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AssigneeFiltrona Richmond, Inc.
InventorsBennett C. Ward, Robert D. Long, Donald F. Nelson, Raymond J. Nelson, Jackie F. Payne, Jr., E. Vaughan Yancey
Estimating the term…
Melt blown bicomponent fibers comprising a sheath of polyethylene terephthalate or a copolymer thereof and a core of nylon 6,6 and a reservoir or a nib in a writing or marking instrument comprising a porous element formed from such fibers bonded to each other at spaced points of contact. For use as a nib the core polymer may also be polybutylene terephthalate.
A sheath/core bicomponent fiber comprising a sheath of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate and copolymers of polyethylene terephthalate and a core of nylon 6,6.
A wicking device comprising a relatively self-sustaining fibrous element formed of a multiplicity of fibers bonded to each at spaced points of contact to define a porous matrix, said fibers being melt blown bicomponent sheath/core fibers comprising a sheath of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate and copolymers of polyethylene terephthalate and a core of nylon 6,6.
A writing or marking instrument comprising a barrel containing a reservoir for holding and controllably releasing a quantity of ink and a nib for transferring ink from said reservoir to a writing surface, said nib comprising a relatively self-sustaining fibrous element formed of a multiplicity of fibers bonded to each other at spaced points of contact to define a porous element, said fibers being melt blown bicomponent sheath/core fibers comprising a sheath of a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyethylene terephthalate and copolymers of polyethylene terephthalate and said core comprising a polymer selected from the group consisting of nylon 6,6 and polybutylene terephthalate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.
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From synthetic polymers: with at least one polyester as constituent
Pens with writing-points other than nibs or balls: with writing-points comprising fibres, felt, or similar porous or capillary material
Wick feed from within reservoir to writing-points: wick separate from writing-points
From synthetic polymers: with at least one polyamide as constituent
Term end not estimated
1. Technical Field
The instant invention relates to unique polymeric bicomponent fibers and to the production of wicking devices, especially, nibs and ink reservoirs for writing and marking instruments made from such fibers. More specifically, this invention is directed to the production and use of nibs and ink reservoirs, particularly nibs for writing and marking instruments such as fiber tip pens and “felt tip” markers, as well as roller ball wicks for roller ball pens, wherein the wicking devices are formed of sheath-core, melt blown, bicomponent fibers wherein a core of a nylon 6,6 is substantially fully covered with a sheath of polyethylene terephthalate or a copolymer thereof. For the production of nibs, the core material may be polybutylene terephthalate.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
These and other objects, features and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be better understood by those with ordinary skill in the art in connection with the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of one form of a “sheath-core” bicomponent fiber according to the instant invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an ink reservoir element made therefrom;
Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.
The instant inventive concepts are embodied in a bicomponent, sheath-core, melt blown, fiber as seen schematically, very enlarged, at 20 in FIG. 1 wherein the core 24 is formed of nylon 6,6 and the sheath 22 is formed of polyethylene terephthalate or a copolymer thereof.
As defined in the '766 patent, the term “bicomponent” as used herein refers to the use of two polymers of different chemical nature placed in discrete portions of a fiber structure. While other forms of bicomponent fibers are possible, the more common techniques produce either “side-by-side” or “sheath-core” relationships between the two polymers. The instant invention is concerned with the production of “sheath-core” bicomponent fibers wherein a sheath of polyethylene terephthalate or a copolymer thereof is spun to completely cover and encompass a core of nylon 6,6 or polybutylene terephthalate, preferably using a “melt blown” fiber process to attenuate the extruded fiber.