Self-Inking Hand Stamp

1. Field of the Invention

This invention refers to a self-inking hand stamp of the type having a handle, a base, an intermediate portion comprising an elongate, longitudinally displaceable shaft interconnecting said handle and said base, a self-inking block located in a socket in said base and being provided with symbols on one side for delivering a print of said symbols to a member adapted to receive said print, a spring in said handle for retaining said socket and said block retracted in said base, and hub means in said handle for engaging a stop means for restricting the displacement stroke of said shaft and of said base. 2. Description of the Prior Art

In utilizing hand stamps of this type it is of particular importance that the text-supporting porous stamping block does not become compressed to an extent which is too great or too small. If the compression is too great, an unnecessarily large amount of stamping ink will be expelled from the stamping block, whereby the stamping ink is rapidly consumed, and furthermore the print becomes unnecessarily thick and therefore less attractive. Contrary to this, if the compression is not great enough, too small an amount of stamping ink is expelled, whereby the print becomes thin and less legible. Moreover, the stamping block successively becomes thinner as the stamping ink in it is consumed, which in turn means that the pressure becomes lower and lower in spite of the stamping block still containing a sufficient amount of stamping ink for it to be capable of delivering a print having an appearance of a quality that is acceptable.

In accordance with the present invention, the above-indicated drawbacks are substantially eliminated by the above-mentioned stop means being a two-part bushing of variable length disposed between the handle and the base and surrounding said shaft.

An embodiment of the invention will be described more specifically below with reference to the accompanying drawing, in which

FIG. 1 shows the hand stamp of the invention in a longitudinal view, partly in cross-section,

FIG. 2 shows a lateral view of the hand stamp, and

FIG. 3 shows an end view of the hand stamp, including a sectional view through the handle immediately below the above-mentioned bushing.

The hand stamp shown in the drawing is provided with a socket 1 for a symbol-carrying porous stamping block 1a. The mentioned symbols may be letters or figures or any other desired symbols. The socket 1 is disposed in a recess 2 in a base 3, said recess being open downwardly. The upper side of this base is provided with a neck 4. The socket 1 is detachably mounted to the lower end of a central shaft or rod 5. This end may appropriately be chamfered so as to prevent components 1 and 5 from rotating with respect to each other and so as to secure these components to each other. The rod 5 is displaceably mounted in the upper end of the neck 4 of the base with its upper end secured to a handle 6 which is provided with a downwardly open recess 7, said handle being closed by means of a disc 8 which is unrotatably disposed in the handle. Said disc has a hub 9, in which two sheaths, namely on outer sheath 10 and an inner sheath 11, forming a bushing are slidingly engaged. The outer sheath 10 is axially displaceable but not rotatable in the hub 9, and it is connected to the inner sheath 11 by means of a threading, said inner sheath being provided with a flange 12, which appropriately may be knurled externally and by means of which the inner sheath may be rotated. As the result of a spring 13 being compressed between the handle 6 and the disc 8, the flange 12 is axially secured between the hub 9 and the upper end of the neck 4. The upper end of the outer sheath 10 forms a stop for a hub 14 which interconnects the handle 6 and the shaft or rod 5, thereby determining the lower extreme position of the socket 1. By rotating the inner sheath 11 by means of the flange 12 it becomes possible to displace the outer sheath 10 and thereby also said stop axially so that the socket 1 will assume its desired lower position so as to control the compression of the stamping block when stamping is carried out.

The base portion 3 is provided with stationary feet 15 which determine the position of the substrate on which stamping is to be effected. Obviously the upper end of sheath 10 should be adjusted in such manner by rotating sheath 11 by means of flange 12 that the printing surface of the stamping block 1a is located in the same plane as the lower ends of the feet 15 in stamping so that the stamping block will be compressed to an appropriate extent.