JP2024095215A - Writing implements - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an engraving with good visibility that will not be scraped off even when the surface of a writing implement part is worn, on the inner side of the writing implement part relative to the surface.
[Solution] A writing instrument comprising a writing instrument part whose interior is formed from a visible synthetic resin and which is composed of an outermost layer and at least one inner layer located inside the outermost layer, and an engraving formed between the outermost layer and the inner layer by the synthetic resin being foamed or carbonized, or both.
[Selected figure] Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a method for engraving writing implement components, such as barrels, caps, and clips.

Conventionally, as shown in Patent Document 1, an applicator has been disclosed that prevents the decoration from becoming dirty or worn by decorating the inner surface of the barrel.

WO2013/008811

However, transfer films and the like can be time-consuming to wrap, and decorating the inside of the barrel is not an easy manufacturing technique, and there is also the possibility of the film peeling off due to poor adhesion. Therefore, the objective of this project is to provide a writing instrument that can apply an engraving with good visibility to the inside of the writing instrument parts, which will not wear off even when the surface is worn.

The writing implement of the embodiment of the present disclosure has a writing implement part formed of a synthetic resin whose interior is visible, and which is composed of an outermost layer and at least one inner layer located inside the outermost layer, and an imprint formed by foaming or carbonizing the synthetic resin or both between the outermost layer and the inner layer.

In addition to the above configuration, it is also preferable that the writing instrument according to the embodiment of the present disclosure contains the reactive additive only in the inner layer.

The embodiment of the present disclosure makes it possible to apply a highly visible engraving on the inner side of the writing instrument component, which will not wear off even when the surface is worn.

The appearance of the writing instrument of the embodiment is shown in a front view (A) and a side view (B). The barrel of the writing implement of FIG. 1 is shown in a perspective view (A), a side view (B), a cross-sectional view (C) taken along line IIc-IIc in FIG. 2(B), and a cross-sectional view (D) taken along line IId-IId in FIG. The clip of the writing implement of FIG. 1 is shown in a front view (A), a perspective view (B), a side view (C), a cross-sectional view taken along line IIId-IIId (D) and a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIe-IIIe (E) of FIG. The crown of the writing instrument in FIG. 1 is shown in a side view (A), a plan view (B), a bottom view (C), a plan perspective view (D), a bottom perspective view (E), and a cross-sectional view (F) taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 4(A). This is a cross-sectional view taken along line VV of FIG.

Below, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, the side of the writing instrument 10 where the writing tip (ballpoint pen tip 13 described later) is located will be referred to as the "tip side", and the opposite side will be referred to as the "rear side". In addition, the surface of the writing instrument 10 seen from the tip side will be referred to as the "plane", and the surface of the writing instrument 10 seen from the rear side will be referred to as the "bottom surface". Note that symbols commonly used in each drawing indicate common parts, members, or structures even if there is no special explanation in the explanation of each drawing.

(1) Writing Instrument 10
A writing instrument 10 according to the present embodiment is formed as a ballpoint pen as shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 1(A) is a front view of the writing instrument 10. Fig. 1(B) is a side view of the writing instrument 10.

As shown in Figures 1(A) and 1(B), this writing instrument 10 has an external appearance in which a cap 17 is attached to the tip of a barrel 20 serving as a writing instrument part 50, and a rear barrel 14 is attached to the rear end of the barrel 20. A clip 30 serving as a writing instrument part 50 is attached to the side of the cap 17. A top cap 40 serving as a writing instrument part 50 is attached to the tip of the clip 30. The barrel 20, clip 30, and top cap 40 are each made of synthetic resin whose insides are visible. The barrel 20, clip 30, and top cap 40 each have an engraving 60 formed thereon that is visible from the outside.

Figure 2 shows the structure of the barrel 20 in the writing instrument 10 of Figure 1. Figure 2(A) is a perspective view of the barrel 20. Figure 2(B) is a side view of the barrel 20. Figure 2(C) is a cross-sectional view taken along IIc-IIc in Figure 2(B). Figure 2(D) is a cross-sectional view taken along IId-IId in Figure 2(B).

As shown in Figs. 2(A) to 2(C), the barrel 20 as the writing implement part 50 has an external appearance in which a substantially cylindrical outer barrel 22 is inserted into the middle part of a substantially cylindrical inner barrel 21. The front end side of the inner barrel 21 is open, and the rear end side is closed. Both the inner barrel 21 and the outer barrel 22 are formed by two-color molding of synthetic resins with different components, and the insides of both are visible. A reactive additive, which will be described later, is added to the synthetic resin that constitutes the inner barrel 21, but not to the synthetic resin that constitutes the outer barrel 22. That is, as shown in Fig. 2(C), the outer barrel 22 forms the outermost layer 51, and the inner barrel 21 forms the inner layer 52. The markings 60 (see Figs. 2(A) and 3(B)) formed on the barrel 20 are formed by applying laser marking to the surface of the outer barrel 22. This point will be described later.

As a result, the barrel 20 has a shape in which the outer diameter is reduced at the tip end 26 where the cap 17 is attached and the rear end 28 where the rear barrel 14 is attached, compared to the intermediate section 27 on which the outer tube 22 is inserted. As shown in FIG. 2(C), the internal space of the tip end 26 of the barrel 20 serves as a collector housing section 23 in which the collector 15 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, is housed. The internal spaces of the intermediate section 27 and the rear end 28 of the barrel 20 serve as an ink housing section 24 in which the ink 18 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later, is housed. The inner peripheral surface of the ink housing section 24 has multiple ribs 25, which are protrusions along the longitudinal direction, evenly spaced relative to the axis.

The synthetic resin constituting the inner tube 21 as the inner layer 52 is added with a reactive additive that absorbs the energy of the laser light emitted in the laser marking. Examples of reactive additives include a mixture of copper oxide and molybdenum oxide, a mixture of bismuth oxide and gallium oxide, a mixture of bismuth oxide, gallium oxide and neodymium oxide, a pigment in which a flaky substrate of mica is coated with tin oxide doped with antimony, arsenic, bismuth, copper, gallium or germanium, or an oxide of any of these, and a polymeric substance to which copper hydroxide monophosphate or molybdenum oxide has been added. Only one of these reactive additives may be used, or two or more types may be mixed and used in combination. On the other hand, such reactive additives are not added to the synthetic resin constituting the outer tube 22 as the outermost layer 51.

The reactive additive content is preferably in the range of 0.01 to 10% by mass relative to the total amount of synthetic resin. When the reactive additive content is 0.01% by mass or more, foaming or carbonization, or both, occurs well in the inner tube 21. On the other hand, when the reactive additive content is 10% by mass or less, the transparency of the barrel 20 is ensured, and the remaining amount and color of ink 18 inside the barrel 20 can be visually confirmed.

Here, when laser marking is performed on the barrel 20 made of a light-transmitting synthetic resin material, a _CO2 laser marker with a wavelength of 10,600 nm can form an inscription, but the inscription will not carbonize or foam, and will only form unevenness, and sufficient visibility cannot be obtained. On the other hand, a fiber laser marker with a wavelength of about 1,000 nm cannot form an inscription because the wavelength is not in the energy absorption band of the synthetic resin material, and the laser beam passes through the light-transmitting synthetic resin material. Therefore, by blending a reactive additive with the synthetic resin material, it is possible to form an inscription such as character information even with a laser beam in a wavelength range that is not in the energy absorption band of the synthetic resin material. That is, normally, the synthetic resin material does not react by itself to a laser beam with a wavelength of 800 to 1,500 nm, but this reactive additive absorbs the energy of the laser beam and is excited, causing the synthetic resin to discolor. The inscription 60 such as character information is raised in a convex shape by foaming or carbonization, or both. For this reason, visibility is better than with mechanical markings in which text information is recessed into the surface. For example, when using polypropylene resin as the synthetic resin and performing laser marking with a fiber laser marker, the wavelength of the laser light is preferably 1,000 to 1,100 nm.

The barrel 20 is formed by two-color molding of the synthetic resin described above. Then, by performing laser marking from the outside of the outer barrel 22 using the laser marker described above, the laser light passes through the outer barrel 22, but the surface of the inner barrel 21 absorbs the energy of the laser light due to the reactive additive, causing foaming or carbonization, or both. As a result, as shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 2 (D), an engraving 60 is formed between the outer barrel 22 and the inner barrel 21. And, as shown in Figures 2 (A) and 2 (B), this engraving 60 is visible from the outside as a letter, symbol, or figure.

That is, the barrel 20 as the writing implement part 50 is formed from a synthetic resin whose inside is visible, and is composed of an outer tube 22 as the outermost layer 51, and an inner tube 21 as at least one inner layer 52 located inside the outermost layer 51. In the writing implement 10 equipped with this barrel 20, a reactive additive is blended only in the synthetic resin that constitutes the inner tube 21 as the inner layer 52. As a result, an imprint 60 is formed between the outer tube 22 and the inner tube 21, where the synthetic resin is foamed or carbonized, or both.

Figure 3 shows the structure of the clip 30 in the writing instrument 10 of Figure 1. Figure 3(A) is a front view of the clip 30. Figure 3(B) is a perspective view of the clip 30. Figure 3(C) is a side view of the clip 30. Figure 3(D) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIId-IIId in Figure 3(A). Figure 3(E) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIIe-IIIe in Figure 3(A).

As shown in Fig. 3(B) and Fig. 3(C), the clip 30 as the writing implement part 50 is composed of a long side 31 exposed to the outside of the cap 17 (see Fig. 1(B)), a short side 32 embedded in the cap 17, a connecting side 33 connecting the long side 31 and the short side 32 at the tip side, and a fold 34 where the rear end side of the long side 31 is folded inward. Also, as shown in Fig. 3(D), the part constituting the long side 31 has a two-layer structure of an outermost layer 51 and an inner layer 52. That is, the outermost layer 51 and the inner layer 52 are formed by two-color molding of synthetic resins whose components are different from each other and whose insides are visible. The synthetic resin constituting the inner layer 52 has the reactive additive mentioned above added thereto, but the synthetic resin constituting the outermost layer 51 does not have the additive added thereto.

Then, by performing laser marking from the outer surface side of the outermost layer 51 using the above-mentioned laser marker, the laser light passes through the outermost layer 51, but the surface of the inner layer 52 absorbs the energy of the laser light due to the reactive additive, causing foaming or carbonization, or both. As a result, as shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 3(E), an engraving 60 is formed between the outermost layer 51 and the inner layer 52. And, as shown in Figures 3(A) and 3(B), this engraving 60 is visible as a letter, symbol, or figure from the outside of the long side 31.

That is, the clip 30 as the writing implement part 50 is made of synthetic resin whose inside is visible, and is composed of an outermost layer 51 and at least one inner layer 52 located inside the outermost layer 51. In the writing implement 10 equipped with this clip 30, a reactive additive is blended only in the synthetic resin that composes the inner layer 52. As a result, an imprint 60 is formed between the outermost layer 51 and the inner layer 52, in which the synthetic resin is foamed or carbonized, or both.

Figure 4 shows the structure of crown 40 in writing instrument 10 of Figure 1. Figure 4(A) is a side view of crown 40. Figure 4(B) is a plan view of crown 40. Figure 4(C) is a bottom view of crown 40. Figure 4(D) is a top perspective view of crown 40. Figure 4(E) is a bottom perspective view of crown 40. Figure 4(F) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 4(A).

As shown in Figures 4(A), 4(C), 4(D), 4(E) and 4(F), the crown 40 as the writing implement part 50 is composed of a substantially hemispherical dome portion 41, a disk-shaped flange portion 42 that expands in diameter at the rear end side of the dome portion 41, a substantially cylindrical press-fit portion 43 that protrudes rearward from the flange portion 42, and an inner piece 44 that is press-fitted into a first through hole 45 that penetrates the dome portion 41, the flange portion 42 and the press-fit portion 43. The inner piece 44 is provided with a second through hole 46 that penetrates from the front end to the rear end.

As shown in FIG. 4(F), the portion corresponding to the dome portion 41 has a two-layer structure consisting of an outermost layer 51 and an inner layer 52. In other words, the outermost layer 51 and the inner layer 52 are formed by two-color molding of synthetic resins whose components are different from each other and whose interiors are visible. The synthetic resin that constitutes the inner layer 52 has the reactive additive described above added thereto, but the synthetic resin that constitutes the outermost layer 51 does not.

Then, by performing laser marking from the outer surface side of the outermost layer 51 of the dome portion 41 using the above-mentioned laser marker, the laser light passes through the outermost layer 51, but the surface of the inner layer 52 absorbs the energy of the laser light due to the reactive additive, causing foaming or carbonization, or both. As a result, as shown in the cross-sectional view of Figure 4(F), an engraving 60 is formed between the outermost layer 51 and the inner layer 52. And, as shown in Figures 4(A), 4(B), and 4(D), this engraving 60 is visible as a letter, symbol, or figure from the outside of the dome portion 41.

That is, the crown 40 as the writing instrument part 50 is formed of a synthetic resin whose inside is visible, and is composed of an outermost layer 51 and at least one inner layer 52 located inside the outermost layer 51. In the writing instrument 10 equipped with this crown 40, a reactive additive is blended only in the synthetic resin that composes the inner layer 52. As a result, an imprint 60 is formed between the outermost layer 51 and the inner layer 52, where the synthetic resin is foamed or carbonized, or both.

In addition, since the crown 40 is a very small part compared to the barrel 20 and clip 30, it is suitable for marking 60 with a serial number or other identification that is difficult to see with the naked eye.

Figure 5 is a V-V cross-sectional view of Figure 1 (A). The tip of the barrel 20 is fitted with the tip barrel 11, which tapers toward the tip. The ballpoint pen tip 13 is fitted to the tip of the tip barrel 11 via a joint 12. The collector housing 23 of the barrel 20 (see Figure 2 (C)) is formed with a collector 15, which is made of ring-shaped thin plates stacked in the axial direction. In a direct ink type ballpoint pen, the collector 15 is intended to reserve the ink 18 and prevent leakage to the outside when the air in the ink storage section 24 expands due to changes in air pressure or temperature. The ink storage section 24 of the barrel 20 contains the ink 18 in its liquid form (i.e., direct ink type). An ink guide core 16 that connects the ink storage section 24 and the ballpoint pen tip 13 passes through the axial center of the collector 15. The short side 32 of the clip 30 is inserted into the inside of the cap 17 from the tip side of the cap 17, and the crown 40, which is further inserted from the tip, prevents the clip 30 from coming out.

As a result, it is possible to apply an engraving 60 with good visibility to the inside surface of the writing implement part 50, which will not wear off even when the surface is worn.

In addition, the ink 18 may be supplied by soaking it in the padding contained in the ink storage section 24, rather than by direct liquid supply. Also, the barrel 20 itself may not be provided with an ink storage section 24, and a separate ballpoint pen refill may be fitted inside the barrel 20.

The present invention can be used in writing instruments such as ballpoint pens, felt tip pens, and mechanical pencils.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Writing implement 11 Front barrel 12 Joint 13 Ballpoint pen tip 14 Rear barrel 15 Collector 16 Ink guide core 17 Cap 18 Ink 20 Barrel 21 Inner barrel 22 Outer barrel 23 Collector housing section 24 Ink housing section 25 Rib 26 Front end section 27 Middle section 28 Rear end section 30 Clip 31 Long side 32 Short side 33 Connecting side 34 Fold-back 40 Crown 41 Dome section 42 Flange section 43 Press-fit section 44 Inner piece 45 First through hole 46 Second through hole 50 Writing implement part 51 Outermost layer 52 Inner layer 60 Engraving

Claims (2)

a writing implement part formed of a synthetic resin whose inside is visible, and which is composed of an outermost layer and at least one inner layer located inside the outermost layer;
and an imprint formed by foaming or carbonizing, or both, the synthetic resin between the outermost layer and the inner layer. The writing instrument according to claim 1, in which a reactive additive is blended only in the inner layer.