US2559726A - Music page and hinged corner tab therefor - Google Patents

Description

y 1951 D. R. M PHERSON 2,559,726

MUSIC PAGE AND HINGED CORNER TAB THEREFOR Filed Jan. 16, 1948 1/E/\/ 7UP? DONALD- R. M s PHERSON Patented July 10, 1951 OFFICE MUSIC PAGE AND HINGED CORNER TAB THEREFOR Donald R. McPherson, Portland, Oreg.

Application January 16, 1948, Serial No. 2,725

7 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a novel and improved hinged corner tab for music pages and the like to facilitate the turning of the pages.

Objects of the invention are to provide a hinged tab of the type described which is easier to grasp in turning the page than the corner of the page itself, to provide a hinged tab having sufficient flexibility in the hinge to allow the tab to fall out from a folded position, with the page supported in a more or less upright position, when the tab is uncovered by the turning of the previous page, to provide a neat and durable tab Which may be applied to a page having a mutilated or torn corner and which will not further tear or weaken the page, and to provide a tab secured to the corner of a page by a strip of hinge tape.

The invention in its preferred embodiment comprises a triangular corner tab adapted to be secured by a flexible fabric hinge to the lower right-hand corner of a page such as a music page. To apply the present tab to the page, it is preferred, first, to affix the tab to the back side of the page by means of hinge tape or the like. Then the tab is folded back and the projecting triangular corner of the page is cut off. Such a hinge is considerably more flexible and durable than the material of the page itself, and the tab is preferably made of a material having a smooth, hard surface which will not soil from the fingers.

In practicing the invention, one of the tabs is afiixed to the lower right-hand corner of each page of music, and prior to placing the music on the music rack or stand each of the tabs is folded over to lie on the top side of the page to which it is attached. Thus, as each page is turned, while it is in a more or less upright position, the tab on the next page will fall out in a position to be grasped easily while the tabs on the following pages will be held in their folded and inaccessible positions. With the use of this device, the musician can turn the pages easily and quickly without the possibility of turning more than one page at a time because only the tab on the top page is in a position to be grasped.

Additional features and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention may take various forms in addition to the illustrated embodiment and all such modifications within the scope of the appended claims are included in the invention.

2 In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation view of a music book incorporating the features of the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view, taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, showing the corner of the page to which the invention is applied;

Figure 3 is an enlarged View of the back side of the tab and the corner of the page, witha portion of the hinge tape peeled back to show the manner in which the tab is attached to the page;

Figure 4 shows the manner in which the corner of each page is cut oif preparatory to applying the present tabs; and

Figure 5 is a view of one of the tabs equipped with a strip of hinge tape for application to the page shown in Figure 4.

Figure 1 shows a music book standing in a substantially vertical position and opened to the pages I 9 and H. The page H] has just been turned from a position on top of the page H, which former position of the page I0 is shown in phantom in Figure 2. Beneath the page II are the pages [2 and I3 and the back cover M. A tab i5 is secured by a strip of hinge tape is to the lower corner of each page, and in arranging the music on the music stand each tab is folded over on the front side of the page to which it is attached, as shown in Figure 2. Thus, be-

\ fore the page [0 was lifted from the page II, the tab IE on the page I l was held folded back against the page as indicated at [5a by phantom lines. Upon lifting the page ID, the tab 15 on the page H is released from its folded position at [5a and allowed to fall down to its full line position. When it is time to turn the page H, its tab I5 is then the only tab available to grasp as the tabs on pages [2 and i3 remain folded back in inaccessible positions. When the page H is lifted and turned, the tab on page [2 falls down, and

so on. As the pages are turned one by one, the

tab on the next page is released, the underneath tabs meanwhile being held folded back so that at any time only one tab is available to be picked up on the right side of the book.

Figures 3 to 5 show a preferred form of construction for accomplishing the above described mode of operation. Figure 3 shows the back side of page Iii lying in the same position illustrated in Figure 1. The triangular tab 15 is secured to the corner of the back side of page It by a strip of hinge tape I6 having a pair of parallel, adhesive coated bands I! and !8 interconnected by transverse, uncoated threads 20. In applying the tape to the parts, the hypotenusal edge 2| of the triangular tab [5 is preferably spaced from the diagonally out edge 22 of the page 19 by a distance slightly greater than the combined thicknesses of the tab and page so that the hinge threads 20 will allow the tab to lie back flat against the front side of the page, as shown in Figure 2. In the type of hinge tape preferred for this purpose, the transverse threads 29 comprising the hinge portion of the tape have no adhesive coating applied thereto and are very limp and flexible to provide a hinge of great flexibility and substantially no inherent stiffness.

The tab l5 may be formed of any suitable material but it is preferred to use a material having a hard and smooth surface which will not soil, such as synthetic plastic sheet material of suitable thickness, although no limitation is made to the use of any particular material. For a book of few pages the tabs may be made of relatively thick material so that the combined thickness of the tabs will hold the uppermost page and its tab out away from the back cover M, as shown in Figure 2, making it more easily grasped than if the pages were lying flat to gether in their normal thickness. In a book of many pages it is desirable to make the tabs of thin material to avoid excessive thickness in one corner of the book, each tab preferably being dispose-din the plane of its page when it is unfolded.

Figure 5 shows a form in which the present tabs may be manufactured to be applied to music pages which are not already provided therewith. The music page is first prepared as shown in Figure i by cutting off the lower righthand corner at a 45 angle to leave the diagonal edge 22, already mentioned, in connection with Figure 3. A tab l5, having the band 58 of the tape I6 already applied thereto, is brought up to the page shown in Figure i, with the edge 2! ofthe tab parallel with the edge 22 of the page, and with the adhesive band ll disposed along the edge 22 underneath the page. The adhesive band I! is then afiixed to the page so that the side edges of the tab !5 are parallel with the bottom and side edges of the page to complete the original square corner with the tab in the plane of the page. In order to obtain this alignment and to obtain at the same time the desired spacing between the edges 2! and 22 to allow room for the hinge action of the tape, the triangular piece of paper out from the corner of the page is larger than the tab H? by the amount f the gap which is to be allowed between the edges 2| and 22.

The portion of music page shown in Figure 4 is designated as page I I because it lies in the same position as the page I l in Figure 1 which has not been turned, whereas the portion of page illustrated in Figure 3 has been designated as page IE] because this View shows the back side of a page which has already been turned to the position of the page H] in Figure 1. The tabs for all the pages are identical and are all applied in the same manner, but it is, of course, not essential to use the particular style of tape shown in Figure 3 to practice the invention. The tape it may be made an integral part of the tab l5, and the band ll may be left uncoated, if desired, suitable adhesive being applied by the user.

The present tabs may advantageously be applied to old and worn pages where the lower corners are soiled and torn, because the worn portion is out off and is not required for attaching the tab. Even on an old and much used book,

the page is usually in good condition for attaching the tab at a distance back from the corner. Tabs have heretofore been proposed which had to be attached in the very corner and hence to the weakest part of a worn page, which is unsatisfactory, and which has the further disadvantage of stiffening the corner and causing the page to bend sharply at the edge of the tab. "when paper is bent repeatedly on the same fold line, it becomes weakened and tears apart, making such tabs no better than a turned up corner n the page itself. After a little use such tabs tear off and cannot be put back because the necessary part of the page is gone.

In the present tab the hinge threads 20 are much more flexible than the paper of the page, and exceedingly more durable. Because of the great flexibility of the hinge, there is no tendency for the paper to bend sharply at the edge of the tape, and the useful life of the page is greatly prolonged. Sheet music and music books are relatively expensive in the first place, and are often difiicult or impossible to replace, making it highly desirable to extend the life of the book as long as possible. The present tabs will preserve their neat and clean appearance indefinitely as they are in no way damaged by ordinary usage.

Having now described my invention and in what manner the same may be used, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A hinge tab for application to a music page and the like to facilitate turning the page, comprising a right triangularly shaped tab of stiff material, a strip of fabric secured to the hypotenusal side of said tab and providing a relatively flexible hinge member for said tab, and an adhesive band connected with and on the opposite side of said hinge from said tab and extendin parallel to said side, said tab having sufficient weight to fall down freely from an upturned position when said band is attached to the bottom corner of a page.

2. A hinge tab for use on a music page and the like to facilitate turning the page, comprising a right triangular tab having a strip of hinge tape secured along the hypotenusal side thereof with an adhesive coated portion of said tape extending parallel to said side of said tab and spaced from said edge by the width of the hinge portion of said tape, the hinge portion of said tape having suflicient flexibility and said tab having sumcient weight to cause said tab to fall by its own weight when released from an upturned position.

3. In a page for a music book and the like, a beveled bottom corner on said page, and a triangular tab attached to said page in edge to edge relation by a hinged joint and adapted to fold back fiat against said page, said tab having sufficient weight in relation to the flexibility of the hinge to fall freely from said folded position to form a bottom corner on the page in alignment with its bottom and side edges.

4. A hinge tab for the corner of a music page and the like, comprising a triangular tab, and a strip of fabric tape secured to the hypotenusal side of said tab and providing a hinge member for attaching said tab to the free lower corner of the page so that said tab will fold flat against the top surface of the page, said hinge member having sufficient flexibility and said tab having sufficient weight to cause said tab to fall by its own weight when released from said folded position.

5. For use on a music page and the like, a

right triangular tab of relatively stiff plastic material, a strip of hinge tape secured to said tab along its hypotenusal edge, a non-adhesive hinge portion of said tape parallel to and adjacent said edge, and an adhesive portion of said tape spaced from said edge by the width of said hinge portion for securing said tab to said page in edge to edge relation.

6. In a music page and the like, a beveled bottom corner on said page, a triangular tab to fit in said corner Within the rectangular outline of the page, and a strip of hinge tape flexibly securing said tab to the beveled corner of said page in the plane of said page, said tab being spaced from the edge of said beveled corner by the width of the hinge portion of said tape and forming a bottom corner on said page in alignment with its bottom and side edges.

7. A corner tab for the pages of a book and the like, comprising a triangular tab of hard surfaced, durable material, a band of material for adhesively securing said tab to a page in the REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 176,005 Jones Apr. 11, 1876 664,501 Rand Dec. 25, 1900 2,122,004 DeGive June 28, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 7,338 Great Britain 1896

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