GB2315705A - Magnetic bookmark - Google Patents

Abstract

The bookmark comprises a strip of card folded at 2 to provide two leaves 3, 4 that straddle a page of a book and which have two magnets 5,6 to draw the leaves towards one another for the page to be gripped between them. The magnets are a composition of a vinyl plastics and ferromagnetic materials and are secured by adhesive to the leaves. The card is encapsulated by plastics film.

Description

BOOK MARK This invention relates to a book mark.

The conventional book mark is of a plain sheet or strip form which is simply slipped between pages of a book to mark a place in the book.

The bookmark relies on the book's being closed to keep it in place. It may become accidentally dislodged quite easily so that the required place in the book is left unmarked, which is irksome for the reader. Book marks are also known which clip onto a page of a book but these may cause damage to the page if they are not applied and removed with care.

The present invention provides a book mark which is easy to apply and is less likely to be dislodged accidentally than a conventional book mark.

According to the present invention a book mark comprises a strip or strips of sheet material formed to provide two leaves which are joined by a hinge or fold whereby they are enabled to straddle a page of a book, and which have retention means acting to draw the leaves magnetically towards one another for the page so straddled to be gripped between the leaves.

Preferably the retention means are of a plate-like form arranged so as to lie flat against a page gripped between them. The retention means on one of the leaves may be magnetic and the retention means on the other leaf may have an iron content to be attracted to the magnetic retention means. Alternatively the retention means of both leaves may be magnetic and be of opposite polarity.

The sheet material of the strip or strips may be card, which may be encapsulated by a plastics film, or it may be a plastics, foil, leather, fabric or other suitable material preferably having substantial resistance to wear from handling. A single strip may be folded in two to present the leaves and formed with a crease between the leaves. Alternatively the leaves may be formed by separate strips joined by a suitable hinge material.

Surface decoration may be provided on at least one of the leaves for example by printing or embossing.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a plan view of a book mark in accordance with the present invention, in an unfolded position.

Figure 2 is a side view of the book mark in a folded position, and Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the book mark attached to a page of a book.

In this embodiment a book mark is provided which comprises a card strip 1 which is folded about a central transverse crease 2 to present two similar oblong leaves 3, 4. Secured flat on the inner surface of each leaf, across the other end of the leaf remote from the crease 2, is an oblong, plate-like, magnet 5, 6. The magnets 5, 6 are of opposite polarity.

Typically the card strip 1 is 300gm card, 208mm long and 45mm wide. The card is encapsulated in a clear plastics film, typically 75 microns thick. Printed wording and/or decorative matter may be applied to the card strip 1.

The two magnets 5, 6 are a composition of a vinyl plastics and ferromagnetic materials. They are secured by adhesive to the card strip.

In order to mark a page 7 in a book the book mark is simply attached over an edge of the page so that the leaves 3, 4 straddle the page, and the attraction of the magnets through the page draws the leaves onto the opposite surfaces of the page, as shown in Figure 3, the page then being gripped firmly between the magnets to hold the book mark in place.

The grip on the page 7 is such as normally to resist accidental detachment of the book mark. For intentional detachment, one leaf may be pulled manually away from the page to release the grip, or the book mark may be slid off the edge of the page.

Claims (8)

1. A book mark comprising a strip or strips of sheet material formed to provide two leaves which are joined by a hinge or fold whereby they are enabled to straddle a page of a book, and which have retention means acting to draw the leaves magnetically towards one another for the page so straddled to be gripped between the leaves.

2. A book mark according to Claim 1 wherein the retention means are of a plate-like form so as to lie flat against a page gripped between them.

3. A book mark according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the retention means on one of the leaves is magnetic and the retention means on the other leaf has an iron content to be attracted to the magnetic retention means.

4. A book mark according to Claim 1 or Claim 2 wherein the retention means of both leaves are magnetic and of opposite polarity.

5. A book mark according to Claim 4 wherein the retention means of both leaves are a composition of a vinyl plastics and ferromagnetic materials.

6. A book mark according to Claim 5 wherein the retention means are secured by adhesive to the leaves.

7. A book mark according to any preceding claim wherein the sheet material of the strip or strips is card encapsulated by a plastics film.

8. A book mark substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.