JP2005238577A - Writing utensil - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a writing utensil, the exhausting time of ink and the upper charging bound of ink of which can be recognized. <P>SOLUTION: The outer periphery of the main body 2 of the writing utensil 1 is opaque through transfer printing 14 or the like except a near rectangular window-like visually recognizing part 8 with an axial longer side at the near axial middle part. The visually recognizing part 8 is made to be transparent or semi-transparent so as to allow to see the interior of the main body 2 therethrough. In the neighborhood of both the axial end edges of the visually recognizing part 8, color samples 10 and 12 are provided. One sample is a color sample 10 for indicating the lower bound of the filling quantity of ink 5 and is set to have the same color as the color of an ink occluding body 4 under the state that the filling quantity of the ink shows the predetermined lower bound value. The other sample is a color sample 12 for indicating the upper bound of the filling quantity of ink 5 and is set to have the same color as the color of an ink occluding body 4 under the state that the filling quantity of the ink shows the predetermined upper bound value. By visually comparing the color of the ink occluding body 4 with these color samples 10 and 12, the exhausting time of the writing utensil and the upper charging bound at the replenishing of the ink 5 can be recognized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

The present invention relates to a writing instrument. More specifically, the present invention relates to a writing instrument that can confirm the end of use of ink and the upper limit of ink filling when ink is replenished.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, writing instruments having a main body, an ink occlusion body that is stored in the main body and stores ink, and a rear end portion is inserted into the ink occlusion body and a tip end becomes a writing tip are widely used. The advantage of this writing instrument is that it is simpler than the direct liquid writing instrument in which the ink is stored in the ink tank in a free state. It is cheap.

On the other hand, the remaining amount of ink could not be confirmed as a problem. In the case of a writing instrument that uses ink stored in the ink occlusion body, the normal ink can be used only about 70% of the ink filled in the ink occlusion body. Then, ink that is not used remains between the fibers of the ink occlusion body, that is, a color residue occurs. Therefore, even if the user looks at the ink occlusion body of the writing instrument that has been used, it is difficult to recognize that the ink has run out. On the contrary, since the color remains in the ink occlusion body, it may be determined that it can still be used even though it cannot be used. In order to avoid such misunderstanding of the remaining amount of ink, the ink occlusion body is usually made invisible from the outside by making the main body opaque.

Also, if you leave the cap off and the pen tip dries out and it is difficult to write, you can't judge whether the ink has run out or whether there is ink but the pen tip has just dried. There's a problem. At present, the remaining amount of ink cannot be confirmed, so if written characters are rubbed, even if there is still usable ink, it may be discarded.

On the other hand, some writing instruments using an ink occlusion body can absorb ink from the pen tip to the ink occlusion body and replenish it. This is convenient because writing instruments that use up ink can be reused. However, there are points to be careful when refilling ink. In general, an appropriate filling amount of ink replenished to the ink occlusion body is 70 to 80% when the saturation amount is 100. When the ink is filled more than this, the ink may leak due to an impact such as when the writing instrument is dropped, which is inconvenient in use. In order to prevent the ink from being replenished excessively, there is a predetermined filling time instruction such as “10 minutes” for replenishing the ink, and this time is used as a guide. However, it is very inconvenient to measure this filling time.

In order to solve these problems, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-2174, one end of a very thin tube is inserted into an ink occlusion body, and the other end is opened. Proposal to display. However, this method uses a capillary phenomenon due to a very thin tube, and it is difficult to realize the accuracy of the method, and there is a possibility that ink leaks from one end of the very thin tube during transportation or dropping. In addition, there is a problem in that the manufacturing process becomes complicated and a cost is required.

JP-A-8-267987

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a writing instrument capable of recognizing the end of use of ink and the appropriate replenishment amount at the time of ink replenishment.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the writing instrument according to the present invention, the main body is configured to be a visual or visual part by making the whole or at least a part transparent or translucent, and at least a part of the ink occlusion body is visually recognized through the visual recognition part. The writing instrument is provided with a color sample having the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body when the ink filling amount is a predetermined lower limit.

In one embodiment, the main body is configured to be transparent or translucent as a whole, and a color sample having the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body when the ink filling amount is a predetermined upper limit value can be visually recognized on the writing instrument. Prepared for.

Furthermore, in one embodiment, the main body is configured to be a transparent part or a semi-transparent part with a predetermined length and width to form a visual recognition part, and is configured to be opaque at least in a predetermined range around the visual recognition part. In the opaque part, it was provided on the outer periphery of the body.

  Furthermore, in an embodiment, the lower limit value is set to a value of 30% or less when the saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is defined as 100.

  Furthermore, in an embodiment, the lower limit value is 30% when the saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is 100.

  Furthermore, in one embodiment, the writing instrument is provided with a color sample of the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body when the ink filling amount is a predetermined upper limit value on the outer periphery of the main body in the opaque portion.

  Furthermore, in an embodiment, the upper limit value is set to a value of 70% or more when the saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is 100.

  Furthermore, in an embodiment, the upper limit is set to 70% when the saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is 100.

  Furthermore, in one embodiment, the color sample is provided in the vicinity of an edge portion of the visual recognition portion in the axial direction of the main body.

  Furthermore, in an embodiment, only a color sample indicating a lower limit value is provided in the vicinity of one end edge portion in the axial direction of the main body.

  Since the color sample and the color of the ink occlusion body can be compared, the user can know when the ink has been used up. When refilling ink, the upper limit of ink filling can be known.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a writing instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a writing instrument, which is a marker pen in the present embodiment. The writing instrument 1 includes a main body 2, an ink occlusion body 4 accommodated in the main body 2, an ink 5 stored in the ink occlusion body 4, and a pen tip 6 attached to protrude from the tip of the main body 2.

The main body 2 is formed in a hollow long shaft shape. The main body 2 is made of, for example, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, or the like made of synthetic resin, and is entirely transparent or translucent. On the outer periphery of the main body 2, a transfer printing 14 is applied to make it opaque, leaving a substantially rectangular window-shaped visual recognition portion 8 having a long side in the axial direction at a substantially central portion in the axial direction. Since the visual recognition part 8 remains transparent or translucent, the inside of the main body 2 can be seen through this. And the color sample 10 which shows the minimum of the filling of the ink 5 and the color sample 12 which shows an upper limit are provided along the axial direction both ends edge of the visual recognition part 8. As shown in FIG. Details of these will be described later.

The ink occlusion body 4 is formed in a shaft shape. This is composed of, for example, a fiber aggregate such as polyethylene terephthalate or polypropylene whose surface is coated with a transparent film or non-woven cloth, or whose surface is hardened with a resin. Ink 5 is stored inside. The ink 5 is a water-based or oil-based ink using a dye or pigment as a color material. The ink occlusion body 4 can confirm the color of the ink 5 stored in the ink occlusion body 4 from the outside.

The nib 6 is formed in a shaft shape. The nib 6 is composed of a marker core made of polyester fiber or polyacetal. The tip of the nib 6 is a writing end, and the other end is inserted into the main body 2 and inserted into the ink storage body 4 to move the stored ink 5. No explanation will be given.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the AA side cross-section of FIG. The features of the present invention will be described below with reference to this figure.

As described above, the writing instrument 1 of the present invention includes the visual recognition portion 8 in the main body 2, and the color sample 10 indicating the lower limit of the ink filling amount and the color sample 12 indicating the upper limit along the edge. The visual recognition part 8 is transparent or semi-transparent as described above, and enables visual recognition of the color of the ink occlusion body 4 accommodated in the main body 2. A color sample 12 serving as an upper limit is provided along the pen tip side edge of the visual recognition unit 8, and a color sample 10 serving as a lower limit is provided on the edge facing the sample. Although these color samples 10 and 12 are attached on the outer periphery of the main body by transfer printing in the present embodiment, they may be constituted by labels and affixed.

The color sample 10 indicating the lower limit is the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body 4 when the ink amount is 30% when the saturation amount of the ink 5 stored in the ink occlusion body 4 is 100. The reason why this value is set to the lower limit value is that when the filling amount of the ink 5 is about 30% or less, the handwriting often becomes blurred. The color sample 12 indicating the upper limit is the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body 4 when the amount of ink is 70% when the saturation amount of the ink 5 stored in the ink occlusion body 4 is 100. The proper filling amount of the ink 5 is 70 to 80%. The writing instrument 1 filled with more ink than the proper filling amount causes ink leakage with a slight impact. For this reason, it is important to be able to confirm whether the replenished ink 5 has reached the upper limit. In obtaining these sample colors 10 and 12, the ink storage body 4 is filled with a predetermined amount of ink 5 corresponding to the upper limit value or the lower limit value in advance, and the color of each ink storage body 4 at this time is confirmed. These same colors were designated as sample colors 10 and 12.

Thereby, the color of the ink occlusion body 4 through the visual recognition part 8 and the color of the color samples 10 and 12 can be compared. By comparing these colors, it is possible to visually recognize when the ink 5 has been used up and whether the filling of the ink 5 has reached the upper limit.

The present invention will be described below with reference to examples.

  The main body 2 uses a transparent polypropylene resin, the ink occlusion body 4 uses a polyethylene terephthalate fiber bundle, the ink 5 uses a water-based fluorescent pigment ink, and the pen tip 6 uses a polyester fiber line marker pen core. It was created. Four colors of pink, orange, sky blue, and yellow-green were selected for the ink 5 of the writing instrument 1, and four types of writing instruments 1 were prepared.

On the outer periphery of the main body 2 of each writing instrument 1, a visual recognition portion 8 having a long side in the axial direction and having a length of 3.0 cm × 1.0 cm was formed. The outer periphery of the main body 2 excluding the visual recognition portion 8 was colored black by transfer printing. The visual recognition part 8 is transparent. A color sample 10 indicating the lower limit of the filling of the ink 5 and a color sample 12 indicating the upper limit were formed by transfer printing along the edge of each short side of the visual recognition unit 8. The color sample 10 indicating the lower limit is the color of the ink occlusion body 4 when the saturation amount of each ink 5 stored in the ink occlusion body 4 is 100 and the filling amount is approximately 30%. The color sample 12 indicating the upper limit is the color of the ink occlusion body 4 when the saturation amount of each ink 5 stored in the ink occlusion body 4 is 100 and the filling amount is approximately 70%. Table 1 shows the color of each ink, which is a color sample indicating the lower limit of the ink filling amount and the color sample indicating the upper limit for the aqueous fluorescent pigment ink of each color. “PANTONE” in Table 1 is a trademark of PANTONE.

The writing instrument 1 was used for handwriting. Thereafter, the end of use of the ink 5 could be confirmed by comparing the color of the ink occlusion body 4 with the color sample 10 indicating the lower limit of the ink. Next, the ink 5 was replenished by using an ink replenishment kit (product made by Dragonfly Pencil Co., Ltd .: WA-RI) that can replenish the ink 5 from the pen tip 6. By comparing the color of the ink occlusion body 4 with the color sample 12 indicating the upper limit of the ink, the writing instrument 1 could be filled with an appropriate amount without replenishing the ink 5 too much.

In the above description, the writing instrument has been described using the marker pen as an example, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. That is, the gist of the present invention is that the remaining amount of ink inside can be confirmed, and there is no limitation on the configuration of the pen tip serving as a writing end, and it can be applied to, for example, a ballpoint pen.

It is a front view of the writing instrument in embodiment of this invention. It is an enlarged view of the AA side cross section in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Writing instrument 2 Main body 4 Ink occlusion body 5 Ink 6 Pen tip 8 Visual recognition part 10 Color sample 12 Color sample

Claims (10)

A hollow long shaft-shaped main body, an ink storage body that is housed in the main body and absorbs and stores ink, a tip portion projects from the main body, and the other end is attached in a state of being inserted into the ink storage body. In the writing instrument having a pen tip, the main body is configured to be transparent or semi-transparent in its entirety or at least a part thereof as a visual recognition part, and at least part of the ink occlusion body can be visually recognized through the visual recognition part. The writing instrument is provided with a color sample having the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body when the ink filling amount is a predetermined lower limit value. 2. The writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein the main body is configured to be transparent or translucent as a whole, and the writing instrument further has the same color as the ink occlusion body when the ink filling amount is a predetermined upper limit value. A writing instrument comprising a color swatch that is visible. 2. The writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein a part of the main body is configured to be transparent or translucent with a predetermined length and width to form the visual recognition unit, and is configured to be opaque at least within a predetermined range around the visual recognition unit. The writing instrument is provided on the outer periphery of the main body in the opaque portion.   4. The writing instrument according to claim 3, wherein the lower limit value is a value of 30% or less when a saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is set to 100. 5.   5. The writing instrument according to claim 4, wherein the lower limit value is 30% when a saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is set to 100. 6.   The writing instrument according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the writing instrument has a color sample having the same color as the color of the ink occlusion body when the ink filling amount is a predetermined upper limit value. A writing instrument, wherein the writing instrument is provided on the outer periphery of the main body.   7. The writing instrument according to claim 6, wherein the upper limit value is a value of 70% or more when a saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is defined as 100.   8. The writing instrument according to claim 7, wherein the upper limit value is 70% when a saturation amount of the ink stored in the ink occlusion body is defined as 100.   The writing instrument according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the color sample is provided in the vicinity of an edge portion of the visual recognition portion in the axial direction of the main body. The writing instrument according to claim 9, wherein only the color sample indicating a lower limit value is provided in the vicinity of one edge portion of the edge portion in the axial direction.

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