Mechanical pencil

Claim 1

A lead storage pencil comprising an outer body casing formed at its Side portion with an opening and an aligned recess contiguous to said opening, said casing terminating in a threaded end portion, a threaded, axially apertured, element threadedly engaging said threaded end portion of said casing and having a length to provide a threaded section extending beyond said end of the casing, said threaded element having an end face adjacent said recess, intermediate tube means coaxially disposed within and fixed to said outer body casing, a lead tube coaxially disposed relative to said casing and to said tube means for sliding movement relative to the latter and within and through the aperture in said element and being integrally formed at the projecting end thereof with lead chucking means for selectively chucking or releasing lead from the lead tube and with first and second flange means, one of which is in the region of said opening in the body casing for providing an abutment surface, said lead tube being slidably supported by said intermediate tube means, spring means mounted between said abutment surface of said one of said flange means and the other of said flange means for normally urging the lead tube in a first direction, said other of said flange means normally engaging said end face of said element, force translating means for translating a radially applied manual force to an axially directed force and comprising a manually operable lever and a ring formation each being pivoted to a common pivot traversing said opening in the side portion of the casing, said ring formation, on depression of said lever, acting on said one of said flange means to urge the lead tube in a second direction opposite to said first direction against the bias of said spring, said lever when a writing operation is terminated being movable for positioning within said recess on movement of said lever in a direction opposite to its direction of depression for moving said lead in said second direction, and a cap nozzle threadedly engaging said threaded extension of said element and provided with an end opening through which an end of lead is projectable on release of the lead by the chucking means on depression of said lever against said bias of said spring.