Disclosure of Invention
The object of the present invention is to propose an improved ballpoint pen with better pressing comfort.
Another object of the present invention is to propose an improved ballpoint pen with reduced manufacturing costs.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dual plastic spring ballpoint pen comprising an upper pen housing in a hollow cylindrical shape having an upper portion closed and a lower portion open, a hollow cylindrical portion formed in an inner surface of an upper portion of the upper pen housing and a support member accommodated in an interior of the upper pen housing, a push member accommodated in an interior of the support member and a small diameter rear portion of the push member accommodated in the hollow cylindrical portion of the upper pen housing, a cam rotating member accommodated in an interior of the support member and a rear pillar portion of the cam rotating member inserted into an interior of a large diameter front portion of the push member, a lower pen housing screwed together with the support member, a force transmitting member in a hollow cylindrical shape and accommodated in an interior of the lower pen housing, and a compression spring disposed around an outer peripheral surface of the force transmitting member and positioned between the lower pen housing and the force transmitting member, wherein the upper housing is made of a plastic material and in the form of a spiral compression spring, and wherein a section of a spiral coil of the upper housing takes the shape of a flat rectangle.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the compression spring is made of a plastic material and a cross section of the spiral coil of the compression spring is rectangular in a flat shape.
According to an aspect of the invention, the small diameter rear portion of the pusher is disposed rearward of the large diameter front portion and has an outer diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the large diameter front portion.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a plurality of serration protrusions alternately arranged in the circumferential direction are formed on the front end surface of the large-diameter front portion, and guide protrusions alternately arranged in the circumferential direction and extending in the longitudinal direction for guiding the moving path of the pusher when moving within the supporter are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter front portion near the front end surface.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the cam rotator further includes a front cylinder portion formed at a front end portion of the cam rotator, an annular flange portion formed at a rear of the front cylinder portion, and a center pillar portion formed at a rear of the annular flange portion, the rear pillar portion being formed at a rear of the center pillar portion.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a plurality of longitudinal ribs extending in the longitudinal direction are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the center pillar portion, the front end surfaces of the longitudinal ribs are coupled to the rear end surfaces of the annular flange portion, and wherein inclined surfaces are formed on the rear end surfaces of the longitudinal ribs.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the dual plastic spring ball point pen further comprises a cartridge accommodated in the interior of the force transmitting member.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the front barrel portion is inserted into the inside of the rear end portion of the cartridge such that the upper surface of the rear end portion of the cartridge abuts the front end surface of the annular flange portion.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an annular flange portion extending outward is formed on the rear end portion of the force transmitting member, and a circumferential stepped portion extending inward is formed on the front end portion of the force transmitting member, the circumferential stepped portion abutting against a stepped portion formed at the front end of the cartridge.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the support is joined to the inside of the pen upper case by a circumferential flange portion, an annular portion, and a protrusion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the support.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the circumferential flange portion is arranged to be provided above the male screw portion of the support so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the support, the annular portion is arranged to be provided above the circumferential flange portion so as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the support, and a plurality of protrusions equally spaced apart are arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the annular portion.
According to an aspect of the present invention, an engaging portion including a plurality of guide bars, a plurality of guide grooves, and a plurality of helical teeth portions is formed on an inner surface of a middle portion of the support, and wherein the guide bars and the guide grooves are alternately arranged along a circumferential direction of the support and extend in a longitudinal direction.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a supporting step portion for supporting the front end portion of the compression spring is formed on the inner surface of the tapered front end portion of the pen lower case.
According to an aspect of the present invention, the dual plastic spring ball point pen further includes a clip integrally formed with the pen upper housing, which contributes to simplification of the structure, makes the manufacturing process easier, and reduces the cost and weight.
According to an aspect of the present invention, a lateral recess is formed at one side of an upper portion of the support so that an inner portion of the upper pen housing coupled with the clip can be received when the upper pen housing is pressed, thereby enabling smooth pressing operation.
Since the present invention has the pen upper case made of plastic material and in the form of the hollow cylindrical helical compression spring, the pressing area of the user's finger can be effectively increased, and by the provision of the helical compression spring, it is also possible to ensure that hard pressing is avoided during pressing, so that pressing comfort stronger than that of the existing plastic pressing push rod can be obtained. In addition, since the existing plastic forming process can perfectly match the characteristics and design of the plastic spring with the function of the plastic spring and the device to which the plastic spring is to be applied, it is also possible to have better cost efficiency while satisfying the demand for color diversity of the dual plastic spring ball point pen.
Because the present invention replaces the existing metal spring with the flat-designed plastic compression spring, it is possible to make the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen have lower manufacturing cost while achieving fatigue resistance equivalent to that of the metal spring.
Detailed Description
The dual plastic spring ball point pen according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.
The accompanying drawings are intended to convey a further understanding of embodiments of the invention. The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles and concepts of the invention. The elements of the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale relative to each other. Terms indicating direction such as "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," and the like are used for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit generality to the particular configuration shown in the figures. In addition, in the present invention, the terms "upper portion" and "lower portion" refer to the orientation of each component of the double plastic spring ballpoint pen according to the embodiment of the present invention with respect to the direction of gravity. In the present invention, "front end" means the pen tip side, and "rear end" means the side opposite to the pen tip side. In the present invention, the "nib retracted state" means a state in which the nib is retracted into the double-plastic spring ballpoint pen, and the "nib extended state" means a state in which the nib is extended from the tip of the double-plastic spring ballpoint pen to the outside.
In the drawings of the figures, identical, functionally identical, and functionally identical elements, features and components are each provided with the same reference numerals, unless otherwise indicated.
In addition, in the present description and the accompanying drawings, a dual plastic spring ball-point pen having a plastic spring design is specifically described as an example, however, the principle according to the present invention can also be applied to other writing instruments, such as a stylus, an electronic pen, a retractable pen, a pressurized pen, an anti-drop pen, an automatic pen, a thermochromic pen, etc., not limited to the dual plastic spring ball-point pen.
Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective view of a dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen in fig. 1 and 3, the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes an upper pen housing 1, a push member 2, a cam rotary member 3, a support member 4, a lower pen housing 5, a force transmitting member 6, and a compression spring 7. The pen upper housing 1, the support 4 and the pen lower housing 5 are generally cylindrical. The support 4 is accommodated inside the pen upper case 1, and the pusher 2 and the cam rotator 3 are further accommodated inside the support 4. In addition, referring to fig. 8, the support 4 is joined to the inside of the pen upper case 1 by a circumferential flange portion 42, an annular portion 43, and a projection 44 provided on the outer peripheral surface of the support 4. In addition, referring to fig. 3 and 10, an external screw portion 41 is disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the lower portion of the support 4, and an internal screw portion 52 is disposed on the inner surface of the upper portion of the lower pen housing 5, so that the lower pen housing 5 and the support 4 are screw-coupled together, whereby the upper pen housing 1, the support 4, and the lower pen housing 5 are detachably assembled together. Advantageously, the threaded connection is such that the user can conveniently replace cartridge 8 shown in fig. 3.
Furthermore, as can be seen from fig. 1, the pen clip 9 is attached to the outer surface of the pen upper housing 1, and advantageously the pen clip 9 may be integrally formed with the pen upper housing 1. By means of the pen clip 9, the double plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 can be held on a pocket of clothing, a notebook or the like.
Further, referring to fig. 1, 10 and 13, the front end portion 51 of the lower case 5 has a tapered shape, and an opening 54 is formed at the tapered front end portion 51 of the lower case 5 so that the nib 82 of the cartridge 8 accommodated in the dual-plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 can be extended or retracted from the opening 54, that is, can be extended outward from the lower case 5 and can be retracted into the inside of the lower case 5.
As can be seen from fig. 1, the pen upper housing 1 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is shown as a spiral compression spring structure, which is clearly different from the existing ballpoint pen housing, preferably the pen upper housing 1 is made of plastic material and is in the form of a spiral compression spring. Specifically, as can be seen from fig. 1 and 5, the pen upper case 1 has a hollow cylindrical shape with a closed upper portion and an open lower portion, and the side wall of the pen upper case 1 has a spiral shape with equal pitch. Further, the cross section of the spiral coil of the pen upper case 1 is rectangular in a flat shape. As shown in fig. 3, a hollow cylindrical portion 12 is formed in the inner surface of the upper portion of the pen upper casing 1, and the hollow cylindrical portion 12 integrally extends downward from the inner surface of the upper portion of the pen upper casing 1 by a distance to accommodate the pusher 2 shown in fig. 6. Here, it should be noted that the pen upper case 1 can be used as a pressing member while being used as an outer case of a double plastic spring ballpoint pen, such a design of the pen upper case 1 can effectively increase a pressing area when a user's finger is in contact with the pen upper case 1, and by the provision of the helical compression spring, it is also possible to ensure that hard pressing is avoided during pressing, so that pressing comfort stronger than that of a plastic pressing push rod can be obtained. In addition, since the existing plastic forming process can perfectly match the characteristics and design of the plastic spring with the function of the plastic spring and the device to which the plastic spring is to be applied, it is also possible to have better cost efficiency while satisfying the demand for color diversity of the dual plastic spring ball point pen.
In addition, referring to fig. 1 and 8, the support 4 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is accommodated inside the pen upper case 1 and has a hollow cylindrical shape. As shown in fig. 8 in detail, an external screw portion 41 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower portion of the support member 4 that is in contact with the pen lower case 5. Further, the above-described circumferential flange portion 42 is arranged to be provided above the male screw portion 41 of the support 4 in such a manner as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the support 4, the annular portion 43 is arranged to be provided above the circumferential flange portion 42 in such a manner as to surround the outer peripheral surface of the support 4, and a plurality of protrusions 44 equally spaced apart are also arranged on the outer peripheral surface of the annular portion 43 so as to be commonly engaged to the recessed step portion 11 formed on the lower inner surface of the pen upper case 1. Further, a lateral recess 48 is formed at one side of the upper portion of the support 4 so that an inner portion of the pen upper case 1 coupled with the clip 9 can be accommodated when the pen upper case 1 is pressed. As described above, the pusher 2 shown in fig. 6 and the cam rotator 3 shown in fig. 7 are accommodated inside the support 4.
In addition, it is also noted that, as shown in fig. 9, an engaging portion 40 is formed on the inner surface of the middle portion of the support 4. The engaging portion 40 includes a plurality of guide rails 45, a plurality of guide grooves 46, and a plurality of helical teeth 47, wherein the guide rails 45 and the guide grooves 46 are alternately arranged along the circumferential direction of the support 4 and extend in the longitudinal direction to cooperate with the pusher 2 shown in fig. 6, the cam rotator 3 shown in fig. 7, the force transmitting member 6 shown in fig. 11, and the compression spring 7 shown in fig. 12 so that the nib 82 of the cartridge 8 is extended and retracted. A beveled tooth 47 is formed at a lower portion of each guide rail 45, and the beveled tooth 47 can be engaged with or disengaged from the beveled surface 36 of the longitudinal protrusion 35 of the cam rotator 3 during pressing of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention, so that the nib 82 of the cartridge 8 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention is maintained in an extended state or a retracted state.
The pusher 2 and the cam rotator 3 accommodated inside the support 4 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3, 4, 6 and 7. The pusher 2 is a stepped cylindrical member having a closed upper portion and an open lower portion. The pusher 2 has a large-diameter front portion 21 and a small-diameter rear portion 22, the small-diameter rear portion 22 being provided rearward of the large-diameter front portion 21 and having an outer diameter smaller than that of the large-diameter front portion 21. The large diameter front portion 21 has a hollow cylindrical shape to accommodate the cam rotator 3 shown in fig. 7. The small diameter rear portion 22 has a hexagonal prism-like shape to be accommodated in the hollow cylindrical portion 12 of the pen upper case 1. Accordingly, the hollow cylindrical portion 12 of the pen upper case 1 also has a hexagonal prism-like column shape in a sectional view to optimally accommodate the small diameter rear portion 22 of the pusher 2. A plurality of (e.g., eight) serration protrusions 23 alternately arranged in the circumferential direction are formed on the front end surface of the large-diameter front portion 21, and a plurality of guide protrusions 24 alternately arranged in the circumferential direction and extending in the longitudinal direction are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter front portion 21 near the front end surface. The guide protrusions 24 are provided at the rear of the serration 23 to be engaged with the guide grooves 46 inside the support 4 for guiding the moving path of the pusher 2 when moving inside the support 4.
As shown in fig. 7, the cam rotary member 3 has a substantially columnar shape in a stepped shape. The cam rotator 3 includes a front cylindrical portion 31 formed at a front end portion of the cam rotator 3, an annular flange portion 32 formed at a rear of the front cylindrical portion 31, a center pillar portion 33 formed at a rear of the annular flange portion 32, and a rear pillar portion 34 formed at a rear of the center pillar portion 33. The rear post 34 is inserted into the inside of the large-diameter front portion 21 of the pusher 2 and spaced apart from the inner side surface of the large-diameter front portion 21 so that the rear post 34 of the cam rotator 3 can rotate and translate inside the pusher 2. The front end of the front barrel portion 31 is opened and inserted into the inside of the rear end portion 83 of the cartridge 8, and the upper surface of the rear end portion 83 of the cartridge 8 abuts the front end surface of the annular flange portion 32, so that the cam rotator 3 can drive the cartridge 8 to move together. A plurality of (e.g., four) longitudinal ribs 35 extending in the longitudinal direction, which can be fitted to the guide grooves 46 of the support 4, are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the center pillar portion 33, and the front end surfaces of the longitudinal ribs 35 are coupled to the rear end surfaces of the annular flange portions 32. An arc-shaped rib 37 is formed between each of the longitudinal ribs 35 and extends from the rear end face of the annular flange portion 32 to an intermediate position of the longitudinal ribs 35 to increase strength. On the rear end face of the longitudinal ridge 35, a bevel 36 is formed, the bevel 36 being able to cooperate with the serrations 23 of the pusher 2 or with the beveled teeth 47 of the rail 45 of the support 4.
The internal structure of the pen lower case 5 will be described with reference to fig. 3, 4, and 11 to 13. A force-transmitting element 6, a compression spring 7 and a pen core 8 are accommodated in the lower housing 5. The force-transmitting member 6 and the compression spring 7 have a hollow cylindrical shape. The cartridge 8 is further accommodated inside the force-transmitting member 6 and has a nib 82. As shown in fig. 11, an outwardly extending annular extension 61 is formed on the rear end portion of the force transmitting member 6, and as can be seen in connection with fig. 3 and 11, an inwardly extending circumferential step 62 is formed on the front end portion of the force transmitting member 6. As shown in fig. 13, the circumferential step 62 abuts against a step 81 formed at the front end of the cartridge 8. In fig. 3 and 4, the compression spring 7 is arranged around the outer peripheral surface of the force transmitting member 6 and between the pen lower case 5 and the force transmitting member 6, and the rear end portion of the compression spring 7 abuts against the front surface of the annular extension 61 of the force transmitting member 6, so that the compression spring 7 can be prevented from being laterally displaced and the compression spring 7 can be caused to apply a rearward axial force to the force transmitting member 6 and the pen core 8. Further, a supporting step 53 for supporting the front end portion of the compression spring 7 is formed on the inner surface of the tapered front end portion 51 of the pen lower case 5.
Furthermore, as can be seen in connection with fig. 12, the compression spring 7 is similar to the pen housing 1 of the double plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention, i.e., the side wall of the compression spring 7 is in the shape of a spiral of equal pitch, and the compression spring 7 is also molded in the shape of a spiral of flat section. Advantageously, the compression spring 7 is made of plastic material. In this case, the ball point pen of the related art often uses a round wire as the compression spring, however, such a metal spring is costly. In contrast, according to the present invention, referring to fig. 12, it can be seen that the spiral coil of the compression spring 7 has a flat rectangular cross section and is made of plastic, thereby being capable of providing an equivalent elastic force while significantly reducing costs.
Advantageously, the pen upper casing 1 and the compression spring 7 can be made of the same plastic material. It will be appreciated that the pen upper housing 1 and the compression spring 7 can be made of different plastics materials. Preferably, the upper pen housing 1 and the compression spring 7 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention may be made of a composite plastic material.
Next, the operation of extending and retracting the nib 82 of the pen core 8 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention from the opening 54 of the pen lower case 5 by pressing the pen upper case 1 forward will be described in detail with reference to fig. 3 and 4.
Specifically, when the pen upper housing 1 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention is operated to push in a state where the nib 82 is retracted, the forward movement of the pen upper housing 1 forces the pusher 2 to move forward, and the serration 23 of the pusher 2 contacts and engages with the inclined surface 36 on the rear end surface of the longitudinal protrusion 35 of the cam rotator 3, thereby further moving the cam rotator 3 forward, and the cam rotator 3 rotates simultaneously with the forward movement of the cam rotator 3 or with the latter half of its translation due to the inclined surface engagement. As the cam rotator 3, which is in contact with the serrations 23 of the pusher 2, moves forward, the forward movement of the cam rotator 3 forces the cartridge 8 to move forward, thereby causing the circumferential step 62 of the force-transmitting member 6, which abuts the step 81 of the cartridge 8, to move forward, ultimately causing the annular extension 61 of the force-transmitting member 6 to apply an axially forward force to the plastic spring 7. Thereby, under the action of the release pressing and the plastic spring 7 against the axial forward force, the cam rotator 3 is moved backward, and since the cam rotator 3 is rotated and the radial height of the longitudinal protrusions 35 of the cam rotator 3 is greater than the thickness of the serrated protrusions 23 of the pusher 2, the inclined surfaces 36 of the longitudinal protrusions 35 of the cam rotator 3 are brought into contact with the front ends of the serrated protrusions 47 of the engagement portion 40 of the supporting member 4 first during the backward movement, and thus out of contact with the serrated protrusions 23 of the pusher 2, and at this time, the inclined surfaces 36 travel along the edges of the serrated portions 47 of the guide rail 45 under the action of the axial rearward force of the plastic spring 7, and since the both are also in inclined surface engagement, the cam rotator 3 is also rotated to some extent. Finally, the inclined surface 36 of the longitudinal protruding bar 35 of the cam rotation member 3 is engaged into the inclined tooth portion 47 of the guide rail bar 45 of the support member 4, and the nib 82 of the cartridge 8 is finally maintained in a state protruding from the pen lower case 5 since the inclined tooth portion 47 is positioned closer to the front of the pen in the longitudinal direction.
When the pen upper case 1 of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention is pushed forward again from the projected state of the nib 82, the forward movement of the pen upper case 1 forces the push member 2 to move forward, the serration 23 of the push member 2 comes into contact and engages again with the inclined surface 36 on the rear end surface of the longitudinal protrusion 35 of the cam rotary member 3, thereby further causing the cam rotary member 3 to disengage from the helical tooth 47 of the support member 4 while moving forward while rotating by a certain angle, and at the same time, the forward movement of the cam rotary member 3 forces the cartridge 8 to move forward, thereby causing the circumferential step 62 of the force transmitting member 6 abutting against the step 81 of the cartridge 8 to move forward, eventually causing the annular extension 61 of the force transmitting member 6 to apply an axially forward force to the plastic spring 7. Thereby, when the pressing is released and the cam rotator 3 is moved backward by the elastic force of the plastic spring 7, since the cam rotator 3 has been rotated by an angle, the inclined surface 36 of the longitudinal protrusion 35 of the cam rotator 3 is not engaged with the inclined tooth 47 of the supporter 4 but is engaged with the guide groove 46 of the neighboring supporter 4, i.e., moves backward in the guide groove 46 of the supporter 4, driving the pen core 8 to move backward, thereby making the nib 82 of the pen core 8 re-enter the state retracted into the inside of the pen lower case 5.
In the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention, the pen upper housing 1 in the form of a plastic spring can be conveniently surface-treated, such as colored, so that the user's need for color diversity of the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen can be satisfied. In addition, the pen upper case 1 in the form of a plastic spring can also ensure that hard pressing is avoided during pressing, so that a greater pressing comfort can be obtained than with a plastic pressing push rod.
Furthermore, in the dual plastic spring ball-point pen 100 according to the present invention, the clip 9 can be integrally formed with the pen upper housing 1, which contributes to simplification of the structure, makes the manufacturing process easier, and also reduces the cost and weight.
Further, in the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen 100 according to the present invention, the plastic compression spring 7 in a flat design replaces the existing metal spring, so that it is possible to make the dual plastic spring ballpoint pen have lower manufacturing costs while achieving fatigue resistance comparable to that of the metal spring.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not limited to the particular embodiments described and illustrated hereinabove, but various changes and substitutions can be made therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the scope defined by the claims and specification.
List of reference numerals
1. Pen upper shell
2. Pusher member
3. Cam rotary member
4. Support member
5. Pen bottom shell
6. Force transmission piece
7. Compression spring
8. Pen core
9. Pen clip
11. Recessed step portion
12. Hollow cylindrical portion
21. Large diameter front part
22. Small diameter rear part
23. Serration-like protrusions
24. Guide projection
31. Front tube part
32. Annular flange part
33. Center pillar portion
34. Rear pillar portion
35. Longitudinal protruding strip
36. Inclined plane
37. Arc rib
40. Engagement portion
41. External screw thread part
42. Circumferential flange part
43. Annular part
44. Protrusions
45. Guide rail strip
46. Guide groove
47. Helical tooth portion
48. Lateral recess
51. Front end part
52. Internal thread part
53. Support step
54. An opening part
61. Annular extension
62. Circumferential step
81. Step part
82. Pen point
83. Rear end portion