JP2003103987A - Backflow inhibitor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems that a qrease-like follower packed in the rear end of ink is discharged from the head of a tip by rotation of a ball, when the ink is emptied, but occasionally, an attempt to discharge the ink is made, spending much time, assuming that only a temporary ink supply failure occurs, unaware of the follower being discharged, because it is constituted of a transparent(translucent) material and further that occasionally, a temporary ink supply failure occurs and a ball-point pen which still can be used, is discarded despite some amount of the ink actually still remaining unused, assuming that the ink is exhausted. SOLUTION: This backflow inhibitor is arranged at the rear part of the ink packed in the ink storage part. A colorant is added to the backflow inhibitor and is a material which becomes transparent or translucent by drying.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a backflow preventive agent in which an ink containing portion is filled with ink and which is arranged in the rear portion of the ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example, there is JP-A-7-251591. Claim 1 in the claims of that publication
“A ball-point pen having a tip fitted to the tip, in which the tip is fitted to the tip of a tube, a step portion is formed in the rear communicating with the tip fitting hole, and an ink storage portion is further provided in the rear. The tube is formed of an integral resin molded product, and a spring is biased to the inner hole of the chip while the rear end is in contact with the step, and the tip of the spring rotatably holds the tip of the chip. The rear end of the front end ball is pressed so that the front end ball is brought into close contact with the inner edge of the ball holding portion of the chip, and the ink accommodating portion is filled with ink and a follower that follows the rear end of the ink as ink is consumed. A ballpoint pen characterized by that. " That is, by filling the rear end of the ink with a grease-like follower, the backflow of the ink in the case of upward writing is prevented. Various types of such ballpoint pens have been put on the market, and all followers are made of a transparent or semitransparent liquid material.

[0003]

In the above ballpoint pen, when the ink runs out, the grease-like follower filling the rear end of the ink is discharged from the tip of the tip by the rotation of the ball. However, since the follower is made of a transparent (semi-transparent) material, I think that the follower's ejection was not noticed and the ink was temporarily out, so it took a long time to eject the ink. There were times when I would cross over. On the other hand, in some cases, the ejection failure occurred temporarily, and even though the ink remained, it was thought that the ink had been used up, and the ballpoint pen being used was thrown away. Here, it is conceivable to mix the follower with a color different from the ink to color it, but this is not realistic because it causes the writing surface to be colored with the colored follower.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its gist is "a backflow preventive agent which is filled in an ink containing portion and arranged at the rear portion of the ink. The anti-reflux agent is characterized in that a colorant is mixed with the anti-reflux agent and the material becomes transparent or translucent when dried. ”
I am trying.

[0005]

When the ink is used up, the colored backflow preventer discharges, and the backflow preventer becomes transparent after a certain period of time.

[0006]

EXAMPLE A first example will be described with reference to FIGS. This is an example in which the present invention is applied to a correction applicator, but as described in the prior art, it may be applied to a ballpoint pen containing black ink or red ink. The shaft body 1 includes a front shaft 2 and a rear shaft 3, which are detachably connected by screwing. The screw structure will be described later in detail.
The correction fluid 4 (ink of the present invention) is directly contained inside the front shaft 2. That is, the front shaft 2 itself is a storage portion for the correction fluid 4. Further, a tapered tip portion 5 is formed at the front end portion of the front shaft 2, and a ballpoint pen tip 6 is press-fitted and fixed to the front end of the tip portion 5. A ball 7 is rotatably attached to the front end of the ball-point pen tip 6, but is always urged forward by an elastic member 8 such as a coil spring. The tip opening 9 is closed. Then, when the ball 7 of the ball-point pen tip 6 is brought into contact with the coating surface or the like, the contact force causes the ball 7 to retreat and the tip opening portion 9 to be released, so that the correction liquid in the front shaft 2 is removed from the ball 7. Discharge with rotation. By the way,
The rear end of the elastic member 8 is in contact with and seats a rib 2a formed on the inner front surface of the front shaft 2. Specifically, rib 2
It sits in the approximate center of a (see FIG. 2). In order to improve the flowability of the correction fluid, a sufficient flow passage is secured.

At the rear end of the correction fluid 4, two kinds of grease 10 are provided to prevent the correction fluid 4 from flowing out from the rear portion of the front shaft 2.
(Water-based grease 10a, oil-based grease 10b; anti-reflux agent in the present invention) are present, and the grease 10
A float 11 made of synthetic resin is buried in the. The float 11 is used to store the correction fluid 4 and the grease 10 contained therein.
It is not always necessary when the viscosity of the refill 2 is relatively high or when the inner diameter of the refill 2 is relatively small. Furthermore, when the float 11 is inscribed in the front shaft 2 with a certain amount of pressure input, grease is not always necessary. As will be described later, the grease 10 and the float 11 move forward as the correction liquid decreases. Reference numeral 12 is a cap detachably attached to the front end of the front shaft 2, and a clip 13 is integrally molded with the cap 12, but the cap 12 is formed as a separate member, and the cap is formed by means such as press fitting. You may fix it to.

Inside the rear portion of the rear shaft 3, a piston member 15 biased rearward by an elastic member 14 such as a coil spring is slidably arranged. The O-ring 16 made of an elastic member press-fitted into the middle portion of the is a sliding portion with the inner surface of the rear shaft 3, but is replaced with the O-ring 16 and the piston member 15
A circumferential projection or the like may be integrally formed on the outer peripheral surface of the. Also,
A pressing portion 17 is integrally formed at the rear portion of the piston member 15 and protrudes from the rear end portion of the rear shaft 3, but the piston member and the pressing portion are formed as separate members, and press fitting or the like is performed. It may be fixed by means. Further, the rear shaft 3
A vertical groove 18 is formed on the inner surface of the rear portion, and in the normal state (the final retracted position of the pressing member 17), the O-ring 16 of the piston member 15 is located at the intermediate portion of the vertical groove 18. That is, in the normal state, the vertical groove 18 allows the inside and the outside of the rear shaft 3 to communicate with each other. A slit 19 is formed in the rear portion of the rear shaft 3 at a position facing each other, and an elastic projection 20 fitted in the slit 19 is formed on the outer surface of the piston member 15. The elastic protrusion 20 is formed by forming a U-shaped slit 21 on the side surface of the piston member 15 (see FIG. 3). And these fit in,
By engaging, the protrusion of the piston member 15 from the rear shaft 3 is prevented. Reference numeral 21 is a circumferential flange that prevents the piston member 15 from being excessively retracted during the pressing operation.

A valve mechanism 22 made of a rubber-like elastic body is arranged at the intermediate portion of the rear shaft 3 and at the rear portion of the front shaft 2. The valve mechanism 22 has a reduced diameter bottom portion 2.
3 is a cylindrical body 24 having slits 25 formed in the bottom portion 23. A flange portion 26 is formed on the outer surface of the rear portion of the tubular body 24 (see FIG. 4), which is in contact with the circumferential step portion 3a formed on the inner surface of the rear shaft 3, but the piston The end of the elastic member 14 that urges the member 15 is pressed against the circumferential stepped portion 3 a via the fixing ring 27 and is fixed to the rear shaft 3. The valve mechanism 22 forms the cylindrical body 24 having a gradually reduced diameter, so that the slit 25 easily expands with respect to the pressure from the direction of the cylindrical body 24 and the pressure from the opposite direction. However, it has a structure that is difficult to expand. That is, by making the area of the portion that receives the pressure small, it is difficult to deform. By arranging the valve mechanism 22 in the intermediate portion of the rear shaft 3, two chambers are formed in the rear shaft 3, but the chamber formed behind the valve mechanism 22 is referred to as the pressurizing chamber 28. The chamber formed at the front is referred to as a pressure holding chamber 29.

Next, the connecting means for connecting the front shaft 2 and the rear shaft 3 will be described in detail. A male screw portion 30 having a trapezoidal cross section is formed at the rear portion of the front shaft 2. On the other hand, in the front part of the rear shaft 3, a female screw part 31 having a mountain-shaped cross section is formed. A semicircular arc cover 32 is formed on the inner surface of the rear shaft 3 at the rear of the female screw 31 so as to cover the valve mechanism 22. And
At the front end of the cover 32, the chip holder 6
A cylindrical portion 34 in which a through hole 33 having a diameter smaller than the outer diameter of
Are formed. That is, the cover portion 32 protects the valve mechanism 22 and prevents the leaked grease 10 and the correction fluid 4 from moving rearward. That is, the vicinity of the bottom of the pressurizing chamber 29 also serves as a liquid reservoir. By the way, such ink leakage is likely to occur when a shock is applied, such as dropping the applicator upside down. Although the number of the through hole 33 is one in this example, a plurality of through holes 33 may be formed. The flowability of air is improved, and the pressurizing operation becomes easy.

Here, as specific examples of the water-based grease 10a, water, ethylene glycol, glycerin, etc. may be mentioned, but they may be thickened with a thickener. Specific examples of the oil grease 10b include silicone, liquid paraffin, polybutene, and alpha-olefin which are gelled or thickened with a gelling agent or a thickener as a general material. Furthermore, examples of the material of the valve mechanism formed of the rubber-like elastic body include ethylene / propylene rubber, nitrile rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, silicone rubber, fluororubber, butyl rubber and the like. Further, in the water-based grease 10a, a part or the whole of the discoloration range is present at pH 6.6 to 7.4, a small amount of a pH indicator compound in which the acidic range is colorless and the basic range is colored, for example, A substance in which one or more of sodium hydroxypyrenesulfonate, pinachrome, p-nitrophenol, m-nitrophenol, quinoline blue (cyanine) and the like are mixed is mixed. These substances are
The grease is stable in the grease without discoloring for a long period of time, and has a property that it is colored immediately after application but disappears after a few seconds to a few minutes. Further, as the material of the front shaft 2, a metal material such as stainless steel or brass, a resin material such as polybutylene terephthalate, fluorine or nylon, or a material obtained by vapor deposition of aluminum or silicon oxide on the surface of the nylon, resin Examples include aluminum powder and glass powder mixed therein.

Next, the operation will be described. Pressing part 17
When is pressed against the elastic force of the elastic member 14, the piston member 15 is linearly advanced while being guided by the slit 19. Also, in the forward movement process of the piston member 15, the O-ring 16 passes through the vertical groove 18, but from this time, the pressurizing chamber 2
Pressurization of 8 is started. Then, when the pressure in the pressurizing chamber 28 increases to some extent, the slit 25 of the valve mechanism 22 expands and the pressurized air moves into the pressure holding chamber 29.
Due to this movement, the pressure in the pressure holding chamber 29 also increases, and as a result, the float 11 moves forward together with the grease 10 and the correction fluid 4 is pressurized. That is, the correction fluid is not pressurized while the air is in contact with the correction fluid, but the correction fluid is pressurized while the float or grease is in contact with the correction fluid. At the time of erasing, when the ball 7 is pressed against the erasing surface, the ball 7 retreats against the elastic member 8 and the correction liquid is discharged from the tip end opening 9. However, when the correction liquid is used up, the colored water-based grease is discharged, and the erasing surface is colored by the colored water-based grease. At this time, it is possible to confirm that the ink has been used up. However, the water-based grease colored on the erasing surface disappears after a few seconds to a few minutes and becomes transparent because of the above-mentioned components.

When the pressing operation of the pressing portion 17 is released, the piston member 15 returns, but in this returning process,
When the O-ring 16 of the piston member 15 reaches the vertical groove 18 of the rear shaft 3, the pressurizing chamber 28 communicates with the outside, so that new air enters the pressurizing chamber 28 and pressurizes the pressurizing chamber 28. The reduced pressure state in the chamber 28 is eliminated. In this way, in this example, since the piston member can be moved forward (backward) by a fixed amount, the pressure applied to the pressure holding chamber can also be increased by a fixed amount. In addition, since the valve mechanism 22 is made of a deformable rubber-like elastic body, when excessive pressure is applied to the pressure holding chamber 29, the slit 25 of the valve member 22 expands after the piston member returns. When opened, excess pressure is returned to the pressurizing chamber 28 and is discharged from the vertical groove 18.

When the correction fluid 4 is used up, the front shaft 2 is rotated relative to the rear shaft 3 to separate the front shaft 2 and the rear shaft 3. Then, the new front shaft 2 supplemented with the liquid is screwed and connected to the rear shaft 3. At this time, even if the tip holder 6 is accidentally pierced into the valve mechanism 22, the through hole 33 of the cover portion 34 is formed to have a smaller diameter than the tip holder 6, so that it does not reach the valve mechanism 22. It does not damage the valve mechanism. Further, even if the rear shaft 3 is dropped during replacement, the valve mechanism 22 is protected by the cover portion 32.
It won't get scratched.

[0015]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is a backflow preventive agent which is filled in the ink containing portion and is arranged at the rear portion of the ink. The backflow preventive agent is mixed with a colorant, and the colorant is dried. Then, since the material is transparent or semi-transparent, it is possible to surely confirm that the ink has been used up.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a first example of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

3 is an external view of a main part of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a valve mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-axis body 2 front axis 3 rear axle 4 liquid 5 front 6 ballpoint pen tip 7 balls 8 Repulsion member 9 Tip opening 10 grease 11 floats 12 caps 13 clips 14 Repulsion member 15 Piston member 16 O-ring 17 Pressing member 18 vertical groove 19 slits 20 elastic protrusions 21 Collar 22 Valve member 23 bottom 24 tubular part 25 slits 26 collar part 27 fixing ring 28 Pressurization chamber 29 Pressure holding chamber 29 caps 30 Male thread 31 Female thread 32 cover 33 through holes 34 Cylindrical part

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A backflow preventive agent, which is filled in an ink containing portion and arranged at a rear portion of the ink, wherein a colorant is mixed into the backflow preventive agent and the colorant is dried, or A backflow preventive agent, which is made of a material that becomes translucent. 2. The anti-reflux agent according to claim 1, wherein the anti-reflux agent is composed of an aqueous grease and an oil grease. 3. The backflow preventing agent according to claim 1, wherein a synthetic resin float is immersed in the backflow preventing agent.