GB2363758A

GB2363758A - Clip-on book spine cover

Info

Publication number: GB2363758A
Application number: GB0014998A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Anthony Barrell; Hung Young Choi
Original assignee: PHOTOALBUM Co Ltd; CHINSUNG INDUSTRY CO Ltd
Current assignee: PHOTOALBUM Co Ltd; CHINSUNG INDUSTRY CO Ltd
Priority date: 2000-06-19
Filing date: 2000-06-19
Publication date: 2002-01-09
Also published as: GB0014998D0

Abstract

A book spine cover 20 comprises a thin-walled shell having a surface 22 adapted to fit to the spine of a book, the cover 20 having opposed lateral lips 26 adapted to locate the cover 20 against the book spine in use. Inner concave surface 24 can be attached by adhesive to the spine of the book. The outer convex surface can be coloured and provided with transverse bands 32 and grained texture 34 so as to mimic the binding of an antiquarian book. The cover can be manufactured from a plastic or resin material using a moulding operation.

Description

1 2363758 P 700999 GB Book Spine Cover The present invention relates to a

decorative cover for the spine of a book The term book is intended also to cover items having a similar configuration such as, for example, folders, ring binders, photo albums and the like.

The spine of a book is typically printed with information which provides information such as the author and title thereof Such information allows a person to readily identify a given book when it is supported along with other books on a shelf However, there exist situations where the aesthetic appearance of a plurality of books displayed on one or more shelves may have an adverse aesthetic effect on their surroundings An example of such a situation concerns books displayed in a corporate meeting or board room The provision of a plurality of books having different coloured jackets and typefaces may detract from the overall appearance of the room where the design and colour of furniture, carpets, wallpaper and other items may be carefully co-ordinated.

To this end, figures 1 and 2 show a spine cover, generally designated 10, which may be attached to the spine of a book The spine cover 10 comprises an elongate member having a substantially planar side 12 and a convex side 14 The convex side 14 is configured so as to look like the spine of a leather bound book The convex side 14 is thus provided with raised transverse bands 16 and additional surface decoration, such as a grained texture 18 Lettering (not shown) is also typically also provided and the cover is an appropriate colour In use, the planar side 12 of the cover 10 is glued to the spine of a book A plurality of books provided with spine covers 10 and displayed spine outermost on shelf thus give the appearance the shelf supports a plurality of leather bound books.

The spine cover 10 is typically manufactured from a plastics material by a moulding process As the spine cover 10 is not of uniform thickness and moulded in a single piece, problems may exist in the moulding thereof For example, the spine cover 10 may bend or warp during the moulding process due to uneven cooling or curing of the plastics material Air bubbles in the plastics material may lead to porosity in the 2 finished cover 10 which may spoil the appearance of the convex side 14 Also, the planar side 12 may require finishing after moulding so as to ensure that it has an acceptably flat surface with which to bond to a book spine, in use.

According to the present invention a book spine cover comprising a thin walled shell having a surface adapted to fit to the spine of a book, the cover having opposed lateral lips adapted to locate the cover against the book spine in use.

The lips of the present invention serve to easily locate the cover to the spine without the need for precise alignment either by eye or the use of an aligmnent jig Also, the thin walled nature of the cover reduces the amount of material needed during manufacture and reduces the possibility that build quality of the cover may be affected by uneven curing or cooling during manufacture.

In a preferred embodiment the lips are continuous and turned towards one another In this configuration the lips, in use, grip the cover to the book In such an embodiment the lips may engage recesses defined between the spine and respective front and rear covers of a book to provide a mechanical connection therebetween Typically adhesive is used to glue the cover to the spine and the turned lips ensure that the cover is held against the spine while the adhesive cures The lips further act to prevent unsightly overspill of the adhesive Once the adhesive has cured, the lips act to prevent the spine cover from being removed, either accidentally or maliciously, as they prevent direct access to the adhesive.

The surface adapted to fit to the spine of a book may be concave so as to accommodate a convex book spine The spine cover may be manufactured using a moulding operation from a pourable plastics or resin material such as a polyester or epoxy resin.

The resin may have a composition comprising approximately 65 % polyester resin, 20 % calcium carbonate, 10 % decollate perlite and 5 % milled glass fibre To achieve a desired viscosity, the resin mixture may include polystyrene Prior to casting a hardener is added to the resin mixture.

3 An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows a first perspective view of a prior art spine cover;

Figure 2 shows a second perspective view of the spine cover of figure 1; and Figure 3 shows a perspective view of a spine cover according to the present invention.

Figure 3 shows a spine cover, generally designated 20 The cover 20 is moulded in a single piece from a plastics or resin material and is provided with an outer convex surface 22 and an inner concave surface 24 The cover 20 is further provided with opposed lateral lips 26 which extend longitudinally along respective edges 28 thereof.

The lips 26 are turned towards one another such that the width between the tips 30 thereof is less than the that of the inner concave surface 24 As before, the outer convex surface is coloured and provided with transverse bands 32 and a grained texture 34 so as to mimic the binding of an antiquarian book.

In use, inner concave surface 24 is adapted to be attached by adhesive to the spine of a book Typically the outer surface of the book is first provided with a covering having a texture and colour matching that of the spine cover 20 Once this is in place, the spine cover 20, with a coating of adhesive on the inner concave surface, is slid into position over the spine of the book The lips 26 are configured such that they grip the cover 20 to the book along the edge of the spine where it interfaces with the front and rear covers respectively The lips 26 further act to maintain the concave inner surface 24 in contact with the spine of the book while the adhesive cures.

Manufacture of the covers is as follows Firstly a full sized master model of the cover is made from, for example, plaster of Paris, clay or epoxy The model is checked carefully for cracks or pin holes and any which are found are repaired The model is then sprayed with a thin coat of lacquer paint to ensure that it has a smooth surface.

Next, a thin coat of a release agent, such as a wax solution or petroleum jelly is applied.

The release agent is allowed to dry, if needed, and the model is then brush coated with catalysed silicone rubber Sufficient coats are applied so as to give a covering which has a desired thickness and which will correspond to a mould having sufficient flexibility.

The silicone rubber is allowed to cure, which may take between eight to twenty four hours depending upon the thickness thereof Once silicone rubber has cured a plaster of Paris or fibreglass backing is applied so as to avoid snagging of the mould during subsequent casting operations The hardened backing is then removed and the model extracted from the cured silicone rubber The moulded silicone rubber is then returned to the hardened backing and serves as a mould for casting.

To cast the covers a mixture comprising 65 % Polyester resin, epoxy resin or another suitable thermosetting plastic, 20 % filler material, for example calcium carbonate, 10 % decollate perlite and 5 % milled fibreglass is prepared The fibreglass is included to improve strength and flexibility The viscosity of the resultant mix may be altered, so as to enable the mixture to be readily brushed or poured, by the addition of polystyrene.

Prior to making a casting from the mould a peroxide hardener is added to the resin mixture and mixed carefully so as to avoid the formation of bubbles A thin coat of the mixture is applied to the mould and a brush is used to ensure an even coating The mould is then filled to the required depth and placed in a vacuum chamber for approximately three minutes to remove any entrapped air bubbles The mould and casting is then removed from the vacuum chamber and allowed to cure for approximately thirty minutes The casting is then removed from the mould which may be reused.

The cast cover is inspected, trimmed and then washed in a diluted solution of caustic soda before being rinsed with soap and water and allowed to dry The cleaned and dried casting is then sprayed with lacquer paint in a base colour upon which details are hand painted Once the paint has dried the casting is given a coating of mahogany wood stain to provide an antique effect.

Claims

1 A book spine cover comprising a thin walled shell having a surface adapted to fit to the spine of a book, the cover having opposed lateral lips adapted to locate the cover against the book spine, in use.

2 A cover as claimed in claim 1 wherein the lips are continuous.

3 A cover as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the lips are turned towards one another.

4 A cover as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 wherein the lips engage recesses defined between the spine and respective front and rear covers of a book so as to provide a mechanical connection therebetween.

A cover as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the lips act to prevent overspill of the adhesive used to secure the cover to a bookspine, in use.

6 A book spine cover substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to or as shown in the accompanying drawings.

6 A cover as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the surface adapted to fit to the spine of a book is concave so as to accommodate a convex book spine.

7 A cover as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the spine cover is manufactured using a moulding operation from a pourable plastics or resin material.

8 A cover as claimed in claim 6 wherein said pourable material has a composition comprising approximately 65 % polyester resin, 20 % calcium carbonate, % decollate perlite and 5 % milled glass fibre.

9 A cover as claimed in claim 8 wherein the pourable material further includes polystyrene.