PURPOSE: To supply a lead smoothly, certainly and efficiently by engaging each drum cartridge with a rotary drive apparatus in a freely detachable manner so as to arrange the same to a writing utensil whose lead insertion hole is opened directly under the moving locus centering around the center of rotation of a rotary body of the drum cartridge and subjecting a shutter mechanism to opening and closing driving on a base side.
CONSTITUTION: The rotation of a rotary body 16 is controlled to move the desired drum cartridge 44 among a plurality of drum cartridges 44 to the part directly above a writing utensil arranging place. Next, the selected drum cartridge 44 is rotated by predetermined quantity to allow the lower end opening part of the lead receiving hole 48 thereof to coincide with the lead falling hole 30 of the support table 24a supporting the selected drum cartridge 44. Whereupon, one lead in the lead receiving hole 48 of the drum cartridge 44 falls to the opening and closing part of a shutter mechanism under its own wt. from the lead falling hole 30 of the support table 24a. When a shutter driving mechanism is driven in this state to open the opening and closing part of the shutter mechanism, one lead falls to be inserted in the lead insertion hole 22 of the writing utensil 18 arranged under the shutter mechanism under its own wt.
NAKAGAWA TATSUHIDE
OYAMA TAKAYUKI
