WO2006021795A2

WO2006021795A2 - Book marker

Info

Publication number: WO2006021795A2
Application number: PCT/GB2005/003325
Authority: WO
Inventors: Misturu Akikusa; Jerome Spaargaren
Original assignee: Eip Limited
Priority date: 2004-08-26
Filing date: 2005-08-26
Publication date: 2006-03-02
Also published as: WO2006021795A3

Abstract

The present invention relates to a book marker for marking pages in a book, the book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the marker being formed as a flat, laminar, element so that the marker may be used as a conventional book mark by insertion of the entire marker between the pages of the book when the book is closed, the marker being further adapted so that the book marker may alternatively be used as a page marking means when the book is opened, the element comprising page marking means which may be arranged to retain a page in one half of the book when the book is opened.

Description

Book Marker

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a marker for marking a page in a book.

More specifically, the present invention relates to a book marker that marks successive pages of the book during reading.

Background of the Invention The most basic form of book marker comprises a single elongate sheet, which can easily be inserted in and removed from a book. Such a book marker is popular because it is cheap and easy to use. However, the reader has to remove the book mark from a previous page to mark his most recently read page, and, if he closes the book before moving the book mark in this manner he loses the most recently read page. Thus successful use of such a book mark requires some co-ordination and organisation by the user.

Many different types of book marks have been developed, and a useful review thereof is provided in United States patent US 4,941,684. A problem with these, and the book mark forming the subject of this United States patent, is that they are complicated, expensive and not particularly user friendly. Often they involve use of fixing means such as clips and clamps and the like, which make them expensive and involve some effort on the part of the user to install within a book.

An object of the present invention is to provide a book marker that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and particularly convenient to use.

Summary of the Invention

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a book marker for marking pages in a book, the book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the marker being formed as a flat, laminar, element so that the marker may be used as a conventional book mark by insertion of the entire marker between the pages of the book when the book is closed, the marker being further adapted so that the book marker may alternatively be used as a page marking means when the book is opened, the element comprising page marking means which may be arranged to retain a page in one half of the book when the book is opened.

Thus with embodiments of the invention, the page marking means can remain in the book whilst the book is being read, and, since it automatically engages with successive pages during reading by a reader, it does not need removing from the book during reading. This is quite different to known book marks of this type, in particular that described in United States patent US 4,941,684, where the engaging arm is neither designed for, nor capable of, remaining in the book whilst pages are being turned.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation which is determined by the construction of the locating means, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the page engaging edge is arranged such that, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, at least a portion thereof is arranged at an angle with the engaged edge of the retained page, which angle is less than 90°, so as to aid release of the retained page, upon turning of the retained page.

A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to φe book in a preferred orientation, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the anchor means is of a length, measured along the spine of the book when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, of at least 5cm.

The greater the length of the anchor means, the greater anchoring force it will provide when correctly inserted in the book. However, the anchor means is preferably not of such a length as to stick out of an average paperback book when the book marker is correctly positioned in the book.

The length of the anchoring means is preferably at least 10cm, and more preferably at least 15 cm.

According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a book marker for marking a page in a book having a top, a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the book marker further comprises abutment means adapted to abut the top of the book, thereby locating the book marker in the book at a correct height for the operation of said page marking means.

The abutment means helps considerably in placing the book marker in a correct position in the book, which can otherwise be a difficult task, particularly for the young and infirm.

Preferably, said abutment means is adapted to abut the top of the book at the spine. In this way, a person can position the book marker easily during the insertion of the book marker into the pages of a book. According to a further aspect of the invention there is provided a book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto via a flexible arm, the anchor means having a side and being adapted to be inserted into the book with the side facing the spine of the book so as to be anchored therein so as to locate the book marker in an operative position, wherein the page marking means is arranged, when the book marker is located in said operative position, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the flexible arm's flexibility is sufficient to ensure that the page marking means does not to damage a page in an average paperback book when the page is turned when the book marker is in said operative position. Preferably, said flexibility is provided at least in part by said arm being narrower, at least somewhere along its length, than said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length. In one arrangement, said arm is at least twice as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length. More preferably, said arm is at least four times as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length. More preferably still, the arm is at least ten times as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length.

According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a book marker for marking pages in a book, the book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the marker being formed as a flat, laminar, element so that the marker may be used as a conventional book mark by insertion of the entire marker between the pages of the book when the book is closed, the marker being further adapted so that the book marker may alternatively be used as a page marking means when the book is opened, the element comprising page marking means which may be arranged to retain a page in one half of the book when the book is opened, the book marker comprising an anchor means to which said page marking means are attached, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation when the book is opened, wherein the anchor means is attached to the page marking means by an arm, wherein the arm extends, in a direction away from the side of the book marker, from an attachment point, and wherein the arm has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of less than 8.5cm.

This aspect of the invention provides a significant improvement in relation to the functionality of the book marker; by restricting the length of the arm to less than 8.5cm, the gripping power of the arm is improved, even where the material is a relatively thin plastics or card material, and the ability of the marker to mark the page automatically is improved.

Preferably, the arm has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of at least 3cm. This ensures that the thickness of pages which can be gripped using the book marker is relatively large, and therefore that the number of times the bookmark needs to be moved when in use is reduced considerably. The bookmark need only be moved a few times during the course of reading a normal paperback book. Most preferably, the arm has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of between 3cm and 5cm.

Further aspects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of preferred embodiments of the invention, given by way of example only, which is made with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings Figures Ia and Ib are schematic diagrams showing a book marker according to an embodiment of the invention in first and second positions;

Figure 2a shows a plan view of the embodiment shown in Figures Ia and Ib;

Figure 2b shows further details of the embodiment shown in Figure 2a; Figure 3 a shows a plan view of an alternative arrangement of the embodiment shown in Figure 2a;

Figure 3b shows further details of the embodiment shown in Figure 3 a; Figure 4 shows a plan view of an alternative arrangement of the embodiment shown in Figure 2a; Figure 5 shows a perspective, side and end views of the embodiment shown in Figure 2a, in use;

Figure 6 shows a plan view of further features of the embodiment shown in Figure 2a;

Figure 7 shows apian view of a second embodiment of the invention; Figure 8 shows a plan view of a third embodiment of the invention;

Figure 9 shows a plan view of a fourth embodiment of the invention; Figure 10 shows a plan view of a fifth embodiment of the invention; Figure 11 shows a plan view of a sixth embodiment of the invention; Figure 12 shows a plan view of a seventh embodiment of the invention; Figure 13 shows a plan view of a yet further embodiment of the invention;

Figure 14a shows a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention; Figure 14b shows further details of the embodiment shown in Figure 14a;

Figure 15a shows a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention;

Figure 15b shows further details of the embodiment shown in Figure 15a;

Figure 16a shows a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention;

Figure 16b shows further details of the embodiment shown in Figure 16a;

Figure 17a shows a plan view of a further embodiment of the invention; and

Figure 17b shows further details of the embodiment shown in Figure 17a.

Detailed Description of the Invention Turning firstly to Figures Ia and Ib, an embodiment of a book marker for marking a page, referred to generally as book mark 1, will now be described. The book mark 1 is suitable for use in a book having a spine 3 and a plurality of rectangular pages 5a, 5b, 5c, each page having a top 7, a bottom 9, a free side 11, and an attached side 13 attached at the spine of the book 3 (in the Figure different pages are referenced by different letters a, b, c, d ...). It is suitable for use with any type of book, be it hardback or paperback, and any size of book (in terms of thickness (number of pages), height (length of page) and width (width of page)). Figures Ia and Ib show an embodiment of the book mark 1 in use, engaging with different pages of the book (holding more pages in Figure Ib than are held in Figure 1 a).

Referring to Figures 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b and 4 the book mark is preferably formed from a one-piece cut laminate material such as a plastic sheet material. The book mark comprises an anchor means 18, an arm 17 and page marking means 19 attached thereto, the anchor means 18 having locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation which might be determined by the construction of the locating means. Referring specifically to Figures 2a and 2b, the locating means is provided by a side 15 of the book mark, which is arranged to face the attached side 13d of the book or of a page therein so as to locate the book mark, by a holding force provided by the spine 3 of the book, with respect to the book in the preferred orientation. In this embodiment the preferred orientation is thus characterized by the side 15 abutting the attached side 13d of the book (or page).

The page marking means 19 comprises a page engaging edge 19a that is arranged to engage the top (or bottom) of a page 7d, thereby retaining the page in one half of the book when the book is opened. When the side 15 of the book mark abuts the attached side 13d of the book, at least a portion of the page engaging edge 19a is arranged to make at an angle α with the top of the retained page. The angle is such that when the retained page is turned, to reveal a next page in the book, the retained page is released and the page engaging edge engages with the next page. Referring specifically to Figure 2b, when measured on the free side of the page, this angle is preferably less than 90°. As shown in Figures 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b and 4, the page engaging edge 19a referred to can either be on a straight or curved part of the page marking means, and if curved, the centre of curvature for the portion referred to may fall either towards the free side 11 or the attached side 13 of the page; in the latter two cases, the angle made by a chord subtending the curve should be less than 90° (when measured on the free side of the page). Preferably, in order to provide both a retaining function before the page is turned, and to provide a releasing function before the page is turned, the page engaging edge 19 includes a portion which is arranged, with respect to the engaged edge, such that 45° < α < 85°, more preferably 60° < α < 85°. In some embodiments, the page engaging edge 19a has a gradually- varying curvature, so as to provide a controlled, gradual releasing function.

Referring to Figure 5, the anchor 18 is attached to the page marking means 19 by an arm 17, which extends, in a direction away from the side 15 of the book marker, from an attachment point 21. The arm 17 can thus move, relative to the attachment point 21, and in so doing generates a biasing force between the anchor means 18 and the page marking means 19. This biasing force causes the page marking means 19 to automatically engage with the next page, or indeed groups of pages, when the retained page is released. On the other hand, the arm 17 has flexibility which is sufficient to ensure that the page marking means 19 does not to damage a page in an average paperback book when the page is turned when the book marker is in said operative position. The flexibility is provided at least in part by the arm 17 being narrower, at least somewhere along its length, than anchor 18 is wide, at least somewhere along its length. Preferably, the arm is at least twice as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as the anchor 18 is wide, at least somewhere along its length. More preferably, the arm 17 is at least four times as narrow, and yet more preferably, the arm 17 is at least ten times as narrow. In some embodiments of the invention, the arm's flexibility is provided at least in part by the arm 17 being formed of a material having greater flexibility than a material from which the anchor 18 is made.

Thus with embodiments of the invention, the page marking means 19 can remain in the book whilst the book is being read, and, since it automatically engages with successive pages during reading of the book, the the page marking means 19 does not need removing from the book either during reading or when the user has finished reading and wishes to close the book. This automatic page following functionality results, at least in part, from the magnitude of the biasing force between the anchor means 18 and the page marking means 19. Many known book markers are arranged to clamp pages together and, before a page can be turned, require removing from the clamping position (US 4,941,684 being a case in point since the engaging arm is neither designed for, nor capable of, remaining in the book whilst pages are being turned); the biasing force associated with such conventional clamp-type page engaging means is thus far higher than that associated with embodiments of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 2a, the anchor means 18 includes a handling portion 22, which enables the book mark to be inserted into, and removed from, the book. The handling portion 22 extends in a direction away from the side 15 abutting the attached side 13d of the book, and is of a suitable size to allow the book mark to be manually grasped. Preferably the book mark is an elongate shape, which is to say that the sides 15, 23 are of relatively large dimension compared to the top and bottom ends 25, 27.

As can be seen from Figure 2a, in one arrangement the handling portion 22 extends from the side 15 by 40 mm, which is approximately equal to the width of a conventional marker for a conventional paperback book. However, the handling portion could extend from the side by between 15 mm and 65 mm, it being expected, for example, that books having more than an average number of pages need a wider marker than that required for books having fewer than an average number of pages (so as to enable the page marking means 19 to mark pages at the start and at the end of the book without having to move the marker 1). This range characterizing the extent of the handling portion 22 can conveniently be expressed as a percentage of the length of the handling portion 22 : for a paperback book having ends of approximately 130 mm in length, the handling portion could extend between 10 - 70% of the length of the ends of a page, more preferably 20 - 60% and most preferably 30 to 50% of the length of the handling portion.

Au advantage of the book mark having such a shape and configuration is that it is comparable in size with conventional single sheet book marks, which are commonly used to manually insert and remove the book mark in and from a book. It is an improvement over such conventional book marks in that, when the reader has finished reading, the book mark does not need moving manually from the page in which it was located when the reader started reading.

Referring to Figure 6, the anchor means 18 can comprise holding means 29 arranged in the vicinity of an end 25 of the book marker opposite to the end at which the arm 17 is located (end 27). The holding means 29 is arranged to nϊctionally engage with the end of a page corresponding to said opposite end; in one arrangement the holding means 29 comprises a flap 31 that has been cut out of, but is still attached to, the anchor means 18. The end of a page can be inserted into the flap 31, which, being biased towards the anchor means 18, frictionally clamps the page, thereby reducing movement of the book marker towards the free side of the page. When the anchor means 18 comprises the holding means 29, the book marker 1 does not need to be orientated in a position that is determined by the construction of the locating means, since the book marker 1 will be held in place by the flap 31.

Referring now to Figures 7 and 8, in a second embodiment the book mark 1 comprises two page marking means 19, 35, which are arranged to engage an end of a different page. Each of the page marking means 19, 35 has a corresponding arm 17, 37, which connects the respective page marking means 19, 35 to the anchor means 18. Each arm thus extends from a different attachment point 21, 39. The arms 17, 37, and thus page marking means 19, 35, can be located either at different ends of the book mark (Figure 7) or at the same end of the book mark (Figure 8). Preferably each attachment point 21, 39 starts at a different distance from the side of the book marker 15, so that pages that are both close to, and far from, the book mark can be engaged by a single book mark (since the length of the arm, that is to say the distance from the attachment point 21, determines the furthest page that with which the page engaging edge can engage).

Preferred dimensions of embodiments of the book mark will now be further described. As described above, Figure 2a shows a book mark for engaging with a single page (since it has a single page marking means), which is for use with paperback books where the length of the spine 3 is usually 150 mm or more, and typically 200mm or more. In respect of such books the height of the bookmark can be between 150 mm and 200mm in length, for example 180mm in length; the ends 25, 27 can be between 15 and 65 mm in length, preferably between 30 mm and 50 mm and most preferably 40 mm in length; the length of arm 17 can extend 35 mm from attachment point 21; the narrowness of the arm can be 5mm or less; and the page marking means can extend 10 mm in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arm 17 towards the anchor means 18. For book marks having two page marking means (Figure 7), and which are thus suitable for engaging with more than one page, the arm 37 of the page marking means at the bottom of the book mark can extend 25 mm from attachment point 39; the narrowness of the arm 37 can be 5 mm or less, with the page marking means similarly extending 10 mm in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arm 17 towards the anchor means 18. For average paperback and hard back books whose spines are 250 mm or less in length, the sides 15, 23 can be 170 mm in length; the ends 25, 27 can be 100 mm in length; the length of arm 17 can extend 75 mm from attachment point 21; the narrowness of the arm can be 5mm; and the page marking means can extend up to 30 mm in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arm 17 towards the anchor means 18. For book marks having two page marking means, and which are thus suitable for engaging with more than one page, the arm 37 of the page marking means at the bottom of the book mark can extend up to 55 mm from attachment point 39; the narrowness of the arm 37 can be 5 mm, with the page marking means similarly extending up to 30 mm in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arm 17 towards the anchor means 18.

For average coffee-table books and phone directories (having spines in excess of approximately 250 mm), which quite often require two or more page marking means, the page marking means are most preferably located at the same end of the book mark, as is shown in Figure 9 (in the Figure only two page marking means are labeled, for clarity). For these types of books, the page marking means located furthest away from the side 15 extends approximately 100 mm from the arm 17 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the arm 17 towards the anchor means 18 and the second page marking means 37 located second furthest away from the side 15 extends approximately 90 mm from the arm 37; as can be seen from the Figure, each page marking means is approximately 10 mm shorter than the adjacent page marking means on the side furthest away from the side 15. Such books might be better suited to page marking by means of the seventh embodiment of the invention, described below with reference to Figure 12.

A book marker according to embodiments of the invention can be fabricated out of any flexible material; preferably the material is transparent so as not to obscure any part of the retained page during reading thereof.

As can be seen from each of Figures 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 4, 6, 7, 8 and 9, a book marker according to preferred embodiments is formed as a flat, laminar, element such as a cut (or otherwise formed) laminate sheet, in which the anchor and page marking means are respectively formed such that the whole marker has an at least generally rectangular outline. The marker resembles a conventional book mark, and can be used as such, simply by insertion of the entire marker between the pages of the book when the book is closed, in case it is preferred to be used in such manner. The marker thus has dual functionality. Figure 11 shows a yet further embodiment of the invention, in which the handling portion 22 of the book marker 1 comprises one or more cut-outs 43. In this embodiment, the rigidity of the arm 17, relative to the anchor means 18, and thus its ability to engage with successively turned pages, will be reduced, in which case the upper portion 45 of the side 15 could be stiffened to compensate for a reduced biasing force at point 21.

Whilst in the Figures the handling portion 22 appears to extend from the side 15 by a distance comparable to the length of the arm, it will be appreciated that it can extend any distance beyond the attachment point 21. Alternatively, and as shown in Figure 12, a book marker could be arranged such that the arm 17 extends beyond the side 23 of the handling portion 22 thereof. With such an embodiment the page marking means 19 is arranged to hold a page at a location that is closer to the free side 11 of a book than it is to the spine 3 of the book. Such an arrangement might be particularly well suited for use in marking pages of oversized books. Whilst in the above embodiment the locating means is described as being provided by the side 15 abutting and making frictional contact with the attached side 13d of the book, the locating means could alternatively be provided by mechanical fixing means arranged to attach the book mark to the book. Alternatively, and as shown in Figure 10, the locating means can comprise an adhesive strip 41 for releasably fixing the book mark 1 to a page or spine of the book, the adhesive strip 41 comprising a portion of Scotch™ restickable glue that has been applied directly to the anchor means (along part or all of the length of side 15). As a further alternative, the book marker 1 could be formed from a readily available Post-It™ note, thereby automatically having adhesive strip 41 attached thereto. Such glue and Post-It™ notes are available from 3M™ Corporation. When the anchor means is formed, at least in part, in this manner, the preferred orientation of the book marker 1 is determined by the way in 03325

14

which the marker 1 is affixed to a book, and is thus not solely dependent on the construction of the locating means. This then opens up the possibility for the book marker 1 to assume a non-rectangular shape, the proviso only being that the arm 17 protrudes from the top of the book in order to enable the page engaging edge 19 to make the required contact with successive pages of the book. Such an alternative shape is shown in Figure 13.

Whilst the above embodiments describe the book marker 1 as being formed from a single laminar element it could alternatively be formed from two or more elements. For example, the holding portion 22 could be fabricated from one element and the arm 17 and page engaging means 19 fabricated from another, the two being joined together via the attachment point 21 and upper portion 45.

Referring now to Figures 14a and 14b, the book marker 1 shown in Figure 2a could be modified so as to include abutment means in the form of a shoulder 47 located adjacent to, or an integral part of, upper portion 45 of the side 15 of the bookmark. The shoulder portion 47 acts to make placing the book marker in the correct position more easily, during insertion of the book marker between the pages of the book, and to subsequently stabilize the position of the book marker 1 relative to the spine 3 of the book, and as can be seen from Figure 14b, the lower edge 47a conveniently rests on parts of the top 7 of the pages of the book. It is to be noted that the shoulder portion 47 may be provided with a slot or suchlike, in the position where the shoulder abuts the spine, such that the spine of the book can be slotted into the shoulder, thereby providing a more secure attachment to the book when correctly positioned. Referring to Figures 15 a, 15b, 16a and 16b, the book marker can additionally include a releasable attachment part such as a notch 49 in the shoulder 47 the shoulder 47 being releasably connected to the bottom end 25 of the marker via the notch 49 and a flexible attachment means 51. The attachment means 51 might be provided by a length of string, one end of which is permanently attached to a region 53 close to the bottom of the book marker 1 and the other end of which is free to loop through and tie onto notch 49, or by an elastic band, When the attachment means 51 is engaged in the notch 49, as shown in Figures 15b and 16b, the book marker is retained successfully in the book; such a feature is particularly useful when the book is placed in a bag, when the marker 1 might otherwise be dislodged from the book.

As an alternative, and referring now to Figures 17a and 17b, the book marker 1 could instead include clamp portion 53, conveniently fabricated from the handling portion 22 by means of folding a part of the handling portion 22 over so as to form a U-shaped clamp. Conveniently the clamp protrudes from the handling portion 22 in direction X, which extends away from the direction in which the page marking means 19 moves when engaging with a page in the book (shown as direction Y in Figure 17b). When the book marker 1 is placed in a book the clamp portion 53 firstly engages with a back portion of the book and the page marking means 19 is then moved to engage with a page.

Note, in relation to each of the embodiments described above, the arm 17 preferably has a length L, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of less than 8.5cm.

This aspect of the invention provides a significant improvement in relation to the functionality of the book marker; by restricting the length L of the arm to less than 8.5cm, the gripping power of the arm is improved, even where the material is a relatively thin plastics or card material, and the ability of the marker to mark the page automatically is improved.

Preferably, the arm 17 has a length L, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of at least 3 cm. This ensures that the thickness of pages which can be gripped using the book marker is relatively large, and therefore that the number of times the bookmark needs to be moved when in use is reduced considerably. The bookmark need only be moved a few times during the course of reading a normal paperback book.

More preferably, the arm 17 has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means 19 is attached to the arm, of between 3cm and 5cm. Further, the arm 17 preferably has a minimum width W of 0.5cm, and a maximum width W of 3cm (so that the arm does not project from the top or bottom of the book excessively when correctly located.)

The depth D of the page marking means, measured with respect to the lower edge of the arm 17, is preferably approximately lcm. This is the extent with which the page marking means extends onto the page when the book marker is located with respect to the book in the preferred predetermined orientation. This selection of the depth D ensures that the page marking means does not cover text at the top or bottom of the page, whilst having a sufficient depth to engage with the page sufficient to provide the automated marking function. In any case, the depth D is preferably less than 3cm, more preferably less than 2cm, and even more preferably less than 1.5cm, yet preferably greater than 0.5cm.

It will be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and the invention extends to modifications, variations and improvements thereto, and that any elements of the different embodiments may be combined to form further embodiments of the invention.

Claims

1. A book marker for marking pages in a book, the book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the marker being formed as a flat, laminar, element so that the marker may be used as a conventional book mark by insertion of the entire marker between the pages of the book when the book is closed, the marker being further adapted so that the book marker may alternatively be used as a page marking means when the book is opened, the element comprising page marking means which may be arranged to retain a page in one half of the book when the book is opened.

2. A book marker according to claim 1, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged to engage the top or bottom of a page so as to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened.

3. A book marker according to claim 1 or claim 2, comprising an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation when the book is opened.

4. A book marker according to claim 3, wherein the page engaging edge is arranged such that, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, at least a portion thereof is arranged at an angle with the engaged edge of the retained page, measured on the free side of the page, which is less than 90°, so as to aid release of the retained page, upon turning of the retained page.

5. A book marker according to claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the book marker comprises a side arranged to face the attached side of the book or a page therein so as to locate the book marker with respect to the book in the preferred orientation.

6. A book marker according to any one of claim 3 to claim 5, wherein the book marker comprises an end portion arranged to cooperate with the top or bottom of the book or a page therein so as to locate the book marker with respect to the book in the preferred orientation.

7. A book marker according to any one of claim 3 to claim 6, wherein the book marker comprises releasable fixing means arranged to cooperate with the book or a page therein so as to locate the book marker with respect to the book in the preferred orientation.

8. A book marker according to any one of claim 3 to claim 7, wherein the anchor means is attached to the page marking means by an arm, wherein the arm extends, in a direction away from the side of the book marker, from an attachment point.

9. A book marker according to any one of claim 3 to claim 8, wherein the anchor means is attached to the page marking means such that the page marking means is biased towards the anchor means by a biasing force therebetween.

10. A book marker according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the page marking means extends in a direction generally parallel to the spine of the book, when the book is opened.

11. A book marker according to any one of claim 2 to claim 10, wherein the anchor means includes a handling portion for enabling manual insertion of the anchor means into the book, the handling portion extending in a direction away from the side.

12. A book marker according to claim 11 when dependent on any one of claim 7 to claim 10, wherein the handling portion extends further from the side than the attachment point, when measured in said direction.

13. A book marker according to claim 11 when dependent on any one of claim 2 to claim 10, wherein the page engaging edge extends further from the side than the handling portion, when measured in said direction.

14. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a" free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation which is determined by the construction of the locating means, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the page engaging edge is arranged such that, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, at least a portion thereof is arranged at an angle with the engaged edge of the retained page, which angle is less than 90°, so as to aid release of the retained page, upon turning of the retained page.

15. A book marker according to claim 14, wherein the book marker comprises a side arranged to face the attached side of the book or a page therein so as to locate the book marker with respect to the book in the preferred orientation.

16. A book marker according to claim 14, wherein the book marker comprises an end portion arranged to cooperate with the top or bottom of the book or a page therein so as to locate the book marker with respect to the book in the preferred orientation.

17. A book marker according to any one of claim 14 to claim 16, wherein the anchor means is attached to the page marking means by an arm, wherein the arm extends, in a direction away from the side of the book marker, from an attachment point.

18. A book marker according to any one of claim 14 to claim 17, wherein the anchor means is attached to the page marking means such that the page marking means is biased towards the anchor means by a biasing force therebetween.

19. A book marker according to any one of claim 14 to claim 18, wherein the page marking means extends in a direction generally parallel to the spine of the book, when the book marker is in said preferred orientation.

20. A book marker according to any one of claim 14 to claim 19, wherein the page marking means comprises first and second page engaging means, each being arranged, when the marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage an end of a different page to retain the respective page in one half of the book when the book is opened.

21. A book marker according to claim 20 when dependent on any one of claim 17 to claim 20, wherein the page marking means comprises corresponding first and second arms, each extending, in a direction away from the side of the book marker, from a different attachment point.

22. A book marker according to claim 21, wherein the first and second arms are arranged at opposite ends of the book marker.

23. A book marker according to claim 21, wherein the first and second arms are arranged at one end of the book marker.

24. A book marker according to any one of claim 14 to claim 23, wherein the book marker comprises an elongate member having sides of a relatively large dimension and top and bottom ends having a relatively small dimension, wherein the page marking means is attached at the top end of the elongate member.

25. A book marker according to claim 24, wherein the book marker comprises an elongate member having top and bottom ends of a relatively large dimension and sides having a relatively small dimension, whereby the page marking means is attached at the top end of the elongate member.

26. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising an elongate member adapted to be inserted into the book and page marking means attached thereto via an arm, the page marking means being arranged to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the elongate member has sides having a relatively large dimension and top and bottom having a relatively small dimension, wherein the page marking means is attached at the top of the elongate member and the dimension of the sides is greater than the length of the arm.

27. A book marker according to claim 26, wherein book marker includes anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation which is determined, at least in part, by the construction of the locating means.

28. A book marker according to claim 27, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the page engaging edge is arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, with at least a portion thereof arranged at an angle with the engaged edge of the retained page, which angle is less than 90°, so as to aid release of the retained page, upon turning of the retained page.

29. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto via a flexible arm, the anchor means having a side and being adapted to be inserted into the book with the side facing the spine of the book so as to be anchored therein, wherein the anchor means includes a handling portion for enabling manual insertion of the anchor into the book, the handling portion extending in a direction away from the side, and wherein the flexible arm extends, in the said direction, from an attachment point toward the page marking means, and wherein the handling portion extends further from the side than the attachment point, when measured in said direction.

30. A book marker according to claim 29, wherein the flexible arm and the handling portion extend from the first side by substantially the same distance, when measured in the said direction.

31. A book marker according to claim 30, wherein the flexible arm extends from the first side further than the handling portion, when measured in the said direction.

32. A book marker for marking a plurality of pages in a book, the book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the marker including a part formed from a laminate sheet and the sheet part comprising a plurality of page marking means for marking a plurality of different pages in one half of the book when the book is opened.

33. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: an anchor and a page marker attached thereto, the anchor comprising a locator for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation which is determined by the construction of the locator, wherein the page marker comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the page engaging edge is arranged such that, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, at least a portion thereof is arranged at an angle with the engaged edge of the retained page, which angle is less than 90°, so as to aid release of the retained page, upon turning of the retained page.

34. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker being formed as a flat, laminar, element and comprising: an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened.

35. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the anchor means is of a length, measured along the spine of the book when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, of at least

5 cm.

36. A book marker according to claim 35, wherein said length is at least 10cm.

37. A book marker according to claim 36, wherein said length is at least 15cm.

38. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a top, a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising: 25

an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation, wherein the page marking means comprises a page engaging edge arranged, when the book marker is located in said preferred orientation, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the book marker further comprises abutment means adapted to abut the top of the book, thereby locating the book marker in the book at a correct height for the operation of said page marking means.

39. A book marker according to claim 38, wherein said abutment means is adapted to abut the top of the book at the spine.

40. A book marker for marking a page in a book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the book marker comprising an anchor means and page marking means attached thereto via a flexible arm, the anchor means having a side and being adapted to be inserted into the book with the side facing the spine of the book so as to be anchored therein so as to locate the book marker in an operative position, wherein the page marking means is arranged, when the book marker is located in said operative position, to engage the top or bottom of a page to retain the page in one half of the book when the book is opened, wherein the flexible arm's flexibility is sufficient to ensure that the page marking means does not to damage a page in an average paperback book when the page is turned when the book marker is in said operative position.

41. A book marker according to claim 40, wherein said flexibility is provided at least in part by said arm being narrower, at least somewhere along its length, than said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length,.

42. A book marker according to claim 41, wherein said arm is at least twice as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length.

43. A book marker according to claim 42, wherein said arm is at least four times as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length.

44. A book marker according to claim 43, wherein said arm is at least ten times as narrow, at least somewhere along its length, as said anchor is wide, at least somewhere along its length.

45. A book marker according to any of claims 40 to 44, wherein said flexibility is provided at least in part by said arm being formed of a material having greater flexibility than a material from which said anchor is made.

46. A book marker for marking pages in a book, the book having a spine and a plurality of rectangular pages, each page having edges including a top, a bottom, a free side, and an attached side attached at the spine of the book, the marker being formed as a flat, laminar, element so that the marker may be used as a conventional book mark by insertion of the entire marker between the pages of the book when the book is closed, the marker being further adapted so that the book marker may alternatively be used as a page marking means when the book is opened, the element comprising page marking means which may be arranged to retain a page in one half of the book when the book is opened, the book marker comprising an anchor means to which said page marking means are attached, the anchor means comprising locating means for locating the book marker with respect to the book in a preferred orientation when the book is opened, wherein the anchor means is attached to the page marking means by an arm, wherein the arm extends, in a direction away from the side of the book marker, from an attachment point, and wherein the arm has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of less than 8.5cm.

47. A book marked according to claim 46, wherein the arm has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of at least 3 cm.

48. A book marked according to claim 47, wherein the arm has a length, between the attachment point and the location at which the page marking means is attached to the arm, of between 3 cm and 5 cm.