IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND STAMPS
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Daniel W. Fish, of the City of Brooklyn, County
of Kings, and State of New York, United States of America, for
the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND STAMPS."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by tho said Daniel W. Fish at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on tho
12th March 1873.
I, DANIEL W. FISH, of the City of Brooklyn, County of Kings, and
State of New York, United States of America, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN HAND STAMPS," to bo
as follows:-
My Invention relates to a novel construction and arrangement of
parts in hand stamps having a reversible dio plate and a tubular ink
fountain.
The dio plato is pivoted at the cads to a yoke to which a knob or
handle is attached. The said die plate is guided in its movement by

page_text: slots in bars, and it receives a semi-revolution as it descends by gear
teeth which mesh into corresponding teeth upon one of the said guides.
A downward movement of the said handle causes the die to leave the
ink pad against which it rests inverted, and to become reversed in its
descent by means of the gear teeth ready to make the impression upon t
the platen below. The said guides are suspended from a supporting
neck formed upon or secured to a base, and their lower extremities are
sufficiently above the surface of the platen to permit the introduction
of the article to be stamped. By means of this arrangement of the
parts I am enabled to use the reversible die plate and ink supply foun- 1
tain in connection with the fixed bed or platen, an indispensible feature
in a stamp for general office use, but I prefer to make the plate and
guides separate from the said neck or hanger. The said plate forming
the connection between the guides and the hanger is recessed upon the
lower side to receive a pad which conveys and distributes the ink from 1
a fountain to the die plate; the recess is made re-entrant at the sides
or ends to prevent the dropping out of the pad, and at the same time
permit its removal for cleaning or renewal.
The ink flows from the said fountain to the pad through a small
opening, and the fibrous character of the pad quickly distributes it over
the whole surface. To regulate and cut off this flow I provide a plug
which is fitted into a suitable scat or socket in the aforesaid plate
between the fountain and the pad. This plug has a groove or recess
upon one or both sides, which recess is proportioned to contain ink
enough to fill the pores of the pad. An aperture in the bottom of the
fountain communicates with the said recess when the plug is turned
to the proper point.
It is plain that when the said recess is filled with ink the latter is
allowed to flow through the opening to the pad by simply reversing
the plug, while communication with the fountain is simultaneously cut
off by the solid portions of the plug. By providing two of such recesses
at opposite points upon the latter one may be filled while the other is
emptying.
In a dating stamp it is necessary that provision should be mado for
changing the portion of the dic indicating the date. For this purpose
apertures are formed through the said dio plate, the sides of which are
inclined to receive the dovetailed dating types. These looso types are
clamped in position by a sliding plate.

page_text: When the die plate is partly or wholly reversed the sliding plate may
be readily slipped out and the loose types removed and replaced by
others. The dio plate may be clamped at any point of its vertical
adjustment by means of a clamp screw. A horizontal bar pressing part
of a yoke is fitted to movo vertically upon a tube, which constitutes a
guide upon or into which the ferrule of a handle is screwed. Tho said
handle is composed of an outer portion of ornamental wood or other
suitable material, and a metallic tubo which contains a reaction spring.
This spring rests upon the upper extremity of the reservoir, and since
the latter is securely attached to the hanger it follows that the spring,
returns the handle, yoke, and die plate to their original position after
the required impression has been made.
The ink reservoir is closed by a stopper, and it is obviously necessary
to remove the handle to obtain access to the former for refilling, which
is done by unscrewing it from the boss upon the yoke, thus leaving the
upper portion of the reservoir exposed. Unless prevented by somo
means the said spring would be liable to drop out of the tube when the
latter is removed. To obviate this difficulty I provido a disc resting
upon a slight ledge or flange formed upon the inner periphery of the
said tubo, which retains the springs within the latter.,
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Daniel W. Fish in the Great Scal Patent Office
on the 12th September 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, DANIEL
5 W. FISH, of the City of Brooklyn, County of Kings, and State of New
York, United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of March, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-thrco, in the
0 thirty-sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and suc.
cessors, givo and grant unto me, the said Daniel W. Fish, Her special
licence that I, the said Daniel W. Fish, my executors, administrators,.
and assigns, or such others as I, the said Daniel W. Fish, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any timo, agree with, and no

page_text: die plate and ink supplying fountain in connection with the fixed bed
or platen d, an indispensablo feature in a stamp for general office use,
but I prefer to make the plate and guides separato from the neck or
hanger D.
The rear side of the platofis provided with a dovetail recess indicated
by the dotted lines v, Figuro 1, and the head of the hanger D mado to
fit, as shown in Figure 7, which is a top view. It will be seen that by
making the dovetail broader at the lower sido as shewn the pressure
upon the plate in stamping tends to tighten the connection.
The stamping apparatus is secured to the hanger D by a binding
scrow y, Figure 2. When the stamp is made detachable it may be taken
off and used for stamping books, &c., or attached to the base or platform
by the hanger and used as the ordinary office stamp.
This stamp when detached and provided with proper dating and hour
typo if desired constitutes the most perfect and convenient post offico
stamp yet invented, because it is self-inking, while the ordinary hand
stamp requires a separate movement to ink the type.
The plateforming the connection between the guides a and the
hanger D is recessed upon the lower side to receive the pad g, Figures
2 and 3, which convoys and distributes the ink from the fountain / to
the dio plato A, and this recess is made re-entrant at the sides or ends
as shown in Figure 6 to provent the pad from dropping out, and at tho
same time permit its romoval for cleaning or renewal. The ink flows
from the fountain to the pad through a small opening i, Figure 2, and
the fibrous character of the pad quickly distributes it over the whole
surface. To regulate and cut off this flow I provide the plug 2, which
is fitted into a suitable scat or socket in the platef between the fountain
and the pad. This plug has a groove or recess o upon one or both sides,
which is proportioned to contain ink enough to fill the poros of the pad,
and an aperturo in the bottom of the fountain communicates with the
recess when the plug is turned to the proper point.
It is plain that when the recess o is filled with ink it is allowed to
flow through the opening i to the pad by simply reversing the plug,
while communication with the fountain is simultaneously cut off
by the solid portions of the plug. By providing two recesses o at
opposite points upon the latter ono may be filled while the other is
emptying.

page_text: In a dating stamp it is necessary that provision bo mado for changing
the portion of the die indicating the date. For this purpose apertures
are formed through the die plate, the sides of which are inclined so as
to receive the dovetailed dating types 2, Figures 2 and 3. These loose
types are clamped in position by the plate m, which is secured to the back
of the die plate by sliding it in a dovetailed recess, as shown in Figures
1 and 3, or by means of suitable thumbscrews or a spring catch.
A very effective plan of attachment is shown in Figure 4, the plate
being dovetailed in two directions and if necessary retained in position
by a screw stop p. Thus when the die plate is partly or wholly reversed
as shewn in dotted lines in Figure 2, the plate m may be readily slipped
out and the loose types removed and replaced by others. To assist in
making such changes the die plate may be clamped at any point of its
vertical adjustment by means of the clamp screw in the yoke B. The
horizontal bar of the yoke B is fitted to move vertically upon the tubo h,
which thus constitutes a guide for such movement in addition to the
slots in the guides a, and a boss is formed at the centre of said bar
concentric with the tube upon or into which the ferrule of the handle O
is screwed. Tho handle O is composed of the outer portion S, Figure 2,
of ornamental wood or other suitablo material and the metallic tubo t
which contains the reaction spring 7. This spring rests upon the upper
extremity of the reservoir h, and since the latter is securely attached to
the hanger D it follows that the spring returns the handle, yoko, and
die plate to their original position after tho required impression has been
made.
The ink reservoir is closed by a stopper k, and it is obviously necessary
to remove the handle to obtain access to the former for refilling, which
is done by unscrewing it from the boss upon the yoke, thus leaving the
upper portion of the reservoir exposed. It will be seen that unless
prevented by some means the said spring would be liable to drop out
of the tube when the latter is removed and cause considerable trouble
in replacing it. To obviate this difficulty I provide the disc a', Figures
2 and 5, resting upon a slight ledge or flange formed upon the inner
periphery of the tubo t, which retains the spring within the latter, while
at the same time the handle is free to pass down over the reservoir h
and compress the spring. This disc is conveniently introduced through
notches upon opposite sides of the flange, as indicated in Figure 5. The
tube strengthens the handlo and cheapens its construction, and its lower

page_text: The upper
end forms the ferrule by which it is attached to the yoke B:
extremity of the spring may bear against the handle directly or against
the solid end of the tubo.
Having thus fully described my said Invention and the manner of
performing the samo, I wish it understood that I claim,-
•
First. The detachable stamping apparatus when provided with a
reversible self-inking dio plate in combination with the bed or platform E,
substantially in the manner shown and for the purposes described.
Second. In combination with the reservoir h and distributing pad, g,
the ink gaugo ; constructed and arranged to operate substantially in
the manner and for the purposes set forth.
D. W. FISH. (L.s.)