the reservoir.
By such an arrangement, it is sufficient to fill with water the hollow tubular element (which acts as a measure for the filling water amount) while the pen is arranged with the tip down, without the need of separating the cartridge to fill it and of applying again the pen onto the cartridge itself.
The refilling operation is therefore fast and particularly simple.
According to another feature of the invention, the ink is injected and stored in gel form, so that it does not become diffused into the tip before the filling.
For a better clarity, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the pen according to the invention, and
Fig. 2 is an enlarged partial view.

As shown in the drawings, the pen according to the invention, denoted as a whole by 1, comprises a hollow tubular body 2 which houses ink reservoir 3, consisting of an elongated fibrous element.
The tip 4 is mounted at one end of the body and is fixedly fitted into the body itself so as to cooperate with reservoir 3.
In the end portion housing tip 4, body 2 has a portion 5 of reduced diameter (assuming for sake of simplicity that the body is cylindrical), which allows forcing onto body 2 a cap 6, with substantially the same diameter as body 2.
Body 2 is open at the end opposite to tip 4, and the end portion of a second hollow tubular element 7, much shorter than body 2, is fixedly fitted into that open end. Advantageously, also element 7, in its portion remaining outside body 2, has the same diameter as body 2. Tubular element 7 is intended to act as reservoir for the water required to activate or refill the pen. To this aim, that element is open at its free end (the end opposite to the portion introduced into body 2) whereas the portion introduced into the body ends in a nozzle 8 which arrives substantially in contact with reservoir 3 and allows the water present in the cavity of element 7 gradually to pass to that reservoir.
Preferably, in order to allow a clean refilling and a simple and cheap working, the ink impregnating the reservoir or filter 3 is a gel ink, instead of a dry ink as in the prior art pen.
In order to activate the pen, it is sufficient to place it vertically, with the tip down, and fill the cavity of element 7 with water. The water will pass through nozzle 8 and impregnate the ink reservoir, thereby activating the pen. As soon as all water has been absorbed by the filter, the pen is ready for use.
It is self evident that the above description is given only by way of non-limiting example and that changes and modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. More particularly, the terms "pen" and "ink", as used in the specification and claims, are not to be interpreted in limiting sense.

Claims

Writing instrument (1) with an ink reservoir consisting of a fibrous element (3) impregnated with ink, of a water-activable type, the instrument comprising a hollow body (2) which houses the ink reservoir and which is equipped at one end with a writing tip (4) co-operating with the reservoir, characterised in that, for the introduction of the filling water, said body is associated with a further hollow tubular element (7), open at one end, which presents an end portion, opposite to the open end, which is introduced into the body (2) until being substantially in contact with an adjacent end of the ink reservoir (3), and which has a nozzle (8) for letting the water introduced into the cavity of the tubular element pass to the ink reservoir.
Instrument according to claim 1, wherein said reservoir (3) contains a gel ink, which does not become diffused to the writing tip (4) before the filling.
Instrument according to claim 1, wherein said body (2), at its end opposite to the tip (4), has an opening arranged to fixedly receive the end portion of said further hollow tubular element (7).
Instrument according to claim 3, wherein said further hollow tubular element (7) has a shorter length than the body (2) and has a first end portion, of diameter smaller than the external diameter of the body (2), which is fixedly fitted into the body (2), and a second portion, with the same diameter as the external diameter of the body (2), which remains outside the body (2).