US2581739A - Fountain pen - Google Patents

Description

R. T. WING FOUNTAIN PEN Jan. 8, 1952 Filed March 5, 1945 f INVENIOR. Td/1,329]

Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN PEN Russell T. Wing, Excelsior, Minn.

Application March 5, 1945, Serial No. 580,991

Claims.

The invention relates generally to fountain pens and more particularly to a fountain pen of the type shown in my Patents No. 2,187,528, issued January 16, 1940, and No. 2,282,840, issued May 12, 1942.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel fountain pen of the foregoing type in which the parts are so shaped as to simplify and facilitate the manufacture thereof.

Another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type with capillary ink storage spaces or cells, the governor being so constructed that the cells thereof may be formed in a simple and inexpensive manner to facilitate the manufacture thereof and thus provide a pen that may be produced at relatively low cost.

A further object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type, including a governor provided with capillary ink spaces or cells connected at one end with the outside atmosphere and directly with the reservoir of the pen at their other end.

Still another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type, having air flow means connecting the reservoir with the outside atmosphere and independent of and separate from the ink ow means connecting the reservoir with the nib of the pen.

A still futher object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type, having air ow means connecting the reservoir with the outside atmosphere, which is independent of and separate from the ink flow means connecting the reservoir with the nib of the pen, and which constitutes storage space for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess flow from the reservoir.

Another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type, having a governor provided with radial slits extending throughout the length of the governor and constituting storage spaces for excess ink flow, and also provided with a radial slit connecting the reservoir of the pen with the nib.

A further object is to provide a fountai pen of the foregoing type, having a governor comprising a plurality of concentrically arranged tubes-of varying diameters, one within another, to provide a plurality of annular spaces of capillary size for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess flow, the outer tube being provided with a feed fissure for feeding ink from the reservoir to the nib of the pen.

Another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type, includingl a shell underlying the nib of the pen and enclosing a governor hav ing a capillary space for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess ilow and in direct communication with the reservoir, the shell also having a capillary ink space in front of the governor and in communication with the nib slit through a slit in the shell.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal sectional view of a fountain pen embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. l

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified form of construction.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

A fountain pen embodying the features of the invention is of the type shown in my'abovementioned prior patents, and comprises generally a feed structurefor feeding ink from the reservoir to the nib. The feed structure includes means for receiving and storing ink under cori-v ditions of excess ow, and also serving to control the iiow of air to the reservoir as ink is used in writing. In the constructions herein shown, the means for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess flow comprises a plurality of spaces which open directly into the reservoir, a feed duct being provided which connects the reservoir with the nib of the pen and which is separate from and independent of such spaces. These spaces may be either in the form of longitudinally extending slits or may be annular in form, the spaces being provided in a governor or collector member which also is provided with the above-mentioned feed duct. The governor is mounted Within an enclosing shell which is provided with an air inlet adapted to admit air to the storage spaces. The shell is also preferably constructed to include a space in addition to the above-mentioned storage means, which addition- :al-space is adapted to receive ink and hold it close to the nib so that ink may be fed directly from such additional space to the nib rather than Y 3 through the governor as in the case of the storage means.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, I have shown a pen comprising a barrel I0, provided at its front end with a pen section I I. The latter may be a part separate from but connected to the barrel proper or may be integral therewith, as shown in the drawings. The interior of the barrel, in the present instance, constitutes a reservoir 9, but the invention is not limited in this respect and may be embodied in a pen having a sac type reservoir. The pen section II is provided With an internal bore I2 adapted to receive and support the feeding structure of the pen and a nib I3 which is provided with the usual writing tip I4 and is longitudinally slitted as at I5. with 'the slit extending to a pierce I6 of usual form. The rear end of the nib is arcuate in shape, asis clearly apparent in Fig. 3, and the4 bore I2 is provided with an'arcuate enlargement I'I` to receive the rear end portion of the nib as shown in. Fig. 1. A

The V:feed structure, in the present instance, comprises a shell 20 of cylindrical form adapted toy t snugly in the bore I2 of the penV section. The shell 20 underlies the nib I3 and holds it firmly. in place in the arcuate enlargement I1 in the pen section'. The'front end of the" shell is curved as at 2I to extend toward the nib I3 and support the latter with only the writing tip I4 projecting beyond the shell.

Within the shell 20 is a governor or collector member 22 of cylindrical .form' fitting. snugly Withinthe shell. Extending longitudinally of the governor from end to end thereof isafeedduct comprising, in thepresent'instance, a radial vslit 23 of capillary dimension and openingintos the reservoir 9 at its rear end. The front end of the feed duct or slit 23 is adapted to. be connected Withthe slit I inthe nib. To this end, the'shell in that .portionunderlying thenib is slitted, with the. slits extending rearwardly to overlap and then connect with the feed duct 23. Preferably, Iprovide three 'slits 24 in the shell, which are spaced from and are parallel to each other, the purpose of'providng three such slits being to insure having at least one open should any clogging occur. ^The slits 24 extend rearwardly to overliethe front end `of the governor and the feed duct 23,V and inworder to distribute ink fromv the feed duct intoall three of the `slits 24, the front end of thekl governor is flattened as at 25 to provideV a segmental space opening both into .thezfeed duct 23 and the slits 24.. Thus, I have provided means for feeding ink from the reservoir to the nib.

As :'mentioned above, the governor or .collector member 22 is. also provided with meansefor receiving `and storing ink under conditions of Yexcess flow. Thus, -if the pen is in a relatively cool 'condition before being used, the heat of the hand in holding the pen'during writingmay cause expansion of the air-within the yreservoir andV tend to force ink to flow from the reservoir. To receive and store such yink and therebyprevent leakage at the writing tip ofthe pen, thepresent storage means is so arranged. that ink may flow directlyl thereto from thel reservoir.' VFor this purpose, I Viprovide a: `plurality of spaces orcells formed in the governor 22 and vextending from end to end thereof so that, at the rearV end of the governor, they opendirectly into the reservoir. In the present instance, such spaces comprise radial" slits 26 formed in the governor 22 independently of and separate from the feed duct or slit 23. The slits 26 also function to'control the flow of air to the reservoir. For this purpose, the front ends of the slits 26 are connected With the outside atmosphere by being open to a space 30 within the front end of the shell and in front of the governor, the space being in communication with the outside atmosphere through the internal bore 3I of a tubular extension 32 projecting inwardly from the front end of the shell. The tubular extension 32 terminates at a distance from the front end of the governor to provide the space 35 whereby air may freely pass to all of the slits 26.

`This form of pen is also provided with additional .space for receiving ink under conditions of nected. withthe slit I5 in the nib through the slits 24 in the shell. Thus, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the tubular extension 32 is surrounded by an annular space 33 which is of capillary size and is directly connected tothe shell slits' 24. Any ink collecting inthe annular space 33 will thus be drawn through the slits 24 into the nib slit I5y as the'inlr is'consumed in Writing.

The governor member 22, while iitting snugly Within the shell 20, may be held in proper longi tudinal -relationship thereto by being provided with a flange 34'at its rear end adapted to engage the rear end of ther shell 20 and to be clamped thereby against'r an internalshoulder 35 formed in the barrelV I 0.

IAll of the variousjink feed passages as well as the means for receiving and storing excess ink, of course, must be of capillary dimension. Moreover, .they are relatively proportioned so thatv the ink will feed properly from the reservoir tothe nib and thejink will be received by the storage means when excess ow occurs and will be Withdrawn when conditions of excess ow no longer exist.v As an example of suitable dimensioning forthe various parts, the slit I5 in the nib Vis preferably .0005 to .002 of an inch in width. The slits 24 in the shell are slightly larger than the slit I5 so that ink may be drawn into thev latter. Thus, the slits 24 may be approximately .005 of an inch in Width and, in some instances, it has been found preferable to make them of vthree different dimensions, such as .004, .005 and .006 of an inch. The segmental space on the governor underlying the shell slits 24 and formed by the flattened portion 25is such as to provide a maximum depth for the space of notmore than .007 o-f an inch. The width of the feed slot 23 in the governoris preferably '.005 of aninchi l, The storage spaces or slits 26 in the governor may be of uniform dimension throughout their length but are preferably tapered in form with their larger Widths at the front and narrower portions at the rear, so that in` emptying ink the-front portions will empty rst and the ink will gradually recede therein from front torear. Preferably, the slits 26 may be .030 of an inch at the front and .O10 of an inch at the rear. The annular capillary space 33 surrounding thev tubular extension 32 in the front end of the shell may be 'as'largeas approximately .035 of an inch.

Inv operation; assuming that the vreservoir of the'y pen is lled with ink. and that thestorage spacesV 26 are substantially empty, ink will feed through the feed duct' 23 to the flattened portion 25 at the front end of the governor. At that point the ink will spread laterally overthe :flattenedA surface 25 to be'distributed to the three slits 24 in theshell. vTherink.willapass-along the slits 24 to the underside of the nib'and will 'be .fed therefromV to the `nib slit |'5 for use Vat thewriting tip |4.

If, during writing, there are no conditions existing to cause expansion of` the air in the reservoir, then, as ink is withdrawn therefrom, air will pass through the internal bore 3| of the tubular extension 32 in the shell and Will be distributed to the various storage slits 26. As ink is withdrawn at the writing tip ofl the pen, such air will tend to bubble up through any ink remaining in the storage spaces 26 into the reservoir to maintain a balanced pressure relationship. The rear ends of the slits 26 thus act as weir vents controlling the flow of air into the reservoir. By having all of the spaces 26 opening directly into the reservoir, should the rear end of any one or more of them become clogged, the remainder will stillV serve to admit air to the reservoir and thus permit an eve feed. l

Should some condition occur to cause an expansion of the air within the reservoir, the excess ink caused to owtherefrom will enter the spaces 26 and thus shut oif the supply of air to the reservoir. Should the ilow of excess ink be greater than the capacity of the spaces 26, the space 33 in the front end of the shell will iill, `thus providing a,v capillary space close to the writing tip of the pen to prevent any leakage therefrom. When the pen is used in Writing under such conditions, ink will be withdrawn from the space 33 by the smaller capillary slits 24 in the nib to supply the writing tip. After the space 33 is emptied, ink will be drawn from the reservoir through the feed duct 23 to supply the writing tip. However, because the spaces 26 are lled with ink, no air can enter the reservoir to replace the ink so withdrawn. The ink in the spaces 26 will, therefore, be withdrawn rearwardly into the reservoir to the extent necessary to reestablish the necessary pressure relationship until substantially all the ink in the spaces 26 is withdrawn. Thereafter, air may work up through the spaces 26 to bubble into the reservoir through the weir vents provided by the rear ends of the spaces 26.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, the barrel, pen section, nib and shell are constructed in substantially the same manner as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive. The governor shown in Figs. 5 to 8 differs, however, in construction. In this form, the governor or collector member comprises a plurality of concentric sleeves 40, telescoped one within another, to provide a plurality of annularspacesl 4| for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess flow. In the present instance, two sleeves 40 are shown with a rod 42 of round cross section positioned within the inner tube. The tubes 40 are provided with longitudinal spacers 43, three in the present instance, to hold the tubes 40 and rod 42 in spaced relation and thus provide the annular spaces 4|. The spacers 43 may be only lugs formed at the respective ends of the sleeves 40 but, preferably, are in the form of ribs, as shown in the drawing, extending throughout the length of the sleeves 40 to facilitate forming the sleeves 40 by molding. In order to position the sleeves 40 in proper longitudinal relation to the shell 22, the outer sleeve may, at its rear end, be provided with a iiange 44 abutting the rear end ofthe shell. The outer sleeve 40 is also provided with a feed duct 45 in the form of a longitudinally extending slit, and the front end of the outer sleeve is flattened, as

at 46, to connect the feed duct 45 "with the slits 24 in the shell. A

The shell 20, in this instance, differs in one respect from the shell shown in the rst form. namely, in having an inwardly extending tubular portion 50 which is of somewhat larger diameter than that shown in Fig. 1, so that the surrounding annular space 5| is of smaller capillary dimension. In this instance, the annular capillary space 5| is preferably of substantially the same size as the slits 24 inthe shell and, forexample, may be .006 of an inch in its radial dimension.

The modified form of pen functions in substantially the same manner as the pen shown in Fig. 1, except that the annular space 5| at the front end of the shell will remain lled with ink substantially throughout the operation of the pen, since it has about the same capillarity as the slits 24 in the shell. The function of the capillary space 5| is to provide an ample supply of ink closely adjacent the nib. The space 5| thus maintains ink which may be immediately available for writing when the pen is put in use.

I claim:

1. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structure comprising a shell, and a governor within the shell having a, longitudinally extending capillary ink storage space tapering in Wall-to-wall dimension from front to rear, said space being connected at its front end with the outside atmosphere and opening at its rear end directly into said reservoir, and a capillary ink feed passage separate throughout its length from and of greater capillarity than saidink storage space and directly connected at its rear end to said reservoir and in communication with the nib at its front end for connecting said reservoir to said nib independently of said ink storage space. y

2. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a niby and a feed structure comprising a governor having a pair of mutually` separate conducting means, one being connected to atmosphere and directly to said reservoir and tapering in wall-towall dimension from the end which is connected to atmosphere toward the end which is connected to said reservoir, whereby they are adapted to conduct air to the reservoir, and to receive ink solely from said reservoir and to store ink under conditions of excess flow from said reservoir and to prevent the ow of air to the reservoir when so storing ink, and the other connected to the nib and directly tofthe reservoir for connecting the reservoir and nib independentlyof the air conducting means.

3. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a shell, a slitted nib overlying said shell, said shell having a capillary slit underlying the slit in the nib, and a governor having a longitudinal capillary duct in communication at one end with the slit in the shell and connected at its other end to the reservoir, and a plurality of capillary air flow passages each separate from and of less capillarity than said capillary duct and opening directly and independently into said reservoir and adapted to receive ink solely from said reservoir and to store ink under conditions of excess flow aratcfradial slits of capillary dimension and `extending from end to end of said governorfone of said slits being smalle'rthan the others and constituting an ink feed duct, the other slits tapering in width from front to rear and being directly connected to said reservoir independently of each other and of said one slit and adapted to receive ink solely from said reservoir and to store ink under conditions of excess flow from the reservoir and to control the flow of air to the reservoir.

5. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, a shell, and a governor mounted within said shell, said governor having an ink feed duct and a plurality of radial `slits of capillary width extending fromend to end of the governor and tapering lengthwise with theirsmaller end at the rear and their larger end at the front, said slits being connected at their rear ends directly to said reservoir and communicating at their forward Iends with the atmosphere to receive ink solely from said reservoir and to store ink under conditions of excess iiow from the reservoir and to control the flow of air to the reservoir.

6.A A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structure comprising a shell, and a governor within the shell and comprising a plurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one within another and held in radially spaced relation to provide a plurality of annular capillary spaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow, the outer sleeve having an ink feed duct connecting the reservoir with the nib independently of said annular spaces.

7. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structure comprising a shell, and a governor'within the shell and comprising a plurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one Within another and held in radially spaced relation to provide a plurality of annular capillary spaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow, said annular spaces opening at their rear end into said reservoir, and said shell having a non-capillary opening for admitting air to the front end of said spaces, the outer sleeve having a capillary ink feed duct connecting the reservoir with the nilo` independently of said annular spaces.

8. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structure comprising a shell, and a governor within the shell and comprising a plurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one Within anand having longitudinally extending ribs holding the sleeves in radially spaced relation to provide substantially annular capillary spaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow, the outer sleeve having an ink feed duct connecting the reservoir with the nib independently of said annular spaces.

10. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structure comprising a shell, and a governor Within the shell comprising a plurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one Within anotherv and held in radially spaced relation to provide a plurality of annular capillary spaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow, the outer sleeve having a flange at its rear end abutting the rear end of the shell to position the governor Within the shell, said outer sleeve also having an ink feed duct connecting the reservoir with the nib independently of said annular spaces.

RUSSELL T. WING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 307,735 Waterman Nov. 4, 1884 608,463 Beaumel May 3, 1898 648,839 Boman May 1, 1900 962,982 Saha June 28, 1910 1,633,111 Kovacs June 21, 1927 2,152,436 Koos Mar. 28, 1939 2,176,661 Ashmore Oct. 17, 1939 2,260,571 Johndohl Oct. 28, 1941 2,282,840 Wing May 12, 1942 2,360,397 Wing Oct. 10, 1944

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