US2271807A - Bookmark - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 3, 1942.

H. G. SHAUGHNESSY BOOKMARK Filed Feb. 17, 1941 i at?! 2 Harry G Shazghnessy {T6 Mum Patented Feb. 3, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

2,271,807 l BOOKMARK Harry G. Shaughnessy, Detroit, Mich. Application February 17, 1941, Serial No. 379,239

8 Claims.

This invention relates to bookmarks and particularly bookmarks suited to hold theexposed pages of an open book or magazine substantially flat and in position to be read, as well as for marking a place when the book is closed.

An object of the invention is to form a book-- These and various other objects are attained by the construction hereinafter described and il-- lustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is av front elevational view of the improved bookmark.

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a book, showing the bookmark in use.

As illustrated, my bookmark is formed of a single length of Wire or other suitable material, preferably about fourteen gauge, formed with a U-bend l, with spaced approximately parallel portions 2 extending from such bend divergently thereto, approximating an. inch in length, and with a long arm 3 and a short arm 4 extending from the portions 2. The arm 3 preferably approximates seven inches in length and the short arm two and one-half, said arms being acutely divergent, as for example at forty-five degrees. The plane of the U-bend is preferably approximately parallel to the arm 3, and the planes established by the arms 3 and 4, each in conjunction with the adjoining portion 2, are gradually convergent so as to locate the free end of the arm 4 substantially in the plane established by the arm 3 and its adjoined portion 2. It is preferred to bend the free end portion 5 of the arm 4 toward the arm 3 and to somewhat flatten said portion in the plane of the two arms. It is further preferred to flatten the lower portion 6 of the arm 3 and to provide fairly sharp edges on such portion, so that it may serve as a cutting blade. The plane of the blade 6 coincides with that of the arm 3 and adjoined portion 2.

In use, the described bookmark is clipped over a number of adjoining pages of a book or magazine, so that their upper margins lie within the U-bend I, the arm 3 projecting downwardly along the page to be marked, as shown in dash lines in Fig. 3. Said arm is left in such position, for merely marking a page or place for future reference, but for holding the pages of a book in flat position for reading, the arm 3 is swung transversely of said pages to extend across their juncture, as shown in full lines in Fig. 3. Thus the book, if suitably supported, may be easily read without necessity of holding it. This is particularly desirable when a person is writing or otherwise using his hands while occasionally consulting a book. The acute divergency of the arms 2 and 3 has several important advantages, a primary one being the consequent facility with which a number of adjoining pages of a book may be straddled by said arms. Other advantages accrue particularly when the device is used to hold a book fully open, as per full line showing of Figure 3. In so using the device, the pages across which free end portion of arm 3 is extended sometimes exert a considerable upthrust, tending to swing the device downward toward a position clearing the right-hand exposed page. This tendency is especially strong if the long arm is not initially transverse to the exposed pages, and it is to be noted that average reader will not trouble to so dispose the device. Divergency of the arms 2 and 3 affords the shorter one a leverage to resist tendency of the device to rotate more or less about its longitudinal axis, this being desirable as any such rotation would promote swinging of the device to clear the right-hand page.

Acute divergency of the arms further permits short arm to extend, at least at its free end portion, into plane of the long arm, when neither arm is under stress. Thus the arms can exert a stronger gripping effect on interposed pages of a book, than would be true if they were originally merely parallel.

Acute divergency of the arms makes possible the very useful bent end portion 5 of short arm projecting toward the long one. This adds material frictional resistance to shifting of device from its intended position, and also stiffens short arm to render more effective its resistance to rotation of device about the long arm as an axis. When upthrust exerted by right-hand pages on free end portion of long arm is exceptionally strong, portion 5 may be disposed against binding so as to impose frictional resistance thereon as well as on the pages.

Convergency of the planes determined respectively by the arms 3 and 4, each in conjunction with its adjoined portion 2, serves to impose a stress on the shorter arm when the device is in use, since said arms must be sprung away from the longer arm in order to clip the device on a group of pages as has been described. Thi

assures that the longer arm will firmly retain either of its selective positions. A firm support for the device is particularly necessary, when serving to hold a book in reading position, as sometimes the binding sets up a considerable force tending to turn the pages. The yoke portion of the U-bend swings clear of the adjacent edges of the book when the arm 3 is being shifted from one to the other of its selective positions, and hence avoids marring said edges or their interference with the swinging movement. This advantage results from fact that the U-bend is upwardly diverged with respect to the portions 2.

In using the device as a cutter to separate the pages of a book or as an envelope opener, the arm 3 and adjacent portion of the arm 4 jointly form a handle for the device. The blade 6 and flattened portion increase the surface of frictional contact of the arms with the engaged pages and thus increase its resistance to any accidental shifting from its intended engagement with said pages.

A bookmark, as described, may be quite inexpensively produced owing to low cost of material employed and simplicity of requisite manufacturing operations.

What I claim is:

1. A bookmark comprising a length of resilient material formed between its ends with a substantially U-shaped bend and therebyportion of the shorter arm being bent substantially toward the longer arm and flattened substantially in the plane determined by the two arms.

4. A book mark as set forth in claim 1, a portion of said material adjacent to the U-bend, being bent at an obtuse angle to the long arm and in a direction substantially opposed to the short arm.

5. A book mark as set forth in claim 1, having a portion thereof adjacent to said U-bend and bent at an opposed angle to the long arm and in a direction substantially opposed to the short arm, said portion being further bent in close proximity to the U-bend to extend the plane of such bend substantially parallel to the long arm.

6. A book mark as set forth in claim 1, said resilient material being wire and the free end portion of the long arm being flattened substantially in a plane common to both arms.

'7. A book mark comprising a length of resilient material formed with a return bend between its ends and thereby forming a long and a short arm, a portion of both arms adjoining and including the return bend being bent to extend at an acute angle to the long arm, the planes determined by the two arms in conjunction with the adjoining portions adjacent to the U-bend, being gradually convergent.

8. A combined bookmark and cutter comprising a length of resilient wire formed between its ends with a substantially U-shaped bend and thereby forming arms of unequal length for straddling adjoined pages of a book or the like, the free end portion of the longer arm being flattened to form a cutting blade substantially transverse to the plane of said bend, and the two arms jointly providing a handle for the construction, when used for cutting.

' HARRY G. SHAUGHNESSY.

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