EP0586792B1 - Filling device for writing instrument - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for refilling writing instruments which are equipped with wicks of felt or plastic fibres for the application of writing or marking fluid such as ink and with a capillary reservoir for the writing fluid, characterised by a separate fluid store container (10) having an upper adaptor (19) receiving the tip (the mouthpiece (18)) of a writing instrument, which adaptor is equipped with a capillary tube (12) dipping into the store container (10) as an intermediate store. <IMAGE>

Description

The invention relates to a device for refilling writing utensils, the writing or marking liquid such as ink is applied by means of wicks made of felt or plastic fibers and which are equipped with a capillary writing liquid store.
In the known writing utensils with felt wicks, fibers or the like, there is the disadvantage that the liquid reservoir is emptied after a certain period of use and the writing utensil is therefore worthless for marking or the like and is thrown away, provided the housing with or without content is not recycled can be.

As far as refill devices for such writing instruments have become known, it is a type of injection syringe with which by inserting them Tip into the wick or the tip of the fiber, the liquid stored in the syringe is entered into the pen to be refilled. Such a refill method has the disadvantage that, on the one hand, the tip of the hypodermic syringe must be inserted exactly into the wick, in order to avoid undesired side-by-side flow of the strongly staining liquid and, on the other hand, to prevent the liquid space from receiving too much or too little liquid, since in a control of the liquid space is not possible in the short time.

In another known refill system of felt pens, the ink is filled into the ink reservoir via this tip by means of a tubular refill cartridge which is placed on the tip (the mouthpiece). The disadvantage here is that ink stores that are not completely empty can easily be overfilled and ink can leak.

US Pat. No. 2,708,904 describes a device for refilling a writing instrument, namely a fountain pen with a spring, which is supplied with ink via a capillary gap during the writing process. A capillary storage element is arranged below the spring. For refilling, the tip of the writing instrument is inserted into a tubular element, which forms a receptacle, in such a way that the capillary storage element lies against the upper surface of a wick. This makes it possible to fill the capillary storage element with ink.

DE-U-91 10 826 describes an attachment for an inkwell, which has a cylindrical docking section for receiving a fountain pen tip. In order to fill a writing instrument, it must be equipped with a piston-cylinder unit. Automatic filling by capillary action is therefore not possible.

WO 92/20531 represents a previously reported, subsequently published state of the art according to Art. 54 (3) EPC and is therefore only to be taken into account with regard to novelty. The document describes a device for filling writing implements, in which the interior of the storage container is open to the surroundings in order to be able to equalize the pressure.

The invention has for its object to provide a device for refilling a writing instrument, which allows the filling of the writing instrument by contact contact with a simple structure and simple, reliable handling so that writing fluid is sucked into the liquid space of the writing instrument and fills it so that the The writing instrument is then fully usable again.

According to the invention the object is solved by the features of the main claim.

The subclaims show further advantageous refinements of the invention.

According to the invention, this object is achieved in a device for refilling writing instruments of the aforementioned type in that a liquid storage container is equipped with a removable adapter for receiving the tip (mouthpiece) of the writing instrument and the adapter is provided with a capillary tube which is immersed in the container, the frontal contact surface in the area of the lower mouth of the adapter is present to ensure direct contact with the tip of the Ensure wick so that the liquid rising in the capillary tube passes through capillary action into the tip of the wick and rises in it until the liquid space (storage space) or the wick is well filled again for new use.

Such a refill device has the essential advantage that the refill with marking liquid is carried out automatically by the capillary forces within the riser tube. Since there is no filling from above, there can be no filling errors (such as overflow of the liquid). Refilling by capillary action from the liquid reservoir via the capillary tube stops automatically when the tip of the wick is saturated due to the complete filling of the liquid space (storage space) and is thus available for new use. Refilling takes a certain amount of time, which is usually also available, so that the refilling time is not a disadvantage.

In addition, the adapter interior has a shape adapted to the tip (the mouthpiece) of the writing instrument, so that the writing instrument - e.g. B. a fiber or a felt pen - in the adapter is kept well detached upwards.

In addition, the adapter has an opening such as a slot through which a sufficient amount of pressure-equalizing air can flow when the liquid is removed from the storage container.

It is further preferred that the adapter be made of an elastic material such as plastic or rubber with a cheap There is friction behavior, so that the tip (the mouthpiece) of the writing instrument is held firmly by the friction of the walls.

There is a wobble-free holder between the inner wall of the adapter and the tip of the writing instrument, although air can penetrate into the adapter and thus through the narrow air slot into the storage container.

However, it may alternatively be preferred to fit the inner wall of the adapter and the tip (the mouthpiece) of the writing instrument with a snug fit and to create a separate air opening in the cover for the air supply into the storage container, which surrounds the adapter.

The adapter is preferably incorporated into a screw cap (a cap or the like), so that with differently shaped tips of the writing utensils, the cap can be replaced with a suitable adapter.

Preference is given to the oval shape of the interior of the adapter, which is adapted to the oval shape of a mouthpiece of a felt-tip pen, which is widely used today.

When placing the writing tip on the filling tube, make sure that the free (open) surface (end face) of the capillary tube is in contact with the tip end face of the writing tip, which can penetrate the capillary tube of the tube somewhat.

The height of the storage container as the liquid reservoir or the liquid and the immersed length of the riser tube and its diameter with capillary-effective fiber filling must be matched to the respective flow behavior of the writing liquid.

It is also within the scope of the invention to insert an adapter with a riser tube clamped on the underside directly into an otherwise closed storage container (only with an upper opening, without a lid), which can be closed by means of a removable locking pin instead of the lid.

It may also be preferred to accommodate several storage containers with differently colored liquid in a block, a stand or the like. B. on a table or the like. So that constantly filled pens with different colors are available.

Both polyolefins and other materials resistant to the ink are suitable as the material for the ink container. In order to obtain a simple, fully recyclable overall system, the capillary buffer can be made from the same material (polypropylene) as the ink tank.

The system is suitable for all writing instruments that work according to the capillary system (e.g. highlighter, permanent marker, etc.). Both aqueous and solvent-based inks (alcoholic inks, etc.) can be used. The color support can be in dissolved form or as a pigment. In any case, the capillary buffer must be matched to the ink system.

Further features emerge from the subclaims.

The protection extends not only to the individual features but also to their combination.

Figur 1

einen Längsschnitt eines in einen Vorratsbehälter eingesetzten Adapters mit eingesteckter Schreibspitze eines Filzschreibers in schematischer Darstellung;

Figur 2

einen Längsschnitt eines in den Deckel eines Vorratsbehälters eingesetzten abgeänderten Adapters mit eingesteckter Schreibspitze eines Filzschreibers in schematischer Darstellung;

Figur 3

einen Schnitt durch die Hälfte eines Adapters gemäß Figur 1 in schematischer Darstellung.

Exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawing. Show it:

Figure 1

a longitudinal section of an adapter used in a storage container with inserted writing tip of a felt-tip pen in a schematic representation;

Figure 2

a longitudinal section of a modified adapter used in the lid of a storage container with inserted writing tip of a felt-tip pen in a schematic representation;

Figure 3

a section through half of an adapter according to Figure 1 in a schematic representation.

(10) denotes a storage container, which is partially filled with a marking liquid (9) in any chosen shape. According to FIG. 2, a cap (11) is screwed onto this storage container and holds a capillary tube (12) immersed in the liquid as a capillary intermediate store, which is filled with fibers (13). These fibers (13) show a capillary force effect in such a way that liquid is sucked out of the storage container (10) and rises in the capillary tube (12) as a riser tube. When the upper end face of the compact fibers of the capillary tube (12) comes into contact with the tip (14) of a wick (15) of a writing instrument (16), the capillary forces push the marking liquid (9) into the wick (15) of the one above Writing device (16) and fill up the storage space (17) automatically again via this wick (15), provided there is sufficient time for refilling.

For this purpose, an adapter (19) is used in the cap (11) (Figure 2), which is funnel-shaped to the shape of the mouthpiece (18) of the tip of the writing instrument (16) - z. B. in so-called highlighters in oval shape.

This adapter (19) is preferably made of elastic plastic or rubber with a high-friction inner surface in order to hold the tip (14) or the mouthpiece (18) of the writing instrument (16) firmly during refilling.

The elastic adapter (19) can be exchangeably inserted in the storage container (10) so that, if necessary, a differently shaped tip (14) of another writing instrument can be used for refilling.

In a modified embodiment according to FIG. 1, the storage container (10) does not have a cap (11), but the adapter (19) is inserted so that it can be removed directly into an upper opening of an otherwise closed liquid container (10).

In both exemplary embodiments, a temporary closing plug is pressed into the adapter (19) from above (not shown) to temporarily close the storage container (10) (when not in use).

The adapter (19) has a funnel shape with laterally projecting contact surfaces (21), which in the case of a cap (11) - formed in a ring shape - is pressed into a stepped annular surface of the cap (11) (FIG. 2).

In the embodiment according to FIG. 1, the adapter (19) has an upper, approximately N-shaped support ring (22), the one pointing downwards annular end edge (23) sealingly rests on the surface of the otherwise closed liquid storage container (10).

Such an adapter (19) preferably consists of a material which is elastic within certain limits, such as rubber or plastic, the surface of which exhibits a certain amount of friction in order to better hold the mouthpiece of the writing instrument (16) which is to be used temporarily.

A holding tube (25) adjoins the funnel-shaped upper part (24) of the adapter (19) (see FIG. 3) and holds and holds the upper end of the capillary tube (12). In the middle part of this holding tube (25), an annular projection (26) projects inwards, on which the lower end faces of the mouthpiece (18) of the writing instrument (16) can be supported. Below this attachment (26), air holes (27), air slots or the like are incorporated in the holding tube (25), which - running transversely - provide air compensation in the storage container (10) (pressure compensation when the liquid level drops).

Above the annular extension (26), a retaining ring (28) projects inwards from the central part, which cooperates with an outer bead (29) on the mouthpiece (18) of the writing instrument (16) such that the mouthpiece (18) and the adapter ( 19) are elastically locked together when filling.

This locking can be easily achieved by light hand pressure on the writing instrument and / or the storage container (10), which prevents the writing instrument (16) from accidentally falling out of the adapter (19).

The adapter (19) runs around the outside of the retaining ring (28), a clamping bead (30) which, in cooperation with the N-shaped support ring (22), releasably braces the adapter (19) with the upper wall of the container (10).

The deeper the tip of the wick (15) made of felt, fibers or the like of the writing instrument (16) dips into the capillary filling compound (13) of the riser tube (12), the easier the marking liquid (9) becomes in the writing instrument (16 ) sucked in, since a larger contact area is available.

The liquid suction speed from the storage container (10) is high at the beginning of the refilling and eventually goes against an asymptotic limit. The degree of filling of the writing instrument can be checked by observing the amount of liquid drawn up from the storage container (10).

If due to many refills by pressing the tip of the wick (15) of the writing utensil (16) into the upper area of the buffer filled with fibers (12), this area will deform in such a way that the capillary action in the transition between the tip of the wick and the buffer is reduced it within the scope of the invention to make the end region of the intermediate store interchangeable. For this purpose, it can be preferred to provide the upper region of the fibers with an elastic insert disc, the material of which likewise shows the advantageous capillary action. The following materials are suitable here, for example: insert disks made of capillary-active fibers or open-pore soft foam.

This insert disc is interchangeably inserted in the area of the riser tube (12) in direct contact with the neighboring fibers (not shown); but it can also be firmly connected to the fibers of the buffer.

Claims (18)

1. A device for filling a writing instrument (16), which comprises a wick (15) made of felt or synthetic fibres mounted with clearance in a tip (18) of the writing instrument (16) for applying a writing or marking liquid and a storage chamber (17) connected to the wick (15) and containing a capillary writing liquid store, with a liquid reservoir (10) closed to the environment, which comprises an adapter (19) on the upper side, which detachably and tightly contains the tip (18) of the writing instrument (16), in which a capillary element (12) extending into the reservoir (10) is disposed as an intermediate store and which has at least one opening (27) for connecting the interior of the reservoir (10) with the storage chamber (17) of the writing instrument (16).
2. A device according to Claim 1,
   characterised in that a chamber (20) of the adapter (19) is adapted to the shape of the tip (18) of the writing instrument (16).
3. A device according to Claim 2,
   characterised in that the chamber (20) has an oval shape.
4. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 3,
   characterised in that the adapter (19) is formed from an elastic material such as plastic and/or rubber.
5. A device according to one of Claims 2 to 4,
   characterised in that the surface of the chamber (20) of the adapter (19) has a high coefficient of friction.
6. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 5,
   characterised in that the surface of the adapter (19) is roughened.
7. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 6,
   characterised in that the reservoir (10) is provided with a removable cover element (11).
8. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 7,
   characterised in that the adapter (19) is equipped on its outside with a clamping bead (30).
9. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 8,
   characterised in that the adapter (19) is equipped on the inside with a protruding retaining ring (28).
10. A device according to one of Claims 7 to 9,
    characterised in that the adapter (19) is equipped with an annular bearing surface (21) abutting the outer side of the cover element (11) and forming a supporting ring.
11. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 10,
    characterised in that in its upper region the adapter (19) has an n-shaped supporting ring (22) placed onto the surface of the reservoir (10).
12. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 11,
    characterised in that the adapter (19) is equipped on the inside with an annular projection (26) to support the tip (18) of the writing implement (16).
13. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 12,
    characterised in that the capillary element (12) is inserted into a retaining tube (25) of the adapter (19.
14. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 13,
    characterised in that the reservoir (10) is formed of polypropylene.
15. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 14,
    characterised in that the capillary element (2) is formed with capillary storage compound such as fibres as a filled intermediate store made of polypropylene.
16. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 15,
    characterised in that several reservoirs (10) are embedded next to one another in a desk stand or the like.
17. A device according to one of Claims 1 to 16,
    characterised in that in the upper region of the capillary element (12) as a lifting tube an exchangeable disk insert with capillary action is inserted.
18. A device according to Claim 17,
    characterised in that the disk insert is formed from fibres and/or open-pored soft foam.

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