Device for receiving a writing implement

A device for receiving a writing implement has a housing, a resiliently yieldable sealing member in the housing and adapted to sealingly abut against a writing tubular member of the writing implement, and a wetting member in the housing and located in spaced relationship with a pressure-equalizing passage of the writing implement as well as communicating with the passage. The resiliently yieldable member may be composed of two axially movable balls which are received in a cylindrical portion of the housing and axially limited by two axially spaced collars. The cylindrical portion may be connected with a conical extension which, in turn, may be connected with a further cylindrical portion received in the receiving opening of the housing. These portions may be of one-piece with each other so as to form a one-piece insert member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention relates to a device for receiving a writing implement 
which is filled by a writing liquid and has a pressure-equalizing passage 
formed between a writing insert and a head portion of the writing 
implement, the device having one or several openings each provided with a 
collar for mounting one or several wetting members. 
When a writing implement has a tubular writing member and a cleaning needle 
longitudinally guided in the latter, drying must be prevented under all 
circumstances when the writing liquid is in communication with the outer 
air, to thereby guarantee an immediate start of the writing process. It is 
also necessary to maintain the pressure equalizing system of the writing 
implement in operative condition. 
In order to attain these goals it is known to provide a separate sealing 
cap in a main cap of such a writing implement, the sealing cap 
accommodating a water impregnated cork member (German Gebrauchemuster No. 
1,995,906). In such a construction a writing insert and an outlet of a 
pressure-equalizing passage is sealed from the outer air and, a zone of 
wet air is simultaneously generated in the region of a tubular writing 
member and in the pressure-equalizing passage of the writing implement. 
Thereby, the writing implement is ready to immediately start the writing 
process even after a long time of non-use. However, this construction 
possesses the disadvantage that the writing liquid at the front end of the 
writing tubular member becomes diluted, by the water, and for this reason 
the color of writing produced by the writing implement does not 
immediately have the degree of darkness which it is intended to have. 
Complete darkness of the ink can be obtained only after repeated making 
lines on a carrier (e.g. paper) with the writing tip. 
It has been further proposed (German Gebrauchemuster No. 7,505,779) to 
provide in a protective cap a cup member serving to support a further 
cup-shaped extension against which the tubular writing member sealingly 
abuts and which simultaneously hermetically closes the outlet of the 
equalizing system. Since all parts of the writing implement which are in 
communication with the outer air are sealed, the writing implement is 
ready to immediately start the writing process. However, in this 
construction the pressure-equalizing system is rendered ineffective. Thus, 
pressure - and temperature fluctuations which act upon a container filled 
by writing liquid, cannot be equalized. A pressure differential which 
develops when the pressure-equalizing passage is unsealed results in 
discharging of the writing liquid and soiling of the writing tip. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device 
for receiving a writing implement, which avoids the disadvantages of the 
prior art. 
More particularly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
device for receiving a writing implement, which guarantees readiness to 
write of the writing implement in the sense of immediate capability of the 
latter to write, even after a long time of non-use. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a device for 
receiving a writing implement, which assures that when the writing 
implement is withdrawn from the device, it does not become soiled in the 
region of a pressure-equalizing passage and therefore also in the region 
of gripping the writing implement by the user irrespective of a degree to 
which a container of the writing implement is filled by a writing liquid. 
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent 
hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, 
in a device for receiving a writing implement, which has a resiliently 
yieldable member located in an inner chamber communicating with a 
receiving opening so that a tubular writing element of the writing 
implement sealingly abuts against the resiliently yieldable member, and an 
additional wetting member having at least one face which discharges a 
wetting medium and is spaced from as well as communicates with a 
pressure-equalizing passage of the writing implement. More particularly, 
the above-mentioned surface of the wetting member may communicate with an 
annular gap which is formed in housing means of the device and which, in 
turn, communicates with the pressure-equalizing passage. 
Another feature of the present invention is that the resiliently yieldable 
sealing member may be composed of two balls which abut against each other 
and are movable in limited axial movement between two axially spaced 
collars. This compensates for positional tolerances in an axial direction 
of the device. 
In accordance with still another feature of the present invention, in order 
to guarantee the axial movement of the resiliently yieldable member 
composed of two balls, the housing means may have inner and outer housing 
members, the former of which has a cylindrical leading end portion axially 
bounded by the above-mentioned two collars. The inner housing member may 
further include a conical extension portion connected with the cylindrical 
leading end portion and having a maximum diameter corresponding to the 
diameter of the receiving opening. Preferably, a trailing end cylindrical 
portion having a conical end section is further connected with the conical 
extension portion, and the above-mentioned three portions are of one piece 
with each other so as to form a one-piece insert member. Such a one-piece 
member provides for economical manufacture and easy mounting of the 
device. 
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention 
are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, 
however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together 
with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood 
from the following description of specific embodiments when read in 
connection with the accompanying drawing.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
A writing implement to be received into a device in accordance with the 
present invention, has a head part 1 provided with a mark (here 0.5) 
indicating the line width to be produced by the implement. An ink tank or 
cartridge 2 is inserted into the head part 1 at one end of the latter. The 
other end of the head part 1 is formed as a mouthpiece 3 having a conical 
receiving opening. A writing insert 4 is received into the conical opening 
of the head part 1, and a tubular writing member 5 is provided at a 
leading end of the writing insert 4. A pressure-compensating passage 6 is 
formed when the writing insert 4 is inserted into the mouthpiece 3 with 
interposition of a screwthread-shaped coil 7. 
The device for receiving the writing implement includes a cap 8 bounding an 
inner chamber 10 of a stepped cross section and having a receiving opening 
9 communicating with the inner chamber. An insert 11 is inserted into the 
cap 8 and has a cylindrical leading end portion 12 merging into a conical 
extension portion 13. The conical extension portion 13 has a maximum outer 
diameter which corresponds to the diameter of the receiving opening 9. The 
conical extension portion 13 has a plurality of through-going openings 14. 
In order to fix the insert member 11 in the cap 8 the former is provided 
with a trailing end portion 15 which has a conical end section 16 and is 
connected with the conical extension portion 13. The trailing end portion 
15 is cylindrical and has an outer diameter corresponding to the diameter 
of the receiving opening 9 of the cap 8. The conical end section 16 of the 
trailing end portion 15 abuts against the head portion 1 of the writing 
implement. 
A resiliently yieldable member composed of two resiliently yieldable balls 
17 is further provided in the device. The balls 17 are located in the 
cylindrical leading end portion 12 of the insert member 11 and between two 
collars 18 and 19. The collars 18 and 19 are axially spaced from one 
another by a distance such as to permit certain axial movement of the 
balls 17. 
The cap 8 and its end which is opposite to the receiving opening 9, 
terminates in an end part 20. The end part 20 serves for receiving an 
absorbent member 21 which has at least one face 22 facing toward the inner 
chamber 10. A cover 23 is provided for form-lockingly mounting the 
absorbent member 21 in the end part 20. The cover 23 may be secured to the 
end part 20 by glueing, welding or the like. 
The device may be formed for receiving several such writing implements in 
which case it is provided with several resiliently yieldable members and 
several absorbent members. 
The readiness of the writing implement to immediately write is attained in 
the device of the present invention, on the one hand, by hermetical 
abutment of the tubular writing member 5 which is somewhat embedded into 
the resiliently yieldable member 17, and, on the other hand, by prevention 
of drying of the ink in the pressure-compensating passage 6 under the 
action of the zone of wet air generated near the outlet of the passage. 
Moreover, the sealing engagement of the conical section 16 of the insert 
11 with the mouthpiece 3 results in that both above-mentioned goals are 
attained to the complete degree. 
The inner chamber 10 which is in communication with the 
pressure-compensating passage 6 through the through-going openings 14 also 
prevents building of a pressure in the pressure-compensating passage 6 
which pressure can, otherwise, take place under the action of pressure and 
temperature fluctuations when the cap 8 is removed and suction is 
generated in the passage. Thereby, soiling of the writing insert is 
prevented. 
It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or 
more together, may also find a useful application in other types of 
constructions differing from the types described above. 
While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a 
device for receiving a writing implement, it is not intended to be limited 
to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes 
may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present 
invention. 
Without further analysis, the foregoing will so full reveal the gist of the 
present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily 
adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the 
standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of 
the generic or specific aspects of this invention.