Patent Publication Number: US-9888759-B2

Title: Drawing device and method of drawing

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a cap mechanism, a drawing device, and a method of drawing. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Various technologies have been developed for use in conventional drawing devices for drawing nail designs on fingernails. 
     Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2000-194838 discloses a nail art device for drawing nail designs on the fingernails that includes a holder for locking the finger in place. 
     This nail art device utilizes an inkjet printer to print nail designs on the fingernails. 
     In this type of device, using a pen plotter or the like makes it possible to draw using inks that contain glitter, which have a large particle size and are difficult to use as inkjet inks. However, in consideration of safety of use on the human body, it is preferable that any inks filled into the liquid material applicator (pen) used in a pen plotter be water-soluble. With these types of inks, if the tip of the pen is not covered when the pen is not in use, the ink on the tip of the pen tends to dry and quickly render the pen unusable. 
     In conventional pens, pushing a cap onto the pen with a force of approximately 2 kgf attaches the cap to the pen in a locked state sufficient to prevent drying of the pen tip. 
     However, to avoid an increase in the overall size of the device, the motors used in the mechanism that moves the pen must be small. This makes it difficult to press a cap onto the pen with sufficient force. 
     To solve this problem, the device configuration illustrated in  FIGS. 6A and 6B  includes a cap  100  that can house a pen tip  33  of a pen  30 . As illustrated in  FIG. 6A , when the pen  30  is not in use, the pen  30  is moved to the cap  100 . Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 6B , the pen  30  is simply placed on the cap  100  to insert the pen tip  33  into the cap  100 . 
     In this case, although the pen tip  33  is covered by the cap  100 , the pen  30  is simply resting on the cap  100  under the weight of the pen  30  itself. Therefore, the strength of the resulting seal is poor, and only a limited anti-drying effect is achieved. 
     The present invention was made in view of the abovementioned problems and aims to provide a cap mechanism, a drawing device, and a method of drawing that make it possible to achieve an exceptional anti-drying effect for the pen tip while minimizing any increases in the overall size of the device. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to solve the problems described above, the present invention provides a cap mechanism, a drawing device, and a method of drawing. 
     Additional or separate features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the descriptions that follow and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims thereof as well as the appended drawings. 
     To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, in one aspect, the present disclosure provides a drawing device, including: a liquid material applicator that applies a liquid material to at least one portion of a surface of a nail; and a cap that covers a tip side of the liquid material applicator, wherein the cap includes: an inner cap that has an opening and, when an edge of the opening in the inner cap contacts an outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the liquid material applicator, the inner cap houses at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator; an outer cap that has an opening and that is arranged outside of the inner cap and, when the at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator is housed in the inner cap, the outer cap houses a region that includes the at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator that is housed by the inner cap; and an elastic member that is arranged between the outer cap and the inner cap and that applies reaction force to the inner cap towards the opening in the outer cap when another force is added to the inner cap, and wherein the liquid material applicator and the outer cap have a locking mechanism that locks the liquid material applicator and the outer cap together. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of drawing using a drawing device, including: preparing the drawing device, which includes a liquid material applicator that applies a liquid material to at least one portion of a surface of a nail; and a cap that covers a tip side of the liquid material applicator, the cap including: an inner cap that has an opening and, when an edge of the opening in the inner cap contacts an outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the liquid material applicator, the inner cap houses at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator; an outer cap that has an opening and that is arranged outside of the inner cap and, when the at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator is housed in the inner cap, the outer cap houses a region that includes the at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator that is housed by the inner cap; and an elastic member that is arranged between the outer cap and the inner cap and that applies force to the inner cap towards the opening in the outer cap; contacting the outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the liquid material applicator to the edge of the opening of the inner cap when the liquid material applicator is not applying the liquid material on the surface of the nail; and locking the liquid material applicator to the outer cap via a pressing force that is greater than a pressing force of a contact state with the outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the liquid material applicator and that opposes a force of the elastic member, the pressing force being applied through the liquid material applicator to the edge of the opening in the inner cap, thereby causing the locking mechanism of the liquid material applicator and the outer cap to lock the liquid material applicator and the outer cap together. 
     In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a cap mechanism, including: at least one liquid material applicator that applies a liquid material to at least one portion of a surface of a nail; and at least one cap that covers a tip side of the liquid material applicator, wherein the cap includes: an inner cap that has an opening and, when an edge of the opening in the inner cap contacts an outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the liquid material applicator, the inner cap houses at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator; an outer cap that has an opening and that is arranged outside of the inner cap and, when the at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator is housed in the inner cap, the outer cap houses a region that includes the at least one portion of the tip side of the liquid material applicator that is housed by the inner cap; and an elastic member that is arranged between the outer cap and the inner cap and that applies reaction force to the inner cap towards the opening in the outer cap when another force is added to the inner cap, and wherein the liquid material applicator and the outer cap have a locking mechanism that locks the liquid material applicator and the outer cap together. 
     The present invention makes it possible to provide a cap mechanism, a drawing device, and a method of drawing that exhibit an exceptional anti-drying effect for the pen tip while minimizing any increases in the overall size of the device. 
     Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter. It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and the detailed description of the embodiments given below, serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
         FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a drawing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 2A to 2E  illustrate a pen and a click member according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 3A to 3E  illustrate interlockable locking structures formed on the pen and a cap according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  illustrates a modification example of the click member according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 5A to 5D  illustrate interlockable locking structures formed on a pen and a cap according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. 
         FIGS. 6A and 6B  illustrate the configuration of a cap for a pen used in a conventional device. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached figures. In the figures and the following description, the same reference characters are used for components that are the same in each embodiment. 
     Moreover, the following description of the embodiments assumes that the drawing device of the present invention is used to draw on the fingernails. However, the present invention is not limited to this use case and may also be used to draw on the toenails, for example. 
     Embodiment 1 
       FIG. 1  schematically illustrates a drawing device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , a drawing device  10  is a device for drawing a nail design on the surface (the drawing surface) of a nail  11  of a finger  12 , for example. 
     The drawing device  10  includes a case  20  and a touch panel-type display unit  22  that also functions as an operation unit  21  and that is provided on the top surface of the case  20 . 
     Furthermore, a finger opening  23  is formed in the front surface of the case  20 . 
     Inside the case  20 , a drawing unit  26  that includes an inkjet  24  and a drawing head  25  (such as a pen plotter that uses a liquid material applicator (pen)  30 ) and a dryer  27  that blows warm air to dry the ink applied to the nail  11  are arranged. 
     Moreover, inside the case  20 , a cap  50  that can cover the tip of the liquid material applicator (pen)  30  is arranged at a standby position to which the pen  30  is moved when not in use. A click member  40  is arranged above the cap  50 , with at least a clicking portion  42  going through the top surface of the case  20  and protruding outside of the case  20 . These components will be described in more detail later. 
     In other words, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the position at which the cap  50  is arranged corresponds to the pen standby position, and the cap  50  and the click member  40  are arranged at that position. 
     The present embodiment includes a single pen  30 . However, the present embodiment is not limited to this example and may include a plurality of pens  30 . 
     In a configuration that includes a plurality of the pens  30 , a plurality of the caps  50  may be respectively arranged at the corresponding standby positions to which each pen is moved when not in use, and a plurality of the click members  40  may be respectively arranged above the caps  50 . 
     As illustrated by the double-headed dashed arrows in  FIG. 1 , the pen  30 , the inkjet  24 , and the dryer  27  can be moved forward and backwards, left and right, and up and down as necessary by various movement units (not illustrated in the figure). 
     Next, the click member  40 , the pen  30 , and the cap  50  will be described in more detail. 
     First, the configuration and operation of the click member  40 , the pen  30 , and the cap  50  will be described briefly, and then the operation of the overall device will be described. 
     (Click Member) 
       FIGS. 2A to 2E  illustrate an operation sequence of the pen  30  and the click member  40 . First, the operation of the click member  40  and the click member  40  will be described. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the click member  40  includes a case  41 , the clicking portion  42 , and a pressing portion  43 . Although the internal structure of the click member  40  is not illustrated in the figure, the click member  40  has a structure similar to a rotating cam-type feeding mechanism of the type often used in so-called click-type ballpoint pens and the like. 
     The click member  40  therefore operates similarly to such conventional click-type ballpoint pens. 
     More specifically,  FIG. 2A  illustrates a state in which the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  has not yet been clicked. Starting from this state, when the clicking portion  42  is clicked, the top end of the click member  40  moves from position A as illustrated in  FIG. 2A  to position C as illustrated in  FIG. 2B . 
     Here, like in conventional ballpoint pens, the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  undergoes the same motion as the clicking portion  42 . More specifically, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  that faces the rear end of the pen  30  moves from position D as illustrated in  FIG. 2A  to position F as illustrated in  FIG. 2B . 
     Once clicking of the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  is complete, the top end of the clicking portion  42  moves from position C in  FIG. 2B  to position B as illustrated in  FIG. 2C  and stops at this position rather than returning to the pre-clicking position A in  FIG. 2A . 
     Again, the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  undergoes the same motion as the clicking portion  42 . More specifically, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  that faces the rear end of the pen  30  moves from position F in  FIG. 2B  to position E as illustrated in  FIG. 2C  and stops at this position. 
     Note that in the following description, position E (the position at which the pressing portion  43  stops) will be referred to as a “first stop position.” 
     In simpler terms, the operation illustrated in  FIGS. 2A to 2C  corresponds to an operation in a conventional ballpoint pen in which the button of the ballpoint pen is clicked once, thereby partially hiding the button inside the pen case and causing the pen tip to protrude out from the pen case. 
     Next, when the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  is clicked again, the top end of the click member  40  moves from position B in  FIG. 2C  to position C as illustrated in  FIG. 2D . 
     Once again, the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  undergoes the same motion as the clicking portion  42 . More specifically, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  that faces the rear end of the pen  30  moves from position E in  FIG. 2C  (the first stop position) to position F as illustrated in  FIG. 2D . 
     Here, once clicking of the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  is complete, the top end of the clicking portion  42  moves from position C in  FIG. 2D  to position A as illustrated in  FIG. 2E  and stops at this position. 
     In other words, the second clicking of the click member  40  returns the click member  40  to the state prior to the first clicking illustrated in  FIG. 2A . 
     Again, the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  undergoes the same motion as the clicking portion  42 . More specifically, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  that faces the rear end of the pen  30  moves from position F in  FIG. 2D  to position D as illustrated in  FIG. 2E  and stops at this position. 
     In the following description, position D (the position at which the pressing portion  43  stops) will be referred to as a “second stop position.” 
     In simpler terms, the operation illustrated in  FIGS. 2C to 2E  corresponds to an operation in a conventional ballpoint pen in which the button of the ballpoint pen is clicked once in a state in which the pen tip is already stopped at the position protruding out from the pen case, thereby causing the pen tip to return from the position outside of the pen case to the position inside the pen case and stop at that position. 
     The clicking portion  42  of the present embodiment is only different from the mechanism of a conventional ballpoint pen in that the clicking portion  42  does not include a pen case that houses the pen tip, and therefore the pressing portion  43  is not housed inside the clicking portion  42 . However, the basic operation of the clicking portion  42  is the same as the operation of a conventional ballpoint pen. 
     Furthermore, after clicking the click member  40  twice, clicking the click member  40  again (for the third time) would result in the same behavior as the first clicking. 
     In this way, the bottom end of the click member  40  that faces the rear end of the pen  30  alternates back and forth between the first stop position (position E) and the second stop position (position D) each time the click member  40  is clicked. 
     (Pen) 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2A , the pen  30  includes a cylindrical case  31 , a tapered pen end  32  that is formed on the end of the case  31  and becomes smaller in outer diameter moving towards a pen tip side, and a pen tip  33  that protrudes out in the pen tip direction from the end of the pen end  32 . In the present embodiment, the pen  30  is filled with a high-volatility water-soluble ink. However, the ink is not limited to this example and may be an ink made from any liquid material, such as a gel. 
     Furthermore, as illustrated in  FIG. 2A , a locking protrusion  34  for locking the cap  50  (see  FIG. 1 ) onto the pen  30  is formed on a tip-side portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pen  30  (this will be described in more detail later). 
     More specifically, the locking protrusion  34  is a ring-shaped protrusion that is formed around the entire periphery of a case  31 -side portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pen end  32  and protrudes out away from that surface. 
     When the pen  30  is placed on top of the cap  50  (see  FIG. 1 ), an energizing force that acts towards the click member  40  side is applied to the pen  30 . When the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  is not applying any pressure to the pen  30  or the pen  30  is not locked into the cap  50 , the rear end of the pen  30  is positioned at position D′ as illustrated in  FIG. 2A . This will be described in more detail later. 
     As described above, when the click member  40  is clicked (the first time and the second time), the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  applies a force to the rear end of the pen  30 , thereby causing the pen  30  to move as illustrated in  FIGS. 2A to 2E . 
     More specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 2A , when the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  is clicked for the first time, the pressing portion  43  which is currently separated from the rear end of the pen  30  moves towards the rear end of the pen  30 . Once the top end of the clicking portion  42  reaches position A′, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  reaches position D′, thereby bringing the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  into contact with the rear end of the pen  30 . 
     As the top end of the clicking portion  42  then proceeds to move to position C as illustrated in  FIG. 2B , the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  moves to position F, thereby applying a force to the rear end of the pen  30 . This force opposes the energizing force that acts towards the click member  40  and moves the rear end of the pen  30  to position F. 
     Then, as the clicking of the click member  40  is completed and the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  returns to and stops at position E (the first stop position) as illustrated in  FIGS. 2B and 2C , the pen  30  that is energized towards the click member  40  side also moves such that the rear end of the pen  30  stops at position E. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2C and 2D , when the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  is clicked again (for the second time), the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  moves from position E (the first stop position) to position F, and the rear end of the pen  30  also moves from position E to position F. Then, as illustrated in  FIGS. 2D and 2E , once the clicking is complete, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  moves from position F to position D (the second stop position), and the pen  30  also moves towards position D. However, the rear end of the pen  30  stops at position D′, which is the furthest the pen  30  can move towards position D. This returns the device to the state illustrated in  FIG. 2A , in which the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  is separated from the rear end of the pen  30 . 
     (Cap) 
       FIGS. 3A to 3E  illustrate an operation sequence of the pen  30  and the cap  50 . First, the configuration of the cap  50  will be described. Then, the overall operation of the pen  30 , the click member  40 , and the cap  50  will be described including the operation of the pen  30  and the click member  40  as described above. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3A , the cap  50  includes: an outer cap  60  that has a bottom; an elastic member  80  constituted by a coil spring and arranged inside the outer cap  60 ; and an inner cap  70  that is arranged inside the outer cap  60 , has an opening  72  and a bottom, and is energized towards an opening  63  side of the outer cap  60  by the elastic member  80 . 
     Furthermore, a locking recess  61  for locking together with the locking protrusion  34  formed on the pen  30  is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer cap  60 . 
     More specifically, the locking recess  61  is a ring-shaped recess that is formed around the entire periphery of an opening  63 -side portion of the inner peripheral surface of the outer cap  60  and recedes towards the outer peripheral surface thereof. 
     Note that the relationship between the locking protrusion  34  formed on the pen  30  and the locking recess  61  formed in the outer cap  60  may be reversed. 
     In other words, a locking protrusion may be formed on the inner peripheral surface of the outer cap  60 , and a locking recess that locks together with that locking protrusion may be formed in a tip-side portion of the outer peripheral surface of the pen  30 . 
     Furthermore, as described above in reference to  FIG. 1 , the cap  50  is arranged at a standby position to which the pen  30  is moved when not being used to draw. 
     Next, the operation of the device when a nail design is completed and the device is turned off will be described using  FIGS. 3A to 3E . 
       FIG. 3A  illustrates a state in which a nail design has just been completed, and a movement unit (not illustrated in the figure) has moved the pen  30  to the cap  50 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3B , after moving the pen  30  to the cap  50 , the movement unit (not illustrated in the figure) places the pen  30  on top of the cap  50 . 
     The state illustrated in  FIG. 3B  in which the pen  30  has been placed on the cap  50  corresponds to the state illustrated in  FIG. 2A . 
     Note that the gap between the rear end of the pen  30  and the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  in  FIG. 2A  (that is, the distance between position D and position D′) is not drawn to scale. In reality, this distance is simply set to a value that makes it possible to perform the operation illustrated in  FIGS. 3A and 3B  on the pen  30 . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3B , the inner cap  70  is energized towards the opening  63  side of the outer cap  60  by the elastic member  80  and is arranged within the outer cap  60  such that when the pen  30  is placed on top of the cap  50 , an opening periphery  71  of the inner cap  70  (see  FIG. 3A ) contacts the outer peripheral surface on the tip side of the pen  30  (that is, the outer peripheral surface of the pen end  32 ). 
     Therefore, the pen tip  33  is moderately sealed by the inner cap  70  when the pen  30  is placed on top of the cap  50 , thereby preventing drying of the pen tip  33 . However, in this state drying cannot be prevented over the long term because the seal is not particularly strong. 
     Using the inner cap  70  to create a moderate seal around the pen tip  33  when the pen  30  is placed on top of the cap  50  makes it possible to prevent drying of the pen tip  33  during formation of a nail design by temporarily placing the pen  30  on top of the cap  50  while using the inkjet  24  (see  FIG. 1 ) to print the nail design, for example. 
     When the user clicks the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  (which protrudes out through the top surface of the case  20  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 ), the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  stops at position E (the first stop position, see  FIG. 2C ) as described above using  FIGS. 2A to 2C . This causes the pen  30  to stop in a state in which the locking protrusion  34  of the pen  30  is locked into the locking recess  61  of the outer cap  60 . 
     In  FIG. 3B , the pen  30  is simply placed on top of the cap  50 . In  FIG. 3C , the pen  30  is locked in place by the locking structure constituted by the locking protrusion  34  of the pen  30  and the locking recess  61  of the outer cap  60 . In the latter case in which the pen  30  is locked in place by the locking structure, the pen  30  is positioned closer to the bottom side of the outer cap  60 , thereby compressing the elastic member  80 . 
     When the pen  30  is locked in place by the locking structure, the inner cap  70  is strongly pressed into the outer peripheral surface on the tip side of the pen  30  (that is, the outer peripheral surface of the pen end  32 ), thereby increasing the strength of the seal and making it possible to prevent drying of the pen tip  33  for a long period of time. 
     Using the locking structure to lock the pen  30  in place after a nail design is completed prevents drying of the pen tip  33  of the pen  30  while the drawing device  10  is not in use. 
     In the present embodiment, the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  can also function as a locking structure. Therefore, the locking protrusion  34  of the pen  30  and the locking recess  61  of the outer cap  60  may be removed, and the click member  41  itself may function as the locking structure. 
     However, forming the locking protrusion  34  on the pen  30  and the locking recess  61  on the outer cap  60  makes it possible to stably lock the pen  30  in place even when there is instability or the like in the clicking mechanism of the click member  40 . 
     The next time the drawing device  10  is used, the user simply clicks the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  again to perform the operation described above as the second clicking. 
     More specifically, this corresponds to clicking the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  starting from the state illustrated in  FIG. 2C . 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 2D , this temporarily moves the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  from the first stop position (position E) in  FIG. 2C  to position F, which is located further towards the pen tip  33  side of the pen  30 . 
       FIGS. 3C and 3D  illustrate the corresponding behavior of the pen tip  33  and the cap  50  during this operation. 
     As illustrated in  FIG. 3D , as the pressing portion  43  temporarily moves from the first stop position (position E if  FIG. 2C ) to a position closer to the bottom surface side of the outer cap  60 , the elastic member  80  is strongly compressed. 
     As illustrated in  FIGS. 2D and 2E , once the clicking of the click member  40  is complete, the bottom end of the pressing portion  43  moves to the second stop position (position D), which is separated from the rear end of the pen  30 . As illustrated in  FIGS. 3D and 3E , this releases the elastic member  80  from the compressed state and allows the elastic member  80  to extend energetically. 
     The energizing force of the elastic member  80  frees the locking structure constituted by the locking protrusion  34  of the pen  30  and the locking recess  61  of the outer cap  60  from the locked state. This returns the pen  30  to the state in which the pen  30  is simply resting on top of the cap  50  and from which the movement unit (not illustrated in the figure) can move the pen  30  as necessary. 
     In Embodiment 1, the user clicks the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  before and after using the drawing device  10 . However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. In other words, in situations in which it does not matter if the device increases in size or a small motor that does not increase the size of the device can be used, the clicking portion  42  of the click member  40  may be clicked using a motor arranged within the device. 
     (Modification Example of Click Member) 
     The description above assumes use of a single pen  30 . However, as mentioned earlier, the number of pens  30  included in the drawing device  10  is not particularly limited. 
     In configurations that include a plurality of the pens  30 , a corresponding number of caps  50  and click members  40  may be provided. Alternatively, the configuration illustrated in  FIG. 4  may be used for the click member  40 . This configuration makes it possible to increase the number of pens  30  without having to increase the number of click members  40 . 
     More specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 4 , in a click member  40 ′ according to a modification example, the area or width of the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40  is increased to form a pressing portion  43 ′ that can apply pressure to the rear ends of a plurality of the pens  30  at the same time. The click member  40 ′ is otherwise identical to the click member  40 . 
     This makes it possible to provide a click member  40 ′ that supports use of a plurality of the pens  30  simply by changing the shape of the pressing portion  43  of the click member  40 . 
     Embodiment 2 
     Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. 
     The basic configuration of Embodiment 2 is the same as Embodiment 1. Therefore, the following description omits the aspects of Embodiment 2 that are the same as in Embodiment 1 and focuses primarily on the aspects that are different. 
       FIGS. 5A to 5D  correspond to the view of Embodiment 1 provided in  FIG. 3A to 3E  and illustrates a cap  50  and the tip side of a pen  30  according to Embodiment 2. 
     In Embodiment 2, a male threaded groove  35  is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the pen  30  (that is, the outer peripheral surface of a pen end  32 ) instead of the locking protrusion  34  described in Embodiment 1. 
     Meanwhile, a female threaded groove  62  is formed on the inner peripheral surface of an opening  63  side of an outer cap  60  instead of the locking recess  61  described in Embodiment 1. 
     In other words, in Embodiment 2 the locking structure is constituted by threads formed on the outer peripheral surface of the tip side of the pen  30  and on the inner peripheral surface of the outer cap  60 . 
     Therefore, after a movement unit (not illustrated in the figure) moves the pen  30  to a position above the cap  50  as illustrated in  FIG. 5A , the pen  30  is placed on top of the cap  50  as illustrated in  FIG. 5B . Then, as illustrated in  FIG. 5C , a rotation mechanism included in the movement unit (not illustrated in the figure) rotates the pen  30  to screw the pen  30  into the threads. 
     This moves the pen  30  from the state in which the pen  30  is resting on top of the cap  50  to a state in which the pen  30  is closer to the bottom surface side of the outer cap  60 , thereby compressing an elastic member  80 . The resulting energizing force strongly presses an inner cap  70  into the outer peripheral surface on the tip side of the pen  30  (that is, the outer peripheral surface of the pen end  32 ), thereby forming a strong seal. 
     Like in Embodiment 1, this makes it possible to prevent drying of a pen tip  33  for a long period of time. 
     Meanwhile, to deploy the pen  30  for use, the rotation mechanism of the movement unit (not illustrated in the figure) rotates the pen  30  in the opposite direction. As illustrated in  FIG. 5D , this unscrews the pen  30  from the threads, thereby returning the pen  30  to the state illustrated in  FIG. 5B  in which the pen  30  is simply resting on the cap  50  and from which the pen  30  can be moved again as necessary. 
     In Embodiment 2, the click member  40  of Embodiment 1 is not required. Moreover, the locking structure can be engaged and disengaged simply by rotating the pen  30 , which for a motor represents only a small additional movement. 
     Therefore, a small motor can be included in the device. This makes it possible to avoid any increases in the size of the device while also making it possible to configure the device to automatically engage and disengage the locking structure rather than the user needing to perform this operation. 
     In Embodiments 1 and 2 as described above, a pen  30  of the type used in a pen plotter is used as the liquid material applicator. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. In other words, the liquid material applicator is not limited to the pen  30  and may be a cover or the like that attaches to the tip (head) of the inkjet  24 . 
     The present invention was described above using specific embodiments as examples. However, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. 
     It is understood to persons skilled in the art that various modifications or improvements can be made to the specific embodiments described above, and such modifications and improvements are included within the technical scope of the present invention as defined by the claims.