WO2004105552A1

WO2004105552A1 - Book holder

Info

Publication number: WO2004105552A1
Application number: PCT/CA2003/000793
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michel Dallaire; Marc Lamontagne
Original assignee: Burnett-Evans Holdings, Inc.
Priority date: 2003-05-27
Filing date: 2003-05-27
Publication date: 2004-12-09
Also published as: AU2003229208A1

Abstract

The book holder (10) is used for holding a book (22) in an open position. The book holder (10) comprises an elongated transversal bottom member (12) having a central portion (14) and two opposite side portions (16). Two upwardly projecting page pressing members (20) are connected respectively to one of the side portions (16) of the bottom member (12). The book holder (10) also comprises an elongated transversal back pressing member (30) extending substantially parallel and adjacent to the bottom member (12). This back pressing member (30) has a central portion (32) and two opposite side portions (34). The central portion (32) of the back pressing member (30) is connected to the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12). At least one among the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30) has its side portions (16, 34) movable relative to the central portion (12, 32) of the other. In use, the reader can use only one hand while reading the book (22). This provides a more comfortable and natural position compared to conventional methods and previous systems for holding books.

Description

BOOK HOLDER

The present invention is concerned with a device for holding a book and keeping its pages open for reading purposes. It allows to hold a book in a comfortable and ergonomic way in many situations, for instance when lying in bed, sitting down in a chair or in a bath, etc.

There are various conventional ways of holding a book. Some people hold a book open with two hands or use one hand and retain pages back with their thumb and small finger. Others hold a book open with their hands on their lap or a table for supporting the weight. Unfortunately, none of these conventional ways are completely comfortable after a given period of time.

Many book holders have been designed in an attempt to alleviate this problem. Most of them are in the form of stands that sit on a desk, table or other piece of furniture. These book holders are only useful if the reader is sitting in front of such a piece of furniture but not if the reader is, for instance, lying in bed, sitting down in a chair or in a bath. Overall, conventional book holders are generally too bulky or cumbersome to be useful and practical.

Considering this background, it clearly appears that there was a need to provide an improved book holder having several advantages over conventional methods and previous systems for holding books.

Briefly stated, the book holder of the present invention is used for holding a book in an open position. The book holder comprises an elongated tranversal bottom member having a central portion and two opposite side portions. Two upwardly projecting page pressing members are connected respectively to one of the side portions of the bottom member. The book holder also comprises an elongated transversal back pressing member extending substantially parallel and adjacent to the bottom member. This back pressing member also has a central portion and two opposite side portions. The central portion of the back pressing member is connected to the central portion of the bottom member. At least one among the bottom member and the back pressing member has it side portions movable relative to the central portion of the other.

These and other aspects of the present invention are described in or apparent from the following detailed description, which description is made in conjunction with the accompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the book holder in accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the book holder of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the book holder of FIG. 1 , shown with a book inserted therein;

FIG. 4 is an upper view of the book holder of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 5 is a rear exploded view of the book holder of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a base, in accordance with another aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectioned view of the base of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 shows the book holder with the book of FIG. 1 being mounted in the base of FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the book holder in accordance with an alternate embodiment;

FIG. 10 is an exploded view of the book holder of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a front view of the book holder of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an upper view of the book holder of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 13 is a side view of the book holder of FIG. 9. A book holder (10) according to two possible embodiments are described hereafter and illustrated in the appended figures. The first and preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 to 8. The second embodiment is shown in FIGS. 9 to 13. It should be understood that these embodiments and variants are given as examples only. The present invention is not limited to the described embodiments and encompasses any alternative embodiments within the limits defined by the appended claims. Moreover, the term "book" also covers any other kind of item which can be suitably held by the book holder (10), for instance magazines, restaurant menus, etc.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the book holder (10) of the preferred embodiment comprises an elongated transversal bottom member (12). The bottom member (12) comprises a central portion (14) and two opposite side portions (16). The bottom member (12) is shaped as a curved blade. An upwardly projecting page pressing member (20) is integrally connected to or near each end of a corresponding side portion (16). The page pressing members (20) allow to retain the bottom of the pages of a book (22), as shown in FIG. 1. Alternatively, it would have been possible to have each page pressing member (20) mounted on a corresponding pivot and biased by a spring (not shown).

The book holder (10) further comprises an elongated transversal back pressing member (30). The back pressing member (30) extends substantially parallel and adjacent to the bottom member (12). It also comprises a central portion (32) and two opposite side portions (34). Like the bottom member (12), the back pressing member (30) is preferably shaped as a curve blade. Its central portion (32) is connected to the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12). The connection is preferably made by integrally molding the parts together. Accordingly, plastic is one material that can be used. Using metallic parts is also possible to achieve the same result.

Preferably, the central portion (32) of the back pressing member (30) comprises a front vertically extending protrusion (36). The protrusion (36) presses against the spine at the back of the book (22) to further stabilize it. The opposite side of the protrusion (36) preferably appears as a groove.

The book (22) is held by the fact that its bottom side rests against the upper edge of the bottom member (12). The back pressing member (30), as its name indicates, holds the back of the book (22). The two opposite side portions (16) of the bottom member (12) support the book (22) since the central portion (14) is near the rear of the book (22) while the page pressing members (20) are at the front thereof. It should be noted that the "front" of the book (22), in the present context, refers to the right and left sides facing a reader when the book (22) is open. Similarly, the rear refers to the right and left sides, namely the cover of the book (22).

In the preferred embodiment, as best shown in FIG. 5, each page pressing members (20) comprises a rear friction pad (40). This improves the holding capability of the book holder (10). The friction pads (40) are made of a different plastic material than that of the remainder portion of the page pressing members (20). In the preferred embodiment, the friction pads (40) are integratelly connected to a hand cushion (42) provided at the rear of the bottom member (12). The friction pads (40) and the hand cushion (42) are thus preferably molded in an integrally molded part. This part is then simply glued or otherwise connected to the bottom member (12) and the page pressing members (20). Another possibility is to have those parts molded within a same mold cavity using a co-injection process. Both of them would be plastic materials.

The bottom member (12) and the page pressing members (20) are made of a rigid but resilient material. The bottom member (12), the page pressing members (20) and the back pressing member (30) are preferably made of a transparent material, for instance transparent acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS). The part including the friction pads (40) and hand cushion (42) is made of a rather soft plastic material, for instance thermo-plastic rubber (TPR). The book holder (10) is designed so that at least one among the bottom member¹ (12) and the back pressing member (30) has its side portions (16,34) movable relative to the central portion (14,32) of the other. This allows to open the book holder (10) and insert the book (22) therein. In the preferred embodiment, both the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30) are made of a resilient material. However, the bottom member (12) is made of a thicker material and is less resilient than the back pressing member (30) for that reason. Other configurations are possible as well.

As can be appreciated, the book holder (10) allows a reader to hold a book (22) using only one hand. This provides a more comfortable and natural position that does not require the reader to use fingers to spread open the pages.

Another advantage of the book holder (10) according to the preferred embodiment is that it can be used with an optional base (50) which is configured and disposed to receive and hold the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12), as best shown in FIG. 8. This base (50) has curved shaped configuration with a central portion (52) having a curved slot (54) adapted to receive and hold the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12). The base (50) is then curved in an opposite direction than that of the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30). The base (50) can be designed so that the book (22) will have a slight inclination with reference to the vertical. This base (50) can be made of a plastic material, such as ABS, or any other suitable material. It advantageously has a triangular cross-section. Other shapes and cross-sections can be used as well.

The exact shape and configuration of the base (50) may be different than that of FIGS. 6 to 8. For instance, the base (50) may include a suction cup (not shown) which can removably attach the book holder (10) on a surface such the wall of a bath, a window of a display, etc.

FIGS. 9 to 13 show another embodiment for the book holder (10). This embodiment holds the book (22) in a similar way than that of the preferred embodiment. However, in this embodiment, a handle (60) is connected to and downwardly extending from the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12). This handle (60) is preferably conical, although other shapes can be uses as well. The central portion (14) of the bottom member (12) and the central portion (32) of the back pressing member (30) are horizontally offset. The book holder (10) also comprises a spine support assembly (70). The spine support assembly (70) has a front stem (72) upwardly projecting from the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12). It also comprises a back strip (74) upwardly projecting from the central portion of the back pressing member (30). This front stem (72) is preferably a metallic pin. Any other suitable equivalent can be used as well.

As can be appreciated, the book holder (10) of the second embodiment allows the book (22) to be held by being inserted between the front stem (72) and the back strip (74). The front stem (72) allows to hold the interior of the book (22) while the back strip (74) holds the rear. The pages of the book (22) simply have to be repositioned from time to time with reference to the front stem (72). As shown in FIG. 10, the front stem (72) can be provided with a screw (73) that fits into a corresponding nut (not shown) in the handle (60). The screw (73) is inserted in a hole provided with the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12).

It should be noted that the back strip (74) can be used with the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3. This back strip (74) would then be preferably removable and held in place by means of a hole (not shown) at the rear of the book holder (10). It may be useful to use the back strip (74) to support the back of a less rigid item, for instance a magazine.

As can also be appreciated, the present invention provides a very suitable book holder (10) which has several advantages over conventional methods and previous systems for holding books (22). This book holder (10) can work with books of various thicknesses and regardless whether they have a conventional binder or being in a paperback format.

Claims

CLAIMS.

1. A book holder (10) for holding a book (22) in an open position, the book holder (10) being characterized in that it comprises: an elongated transversal bottom member (12) having a central portion (14) and two opposite side portions (16); two upwardly projecting page pressing members (20), each being connected respectively to one of the side portions (16) of the bottom member (12); an elongated transversal back pressing member (30) extending substantially parallel and adjacent to the bottom member (12), the back pressing member (30) having a central portion (14) and two opposite side portions (16), the central portion (14) of the back pressing member (30) being connected to the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12); and at least one among the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30) has its side portions (16,34) movable relative to the central portion (14,32) of the other.

2. ^• The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 1 , characterized in that at least one of the page pressing members (20) has an outwardly curved tip.

3. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the central portion (32) of the back pressing member (30) comprises a front vertically extending protrusion (36).

4. The book holder (10) in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30) are shaped as curved blades.

5. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 4, characterized in that it further comprises a base (50) configured and disposed to receive and hold the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12).

6. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that the base (50) has a curved-shaped configuration with a central portion (52) having a slot (54) adapted to receive and hold the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12), the base (50) being curved in an opposite direction than that of the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30).

7. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 5 or 6, characterized in that the base (50) has a substantially triangular cross-section.

8. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that at least one among the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30) is made of a resilient material.

9. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 8, characterized in that the bottom member (12) is less resilient than the back pressing member (30).

10. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the resilient material is a plastic material.

11. The book holder (10) in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the bottom member (12), the page pressing members (20) and the back pressing member (30) are integrally molded as a unitary item.

12. The book holder (10) in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 11 , characterized in that it further comprises a friction pad (40) connected at the rear of each page pressing member (20).

13. The book holder (10) in accordance claim 12, characterized in that the friction pads (40) are connected to a hand cushion (42) provided at the rear of the bottom member (12).

14. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 13, characterized in that the friction pads (40) and the hand cushion (42) are molded as a unitary item.

15. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 13 or 14, characterized in that at least the page pressing members (20) are made of a transparent plastic material.

16. The book holder (10) in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it further comprises a handle (60) connected to and downwardly extending from the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12).

17. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 16, characterized in that the handle (60) is conical.

18. The book holder (10) in accordance with claim 16 or 17, characterized in that the central portions (14,32) of the bottom member (12) and the back pressing member (30) are horizontally offset, the book holder (10) comprising a spine support assembly (70) having a front stem (72) upwardly projecting from the central portion (14) of the bottom member (12), and a back strip (74) upwardly projecting from the central portion (32) of the back pressing member (30), the book (22) to be held being inserted between the front stem (72) and the back strip (74).

19. The book holder (10) in accordance with claims 18, characterized in that the front stem (72) is a metallic pin.