GB2438605A

GB2438605A - Bookmark

Info

Publication number: GB2438605A
Application number: GB0610965A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Shareen Anne Jewell
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-06-03
Filing date: 2006-06-03
Publication date: 2007-12-05
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-03
Also published as: GB0610965D0; GB2438605B

Abstract

A bookmark comprising a flexible, resilient, transparent strip; and adjustment means for enabling the strip to formed into a closed loop and for enabling the circumference of closed loop to be adjusted. In use the bookmark is formed into a closed loop that encircles at least one of the pages of the book and/or the cover. The bookmark is transparent so a user can read any text under the bookmark without needing to remove it, allowing the bookmark to remain in place without obstructing the reading of the book. The resilient nature of the material enables the bookmark to simply be lifted so that the next page can be placed underneath it, without needing to remove the bookmark from the book.

Description

BOOKMARK

The present invention relates to bookmarks and in particular to bookmarks which remain fixed to the book during use.

A number of designs have been proposed which allow a user to mark their place in a book. It has been proposed to provide bookmarks that can be physically secured to the cover of a book so that, in use, the bookmark cannot easily become detached from the book and lost.

For example, US-3,898,95 1 relates to a bookmark comprising an elongated stretchable member having a closed loop at one end. The closed loop is designed to extend around one of the covers of a book securing the bookmark in use. An appendage extends from the closed loop over the page to be marked. The appendage can be detachably secured to the loop to ensure that the place in the book is not lost. However, with this bookmark it is necessary for a user to remember to mark the page of the book (using the appendage) before closing it.

Another example is GB-A-2390570. This discusses a page retaining bookmark comprised of two parts. A first, adjustable part is designed to be attached to the cover of a book and a second part, which is a clear strip, extends around the pages of a book.

The second part is attached to the first part by quick release tape, for example a hook and loop fastener. The second part can remain in place while the user reads the book because it is clear. A user can therefore simply close the book without having to remember to mark the page. However, it is necessary for the reader to undo the clear strip and re-fasten it every time a page is turned.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an adjustable ioop of flexible, transparent, resilient material for encircling either a number of adjacent pages of the book or one of the covers and at least one of the pages of a book. This gives a simplified construction because no specific part adapted to be attached to the cover of a book is required.

Instead the loop encircles either the number of adjacent pages or part of the cover and at least one of the pages. The transparent nature of the material enables the bookmark to remain in place while a user reads the book without obstructing reading of the book.

The resilient nature of the material means that it when a page is required to be turned, the strip can simply be lifted and the next page placed underneath or removed.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a bookmark comprising: a flexible, resilient, transparent strip; and adjustment means for enabling the strip to formed into a closed loop and for enabling the circumference of closed loop to be adjusted.

The strip is flexible and so can easily be wrapped around either a number of adjacent pages or the cover and pages of a book. The resilient nature of the strip enables a user to turn pages without needing to remove the bookmark from its place on the book. All that is required is to simply lift the strip slightly and slide a page of book underneath it or slide a page out from underneath it. There is therefore no need to adjust the bookmark every time a page is turned. The transparent nature of the strip enables the user to read the book without hindrance while the bookmark is in place. By providing an adjustment means the size of the closed ioop can be easily adjusted by a user. This enables the same bookmark to be used for large and small books, or for hardback or paperback books.

The adjustment means can be any suitable means of adjusting the effective circumference of the closed loop, including a pair of substantially rigid loops through which the strip is passed, a hook and loop fastener, or other means as described in more detail below.

A further advantage of the present invention is that, because it uses a single closed loop which can encircle either a number of adjacent pages or the cover and at least one of the pages of a book, the bookmark is more suitable for use with paperback books.

Prior bookmarks, such as those ofUS-3,898,951 and GB-A-2390570, had to be used around the cover of a book and were less suitable for use with paperback books because the attachment of the bookmark to the cover could bend or otherwise mark the cover of a paperback book relatively easily.

Preferably, the strip has a Young's modulus of between 25 and 1000 MPa, more preferably between 25 and 100 Mpa.

The applicant has found that by selecting the material to have a Young's modulus within these ranges, the resilience of the strip is such that a user can extend the strip sufficiently to enable another page to be slid underneath without requiring excessive force. A further benefit of this is that because only a relatively small force is required to extend the strip, for example less than about 10 Newtons for an extension in length of 50%, the energy available for elastic recoil when a user lets go of the strip after having turned the page is reduced. This reduces the possibility of damage to the pages of the book.

One material which has been found to be particularly advantageous with the bookmark of the present invention is thermoplastic polyurethane. Thermoplastic polyurethane can be manufactured to have the required properties of a flexible, resilient, transparent strip with a young's modulus in the ranges discussed above. It can also easily be formed into strips. Thermoplastic polyurethance can also tolerate very large strains while still remaining elastic. This makes it ideal for use in the bookmark of the present invention.

Preferably the strip is between 5 and 30 mm wide, preferably about 10 mm wide. This particular range of widths enables the bookmark to be used without the strip becoming twisted. If the strip becomes twisted, this can make it more difficult to read text underneath the bookmark and to close the book cleanly. By providing a strip of this width, it is relatively easy to ensure that it lies flat against the cover or the pages of the book for the entire length of the loop.

In one embodiment, the adjustment means comprises an elongated member delimiting a plurality of openings for receiving the strip. A first end of the strip is attached to one of the plurality of openings. A hook member is attached to a second end of the strip for engaging the plurality of openings. This embodiment enables the strip to be easily adjusted to be used with both small and large books. In addition, the use of the elongated member enables the appearance of the bookmark to be customised. In use, the elongated member is preferably located over the cover of the book and therefore need not be transparent. The elongated member could be used to contain a design or motif which will be visible to other people glancing at a reader using the bookmark.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 depicts a first embodiment of the invention in place on a small book; Figure 2 depicts the embodiment of Figure 1 in place on a larger book; Figure 3 depicts the embodiment of Figure 1 in place around a number of adjacent pages in the covers of a book; Figure 4 depicts the first embodiment of the invention in place on a book which is open; Figure 5 depicts a two-part adjuster used in the first embodiment of the invention; Figure 6 depicts one part of the adjustment means of the first embodiment viewed from one side; Figure 7a depicts an elongated member forming part of the adjustment means of a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7b depicts a flexible strip for attachment to the elongated member of Figure 7a; and Figure 7c depicts a second embodiment of the present invention before it has been attached to a book.

Figure 1 depicts a first embodiment of the present invention in place on a smaller book 2. The bookmark comprises a flexible, resilient, transparent strip 4 and a two-part adjustment mechanism 6 and 8. The strip is manufactured from transparent thermoplastic polyurethane having a Young's modulus of approximately 40 MPa. The strip is approximately 10 mm wide and approximately 0.1 mm thick.

The adjustment mechanism of this embodiment comprises a first fixed adjuster 6 to which one end 10 of the strip 4 is attached. In this embodiment, the fixed adjuster 6 is generally oval in shape comprising two straight portions for engaging the strip and two semicircular portions joining the straight portions. The strip 4 is attached to one of the straight portions of the fixed adjuster 6.

The second part of the adjustment mechanism is a slidable adjuster 8. This slidable adjuster 8 comprises two substantially oval members comprising straight sections joined by semicircular sections. A central part 12 of the sliding adjuster is common to both of the substantially oval sections. The other end of the clear strip 4 is passed through both of the openings in the slidable adjuster 8, then through the fixed adjuster 6 and attached to the common part 12 of the sliding adjuster. This forms a closed ioop which can be placed around a book cover (as depicted in Figure 1 and 2) or around a number of adjacent pages (as depicted in Figure 3).

In use, a user can adjust the effective circumference of the loop, and thus the size of book around which it can be placed, by sliding the sliding adjuster over the strip to produce a smaller or larger secondary loop which engages a straight portion of the fixed adjuster 6 (see Figure 6).

Figure 2 depicts the first embodiment of the invention in place around a larger book 14. It can be seen that the adjustment mechanism has been used to reduce the length of the secondary loop, thereby increasing the length of the closed loop which can encircle the cover and pages.

Figure 3 depicts the first embodiment of the invention in place around a number of adjacent pages of a book 15. This demonstrates that the invention can be used without also extending around the cover of the book Figure 4 depicts the first embodiment in place on an open book. For clarity, the book has been depicted with blank pages. It can be seen that the bookmark holds the pages against the cover for the user and also lies flat against the page. This enables a user to read the book with the bookmark in place because the strip is transparent and lying in close proximity to the page. It also has the further advantage that a reader can more easily read a book using only one hand; they will be assisted in holding the pages apart by the bookmark.

A second embodiment of the bookmark is depicted in Figures 7a to 7c. This embodiment comprises a elongated member 20 and a flexible, resilient, transparent strip 22. Figure 7a shows both a plan and a side view of the elongated member 20. The strip 22 is formed from thermoplastic polyurethane with properties and dimensions as discussed above in relation to the first embodiment.

In this embodiment the strip 22 has one end 24 which is adapted to be fixed to the elongated member 20 and second end 26 which is attached to a hook portion.

The elongated member 20 is preferably substantially planar so that it can lie against the cover of a book and may be formed of any substantially rigid material, for example plastic or metal. It may be preferable to form the elongated member of plastic to minimise damage to the cover of a book and to reduce the weight of the bookmark.

The elongated member has a plurality of openings 28 formed within it for receiving the strip. In this embodiment the openings 28 are substantially rectangular although other forms of openings may also be used, providing that the strip can pass through them.

As depicted in Figure 7c, the fixed end 24 of the strip is attached to an opening at one end of the elongated member. The other end of the strip 26 containing the hook is then free to be placed through any of the openings in the elongated member.

In use, the elongated member is placed on the cover of a book. The strip 22 is then passed over the cover and at least one page of the book marking the current place of a reader. It is then passed back to the elongated member and fed through one hole and twisted back on itself so that the hook end 26 can engage the strip 22 thereby securing the bookmark in place on the book. A plurality of holes 28 are formed in the elongated member to enable the bookmark to adapt to a large number of different book sizes, from large hardback books to small paperback books.

It is possible that the elongated member of this embodiment could be provided with decorative motifs. These motifs would be visible to an onlooker glancing at the book of a reader using the bookmark and therefore could be used to contain promotional or advertising messages.

In both the first and the second embodiments, the resilience of the strip enables the user to keep the bookmark in place both during reading and when turning pages.

During reading, the transparent nature of the strip enables the text to be read without requiring the bookmark to be removed. When pages are turned, the user only has to lift the strip slightly from the page to enable another page to be slid underneath.

In an alternate embodiment, which is the same as the first embodiment save as described below, one of the fixed or slidable adjusters includes an additional decorative section. This decorative section increases the visual appeal of the bookmark without altering the function.

In further alternate embodiments, other adjustment means may be provided, as will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. For example the slidable adjuster of the first embodiment could be altered to contain more fasteners or to contain two slidable fasteners to provide differing means of adjustment. Alternatively, a hook and loop fastener could be used. However, all embodiments will share the feature of a flexible, resilient, transparent strip to enable the bookmark to remain in place on the book both during reading and when a page is turned.

Claims

CLAIMS

1. A bookmark comprising: a flexible, resilient, transparent strip; and adjustment means for enabling the strip to formed into a closed loop and for enabling the circumference of closed ioop to be adjusted.

2. A bookmark according to claim 1, wherein the strip has a Youngs modulus of between 25 and 1000 MPa, preferably between 25 and 100 Mpa.

3. A bookmark according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the strip has dimensions chosen such that when a force of 10 Newtons is applied along the length of the strip, the strip extends by approximately 50%.

4. A bookmark according to and one of the preceding claim, wherein the strip is formed from thermoplastic polyurethane.

5. A bookmark according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the strip is between 5 and 30 mm wide, preferably about 10 mm wide.

6. A bookmark according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the adjustment means comprises an elongated member delimiting a plurality of openings for receiving the strip; wherein a first end of the strip is attached to one of the plurality of openings; and wherein a hook portion is attached to a second end of the strip.

7. A bookmark substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A bookmark comprising: a flexible, resilient, transparent strip formed from thermoplastic polyurethane; and adjustment means for enabling the strip to formed into a closed ioop and for enabling the circumference of closed loop to be adjusted.

2. A bookmark according to claim 1, wherein the strip has a Young's modulus of between 25 and 1000 MPa, preferably between 25 and 100 Mpa.

3. A bookmark according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the strip has dimensions chosen such that when a force of 10 Newtons is applied along the length of the strip, the strip extends by approximately 50%.

4. A bookmark according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the strip is between 5 and 30 mm wide, preferably about 10 mm wide.

5. A bookmark according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the is adjustment means comprises an elongated member delimiting a plurality of openings for receiving the strip; wherein a first end of the strip is attached to one of the plurality of openings; and wherein a hook portion is attached to a second end of the strip.

6. A bookmark substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.