Feeder

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A Pelikan 400 feeder

Although it is probably the least important part in the aesthetic aspect of a pen, the feeder (also called conductor or feed) is actually the heart of the functioning of a fountain pen, and on a technical level it is probably the most important component of it. It is in fact the feeder that creates the delicate balance of forces that allows the correct passage of the ink from the tank to the nib that deposits it on the sheet of paper, and a fountain pen writes well because its feeder does its job correctly.

The importance of this component is even more evident in the fact that the most important invention of Lewis Edson Waterman, the one that leads many to consider him (with some exaggeration) the father of the fountain pen, is related to the construction of the feeder. Of course, well before concentrating on materials and loading systems at the end of the 1800s, manufacturers were competing (and investing their research efforts) on this very element, which characterized their pens (think, for example, of Parker Lucky Curve or Waterman Spoon feed) since a well-functioning feeder was then what could lead to success or failure.

And although later on the importance of the feed, at least in the promotional material, has decreased at the expense of other parts and technical characteristics (and especially compared to the stylistic ones), it is still one of the essential parts of the functioning of a fountain pen, taken up in several cases by the manufacturers (as for the Eversharp Magic Feed or the Lamy tintomatic).

Apart from the still very primitive constructions present until the first years of 1900, which still provided for some companies (such as Swan and Onoto) the presence of the so-called overfeed the canonical shape of the feed as an element placed under the nib has been developing quite quickly.

Initially it was simply a cylinder of hard rubber suitably bevelled in the front part placed under the nib to leave space for writing, equipped on the upper part of the "channel" supply through which the ink arrives from the tank to the nib. The first variations occurred precisely in the construction of the channel, and in the addition of further grooves inside to facilitate the passage of the ink by capillarity. Through the same channel the air that replaces the ink that comes out of the pen tank flows (even if later possible alternative paths have been foreseen).

The [Spoon feed
blueprint]]

Le prime variazioni alla semplice forma cilindrica smussata avvennero per risolvere il problema, allora molto pressante, ma che si ripresenta anche oggi, di consentire il blocco dell'afflusso di inchiostro quando la penna non viene usata per evitare perdite nel cappuccio. Per questo vennero adottate diverse soluzioni, con altrettanti brevetti come il famoso Lucky Curve della Parker, in cui la parte posteriore dell'alimentatore veniva curvata fino a farle toccare la parete del serbatoio, favorendo così (almeno secondo le rivendicazioni del progetto) il riassorbimento dell'inchiostro.

Per lo stesso tipo di problema vennero prodotte altre soluzioni, come la creazione di opportune tasche laterali a fianco del canale (come nello Spoon feed di Waterman). Negli anni poi è proseguito sviluppo di meccanismi che, o con la presenza di incisioni in forme più o meno frastagliate della parte esterna (come nello Spear-head di Parker), o con la realizzazione alette, sacche, incisioni, canali ed altre configurazioni, consentissero all'eventuale inchiostro in eccesso di accumularsi opportunamente nelle varie pieghe, ed evitare accumuli pericolosi sul pennino, in particolare per compensare gli sbalzi di pressione dovuti all'aria presente nel serbatoio, problema diventato ancora più rilevante con l'affermarsi dei viaggi aerei.

Brevetti correlati

  • Brevetto n° US-214795, del 1879-04-29, richiesto il 1879-02-06, di William W. Stewart, Swan. Proto-stilografica.
  • Brevetto n° US-353399, del 1886-11-30, richiesto il 1886-08-18, di Francis C. Brown, David W. Beaumel, Caw's. Alimentatore e sezione.
  • Brevetto n° GB-190823642, del 1909-09-02, richiesto il 1908-11-05, di Duncan Cameron, Albert Edward Wright, Cameron. Alimentatore.
  • Brevetto n° US-1080176, del 1913-12-02, richiesto il 1912-01-09, di Richard H. Stevens, Waterman. Meccanismo di compensazione.
  • Brevetto n° US-1347901, del 1920-07-27, richiesto il 1919-09-08, di William T. Fitzpatrick, Welty. Alimentatore.

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