WO2011092101A1

WO2011092101A1 - Writing instrument having a grip piece

Info

Publication number: WO2011092101A1
Application number: PCT/EP2011/050723
Authority: WO
Inventors: Martin Kuhn; Helmut Flaig
Original assignee: Gebr. Schmidt Fabrik für Feinmechanik GmbH & Co. KG
Priority date: 2010-01-29
Filing date: 2011-01-20
Publication date: 2011-08-04
Also published as: EP2528749A1; DE102010007024B4; CN102712208A; CN102712208B; DE102010007024A1

Abstract

A writing instrument (10) comprises a grip piece (12) in which a writing cartridge (25) is accommodated in a longitudinally displaceable manner, which writing cartridge, in one of its two end positions, projects with its tip (28) from the lower end (16) of the grip piece (12), a mechanism (30), comprising a first control curve (39) and a second control curve (41), for latching the writing cartridge (25) in the two end positions, a push button (24), via which the mechanism (30) is actuated, and a resilient clip (34), which is disposed in the region of the push button (24). On the grip piece (12) there is captively fixed a preferably one-piece actuating part (19), which is displaceable relative to the grip piece (12) in the longitudinal direction (21) thereof and on which the push button (24), the clip (34) and one of the two control curves (39, 41) are configured (Fig. 1).

Description

Writing instrument having a grip piece

The present invention relates to a writing instrument, said writing instrument having a grip piece in which grip piece a writing cartridge is accommodated in a longitudinally displaceable manner, which writing cartridge, in one of its two end positions, projects with its tip from a lower end of the grip piece, having a mechanism, said mechanism comprising a first control curve and a second control curve, for latching the writing cartridge in the two end positions, having a push button, via which the mechanism is actuated, and, where appropriate, having a resilient clip which is disposed in the region of the push button.

Writing instruments of this type are generally known from the prior art. Document US 5,152,626 discloses a high-quality writing instrument having a tubular housing extending from the front tip to the push button at the rear end. Within the housing a guide member and cam member are arranged, the push button being provided at the rear end of the cam member. A pocket clip is arranged at the housing and guided with its upper end in a guide slot of the cam member, and with its lower end on a projection of the guide member.

A writing cartridge is inserted into the known writing instrument from its front tip end and clamped between a shoulder of the cam member and a front piece which is screwed into the front end of the housing.

A first control curve is provided on the cam member, and a second control curve is arranged on the guide member with a ball running in both curves.

By pressing the push button, the tip of the cartridge is moved out of the front piece and latched in this extended position by means of the control curves and the ball. Simultaneously, the clip is moved parallel to the housing and inwards such that a pocketing protection is provided. Pushing the button again leads to retraction of the tip of the cartridge into the housing and of movement of the clip in radial outwards direction.

The known writing instrument is comprised of many different parts that need high accuracy manufacturing to ensure the interrelationship thereof. Further, the exchange of the cartridge is cumbersome, it requires unscrewing the front piece, removing the used cartridge, inserting a new one, and screwing the front piece on again.

Apart from such high-quality writing instruments, there is a need, in particular, for cheap writing instruments which are easy and cheap to produce, yet are configured such that they are visually appealing. Above all, the writing instruments should allow the exchange of writing cartridges, which exchange should be easily possible. Document DE 201 20 684 Ul discloses such a writing instrument which is made from one piece. The writing instrument comprises a tubular housing having integral therewith a spring tongue that interconnects the housing with a cap.

The writing cartridge is inserted from behind into the known writing instrument by moving the cap laterally away from the shaft. When the cartridge is inserted, the cap is moved over the upper end of the writing cartridge.

The instrument is actuated by pushing the cap such that the cap is latched within the housing. By pushing the cap again it is freed from the housing and the writing cartridge is retracted into the housing by the action of a helical spring arranged in the tip of the housing.

This writing instrument is very simple in design and lacks from a good appearance. Further, the spring tongue serves two function and, therefore, these functions are not reliable.

Document DE 20 2005 019 829 Ul discloses a writing instrument having a tubular shaft for receiving a writing cartridge that has a helical spring arranged on its small tip. When the cartridge is inserted into the housing, a cap is screwed onto the housing such that the writing cartridge is confined between the helical spring and the cap.

Within the cap there is a stepped shoulder that interacts with the upper end of the cartridge in its two axial positions.

To bring the cartridge from one axial position in the other, it is moved by the user through two opposing openings in the housing shaft. Thus, the cartridge is tilted from one position into the other by pressing on the shell surface of the cartridge through one opening or the other within the housing shaft. Exchanging the cartridge needs unscrewing of the cap. Further, the actuation of this writing instrument is quite unusual and unfamiliar. Last, it is uncomfortable to operate the writing instrument through the two lateral openings within the housing.

Still further, the cartridge is not confined or latched in its two axial positions with a sufficient reliability.

The present invention relates to a cheap writing instrument which, in particular, can also be used together with ink cartridges.

With ink cartridges of this type, there is now the danger that, when the writing instrument is placed with extended writing cartridge into the shirt pocket, for instance, and makes contact there with the material, the ink cartridges leak due to the capillary effect.

In order to prevent this, known writing instruments are equipped with a so-called pocketing protection, which, when a writing instrument is inserted with still extended writing cartridge, for instance, triggers a mechanism which makes the writing cartridge snap back automatically into the rest position.

Within the scope of the present invention, "writing cartridge" means a commercially available cartridge without thread or latching unit, as is frequently used in the cheap writing instruments which are under discussion. The writing cartridge is generally used together with a compression spring, which is disposed on the front, slimmer end of the writing cartridge and pretensions the writing cartridge against the push button.

This mechanism for latching the writing cartridge in the two end positions is an arrangement (known per se) consisting of a ball, which acts as a locking body, and a second part, which is displaceable in the longitudinal direction of the writing instrument in relation to a first part. One of these two parts bears a generally heart- shaped first control curve, in which the ball runs. The other part bears a second control curve, in which the ball likewise runs.

If the two parts are displaced relative to each other in the longitudinal direction, which is realized by actuation of the push button, then the ball brings about an alternate latching of the two parts one against the other in the two axial end positions. One of the two parts is here connected to the writing cartridge, the other to the writing instrument.

A mechanism of this type has been known per se for many years from the prior art, so that it is not described in detail within the scope of the present application.

In the region of the push button a clip can be arranged, which clip serves to hold the writing instrument on a thin medium, such as, for instance, a card, a shirt pocket or a writing case.

It is known to design clips of this type either such that they are self-sprung or spring- loaded. Self-sprung clips are made of an elastic or resilient material, whilst spring- loaded clips are fastened, for example by a helical spring, to the housing of the writing instrument, so that they can be tilted as a whole.

Within the scope of the present invention, "lower end" is used to denote the region on the front tip of the writing instrument where the writing cartridge projects from the grip piece and the grip piece is gripped by the user. The term "front end" is used synonymously.

Accordingly, within the scope of the present invention, "upper end" denotes the region of the writing instrument which is remote from the lower end, where the push button and, in the present case also the clip, is disposed. The term "rear end" is used synonymously. Within the scope of the present invention, the designations "at the bottom" and "at the top" are based on the normal writing posture for the writing instrument. Hence "from the bottom" means the direction pointing from the lower to the upper end and "from the top" means the direction pointing from the upper to the lower end.

In view of the above statements, it is an object of the present invention to provide a writing instrument of the type mentioned at the outset, which is constructed in simple design, can be easily and cheaply produced and yet allows reliable actuation and use, as well as, preferably, a simple exchange of the writing cartridge.

With the writing instrument mentioned at the outset, this object is achieved according to the invention by the fact that on the grip piece there is captively fixed a preferably one-piece actuating part, which is displaceable relative to the grip piece in the longitudinal direction thereof and on which the push button, the possibly present clip and one of the two control curves are arranged.

The object underlying the invention is in this way fully achieved.

The new writing instrument is of very simple construction; it substantially consists of the grip piece and the actuating part, a displacement of the actuating part in the longitudinal direction simultaneously transporting the writing cartridge. The actuating part can be produced in one piece as an injection moulded part, is thus very cheap to produce. The assembly of the new writing instrument is also greatly simplified.

It is herein preferred if the actuating part comprises at its front end a shaft, which is fixed displaceably on the grip piece, has at its rear end a cap, in which the writing cartridge is supported by its upper end, and has a bow region, which is arranged outside of the grip piece and connects the cap to the shaft and on which the possibly present clip is disposed. This measure is advantageous in design terms.

It is further preferred if the bow region is resilient by design, so that the cap can be deflected sideways out of the longitudinal direction.

In the case of this measure, it is advantageous that the exchanging of the writing cartridge does not require the new writing instrument to be dismantled, but rather the writing cartridge is merely pushed sufficiently far forward in the writing instrument that it comes free from the cap at the rear. After this, the cap is deflected sideways and the writing cartridge is removed to the rear. A new writing cartridge can then be inserted in the same way.

This innovative configuration of the writing instrument thus allows the writing cartridge to be exchanged without dismantling of the writing instrument or unscrewing and/or detachment of even just one part of the writing instrument.

In view of the above, the present invention also relates to a writing instrument of the type mentioned at the outset, in which on the grip piece is fixed a displaceable actuating part, which has at its front end a shaft, which is fixed displaceably on the grip piece, and comprises at its rear end a cap, in which the writing cartridge is supported by its upper end, the cap being fastened to the shaft in such a way that, for the exchange of the writing cartridge, it can be deflected sideways out of the longitudinal direction.

This new writing instrument, too, allows the above-described exchange of the writing cartridge without the writing instrument having to be dismantled. The actuating part can here be constructed from a single material, preferably in one piece, or from different materials in order thus to be able to provide the desired deflection function according to requirement. In one embodiment, a compression spring is arranged captively in the grip piece, beneath the shaft.

In the case of this measure, it is it is advantageous that the compression spring also is held captively in the grip piece, so that the compression spring cannot get lost when the writing cartridge is exchanged.

It is further preferred if the possibly present clip extends in the longitudinal direction of the writing instrument in such a way that its tip is received by the grip piece when the writing cartridge is extended.

This measure is advantageous in design terms, for it allows a pocketing protection to be ensured in a simple manner. When the writing cartridge is extended, the free end of the clip cannot in fact be raised, since it is locked, for instance, by the grip piece. This can be realized, for instance, by the tip being transported under the grip piece and being thus unable to be grasped from outside, since it is covered by the wall of the grip piece.

Another option for realizing the pocketing protection consists in providing on the grip piece an upwardly open cavity into which the tip is transported, whereupon it is outwardly somewhat flush with the surface of the grip piece. In this case too, the user is unable to grasp the tip in order to raise it.

The user notices this in the attempt to pocket the writing instrument and is thus made aware that he must first retract the cartridge again in order to prevent leaking of the writing cartridge or dirtying of the medium on which the writing instrument is to be held.

In general terms, it is preferred if the cap is adjoined to the front in the longitudinal direction by a bow region, which circumferentially surrounds the writing cartridge only in sections and extends outside of the grip piece, so that the writing cartridge is accessible for manipulations from outside.

It is here advantageous that a manipulation of the writing cartridge which makes it easier to exchange the writing cartridge is possible without further measures.

In addition, it is preferred if a latching mechanism is provided between a shaft of the actuating part and the grip piece, which latching mechanism holds the actuating part in a longitudinally displaceable but captive manner in the grip piece.

This measure is advantageous in design terms and allows, moreover, a simple assembly of the writing instrument.

All in all it is preferred if the clip is resilient by design.

Finally it is preferred if the actuating part has on its shaft and on its bow region, in the region of a tip of the clip, an identical external diameter.

A writing cartridge disposed in the actuating part can thus be easily gripped by its shell surface.

It is here advantageous that a pocketing protection is realized in a constructively simple manner. Since the diameter in the region of the tip of the clip corresponds to the diameter of the shaft, the tip can be pushed under the wall of the grip piece, since there, of course, the shaft is displaceable and so the internal diameter is sufficient to receive the tip.

The actuating part here has a bow region lying above of the grip piece and in which there is provided a lateral opening which extends circumferentially over at least 180°.

Further advantages emerge from the description and the appended drawing. Self-evidently, the above-stated features and the features which are yet to be explained below are usable not only in the respectively stated combination, but also in other combinations or in isolation, without departing from the scope of the present invention.

An embodiment of the present invention is represented in the drawing and is explained in greater detail in the following description, wherein:

Fig. 1 shows the new writing instrument with unextended writing cartridge, wherein the writing instrument is represented at the top in Fig. 1 in schematic side view and at the bottom in Fig. 1 in schematic sectional representation along the plane A- A;

Fig. 2 shows a schematic lateral representation of the writing instrument from

Fig. 1, yet with extended writing cartridge, wherein at the top in Fig. 2 a side view and at the bottom in Fig. 2 a corresponding sectional representation is shown;

Fig. 3 shows the writing instrument as at the top in Fig. 1, yet with cap deflected laterally out of the longitudinal direction and with partially extracted writing cartridge;

Fig. 4 shows individual parts of the writing instrument from Figures 1 to 3 in schematic top view; and

Fig. 5 shows individual parts of the writing instrument from Figures 1 to 3 in schematic side view.

In Fig. 1, a writing instrument 10 is shown at the top in schematic side view, which writing instrument is represented at the bottom in Fig. 1 in the section along the plane A-A. The representation in the figures is schematic and should not be regarded as true-to-scale.

The writing instrument 10 comprises a grip piece 12, which is provided on its outer side with grip recesses 14 and a fluting 15 to enable the writing instrument 10 to be easily gripped.

At its tip 16, the grip piece 12 has an opening 17, from which projects, in a known manner, the tip of a writing cartridge when this has been extended. At its upper end 18 remote from the tip 16, the grip piece 12 has projecting out of it a one-piece actuating part 19, which is mounted in the grip piece 12 such that it is displaceable along the longitudinal direction (indicated at 21) of the writing instrument 10, yet is held captive.

The actuating part 19 has a front shaft 22, which is guided at least partially in the grip piece 12. In Fig. 1, the shaft 22 is adjoined to the right, i.e. upwards when the writing instrument 10 is in the usage position, by a bow region 23, which is arranged outside of the grip piece 12 and ends in a cap 24.

Mounted in a longitudinally displaceable manner in the writing instrument 10 is a writing cartridge 25, which in the state represented in Fig. 1 is retracted. The writing cartridge 25 has a cylindrical body 26, which in the bow region 23 is partially discernible from outside and, above all, is accessible for manipulations. This is achieved by virtue of the fact that the bow region 23 circumferentially surrounds the writing cartridge only partially, i.e. is laterally open.

At its upper end 27, the cylindrical body 26 is disposed in the cap 24, whilst it lies with its front, slim tip 28 in the tip 16 of the grip piece 12. Seated on the tip 28 is a compression spring 29, which is supported in a stepped bore 31 inside the tip 16 of the grip piece 12 and forces the writing cartridge 25 upwards, i.e. to the right in Fig. 1, into the cap 24.

The compression spring 29 is thus disposed in the grip piece 12, and beneath the actuating part 19, the compression spring 29 being held captively in the grip piece 12, for instance glued in or clamped in.

In this way, the actuating part 19 in Fig. 1 is also pretensioned to the right by means of the cap 24. It can be displaced to the left counter to the force of the compression spring 29, which movement is also performed by the writing cartridge 25. The cap 24 here acts, therefore, as a push button.

In other words, when the new writing instrument 10 is actuated, the whole of the actuating part 19, together with the writing cartridge 25, is pushed into the grip piece 12 and latched there by means of a mechanism 30, which is merely indicated but is known per se.

In Fig. 2, in a representation comparable to Fig. 1, the writing instrument 10 is shown with extended tip 28.

In this position, the compression spring 29 is further compressed, with the writing cartridge 25 pressing against the cap 24 and thus attempting to force the actuating part 19 back into the position according to Fig. 1.

This is prevented by the mechanism 30, which has two control curves, one of which is disposed inside the grip piece 12 and the other on the outside of the shaft 22, as can be seen at 39, 41 in Fig. 5. Arranged between the two control curves is a ball 32, which acts as a locking body, as already described at the outset. The ball 32 is only discernible at the bottom in Fig. 1. The two control curves are not represented in Figures 1 and 2 for reasons of clarity. In Figures 1 and 2, a latching mechanism 33 can however be seen, which latching mechanism consists of detent cams and detent grooves and, in a manner which is known, prevents the shaft 22 from being able to be fully extracted, to the right, from the grip piece 12.

In Fig. 2, an optionally provided clip 34 is also shown, which clip extends downwards from the cap 24, is bent slightly out and, in Fig. 1, rests with its tip 35 on the cylindrical body 26 of the writing cartridge 25.

In the extended state of the writing cartridge 25, as shown in Fig. 2, the tip 35 of the clip 34, by contrast, is received by the grip piece, in the shown example it lies under the wall of the upper end 18 in the grip piece 12, so that the clip 34 is locked, so to speak, in relation to the grip piece 12. This acts as a pocketing protection, for the clip 34 can only be raised once the writing cartridge 25 is retracted, i.e. assumes the state as in Fig. 1.

The tip 35 can here be transported into the grip piece 12, because, when resting on the writing cartridge 25, it protrudes no further from the writing cartridge 25 than the shaft 22 of the actuating part 19.

This pocketing protection is useful, in particular, if the writing cartridge 25 can leak, in order thus to protect the medium on which the writing instrument is to be held. If, on the other hand, a non-leak-critical writing cartridge 25 is used, the clip 34 can also be dispensed with.

The cap 24 is connected to the shaft 22 by the bow region 23, which comprises two webs 36, which are disposed in the region of the tip 35 and run beside the tip 35 and likewise rest on the writing cartridge 25, or the cylindrical body 26 thereof. Between these webs 36, the tip 35 rests on the writing cartridge. These webs 36 are elastically resilient and hence allow the cap 24 to be laterally deflected out of the longitudinal direction 21, so that the writing cartridge 25 can be removed rearwards from the writing instrument 10, as indicated in Fig. 3.

For this, the writing cartridge 25 must first be displaced in the longitudinal direction 21 counter to the force of the compression spring 29. To this end, the writing cartridge 25 is gripped by that region of its cylindrical body 26 which is not covered by the bow region 23 and is pushed forwards, so that its rear end 27 comes free from the cap 24. The cap 24 can then be bent and the writing cartridge 25 extracted, whereupon the cap 24 lies beside the writing cartridge 25, as shown by Fig. 3.

A simple exchange of the writing cartridge 25 is thereby possible without the writing instrument 10 having to be disassembled or a part of the writing instrument 10 having to be removed therefrom. This change of writing cartridge 25 is regardless of whether the writing instrument is provided with a clip 34.

It is evident from the above description that the new writing instrument 10 consists of just four parts, namely the grip piece 12, the ball 32, the compression spring 29 and the actuating part 19, which latter is produced as a one-piece injection moulded part in the shown embodiment, but can also be built in multipart construction from possibly different materials, wherein plastic and/or metal are possible. A suitable choice of material(s) for the actuating part 19 enables both the cap 24 to be bent sideways and the clip 34 to be raised, which clip is hence self-sprung.

These four parts of the writing instrument 10 are represented in Fig. 4 in top view, wherein, in addition, the writing cartridge 25 is also shown. Fig. 5 shows the grip piece 12 and the actuating part also in side view.

In the top view of Fig. 4, it can be seen how the two webs 36 are situated beside the tip 35 of the clip 34, whilst the side view of Fig. 5 shows that the tip 35 lies at the same height, i.e. on the same circumference, as the shaft 22 of the actuating part 19. In Fig. 5, the external diameter of the shaft 22 and of the bow region 23 on the tip 35 is in each case denoted by 38.

In Fig. 5 it is further shown that an extension 37 is provided on the grip piece 12, under which extension the tip 35 of the clip 34 comes to lie in the state shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 further shows a first control curve 39, which is configured as a heart-shaped curve (known per se) and is provided on the outer side of the shaft 22. Via the ball 32, this first control curve 39 interacts with a second control curve, which is provided on the inside of the grip piece 12 and which in Fig. 5 is shown in dashed representation at 41. The two control curves 39, 41 form together with the ball 32 the mechanism 30 indicated in Fig. 1, via which the actuating part 19 and, with it, the writing cartridge 25 is locked in the two end positions shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.

Finally, in Fig. 5, a detent cam 42 can be seen on the shaft 22, which detent cam is part of the latching mechanism 33 which is shown in Fig. 1 and prevents the shaft 22 from being able to be extracted rightwards from the grip piece.

In Fig. 5, it can also clearly be seen that the bow region 23 has a lateral opening 43 extending circumferentially over more than 180°, so that a writing cartridge 25 disposed in the actuating part 19 can be comfortably gripped by its shell surface.

Claims

1. Writing instrument having a grip piece (12) in which a writing cartridge (25) is accommodated in a longitudinally displaceable manner, which writing cartridge, in one of its two end positions, projects with its tip (28) from the lower end (16) of the grip piece (12), having a mechanism (30), comprising a first control curve (39) and a second control curve (41), for latching the writing cartridge (25) in the two end positions, and having a push button (24), via which the mechanism (30) is actuated, characterized in that on the grip piece (12) there is fixed a displaceable actuating part (19), which has at its front end a shaft (22), which is fixed displace- ably on the grip piece (12), and comprises at its rear end a cap (24), in which the writing cartridge (25) is supported by its upper end (27), the cap (24) being fastened to the shaft (22) in such a way that, for the exchange of the writing cartridge (25), it can be deflected sideways out of the longitudinal direction (21).

2. Writing instrument according to Claim 1, characterized in that the actuating part (19) comprises a bow region (23), which is arranged outside of the grip piece (12) and connects the cap (24) to the shaft (22).

3. Writing instrument according to Claim 2, characterized in that on the grip piece (12) there is captively fixed the preferably one-piece actuating part (19), on which the push button (24) and one of the two control curves (39, 41) are configured.

4. Writing instrument having a grip piece (12) in which a writing cartridge (25) is accommodated in a longitudinally displaceable manner, which writing cartridge, in one of its two end positions, projects with its tip (28) from the lower end (16) of the grip piece (12), having a mechanism (30), comprising a first control curve (39) and a second control curve (41), for latching the writing cartridge (25) in the two end positions, and having a push button (24), via which the mechanism (30) is actuated, characterized in that on the grip piece (12) there is captively fixed a preferably one-piece actuating part (19), which is displaceable relative to the grip piece (12) in the longitudinal direction (21) thereof and on which the push button

(24) and one of the two control curves (39, 41) are configured.

5. Writing instrument according to Claim 4, characterized in that the actuating part (19) comprises at its front end a shaft (22), which is fixed displaceably on the grip piece (12), has at its rear end a cap (24), in which the writing cartridge

(25) is supported by its upper end (27), and comprises a bow region (23), which is arranged outside of the grip piece (12) and connects the cap (24) to the shaft (22).

6. Writing instrument according to anyone of Claims 2, 3 or 5, characterized in that at least the bow region (23) is resilient by design, so that the cap (24) can be deflected sideways out of the longitudinal direction (21).

7. Writing instrument according to anyone of Claims 1 to 6, characterized in that a compression spring (29) is arranged captively in the grip piece (12), beneath the shaft (22).

8. Writing instrument according to anyone of Claims 2 to 7, characterized in that the cap (24) is adjoined to the front in the longitudinal direction (21) by a bow region (23) which extends outside of the grip piece (12) and circumfer- entially surrounds the writing cartridge (25) only in sections, so that the writing cartridge (25) is accessible for manipulations from outside.

9. Writing instrument according to anyone of Claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a latching mechanism (33) is provided between a shaft (22) of the actuating part (19) and the grip piece (12), which latching mechanism holds the actuating part (19) in a longitudinally displaceable but captive manner in the grip piece (12).

10. Writing instrument according to one of Claims 1 to 9, characterized in that a resilient clip (34) is provided, which resilient clip is disposed in the region of the push button (24) on the actuating part (19), preferably on the bow region (23).

11. Writing instrument according to Claim 10, characterized in that the clip (34) extends in the longitudinal direction (21) in such a way that its tip (35) is received by the grip piece (12) when the writing cartridge (25) is extended.

12. Writing instrument according to Claim 10 or 11, characterized in that the actuating part (19) has on its shaft (22) and on its bow region (23), in the region of a tip (35) of the clip (34), an identical external diameter (38).

13. Writing instrument according to anyone of Claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the actuating part (19) has a bow region (23) lying outside of the grip piece (12) and in which is provided a lateral opening (43) which extends circumferentially over at least 180°.