Abstract:
One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a handheld stamp assembly. The handheld stamp assembly includes a stamp mount having a top member with an opening and a bottom member capable of being slid into the top member along a first direction through the opening, wherein the top member and the bottom member form an enclosure when the top member slides into and is secured with the bottom member; and a handle coupled to the stamp mount in a detachable manner along a second direction.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to a handheld stamp. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in this application and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section. 
     Handheld stamps have long been used as marking tools.  FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of a typical handheld stamp  100 . A handheld stamp  100  comprises a handle  102 , a stamp mount  104 , and a bottom cover  106 . The handle  102  is disposed on and extends out of the top of the stamp mount  104 . The bottom cover  106  is removably attached to the bottom of the stamp mount  104 . A die face  108  is attached to the bottom of the stamp mount  104  and is configured to be covered by the bottom cover  106 . 
     To use the handheld stamp  100 , the bottom cover  106  is detached from the bottom of the stamp mount  104 . A user may hold the handle  102  and apply pressure downward onto the stamp mount  104 , so that the die face  108  is pressed against a surface to leave an image or pattern on the surface. When the handheld stamp  100  is not in use, the bottom cover  106  may be coupled to the stamp mount  104  to prevent the die face  108  from possibly staining the surroundings of the handheld stamp  100 . 
     The typical handheld stamp  100  is associated with a single image or pattern. To stamp a different image or pattern, another handheld stamp may be required. In other words, if multiple images or patterns are desired, then multiple handheld stamps with each stamp engraved with a unique image or pattern may be required. Having multiple handheld stamps not only increases cost but also makes storage burdensome. 
     What is needed in the art is thus a cost effective way to manufacture the handheld stamp and address at least the problems set forth above. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     One embodiment of the present invention sets forth a handheld stamp assembly. The handheld stamp assembly includes a stamp mount having a top member with an opening and a bottom member capable of being slid into the top member along a first direction through the opening, wherein the top member and the bottom member form an enclosure when the bottom member slides into and is secured with the top member, a handle coupled to the stamp mount in a detachable manner along a second direction. 
     Another embodiment of the present invention sets forth another handheld stamp assembly. The handheld stamp assembly includes a handle having a cavity with an open end and a close end and a stamp mount configured to be coupled to the handle. The stamp mount comprises a substantially circular opening and a substantially rectangular opening, wherein the substantially circular opening is disposed at a first surface of the stamp mount for receiving the handle, and defines a protrusion disposed within the substantially circular opening for locking with the cavity. 
     Yet another embodiment of the present invention sets forth another handheld stamp assembly. The handheld stamp assembly includes a handle and a stamp mount having a top member and a bottom member. The top member is detachably coupled to the handle and is slidably engaged with the bottom member to form an enclosed space, and the bottom member comprises a first surface to be attached to a die face and a second surface having an ink reservoir with a hole. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       So that the manner in which the above recited features of the present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments. 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic drawing of a prior art handheld stamp; 
         FIG. 2A  is a schematic drawing of a handheld stamp according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 2B  is an exploded perspective view of the handheld stamp as depicted in  FIG. 2A  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3A  is an exploded perspective view of a stamp mount of the handheld stamp as depicted in  FIG. 2A  according to one embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 3B  is another exploded perspective view of the stamp mount and a bottom cover according to another embodiment of the present invention; 
         FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of another embodiment of a substantially circular shaped handheld stamp according to the present invention; and 
         FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a stamp mount of a substantially circular shaped handheld stamp according to one embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       FIG. 2A  is a schematic drawing of a handheld stamp  200  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The handheld stamp  200  comprises a handle  202 , a stamp mount  204 , and a bottom cover  206 . The handle  202  is designed to be grasped by a user. The handle  202  is coupled to the stamp mount  204  via a locking mechanism  208  (shown in  FIG. 2B ). The locking mechanism  208  will be discussed in detail in the subsequent paragraphs. Although the stamp mount  204  is illustrated to be rectangular, the stamp mount  204  can be in many other geometric shapes. Some example geometric shapes include, without limitation, square, circular, and elliptical. In addition, the geometric shape of the bottom cover  206  may also vary to complement the stamp mount  204 . The locking mechanism  208  enables the handle  202  to be flexibly attached to or detached from the stamp mount  204 . In other words, the handle  202  may be used with different stamp mounts. 
     In conjunction with  FIG. 2A ,  FIG. 2B  is an exploded perspective view of the handheld stamp  200  as depicted in  FIG. 2A  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The handle  200  comprises a substantially “L” shaped cavity  214 . The substantially “L” shaped cavity  214  comprises an open end  216 , a close end  218 , and a projection  220 . The handle  202  is configured to couple to a substantially circular opening  222  at the top surface  215  of the stamp mount  204 . At the bottom of the handle  202  is a substantially rectangular shape knob  212  configured to couple to a substantially rectangular receiving opening  309  (shown in  FIG. 3B ) disposed within the substantially circular opening  222 . One side of the substantial rectangular shape knob  212  or the substantial rectangular receiving opening  309  may be curved. The substantially circular opening  222  further comprises a protrusion  224  at the inner side of the substantially circular opening  222 . In some implementations, for ease of portability, the geometric shape of the handle  202  may vary. For example, the shape of an illustrated handle  202 ′ differs from the handle  202 . However, like the handle  202 , the handle  202 ′ may also include the substantially “L” shaped cavity  214 , the open end  216 , the close end  218 , the projection  220 , and the substantial rectangular shape knob  212  (not explicitly shown in  FIG. 2B ). 
     As mentioned above, the locking mechanism  208  is configured to secure the handle  202  onto the stamp mount  204 . First, the handle  202  is inserted into the substantially circular opening  222  by aligning the substantially rectangular shape knob  212  at the bottom of the handle  202  to the substantially rectangular receiving opening  309  within the substantially circular opening  222 . In addition, the open end  216  of the substantially “L” shaped cavity  214  is also aligned to the protrusion  224  for the insertion. Then, the handle  202  is rotated so that the protrusion  224  moves from the open end  216  to the close end  218  of the substantially “L” shaped cavity  214 . When the protrusion  224  engages with the projection  220 , the protrusion  224  and the projection  220  may be joined together to form a hook and a lock because of the shape designs of the protrusion  224  and the projection  220 , therefore securely coupling the handle  202  with the stamp mount  204 . 
     According to one embodiment of the present invention,  FIG. 3A  is an exploded perspective view of a stamp mount  300  of the handheld stamp as depicted in  FIG. 2A , and  FIG. 3B  is another exploded perspective view of the stamp mount  300  and a bottom cover  350 . The stamp mount  300  comprises a top member  302  and a bottom member  322 . The top member  302  has a side wall  304 . The bottom member  322  is slidably engaged with the top member  302  to form an enclosed space. In one implementation, the sidewall  304  may be cut at an angle to form an enlarged entrance for the bottom member  322  to slide into the top member  302 . A top surface  307  of the top member  302  includes a substantially circular opening  306  with a protrusion  308 , and the top member  302  also includes a substantially rectangular receiving opening  309 , which is located within the substantially circular opening  306 . This substantially circular opening  306 , as discussed above, is configured to receive the handle  202 . Support ribs  303  formed on the inner surface of the top member  302  provide structural support to the top member  302 . The top member  302  further comprises ribs  312 , position blocks  314 , a clip open  316 , and a bulge  318 . The ribs  312  are formed on the outer surface of the sidewall  304 . The position blocks  314  provide a sliding track for the bottom member  322 . The bulge  318  is in connection with the bottom member  322  and is configured to provide stabilization between the bottom member  322  and the top member  302 . The clip open  316  provides alignment for the stamp mount  300  to engage with the bottom cover  350 . The subsequent paragraphs will further explain the mechanism to engage with the bottom cover  350 . 
     The bottom member  322  comprises a top surface  321  and a bottom surface  323 . The bottom surface  323  may be configured to be attached to a die face (not shown). The top surface  321  further comprises an ink reservoir  327  and a hole  328  for the ink reservoir  327  for the ink to flow through to the die face, if one is attached to the bottom surface  323 . The bottom member  322  further comprises a ledge  324  formed around the top surface  321 . One end of the ledge  324  is a door  326  with a groove  329 . On another end of the ledge  324  is a pushing block  330 . The door  326 , the groove  329 , and the pushing block  330  allow the bottom member  322  to be pulled, pushed, and/or detached from the top member  302 . The pushing block  330  is further configured to be inserted into an aligning slot  310  on one side wall of the top member  302  to ensure proper alignment of the bottom member  322  to the top member  302 . Sliding tracks  325  are formed on opposite sidewalls  336  and  338  of the bottom member  322 . The sliding tracks  325  are configured to be aligned with the position blocks  314 . A protrusion  332  is placed on one end of the sliding tracks  325 . When the bottom member  322  slidably engages with the top member  302 , and the protrusion  332  engages with the block  318 , the bottom member  322  is securely coupled to the top member  302 . 
     The bottom cover  350  comprises a bottom  352 , a sidewall  353 , multiple alignment retainers  354 , and ribs  355 . The bottom  352  has an inner top surface and an outer edge. In one implementation, the inner top surface of the bottom  352  of the bottom cover  350  may further comprise an ink pad for a die face that may be attached to the bottom member  322 . The sidewall  353  is formed on and extends up from the outer edge and the inner top surface of the bottom  352 . The alignment retainers  354  are formed on and extend up from the inner surface of the bottom  352  near the sidewall  353 . The ribs  355  are formed on the inner surface of the sidewall  353  and are in alignment with one another and transversely off-center. With further reference to FIG.  3 B, the ribs  355  selectively align and engage with the ribs  312  on the outer surface of the sidewall  304  of the top member  302 . One or more of the alignment retainers  354  may also align and engage with the clip open  316 . 
     With further reference to  FIG. 2B , when the handheld stamp is in use, with the stamp mount  300  oriented substantial 180 degrees relative to the bottom cover  350 , the bottom cover  350  may be used as a cover for the stamp mount  300  so that the die face with ink may not stain the surface that it comes in contact with. 
       FIG. 4  is a schematic drawing of a substantially circular shaped handheld stamp  400  according to another embodiment of the present invention. The substantially circular shaped handheld stamp  400  comprises a handle  402 , a circular shaped stamp mount  404 , and a matching bottom cover  406 . As discussed previously, the handle  402  may be attached to a stamp mount of varying shapes using the same locking mechanism. 
       FIG. 5  is an exploded perspective view of a circular shaped stamp amount  500  of the circular shaped handheld stamp as depicted in  FIG. 4  according to one embodiment of the present invention. The circular shaped  500  comprises the same basic features as shown in  FIG. 3A  and  FIG. 3B , such as a top member  502  with side walls  504  and a bottom member  522 . The bottom member  522  is slidably engaged within the inner side of the top member  502  to form an enclosed space  505 . The sidewall  504  of the top member  502  is cut at an angle to form an opening  506 . The corresponding position for the bottom member  522  is also cut at an angle to form an edge  526  which also fits with the opening  506 . The opening  506  provides the bottom member  522  a larger entry space for easier entrance. The edge  526  allows the bottom member  522  to engage with the top member  502  to form a secured substantially circular shaped stamp mount  500 . 
     While various aspects and embodiments have been disclosed herein, other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The various aspects and embodiments disclosed herein are for purposes of illustration and are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.