US2393546A - Nonspillable inkwell - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 22, 1946.

J. B. WILLIAMS NONSPILLABLE INKWELL Filed Dec. 24, 1943 lawezaiiow:

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Patented Jan. 22, 1946 STATES PATENT OFFICE NONSPILIJABLE 'INKWELIJ John: B. .Williams, Wellesley; Mass.

Application December 24, 1943', SeriafNo. 515,471

(Cl. RIF-57 Claims.

Thepresent invention relates todnkwells which are normally open in. orden that the liquid kept therein may at alLtimeabe available for access bydipping; More. specifically, the invention. is concerned. with. improvements in a nonz-spillable inkwell whereby the escapeiof liquid is efiectively preventedeven though theinkwelLbe'accidentally tipped, rolled, or otherwise disturbed, eveni in relatively violentfashion. The invention is likewise. concerned with. improvements whereby smudging of. the penholder. duringuse of the. inkwell isprevented.

According to the invention, theinkwell islsubstantially sphericalinshape, in. marked distinctiontolprior devicesof this category. Preferably both theexterior. and the interior. are. spherical, but inrany event the-interior; except as will appear hereinafter, issphericah or nearly so, in order thatwave formation andv sloshing of. the inkv in caseof accidental-tipping: or rolling. of the inkwell may be-minimized; Io-provide accesstotheink within, the inkwell is provided withan openingwhich. includes a reentrant tube or" passage for the pen point and lower end of the pen holder. This tube, which likewise serves; to hold the. pen when: the I latter is.- not inuse; is so" constructed and. arranged as to. be substantiallyfree' from wetting by. the ink, not only during normal-use of. theinkwellinvolving repeated removal' and replacement of the pen in replenishing; the inkon-the pen point, but also under conditions of abnormal: position of the inkwelland its contents. In the drawing:illustrating: the invention, Fig. 1 is-ra sectionaliview showing theinkwell in normal position-.withaa pen therein ready for use; Fig. 2 is a view" showing the inkwell." tipped: forward to a position. in which: the opening. for the-pen is substantially" horizontal: withoutv permitting the escape. of ink; and Fig.3 is a; view of a slightly moidiiied construction; the inkwell being shown in inverted position; to illustrate: furtherv the retentiont 0fI.ink under abnormal" attitudes of the inkwellz.

As'haszalrea'dy'beendndicated; the: inkwelli comprises a; substantially: spherical body'- 6: which is pref erahly' formed'of, a transparent;materialsuch asglass; The sphericalsbody-is slightly flattened, asrat 8; to provide abaseztoassist .in: defining and maintaining a normal position: of theinkwe1l'.. I

' 'To provide; convenient. access to the: ink' at: all times, a permanent opening is" provided; in: the upper portion of the body at an angle to the vertical; Escape of ink through this opening is prevented, even though the inkwell be inverted,

by a reentrant tube l0 extending from the rim of the opening approximately to the center of the. inkwell body.

According. tothe embodiment illustrated in Fig- 1,. the tube [0. may be-made separately from.

thabody B and subsequently. secured. to a narrow upstandingrimor bead. l2. extending around the opening in the well. body. .The tubev may be formed. of. any suitable material, such. as metal, glass, plastic or the like, and may be. secured by rolling its. outer endover. the rim. l2,.or by fusing to-thebody 6. The tube is shapedtoprovidea flaring mouth, and likewise a flaring. lower or inner end,. to. afford to the pen some angular freedom. within the tube, even thougnthe tube, in the region of reduced diameter l4-,.be substantially closed bythe body of the penhold'er Hito minimize evaporation during periods of non-use.

To prevent smudging of the penholder. by ink that-may be deposited within:v thetube in withdrawing the. pen, longitudinal. ridges l8 may be formed in the tube. to provide limited area of contact between tube and penholden. Preferably the ridgeshave relatively sharp edges. to cause any ink thereon quickly to bedrawn by surface tension. downinto the grooves between ridges, and thence to the lower end of the tube. This end-of the tube flares somewhatbeyond the limit of movement of the penholder, so that contact between the penholder and the inner end. of-the tube is effectively prevented.

Further protection against the escape of: ink into the tube, particularly when the inkwell is tipped or disturbed,.is afiorded by areverse flare or skirt 20- at the lower. end. of the tube. This skirt serves as a trap or baffle to prevent ink sloshing over into the tube.- The lowermostportion of the-skirt, with the wellin normal position, is bent downward slightly below the. horizontal to provide a lip or. horn 22 for diverting any ink that may have run down the tube, either from the ridges within or from the skirt outside the tube; to-a dropping-off point for return to the supply. The ridges and the skirt thus cooperate in maintainingthe'tube free of ink. I

The ink level in the well is preferably slightly below the rim of the tube, so that with a pen resting in the well with itspoint against the interior of the well oppositethe tube, thev pen.- holder is out of contact. with the ink but the pointis substantially covered, so. as totake up a full charge of ink when the. pen is- Withdrawn. To facilitate. access to the inkwhenrthe supply is low, and particularly to aid in replenishing fountain pens from the well, the body 6 is formed with a thickened bottom having a sump 24 so positioned as to receive the pen point of a pen that is introduced in a more nearly vertical position than the normal resting position of a pen. The thickened bottom portion likewise affords stability by reason of its added weight, in case the inkwell is formed of some relatively dense material such as glass.

By limiting the filling of the inkwell to the level above described, the well may be tipped on its side (Fig. 2 )or fully inverted (Fig. 3) without at any time providing an opening below the level of the ink. Due to the spherical external shape, the device, if tipped, rolls smoothly without causing violent agitation of the ink within, while the smooth spherical interior contributes to the prevention of wave formation and sloshing. It will be understood that waves, if formed, would tend to cause splashing of the ink into the tube and perhaps result in the escape of ink to the exterior.

Fig. 3, in addition to showing the operation of the inkwell in inverted position, illustrates an alternative embodiment in which the reentrant tube is integral with the body, This construction may be effected either by making tube and body as one piece, or by making the parts separately and then fusing the tube to the body adjacent the rim 26 to provide a homogeneous construction. As an alternative to the protective skirt surrounding the inner end of the tube, the tube is formed with a sharp knife-like edge 28 which prevents the passage of ink from the exterior to the interior of the tube. At the lowermost position of the tube, with the well in normal position, a horn or lip 39 may be provided as in the previously described embodiments to direct the ink away from the tube and into the reservoir. 7

Fig. 3 likewise illustrates the preferred position of the inkwell in case it is desired to let the well remain for long periods of time without I a pen therein, or where the well isused solely as a reservoir for the filling of fountain pens. With the inkwell in inverted position, the device is substantially self-sealing, and evaporation is slight.

I have thus indicated as my invention an inkwell which by its novel configuration, quite at variance with the usual shape of containers that are normally open at all times for access to the liquid therein, is substantially non-spillable, In addition, means have been shown for preventing the ink from reaching areas that are apt to be engaged by the penholder, and thus any wetting or smudging of the penholder is avoided.

What is claimed is:

1. A non-spillable inkwell comprising a substantially spherical hollow body having an externally flattened and thickened wall portion to provide a weighted stable base, said body having a normally open passage to provide access to the interior, said passage being defined by a reentrant tube extending inwardly of the body substantially to the center thereof, the tube having a restricted throat portion intermediate its ends sufiicient to accommodate the body of a penholder and increasing in diameter from said throat portion toward the ends, and inwardly projecting longitudinal ridges within the tube for supporting a penholder out of contact with the body of the tube, the inner end of the tube terminating at an acute angle beyond said ridges and said end portion of the tube lying outside the range of movement Of a penholder within the tube.

2. A non-spillable inkwell comprising a substantially spherical hollow body having an externally flattened and thickened wall portion to provide a weighted stable base, said body having a normally open passage to provide access to the interior, said passage being defined by a reentrant tube extending inwardly of the body substantially to the'center thereof, the tube having a restricted throat portion intermediate its ends sufficient to accommodate the body of a penholder and increasing in diameter from said throat portion toward the ends, and inwardly projecting longitudinal ridges within the tube for supporting a penholder out of contact with the body of the tube, the ridges temn'nating short of the inner end of the tube and said inner end portion of the tube beyond the ridges lying outside the range of movement of a penholder within the tube.

3. A non-spillaible inkwell comprising a substantially spherical hollow body having an externally flattened and thickened wall portion to provide a weighted stable base, said body having a normally open passage to provide access to the interior, said passage being defined by a reentrant tube extending inwardly of the body substantially to the center thereof, the tube having a restricted-throat portion intermediate its ends sufiicient to accommodate the body of a penholder and increasing in diameter from said throat portion toward the ends, and inwardly projecting longitudinal ridges within the tube for supporting a penholder out of contact with the body of the tube, the inner end of the tube lyin outside the range of movement of a penholder within the tube and terminating in a sharp edge.

4. A non-spillable inkwell comprising a substantially spherical hollow body having an externally flattened and thickened wall portion to provide a weighted stable base, said body having a normally open passage to provide access to the interior, said passage being defined by a reentrant tube extending inwardly of the body substantially to the center thereof, the tube having a restricted throat portion intermediate its ends suflicient to accommodate the body of a penholder and increasing in diameter from said throat portion toward the ends, inwardly projecting longitudinal ridges within the tube for supporting a penholder out of contact with the body of the tube, and a reversely flaring skirt extending around the tube at the inner end thereof.

5. A non-spillable inkwell comprising a substantially spherical hollow body having an externally flattened and thickened wall portion to provide a weighted stable base, said body having a normally open passage to provide access to the interior, said passage being defined by a reentrant tube extending inwardly of the body substantially to the center thereof, the tube having a restricted throat portion intermediate its ends suflicient to accommodate the body of a penholder and increasing in diameter from said throat portion toward the ends, inwardly projecting longitudinal ridges within the tube for supporting a penholder out of contact with the body of the tube, said ridges terminating short of the inner end of the tube, the end portion of the tube lying outside the range of movement of a penholder within the tube and'terminating in a sharplyintersecting skirt having a reverse flare.

J OHN B. WILLIAMS.

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