KR20020060087A - Expandable writing instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: Provided is a writing instrument having a new and useful mechanism for expanding the length of a writing instrument barrel while extending a writing tip from a retracted position in the barrel to a writing position. CONSTITUTION: The writing instrument expandable from a compact storage size to a longer, writing size, the writing instrument includes a pen body(40) having a front section(20) with a pen point(60) at one end of the pen body and a second end; a cap slidably mounted to the second end of the pen body, the pen body and cap forming a hollow chamber; a refill cartridge(65) held longitudinally movable within the hollow chamber, the cartridge having a writing tip at one cartridge end; gear unit(70) for longitudinally moving the refill cartridge toward the pen point within the hollow chamber against the spring to extend the writing tip(10) through the pen point to a marking position when the cap is slid away from the pen point on the pen body to an expanded position.

Description

Flexible Writing Instruments {EXPANDABLE WRITING INSTRUMENT}

The present invention generally corresponds to the field of writing instruments, and in particular, the writing tip (tip) can be extended from the retracted position of the barrel to a position where it can be written, that is, extended (extended or protruded), and at the same time A new and useful stretchable writing instrument that can extend length.

All forms of small writing instruments are sometimes used more than full-size versions of writing instruments because they take up less space. However, some small writing instruments are not as useful as full-size versions of the same product for a variety of reasons.

For writing instruments, small or scaled ballpoint pens can be difficult for many people to hold and write, including the elderly, children, the weak, and those with large fingers. At the same time, ballpoint pens and pencils that take up less space are easier to carry in a purse or pocket.

Occasionally, ballpoint pens or pencils are made of a sized product suitable for use with objects such as a minipen provided to date planners or a golf pencil housed in a steering wheel, such as a golf cart. These small ballpoint pens and pencils are not recyclable and should be discarded after the ink or pencil lead is exhausted. These writing instruments are small and convenient to store, but there are problems that are inconvenient for people to use, and very difficult to use for some people.

Stretchable writing instruments with spiral grooves and followers in overlapping body parts have been produced since 1875 at A.C.Cross Company. These writing instruments have at least three portions rotatable relative to each other and longitudinally movable so that the two portions increase or decrease the length of the writing instrument. The driven pin in one portion corresponds to the spiral groove in the other portion so that the middle portion rotates as the writing instrument is extended and the writing tip is exposed by pulling the writing instrument end.

In a pending US patent application Ser. No. 09 / 688,659, filed October 16, 2000, in which the inventor of the present application holds the rights as a co-inventor, a cam for extending the writing tip when the front and cap pen portions are pulled apart. A stretchable fan having a mechanism is disclosed. The cam is operated by the longitudinal sliding movement of the cap portion away from the front portion on the pen body.

Attempts to provide a ballpoint pen with a stretchable body include miniaturized ballpoint pens that can be stretched to a more convenient length of use, as disclosed in US Pat. No. 3,174,461. The pen point is always unexposed without contracting into the pen's body. The body is elongated simply by sliding away the concentric overlapping portions. The overlapping portions are joined to generate friction with each other. The lower part fixes the ball point and the ink supply inside the body. The upper portion slides into the lower portion, and has an inclined end for gripping the upper portion of the ink supply portion to prevent the upper portion from being completely separated from the lower portion. The cap is coupled to the upper portion and the lower edge of the cap stops against the upper edge of the lower portion.

U. S. Patent No. 3,709, 620 describes a ballpoint pen with a body extending for use as a ball pointer. The body of the pen consists of a series of telescopic tubes that support and receive the ball point and ink supply. The ball point can be expanded or contracted from the pen body by a spring-loaded actuation button at the upper end of the body. The button has a horizontal channel, and the spring-loaded slider has a tab that presses onto the opening on the upper tube side when the button is pressed to hold the button and retain the extended pen tip. By compressing the top end of the clip mounted outside the upper tube over the tab, the slider in the tab and the button is pushed back, and the button is released from the pressed position. At this time, the button will return upward by the button spring, and the pen tip will contract.

These pens, although the pen tip may retract, must be relatively complicated in structure of springs and sliders, and also require clips. In addition, the pen tip extension / contraction device is not integrated with the extension of the pen. That is, the pen tip cannot extend outside the pen point when the tube is extended to serve as a pointer.

The elastic ballpoint pen disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 5,061,104 has a fold near the center of the pen and a recessed portion in the upper portion, so that the lower portion containing the pen point and the ink reservoir can be folded at the same height into the upper portion. Can be. However, the pen point is not retracted.

These conventional pens have a problem that the pen tip is always exposed, needs a pen cap, and may accidentally leave traces of the pen on clothes and the like. In addition, the pen cannot be replaced, so once the ink is used up, the entire writing instrument must be discarded and replaced with a new one.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a stretchable writing instrument capable of easily extending a small storage size to a long writing size.

In addition, the present invention provides a flexible writing instrument having an internal mechanism for advancing (retracting) or retracting (returning) a writing tip when it is extended and contracted to a usable full size position in a small storage size. There is another purpose.

1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view in a state of use of the writing instrument according to the present invention, that is, an open position (extension position),

2 is a rear cross-sectional view of the writing instrument of FIG. 1 in a closed position (shrinkage position), that is, a storage state;

3 is a sectional view seen from the bottom of the writing instrument of FIG.

4 is a perspective view of a refill plunger employed in a writing instrument of group 1;

5 is a side view of a gear employed in the writing instrument of FIG. 1.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

10: touch 15: spring

20: Front section 30: Capliner

32: Stop slide tab 35,95: Track

40: pen body 45: screw connection

47,48: stop slot 50: ballpoint pen

60: pen point 65: refill cartridge

70: gear 75,77: tooth

90: plunger 92: guide

97: fusing surface

Accordingly, the flexible pen has a pen barrel having a cap portion that slides in the longitudinal direction from the closed position covered by the middle portion to the long use position where the middle portion is exposed. The pen body houses a refillable cartridge of a shrinkable pen. As the pen is stretched, the pen body becomes full length to facilitate writing while at the same time the writing tip of the refill cartridge extends from the retracted position in the pen body to the writing position.

The pen is slidably coupled to the pen body and has a front portion secured to the pen body with a cap liner that meets the front portion in the contracted size of the fan. A decorative cap may be disposed on the capliner to surround the end of the pen to form a cap portion. The refill cartridge is installed in a chamber formed by the front portion, the pen body and the cap, and is supported at the pen point end with a coil spring. The pen body is provided with a gear having two sets of teeth engaged with the track of the cabliner and the second track on the plunger disposed at the end of the refill cartridge. When the cap section slides back far away from the front section, the gear rotates between one track and another track in proportion. Different sized teeth of the gears cause the cap section to slide at different rates, which translates into a smaller conversion of the plunger lowering the cartridge and pressing the spring to expose the tip. In this way, the tip of the cartridge protrudes to be usable, and at the same time the length of the pen is extended to make writing more comfortable.

Various novel features of the invention are particularly described in the appended claims, which form a part of the specification, and the invention is best practiced so that the invention may be better understood in order to better understand the invention and its operational advantages and the specific objects obtainable in use. By way of example and in conjunction with the accompanying drawings will be described in detail below.

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

In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same to similar elements. 1 shows a stretchable writing implement according to the invention in the form of a stretchable ballpoint pen 50. As shown in FIG. 1, the stretchable ballpoint pen 50 shows an extended use position, and the tip 10 of the refill cartridge 65 protrudes through the pen point 60. The refill cartridge 65 compresses the compression spring 15 against the inside of the front section 20 when the tip 10 is extended. One end of the pen body 40 is fixed to the front section 20 through the screw connection portion 45. The cap liner 30 is installed on the other end of the pen body 40. The capliner 30 is preferably covered by a decorative cap (not shown) or formed of an integral part with the cap. The capliner 30 is shown for convenience only as shown in the figures and includes an integral cap having the same features, or a combined cap and its liner.

The front section 20, the pen body 40, the pen point 60, and the capliner 30 constitute a chamber for receiving the refill cartridge 65. The coil compression spring 15 supports the lower end of the refill cartridge 65 with respect to the upper edge of the pen point 60 inside the front section 20. The compression spring 15 presses the refill cartridge 65 away from the pen point 60 to keep the ball pen 50 in the retracted position in the storage state of the ballpoint pen 50.

The cap liner 30 is slidably mounted on the pen body 40 so that the cap liner 30 can move between expansion and contraction positions without being completely separated from the pen body 40. A gear 70 with two sets of teeth 75, 77 of different diameter rotates at the end of the pen body 40 between the track 35 of the capliner 30 and the track 95 of the plunger 90. It is possible to install.

In the storage state shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the front section 20 meets the capliner 30 to form a generally cylindrical compact ballpoint pen 50.

1-3, the internal connection of the components of the ball pen 50 with the mechanism of the gear used to protrude or retract the refill cartridge 65 when the ball pen 50 is stretched is shown.

The slide stop tab 32 of the cap liner 30 grips the cap and the cap liner 30 on the pen body 40 when extended, and holds the ballpoint pen 50 in the closed position in the storage state. To the corresponding stop slots 47 and 48 formed in the pen body 40. The slide stop tab 32 is bound to either of the stop slots 47 and 48 by pulling or pushing the cap section as necessary.

The gear mechanism is dependent on the interaction of the gear 70 with the plunger 90 and the capliner 30.

As shown in FIG. 4, the track 95 of the plunger 90 extends from the opposite side of the pushing surface 97. The pushing surface 97 is disposed inside the pen body 40 so as to press the end portion of the refill cartridge 65. A pair of guides 92 are provided on both sides of the plunger 90 corresponding to the pair of tracks 43 on both sides of the pen body 40. The guide 92 prevents the plunger 90 in the pen from rotating and changing the position of the track 95.

5 shows a gear 70 having a set of teeth 77 that engages the track 35 of the capliner 30 and a set of teeth 75 that engage the track 95 of the plunger 90. Shown. The two sets of teeth 75, 77 are formed concentrically around the gear shaft 72.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 to 3, the gear 70 is installed at the end of the pen body 40 by a gear shaft 72 supported inside the shaft support channel 42 of the pen body 40. do. Two sets of gear teeth 75 and 77 interact with the two tracks 35 and 95 to allow the cap section (capliner 30 and its decorative cap) to be used for use of the ballpoint pen 50 from the retracted position. The plunger 90 is urged toward the pen point 60 which is the pen tip when pulled back to stretch. The plunger 90 in turn presses the refill cartridge 65 against the compression spring 15 and causes the tip 10 to protrude from the pen point 60.

The specific ratio of the diameters of the two sets of gear teeth 75 and 77 is that the slide stop tab 32 stops relative to the distance that the refill cartridge 65 must move to protrude the tip 10 to the use position. It is determined based on the ratio of the distance that the cap section travels to reach the stretch position that is coupled to the slot 48. The preferred range of ratio of large diameter to small diameter is between 5: 1 and 1: 1, but the ratio may be greater than 5: 1. If a ratio of 1: 1 is acceptable, the gear may have only one set of gear teeth that engage both tracks.

To retract the ball pen 50 from the writing position, the capliner 30 is pushed toward the pen point 60 until the slide stop tab 32 is released from the stop slot 48 and slides to the closed position. As the capliner 30 retracts to the closed position, the gear 70 rotates in the opposite direction, causing the plunger 90 to move away from the pen point 60 and to remove the pressure from the end of the refill cartridge 65. do. At this time, the capliner 30 is in contact with the front section 20 and the compression spring 15 until the slide stop tab 32 is engaged with the stop slot 47 to keep the ball pen 50 in the closed position. As a result, the refill cartridge 65 is retracted into the pen body 40. The tip 10 is then retracted into pen point 60 for complete storage.

Instead of the compression spring 15 which retracts the refill cartridge 65 into the pen body 40 when the ball pen 50 is retracted, the pushing surface 97 of the plunger 90 is fixed to the end of the refill cartridge. It may be. At this time, the plunger 90 will pull the refill cartridge 65 into the pen body 40. The plunger 90 may be secured to the refill cartridge 65 by friction and coupling the opening 99 of the plunger 90 to the inclined end of the refill cartridge 65. Alternatively, the pushing surface 97 of the plunger 90 may be secured to the end of the refill cartridge 65 using an adhesive.

To continue using the ballpoint pen 50, loosen the screw connection 45 between the front section 20 and the pen body 40, remove the used refill cartridge 65, and replace the refill cartridge 65 again with a new one. It becomes exchangeable. By combining the front section 20 and the pen body 40 again, the ballpoint pen 50 can be used as described above.

By using such a ballpoint pen 50, the pen tip 10 can be simultaneously projected simultaneously for use, and the compact writing instrument can be quickly extended to a farther writing position.

If the ball-point pen 50 of the disposable structure (disposable) is desired, the front section 20 and the pen body 40 may be integrated together as a single part, rather than connected by screw connections. Similarly, the pen point 60 may be integrally formed in the front section 20 as a single part instead of a separate part.

The term refill cartridge herein refers to a self-contained disposable unit having a supply of writing material and a marking tip that can visually mark the paper or something with the writing material. The refill cartridge may be disposed with the pen and may be removed from the pen and exchanged.

According to the configuration and operation of the embodiments of the present invention described above, the small storage size can be easily extended to a long writing size, and can be expanded and contracted to a full size position usable in the small storage size. At this point, the writing tip can be advanced (projected) or retracted (returned).

While a specific embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with the drawings to illustrate the application of the stretchable writing instrument principles of the present invention, it has been described above that the present invention can be embodied in various ways without departing from these principles of the invention. You can understand well from the contents.

Claims (20)

For writing instruments that can be stretched from a compact storage size to a longer size suitable for writing: A pen body having a front end having a pen point at one end and a second end; A cap slidably installed on the second end of the pen body and having a long length and forming a cavity with the pen body; A refill cartridge held in a longitudinal direction in the cavity chamber and having a tip at one end; A spring installed to act between the tip and the pen point; And, When the cap slides away from the pen point of the pen body and moves away from the pen point, the refill cartridge is longitudinally directed toward the pen point within the cavity chamber against the spring to extend the tip through the pen point to the writing position. Stretchable writing instruments comprising a gear means for moving. The retractable writing instrument according to claim 1, further comprising a stop tab means for maintaining the pen body and the cap in at least one of an extended position and a contracted position. 3. The gear unit according to claim 2, wherein the gear means is in contact with the cartridge end opposite the tip, and has a plunger having a gear track, a second gear track formed inside the cap, and a gear track and a second gear track of the plunger. And a retractable gear, the gear being rotatably installed in the chamber. 4. The flexible writing instrument according to claim 3, wherein the gear means has two sets of teeth, a first set engaging the gear track of the plunger and a second set engaging the gear track of the cap. 5. The stretchable writing instrument according to claim 4, wherein the ratio of the second diameter of the second set of gear teeth to the first diameter of the first set of gear teeth is 5: 1 to 1: 1. 6. The flexible writing instrument of claim 5 further comprising a bias spring that is coupled between the refill cartridge and the pen point. 7. The flexible writing instrument according to claim 6, wherein the front section is separated from the pen body. 7. The flexible writing instrument of claim 6 wherein the refill cartridge is replaceable. 4. The flexible writing instrument of claim 3 further comprising a bias spring that is coupled between the refill cartridge and the pen point. 10. The flexible writing instrument according to claim 9, wherein the front section is separated from the pen body. 10. The flexible writing instrument of claim 9 wherein the refill cartridge is replaceable. 2. The plunger according to claim 1, wherein the gear means is in contact with the cartridge end opposite the tip, and has a plunger having a gear track, a second gear track formed inside the cap, and a gear track and a second gear track of the plunger. And a retractable gear, the gear being rotatably installed in the chamber. 13. The stretchable writing instrument according to claim 12, wherein the gear means is installed in the pen body. 14. The stretchable writing instrument according to claim 13, wherein the gear means has two sets of teeth, the first set engaging the gear tracks of the plunger and the second set engaging the gear tracks of the cap. 15. The flexible writing instrument according to claim 14, wherein the ratio of the second diameter of the second set of gear teeth to the first diameter of the first set of gear teeth is 5: 1 to 1: 1. 16. The flexible writing instrument of claim 15 further comprising a bias spring that is coupled between the refill cartridge and the pen point. 15. The flexible writing instrument according to claim 14, wherein the front section is separated from the pen body. 15. The flexible writing instrument of claim 14 wherein the refill cartridge is replaceable. The stretchable writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein the front section is separated from the pen body. The stretchable writing instrument according to claim 1, wherein the refill cartridge is replaceable.