GB2268908A - Self inking stamp with ink pad out of contact when not in use - Google Patents

Abstract

A stamp holder 1 having a lid 14 incorporating an ink pad 14a capable of closing the end of the holder is provided with a mechanism 15 for controlling the amount by which the stamp 2 protrudes from the holder for stamping, and a rack and pinion mechanism 18, 56 for rotating the lid away from the stamp for use. The tooth 56a of the pin ion is narrower than the gap between the teeth 18a, 18c of the rack; thus the stamp may be stored out of contact with the ink pad, to be brought into contact immediately prior to use before the pinion 56 is engaged by rack 18, rotating the ink pad lid away from the stamp. <IMAGE>

Description

STAMP HOLDER This invention relates to a stamp holder, and more particularly to a stamp holder capable of protruding a stamp surface to which a stamp ink is applied and retreating the stamp into the holder.

Heretofore, a stamp has been used by taking the stamp out of a stamp holding case and applying a stamp ink to the stamp surface each time of stamping. Therefore, a stamp has been demanded which can be directly used for stamping immediately after taking out- of the stamp holding case without applying a stamp ink each time by pressing the stamp surface to a separate inkpad directly with the user's hand action.

In order to avoid such a troublesome separate hand action, there has been proposed a simple stamp comprising a stamping member composed of a soft porous rubber material and a built-in and exchangeable cartridge capable of penetrating a pigment type ink etc. from the back side of the stamping member to the stamping surface.

However, in such a simple stamp the ink should exude from the back side to the stamping surface and therefore, the material of the stamping member is restricted to a good hygroscopic and soft porous material. Since the stamping member is made of such a particular material, the resulting seal impression varies depending on the manner of applying the pressing force, or the ink undesirably blots.

For the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, there has been proposed a stamp holder capable of using a stamp made of a hard material such as resins, stones, quartz, woods and the like and automatically applying a stamp ink to the stamp surface.

Said stamp holder comprises an inner case capable of retaining a stamp inside, an outer case slidably fitted to the inner case, a main body case accommodating the outer case and the inner case, retaining fixedly the inner case, and holding slidably the outer case, a spring capable of springingly actuating the outer case to slide on the outer surface of the inner case and slide on the inner surface of the main body case when the stamp is used, a built-in inkpad lid having an inkpad for applying an ink to the stamp and movably secured to the outer case where the inkpad faces the stamp surface when the stamp is not used while the inkpad moves away from the stamp surface when the stamp is used.

However, the above-mentioned stamp holder suffers from a problem that the amount of ink applied to the stamp surface fluctuates depending on each stamp used. That is, the dimension of each constituting member of the stamp holder is determined in conformity with a stamp of a standard size. However, the sizes of stamps are not always the same as one another, and therefore when a stamp is longer than the accommodation space of the holder, much ink is applied to the stamp surface while in the case of a shorter stamp, less ink or no ink is applied to the stamp surface.

Therefore, in the former case, the resulting seal impression is blurred while in the latter the seal impression is thin.

An object of the present invention is to provide a stamp holder capable of protruding stamp with the ink applied thereto and retreating the stamp into the holder and keeping the stamp surface apart from a built-in inkpad within the holder.

Another object of the present invention is to provide the above-mentioned stamp holder further capable of automatically bringing the stamp surface into contact with said inkpad upon protrusion of the stamp and keeping the stamp surface apart from said inkpad when retreatment of the stamp.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stamp holder which comprises; an inner case capable of retaining a stamp inside, an outer case slidably fitted to the inner case, a main body case accommodating the outer case and the inner case, retaining fixedly the inner case, and holding slidably the outer case, a spring capable of springingly actuating the outer case to slide on the outer surface of the inner case and slide on the inner surface of the main body case, a built-in inkpad lid having an inkpad for applying an ink to the stamp and movably secured to the outer case where the inkpad faces the stamp surface with a space of a predetermined distance between the surface of the inkpad and the stamp surface when the stamp is not used while the inkpad moves away from the stamp surface when the stamp is used, and the built-in inkpad lid being mounted on the side surface of the outer case rotatably inward and outward around a shaft, a rack-pinion mechanism composed of a rack formed on the inner case and a pinion mounted on the shaft being provided between the shaft and the inner case, the built-in inkpad lid being capable of rotating by sliding the outer case on the inner case to actuate the rack-pinion mechanism, and the remainder obtained by subtracting the thickness of tooth of the pinion from the length of the tooth space of the rack being larger than the distance between the inkpad surface and the stamp surface when the built-in inkpad lid faces the stamp surface.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stamp holder which comprises; an inner case capable of retaining a stamp inside, an outer case slidably fitted to the inner case, a main body case accommodating the outer case and the inner case, retaining fixedly the inner case, and holding slidably the outer case, a spring capable of springingly actuating the outer case to slide on the outer surface of the inner case and slide on the inner surface of the main body case, a built-in inkpad lid having an inkpad for applying an ink to the stamp and movably secured to the outer case where the inkpad faces the stamp surface with a space of a predetermined distance between the surface of the inkpad and the stamp surface when the stamp is not used while the inkpad moves away from the stamp surface when the stamp is used, and a protrusion controlling mechanism mounted at the end portion of the stamp holder opposite to the stamp surface portion.

FIG.1 is a whole vertical sectional view of a stamp holder in condition that a stamp surface is shut with a built-in inkpad lid.

FIG.2 is a plan view of the stamp holder shown in FIG.1.

FIG.3 is a vertical sectional view of an inner case.

FIG.4 is a plan view of the inner case shown in FIG.3.

FIG.5 is a vertical sectional view of an outer case.

FIG.6 is a plan view of the outer case shown in FIG.5.

FIG.7 is a vertical sectional view of a main body case.

FIG.8 is a plan view of the main body case shown in FIG.7.

FIG.9 is a vertical sectional view of the built-in inkpad lid.

FIG.10 is a bottom plan view of the built-in inkpad lid shown in FIG.9.

FIG.ll is a side view of a sliding screw.

FIG.12 is a left side view of the sliding screw shown in FIG. 11.

FIG.13 is a vertical sectional view of a controlling screw.

FIG.14 is a right side view of the controlling screw shown in FIG.13.

FIG.15 is a partially vertical sectional view of the inner case and the outer case with the built-in inkpad lid before the inner case advances in the outer case.

FIG.16 is a partially vertical sectional view showing that the stamp surface contacts the inkpad after the inner case advances in the outer case.

FIG.17 is a partially vertical sectional view showing that the inner case advances further in the outer case.

FIG.18 is a partially vertical sectional view showing that the built-in inkpad lid opens completely to be able to stamp.

At the opposite side of the stamp surface, the stamp holder of the present invention has a protrusion controlling mechanism which controls the protrusion of the stamp surface out of the inner case. Therefore, the most suitable amount of protrusion for any stamp can be obtained using the protrusion controlling mechanism.

Since there is a predetermined space between the builtin inkpad lid and the stamp surface due to the abovementioned protrusion controlling mechanism before the stamp is used, it can be always avoided that the stamp surface contacts the inkpad. In the rack-pinion mechanism which controls the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid, the remainder obtained by subtracting the tooth thickness of the pinion from the length of the tooth space of the rack hereinafter called "remainder length" ) is larger than the distance between the inkpad surface and the stamp surface when the built-in inkpad faces the stamp surface.

Consequently, the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid does not begin simultaneously when the inner case slides in the outer case. In other words, the built-in inkpad lid rotates later than the inner case advances in the outer case.

Therefore, the stamp surface contacts the inkpad before the built-in inkpad lid rotates, and the sufficient amount of ink is applied to the stamp surface only when the stamp is used.

In addition, since the built-in inkpad lid has a rotation stopping mechanism, the built-in inkpad lid does not rotate of itself by its own weight, irrespective of using the stamp.

In the following, the present invention is explained referring to the examples as illustrated in the drawings.

According to the present invention, the stamp holder 1 comprises an inner case 4 capable of retaining a stamp 2 inside, an outer case 6 slidably fitted to the inner case 4, a main body case 8 accommodating the outer case 6 and the inner case 4, retaining fixedly the inner case 4, and holding slidably the outer case 6, a spring 10 capable of springingly actuating the outer case 6 to slide on the outer surface of the inner case 4 and slide on the inner surface of the main body case 8, a built-in inkpad lid 14 having an inkpad 14a composed of a sponge impregnated with an ink for applying an ink to the stamp 2 and movably secured to the outer case 6 where the inkpad 14a faces the stamp surface 2a when the stamp is not used while the inkpad moves away from the stamp surface 2a when the stamp 2 is used.And the stamp holder 1 has a protrusion controlling mechanism 15, provided at the opposite side of the stamp surface, which controls the protrusion of the stamp surface 2a from the inner case 4.

The stamp 2 may be made from rigid material such as synthetic resins, stones, quartz, wood, and so forth. On the stamp surface 2a, a letter or a mark such as name of person, name of corporation and the like is formed. A stamp to be held in the stamp holder 1 may be a commercially available stamp.

The inner case 4 has a cylindrical spring fixer 16 in the hollow position 5 thereof (see FIG. 1).

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, at the front end of the side surface of inner case 4, there is a rack 18 forms a rack-and-pinion mechanism together with a pinion 56. The rack 18 comprises a front rack tooth 18a, a rear rack tooth 18b, a tooth space 18c between said front rack tooth 18a and said rear rack tooth 18b and a recess 20. These members are aligned in the longitudinal direction. The front rack tooth 18a is at the front end of the alignment. The rear rack tooth 18b is one element of a rotation stopping mechanism 19 which stops the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14 when it is inside of the outer case 6. The tooth space 18c has a predetermined length l1. The recess 20 is at the rear end of the alignment so as not to make a pinion tooth touch the side face of the inner case 4.In this embodiment, the front is the side where there is the stamp surface 2a and the rear is the side opposite to the stamp surface 2a. And the predetermined length 11 of the tooth space 18c (hereinafter referred to as "tooth space length 1i") is longer than the tooth thickness of the pinion.

At the rear portion of a hollow region 5 located near the end opposite to a stamp surface portion in the inner case 4, there is provided a partition wall 24 integrated with a tube member 22 protruding rearwardly at the center portion.

The tube member 22 has a through-hole in the forward and rearward direction. The inner peripheral surface 22a has a plurality of ribs 26, 26,.. each having a mountainshaped top end 26a along the peripheral direction at predetermined intervals.

Further, at the rear end portion of the hollow portion 5, there are formed, at predetermined intervals along the peripheral direction of the inner peripheral surface 5a protrusions for engagement 28, 28,.. each of which is composed of a slanting surface 28a and a shoulder 28b.

On the outer peripheral surface of the inner case 4 there are formed grooves (not shown) and a rotation stopper (infra) of the outer case 6 can be fitted to the grooves.

In the tube member 22 of the inner case 4 is slidably inserted a slide screw which is one member constituting a projection controlling mechanism 15 for controlling the projection mount of the stamp surface 2a from the inner case 4.

The outer case 6 is a case having an opening at each of the both ends as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6, and the inner diameter and other dimensions of the outer case 6 are determined such that the inner case 4 can slidably move forwardly and rearwardly.

The outer case 6 has openings at the front end 6b and the rear end 6a. An opening 30 which can be closed with the built-in inkpad lid is provided at the front portion of the side surface of the outer case 6.

At the outer periphery of the front end 6b is formed a frange 32.

The opening 30 is, for example, in a shape of a racket, and is composed of a main opening 30a and a sub-opening 30b is provided with a pair of supporting members 34, 34 having a supporting shaft 33 at the both side edges.

At the rear end portions of supporting members 34, 34, there are formed stoppers 36, 36 as one constituting element of a rotation stopping mechanism 35 for stopping the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14 at the maximum lidopen position.

Other constituting elements of the rotation stopping mechanism 35 are included in the built-in inkpad lid so that those will be mentioned later together with detailed explanation of said lid 14.

The main opening 30a can be closed with the built-in inkpad lid.

At an optional inner surface of the rear half portion of the outer case 6 is formed a rotation stopper 38 for preventing the rotation of the inner case 4. The stopping is effected by fitting the stopper to the above-mentioned grooves (not shown) of the inner case 4.

A means for stopping the rotation of the inner case 4 is not limited to such mechanism. For example, both of one surface portion of the outer case 6 and the other surface portion facing the above-mentioned surface portion are made flat, or the shape of the cross sections perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of both cases 6 and 4 are made polygonal.

At the rear end portion of the outer case 6 is provided with a shoulder portion 40 protruding inwardly so as to prevent the case 6 from spring out by the springing force of the spring 10 resulting in the case 6 being released from the inner case 4.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8, the main body case 8 has openings at both ends, and a rectangular opening 41 is formed at the peripheral side surface ranging from the front end to a portion near the middle part and the front end portion is also opened.

The rear end opening 42 of the main body case 8 is constructed such that members having respective holes of different diameters are superposed in the longitudinal direction to produce a step-like form, and this is composed of a large diameter hole 42a and a small diameter hole 42b.

A forward portion adjacent to the small diameter hole 42b is a shoulder portion 44 having the same diameter as that of the large diameter hole 42a.

At the inner peripheral surface present further forward than the shoulder 44, there are formed a plurality of ribs 46, 46... at intervals of an optional distance.

The front end portions of ribs 46, 46... are cut to form cut shoulders 46a, and to the rear end opening 42 is rotatably fitted a controlling screw which is another constituting member, different from the above-mentioned slide screw of the projection controlling mechanism 15.

A spring 10 acts when subjected to a compression force by an external force, and is placed inside of the main body case 8. The diameter of spring is somewhat smaller than the inner diameter of the main body case 8 and somewhat larger than the outer diameter of the inner case so that when the spring is put in the main body case 8, it is situated at the cut shoulders 46a, 46a,... of ribs 46, 46,...

The built-in inkpad lid 14 is situated inside of the outer case when the stamp 2 is not used such that the surface of the inkpad is apart from the stamp surface 2a with a distance of 1.

When the stamp 2 is used, the built-in inkpad lid 14 is situated outside the outer case 6 and therefore, moves away from the position facing the stamp surface 2a. In addition, the built-in inkpad lid 14 closes the racketshaped opening so that the plan view of said lid is a racket-like shape, and the vertical section is a modified T-letter shape (see FIG. 9 and FIG. 10).

That is, the built-in inkpad lid 14 is composed of the inkpad cup 48 which accommodates an inkpad 14a, faces the stamp surface 2 a when not using the stamp 2, and parts from the stamp surface 2a when using the stamp 2; the cover 50 situated at the side of the back surface 48a of the inkpad cup 48 and opening or closing the main opening 30a of the opening 30; the reinforcing rib 52 situated between the back surface 48a of the inkpad cup 48 and the cover 50; the securing portion 54 situated at the opposite side of the cover 50 with respect to the inkpad cut 48; and the rotation stopping wing 55, as another constitution member of the rotation stopping mechanism 35, which is formed integrally with the securing portion 54, at the side of the cover 50 of the securing portion, and rises from the cover 50 such that the rising forms a gentle curve.

The inkpad cup 48 is a tub-like vessel which is not deep as compared with the diameter, and the inkpad 14a is fixed therein by an appropriate fixing means such as adhesion, engagement and the like.

The cover 50 is a little smaller than the main opening 30a and have a shape similar to that of the main opening 30a.

The reinforcing rib 52 has a substantially triangle shape and is formed between the back surface 48a of the inkpad cup 48 and the cover 50, and at the middle portion of the back surface 48a and the cover 50 the outer periphery forms an arc of a circle.

The securing portion 54 has substantially cylindrical shape and has a shaft hole 54a at the center portion (FIG.

9).

The built-in inkpad lid 14 is rotatably fixed to the outer case 6 by inserting a supporting shaft 33 of supporting portions 34, 34 provided at the both side edges of the sub-opening 30b of the opening 30 into the shaft hole 54a.

The securing portion 54 may be directly fixed to the supporting portions 34, 34 without using the supporting shaft 33 by protruding shafts from the both ends of the securing portion 54.

At the securing portion 54 there are provided the pinion 56 composed of the pinion tooth 56a formed substantially parallel to the inkpad cup 48 and the rotation stopping tooth 57 as another constitution element of the rotation stopping mechanism 19.

The relation of the tooth thickness 13 (see FIG. 9) of the pinion tooth 56a, the length of the tooth space 11 (see FIG. 3) between the front rack tooth 18a and the rear rack tooth 18b of the rack 18, and the distance 1 between the stamp surface 2a and the surface of the inkpad of the builtin inkpad lid 14 when said lid 14 is present in the outer case 6 and the stamp surface 2a faces the surface of the inkpad is as follows: 1l - 13 > 1 The rotation stopping tooth 57 is formed by cutting the upper portion of a pinion tooth 56a and therefore, the height of said stopping tooth 57 is smaller than that of the pinion tooth 56a.

The rotation stopping tooth 57 is composed of a first flat surface 57b1 perpendicular to the extending direction Qf said tooth 57 and a second flat surface 57b2 connected with the first flat surface 57by, and parallel to the extending direction of said tooth 57.

The first flat surface 57bl contacts the top end surface of the rear portion rack tooth 18a when the builtin inkpad lid 14 is present inside the outer case 6, and thereby, the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14 can be prevented.

When the built-in inkpad lid 14 is present outside of the outer case 6, the second flat surface 57b2 contacts the rear portion 21 (where the recess 20 is situated) of the side surface portion where the front portion rack tooth 18a, the rear portion rack tooth 18b and the recess 20 are formed, and the rotation stopping mechanism 58 for preventing the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14 to the forward side is formed by the rear portion 21 and the second flat surface 57b2.

The rotation stopping tooth 57 having a height lower than that of the pinion tooth 56a and the recess 20 formed at the side surface of the outer case 6 function together to avoid the obstraction of rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14 caused by the touch of said lid 14 on the side surface of the outer case 6.

The rotation stopping wing 55 is composed of wing members 55a, and 55a protruding to the both sides of the securing portion 54, and when the wing members 55a, and 55a contact the stopper 36 of the rotation stopping mechanism 35, the built-in inkpad lid 14 reaches the maximum lid-open position.

The projection controlling mechanism 15 is composed of a slide screw 60 and a controlling screw 62.

The following explanation is made referring to a state where the slide screw 60 and the control screw 62 are fitted to the tube portion 22 of the inner case 4 and the rear end opening 42 of the main body case 8.

The slide screw 60 is composed of a large diameter shaft 64 and a small diameter shaft 66 in which a common through-hole 63 having the same axis in both shafts is formed as shown in FIGS. 1, 11 and 12.

The large diameter shaft 64 has a male screw 64a on the outer peripheral surface and is screwable with a female screw formed on the controlling screw 62 as stated below.

The small diameter shaft 66 is provided with a plurality of ribs 68, 68,... each having a mountaun-shaped front end on the outer peripheral surface.

As shown in FIGs.l, 13 and 14, the controlling screw 62 consists of a large diameter flange 70 and a hollow barrel 72 in front of the flange 70.

On the flange 70, a slit 74 is formed to be able to rotate the controlling screw 62 with something circular, such as a coin. Also, the rotation direction of the controlling screw 62 is indicated with arrows 70a and signs 70b of + and -, and the stamp surface moves forward if the controlling screw 62 is rotated to the + direction. Since a through-hole 76 is formed in the middle of the flange 70, the stamp 2 held in the stamp holder 1 can be taken out of the inner case 4 if the stamp 2 is pushed with a thin stick through the through-hole 76.

A female screw 72a which fits to a male screw 64a of the sliding screw 60 is formed inside the hollow barrel 72.

Also a projection 78 having a slanting surface 78a and a shoulder 78b is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the front edge of the hollow barrel 72.

The process to assemble the above-mentioned parts is as follows.

(1) The inner case 4 is inserted into the outer case 6, and about the rear half of the inner case 4 protrudes from the rear end 6a of the outer case 6. The spring 10 is put on the outer peripheral surface of the rear half of the inner case 4 and is fitted to make the front end of the spring 10 contact the rear end 6a of the outer case 6. Then, the inner case 4 is inserted into the main body case 8 to make the rear end of the inner case 4 contact the shoulder 44 of the main body case 8, and the inner case 4 is fixed in the main body case 8 with a proper fixation means. As a result, the spring 10 is fitted to each cut-shoulder 46a of the ribs 46, and the inner case 4 is placed elastically in the main body case 8 through the spring 10.

(2) The female screw 72a formed in the hollow barrel 72 of the controlling screw 62 is fitted to the male screw 64 of the sliding screw 60, and then the protrusion controlling mechanism 15 combined integrally with the controlling screw 62 and sliding screw 60 is inserted into the main body case 8 through the rear opening 42 with the sliding screw 60 as a top. Consequently, the shoulder 78b of the projection 78 of the controlling screw 62 is engaged with the shoulder 28 of the inner case 4 due to these slanting surface 78a, 28a and the controlling screw 62, and at the same time the flange 70 of the controlling screw 62 and the small diameter shaft 66 of the sliding screw 60 fit into the large opening 42a of the rear opening 42 of the main body case 8 and the tube 22 formed on the partition wall 24 of the inner case 4.Thus, the protrusion controlling mechanism 15 is combined with the main body case 8 at the rear end thereof. The controlling screw 62 is rotatable only to the inner case 4 and the main body case 8 and is not movable longitudinally.

This is because the grooves of the ribs 68 formed on the small diameter shaft 66 of the sliding screw 60 are fitted to the grooves of the ribs 26 formed on the tube 22 of partition wall 24 of the inner case 4. Since each mountainshaped front edge 68a of the ribs 68 is guided to each mountain-shaped rear edge 26a of the ribs 26, the smooth insertion becomes possible when the grooves of the ribs 68 are fitted to the grooves of the ribs 26.

(3) The stamp holder 1 is built up by fitting the built-in inkpad lid to the opening 30 of the outer case 6 and fixing the securing portion 54 to the pair of the supporting portions 34 through the supporting shaft 33. Finally the stamp 2 is inserted into the inner case 4 of the stamp holder 1.

The sliding screw 60 is moved forward and backward using the protrusion controlling mechanism to make the rear end of the stamp 2 contact the front end of the sliding screw 60. Although the sliding screw 60 advances with the stamp 2 when the sliding screw 60 is moved forward, the contrary movement does not happen. Hence, after moving the sliding screw 60 backward, the amount of the protrusion is controlled by pushing the stamp 2 from the side of the stamp surface 2a.

According to the stamp holder 1 built up by the abovementioned procedure, as shown in FIG.15 the stamp surface 2a is closely covered with the inkpad 14a of the built-in inkpad lid 14 when the stamp holder 1 is not used.

When the stamp holder 1 is used, the most suitable amount of protrusion is made by controlling the protrusion amount of the stamp surface 2 out of the inner case 4 with the protrusion controlling mechanism 15. Therefore, the most suitable amount of ink can be applied to the stamp surface 2a, irrespective of the stamp length. In addition, the most suitable amount of protrusion is set to create the predetermined distance 1 between the inkpad surface 14a and the stamp surface 2a. Accordingly, it can be avoided that the ink is always applied to the stamp surface 2a.

After controlling the most suitable amount of the protrusion of the stamp surface 2a is finished, the front end of the outer case 6 is brought to the place for stamping, and the inner case 4 is moved forward by pressing the rear end of the main body case 8. In the rack-pinion mechanism 17 controlling the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14, since the remainder length, which is the remainder obtained by subtracting the tooth thickness 13 of the pinion 56 from the length of the tooth space 11 of the rack 18, is larger than the distance 1 between the inkpad surface 14a and the stamp surface 2a when the built-in inkpad lid 14 is situated inside the outer case 6, the rotation of the built-in inkpad lid 14 starts later than the inner case 4 slides in the outer case 6 by the distance which is the remainder length minus distance 1 .Consequently, there is the time in which the stamp surface contacts inkpad 14a, and the suitable amount of ink can be applied to the stamp surface 2a only when the stamp 2 is used.

Moreover, when the inner case 4 advances as shown in FIG.16, the rear rack tooth 18b of the inner case 4 contacts and pushes the pinion tooth 56a, and the built-in inkpad lid 14 rotates upward as shown in FIG.17. The built-in inkpad lid 14 protrudes outside from the main opening 30a of the opening 30 and opens the front of the stamp surface 2a.

Since the rotation stopping tooth 57 of the built-in inkpad lid 14 is smaller than the tooth length of the pinion tooth 56a and the recess 20 is formed on the side portion of the inner case 4, the built-in inkpad lid 14 can rotates smoothly without colliding with the side portion of the inner case 14.

When the inner case 4 advances further, the stamp surface 2a protrudes from the front end opening of the outer case 6 as shown in FIG.18, and the stamping can be made.

While stamping, since the second flat portion 57b2 of the rotation stopping tooth 57 of the built-in inkpad lid 14 contacts the side portion of the inner case 4, the rotation stopping mechanism 58 prevents the built-in inkpad lid 14 from rotating forward.

After stamping, the pressure on the main body case 8 is released, and the main body case 8 and the inner case 4 holding the stamp 2 move backward at the same time due to the power of the spring 10. Besides, the rear rack tooth 18b pushes backward the first flat portion 57b1, and due to this action the built-in inkpad lid 14 rotates inside the outer case 6, and the stamp surface 2a is covered again.

Finally, since the built-in inkpad lid 14 has the rotation stopping mechanism 19, 35, 58, the built-in inkpad lid 14 does not open and close itself, irrespective of whether or not the stamp holder 1 is used. Therefore, the usefulness of the stamp holder 1 can be improved.

Claims (6)

CLAIMS:

1. A stamp holder which comprises; an inner case capable of retaining a stamp inside, an outer case slidably fitted to the inner case, a main body case accommodating the outer case and the inner case, retaining fixedly the inner case, and holding slidably the outer case, a spring capable of springingly actuating the outer case to slide on the outer surface of the inner case and slide on the inner surface of the main body case, a built-in inkpad lid having an inkpad for applying an ink to the stamp and movably secured to the outer case where the inkpad faces the stamp surface with a space of a predetermined distance between the surface of the inkpad and the stamp surface when the stamp is not used while the inkpad moves away from the stamp surface when the stamp is used, and the built-in inkpad lid being mounted on the side surface of the outer case rotatably inward and outward around a shaft, a rack-pinion mechanism composed of a rack formed on the inner case and a pinion mounted on the shaft being provided between the shaft and the inner case, the built-in inkpad lid being capable of rotating by sliding the outer case on the inner case to actuate the -rack-pinion mechanism, and the remainder obtained by subtracting the thickness of tooth of the pinion from the length of the tooth space of the rack being larger than the distance between the inkpad surface and the stamp surface when the built-in inkpad lid faces the stamp surface.

2. The stamp holder according to claim 1 in which a protrusion controlling mechanism is provided at the end portion of the stamp holder opposite to the stamp surface.

3. A stamp holder which comprises; an inner case capable of retaining a stamp inside, an outer case slidably fitted to the inner case, a main body case accommodating the outer case and the inner case, retaining fixedly the inner case, and holding slidably the outer case, a spring capable of springingly actuating the outer case to slide on the outer surface of the inner case and slide on the inner surface of the main body case, a built-in inkpad lid having an inkpad for applying an ink to the stamp and movably secured to the outer case where the inkpad faces the stamp surface with a space of a predetermined distance between the surface of the inkpad and the stamp surface when the stamp is not used while the inkpad moves away from the stamp surface when the stamp is -used, and a protrusion controlling mechanism mounted at the end portion of the stamp holder opposite to the stamp surface portion.

4. The stamp holder according to any one of claims 1-3 in which the built-in inkpad lid is provided with a mechanism for stopping the rotation of said lid when said lid is situated inside or outside the outer case.

5. A retractable stamp holder which comprises: a body member; an inner housing within the body member for accommodating a stamp; an outer housing telescopically disclosed between the body member and the inner housing and urged by a spring member into an extended position; a closure member incorporating an ink pad secured by a pivot to the body member for normally closing the inner housing with the ink pad spaced from the stamp; a rack formed on the inner housing; and a pinion formed on the closure member, the arrangement being such that a downward force exerted on the body member against a surface to be stamped causes, in sequence (i) the stamp to contact the ink pad, (ii) the rack to engage the pinion and to pivot the closure member away from the stamp, and (iii) the outer housing to telescope between the body member and the inner housing against the spring member to enable the stamp to contact the surface to be stamped.

6. A retractable stamp holder according to claim 5, substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as show in Figures 1 to 18 of the accompanying drawings.