Patent ID: 7059796

Claim:
A retractable writing instrument, comprising: a housing having a first opening; a tip capable of moving between a retracted position and a protracted position, where in the protracted position the tip extends from the first opening and in the retracted position the tip is within the housing; a cartridge having an elongated portion for supporting the tip; an enclosure member having a first end with a lip and a second end having an inner configuration adapted to substantially seat around the elongated portion of the cartridge, where the enclosure member is within the housing and the first end is adjacent to the first opening of the housing so that in the refracted position the tip is between the first end and the second end substantially sealed from ambient air, where in the protracted position, the tip extends through the lip of the enclosure member and the first opening of housing; and a clip having a pinch end and a support rim, where the pinch end applies compressive force to the lip to substantially seal the lip in the refracted position, the support rim of the clip supports the inner configuration of the second end of the enclosure member, and the housing has channels near the first opening and the enclosure member has cavities that associate with channels in the housing to align the enclosure member within the housing near the first opening at a predetermined position.