US2170761A

US2170761A - Mechanical pencil

Info

Publication number: US2170761A
Application number: US249681A
Authority: US
Inventors: Maucher Hans
Original assignee: NORMA MULTIKOLOR Inc
Current assignee: NORMA MULTIKOLOR Inc
Priority date: 1939-01-07
Filing date: 1939-01-07
Publication date: 1939-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 1956-08-22

Description

g- 22, 9- l-LMAUCHER 2,170,761

MECHANICAL PENCIL Filed Jan. 7, 1959 IINVENTOR.

15521 5 Mac ATTORNEY.

PatentedAug. 22,1 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MECHANICAL rsncn.

Hans. Maucher, New YorkfN. Y., asslgnortto Norma 'Multikolor, Inc., New York, N. Y.,, a

corporation of NewYork Application January, 7, 1939,Serial No. M9 681 6 Claims. -(c1. rat-14) lates is amulti-color lead pencil having a ,plu-

rality oflead carrying and lead propelling members which are arranged to be Selectively pro- Jected into operative position. Heretofore such pencils have=been quite complicated, having a multiplicity of springs, housings and other constructional features which haveadded to the cost of such pencils. Theqpresentinvention contemplates the provision of apencil having the minimum of parts necessary for such a pencil, and which is comparativelysimplein construction. Such a pencil costs less to manufacture because of thefewerparts, and is less likely to get out of repair;

It has beenacommon fault of suchpencils in it the past that the lead carriers which are not separated fromeach otherrub against each other a and occasionally are bent, or jammedtogether when a specific, carrierisadvanced or retracted from its operative position. In themoresevere instances of such jamming or bending of the carrier, the pencil has been ruinedland in less .30 severe instances thepenci11parts have worn out quite rapidly. Because of this and because as heretofore stated, there are a great many parts to such pencils, these pencils have not been durable, resulting in frequent repair. as, The present invention, therefore, contemplates the provision of means whereby the lead carriers are maintained separate from each other so that they will not jam and so that the pencil will have smooth, frictionless operationwith longer'dura- 40 bility and lessneed for repair. The present inventionfurther contemplates the provision of means whereby each lead carrier is guided during the course of its movement so that it will operate smoothly and not catch on otherportions 45 of the pencil.

Heretofore, the assembly of such type of. pen-- oil has been comparatively complex, demanding a degree of skill comparable to that required of a watchmaker. The problem of maintaining a 50 number of elements, comprising a springer springs, a plurality of lead holders and associated parts, in their relative assembled positions prior to locking such members in, assembly, is one that requires a considerable degree of skill, time and 55 comparatively costly effort.

The presentinvention, therefore, contemplates I the provision of a pencil which is easy to assemble and results in a substantial saving in the cost of labor used in assembling such pencil.

Conversely, a pencil such as is contemplated 5 I by the present invention would be easy to disassemble and consequently readily repaired.

It hasbeen characteristic in the past of pencils of the general character described that they have not been positive in operation. For example,

such lead carriers have not been locked positively in inoperativeposition. They have usually been held in inoperative position by springs or.by a

slight frictional'engagement. Thus, it has often occurred that the lead carrier which is supposed 15 to be .in inoperative position moves out of that position to an extent suflicient to cause the pencil to jam or an adjacent lead carrier to be bent or for friction to develop between such lead carrier and other working parts of the pencil with 20 consequent damage to the pencil. The present invention contemplates overcoming such disadvantages by making the selective operation of the lead carriers positive in operation.

Other features and advantages of the present 25 invention will be apparent from the following description in conjunctionwith the drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of an embodiment of the present invention, partly in section.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the longitudinal partition member of said pencil.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the lead carrier.

Fig. 4 is a cross section of the pencil along line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modification of the partition member.

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modification of the lead carrier illustrated in Fig. 3.

Fig. 7 is a front elevation of a modification of the casing, adapted to accommodate the lead carrier illustrated in Fig. 6.

Referring to the embodiment illustrated in Figures lto 5, the pencil of the present invention has an outer casing l0.which may be made of sheet metal and which has a conical point l2 formed at one end thereof.

As the present pencil is designed to have several lead 'carriers, longitudinal slots l4 equal in number to the number of lead carriers, in the present instance,-three, are provided in the casing. A short distance from each end of the longitudinal slot 14 are formed lateral recesses, a lower lateral recess l6 nearer the point of the pencil and an upper lateral recess l8 toward the upper end of vanced from its inoperative to its operative posipartition member 20 in this tion. The purposes of these recesses will be explained hereinafter.

In order to separate the lead carriers from each other within the casing and to provide beds upon which each carrier can move and by which it is guided, a longitudinal partition member 20 forming as many compartments 2| as there are lead carriers and an equal number of beds is provided. The present embodiment has three compartments and three beds as illustrated in Fig. 4. A modification of said partition member is shown in Figure 5 having four compartments therein. The partition member 28 is longer than the longitudinal slot I4 and substantially shorter than the length of the outer casing l8. Near the bottom 22 of the longitudinal partition member 20, a

tapered portion 23' is formed so that the longitudinal partition member may be inserted a short distance into the conical point II. The walls of the longitudinal partition member are equal to each other in width, height and general contour,

and equal angles are formed thereinbetween. In the longitudinal member shown in Figure 4, angles are formed between each of the walls which form three beds and in the longitudinal partition member shown in Figure 5 the angles between the walls of this member are 90 each which form four beds.

In assembling the pencil, the longitudinal partition member 28 is first inserted deeply into .the pencilso that the tapered portion 23 of the partition member projects a short distance into the conical point ll of the casing. The longitudinal position does not interfere with the insertion of the lead carriers which is the next operation. The lead carriers are inserted one at a time. I While they may difier, it is preferred that all the lead carriers in one pencil be similar in construction. Therefore, only one will be described.

This lead carrier, referred toas a unit by the numeral 26, has inserted therein through the bottom thereof an ordinary lead 28. These leads may differ in color or degree of hardness or other characteristics in each separate carrier. The lead 28 may be propelled forward in the lead car- -rier to writing position by turning a knurled grip 30 which projects beyond the end 32 of .the

conical point l2 of the casing. The mechanism for propelling the lead within the lead carrier is no part of the present invention and, therefore, will not be described Various types of propelling mechanism which might be used with the present invention are well known to those versed in the pencil art and will, therefore, not be described.

Reference also is made to Patent No. 2,067,455 issued to the present inventor, which shows a propelling mechanism which might be used to propel the leads in the hereindescribed lead carrier.

A long, narrow tube 36 is disposed above the lead propelling mechanism and secured to it. The lower portion 38 of saidtube is affixed to the lead advancing mechanism and is secured thereto by any desired means, such as by frictional engagement, soldering, etc.

The lead carrier 26 is designed to slide along and be guided in its movement by the bed 40 formed by the Walls of the longitudinal partition member 20. To maintain the lead carrier against the bed, it is preferred to provide thereon a tension member, aportion of which presses against lead carrier to maintain the inside of the casing l8, so that it holds the lead carrier against the bed at all times.

The tension member may be secured to the lead carrier in any desired manner. As illustrated in Fig. 3, a. short flat metal tab 42 may be inserted into the open end 46 of the tubular member 36. The tab 42 may be secured in place by flattening the upper portion 39 of the tubular member 36 so that the flattened walls thereof frictionally engage the tab. A rivet 43may be used to secure the tab to the tension member. It is to be understood that there are numerous other ways of securing the tension member to the lead carrier member which will readily occur to any skilled mechanic. It is also apparent-that it is not necessary that the tension member be aflixed to the said carrier against the bed 40 of the longitudinal member. For example, it may be affixed to the casing, or it may lie loosely between the carrier and the casing.

The tension member may be formed of an arcuate leaf spring 48, one end of which is attached by rivet 43 to the tab 42. The opposite end 50 rests against the flattened portion 39 of the tubular member 38 and slides downward thereon when the arcuate spring 48 is flattened.

In the center of the arcuate spring 48, a longitudinal knob 54 is provided which is sufficiently narrow to bereadily reciprocated within the slot M of the casing l8. Adjacent the center of the knob 54 is an offset portion 56 which is sufficiently small to enter the lateral recesses 6 and I8 formed in the longitudinal slot l4. The knob 54 and its offset portion 58 are secured to the spring in any manner desired and'as there are a great many well known ways of securing same, it will not be described here. The arcuate spring 48 is wider than the longit dinal slots so that it will not enter the same, but instead will press against the inside of the casing adjacent the longitudinal slot. I

While the upper portion 38 of the tubular member 38 has been described as a flattened tube, it is to be understood that this portion may be so distorted as to conform in cross-section to the cross-section of the bed 48 in order that it may fit snugly against the bed and be restrained thereby from lateral movement. In order to conform to the triangular contour of the bed 40 as shown in this embodiment, the tubular member may be formed so as to be triangular in crosssection. It is also to be understood that the contour of the beds may be varied also. The cross-sectional contour of the entire lead carrier may be made to conform to that of the bed which serves as a guide on which the lead carrier slides.

As statedhereinbefore,thelongitudinal partition member 20 is inserted all the way into the casing l0 so that it will not interfere with the insertion of the lead carriers into said pencil. Next a lead carrier is inserted into one of the compartments formed by the longitudinal partition member. This is done by flattening the arcuate spring 48 so that the knob 54 and the offset portion 56 will pass underneath the wall of the outer casing l0 while the remainder of the lead carrier urged by the action of the arcuate spring 48 operating against the interior of the casing I0 adjacent the longitudinal slots rides along the bed 48 formed by the junction of two sides of the longitudinal compartment member. As the knob 54 of the lead carrier reaches the longitudinal slot l4, it is pushed upward into said slot by the action of the arcuate spring 48 which tries to reassume its normal curvature and the ofiset portion'56 enters the upper lateral recess l8, thus locking the lead carrier positively in its inoperative position;

In similar fashion, the otherleadcarriers are then inserted. @Ahook'is-then inserted into the pencil which catches the end 22 of the lQ l itudinal partition member 20 and said member is; drawn upward untilit reaches the desired level.

Itis then secured to the casingnby any desired .means so that it will not .thereafter. slide out of position. It is preferredthat the longitudinal compartment member be drawn upward tosuch position that it extends an equal distance longi-' tudinally on both. sides. of. the longitudinal slot 14. In this position, it forms a balancedbed on which the portionof the lead .carrier opposite thev arcuate spring 48 rests; Thus, the pressure of the. arcuate spring 48 forcing the knob 54 upward'is constant throughout the normal range of movement of the knob in the slot. The arcuate spring- 48 maintains the lead carrying member in its bed by its pressure against the inside of the casing. i

To operate this pencil after the pencil has been assembled, the knob 54 of the lead carrier which holds the type of lead desired to be used is depressed so that the ofiset portion 56 of theknob 54 extends below the edge of the lateral recess IS. The knob 54 is then urged downward toward the point of the pencil until it is stopped by the edge 60 at the lower end of the longitudinal slot l4.

Thus the end of the lead carrier is pushed out.

past the edge 32 of the conical point I! of the pencil. The knob 54 is released as it reaches the lower end 50 of the slot whereupon the ofiset portion 56 of the knob 54 enters the lower recess I6 urged by the spring 418, thus locking the lead carrier selected in operative position. When the selected lead carrier is no longer desired, the knob 54 is again depressed, thus removing the offset portion 56 out of the lateral recess l6 andthe lead frictionally retained closure. cap 56 may be,"pro-,

vided at the top thereof. The usual clip 68 may be attached also. i

Having already described in detail a specific embodiment of the present invention, reference is now made to Figures 6 and '7 illustrating amodification thereof. The modified structure is similar to the above-described structure in all particulars except those hereinafter described.

The long tube ll) of thelead carrier illustrated in Figure 6 is flattened except at its upper end 12 where it is distorted so that it is triangular in cross-section. This portion I2, therefore, fits snugly into the bed 40 and serves as a guide for the lead carrier in its movement. One end 14 of a fiat leaf spring I6 is bent back upon the spring to form a U as shown in Figure 6 and is inserted into the top 18 of the tube 10 and may be held there by frictional engagement. soldering, etc. The spring 16 is spaced from the tube 10 and when not under tension extends 'away therefrom forming an angle therewith. The end of the spring 16 opposite the end "is bent atsubstantialiy right angles to the spring in a direction away from the tube I0, thereby forming a flange 80. 82 so that the longitudinal shape of the outeredge of the flange conforms to the curved shape-of the casing of the pencil. If the casing were flat or readily reciprocated'therein.

' her and a knob on the spring extending through The flange 80 may be curved at its outer edge diagonal, this edge 82 wouldsimilarly be shaped.

A knob 84 is mounted on the spring a short distancefrom the flange 8D. The knob 84 isnarrowerrthan the longitudinal slot 86 in the casing 88 illustrated in Figure 7 so that the knob can be Unlike the slot 14 in the casing i0 shown in the' embodiment of Figure l, the slot 86 in the casing 88 of the embodiment of Fig? does not have two spaced lateral recesses. Instead, i a pair of lateral recesses 90 facing eachother across the longitudinal slot 86 Y maybe provided a short distance from the top 921of-the longitudinal by the lower end 94 of the longitudinal slot 86.

A short distance below the end 94 of the slot 86 is a narrow transverse slot 96 sufllciently large to accommodate the flange 80. After the knob 84 reaches the end 94 of the slot 86 and is released,.the spring 16 urges the flange 50 into the transverse slot '96, thereby locking the lead carrier in place in its operative position.

Fromthe foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a pencil of the character described which is extremely simple in construc- -tion, has few parts, is smooth and frictionless in operation, that is easily. assembled and easily repaired and that is positive in operation, as well as being economical to manufacture. 4

, Furthermore, it is obvious that it is easy to repair this pencil for each lead carrier member may be removed without disturbing any of the other carrier members.

While I have described in detail specific embodiments, Iwish to claim this invention as broadly as the scope of the appended claims and the state of the prior art allow, for obvious modifications of the specific structure will occur to a person skilled in the art.

I claim: e e

1. In a multi-lead penclLa casing having a plurality of slots arranged therein, a longitudinal partition member arranged in the casing and havingwalls forming a plurality of compartments, a lead carrying member arranged in each .compartment, a spring on each lead carrying mem-.

one of the longitudinal slots, each spring urging the lead carrier against the walls of the com-. partment in which it is arranged.

2. In a multi-lead pencil, a casing, a longitudinai partition member arranged in the casing and having walls forming a plurality of beds, a plurality of lead carryingmembers movably arranged on said beds and separated from each other by the longitudinal partition member and a spring on each lead carrying member urging said lead carrier against the bed on which it is arranged.

3. In a mechanical pencil having a casing with a plurality of longitudinal slots therein. each of said longitudinal slots having extending therefrom a plurality of lateral recesses, the combination of a longitudinal partition member having a plurality of beds therein, with a plurality of lead carrying members arranged to move on said beds, each of said lead carrying members having arranged thereon a tension member, a knob and a locking member, both arranged on said tension member, the knob being urged into the longitudinal slot and the locking member being urged into a lateral recess by the tensionmember to lock the lead carrying member in eitherbper andsnugly fitting therein and a spring on each lead carrying member urging said lead carrier against the bed on which it is arranged.

5. In a mechanical pencil, the combination of a casing having a plurality of longitudinal slots therein, each of said longitudinal slots having extending therefrom a plurality of spaced lateral recesses, with a plurality of lead carrying members, each of said lead carrying members having arranged thereon a tension member, a knob and an oifset portion adjacent the knob, both arranged'on said tension member, the knob being ,urged into th'e longitudinal slot and the offset portion beingurged into a lateral recess by the tension member to lock the lead carrying memher in either operative or inoperative position.

v 6. In a mechanical pencil, the combination of a casing having a plurality of longitudinal slots therein, each of said longitudinal slots having extending therefrom a pair of recesses and a transverse slot adjacent one end of each of said longitudinal slots, with a plurality of lead carrying members, each of said lead carrying members having arranged thereon a tension member having a portion thereof formed into a locking member, a knob arranged on said tension member, the locking member being urged into the recesses or into the transverse slot to lock said lead carrier in operative or inoperative position.

HANS MAUCHER.