WRITING INSTRUMENT

Abstract

A writing instrument with an operating side, with a writing side with a nib, with a tank which can be filled with liquid writing medium, with a piston, which is movable within the tank, and with an operating element arranged on the operating side for axial adjustment of the piston within the tank. The writing instrument is characterized in that the operating element can be brought by a user from a first axial position, namely an idle position, in which it is held axially in position in particular with locking, into a second axial position which differs axially from the idle position, namely an operating position, in which the operating element has a larger distance to the nib in comparison with the idle position and in which the operating element can be gripped by the user and moved for the axial adjustment of the piston.

Claims

1. A writing instrument with an operating side, with a writing side with a nib, with a tank which can be filled with liquid writing medium, with a piston, which is movable within the tank, and with an operating element arranged on the operating side for axial adjustment of the piston within the tank, wherein the operating element can be brought by a user from a first axial position, namely an idle position, in which it is held axially in position in particular with locking, into a second axial position which differs axially from the idle position, namely an operating position, in which the operating element has a larger distance to the nib in comparison with the idle position and in which the operating element (20) can be gripped by the user and moved for the axial adjustment of the piston.

2. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating element is a push button which can be moved by a user by actuation thereof, namely by application of compressive forces on it, firstly from the idle position in the direction of the writing side, and which thereafter can be moved or is moved into the operating position in particular by spring forces of a spring element of the writing instrument in the opposite direction.

3. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating element is immersed at least partially into an interior of the writing instrument, while another or the remaining part of the operating element in the idle position protrudes out of the writing instrument.

4. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating element in the operating position is immersed partially in a or the above-mentioned interior of the writing instrument, while the remaining part of the operating element protrudes out of the writing instrument.

5. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating element is formed rotatably for axial adjustment of the piston, is operatively connected in a rotationally fixed manner to a first spindle body, which also rotates during rotation of the operating element, of a spindle arrangement, which interacts with the piston, the spindle arrangement being formed in such a manner that a rotation of the first spindle body brings about an axial movement of the piston.

6. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 5, wherein the spindle arrangement has a second spindle body, having a thread which engages in a corresponding thread of the first spindle body which is operatively connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the operating element.

7. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first spindle body is a sleeve with an internal thread or a threaded spindle connected integrally to the piston with an external thread.

8. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 6, wherein the second spindle body is a threaded spindle with an external thread or a sleeve, with an internal thread.

9. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating element is mounted axially displaceably relative to the piston so that the piston is not also axially moved in the case of axial movements of the operating element between the idle position and the operating position.

10. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the writing instrument has a control unit which interacts with the operating element and is formed in such a manner that the operating element can be unlocked starting from its idle position, in which it is (axially) locked, by actuating the operating element, and/or is formed in such a manner that the operating element can be moved into the idle position starting from the operating position by actuating the operating element and can be locked in the idle position.

11. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 10, wherein the control unit has a first locking means, which, in the idle position of the operating element, for locking of the operating element, interacts with a second locking means.

12. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switch curve having a heart-shaped region is movable relative to the first locking means.

13. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 11, wherein the first locking means is mounted in an axially fixed manner.

14. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switch curve is connected to the operating element in a rotationally and axially fixed manner and/or is a component of the operating element or the switch curve is arranged fixed on the housing.

15. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 11, wherein the switch curve is arranged on the outside of the operating element and has a switch curve portion which adjoins the heart-shaped region and is connected thereto, in which switch curve portion one end of a connecting channel is located which connects the outside of the operating element to an inside thereof which delimits an interior of the operating element and the dimensions of which are formed in such a manner that the ball can be moved from the inside to the outside by it during assembly of the writing instrument.

16. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 15, wherein the end of the connecting channel is arranged in a sub-portion of the switch curve portion, toward which the ball cannot be moved by the relative movement by actuating the operating element of the (assembled) writing instrument.

17. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 1, wherein the operating element is guided in the housing of the writing instrument axially by at least one guide.

18. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 17, wherein the guide part is connected to the operating element in a rotationally and axially fixed manner or is a component thereof and the axial guide channel is arranged in an axially fixed manner in the housing of the writing instrument, or the axial guide channel is connected to the operating element in a rotationally and axially fixed manner or is a component of the operating element and the guide part is arranged in an axially fixed manner in the housing of the writing instrument.

19. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 17, wherein the axial guide channel or the guide part is a component of a driver component formed as a sleeve.

20. The writing instrument as claimed in claim 19, wherein the driver component formed as a sleeve sits externally on the first spindle body formed as a sleeve.

Description

[0039] In the drawings:

[0040] FIG. 1 shows a writing instrument according to the invention in a longitudinal section with an operating element located in an idle position for movement of the piston of the writing instrument,

[0041] FIG. 2 shows the writing instrument from FIG. 1, the operating element being located in an overstroke position, immediately after application of a compressive force on the operating element by an operator,

[0042] FIG. 3 shows the writing instrument from FIG. 1, the operating element being located in an operating position,

[0043] FIG. 4 shows the writing instrument in the state according to FIG. 1, but in a longitudinal section rotated by 90?,

[0044] FIG. 5 shows an enlarged representation of the region V in FIG. 4,

[0045] FIG. 6 shows the writing instrument in the state according to FIG. 3, but in a longitudinal section rotated by 90?,

[0046] FIG. 7 shows an enlarged representation of the region VII in FIG. 6.

[0047] The drawings show by way of example as a writing instrument 10 according to the invention a piston fountain pen, which is partially only schematically represented, with a tank 11 fixedly integrated therein and a piston 12 arranged longitudinally-axially displaceably therein.

[0048] It will be obvious that the invention is not restricted to such writing instruments. On the contrary. the invention encompasses all types of writing instruments which have a tank with a piston with or for writing medium, such as ink or other liquids which are used for writing.

[0049] The tank 11 furthermore of course does not have to be installed fixedly in the writing instrument 10 as in the case of so-called piston fountain pens. On the contrary, it could also be removable, possibly together with other components of the writing instrument 10, as is the case, for example, with so-called converter fountain pens.

[0050] The writing instrument 10 represented in the drawings comprises at its writing side or at its front end a nib 13 which is formed in the present case, for example, by the tip of a pen.

[0051] The nib 13 forms the front end of a writing unit 14, otherwise only represented schematically, of the writing instrument 10 which is in turn part of a writing part 15 of the writing instrument 10 which has, in addition to the writing unit 14, a front (outer) housing part 17 of a multi-part housing 16 of the writing instrument 10 which serves as a grip and is or can be correspondingly gripped by a user during writing.

[0052] The writing unit 14 is supplied with liquid writing medium, in the present case ink, which is located in the tank 11. The writing medium is conducted in a familiar manner via ink-conducting channels, etc. of the writing unit 14 to the nib 13 of the pen. According to the invention, the precise formation of the writing unit 14 is not important.

[0053] The liquid writing medium is, before the writing instrument 10 can be used for writing, brought in the course of a filling process from an external container, into which the nib 13 is dipped during the filling process, by means of a vacuum into the tank 11.

[0054] For this purpose, the writing instrument 10 has at its rear end or at its operating side, as an elongation of a central housing part 18 of the housing 16, a rear housing part 19 in which an operating element 20 is arranged or mounted in an axially movable manner. The operating element 20 serves in general terms to be able to move the piston 12 inside the tank 11 in a suitable manner from front to rear or from the writing side to the operating side during filling of the tank 11 in order to thus be able to generate the corresponding vacuum in the tank 11 which then leads in a familiar manner to the writing medium flowing via the nib 13 or the writing unit 14 into the tank 11.

[0055] In the present case, the operating element 20 is formed as a push button which can be pushed in the direction of the writing side by a user from a first axial position shown in FIG. 1, in which the operating element 20 is axially held with locking and is partially immersed into the interior of the housing 16 or in the present case of the rear housing part 19, cf. the position of the operating element 20 in FIG. 2.

[0056] As soon as the user lets go of the operating element 20 or no longer applies any compressive forces in the direction of the writing side, the forces of a spring element 33 which is supported in the rear housing part 19 ensure that the operating element 20 is moved into a second axial position, in which the (axial) distance of the operating element 20 from the writing side or from the nib 13 is larger than in its first axial position.

[0057] The first axial position corresponds to an idle position of the operating element 20, in which the operating element 20 is immersed so far into the housing 16 or the rear housing part 19 that the still protruding part thereof is so short that the operating element 20 in the present case cannot be gripped by a user or only with great difficulty such that accidental operating errors are largely ruled out. The operating element 20 in its idle position is preferably immersed at least over ? of its length into the corresponding interior of the rear building part 19. Less than 3 mm of the operating element 20 likewise preferably protrudes axially out of the rear housing part 19.

[0058] In contrast, the second axial position corresponds to an operating position of the operating element 20 in which the operating element 20 protrudes so far out of the rear housing part 19 that a user can comfortably grip and operate it in order to be able to correspondingly comfortably move the piston 12 axially in the tank 11 by movement thereof.

[0059] The operating element 20 in this operating position is preferably immersed at least over ? of its length into the corresponding interior of the rear building part 19. More than 5 mm of the operating element 20 likewise preferably protrudes axially out of the rear housing part 19.

[0060] It will be obvious that other advantageous dimensions or length ratios are also conceivable, cf. in particular the introduction to the description.

[0061] In the present exemplary embodiment, the operating element 20 is formed to be rotatable and is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to a first spindle body 21 of a spindle arrangement 22 both in the idle position and in the operating position, and indeed via a sleeve-like drive component 26 which is connected to the first spindle body 21 in a rotationally and axially fixed manner.

[0062] It will, however, be obvious that it is not essential that the operating element 20 is connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the first spindle body 21 even in the idle position. Solutions are also conceivable in the case of which the rotationally fixed connection is only ensured in the operating position. For example, when using a suitable coupling between operating element 20 and first spindle body 21 which produces a rotationally fixed connection only in the operating position, but not in the idle position.

[0063] The operating element 20 in turn is on one hand connected in a rotationally fixed manner to the driver component 26, on the other hand, however, mounted longitudinally displaceably thereon such that the axial movements of the operating element 20 relative to the driver component 26 do not lead to axial movements of the driver component 26 and correspondingly also not to axial movements of the first spindle body 21.

[0064] This in the present case in that in each case one of two guide parts 31 of the operating element 20 are arranged or mounted longitudinally displaceably, but in a rotationally fixed manner in in each case one of two assigned axial guide channels 32 (in the present case a guide groove) which fits the transverse dimensions of the respective guide part 31, namely having only slightly wider or only slightly larger transverse dimensions.

[0065] The first spindle body 21 is formed in the present case as a sleeve with an internal thread 23 which interacts with the external thread 25 of a second spindle body 24 of the spindle arrangement 22, namely in the present case of a threaded spindle. In this case, a rotation of the first spindle body brings about an axial movement of the piston 12, and indeed depending on the direction of rotation either to the rear, i.e. to the operating side, or in the opposite direction forward, i.e. to the writing side.

[0066] The writing instrument 10 furthermore has a control unit 27 which ensures among other things that the operating element 20 in the idle position is held axially in position or is correspondingly axially locked in this position.

[0067] For this purpose, the control unit 27 comprises in the present case among other things a first locking means, namely a ball 28, which interacts with a second locking means, namely a locking portion 29a of a switch curve 29 of the control unit 27, in which the ball 28 is guided or into which the ball 28 engages.

[0068] The ball 28 is mounted in an axially fixed manner in a transverse-axial plane, namely in an annular guide channel fixed on the housing, namely an annular groove 30 in the rear housing part 19 in which it can move circumferentially.

[0069] In the present exemplary embodiment, the switch curve 29 of the control unit 27 is a component of the operating element 20, on the outside of which this is arranged. It will, however, be obvious that there are various other variants to arrange such a switch curve 29 in the writing instrument 10. Among other things, it could also be arranged fixed on the housing, for example, on the inside of the rear housing part 19 or on one side of a separate sleeve or the like.

[0070] The switch curve 29 is formed to be substantially heart-shaped or has a heart-shaped region, wherein the locking portion 29a forms a sub-portion thereof. The ball 28 comes to lie in this locking portion 29a, while the operating element 20 is located in the idle position, cf. FIGS. 4 and 5

[0071] The locking portion 29a interacts with the ball 28 in such a manner that a pressure actuation of the operating element 20 and a transfer brought about as a result of this of the operating element into the operating element position shown in FIG. 2 releases the locking or enables an unlocking of the operating element 20. In this case, the ball 28 moves out of the locking portion 29a and is guided along a or the switch curve portion 29b which accompanies the unlocking and enables the axial movement described above of the operating element 20 into the extended position or the operating position, cf. FIG. 3 in which the rotational movements for the axial adjustment of the piston 12 can then be performed in a comfortable manner.

[0072] If the operating element 20 in the operating position of FIG. 3 is once again pressure-actuated by the operator after filling of the piston, i.e. is acted upon with pressure in the direction of the writing side, the ball 28 is guided along the switch curve portion 29c, which then as a result transfers the ball 28 back into the locking portion 29a and correspondingly locks the operating element again, cf. FIG. 1.

[0073] Yet another switch curve portion 29d is apparent from FIGS. 4 and 5 which is linked to or adjoins the heart-shaped region and is connected thereto. There is located in the switch curve portion 29d an end of a connecting channel, not shown, which connects the outside of the operating element 20 to an inside thereof which delimits the interior of the operating element 20 and the dimensions of which are formed in such a manner that the ball 28 can be moved from the inside to the outside by it during assembly of the writing instrument 10.

[0074] The switch curve portion 29d is positioned so that the ball 28 cannot be moved by actuation of the operating element 20 of the (assembled) writing instrument 10 toward it, but rather the ball 28 is moved by it only once during the assembly of the writing instrument 10. As a result of this, the ball 28 is prevented from accidentally reaching the inside of the operating element 20 during operation of the writing instrument 10 through the connecting channel, as a result of which the control unit 27 would become inoperative.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

[0075] 10 Writing instrument [0076] 11 Tank [0077] 12 Piston [0078] 13 Nib [0079] 14 Writing unit [0080] 15 Writing part [0081] 16 Housing [0082] 17 Front housing part [0083] 18 Central housing part [0084] 19 Rear housing part [0085] 20 Operating element [0086] 21 First spindle body [0087] 22 Spindle arrangement [0088] 23 Internal thread first spindle body [0089] 24 Second spindle body [0090] 25 External thread [0091] 26 Driver component [0092] 27 Control unit [0093] 28 Ball [0094] 29 Switch curve [0095] 29a Locking portion [0096] 29b Switch curve portion [0097] 29c Switch curve portion [0098] 29d Switch curve portion [0099] 30 Annular guide channel [0100] 31 Guide parts