Patent GB-663951-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to fountain pens
IPC: B43K5/04
Filed: 1948-12-10
Abstract: 663,951. Reservoir pens. PARKER PEN CO. Dec. 10, 1948 [Aug. 23, 1948; Aug. 23, 1948] , Nos. 32023/48 and 32024/48. Class 146 (iii). A fountain pen of the type having a collapsable sac forming a portion of an ink reservoir comprises a nib connected to the reservoir by an ink feed including an overflow ink collector, said ink feed and nib being enclosed except for the writing tip of the latter in a shell carried by a tubular body which also carries the ink feed, sac, and a guard enclosing said sac, said guard being in turn enclosed in a barrel detachably carried by said body. A sac 19 provided with longitudinal ribs 19a is fitted on a section 18 of a tubular body 15. The body 15 is provided with a section 21 on to which a hollow guard 20, closed by an end plug 23, is screwed. The guard 20 has an opening 22 which provides access to a presser-bar 25 which on manual depression deflates the sac for filling. The bar 25, formed of resilient material, comprises a body portion 26 and a hook-shaped portion 27 provided with prongs 27a which engage the inner wall of the guard. A barrel 10, detachably secured to a threaded section 30 of the body 15, abuts against a ring 32 serving as a retaining means for a closure cap (not shown), the barrel being removed to provide access to the presser-bar 25 for filling purposes. The guard 20, which is preferably of thin aluminium, has a polished surface to reflect heat transmitted from the user's hand, while air spaces surrounding the sac 19 and guard 20 are vented by a vent 34 at the rear end of the barrel so as to protect the ink within the sac against increases of pressure due to external heating effects which might cause flooding of ink at the nib. A hollow shell 11 is secured to a forward section 35 of the member 15 by screwing. The shell 11 comprises a chamber 36 adapted to receive an ink collector 14 having fins 39 and being formed with a shank portion 41 fitting into a bore 16 in the member 15. The collector 14 receives ink which flows from the reservoir in excess of that required for writing. Ink-supply arrangements.-Ink is fed from the reservoir 12 within the sac 19 along a capillary'feed duct 45 in the collector 14. The bore of the collector 14 is formed with portions 59, 51, 52 and 68 of decreasing diameters. The portion 50 provides a socket for a cylindrical shank portion 53 of a nib 13 which fits over a feed bar 60 frictionally seated in the portion 52. The portion 53 is slotted at 54 and is provided with a notch 55 forming a passage for the entry of air into the reservoir. A tapered portion 56 of the nib 13 has a longitudinal slit 57 terminating in a hole 58. An arcuate space 63 between the nib 13 and feed bar 60 communicates with an annular space 64 between a portion 61 of the feed bar 60 and the portion 51 of the bore of the ink collector 14. Since the space 64 communicates with the duct 45, ink will be delivered from the reservoir 12 along the duct 45, through spaces 64 and 63 to the slit 57. An ink feed slit 70 of capillary width in the feed bar 60 extends from the space 64 to adjacent the nib slit 57 thus providing an additional path for ink. Air-supply arrangements.-Air to replace ink withdrawn from the reservoir is admitted to the reservoir by way of cells 40 between the fins 39 and the feed duct 45. The ink collector 14 is also provided with a longitudinal air channel 71 which is greater than capillary width. A breather tube 67 of small internal diameter fitted into the member 15 extends substantially throughout the length of the sac and communicates at its lower end with a bore 66 connected to the space 64 by a passage 69, thus providing an air discharge path between the top of the sac and the atmosphere. When the pen is in an inverted position and the top end of the breather tube is submerged, air can escape through a vent 72. The vent 72 is of small size so as to prevent air forced down the breather tube escaping back into the reservoir when the sac is depressed; any air forced out of the vent 72 sets up turbulence in an air trap 73, thus restricting the further flow of air through the vent 72. The breather tube is preferably formed of silver or another highly wettable material. Specification 547,825 is referred to.