JP2001071672A - Ball for ballpoint pen - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To realize sure prevention against corrosion of a ball and a pen point main body by a method wherein a covering layer including a layer mainly made of either one between alumina and zirconia is formed on the surface of a spherical body made of a rigid material, especially for the application to a ball pen for highly viscous ink. SOLUTION: A pen point main body 10 of a ballpoint pen for gel ink is formed hollow. At the same time, a ball 11 is rotatably mounted to the convergently formed tip part of the pen point main body. The ink in an ink tube connected to the rear end side of the pen point main body 10 is allowed to pass through an ink flow passage 12 and fed to the ball 11. In this case, as for the ball 11, a covering layer made of either one between alumina and zirconia is formed on the surface of a spherical body made of a rigid material. Further, as for the rigid material, alloy steel, bearing steel, cemented carbide, ceramics, cermet, CBN sintered body or the like is employed. Thus, the corrosion of the ball 11 and the pen point main body 10 is surely prevented from developing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ballpoint pen ball used for a pen point of a ballpoint pen.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the tip of a ballpoint pen for gel ink has a structure as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a pen tip body formed in a hollow shape, the tip side of which is tapered, and a ballpoint pen ball (hereinafter referred to as “ball”) 11 is rotatably attached to the tip. And the pen tip body 1
0 is connected to an ink cylinder (not shown), and ink supplied from the ink cylinder to the hollow portion is supplied to the ink flow path 12.
Through the ball 11.

[0003] The tip of the pen tip will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, a ball accommodating recess 13 communicating with the ink flow path 12 is formed at the tip, and a caulking portion 14 is formed at an opening of the ball accommodating recess 13 in a state where the ball 11 is accommodated. It is designed to be rotatably held. The inner surface of the ball accommodating recess 13 is formed in a mortar-shaped tapered surface 15.
As shown in FIG. 3, five ink grooves 16 are radially formed in order to secure an outflow amount of ink.

When writing with the above-mentioned pen tip, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the ball 11 at the tip of the pen
It is pressed against 2. At this time, the ball 11 is displaced obliquely upward in the ball housing recess 13 (arrow B in the drawing). Next, the ink is guided from the hollow portion of the pen tip body 10 through the ink flow path 12 and the ink groove 16 into the ball housing recess 13, and flows out from the gap between the wall surface of the ball housing recess 13 and the ball 11 by gravity. (Arrow C shown). Then, as the ball 11 rotates, the ink is transferred to the paper surface 22 along the surface of the ball 11 and writing is performed.

As a material for the pen tip body 10, a metal material such as stainless steel is generally used. On the other hand, as the ball 11, a superhard alloy obtained by sintering hard intermetallic compound particles such as WC via a bonding metal such as Co is generally used, and the superhard alloy is spherically polished. Is used.

[0006]

However, when the ball 11 made of the above-mentioned conventional super-hard alloy is set in the pen tip body 10 made of a metal material, the dissimilar metal having a potential difference contains ink containing an electrolyte. Therefore, there is a problem that the local battery is formed by the contact portion, and the ball 11 or the pen tip body 10 is likely to be corroded during long-term use or storage. Particularly recently, gel inks in which pigments such as aluminum powders are dispersed have been remarkably popularized. In such an ink, a conductive substance is often added in order to increase the affinity between the aluminum powder and another pigment, and the corrosion of the ball 11 and the pen tip body 10 tends to be further accelerated.

Therefore, the use of insulating ceramics as the material of the ball 11 has been studied. However, since the ceramic balls have a low specific gravity, they tend to be scattered by the action of slight static electricity or the like when set in the pen tip body 10, and there is a problem that assembly is extremely difficult. Furthermore, depending on the material, there is a problem that the wear resistance and writing properties of the ball and the pen tip main body are not good, and in reality, they are not used so much in practice.

In addition, since the ball tip and the pen tip body 10 repeatedly slide in contact with each other during use, the surface of the ball 11 and the pen tip body 10 are worn, and as shown in FIG. Penetrates into the pen tip main body 10 and becomes difficult to write or becomes faint, resulting in poor writing. Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, the ball 11
What is required is a material having a surface strength as high as possible.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a ballpoint pen ball which prevents corrosion of a ball and a pen tip main body, ensures incorporation, and has an excellent wear-resistant surface. With that purpose.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a ball for a ballpoint pen of the present invention comprises a spherical body made of a hard material and a surface containing at least one of alumina and zirconia on a surface thereof. The gist is that a coating layer is formed and used for a ballpoint pen for high-viscosity ink.

That is, in the ball for a ballpoint pen of the present invention, a coating layer including a layer containing at least one of alumina and zirconia as a main component is formed on the surface of a spherical body made of a hard material. Because of this, the presence of the coating layer insulates the ball and the pen tip body from each other and keeps the state without a potential difference, thereby preventing the occurrence of corrosion due to the local battery action as in the related art. Further, since the coating layer includes a layer containing at least one of alumina and zirconia as a main component, the alumina and zirconia form a coating layer having high strength and high wear resistance. It is possible to prevent the sintered particles of a certain hard material from falling off. Moreover, the coating layer improves the surface strength of the ball, improves the abrasion resistance, slows down the writing taste due to sinking of the ball into the pen tip body, and maintains a good writing taste for a long period of time. You. In addition, since the abrasion of the pen tip main body is suppressed, even if the ball diameter is reduced, the abrasion is small.

The ball-point pen ball of the present invention is used for a ballpoint pen for high-viscosity ink.
The effect of preventing corrosion of the ball and the pen tip body is particularly remarkable and effective. That is, high-viscosity inks have been widely used recently because pigments such as aluminum powder can be sufficiently dispersed. In such inks, a conductive substance is often added to increase the affinity between the aluminum powder and other pigments, and the conductivity also becomes 1 mS / cm or more. There is a tendency to make it even faster. In the ball of the present invention, the presence of the coating layer does not cause a local battery effect, and corrosion when the ink is used can be effectively prevented.

[0013] Further, the ballpoint pen ball of the present invention comprises:
Since it is used for a ballpoint pen for high-viscosity ink, the effect of maintaining the writing quality by preventing wear of the ball and the pen tip body is more remarkable and effective. That is, high-viscosity inks have been used frequently recently because pigments having a high specific gravity can be sufficiently dispersed. Pigments such as those described above include hard pigments such as titanium white, and when ink containing such a hard pigment is used, conventional balls are severely abraded, and the ball or pen tip body is enlarged. To wear. In the ball of the present invention, since the coating layer improves the surface strength of the ball and the abrasion resistance is improved, even if the ink containing the hard pigment as described above is used,
Wear of the ball and pen tip body is greatly reduced.

In the ball-point pen ball of the present invention, when the hard material is a super-hard alloy, the specific gravity is sufficiently large, so that the ball hardly scatters when being set in the pen tip body, and the assembling property is secured. .

When the ball for a ball-point pen of the present invention is used for a ball-point pen for a pigment-containing ink, wear of the ball and the pen tip body is greatly reduced, which is effective.

In the ball-point pen ball of the present invention, when used for a ball-point pen using an ink having an electric conductivity of 1 mS / cm or more, the presence of the above-mentioned coating layer does not cause a local battery action and causes corrosion. Can be effectively prevented and is effective.

[0017]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

The ballpoint pen ball of the present invention is obtained by forming a coating layer containing a layer containing at least one of alumina and zirconia on the surface of a spherical body made of a hard material.

Examples of the hard material include alloy tool steel, bearing steel, high-speed tool steel, powder high-speed tool steel, dispersion-type sintered high-speed tool steel, super-hard alloy, ceramics, cermet, and CBN (cubic crystal). Various hard materials such as a (boron nitride) sintered body are used.

Among the above, particularly, WC-Co type, W
C-Co-CrC, WC-TiC-Co, WC-T
iC-TaC (NbC) -Co system, WC-TaC (Nb
C) Various types of super-hard alloys such as -Co-based alloys have a sufficiently large specific gravity, are hard to be scattered when set in the pen tip body, and assembleability is ensured. Used.

The coating layer includes one layer containing at least one of alumina and zirconia as a main component, and may be used as a single layer or as a combination of a plurality of layers.
Further, another compound layer can be laminated as long as it contains one layer containing at least one of alumina and zirconia as a main component.

The thickness of the coating layer is 0.01 μm
It is preferably at least 3 µm. The upper limit of the thickness is more preferably 1.5 μm, and the lower limit is more preferably 0.1 μm. The thickness is 0.01 μm
If it is less than 3 mm, the effect of preventing corrosion of the ball and the pen tip body is lacking, and there is little improvement in abrasion resistance. If it exceeds 3 μm, the cost increases, and the diameter of the ball becomes too large and may be out of tolerance. Is caused. A method of forming the coating layer by making the ball smaller is also conceivable, but it is difficult to manufacture the ball within the dimensional tolerance.

The method for forming the coating layer on the spherical body made of the hard material is not particularly limited, and various methods such as ion plating, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, and physical vapor deposition can be applied. .

The ball of the present invention can be manufactured, for example, as follows. That is, first, a predetermined super-hard alloy is sintered under predetermined sintering conditions to form a substantially spherical shape.
Then, the sphere is rolled together with diamond powder between two whetstones held at regular intervals, and the diamond powder is gradually refined and polished to obtain a mirror-finished surface, thereby obtaining a sphere. Next, using a desired method such as ion plating, a coating layer is formed on the surface of the spherical body to obtain the ball of the present invention.

The ball 1 is attached to a predetermined pen tip body, and is used as a part of the pen tip of a ballpoint pen (see FIGS. 1, 2 and 4).

The ink used for the ballpoint pen is not particularly limited, and various inks such as oil-based inks, water-based inks, and gel inks are used. In particular, high-viscosity inks having a viscosity of 100 mPa · s to 20,000 mPa · s are used. Ink is preferably used. ELP viscometer 3 °
(R14) cone, measured at 0.5 rpm (20 ° C.).
The lower limit of the ink viscosity is more preferably 500 mPa · s or more.

That is, high-viscosity inks having the above viscosity range can sufficiently disperse pigments having a high specific gravity, and thus have been widely used recently. In the ball of the present invention, since the surface strength of the ball is improved by the coating layer and the abrasion resistance is improved, even when the ink containing the hard pigment as described above is used, the ball or the pen tip main body may be used. This greatly reduces wear.

In a high-viscosity ink in the above viscosity range, a pigment such as aluminum powder can be sufficiently dispersed, and a conductive substance is added in order to increase the affinity between the aluminum powder and other pigments. In many cases, the conductivity also becomes 1 mS / cm or more, and the corrosion of the ball and the pen tip body tends to be further accelerated. In the ball of the present invention, the presence of the coating layer does not cause a local battery action between the ball and the pen tip body, so that corrosion when the ink is used can be effectively prevented.

The above pigments are particularly limited.
Instead, various types are used. For example, with inorganic pigments
Zinc flower, titanium oxide, red iron oxide, chromium oxide, iron black,
Titanium yellow (TiO₂・ BaO ・ NiO 、 TiO₂・
NiO ・ Sb₂O₃, TiO ₂・ Sb₂O₃・ NiO,
ZnO / Fe₂O₃, ZnO • Fe₂O₃・ Cr
₂O ₃, TiO₂・ CoO ・ NiO ・ ZnO 、 CoO ・
Al₂O₃・ Cr₂O₃Etc.), Kovar
To Blue, Cerulean Blue, Cobalt Green, etc.
Seed oxide, alumina white, yellow iron oxide, viridian
And other hydroxides, cadmium yellow, cadmium red
Sulfides such as de, red, lithopone, graphite, molybdate
Various chromic acids such as orange and zinc chromate, gypsum,
Various sulfates such as barium sulfate, calcium carbonate, lead white, etc.
Various carbonates, silicates such as ultramarine blue, manganese bio
G, cobalt violet and other phosphates, emeralds
Arsenate such as green, ferrocyanide such as navy blue, car
Bon black, ocher, barium yellow, aluminum powder, black
Various metal powders such as lons powder and zinc powder, natural pearl essen
, Basic lead carbonate, bismuth oxychloride, titanium mica, etc.
Seed pearl pigments and the like.

Examples of the organic pigment include various azo pigments such as monoazo lake, monoazo, disazo, condensed azo, and metal complex salt azo; dyeing of phthalocyanines, acid dye lakes, basic dye lakes, etc .; , Perylene, quinacridone, dioxazine, isoindolinone, quinophthalone, isoindoline and various condensed polycyclic pigments, nitroso, alizarin lake,
Metal complex salts such as azomethine, aniline black, alkali blue, and daylight fluorescent pigments.

Among the above-mentioned pigments, titanium oxide and zinc white are particularly frequently used recently to give a milky hue. However, in a conventional ballpoint pen using a ball, the degree of wear of the ball and the pen tip body is high. The use of the ball of the invention has a great effect of preventing wear. In addition, an ink using aluminum powder as a pigment is often added with an adhesive in order to increase the affinity between the aluminum powder and another pigment. Since the adhesive has high conductivity and accelerates the corrosion of the ball and the pen tip body, the use of the ball of the present invention has a great effect of preventing corrosion.

In each of the above embodiments, the mirror polishing of the ball is performed by a grindstone. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Various methods such as polishing with a magnetic fluid, electrolytic polishing, electrolytic grinding, and chemical polishing are used. Is used. In addition, the ball is illustrated as a sphere, but the present invention is not limited to this, and is applicable to a column-shaped ball and the like.

[0033]

As described above, according to the ball-point pen ball of the present invention, the presence of the coating layer insulates the ball from the pen tip body and keeps the state without a potential difference. Corrosion due to battery action can be prevented. Further, since the coating layer includes a layer containing at least one of alumina and zirconia as a main component, the alumina and zirconia form a coating layer having high strength and high wear resistance. It is possible to prevent the sintered particles of a certain hard material from falling off. Moreover, the coating layer improves the surface strength of the ball, improves the abrasion resistance, slows down the writing taste due to sinking of the ball into the pen tip body, and maintains a good writing taste for a long period of time. You. In addition, since the abrasion of the pen tip main body is suppressed, even if the ball diameter is reduced, the abrasion is small.

The ball-point pen ball of the present invention is used for a ballpoint pen for high-viscosity ink.
The effect of preventing corrosion of the ball and the pen tip body is particularly remarkable and effective. That is, high-viscosity inks have been widely used recently because pigments such as aluminum powder can be sufficiently dispersed. In such inks, a conductive substance is often added to increase the affinity between the aluminum powder and other pigments, and the conductivity also becomes 1 mS / cm or more. There is a tendency to make it even faster. In the ball of the present invention, the presence of the coating layer does not cause a local battery effect, and corrosion when the ink is used can be effectively prevented.

Further, the ball-point pen ball of the present invention comprises:
Since it is used for a ballpoint pen for high-viscosity ink, the effect of maintaining the writing quality by preventing wear of the ball and the pen tip body is more remarkable and effective. That is, high-viscosity inks have been used frequently recently because pigments having a high specific gravity can be sufficiently dispersed. Pigments such as those described above include hard pigments such as titanium white, and when ink containing such a hard pigment is used, conventional balls are severely abraded, and the ball or pen tip body is enlarged. To wear. In the ball of the present invention, since the coating layer improves the surface strength of the ball and the abrasion resistance is improved, even if the ink containing the hard pigment as described above is used,
Wear of the ball and pen tip body is greatly reduced.

In the ballpoint pen ball of the present invention, when the hard material is a super-hard alloy, the specific gravity is sufficiently large, so that the ball is difficult to be scattered when set in the pen tip body, and the assembling property is secured. .

When the ball for a ball-point pen of the present invention is used for a ball-point pen for a pigment-containing ink, wear of the ball and the pen tip body is greatly reduced, which is effective.

When the ball for ballpoint pens of the present invention is used for a ballpoint pen in which an ink having an electric conductivity of 1 mS / cm or more is used, the presence of the above-mentioned coating layer does not cause a local battery action and causes corrosion. Can be effectively prevented and is effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a pen tip of a ballpoint pen.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the pen tip.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of the pen tip main body.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a use state of the pen tip.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing a state in which the pen tip main body is worn.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A ballpoint pen having a coating layer containing a layer mainly composed of at least one of alumina and zirconia formed on a surface of a spherical body made of a hard material, and used as a ballpoint pen for high-viscosity ink. For balls. 2. The hard material is a super-hard alloy.
The ball for pen described. 3. The ball for a ballpoint pen according to claim 1, which is used for a ballpoint pen for a pigment-containing ink. 4. A ball-point pen in which an ink having a conductivity of 1 mS / cm or more is used.
The ball for a ball-point pen according to any one of claims 3 to 7.