US3166050A - Ball-tip writing instrument and ball therefor - Google Patents

Ball-tip writing instrument and ball therefor Download PDF

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Publication number
US3166050A
US3166050A US29608A US2960860A US3166050A US 3166050 A US3166050 A US 3166050A US 29608 A US29608 A US 29608A US 2960860 A US2960860 A US 2960860A US 3166050 A US3166050 A US 3166050A
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United States
Prior art keywords
ball
writing
craters
ink
sphere
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Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
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US29608A
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English (en)
Inventor
Fehling Hans Reinhard
Harvey Edward Henry
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IRC Ltd
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IRC Ltd
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by IRC Ltd filed Critical IRC Ltd
Priority to US154929A priority Critical patent/US3145286A/en
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Publication of US3166050A publication Critical patent/US3166050A/en
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Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B23—MACHINE TOOLS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B23H—WORKING OF METAL BY THE ACTION OF A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF ELECTRIC CURRENT ON A WORKPIECE USING AN ELECTRODE WHICH TAKES THE PLACE OF A TOOL; SUCH WORKING COMBINED WITH OTHER FORMS OF WORKING OF METAL
    • B23H9/00—Machining specially adapted for treating particular metal objects or for obtaining special effects or results on metal objects
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B43—WRITING OR DRAWING IMPLEMENTS; BUREAU ACCESSORIES
    • B43K—IMPLEMENTS FOR WRITING OR DRAWING
    • B43K1/00—Nibs; Writing-points
    • B43K1/08—Nibs; Writing-points with ball points; Balls or ball beds

Definitions

  • This invention concerns writing instruments of the balltip type wherein the writing extremity o'r nib comprises a writing ball rotatably housed in'a socket r housing which provides a base" seat or other thrust bearing (against which the ball may thrust during the writing operation) and is so shaped'that the ball cannot drop out when the instrument is lifted'from the'writing surface, the ball being supplied with ink from a reservoir by way of a small bore feedduct. leading to the back of the ball so also 'transient as such a-finish' is rapidly destroyed or 1 altered by the abrasive action Edward of the paper on the ball during writing. a The production of the ball certain circumstances it may produce abetter trace.
  • the bearing surfaces of seating 's'urfacesprovided in the housing for theball. are part spherical and comprise a part-spherical lateral seatingjsurrounding the ball in the region of or above the ball equator and a part-spherical base seat.
  • the base seat may be circumferentially continuous, or it may be discontinuous being divided by at least one-ink channel or groove leading outwards from .the end' of the feed duct; it may merge, without interruptiominto a part of the lateral seat disposed below the ball equator or may be separated from that part by a ball encircling cavity; the ink channel, or
  • ball pens in useat present employ a'highly polished, preferably stainless, steel ball of 0.8 Ito.:l.0 rnrn:v diameter.
  • the present invention provides a writing ball, suitable for use.
  • a ball-tipwriting instrument consisting of a sphere whichhas craters of substantially uniform area dispersed over its whole surface; preferably, these craters should not be substantially larger in diameter than 70 microns and not sub stantially smaller than 10 microns.
  • the craters should take up-abouthalf of the ball 7 surface and have a diameter'between 30 and '50 microns balls the surface of which is roughened, pitted, striated or satin But the improvement in writing performance is surprisingly. small, and
  • a cratered writing ball having the features or about one-tenth to one-hundredth the diameter of the ball, whereas the remainder'of the surface should be truly spherical and have a very high finish.
  • tion as viewed from another aspect, provides a writing extremity in or for an instrument of the'type specified
  • the arrangement being such that theguan't'ity. of ink deposited. on a writing surfacein normal writing is increased by at least 5,0;percent when compared with'anuncratered ball of'jhelsame, sizeinthesamenih.
  • present invention to overcome T It is" a: further b cr'br I v method of manufacturing writing ballsof'increased-ink rsingle spark ;of predetermined electrical energy.
  • the individual spark . is produced: by the discharge ;This"will be more e ball po p Q an is retained i it obtaining the desired trace j. greater easeo f'vvriting and a more liberali inkfflo w,falso q' a V V I V .1 x the invention to provide anew carrying capacity.
  • the invention provides in the manufacture of'a ducting ball, such craters being formedindividuallysbya of a condenser of predetermined;capacitance,, said condenser beingautomatically recharged in aknown manner from a supply of direct current at constant voltage.
  • One of the principal objects of the present invention is to provide-means by'which the quantity of ink transferred s by theball from" the interioref the housing to'the, writing 1 surface canbe substantially increased :withouthaving to; 7 increase the radial clearance between the ball surfaceand its'spherical bearing surfaces in the housing;*But it has been-found that this objectwill only be'fully achieved by;
  • the present invention lif careeis taken. to select theyrightff t i combination'between crater viscosityof the ink.
  • the former'to thelatter is at least partly.donebyawiping '7 7' a ,k V l
  • the presentinvention adds to the carrying capacity' ef.
  • the 'capacit'ylof the 'craters canbe'increased to at least twice that of clear-- ance by increasing the surface coverage of the craters.
  • temperate climate r 1 between wand 30 poisest (b).
  • hot climate room tenip iYVifl'iBQZtild-ZOU poises.
  • 1G.- 4 is a sectionalview through a single craterprior uncratered surface.
  • the invention consists in a ballpoint pen having a nib with a cratered'ball and'a reservoir charged with a suitable.
  • ink the viscosity of'which does" not exceed 200 poises at the normal temperature of use in writing.
  • FIG; 1" shows, partly in acrateredball according to this invention
  • FIG. 2 isascctional View of the relevant portion of'fa' to removal'of the burrf around'its edge
  • FIG. 5 is a'plan 'viewtof the crater
  • v 1 may be -betterl unclerstt'qod, reference willnow' be made to the ac'companyihg draw.
  • V ink is indicated at l5.
  • FIGS. 7A and 7B jointly show, in sectional elevation apparatus according to this invention.
  • FIG. 8 is a sectional. plan view thereof partly broken. J
  • FIG. 9 showsa detail
  • FIG. 10 is a section talgen on but on a larger scale
  • FIG. 11 shows the electrical circuit; and- FIGS. l2 and 13 show a modification of the apparatus.
  • FIG. 1 illustrates acra-tered ball 1 of approximately 1.
  • the craters 2 are distributed at random may be highly polished or have a satin finish.
  • the inkjin' the craters 2 is-not1(or 5 not to the 'same'eXtent) subject to the shear mentioned and is, v therefore, carried bodily with the "ball.”
  • the craters, though only occupying part ;of the ball surface are very effective j ink carriers tinterms 1 of the I amount actually deposited as-a trace on the writing; surface.-
  • the fiirtherr'advantages are thatthe amount.
  • the 'smallerradial clearanceof the'nib according to the invention when compared withfia conventional nib producing the same depth of trace, together-with thev a ink retainingbharacteristics ofithe'craters, ensures that far less. air is entrained into. the interior of the nib by i the rotating ball.
  • FIG. -3 also explains another, and at firstsurprising,
  • craters as large as surface-area, but best results are obtained with a cratered area of about half the surface area.
  • wa balance must be kept between the ink-carrying capacity of the craters and the smooth bearin'g area of the
  • the diameter of the craters of a 1 mm. ball should preferably be not less than 10 microns (otherwise the ink-carrying capacity of the craters be- 7 comes too small to be really useful) and not'larger than 70 microns (otherwise the local deviation from the oversurfaces is correspondingly increased and the curvature is reduced. As described above, the best results have been.
  • FIG. 2 shows a ballpoint pen nib 4 witha cratered :microns in diameter, if surrounded by a perfectly smooth;
  • FIG. .3 is interpreted as an-illustration of part of a spherical base seating it-will be'seen that when-theballis pressedinto the. latter theiik in the crater is trapped by the.
  • i to measure directly but in'the case of a specific exampleof -peined nib is about 2 to 3 micronswhen deterrnined I by the bubble pressure method described in British patent specification No. 629,283.
  • burr 1l arourid the" crater 2 The material forming this ffburr" lies above the level or. the 'sphericalsurface 3 but 'as'it is very brittle'it' cah be easily removed any 7 I suitable fdeburring method, e g; rolling, between 'hard' platesytumbling', lapping, polishing, or the like,fl T 1
  • FIG, 6 showsschematicallyaLsuitable-arrangemeht for '50 t i c r I by gearin'g;28.'
  • the balls 1 which havea diameter larger I than the gap between therollersH-and15 aresupplied to producing a crater'edball bya successioii of single spark dischargesfl
  • The' output from the condenser is coupled to a pair of electrodesfl lia'nd l5 7 consisting of parallel rollers 'rotating -as ⁇ indicated at a" speed'of, for example 15 r.p.m.
  • "-Tl Je rollers maybe of brass and have a diameterjof one-half to three-quarters of an'inch; they areseparatedby a gap of say' 0.020 inch (0- when p g a1 m ball.- Th'ey are many immersed in a liquid dielectric 16 such :as parafiih'joil. fScrapers 17,18 made of electricallyinsulating material.
  • the pumpinga'ction of the rollers assists in preventingjthef v i .70, the ballclose to the face j 1 1 ball from short circuiting the gap betweensthein andf-induces a teetering movement of of each roller; f
  • A' successionioflballs may be treatedby rolling them along the gap between the electrodes in which nib-J tiori each ball is rotated and the d wheel gearing26 and the two rollers-are geared together tribution of the craters V
  • two parallel rollersl land 15 are rotatably, journaledlin non-conductf ingjerid plates l2g'23connected in spaced relation-by-"dis- I j .,tance rods Z4. The rollersrotate in the direction ofythei c I,
  • Convehientlxlthisf' t motor 25 "drives the roller 15 through wormiandworn1' the rollers from a magazine 29 byga feedf'pipe 30.: They;
  • a-rotatable pickup disc 311 in-the base of the-magazine 29 said pick-up r 7 disc having spaced ball-receiving notches-or pockets32in cits periphery and being driven from"motor"'25 or another: motor by gearing comprising eIfiductiongear boX 3i3'andequal bevel vgears 33't' Y As shown in FIG. 7A
  • the scrapers 17T and l8' consist-ofnylon filaments strung-between theend plates 22,f -23.- The inclinationof the rollers ensures that the-balls pass 7 l the base of the magazine 29 and. a
  • the pick-up disc 31 are 'inclined.
  • the'balls l 'insert themselves'into the recesses 32 7 and are carried up to a higher point at which each recess;
  • the rollers" 14,15 may rotate at the same or slightly fall into a receptacle provided for the purpose; The precise angle of inclination of the rollers determines how long 1 each ball stays on the rollers-which period maybe of V the order of: several minutes. There is sometimes a tend ency, especially when large condensers are used, for the. ball to adhere slightly to'one or other ofthe rollers afteran electrical discharge.
  • the scrapers 1'7 .and 18 are providednear the surface of each roller as shown; in FIG. Thes e scrapers rub. against the surface of therespective roller and pick up any adherent balls'otf the surface of the rollers in order that they may fall back towards the gap and undergo further cratering.
  • the ratio of gear 1 box 33 is 900:1
  • the pickup disc 31 has sixteen.
  • This apparatus is intended to be supported. in a bathof liquid dielectric 16 such as p'arafliin, for example, the level of which is such that therollersare totally immersed. V
  • the electrical apparatus may be housed'in casing 40. As shown, it consists of a series of condensers 13a-13e,
  • the electrical discharge phenomenon produced by this circuit can occur at a high frequency since the condenser is capable of charging and "discharging many thousands'of times per second.
  • ' surface is of the order of a few microns
  • roller 15 has a 0:68 inchdiameter and the roller 14 has an 070 inch crest diameter. and a 0.652 inch root diameter and the-peripheral gap between the two rollers is between 0.01 inch and 0.015 .inch.
  • QRoller 14" rotates at,120 .f
  • the ball feed being at the. rate of jl per second, i.e., one ball for every two revolutipnsofroller1ft.
  • a writing extremity less than about 5 microns and a diameter between about '10 and about 70 microns and having sides inclined at an angle betweenabout 10 degrees and about 25 degrees to the surface of 'the sphere,;and awritingnib having a retaining rim with an' adjacent part-spherical lateral seat in supporting'the sphere.
  • a writing extremity for a ball-tip writing instrument if comprising a sphere having a smooth, continuo'us spheritween the rollers and therefore advances along the rollers cal outer surface and having a plurality of shallow craters r 'of substantially uniform diameter formed in the outer surface of the sphere, the total area of the craters being it between about onefifth and about two-thirds of the total 25 degrees to the surface of the sphere, a writing nib having a retaining rim with an adjacent part spherical lateral seat surrounding the sphere so as to retain the sphere 'in the Snib, the maximum spacing between the V sphere and the closest adjacent portion- 0f the retaining of thescrew thread thereby eliminating any rislr of contact between adjacent balls.
  • the pitch Y of this screw'thread maybe 1 mm. and the included angle rim being of the order of a few thousandths of the diam; eter of the sphere, the writing nib
  • the nib is .forrned with "atleast'onepart-spherioalbase? with the portion of the sfih'ere enclosed the nib to supply viscous ink to thes'urface 'of the. sphere .and the craters therein, whereby the quantity of viscous inkcan 'rie'd by the spherepast the retaining rim as the ball'rotates a is at least fifty percent greater thani the quantity of ink carried by a similar ⁇ ball haying nocrater mounted:
  • the area i of the f base seat adjacent to thesph'ere being at least about twenty times the area.ofithefindividual craters'in the sphere so that the Viscous :ink' from the cavity-which I passes bea 1 tween the-sphere and the bearing surface' is trappedfin a substantial proportionof the craters adjacent to the sur face toaid in supporting the sphere.
  • a writing extremity for a ball-tip writingiinstru ment comprising a sphere havinglja smooth; continuous I y sgherical outer surfacejand'having a plurality of s hallo' w r craters'ofsubstantially uniform diameter formed.- ii'rthe outer surfac'erand distributed substantially: uniformly/[j over the outer-surfaee, substantially all bf'thecratershaw' mg a depthno less than about 5 jinic rons fand a' diarneter, between aboutltl and about 70 microns and having sides inclined atan angle between abQut'lO' degreesandabont' 25 degrees to the 'surface qfthe sphere,t he total; area qf' 1/ 1 2 47 751] s ;,2;s47, 97s. 25-
  • theviscosityof the ink microns and about 5'0 mier the" craters being-between gabout,one-fifth and about two thirds of thetotal area of -thei'spherq alwritifig nib having a retaining rim with an adjacent, part;spherica1 lateral seat surrounding theispher'e and at leas't' onepart-spherical; bases'eat, the writing'nib "being formed with an internali cavity communicating with anjinkreservoiryand ais upply' r of writing ink having a viscosity;notexceedingaboutillO p oisesfat 25 C.
  • V is between about 49 rpois'esfand

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Thermal Sciences (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Pens And Brushes (AREA)
US29608A 1959-05-19 1960-05-17 Ball-tip writing instrument and ball therefor Expired - Lifetime US3166050A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US154929A US3145286A (en) 1959-05-19 1961-11-20 Method and apparatus for preparing cratered balls

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB16873/59A GB935646A (en) 1959-05-19 1959-05-19 Improvements in ball-tip writing instruments and balls therefor

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US3166050A true US3166050A (en) 1965-01-19

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US29608A Expired - Lifetime US3166050A (en) 1959-05-19 1960-05-17 Ball-tip writing instrument and ball therefor

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US (1) US3166050A (US07223432-20070529-C00017.png)
CH (1) CH368731A (US07223432-20070529-C00017.png)
DE (1) DE1256110B (US07223432-20070529-C00017.png)
GB (1) GB935646A (US07223432-20070529-C00017.png)
NL (1) NL251732A (US07223432-20070529-C00017.png)

Cited By (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5868511A (en) * 1994-09-16 1999-02-09 Mitsubishi Pencil Kabushiki Kaisha Non-aqueous ink for ball point pen and ball point pen
US6299376B1 (en) * 1999-09-13 2001-10-09 Sakura Color Products Corporation Ball-point pen
US20030225352A1 (en) * 2000-09-29 2003-12-04 Beiersdorf Ag Container with integrated massage device
WO2006032217A1 (en) * 2004-09-22 2006-03-30 Ziad Al-Khazraji A ball of a pen tip
US20070054590A1 (en) * 2005-08-24 2007-03-08 Schmidt Christopher B Photo-chromic toys
US20070128972A1 (en) * 2005-11-23 2007-06-07 Schmidt Christopher B Photo-chromic and phosphorescent toys
US7547109B2 (en) 2005-09-02 2009-06-16 Shoot The Moon Products Ii, Llc Photo-chromic material application apparatus
CN104309356A (zh) * 2014-09-18 2015-01-28 陈俊达 一种防伪签字笔
US8951091B2 (en) 2011-04-06 2015-02-10 Mattel, Inc. Toy vehicle playset and color changing toy vehicle
CN117806472A (zh) * 2023-10-31 2024-04-02 荣耀终端有限公司 笔头、手写笔和电子设备组件

Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2536124A (en) * 1946-10-11 1951-01-02 Bolvin Camille Marian Francois Writing instrument
US2557563A (en) * 1947-10-09 1951-06-19 Anne E Reed Ball point pen
US2847975A (en) * 1953-12-10 1958-08-19 Parker Pen Co Writing instrument
US2847751A (en) * 1955-06-13 1958-08-19 Paper Mate Mfg Co Method of making a ball for ball point pen
US2850618A (en) * 1952-09-11 1958-09-02 Sparcatron Ltd Apparatus for cutting and working electrically conductive materials
US2939941A (en) * 1957-03-20 1960-06-07 Heerschap Matthys Eroding of hard crystalline carbon

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US720705A (en) * 1902-11-22 1903-02-17 John La Burt Marking-pen.
FR935742A (fr) * 1946-10-11 1948-06-29 Stylographe perfectionné à bille traçante, procédé et machine pour son montage
FR1003947A (fr) * 1949-11-04 1952-03-24 Perfectionnement aux stylos à bille
FR1090572A (fr) * 1953-09-19 1955-03-31 Billes pour stylographes à bille

Patent Citations (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2536124A (en) * 1946-10-11 1951-01-02 Bolvin Camille Marian Francois Writing instrument
US2557563A (en) * 1947-10-09 1951-06-19 Anne E Reed Ball point pen
US2850618A (en) * 1952-09-11 1958-09-02 Sparcatron Ltd Apparatus for cutting and working electrically conductive materials
US2847975A (en) * 1953-12-10 1958-08-19 Parker Pen Co Writing instrument
US2847751A (en) * 1955-06-13 1958-08-19 Paper Mate Mfg Co Method of making a ball for ball point pen
US2939941A (en) * 1957-03-20 1960-06-07 Heerschap Matthys Eroding of hard crystalline carbon

Cited By (16)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5868511A (en) * 1994-09-16 1999-02-09 Mitsubishi Pencil Kabushiki Kaisha Non-aqueous ink for ball point pen and ball point pen
US6299376B1 (en) * 1999-09-13 2001-10-09 Sakura Color Products Corporation Ball-point pen
US20030225352A1 (en) * 2000-09-29 2003-12-04 Beiersdorf Ag Container with integrated massage device
US20080080924A1 (en) * 2004-09-22 2008-04-03 Ziad Al-Khazraji Ball Of A Pen Tip
WO2006032217A1 (en) * 2004-09-22 2006-03-30 Ziad Al-Khazraji A ball of a pen tip
CN100526095C (zh) * 2004-09-22 2009-08-12 齐亚德·阿尔-哈兹拉吉 笔尖球珠
US7465117B2 (en) * 2004-09-22 2008-12-16 Ziad Al-Khazraji Ball of a pen tip
US20070054590A1 (en) * 2005-08-24 2007-03-08 Schmidt Christopher B Photo-chromic toys
US20070054594A1 (en) * 2005-08-24 2007-03-08 Schmidt Christopher B Photo-chromic doll playsets, photo-chromic toy vehicle playsets and activation light projectors
US7547109B2 (en) 2005-09-02 2009-06-16 Shoot The Moon Products Ii, Llc Photo-chromic material application apparatus
US20070128972A1 (en) * 2005-11-23 2007-06-07 Schmidt Christopher B Photo-chromic and phosphorescent toys
US8684784B2 (en) * 2005-11-23 2014-04-01 Shoot The Moon Products Ii, Llc Photo-chromic and phosphorescent toys
USRE46687E1 (en) * 2005-11-23 2018-01-30 Shoot The Moon Products Ii, Llc Photo-chromic and phosphorescent toys
US8951091B2 (en) 2011-04-06 2015-02-10 Mattel, Inc. Toy vehicle playset and color changing toy vehicle
CN104309356A (zh) * 2014-09-18 2015-01-28 陈俊达 一种防伪签字笔
CN117806472A (zh) * 2023-10-31 2024-04-02 荣耀终端有限公司 笔头、手写笔和电子设备组件

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NL251732A (US07223432-20070529-C00017.png)
CH368731A (fr) 1963-04-15
DE1256110B (de) 1967-12-07
GB935646A (en) 1963-09-04

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