The Pelikan piston, a Hungarian's invention

[ayjayar]

My Welcoming friend from the "Introduce Yourself" forum wrote:

][...]I think you gave the first topic: The day after Theodor Kovacs invented the piston filling mechanism. Was it actually 1925 or better 1928? Was it really invented in Croatia?...

--

Amazingly, when you look at Pelikan's Web site, they never mention the cotribution of Theodor Kovacs. Must national pride, ey?

 

The Brits at: http://www.jardin-d-eden.co.uk/acatalog/Pelikan_Pens.html seem to be more forthcoming.

"In 1925 the firm [Pelikan] purchased patents from Theodor Kovacs, subsequently hiring Kovacs and Carola Bako to perfect the first piston filing system. Theodor Kovacs was a Hungarian engineer who developed a filling system with a special piston designed to overcome the disadvantages of the manual filling systems of the time, namely eyedropper and perishable rubber-sac pens. In 1923 he patented his design, offering it to Pelikan and Montblanc, finally contracting in 1927 with Pelikan. A suction pump with differential spindle gear ensures clean, rapid and reliable filling - the piston of the pump automatically cleans the ink container and keeps it transparent - whilst the special ink feed for the nib ensures instant writing."

 

From the "World Knowledge Library" we get the following: "In Europe, German Günther Wagner 's office supplies production started in 1871, and "Pelikan" became a major producer of fountain pens in the 1890s. They acquired patents for the solid-ink fountain pens from the factory of Slavoljub Penkala from Croatia (patented 1907, in mass production since 1911), and the patent of the Hungarian Theodor Kovacs for the modern piston filler by 1925." http://www.masterliness.com/a/Fountain.pen.htm

 

Exactly the same is here:

http://www.arthistoryclub.com/art_history/Fountain_pen

 

ditto for Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_pen

http://www.fredericksburgartists.com/encyc...a/Fountain_pen/

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclope...ountain_pen.htm

 

The Dutch provide more detail for the people involved ("an amusing story"), but are not specific about the years: http://www.pw-akkerman.nl/Diversen/Boeken/...ala/Penkala.htm

 

So for all intents, I think we can accept that Kovacs patented the piston in 1923, Pelikan bought the patent from him in 1925, and he went to work for them in 1927.

 

What do you tink?

[cmeisenzahl]

Very interesting info, thanks!

[stylus]

According to book "Pelikan Schreibgerate" by Jurgen Dittmer and Martin Lehmann, story goes something like this:

 

Theodor Kovacs developed a fountain pen with differential piston. The Reich's patent office in Berlin granted him the patent for this FP as well as for the tehnical drawng instrument in 1923. Probably because the patent office was in the neighborhood, Kovacs happened to stumble on the Berlin representative office of the Moster Penkala Werke A.G. Company (which was based in Zagreb). Moster tool a licence on the patent paying Kovacs in dollars (which was a very good deal becuase of the inflation). However, the production never started becuase of the financial problems. As a result Kovacs didn't earn enough royalty fees and tried to terminate the agreement. Moster refused, but after the ruling from the Reich's court in Leipzig, he was forced to restrict its contractual rights to the sole territories of Yugoslavia, Greece, Rumania, Asia Minor, Turkey and Egypt. Kovacs then began to contact German companies and found Gunther Wagner company as the best solution.

[ayjayar]

According to book "Pelikan Schreibgerate" by Jurgen Dittmer and Martin Lehmann, story goes something like this:

 

Theodor Kovacs developed a fountain pen with differential piston. The Reich's patent office in Berlin granted him the [.....] Kovacs then began to contact German companies and found Gunther Wagner company as the best solution.

What fun this is. Getting into the arcana of fountain pen evolution, that is.

 

Thanks for adding to the "knowledge base" and clarifying some of the issues.

[Kaweco]

removed

Edited April 7, 2007 by Kaweco

[stylus]

Thomas,

in the next post of mine I wanted to write what was said in Tischler's book

You outran me a little bit. However, I agree absolutely with Miro Penkala was indeed a great inventor. Pen history is very interesting indeed.

Thank you and if I may add, great dynamic forum.

Dubravka

Edited August 15, 2006 by stylus

[kissing]

Wow

 

I don't come to the History subforum often, but it seems as though there's a completely different world of it's own in here

 

That was some very interesting stuff to read and have me thinking.

 

Thanks

[Cepasaccus]

I am looking at the moment for early piston filler (patents). It seems Kovacs patented the differential screw piston filler where you get more ink into the pen. I couldn't find anything for older piston fillers besides this Austrian celluloid piston filler itself.

 

Cepasaccus

[Kaweco]

.....................the differential screw piston filler where you get more ink into the pen..................

Hi

Es ging eigentlich nicht darum, dem Füller ein grösseres Fassungsvermögen zu geben, das Problem war eher, dass der Kolben gut beweglich aber doch luftdicht verschliessend sein musste. Der Füllraum war aus physikalischen Gründen auf etwa 1 ml begrenzt, da das durch die Luftausdehnung bei Erwärmung entstehende Exzessvolumen im fast leeren Füller die Rest- Tinte herausdrückte. Dieser Tropfen konnte gerade durch die Lamellen um den Tintenleiter herum aufgefangen werden.

Die fest eingebaute Gewindestange des Kolbens gewährleistete eine weitgehend verschleissfreie Nutzung auch über Jahre hinweg. Ein weiteres Kolbenpatent, die abnehmbare Zugstange, war erheblich anfälliger: Die Zugstange war nicht fest mit dem Dichtungskolben verbunden und wurde nach dem Tintenaufzug durch die zentrale Bohrung wieder auf den Kolbenboden zurückgeschoben. Zum erneuten Füllen wurde der Kork mit der Zugstange wieder in die untere Stellung gebracht. Dabei musste das gebogene Ende der Stange durch eine viertel- Drehung in eine seitliche Nische des Korks eingebracht werden. Dies war ein mechanisch unsicherer Vorgang, da man die Lage der Nische eigentlich nur ertasten konnte und bei nicht idealen Verhältnissen der Kork beschädigt wurde. Das Zugstangensystem konnte man noch bei alten Reform- Füllern sehen, hier wurde auch eine Verbesserung gefunden bei der am Ende des Korks eine Mutter eingepasst wurde in die zur Arretierung der Kolbenstange ein überstehendes Gewinde eingeschraubt werden konnte.

Im Vergleich mit der Kovacs- Erfindung, bei der die Halterung für das Differenzialgewinde untergebracht werden muss, verbraucht die Zugstangen- Methode kein weiteres Volumen im Schaft. Es wurden erheblich grössere (zu grosse) Fassungsvolumina erreicht. Auch Jahrzehnte danach wurde die Zugstangenbefüllung noch in vielen Billig- Füllern eingebaut allerdings mit fester Verbindung der Kolbendichtung und der Zugstange in einem einheitlichen Spritzgussteil. Nach Befüllung verbraucht allerdings die hochgezogene Zugstange den grössten Teil des Schaft- Innenraums sodass der Tintenvorrat erheblich geringer wird.

 

Gruss

[londonbooks]

I love these type threads. I just try to absorb as much as possible from the insights, opinions and facts that are brought to light. Facts are often hard to prove, especially in the fountain pen business. So when these things are discussed on these forums I jump at the chance to learn. Thanks to ayjayar for getting the ball rolling.

[Vintagepens]

While it was possible to patent a piston-filler mechanism in the 1920s, please note that it would not have been possible to receive a patent covering all forms of screw-actuated piston-fillers, inasmuch as such pens had first been produced and sold several decades prior.

 

A similar misconception is often seen regarding Sheaffer's patents, which were not for the lever-filler per se (other lever-filling mechanisms had been patented years before), but for specific details of the mechanism.

[Wahl]

What about the Richter Leblang or the Manos Standard from Austria ?

 

I recall having read about them but lost the document.