MXPA97010272A - Instrument to write, with improved external canyon and method to produce the exte canyon - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention also relates to a writing instrument, comprising: a writing tip portion and an external gun made of a light transmitting material and having a generally tubular elongated configuration and an outer surface portion, the outer surface portion having a plurality of surface irregularities in the form of a spiral, to improve the grip of the barrel by the user, the external barrel having an internal orifice formed of a plurality of generally flat surfaces in the form of adjacent spiral, corresponding in shape to the surface irregularities in shape of spiral in the outer surface portion, so that the internal orifice has a cross-sectional configuration of multiple sides, whereby the light transmitted inside the outer barrel reflected therefrom, provides an appearance of surface distortions

Description

INSTRUMENT TO WRITE, WITH IMPROVED EXTERNAL CANYON AND METHOD TO PRODUCE THE EXTERNAL CANYON BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Art The present invention relates to writing instruments, and more particularly, to writing instruments having a barrel with a better clamping surface and a unique appearance due to a unique combination of barrel surfaces. which result in the transmission, reflection and diffusion of light with respect to the barrel. 2. BACKGROUND OF THE RELATED ART Writing instruments generally include a barrel which the user holds in his hand, for writing, and which has a writing tip communicating with an ink source. Often the barrels are molded from a synthetic plastic material and have a smooth finish on the outer surface, which in many cases inhibits the user's ability to hold the barrel to write effectively. Likewise, in the case of "STIC" pens, the plastic material is translucent and in many cases transparent, thus allowing to see an ink cartridge placed inside the barrel.

Recently attempts have been made to improve the grip of writing instruments by relating a rubber-like coating material on the barrel surface. In addition, in some cases, even separate accessory devices have been developed and marketed to be attached to a writing instrument, standard, to improve the subjection of those who write with the instrument. These modifications are usually added to production costs. Accordingly, there is a need to improve the gripping surfaces of the writing instruments while improving the appearance, without necessarily providing an additional cover for the outer barrel. In particular, the need for this improvement of the clamping surface is desirable while at the same time maintaining the appearance of the writing instrument or, alternatively, while improving the appearance. The present invention relates to a writing instrument that includes a single external barrel, which has an improved clamping surface while at the same time having an improved physical appearance due to the unique structural characteristics of the barrel. In particular, this improved appearance is caused by the transmission, reflection and diffusion of light with respect to the barrel, which is extruded from a transparent plastic material in any of a variety of selected colors to provide a rotating barber hanger effect, few active times, when the barrel is rotated. Due to the physical characteristics of the barrel, it becomes essentially translucent to light. The present invention also relates to the method for producing the improved outer barrel.

Compendium A writing instrument is described, which consists of a pointed part for writing and a single external cannon with a generally elongated tubular configuration and an external surface part. The external surface part of the barrel has a plurality of surface irregularities in the form of a spiral to improve the grip of the barrel by the user. The outer barrel is generally tubular in shape and has an internal orifice with a polygonal transverse shape. Each corner of the polygonal inner bore of the outer barrel has a similar spiral shape and corresponds to the spiral surface discontinuities of the external surface, whereby the light transmitted in and reflected from the barrel makes the cartridge appear to have a Twisted configuration when viewed from outside the canyon. In the described embodiment, the spiral-shaped discontinuities are grooves in the outer surface of the barrel. In the preferred embodiment, the barrel is extruded from cellulose propionate. Other synthetic plastic materials such as cellulose acetate can be used, cellulose butyrate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, acrylic, polypropylene or similar. The external surface of the barrel is usually circular and the internal orifice has a generally octagonal cross section. Preferably, the internal, generally octagonal, orifice of the barrel is composed of eight generally planar surfaces that extend along a generally spiral path along the length of the barrel. In the absence of specific physical characteristics of the barrel, as described herein, the barrel will usually be completely transparent and therefore transmit light without appreciable dispersion. However, due to the particular physical characteristics described, it is assumed that the barrel has a translucent character and therefore transmits light with some diffusion, so that the objects are not seen identically or clearly through the barrel. Also disclosed is a method for producing a bulk material for cannons in writing instruments comprising the introduction of an extrudable material such as cellulose propylate in a heater, heating the material until it is sufficiently cast for extrusion purposes, introducing the molten extrudable material in a nozzle having a generally circular transverse shape and having a mandrel placed in the center thereof, the mandrel with a polygonal transverse shape, rotating the mandrel at a rotation speed within the nozzle according to the extrudable material passes through it, and chill the molten material until it solidifies in a bulk cannon with a plurality of spiral-shaped surface discontinuities that extend along the outer surface and an internal hole in a polygonal spiral shape that corresponds, in the cross section, to the transverse shape of the mandrel. The mandrel has a transverse shape of eight sides. Finally, a length of the bulk barrel is cut to provide a barrel for a writing instrument. The rotation of the mandrel will generally depend on the desired configuration of the spiral-shaped surface discontinuities, taking into consideration the linear velocity of the extrusion.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The preferred embodiments of the writing instrument, in question, are described below in relation to the drawings wherein: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a writing instrument constructed in accordance with the invention, which exemplifies the improved outer barrel with an improved external clamping surface; Figure 2 is a schematic representation of the steps for producing the external barrel of the writing instrument shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of Figure 2, of a part of bulk material in tubular form, from which the external barrel of the writing instrument is cut; Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of Figure 1; Fig. 5 is a highly amplified cross-sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of Fig. 3, illustrating the opposite representative surface discontinuities that improve the hold of the writing instrument; and Figure 6 is a view taken along lines 6-6 showing a cross section of the external nozzle and the polygonal mandrel positioned therein to extrude the external barrel of the writing instrument, according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to Figure 1, a perspective view of the writing instrument 10 of the present invention is illustrated, showing the outer barrel with an improved external clamping surface, with a plurality of spiral-shaped discontinuities. in the form of small slots in this one. As can be seen in the drawings, the writing instrument includes the external barrel 12 on which the writing cartridge 14 is fixed to contain a suitable writing means, such as a solvent-based ink or aqueous base. The part that supports the writing tip 16 supports the writing tip 18 that communicates with the ink contained in the cartridge 14 for writing purposes on a suitable medium such as writing paper. The outer barrel 12 also supports a suitable end connection 20 which prevents excess ventilation within the barrel 12 to reduce the tendency to dry out of the ink supply. However, adequate air ventilation is provided by means of a small space or slot 22 provided between the part supporting the writing tip 16 and the cartridge. Alternatively, a small vent can be provided in the outer barrel 12. Now, in relation to FIG. 2, the method for extruding the improved outer barrel 12 is illustrated in outline format. A hopper 24 is provided to receive a suitable resin 26 which is used to produce the bulk barrel, from which the pen guns are cut. Any amount of suitable extrudable material can be used, cellulose propionate material being preferred, alternative materials include cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, acrylic, polypropylene, etc. The resin 26 is transferred through line 28 to a heater 30 where it is heated to a suitable temperature to melt it sufficiently for extrusion purposes. After this, the material is transferred through the conduit 32 to the nozzle unit 34 where it is extruded continuously into a bulk pen 42 that has a polygonal internal bore 37. The extrusion process is carried out introducing the molten material into an external nozzle 36 which is placed inside the nozzle unit 34 and has a generally circular tubular cross-section. An internal mandrel 38 having an octagonal cross section is placed in the central position of the circular nozzle 36 and is rotated continuously as the material is introduced into the nozzle. While, in the nozzle the molten material is partially cooled and by means of this it is generally allowed to take the outer circular form of the hole of the external nozzle 36 while the mandrel 38 is rotated at a certain speed as indicated by the arrow "A" in figure 6. As the molten material passes through the nozzle 36, this starts the cooling process so that when it leaves the nozzle unit 34, it will have the basic circular outer shape of the nozzle 36 and will have an internal eight-sided hole 40 similar in shape to the mandrel 38, but of a configuration spiral. Bulk extruded material in the form of a partially solidified barrel 42 leaves the nozzle under the influence of the force "F" provided by the rotating conveyor belts 44, 46 which are operated by means of the pulley wheels 48, 50, 52 , 54 with rotary impulse, driven by the motor. The bulk material of the barrel 42 then moves away from the bands 44, 46 for the cooling process. After this, the bulk of the barrel is cut to lengths suitable for use in the writing instruments as shown in figure 1. It has been found that, due to a combination of unique contributing factors, the bulk cooling process of the The barrel causes different rates of shrinkage of the bulk material of the barrel with the result that the external surface of the barrel bulk 42 takes a plurality of spiral shaped surface discontinuities in the form of small slits 56 that extend along the bulk and which are shaped like a spiral. Similarly, the inner surface of the inner bore 40 takes an eight-sided cross-sectional shape similar to that of the mandrel in octagonal form, with the result that the respective corners 58 of the inner bore take on a spiral-like shape similar to the The shape of the small slits 56 and the flat internal surfaces 60 take a shape similar to the spiral along the bulk of the barrel. In this manner, each inner corner 58 of the inner bore is directly behind each corresponding surface groove 56 as shown in Figures 4 and 5. It is believed that since the radial dimension "Rl" located midway between adjacent internal corners 58 is larger than the radial dimension "R2" located between each inner corner 58 and the corresponding external surface of the bulk material, the resulting cooling and shrinkage rates differ between these locations, which causes the small spiral-shaped slits to be created only 56 on the external surface. At the same time, the correspondingly unique spirally shaped flat surfaces 60 forming the internal octagonal hole are formed. The pen barrels 12 of predetermined length are then cut from the bulk of the barrel 36. The pen gun can be extruded in different colors. As indicated in the above, the material is usually transparent and must transmit light without appreciable dispersion, so that the bodies on the other side are completely visible and clear. However, due to the unique surfaces and slits on the barrel, the barrel takes on a translucent character and the light transmitted by the barrel is reflected and diffused particularly with the result that the external and internal surfaces of the barrel and the cartridge placed inside it they have a somewhat deformed appearance. One effect of this deformation is that when the barrel is rotated in the hand, a unique effect of linear and rotary movement is provided, as a result, the inner cartridge seems to rotate in the shape of a barber's hanger, while having an appearance twisted and fractured. The resulting feather barrel 12 provides this unique effect due to the combination of the spiral-shaped discontinuities in the form of grooves 56 on the outer surface of the barrel and the internal flat surfaces 60 forming the internal octagonal bore 40 of the barrel and they extend along a spiral path all along. In this way, in addition to the unique light reflection and diffusion provided by this unusual array of light scattering, it has been found that spiral surface discontinuities - or slits 56 - on the external surface of the writing instrument improve the ability of clamping the instrument reducing the tendency of the user's fingers to slide in a longitudinal direction while holding the pen to apply forces down, or others, on the instrument during use to write. This improvement in the grip is due to the unique spiral shape of the slits 56. However, due to the relatively small depth of these slits, which are not very visible to the naked eye, they are nevertheless still sufficient trajectories for the sensitivity of the user. and to improve the clamping effect and the transmission and scattering of light as described in the foregoing. Although the bulk material is preferably extruded using an octagonal mandrel as described, it is within the scope of the invention to select the suitable material or to use a mandrel of any other selected number of sides to produce the desired different effects on the barrel. . For example, a 6 or 4 sided extruder mandrel can be used with different but still comparable and effective results. However, as noted, a mandrel with eight sides is preferred.

Claims (19)

1. A writing instrument comprising a pointed tip for writing and an outer barrel having a generally elongated tubular configuration and an outer surface portion. The external surface part has a plurality of surface irregularities in the form of a spiral to improve the grip of the barrel by the user.

2. The writing instrument comprising: a) a cartridge containing a substance for writing; and b) a pointed part, in communication with a substance for writing, for contacting a surface material for writing on it, and c) an external cannon in a generally tubular shape supporting the cartridge and the tipped part for writing, the outer barrel it has an outer surface with a plurality of spiral-shaped surface discontinuities to improve clamping and an internal hole having a cross-sectional shape with multiple sides.

The writing instrument, according to claim 2, wherein each corner of the internal orifice with multiple sides of the outer barrel has a similar spiral shape, which corresponds to the spiral-shaped surface discontinuities on the inner surface, whereby the light that is transmitted and reflected from the barrel makes the cartridge appear to have a twisted configuration when viewed from outside the barrel.

4. The writing instrument according to claim 3, wherein the spiral-shaped discontinuities are grooves in the outer surface of the barrel.

5. The writing instrument, according to claim 4, wherein the barrel is extruded from a synthetic plastic material.

6. The writing instrument, according to claim 5, wherein the plastic material is transparent.

7. The writing instrument according to claim 6, wherein the plastic material is propyanate of cellulose, cellulose acetate and cellulose butyrate.

The writing instrument, according to claim 7, wherein the outer surface of the barrel is generally circular.

9. The writing instrument according to claim 8, wherein the internal hole has a generally octagonal cross section.

10. The writing instrument according to claim 9, wherein the generally octagonal internal orifice of the outer barrel is composed of eight generally planar surfaces extending along a generally spiral path along the length of the barrel.

The writing instrument, according to claim 6, wherein the plastic material is at least one of: cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, acrylic and polypropylene.

12. A method for producing a bulk material for guns for writing instruments, the method comprising: a) introducing an extrudable material into a heater, b) heating the extrudable material until it is sufficiently cast for extrusion purposes; c) inserting the molten extrudable material into a nozzle having a generally circular cross-sectional shape, having a mandrel positioned in the central position thereof, the mandrel having a cross-sectional shape with multiple sides; d) rotating the mandrel at a speed of rotation within the nozzle as the extrudable material passes therethrough; e) cooling the molten material until it solidifies in a barrel bulk with a plurality of spiral-shaped surface discontinuities, extending along the outer surface and a spiral-shaped internal orifice with multiple side corresponding in cross-section to the cross-sectional shape of the mandrel.

The method, according to claim 12, wherein the mandrel has a transverse shape of eight sides.

14. The method, according to claim 13, wherein the material is cellulose propionate.

15. The method, according to claim 14, further comprises the addition of a coloring agent to the extrudable cellulose propionate.

16. The method, according to claim 15, further comprises cutting a predetermined length of the barrel bulk to provide a barrel for a writing instrument.

The method, according to claim 12, wherein the extrudable material is at least one of: cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, acrylic and polypropylene.

18. A barrel for a writing instrument comprising an elongate member in a generally tubular shape having an outer surface with a plurality of spiral-shaped surface discontinuities to improve clamping and an internal bore having a cross-sectional shape of multiple sides.

19. The barrel according to claim 18, wherein the generally tubular shaped member is extruded from an extrudable plastic member. The barrel, according to claim 19, wherein the extrudable plastic material is cellulose propionate. The barrel, according to claim 19, wherein the extrudable plastic material is at least one of: cellulose acetate, cellulose butyrate, polystyrene, polycarbonate, acrylic and polypropylene.