WO2007097602A1

WO2007097602A1 - Retractable marker pen

Info

Publication number: WO2007097602A1
Application number: PCT/KR2007/000988
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jong-Wan Sog
Original assignee: Jong-Wan Sog
Priority date: 2006-02-27
Filing date: 2007-02-27
Publication date: 2007-08-30
Also published as: KR100840189B1; KR20070088936A

Abstract

Disclosed herein is a writing instrument, and more particularly, a retractable marker pen. In a conventional knocking type marker pen, a cap for preventing drying of ink in a pen nib is installed to be pushed and opened by the pen nib. A problem of the conventional configuration is that an ink-vehicle layer produced at the cap hinders the cap from being tightly closed, thus causing a degradation in the sealing efficiency of the cap. To solve this problem, in the retractable marker pen disclosed herein, after the cap is pushed and opened by a pushing portion that is defined in a sliding arm secured to a body member of the marker pen, the pen nib is extruded out of a housing of the marker pen, so as not to have an ink on the cap, and consequently achieve improved sealing efficiency of the cap.

Description

[DESCRIPTION] [Invention Title]

RETRACTABLE MARKER PEN

[Technical Field]

The present invention relates to writing instruments, and, more particularly, to retractable marker pens.

[Background Art]

Generally, a marker pen includes a filter filled with ink, a pen nib formed at an end of the filter, and a body encasing the filter. The pen nib is exposed out of the body when in use, and therefore, the marker pen must further have a means for allowing the pen nib to be hermetically received in the body, in order to prevent drying of ink in the nib. A representative example of conventionally used sealing means includes a cap for covering a front end of the body encasing the filter. However, conventional marker pens using a cap as a nib sealing means have the problems that a user has to manually open and close the cap whenever using the marker pen and that the marker pen may be unavailable upon the loss of the cap. Further, if the cap is loosely closed, there is the risk of vaporization of the ink. hi the worst case, if the cap is completely separated, children are exposed to the danger of suffocation by the separated cap. However, when the cap is tightly closed for the purpose of eliminating the vaporization of ink, it may be difficult to open the cap for use.

To solve the above described problems, retractable marker pens have been developed and used conveniently. In the retractable marker pen, a pen nib can be extruded out of a body when in use by simply pressing a filter support provided at the body. If the filter support is again pushed after completing the use of the marker pen, the pen nib can be intruded into the body. Such a conventional retractable marker pen, however, still has a need for installing a nib sealing means to the body, in order to allow the pen nib to be hermetically received in the body, to prevent drying of ink in the nib.

FIG. 1 illustrates one example of a conventional nib sealing means for a marker pen. As shown in FIG. 1, the sealing means include a bonded member 201, which is made of a soft material and will be installed to a front end of a body. A pair of push plates 202 are attached to opposite sides of the bonded member 201 such that a pen nib 203 is extruded out of the bonded member 201 by forcibly opening a mouth of the bonded member 201 between the push plates 202. After the marker pen is completely used, the nib 203 is intruded into the bonded member 201, and the push plates 202 act to press the mouth of the bonded member 201, so as to seal the bonded member 201. A problem of the above described sealing means is that the fabrication of the sealing means is difficult because of the complicated configuration. Furthermore, due to the fact that the pen nib 203 is extruded out of and intruded into the bonded member 201 by forcibly opening a specific region of the bonded member 201, an ink- vehicle may be applied onto the specific region, thus producing a vehicle layer thereon. The vehicle layer consequently causes a gap in the bonded member, resulting in a degradation in the sealing efficiency of the bonded member. As a solution to achieve an improved sealing efficiency as well as easy fabrication of the conventional retractable marker pen, as shown in FIG. 2, it has been proposed to fixedly mount a tubular sealing member 301 inside a front end of a housing of the marker pen such that a nib cylinder 303 is extruded out of and intruded into the tubular sealing member 301. The tubular sealing member 301 is formed, at an inner periphery thereof, with a sealing protrusion 3011, and the nib cylinder 303 is formed, at an outer periphery thereof, with a sealing protrusion 3031. A cap 302 is installed to a front end of the tubular sealing member 301, to define a sealing space for a pen nib 304, protruded from a front end of the nib cylinder 303, within the tubular sealing member 301. The cap 302 is provided with a pulling string 305. With this configuration, if the pen nib 304 is pushed forward for the use of the marker pen, the pen nib 304 is exposed to the outside as a front end of the nib 304 pushes and opens the cap 302. After the marker pen is completely used, the pen nib 304 is intruded into the tubular sealing member 301, and simultaneously the cap 302 is closed under the operation of the pulling string 305. A problem of the marker pen having the above described configuration is that an ink discharged from the nib 304 is continuously applied onto a specific region of the cap 302 and remains an ink vehicle layer on the specific region, and the ink vehicle layer may result in a degradation in the sealing efficiency of the cap 302.

[Disclosure] [Technical Problem]

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a retractable marker pen in which a cap for sealing a pen nib can be opened or closed under operation of a separate opening device without the risk of touching with the pen nib, thereby preventing an ink discharged from the pen nib from being applied onto the cap differently from the prior art in which a cap is pushed and opened by a pen nib, and consequently eliminating the risk of a degradation in the sealing efficiency of the cap even after the long time use of the marker pen.

[Technical Solution]

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above and other objects can be accomplished by the provision of a marker pen comprising: a housing; a body member placed in the housing, the body member being connected, at a rear end thereof, to the housing via a pushing and retracting connection structure for retractable movement thereof relative to the housing, the body member containing a filter filled with ink, a nib cylinder inserted into a front end of the body member, and a pen nib protruded from a front end of the nib cylinder, the nib cylinder having an outwardly-protruded sealing portion protruded from an outer periphery thereof; a tubular sealing member fixedly mounted inside a front end of the housing, to allow the nib cylinder to be extruded out of and intruded into the tubular sealing member, the tubular sealing member having an inwardly-protruded sealing portion protruded from an inner periphery thereof, to define an inner sealing space of the tubular sealing member behind the pen nib together with the outwardly- protruded sealing portion of the nib cylinder; and a cap installed to an opened front end of the tubular sealing member, so as to define an outer sealing space of the tubular sealing member, the cap being provided with an opening/closing device, wherein the opening/closing device comprises: a sliding arm integrally formed with the body member, the sliding arm having a cap operating structure consisting of a pulling portion, a pushing portion, and an excessive propulsive force accommodating portion; a push rod formed at the cap; and an operating bar to couple the push rod of the cap to the cap operating structure of the sliding arm.

[Advantageous Effects]

According to the present invention, a retractable marker pen is designed to prevent a pen nib from touching with a cap in the course of opening or closing the cap. This has the effect of preventing an ink-vehicle, etc. from being applied onto a specific region of the cap, thereby eliminating the risk of a degradation in the sealing efficiency of the cap. As a result, the retractable marker pen according to the present invention can achieve an improved operating reliability as well as high- quality products.

[Description of the Drawings]

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the important part of a conventional marker pen;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the important part of another conventional marker pen;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view illustrating the important part of a marker pen according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a cap operating structure defined at a sliding arm;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view illustrating another embodiment of a tubular sealing member;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view illustrating the operating sequence of the embodiment shown in FIG. 5.

[Best Mode]

Now, preferred embodiments of a marker pen according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 3 illustrating the important part of a marker pen according to an embodiment of the present invention, the marker pen includes a housing 1, a body member 2 placed in the housing 1, the body member 2 being connected, at a rear end thereof, to the housing 1 via a pushing and retracting connection structure, and a tubular sealing member 3 fixedly mounted inside a front end of the housing 1. Here, the pushing and knocking connection structure between the housing 1 and the body member 2 serves to allow the body member 2 to be retractably moved relative to the housing 1. The body member 2 receives a filter 21 filled with ink and a nib cylinder 22 inserted into a front end of the body member 2 so as to be extruded out of and intruded into the tubular sealing member 3, a pen nib 220 being protruded from a front end of the nib cylinder 22. The tubular sealing member 3 has an inwardly-protruded sealing portion 31 protruded from an inner periphery thereof, and the nib cylinder 22 has an outwardly-protruded sealing portion 221 protruded from an outer periphery thereof. Both the sealing portions 31 and 221 are engaged with each other, to define an inner sealing space of the tubular sealing member 3 behind the pen nib 220 protruded from the front end of the nib cylinder 22. The retractable marker pen further includes a cap 4 installed to an opened front end of the tubular sealing member 3, so as to define an outer sealing space of the tubular sealing member, hi the present invention, the cap 4 is provided with an opening/closing device. Specifically, the opening/closing device for the cap 4 includes a sliding arm 5 integrally formed with the body member 2 and a push rod 41 formed at the cap 4, the push rod 41 being adapted to be separably coupled to the sliding arm 5. The sliding arm 5 has a cap operating structure consisting of a pulling portion 51, a pushing portion 52, and an excessive propulsive force accommodating portion 53. Here, the excessive propulsive force accommodating portion 53 serves to accommodate an excessive propulsive force remained after opening the cap 4. The push rod 41 of the cap 4 is coupled to the cap operating structure of the sliding arm 5 by means of an operating bar 42.

Referring to FIG. 4 illustrating the cap operating structure of the sliding arm 5, the pulling portion 51 and the excessive propulsive force accommodating portion 53 may be defined by an elongated groove, and the pushing portion 52 may be defined by an inwardly protruded portion of the elongated groove. In operation, if the body member 2 is pushed toward the front end of the housing 1 by the manual operation of the pushing and retracting connection structure, the push rod 41 of the cap 4 is pushed by the pushing portion 52 of the sliding arm 5 integrally formed with the body member 2 by means of the operating bar 42, thereby causing the cap 4 to be opened pivotally about an upper end of the cap 4. With this opening manner, the cap 4 can be opened in an instant, and consequently such an instant cap opening has the effect of preventing the pen nib 220 from touching with the cap 4 in the course of being moved forward. Here, it is noted that the shorter the distance between the upper end of the cap 4 and the push rod 4, the faster the opening of the cap 4. Meanwhile, even if the cap 4 is subjected to an excessive propulsive force after being completely opened, in the present invention, the force can be controlled by the excessive propulsive force accommodating portion 53. In this way, if the cap 4 is completely opened, the pen nib 220 is extruded out of the housing 1, so as to enable the use of the marker pen. Meanwhile, the operating bar 42 serves as an extended arm for allowing the pushing portion 52 located behind the pen nib 220 to open the cap 4 before the pen nib 220 reaches the cap 4.

After the pen nib 220 is completely used, if the pushing and retracting comiection structure is manually operated to intrude the pen nib 220 into the housing 1, the push rod 41 of the cap 4 is pulled by the pulling portion 51 of the sliding arm 5 integrally formed with the body member 2 by means of the operating bar 42, thereby causing the cap 4 to be closed. The force, which is required to pull the cap 4 until the cap 4 comes into close contact with the front end of the tubular sealing member 3, depends on the elasticity of a spring included in the knocking operating structure. Here, the spring has an elasticity sufficient for surely keeping the cap 4 in a closed state, and consequently achieving the satisfactory sealing efficiency of the cap 4.

To achieve a further improvement in the sealing efficiency of the cap 4, as shown in FIG. 5, an inner tubular member 32, which is made of a rubber material, may be installed in the tubular sealing member 3. Preferably, a front end 321 of the inner tubular member 32 protrudes forward beyond the front end of the tubular sealing member 3 by a length of 0.1~lmm such that the cap 4 is adhered to and closed by the front end of the rubber-made inner tubular member 32. In addition, reference numeral 33 denotes a fixture for keeping the inner tubular member 32 in a fixed position without the risk of unintentional separation.

[Industrial Applicability]

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides a retractable marker pen which can prevent a pen nib from touching with a cap in the course of opening or closing the cap. This has the effect of preventing an ink- vehicle, etc. from being applied onto a specific region of the cap, thereby eliminating the risk of a degradation in the sealing efficiency of the cap. As a result, the retractable marker pen according to the present invention can achieve an improved operating reliability as well as high-quality products.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims.

Claims

[CLAIMS]

[Claim I] A retractable marker pen comprising: a housing; a body member placed in the housing, the body member being connected, at a rear end thereof, to the housing via a pushing and retracting connection structure for retractable movement thereof relative to the housing, the body member containing a filter filled with ink, a nib cylinder inserted into a front end of the body member, and a pen nib protruded from a front end of the nib cylinder, the nib cylinder having an outwardly-protruded sealing portion protruded from an outer periphery thereof; a tubular sealing member fixedly mounted inside a front end of the housing, to allow the nib cylinder to be extruded out of and intruded into the tubular sealing member, the tubular sealing member having an inwardly-protruded sealing portion protruded from an inner periphery thereof, to define an inner sealing space of the tubular sealing member behind the pen nib together with the outwardly-protruded sealing portion of the nib cylinder; and a cap installed to an opened front end of the tubular sealing member, so as to define an outer sealing space of the tubular sealing member, the cap being provided with an opening/closing device, wherein the opening/closing device comprises: a sliding arm formed with the body member, the sliding arm having a cap operating structure consisting of a pulling portion, a pushing portion, and an excessive propulsive force accommodating portion; a push rod formed at the cap; and an operating bar to couple the push rod of the cap to the cap operating structure of the sliding arm.

[Claim 2] The retractable marker pen according to claim 1, wherein the tubular sealing member includes a rubber-made inner tubular member installed therein, and a front end of the inner tubular member protrudes forward beyond the front end of the tubular sealing member by a length of 0.1~lmm such that the cap is adhered to and closed by the front end of the rubber-made inner tubular member.