JP3065592B2 - Writing implement - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling a supply of ink and a predetermined amount of ink for returning ink from a pen body at the end of writing, in a passage connecting the ink chamber and the pen body. The present invention relates to a writing instrument filled with gas.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a writing instrument which can easily form a chamber for enclosing a predetermined amount of gas as described above and can reliably maintain the gas in the chamber.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when a gas such as air is mixed into an ink passage from an ink chamber to a pen body in a writing instrument, the gas not only obstructs the flow of ink but also expands and contracts due to a change in temperature and pressure. This causes a so-called dripping of the ink which is pushed out from the pen body, and conversely causes problems such as inhaling external air from the pen body. For this reason, it has been conventionally considered that gas is prevented from being mixed into such an ink passage.

However, control of ink supply to the pen body,
There is a case where a predetermined amount of gas such as air is sealed in the middle of the ink supply passage for the action of drawing back ink from the pen body at the end of writing.

In other words, there is a case where the supply of ink to the pen body is shut off during non-writing, and an ink control mechanism for supplying ink to the pen body only during writing is provided. Such an ink control mechanism shuts off the flow of ink in a valve closed state during non-writing, and opens a valve by utilizing a differential pressure due to ink consumption during writing to supply ink.
As such an ink control mechanism, in addition to a mechanism having a mechanical valve mechanism, an air utilizing a so-called vapor lock principle in which a gas such as air sealed in a passage having a small cross section prevents the flow of a liquid. There is also a mechanism called a chamber type.

[0006] In a writing instrument provided with a pen such as an aqueous ball tip, a small amount of ink may be pushed out to the tip of the pen when writing is completed. Then, the extruded ink causes the beginning of the line of the handwriting to be in a comma (,) shape, resulting in a problem that the appearance of the handwriting is impaired.

In order to prevent such a problem, a small amount of air is sealed in the middle of the ink passage, and the air is inflated by a negative pressure caused by the consumption of ink at the time of writing. Due to the contraction of the inflated air, a small amount of ink is pulled back from the pen body, and the above-described pushing of the ink may be prevented.

In any of the above-described mechanisms, it is necessary to seal a predetermined amount of a small amount of gas such as air in the middle of the ink passage. However, it has been difficult to accurately enclose such a predetermined amount of air and to reliably maintain the air in the enclosed state.

That is, as a matter of course, an ink passage is communicated with the sealing chamber in which the gas such as air is sealed, and the ink flows through the sealing chamber. Therefore, the air or the like may be mixed as fine bubbles in the ink, and may flow to the pen body together with the flow of the ink. As described above, when small air bubbles such as air reach the pen body, the capillary action of the pen body is hindered, which may cause poor writing or inability to write. Further, the enclosed air may flow back to the ink chamber side, and the enclosed chamber may be filled with ink.

Further, it is difficult to seal such a small amount of air in the ink passage in an accurate amount, and there is also a structure for holding the small amount of air in the sealing chamber so that the air or the like does not flow out. There are problems such as complexity and difficulty in manufacturing.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is capable of accurately enclosing a predetermined amount of gas such as air in a path of ink from an ink chamber to a pen body. An object of the present invention is to provide a writing instrument which can reliably maintain the gas in a sealed state, and has a simple structure and is easy to manufacture.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink chamber for storing ink, a pen provided at the tip of a writing instrument, and communication between the ink chamber and the pen. And an ink chamber-side relay core that forms a small-diameter path that allows only ink flow and blocks gas flow is inserted into the ink chamber side of this path. Insert the pen body side relay core that forms a small diameter passage that allows only the flow of ink and blocks the flow of gas on the pen body side, separates the ends of these ink chamber side relay core and pen body side relay core from each other, A gas is sealed in a space between these ends.

Since the ink chamber side relay core and the pen body side relay core form a small-diameter passage, once the ink is impregnated into these small-diameter passages, the ink is penetrated by capillary force. Are held in the small-diameter passages, so that gas such as air cannot enter the inside of these passages. Therefore, although ink flows through these relay cores,
The gas enclosed in the space between the ends of these relay cores is
Neither the pen body side nor the ink chamber side can be circulated,
The state sealed in this part is maintained.

Further, this is a simple structure in which the ink chamber side relay core and the pen body side relay core are inserted on both sides of the passage, and is easy to manufacture.

When air or the like is sealed in a portion between the relay cores, the writing implement is held substantially vertically while the relay cores are dry, and ink is injected into the ink chamber. . As a result, the ink first penetrates into the small-diameter passage of the ink chamber side relay core, and at this time, the air existing between the relay cores is reduced into the small-diameter passage of the dry pen body side relay core. Exhausted through. And
When this ink further penetrates into the small diameter passage of the pen body side relay core, the discharge of air through this pen body side relay core stops, so that a predetermined amount of air enters the space between these relay cores. Accurately encapsulated.

Further, according to the present invention described in claim 2, the relay core is formed of a porous material.
Therefore, when the ink is impregnated in the gap between the porous materials, the ink is held in the gap by the capillary force, thereby preventing the gas from flowing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the relay core has a small diameter groove on an outer peripheral surface, and the small diameter groove is formed between the groove and the inner surface of the passage. It constitutes a passage. Therefore, when the ink is impregnated in the small-diameter groove, the ink is held in the groove by the capillary force, thereby preventing the gas from flowing.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a relay body for transferring ink from the ink chamber side relay core to the pen body side relay core between the ink chamber side relay core and the pen body side relay core. Is provided.

Therefore, the ink permeated into the ink chamber side relay core is reliably transferred to the pen body side relay core by this relay body, so that a predetermined amount of gas is more accurately filled in the space between these relay cores. Enclosed. The relay can be used not only when gas is sealed, but also as an element for controlling ink using the sealed air.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a disposable writing instrument having a ball tip using water-based ink.

In this embodiment, the air sealed in the middle of the ink passage is used to shut off the communication of the ink during non-writing, and to control the supply of ink for communicating the ink chamber with the pen body only during writing. Further, when writing is completed, a small amount of ink is pulled back from the pen body to prevent the ink from being pushed out to the tip of the pen body.

Reference numeral 1 in the drawing denotes a shaft cylinder of the writing instrument,
An ink chamber 2 for storing aqueous ink is formed in the barrel 1. In this ink chamber 2, liquid ink is stored and a slide stopper 3 is inserted.
This ink and air are partitioned.

A gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the slide stopper 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the ink chamber 2, and the slide stopper 3 maintains a non-contact state with the inner peripheral surface of the ink chamber 2. The sliding resistance is set to be substantially zero. In addition,
A liquid film of ink is interposed between the slide stopper 3 and the inner peripheral surface of the ink chamber 2 to prevent direct contact,
Maintains sealing properties.

The slide stopper 3 is formed, for example, in a hollow shape and has a specific gravity smaller than that of the ink, and has a floating property with respect to the ink. Therefore,
The slide stopper 3 does not settle even when the writing instrument is upright, and has a sealing property even when the writing instrument is inverted, so that the ink and the slide stopper 3 do not descend, and the ink in the ink chamber 2 always remains. And the air are surely partitioned.

The slide stopper 3 moves in response to expansion and contraction of the ink to compensate for the expansion and contraction, and the slide stopper 3 moves forward as the ink is consumed. The tail end of the ink chamber 2 is closed by a tail plug 6, and the air side of the ink chamber 2 communicates with the atmosphere via an atmosphere communication tube 7 formed in the tail plug 6. Therefore, the pressure of the ink in the ink chamber 2 is always maintained at a pressure equal to the atmospheric pressure. A small amount of silicone oil or the like is sealed inside the ink chamber 2 on the air side to ensure a seal, and the silicone oil is prevented from leaking to the outside by the atmosphere communication cylinder 7. .

A pen holder 4 is attached to the distal end of the barrel 1. A pen, in this embodiment, an aqueous ball tip 5, is attached to the distal end of the pen holder 4. . A cap 8 is detachably fitted to the tip of the barrel 1. The pen body, for example, the ball chip 5 and the ink chamber 2 are communicated via an ink control mechanism 10 as described below.

FIG. 2 shows the ink control mechanism 10 in an enlarged manner. The ink control mechanism 10 has a small volume shutoff chamber 11 for enclosing a predetermined amount of gas such as air.
It has. In this embodiment, a linear through hole, that is, an ink passage is formed in the center of the pen body holder 4 along the axial direction, and the ink passage is formed between the ink chamber 2 and the pen body such as a ball. It communicates with the chip 5.

The through hole, that is, the central portion of the ink passage is formed as the above-mentioned shut-off chamber 11. In addition, the through-hole on the upper side of the shut-off chamber 11 is
And is configured as an ink chamber side passage 12.
The lower through hole of the shutoff chamber 11 communicates with the ball chip 5, and is configured as a pen body side passage 13. A predetermined amount of gas, air in this embodiment, is sealed in the shutoff chamber 11.

In the ink chamber side passage 12,
The ink chamber side relay core 14 is inserted. The ink chamber side relay core 14 is made of, for example, a porous material obtained by solidifying fibers in a rod shape, and a fine gap between the fibers is formed as a small-diameter passage, and ink is drawn out of the ink chamber 2 by capillary force. It is configured to give a predetermined flow resistance to the ink flowing inside.

An ink holding passage 18 as ink holding means capable of holding ink is formed between the upper portion of the above-mentioned shut-off chamber 11 and the ink chamber side passage 12. In the present embodiment, the ink holding passage 18 is a portion having the same diameter as that of the above-described shut-off chamber 11 and is continuous.
The free surface 20 of the ink 19 that has flowed into the ink 19 is formed on the lower surface thereof by surface tension, and is held in a liquid column shape.

Since the ink holding passage 18 has a small diameter, the lower end of the ink 19 held in a liquid column shape has a free surface 2.
It is held by the surface tension of 0, and is configured so that a part of the liquid column-shaped ink 19 does not flow into the shut-off chamber 11 instead of the air in the shut-off chamber 11. In order to achieve such a holding action, the inner diameter of the ink holding passage 18 is preferably set to, for example, 3 mm or less. It should be noted that this value is for the case of using water-based ink, and this inner diameter differs depending on the type of ink used. In general, if the inner diameter of the ink holding passage 18 is 6 mm or less, air and ink are used. And ink can be held in a liquid column shape.

A pen body relay core 21 for supplying ink to the ball chip 5 is inserted into the pen body side passage 13. The pen body relay core 21 is also connected to the ink chamber side relay core 14. It is formed of a similar material. In this embodiment, the upper part of the pen body-side relay core 21 projects into the lower part of the above-mentioned shut-off chamber 11 and is formed as a relay body 15, and this relay body 15 constitutes ink relay means. .

Then, the ink chamber side relay core 14 described above,
The relay body 15 at the upper end of the pen body-side relay core 21 is spaced apart from each other, and a space therebetween is formed as the above-described shut-off chamber 11 for enclosing air.

The relay body 15 has a tip portion formed into a sharp conical portion 16. A slight gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the relay body 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the shutoff chamber 11. A wedge-shaped annular gap is formed between the base outer peripheral surface of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15 and the inner peripheral surface of the shut-off chamber 11. 17 are formed.

Further, in this embodiment, the density of the ink chamber side relay core 14 is formed to be higher than the density of the pen body side relay core 21, so that the ink chamber side relay core 14 Is the flow resistance when
The flow resistance is set to be larger than the flow resistance when the ink flows through the pen body-side relay core 21.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 shows a non-writing state of the writing instrument. A small amount of air of a predetermined amount is sealed in the shut-off chamber 11 to shut off ink in the ink chamber-side passage 12 and ink in the pen body-side passage 13. In this case, although the ink flows from the ink chamber side passage 13 into the ink holding passage 18,
As described above, the free surface 20 of the ink 19 is formed on the lower surface by surface tension, and is held in a liquid column shape. The pen body-side relay core 21 and the portion of the relay body 15 above the pen body-side relay core 21 contain substantially saturated ink, and are in a so-called ink-rich state. Also,
The ink reservoir 17 at the base of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15
A predetermined amount of liquid ink is stored and held by capillary force.

In such a state, that is, in a state during non-writing, the ink in the ink holding passage 18 is blocked by the cut-off chamber 1.
1 and is held at a predetermined position as described above. In this case, the communication between the ink in the ink chamber side passage 12 and the ink in the pen body side passage 13 is interrupted, and the ink in the ink chamber 2 undesirably loses the pen body, that is, the ball chip. 5 is not supplied. Therefore, the ball chip 5 is prevented from containing surplus ink.

Next, when writing is performed with this writing instrument, the ink in the pen body side relay core 21 is consumed. In this case, since the liquid ink is stored and held in the ink reservoir 17 around the base of the relay 15 above the pen body-side relay core 21, the ink in the ink reservoir 17 has priority. To be consumed.

That is, when the ink in the saturated porous body, that is, the ink in the pen body-side relay core 21 and the relay body 15 in this case is consumed, the ink existing in the saturated state on the surface of the porous body is removed. When being drawn in from the surface of the porous relay body 15, a certain degree of negative pressure is required. However, the ink stored and held in the ink reservoir 17 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the base of the relay body 15, and the base surface of the relay body 15 is immersed in the ink at the contact portion of the ink. , Is in a saturated state. Therefore, when the ink in the relay body 15 is consumed, the ink is sucked from the portion having the least resistance, that is, the ink reservoir 17, so that the ink in the ink reservoir 17 is preferentially consumed.

When the ink in the ink reservoir 17 is consumed as described above, the volume of the space in the shut-off chamber 11 increases accordingly, and the pressure of the air sealed in the shut-off chamber 11 is reduced. Decrease. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, the liquid columnar ink 19 held in the ink holding passage 18 descends so as to compensate for the pressure drop. When the free surface 20 of the liquid columnar ink 19 contacts the tip of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15, the surface of the conical portion 16 is wet with the ink.
A part of the surface tension of the free surface 20 is broken, and a part of the ink is transmitted along the surface of the conical portion 16 to form the ink reservoir 1.
It is transferred to 7.

When the ink accumulates in the ink reservoir 17, the volume of the space in the shut-off chamber 11 decreases accordingly, and the pressure of the air sealed in the space increases.
The liquid column-shaped ink 19 in the ink holding passage 18 is pushed up. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 5, the free surface 20 separates from the conical portion 16 again, and returns to the state as shown in FIG.

When writing continues, the ink in the ink reservoir 17 is consumed again, and the above operation is repeated, whereby the ink in the ink chamber 2 is supplied to the ball chip 5. Since the volume inside the shut-off chamber 11 is small and the dimensions of the relay body 15 and the like are also small,
When the free surface 20 of the ink 19 in the portion 8 contacts the tip of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15, a part of the ink 19 is transferred to the ink reservoir 17 in a very short time.

The above operation is basically an intermittent operation. Therefore, while writing is continued, ink is intermittently supplied to the ball chip 5 by the intermittent operation as described above. However, as mentioned above,
This intermittent ink supply operation is repeated in an extremely short cycle, and the pen body-side relay core 21 has a certain amount of ink storage capacity. No shading occurs.

In this embodiment, the density of the ink chamber side relay core 14 is higher than that of the pen body side relay core 21, and the flow resistance of the ink inside the ink chamber side relay core 14 is set higher. Thus, the ink supplied to the ball chip 5 is pulled back.

That is, in the ball chip, the ink attached to the surface of the ball is transferred to a writing surface such as a paper surface by the rotation of the ball. As described above, this ink is held by a capillary force in a minute gap between the ball and the ball holder that rotatably holds the ball, but the ink is also held in the ball holding portion in the ball holder. Liquid ink is held. Therefore, even if the supply of ink is controlled as described above, when the writing is completed and the rotation of the ball is suddenly stopped, a small amount of a small amount is formed from the gap between the ball and the ball holder. Ink may be pushed out. In this way, if there is excess ink extruded around the ball, the next time you start writing, the beginning of the line of the handwriting becomes a comma (,) as described above, and the handwriting A problem arises that the appearance is impaired.

In this embodiment, while the ink is being consumed by writing, the ink in the ink reservoir 17 is always consumed, so that the pressure in the shut-off chamber 11 is negative. When the writing is completed, the cut-off chamber 11
Due to the negative pressure inside, the ink flows from the ink chamber side passage 12 and the pen body side passage 13 into the shut-off chamber 11. In this case, since the flow resistance of the ink chamber side relay core 14 in the ink chamber side passage 12 is set to be larger than the flow resistance of the pen body side relay core 21,
Before the ink flows into the shut-off chamber 11 from above, the ink flows back into the shut-off chamber 11 from the pen body side passage 13 side.

Since the ink in the ball holder of the ball chip 5 is pulled back by such a backflow of the ink,
As described above, the surplus ink is not pushed around the ball, so that a comma (,)-shaped portion can be reliably prevented from being generated at the start end of the handwriting line. Although the volume in the above-mentioned shut-off chamber 11 is small and the amount of ink pulled back as described above is very small, the amount of ink in the ball holder of the ball chip 5 is also very small. Is sufficient to cause the ink to be pulled back.

In this embodiment, in order to perform the above-described ink control operation, the above-described shut-off chamber 11 is required.
It is necessary to accurately set the amount of air enclosed in the inside. That is, if the amount of the enclosed air is too large, the distance between the free surface 20 of the liquid columnar ink 19 held in the ink holding passage 18 and the tip of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15 is reduced. become longer. Therefore, even when the ink in the ink reservoir 17 is consumed and the ink 19 in the form of the liquid column descends, the free surface 20 may not contact the tip of the conical portion 16. If writing is continued in such a state, the ink inside the porous relay body 15 will be consumed, the amount of ink contained in the relay body 15 will be reduced, and the ink will be in an ink purer state. Relay 15
Air may be sucked into the interior. Once the air is sucked into the porous relay body 15 as described above, even if the ink is newly absorbed by the relay body 15 as described above, the air is not reliably removed, and the air is not removed together with the ink. Is sent to the ball chip 5, which causes trouble in writing on the ball chip 5.

When the amount of air sealed in the shut-off chamber 11 is small, the free surface 20 of the liquid column-shaped ink 19 is conical with only a small amount of ink in the ink reservoir 17 being consumed. It contacts the tip of the part 16. Therefore, the ink cutoff operation cannot be performed, and the ink in the ink chamber 2 is always continuous with the ball chip 5, and excessive ink is supplied to the ball chip 5, causing trouble in writing.

In this embodiment, in order to accurately enclose a predetermined amount of air in the shut-off chamber 11, the following manufacturing method of filling with ink is adopted. Hereinafter, this manufacturing method will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the writing instrument as described above is assembled.
In this case, the ink chamber side relay core 14, the pen body side relay core 21, the relay body 15 and the like are all kept in a dry state containing no ink. In addition, the ball chip 5 described above,
The slide stopper 3 and the tail stopper 6 are left unattached.

Then, the writing instrument is held in a substantially vertical position with the ball chip 5 side facing downward, and ink is injected into the ink chamber 2. The injected ink passes through the ink chamber side relay core 14 due to gravity and capillary force,
As shown in FIG. 6, the ink flows into the ink holding passage 18 and becomes a liquid columnar ink 19 which is held in the ink holding passage 18.

In this case, the pen body-side relay core 21 and the relay body 15 are in a dry state not yet containing ink, and air can pass through the inside. Therefore, the air in the cutoff chamber 11 passes through the pen body-side relay core 21 and the relay body 15 and is exhausted from the tip of the pen body holder 4. Then, as the air is exhausted, the liquid column-shaped ink 19 in the ink holding passage 18 descends.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the free surface 20 of the liquid columnar ink 19 comes into contact with the tip of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15, the ink is absorbed into the relay body 15 by capillary force. Is done. Since the size of the relay body 15 is small, this relay body 15
The ink is absorbed. When the ink is absorbed by the relay body 15, air cannot pass through the relay body 15, and the air remaining in the shut-off chamber 11 in this state is sealed in the shut-off chamber 11 as it is. You.

Next, when the ink is absorbed by the whole of the relay body 15 and the pen body side relay core 21 to a saturated state and becomes an ink rich state, as shown in FIG. It accumulates in the accumulating part 17. As a result, the volume of the space of the shut-off chamber 11 is reduced, so that the pressure of the enclosed air rises, pushing up the liquid-column-shaped ink 19, and the free surface 20 of the conical portion 16 of the relay body 15 is formed. Move away from the tip. Thereby, the inflow of the ink is stopped, and the non-writing state as shown in FIG. Next, the above-mentioned unmounted parts are mounted to complete the writing implement.

According to such a method, a precise amount of air required for the shut-off chamber 11 is reliably sealed by a simple process of holding the writing instrument substantially vertically and injecting the ink into the ink chamber 2. can do.

The relay body 15 and the pen body-side relay core 2
1 has a relatively small diameter and a conical portion 16 at the upper end.
Since the ink is absorbed from the tips of the pen holders, the air inside these is pushed out to the tip side of the pen holder 4 together with the permeation of the ink, and the ink and the air do not mix inside these.

Also, once ink penetrates into the ink chamber side relay core 14, pen body side relay core 21, and upper end relay body 15 and the like, no air or the like is sucked into the inside. Therefore, the shut-off room 1 which is the space between them
The air sealed in 1 does not flow through either the ink chamber side relay core 14 or the pen body side relay core 21, and the air sealed in the cutoff chamber 11 is reliably maintained.

The shut-off chamber and the like have a simple structure in which the ink chamber side relay core 14, pen body side relay core 21, and the relay body 15 at the upper end thereof are inserted into both sides of a straight through hole, that is, an ink passage. And it is highly reliable and easy to manufacture.

In the above-described method, the above-described shut-off chamber 11 is used.
Although the case where air is sealed in the inside has been described, the gas to be sealed is not limited to air. For example, when a special ink that reacts with oxygen is used,
The inside may be filled with nitrogen or an inert gas. In such a case, the inside of the writing instrument may be replaced with such a gas prior to the above-described steps.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, FIG. 9 shows a writing instrument according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, the relay 1
The tip of 5 is formed in a diagonally cut portion 25 cut diagonally. A wedge-shaped ink reservoir 17 is formed between the cut surface of the base of the oblique cut portion 25 and the inner peripheral surface of the cutoff chamber 11. Further, the free surface 20 of the liquid columnar ink 19 that has descended in the ink holding passage 18 comes into contact with the tip of the diagonally cut portion 25.

The structure of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment except for the above points. In FIG. 9, the same reference numerals are used for parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment. The description is omitted here.

The operation and manufacturing method of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first embodiment.
According to the second embodiment, the oblique cutting section 2 can be obtained by simply obliquely cutting the rod-shaped member of the porous material constituting the relay body 15.
5 can be formed, so that manufacturing is easier.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. This is attached to the upper end of the pen body side relay core 21,
This is provided with a relay body 35 as a separate member. This relay 3
5 is formed of a solid material other than a porous material. The relay body 35 has a conical portion 36 which is formed in a conical shape at the tip end thereof and which is sharply formed. And
The relay body 35 is attached to the upper end of the pen body-side relay core 21 and inserted into the shut-off chamber 11. In addition, a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the relay body 35 and the inner peripheral surface of the shutoff chamber 11, and the gap and the conical portion 3 are formed.
A wedge-shaped gap between the root of the nozzle 6 and the inner peripheral surface of the blocking chamber 11 is formed as an ink reservoir 17.

The relay body 35 is formed of a material having wettability with respect to ink, or has its surface subjected to a coating or surface treatment having wettability with respect to ink. In this embodiment, a thin relay groove 37 is formed on the peripheral surface of the conical portion 36 along the generatrix in order to reliably guide the ink.

The third embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except for the above points. In FIG. 10, parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The description is omitted.

In this embodiment, the ink holding passage 1
When the free surface 20 of the ink 19 in the form of a liquid column in the contact portion 8 comes into contact with the tip of the conical portion 36 of the relay body 35, the ink is collected by the wettability of the surface and the capillary force of the relay groove 37. Except for transfer to part 17,
The operation is similar to that of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, since the relay body 35 is not made of a porous material, the free surface 20 of the liquid column-shaped ink 19 is maintained even after the ink in the ink reservoir 17 is completely consumed. Even if there is no contact with the body 35, no air is sucked into the relay body 35. Also,
There is no need to process a porous material such as hardened fibers, and the relay body 35 can be easily and accurately processed into a precise shape.

FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. This is attached to the upper end of the pen body side relay core 21,
This is provided with a relay member 45 as a separate member. This relay 4
5 is formed of a solid material other than a porous material. This relay body 45 is formed in a diagonally cut portion 46 whose tip end is cut off diagonally, and is formed sharply. The relay body 45 is attached to the upper end of the pen body-side relay core 21 and inserted into the shut-off chamber 11. Further, a gap is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the relay body 45 and the inner peripheral surface of the shut-off chamber 11, and this gap is configured as a relay gap 47 for relaying ink.

A plurality of narrow annular grooves 48 are formed on the outer periphery of the base end of the relay body 45 so as to be formed in a bellows shape.
The wedge-shaped gap between the bellows portion and the base of the above-mentioned oblique cutting portion 46 and the inner peripheral surface of the cut-off chamber 11 forms the ink pool portion 1.
7 is formed. And the above-mentioned relay gap 47
Communicates with the ink reservoir 17.

The relay body 45 is formed of a material having wettability with respect to ink as in the third embodiment, or a coating or surface having wettability with respect to ink is provided on the surface thereof. Processing has been performed.

The fourth embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except for the above points. In FIG. 11, parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The description is omitted.

In this embodiment, the ink holding passage 1
When the free surface 20 of the ink 19 in the form of a liquid column in the container 8 comes into contact with the tip of the oblique cutting portion 46 of the relay body 45 and the tip of the relay gap 47, the wettability of the surface and the capillary force of the relay gap 47. Accordingly, the same operation as in the third embodiment is performed except that the ink is transferred to the ink reservoir 17.

FIG. 12 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In each of the above embodiments, a porous material is used as the relay core. In the fifth embodiment, however, a synthetic resin material is used for the ink chamber side relay core 54, the pen body side relay core 51, and the relay body 55. And the like.

These relay cores 54 and 51 and relay body 5
On the surface of 5, for example, a lattice-shaped small-diameter groove 52 is formed. By inserting the relay cores 54 and 51 into the ink chamber side passage 12 and the pen body side passage 13, a small diameter passage is formed between the groove 52 and the inner peripheral surfaces of the passages 12 and 13. You. Therefore, as in the above-described embodiment, when ink is impregnated in these small-diameter grooves 52, the ink is held by the capillary force and the ink is allowed to flow. Is blocked.

The fifth embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment except for the above-mentioned points. In FIG. 12, parts corresponding to those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals. The description is omitted.

This embodiment operates in the same manner as the above-described embodiment, but since the relay core is a solid member, its manufacture and processing are easy and its characteristics are more accurate. Can be managed.

In the above-described embodiment, the small-diameter grooves are arranged in a lattice, but may be linear or spiral. Further, the present invention is not limited to such a regular shape and arrangement. For example, irregular irregularities may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the above-mentioned relay core, and the concave portions of these irregularities may be irregularly small-diameter grooves. good.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the air sealed in the shutoff chamber performs an ink control action for controlling the flow rate of ink supplied to the pen body and an ink retraction action for pulling a small amount of ink from the pen body at the end of writing. It is not limited to the case where both of these functions are used, but may be one that performs one of the functions.

For example, when it is not necessary to control the ink supply amount, the relay at the upper end of the pen body side relay core may be brought into contact with the end of the ink chamber side relay core.

It is not always necessary to provide a relay for transferring ink from the ink chamber side relay core to the pen body side relay core. For example, the diameter of the shut-off chamber is increased, and the ink flowing from the ink chamber-side relay core is configured to flow along the inner peripheral surface of the shut-off chamber and to flow to the pen body-side relay core. The ink that has flowed from the ink chamber side relay core may be configured to drop in the form of droplets and flow to the pen body side relay core.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a pen using a ball tip as a pen, but is also applicable to writing instruments employing other types of pens. Alternatively, ink using quick-drying ink or the like may be used.

Further, the present invention is not limited to a disposable writing instrument, but is also applicable to an ink refill type writing instrument or a so-called refill type writing instrument in which only an assembly of an ink chamber and a pen body is replaceable.

[0085]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ink chamber side relay core forming the small diameter passage is inserted into the ink passage, and the pen body side relay core forming the small diameter passage is formed on the pen body side of this passage. The ends of the ink chamber-side relay core and the pen body-side relay core are separated from each other, and gas is sealed in a space between these ends. Since the ink chamber-side relay core and the pen body-side relay core form a small-diameter passage, once the ink is impregnated into the small-diameter passage, gas such as air enters the inside of the small-diameter passage. Can not be done. Therefore, the ink flows through these relay cores, but the gas sealed in the space between the ends of these relay cores cannot flow to the pen body side nor the ink chamber side. , The state sealed in this part is maintained.

The present invention has a simple structure in which the ink chamber-side relay core and the pen body-side relay core are inserted on both sides of the linear passage, and is easy to manufacture. When air or the like is sealed in a portion between the relay cores, the writing implement is held substantially vertically while the relay cores are dry, and ink is injected into the inside chamber. As a result, the ink first penetrates into the small-diameter passage of the ink chamber side relay core, and at this time, the air existing between the relay cores is reduced into the small-diameter passage of the dry pen body-side relay core. Exhausted through. When the ink further penetrates into the small-diameter passage of the pen body-side relay core, the discharge of air via the relay core stops, so that a predetermined amount of air is filled in the space between the relay cores. The effect is great, such as accurate encapsulation and easy manufacture.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall longitudinal sectional view of a first embodiment of a writing instrument according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of an ink control mechanism of the writing instrument according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view of the operation of the first embodiment of the writing instrument of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the operation of the writing instrument according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the writing instrument according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a method for manufacturing a writing instrument of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a method for manufacturing a writing instrument of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of a method for manufacturing a writing instrument of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of an ink control mechanism according to a second embodiment of the writing instrument of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of an ink control mechanism of a writing instrument according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of an ink control mechanism of a writing instrument according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view of a part of an ink control mechanism according to a fourth embodiment of the writing instrument of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Ink chamber 5 Ball chip 11 Shut-off chamber 14 Ink chamber side relay core 18 Ink holding passage 21 Pen body side relay core

Continuation of front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B43K 5/00-8/18

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink chamber for storing ink, a pen body provided at the tip of a writing instrument, and a linear passage communicating between the ink chamber side and the pen body side are formed. Insert an ink chamber side relay core that forms a small diameter passage that allows only ink flow and blocks gas flow on the chamber side, and allows only ink flow on the pen body side of this path to allow gas flow. A pen body side relay core forming a small diameter passage for blocking is inserted, the ends of the ink chamber side relay core and the pen body side relay core are separated from each other, and gas is sealed in a space between these ends. A writing implement characterized by the following. 2. The writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein the relay core is formed of a porous material. 3. The relay core has a small diameter groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and the groove and the inner surface of the passage constitute the small diameter passage. The writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein 4. A relay body for transferring ink from the ink chamber side relay core to the pen body side relay core is provided between the ink chamber side relay core and the pen body side relay core. The writing implement of claim 1.