Plate carrier having a grid pattern for a self-inking stamp and production method

Abstract

A plate carrier (1) for a self-inking stamp (5) and a method for producing a plate carrier (1) having an adhesive surface (9) for attaching a text plate (14) to a printing side (2) of the plate carrier (1), the plate carrier (1) having, on the printing side (2), a grid pattern (13) aligned in relation to the edges (3, 6, 7) of the plate carrier (1) for aligning the text plate (14) when attaching it to the plate carrier (1).

Claims

1. A plate carrier for a self-inking stamp, the plate carrier comprising: an adhesive surface for attaching a text plate to a printing side of the plate carrier; a grid pattern provided on the printing side and aligned in relation to edges of the plate carrier for aligning the text plate when attaching the text plate to the plate carrier; and an orientation element provided on the printing side and aligned in relation to the edges of the plate carrier for indicating a preferred direction of orientation of the text plate with respect to the plate carrier, wherein the adhesive surface is formed by a transparent double-sided adhesive film covering the grid pattern.

2. A self-inking stamp comprising an actuating member displaceable relative to a housing, having a plate carrier according to claim 1 coupled thereto.

3. A method for producing a plate carrier having an adhesive surface for attaching a text plate to a printing side of the plate carrier, the method comprising: printing, laser marking, engraving or shaping a grid pattern on the printing side of the plate carrier and in alignment with edges of the plate carrier, said grid pattern dividing the adhesive surface into a series of contiguous cells; and before printing, laser marking, engraving or shaping the grid pattern on the printing side of the plate carrier, connecting a double-sided adhesive film with the printing side of the plate carrier.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the grid pattern is produced with a ND:YAG laser on the plate carrier.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the grid pattern is produced by means of pad printing on the plate carrier.

6. A method for producing a self-inking stamp having an actuating member displaceable relative to a housing and mounted over the housing, the method comprising: producing a plate carrier having an adhesive surface for attaching a text plate to a printing side of the plate carrier by printing, laser marking, engraving or shaping a grid pattern on the printing side of the plate carrier and in alignment with edges of the plate carrier, said grid pattern dividing the adhesive surface into a series of contiguous cells; and thereafter coupling the plate carrier with the actuating member.

7. A plate carrier for a self-inking stamp, the plate carrier comprising: an adhesive surface for attaching a text plate to a printing side of the plate carrier; a grid pattern provided on the printing side and aligned in relation to edges of the plate carrier for aligning the text plate when attaching the text plate to the plate carrier; and an orientation element provided on the printing side separate from the grid pattern and aligned in relation to the edges of the plate carrier and comprising at least one of a directional arrow and a lettering for indicating a preferred orientation of the text plate with respect to the plate carrier, wherein the adhesive surface is formed by a transparent double-sided adhesive film covering the grid pattern.

8. A self-inking stamp comprising an actuating member displaceable relative to a housing, having a plate carrier according to claim 7 coupled thereto.

Description

(1) In the following, the invention will be described in more detail by means of particularly preferred embodiments, which it is not intended to be restricted to, though, and with reference to the drawings. The drawings show in detail:

(2) FIG. 1A a plan view of a plate carrier with a grid pattern;

(3) FIG. 1B and/or FIG. 1C a side view from the left and/or a front view of the plate carrier according to FIG. 1A;

(4) FIG. 2A a plan view of a plate carrier according to FIGS. 1A-C with a text plate;

(5) FIG. 2B a sectional view through the plate carrier with the text plate pursuant to FIG. 2A along the line B-B in FIG. 2A; and

(6) FIG. 3 a sectional view through a self-inking stamp with a plate carrier pursuant to FIG. 1B.

(7) The plan view of a plate carrier 1 illustrated in FIG. 1A is directed directly to the printing side 2 thereof. The plate carrier 1 (whose arrangement in a self-inking stamp will be explained in detail in the following by means of FIG. 3) is substantially rectangular, i.e. the top view of the printing side 2 is rectangular. Beyond the two lateral (short) edges 3 of the plate carrier 1 there extends a respective pin or pivot part 4. The two pivot parts 4 define a pivot axis of the plate carrier 1 about which it is pivoted when used in a self-inking stamp 5 (cf. FIG. 3). Accordingly, the long edges 6, 7 of the plate carrier 1 are arranged in parallel to the pivot axis. A double-sided adhesive film 8 is arranged on the printing side 2 (see FIGS. 1B, 1C) and forms an adhesive surface 9 on the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1. The double-sided adhesive film 8 covers substantially the entire printing side 2, but has a somewhat smaller longitudinal extension than the printing side 2 and is therefore slightly spaced apart from the two short lateral edges 3. In the two areas 10 of the printing side 2 which are exposed from the double-sided adhesive film 8 and which are adjacent to the shorter lateral edges 3, a respective longitudinal recess 11 is provided which facilitates the detaching of a possible cover film (not illustrated) on the double-sided adhesive film 8 or else of the double-sided adhesive film 8 itself. A cover film of the double-sided adhesive film 8 may, for instance, prevent the adhesive surface 9 from drying out, and a loss of the adhesive effect, but also unintentional coloring of the plate carrier 1 which may be disposed adjacent to an inking pad 12 in a transport or rest position (cf. FIG. 3).

(8) Furthermore, the plate carrier 1 comprises on the printing side 2 a grid pattern 13 for aligning a text plate 14 (cf. FIG. 2A) when attaching it to the adhesive surface 9 of the plate carrier 1. Since a possible cover film may generally be non-transparent, the grid pattern 13 will possibly appear only after the cover film has been drawn off. The grid pattern 13 is aligned in relation to the edges 3, 6, 7 of the plate carrier 1, i.e. the positioning of the grid pattern 13 on the printing side 2 is exactly determined and exactly reproducible. The grid pattern 13 comprises long and short lines 15 and/or 16 which are rectangular relative to each other and which are arranged in regular distances to each other. An orientation element 17 is provided in the center of the grid pattern 13 and comprises a directional arrow 18 and a lettering 19, wherein the lines 15, 16 of the grid pattern 13 are interrupted in the region of the orientation element 17. The distance of the grid pattern 13 from the edges 3, 6, 7 is of equal size at the respectively opposing sides 3 and/or 6 and 7. The grid pattern 13 is arranged below the double-sided adhesive film 8 directly on the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1. The double-sided adhesive film 8 is therefore at least partially transparent, so that the grid pattern 13 is recognizable during attaching of a text plate 14.

(9) In the embodiment illustrated here, the grid pattern 13 consists exclusively of lines 15, 16, 18, 19, namely as a result of the production by laser marking. In particular, the orientation element 17 is not set apart from the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1 over the full area, e.g. in color, but only the contours, i.e. lines, are colored or marked otherwise.

(10) The dimensions of the orientation element 17 are preferably chosen such that that it may be covered by an average text plate which covers at least 25 percent of the adhesive surface 9. This can prevent that the alignment of a text plate is impaired by the orientation element 17which naturally does not have the desired symmetry of the remaining grid pattern and only constitutes noticeable aid during the orientation of the text plate.

(11) FIG. 1B illustrates the vertically offset arrangement of the pivot parts 4 in relation to the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1. Below the pivot parts 4 the plate carrier 1 comprises a pin-shaped turning lever 20 which is adapted to be received between two pin projections 22 arranged in a housing 21 of a self-inking stamp 5 (cf. FIG. 3). Laterally of the turning lever 20 semicircular notches 23 for receiving the pin projections 22 are accordingly provided.

(12) On the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1, the double-sided adhesive film 8 which rises over the plate carrier 1 and extends over the entire breadth of the plate carrier 1, i.e. between the edges 6, 7, can be noticed in FIGS. 1B and 1C. The lateral recess 11 in the plate carrier 1 reaches approximately to the outer circumference of the pivot part 4.

(13) As may be gathered from FIG. 1C, the turning levers 20 extend on both sides beyond the lateral edges 3 of the plate carrier 1, but substantially less than the respective pivot parts 4 arranged there above. Due to the double-sided adhesive film 8 which is somewhat shorter than the plate carrier 1, steps 24 to the areas 10 adjacent to the adhesive surface 9 are produced on both sides between the adhesive surface 9 and the lateral edges 3.

(14) FIGS. 2A and 2B illustrate the plate carrier 1 pursuant to FIGS. 1A to 1C with a stamp plate and/or text plate 14 and with an adhesive film 8. The text plate 14 consists, for instance, of vulcanized rubber or a polymer. The shape of the text plate 14 is advantageously adapted to the relief and/or the printing pattern 25, i.e. the distance between the outer contour of the printing pattern 25 and the edge 26 of the text plate 14 is as small as possible. Such shape is usually achieved by cutting the text plate 14 to an approximate contour of the printing pattern 25. Due to this adaptation it is possible to avoid that, during the production of a stamp print, artifacts apart from the desired print of the printing pattern 25 which would be produced by a contact of lateral surfaces of the colored text plate 14 with the stamped surface, are also printed. Such contact may easily occur in particular in the case of a relatively low height of the printing pattern 25which is often preferred for economic reasons. A typical dimension is, for instance, a printing pattern height of approx. 0.8 mm (for comparison: the strength of the text plate is approx. 2.3 mm). By adapting the text plate 14 to the contour of the printing pattern 25, the lateral surfaces are removed and it is thus avoided that possible artifacts are also printed.

(15) On the other hand, in the case of text plates 14 which are cut this way it is, according to experience, more difficult to achieve a correct alignment and centering on a plate carrier than with rectangular text plates. However, ifas in the instant embodimenta grid pattern 13 is provided on the plate carrier 1, it is easy to handle the alignment and centering even in the case of text plates 14 deviating from the rectangular shape. In particular, even with edges 26 of the text plate 14 which are slanted in relation to the edges 3, 6, 7 of the plate carrier 1, the grid pattern 13 offers optical reference points for the correct alignment and for centering, wherein it is of advantage if the cut of the text plate 14 is mirror-symmetrical. The distances of the text plate 14 from the edges 3, 6, 7 of the plate carrier 1 may, for instance, be estimated by counting the markings of the grid pattern 13 on all sides of the text plate 14, so thatif desiredabout equal and/or symmetrical distances can be achieved. The correct alignment of the text plate 14, i.e. the arrangement of the upper edge 27 of the text plate 14 defined by the orientation of the lettering, in relation to the plate carrier 1 may be determined easily by means of the orientation elements 17 of the grid pattern 13 prior to attaching.

(16) FIG. 3 illustrates by way of example a self-inking stamp 5 with a housing 21 and an actuating member and/or actuating bracket 28 which is mounted to be displaced in relation to the housing 21. An ink pad 12 and a plate carrier 1 are arranged in the housing 21. The plate carrier 1 is pivotably coupled to the actuating bracket 28 and thuslike the actuating bracket 28 itselfmounted to be displaced in relation to the housing 21. The plate carrier 1 is here illustrated without text plate 14, so that the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1 is spaced apart from the ink pad 12 in the illustrated rest position. A text plate 14 which is in contact with the ink pad 12 and is colored by same is arranged on the printing side 2 of the plate carrier 1. The two side walls 29 of the housing 21 each comprise a vertical guide slot 30 which receives the pivot parts 4 of the plate carrier 1. Next to each slot 30, at the inner side of the side wall 29 of the housing, below the plate carrier 1, the above-mentioned two pin projections 22 are arranged one below the other and form a recess 31 for receiving the turning lever 20 of the plate carrier 1 in between. The two guide slots 30 in which the pivot parts 4 of the plate carrier 1 are received without horizontal play determine the alignment of the plate carrier 1 in the horizontal plane in the housing 21 unambiguously and exactly. The user of the stamp 5 can therefore achieve an exact alignment of the print by aligning the housing 21 on a surface to be stamped, since the plate carrier 1 is exactly aligned in relation to the housing 21 by means of the pivot parts 4 and the text plate is exactly aligned in relation to the plate carrier 1 by means of the grid pattern 13.