GB2347898A - Cap or lid with spring bias sliding cover to prevent felt tip pen nib drying out - Google Patents

Abstract

A user slides the cap back along the pen barrel to reveal the pen's nib - as the cap is retracted a sliding panel at the tip moves back to allow the nib to be projected. The cap and sliding panel are spring-loaded so that when the user lets go of the pen the cap and panel automatically return to cover the nib. The intention is to alleviate the need to remember to replace pen caps in order to prevent them from drying out. Also, as operation of the pen requires a level of dexterity it prevents unauthorised use by very small children.

Description

A. DESCRIPTION 1. General Description of the Product The product being considered, as conceived by Richard Martinez, is The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens. The concept calls for the manufacture and distribution of a line of felt tip pens fitted with a specially designed lid that will automatically close when the pen is not being used, thereby preventing the pen from drying out prematurely.

To accomplish this, The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would be configured as shown in the accompanying illustration (see Chapter Four, Portrayal). The concept is intended to correct the common annoyance of picking up a felt tip pen only to find that someone left the cap off and, as happens when these pen tips are left exposed to the air, the ink has dried out and the pen is no longer usable.

This is particularly common in households with small children who are onen attracted to using this type ot pen =---.--' but who may be less than conscientious about putting the cap back on when done. However, many adults are similarly prone to this oversight and may even return to a pen that they last used themselves only to find the tip dried out as a result of their own failure to put the cap back on.

The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would correct this shortcoming by equipping these pens with a lid that can be easily opened when someone wishes to use the pen but which will automatically close when not being used. This specially designed cap would be fabricated from plastic and would be built into the pen's body at the point of manufacture. The device would consist of a sliding panel placed along one side of the pen's tip and a retracting three-sided box which joins the sliding panel to form an enclosure around the pen tip. To use the pen, the sliding panel would be moved downward along the pen's shaft. This action would cause a spring-loaded base to pull the box-type lid away from the tip. As long as the sliding panel remains in its retracted position, the box component will also remain away from the tip, thereby allowing the pen to be used in its customary fashion. However, when the person using the pen removes his or her hand from the shaft, the sliding panel will automatically move back into place. This will cause the spring tension holding the box lid away from the tip to be released and, consequently, this section of the lid will swing back into place over the tip, thereby fully enclosing the tip and preventing it from drying out.

The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens: A specially designed cap that automatically closes when the pen is not in ~ This device would also prevent small children from using felt tip pens when they are not permitted to do so. These writing implements pose a significant temptation to the curious ild and many a parent has entered a room to find a child has"decorated"walls, furniture, books, or other objects, including the child himself or herself, with the ink from a felt tip pen.

However, while The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would be quite simple for an adult or older child to manipulate, a child young enough to pose a risk of misusing such a writing implement would be unlikely to possess the manual dexterity needed to open this lid and hold it open while using the pen. Thus, not only would this cap help avoid the nagging inconvenience of finding a pen has dried out due to the failure of either a child or adult to put the cap back on, but it would also guard against small children causing damage through the misuse of this type of writing implement.

2. Product Benefits The success of The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens will ultimately depend on the benefits it delivers to consumers. To define the potential benefits offered by The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens, and hence to determine what will motivate people to buy it, we must first differentiate between"benefits"and"features."Features are the more obvious characteristics of products but are not necessarily what actually drive the consumer's purchasing motivation. For example, the television remote control device has become one of the more common household items in use today.

Typically, a remote control is rectangular in shape, black in colour, has buttons on one side, runs off small batteries and contains electronic components that send coded messages to a receiving unit on a TV, VCR or stereo. AH of those elements are features which, on their own, would hardly inspire such wide consumer purchase behaviour. What has made this device so popular is the benefit these features deliver-convenience. Can you perform all the functions offered by a remote control-turning the machine on and off, changing stations, raising or lowering the volume etc.-without the aid of this device? Of course you can. Is it easier with the remote? Yes. Is it faster with the remote? Much.

Therefore, when people look at a remote control device they do not"see"a hard plastic box with several small buttons on it. Rather, they envision themselves sitting comfortably in their favourite lounge chair or stretched out nicely on the couch while commanding their entertainment equipment to perform as they wish simply by pointing this little magic box and pushing the appropriate button.

Typical Consumer Benefits Convenience Saving Time Comfort Security Cost Savings Peace of Mind As we seek to identify the benefits of The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens, we must carry out the same exercise. We must also address the issue of consumer"needs"versus"wants,"a line that is often difficult, if not impossible, to clearly define.

In general, needs relate to hard elements pertaining to one's very survival. You need shelter from the weather. You need clothes to wear and food to eat. If you are sick you need proper treatment and the right medicines. However, you may want a large, spacious home with a beautiful view through the front bay window and a swimming pool in the back yard. You may want top line designer fashions. You may want to dine out at nice restaurants every night. You may want lots of leisure time to engage in sports or other recreational activities.

When it comes to defining a benefit package that will inspire a significant number of consumers to purchase your product, both hard needs and wishful wants are equally valid. while we might like to think of ourselves as rational beings who strive to make choices in our best interest, the reality of the market place indicates otherwise. People make purchasing decisions for a wide range of reasons, some logical but many based purely on whim. We must, then, focus in on the most compelling factors that will cause members of the target audience for The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens to take notice of the product and to then make a favourable purchasing decision.

The primary benefits offered by The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would be convenience and cost savings. The main applications of these benefits would be realised through the way in which this automatic cap would prevent the pen from drying out prematurely, thereby assuring that it is functional when needed and avoiding the requirement to buy another pen sooner than would have otherwise been the case. It is, of course, an annoying inconvenience to pick up any writing implement, felt tip pen or otherwise, only to find that it will not work for the intended purpose. This, then, results in a scramble to find another pen that will work. The degree of inconvenience this causes can vary depending on the circumstances. For example, if there are other pens readily available and there is no time pressure involved, the annoyance may be slight. However, if no other writing implement is handy and the need to write something down is pressing-jotting down an important message being conveyed over the phone, taking notes in class or in a business situation, trying to write down a phone number or address from a TV or radio advert, etc.-the inconvenience can be quite significant. Thus, by assuring that an otherwise functional pen does not dry out prematurely, The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would greatly reduce the potential for any such annoyances, whether small or substantial.

Successful products deliver an identifiable benefit that meets a specific consumer 1 The cost savings benefit speaks of the way in which this specially designed lid would e,. ~nd the useful life of the pen, thereby avoiding the need to purchase a replacement much sooner than would have otherwise been the case. While these writing implements do-not represent a major outlay for the average consumer, even spending a small amount to buy more pens because others were not properly cared for can be an irritation. Moreover, if leaving caps off pens is a persistent problem, the cost of buying replacements can add up over time. i a more specific sense, both the convenience and cost savings benefits would be further realised in homes where a small child might have access to a felt tip pen. As we noted, young children are notorious for misusing writing implements if left unattended with such an object. The damage caused by a felt tip pen can be particularly extensive as these pens typically use an indelible ink that can be hard to wash out of objects such as walls, furniture, clothing, etc. Thus, by preventing the young would-be artist from gaining access to the business end of a felt tip pen, the parent or other care-giver would be spared both the inconvenience and expense associated with cleaning up the aftermath of such an occurrence.

B. MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY ISSUES Most manufacturing companies are constantly on the alert for new additions to their product line, especially if the proposed product does not require an extensive level of new equipment or the re-tooling of existing machinery. The typical product goes through four progressive phases of the product life cycle-introduction, growth, maturity and decline. The time required to pass through this cycle varies widely. Some products may take several years to reach the decline phase while others may come and go in only a matter of months. But, regardless of the overall time involved, every company knows that it must always be alert to new product opportunities to bring into the cycle to replace those approaching the decline phase.

Claims (1)

1. The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would correct this shortcoming by equipping these pcns with a lid that can be easily opened when someone wishcs to use the pen but which will automatically close when not being used. This specially designed cap would be fabricated from plastic and would be built into the pen's body at the point of manufacture. The device would consist of a sliding panel placed along one side of the pen's tip and a retracting three-sidcd box which joins the sliding panel to form an enclosure around the pcn tip. To use the pen, the sliding panel would be moved downward along the pen's shaft. This action would cause a spring-loaded b3gse to pull the box-type lid away from the tip. As long as the sliding panel remains in its retracted position, the box component will also remain away from the tip.

   This device would also prevent small children from using felt tip pens when they are not permitted to do so. These writing implcments pose a significant temptation to the curious chiSd and many a parent has entered a room to find a child has "decorated" walls, furniture, booksl or other objects, including the child himself or herself, with the ink from a felt tip pcn.

   However, while The Auto Lid For Felt Tip Pens would bc quite simple for an adult or older child to manipulate, a child young enough to pose a risk of misusing such a writing implement would bc unlikely to possess the manual dexterity needed to open this lid and hold it open while using the pen. Thus, not only would this cap help avoid the nagging inconvenience of finding a pen has dried out due to the failure of either a child or adult to put the cap back on, but it would also guard against small children causing damage through the misusc of this type of writing implement.