US-20260124850-A1 - WRITING IMPLEMENTS

US20260124850A1US 20260124850 A1US20260124850 A1US 20260124850A1US-20260124850-A1

Abstract

A writing implement including a reservoir for storing a liquid, an applicator tip for depositing the liquid on a surface, a buffer connected to the reservoir and connected to the applicator tip so as to transport the liquid from the reservoir to the applicator tip, and a normally-open valve separating the buffer from the reservoir, the valve being configured to close, to prevent flow of the liquid from the reservoir to the buffer, in response to internal pressure within the reservoir exceeding a reference pressure outside of the reservoir by more than a predetermined amount.

Inventors

Philippe Lefebvre
Julien LINTERMY
Olivier Albenge
Guilhem LAFFONT
Philippine REYMONDON

Assignees

SOCIéTé BIC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20220801
Priority Date: 20210826

Claims (18)

1 . A writing implement comprising a reservoir for storing a liquid, an applicator tip for depositing the liquid on a surface, a baffle or buffer system connected to the reservoir via a valve and connected to the applicator tip so as to transport the liquid from the reservoir to the applicator tip, the valve being normally-open and configured to close, to prevent flow of the liquid from the reservoir to the baffle or buffer system, in response to internal pressure within the reservoir exceeding a reference pressure outside of the reservoir by more than a predetermined amount.
2 . The writing implement of claim 1 , wherein the valve includes a separator wall including one or more fluid passages for fluid exchange between the reservoir and the baffle or buffer system, the valve includes a flow control portion arranged towards the reservoir with respect to the separator wall so as to hide the one or more fluid passages while the valve is in the open position, as viewed along a direction of flow of the liquid through one of the one or more fluid passages from the reservoir to the baffle or buffer system, the flow control portion being configured to contact a sealing surface of the separator wall to close the valve.
3 . The writing implement of claim 2 , wherein the flow control portion is deformable so as to contact the sealing surface to close the valve.
4 . The writing implement of claim 2 , wherein the valve includes a mounting stem configured to cooperate penetratively with a mounting through-hole provided in the separator wall to connect the flow control portion to the separator wall.
5 . The writing implement of claim 4 , wherein the valve includes a spacer between the flow control portion and the sealing surface, the mounting stem includes a neck portion configured to fit within the mounting through-hole, a retainer portion positioned opposite the neck portion from the spacer such that when the neck portion is arranged within the mounting through-hole, the separator wall is arranged between the retainer portion and the spacer.
6 . The writing implement of claim 5 , wherein the retainer portion is snap-fittable through the mounting through-hole.
7 . The writing implement of claim 3 , wherein a separation distance between the flow control portion and the sealing surface is 0.25 mm or less when the valve is in the open position.
8 . The writing implement of claim 2 , wherein the one or more fluid passages has a total cross-sectional area of 4.5 mm 2 or less.
9 - 15 . (canceled)
16 . The writing implement of claim 2 , wherein the one or more fluid passages has a total cross-sectional area of 4.02 mm 2 or less.
17 . The writing implement of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined amount is 10 mbar or less.
18 . The writing implement of claim 17 , wherein the predetermined amount is equal to or greater than 4 mbar and equal to or less than 8 mbar.
19 . The writing implement of claim 18 , wherein the predetermined amount is 6 mbar+/−20%.
20 . The writing implement of claim 1 , wherein the valve is an umbrella valve.
21 . The writing implement of claim 20 , wherein the umbrella valve comprises a dome shaped elastic valve body which provides a sealing function in the backflow direction when mounted in a seat.
22 . The writing implement of claim 1 , wherein the baffle or buffer system includes a gas passage for admitting gas into the writing implement.
23 . The writing implement of claim 22 , wherein the gas passage is configured to admit gas into the baffle or buffer system, and the reservoir is configured to accept gas from the baffle or buffer system via the valve.
24 . The writing implement of claim 22 , comprising a removable closure configured to reversibly and concurrently separate the applicator tip and gas passage from an environment of the writing implement.

Description

This application claims priority to the European patent application EP 21306159.1, filed on Aug. 26, 2021, its content being incorporated herein by reference. FIELD The present disclosure relates to writing implements, in particular writing implements of the free-ink type. As used herein, the term “free-ink” designates a writing implement in which a liquid that can be deposited on a surface to form indicia can be stored in a reservoir in a freely-flowing state, regardless of whether the liquid itself is actually ink. As used herein “liquid” may also refer to a suspension. In other words, in a free-ink writing implement, the ink is free to move or flow within the writing implement reservoir in accordance with the movements imposed by the user to the writing implement, i.e. in response to external forces such as motion, gravity and/or pressure that a user can selectively apply to a substrate, e.g. paper, metal, wood, plastic, etc. BACKGROUND Free-ink-type writing implements (such as free-ink-type markers) are prone to leaks of stored liquid (e.g. ink) due to increases in pressure within the reservoir, as compared to ambient pressure. In a conventional free-ink-type marker, ink is transported from the marker's reservoir to the marker's ink-deposition tip e.g. by way of a baffle system, including lamella, which serves to limit the speed at which ink is able to flow out of the marker. Aside from being complex and costly, this system is unable to prevent leaks when internal pressure within the reservoir remains elevated relative to ambient pressure for long periods of time. U.S. Pat. No. 10,245,877 discloses a writing instrument including a barrel having a front end and an oppositely disposed rear end, an ink reservoir disposed within or formed within the barrel, and a nib in fluid communication with the ink reservoir. A valve or seal can be attached to the nib and actuatable by depression of the nib to open the the valve and allow fluid communication between the ink reservoir and the nib. Unfortunately, this system necessarily interferes with consistent dispensing of ink in situations where contact pressures applied to the nib are not sufficient to open the valve. Chinese utility model CN 209 111 801 U discloses a circulation type water fountain pen including a pen holder, a pen cap, an ink storage bin and a pen head. The pen holder includes a water pen check valve, a sponge, a baffle and a pen plug. The top of the pen plug is provided with a pen vent. Unfortunately, leak prevention and the ability to deposit ink consistently require that the pen vent be exposed to the atmosphere, but this exposure also puts the pen vent at risk of clogging. Therefore, there is room for improvement in free-ink-type writing implements. SUMMARY It has been found that a free-ink-type writing implement should prevent leakage or leaks of stored liquid reliably while permitting the stored liquid to be deposited onto a surface even at low contact pressures between the surface and the applicator tip of the writing implement. According to the present disclosure, a writing implement is provided. The writing implement includes a reservoir. The reservoir is for storing a liquid. The writing implement includes an applicator tip. The applicator tip is for depositing the liquid on a surface. The writing implement includes a baffle or a buffer system or arrangement. The baffle/buffer system/arrangement is connected to the reservoir via a valve and connected to the applicator tip so as to transport the liquid from the reservoir to the applicator tip. The valve is normally-open and is configured to close, to prevent flow of the liquid from the reservoir to the baffle/buffer system/arrangement, in response to internal pressure within the reservoir exceeding a reference pressure outside of the reservoir by more than a predetermined amount of pressure. The baffle/buffer system/arrangement enables liquid (e.g. ink) flow regulation towards the front part of the writing implement, i.e. the applicator tip. The valve may include a separator wall. The separator wall may include one or more fluid passages for fluid exchange/communication between the reservoir and the baffle/buffer system/arrangement. The valve may include a flow control portion. The flow control portion may be arranged towards the reservoir with respect to the separator wall so as to hide the one or more fluid passages while the valve is in the open position, as viewed along a direction of flow of the liquid through one of the one or more fluid passages from the reservoir to the baffle/buffer system/arrangement. The flow control portion may be configured to contact a sealing surface of the separator wall to close the valve. The flow control portion may be deformable so as to contact the sealing surface to close the valve. The valve may include a mounting stem configured to cooperate in a penetrative manner with a mounting through-hole provided in the separator wall to connect the flow cont