Marking pen for coloring the skin

Claim 2

A marking pen for indicating the proper location of incisions to be made on a patient undergoing surgery, the marking pen comprising: a handle configured for comfortable positioning in a hand, said handle having a support end; a rotatable support member coupled to the support end of the handle and including a mounting means which enables rotation of the support member with respect to the handle; a plurality of marking points including skin-contacting tips coupled to the rotatable support member wherein each skin-contacting tip defines a circumferential path of rotation about the support member; reservoir means disposed at least partially within the handle for storing a marking agent useful for marking skin; and dispensing means coupled to the reservoir means and having a contacting surface positioned in proximity to at least one of the circumferential paths of the marking points to enable transfer of the marking agent to at least one of the tips of the marking points.

Claim 3

The marking pen of claim 1, wherein the skin-contacting tips define a circumferential path around the support member which generally falls within a single plane of rotation.

Claim 4

The marking pen of claim 2, wherein each of the marking points is generally solid and tapers to a point.

Claim 5

The marking pen of claim 1, wherein the reservoir means is disposed completely within the handle.

Claim 6

The marking pen of claim 1, wherein the dispensing means comprises a groove formed in the reservoir means so as to have marking agent disposed therein, the groove being positioned such that rotation of the support member causes the marking points to pass through said groove and into contact with marking agent disposed therein.

Claim 7

The marking pen of claim 5, wherein the reservoir has a top end disposed within the handle and a bottom end disposed adjacent the support member, and wherein the groove of the dispensing means is disposed at the bottom end of the reservoir means.

Claim 8

The marking pen of claim 1, wherein the reservoir means comprises a felt reservoir.

Claim 9

A marking pen for indicating the proper location of incisions to be made on a patient undergoing surgery, the marking pen comprising: rotatable penetrating means for penetrating a portion of the epidermis of the patient, the penetrating means comprising a pinwheel having a diameter of less than 1.5 centimeters, said pinwheel including a plurality of marking points tapering as the marking points extend outward so as to form a tip configured for penetrating only the outermost layers of a human epidermis and depositing marking agent therein, the marking points each having a lengths of less than 3 millimeters; reservoir means disposed adjacent the pinwheel for storing a marking agent and for conveying the marking agent to the marking points of the penetrating means; and handle means attached to the penetrating means so as to enable a user to roll the penetrating means across the epidermis of a patient, thereby leaving marking agent within the epidermis; and wherein at least a portion of the reservoir means is disposed within the handle means.

Claim 10

A marking pen for indicating the proper location of incisions to be made on a patient undergoing surgery, the marking pen comprising: rotatable penetrating means for penetrating a portion of the epidermis of the patient, the penetrating means comprising a pinwheel having a diameter of less than 1.5 centimeters, said pinwheel including a plurality of marking points tapering as the marking points extend outward so as to form a tip configured for penetrating only the outermost layers of a human epidermis and depositing marking agent therein, the marking points each having a lengths of less than 3 millimeters; reservoir means disposed adjacent the pinwheel for storing a marking agent and for conveying the marking agent to the marking points of the penetrating means; and handle means attached to the penetrating means so as to enable a user to roll the penetrating means across the epidermis of a patient, thereby leaving marking agent within the epidermis; and wherein at least a portion of the reservoir means is disposed within the handle means.

Claim 11

The marking pen of claim 8, wherein the reservoir means comprises a groove formed therein and disposed such that rotation of the penetrating means causes the marking points of the penetrating means to pass through said groove.

Claim 12

The marking pen of claim 9, wherein the groove is disposed in the reservoir means so as to deposit marking agent on each marking point passing therethrough.