Abstract:
A sock identification kit includes a housing configured to secure a plurality of ink stamps, a stamp holding device, at least one ink well, and a cleaning member. The stamp holding device includes a handle, actuation assembly, and a pair of clamping members that may be selectively actuated to move the clamping members between open and closed configurations. Accordingly, a selected stamp may be securely removed from the housing, used to imprint ink upon a fabric, and then replaced without ever touching a potentially ink stained stamp with one&#39;s hand.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
       [0001]    This non-provisional patent application claims the benefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/370,204 filed on Aug. 3, 2010, titled Sock Identification Kit. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    This invention relates generally to stamping and ink impression devices and, more particularly, to a kit for holding a stamp holding device and a plurality of stamps. 
         [0003]    Sorting laundry—especially socks—can be a very time consuming household chore as well as a task that is often done erroneously. For example, if respective left and right socks are not correctly matched, a person may wind up wearing socks that are different colors, have different patterns, or are even different sizes. A mother is often faced with the daunting task of correctly matching dozens of socks that, at first glance, appear to be the same but which may ultimately be different sizes and colors and belong to different members of a family. 
         [0004]    Various devices have been proposed in the prior art for stamping fabric with ink so as to provide identifying markings to a person sorting the fabric articles. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing stamping devices require a user to touch the stamp and potentially get ink on their fingers, do not provide for convenient customization of a stamped impression, or do not provide for selective colorization of a stamped surface. 
         [0005]    Therefore, it would be desirable to have a kit for stamping a fabric that satisfies the drawbacks or limitations of the existing devices and patent proposals. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    A sock identification kit according to the present invention includes a housing configured to secure a plurality of ink stamps, a stamp holding device, at least one ink well, and a cleaning member. The stamp holding device includes a handle, actuation assembly, and a pair of clamping members that may be selectively actuated to move the clamping members between open and closed configurations. Accordingly, a selected stamp may be securely removed from the housing, used to imprint ink upon a fabric, and then replaced without ever touching a potentially ink stained stamp with one&#39;s hand. 
         [0007]    Therefore, a general object of this invention is to provide a kit for stamping a fabric that enables matching socks to be marked for quick and easy matching after a laundering process. 
         [0008]    Another object of this invention is to provide a kit for stamping a fabric, as aforesaid, that minimizes or even prevents a user from touching the ink being stamped upon the fabric. 
         [0009]    Still another object of this invention is to provide a kit for stamping a fabric, as aforesaid, that may be used by children such that matching clothing such as socks may be matched in the future by children themselves. 
         [0010]    Yet another object of this invention is to provide a kit for stamping a fabric, as aforesaid, that is easy to operate and inexpensive to produce. 
         [0011]    A further object of this invention is to provide a kit for stamping a fabric, as aforesaid, that may be operated with a single hand. 
         [0012]    A still further object of this invention is to provide a kit for stamping a fabric, as aforesaid, in which multiple ink stamps may be stored in a single housing for usage as needed or desired without undue risk of losing them. 
         [0013]    Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein is set forth by way of illustration and example, embodiments of this invention. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a kit for stamping a fabric according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0015]      FIGS. 2   a  to  2   d  are front views of a stamp holder engaging a stamp taken from the kit as in  FIG. 1  in various configurations of use; 
           [0016]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of a stamp holding device removed from the kit housing as in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0017]      FIG. 4  is an exploded view of the stamp holding device as in  FIG. 3 ; and 
           [0018]      FIG. 5   a  is a perspective view of a stamp removed from the housing; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 5   b  is a perspective view of the stamp as in  FIG. 5   a  taken from another angle. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0020]    A kit for stamping a fabric material according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to  FIGS. 1 to 5   b  of the accompanying drawings. More particularly, the kit  10  includes a kit housing  20 , a stamp holding device  30 , a plurality of stamps  60 , and at least one ink well  24 . 
         [0021]    The kit housing  20  includes a base member  22  having a bottom and a plurality of upstanding walls or divider members so as to receive respective components of the kit  10 . For instance, upstanding walls may be configured to securely hold the stamp holding device  30 , the plurality of stamps  60 , at least one ink well  24 , and a cleaning element  26 , as will be further described below. 
         [0022]    A main component of the kit  10  is the stamp holding device  30  shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The stamp holding device  30  is configured such that a user never has to physically touch any one of the plurality of stamps  60 , as the stamps may become substantially covered in ink which would stain a user&#39;s fingers or clothes if touched. The stamp holding device  30  may include a handle  32 , a main body member  34 , a pair of clamping members  42 , and a spring loaded linkage for actuating the clamping members  42 . More particularly, the handle  32  preferably includes an ergonomic configuration that fits comfortably in the palm of person&#39;s hand such that the main body member  34  and pair of clamping members  42  may be operated with a single hand as will be described more fully below. The body member  34  preferably includes an upper portion  35  having a cylindrical configuration although other configurations would also work, the upper portion  35  having an upper end  35   a  attached to an underside of the handle  32  and depends therefrom. 
         [0023]    The stamp holding device  30  includes an actuation assembly  49  having a pair of opposed actuation members  50  although a single actuation member may also work. The pair of opposed actuation members  50  are attached to the upper portion  35  of the body member  34  with a coupling  52  configured so that the actuation assembly  49  is movable along the upper portion  35  of the main body member  34  between upward and downward configurations. The pair of actuation members  50  extend away from the coupling  52  in opposed directions. The coupling  52  includes one or more flanges  54  extending outwardly from a radial edge thereof. A compression spring  56  is situated about the upper portion  35  of the body member  34  upwardly adjacent the actuation assembly  49  (i.e. between the actuation members  50  and the handle  32 ), the spring  56  normally biasing the actuation assembly  49  toward the downward configuration ( FIG. 3 ). 
         [0024]    The pair of clamping members  42  are pivotally coupled to a lower portion  36  of the body member  34 . The lower portion  36  is generally perpendicular to the upper portion  35  of the main body member  34 , is attached to a bottom end  35   b  of the upper portion  35 , and includes opposed ends  38 . Each end  38  includes a coupling element  40 . Each clamping member  42  is pivotally attached to respective coupling elements  40 . More particularly, each clamping member  42  includes an upper bar  44  and lower/clamping bar  46 . It is understood that the body portion coupling elements  40  define a pivot axis about which the clamping members  42  are movable between open ( FIG. 2   b ) and closed ( FIG. 2   a ) configurations when actuated. A connection rod  48  extends between respective upper bars  44  and respective coupling flanges  54  for operatively connecting the actuation assembly  49  and coupling members  42 . The connection rods  48  enable operation of the actuation assembly  49  to operate the clamping members  42  as described in more detail below. 
         [0025]    As shown in  FIGS. 2   a  to  2   d , when a user pulls up on respective actuation members  50  (i.e. toward the upward configuration), the spring  56  is compressed, the connection rods  48  pull upwardly on respective upper bars  44  of respective clamping members  42 , and the clamping members  42  pivot to an open configuration. Upon release of the actuation members  50 , the spring  56  urges the clamping members  42  toward the closed configuration in an opposite manner. Preferably, the clamping members  42  are employed to grip one of the plurality of stamps  60  stored in the kit housing  20 . 
         [0026]    As best shown in  FIG. 2   b , an ink stamp  60  may include a generally cubical configuration having top and bottom surfaces connected by side walls. Preferably, at least one side wall defines and indentation  62  or equivalent configuration that is complementary to a configuration of respective lower bars  46  of respective clamping members  42  such that the clamping members  42  are able to securely clamp thereto as described above. It is understood that each top surface may include indicia  64 , such as print indicia, identifying an associated configuration on the bottom surface thereof, such as a typeset configuration. In other words, a user may look into the housing  20  and select a desired stamp  60  according to top surface indicia  64 , knowing that an associated indicia is on the bottom of that stamp. The indicia may be alphanumeric indicia, special pictures or characters, or the like. 
         [0027]    Each ink well  24  preferably stores ink of a color different from that of each other ink well  24 . In addition, the cleaning element  26  may be a solution formulated to clean the bottom surface of a stamp  60  prior to use. Alternatively, the cleaning element  26  may be a pad or brush (not shown) configured to clean either a stamp bottom surface or a surface prior to imprinting upon it. 
         [0028]    In use, the stamp holding device  30  may be operated to clamp onto a selected stamp  60  as described above, e.g. a letter representing a person&#39;s initial. Then a stamp bottom surface may be dipped into a selected color of ink and then imprinted onto an article of fabric, such as a sock, all without ever having to touch the stamp itself or come into contact with the ink. The bottom of the stamp  60  may be cleaned using the cleaning element  26  and then released back into the housing  20  by again operating the actuation assembly  49  of the stamp holding device  30 . 
         [0029]    It is understood that while certain forms of this invention have been illustrated and described, it is not limited thereto except insofar as such limitations are included in the following claims and allowable functional equivalents thereof.