US2218543A - Fountain pen guard - Google Patents

Description

K. w. MCPHERSCN 2,213,543

FOUNTAN PEN GUARD Oct. 22, l 940.

Filed Aug. 1S, 1959 Ze/z 21243 6K Jenneh W.' Wop/M150@ Patented Oct. 22, `194() UNITED stares 'rarer Fries 2,218,543 y FOUNTAIN PEN GUARD Kenneth vv. McPherson, Palmyra, N. Y. Application August 16, 1939, Serial No. `2l0f153 s claims. l(ci. 12e- 50) e Y This invention relates to i improvements in l guards for writing pens, `but it is moreparticularly intended for use in conjunction with fountain pens. The facts that fountain pens regularly serve their intended purpose fairly well, and that some-.types can be bought very cheaply, have diverted the attention of the `average user from a realization that this instrument of writing is still i subject to improvement.

Such faults as a failure to startfpromptly when touching the nib to the paper prelirninarily` to Writing, the eventual` changing cf the `shade of,

the inl: when writing, the letting down of a drop or drops of ink when the supply runs. low and similar occurrences are so common that persons using fountain pens accept said faults as. inherent to the normal operation. This, however, need not be true because it has. been found that the addition of a simple guard will keep the'nib moist so that the pen will start promptly, will stabilize the flow of the ink so as to avoid shad.- ing in the writing, and` will conserve the last drops of a nearly depleted supply so that writing can be continued until thepen runs dry and' this without letting down the last drops to make blots on the paper.

With this preamble in mind the objects of the invention are as follow:

First, to provide a guard which is an improvement on the guard disclosed in the copending` application for a patent on a penguard filed byKenneth W. McPherson; December 1, 1937,` Serial No. 177,623, a'particular purpose being to emphasize the use of the guard vupon the feed-barof a fountain Vpen and avoiding its attachment to the nib asis one of the characteristics of said application; Second, to employ a guard in the foregoing manner for the accomplishment of more uniform writing by bringing the ink in a ."suitable, wet 4state nearer to the tip of the nib.

Third, to provide a fountain'pen guard which is attachable solely to the feed-bar, said guard including a fairly expansive nether wall in covering relationship to most of the feed-bar but spaced therefrom to form both with the Vfeed-bar andra part of the nib, a reservoir toinsure easy start` ing in writing and an ink reserve inthe event of the feedbar otlierwieebeing virtually dry.` y

, Fourth, to provide a fountain pen guard which is ln'iurled or rcughened on the inside, particularly in the region of the tip of the feed-bar,.for the purpose of accommodating the ink vfluidjand facilitating its flow. i f

Fifth, to provide a guard which is especially adapted to the comparatively recent type of fountain pen feed bar of comb formation, the numerous incuttings of which make it desirable to safeguard against premature and excessive drying of the ink fluid.

Other objects and advantages will appear in a the following specification, reference'being had to 4the accompanying drawing, in' which:

Figure l is a side elevation of a portionof a fountainpen, illustrating the addition of the irnproved guard.

Figure 2 is an inverted plan view mainly of the nib, particularly showing the attachment of the guardto the feed-bar.

igure 3 is a plan view mainlyof the pointv end of the fountain pen, the nib having been removed to better illustrate the relationship of the guard `to the 'feedbar.

Figure fi is a' central longitudinal section illustrating the guard in the saine relationship to the, feeddcar as shown in Fig. l. 2

Figure 5` is a side elevation similar to Fig. 1, but showing the guard extended for increasing the flow ofink. l i

Figure `6 is a `perspective View of the guard.

Figure 7 is across section taken on the line l-lf of Fig. 1.`

Figure 8 is across -of Fig. l.

Figure 9 is a cross section taken onthe line e-e of Fig. 1. t

l'ligure l0 isa plan View of the guard.

Figure il `is a detail View of the feed-bar, particularly illustrating the roughened point.v

The fountain pen lv comprises any ordinary construction in that it has a barrel 2, a feed-bar 3 and a nib li. The feed-.bar is herein shown as section taken on the line -of `the more or less prevailing comb type. This `terni is, derived from the ridged side construction 5 which is intended to distribute the ink to the` lateral ridges of the nib.`

Feeding of the ink to said nib is primarily accomplished by'an ink channel t (Fig. 3) whichv extends longitudinally of the feed-bar on its top surface and all the way back to the end of the cylindrical stem l, of which the feed-bar is a r part, and which serves the additional purpose of wedging the nib in the ordinary bore 8 yat the front of the barrel. While the comb type feedbar 3 facilitates the flow of ink in the manner stated, vit carries with it the disadvantage of eX- posing much'more of the ink than in fountain pens having other types of feed-bars that a drying of the ink issornething that has to be taken into account.

Reference is now made to the'guard 9 (Fig. 6), 55

which constitutes the main improvement. This guard consists of a shell of thin material. The nature of the latter is subject to such a wide Variation that a listing of all the kinds of material would be inexpedient, it being regarded as sufficient to state that it may comprise Celluloid, thin metal or any one of suitable plastic compositions. Moreover, the guard 9 is capable of being flinished in any one of the colors to match that of the barrel, or it may be made in imitation of gold so as to match the nib itself.

This guard possesses a degree of flexibility. This quality would be inherent in virtually lany material of which the guard is intended to be made. Ilt has a fairly expansive nether wall I herein also referred to as a bott-om. This nether wall is broader .than the feed-bar 3 is wide (Figs. 2, 3 Land 8) and desirably soin orderto define ink channels I I (Fig. 8) especially in .the corners between the guard and .the edges I2 of .the feedbar.

The excess broadness .of the .bottom l0 when compared with the width of the feed-bar 3 comes about by reason of the pitched or slanting rel-ationship of the flanges .to .the bottom I. 'Ilhese flanges are directed inwardly .of the guard when read in reference to the bottom, or are flared when read in reference to t-he feed-bar to which they yare slidably but frictionally attached.

The sides I4 vof .the guard 9, as well as the flanges I3, are substantially parallel for a part of the distance of .the guard as is well seen in Fig. 10. But at the places I5 (Fig. l0) where the guard approximately .coincides with the shoulders I6 of the nib 4 (Fig. 2) both the nether wall or bottom I0 andthe flanges I3 converge -to a blunt point I'I. This point is rounded both from the plan aspect (Fig. l0) and in longitudinal section (Fig. 4). rIlhe result is the cup-shape I8 .which pl-ays a large part in conserving the ink, especial'ly .the last drops of a. nearly depleted supply.

Depressed places I9 are formed longitudinally of the feed-bar 3 (Figs. 8 and 9). These places can be identified as grooves, but they are quite shallow because there is no necessity .of deepening them more than suggested in the drawing. The so-called grooves enable sliding .the flanges I3 inlto position between the feed-bar 3 and the overhanging parts ofthe nib 4 (Fig. 8). However, dependence is not put upon the nib for .the hold- .ing of .the guard because this is a function solely for the sides of the feed-bar and the flanges of the guard.

Said flanges are deeper between .their edges and the pla-ces of mergence of the flanges with the nether wall I0 of .the guard than the distance between the depressed places or grooves I9 and the-nether side of .the feed-bar 3. The result of this comparison is that when the guard is slipped into place its nether wall will stand off from the bottom of the feed-bar, dening an ink space 20 which comprises the reservoir of considerable ink. It is readily seen that the latter is immediately .accessible to the point of the nib 4, serving to keep the latter moist as long as the guard contains Iany ink at all.

The secretion of ink as well as its flow, is facilitated by coarsely roughening .the interior `of the cup-shape I8 as denoted at 2I (Figs. 4, 6, 7 and 10). This effect is intended to be augmented by similarly roughening the extremity of the feed-'bar as at 22 (Figs. 4, '7 and 1l). The principle is that the ink will enter the crevices of the roughening and flow therealong .to the surfaces in the lconcavity of the nib, .thus .to reach the customary slit to much better advantage than if the roughened surfaces were left smooth, as is Ithe custom. The bottom of the bar may be left smooth so that if the guai'd is lost temporarily t-he pen will still be usable.

Adjustments -of the guard :are made by simply sliding it along the feed-bar. The previously mentioned inherent resilience of .the guard is translated into an inward tension of :the flanges I3 so that these exercise a sufficiently firm grip on :the feed-bar in the depressed places I9 to insure the retention of the guard in whatever adjustment (within limits) it may be set at. To these ends the guard 9 has a ringer-.piece 23 on the bottom, adapted to be engaged by the fingers for producing the required sliding. A stop 24 on the feed-bar 3 limits the sliding in the inward direction (Fig. 4) and when the guard 9 assumes the position representative of that direction of sliding, its cup-shape I8 is near-est the extremity of the feed-bar. The supply of ink to the slit in the nib is :then reduced and the result is light writing.

On the other hand, when .the gua-rd 9 is adjusted outwardly (Fi-g. 5) and the supply of ink brought nearer the writing tip, a more copious amount of ink is exposed to the nib slit, resulting i-n heavier writing because of .the more .abundant flow. The latter function is also aided lby a slight difference in the pit-ching of :the guard, and feedby .the light-ly drawn extension lines 25, 28 (Fig.

4). It will be seen that these lines -are at the left, cross at 2l and again Hare at the right. This makes it plain that there is a forwardly diverging relationship lof .the two bottoms. The ink space 2t becomes larger although very slightly so, as it approaches the cup-shape I8. This arrangemen-t is valuable from the standpoint .that the ink is intended to be supplied to the point of the nirb whence it is used, and less quantities are secreted toward the inner end of Vthe -guard where the escape .of the fluid is sought to be prevented.

A nal consideration ycomprises the addition of a small air vent 28 at one side of the pen guard (Fig. l). This vent is optional .and is capable of emplacement in the most desirable location and not necessarily exactly in the position shown. Its purpose is to prevent air (blocking, and its presence in the guard is another contribution to be fitted upon a feed-bar which has a superb imposed nib, said member having a nether wall to cover most of the exposed surface of said feedbar, said member including forwardly situated top edges adapted to meet the underside of the nib point to establish completeside closures contiguously to the points of the feed bar and nib, and including a cup-shaped terminal between said points to form with the nib an ink reservoir.

2. In a fountain pen, a feed-bar having depressed places in the lateral portions thereof contiguously 'to the nether side of a superimposed nib, and a guard covering most of the exposed surface of said feed-bar, said guard having inwardly directed portions set in said depressed places.

3. In a fountain pen, a feed-bar having depressed places extending longitudinally thereof contiguously to the nether side of a superimposed nib, and a guard covering most of the exposed surface of said feed-bar, said guard havhto :ilA

EIO

ing inwardly directed flanges slidably but `fric tionally fitting said depressed places.

4. In a fountain pen, a feed-bar having grooves extending longitudinally of the lateraly sides thereof, `and a guard covering most ofthe exposed surface of` said feed-bar, said guard having inwardly directed flanges Islidably but frictionally fitting said grooves, said guard including al pointed nether wall with the point of which said flanges merge. l

5. In a fountain pen, a feed-bar having grooves extending longitudinally of i the lateral `sides thereof, and a guard covering most of the exposed su-rface of said feed-bar, said guard hav-,

ing inwardly directed flanges slidably but frictionally fitting said grooves,y said guard including a pointed nether wall fwith the point of which` said flanges merge, said point defining a cupf` shaped projection whencorrelated to the adj-` jacent extremity ofthe feed-bar, and said cupshaped projectionbeing internally roughened to increase the secretion and flow of vfiuid ink.

A6. In a fountain pen, a feed-bar having 1`lateral grooves extending longitudinally thereof and having a roughening on its4 exposed extremity, and a guardcarried by said feed-bar, said Aguard having lateral, inwardly directed flanges slidably but frictionally fitted in said grooves, said guard including a nether wall from which said flanges extend, said anges being in flaring relationship to the feed-bar and thus `affording an expanse of nether wall broader than the feed-bar, said nether wall, and flanges converging to a blunt `point adjacent to thefree extremity of the feed-bar and defining a cup-shaped' ink reservoir `in respect thereto, said reservoir being internally roughened to match said extremity.

'7. In Ia fountain pen, a feed-bar having 1at` eral :grooves ext-ending longitudinally thereof, a pointed broad-bottomed guard carried by the` feedbar, said guard having lateral fianges which are deeper between their edgesand rtheir places of mergence with the guard than the `distance be` Vtween the grooves and. nether side of the` feedbarthus to space the guard .bottom from the feed-bar and define an` ink space. 1

8. In a fountain pen, a feed-bar having de- `pressed places along the longitudinal sides, a

guard having a bottom in confronting relationship `to the bottom of the feed bar, and flanges included-in the guard extending from the bottom and being in frictional engagement with the de'- pressed places, said flanges supporting the bottom in spaced and in forwardly diverging relationship r tothe bottom ofthe feed-bar, thusto progresi sively increase the size ofan ink space between the guard and feed-bar.

` KENNETH W. MCPHERSON.

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