Ink guide for a ballpoint pen

Claim 1

An ink guide adapted to be positioned within a barrel of a ballpoint pen in order to guide ink from an ink cartridge within the pen directly to a ballbearing of the pen, said ink guide comprising: an elongated casing made from a non-absorbent material; an ink retaining portion formed adjacent a tip end of said casing; first and second channels that extend longitudinally along said casing and merge at said ink retaining portion, said second channel being smaller in size than said first channel; a plurality of guide grooves formed in said casing for guiding ink from said ink retaining portion to said tip end; buffer means positioned along said casing for reducing the hydrodynamic pressure and flow speed of ink within said channels; and a collar carried by said casing and longitudinally spaced from said tip end for positioning said casing within a barrel of a ballpoint pen with said tip end being located in a predetermined spaced relationship relative to a ballbearing of the pen, whereby said ink guide is adapted to guide ink flowing from an ink cartridge of a ballpoint pen to said ink retaining portion and said tip end and, when said tip end is saturated with ink, to automatically guide an overflow amount of ink back to the ink cartridge through said second channel.