US2539687A

US2539687A - Bookmarker

Info

Publication number: US2539687A
Application number: US730323A
Authority: US
Inventors: Russell F Barsotti
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1947-02-24
Filing date: 1947-02-24
Publication date: 1951-01-30
Anticipated expiration: 1968-01-30

Description

R. F. BARSOTTI Jan. 30, 1951 BOOKMARKER '2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Feb. 24, 1947 INVENTOR RUSSELL F. BARSOTTI ATTORNEY R. F. BARsoTTl BooxMARxER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 24, 1947 FIG. 8

ATTORNEY INVENTOR RUSSELL E BARSOTTI Patented Jan. 30, 1951 UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE 1 claim. `(c1. 11e-119) books, and places at a convenient position upon the book backs the instrumentalities from which the marker strands emanate.

Generally speaking, the invention has for an object the provision of convenient, simple and durable bookmarkers which are economical to manufacture and readily and securely attachable to and detachable from boo-ks without injury of any kind to the books.

Other features, objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which similar characters of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the two sheets ofv drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view depicting a preferred embodiment of my bookmarker attached to a book, which book has a portion cut away to illustrate the preferred manner of attachment; Figs, 2 and 3 are, respectively, front and side elevational views of the bookmarker illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an interior view, ldrawn to an enlarged scale, of a portion of the structure illustrated in Figs.` 1 to 3, and wherein the view is taken substantially as indicated by a line 4--4 in Fig. 6 and the accompanying arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 4 which illustrates a different operating position of the parts;

Fig. 6 is a side sectional view of my preferred `bookmarker wherein the section is taken substantially on a line 6 5 of Fig. 4 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; Fig. '7 is a front elevational View of a portion of the structure of the bookmarker wherein the view is taken substantially in the opposite direction from that indicated for Fig. 4 in Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary side View of a modified .-form of my bockmarkerwhich depicts its attach- .ment to abook and wherein the book is indicated insection to 'showry the mannerl of attachment;

- thereof.

Figs. 9 and 10 are, respectively, rear elevational and side sectional views of the bookmarker shown in Fig. 8, with the section of Fig. 10 taken substantially on agline IU-I of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary front elevational View of the bookmarker shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10;

Fig. 12 is a side view of another modied form of my bookmarker wherein its attachment to a book is illustrated and the book is shown in section to illustrate the manner of attachment;

Figs. 13 and 14 are, respectively, side sectional and rear elevational views cf the bookmarker depicted in Fig. l2 and in which the section of Fig. 13 is taken substantially on a line I3-I3 of Fig. 14 and viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

Fig. 15 is a top plan view of the bookmarker illustrated in Figs. 12, 13 and 14.

Asmaybe observed by referenee to the exemplary embodiments of my invention which are depicted in the accompanying drawings, the various forms of my bookmarkers are generally characterized by a clip adapted readily to be attached to and detached from a part of the bookbinder, together with an elongated strand or thread-like element` of flexible material having one end attached to the clip and its other end free to be placed between preselected pages of the book. Byy preference, a small bead-like part having some weight is attached to the free end of the thread-like element to make it easy to find and to serve asa grip.

The particular form of my bookmarker which is illustrated in Figs. 1 to '7, inclusive, embodies a reel upon which the thread-like element is wound in an out-of-the-way position when not in use and from which it may be readily withdrawn for placement in the book. A simplied form of my bookmarker is depicted in Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive. Although only generally pertinent to the inventive concept of the latter form, it is well adapted to use as an advertising novelty or souvenir having some data or indicia stamped, embossed or otherwise printed upon the exposed portion The4 form of. my invention illustrated in Figs. 12 to. 15,. inclusive, is adapted to use in instances where a plurality of places are to be marked in the book.

Referring more particularly to the structure o Vmy bookmarker which is illustrated in Figs. 1

to 7, inclusive, the structure there shown embodies the` clip 20 by which the marker is readily attachable to and detachable from a part of a bookbinding without. marring or in. any way de- -facing any part, of the book. As indicated. in Fig. 'I preferl to attach my lbookmarker to thetop of the book-back cover 22 of a book 23, because in that position it is out of the way and provides no interference with the use of the book, although it is readily accessible for use when desired. It Will be recalled, in this regard, that practically al1 -bound volumes have the book-back cover, such as that indicated at 22, free from the bound edges, such as 24, of the book pages 25 so as to provide what is herein termed a book-back pocket 26.

In my preferred construction of the clip 20, it is made of an elongated strip of relatively thin resilient material, such as either metal or a thermoplastic material return bent upon itself to provide an elongated fingerY 2l and a tab 28 disposed in face-to-face relationship and joined at adjacent ends by an integral connecting portion 29. For ordinary adaptations, the nger 21 is considerably longer than the tab 28.

When attached to a book, as shown in Fig. l,

the :linger 2l extends into the book-back pocket 25 so that the book-back cover 22 is gripped between that iinger and the tab 28. In order to improve the gripping action of the clip and so as to avoid its permanent deformation in use, the tab and iinger are spaced apart at their joined ends by the connecting portionl 29. Furthermore, the tab and nger are preferably so angularly disposed relative to one another that their adjacent surfaces merge toward or approaoh one another as the distance from the connecting portion increases.

A thread-like element 33 of ilexble material has one end anchored to the hereinafter mentioned reel and its other end free to be placed between preselected pages of a book, as shown in Fig. 1. Although not definitely essential, I prefer to secure a bead-like element, such as 32, to the free end of the thread-like element to serve as a grip. The thread-like element 35, of course, is desirably of sufcient length to extend compietely through any part of the book between the pages thereof from the end of the book to which the clip is attached and beyond the other end, so that the bead-like element 32 is exposed below the lower edges of the pages as shown in Fig. l.

In the form of my invention disclosed in Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, the one end of the thread-like element 39 is anchored to a reel 33, which reel serves to provide a ready storage space for the thread-like element Si) when it is not in use and to hold that element in a position available for use when desired. By preference, the reel has a housing composed of a body portion 34 and a cap 35 which may, for example, be readily molded of a thermoplastic material to define an enclosure for a spool 35 which may also be molded of a plastic material. In the present embodiment, the spool 36 has a central bore 37 providing a bearing for rotatably supporting the spool upon a stud 38, which stud is integrally formed on the interior of the cap 35. In addition to an external annular thread-retaining groove 39, the spool 3S is also provided with a recess 4!! in one face thereof and substantially concentric with the bore 3?. The recess 4i! provides a mounting space for a spiral spring 42, one end of which spring is anchored in a slot 43 in the stud 33 and the other end of which is secured in an appropriate slot 44 in the side wall of the spool and opening into the recess 40.

It may readily be understood that when wound up, the spring 42 biases the spool 3B for rotational movement in one direction. As viewed in Fig. 4, the spring 42 is disposed so that when wound up about the stud 38, it biases the spool for rotation in a clockwise direction. Thus it is intended that the thread-like element 30 shall be wound in such a direction upon the spool that when it is withdrawn, it will wind and tension the spring 42, so that when the spool is turned by the biasing force of the spring, it will rewind the thread-like element in the groove 39 of the spool.

In order to effect stoppage of the spool 3B when a convenient length of thread has been withdrawn and to prevent unintentional rewinding of the thread-like bookmarking element, I have provided a pawl 45 carried for limited rotational movement within a recess 45 in the side of the cap 35 by a pin 47; one end of said pawl being biased toward engagement with any one of a series of notches i8 in the periphery of the spool 35 by a spring 49. The other end'of the pawl i5 is engaged by a manually operable push button 59 extending through the side wall of the cap and exposed for the manual control of the pawl. When the pawl is moved against the biasing force of the spring 49 by actuation of the push button 5i! to a position such as that indicated in Fig. 5, the spool is released for winding the thread-like element thereon. When in the position shown in Hg.. 4, the spool is locked to retain the thread-like element in an extended position.

At the top, the body portion 34 of the housing and the cap 35 have

coextensive protrudingportions

52 and 53, respectively, which extend above the clip and provide a guide for the thread-like element. The cap has in its inner surfacea channel 54 extending' outwardly from the'spool and overlying the end of a bore 55 through which the thread-like element passes through the housing. Y'

In my preferred construction, integrally formed lugs 56 and 5l are formed on the tab 28 and extend through slots 5S and 59, respectively, in the body portion of the housing and have their inner ends bent over, as shown in Fig. 6, to secure the reel in-place on the tab of the clip. In this position it is carried adjacent the outer surface of the book-back cover when the bookmarker is mounted on a book with the iinger extending into the book-back pocket, as shown in Fig. 1. In the assembly of the reel, the spool and its manually operable catch mechanism, as well as the spring 42, are assembled in their operating positions on the cap 35 and then placed in position with respect to the body portion 34 of the housing. The housing parts are then secured together by suitable fastening means such as a screw 60.

In the modified form of my bookmarker which is disclosed in Figs. 8 to 1l, inclusive, the structure of the clip 62 is quite similar to that of the clip 2U shown in Figs. 1 to '7, inclusive, and described with reference to those figures. Also, the structure of the book shown in Fig. 8 may be considered the same as that shown in Fig. l with similar reference characters referring to like parts. Like the clip 2li the vclip 52 has an elo'ngated flnger 53 joined at one end to a tab 64 through an integral connecting portion 65. Also, like the clip 29, the clip 52 is resilient and preferably has the adjacent surfaces of the tab and finger so disposed that they approach 'each other at a distance from the connecting portion, so that the clip is adapted firmly to grip the book-back cover 22 of a book when placed there'- 5 on as shown in Fig. 8, with the finger extending into the book-back pocket 25.

As shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 11, one end of the flexible thread-like element 3S is anchored to the tab 64. As a convenient and inexpensive manner of anchoring the threadlike element, it extends through a small opening 65 in the tab and has its end knotted as indicated at 6l. By preference, and in order to keep the thread-like element in a convenient position for use, it extends over the top of the clip and is retained by a loop 68 which, in the present instance, is substantially horeshoe shaped and is formed integrally with the clip. That is, the material for forming the loop ES is cut from the material of the connecting portion and finger of the clip and is formed to extend upwardly in angularly disposed relationship from the connecting portion and away from the tab. Thus, with the thread-like element extended through the loop 98, it is retained in a visible and readily accessible position relative to the book when not in use. The other end of the threadlike element desirably has the bead-like element (i2 secured thereto for use as a grip.

It may be readily appreciated that the clip and thread-like element connected and mounted in the manner disclosed in Figs. 8 to 11, inclusive, may be used for marking a preselected page in a book in much the same manner as the bookmarker shown in Figs. 1 to 7, inclusive, although the thread-like element will merely hang outside of the book when it is not in use, or it may be left between any of the pages while not in use and placed between preselected pages when it is desired to mark a particular place in the book.

The modified form of my bookmarker which is disclosed in Figs. 12 to 15, inclusive, is adapted to use for marking a plurality of preselected positions in a book. The clip 99, in this form also, has an elongated finger 19 joined at one end by an integral connecting portion 'l2 to a tab 'i3 with the dispositions and conformations of the nger and tab substantially similar to those of the previously described forms so that the clip is adapted to mounting on the bookback cover 22 of a book with the finger extending into the book-back pocket and the tab outside of the book-back cover, as shown in Fig. 12. In this form, however, the tab has integral side anges M and l5 thereon which project outwardly from the tab and away from the finger 19. Each of the flanges desirably has an end portion 'l5 and Il, respectively, projecting upwardly above the connecting portion 'l2 which joins the finger to the tab. By preference, the anges 'fil and 'i5 also have integral and annularly disposed end portions 18 and 19, respectively which extend toward one another to substantially complete a rectangular box-like structure.

A pin Si) extends through and between the upwardly extending end portions 16 and T! and is secured in place by means such as the riveting of its opposite ends. Intermediate its ends and between the upwardly extending end portions I6 and 1'! of the flanges, the pin retains thereon, in side-by-side relationship, a plurality of rings B2, to each of which a thread-like marking element, such as 3M, 39h, 30o and 36d may be anchored, as shown in Figs. 13, 14 and 15. Each of the threadelike elements 39a, 39h, 39e and 39d may be used to mark a different preselected place in the bool: upon which the clip is mounted.

From the foregoing description and reference to the drawings, it may be readily understood that I have provided bookmarkers in a pluralityv of related forms which may be readily and inexpensively manufactured and which effectively serve their purpose of marking one or more preselected places in a book without causing any damage to the book. Furthermore, the disclosed bookmarkers are suited to attachment to the book in a readily available position for use so that they can be found when wanted. The placement and structure of the bookmarker are also such that they do not interfere with the placement of the book when it is not in use; as, for example, when the book is laid on either of its covers or stood on its lower edge, as when placed on a shelf with other books.

While I have illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, many modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention, and I do not wish to be limited to the precise details of construction set forth, but desire to avail myself of all changes within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

A. bookmarker comprising a wafer-like spool housing, a spool mounted for rotation in said housing, a spring wound up by turning the spool in one direction normally tending to rotate it in the other direction. a depressable detent-release button projecting from an edge wall portion of the housing, an aperture formed in a face wall of the housing and located closely adjacent to an edge portion of the housing, a detent influenced by the aforementioned button for retaining the spool in pre-selected positions against the force of said spring, a strand of flexible material having one end secured to the spool so as to be wound thereon when the spool is turned by said spring, the other end of said strand being free and manually pullable through the said aperture against the force of said spring for placement between selected pages of a book, and a clip having one end thereof secured to the exterior of the face wall of the housing in which the aforesaid aperture is formed and extending away from said face wall at a point adjacent said aperture and then extending across and substantially beyond said housing face wall in what is the downward direction when said face wall is vertically disposed with said aperture in its upper portion; whereby said housing may lie for the most part directly behind, and with its aforesaid face wall directly in opposition to, a book back when the free end of said clip is inserted as far as it will go into the pocketof the book back.

RUSSELL F. BARSOTTI.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 761,555 Tack May 31, 1904 1,027,634 Williamson May 28, 1912 1,945,842 Witchger Feb. 6, 1934 FOREIGN PATENTS Number I Country Date 6,084 Great Britain Jan. 23, 1902 of 1901 226,439 Great Britain Dec. 29, 1924 247,890 Great Britain Feb. 25, 1926 536,158 France Feb. '7, 1922