Patent ID: 8800439

Claim:
A pad printing system for printing onto a receiving surface, comprising: (a) a rotatable shaft having an axis, (b) a plurality of resilient pads secured to said rotatable shaft, each of said plurality of resilient pads having an arcuate ink-receiving-and-releasing surface, said arcuate ink-receiving-and-releasing surface having an axis that is coaxial with said axis of said rotatable shaft, (c) a first motive source for rotating said shaft, (d) an ink source containing ink of at least one color, (e) an image source that supplies at least one reverse-reading image, (f) at least one ink-applicator means extending parallel to said axis of said shaft and spaced a predetermined distance from said axis of said shaft, said applicator means being connected to said image source and supplied with said ink from said ink source and arranged to print said reverse-reading image with said ink directly and without use of an intermediate release surface onto said surface of at least one of said pads while said shaft rotates, (g) a second motive source arranged to urge said receiving surface and said surface of said at least one of said pads into stamping contact at a predetermined time, (h) a control unit where said control unit causes: (1) said first motive source to cause said shaft to rotate, (2) said ink applicator means to print said reverse-reading ink image directly onto said surface of said one pad while said pad rotates beneath said ink-applicator means, (3) said first motive source to rotate said one pad over said receiving surface and stop with said one pad positioned over said receiving surface, and (4) at said predetermined time, said second motive source to urge said one pad into stamping contact with said receiving surface while said first motive source is stopped so that said reverse-reading ink image is transferred by stamping onto said receiving surface as a right-reading ink image, whereby said reverse-reading ink image is printed with said ink onto said one of said pads while said one of said pads rotates, and then rotation of said one of said pads is stopped and said one of said pads is urged into stamping contact with said receiving surface while said one of said pads is stopped in order to transfer said reverse-reading ink image from said one of said pads onto said receiving surface as said right-reading ink image, thereby printing said right-reading ink image onto said receiving surface while improving reliability by requiring few parts and eliminating degradation of said right-reading ink image by using only a single transfer of said ink from said pad to said receiving surface.