Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
WO 91 / 16210 PCT/CA91 /00126
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SHAPED PEN r
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION '
The present invention relates to writing pens, and
more particularly, to ball-point pens.
Pens come in a variety of shapes, sizes and types.
There are felt tip pens, ball-point pens and fountain pens,
all of which employ an ink reservoir mated to a writing tip
of some sort and a body or housing for containing the
writing tip and reservoir. For ball-point pens, the writing
tip includes a ball contained in a metallic or plastic tube '
to form a ball-point. In use, the ball-point is rubbed
against the surface of the paper and ink flowing from the
reservoir to the ball-point is neatly deposited on the
surface of the paper.
In order_to maximize the free.~flow of ink onto
paper, the body of the pen_should be held so that the
all-point:is held as close to a vertical position from the
surface of the paper as possible. If the ball-point is not
held at such~a steep.angle; the ball-point lays down less
ink on the paper.
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_.. Traditionally, pens have. had straight tubular
housings'or bodies for.containing the ink reservoir, which '
.have an apertured writing end through which the writing tip
projects in order to make contact with the paper. The
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straight tubular nature of traditional pen bodies is
adequate for retaining the writing tip and ink reservoir but
does not maximize the comfortable use of the pen.
In the past, attempts were made to improve the
comfortable use of pens by modifying the housing with ridges
or bulges located near the writing tip in order to better
conform the housing of the pen to the grip of the user.
Other attempts included the use of customized or modified
writing tips in order to improve the position of the wri.ti.ng
tip in relation to the grip of the user. H.R. Fehling et
al., U.S. Patent No. 3,106,190 discloses a ball-point pen
having a ball held within an angled metal tube. This angled
tube permits the ball-point to be held at the axis of the
housing and at an angle closer to the verticle when the body
of the pen is held in a comfortable writing position .'
Although a custom writing unit having a angled ball-point
makes for better contact of .ball-point with paper, the
comfortable grip of the Fehling pen as with previous pens is
limited by the straight stick-like shape of the. body.
SUDRHARY OF THE INVENTION :... .
The present invention overcomes at least some of
the.limitations of:the prior_art by providing a pen having a ,
. tubular housing witi~ an. aperture at one=end thereof, a long
tubular flexible reservoir dimensioned to fit within the
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housing, a writing tip mated to the ink reservoir and
dimensioned to fit through the housing aperture, wherein a
lower section of the housing adjacent the apertured end i.s
shaped to reposition the writing tip relative to the
longitudinal axis of an upper substantially straight section
of the housing. The shaping of the lower section takes the
form of a first portion extending away from the longitudinal
axis at a first angle and having a first pre-selected length
and a second portion contiguous with the first portion
having a second pre-selected length and extending back
towards the longitudinal axis at a second angle relative to
the first portion. The first and second pre-seleted lengths
and the first and second angles are selected to position the
writing tip at a pre-selected distance from the longitudinal
axis.
In an alternative embodiment.of the invention, the
first and second portions are not co-planar.and the angle of
the second portion is selected to further position the
writing tip at a third angle relative to. the longitudinal
axis and to one side of the plane of-the housing-defined by
the,fiz~st-portion and the upper straight section of the
housing. _ . ....
In another alternative embodiment, the subject
invention is a shaped pen comprising
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(a) a tubular housing having a straight upper
portion defining a longitudinal axis of the pen and a shaped
lower trunk; and
(b) an ink reservoir dimensioned to fit within
the housing having a writing tip;
(c) wherein the shaped lower trunk comprises an
upper trunk section coaxial with the generally straight
upper portion, a middl.~ trunk portion separated from the
upper trunk portion by a thumb bend, and a lower trunk
portion separated from the middle portion by a rest finger
bend;
(d) wherein the shapes of the bends and lengths
of the trunk porticns are selected to position the writing
tip.at a pre-selected distance from and angle to the
longitudinal~axis:of:the straight upper portion.
20;,x. _ - , . - Other features and advantages of =the present
.~inqention-will become apparent from the following detailed
description;~taken~in conjunction with the accompanying
drawings, which illustrate, by way of example, the
principles of the invention.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred
embodiment of the invention showing the writing tip in the
S extended position.
Figure 2 is a side elevational view of the
preferred.embodiment, partly broken away in cross-section
showing the ink reservoir and writing tip.
Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the
preferred embodiment, showing the writing tip in the
extended position.
Figure 4 is a front elevational view of an
alternative embodiment showing the writing tip in the
.- extended postion.
Figure 5 is a front elevational view of another
alternative embodiment showing the writing tip in the
extended.postion.
.. Figure 6 is a perspective view of a further
s
embodiment~of the:subject invention.. .
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.- Figure 7 is a perspective view of the further
wembodiment shown in Figure 6, with its cap detached.
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Figure 8 is a perspective view of ink reservoir of
the embodiment shown in Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a top plan view of the trunk of a
5 right- handed embodiment of the subject invention.
Figure 10 is a top plan view of the trunk of a
left-handed embodiment of the subject invention.
10 Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the
left-handed embodiment of the subject invention being held
in writing position by a left-handed/user.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the pen shown
generally as 10 comprises housing shown generally as 12, ink
reservoir means shown generally as 14, writing tip shown
generally as 16, and retracting means shown generally as 18.
With particular reference to Figure 2, ink
reservoir means 14 comprises a long tubular flexible ink
reservoir 15 which is mated to writing tip 16. Ink
reservoir 15 is a long flexible tube which is easily bent
and deformed. In a preferred embodiment, writing tip 16 ,
comprises a ball-point writing tip. Housing 12 is a long
tube-like structure which tapers to writing end 20 having
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aperture 22. Housing 12 has chamber 24 and flexible i.nk
reservoir 15 is adapted to fit within chamber 24. Writing
tip 16 is configured to project through aperture 22.
Retrar.ti.ng means shown generally as 18 preferably
comprises a push button 36 which engages reservoir 15 which
in turn is biased by spring 38. When push button 36 is
depressed, reservoir 15 is pushed down through chamber 24
and writing tip 16 is extended out of aperture 22. A
mechanism is provided within housing 12 for holding the
reservoir in this position when push button 36 is released.
Such mechanisms are well known in the art and may comprise a
thrust tube/rotati.ng sleeve arrangement, a ball and cam
mechanism or some other mechanism. Which ever mechanism is
used, when push button 36 is depressed and released again
writing point 16 is drawn into chamber 24 by the recoil
action of biasing spring 38. In order to facilitate the
manufacture of these retractable pens, housing 12 is formed
in two pieces which can be separated to permit the replacing
of reservoir 15 when the ink contained therein is exhausted.
Referring to Figure l,.housing 12 has an upper
straight section 26 having a longitudinal axis shown by
dotted line A. Lower section 28 of housing 12 adjacent
apertured 22 is shaped to reposition writing tip 16 relative
to longitudinal axis A. Lower shaped section 28 comprises
first portion 30 and second portion 32. First portion 30 is
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continguous with upper straight ser.tion 26 and has an axis
of its own defined by dotted line B. First portion 30
extends away from longitudinal axis A at first angle R.
Second portion 32 is contiguous with first portion 30 and
has also an axis of its own as shown by dotted line C.
Second portion 32 extends bark towards the longitudinal axis
A at second angle S relative to axis B. First portion 30
and second portion 32 have a first pre-selected length and a
second pre-selected length respectively. The first and
second pre-selected lengths and angles R and S are selected
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to position writing tip 16 at pre-selected distance 34 from
longitudinal axis A. In the preferred embodiment, axes A, B
and C are co-planar, and angle S is selected so that axis C
intersects axis A at third angle T resulting in writing tip
16 being positioned at third angle T relative to
longitudinal axis A.
Preferably, first angle R is between 15° to 30°,
second angle S is between 10° to 30°, third angle T i.s
20vbetween 5° to~l5°, the lengths of first portion 30 and
second portion 32 are between 2 to 4 cm and 1 to 3 cm
respectively, the length of first portion 30~being greater
than second portion~32: In the preferred embodiment, R is
about 12°, S is about 20° and T-is about 8°.
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As shown in Figure 3, in a preferred embodiment,
the bending of the lower section 28 of pen 10 takes place in
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a single plane, i.e. axes A, B and C are i.n a single plane. ,
However, as shown in Figure 4, in an alternative "right
handed" embodiment, shown generally as 40, second portion 42
of lower housing section 44 is bent relative to first
portion 41, resulting in axis C1 of second portion 42 not
being in the plane defined by first portion 41 and upper
stright housing section 48, such plane extending out of the
page towards the reader. This bending of lower portion 42
results in writing tip 47 being positioned at angle V
relative to the longitudinal axis A1 at a distance of
between about 1 to about 3 mm from the aforesaid plane.
This alternative embodiment would be particularly useful as
a writing implement for right handed people because it
positions the writing tip towards the user and therefore the
user can better see the writing tip and also results in less
hand strain.
Referring now to Figure 5, in yet another
alternative embodiment of the invention shown generally as
50, second portion 52 angles away from first portion 5l so
=that the axis of second portion 52 as shown by dotted line E
intersects~-the plane defined by upper housing section 58 and
first portion 51 of lower housing section 54 at angle W as
,' shown in Figure 5.This alternative embodiment would be
25~partiaularly useful'for'people who are left handed.
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In operation, the writing ti.p is first extended
out of aperture 22 by depressing push button 36. Housing 14
is then grasped such that the thumb of operater rests
against the point 35 near the junction of longi.tudi.nal .
portion 26 and first portion 30 and the third finger of the
same hand rests against point 37 near writing end 20 of pen
10. Because writing ti.p 16 is positioned at pre-selected
distance 34 from longitudinal axis A, and at third angle T
relative to longitudinal axis A, pen 10 can be held
comfortably in the hands, while at the same time positioning
writing tip 16 at an angle which is steeper than the angle
between the paper and the longitudinal axis of the upper
part of the pen housing.
This positioning of writing tip 16 facilitates the
free flow of ink, particularly if writing tip 16 comprises a
ball-point. Furthermore, because of the shape of first
portion 30 and second portion 32 of lower section 28,
flexible ink reservoir 14 can slide freely within chamber
24, and therefore.housing _12 could be utilized with standard
flexible ink reservoirs having standard ball-points mated
thereto. Also., because of the shape_.of housing 14 and the
resulting orientation of the thumb and third finger when the
pen is held in a writting.position, the. pen is more
comfortable to hold. The lessening of the strain~together
with the generally more comfortable grip associated with pen
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WO 91116210 PCT/CA91/00126
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makes the use of pen 10 more comfortable in the hands of
operators suffering from arthritis of the hands.
Although a retractable ball-point pen is
5 illustrated in Figures 1 through 5, it is clear that the
present invention may also comprise non-retractable pens
having one piece or two piece bodies which use ball-point or
felt tipped writing tips. In embodiments where no
retracting means is provided, the writing tip is rigidly
10 retained by the housing such that i.t rigi.dly extends out
through the aperture. A cover or cap may be provided to
cover over the writing tip when the pen is not i.n use.
Furthermore, all of the angles and pre-selected
lengths may be modified to better conform the shape of the ,
lower section of the housing to children.
A further embodiment of the subject i.nventi.on is
illustrated in Figures 6 - 11 and described below.
Referring now to Figure 6, Pen 60 is a'retrartible ball
point pen having a housing comprising cap 62 and a bent or
shaped barrel or trunk 64 having an aperture at its tip 65.
" .. . Trunk 64 comprises a generally straight upper
trunk.secti.on 66 coaxial: with cap 62; a'middle trunk section
68 separated from upper trunk section 66 by'thumb bend 70,
and a generally cone shaped lower trunk serti.on 72 separated
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from middle trunk section 68 by rest finger bend 74. Trunk
64 may be thought of as being shaped in the form of a
shallow S. The angles of bend 70 and bend 74, and -the
lengths of trunk sections 66, 68 and 70, can be varied to
suit the needs of individual users or classes of users.
Thumb rest bend 70 results in raising the tip 65
of pen 60 above the north-south longitudinal axis of the
pen, shown by dotted line~N-S. Rest finger bend 74
re-directs tip 65 back towards longtudinal axis N-S, at an
angle to a horizontal writing surface which is preferably
greater than the angle assumed by longitudinal axis N-S when
pen 60 is gripped in writing position. This allows the tip
65 to contact the writing surface at an angle close to the
ideal 90° degree angle, when the writer assumes a normal
hand posture in gripping pen 60.. Thumb bend 70 provides
balance to pen 60, and thus tends to prevent pen 60 from
flipping over during use. Thumb bend 70 also provides a
contoured surface enabling pen 60 to be grasped comfortably.
The result,is an ergonomically designed pen, capable of
.-being used with various writing positions.
Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, pen 60 also
comprises bent. or curved. ink. reservoir 76 which is shaped
25.generally similar to,the.shape of trunk 64. This shaping ,
may be accomplished.by heating up a straightwplastic ink
reservoir_and melting it into its desired shape.or by
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stressing it beyond its elastic limit so that ink reservoir
does not assume its original shape in time. To enable ink
reservoir 76 to be retracted and extended into trunk 64,
spring 78 is installed around ink reservoir 76 near the top
thereof between crimp 80 and washer 82.
As shown in Figure 6, pen 60 is a "neutral" pen in
the sense that bends 70, 74 are in the same plane containing
the north-south axis of the pen. As a result, ti.p 65 of pen
60 is not angled to the left (east) or right (west).
However; east or west twists may be applied to
either of north-south bends 70, 74 to better suit right or
left handed users. Referring now to the topographic view of
trunk 64R of a right-handed pen illustrated in Figure 9,
trunk 64R shaped for right-handed users ; in that tip 65R is
angled to the east or right of the longitudinal axis of
trunk 64R as shown by dotted line N-S. In use,-tip 65R of
right-handed pen is angled towards the~body-center of the
user (or to the left, from the user's perspective):- This-
"right-handed" embodiment is preferably formed by-applying
an east or right twist to thumb'bend 70R (which extends out
of the page), as opposed to twisting'to..the right rest
finger bend 74R -(which extends 'into the 'page) : As 'a -result,
lower trunk portioW 72R:and middle trunk portion 68R'remain
generally co-planar, whereas upper trunk portion 66R and
middle trunk portion 68R are no longer co-planar, due to the
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right-hand twist applied to thumb bend 70R during the
forming of trunk 64R. Alternatively, a suitable mold can be
designed to produce pen trunks having the desired right-hand
laterally twisted S-bend shape.
Figure 10 illustrates a topographic, view of trunk
64L of pen 60L. Trunk 64L is shaped for use by
left-handers, by applying a left or west twist to the thumb
rest bend 70L, either..during reforming of a straight trunk,
or by means of a suitable left twisted S-bend shaped mold.
Figure 11 illustrates one~way of holding the
left-handed embodiment of the pen of the subject invention.
Left-handed pen 60L is grasped by the user by planing his
thumb against thumb bend 70L and resting the underside of
wmiddle trunk portion 68L~against his rest finger. It will
be noted that when held-in this position, the tip 65L of pen
60L angled away from the body-center of the user and is
positioned at nearly a 90°-angle to the writing surface. An
20.-important feature of left-handed pew60L.is that. re-angled
tip-;65L~of .pen 60L when gripped as shown i Figure 11 now
drags.across the writing surface during~writing operations,
like the pulling acti.ow of chalk across a black board,'~as
:,-opposed to, pushing the:~:halk (i.e. chiseling motion); which
_.25,.left-hand.,.:writers_-try:.to avoid,by adopting the familiar = '
cramped wrist posture.. _ .
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The embodiment of the subject invention shown in
Figures 6 - 11 has certain advantages over and above the
advantages associated with the embodiments shown in Figures
1 - 5. The repositioning of spring 78 from near the curved
tip of the pen to the straight upper section of the pen
covered by cap 62 enables ink reservoir 76 to slide more
freely in trunk 64 during extension and retraction of ink
reservoir 76. The shaping of ink reservoir 76 not only
assists ink reservoir to slide freely in shaped trunk 64,
but also reduces internal stresses which tend to cause trunk
64 to straighten out over time. Pens 60R and 60L can be
made by re-forming a straight pen in a jig with less steps
than in the case of the embodiments shown in Figures 1 - 5.
The invention has been described with reference to
various preferred and alternative embodiments. However, it
is clear that certain modifications and variations can be
made to the above embodiments without departing from the
invention and such modifications and variations.are intended
to be included as falling within the scope of ,the following
claims.
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