Improvements in Fountain Pens.
Year: 1898

page_text: Date of Application, 31st May, 1898-Accepted, 23rd July,
1898
[Communicated from abroad by JOHN WEEKS, of 164, Keap Street, Inventor, JOHN
HENRY MORCH, of 150, South 9th Street, Jeweller, and LYDIA AMALIA MORci,
of 97, South 9th Street, Lady, all of New York City, Borough of Brooklyn,
and County of Kings, United States of America.]
Improvements in Fountain Pens.
I, HENRY HARRIS LAKE, of the firm of Haseltine, Lake & Co., Patent Agents,
45, Southampton Buildings, in the County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the
nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
This invention relates to pens, but more particularly to fountain pens and
means for controlling the flow of ink therein.
The primary object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficient device,
in which the supply of ink to the pen may be cut off in such a manner that the
pen may be carried with the pen point or nib either in an upright position or
with the point downward, or jarred or carelessly handled in either position with-
out danger of leakage and without liability of corrosion as in such devices as
ordinarily constructed.
Other objects are to provide a fountain pen which may be employed in tropical
climates where the possibility of vaporization of the ink is more apt to take place,
as well as in colder localities, and to construct the device in such a manner as to
employ the fewest possible parts, all of which may be readily assembled or dis-
connected, thereby providing for thoroughly cleansing the pen.
A further object of the invention is to produce an extremely simple means for
agitating the ink as it flows from the barrel or fountain portion to the pen and
directing the same to the pen point or nib, so that under any conditions to which
the pen may be subjected the ink will always flow so long as there is any in the
barrel, and to make such a pen as cheap and simple as possible to the end that the
cost of the pen may not be materially increased.
The invention will be hereinafter more particularly described with reference to
the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and then pointed
out in the claims at the end of the description.
In the drawings, wherein similar figures of reference indicate similar parts,
Figure 1 is a sectional view taken through the barrel or fountain portion of the
pen;
Figure 2 is a vertical section through the entire device, illustrating several of
the parts in elevation;
Figure 3 is a transverse section taken on the line III-III of Figure 1;
Figures 4 and 5 are detail elevations of the plunger and valve rod respectively;
Figure 6 is a detail perspective view of the nozzle to which the pen is attached;
Figure 7 is a perspective view of the plug which holds the pen in the nozzle;
Figure 8 is a perspective view looking at the inner or under face of the pen; and
Figure 9. is a view similar to that shown in Figure 8 except that it shows a
slightly modified form of the agitators.

page_text: The barrel or fountain portion 10 may be of any desired form or size, and has at
the upper end thereof an opening, in which the upper end of the stem or rod 11 is
adapted to rotate. On this rod is a collar 12 fitting against the lower surface of the
opening, through which the stem passes, and on the upper end of said stem is a
knob 13 secured thereto by which the stem is rotated, and together with the
shoulder or collar 12 prevents vertical or longitudinal movement the stem. The
lower portion 14 of the stem 11 is screw-threaded with any desired form or pitch
of threads and engages a threaded aperture in a suitable plunger or piston 15, so
that as the stem 11 is rotated, the plunger 15 will be raised or lowered in the
barrel or fountain portion 10 according to the direction of rotation of the stem.
This plunger or piston 15 may have one or more suitable packings 16. As shown
there are three packings which may be made by winding waxed or other thread
around the recesses formed in the plunger therefor, but this number as well as the
kind thereof may be varied as desired, and where more than one packing is used,
in case the lower one should be worn out, the ink will be prevented from passing
by the plunger or piston by one of the others.
An opening, as 16, may be arranged in the barrel or fountain portion 10 beneath
the shoulder 12 of the stem and above the piston 15, in order to permit air above
the plunger to be readily forced out of the barrel during the upward movement of
the latter, though, when found necessary or desirable, this opening may be dis-
pensed with.
The plunger 15 has its lower open end screw-threaded to the shoulder 17, and in
the screw-threaded end is adapted to be secured the upper end of a valve rod 18,
this rod being rigidly secured to the plunger by a pin or otherwise so as to move
therewith. The lower end of the valve rod 18 is adapted to pass through an open-
ing 19 in a suitable sleeve 20, which latter immediately below the opening 19 is
provided with a valve seat 21, against which the valve 22, which is formed on or
secured to the valve rod, is adapted to rest. This valve 22 is adapted to move ver-
tically in the chamber 22" in the sleeve 20, and has its lower end preferably conical
in shape so as to permit the ink which might otherwise adhere thereto to readily
run from the surface thereof. By raising the piston or plunger in the body of the
barrel or reservoir through the rotary movement of the stem 11, suction will be
produced below the plunger or piston 15, which will cause the ink in the feeder
and on the pen to return to the reservoir or barrel where it will be held by the
seating of the valve 22. When the device is to be used, after the ink has been
locked in the reservoir or barrel, the piston or plunger is made to travel downward
in the barrel or fountain portion, which will unseat the valve and permit the ink to
flow properly to the pen. The valve when seated effectually prevents the ink from
flowing to the point of the pen so that the device may be carried in any position.
whether pen point up or point down, with perfect safety.
To properly hold the pen and to permit the barrel to be filled with ink, the
sleeve 20 has a nozzle 23 detachably connected thereto. This nozzle has an open-
ing passing therethrough, in which is a suitable plug 24 having an elongated
recess 25 therein, and a shoulder, as 26, (Figures 2 and 7) against which the upper
end of the pen 27 is adapted to fit, so that by removing the nozzle and pen and
forcing the valve 20 downward away from its seat, the barrel may be readily filled.
The pen 27 may in its general features be of any usual kind or description, and
the drawing illustrates the usual type of a split point or nib 27". This pen is shown
in connection with the plug 24 and the nozzle 23, which may be changed as desired
without affecting the invention. The pen has two parallel wires or agitators 28
running longitudinally of the pen and free from the body portion thereof except
at the points where the wires are attached to the pen, which, as illustrated, is
accomplished by forcing the ends of the wires through the holes in the pen and then
doubling the wires on themselves, as shown at 29. This connection between the
wires and pen nib of the pen may be either tight or loose, it only being necessary
that the agitators be held at this point and be held sufficiently tight to permit the
vibrations of the pen to be transmitted to the agitators. The connection between

page_text: the agitators and the nib or point of the pen is sufficient to cause the ordinary
movements or vibrations thereof to be readily transmitted to the agitators. These
agitators are adapted to extend into and preferably through the channel or
recess 25 of the plug 24, through which channel the ink flows to the nib. It will
be noticed that one wire or agitator could be used without affecting the principle
of the invention, but two are preferably employed, and that the pen with the
agitators may be used with any desired form. of barrel or fountain portion, or the
form of fountain portion shown and described with any suitable pen. The shape
of the agitators is not material, and they can be straight, as shown in Figure 3,
or near the nib of the pen may be made of a zig-zag shape, as shown at 28", in
Figure 9. Other forms may be devised also without affecting the invention in any
way.
When the pen is in position in its holder, the agitators project through the
channel 25 of the plug, as shown best in Figure 2, and the agitators are preferably
a little longer than the pen 27, that is, they project beyond the upper end thereof.
It is in this channel that the clogging if any is most likely to occur, and it will bo
readily seen that when the pen is used the agitators 28 will be vibrated, and the
vibratory motion in the channel 25 will prevent any clogging, and even if there is
no actual tendency to clog, the ink flows readily along the agitators 28 and so to
the nib or point of the pen; moreover, the ink by following the agitators is
delivered to the nib of the pen ready for use, and has not the usual liability of
causing the pen to be fouled. The ink, as already explained, is forced to the
agitators and pen or drawn back into the barrel by the movement of the plunger
or piston 15 according to the direction of rotation of the stem 11.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that the ink in the barrel or
fountain portion is under the absolute control of the operator so as to cause the
same to either flow from the barrel or to return thereto as desired, and that the
agitators, which may be of various shapes and numbers will cause a steady flow of
ink to the nib of the pen.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, as communicated to
me by my foreign correspondents, I declare that what I claim is:-
1. The combination with a pen, of an agitator or guide attached at one end to
the flexible part of the pen and extending essentially parallel with the pen, sub-
stantially as described.
2. The combination with a pen, of a guiding or agitating device attached to the
pen at the flexible part thereof and extending along the inside of the pen, sub-
stantially as described.
3. The combination with a fountain pen having an ink channel, of an agitating
and guiding device connected to the pen and projecting into the ink channel, sub-
stantially as described.
4. The combination with a fountain pen having an ink channel, of an agitating
and guiding device secured to the pen near the point only and extending into the
channel, substantially as described.
5. The combination with a pen, of an agitator comprising a plurality of wires
attached to the pen near the point only and extending upward along the inner
side of the pen, substantially as described.
6. In a device of the character described, a barrel having a valve scat, a plunger
held to travel in the barrel, a valve controlled by the plunger and adapted to engage
with said seat, and means for operating the plunger, substantially as described.
7. In a device of the character described, a plunger and a valve connected there-
with and located within the barrel or fountain portion, the plunger being arranged
to draw the ink from the pen or to force the ink in the direction thereof, and the
valve controlling the supply of ink to the pen. substantially as described.
8. In a fountain pen, the combination with a barrel, of a plunger movable
longitudinally within the barrel, a valve connected with the plunger and located
within the said barrel, means for operating the plunger or piston so
as

page_text: to draw the ink from the pen when moved in one direction and force the ink toward
the pen when moved in the opposite direction, the said valve controlling the supply
of ink to the pen, substantially as described.
9. In a fountain pen, the combination with a barrel having its lower end pro-
vided with a chamber communicating by a contracted opening with the interior
of the barrel, and a valve controlling the passage of material from the body of the
barrel to the said chamber, the said valve having a rod extending upward into the
barrel, of a plunger connected with the upper end of said valve rod, and means for
imparting movement to said plunger longitudinally of the barrel, substantially as
described.
10. In a fountain pen, the combination with a barrel having its lower end pro-
vided with a chamber communicating with the interior of the barrel, and a valve
controlling the passage of material from the body of the barrel to the said chamber,
of a stem arranged to turn in the upper portion of the barrel and held against end
movement, the said stem being capable of being operated from the outside of the
barrel and having its inner or lower end threaded, and a plunger arranged to travel
on the threaded portion of said stem when the stem is turned, said plunger being
connected with the said valve, substantially as described.
11. In a fountain pen, the combination with a barrel, and a stem extending
through an opening in the top of the barrel and fitted to turn therein, the outer
end of the stem being provided with a knob by which the stem may be turned, the
said stem being provided inside the barrel with a collar to prevent end movement
and the lower portion of the stem within the barrel being provided
with an exterior thread, of a plunger held to travel upon the lower
threaded portion of the stem, a sleeve fitted into the lower end of the
barrel, a nozzle holding a pen detachably connected to the sleeve, the said sleeve
being formed with a chamber and having a contracted opening in its top connect-
ing said chamber with the interior of the barrel, and a valve arranged to control
the passage of material from the body of the barrel to the said chamber, the said
valve being provided with a rod extending upward in the barrel and connected at
its upper end to the plunger, substantially as described.
12. A fountain pen, having its several parts constructed and arranged sub-
stantially as shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the foregoing
specification.
Dated this 31st day of May 1898
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.