US 7,255,507 B2Granted

Capless retractable sealed marking instrument with forward chamber

AssigneeInnodesk, Inc

InventorsAnthony J. Lammers, John R. Nottingham, John W. Spirk, Daniel Jay Wanhainen, Jeffrey Scott Plantz

Life of this patent

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Abstract

A capless retractable sealed marking instrument has a sealed chamber incorporated in a marker casing. The sealed chamber includes a chamber, a wiper ring, and an annular rim and a seal portion with a cross-slit aperture defining surfaces or flaps which are moved out of contact by a linearly-advanced marker nib to open the seal for extension of the marker nib. The configuration of the disk provides positive sealing force between the lateral sealing surfaces of the seal flaps. Retraction of the marker nib draws the flaps back into the sealed chamber configuration to protect the marker nib and cartridge from atmospheric degradation.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A capless retractable sealed writing instrument comprising:

an elongated marker housing with an axial opening;
a marker reservoir having a marker nib and held within a marker carrier mechanism within the marker housing, the marker carrier mechanism operative to linearly move the marker reservoir and marker nib within the marker housing, to extend and retract the marker nib through the axial opening in the marker housing;
a sealing means having a sealing chamber, a wiper seal piece and a forward seal piece;
and said chamber having a peripheral wall defining a hollow bore, the chamber disposed coaxially with said reservoir, whereby the reservoir extends at least partially into said hollow bore with the wiper seal piece sealing against the reservoir, and wherein the forward seal piece extends from an annular flange and includes a flexible central membrane with at least one slit there through that does not extend to the annular flange forming at least two flexible sealing flaps.

1 more element

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/916,948Filed 12 Aug 2004 · continuation
Priority: 13 Feb 2002
Published: US 2005/0047844 A13 Mar 2005
Granted: 14 Aug 2007
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

B43K 24/082
Operated by push-buttons: placed on the side
B43K 8/003
Pens with writing-points other than nibs or balls: pen barrels
B43K 8/028
With writing-points comprising fibres, felt, or similar porous or capillary material: movable closure or gate
B43K 8/24
Pens with writing-points other than nibs or balls: characterised by the means for retracting writing-points