Introduction

A pen is a writing instrument that has been around for many centuries. Early pens such as reed pens, quill pens, dip pens, and ruling pens only held a small significant amount of ink on the tip of the pen because it allowed for a neat and clear writing and if too much ink was added on the nib of the pen the ink would spill out and ruin the surface of the papyrus scroll. As technology advances so do the new innovations from the early ages. The pens from the early ages have been replaced by modern pens such as ballpoint pens, gel pens, rollerball pens, fountain pens, brush pens, and stylus pens. For the early ages pens they were to be dipped in ink while the modern pens have internal ink reservoirs, which is a lot more accessible. 

Sakura was a Japanese stationery company that thrived to create an innovation for a pen that is more suitable for writing on all types of paper and had a similarity of the same fluidity of a rollerball pen. The Sakura company by 1982, had successfully obtained a patent in Japan for their new pen, the gel pen, soon after they had patented their invention the United States. It didn’t take Sakura that long to update their Ballsign pen to a gel-style ink pen, which became the first gel pen. It wasn’t until 1988 when the gel pens skyrocketed to the whole world, this is when Sakura came out with the Gelly Roll Gel Pen. Previously gel pens were used amongst artists and not friendly with the general public, but thanks to the Gelly Roll it allowed to give the world a new vision of the gel pen. The Gelly Roll had a very colorful vibrant and approachable aesthetic with rounded edges to the pens body, which was suitable for the fashion in the 1980s. Gel pens have become a necessity item in people’s homes, workplaces, school institutions, companies, hospitals, as a result of the new world view on them. Thanks to the Gelly Roll gel pen many people have been able to replicate the pen countless of times, which allows the gel pens to remain popular. 

Outer Layer:

   The outer layer of the Pilot G-2 gel pen consist of four components: Tip, Rubber grip, Barrel’s, and the Clip. 

   The tip of the pen for the Pilot G2 Gel Pen is covered in plastic. This part of the pen is what holds the tip of the ink cartridge in its position until it’s used for writing. 

    The purpose of the rubber grip is for people to feel more accommodated while writing and it lets the person have a firm grip to the pen, so there’s no risk of the pen falling out your hand. It also brings comfort to the writer. 

   The Upper Barrel is used to unscrew the pen from the lower barrel allowing the pen to be disassembled.

      The lower barrel is used to screw back in the ink cartridge and other components of the pen back to its original form. 

      The clip of the pen is found at the bottom end of the pen. The clip exists to allow to keep the pen on flat surfaces. The pens can also be clipped on people’s pocket pants & shirt pockets so it could be easier to access.  The clip also has the brands logo Pilot G-2 and the size of the pens tip. 

Inner Layer:

   The inner layer of the Pilot G-2 gel pen is arranged in five components: the ink cartridge, coiled spring, cam body, tubular plunger, and stop members.

  The coiled spring allows the ballpoint tip to being it pushed out of the pens case and with a click from the plunge it will be drawn back to its case. 

  The Gel pen ink cartridge is a water-based ink that contains a thickener. The ink cartridge is what helps distinguish itself from a rollerball ink. The ink is filled up in a clear plastic barrel which has the ink in the front and a thick goop towards the end of the plastic barrel containing the ink.

    The thick goop that comes after the gel ink is called a “stopper”. The stopper has two objectives; first it prevents the water-based ink gel from drying out which leads to a bad 

writing performance, and second it stops the gel ink from spilling out of the pen.

  

    The cam body is found at the lower barrel of the pen between the ink cartridge and the tubular plunger. The cam body’s purpose is to push the ink cartridge down the barrel’s to be able to hold it in place when the plunger is being pressed on. When the plunger is released the ink cartridge retracts back to its place. 

      The tubular plunger is shaped in a small plastic cylindrical tube that has sharp edges on the bottom of the tube. The tubular plunger lets the pen extend and retract by moving up and down when the plunge is being clicked on. 

        The Stop Members are pieces of plastic that is used to keep the cam body in place. When the plunge is being clicked on, the stop members are placed in the lower barrel of the pen. So, when it’s being retracted for the tip point to come out, it always comes across the stop members to keep its form.

How It Works:

   The Pilot G-2 Gel Pen works in four steps for the extension mechanism. Before the first click of the pen, the coiled spring inside the barrel keeps the ink cartridge in its untouched position. 

   During the first click the cam is rotated to the first ledge, which pushes down on it. The ledge then proceeds to push out the cartridge against the coiled spring all the way out, so the tipi s extended to its farthest point. At this point the pen is not suitable for writing just yet, but its waiting for the first click to be released back, so it can get into writing position.

   The second click is almost there! For the second click the cam gets rotated to the second ledge, and now the position of the cartridge is released back to the pen’s barrel where the tip is extended just right for writing. The click that is heard is caused by the cartridge striking the cam body at the ledge, which allows for the ballpoint tip to be in its ideal position. After you are finished writing with the pen, here comes the third click! 

  The third click rotates the cam body back into the first ledge. During the third click, the tip of the pen expands to its furthest point. And its being held there. 

  Now on the fourth click the cartridge can now be fully retracted and pushed back into its barrel by the coiled springs after the cam body was rotated to its lowest ledge. Finally, as the cartridge transitions from completely extended to fully retracted, the final click is the loudest click.

Conclusion

The gel pen innovation has become a widely used writing instrument. Due to its smooth fine point, quick dry ink, and comfortable grip it allows for people to use for business work, schoolwork, and any work area. For the Gel pen to be this popular it had gone many improvements and replications to make it the way it is. They are available in two forms a retractable and non- retractable pen. Due to its convenience and impact gel pen has to the world it would be seen for future purposes. 

References:

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