Buffered inking template

• US 5,105,551 A
• Filed: 07/01/1991
• Issued: 04/21/1992
• Est. Priority Date: 10/01/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: McCutchen, Wilmot H., Wilmot R. Mccutchen
• Original Assignee: McCutchen, Wilmot H., Wilmot R. Mccutchen
• Inventors: McCutchen, Wilmot R., McCutchen, Wilmot H.
• Primary Examiner(s): Cuchlinski, Jr., William A.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Fulton, Christopher W.
• Application Number:
  US07/725,402
• Time in Patent Office: 295 Days
• Field of Search: 33/562, 33/566, 33/489, 33/492, 434/85, 434/87, 101/127
• US Class Current: 335/63
• CPC Class Codes: B43L 13/205 geometrical figures

Abstract

A template buffer element with cutouts which are larger than the interior cutouts of a template, attached to the template so that ink deposited on the drawing surface is separated from the working edge of the template by the buffer element, and the cutout edges of the buffer element are separated from the place of ink deposition by the difference between the dimensions of the buffer cutouts and the template cutouts. The buffer element may be a sheet of plastic or may be an array of strips made of elastomeric or nappy material which trap an air cushion under the template so as to facilitate template movement over the drawing and provide anchorage of the template to the drawing surface when the draftsperson presses down.

Claims

1. A combination including a drafting template having a plurality of interior cutouts defining figure patterns and forming working edges for guiding a pen drawing with ink upon a drawing surface and said drafting template having outside edges and two parallel faces less than 1 mm apart, wherein the under face is the nearer face to the drawing surface when the drafting template is properly positioned for drawing upon said drawing surface and wherein the upper face has inscribed captions and registration guides for said figure patterns, and further including a planar buffer element for separating the template from the drawing surface, said planar buffer element comprising:

(a) a sheet of plastic material having a uniform thickness approximately one-half of the thickness of said drafting template, having a shape similar to the template, having outside linear dimensions each slightly less than the corresponding outside edge linear dimension of the drafting template, and having two faces, wherein the upper face is positioned in said combination adjacent to the under face of the template and the under face of said sheet of plastic material is positioned in said combination to rest upon the drawing surface;

(b) a plurality of interior cutouts in said sheet of plastic material, wherein each of said interior cutouts has a correspondence in shape and location with one of the interior cutouts of the drafting template and has a dimension uniformly slightly larger than the corresponding interior cutout of the drafting template; and

(c) adhesive means to attach securely and permanently said upper face of said sheet of plastic material in proper corresponding position on the under face of the drafting template, whereby said working edges of the interior cutouts of the drafting template are spaced away from any part of said sheet of plastic material.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said planar buffer element further comprises

weak adhesive means for producing a tack surface on said under face of said sheet of plastic material, whereby the combination is constrained momentarily from slipping over the drafting surface upon application of pressure by a draftsperson of the drafting template during the process of drafting with the drafting pen and whereby the combination is free to be moved over the drafting surface upon release of pressure on the template.

3. A drafting instrument for guiding a pen in drawing smear free ink figures on a drawing surface, said drafting instrument including a template having a plurality of interior cutouts, having outside edges, and having two parallel faces, wherein the under face is nearer the drawing surface when the template is positioned for drawing upon said drawing surface and the upper face has inscribed captions and guides for said figures, and further including a buffer assembly for vertically offsetting said template from the drawing surface during ink deposition to prevent ink smearing and for assisting in control of movement of said template during and after ink deposition, said buffer assembly comprising:

(a) a plurality of strips of resilient and opaque material, each of said strips having an approximately semi-circular cross-section with a radius approximately one-half the thickness of the template; and

(b) adhesive means to attach securely and permanently the planar portion of each of said strips to those areas of the under face of said template that are slightly away from any of the outside edges and any edge of the interior cutouts of the template, whereby said strips form an array offsetting the template from the drawing surface when said drafting instrument is positioned for drawing on said drawing surface.

4. The drafting instrument of claim 3 wherein said strips are made of elastomeric material.

5. The drafting instrument of claim 3 wherein said strips are made of natural rubber composition.

6. The drafting instrument of claim 3 wherein said strips are made of nappy material.

7. The drafting instrument of claim 3 wherein said strips are coated on their circular surfaces with tacky adhesive means to inhibit accidental slippage of said drafting instrument when placed over the drafting surface wheel at the same time allowing purposeful movement of said drafting instrument over the drafting surface.