Patent ID: 8272323

Claim:
An adjustable stamp for stamping characters on a workpiece, comprising: a base plate with a platen; a plurality of stamps each having a raised character on one side; a stamp holder; a support securing said stamps to said holder in an array with said one side of said stamps facing a stamping direction and the opposite side of said stamps facing a retract direction opposite the stamping direction, said support allowing limited free motion of said stamps relative to each other in said stamping and retract directions, and mounted to said base plate supported for movement in a plane substantially perpendicular to the stamping direction to selectively position a selected one of the stamps over said platen with said platen facing said opposite side of said selected one of the stamps; whereby when the base plate and the workpiece are pressed together, the raised character of the selected one of the stamps is stamped into the workpiece by the platen pressing against the opposite side of the one stamp, and the free motion of the other stamps prevents their raised characters from being stamped into the workpiece.