IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUNTAIN PENS
Year: 1856

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Henry Johnson, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in
the County of Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUNTAIN PENS," a communication
from Newell Anderson Prince, of New York, in the United States of
America.
Sealed the 12th August 1856, and dated the 15th February 1856.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Henry Johnson
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th February 1856.
I, JOHN. HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of
Middlesex, and of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUNTAIN PENS," a com-
munication from Newell Anderson Prince, of New York, in the United
States of America, to be as follows:-
This Invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of self-
supplying or fountain pens, of the class described in the Specification of Letters
Patent granted to me on or about the 24th day of February 1855, as a com-
munication from the said Newell Anderson Prince, whereby greater compact-
ness and portability is obtained, a more even and regular supply of ink
effected during writing, since such supply is capable of being either altogether
shut off, or of being easily adjusted or regulated, according to the wishes of the
writer, and the operation of charging or filling the ink tube or reservoir
rendered more convenient and effectual.

page_text: The improvements consist, firstly, in cutting away or notching laterally the
heel of the pen itself (which may be composed of any of the metals at present
in use for that purpose), whereby the pen is made to fit firmly and securely to
fit on to the supplying tube, which has a corresponding recess formed upon it
to receive the pen.
Secondly, in forming on the back of the pen, near the heel, a small elevation
or bead, which bears against the inner side of the holder, and serves to prevent
the pen from shaking or being unduly lifted when writing. This improvement
is more applicable, however, to pens which may be narrower than the internal
diameter of the holder, otherwise the sides of the pen itself by bearing against
the holder would answer the same purpose.
Thirdly, in the application and use of a small regulating plug, fitted into the
supply tube, for the purpose of entirely shutting off, or regulating, or adjusting
the flow of ink, at the pleasure of the writer. A vibrating spring or tongue is
also fitted inside the supply tube, in the manner and for the purpose described
in the Specification of the Invention herein-before referred to.
Fourthly, in making the piston employed in filling the ink reservoir
detachable from the piston rod, so that when drawn up to the end of the
reservoir the rod may be unscrewed and laid on one side for further use, in
place of protruding from the end of the reservoir, thus rendering the pen more
compact and convenient for use. Another mode of rendering the apparatus
more compact consists in making one part of the piston rod tubular, in which
the other part having been reversed can be inserted, when the entire length of
the rod is not required.
Fifth, in the employment of an indicator to be applied to those pens which
are filled by drawing in the ink into the mouth, by which means the person
filling the reservoir can tell when the same is full without the risk of drawing
the ink into his mouth. This indicator consists of a small buoyant float, resting
in a chamber at the upper end of the reservoir, and fitted with a short spindle
or guide rod at its upper and lower side, which spindles play freely through
suitable guide holes which are sufficiently large to allow the air to be extracted
from the reservoir.
When the reservoir is full, or nearly so, the ink entering the float chamber
elevates the float and causes the upper spindle to protrude through the mouth
piece, and by coming in contact with the tongue or lips of the piston filling
the pen, indicates that the reservoir contains a sufficient quantity of ink. A
small plug is then screwed into the mouth-piece, and the whole is thereby kept
air-tight.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said John Henry Johnson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
15th August 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN
HENRY JOHNSON, of 47, Lincoln's Inn Fields, in the County of Middlesex, and
of Glasgow, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six, in the nineteenth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said John Henry Johnson, Her special license that I, the said
John Henry Johnson, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as. I, the said John Henry Johnson, my executors, ádministrators, or
assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from time to time
and at all times thereafter during the term therein expressed, should and
lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an
Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FOUNTAIN PENS," a communication from
Newell Anderson Prince, of New York, in the United States of America, upon
the condition (amongst others) that. I, the said John Henry Johnson, by
an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent,
Office. within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Henry Johnson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what, manner the same is to be.
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and to the
letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:
The said Invention relates to an improved construction and arrangement of
self-supplying or fountain pens, of the class described in the Specification' of
Letters Patent granted to me on or about the Twenty-fourth day of February.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, as a communication from the said
Newell Anderson Prince; whereby greater compactness and portability is
obtained, a more even and regular supply of ink effected during writing, the
supply is capable of being either altogether shut off; or of being easily, adjusted!

page_text: or regulated, according to the wishes of the writer, and the operation of charging
or filling the ink tube or reservoir rendered more convenient and effectual.
The improvements consist, firstly, in cutting away or notching laterally the
heel of the pen itself (which may be composed of any of the metals at present
in use for that purpose), whereby the pen is made to fit firmly and securely on
to the supplying tube, which has a corresponding recess formed upon it to
receive the pen.
Secondly, in forming on the back of the pen near the heel a small elevation
or bead, which bears against the inner side of the holder, and serves to prevent
the pen from shaking or being unduly lifted when writing. This improvement
is more applicable, however, to pens which may be narrower than the internal
dianieter of the holder, otherwise the sides of the pen itself by bearing against
the holder would answer the same purpose.
Thirdly, in the application and use of a small regulating plug fitted into the
supply tube, for the purpose of entirely shutting off, or regulating, or adjusting
the flow of ink, at the pleasure of the writer. A vibrating spring or tongue is
also fitted inside the supply tube, in the manner and for the purpose described
in the Specification of the Letters Patent for the Invention herein-before-
referred to.
Fourthly, in making the piston employed in filling the ink reservoir
detachable from the piston rod, so that when drawn up to the end of the
reservoir the rod may be unscrewed and laid on one side for further use, in
place of protruding from the end of the reservoir, thus rendering the pen more
compact and convenient for use. Another mode of rendering the apparatus
more compact consists in making one part of the piston rod tubular, in which
the other part having been reversed can be inserted, when the entire length of
the rod is not required.
Fifth, in the employment of an indicator to be applied to those pens which
are filled by drawing in the ink by suction with the month, by which means
the person filling the reservoir can tell when the same is full without the risk
of drawing the ink into his mouth. This indicator consists of a small buoyant
float, resting in a chamber at the upper end of the reservoir, and fitted with a
short spindle or guide rod at its upper and lower side, which spindles play
freely through suitable guide holes which are sufficiently large to allow the air
to be extracted from the reservoir.
When the reservoir is full, or nearly so, the ink entering the float chamber
elevates the float and causes the upper spindle to protrude through the mouth
piece, and by coming in contact with 'the tongue or lips of the person filling
the pen, indicates that the reservoir contains a sufficient quantity of ink. A

page_text: small plug is then screwed into the mouth-piece, and the whole is thereby kept
air-tight.
And in order that the said Invention may be fully understood, I shall now
proceed more particularly to describe the same, and for that purpose I shall
refer to the several Figures on the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed,
the same letters of reference indicating corresponding parts throughout all the
Figures.
Figure 1 of the accompanying Drawings represents a detached plan of the
improved form of pen. Figure 2 represents a side clevation of the same.
Figure 3 represents a plan of the improved feeding tube. Figure 4 represents
a side elevation of the same. Figure 5 represents a portion of the main
reservoir tube with a part of the piston rod projecting therefrom. Figure 6
represents a vertical longitudinal section of the same, with the feeding tube
and pen inserted therein, and also the piston and piston rod detached from
each other. Figures 7 and 8 represent the mode of shortening and extending
the piston rod when requisite. Figure 9 represents an external side elevation
of the improved fountain pen ready for use. Figure 10 represents a view of
the cap used to protect the pen when not in use. Figure 11 is an end view of
the pen cap. Figure 12 is an end view of the small screwed plug inserted
in the upper end of the reservoir tube, as well as a partial end view of the
screw cap screwed on the same. Figure 13 represents a sectional view of
the main reservoir tube and of the ink indicator inserted therein. Figure 14
represents a sectional view of my improved feeding tube, and also details
of the ink regulator or gauge. Figure 15 represents a side elevation
of the small screw inserted when the pen is in use in the upper end of
the reservoir tube; and Figure 16 represents a view of the ink indicator
detached. The pen A, Figure 1, is notched at or near its heel at the parts
B, B. In the feeding tube C, Figure 3, the upper part of which is
somewhat flattened or filed down, there is a notch or lock B', B', which
corresponds to the form of the pen, so that when the pen is placed upon
the feeding tube C, and with it inserted or fitted into the main reservoir
tube D, Figure 6, it is held fast in its place, so that it cannot easily move
laterally nor slip out of its holder. It will be seen, on referring to
Figure 6, that the pen is interlocked with the feeding tube. On the back
of the pen near its heel I make a small elevation or bead E (Figures 1
and 2, the object of which is to keep the pen from rising or lifting too much
during writing. The top part of the elevation or bead during writing comes
in contact with the inside of the main reservoir tube, as shewn at Figure 5.

page_text: This bead is of special importance in very flexible pens, and in those in
which the width at the part inserted into the tube is less than the inside
diameter of such tube. The advantage of interlocking the pen and feeding
tube Care, that the pen is kept firmly in its place, is not easily broken by
compression, and greater facility is afforded for inserting a new pen. In order
to insert a pen, take out the feeding tube, place the pen upon it, and then
insert both the tube and pen together into the main reservoir tube D, as in
Figure 6. The pen and feeding tube must always be taken out together; the
beel of the pen should be inserted in the main reservoir tube to the extent of
about three-eights of an inch, a little more or less. The bead or elevation E
on the back of the pen may be dispensed with when the heel of the pen is as
broad as the inside diameter of the main reservoir tube, since the sides of the
pen itself will in that case keep it from lifting during writing, by being in
contact with the inside of the reservoir tube. The pen must be made to fit
the feeding tube perfectly, or the feeding tube the pen, especially at the points
where the two are interlocked. The piston rod F and piston head G, shewn
in Figure 6, are so made that the former can easily be attached to or detached
from the latter; the upper part of the piston head at H is made with a
"tapped hole," and the lower end of the piston rod is furnished with a cor-
responding screw thread, so that it can be attached to. the piston head when it
is necessary to fill the reservoir tube with ink. The advantage of this com-
bination is, that after the reservoir tube has been filled with ink, the piston
head being drawn tightly into its seat, as described in the Specification of my
former Patent herein-before referred to, the piston rod can be detached there-
from and laid aside. The long ridge or corrugation, shewn on the back of the
pen at I, in Figure 1, is simply to give the pen, sufficient strength when made
of thin gold, but I lay no claim to this ridge.
The extension piston arrangement (Figures 7 and 8) consists in having the
lower part J of the piston rod hollow, with a screw thread cut on the inside
at the upper end, to which a detachable portion K of the piston rod is fitted
by a screw thread k on its lower end, and also by another small screw thread k¹
just above it, a small shoulder intervening between the two.
The detachable portion. K.of the piston rod must be smaller than the bore
of the other part J, so that when it is reversed it can be inserted into the
former (see Figure 7); when this is done it should be 'screwed tight up to
the shoulder. The advantage of this arrangement is, that the whole ap-
paratus will be of a very convenient length and yet hold as much ink as my
former pen, which is much longer. A cap or cover L (Figures 10 and.ii)

page_text: may be placed over the piston as well as the pen, to protect them when not
in use, these caps being screwed or otherwise secured on to the ends of the
main reservoir.
In order to fill the reservoir, the supply tube is dipped into the ink and the
piston is drawn up, at the same time drawing up a sufficient quantity of ink
to fill the reservoir tube; the piston rod may then be unscrewed and laid on
one side for further use. The ink regulator consists of a short plug M,
Figure 14; it is made either cylindrical or conical, and has a small recess or
notch cut out on both sides, as shewn in the detached views at Figure 14, its
widest dimensions being large enough to close the passage c through the
feeding tube.
.
By these means, when the regulator is inserted transversely into the feeding
tube, and is so turned that the central part referred to is in the same line with
the bore of the feeding tube, the ink flows on each side of it towards the
orifice at the lower end of the tube, the regulator being open; but in order to
graduate the flow of the ink or to stop it altogether, the regulator is turned
partially round by means of a small wrench in the pen cap, Figures 10 and 11.
The external part of the regulating plug M has a small shoulder formed upon
to prevent it from being pushed through the feeding tube, and a small pro-
jecting part is also made on it, to which the wrench is applied, or the fingers
may be used if considered desirable. The regulator should fit as accurately
as possible into the feeding tube, to which it serves, in fact, as a cock. To
get the maximum flow or quantity of ink, it must be turned with its nar-
rowest width parallel to the bore of the feeding tube, the part to which the
wrench is applied having the same line of direction as the inner central part.
To stop the flow of the ink altogether, as may be desirable, when the pen is
not in use, the regulator must be turned at a right angle to the feeding tube.
To get a moderate flow of ink it must be left partially open. The great
advantage of the combination of the regulator with the feeding tube is, that
any writer can readily adjust the flow of ink to suit his own hand or stop it
altogether; the width of the regulator may be less than the diameter of the
bore of the feeding tube at the point where it is inserted, in which case a fast
or slow flow of .ink could be obtained; but the flow of the ink could not be
wholly checked or stopped, as is desirable when the pen is carried in the
pocket. The diameter of this regulator should be a little more than that of
the bore of the feeding tube; the feeding tube must be made sufliciently
wide where the regulator is inserted to give it strength and durability. The
hole or bore of the feeding tube must be large enough to supply the largest

page_text: quantity of ink desired during use, a smaller quantity being easily obtained by
turning or adjusting the regulator. The regulator should be inserted in the
feeding tube at a distance of from half an inch to an inch from the lower end
thereof.
When the pen is constructed to be filled by the action of suction with the
mouth in place of a piston, a small indicator is used to shew when the reser-
voir tube is full. This indicator consists of a small chamber N, Figure 13,
in the upper end of the reservoir, tube, with an ink indicator or float O
(Figure 16) inclosed therein, which indicator is so made that its specific
gravity is less than that of the ink to be used. This chamber N is made
somewhat less than an inch in length, and is fitted into the upper part of the
reservoir tube, and closed by a screw cap P, which is fitted tightly thereon,
but which can be removed when desired. The chamber is of the same
diameter throughout, but can be made of a slightly oval form. The bottom
of the chamber has a small hole made through it leading into the main
reservoir tube, the upper end being closed by the screwed cap P, herein-before
referred to. A small hole or passage is made in the screw cap for the indicating
spindle p to pass through, as shewn in Figure 13. To close the hole air-tight,
I use a small screw plug Q, Figure 15, this plug being furnished with a
shoulder to prevent the ink from escaping when, it is screwed home to its place.
In the chamber N is the indicator or float O, Figure 16, with its guiding
spindles p, p. The float O is made hollow so as to contain air, and one of
the guiding spindles p is screwed into it air-tight, so that it will retain the air
which is enclosed in it, being thereby rendered buoyant in the ink. It is not
absolutely necessary that the ink indicator should be made hollow, except where
it is made of hard rubber, or of some material which is heavier than ink,
the object being to cause it to float before the ink when the ink arrives at the
chamber N, by the action of sucking with the mouth. The central part of
the ink indicator is about a quarter of an inch in length, and the guiding
spindles p, p, should be something over half an inch in length, or sufficiently
long for the lower one, which plays through the hole leading into the main
reservoir tube, to act as an effectual. guide during the rising or falling of the
float. The upper spindle should be so long, that when the indicator is drawn
upwards to its utmost limit the said spindle will pass through the hole in the
screw cap P, and come in contact with the tongue or lips of the operator,
when filling the reservoir by suction. The float of the indicator should have
its transverse diameter less than that of the chamber in which it plays to and
fro. Its ends serve to close the holes above and below.as it rises and falls in
P

page_text: its chamber; this is of great importance in filling by suction, as with a little
care the ink may be kept from touching the lips or tongue. To fill the
reservoir with ink, the regulator should be opened, then the screw cap P at
the top, inclosing the indicator O in its chamber N, being fitted tightly
thereon, the small screw plug Q on the upper extremity of the cap P is
removed, and the pen is inserted in the ink to the depth of about an inch,
whilst the lips are applied to the upper end of the reservoir, and by one effort,
which should be quick and not prolonged, the air should be exhausted. The
indicator immediately rises and touches the tongue of the operator, shewing
that the ink has filled or nearly filled the reservoir. Sometimes the ear will
detect the movement of the indicator as well as the lips or tongue. The small
screw plug Q should be immediately inserted in its place, making the whole of
the upper part of the reservoir tube air-tight. In doing this, the indicator will
fall, (if it has not fallen, the moment the lips are removed from the upper end
of the reservoir,) its lower shoulder coming down to its seat, thus interposing
an obstacle to the downward pressure of the air, and enabling the operator to
secure the ink in the reservoir. The pen should then be wiped, when it will
be ready for use. When the pen is not in use, the regulator should be closed
and the pen cap put on.
Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of the said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that I do not confine or restrict
myself to the precise details or arrangements which I have had occasion
to describe or refer to, as many variations may be made therefrom without
deviating from the principles or main features of the said Invention; but what
I consider to be novel and original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured
to me by the herein-before in part recited Letters Patent, is,-
First, the application and use of an elevation or bead on the back of the
pen near its heel, for the purpose of keeping the pen from rising too much
during writing, as herein-before described.
Second, the application and use of lateral notches in the pen near its heel,
in conjunction with corresponding notches in the feeding tube, for the purpose
herein-before described.
Third, the combination of the upper part of the piston rod with the lower
tubular part, so that the former can be inserted into the latter, in the manner
and for the purpose herein-before described.
Fourth, the arrangement and combination of an ink regulator and feeding
tube, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.

page_text: Fifth, the peculiar construction and arrangement of an ink indicator, and
the combination of the same with a chamber in the upper part of the reservoir
tube, in the manner and for the purpose herein-before described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Henry Johnson, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Fifteenth day of August, One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-six.
J. HENRY JOHNSON. (L.S.)