Magnetic Piston Filler?

[Thor_Odinson]

An idea hit me to use magnets for a piston fill pen, and I wondered in anyone made one, go I googled it and found this:

I found it here:http://www.google.com/patents/US2734485

 

Does anyone make a pen with this system because I think I want one?

[tfwall]

Magnets, how do they work?

[ele]

That's an awesome idea! I'm all in!

[jordanjay29]

Sounds cool, but it would be very problematic if you got the pen itself near a magnet, you might experience a rapid unplanned dispensing of ink (RUDI).

 

Filling might also be difficult once done, you would need to take care not to bring the magnet in the cap near the piston magnet again. Also, removing the magnets, as they would have to be quite strong to produce the proper vacuum.

 

Posting the pen is right out.

 

Ehh, I see way too many problems with it.

[NinthSphere]

Gotta agree, that design is just asking for problems.

[mike.jane]

Wouldn't the magnet in the cap magnetize the nib over time? It would then attract lot's of ferric dirt. Of course this problem would be circumvented with a gold nib.

[jdivitto]

Let's keep going with this idea! We could solve some of the unintended magnet movements by going electromagnetic. It could have two contacts on the end of the pen. Plug it in one way and it fills, plug it in the other way and it discharges. Could make cleaning very easy with a reversing switch on the power supply.

 

We should be able to isolate/insulate/shield the nib from magnetizing.

 

If you make the power supply out of "precious resin", nobody would mind the extra component. Of course they would be arguments about whether 18k, 14, or stainless steel contacts makes any difference in the performance of the pen.

[jdivitto]

Oh! Make the ink bottle part of the design. The ink bottle has the electronics and a three way switch. The contacts on the pen would be on the section. Insert the pen into the ink bottle and the contacts touch. Flip the switch one way and the piston goes down. Flip it the other way and it fills the pen.

 

I like it!

[The Blue Knight]

I like the idea however why not have the cap of the bottle the magnet?

Edited April 12, 2015 by The Blue Knight

[tinkerteacher]

Two problems come to mind almost immediately.

 

1) How would this work with iron gall inks?

 

2) What if you walked by a magnetic source, like say a spinning computer hard drive? There's the danger of the piston being pulled down, forcing all the ink out of the barrel at an inconvient time.

[Djehuty]

You take the cap off, you move it too close to the body of the pen, your ink is all over your shirt, your pants, your documents, your carpet....

[NinthSphere]

I like the electromag idea. How about a remote control solenoid? You can refill your pen from across the room, then discharge it when someone opens their garage door.

[nigelg]

And of course hopeless for anyone with a magnetic personality.

[Djehuty]

And of course hopeless for anyone with a magnetic personality.

 

And here I was avoiding that one...

[Bo Bo Olson]

Be extremely top heavy if you posted.

Sometimes twisting a piston takes some force....so would not be strong enough.

Wait 50 years for light super strong magnets.

[nigelg]

 

And here I was avoiding that one...

That makes us poles apart.

[Thor_Odinson]

I get it; it’s easy to hate a design after a simple glance. But it still is an interesting idea, especially when you read the patent info. Like how if you look at the end of the pen (labeled 7) it is a lock to secure the piece of metal (labeled 10) inside the body to secure the piston and keep it from moving just like piston filler with a twist mechanism, which eventually locks the piston in place and stops the piston from moving around. The magnet in the cap would add weight but today, unlike 1954, we have neodymium magnets (for cheap) that are capable of lifting many, many times their own weight. A two gram magnet could easily lift a two grams of any magnetic material (coated in a corrosion resistant material) without throwing off the balance of the pen to terribly bad. And you can avoid magnetizing the nib by using a metal, like gold, that is non-magnetic. And walking near a magnet isn’t a problem because one) the metal piston is secure and two) you would have to get very close to a magnet and move in a very precise manner while either having forgot to secure the piston or just be walking next to a rather powerful magnet, and your shirt being ruined isn’t as bad as having your electronics, like your phone, ruined. But yes iron gall inks are probably out of the question... shame they’re lovely inks. It’s a novelty idea and if anyone makes one please let me know because I would like one.

[chrisrap52]

PenBBS made a magnetic piston filler. Model 492. I just received mine. Works great. Magnet is strong.

[Storch]

My concern is not with its operation when pristine, but what would happen after you let some ink dry up in there.

You could absolutely do things like teflon-coat the inside of the body but otherwise, I would imagine you would have to be very careful since once that piston is stuck there is basically no way to get it going again. At least with a piston filler, you have the ability to mechanically force it, but with the magnet either you can generate the force to overcome the friction or you just can't. Again, you could probably over-engineer a system to generate some sort of oscillating field to try to shake it loose, but at what point is it just easier to use a piston?

[Newton Pens]

piedimonte_pen_design makes these-

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrTQlOQh2xg/

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/B6x-7rnCSbb/

And he's been doing it for years.