US2250180A - Fountain pen - Google Patents

Description

Patented July 22, 1941 FOUNTAIN PEN Amilcare Calo, North Arlington, N. J., assignor to Associated Pen Corporation, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of New York Application October 19, 1940, Serial No. 361,908

(Cl. 1Z0-47) 5 Claims.

My invention relates to fountain pens.

The object oi' my invention is to provide a fountain pen which is constructed to prevent an undue quantity of ink from flowing to the pen point when the reservoir of the pen is nearly empty and contains a relatively large volume of air.

A further object is to provide a better means for filling the reservoir with ink, the construction being such that no metal parts are required, and such as permits the operation of filling the reservoir by a person having but one hand.

A further `object is to provide a construction which permits the lling means to be easily removed from the barrel of the pen for the purpose of renewal or repair.

A further object is to provide a construction that insures a perfectly tight joint between the lling means and reservoir.

Referring to the drawing which forms a part of the specifications:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the pen with the filling means shown in its normal position in the barrel of the pen.

Fig. 2 is a plan longitudinal sectional view, on line 2-2 of Fig, 1, showing the plunger of the iilling means as it rests after the completion of an inner stroke of the plunger.

I0 indicates the barrel of the pen, which may be made of opaque or transparent material such as generally used for the purpose oi holding ink. II indicates the pen section, in which is located a feed plug I2, and a pen point I3 is held in the usual manner between the said plug and inner wall of the pen section.

The feed plug is formed to provide a slot or duct which extends from near the point of the pen in the usual manner, t-o a point I5 located a predetermined distance from its inner end I2', and a substantially tight joint is effected between the pen section and inner end of the plug at IB, as illustrated.

I'I indicates an air tube, an end of which fits into a bore I8 in the rear end of the feed plug, and the passage thru the tube is in open communication with a passage I9 which extends therefrom in open communication with the feed duct I4.

20 indicates an aperture which extends thru the wall of the tube and forms a restricted passage for ink which may flow therethru to the duct in the plug.

The aperture is located a predetermined distance from the adjacent end of the plug, the

distance depending upon the ink capacity Yof the reservoir 2I The end I'i of the air tube is open, and rests adjacent the inner end of the lling means comprising a plunger, when the plunger is at the end of its inward stroke, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

22 indicates a soft elastic envelope, of rubber or other suitable material, and of less diameter than that of the inner diameter of the reservoir, said envelope being closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, and of less length than that of the reservoir 2|.

Located within the envelope is a ring 23 of hard rubber or other suitableV material, the diameter of which is nearly that of the diameter of the reservoir, and 24 indicates a cylindrical rod the inner end of which is connected to said ring.

25, 25, etc., indicate washers thru which said rod slides easily, and the outer circular rims of which abut the inner wall of the envelope, as illustrated.

26 indicates a plug, the outer end of which is threaded for engagement with a cap (not shown) for covering the rod 24.

The said plug is adapted to be forced into the open end of the envelope and compressing it against the inner side of the barrel I0 as illustrated at 21, and thus firmly aiiiXing the envelope in ink-tight relation therewith. The plug 2E is provided with a central bore 26 through which the rod is movable in close sliding relation, and the rod normally extends a predetermined distance outwardly therefrom and is provided with a knob 28 which limits the inward movement of the rod. The plug is preferably formed with an annular groove 29 to reduce the length of the joint between the barrel and envelope, the inner end of the plug being of less diameter than that at the joint and thus permitting the envelope to slide thereover in the act of lling the reservoir.

'I'he construction provides a unitary unit which may be attached to the barrel of the pen, and may be made and sold as a separate article of manufacture.

It will be` seen that the construction embodies a pump of the plunger type, comprising an elas tic envelope of tubular form, which stretches in the act of filling the reservoir.

When such elastic tube extends over a ring (as 23) at one end, and is held at its other end (as at 21) by the plug, and is stretched by the inward movement of the ring, the tube would contract in diameter between said elements. To prevent such collapsing action, the washers or rings 25, by reason of their contact with the inner wall of the envelope, are carried by the envelope as it stretches, and the rings slide on the rod and separate from each other, as illustrated in Fig. 2, and thus prevent the envelope from contracting materially, or to a degree that would render the plunger unfit to perform its proper function.

The operation of .lling the reservoir is accomplished in the following manner. The pen is immersed in the ink supply in the usual manner of filling, and thereafter the plunger is forced downwardly into the barrel, thus displacing a portion of the air therein and forcing it from the barrel thru the tube and outlets therefrom to the atmosphere. The plunger is then allowed to return to its normal position, actuated by the spring action of the envelope which was stretched on the inward stroke of the plunger, and draws ink into the reservoir, and by repeating the foregoing action, the reservoir will ll. It will be observed that all of the air and all of the ink must pass thru the passage I9.

It is common knowledge to fountain pen manufacturers that the cubic capacity of the reservoir cannot be too large, the reasons being that when too large for proper control by the feed construction, the reservoir, when partly empty, will contain such a large volume of air that it destroys the degree of rarefaction above the remaining volume of ink, and ink will therefore flow from the reservoir. If the air control may be so made as to restrict the air in its flow into the barrel, a greater amount of ink may be held in the barrel due to such lesser quantity of air being admitted thereto. The present construction attains this advantage by reason of the limiting actionof the air control, the arrangement of the passages as illustrated causing a restriction of air flowing into the reservoir, and thus causing a greater degree of rarefaction to be maintained at all times. aperture 20 in the air tube at a greater distance from the rear end I2 of the feed plug, a portion of the ink will be trapped between the end of said plug and the aperture, which ink will displace the air when the reservoir is supplied with Also, by locating the i ink, by the small quantity of ink resting above said aperture when the pen is being used in the act of writing.

Therefore the construction as a whole provides for positive easy filling of the reservoir, and greater ink capacity controlled by the novel arrangement disclosed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new:

1. A fountain pen comprising a barrel which serves as a reservoir for ink, a pump of the plunger type comprising an elastic cylindrical envelope the inner end of which isclosed and the outer end open, a plug of cylindrical form which ts within the open end of the envelope and serves to hold it in ink-tight relation to the outer end of the barrel, said plug having a bore extending axially therethru, a rod extending from the inner end of said envelope thru said bore a predetermined distance, and rings on said rod in sliding relation therewith which extend to and support the wall of the envelope to prevent it from contracting in diameter.

2. A fountain pen comprising a barrel which serves as a reservoir for ink and is open at its rear end, a pump mechanism of the plunger type lcomprising an elastic envelope, cylindrical in form and closed at its inner end and open at its outer end, a plug of cylindrical form which fits within the open end of the envelope and serves to hold it in ink-tight relation with the inner wall of the barrel and to form a closure for the outer end of said barrel,r and a rod extending thru the plug to the inner end of the envelope and outwardly from the plug a predetermined distance, by means of which the envelope may be stretched in the act of filling the pen with liquid.

3. The construction defined in claim 2, together with a knob on the outer end which serves to limit the inward movement thereof.

4. The construction defined in claim 2, together with means for preventing said envelope from becoming reduced in diameter during the stretching operation.

5. The construction defined in claim 2, together with means for retaining said envelope in substantially cylindrical form during the stretching operation.

AMILCARE CALO.

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