Patent Publication Number: US-6213664-B1

Title: Card marking device

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to the field of instruments for marking cards or paper in certain geometric patterns with specific application to marking lottery cards, examination questionnaires and surveys. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Paper and card marking instruments, if writing pens and pencils are counted, have been devised and utilized from biblical times onward. Over the past century, commonly used quill pens were replaced by various types of fountain pens and ball point pens. In addition, lead pencils were developed and have been utilized since they were developed in the 1800&#39;s. 
     While such pens and pencils have been useful for writing and various types of marking purposes, because they are pointed, where one must mark an area with a geometric shape such as a circle, square, rectangle, or triangle, it is necessary for the user to scratch up and down, cross-ways or circularly in order to fill in an area on a card or paper which may require such a geometric marking. This may not only require some effort but, if the pen point is sharp, it could result in damaging the surface of the card or paper through scratching. 
     While for many years such inconvenience and possible damage to a card or paper was probably an insignificant problem, with computer readings of questionnaires, surveys, and lottery cards, the inconvenience of having to fill in even small geometric areas, on a card or paper, and the possibility of the areas being scratched by a sharp pen or pencil have become of great concern to many persons, particularly in view of the relatively recent popularity of various types of lotteries. 
     While various types of stamping markers have been devised, such as those illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,045,593, 3,051,956, 4,452,142 and 4,649,820, such markers have been in the form of vertical elements which must be carefully aligned and then pressed down onto the area to be marked. It is usually difficult however, when looking down onto the card or paper to be marked to properly align the vertical marking pads exactly with the space to be marked—particularly where the spaces are small and disposed together. In addition, such prior art markers, because of their mechanisms, have been expensive. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     The various problems encountered with prior marking devices, as described above, are obviated by the present invention which is constructed of an elongated tubular element, closed or closable at its upper end, and terminating at its lower end in a pad of a shape and area which corresponds with that to be marked, but is disposed at an acute angle to the axis of the tube. 
     The pad may be carried on the outer face of a small cap which, itself is disposed at the acute angle relative to the axis of the tube. Thereby, when the tube is held by the fingers of the person&#39;s hand in the manner of a writing pen or pencil, the user may see to place the pad on the exact location of the spot to be marked and when the pad has been dampened with ink-type fluid and is pressed down onto the card or paper surface, an effective mark may be made on the exact spot and without the necessity of moving the marker back and forth or from one side to another on the card or paper. The pad carrying cap may be removable from the end of the tube and replaced by a cap carrying a pad of a different geometrical shape. Thus, the pad marking could be varied between square, rectangular, triangular or circular. 
     The instrument itself may be constructed as a hollow pen or pencil to provide an axially extending reservoir which may be either in continuous communication with the marking pad for a limited use period, or preferably communication between the reservoir may be interdictable by valve means. The reservoir may be refillable at the upper end of the tube, when upper end comprises a removable cap or closure. Alternatively, the pad carrying cap may be removable to provide direct access to the reservoir for filling at the lower end of the tube. 
     In order to prevent the reservoir from being in constant communication with the pad from which evaporation of the ink type fluid may occur, it may also be desirable to provide some type of valve means to interdict communication between the lower end of the reservoir through a passage to the pad. Such a valve means may be in the form of a slideable element which may be disposed in an orifice which is transverse to the reservoir. This element may be provided with a lateral opening through it so that, when the element is moved in its orifice to dispose its opening coaxially with the tube reservoir, the fluid reservoir would be placed in communication with the dispensing pad. However, when the pad is sufficiently saturated to make the various markings, the valve means would be disposed in its blocking or interdictory position. The valve means could be biased into the latter position by a spring, or in the interest of reducing the cost of the manufacture of the device, the slideable element could be simply fitted sufficiently tightly within the tube orifice so that it would remain in whichever position it had last been pushed into. 
     It is also a feature of the present invention to configure the upper end of the instrument whether removable or not, as a scraper for use in those instances where a sharp edge may be called for in order to remove a plastic or other skintight overlay covering a number or word or other character of some significance. The upper end could also be formed to provide a mark removing capability, e.g. blotting or erasing. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
     In the accompanying drawings, 
     FIG. A 1  is form of a lottery card for the marking of which the present invention is particularly useful. 
     FIG. A 2  is another form of lottery card for the marking of which the present invention may also be effectively utilized. 
     FIG. A 3  is a form of an examination card which may be effectively marked by an instrument of the present invention. 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which the device of the present invention may be utilized. 
     FIG. 2 is a side elevation partly in section showing one form of a marking device of the present invention. 
     FIG. 3 is a view of the underside of the instrument shown in FIG.  2 . 
     FIG. 3A is a view of the underside of a different ended instrument from that of FIGS. 2 and 3. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged section taken along the line  44  of FIG. 2 showing the pin type valve in its blocking position, and 
     FIG. 4A is a sectional view similar to that shown in FIG. 4 showing the valve pin in open position. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT. 
     The present invention has been devised to enable a person to mark lottery cards  10 ,  12  of the types shown in FIGS. A 1  and A 2  or examination or survey cards shown in FIG. A 3 . As is well understood, such cards may include rows  14 ,  14 A,  14 B of numbers, selected ones of which must be marked by the lottery patron prior to submitting the card to an official lottery station; or, in the case of card A 3 , to the examining authority. As will also be appreciated, heretofore the marking of selected numbers has been accomplished by using a pencil or pen with some type of point. In order to properly mark selected numbers, the patron places the pencil point or pen tip on a selected number  14 ,  14 A,  14 B and wiggles the point or tip around over the number to fill in a numbered circle as shown in FIG. A 1 , or where the bracket of the number is shown in FIG. A 2 . This not only takes time but also requires some dexterity in order to completely fill in one of the circles  14  or a bracket  14 A or  14 B. In accomplishing this marking, unless care is exercised, one can cause the pencil point or pen tip to stray out of the circle  14  or bracket  14 A,  14 B. In addition, if the pencil point or pen tip is extremely sharp, there is always the possibility that the person marking the card  10 ,  12  or  13  may scratch the surface being marked to the point where the marking may not show clearly and/or the card or paper may be punctured. 
     There are these disadvantages of prior marking methods are avoided by the instrument  16  shown in use in FIG.  1 . This comprises a thin elongated tubular member  18  having a first end  19  which may be closed by a removable cap  20 , and a second open opposite end  22 . An end of the cup  20  may be shaped along its upper portion as a scrape blade  19 A best shown in FIG.  3 . The tubular member  18  defines an inner passage  22 A which extends between the capped first end  19  and the open end  22 . It is contemplated that the passage  22 A would be filled with a suitable marking ink. This filling can be accomplished by unthreading the removable cap  20  from the first end  19  of the tubular member  18  and pouring ink fluid  36  into the upper end  23  of the passage  22 A, and then rethreading the cap  20  on the end  19 . 
     The second end  22  terminates at an acute angle  24 , preferably one between 45° and 60°, which end is capped by an absorbent or other type of transmigratory pad  26  which may be retained by a removable carrier  28 . To effect such removability the end  22  of the tube  18  may be outwardly threaded at  30  (FIGS. 4,  4 A) to receive internal threading  32  of the carrier  28 . While the upper threaded portion of the carrier  28  must be circular in order for it to be mounted on the external threading  30  of the tube end  22 , the downwardly directed face of the carrier  28  may define the different geometrical configurations, such as a circle, a triangle, a square or other rectangle. Should it be desired to use the marking device with a square, rectangular or circular pattern, the carrier face may be made accordingly to receive a stamping pad  26  of any such configuration. Thus, desirably, for the end  22  of the basic tube  18 , a plurality of different carriers  28  each holding a different shaped pad  26  could be provided. It would thus be possible for the user to change the pad configuration by simply unthreading the carrier  28  from the tube end  22 , and replacing it with a carrier  28  having a different and more suitable pad configuration. 
     While it would be possible to practice the present invention by providing a passageway  22 A in constant communication with the pad  26 , and by filling the passageway  22  at the first end  19  of the tube  18  whenever the pad  26  becomes dry, the frequency of such fillings may be greatly reduced by providing a valve  34  to interdict the flow of fluid  36  from the reservoir passage  22 A down to the pad  26 . This valve  34  may be a simple pin  37  having a transverse orifice  38  which pin is slidable back and forth in an opening  40  in the tube  18 , which opening  40  is transverse to the tube axis  18 A. When the pin  37  is slid in the opening  40  to dispose its orifice  38  in alignment with the axis  18   a  of the tube  18 , the opening  38  will be coaligned with the passageway  22 A, thereby permitting the ink fluid  36  to flow down the passage segment  22 A and into the pad  26  as shown in FIG. 4A Otherwise, as shown in FIG. 4, the passage of ink fluid  36  from the upper segment  22 B of the passageway  22  is interdicted. 
     In use, after the reservoir  22  in the tube  18  has been filled with suitable ink-like fluid  36 , the user first pushes the pin  37  into the position in the tube  18  which is shown in FIG. 4A so the fluid  36  flows through the segment  22 A, of the passageway  22 A to saturate the pad  26 . Thereupon, the user grasps the instrument  16  in the manner of using a pen or pencil as shown in FIG.  1  and presses the angled pad  26  onto selected circles  14  or brackets  14 A,  14 B in the cards of FIGS. A 1 , A 2  or A 3 , respectively. 
     Should the pad  26  appear to be approaching excessive saturation, the pin  37  should be shifted to its position shown in FIG. 4, whereby further flow of fluid  26  from the reservoir segment  22 A, to the pad  26  is interdicted. The FIG. 4 disposition should be maintained until the pad  26  begins to cease making marks of the desired density, whereupon the pin  37  may be shifted back to the FIG. 4 disposition. 
     The present invention also could be adapted to mark a chart or card with an erasable graphite type fluid, in which embodiment the cap could be headed with an eraser (not shown) so that any card marking could be erased. This embodiment might be useful where multiple choice examination questions are to be marked and the student, upon reflection, wishes to change a marking which he had previously made. 
     It may thus be seen that the present invention provides an effective instrument for marking cards or papers having rows of circles or brackets, selected ones of which are to be marked with an ink-type fluid. Because the marker assumes the angle at which a person would normally dispose a pen or pencil when writing, and at that angle, the person may readily see the exact location of the circle or bracket to be marked, rapid accurate marking may be readily accomplished. This feature of the present invention will be greatly appreciated by those persons who are confronted with numerous marking requirements and desire to accomplish the same accurately with a minimum expenditure of time.