JP6742110B2 - Friction assembly for thermochromic writing instruments - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument.

A friction tool (erasing tool) provided with a friction body (erasing member) for scraping a handwriting by the thermochromic writing tool is a separate body from the thermochromic writing tool having a refill containing the thermochromic ink. It is known (Patent Document 1).

JP, 2013-199113, A

Even when the friction tool described in Patent Document 1 is not used, the surface of the friction body that scratches the handwriting is exposed to the outside, so that dirt easily attaches. Further, when the friction body is deformed due to wear, it becomes impossible to rub according to the range of the handwriting to be rubbed. That is, for example, if the corners of the friction body are rounded, it becomes impossible to rub in a minute range as was done before the abrasion. As a result, the entire friction tool has to be discarded.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument in which the surface of the friction body is not exposed to the outside when not in use.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument comprising a plurality of friction tools, each of the friction tools having a friction body, and the friction of one of the friction tools. A friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument, characterized in that a plurality of said friction tools are connected to each other by removably attaching another friction tool to a body part.

Further, according to another aspect, there is provided a friction tool assembly characterized in that at least one of the plurality of friction bodies has a characteristic different from other characteristics. The characteristics mentioned here refer to the shape, color, hardness of the friction body, the amount of wear in a constant friction operation, and the like.

According to another aspect, there is provided a friction tool assembly, wherein the characteristic is shape.

According to another aspect, there is provided a friction tool assembly, wherein a plurality of the friction tools can be connected so that the friction tool assembly has an annular shape.

According to the aspects of the present invention, it is possible to provide a friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument in which the surface of the friction body is not exposed to the outside when not in use. Further, by making the friction tool assembly annular, it can be attached to a hand or a finger, which makes it easy to carry and can also be used as an accessory.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the friction tool assembly of FIG. It is a perspective view of a 1st friction tool. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the 1st friction tool of FIG. It is a perspective view of a 2nd friction tool. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the 2nd friction tool of FIG. It is a perspective view of a 3rd friction tool. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the 3rd friction tool of FIG. It is a top view of the state which deformed the friction tool assembly of FIG. It is another top view of the state which deformed the friction tool assembly of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Corresponding components are designated by common reference numerals throughout the drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a friction tool assembly 1 for a thermochromic writing instrument according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the friction tool assembly 1 of FIG.

Here, the thermochromic writing instrument is, for example, a ballpoint pen having a refill containing thermochromic ink. Thermochromic ink is a color that maintains a predetermined color (first color) at room temperature (for example, 25° C.) and changes to another color (second color) when heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, 60° C.). After that, when cooled to a predetermined temperature (for example, −5° C.), the ink has the property of returning to the original color (first color) again. In the thermochromic writing instrument, making the second color colorless and raising the temperature of the drawn line written in the first color (for example, red) to make it colorless is referred to as “erasing” here. Therefore, the drawn surface is rubbed against a writing surface or the like by a friction body described later to generate frictional heat, and thereby the drawn line is changed to colorless, that is, erased. Of course, the second color may be a color other than colorless.

The friction tool assembly 1 includes a plurality of friction tools 2. Each of the friction tools has a friction body 3 that scrapes a handwriting and a main body 4 as a grip portion. In the present embodiment, the friction tool assembly 1 includes four first friction tools 10, four second friction tools 20, and four third friction tools 30. The first friction tool 10 includes a first friction body 11 and a first body 12 having the first friction body 11 provided at one end. The second friction tool 20 includes a second friction body 21 and a second body 22 having the second friction body 21 at one end. The third friction tool 30 includes a third friction body 31 and a third body 32 having the third friction body 31 provided at one end. In the present specification, the friction body side is defined as the “front” side and the side opposite to the friction body is defined as the “rear” side in the axial direction of the friction tool.

In the friction tool assembly 1, the front end of the second friction tool 20 is removably attached to the rear end of the first friction tool 10, and the front end of the third friction tool 30 is removably attached to the rear end of the second friction tool 20. The front end of another first friction tool 10 is detachably attached to the rear end of the third friction tool 30 and is connected to each other. By repeating such connection, the four first friction tools 10, the four second friction tools 20, and the four third friction tools 30 constitute the annular friction tool assembly 1 as a whole.

As a material for forming the friction body 3, a thermosetting rubber such as silicone rubber, nitrile rubber, ethylene propylene rubber, or ethylene propylene diene rubber, or a rubber elastic material such as a thermoplastic elastomer such as a styrene elastomer, an olefin elastomer, or a polyester elastomer. It is possible to use a mixture of two or more kinds of rubber elastic materials and a mixture of rubber elastic materials and synthetic resins. Under the environment, the Taber abrasion tester is configured so that the Taber abrasion amount on the abrasion wheel CS-17 is 10 mg or more, and the friction body 3 is formed. Further, in order to adjust the Taber abrasion amount to be 10 mg or more, the material of the friction body 3 does not include environmental hormones such as alkyl sulfonic acid phenyl ester and cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid ester for providing more flexibility. A plasticizer may be added to ensure safety. Since the friction body 3 contains a plasticizer such as phenyl alkyl sulfonate or cyclohexane dicarboxylic acid ester, the friction body 3 is more easily worn, so that the surface of the paper is not damaged and the printed characters are not scratched. Can be erased. Further, the friction body 3 preferably has a durometer D hardness of 30 or more defined in JIS K6203. As a result, a predetermined hardness can be secured and a more stable rubbing operation can be performed. The friction body 3 can also be applied as a touch pen or a stylus pen.

The body 4 is made of a relatively hard material such as polycarbonate resin. Further, not only a resin material but also a metal material may be used. Further, the main body 4 may be made of the same material as the friction body 3.

3 is a perspective view of the first friction tool 10, and FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the first friction tool 10 of FIG. As described above, the first friction tool 10 has the first friction body 11 and the first main body 12.

The first main body 12 is a cylindrical member whose center axis is slightly bent at an intermediate position. The first main body 12 has a fitting portion 13 at the front end thereof. The fitting portion 13 is closed, and its outer diameter is formed to be smaller than that of the other portions. A fitting protrusion 14 is formed in an annular shape on the outer peripheral surface of the fitting portion 13. The rear end of the first main body 12 is open, and a plurality of protrusions 15 are formed on the inner peripheral surface near the rear end.

The first friction body 11 is provided at the front end portion of the first main body 12, that is, the front end portion of the fitting portion 13, by adhesion or two-color molding. The first friction body 11 is a cylindrical member having the same diameter as the front end surface of the fitting portion 13. Since the first friction body 11 has a columnar shape, it is possible to rub the handwriting in a slender range such as a line, that is, a line shape, by utilizing the peripheral edge 11a of the front end surface.

5 is a perspective view of the second friction tool 20, and FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the second friction tool 20 of FIG. The second friction tool 20 has the second friction body 21 and the second main body 22, as described above.

The second main body 22 is a cylindrical member whose center axis is slightly bent at an intermediate position. The second main body 22 has a fitting portion 23 at its front end. The second main body 22 has the same shape as the first main body 12 of the first friction tool 10 except for the front end of the fitting portion 23. Therefore, the second main body 22 has the annular fitting convex portion 14 and the plurality of protrusions 15. The front end portion of the fitting portion 23 has a prismatic shape with a square cross section.

The second friction body 21 is provided at the front end portion of the second main body 22, that is, the front end portion of the fitting portion 23, by adhesion or two-color molding. The second friction body 21 is a prismatic member having the same square cross section as the front end surface of the fitting portion 23. Since the second friction body 21 has a prismatic shape, it is possible to rub the handwriting linearly by using the peripheral edge 21a of the front end surface thereof. Further, it is possible to scrape the handwriting into a minute range such as a point, that is, a point shape by utilizing the corner portion of the front end surface of the second friction body 21, that is, the apex 12b. The second friction body 21 may be a prism having a cross section other than a square, such as a triangular prism or a pentagonal prism, or a triangular pyramid or a quadrangular pyramid.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the third friction tool 30, and FIG. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the third friction tool 30 of FIG. 7. As described above, the third friction tool 30 has the third friction body 31 and the third main body 32.

The third body 32 is the same as the first body 12 of the first friction tool 10. Therefore, the third main body 32 has the fitting portion 13, the ring-shaped fitting convex portion 14, and the plurality of protrusions 15.

A third friction body 31 is provided at the front end of the third main body 32, that is, the front end of the fitting portion 13 by adhesion, two-color molding, or the like. The third friction body 31 is a cylindrical member having the same diameter as the front end surface of the fitting portion 13 and a front end having a hemispherical shape. Since the front end of the third friction body 31 has a hemispherical shape, the convex curved surface 31a can be used to rub the handwriting in a wide range such as a surface, that is, in a planar shape. The third friction body 31 may simply be a hemispherical member.

Since the first friction tool 10, the second friction tool 20, and the third friction tool 30 have the same fitting convex portion 14 and the protrusion 15, the portion of the friction body 3 at the front end portion of one friction tool 2, That is, the rear end portion of another friction tool 2 can be detachably attached to the fitting portion. In other words, the protrusion 15 fits over the fitting protrusion 14 to enable detachable connection. Therefore, the first friction tool 10, the second friction tool 20, and the third friction tool 30 can be arbitrarily connected, and naturally, the same friction tool 2, for example, two first friction tools 10 are connected. It becomes possible.

The angle of bending of the central axis of the main body 4 of the friction tool 2 is determined according to the size and number of the friction tools 2 constituting the friction tool assembly 1. That is, when the friction tools 2 are assumed to have the same size, the smaller the friction tools 2 constituting the friction tool assembly 1, the larger the bending needs to be. The annular friction tool assembly 1 may be configured by bending the main body 4 of the friction tool 2 in an arc shape instead of bending it.

According to the annular friction tool assembly 1, since the surface of the friction body 3 of one friction tool 2 is housed in the main body 4 of another friction tool 2 when not in use, The surface is not exposed to the outside, and therefore the surface of the friction body 3 is not contaminated. Further, since the friction tool assembly 1 is annular as a whole, it does not require a separate cap to cover the friction body 3 and can be easily carried. Furthermore, by making the friction tool assembly 1 annular, it can be attached to a hand or a finger, and it can be easily carried and used as an accessory.

9 is a plan view of the friction tool assembly 1 of FIG. 1 in a deformed state, and FIG. 10 is another plan view of the friction tool assembly of FIG. 1 in a deformed state. These exemplify the usage state of the friction tool assembly 1.

When rubbing the handwriting by the thermochromic writing instrument, that is, when using the friction tool assembly 1, an arbitrary friction tool 2 is selected from the plurality of friction tools 2 of the annular friction tool assembly 1. Then, the fitting with the friction tool 2 arranged in front of it is released. For example, in FIG. 9, the two friction tool assemblies 1 are disengaged from each other to expose the first friction bodies 11 of the two first friction tools 10. As described above, by using the peripheral edge 11a of the columnar first friction body 11, it is possible to rub in a linear shape. Since the friction tool assembly 1 is divided into two, the less worn first friction body 11 or the more worn first friction body 11 is selected. It is possible. It is also possible to use one of the divided friction tool assemblies 1 by oneself and lend the other to another person.

As shown in FIG. 10, the friction fitting assembly 1 can be formed into an arbitrary shape by releasing the fitting at one location and rotating the coupling location of the two friction fittings 2 around the central axis. Thereby, it becomes possible to transform the friction tool assembly 1 into an overall shape that is easier to use.

Further, it is easy to select the friction body 3 from the first friction body 11, the second friction body 21, and the third friction body 31 according to the range to be rubbed, such as linear, dot-shaped, and planar. In addition, the body 4 may be formed of a transparent resin material. Thereby, the shape and wear state of the friction body 3 can be visually recognized from the outside. Furthermore, the characteristics such as the shape of the friction body 3 which will be described later may be shown by the decoration and color of the outer peripheral surface of the main body 4.

In the above-described embodiment, the friction tool assembly 1 has three types of friction tools having different shapes, but it may have four or more types having different shapes, or two types of friction tools. You may Further, all the friction tool assemblies may be composed of the same friction tool. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, not only the plurality of friction tools 2 are used in a connected state, but one arbitrary friction tool 2 may be separated from the other and used alone.

Since the friction tool assembly is composed of a plurality of friction tools, even if the friction body is worn, it is not necessary to discard the friction tool including the friction body, and the friction tool assembly is used as a friction tool thereafter. It is also possible to scrape the handwriting by using the friction body of another friction tool.

Further, at least one of the friction bodies of the plurality of friction tools may have different characteristics from other friction bodies. Here, the characteristics include not only the shape as in the above-described embodiment but also color, size, hardness, elastic modulus, Taber abrasion amount, easiness of thermal discoloration due to rubbing (erasing performance), and constant friction. The amount of wear during operation. Any combination of these characteristics may be used, and the friction bodies of all the friction tools constituting the friction tool assembly may be different, or only a part thereof may be different. As a result that at least one of the friction bodies of the plurality of friction tools has characteristics different from those of the other friction bodies, it is possible to obtain various erasing performance with one friction tool assembly.

The friction tool assembly need not be configured to be annular. For example, the friction tool assembly may be configured to be generally straight. When the friction tool assembly has a configuration other than an annular shape, a cap may be covered to protect the friction body of the friction tool arranged at the front end.

1 Friction tool assembly 2 Friction tool 3 Friction body 4 Main body

Claims (3)

A friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument comprising a plurality of friction tools, wherein each of the friction tools has a friction body, and the friction body portion of one of the friction tools has another friction body. A plurality of the friction tools are connected to each other by attaching the tools detachably ,
A plurality of the friction tools can be connected so that the friction tool assembly has an annular shape,
Each of the friction tools has a body,
A fitting portion is formed at the front end of the main body so that the outer diameter is smaller than that of other portions, and a plurality of protrusions are formed on the inner peripheral surface near the rear end of the main body. Was
A friction tool assembly for a thermochromic writing instrument , wherein the protrusion is fitted so as to get over the fitting portion . A peripheral edge is formed on at least one of the plurality of friction bodies, a convex curved surface is formed on at least another one of the plurality of friction bodies, and at least one of the plurality of friction bodies has a different shape. The friction tool assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: The friction tool assembly according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the plurality of friction bodies has a characteristic different from the others .

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