GB2503660A - Hinged stamping aid - Google Patents

Abstract

A stamping aid comprises a hinged construction where a polymer or rubber art stamp 9 is attached to a hinged mounting surface (1, Fig.3(ii)). Ink is loaded onto the polymer or rubber art stamp 9. A piece of artistic media 18 is placed onto the base (3, Fig.3(ii)). The hinged mounting surface (1, Fig.3(ii)) is closed onto the artistic media 18 onto which all the ink is transferred from the polymer or rubber art stamp 9. By comparison with existing stamping methods and aids this invention requires little application pressure from the user whilst allowing greater control of positioning the polymer or rubber art stamp 9 onto the artistic media 18. The aid may be made from flexible transparent plastic.

Description

Rubber/Polymer Stamping Aid Definitions User -A person intending to stamp to create artwork.

Artistic Media -Material to be used to create artwork including but not restricted to card, paper) fabric, acetate, bonded fibre and plastic.

Artwork -Artistic media onto which the user has created a stamped design.

Stamp -A piece of polymer or rubber with a design formed in relief or tread.

Stamping Aid -The current invention.

Unmounted Rubber -A rubber stamp without the wooden support block/handle

Background

The market for the current invention is in the Arts and Crafts sector specifically Rubber/Polymer Stamping. Rubber/Polymer Stamping is a process where a piece of rubber or polymer with an imprinted design in the relief or tread, is used to make ink impressions with graphics on artistic media such as card and paper. Examples of end use include, but not limited to, handmade greetings cards, scrapbook pages, gifts and home decorations.

The current invention is only relevant for users of unmounted rubber/polymer stamps and not traditional wooden mounted stamps otherwise known as handstamps. Mounts are mostly flat pieces of clear Acrylic approximately 12mm thick and are available in various sizes. All stamps mounted in this way use a single force spread over the area of the acrylic mount, generally applied via the user's hands. At this thickness, taking into account the ratio of force to area, acrylic is quite rigid and does not notably deflect. This necessitates the use of relatively high downward forces to create the desired result.

The idea for this invention arose through several comments from would-be stamp users about how difficult stamping was and that they somehow didn't have the skills necessary to use existing stamping tools and methods. Also many existing users pointed out that having any disability in their upper body discouraged them from stamping.

Problem/Necessity This invention has been designed to significantly reduce the amount of force required to transfer ink from a Polymer or unmounted rubber stamp onto the receiving surface -artistic media. Typically the more detail on the image relief of the stamp the more pressure is required to transfer the ink; less pressure is required on stamps with less detail. This can lead to inconsistent line thicknesses as the user often deforms the relief of the stamp with excessive pressure.

Another requirement was for consistency of both image quality and image position. If a user has a batch of near-identical greetings cards to produce the image position becomes more critical. The current invention incorporates a hinged mount principle along with repositionable stops which guarantees accurate repeatability.

Stamped image quality is maintained because the forces used, which are considerably lower than current techniques, are applied with the use of a roller; when working with smaller stamps fingertip pressure would be adequate.

Because of the nature of the Polymer stamp making process, some stamps are produced with flatness tolerance imperfections which, when using the current stamping methods, cannot be overcome with the stamp's integral softness; the resulting image leaves a patchy imprint. The current invention alleviates all but the most extreme of these cases.

The current invention gives the user much more control over the positioning of the image onto the artistic media.

Brief Description of Drawings.

FIG. 1. In accordance with one embodiment of the current invention this drawing shows an angled elevation view of a rubber/polymer stamping aid with the hinged mounting surface in a semi-opened state.

FIG. 2. In accordance with one embodiment of the current invention this drawing shows a plan view of a rubber/polymer stamping aid with the hinged mounting surface in a closed state.

FIG. 3. Shows a schematic side elevation view of the sequence of operation, in accordance with one embodiment of the current invention.

FIG. 4. In accordance with one embodiment of the current invention this drawing shows an angled elevation view of a rubber/polymer stamping aid with the user attaching a rubber/polymer stamp to the hinged mounting surface.

FIG. 5. In accordance with one embodiment of the current invention this drawing shows an angled elevation view of a rubber/polymer stamping aid with the user loading the machine with the workpiece against repositionable stops.

FIG. 6. In accordance with one embodiment of the current invention this drawing shows an angled elevation view of a rubber/polymer stamping aid with the user applying a downward force via a roller in order to transfer the ink from the stamp to the artwork.

Detailed Description

The main principle of the current invention is the flexible nature of the transparent hinged mounting surface (1). Being thin in cross section (between 1mm to 3mm) even fingertip pressure deflects it enough to ensure every part of the relief of the stamp (9) touches the artistic media (18). There are limits, beyond which, render the principle unsatisfactory; too thin and the upper mount (1) will not be rigid enough to give sufficient control whilst at the other end of the scale deflection is reduced and requires a greater force for a successful print defeating the objective.

The transparency of the hinged mounting surface (1) helps with the positioning of the stamp (9) in relation to the artwork (18).

The hinged mounting surface (1) has to be smooth, providing sufficient adhesion for the reverse of the polymer stamp (9).

Material selection for the hinged mounting surface (1) is limited due to the thin cross section; brittle materials such as acrylic would easily break whereas softer materials would have weak hinge points and would not provide enough lateral stiffness to control stamp (9) positioning. PC (Polycarbonate) and PETG (Polyethylene Terephthalate Glycol) are found to be suitable materials.

Some currently available alternative mounts have cylindrical mounting surfaces which make charging the stamp (9) with ink awkward and can lead to inconsistencies. The current invention, being flat, simplifies application of ink with little or no skill required.

The base (3) to which the hinged mounting surface (1) is attached, via hinge (2), can be constructed in numerous materials, the main criteria being flatness, rigidity and it must be waterproof to cope with various inks and cleaning fluids. This design uses 10mm clear acrylic with rubber feet (4) to prevent the tool moving during use, such thickness has integral stiffness which enables the user the option of stamping on softer unstable surfaces such as the user's lap. It would be possible to use thin section materials as long as the assembly was mechanically secured to a firm, flat surface such as a The hinged mounting surface (1) should be smaller in area than the base (3) to allow the user to hold down the artwork when said hinged component is being opened. Some inks are very tacky and the artwork would adhere to the stamp; a 10mm minimum overlap (5) around at least two of the edges suffices.

The hinge (2) pin material is not critical but should be corrosion resistant and strong enough to withstand everyday wear and tear. This current invention uses M4 stainless steel slotted pan head screws through the upper mounting surface's integral lugs threaded into the base plate.

The current invention can be made to work with stamps (9) varying from 2mm to 6mm thick and from 10mm x 10mm to A4 (29.7cm to 21cm) in area. The current invention is designed to work with AS area (dims 8 x 9) To allow for even ink transfer from ink pad to stamp (9) relief the hinged mounting surface (1) must lay flat when opened, its slim profile makes closing difficult therefore it was necessary to create a lifting facility via strategically positioned holes in the pivot (2). when opening (12) the hinged

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mounting surface (2) the lugs (20) about which this component pivots act as cams and lift the base (3) slightly so that the 2 foot pads (14) nearest the joint (2) are clear of the worktop (8) by approximately 1 millimetre (14). closure (17)of the mounting surface (2), when the stamp (9)is charged with ink, is executed by pushing down (15) on the base (3) near the hinge (2) area to place all four foot pads (14) back on the worktop (8). This has the reverse effect on the cam shaped lugs (20) and lifts the top edge (21) of the hinged mounting surface (1) to enable the user's fingers to gain purchase.

Operation (See FIGs. 3 & 5.) Open (12) hinged mounting surface (1) and lay onto flat worktop (8) like an open book. As mounting surface (1) comes to rest on worktop (8) the base (3) is raised slightly (14) to create leverage to assist closure (17).

Attach reverse of stamp (9) to hinged mounting surface (1).

Place artistic media (18) (card/paper) on base.

Apply ink to relief of mounted stamp (9).

Press down (15) onto base (3) near hinge area (2) to raise edge of hinged mounting surface (1) to gain finger purchase (21) and slowly close (17) hinged mounting surface (1) onto artistic media (18).

Using either a roller (10) with a soft spherical tyre or fingertips apply downward force (16)* onto hinged mounting surface (1) ensuring every part of stamp image has been pressed.

Hold stamped artistic media (18) down with one finger whilst lifting hinged mounting surface (1) back to retrieve artistic media (18).

Should the user wish to repeat any impression with a certain degree of precision he/she has the option of using repositionable stops (19) to create a jig. These are approximately 10mm diameter circular polymer or material with similar cling properties which are stuck to the base (3) alongside the artistic media (18).

*Using the current single spread load method of stamping, a test piece stamp (9) measuring 13cm by 10cm with approximately 50% surface tread, an average force (16) of 25kg was recorded to ensure all the ink was transferred. The same stamp (9) was then used with the current invention and, using a roller (10) with a spherical tyre a maximum force (16) of 2kg was recorded to achieve the same result.

Claims (13)

1. Claims 1. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly comprising a hinged mounting surface.
2. 2. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the hinged mounting surface is constructed from flexible transparent plastic.
3. 3. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the hinged mounting surface is attached via hinge pins to a base plate.
4. 4. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 1, wherein the hinged mounting surface is pivoted via lugs with integral cam to lift said hinged mounting surface to enable grip when closing.
5. 5. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 3, wherein this component is constructed of plastic.
6. 6. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 3 wherein this component incorporates non-slip feet.
7. 7. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly designed to significantly reduce user effort required whilst printing.
8. 8. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 7, designed to simplify stamp positioning.
9. 9. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly designed in accordance with claim 7, to facilitate repeatability of artwork.
10. 10. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 7, much larger stamps with significantly greater image content (relief) can be used.
11. 11. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 7, otherwise faulty stamps out of flatness tolerance can be rendered printable.
12. 12. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly in accordance with claim 7, relatively low application pressures mean this invention accommodates users with disabilities and injuries that would otherwise impede this activity.
13. 13. A rubber/polymer stamping aid assembly designed in accordance with claim 7, to require little or no skill or technique to operate.