US962053A - Fountain-pen attachment. - Google Patents

Description

0. VON ROTTENBURG. FOUNTAIN PEN ATTACHMENT.

APILIOATIOH FILED JAN. 31, 1910.

Patented June 21, 1910.

mmsmu 0 cv mam OTTO VON ROTTENBURG, OF FRANKFORT-ON-THE-MAIN, GERMANY.

FOUNTAIN-PEN ATTACHMENT.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 31, 1910.

Patented June 21, 1910. Serial No. 541,133.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO VON ROTTEN- BURG, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, residing at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F ountain-Pen Attachments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in fountain pens and particularly to a means whereby leakage of ink, due either to evaporation, capillarity, or otherwise, may be prevented from lodging upon that portion of of the pen barrel which is grasped by the fingers.

The invention consists in certain specific novel features of construction hereinafter fully described and claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an elevation of one end of the pen holder to which is attached the pen protecting cap, the latter being in section; Fig. 2 is a perspective View of the protector thimble detached, partly in section; Fig. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal section of the protector thimble, showing its manner of construction; Fig. 41 is an illustration of a suitable tool which may be employed in the manner hereinafter described.

Throughout the following description and on the several figures of the drawings similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

At 10 is indicated a pen holder or barrel, which may be of any well-known or approved construction. 11 indicates the pen point, and 12 indicates the feeder. Such parts however do not constitute in themselves any part of my present invention.

The cap 13 is or may be substantially similar to the caps now commonly used for the purpose of protecting the pen point, and pen point when the pen is not in use. The cap 13 fits upon the pen end of the holder for the purpose of protecting the pen oint, and as is usual it may be placed upon the upper end of the pen holder while the pen is being used.

It is well-known that a common source of annoyance in the use of a fountain pen lies in the fact that ink will find its way out past the end of the pen point and eventually come into contact with that portion of the pen holder to which the cap 13 is fitted, such portion being usually the portion of the pen holder grasped by the fingers during the use of the pen. In order to prevent such ink from adhering to the pen holder and thereby subsequently soil the fingers I provide a suitable guard or wiper 14, in the form of a thimble and of suflicient size and shape to fit snugly into the cap 13. The inner surface of the thimble may be of any suitable form, but preferably is made to conform to the form of the adjacent end of the holder. The thimble may be made of any suitable absorbent material, and as indicated in Fig. 8 I prefer to construct it of laminae, the outermost layer a of which should be comparatively stiff and hard so that the thimble may have the required frictional connection with the cap to prevent accidental displacement thereof from the cap and also to in sure the proper gripping of the cap with the pen holder through the inner end portion of the thimble, indicated at b. The inner portion or laminae c of the thimble are preferably made of softer material, possessing better absorbent qualities than the harder shell a. The thimble is intended to be held firmly connected to the cap during ordinary usage. The connection between the thimble and cap will be accomplished by friction between them, and if desired the friction may be increased by the provision of a rib or set of projections 15 extending around the outer surface of the thimble intermediate of its ends, said rib or projections extending into and cooperating with a groove 13 formed on the inner surface of the cap. Said groove may be formed on the caps now in existence by a simple milling operation, and with respect to caps undergoing original manufacture the grooves may be formed in any suitable manner.

It is to be noted that the thimbles 14: may be cheaply manufactured in large quantities and when one thimble has become useless by absorption of ink it may readily be removed from the cap 13 by any suitable means and a fresh one put into its place. In Fig. 4 is shown a suggestion of a convenient tool for the purpose indicated. This consists of a piece of strong metal 16 bent upon itself at the middle and with its points bent outwardly from each other forming angles with the main portions of the device. When the tool is grasped with the thumb and finger and compressed so as to bring the points close together, as indicated in dotted lines, it may be introduced through the thimble and upon release thereof the points will spring outwardly from each other and engage the inner end of the thimble. A pull upon the looped end of the device will then serve to withdraw the thimble from the cap.

It is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to any particular materials in carrying out this invention, and that the form and proportions of the parts may be varied to a considerable extent within the spirit thereof.

I claim:

1. In a fountain pen, the combination with a pen barrel and a pen point carried thereby, of a cap to inclose said pen point and adjacent end of the barrel, and an absorbenthollow cylindrical thimble within the cap and conforming to the inclosed end of the barrel, the grip of the cap upon the pen barrel operating solely through the said thimble.

2. In a fountain pen, the combination with a pen barrel and a pen point carried thereby,

of a cap to inclose and protect the pen point, and an absorbent thimble snugly fitted into and carried by the cap and adapted to extend between the cap and the adjacent end of the barrel, said thimble being formed of laminae of varying densities.

3. In a fountain pen, the combination with a pen barrel and a pen point carried thereby, of a cap to inclose and protect said pen point, and a thimble of absorbent material fitted within the cap and constituting the gripping surface to retain the cap upon the barrel, said cap and thimble being provided with a rib and cooperating groove to strengthen the connection between them.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OTTO VON ROTTENBURG.

Witnesses:

G. L. BEELER, ARTHUR L. BRYANT.

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