Vacumatic filler

Filling systems

Introduced by Parker in 1933 with the launch of the Vacumatic model, it was advertised as the first rubber sacless filling system. In fact this is absolutely not true (a classic example of misleading advertising) both because at the time there were already several versions of rubber sacless filling systems, such as the plunger filler of Onoto and the piston filler of Pelikan, or because in reality the filling always relies on a flexible rubber element, the diaphragm, even if this does not perform the functions of a tank.

Among the various filling systems based on the use of a breather tube, the Vacumatic is certainly one of the most complex, but in reality it is only a reworking of the mechanism of the previous bulb filler in which instead of using a pump the compression of the air in the body of the pen is done through the movement of a rubber membrane, the diaphragm precisely. In this case the movement is made by pressing a spring button on the bottom of the pen, which acts on the mechanism that moves the membrane. Repeating the pressure several times results in the same pumping result as a normal rubber pump.

This mechanism has the advantage of having a shorter bottom, which makes the appearance of the pen more pleasant, this was even more evident in the first versions of the system, called "lockdown", in which the button, made with a metal cylinder with a lateral groove, could be kept in pressed position thanks to the presence of a "L" shaped end of the groove itself, which allowed it to be attached to the mechanism by a rotation, so then to allow the closure of the back itself (screw).

A second version of the system, called "speedline", was produced starting from 1937, in which the realization was simplified by eliminating the locking system. This involved a longer bottom, but was advertised for the possibility of filling with one hand (in fact, to unscrew the bottom you still use two). Since 1942 about the system was further revised (with the version called "wartime" by collectors) using a button in celluloid instead of aluminum.

Related Patents

• Patent n° US-1507729, of 1924-09-09, requested on 1922-09-05, of Arthur O. Dahlberg, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1596811, of 1926-08-17, requested on 1925-05-23, of Albert Craig, Wahl Eversharp. Fountain-pen filler.

• Patent n° US-1634618, of 1927-07-05, requested on 1925-09-28, of Oscar B. Hjorth, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° GB-318982, of 1930-01-23, requested on 1928-09-14, of Arthur O. Dahlberg, The Parker Pen Company. Improvements in or relating to fountain pens.

• Patent n° US-1821477, of 1931-09-01, requested on 1929-02-09, of Kenneth S. Parker, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1904358, of 1933-04-18, requested on 1933-01-24, of Arthur O. Dahlberg, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1917568, of 1933-07-11, requested on 1929-11-15, of Benjamin F. Wupper, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1966369, of 1934-07-10, requested on 1934-02-13, of Steven G. Yates, David Kahn, Wearever. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° GB-417546, of 1934-10-08, requested on 1933-10-13, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1980508, of 1934-11-13, requested on 1932-10-06, of Ivan D. Tefft, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen filling device.

• Patent n° US-1985643, of 1934-12-25, requested on 1934-03-16, of Carl Pfanstiehl, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1989990, of 1935-02-05, requested on 1933-08-24, of Charles R. Keeran, Wahl Eversharp. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-1990441, of 1935-02-05, requested on 1933-04-17, of Albert H. Stenersen, Wahl Eversharp. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-2007576, of 1935-07-09, requested on 1934-02-23, of Charles K. Lovejoy, Moore Pen Company. Fountain-pen.

• Patent n° US-2091648, of 1937-08-31, requested on 1936-01-04, of Wilbur K. Olson, W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-2091649, of 1937-08-31, requested on 1936-01-04, of Wilbur K. Olson, W. A. Sheaffer Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° GB-471612, of 1937-09-08, requested on 1936-04-08, of Edward G. Knight, De La Rue - Onoto. Improvements in or relating to self-filling fountain pens.

• Patent n° DE-682506, of 1939-10-16, requested on 1937-02-12, Osmia. Fuellfederhalter mit einem im hinteren Ende des Halterschaftes befestigten, durch eine Kolbenstange umstuelpbaren Gummisack.

• Patent n° US-2343991, of 1944-03-14, requested on 1942-08-01, of David F. Mohns, The Parker Pen Company. Filling mechanism for fountain pens.

• Patent n° US-2398531, of 1946-04-16, requested on 1944-09-29, of Philip C. Hull, The Parker Pen Company. Filling mechanism for fountain pens.

• Patent n° US-2403039, of 1946-07-02, requested on 1944-09-18, of Marlin S. Baker, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.

• Patent n° US-2406330, of 1946-08-27, requested on 1944-07-26, of Walter J. Heagney, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen filling unit.

• Patent n° US-2464104, of 1949-03-08, requested on 1945-10-20, of Ivan D. Tefft, The Parker Pen Company. Fountain pen.