GB2428635A

GB2428635A - Automatically re-inked stamp

Info

Publication number: GB2428635A
Application number: GB0604721A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shiny Shih
Original assignee: Sun Same Enterprises Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sun Same Enterprises Co Ltd
Priority date: 2005-07-27
Filing date: 2006-03-09
Publication date: 2007-02-07
Anticipated expiration: 2026-03-09
Also published as: FR2889105B1; GB0604721D0; GB2428635B; FR2889105A1; TWM286124U

Abstract

An automatic re-inked stamp has a stamp base (10), an ink pad (12), a character unit (20), a housing (14) and a bottom cover that attaches to the stamp base (10) without having to press the character unit (20) down. The stamp base (10) has a bottom, an opening at the bottom and a lip (11) formed on and protruding out from the bottom. The ink pad (12) is mounted slidably in the stamp base (10), and the character unit (20) is rotatably mounted below the ink pad (12) and abuts the ink pad (12) when it moves into the stamp base (10). The housing (14) has a biasing member and is mounted slidably over the stamp base (10). The bottom cover has two latches (34) that hook the lip (11) on the stamp base (10) to hold the bottom cover securely on the stamp base (10).

Description

1 2428635

AUTOMATICALLY RE-INKED STAMP

1. Field of the invention

The present invention relates to an automatically re-inked stamp, and particularly relates to an automatically re-inked stamp that has a stamp face and a bottom cover to conveniently prevent the stamp from inadvertently stamping.

2. Description of Related Art

With reference to Fig. 6 and 7, a conventional stamp includes a stamp base (40), an ink pad (41), a character unit (50), a housing (43), a biasing member and a bottom cover.

The stamp base (40) has a hollow body with a bottom, an open end, two end faces, a cavity, two guide slots (42) and two rotation protrusions. The open end is formed at the bottom. Each end face has an inside surface. The cavity is formed inside the hollow body, communicates with the open end and has an upper section. The guide slots (42) are longitudinally formed respectively through the end faces. The rotation protrusions are formed respectively on and extend in from inside surfaces of the end faces adjacent respectively to the guide slots (42). The ink pad (41) is mounted in the upper section of the cavity.

The character unit (50) is mounted pivotally in the cavity of the stamp base (40) below the ink pad (41), selectively communicates with the open end of the stamp base (40) and has a bottom, Iwo ends, a character plate, two lugs (5 1) and a shaft (52). The character plate is mounted at the bottom of the character unit (50). The lugs (5 1) are defined respectively at the ends of the character unit (50). The shaft (52) is mounted longitudinally through the character unit (50) below the two lugs (51) and has two ends. The ends of the shalt (52) protrude from the ends of the character unit (50) and are mounted slidably and pivotally respectively in the guide slots (42).

The housing (43) is mounted slidably on the stamp base (40) and has a bottom, a hollow body and an open end. The open end of the housing (43) is mounted slidably around the stamp base (40). Pressing the housing (43), moves the character unit (50) downward, and the lugs (51) abut the rotation protrusions that rotate the character unit (50) around the shaft (52) and make the character plate face downward to stamp.

The biasing member is mounted in the housing (43) between the stamp base (40) and the housing (43). When the stamping task is finished, the housing (43) is released and is returned to its original position by the biasing member.

When the character unit (50) rises, the lugs (51) abut the rotation protrusions and rotate the character unit (50) so the character plate faces up and is re-inked when it comes in contact with the ink pad (41).

However, the stamp sitting on a desk may be pressed by accident and stamp the desk or a document on which the stamp is sitting by mistake, which is annoying. Consequently, a bottom cover having a bottom cap (60) and two clamps (64) is designed to solve the problem.

The bottom cap (60) has two ends, a front edge, a rear edge, a panel (61), an outer lip (62), two inner lips (63) and two mounting slots. The panel (61) is flat and has an outer edge, a top surface and two ends. The outer lip (62) is formed on the top surface of the panel (61). The inner lips (63) are formed on the top surface of the panel (61) inside the outer lip (62) respectively near the front and rear edges of the bottom cap (60). The mounting slots are formed between the inner lips (63) and the outer lip (62).

The clamps (64) protrude up from the ends of the bottom cap (60) and align respectively with the ends of the shaft (52), and each clamp (64) has a distal end and a clamping opening (641) respectively defined in the two clamping portions (64). When the bottom of the stamp base (40) is placed in the bottom cover and the housing (43) is pressed down, the character unit (50) moves downward, and the clamping openings (641) clamp the shaft (52) and hold the bottom cap (60) on the open end of the stamp base (40). Consequently, inadvertent stamping is effectively prevented.

However, the bottom cover cannot hold the shaft (52) until the housing (43) is pressed down, which is inconvenient. Even if the housing (43) is pressed down, the shaft (52) may not align and be clamped by the clamping opening (641), thereby causing the character unit (50) to rotate so documents or a person's hands get ink on them from the character plate.

IN THE DRAWINGS

Fig. I is a perspective view of an automatically re-inked stamp in accordance with the present invention; Fig. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view of the automatically re- inked stamp in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a character unit used in the automatically re-inked stamp in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a front view in partial section of the automatically re-inked stamp in Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a side view in partial section of the automatically re-inked stamp in Fig. 1; Fig. 6 is a partially exploded perspective view of a conventional automatically re-inked stamp in accordance with the prior art; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the conventional automatically re-inked stamp in Fig. 6.

With reference to Figs. 1-5, an automatically re-inked stamp has a stamp base (10), an ink pad (12), a character unit (20), a housing (14) and a bottom cover that attaches to the stamp base (10) without having to press the character unit (20) down.

The stamp base (10) is hollow and has a bottom, an opening, an edge, a lip (11), two vertical ends, two guide slots (13) and a rotator (131). The opening is at the bottom of the stamp base (10). The edge is at the bottom of the stamp base (10) around the opening. The lip (11) is formed on and extends out from the edge at the bottom. Each vertical end has an inside surface, an outside surface and a vertical channel (132). The vertical channels (132) are formed respectively in the outside surface of the vertical edges. The guide slots (13) are formed longitudinally respectively through the vertical ends. The rotator (131) is mounted on and protrudes in from the inside surface of the vertical end near the guide slot (13) The ink pad (12) is mounted in the stamp base (10).

The character unit (20) is mounted rotatably and slidably in the stamp base (10) below the ink pad (12), moves up and down and has a rotor (21), a character plate (22), two lugs (24) and a shaft (23). The rotor (21) has a bottom face, a front edge, a rear edge, two ends and four optional ribs (211). Two ribs (211) are formed on the front and rear edges of the rotor (21). The character plate (22) is mounted on the bottom face of the rotor (21). Two lugs (24) are formed respectively on and protrude out from the ends of the rotor (21) and press against the rotator (131) when the character unit (20) slides up and down to rotate the character unit (20). The shaft (23) is mounted coaxially through the rotor (21) below the two lugs (24), protrudes from the ends of the rotor (21) and is mounted rotatably and slidably in the guide slots (13) in the stamp base (10).

The housing (14) is mounted over the stamp base (10), moves the rotor (21) up and down in the guide slots (13) in the stamp base (10) and has a biasing member, a bottom edge, an inside surface, two ends and two Lshaped rails (141).

The biasing member is mounted between the housing (14) and the stamp base (10) to move the housing (14) up when the housing (14) is released. The Lshaped rails (141) are formed on the inside surface of the housing (14) respectively on the two ends at the bottom edge and are mounted slidably respectively in the vertical channels (132) in the stamp base (10).

The bottom cover is mounted on the bottom of the stamp base (10) and has a bottom cap (30). With further reference to Fig. 5, the bottom cap (30) comprises a panel (31), an optional lip (32), multiple optional guide tabs (33), multiple optional clamps (35) and two latches (34). The panel (31) has a top surface, a front edge, a rear edge and two end edges. The lip (32) has a front section, a rear section and an inside surface and is formed on the top surface of the panel (31) at the front and rear edges. The guide tabs (33) are mounted on the inside surface of the lip (32) on the panel (31) and protrude up from the lip (32) to help align the bottom cap (30) with the stamp base (10) and mount the bottom cover on the stamp base (10). The clamps (35) are formed on and protrude up from the top surface of the panel (31) and correspond to the ribs (211) on the rotor (21), and each clamp (35) has a distal end (352) and a transverse detent (351). The distal ends (352) are inclined to pass easily over the ribs (211) on the rotor (21). The transverse detents (35 1) face inward and selectively hold the ribs (211) on the rotor (21) when the rotor (21) is pressed against the bottom cover, which holds the rotor (21) against the bottom cover. The latches (34) are formed respectively at and protrude up from the side edges of the panel (3 1), and each latch (34) has a distal end and a hook (341). The hooks (341) are formed respectively on the distal ends of the latches (34), extend in and hook the lip (11) on the stamp base (10) when the stamp base (10) is pressed onto the bottom cover.

After the bottom cap (30) is attached to the stamp base (10), when the housing (14) is pressed down, as shown in Fig. 5, the rotor (21) is overturned and the ribs (211) formed on the rotor (21) are further received in the transverse detent (351). Accordingly, the bottom cover is more secured with the stamp base (10). Consequently, even if the housing (14) is pressed, the bottom cover can also be securely held on the stamp base (10), which avoid contaminating the desk or documents.

Claims

CLAIMS: 1. An automatically re-inked stamp comprising a stamp base (10)

being hollow and having a bottom; an opening formed at the bottom; an edge formed at the bottom around the opening; a lip (11) formed on and extending out from the edge at the bottom; two vertical ends, each vertical end having an inside surface; an outside surface; and a vertical channel (132) formed in the outside surface; two guide slots (13) formed longitudinally respectively through the vertical ends; and a rotator (131) mounted on and protruding in from the inside surface of one of the vertical ends near a corresponding guide slot (13); an ink pad (12) mounted in the stamp base (10); a character unit (20) mounted rotatably and slidably in the stamp base (10) below the ink pad (12) and having a rotor (21) having a bottom face; a front edge; a rear edge; and two ends; a character plate (22) mounted on the bottom face of the rotor (21); two lugs (24) formed respectively on and protruding out from the ends of the rotor (21) and pressing against the rotator (1 3 1) when the character unit (20) slides up and down to rotate the character unit (20); and a shaft (23) mounted coaxially through the rotor (21) below the two lugs (24), protruding from the ends of the rotor (21) and mounted rotatably and slidably in the guide slots (13) in the stamp base (10); a housing (14) mounted over the stamp base (10) to move the rotor (21) up and down in the guide slots (13) in the stamp base (10) and having a bottom edge; an inside surface; two ends; and two L-shaped rails (141) formed on the inside surface of the housing (14) respectively on the two ends at the bottom edge and mounted slidably respectively in the vertical channels (132) in the stamp base (10); a bottom cover mounted on the bottom of the stamp base (10), and having a bottom cap (30) having a panel (31) having a top surface, a front edge, a rear edge and two end edges; and two latches (34) formed respectively at and protruding up from the side edges of the panel (31), and each latch (34) having a distal end; and a hook (341) formed on the distal end of the latch (34), extending in and hooking the lip (11) on the stamp base (10) when the stamp base (10) is pressed onto the bottom cover.
2. The automatic re-inked stamp as referred in claim 1, wherein the bottom cap (30) further comprises a lip (32) having a front section, a rear section and an inside surface and formed on the top surface of the panel (31) at the front and rear edges of the panel (31).
3. The automatic re-inked stamp as referred in claim 2, wherein the rotor (21) further has four ribs (211) with two ribs (211) formed on the front and rear edges of the rotor (21); and the bottom cap (30) further consists of multiple clamps (35) formed on and protruding up from the top surface of the top surface of the panel (31) and corresponding to the ribs (211) on the rotor (21), and each clamp (35) having a distal end inclined to pass easily over the corresponding rib (211) on the rotor (21) ; and a transverse detent (352) facing inward and selectively holding the corresponding rib (211) on the rotor (21) when the rotor (21) is pressed against the bottom cover.
4. An automatic re-inked stamp generally as hereinbefore described with reference to and/or illustrated in Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.

4. The automatic re-inked stamp as referred in claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the bottom cap (30) further comprises multiple guide tabs (33) mounted on the inside surface of the lip (32) on the panel (31) and protruding up from the lip (32). to

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows:

1. An automatically re-inked stamp comprising a hollow stamp base (10) having a bottom; an opening formed at the bottom; an edge formed at the bottom around the opening; a lip (11) formed on and extending out from the edge at the bottom; two vertical ends, each vertical end having an inside surface; an outside surface; and a vertical channel (132) formed in the outside surface; two guide slots (13) formed longitudinally through a respective vertical end; and a rotator (131) mounted on and protruding in from the inside surface of one of the vertical ends near a corresponding guide slot (13); an ink pad (12) mounted in the stamp base (10); a character unit (20) rotatably and slidably mounted in the stamp base (10) below the ink pad (12) and having a rotor (21) having a bottom face; a front edge; arearedge; two ends; and four ribs (211) with two ribs (211) formed on the front and rear edges oftherotor(21); a character plate (22) mounted on the bottom face of the rotor (21); two Jugs (24) formed respectively on and protruding out from the S ends of the rotor (21) and pressing against the rotator (131) when the character unit (20) slides up and down to rotate the character unit (20); and a shaft (23) mounted coaxially through the rotor (21) below the two lugs (24), protruding from the ends of the rotor (21) and rotatably and slidably mounted in the guide slots (13) in the stamp base (10); a housing (14) mounted over the stamp base (10) to move the rotor (21) up and down in the guide slots (13) in the stamp base (10) and having a bottom edge; an inside surface; two ends; and two L-shaped rails (141) formed on the inside surface of the housing (14) respectively on the two ends at the bottom edge and slidably mounted in a respective vertical channel (132) in the stamp base (10); and a bottom cover mounted on the bottom of the stamp base (10), and having a bottom cap (30) having a panel (31) having a top surface, a front edge, a rear edge and two end edges; two latches (34) formed respectively at the side edges of the panel (31) and protruding up therefrom, and each latch (34) having adistal end; and a hook (341) formed on the distal end of the latch (34), extending in and hooking the lip (11) on the stamp base (10) when the stamp base (10) is pressed onto the bottom cover; and multiple clamps (35) formed on and protruding up from the top surface of the panel (31) and corresponding in location to the ribs (211) on the rotor (21), each clamp (35) having a distal end (352) inclined to pass easily over the corresponding rib (211) on the rotor (21); and a transverse detent (351) facing inward and selectively holding the corresponding rib (211) on the rotor (21) when the rotor (21) is pressed against the bottom cover.

2. The automatic re-inked stamp as claimed in claim 1, wherein the bottom cap (30) further comprises a lip (32) having a front section, a rear section and an inside surface and formed on the top surface of the panel (31) at the front and rear edges of the panel (31).

3. The automatic re-inked stamp as claimed in claim 2, wherein the bottom cap (30) further comprises multiple guide tabs (33) mounted on the inside surface of the lip (32) on the panel (31) and protruding up from the lip (32).