GB2421233A

GB2421233A - Book conveyor with means to hold a cover open

Info

Publication number: GB2421233A
Application number: GB0523515A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Jouni Antero Mononen; Niko Tapani Saari; Sampo Sebastian Salakari
Original assignee: JESTRON Oy
Current assignee: JESTRON Oy
Priority date: 2004-12-15
Filing date: 2005-11-18
Publication date: 2006-06-21
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-18
Also published as: FI117472B; SE0502710L; FI20041617A0; GB2421233B; FI20041617A; GB0523515D0; SE528690C2

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and device for keeping the cover of a book open, particularly in a library's automatic book check-in device. In the device, there are guides, particularly walls 3, 4 at the side of a conveyor belt 2. The cover of the book is fed between the guides. Information is read from the inside of the cover, for example, using a bar-code reader, through an opening 7 in the wall 4. A bend or guide 10 may be provided to close the cover.

Description

Method and device for keeping the cover of a book open The present invention relates to a method and device for keeping the cover of a book open. Specifically, if not solely, the method and device according to the invention are very useful in libraries, in which automatic book check-in devices are used and specific information must be read from the inside of the cover of the book. In known automatic book check-in devices, the book is returned closed and all the information to be read is on the outside of the cover of the book. However, in certain systems the said information, such as the book's identifying code and the bar code required to check the book into the library system are located on the inside of the cover. However, because in existing systems a book cannot be checked in with the cover open, automatic returns are impossible. The invention is intended to eliminate this drawback and permit books, in which the said information to be read is located on the inside of the cover, to be checked in automatically exploiting an automatic book check-in device. Briefly, according to the invention, this purpose can be achieved by using a piece set vertically, when viewed from in front of the automatic check-in device, and which is bent or otherwise shaped; the cover of the book being placed in the throat opening of which piece when the book is returned to the conveyor belt. The element in question can be located on the right or left-hand side of the conveyor belt. The cover of the book will then remain open when the book moves along the automatic device's conveyor belt and the information inside the covers of the book can be read, thus permitting the book to be checked in automatically. More specifically, the method and device according to the invention, for keeping the cover of a book open, are characterized by what is stated to be characteristic in the accompanying claims. In the following, the invention is examined in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which show one device according to the invention for keeping the cover of a book open. The method according to the invention will become apparent in connection with the description of the device. Thus: Figure 1 shows an axonometric view of one embodiment of the invention; Figure 2 shows a side view of the device according to Figure 1; and Figure 3 shows in turn a view of the device according to the invention, seen from the end of it from which the book is fed to the device. The device in the embodiment of Figure 1 is formed of a conveyor belt 2 and a side wall 3. The conveyor belt can be of any type whatever, in this embodiment it is of a type that runs on an endless belt on two carrier rollers. The side wall 3 is generally formed of a plate-like main component and a wall component 4 attached to it or forming part of it. For example, as shown in the figure, the walls 3 and 4 can be of the same piece, in which case the wall 4 is bent essentially parallel to the wall 3, but at a distance from it. When checking in a book or other similar material, the user opens the cover of the book and pushes it into the throat opening 5. There are bends 6 in the side of the throat opening 5 (which is best seen in Figure 3) which facilitate pushing the cover of the book between the walls 3 and 4 that keep it vertical. The belt 2 carries the book forward, the main part of the book lying on the belt while its cover is between the walls. In this embodiment, there is an opening 7, which permits the bar code to be detected. The lips 8 in the opening 7 are intended to prevent the book cover from sliding out or jamming in the opening 7. If the bar code is not detected and the book slides past the opening 7, the end part 9 of the wall 4 will hold the cover of the book or similar material vertical, in which case the conveyor belt will stop and reverse direction and the book or other material will return to the user for a new check-in attempt. If the reading of the information has succeeded, the book slides past the opening 7 and wall 9 with its cover vertical, so that the book cover will close at the end part of the wall 3, or at the latest at the guide 10 that turns the book cover to shut it. After this, the material being checked in moves on to further processing. Within the scope of the invention, it is possible to envisage solutions differing from that described above. The part 9 of the wall may be unnecessary, while the bends 6 and 8 may not be required, though they facilitate use. The information can be read at some other point than that described in the embodiments above. The wall structures can also be made of a transparent material, so that the information can be read through the wall, without the opening 7. On the other hand, if desired, the entire reading device can be concealed between the walls. Though reference is made above to plate-like structures, the book and its cover can be easy guided, for example, using wire-like or rod-like guides, in which case the construction will be very open. In that case, the information can also be successfully read from nearly any point at all. In the figures shown, the walls are essentially vertical, but it goes without saying that verticality is not indispensable, as the information can be read quite successfully in other positions too.

Claims

Claims:

1. A method for keeping open the cover of a book or the like, wherein the cover of the book is opened and the book is fed into an automatic check-in device in such a way that most of the book rests on a conveyor and its opened cover is guided between two plate-like walls which are set at a distance to each other and which hold the cover in the open position for reading information from the inside of the cover.

2. A method according to Claim 1, wherein means to permit information to be read from the inside of the cover are located in at least one wall.

3. A method according to Claims 1 or 2 wherein the automatic check-in device is a library's automatic book check-in device.

4. A device for keeping open the cover of a book or the like comprising; two essentially plate-like walls set at a distance to each other for feeding the cover of the book therebetween in order to read information from the inside of the cover, wherein most of the book is located on a conveyor.

5. A device according to Claim 4, further comprising; means arranged in the walls which permits reading of information.

6. A device according to Claim 5 wherein the means which permits reading of information is an opening for reading a bar code

7. A device according to Claim 4, 5 or 6 further comprising a bend in a wall for closing the cover of the book.

8. A device according to any of Claims 4 to 7, wherein the walls are essentially vertical and are located in the immediate vicinity of the longitudinal edge of the conveyor.

9. A library automatic book check-in device comprising a device as claimed in any of claims 4 to 8.

10. A device or library automatic book check-in device substantially as hereinbefore defined with reference to the accompanying figures.