Articulated hand stamp

A hand stamp mechanism capable of being articulated by a user's hand from a closed to open position in which said stamp mechanism is adapted to stamp a surface of articles with indicia, said hand stamp mechanism comprising:

• (a) a stamp pad having a surface bearing indicia;
• (b) a first member having a first finger grasping portion;
• (c) a second member pivotably connected to said first member and having a second finger grasping portion, said second member having an upper portion bearing said second finger grasping portion, said upper portion being substantially enclosed by said first member when said mechanism is in the open position;
• (d) a third member pivotally connected to one of said first and second members and cam connected to the other of said first and second members, said third member being enclosed by said first and second members when said mechanism is closed and being cammed by said other member to an operative position when said mechanism is articulated to an open position;
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• (e) said first and second gripping surfaces being at an angle with respect to each other when said mechanism is in the closed position and being substantially parallel when said mechanism is in the open position.

A hand stamp mechanism capable of being articulated by a user's hand from a closed position to an open position in which said stamp mechanism is capable of stamping articles comprising:

• (a) a first housing having a first back wall bearing a first grasping surface on the exterior surfaces of said back wall, a pair of upper side walls connected to said back wall, a pair of lower side walls disposed internally of the plane of said upper side walls and extending from said upper side walls to a base, and a top surface connected to said upper side walls and said back wall;
• (b) a second housing having a second back wall bearing a second gripping surface, a pair of side walls which abut said first member side walls when said mechanism is in a closed position, a pair of flanges internally disposed with respect to said second member side walls with at least one of said flanges bearing a camming slot, said flanges extending beyond said side walls and being completely enclosed within said first housing when said mechanism is closed, said flanges further having pivot openings for receiving pivot axles extending from interior surfaces of said first housing upper side walls, and
• (c) a third housing disposing a recess for receiving a stamp pad, said third housing having pivot axles adapted to fit within pivot openings formed in interior surfaces of said lower side walls of said first housing and a cam follower adapted to fit within said cam slot in one of said flanges,
• (d) said upper side walls of said first member each having an ellipsoidal shape with a major axis, said major axis being disposed at an angle with respect to a vertical axis of said mechanism when closed and said first back wall bearing said first gripping surface being essentially parallel to a plane formed by said major axis of said upper side walls, and said second back wall bearing said second grasping surface being substantially parallel to said first gripping mechanism when said mechanism is in the open position.