Abstract:
A water absorbent sleeve can be positioned on a writing implement to prevent the slipping of the writing instrument caused from a user&#39;s sweaty palm or fingers.

Description:
[0001]    The invention relates to a pen or pencil sleeve, which absorbs sweat so that a person&#39;s fingers do not slip on the pen or pencil when handling the pen or pencil over an extended period.  
           [0002]    The present invention is directed to a sweat absorbing finger-gripping device for use as a permanent or preferably a removable attachment to a writing implement. The finger-gripping device comprises a water or moisture absorbent sleeve to absorb sweat from the fingers of the person using the implement. The cylindrically-shaped sleeve has a formed internal bore or hollow portion sized to snugly fit around the writing instrument. The water absorbent sleeve forms a finger contacting surface when the sleeve is carried on a writing implement. The water absorbent layer absorbs sweat from the palm and/or fingers of the user sot the writing instrument does not slip in the user&#39;s palm and/or fingers.  
           [0003]    The sleeve can be formed with an internal layer, which can be coated with an adhesive to prevent the finger-gripping device from sliding on the writing implement.  
           [0004]    The sleeve also has an outer permeable fabric layer with a moisture absorbing layer sandwiched between the internal layer, which can also be coated with an adhesive layer, preferably a releasable adhesive layer.  
           [0005]    The water absorbent sleeve can be formed from a layered or laminated material such as material used to make CAREFREE® panty liner.  
           [0006]    The cylindrically-shaped sleeve can be perforated circumferentially at spaced intervals to allow removal of sections to compensate for reduced length of a pencil as the pencil is sharpened.  
           [0007]    The water or moisture absorbent sleeve can be initially woven as a cylindrical fabric, or can be formed by bringing opposing edges of a flat sheet of layered material into contact and securing the opposing edges to form a cylindrical configuration. The seam or joint can be by bonding or stitching, or can be seamless.  
           [0008]    As stated above, a water permeable layer is positioned on the finger contacting side of the cylindrical water absorbent sleeve to wick moisture from the fingers into the moisture absorbent layer.  
           [0009]    The present invention further includes the permanent combination of a writing implement and a finger-gripping device. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1A shows a water absorbent sleeve on a writing implement (pencil shown);  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 1B shows a water absorbent sleeve on a writing implement (pen shown);  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 2 depicts one embodiment of the invention where sectional portion of the sleeve can be torn off (separated) as a pencil is shortened;  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 3 depicts a cross-section view of a partial section of one of the sections from FIG. 2; and  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 4 depicts a plan cross-section view of one of the sections from FIG. 2. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]    Turning now to FIGS. 1A and 1B,  2 ,  3  and  4 , there is shown a water absorbent sleeve  10  having a finger contacting surface  12 , and a formed bore or hollow portion  14  designed to snugly fit around a writing implement. The sleeve can be formed as a multi-layered device, typically, three layers, a fabric layer  16  on the outside, a sleeve internal or inner layer  18  which is formed to snugly fit around the writing implement  20   a , 20   b , and an intermediate moisture absorbing layer  22  sandwiched in between. The sleeve internal layer  18  is generally made from an impervious material and can be coated with an adhesive  24  to prevent the water absorbent sleeve  10  from sliding on the writing implement  20   a , 20   b . Adhesive  24  can be a permanent adhesive for mechanical pencils  20   a  or pens  20   b , although a releasable adhesive would be advantageous so as to be able to temporarily remove the sleeve  10  from the implement  20   a , 20   b  for reuse on other writing implements.  
         [0016]    The water absorbent sleeve&#39;s outer fabric layer  16  preferably has perforations  26  around its circumference at spaced-apart intervals to provide for reduction in length to correspond to reduction in length of the writing implement, when the writing implement is a pencil  20   a.    
         [0017]    Outer layer  16 , which forms the finger contacting surface  12 , is typically a woven fabric such as nylon, cotton or synthetic material which will be sufficiently durable to be used repetitively. The outer layer  16  could also be preformed non-fabric material such as leather, elastomeric, polymeric, and synthetic materials, as long as the material selected is sufficiently permeable to allow any sweat to permeate into the sweat absorbing intermediate layer  22 . This intermediate sweat absorbing layer  22  can be a cotton fibrous or other loosely woven fibrous material sufficient to readily absorb the sweat moisture and the permeation in the outer layer  16  should be porous enough to allow for the intermediate layer to dry after a period of non-use.  
         [0018]    Because pencils have to be sharpened, it is recommended that the sleeve  10  have spaced-apart circumferential perforations  26 , which allow for the tearing off or separation of sections as the pencil is shortened. These tear off perforations  26  can be typically spaced apart about very ½ inch to ¾ inches, although any increment spacing can be chosen. For mechanical pencils and pens, it is contemplated that the ability to tear off sections  28  is not necessary, and in fact, it is also contemplated that the sleeve  10  may be permanently adhered to the mechanical pencil or pen.  
         [0019]    As can be ascertained from the above description, the inventive device  10  can be sized to fit any cross-sectionally shaped pen or pencil and can have any predetermined length to fit the pencil or pen.  
         [0020]    It should be understood that the preceding is merely a detailed description of one or more embodiments of this invention and that numerous changes to the disclosed embodiments can be made in accordance with the disclosure herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. The preceding description, therefore, is not meant to limit the scope of the invention. Rather, the scope of the invention is to be determined only by the appended claims and their equivalents.  
         [0021]    Now that the invention has been described,