JP7547974B2 - Applicator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ink applicator that applies ink to paper, etc.

Conventionally, cosmetic containers have been known that can transfer liquid cosmetic material contained in the container to an applicator that is rotatably provided at the tip via a relay core (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

The intermediate core provided in the cosmetic container is rod-shaped and extends in the front-rear direction, and is arranged so that its axis coincides with the axis of the container. The tip of the intermediate core is in contact with the part directly behind the applicator body.

However, with the above-mentioned configuration, if the container is dropped or otherwise subjected to a large external shock, the intermediate core housed within the container may move forward or backward excessively in the axial direction, resulting in the following problems:

In other words, if the intermediate core advances too far in the axial direction, the tip of the intermediate core will press excessively against the area directly behind the applicator body, causing a problem in that it will hinder the smooth rotation of the applicator body.

In addition, if the intermediate core is moved back too far in the axial direction, the tip of the intermediate core will be too far away from the applicator, causing a problem in which the liquid cosmetic cannot be properly delivered to the applicator.

The above situation is not limited to cosmetic containers, but also applies to applicators that contain ink.

Patent No. 5566518

The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an applicator that has a configuration that can effectively transfer ink contained in a container to an applicator body that is rotatably provided at the tip.

That is, the present invention has the following configuration.

The invention described in claim 1 is an applicator including a container having an ink container disposed therein, an applicator body rotatably provided at the tip of the container and capable of applying ink to a surface to be coated by rotating over the surface, and an intermediate body interposed between the ink container and the applicator body and capable of transmitting ink from the ink container to the applicator body, the intermediate body being rotatably provided with respect to the container and configured to be able to come into contact with the outer periphery of the applicator body located downstream in the rotation direction of a virtual straight line connecting the rotation center point of the intermediate body and the rotation center point of the applicator body.

The invention described in claim 2 is the applicator described in claim 1, in which the axis of the relay is inclined relative to the axis of the container.

The invention described in claim 3 is the applicator described in claim 1 or 2, in which the relay body is elongated in the front-rear direction, the leading end of which can abut the outer periphery of the applicator body, and the rear end of which is connected to the ink container.

The invention described in claim 4 is the applicator described in claim 1, 2 or 3, in which the relay is elongated in the front-rear direction, and its rear part is supported by a relay support part provided on the container.

The invention described in claim 5 is the applicator described in claim 4, in which a pair of recesses is formed in the rear of the relay, and the relay support portion is a pair of support protrusions that can engage with the pair of recesses.

The invention described in claim 6 is an applicator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, in which the applicator comprises an applicator body having the outer periphery and a support shaft that protrudes from the applicator body and is supported by a shaft support portion provided on the container, and the applicator is disposed in a position where the axis of the support shaft can intersect with the axis of the container.

The invention described in claim 7 is the applicator described in claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6, in which the relay body has a symmetrical shape with the axis of the relay body as a virtual center line in a side view.

The invention described in claim 8 is the applicator described in claim 7, in which the tip end of the relay is formed so that the thickness dimension gradually decreases toward the front, and the rear end of the relay is formed so that the thickness dimension gradually decreases toward the rear.

The invention described in claim 9 is an applicator according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8, in which the relay body is configured to change its posture in response to the reversal movement of the applicator body when the rotation direction of the applicator body is reversed.

The invention described in claim 10 is an applicator according to claims 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, in which the ink container is rod-shaped and extends in the front-rear direction, and is made of batting impregnated with ink.

As described above, the present invention provides an applicator that is configured to optimally transfer ink contained in a container to at least an applicator body that is rotatably mounted at the tip.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. Cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged perspective view taken along line XX in FIG. 7 . FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a component (relay) in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a plan view of a component (relay) in the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a right side view of the component (relay) in the embodiment. FIG. FIG.

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 14.

In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a roller marker (hereafter simply referred to as a "marker"), which is an applicator.

The marker has an application roller D, which is an application body, at its tip. The application roller D can apply ink to an application target surface F, such as paper, by rolling over the application target surface F. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, by rolling the application roller D to apply ink to the application target surface F, it is possible to draw a line N having a pattern made up of multiple line components n1.

The marker is equipped with a container A capable of housing a padding B serving as an ink container containing ink inside, an application roller D rotatably mounted at the front of the container A and capable of applying ink to an application surface F such as paper by rotating over the application surface F, and a relay C interposed between the padding B and the application roller D and capable of transmitting the ink in the padding B to the application roller D.

The markers are explained in more detail below.

Container A is equipped with a rear container member 1, which is the main part capable of housing padding B, and a front container member 2, which is attached to the front of the rear container member 1, supports a relay body C inside, and can rotatably support an application roller D at its front end.

The rear container member 1 is cylindrical with a bottom and an open front. The rear container member 1 has a storage space sp inside that can store padding B. The outer surface of the rear end of the rear container member 1 is formed with a convex cap attachment portion 11 to which a cap E can be attached. The rear container member 1 is adapted to receive a connecting portion 21a provided at the rear of the front container member 2.

The front container member 2 is tubular and open at the front and rear. The front container member 2 is roughly cylindrical and penetrates in the front-to-rear direction. The front container member 2 is configured to rotatably support the application roller D at the front. The front container member 2 is configured to position the front part of the padding B at the rear and to house and support the relay body C at the front.

The front container member 2 comprises a cylindrical front container member body 21 and a pair of arm portions 22 extending forward from the front end of the front container member body 21, i.e., a pair on the left and right.

The front container member body 21 is provided with a connecting portion 21a that is inserted into the rear container member 1 and connected to the rear container member 1, a flange portion 21b that is provided in front of the connecting portion 21a and can engage with the front edge 1e of the rear container member 1, and a pair of support protrusions G that are provided on the inner surface side and serve as relay support portions that can rotatably support the relay C.

The flange 21b is for positioning the front container member 2 relative to the rear container member 1. A cap E can be removably attached to the front container member 2 in a portion forward of the flange 21b.

The pair of support protrusions G engage with a pair of recesses 5 provided at the rear of the relay C, and are capable of rotatably supporting the relay C relative to the front container member main body 21. The pair of support protrusions G are provided symmetrically above and below. In other words, the pair of support protrusions G protrude toward each other from the upper and lower sides of the inner surface of the front connecting member main body 21. Each support protrusion G extends in the left-right direction, and the protruding end is formed in a semicircular arc shape.

The left and right arm portions 22 engage with both left and right ends of the application roller D and can rotatably support the application roller D. The arm portions 22 are provided in pairs on the left and right. The arm portions 22 can rotatably support the application roller D at their tips. The arm portions 22 are provided with shaft support portions 22a that can rotatably support the support shafts 7 protruding from the left and right sides of the application roller D.

The padding B is rod-shaped or columnar, soaked in ink, and extends in the front-rear direction. The padding B comprises a cylindrical outer tube b1 made of synthetic resin, and an ink-impregnated material b2 that is housed inside the outer tube b1 and is made mainly of a fibrous material capable of absorbing and retaining ink. The ink-impregnated material b2 of the padding B is set to be more elastically deformable than the relay C. In other words, the ink-impregnated material b2 of the padding B is configured to be more flexible than the relay C. The padding B is housed in the container A so that its axis j2 approximately coincides with the axis j1 of the container A.

The relay C is capable of absorbing the ink impregnated in the filling B by capillary action and transmitting the ink to the application roller D. The relay C is harder than the filling B, and is set to have a strong capillary force. The relay C is mainly made of a resin fiber material such as polyester. The relay C is elongated in the front-to-rear direction.

The relay C has a tip end 3 that can come into contact with the outer periphery M of the application roller D, and a rear end 4 that is connected to the padding B. In this embodiment, the rear end 4 of the relay C is disposed so as to be embedded in the ink impregnated material b1 while pressing against the front end of the ink impregnated material b1 in the padding B. The relay C is biased in the direction in which the tip end 3 comes into contact with the outer periphery M of the application roller D by the elastic restoring force of the ink impregnated material b1.

The relay C has its rear part supported by the container A. More specifically, the relay C is supported by a pair of support protrusions G, which serve as relay support parts provided on the front container member 2, and is rotatable relative to the container A, and is movable slightly in the front-rear and up-down directions due to a gap that can be formed between the support protrusions G and the recessed part 5.

A pair of recesses 5 are formed at the rear of the relay C at the same vertical position in the front-rear direction. The front container member 2 of the container A is provided with a pair of support protrusions G that can engage with a pair of recesses 5 of the relay C that face in different directions.

The relay C has an axis j3 that is inclined relative to the axis j3 of the container A. The relay C, which is inclined relative to the container A, is configured to be able to contact only the outer periphery M of the application roller D that is located downstream in the rotation direction R of the imaginary straight line L that connects the rotation center point s1 of the relay C and the rotation center point s2 of the application roller D.

In other words, the marker is provided only downstream of the contact position T where the tip 3 of the relay C and the outer periphery M of the application roller D can come into contact with each other in the rotation direction R of the application roller D from the position where the virtual straight line L intersects with the outer periphery M.

When viewed from the side, the relay C has a symmetrical shape with the axis j3 of the relay C as the imaginary center line. The tip 3 of the relay C is formed so that the thickness dimension gradually decreases toward the front.

The rear end 4 of the relay C is formed so that the thickness dimension gradually decreases toward the rear. The rear end 4 of the relay C has a partial cone shape that tapers toward the rear.

Furthermore, the upper and lower parts of relay C located between the tip 3 and rear end 4 are formed with flat surfaces 8 that are approximately parallel to each other. The left and right parts of relay C located between the tip 3 and rear end 4 are formed with curved surfaces 9 that are curved to form an outward convex shape.

The relay C is disposed at a predetermined position in the front container member 2, for example, as follows. That is, the relay C is inserted into the front container member 2 from the front side thereof by human force or the like, and pressed backward. Then, the upper end c1 and the lower end c2 at the rear of the relay C, i.e., the upper end c1 and the lower end c2 of the portion of the relay C that is wider in the vertical direction and is located behind the pair of recesses 5, come into contact with a pair of support protrusions G formed inside the front container member 2, and are temporarily compressed and deformed, so that the relay C can move further backward. After that, the relay C is disposed at a predetermined position where the pair of recesses 5 can engage with the pair of support protrusions G, i.e., where the protruding ends of the pair of support protrusions G are surrounded by the pair of recesses 5.

The application roller D is equipped with a roller body 6, which is an application body having an outer periphery M to which ink is applied by a relay C and which can apply the applied ink to a surface to be applied F, and a support shaft 7 which protrudes from the left and right sides of the roller body 6 and is supported by a shaft support portion 22a provided on an arm portion 22 of the container A.

The application roller D is disposed at a position where the axis j4 of the support shaft 7 can intersect with the axis j1 of the container A. In other words, the application roller D is supported by the container A so that the axis j4 of the support shaft 7 is positioned on the axis j1 of the container A.

In this embodiment, the outer periphery M of the roller body 6 has multiple raised portions m1 arranged at regular intervals so that a line N including line components n1 that are inclined with respect to the direction of travel and displayed at intervals can be applied. In this embodiment, the ink is transferred by the tip 3 of the relay C abutting against the tips of the multiple raised portions m1 on the outer periphery M of the application roller D.

The operation of this marker will be explained with particular reference to Figures 13 and 14.

When the outer periphery M of the application roller D is in contact with the surface F to be coated, as shown in FIG. 13, a user holding the container A applies an operating force in a direction P to advance the application roller D, causing the application roller D to rotate forward (rotate in the direction R in FIG. 13), and the ink adhering to the outer periphery M of the application roller D is applied to the surface F to be coated.

As shown in FIG. 14, when a user holding container A applies an operating force in a direction U to move application roller D backward, the rotation direction R of application roller D is reversed. When the rotation direction R of application roller D is reversed (the opposite of the rotation direction R in FIG. 13, i.e., rotation in the rotation direction R in FIG. 14), relay C is adapted to change its position in accordance with the reversal operation of application roller D.

More specifically, when the application roller D is reversed by the user's operation, the tip 3 of the relay C engages with the outer periphery M of the application roller D that is rotating in the reverse direction and is transported to the application roller D, climbing over the outer periphery M of the application roller D.

The relay C then changes its position so that its tip 3 is positioned downstream in the direction of rotation R of the coating roller D, which is rotating in the reverse direction, and can come into contact with a predetermined contact position T on the outer periphery M of the coating roller D to supply ink to the coating roller D.

As described above, the marker as an applicator according to this embodiment includes a container A with an ink container B disposed therein, an applicator roller D as an applicator that is rotatably mounted at the tip of the container A and can apply ink to a surface F to be coated by rotating over the surface F, and an intermediary C that is interposed between the ink container B and the applicator roller D and can transfer the ink in the ink container B to the applicator roller D.

The relay C is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the container A. The relay C is configured so as to be able to come into contact with the outer periphery M of the application roller D located downstream in the rotation direction R of the imaginary straight line L connecting the rotation center point s1 of the relay C and the rotation center point s2 of the application roller D.

This makes it possible to provide a marker that is configured to suitably transfer the ink contained in container A to application roller D, which is rotatably mounted at the tip.

In other words, the relay C is rotatably mounted with respect to the container A, so that even if the marker receives a large impact due to being dropped or the like, its relative position with respect to the application roller D is unlikely to change significantly.

Moreover, the relay C is configured so that it can come into contact with the outer periphery M of the application roller D that is located downstream in the rotation direction R of the imaginary straight line L that connects its rotation center point s1 and the rotation center point s2 of the application roller D. This makes it possible to suitably bring the relay C into contact with the outer periphery M of the application roller D without having to set the relative positions of the relay C and the application roller D extremely precisely.

The axis j3 of relay C is inclined relative to the axis j1 of container A.

As a result, the relay C is in a suitable position within the container A so that it can contact the downstream side of the application roller D in the rotation direction R.

The relay body C is elongated in the front-to-rear direction, with its leading end 3 being able to abut against the outer periphery M of the application roller D, and its trailing end 4 being connected to the padding B, which serves as the ink container.

For this reason, the relay C can be conveniently placed between the padding B and the application roller D.

The relay C is elongated in the front-rear direction, and its rear part is supported by a relay support part provided on the container A. More specifically, a pair of recesses 5 are formed at the front and rear of the rear part of the relay C, and the relay support part is a pair of front and rear support protrusions G that can engage with the pair of front and rear recesses 5.

As a result, the relay C is suitably supported relative to the container A so that it can rotate relative to the container A. Moreover, a pair of support protrusions G provided on the container A can engage with a pair of recesses 5 provided on the relay C, making it easy to support the relay C relative to the container A.

Furthermore, since a pair of support protrusions G can engage with a pair of recesses 5, not only is it easy to support the relay C rotatably so that the tip 3 of the relay C can swing up and down, but it is also easy to provide a certain clearance between the recesses 5 and the support protrusions G, so the relay C can be flexibly supported so that it can move slightly back and forth and up and down relative to the container A. Therefore, the relay C has excellent flexibility so that it can be placed in a suitable position relative to the filling B and the application roller D.

The application roller D is equipped with a roller body 6 having an outer periphery M, and a support shaft 7 that protrudes from the roller body 6 and is supported by a shaft support portion 22a provided on the container A. The application roller D is disposed in a position where the axis j4 of the support shaft 7 can intersect with the axis j1 of the container A.

For this reason, the application roller D is disposed in a suitable position relative to the container A. In other words, the user can hold the container A and operate the application roller D comfortably and without any discomfort.

When viewed from the side, the relay C has a symmetrical shape with the axis j3 of the relay C as the imaginary center line.

For this reason, relay C has a suitable shape that allows it to be rotatably supported relative to container A.

The leading end 3 of the relay C is formed so that its thickness gradually decreases toward the front, and the trailing end 4 of the relay C is formed so that its thickness gradually decreases toward the rear.

As a result, the leading end 3 of the relay C has a suitable shape for contacting the outer periphery M on the downstream side of the rotation direction R of the application roller D, and the trailing end 4 of the relay C has a suitable shape for connection to the padding B.

The relay C is configured so that when the rotation direction R of the application roller D is reversed, the position of the relay C can be changed in accordance with the reversal movement of the application roller D.

Therefore, even if the application roller D is reversed, the relay C can automatically change its posture in accordance with the reverse movement of the application roller D, so that the relay C can adopt an appropriate posture for supplying ink to the application roller D without impeding the rotation of the application roller D.

The ink container, batting B, is rod-shaped and extends in the front-to-back direction, and is impregnated with ink.

Therefore, even if the relay C can rotate relative to the container A, the rear end 4 is appropriately connected to the padding B.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above.

The ink used in the applicator may be any type that can be applied to the surface to be coated.

The applicator is not limited to a roller marker, but may be any device capable of applying ink. In other words, the applicator is not limited to a roller or rotary type.

The shape of the container can be any suitable shape without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

It goes without saying that any suitable shape can be adopted for the relay as long as it does not deviate from the spirit of the present invention.

It goes without saying that the shape of the applicator may be any suitable shape within the scope of the present invention. For example, the shape of the outer periphery of the applicator may be set to an appropriate form depending on the thickness of the lines to be applied, the presence or absence of a pattern, the variation of the pattern, etc.

The applicator may rotate in only one direction.

The applicator may be configured so that the position of the relay body does not change when the rotation direction of the applicator body is reversed.

The relay can be supported rotatably relative to the container in any suitable configuration. For example, the relay can be supported relative to the container via a shaft.

The relay body may not have an axis that is inclined relative to the axis of the container. For example, if the axis of the support shaft in the applicator body is not disposed at a position that can intersect with the axis of the container, even if the axis of the relay body is not inclined relative to the axis of the container, the relay body can be configured to abut on the outer periphery of the applicator body that is located downstream in the rotation direction from the imaginary line connecting the rotation center point of the relay body and the rotation center point of the applicator body.

The ink container is not limited to a padding impregnated with ink, but may be a tank containing ink, i.e., an ink tank. In other words, the applicator is not limited to a padding type as in the above-mentioned embodiment, but may be a direct liquid type in which an ink tank is disposed inside the container.

The specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications are possible without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

A: Container B: Inner batting (ink container)
C: relay body D: application roller (application body)

Claims (10)

An applicator comprising: a container having an ink container disposed therein; an applicator body rotatably provided at the front of the container and capable of applying ink to a surface to be coated by rotating on the surface; and a relay body interposed between the ink container and the applicator body and capable of transferring ink from the ink container to the applicator body,
The relay body is rotatably arranged relative to the container and is configured to abut against the outer periphery of the applicator body that is located downstream in the rotational direction of a virtual straight line connecting the rotational center point of the relay body and the rotational center point of the applicator body. The applicator according to claim 1, wherein the axis of the relay is inclined relative to the axis of the container. The applicator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the relay body is elongated in the front-rear direction, the leading end of which can abut against the outer periphery of the applicator body, and the rear end of which is connected to the ink container. The applicator according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the relay is elongated in the front-rear direction, and the rear part of the relay is supported by a relay support part provided on the container. A pair of recesses is formed in the rear portion of the relay,
5. The applicator according to claim 4, wherein the relay support portion is a pair of support projections engageable with the pair of recesses. the applicator body includes an applicator body main body having the outer circumferential portion, and a support shaft that protrudes from the applicator body and is supported by a shaft support portion provided on the container,
6. The applicator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, wherein the applicator body is disposed at a position where an axis of the support shaft can intersect with an axis of the container. The applicator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6, wherein the relay has a symmetrical shape with the axis of the relay being a virtual center line when viewed from the side. The tip of the relay is formed so that the thickness dimension gradually decreases toward the front,
8. The applicator according to claim 7, wherein the rear end of the relay is formed so that the thickness dimension thereof gradually decreases toward the rear. The applicator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8, wherein the relay body is configured to change its position in response to the reversal movement of the applicator body when the rotation direction of the applicator body is reversed. The applicator according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9, wherein the ink container is rod-shaped and extends in the front-rear direction, and is made of batting impregnated with ink.

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