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US 10,525,762 B2Granted
Writing instrument side-knock mechanism
AssigneeSanford, L.P.
InventorsKenneth Swanick, Bryan Rolfs
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A side-knock type mechanical pencil comprising a body with a side-mounted knock button coupled to the body of the mechanical pencil and adapted to slidingly engage with a lead tube with a frustoconical hub for translating the motion of the knock button actuation to linear extension of the lead.
Claims17
A writing instrument comprising:
- a body, wherein the body comprises a generally hollow tubular shape with an inner lumen, an outer surface opposite the inner lumen, a first end, and a second end opposite the first end;
- a lead tube comprising a first tube end, a second tube end opposite the first tube end, and an outer tube surface;
- a knock button, coupled to the body, the knock button comprising a front end, a pivot end, a top surface, an arcuate bottom surface, and at least one sidewall, wherein the knock button comprises a sliding surface extending between the front end and the arcuate bottom surface;
- and
- a frustoconical hub integrally formed with the lead tube, the frustoconical hub comprising a taper surface aligned with the arcuate bottom surface, wherein the frustoconical hub is disposed around the outer tube surface of the lead tube and is positioned along a length of the lead tube such that the arcuate bottom surface contacts and wraps at least partially around the taper surface of the frustoconical hub when the knock button is actuated.
2 more elements
A writing instrument comprising:
- a body, the body comprising a generally hollow tube defining an inner lumen, an outer surface opposite the inner lumen, a first end, and a second end opposite the first end, wherein the first end is a writing end comprising a generally conical writing tip with a tip aperture, and wherein the body further comprises an aperture extending between the outer surface and the inner lumen;
- a lead tube comprising an inner tube lumen, an outer tube surface opposite the inner tube lumen, and a frustoconical hub disposed around the outer tube surface of the lead tube, wherein the frustoconical hub comprises a taper surface;
- at least one writing medium, the writing medium disposed within the inner lumen of the lead tube;
- and
- a knock button having an arcuate bottom surface comprising a slot configured for receiving at least a portion of the lead tube, wherein the knock button is disposed in the aperture of the body, and is configured to slidably engage the frustoconical hub when the knock button is actuated, sliding the lead tube towards the writing end.
2 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.