Book Holder And Shield

Abstract

A book holder formed preferably from a sheet of transparent synthetic resin of suitable thickness to render it relatively stiff and including a book-supporting panel disposed at an acute angle relative to a supporting surface such as a table or the like, a bracing panel extending angularly rearward and downward from the upper edge of the supporting panel, and a transparent holding and viewing panel spaced sufficiently from the book-supporting panel to accomodate a book in open condition and overlying the exposed pages of the book to render the same visible and prevent contact of the surfaces of the pages by any extraneous material. The book-supporting and transparent holding and viewing panel form a slot to receive a book in open condition, the lower edges of the two panels being connected by a short section of the material comprising a ledge upon which the lower edge of the book rests, and the lower edge of the supporting panel also preferably being bent smoothly outward to form a flange capable of serving as an additional book supporting ledge in relation to the bracing panel.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Book holders have been available for many years which are formed from wire to provide, in general, means to support a book in open condition while extending upward and somewhat rearwardly at the top when the holder is disposed upon a supporting surface such as a desk, table, or otherwise. Adjacent the lower edge of the book-supporting means or panel is a narrow shelf or ledge upon which the lower edge of the book rests for support in open condition. Many books, especially when new, do not readily remain in open condition when supported upon such a holder, or even while lying flat upon a supporting surface. Accordingly, it is necessary to bend the open book backwardly upon itself to obviate the stiffness. Also, when supported upon a book holder of the type referred to above, the lower ledge arrangement of the holder has on occasions been provided with a slightly upturned lip portion in an effort to attempt to overcome the tendency of the pages of a book to move to closed position or to some other position than that which is desired for reading. Usually, some kind of prop or brace has been provided on the book-supporting means to extend rearwardly and downwardly for engagement with the supporting surface.

In addition to the wire-type book holders referred to above, there have been other types formed from sheet material, one example of which is found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,637, to Huffman, dated Feb. 20, 1962. The patent states that the holder may be formed from either metal or plastic and a rearwardly extending panel forms the supporting means for the upward and rearwardly inclined book-supporting panel. Since the material is somewhat resilient, the lower panel thereof may be disposed beneath a shelf or similar panel to clamp the book holder thereto. No means is provided in such arrangement to maintain a book against closing or other types of movement of the pages; neither is there any protecting surface for the open book.

A somewhat sophisticated type of book holder and rack is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,612,721, to Pollard, dated Oct. 7, 1952. In addition to means being provided to support a book in various position upon a stand or table-like structure, there is also a pivoted, U-shaped holding member which, when extending downwardly from the upper surface of the structure, provides a vertical trough in which a book may be supported in idle condition. There is no suggestion of any portions of said book holding arrangement being transparent; nor is there any suggestion of a book being supported within the holder in open condition for purposes of the pages being visible through either wall of the trough member.

There also is U.S. Pat. No. 3,086,658, to Palmer, dated Apr. 23, 1963 which comprises a cardholder that is formed from transparent sheet resin material, certain portions of which are formed into arrangement in which a pair of parallel panels support a card, while a shelf arrangement also supports a stack of cards presumably similar to that which is exposed between the parallel panels. The only suggestion offered by this patent relative to the present invention is the use of sheet plastic material which forms a holder for a stack of cards.

The present invention comprises a very simple, inexpensive, yet highly effective book holder which, in addition to holding a book in open position, not only positively insures the holding of the book in such position but, with equal importance, covers the exposed, open pages of the book from contact by extraneous material such as that to which books are subjected when in use in laboratories, kitchen activities such as when a cook is following a receipe, and other similar uses in which the open pages of books frequently become spattered and even mutilated when used during average operations in which the use of the book is involved. Such possible damage to a book as well as possibly holding the same in open position is assured by the present invention in view of the characteristics thereof set forth below.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a book holder in which a pair of associated panels respectively are spaced apart to form a channel in which an open book may be inserted so that outermost pages of the open book are exposed and are visible through the outermost panel of said pair of panels, which is transparent to permit visible observation of said outermost pages of the open book, the transparent outermost panel also protecting the exposed pages from contact by extraneous material present in the atmosphere such as flying from egg beaters in a kitchen or an electric mixing machine, or spattering from various operations in chemical laboratories, garages, and the like wherein it is necessary to follow directions, such as receipes, steps of operations etc. while a housewife, scientist, mechanic or otherwise is performing certain operations as directed by such open book.

It is another object of the invention to form such book holder from a continuous strip or sheet of synthetic resin, for example, which is transparent and preferably of uniform width, to not only form the book-receiving channel referred to above but also provide a rearward angularly extending bracing panel the lower edge of which is adapted to engage a supporting surface such as a bench, table or otherwise, for purpose of supporting the book-receiving channel at an angle which is acute to such supporting surface, whereby the book holder serves similarly to an easel.

A still further object of the invention is to form said book-receiving channel from a pair of panels of said material in which the upper edge portions of said panels are spaced more closely than the bottom edge portions thereof in order to provide, in conjunction with the natural resilience of the material, a somewhat elastic clamping arrangement operable to hold the exposed pages of an open book in substantially flat condition, as well as to accommodate the holder to hold books of different thicknesses and in view of such uneven spacing between the upper and lower portions of the panels which form said channel, a relativly thin book may be held in open condition with the pages arranged substantially flat, as well as thicker books being accommodated and the pages thereof held in relatively flat condition when mounted within said channel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide the outermost, transparent holding and viewing panel with a greater vertical dimension than the adjacent book-supporting panel which cooperates with the viewing panel to form said channel, thereby providing a greater area of protective surface for the book, while minimizing the use of material to form the book-supporting panel of the channel as well as the bracing panel which extends angularly rearwardly therefrom.

One further object of the invention is to terminate the lower end of the bracing panel in a smoothly curved, outwardly extending flange which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the bracing panel and, in addition to forming a smoothly curved lower edge for the bracing panel so as to minimize the possibility of scratching and damaging a supporting surface such as a table top, also provide another book-supporting ledge which may be used in conjuction with the bracing panel to comprise an additional book support under circumstances where it is not necessary or desirable to utilize the transparent holding and viewing panel of the book holder comprising other aspects of the present invention.

Details of the foregoing objects and of the invention, are set forth in the following specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing comprising apart thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a book holder embodying the principles of the present invention and showing an exemplary book mounted in operative position therein.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the book holder shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the book holder shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 is a side elevation of the book holder shown in the preceding figures showing the relative positions of the panels thereof prior to mounting a book therein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is well known to housewives, laboratory technicians and scientist, garage machanics and otherwise that when it is necessary to follow directions from printed pages of a book, it is often inconvenient to lay a book in flat, open position upon a supporting surface such as a counter, bench, table or otherwise and have the book remain open, while performing certain operations directed in accordance with instructions contained upon the printed pages of the book. Not only do relatively new books have a tendency for the pages to move when the book is lying flat, in open position, but the tendency for pages to migrate from a desired open position increases when an attempt is made to prop an open book upwardly, approaching vertical position, so as to more readily observe the printed pages of the book, without some sort of arrangement being available to hold the book in such open position such as by putting rubber bands around the opposite open sides of the book, or resorting to many other inconvenient tedious arrangements.

In addition to the difficulty of maintaining a book in readily visible, fully open condition to expose certain desired pages thereof, there is also the jeopardy of staining or damaging the exposed pages such as spattering them with grease, color flavoring, acid or other similar damaging liquids, as well as dirt and grease such as usually found in garages and similar shops where open books are sometimes required to furnish directions for certain operations.

The book holder 10 comprising the present invention includes a book-supporting panel 12 which is arranged to extend upwardly and rearwardly from a supporting surface 14 such as a counter top, table, shelf, or otherwise. The panel 12 is held in such position by a downward and rearwardly extending bracing panel 16, the panels 12 and 16 being connected at the upper ends thereof in angular relationship. The lower end of panel 12 terminates in a ledge 18 of limited depth, such as of the order on 11/2 to 2 inches, for example, and coextensive in length with the horizontal dimension of the panel 12. Ledge 18 is integral with the lower edge of panel 12.

Extending upwardly from the outer edge of ledge 18 is a transparent holding and viewing panel 20. The upper end 22 extends a limited distance above the angular connection of the upper ends of panels 12 and 16 so as to form ample protective area for the panel 20 so as to cover a wide range of exposed pages of an open book 24 when the same is mounted in such open condition within the channel formed by the panels 12 and 20 which are spaced apart an adequate distance to accomodate a wide range of different thicknesses and areas of books.

In the preferred construction of the holder comprising the present invention, as will be seen from FIG. 4, the upper portion of panel 12 is disposed a shorter distance from the upper portions of panel 22 than the lower portions of said panel are spaced apart. Due to the fact that the preferred material from which the book holder 10 is formed is preferably thermoplastic synthetic resin of approximately one-eighth inch thickness, and has limited resilience and flexibility, the arrangement of the panels 12 and 20 shown in FIG. 4 will result in the channel between said panels accomodating a substantial range of different thicknesses of books from relatively thin to relatively thick. For example, books of as little as one-half inch thick as well as books having a thickness of about 2 inches all may be accomodated within the holder of the present invention which embodys the design shown particularly in FIGS. 2 and 4. Methyl-methacrylite is a highly suitable type of synthetic resin from which to form the book holder 10 but it is to be understood that other equivalent types of thermo-plastic resin, having at least limited resilience and flexibility, and suitable transparency may be used in lieu of said specifically mentioned resin.

As a further useful feature, the book holder 10 includes an additional flange 26 which extends substantially perpendicularly outward from the lower edge of the bracing panel 16 to serve two functions. One of these is to provide a smoothly rounded lower edge 28 for the bracing panel 16, said lower edge being that which contacts a supporting surface 14, for example, and will not mar or scratch the same. Similarly, the connections between the opposite edges of the ledge 18 and the supporting panel 12 and viewing panel 20 are likewise at least slightly rounded to provide non-scratching contact areas or surfaces which engage the supporting surface 14. The second purpose of flange 26 is to serve as an additional book-supporting ledge if it is desired to use the book holder 10 in a conventional manner in which there is no outer panel to cover the open pages of a book.

Solely for purposes of illustration and without limitation, it has been found that a book holder of the type described above and illustrated in the accompanying drawing may be made from a sheet of methyl maethacrylite resin, of substantially one-eighth inch thickness, and transparent, which is approximately 10 inches wide and about 30 inches long. By heating the same and bending the sheet around a suitable template to form the various angular connections between the panels 12, 16 and 20, as well as the ledge 18 and flange 26, followed by cooling of the formed book holder, a rigid shape is provided which resembles the configuration shown in FIG. 4 as viewed in side elevation. Such arrangement provides a foremost holding and viewing panel 20 which is of a highly protective nature, while permitting ready visibility of printed pages of an open book 24. Such panel will be approximately 10 inches wide and about 9 inches high and this dimension will adequately cover a wide range of average sizes of books when in open position and disposed within the channel between panels 12 and 20. The angle at which the book is held with respect to the supporting surface 14 has been selected to be useful in a wide range of activities including household kitchen uses, laboratory uses, and garage uses, as well as any other suitable use where books preferably are held in open position without the use of human hands or make-shift holding arrangements, whereby the open pages of the book are readily visible and are protected against contact by accidental spattering of extraneous material. In the event such material spatters the outer surface of the panel 20, it readily may be wiped therefrom.

In view of the foregoing, it'll be seen that the present invention provides a highly useful book holder which not only serves to support a book in open position in which it is readily viewable in a manner similar to that in which an easel would hold a book, but in addition, the exposed pages of the book are covered or shielded by a transparent panel in a manner in which the open pages will not be stained, damaged or otherwise harmed. If necessary to change the pages of the book, it readily may be removed from the channel between panels 12 and 20 to permit flipping of the pages, followed by immediate restoration of the book to the channel. Further, an auxiliary book rack or holder is afforded by the flange 26 on the lower edge of the bracing panel 16, thus rendering the book holder 10 more versatile than otherwise would be possible if the flange 26 were not provided. Lastly, the lower surfaces of the book holder which contacts a supporting surface 14, for example, are of a rounded and therefore non-scratching or damaging type.

While the invention has been described and illustrated in its several preferred embodiments, it should be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the precise details herein illustrated and described since the same may be carried out in other ways falling within the scope of the invention as illustrated and described.

Claims

1. A book holder formed from resilient transparent material and comprising in combination a book supporting panel adapted to be supported at an acute angle to a supporting surface such as a desk or table and being of a width adequate to underlie the open covers of a book to be supported thereby in open position, a bracing panel connected to the normally top edge of said supporting panel and extending downwardly and away from the same for contact of the lower edge thereof with said supporting surface at an acute angle thereto, a ledge extending along and outwardly from the lower edge of said supporting panel to receive the lower edge of a book when disposed against said supporting panel, and a substantially flat transparent holding and viewing panel at least as wide as and connected to and extending upward from the outer edge of said ledge and overlying said supporting panel to form a channel of sufficient depth to receive a book in open position and adapted to support and maintain said book in such open position for viewing of the pages thereof through said transparent panel, the upper edge of said transparent panel extending above the upper edge of said supporting panel a predetermined distance to provide an adequate protection surface and said transparent panel also being closer to the upper edge of said supporting panel than the bottom edge to accommodate the holder to a range of different thicknesses of books and the width of said transparent panel being adequate to cover at least the printed matter on a pair of open pages of a book to protect the same and

2. The book holder according to claim 1 in which the lower edge of said bracing panel terminates in an outwardly smoothly bent flange extending substantially perpendicularly to the plane of said bracing panel and thereby providing a smoothly curved lower edge upon said bracing panel and said flange being adapted to serve as an additional book supporting ledge relative to said bracing panel.