Patent Application
20110192299
The invention relates generally to handheld stamps, and more specifically to a handheld stamp having an integrated abrasive element for preparing ink before an obscuring pattern is imprinted thereon.
Protection of personal and sensitive information from both identity theft and accidental dissemination to the public at large has become a significant concern in recent years. Complete destruction of documents containing sensitive information, such as by shredding, is the most common method of protecting sensitive information. However, shredding paper can have a negative environmental impact because it is often difficult, if not impossible, to recycle the shredded paper. When paper is shredded, the lengths of the individual paper fibers are cut, thereby reducing the future recycling potential of that fiber because longer fibers can be used to make a higher-grade paper that can be recycled more times than lower-grade papers. Additionally, paper mills that buy recycled must perform a quality sort on the material before processing, and it is virtually impossible to do a good quality sort on shredded paper because many contaminants can hide in the shred. Therefore, paper markets often times will not buy shredded paper. Finally, mixed paper from households, for example, will be cleaned by placing it over an automatic screen that shakes out non-fiber contaminants. However, often time fingers on the screens will grab the shredded paper, pulling the strips into the reject bin, which in turn is not recycled, but is rather disposed of in a landfill. See, for example, http://www.ecocycle.org/faq/shred.cfm.
In addition to the problems with recycling of shredded paper, certain types of documents that should be retained and not destroyed can also contain important information. For example, transactional documents for property, such as deeds and titles to property, can contain important information regarding the property and can be desirable to retain. However, it is often desirable to redact personal information, such as the addresses and contact information of buyers and sellers, also contained within the transactional document when such information is no longer relevant or necessary. Documents are often selectively redacted by applying heavy inks or corrective tape to the paper to blot out or cover sensitive information without obscuring the information to be retained. However, such methods are labor intensive and may damage the underlying paper. Any damage to the underlying paper may compromise the integrity of the document as a whole causing the document to deteriorate over time and destroy the retained information with the redacted information.
Another method for redacting sensitive information is a stamp for imprinting an obscuring pattern over the sensitive information. For example, U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0183645 to Yonetsu et al. illustrates a handheld stamp having a die for imprinting a pattern of shapes and characters over text to obscure the underlying text. The reference is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety. The distorting pattern obscures the characters of the underlying text with a dense pattern of characters and shapes that break up the shape and lines defining the underlying text. An imprinted distorting pattern requires less ink then blotting out the text with a heavy ink because the underlying text is only distorted by the pattern rather than completely covered with ink. As a result, an imprinted distorting pattern is less likely to damage the underlying paper than conventional blotting methods because less ink is required.
However, differences in the characteristics of the ink used for the distorting pattern and the ink used to print or write the underlying text may prevent an imprinted distorting pattern from completely obscuring the underlying text. Specifically, the ink used for printing or writing is typically glossier in appearance than the ink used in stamps for imprinting. The glossiness of the underlying printed or written text causes the underlying text to standout against the more matte ink of the obscuring pattern. While the obscuring pattern may make the underlying text more difficult to read, the glossiness of the ink prevents the text from being completely illegible.
Similarly, certain printing techniques and papers create raised text where the dried ink of the text is in relief against the plane of the paper. In contrast, the ink used in stamps typically imprints images nearly flush with the plane of the paper or the ink is fully absorbed into the paper. The difference in the height of the text above the plane of the paper causes the printed text to stand out against the obscuring pattern preventing the obscuring pattern from making the underlying text completely illegible. As such, imprinting distorting patterns alone is often insufficient to completely obscure sensitive information.
Embodiments of the invention provide a handheld stamper with an abrasive element. The handheld stamper is used to protect sensitive information or indicia by imprinting an obscuring pattern over the indicia after abrading the indicia. The abrasive element is adapted to distort the underlying indicia by removing the glossy exterior of the dried ink or other medium of the underlying text without damaging the underlying paper, for example, or by removing a majority or all of the medium such that the indicia is partially or completely unrecognizable. The abrasive element can also be adapted to smooth any raised text such that the text is no longer in relief against the paper. By abrading or otherwise distorting the ink or other medium of the sensitive text or other indicia before imprinting an obscuring pattern over the text, the effectiveness of the obscuring pattern in rendering the underlying text or indicia illegible is improved.
In a representative embodiment, the handheld stamper can comprise an actuator mounted to a base, a stamping die coupled to one of the actuator or the base, and an abrasive element affixed to a surface of the handheld stamper. The abrasive element can be either removably or permanently affixed to an exterior of the actuator, the base, dust cover (if present), or the stamping die, for example.
To obscure indicia, such as, for example, sensitive information on a document, a medium, e.g. ink, forming the indicia is first abraded with the abrasive element to distort the indicia, such as, for example, by reducing a gloss value of the medium. The abraded indicia is then stamped with the handheld stamp to sufficiently obscure the indicia. In alternative embodiments, the indicia is abraded such that the indicia is sufficiently obscured and a subsequent stamping step is not required. The handheld stamper of the present disclosures allows for sufficient obscurity of sensitive information while maintaining the integrity, such as the recyclability, of the underlying paper or other substrate containing the sensitive information.
The above summary of the invention is not intended to describe each illustrated embodiment or every implementation of the present invention. The Figures and the Detailed Description that follow more particularly exemplify these embodiments.
The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of the following detailed description of various embodiments of the invention in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
While the invention is amenable to various modifications and alternative forms, specifics thereof have been shown by way of example in the drawings and will be described in detail. It should be understood, however, that the intention is not to limit the invention to the particular embodiments described. On the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.
According to embodiments of the present invention, handheld stampers, self-inking or otherwise, generally comprise a base, an actuator mounted on the base and movable with respect to the base, a stamping die for forming an obscuring pattern over indicia on a working surface, and an abrasive element affixed to a surface of the stamper, the abrasive element having an abrading surface for distorting the indicia, such as by reducing a gloss value or flattening raised surface, before stamping with the obscuring pattern. Upon movement of the actuator, the stamping die is shifted from a resting position to a printing position.
In use, it is desired to obscure indicia, such as personal information or text, of a working surface, such as a paper or other document. Before stamping the indicia, the handheld stamp is placed proximate the working surface such that the abrading surface of the abrasive element is in contact with the indicia to be obscured. The ink or other medium forming the indicia is abraded until the indicia is distorted or destroyed. The indicia can be completely unreadable or only partially destroyed. In one embodiment, the indicia is distorted by reducing a gloss of the indicia. The indicia is then stamped with an obscuring pattern 122, as illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment, the indicia is completely distorted or obliterated by abrading alone such that a subsequent stamping step is not required, and the indicia is unreadable or unrecognizable, such that the sensitive information is sufficiently protected.
In a representative embodiment illustrated in
Stamping die 108 can be coupled to actuator 104 by a shaft or pintel 112. As illustrated in
Stamping die 108 can comprise a plurality of densely arranged characters, figures or pictures, and/or straight or curved lines for producing an obscuring pattern. Referring to
Abrasive element 110 comprises an abrasive surface 124. Abrasive element 110 can be positioned on any surface of handheld stamper 100 including, but not limited to base 102, actuator 104. In one embodiment of the invention illustrated in
Abrasive element 110 can be affixed to any surface of handheld stamper 100 by any of a variety of attachment mechanisms such as, for example, adhesive, epoxy, tacks, staples, a hook and loop system, or any other method of permanently or removably affixing abrasive element 110 to handheld stamper 100. In one embodiment, abrasive element is removably affixed to handheld stamper 100 to allow replacement of abrasive element 110 with a fresh abrasive surface.
Abrasive surface 124 of abrasive element 110 has sufficient abrasive qualities, such as coarseness, to distort the indicia to be reduce a gloss value from ink or smooth raised text. Abrasive element should also be sufficiently fine to prevent or reduce damage to the underlying paper or other working surface. In one embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the Figures, abrasive surface 124 can comprise sandpaper having a mesh grade from about P150 to about P1200, which is the equivalent of an average particle size in the range of about 15 to about 80 microns. The abrasive mineral can comprise aluminum oxide (alumina), silicon carbide, ceramics, or any of a variety of abrasive minerals or combinations thereof.
Abrasive element 110 can alternatively comprise steel wool and synthetic steel wool abrasives, coarse rubber or plastic pads, or any other form of abrasive capable of reducing the gloss value from the ink and/or smoothing raised text without damaging the underlying paper.
In other embodiments, abrasive element 110 can further comprise a cushioning layer 126 disposed between a surface of handheld stamper 100 and abrasive surface 124. Cushioning layer 126 can act to reduce the amount of force applied to the underlying paper or working surface through abrasive element 110 thereby minimizing the risk of damaging the paper or working surface. Cushioning layer 126 can comprise for example, foam, rubber, felt or other compressible or uncompressible materials capable of minimizing or reducing the force applied to the underlying working surface or paper by abrasive element 110.
As illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment illustrated in
In another alternative embodiment illustrated in
In yet another alternative embodiment illustrated in
In an alternative embodiment illustrated in
Stamping die 206 can be immovably affixed to actuator 202 such that the stamping face of stamping die 206 is permanently facing outwardly from a bottom opening 212 of base member 204. Stamping die 206 is inked upon compression when an inked pad sandwiched between stamping die 206 and actuator 202 is also compressed such that ink is forced through openings in stamping die 206. Cover 208 can be removably attached to bottom opening 212 of base member 204 to protect stamping die 206 and to prevent or reduce the inked pad from drying out.
In an alternative embodiment illustrated in
In addition to or in alternative to the embodiment illustrated in
In an yet another alternative embodiment illustrated in
Any number of additional embodiments can be contemplated that include combinations of one or more of the abrasive element systems as discussed above, and are not limited to the representative embodiments illustrated in the figures.
As discussed above, the embodiments described are for exemplary purposes only and any of a variety of handheld, self-inking or non-self-inking stamps are contemplated. Examples include, but are not limited to, U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,070 entitled “Rubber Stamp” to MacGregor, U.S. Pat. No. 7,487,723 entitled “Hand held two-ended ink stamper” to Moody, U.S. Pat. No. 7,086,331 entitled “Hand-held ink stamper with spare ink supply” to Moody, and U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0183645 entitled “Stamping Device” to Yonetsu et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
Although specific examples have been illustrated and described herein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose could be substituted for the specific example shown. This application is intended to cover adaptations or variations of the present subject matter. Therefore, it is intended that the invention be defined by the attached claims and their legal equivalents.
