Felt-tip pen cover with eraser

An eraser is placed on or near the end of the cover of a felt tip pen. The cover is inserted into the bottom of the pen or on the bottom of the pen itself. For a tapered cover type of pen, the eraser is placed on the flat upper end. For a raised or dimple type of cover, the eraser is placed concentrically around the end away from the dimple like a girdle or belt or flat on the bottom of the pen body. On a type of pen that resembles a fountain pen, the eraser is placed on the top cover on a flat area that may be slightly angled. The eraser can also be an annular ring on the base of the pen body. The eraser can be removable from the pen or can be attached with adhesive.

BACKGROUND 
1. Field of the Invention 
This invention relates generally to the field of writing instruments and 
more particularly to a felt tip pens with an eraser, in particular, a 
removable eraser. 
2. Description of the Related Art 
Previous systems comprise several major types of felt tip pens and covers, 
none of which have erasers. One type of pen has a small circular raised 
area on the top of a cover for insertion into the bottom of the pen when 
the pen is in use; a second type consists of a tapered cylindrical cover 
that is reversed and inserted into the bottom of the pen when the pen is 
in use. A third type of felt tip marker resembles a fountain pen. This 
type has a removable cover that is inserted over the base of the pen when 
writing. 
None of these previous systems is equipped with any type of eraser. Yet, 
numerous circumstances arise during the use of a felt tip pen at a 
whiteboard (or any writing board) where a minor correction is required. 
Erasing the dried ink from the board requires searching for a full sized 
board eraser. This means picking up the large eraser with a second hand 
and erasing while still holding the pen in the first hand. 
Sometimes a large eraser cannot be found. Either the room containing the 
whiteboard was not equipped with one, or it has been misplaced. In this 
case, the lecturer must generally wipe the colored ink from the board with 
his or her hand or palm. In either case, the colored ink is transferred to 
the skin causing a mess that can then accidently be transferred to 
clothing or elsewhere. 
What is very badly needed is a felt tip pen with an eraser on its cover or 
elsewhere. This eraser need not be large since it would not necessarily be 
used to erase an entire board, but rather to simply make corrections. What 
is also needed, is a felt tip pen eraser that can be removed and fitted on 
a different pen. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to an improved felt tip pen with an attached 
and possibly removable eraser. The invention places an eraser on the end 
of the cover that is not inserted into the bottom of the pen or on the end 
of the pen body. 
For the tapered cover type of pen, the eraser is placed on the flat upper 
end. For the raised or dimple type, the eraser is placed concentrically 
around the end away from the dimple like a girdle or belt. This is 
necessary since that end is also used to cover the felt wick. The third 
type of pen resembles a fountain pen. Here the eraser is placed on the top 
of the cover on a flat area that may be angled slightly. An alternative is 
to place an annular eraser on the flat bottom of the raised or dimple 
type. The eraser resembles a flat doughnut on the end of the pen. The hole 
in the center of the eraser allows insertion of the pen cover into the 
base of the pen in the normal way. 
An important feature of the present invention is that the eraser can be 
removable from the pen cap. This allows erasers to be supplied separate of 
pens and merely pressed onto the pen or pen cap by the user when a new pen 
is obtained. This allows the eraser to be used with any pen on the market 
without the pen maker having to supply the eraser.

It should be understood, of course, that the invention is not necessarily 
limited to the particular embodiments illustrated herein. 
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Turning to FIG. 1, one of the major types of pens manufactured today can be 
seen. There is a cylindrical body 1, and a cylindrical cap 2. The cap 2 is 
tapered slightly at its base or top (taper not shown) so that the tapered 
end can be inserted into the bottom of the body 1. The body 1 contains ink 
and a wick that extends out the top of the pen (not shown). 
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the invention with a pad or layers of pliable 
material 3 mounted on the top of the cap 2 to form an eraser. This 
material 3 can be felt or any other layered or non-layered material that 
can be used to erase a whiteboard. This eraser pad can be glued, epoxied, 
super-glued, or attached by any other manner that causes it to be firmly 
affixed. The eraser material can be impregnated with a organosilicone 
fluid, if desired, to enhance dust retention. 
When the pen is in the writing position with the cap stuck into the bottom, 
the eraser faces out the back of the pen. This is a very convenient 
position for the eraser since the user needs only turn the hand slightly 
to erase or make small corrections. 
FIG. 2 shows another major type of felt tip pen on the market. There is a 
generally cylindrical body 1, and a cap or cover 2. In this case, the 
cover 2 contains a small circular raised area or dimple 7. This dimple 7 
is used to hold the cap in the bottom of the body 1 in the writing 
position as can be clearly seen in FIG. 2. The body 1 contains ink and a 
wick which protrudes out the top of the body to form a writing surface 5. 
The cap 2 is removed from the pen body 1 when it is desired to write. The 
cap is moved 4 from the top of the pen to the bottom with the dimple 
inserted into the body. The cap in this position is firmly held to the pen 
body. The cylindrical body 1 contains a circular aperture 9 into which the 
cap 4 can be inserted. 
An embodiment of the present invention places an eraser pad 3 made of felt 
or other suitable material concentrically around the bottom of the cover 
2. The pad 3 forms a belt or girdle around the lower or smaller part of 
the cover 6. When the cover is place in the bottom of the base for 
writing, the eraser pad 3 is exposed and in position to erase. The eraser 
pad 3 is also exposed when the cover 2 is in the closed position. This 
particular embodiment is particularly easy to use since the user need not 
change the position of the hand to erase. The user simple turns the hand 
very slightly to expose the eraser pad 3 and then applies it to the board 
to erase. 
The eraser pad 3 in this embodiment can be removed and replaced if 
necessary or it can be attached with a layer of glue or other adhesive 10. 
This is clearly shown in FIG. 2. The pad itself is a circular disk with a 
central aperture cut out. If this aperture is small enough, the disk will 
grip the pen cap or pen body tight enough to stay in place without 
adhesive of any type. This feature is particularly useful for fitting an 
eraser pad to a pen obtained without an eraser. In other words, the user 
can simply take any pen of this type and fit it with an eraser. In this 
manner, the eraser pads can be supplied separately from the pen, and the 
invention can be fitted to any pen by supplying the pads with different 
size center apertures to fit various sizes of pens. 
FIG. 3 shows a third type of pen found on the market, namely one that 
resembles a fountain pen (with possibly a larger diameter). Here again 
there is a cylindrical body 1 and a cap or cover 2. There is a pocket clip 
8 as well. Due to the position and shape of the pocket clip 8, the eraser 
pad 3 is positioned on an angled flat portion on the top of the cover 2. 
In the writing position, the cover 2 is placed over the bottom of the body 
1, exposing the eraser pad 3 for erasing. 
The manner of attachment of the pad is relatively unimportant as long as 
the pad cannot move. The pad can be pressed on and made to combine its 
fibers into the body of the cover or pen, or it can be attached with 
adhesive or by any other attachment means. The pad can simply fit tight 
enough to be pressed over the end of the pen or pen cap. In this case, it 
is removable. The pad can be dry or permanently wetted. It can be 
untreated, or can contain anti-electrostatic material. The best choice for 
material is felt; however, any pliable material can be used. 
The exact shape of the eraser pad is also not important as long as enough 
surface area is exposed to erase marks on the board. The mounting 
positions shown in FIGS. 1-3 are merely representative of embodiments of 
the present invention and can be altered without major effect. The eraser 
pad 3 can be mounted anywhere on the cover or body of the pen and still be 
effective. The present invention can be embodied with any type of pen on 
the market, and any type that may come onto the market because the eraser 
can be attached anywhere. 
It is to be understood that the above-described arrangements are merely 
illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention, and 
that other arrangements may be devised by those skilled in the art without 
departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.