GB2345843A

GB2345843A - A bookend

Info

Publication number: GB2345843A
Application number: GB9901266A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Clive Walton
Original assignee: PRODUCT PLUS INTERNATIONAL LIM
Current assignee: PRODUCT PLUS INTERNATIONAL LIM
Priority date: 1999-01-20
Filing date: 1999-01-20
Publication date: 2000-07-26
Also published as: GB9901266D0

Abstract

A bookend comprising a main body in the form of a flame (1) enclosed within a cover, the cover being such the main body takes the appearance of a book or video cassette box. The frame (1) is positioned on a shelf (11) by means of a spring wire member (6) formed within the frame and extending therefrom, beyond the shelf. One end of the spring wire member (6) is biased upwards towards the shelf (11) and acts as a spring lever to hold the frame (1) in place. The width of the shelf (11) can be accommodated by a rotatable eccentric pedal block (13) attached to the distal end of the spring wire member (6). Other embodiments are disclosed.

Description

A Bookend This invention relates to a bookend.

Current bookends on the market can be found in all sorts of shapes and sizes and are generally of two types, namely bookends which stand freely on a shelf and rely on the weight and angle of the books with which they are in contact to keep them in position, or bookends which require permanent fixing to a shelf in order to keep the books in place.

The former type of bookend tends to slip when heavy books are leant against it.

Furthermore, both of these types of bookends generally stand out on a shelf of books as, being obvious bookends, tending not to be particularly discrete in their appearance.

The present invention seeks to alleviate the aforementioned disadvantages of known bookends by providing a bookend that is flexible in its use, does not require permanent fixing, is stable, being capable of supporting heavy weights without slipping, and is adjustable for different shelf thicknesses.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a device for retaining an object on a support member, the device comprising a main body for abutment to the object and means for securing the main body to the support member.

Preferably, there is provided a device for retaining an object on a support member, the device comprising a main body for abutment to the object and means for securing the main body to the support member, wherein the securing means comprises a first portion extending from the main body and a second portion contiguous with the first portion, for engaging with the support member; the separation of the second portion and the main body being variable thereby to accommodate, in a channel formed therebetween, support members of different thicknesses.

Preferably, the first and second portions of the securing means are substantially perpendicular to each other. One portion of the securing means may be acutely angled towards the base of the main body, or alternatively the portion can be substantially parallel to the base.

The securing means is preferably made from resilient spring wire. There may be provided, on one portion of the securing means, clamping means for clamping the securing means to the support member, for example the clamping means could be a rotatable eccentric pedal block.

The main body is preferably formed as a frame structure having an inner groove along at least a substantial portion of its length. One portion of the securing means can engage with the groove.

The securing means could be"L-shaped". One portion of which may be provided with a plurality of teeth that act as the clamping means when they engage with an outwardly-protruding ridge formed on the main body.

An elongate member may be provided on a surface of the main body, the elongate member being rotatable between a position parallel to the surface and a position perpendicular to the surface. In the latter position, the main body can be freestanding on the top surface of the support member.

Preferably, the main body has a cover enveloping it, the cover being detachably z-C M) attached to the main body by, for example, the use of a Velcrostrip. The cover, or alternatively the main body itself, preferably takes the appearance of a book, video cassette box, or indeed any object to which the device is used for retaining on the support member.

Four forms of bookend, each of which is constructed in accordance with the invention, will now be described in greater detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of the bookend; Figure 2 is a side view of the bookend of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side view of a rotatable eccentric pedal block included in the bookend of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side view of a second embodiment of the bookend; Figure 5 is a side view of a third embodiment of the bookend; Figure 6 is an end view of the bookend of Figure 4; Figure 7 is a side view of a fourth embodiment of the bookend.

With reference to Figures 1 and 2, the bookend comprises a main body in the form of a frame I enclosed within a cover 2, the cover being such that the main body takes the appearance of a book or video cassette box. The frame 1 is injection moulded and is made from a plastics material or a similarly hard material. The frame 1 is attached to one part of the cover 2 using a Velcro strip or, alternatively, an adhesive. The rest of the cover 2 is then wrapped around the frame 1, and is detachably attached to the open side of the frame.

The frame 1 has an inner groove 3 running along its entire length. The frame 1 has two apertures 4,5 in its base.

A spring wire member 6 having two elongate arms 7,8 joined at one end to form a "inverted V-shaped"portion 9 is placed through the aperture 4 into the main body and follows the groove 3 in the frame so as to pass back out of the main body through the aperture 5. The first arm 7 of the spring wire member 6 is substantially longer than the second arm 8. The first arm 7 has an"S-shaped"portion 10 near to its distal end, the Sshaped portion limiting the amount of the spring wire member 6 that can enter the main body through the aperture 4. The S-shaped portion 10 also enables the first arm 7 of the spring wire member 6 to engage with the front of a shelf 11 on which the bookend is intended to stand, this can be seen clearly in Figure 2. The distal end of the S-shaped portion 10 is bent inwardly at an acute angle to form a"L-shaped"portion 12. This end portion 12 of the first arm 7 acts as a spring lever, being biased upwardly towards the shelf 11 to hold the bookend in a position on the shelf. A rotatable eccentric pedal block 13 is attached to the distal end of the L-shaped portion 12, such that the end of the arm acts as a spindle around which the pedal block 13 is able to rotate. The spindle is located off-centre from pedal block 13. As a result, each 90 advance in rotation of the pedal block 13 reduces the space between the first arm 7 and the bottom face of the shelf 11. This is clearly illustrated in Figure 3 in which each 90 rotation of the pedal block in a clockwise direction reduces the space between the first arm 7 and the bottom face of the shelf. By this means, a wide range of shelf thickness can be accommodated.

The second arm 8 of the spring wire member 6 is also bent 90 inwardly at its distal end. Both the first arm 7 and the second arm 8 are welded to a sheet steel strip 14. The welded areas are the outwardly-protruding part of the S-shaped portion 10 of the first arm 7 and the inwardly protruding end of the second arm 8, such that the sheet steel strip 14 lies in a position parallel to the base of the frame 1. This can be seen clearly in Figure 2. As a result, the sheet steel strip 14 is able to act as a pressure plate on the top face of the shelf 11, held by the spring lever 12 portion of the first arm 7.

In use, the main body 1 of the bookend is placed on the shelf 11 such that the shelf is located between the sheet steel strip 14 and the pedal block 13. The frame 1 of the base, and therefore the main body 1 of the bookend, are then situated on, or slightly above, the shelf 11, and the main body is held in place by the pedal block 13 once it has been rotated so as to grip the shelf between the pedal block and the sheet steel strip 14.

Figure 4 illustrates a second embodiment of the invention. The main body comprises a frame 20 enclosed within a cover 21, the cover resembling a book or a video cassette box. The frame 20 is preferably made from a plastics material or similarly hard material, and is attached to one part of the cover 21. The rest of the cover 21 is wrapped around the frame 20, and is detachably attached to the open side of the frame using a Velcro, strip 22. The frame 20 has an I-channelled structure. The frame 20 has an inwardly (iz-rm) protruding section 23 formed with a recess in which the Velcrokstnp 22 is situated to (RTM) interengage with a complementary Velcro strip (not shown) situated on the cover 21.

The frame 20 has two apertures 24 through one of its sides, and one aperture 25 through its base 26. A first arm 27 of an L-shaped member 28 has an elongate slot 29 through which a pair of screw threaded members 30 can protrude. Each screw threaded member 30 interengages with a respective one of the apertures 24 in the end of the frame 20 so as to engage the first arm 27 with the end of the frame. The first arm 27 is held against the frame 20 by engagement of the screw threaded members 30 with a complementary screw thread 31 provided in the moulding of the frame. Alternatively, a respective nut can be attached to the distal end of each of the screw threaded members 30.

A second arm 32 of the L-shaped member 28 is angled at 90 , or at an acute angle from the first arm 27. A cross bar 33 is located at the end of the elongate slot 29, so as to prevent the first arm 27 from sliding down too far and disconnecting the L-shaped member 28 from the frame 20. A bracket 34 is located across the first arm 27 and the frame 20 so as to keep the first arm in contact with the end of the frame.

An apertured plastics strip 35 is located against the base 26 of the frame 20, and is held against the base by a further screw threaded member 30 protruding through the aperture in the strip and through the aperture in the base. The screw threaded member 30 is tightened via a complementary screw thread 31 formed in the base 26. The screw threaded member 30 can be loosened so as to allow the plastics strip 35 to rotate to a position parallel to the base 26 of the frame 20 and to a position perpendicular to the base 26, the latter position allowing the bookend to act in a conventional way to support objects on a shelf.

Figures 5 and 6 illustrate a third embodiment of the invention. In this case, the clamping means takes the form of an upright spine friction spring bracket. The bookend comprises a main body 40 enclosed within a cover 41. The cover 41 resembles a book or video cassette box, and has larger dimensions than the main body 40, thereby providing a gap 42 between one end surface of the main body and the surface of the cover parallel thereto. A sleeve 43 is situated within the gap 42, the sleeve receiving a first arm 44 of an L-shaped member 45. The L-shaped member 45 is made from steel spring wire and is attached to the main body 40 within the gap portion 42 by fixing rivets 48. The L-shaped member 45 has a second arm 46 attached to one end of the first arm 44, and outstanding perpendicular therefrom. The first arm 44 is slidable up and down within the gap 42 to adjust the distance between the second arm 46 and the base of the main body 40. When the L-shaped member 45 has been fitted to a shelf 47, the second arm 46 is held in a deformed position against the underside of the shelf, and this deformation of the L-shaped member clamps the bookend to the shelf.

Figure 7 illustrates a fourth embodiment of the invention. Here, the bookend comprises a main body 50 enclosed within a cover 51, the cover resembling a book or video cassette box. A gap 53 is provided between one end surface 52 of the main body 50 and the surface of the cover parallel thereto. A sleeve 54 is situated within the gap 53, the sleeve receiving a first arm 55 of an L-shaped member 56. The first arm 55 extends through the base of the main body 50, such that a second arm 57 of the L-shaped member 56, which is angled about 90 to the first arm 55, lies below the base of the main body 50 and is parallel thereto.

The first arm 55 of the L-shaped member 56 has a plurality of teeth 58 on its lower portion for engagement with a ridge 59 attached to, and protruding across, the spine 53 at its base. The first arm 55 has a stop block 60 situated above the teeth 58.

In use, the L-shaped member 56 is extended downwards from the main body 50, thereby increasing the distance between the second arm 57 of the L-shaped member 56 and the base of the main body. Once the second arm 57 is a desired distance from the base of the main body 50, the teeth 58 on the first arm 55 engage with the protruding ridge 59 in the spine 53, thereby locking the L-shaped member 56 in position. At a predetermined distance along the first arm 55, the stop block 60 engages with the protruding ridge 59, thereby preventing the L-shaped member 56 from being extended any further. Once locked in position, the first arm 55 is capable of being moved slightly in a direction away from the main body 50, thereby disengaging the teeth 58 from the protruding ridge 59, and allowing the L-shaped member 56 to be re-positioned by increasing or decreasing the distance between its second arm 57 and the base of the main body 50.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A device for retaining an object on a support member, the device comprising a main body for abutment to the object, and means for securing the main body to the support member, wherein the securing means comprises a first portion extending from the main body and a second portion which is contiguous with the first portion, and is engage able with the support member; the separation of the second portion and the main body being variable thereby to accommodate, in a channel formed therebetween, support members of different thicknesses.
2. A device according to claim 1, wherein the first and second portions of the securing means are formed substantially perpendicular to each other.
3. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second portion is acutely angled towards a surface of the main body.
4. A device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the second portion is substantially parallel to a surface of the main body.
5. A device according to claim 4, wherein the securing means is made of spring wire.
6. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising clamping means attached to the distal end of the second portion in order to clamp the second portion to the support member.
7. A device according to claim 6, wherein the clamping means comprises a rotatable eccentric pedal block.
8. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the main body consists of a frame structure.
9. A device according to claim 8, wherein the frame structure has an inner groove running around a substantial portion of its length.
10. A device according to claim 9, wherein the first portion of the securing means engages with the inner grove of the frame structure.
11. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the securing means is formed with a"L-shaped"structure.
12. A device according to claim 11, wherein the first portion of the securing means is provided with a plurality of teeth, the teeth being engageable with an outwardly-protruding ridge formed on the main body.
13. A device according to any preceding claim, further comprising an elongate member attached to a surface of the main body, wherein the elongate member can be rotated between a position parallel to, and a position perpendicular to, said surface of the main body.
14. A device according to claim 13, further comprising means for preventing the securing means from detaching from the main body.
15. A device according to any preceding claim, further comprising a cover enveloping the main body.
16. A device according to claim 15, wherein the cover takes the appearance of a book.
17. A device according to claim 15, wherein the cover takes the appearance of a video cassette box.
18. A device according to any one of claims 15 to 17, further comprising means for attaching the cover to the main body.
19. A device according to claim 18, wherein the attachment means comprises a Velcro strip situated on an inwardly-protruding section of the main body, and a complementary strip situated on the cover.
20. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the main body takes the appearance of a book.
21. A device according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the main body takes the appearance of a video cassette box.
22. A device as substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to, and illustrated by, the accompanying drawings.