JP6707375B2 - Writing instrument - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a writing instrument.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there is known a writing instrument (for example, Japanese Patent No. 4043305 (Patent Document 1)) in which an outer surface of a shaft cylinder is surrounded by a grip member having elasticity such as rubber. The grip member absorbs the force applied to the user's finger by its elasticity when the user of the writing tool grips the writing tool to reduce fatigue, and further, a large frictional force between the barrel and the finger. To prevent the user's finger from undesirably slipping on the barrel. By these, the gripping comfort and writing comfort of the writing instrument are improved.

By the way, how much elasticity of the grip member makes the writing instrument having the grip member feel comfortable to grip depends on the preference of the user. That is, some users feel that the grip member is softer and more comfortable to grip, and some users feel that the harder grip member is more comfortable to grip. Therefore, it has been desired to develop a writing instrument having a grip member that many users feel comfortable to grip, but it has been difficult to realize it.

Japanese Patent No. 4043305

As a result of intensive studies, the inventors of the present invention have found that the above-mentioned problem can be solved by providing a grip member with a region providing a relatively soft grip comfort and a region providing a relatively hard grip comfort. ..

The present invention is based on the above findings. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a writing instrument having a grip member that many users feel comfortable to grip.

The writing instrument of the present invention includes a shaft cylinder,
A grip member surrounding the shaft cylinder in the circumferential direction,
The thickness of the grip member varies along the circumferential direction,
The wall thickness of the barrel varies along the circumferential direction,
A region where the wall thickness of the grip member is large surrounds a region where the wall thickness of the barrel is small,
The region where the wall thickness of the grip member is small surrounds the region where the wall thickness of the barrel is large.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a soft grip feeling is provided to a user in the area|region where the thickness of a grip member is large, and a hard grip feeling is provided to a user in the area|region where the thickness of a grip member is small, so that many users can use it. It is possible to provide a writing instrument having a grip member that feels comfortable to grip.

Preferably, the inner surface of the barrel has a substantially circular cross section. In this case, the barrel does not interfere with the writing body housed in the barrel, and the writing tool can be easily assembled.

Also, preferably, the outer surface of the grip member has a substantially circular cross section. In this case, the user can hold the writing instrument without feeling uncomfortable.

Preferably, the outer surface of the barrel surrounded by the grip member has a chamfer. This chamfered portion corresponds to a region where the wall thickness of the barrel is small. In this case, when the region corresponding to the chamfered portion is gripped via the grip member, the region where the thickness of the grip member is large is compressed and deformed, so that the region where the chamfered portion is not provided, that is, the thickness of the grip member. A softer grip can be provided compared to the case where a small area is gripped. Further, the chamfered portion and the region of the grip member having a large thickness are engaged with each other to prevent undesired relative rotation of the grip member with respect to the barrel.

More preferably, the chamfered portions are provided at three positions in the circumferential direction of the shaft cylinder at equal intervals. In this case, it is possible to position the chamfered portion of the barrel and the region where the thickness of the grip member is large at the position where the three fingers (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) holding the writing instrument contact the grip member. That is, it is possible to effectively arrange a region where the thickness of the grip member is large, that is, a region which provides a soft grip feeling.

According to the present invention, a soft grip feeling is provided to a user in a region where the thickness of the grip member is large, and a hard grip comfort is provided to a user in a region where the thickness of the grip member is small. It is possible to provide a writing instrument having a grip member that feels comfortable to grip.

It is a schematic plan view showing a writing instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a schematic side view showing the writing instrument of FIG. 1A, and is a schematic side view showing a state where the writing part of the writing body is extended from the tip of the barrel. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the writing instrument of FIG. 1A. FIG. 1B is a partial schematic perspective view showing a state where the front shaft and the grip member of the writing instrument of FIG. 1A are assembled. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the front shaft of the writing instrument of FIG. 1A. It is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the front shaft and the grip member of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the front shaft and the grip member of FIG. 3. It is the VII-VII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1A, and the cursive body in a barrel is abbreviate|omitted. It is the VIII-VIII sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1A, and the cursive body in a barrel is abbreviate|omitted. It is the IX-IX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1A, and the cursive body in a barrel is abbreviate|omitted.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a schematic plan view showing a writing instrument 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a schematic side view showing the writing instrument 100 of FIG. 1A, in which a writing portion 51 of a writing body 50 is a barrel. It is a schematic side view which shows the state extended from the front-end|tip of 10. FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the writing instrument 100 of FIG. 1A.

As shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, and 2, the writing instrument 100 according to the present embodiment includes a front barrel 20 and a barrel 10 having a rear barrel 30 connected to the front barrel 20 by, for example, a crossover fit, and a front barrel. A grip member 40 surrounding the outer surface of 20 in the circumferential direction, and a writing body 50 housed in the barrel 10 so as to be retractable and retractable. As an example, the front shaft 20 and the rear shaft 30 are made of resin, and the grip member 40 is made of rubber. In the illustrated example, the writing instrument 100 is a ballpoint pen.

The barrel 10 (front shaft 20) has a first opening 21 formed at the front end so that the writing portion 51 of the writing body 50 can project. Further, the barrel 10 (front shaft 20) has a first engaging portion 22 on the inner surface of the front region. The cursive body 50 has a second engaging portion 52 on the outer surface of the front shaft 20 rearward (to the right in FIG. 2) from the first engaging portion 22. The coil spring 60 is arranged in a compressed state between the first and second engaging portions 22 and 52. The coil spring 60 is for urging the writing body 50 axially rearward (rightward in FIGS. 1A and 2) of the barrel 10. The rear end 50e of the cursive body 50 abuts on a rotary cam 23 provided in a rear region of the rear shaft 30 to restrict relative movement of the axial cylinder 10 rearward in the axial direction. The compressed state is maintained.

The knock member 70 is a member for causing the writing body 50 to project from the first opening portion 21 of the front shaft 20 against the biasing force of the coil spring 60. The knock member 70 moves the writing body 50 axially forward of the barrel 10 (leftward in FIGS. 1A to 2) so that the writing portion 51 of the writing body 50 projects outward from the first opening 21. It is possible to move between a protruding position (see FIG. 1B) corresponding to the above-described state and an immersion position (see FIG. 1A) corresponding to a state in which the writing unit 51 of the writing body 50 is immersed in the front shaft 20. There is. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the rear end 70e of the knock member 70 projects outward from the second opening 31 at the rear end of the rear shaft 30 at both the projecting position and the retracted position.

In addition, the writing instrument 100 of the present embodiment has a rotary cam 23 and a cam groove (not shown) that engages with the rotary cam 23 in the barrel 10 for switching the writing core 51 of the writing body 50 in and out. A cam mechanism is provided. As will be described in detail later, when the knocking member 70 is pressed (knocking operation) in a state in which the writing unit 51 of the writing body 50 is immersed in the front shaft 20 (see FIG. 1A), the rotary cam 23 moves into the cam groove. By sliding along, the writing part 51 of the writing body 50 is projected outward from the first opening 21 of the front shaft 20, and further, the rotary cam 23 is rotated by the action of the cam mechanism, whereby the barrel 10 The relative movement of the writing body 50 in the axial rearward direction is prohibited, and the protruding state is maintained even after the pressing operation is completed. When the knock member 70 is pressed (knocked) again in this projecting state, the cam mechanism allows the relative movement of the writing body 50 axially rearward of the barrel 10 and the biasing force of the coil spring 60. Thus, the writing body 50 and the knock member 70 are pushed back axially rearward to restore the initial state.

Next, FIG. 3 is a partial schematic perspective view showing a state in which the front shaft 20 and the grip member 40 of the writing instrument 100 of FIG. 1A are assembled. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the front shaft 20 of the writing instrument 100 of FIG. 1A, FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing the front shaft 20 and the grip member 40 of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the front shaft 20 and a grip member 40 of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the outer surface of the front shaft 20 of the writing instrument 100 of the present embodiment is surrounded by the grip member 40. The grip member 40 may be manufactured with the front shaft 20 by, for example, two-color molding. The outer surface of the grip member 40 is provided with 16 axially extending grooves 41 extending at equal intervals in the axial direction and 18 other grooves 42 extending at equal intervals in the orthogonal direction from the one groove. There is. That is, the outer surface of the grip member 40 of the present embodiment is divided into a plurality of rectangular regions (blocks 40b) surrounded by one groove 41 and the other groove 42 on all sides.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front shaft 20 of the present embodiment has a front end region 24 that is a region that is not surrounded by the grip member 40, and a covering region 25 that is surrounded by the grip member 40. ing. The front end region 24 has an annular cross section and tapers toward the front (lower left in FIG. 4). The outer diameter of the rear end of the front end region 24 is larger than the outer diameter of the front end of the covering region 25 by the thickness of the grip member 40, and the front end region is surrounded by the grip member 40. A step is not formed between the rear end of 24 and the front end of the grip member 40.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the outer surface of the covering region 25 has a chamfered portion 26. The chamfered portion 26 is an oval-shaped region formed by carving the outer surface of the cylindrical covering region 25. Although only two chamfered portions 26 are shown in FIG. 4, the chamfered portions 26 are actually provided at three positions in the circumferential direction of the front shaft 20 at equal intervals. In FIG. 5, the cross section of the covering region 25 of the front shaft 20 is visually recognized, but the chamfered portion 26 does not appear in the cross section 25a of the upper portion, and the wall thickness of the covering region 25 is constant in the axial direction. .. On the other hand, the chamfered portion 26 appears in the cross section 25b of the lower portion, and the wall thickness of the front shaft 20 varies (decreases in the chamfered portion 26) in the axial direction.

As shown in FIG. 6, the inner surface of the front shaft 20 has a substantially circular cross section. The outer surface of the grip member 40 has a substantially circular cross section. Here, “substantially circular” means that the contour line of the inner surface of the front shaft 20 is circular when the unevenness existing on the inner surface of the front shaft 20 is ignored, or one groove 41 formed on the outer surface of the grip member 40. And that the contour line (ridge line) of each block 40b ignoring the concave portion formed by the other groove 42 is circular. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the inner surface of the grip member 40 and the outer surface of the covering region 25 of the front shaft 20, particularly, the chamfered portion 26 provided in the inner surface of the grip member 40 and the covering region 25 are in contact with each other without a gap. There is.

That is, the thickness of the grip member 40 varies in the portion corresponding to the chamfered portion 26. Furthermore, the thickness of the covering region 25 of the front shaft 20 varies along the circumferential direction due to the presence of the chamfered portion 26. The region 43 having a large thickness of the grip member 40 surrounds the region having a small thickness of the front shaft 20, that is, the outer surface of the chamfered portion 26, and the region 44 having a small thickness of the grip member 40 corresponds to the front shaft 20. Surrounds the outer surface of the region 27 having a large wall thickness.

Here, the configurations of the front shaft 20 and the grip member 40 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII of FIG. 1A, FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII of FIG. 1A, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line IX-IX of FIG. 1A. 7 to 9, the writing body 50 in the front shaft 20 is not shown.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, at the position of the VII-VII line and the position of the VIII-VIII line of FIG. 1A, the chamfered portion 26 exists in the covering region 25 of the front shaft 20, and the meat of the front shaft 20 is present. The chamfered portion 26, which is a region having a small thickness, and the region 27, which has a large thickness of the front shaft 20, are alternately present at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. Then, as described above, the region 43 having a large thickness of the grip member 40 surrounds the outer surface of the chamfered portion 26, and the region 44 having a small thickness of the grip member 40 is the outer surface of the region 27 having a large thickness of the front shaft 20. Surrounds.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the thickness of the block 40b (rectangular region) formed on the outer surface of the grip member 40 varies. Specifically, in the block 40b, in the region 43 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is large, the thickness of the block 40b is large (thickness d1), and in the region 44 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is small, the thickness of the block 40b is large. Small (thickness d2). Such a variation in the thickness of the block 40b is particularly remarkable in FIG. The line VIII-VIII in FIG. 1A corresponding to FIG. 8 corresponds to the position where the chamfered portion 26 has the largest thickness and the circumferential width is the largest. Therefore, the chamfered portion 26 of FIG. 8 has the smallest wall thickness of the front shaft 20, and the grip member 40 surrounding the outer surface of the chamfered portion 26 has the largest wall thickness. As shown in FIG. 8, in the region 43 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is large, the maximum thickness of the block 40b is d1' (>d1). On the other hand, in the region 44 where the thickness of the grip member 40 in FIG. 8 is small, the maximum thickness of the block 40b is d2, which is substantially the same as in the case of FIG.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the grip member 40 includes an outer region 45 in which one groove 41 extending in the axial direction and the other groove 42 extending in the orthogonal direction from the one groove 41 are formed. It has an inner region 46 (region radially inner than the outer region 45) in which one groove 41 and the other groove 42 are not formed. The inner region 46 has an inner region 46a having a large wall thickness and an inner region 46b having a small wall thickness. The region 43 having a large wall thickness of the grip member 40 corresponds to the inner region 46a having a large wall thickness, and the region 44 having a small wall thickness of the grip member 40 corresponds to the inner region 46a having a small wall thickness. is doing. Here, "corresponding" means that the grip members 40 are present at substantially the same position in the circumferential direction.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, in the area behind the chamfered portion 26 in the covering area 25 of the front shaft 20, the thickness of the front shaft 20 is constant and the thickness of the grip member 40 is also constant. .. Furthermore, the thickness of the block 40b is also constant.

Next, the operation of the writing instrument 100 of the present invention will be described.

First, the user presses (knocks) the knock member 70 with respect to the barrel 10. As a result, the writing body 50 relatively moves forward in the axial direction of the barrel 10 while compressing the coil spring 60, and the writing portion 51 of the writing body 50 is exposed to the outside from the opening 21 at the front end of the front shaft 20. During this relative movement, the writing body 50 is prevented from moving relative to the axial direction rearward of the barrel 10 by the cam mechanism 23, and the writing portion 51 maintains the protruding state even after the pressing operation (knock operation) is completed. To be done. Then, the grip member 40 is gripped by the user, and writing is performed on a writing target surface such as a paper surface.

When gripped by the user, the grip member 40 of the present embodiment provides different gripping comfort depending on the area on which the user's finger is pressed. Specifically, when the user's finger is pressed against the thick region 43 of the grip member 40, the user is provided with a soft grip. On the other hand, when the user's finger is pressed against the region 44 having a small thickness of the grip member 40, the user is provided with a firm grip. As described above, since the regions 43 of the grip member 40 having a large wall thickness and the regions 44 of the grip member 40 having a small wall thickness are alternately arranged in the circumferential direction at three locations at equal intervals, the fingers of the user can be used. When the (thumb, for example) is pressed against the large-thickness region 43 of the grip member 40, other fingers (for example, the index finger and the middle finger) are also normally pressed against the remaining two large-thickness regions 43. Similarly, when a certain finger (for example, thumb) of the user is pressed against the thin-walled region 44 of the grip member 40, the other fingers (for example, the index finger and the middle finger) usually have two remaining thin-walled regions. It is pressed against 44.

During this gripping, the grip member 40 is radially compressed and deformed by the force applied by the user's finger. In particular, when the user's finger is pressed against the region 43 having a large thickness of the grip member 40, it is compressed and deformed more than when the user's finger is pressed against the region 44 having a small thickness with the same force. It Further, as described above, in the region 43 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is large, since the thickness of the block 40b is provided thicker than the region 44 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is small, the user's finger is pressed. At this time, the individual blocks 40b of the grip member 40, which are surrounded by grooves on all sides, are easily bent and deformed in all directions. As a result, in the region 43 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is large, a soft grip feeling is provided to the user.

On the other hand, when the user's finger is pressed against the region 44 with a small thickness of the grip member 40, the grip 40 is compressed and deformed smaller than when the user's finger is pressed against the region 43 with a large thickness. It Furthermore, since the thickness of the block 40b is also the minimum in the region 44 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is small, the block 40b flexes and deforms only a small amount. Therefore, in the region 44 where the wall thickness of the grip member 40 is small, a firm grip feeling is provided to the user. Further, in the present embodiment, the outer surface of the chamfered portion 26 of the front shaft 20 and the inner surface of the region 43 having a large thickness of the grip member 40 are in contact with each other without a gap, and the contact surface has a non-circular cross section. By doing so, relative rotation of the grip member 40 with respect to the front shaft 20 is prevented (see FIGS. 7 and 8).

When the writing with the writing instrument 100 is completed, the user again pushes (knocks) the knock member 70 forward in the axial direction of the barrel 10. As a result, the writing body 50 is relatively moved in front of the barrel 10 against the biasing force of the coil spring 60. At the time of this relative movement, the cursive body 50 is brought into a state in which the cam mechanism 23 can relatively move backward in the axial direction of the barrel 10. Then, when the pressing operation (knocking operation) is completed, the coil spring 60 urges the coil cylinder 60 to move the shaft cylinder 10 axially rearward, so that the writing portion 51 of the writing body 50 is retracted into the shaft cylinder 10. The condition is restored.

According to the present embodiment as described above, a soft grip feeling is provided to the user in the thick region 43 of the grip member 40, and a hard grip feeling is provided to the user in the thin region 44 of the grip member 40. Therefore, it is possible to provide the writing instrument 100 having the grip member 40 that many users feel comfortable to grip.

Since the inner surface of the barrel 10 (front shaft 20) of the present embodiment has a circular cross section, the barrel 10 does not interfere with the writing body 50 accommodated in the barrel 10, and the writing instrument Assembly of 100 is also easy.

Further, since the outer surface of the grip member 40 has a substantially circular cross section, the user can grip the writing instrument 100 without feeling uncomfortable.

The outer surface of the covering region 25 of the front shaft 20 surrounded by the grip member 40 has a chamfered portion 26 as a region where the front shaft 20 has a small thickness. For this reason, when the region corresponding to the chamfered portion 26 is gripped via the grip member 40, the region 43 having a large thickness of the grip member 40 is relatively largely compressed and deformed, and thus the chamfered portion 60 is not provided. A softer grip may be provided as compared to the case where the region, that is, the region 44 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is small, is grasped. Further, the chamfered portion 26 and the thick region 43 of the grip member 40 engage with each other to prevent the grip member 40 from undesirably rotating relative to the front shaft 20.

Since the chamfered portions 26 are provided at three positions in the circumferential direction of the covering region 25 of the front shaft 20 at equal intervals, the three fingers (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) holding the writing instrument 100 come into contact with the grip member 40. It is possible to position the chamfered portion 26 of the front shaft 20 and the region 43 where the thickness of the grip member 40 is large at the position where That is, the region 43 of the grip member 40 having a large thickness, that is, the region providing a soft grip feeling can be effectively arranged.

In the present embodiment, the block 40b (rectangular region) is formed by the one groove 41 extending in the axial direction and the other groove extending in the orthogonal direction from the one groove, but in other embodiments. May have a block 40b (annular region) surrounded by a groove formed in an annular shape on all sides.

In this embodiment, the thickness of the block 40b is the maximum thickness when the thickness is not constant.

Further, in the present embodiment, a ballpoint pen is described as an example of the writing instrument 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. By appropriately selecting the writing body 50, the present invention can be applied to various writing instruments such as a mechanical pencil, a felt-tip pen, and a correction pen.

10 Shaft Cylinder 20 Front Shaft 21 First Opening 22 First Engaging Part 23 Rotating Cam 24 Front End Area 25 Covering Area 25a Upper Section 25b Lower Section 26 Chamfer 27 Front Shaft Thick Area 30 Rear Shaft 31 Second opening 40 Grip member 40b Block 41 One groove 42 The other groove 43 Region where the grip member has a large thickness 44 Region where the grip member has a small thickness 45 Outer region 46 Inner region 46a Larger thickness Inner region 46b Inner region 50 having a small thickness 50 Writing body 50e Writing body rear end 51 Writing portion 52 Second engaging portion 60 Coil spring 70 Knock member 70e Knock member rear end 100 Writing instrument

Claims (5)

A shaft cylinder,
A grip member surrounding the shaft cylinder in the circumferential direction,
The thickness of the grip member varies along the circumferential direction,
The wall thickness of the barrel varies along the circumferential direction,
A region where the wall thickness of the grip member is large surrounds a region where the wall thickness of the barrel is small,
Said area the thickness of the grip member is small, enclose take the thickness is larger region of the barrel,
The grip member has a groove extending in the circumferential direction,
The writing instrument characterized in that the depth of the groove in a region of the grip member having a large thickness is larger than the depth of the groove in a region of the grip member having a small thickness . The writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein an inner surface of the barrel has a substantially circular cross section. The writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein an outer surface of the grip member has a substantially circular cross section. The writing instrument according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein an outer surface of the barrel surrounded by the grip member has a chamfered portion. The writing instrument according to claim 4, wherein the chamfered portions are provided at equal intervals at three positions in the circumferential direction of the shaft cylinder.

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