GB2042984A - Stamping Device - Google Patents

Abstract

A stamping device comprises means 3 for mounting a roll of stamping foil, a block holder 7, means 4, 5, 9 for guiding the foil from the roll over blocks 6 held in the block holder 7, and means for vibrating and/or heating the block holder or otherwise exciting the pigment, whereby pigment from the foil in contact with the blocks 6 may be transferred to a substrate, the block holder being made of a resilient material, whereby the blocks 6 can be slid into the block holder 7 to be automatically held in place. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Stamping Device The present invention relates to a stamping device for applying pigment from a substrate to a workpiece.

Hot stamping machines are known for the industrial application of pigments to workpieces such as toys, placing brand names on pencils, and applying initials to leather goods, for example, wallets. Such machines transfer a heat sensitive adhesive carrying the pigment from a substrate to a workpiece by the application of heat and pressure. Such machines are however large and cumbersome and are not suitable for use by retailers who wish to personaiise articles for customers, or by consumers.

According to the invention there is provided a portable stamping device comprising means for mounting a roll of stamping foil, a block holder, means for guiding the foil over one or more character blocks to be held in the block holder, and means for causing pigment on the foil in contact with the blocks in the block holder to be transferred to a workpiece, the block holder being adapted to grip and releasably hold the blocks without the aid of any ancillary fastening means.

Preferably the block holder includes a channel of trapezium transverse crossçsection for receiving and gripping the blocks.

Preferably the block holder is made of a resilient material so as resiliently to grip the blocks.

The device is preferably of a size, shape and weight such that it can be comfortably held in the hand during a stamping operation. This enables the device to print on workpieces in any orientation and regardless of their size and eliminates the need for a stand, base plate and jig for mounting the device and the necessity to adjust for size, thickness and/or shape of the workpiece.

Preferably the device comprises a hollow housing arranged to enclose the said roll of stamping foil. The roll of foil is preferably provided in the form of a cartridge. Preferably the housing defines a cavity to receive the cartridge, closable by a cover member, the foil being drawn from the cartridge through an aperture in the housing.

The character blocks are preferably provided as a one-piece biscuit adapted to be broken up by the user. The biscuit may be provided in a carrying container and incorporate characterless strips for use as heat sinks in the container, for cooling the device which is stood in the container between stamping operations and for cooling the blocks after use.

In the accompanying drawings: Figure 1 is an elevation of an exemplary embodiment of a stamping device according to the invention; Figure 2 is an underneath plan view of the device of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a section through a block holder forming part of the device of Figures 1 and 2; Figure 4 is a plan view of a biscuit of characters for use with the staming device; and Figure 5 is a section on line V-V of Figure 4.

As shown in Figure 1, the stamping device comprises a housing made up of a body 1 and a cover 2 which between them define a space 3 adapted to receive a spool of stamping foil contained in a cartridge. The cartridge (not shown) contains a foamed plastics friction member to regulate the feed of the foil. An aperture 4 is provided in the side of the body 1 through which the foil can be drawn from the spool, through a recess 5, over character blocks 6 mounted in an integral block holder 7, and under a cam 8 operated by a lever 9. A serrated edge 25 is provided above the cam 8 to enable used foil to be torn off.

As shown in Figure 3, the block holder 7 is formed with a channel 10 of substantially trapezium shape in transverse cross-section adapted to receive the blocks 6 which can be slid into the channel from one or both ends thereof.

The corners 11 of the channel 10 are radiused as shown to facilitate the resilient flexing of the holder 7, which is thus self-tensioning, whereby the blocks 6 are automatically gripped and held in place without the use of screws, clamps or springs during a stamping operation. The holder 7 may be made of aluminium, ceramic or other heat conductive material which is slightly flexible. The holder 7 further includes an upper channel 12 which contains a heating eiement and a thermostat (not shown) for controlling the temperature of the block holder. An air gap 26 is provided between the block holder 7 and the part 1 6 so as to reduce the conduction of heat from the heater to the hand held part of the device.The heating element could be replaced or augmented, for example, by an exciter, a piezo-electric ceramic disc, an ultra-sonic vibrator or any other device for transferring pigment from the foil to a workpiece. The pigment may thus be transferred to a workpiece by heating and/or vibration and pressure.

For ease of assembly the body 1 is made in two parts, 15, 16, the part 1 5 being provided with a central locating pin 1 7 for securing the two parts together. An on-off switch 1 8 is provided on a control unit 24 mounted in the part 1 5 to which is connected a mains lead which enters the device through an aperture 19. The movement of the lead through the aperture 19 is controlled by a series of ribs 23 within the parts 15, 16, only two of which are shown. The ribs 23 are provided alternately on each side of a channel through which the lead passes.Alternatively, the device could be powered by batteries contained in part 1 5. The part 1 5 is provided with an array of apertures 20 to allow the body to remain cool enough to be comfortably held in the hand. An indicator 21 is provided to allow the user to centre the letter blocks. A thumb stop 22 is provided below the switch 1 8 to reduce the risk of the user being burnt by the hot block holder 7.

The stamping device will usually be supplied with one or more "biscuits" of character blocks as shown in Figures 4 and 5. This biscuit is supplied in one piece, the blocks being broken off by the consumer. The biscuit comprises a plurality of letter blocks 6 which provide the letters of the alphabet, blanks, an ampersand, numerals, punctuation marks and other indicia. The biscuit further comprises a design block 1 3. When the design block is placed in the block holder 7 any desired design can be applied to a workpiece by arranging a stencil between the stamping foil and the workpiece. The biscuit further comprises a plurality of plain, character-less strips 14.The biscuit is supplied in a carrying case (not shown), and when the biscuit is broken up the strips 14 are glued into recesses in the lid of the carrying case so as to act as a heat sink for the device. As shown in Figure 5, the individual blocks form a trapezium in vertical cross-section so as to fit in the channel 10 of the block holder 7.

The device is used as follows. Firstly, the user selects the characters to be printed from the carrying case and slides the blocks into the block holder from one end. The spool of hot stamping foil is then loaded and the foil is drawn over the blocks. The switch of the heating device is then held on for about 30 seconds to heat the characters to an appropriate temperature and the device is then applied to the workpiece to be printed for about 3 seconds. The foil can then be wound on and the operation repeated.

It will be seen that the invention provides, at least in its preferred embodiment, a stamping device which is hand held in use, so that the device can be used to print on a workpiece in any orientation and of any thickness. The device is moreover simple to use since the character blocks can be changed without the use of tools.

Claims (10)

Claims

1. A portable stamping device comprising means for mounting a roll of stamping foil, a block holder, means for guiding the foil over one or more character blocks to be held in the block holder, and means for causing pigment on the foil in contact with the blocks in the block holder to be transferred to a workpiece, the block holder being adapted to grip and releasably hoid the blocks without the aid of any ancillary fastening means.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the block holder includes a channel of trapezium transverse cross-section for receiving and gripping the blocks.

3. A device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the block holder is made of a resilient material so as resiliently to grip the blocks.

4. A device as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3, which comprises a hollow housing arranged to enclose the said roll of stamping foil.

5. A device as claimed in any of the preceding claims, which is adapted to be hand held in use.

6. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein said means for causing pigment to be transferred comprises means for heating and/or vibrating the block holder.

7. A device as claimed in any preceding claim, in combination with a one-piece character biscuit adapted to be broken into individual blocks.

8. A combination as claimed in claim 7, wherein said biscuit incorporates character-less strips for use as heat sinks in a storage container for the blocks.

9. A stamping device substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

10. A stamping device in combination with a character biscuit, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.