This application is the National Stage of PCT/AT2008/000332 filed on Sep. 16, 2008, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 of Austrian Application No. A 1518/2007 filed on Sep. 26, 2007 and Austrian Application No. A 88/2008 filed on Jan. 22, 2008. The international application under PCT article 21(2) was not published in English.
The invention relates to a pocket stamp including a housing which is configured in the shape of a case having two articulately connected shell-shaped housing parts which can be brought from a closed position, in which they are releasably connected to each other, into an open position, in which a stamp plate accommodated in one of the housing parts and protruding over the edge thereof is present in its operation or impression position, in which the other housing part is offset toward the rear in relation to the stamp plate.
From U.S. Pat. No. 6,290,419 B1, a pocket stamp is known, in which a holder to be extracted from a housing in sleeve shape is provided, to which a stamp plate is hinged so as to enable stamp impressions to be made in the state of the holder extracted from the sleeve together with the stamp plate. A basically similar pocket stamp is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,613 B2, wherein a stamp plate and an ink pad are pivotably mounted to a common holder; in the folded state of the stamp plate and the ink pad, these can be inserted into a sleeve provided as a housing, along with a part of the holder. Although those known pocket stamps have proved successful in practice, care has to be taken that the pivotal movement between the stamp plate and the holder will, on the one hand, enable the abutment of the stamp plate on the holder in the stamping position to facilitate its use during stamping and, on the other hand, also be designed in a stable manner. Furthermore, the construction is relatively demanding in view of the various moving parts.
On the other hand, WO 2006/120546 A2 discloses a stamp which is comprised of two housing parts articulately connected to each other by a film hinge. One of the housing parts contains a sunk ink pad. The other housing part contains an impression plate with projecting graphic symbols, which are in direct contact with the ink pad of the first housing part in the closed state of the stamp. In the impression position, the two housing parts are disposed at a relative angle of 180°. In the closed position, a fixation can, for instance, be obtained by a pin engaging into a depression. On the other hand, also a sleeve for holding the housing parts together may be provided. Those means for holding the housing parts together are, thus, comparatively unreliable and difficult to open, or even inconvenient.
FR 2 514 699 A discloses a similar hand stamp, in the shape of a key tag, with a box and a lid, which are connected to each other via a hinge joint. The box accommodates an ink pad over its entire surface. An impression plate with protruding embosses is non-detachably connected to the lid. The lid and the box are held in the closed position by a simple, unreliable bow snap closure.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,105,738 A describes a hand stamp with an articulation piece to displace the hand stamp between an open and a closed position. An impression plate is pivotally mounted in a housing within two movable wall portions. The application of a force on parts or surfaces will cause a torque, thus moving the hand stamp into the open position with the impression plate, along a guide, being brought into the impression position parallel with a surface to be imprinted. In the impression position, the two movable wall portions are disposed at a relative angle smaller than 90°.
GB 544,005 A shows a stamp which can be attached to the sealing cap of a fountain pen by the aid of a clip. The stamp is comprised of two parts, namely a container whose upper part is configured as a hinge joint, and a lid including a stamp plate. On top of the lid, an elastically bent part with a tongue is attached for fixation in the impression position. A clip on the end of the stamp plate serves to fix the stamp plate in the folded state.
It is now an object of the invention to provide a pocket stamp of the initially defined type, which is not only simple and inexpensive in terms of production and mounting and, in addition, sturdy and reliable in operation during the making of a stamp impression, but, in particular, also comprises a safe yet easily openable closing mechanism which is favorable both in terms of production engineering and in terms of a long service life and reliable operation. Furthermore, the pocket stamp is to be suitable for various sizes as a function of the respective goal with basically the same structure, while enabling the production of as few parts as possible, preferably by injection-molding of synthetic materials.
To solve this object, the invention provides a pocket stamp of the initially defined kind, which is characterized in that at least one detent element in the shape of a hook is arranged in one of the housing parts and a detent element in the shape of a ledger, which cooperates with the hook, is arranged in the other housing part, wherein one of the detent elements is resiliently movable.
In the present pocket stamp with the case-like housing having two housing halves or parts articulately connected to each other in a hinge-like manner, the housing parts may be designed in a substantially shell-shaped, though not necessarily identical fashion, wherein they are, moreover, preferably produced in one piece, particularly of synthetic materials, for instance by injection molding, although they may also each be multipart, for instance, for the purpose of facilitating the mounting of the stamp plate, but, e.g., also of the detent elements. One of the housing parts contains the stamp plate, which, in the open position, protrudes over the edge of this shell-shaped housing part in order to enable the making of a stamp impression. The other housing part in this opened position is pivoted away from the stamp plate, or the closed position, by at least about 180°, and preferably has a smaller structural height so as to be offset toward the rear in relation to the plane of the stamp plate as well as in relation to the plane of the edge of the housing part containing the stamp plate in the impression position, in order not to impede the making of an impression on a substrate.
The housing parts can be resiliently biassed into the open position, wherein, in particular, a hinge joint connecting the housing parts is provided, which is biassed by a spring, e.g. a helical torsion spring. The housing part in which the stamp plate is arranged in a protruding manner at least during the making of an impression functions as a “handle”, and the other housing part may be regarded as a “swing lid” to be pivoted away from the “handle housing part”, preferably by the action of the spring bias, when an impression is to be made.
The two housing parts can be safely latched or closed by the hook engaging the ledger from behind, and none the less easily and reliably transferred into a release position by actuating one of these detent elements so as to open the housing. The hook is preferably immovably arranged on its housing part and, in particular, designed in one piece with said housing part; by contrast, the ledger may be accommodated in its housing part in a resiliently movable manner. In this respect, the movable ledger can be accommodated in the housing part that can be dimensioned to be slightly larger than the other housing part in view of its function as a handle; the ledger may in this case be provided in the housing part below (behind) the stamp plate.
For the simple and reliable actuation and locking, it will furthermore be suitable, if two hooks and two ledgers are provided, preferably symmetrically in relation to a housing center plane extending perpendicularly to the hinge axis. Such a configuration will ensure bilateral interlocking or latching, which will lead to a safely closed position of the two housing parts reliably avoiding inadvertent opening, on the one hand, and also enables the reliable operation from two sides of the housing part, for instance by a pressure respectively exerted on two housing sides by the thumb on the one side and the index finger on the other side, in order to open the housing, on the other hand. Resiliently movable push buttons may be mounted in the respective housing part for such opening, e.g. by displacing the ledgers out of the engagement position with the hook and, in general, the resiliently movable detent element out of engagement with the fixed detent element. A particularly simple configuration will, however, be obtained, if the housing part in which the resiliently movable detent element is arranged comprises a press piece, which cooperates with an actuation region of the detent element. In this respect, it will, furthermore, be advantageous for a particularly simple configuration, if the press piece is formed by an elastically deformable wall portion of the housing part. In order to prevent the detent elements from inadvertently disengaging when the pocket stamp is put into a pocket, it is suitable to avoid projecting parts of the pressure or deformation wall portions, and it will accordingly be of advantage if the elastically deformable wall portion is provided within the housing contour.
In practice, it has also proved to be beneficial if the resiliently movable detent element is formed by an insert body detachably inserted in the housing part. This insert body will facilitate the production of the individual components of the pocket stamp and its mounting, wherein it will, for instance, be advantageous if said insert body is accommodated in the stamp-plate-receiving housing part below or within said stamp plate.
In order to achieve as uniform an impression as possible when making a stamp impression, even if the stamp-plate-carrying housing part is comparatively small, it will be favorable if the stamp plate is resiliently mounted in its housing part. And even if the housing part is not held centrally during stamping, the resilient mounting of the stamp plate will provide a compensation for such eccentric holding so as to achieve a uniform impression. Moreover, such resilient mounting of the stamp plate will likewise be beneficial in those cases where the stamp plate is inked by an ink pad—which will consequently have to be accommodated in the other stamp part—in the closed position, since a precisely parallel positioning of the stamp plate and the ink pad will not always be ensured 100 percent in the closed position of the pocket stamp on account of the pivotability of the two housing parts relative to each other; the resilient mounting will likewise provide compensation here so as to ensure uniform inking of the stamp plate.
If an insert body with the locking ledger(s) is provided, it will furthermore be beneficial for the resilient mounting of the stamp plate, if the insert body comprises a central spring arm which, with the stamp plate inserted in the housing part, presses the same against edge-side stops provided in the housing part. For a simple production and mounting, it is, moreover, favorable if the stops are formed by hook projections which are firmly connected, or designed in one piece, with the housing part and, in the operating position, are engaged from behind by snap-in hooks provided on the stamp plate. For the symmetrical configuration and operation already discussed above, it will furthermore also be beneficial if the insert body includes two lateral ledgers, which extend from a common base portion provided adjacent the joint on one side of the housing to the other side of the housing. In this respect, it will be advantageous for a resilient mounting of the stamp plate in a manner as centric as possible, if the spring arm likewise extends away from the base portion of the insert body, yet is shorter than the ledgers and carries an abutment cam for the stamp plate.
As already mentioned, an ink pad may be arranged in the other of the two housing parts, which ink pad will abut on the stamp plates in one of the housing parts in the closed position, thus inking the same. The present pocket stamp is, however, suitable for the most diverse stamp plate configurations, which belong to the prior art as such. The stamp plate may, for instance, comprise reception depressions, e.g. in the shape of grooves, for insertable stamp types. The stamp plate may also be a pre-inked stamp plate, having a partially porous impression surface behind which an ink storage area is provided in the porous stamp plate. The impression surface may, for instance, be of the flash type, according to which the types are obtained in that the surface remains porous in the area of the types, whereas it will be closed by a light “flash” of suitable intensity in the remaining region.
In order to enable the fixation of the pocket stamp, if necessary, one of the housing parts may comprise a lug for attaching a strap or chain; it is also possible that one of the housing parts instead, or additionally, carries a clip or a spring clamp for clamping the pocket stamp to a pocket or the like. For a simple fixation of the clip to the housing part, it will be advantageous if one of the housing parts has a reception opening for receiving at least one fastening web of the clip. In this respect, it is favorable if the fastening web comprises a catch nose so as to enable the clip to be readily fastened to and, if required, again removed from, the housing part by a snap-in or catch connection. Such a snap-in or catch connection will also enable different clips to be selectively fastened to the housing part.
In order to provide a reliable snap-in or catch connection, it will be advantageous, if the reception opening tapers from its opposite ends to a substantially central snap-on edge. The catch nose will thereby be pivoted into the tapering reception opening during insertion and, after having passed the reception opening region having the smallest cross section, can rebound again so as to reliably ensure a catch or snap-in connection.
A reliable catch or snap-in connection will be ensured, if the catch nose of the fastening web, in the position received in the reception opening, engages from behind an edge of an annular reception recess of an oppositely located fastening web. Alternatively, it is also possible that the catch nose of the fastening web, in the position received in the reception opening, engages from behind a catch nose of an oppositely located fastening web. A catch or snap connection may also be obtained in a simple manner, if the clip comprises just a single bow-shaped fastening web, with the catch nose of the fastening web, in the position received in the reception opening, engaging from behind the snap-on edge of the reception opening.
Furthermore, one of the housing parts may also comprise an observation window to receive an impression sample or, briefly, a printing pattern. In a preferred manner, at least one of the housing parts is, moreover, formed in one piece of a synthetic material, in particular by injection or injection molding. Preferably, both of the housing parts are produced in this way. In a preferred embodiment, the pocket stamp will accordingly consist of two monolithic housing parts, an insert body, and a spring for biassing the hinge joint, besides the stamp plate and, optionally, the ink pad.
In the following, the invention will be explained in more detail by way of preferred exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawing, to which it is, however, not to be restricted. In detail, in the drawing,
From
In the closed position illustrated in
In order to undo this latching engagement, the two ledgers 20 have to be displaced towards each other under elastic deformation as indicated by arrows F, F′ in
Although separate movable detent elements 16 have been described above, it is, of course, also possible to provide such resiliently movable detent elements 16, in particular the ledgers 20, directly on a housing part, i.e. 4 (or 5), to integrally form with appropriate detent elements 16 elastically deformable wall portions which are comparable to the wall portions 27 provided on the inner side of the housing part; these detent elements 16 may cooperate with detent elements 10 provided on the other housing part 5 (or 4, respectively), which are again rigidly and integrally formed with this housing part in a manner comparable to the hooks 18 as described above. In this case, the separate insert body 25 may be omitted.
In the open position of the pocket stamp 1, the hooks 18 form a spacer relative to the substrate during stamping, as is apparent from
From
The resilient mounting of the stamp plate 24 may also be such that the stamp plate 24 is pressed into the interior of the housing part 4 against the force of a spring during the making of a stamp impression until its impression surface is in alignment with the edge 4′ of the opening of the housing part 4 (cf.
In addition to a conventional stamp plate 24, which is inked using an ink pad 30 inserted in the lower housing part 5 with the pocket stamp 1 in the closed position (cf.
The stamp plate 24 depicted as a second alternative in
Only for the sake of completeness is the filling of such a pre-inked stamp plate 24 schematically illustrated in
The housing parts 4, 5 are designed in one piece in the described embodiment, yet may also be configured to comprise several pieces, e.g. be divided in the longitudinal direction, wherein, in particular, the upper housing part 4 might be divided in such a manner as to enable the mounting of the insert body 25 and the stamp plate 24 in one half of the housing part 4 from the side, whereupon the other housing part half would be slipped on. This would render superfluous the described snap-fastening means 32, 33 (including the threading-in of the insert body 25 with its front end 19 to below the bridge portion 31) as well as the stamp plate 24 in the region 34, 36/37, yet would require the manufacture of a separate part (a second half of the housing part 4). For this reason, the described one-piece configuration of the housing parts 4, 5 is preferred.
From
In the embodiment according to
According to
The clip 50 is substantially V-shaped, with the fastening web 53, on the one hand, and an opposite fastening web 54, on the other hand, being provided on its freely cantilevering ends, which are (at least partially) received in the reception opening 52 in the fastened position.
As is apparent from
An alternative exemplary embodiment for the catch or snap connection between the two fastening webs 53 and 54 is illustrated in
Still another exemplary embodiment of the clip 50 is illustrated in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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A 1518/2007 | Sep 2007 | AT | national |
A 88/2008 | Jan 2008 | AT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/AT2008/000332 | 9/16/2008 | WO | 00 | 3/24/2010 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2009/039539 | 4/2/2009 | WO | A |
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5505132 | Warren et al. | Apr 1996 | A |
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6290419 | Hirschmann | Sep 2001 | B1 |
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6829989 | Chudy | Dec 2004 | B2 |
6877425 | Lynton | Apr 2005 | B2 |
7216586 | Yu | May 2007 | B1 |
7246556 | Stoneberg et al. | Jul 2007 | B1 |
7810644 | Fraillon | Oct 2010 | B2 |
20030089258 | Rigoni | May 2003 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2 514 699 | Apr 1983 | FR |
544 055 | Mar 1942 | GB |
544005 | Mar 1942 | GB |
WO 2006120546 | Nov 2006 | WO |
Entry |
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English translation of International Preliminary Report on Patentability. |
International Search Report. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20100294151 A1 | Nov 2010 | US |