Combination Book Holder And Book Stand

Abstract

A combination book holder and book stand for use with a conventional, hard cover or soft cover book. The book holder has a hollow handle which may be removably clipped onto the end portions of the spine or the cover of books of various sizes and a support engageable with the front and back covers of the book for holding them open. A holder is provided for holding the pages of a book open to a desired page. Removably secured to the handle are legs for supporting the latter with the book held thereon in an inclined, upright reading position on a supporting surface. The handle has a removable end piece of access into the interior of the handle thus permitting the various parts of the book holder and book stand to be stored in the handle when shipped or when not in use.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a book stand and more particularly to a combination book holder and book stand for use with a conventional hard bound or a soft bound book having a front cover, a back cover and a spine joining the covers at the back of the book.

More particularly, the book stand and book holder of this invention is adapted to support a book on a supporting surface in an inclined, upright reading position and to hold the book open to a desired page. This book holder also permits a reader conveniently and comfortably to hold the book in his hand while reading. Thus, the book holder and book stand of this invention is particularly useful for students, teachers, cooks typists, invalids and others who want to have a book held in a convenient upright reading position and have their hands free for other activities. It is also useful for a church choir member or the like as it enables one comfortably to hold a heavy hymnal while singing. Typical prior art book holders are described in U.S. Pats. Nos. 579,992, 582,140, 932,348, 1,704,814 and 3,076,285.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Among the several objects of this invention may be noted the provision of a combination book holder and book stand, as described above, which may readily be clipped on and removed from a conventional hard cover or soft cover book without damage to the book; the provision of such a book holder and book stand which supports a book in a convenient inclined, upright reading position; the provision of such a book holder and book stand which holds the book supported and open to a desired page; the provision of such a book holder and book stand which permits a person comfortably to hold a book in his hand in a convenient reading position; the provision of such a book holder and book stand in which its various parts may be stored within its handle and when not in use; and the provision of such a book holder and book stand which is of rugged and economical construction. Other objects and features of this invention will be in part apparent and in part pointed out hereinafter.

Briefly, a combination book holder and book stand of this invention is for use with a book having a front cover, a back cover and a spine joining the covers at the back of the book. This stand and holder includes a closed end, an elongate hollow handle for releasable connection to the spine of the book or to the cover of the book adjacent the spine whereby a reader may conveniently hold the book by gripping the handle. One end of the handle is removable for access to the interior of the hollow handle. The stand and holder further include means for releasably securing the handle to the spine or to the cover adjacent the spine of books of various sizes constituted by first and second clip members for gripping opposite end portions of a book. Each clip member is slidably carried by the handle and is axially movable therealong between a gripping position in which it is in gripping engagement with one end of the book and a retracted position in which it is clear of the book. Means are also provided for supporting the front and back covers of the book in a generally flat, open position, viz., an elongate support member carried by the handle extending laterally of the handle on both sides thereof for engagement with the covers of the book when the covers are in their flat, open position. The book holder and book stand further includes means for holding the handle and the book held thereby in an inclined upright reading position on a supporting surface with the bottom end of the handle in engagement with the supporting surface. The holding means are constituted by a pair of legs removably secured to the handle, with the clip members, cover support member and legs being storable within the hollow handle.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective of a combination book holder and book stand of this invention as it is releasably connected to the spine of a book (shown in phantom) for supporting the book in an open, inclined reading position;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the book holder and book stand;

FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the book holder and book stand;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial vertical section taken on line 4--4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged section taken on line 5--5 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged partial vertical section taken on line 6--6 pf FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken on line 8--8 of FIG. 3.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring to the drawings, a combination book holder and book stand of this invention is indicated in its entirety at 1, and in FIG. 1 is shown holding a conventional, hard cover book 3 (shown in phantom) in an upright, inclined, open reading position on a supporting surface (not shown), such as a table or the like. Book 3 has a front cover 5, a back cover 7, a plurality of pages 9 and a spine 11 joining the front and back covers and securing the pages thereto. The book stand has a closed end, elongate hollow handle 13 adapted for releasable connection to the end portion of the spine of books of various sizes. The handle is so sized and shaped that a reader may conveniently and comfortably hold the book in his hand by gripping the handle. As indicated at 15, one end of the handle constituting a lower end piece is removable for access to the interior of the hollow handle for storing various parts of the book stand therein for shipping or when not in use. Handle 13 has a generally flat face 17 adapted to contact the outer face of spine 11 of the book when the handle is releasably connected to the book. A groove 19 in face 17 extends longitudinally of the handle from one end thereof to the other. First and second clip members 21 and 23 constituting bottom and top clips respectively, are slidably received within groove 19 for gripping opposite end portions of the spines of books of various sizes. Each of the clips is axially movable in groove 19, between a gripping position (shown in FIG. 1) in which it is in gripping engagement with one end portion of the spine of the book and a retracted position (not shown) in which it is clear of the book. Clips 21 and 23 together constitute means for releasably securing handle 13 to the spines of books of various sizes. It will be understood that in most cases, only one of the clips need be moved between is retracted and gripping positions to connect the handle to or remove it from a book.

As is shown in FIG. 5, groove 19 is a dovetail groove. Clips 21 and 23 each have a slide portion 25 and 27, respectively, adapted to be slidably received within groove 19 and thus permit axial movement of the clips in the groove lengthwise of the handle. Each clip 21, 23 also has a clasp 29 and 31, respectively, (see FIGS. 4 and 6) for frictionally holding the end portions of the spine of a book against its respective slide portion. As best shown in FIG. 7, clip 21 has a series of teeth 33 formed on the undersurface of its slide portion 25, and groove 19 has a lug 35 formed therein adjacent the juncture of handle 13 and its removable end piece 15, this lug being engageable with teeth 33 thereby to hold clip 21 relative to the handle in any one of a series of desired positions as determined by the spacing of the teeth. Clip 23 has a series of depressions and ridges, as indicated at 37, formed on the outer surface of its slide portion 27 for purposes as will appear.

Handle 13 has a generally rounded gripping portion 39 extending substantially the length of the handle, and a necked-down portion 41 which then flares outwardly to form surface 17, the outer edges portion of surface 17 and the flared out portions of the handle adjacent the necked-down portions 41 constituting flanges, as indicated at 43.

As generally indicated at 45, means is provided for supporting the front and back covers 5 and 7, respectively, of a book in a generally flat, open position (see FIG. 1). Means 45 comprises an elongate support member carried by handle 13 and extending laterally of the handle on both sides thereof. As shown in FIG. 8, cover support member 45 has a groove 47 formed intermediate its ends, this groove being adapted slidably to receive portions of the handle including flanges 43 thereby slidably to mount the support member on the handle and to permit sliding movement of the support member along the length of the handle. A lug 49 projects downwardly from the center portion of cover support member 45 into groove 19 when the support member is mounted on the handle, this center portion of support member 45 bridging the flat surface 17 of handle 13. As is shown in FIG. 6, lug 49 is adapted to bear against ridges 37 formed on the outer face of slide portion 27 of clip 23 when the clip is positioned in groove 19 and when the support member extends transversely of the handle above the ridges on the slide portion. With lug 49 in engagement with the slide portion of clip 23, the support member is forced outwardly away from face 17 of the handle and the slide portion is forced into groove 19, thus resulting in a clamping force being applied to the support member and to clip 23 thereby to clamp or lock both the support member and the clip relative to the handle.

Support member 45 has a boss 51 formed at each of its outer ends, and each boss has a dove-tail groove 53 formed therein for slidably receiving a cover clip 55. Each cover clip includes a slide portion 57 slidable endwise of the support member in and out relative to handle 13. Each cover clip has a clasp 59 for gripping the cover of the book. A bifurcated outer end, as indicated at 61, extends out beyond the outer closed end of clasp 59 of each cover clip. These outer ends form a slot of a predetermined width which is adapted to receive a length of elastic cord 63 in such a manner that the cord can be stretched from one side of the book to the other and inserted in the bifurcated outer ends and, when released, will remain in its stretched condition across the open pages of the book thereby to hold the book open to a desired page. Thus, the elastic cord 63 together with the bifurcated ends 61 of the cover clips constitute means for holding the book open to a desired page.

As generally indicated at 65, means is provided for holding the book stand and book holder of this invention and the book 3 held thereby in an inclined, upright reading position (see FIG. 1) on a table, desk or other supporting surface. With the holder in its inclined reading position, its removable end piece 15 rests on the supporting surface and handle 13 with a book 3 releasably connected thereto is held in an inclined, generally upright reading position by means of a pair of legs 67a, 67b. These legs are removably secured to the handle by means of a mounting or bridge member 69. As shown in FIG. 5, mounting member 69 is a channel-shaped member having bulbous flanges 71 adapted to be slidable on the sides of the handle adjacent flanges 43 and adjacent necked-down portion 41 thereof, and has a web or bridge portion 73 overlying surface 17 of the handle spanning groove 19 therein. A lug 75 (see FIG. 5) protrudes from the inner surface of bridge portions 73 and is adapted to engage the series of ridges and depressions 37 on the slide portion 27 of clip 23 in a manner similar to lug 49 of cover support member 45. Thus, mounting member 69 and cover support member 45 may each be considered to be a bridge member adapted to exert a clamping force on the slide portion of clip 23 when either or both of the above-mentioned two members and the clip 23 are positioned on handle 13 as illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 6. Legs 67a, 67b are cruciform-shaped in cross section. Each bulbous flange 71 of mounting member 69 has an opening 77 (see FIG. 5) formed therein for receiving the upper end of a respective leg 67a, 67b thereby releasably to secure the legs to handle 13. Each leg 67a, 67b has a lug 79 on one side thereof. A cross brace 81 having slots (not shown) in its ends for receiving a respective lug 79 may be removably secured to the legs so as to extend therebetween by snapping the lug into the above-mentioned slots. Thus, with the cross brace secured to the legs, the legs are braced so as to stiffen them.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, removably end piece 15 of handle 13 has a flange 83 generally of the cross section of the handle extending endwise from the end piece and adapted to project into the handle when the end piece closes the lower end thereof, and a shoulder 85 against which a bottom edge of handle 13 abuts when the closed end piece is inserted in the handle. It will be understood that end piece 15, when inserted in the lower end of handle 13, is held relative thereto by means of the friction of flange 83 against the inner surface of the hollow handle and may also be more positively held thereon by means of one or more recesses (not shown) formed in the flange adapted to receive lugs (also not shown) formed on the inner surface of the handle, these lugs snapping into the recesses when the end piece is inserted in the handle.

As heretofore stated, handle 13 is of hollow construction with its internal volume and shape being sufficient to accommodate clip members 21 and 23, support member 45, cover clips 55, elastic cord 63, legs 67a, 67b, mounting member 69 and cross brace 81, whereby all of these parts may be stored in the handle for shipping and when the handle is not in use.

To use a book stand and book holder 1 of this invention, the upper clip 23 is moved axially in groove 19 to its retracted position (not shown) in which its clasp 31 and clasp 29 of the bottom clip 21 are spaced apart a distance greater than the height of the spine of a book 3 to be held on the stand. The lower end portion of spine 11 of the book is inserted between the slide portion 25 and the clasp 29 of the bottom clip 21. With the spine of the book adjacent surface 17 of handle 13, the upper clip is moved downwardly in groove 19 from its retracted position to its gripping position (shown in FIG. 1) in which the upper end portion of the spine of the book is gripped between its clasp 31 and slide portion 27. The front and back covers 5 and 7, respectively, are opened and thus are adjacent cover support member 45. Cover clips 55 are moved outwardly relative to the ends of the cover support member until their clasps 59 are clear of the outer edges of the book covers. The cover clips are then moved inwardly and the edge of a respective book cover is inserted between the clasp and the slide portion of the cover clip thereby to hold the cover in an open position on support member 45. The pages of the book are then opened to the desired page and the elastic cord 63 is stretched across the open pages and inserted in the bifurcated outer ends 61 of the cover clips 55 thereby to hold the book open on the book stand and book holder.

Legs 67a, 67b may be moved to any desired position along the length of handle 13 by moving mounting member 69 longitudinally along handle 13. By moving the mounting member relative to the handle, the inclination of the book stand and book holder, when supported on a table or other supporting surface, may be varied. With the mounting member adjacent the bottom end of the handle, the book stand and book holder is held in a nearly vertical position, and with the mounting member moved upwardly along the handle, the inclined position of the book holder becomes more horizontal. It will be understood that mounting member 69 may readily be removed from the handle by sliding it endwise therefrom when one of the clips 21 or 23 is in its retracted position. With the legs removed, the book may readily be held in an open reading position by manually gripping handle 13. This may be especially useful for holding heavy books, such as church hymnals, which must be held for a considerable length of time. With mounting member 69 and legs 67a, 67b removed from the handle, these parts may be stored within the hollow handle 13.

It will be understood that mounting member 69 may be above support member 45 rather than as shown in FIGS. 1-3 and FIG. 6. Preferably, all parts of this book stand and book holder, except for elastic cord 63, may be molded of thermoplastic material. It will be further understood that the book holder and stand 1 of this invention may be used to support and to hold conventional soft cover (i.e., paperback) books by attaching clips 21 and 23 to either the front or back cover of the soft cover book adjacent its spine.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As various changes could be made in the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A combination book stand and book holder adapted for use with a book having a front cover, a back cover and a spine joining the covers at the back of the book, said stand and holder comprising:

a closed-end, elongate hollow handle adapted for releasable connection to the spine of a book or to the book cover adjacent the spine whereby a reader may conveniently hold the book by gripping said handle, one end of said handle being removable for access to the interior of said hollow handle;

means for releasably securing said handle to the spine or to the cover adjacent the spine of books of various sizes comprising first and second clip members for gripping opposite end portions of the spine or the cover of a book, each said clip member being slidably carried by said handle and being axially movable therealong between a gripping position in which it is in gripping engagement with one end of the book and a retracted position in which it is clear of the book;

means for supporting the front and back covers of the book in a generally flat, open position comprising an elongate support member carried by the handle extending laterally of the handle on both sides thereof for engagement with the covers of the book when they are in their flat, open position; and

means for holding the handle and the book held thereby in an inclined upright reading position on a supporting surface with one end of the handle constituting its bottom end in engagement with said surface, said holding means comprising a pair of legs removably secured to the handle, said clip members, cover support member and legs being storable within said hollow handle.

2. A book holder and book stand as set forth in claim 1 having means for holding said first and second clip members in any one of a series of said gripping positions relative to said handle.

3. A book holder and book stand as set forth in claim 2 wherein said handle has a longitudinal groove in one face thereof adjacent the spine of the book, and said clip member holding means comprises a series of teeth on said first clip member and a lug in said groove for engaging said teeth thereby to hold said first clip member relative to the handle in any one of a series of desired positions.

4. A book holder and book stand as set forth in claim 2 wherein said handle has a longitudinal groove in one face thereof adjacent the spine of the book, said clip members being slidably received in the groove and being movable therein longitudinally of the handle, and wherein said support member is slidable on the handle and has a portion thereof overlying said groove and extending transversely thereof, said clip member holding means for said second clip member comprising a series of ridges and depressions formed on said second clip member facing outwardly of said groove, said portion of said support member overlying the groove and having a lug extending into the groove and being engageable with said ridges for exerting a clamping force on said second clip member and on the support member thereby to hold the second clip member and the support member in a desired position relative to the handle.

5. A book holder and book handle as set forth in claim 4 wherein said means for holding the handle in an inclined upright reading position includes a bridge member slidable on the handle adapted to receive said legs thereby to removably secure the legs to the handle.

6. A book holder and book stand as set forth in claim 5 wherein said bridge member has a portion overlying said groove in the handle and a lug extending into the groove and engageable with said ridges on said second clip member thereby to exert a clamping force on said second clip member and said bridge member thereby to hold the second clip member and the bridge member in a desired position relative to the handle.

7. A book holder and book stand as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for holding the handle and the book attached thereto in an inclined reading position includes a crossbrace removably secured to each of said legs and extending therebetween, said crossbrace being storable within said handle along with the clip members, cover support member and legs.

8. A book holder and book stand are set forth in claim 1 wherein said elongate member is slidably carried by the handle for axial movement therealong adjacent the spine of said book and has means for slidably receiving a pair of cover clip members, each cover clip member being movable endwise of the support member for releasably gripping a side edge of a respective front or back cover of the book, thereby to hold the covers in their flat, open position.

9. A book holder and book stand as set forth in claim 8 wherein each of said cover clip members has a bifurcated outer end portion and said cover supporting means further comprises a length of elastic material adapted to be releasably inserted in the bifurcated outer end portion of one of said cover clip members, stretched across the open pages of the book and releasably inserted in the bifurcated outer end portion of the other clip member, thereby to hold the book open to a desired page.