WO2004110779A1

WO2004110779A1 - Book mark device

Info

Publication number: WO2004110779A1
Application number: PCT/AU2004/000767
Authority: WO
Inventors: John Michael Hayes; Adam John Olesen
Original assignee: John Michael Hayes; Adam John Olesen
Priority date: 2003-06-17
Filing date: 2004-06-10
Publication date: 2004-12-23
Also published as: AU2003903031A0

Abstract

There is disclosed a tag (2, 12) which is attached to a loop (1) or ribbon (11) of fabric covered extensible resilient material such as elastic or rubber. The tag (2, 12) has an indicia bearing front surface (4) onto which the name of the recipient and donor of a gift book can be written. The loop (1) or ribbon (11) can be extended around some of the pages (9) of the book (8). Thus the device simultaneously marks the reader's place and reminds the reader of the generosity and/or thoughtfalness of the donor.

Description

BOOK MARK DEVICE

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to books and, in particular, to books which are given as gifts.

Background Art

Books are a well known gift item and readers need a means of knowing where in the book they last stopped reading so as to know their place when they re-commence reading. One stratagem is to turn down the upper corner of the page where the reader stopped. However, this permanently creases the page and thus devalues the book.

Various book mark devices are known. The simplest of these is a strip of paper, cardboard or similar material which is placed between adjacent pages at the place where reading stopped. The device is prone to being dislodged and thus the place where reading is to re-commence is lost. Another device is a thin strip of ribbon which is permanently fixed into the book binding, however, such a ribbon device is to some extent unsightly and substantially increases the cost of binding. A further stratagem, often used by tradesman to mark their place in an order book, invoice book, or like book with every second page being detachable, is to use a "rubber band" to hold together all those pages which have been used to date. The "rubber band" is made from a loop of resilient extensible elastomeric material and suffers from a number of disadvantages. In particular, because the band has an approximately square transverse cross-section it is difficult to get the band to lie in a flat, rather than a twisted state. Furthermore, because of the generally poor quality used in the manufacture of many books, and paper back books in particular, the rubber of the band tends to catch or snag the pages of the book. This is because rubber has a very high coefficient of friction. As a consequence, the pages are often torn or ripped at their edges due to movement of the rubber of the band over the paper when changing the page to be marked.

Thus all the above book marking arrangements suffer from various disadvantages. Furthermore, in the event of a book which is a gift, short of the donor inscribing the title page, or writing a letter or card which is used a simple book mark, there is no convenient way for the recipient of the book to be reminded of the generosity and/or thoughtfulness of choice of the donor.

Object of the Invention

The present invention seeks to provide a means whereby a donor's identity can be recalled by use of a book marking device.

Summary of the Invention In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a book marking and page retention device comprising a loop of extendible resilient material of a length approximating twice the top to bottom extent of the pages of a book and a generally planar tag carried by said loop, said tag having an indicia bearing surface.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention there is disclosed a method of simultaneously marking and retaining marked a place in a book, and recording the name of the donor of a book which constitutes a gift using the abovementioned device, said method comprising the steps of: (i) writing the name of said donor on said indicia bearing surface, and (ii) extending said loop and passing same around at least some of the pages of said book whereby an outermost one of said enclosed pages is the last page read or the next page to be read.

Brief Description of the Drawings Two embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the book mark device of a first embodiment installed for use on a book,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the uninstalled device of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device of Fig. 2,

Fig. 4 is an inverted plan view of the device of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 but of a second embodiment. Detailed Description

As seen in Figs. 1-4 of the drawings, the device of the first embodiment is a combination of a book mark and gift label and takes the form of an elastic loop 1 having a tag 2. The loop 1 is preferably formed from fabric coated rubber of circular cross-section. So called "hat elastic" is suitable for this purpose.

The tag 2 is preferably fabricated from paper, cardboard, plastics sheet such as MYLAR, or similar sheet material and may be any shape. An upper surface 4 of the tag 2 is provided with indicia such as "From To " to enable the names of the donor and recipient of a gift book to be written onto the upper surface 4. In this way the tag 2 functions as a gift label.

The tag 2 is preferably folded over at one end 5 to form a hem or seam 6 which is preferably adhered to the lower surface 7 of the tag 2. The adhesive is preferably also applied to the loop 1 so that the tag 2 is fixed relative to the loop 1. This provides a convenient way of fixing the ends (not illustrated) of the loop material. Alternatively, the hat elastic can be fused into a continuous loop before the tag is secured thereto. Alternatively, the loop is free to move through the seam 6 and so the tag 2 can slide relative to the loop 1.

As seen in Fig. 1, the loop 2 can be expanded so as to pass twice from top to bottom of the pages 9 of the book 8 whilst retaining an expanded but resilient state. In this way the enclosed pages 9 are maintained together thus clearly indicating the stage to which the reading of the book has progressed. After the top most enclosed page has been read it can be slipped out from under the lightly stretched loop 1 and thus the pages of the book can be turned in sequence.

Preferably the lower surface 7 of the tag 2 is provided with a releasable and repositionable adhesive such as that used for POST-IT-NOTES (Registered Trade Mark) manufactured by, or for, the 3M company of USA. This enables the tag 2 to be repositioned at will on the rear cover of the book. Turning now to Fig. 5, a second embodiment is illustrated in which all designated parts are indicated by a number increased by ten. Thus the tag 12 with its folded end 15 is substantially as before. However, in place of the loop 1 of hat elastic of circular cross-section is looped ribbon 10 of fabric coated rubber of generally rectangular cross-section. An advantage of the ribbon 11 is that it can be inexpensively connected to the tag 12 by means of sewn stitches 13 with the opposed ends 21 of the ribbon 11 located under the folded end 15. The tag 12 is used in the same manner as the tag 2.

The device of the above described embodiments provides a means whereby the pages of a book may be marked conveniently. The fabric covered elastic of the loop 1 or ribbon 11 does not grab the pages or rear cover of the book since it is non-tacky and relatively slippery compared to the rubber material of its interior. Also, the loop 1 being of round cross-section it does not lie in a twisted fashion. Similarly, the ribbon 11 being much wider than it is thick, can be arranged to be flat against the outer cover and open page of the book 8.

In addition to functioning as a book mark, the tag 2, 12 also functions as a gift tag label which can accompany the gift and be releasably adhered to the gift wrapping paper (typically with the loop 1 or ribbon 11 encircling the wrapped present). However, instead of the label merely being discarded when the gift is opened by the recipient, the label can be put to continued practical use. In particular, the recipient can on many occasions recall the donor's generosity and care taken in gift selection. Thus the donor achieves a degree of permanent recollection by the recipient of the gift.

Preferably, the rear of the tag 2, 12 is provided with a peel off layer or protective cover 25 (Fig. 5) which is preferably transparent. The cover 25 initially protects, and then exposes, the releasable adhesive. Prior to the cover 25 being peeled off, the tag 2, 12 is held to the gift wrapping by the partially stretched loop 1 or ribbon 11 only, thereby giving the tag 2, 12 the appearance of a swinging label. The foregoing describes only two embodiments of the present invention and modifications, obvious to those skilled in the printing and labelling arts, can be made thereto without departing from the scope of the present invention.

The term "comprising" (and its grammatical variations) as used herein is used in the inclusive sense of "including" or "having" and not in the exclusive sense of "consisting only of.

Claims

1. A book marking and page retention device comprising a loop of extendible resilient material of a length approximating twice the top to bottom extent of the pages of a book and a generally planar tag carried by said loop, said tag having an indicia bearing surface.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 wherein the surface of said planar tag opposite said indicia bearing surface carries a releasable and repositionable adhesive.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein said tag comprises a gift card for a gift comprising said book.

4. The device as claimed in claim 3 wherein said indicia bearing surface carries the name of the recipient of said gift book.

5. The device as claimed in claim 3 or 4 wherein said indicia bearing surface carries the name of the donor of said gift book.

6. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-5 wherein said tag is formed from sheet material and folded over said loop.

7. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein said folded sheet material is adhered together.

8. The device as claimed in claim 7 wherein said folded sheet material is adhered to said loop.

9. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-7 wherein said tag is free to slide relative to said loop.

10. The device as claimed in claim 6 wherein said folded sheet material is stitched or sewn together.

11. The device as claimed in claim 10 wherein said stitches pass through said loop.

12. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-11 wherein said loop is endless.

13. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-11 wherein said loop has two opposed ends each connected with said tag.

14. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-13 wherein said loop is fabricated from elastomeric material.

15. The device as claimed in claim 14 wherein said elastomeric material is fabric covered.

16. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-15 wherein said loop has a substantially circular transverse cross-section.

17. The device as claimed in any one of claims 1-15 wherein said loop comprises a ribbon having a substantially rectangular transverse cross- section.

18. A method of simultaneously marking and retaining marked a place in a book, and recording the name of the donor of a book which constitutes a gift using a device as claimed in any one of claims 1-17, said method comprising the steps of:

(i) writing the name of said donor on said indicia bearing surface, and (ii) extending said loop and passing same around at least some of the pages of said book whereby an outermost one of said enclosed pages is the last page read or the next page to be read.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18 including the step of: (iii)including a cover of said book together with the pages enclosed by said loop.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19 including the step of: (iv)releasably adhering said tag to said cover.