IES71633B2 - Book clip - Google Patents

Description

BOOK CLIP This invention relates to the gripping of a multiplicity of sheets of paper, for example, the pages of a paperback book. In particular, the invention is directed to a clip to facilitate reading of a paperback book.

Paperback books are notoriously difficult to hold open when reading, especially using only one hand. The increasing thickness of paperback books in recent years has added to this problem. Thus a user frequently has to employ both hands in order to open, hold and stabilise a paperback book when reading it. This can be awkward in many contexts, especially when reading in bed or reading while standing on for example public transport.

It is an object of the invention to provide a means for overcoming these difficulties. It is a further objective of the invention to provide a clip suitable for gripping a multiplicity of sheets of paper, such as but not limited to, the pages of a paperback book.

/ S7 1 β 3 3 ' - 2 According to the invention there is provided a clip for gripping a multiplicity of sheets of paper, for example, to hold a paperback book in an open condition, comprising two opposed limbs connected by a linking portion to define a resilient structure, one of the limbs being of substantially greater length than the other, and the clip having a rest disposition in which a portion of the shorter limb is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb, displacement of the limbs from said rest disposition in a direction away from one another being resiliently resisted so that the limbs are biassed towards said rest disposition in which the limbs are abutting or juxtaposed.

Said longer limb is suitably substantially planar in said rest disposition of the clip. Preferably, said linking portion extends from one end of said longer limb, substantially at right angles to the general plane of said longer limb, at least in said rest disposition of the clip. Alternatively, said linking portion may extend in a substantially continuous curve from one end of said longer limb to an end of said shorter limb, said linking portion then defining substantially a U or C-shape, in side view. Said shorter limb then extends, in a favoured embodiment, from the end of said linking portion remote from said longer limb, in a direction defining an acute enclosed angle with said longer limb, at least in said rest disposition of the clip, with the apex of said angle in the region of said portion of the shorter limb which is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb.

Said portion of the shorter limb which is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb may have a first section which is closest to said longer limb in said rest disposition of the clip, and from which the shorter limb extends as a second section of said portion in a diverging manner from the longer limb towards the free end of the shorter limb, to provide for ease of placement of the clip over the edge of a book. Said second section of said portion extending in a diverging manner suitably extends in a S7 1 633 ί - 3 curvingly divergent manner towards said free end of the shorter limb.

In a preferred embodiment of the clip according to the invention, said portion of the shorter limb is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb at a location along the longer limb which is closer to said linking portion than it is to the free end of the longer limb. This allows the longer limb to overlie two pages of an opened book, when held by the clip, but with the clip gripping only a group of pages to one side of the spine of the book. Preferably, the clip is formed from flat strip material, bent to shape, and in an especially favoured construction, the clip is formed from a plastics material.

The invention also extends to a clip substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings as well as to a clip according to the invention specifically for holding a paperback book in an open condition.

In use of the clip, the arms are moved apart from one another and the clip placed over one side of the book so that the longer limb overlays the top or open pages of the book and the lower limb underlies either the back or front cover. Since the arms of the spring clip are resiliently biassed towards one another, pages contained between the limbs are gripped by the clip. The elongated upper limb overlies both of the side-by-side pages of the book when opened out, thereby rendering them available for reading.

Suitably the clip is formed from a resilient plastics material, formed to the appropriate shape. The material may be opaque, in which case the clip is moved up or down the page during reading to allow access to all of the printed matter or other pictorial representations to be reviewed by the reader, or the plastics material may be transparent. The clip may embody advertising material or other informational presentations, or a magnifying portion may be defined within the plastics of the longer limb. When not in use as a reading aid, the clip of the invention may also serve as a bookmark by being - 4 clipped to the top edge of a paperback book at an appropriate location, with the elongated section or longer limb extending parallel to the spine.

In use of the invention for holding a multiplicity of sheets of paper in general, not necessarily comprised in a paperback book, the longer limb of the clip may underlie the rear of the multiplicity of sheets, so as to give ease of access to the maximum area of the front sheet of the multiplicity. The longer rear limb then also serves as a possible support, should there be a necessity to write or otherwise operate on the leading sheet of the multiplicity. In particular to facilitate retention of a multiplicity of sheets of paper, at least one of the limbs, suitably the portion of the shorter limb which is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb in the rest disposition of the clip, may be provided with an engaging feature or features, so as to allow easy insertion of documents or sheets of paper between the limbs of the clip, but to provide a greater degree of resistance to removal of the papers from the clip. The engaging means may consist of a roller or material portion, or in general, any suitable feature having a bias in favour of admitting items in a first direction but opposing removal of the items in the opposite direction.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described having regard to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a pictorial view of a first embodiment of clip according to the invention viewed from beneath, Figure 2 shows a clip according to Figure 1 in position on a paperback book, the book being represented in end view in the direction of its spine, and Figure 3 is a side view of a second embodiment of clip according to the invention. - 5 As shown in Figure 1, a book clip manufactured from a resilient plastics material has an elongate upper limb 1 and a lower limb 2 biassed towards the upper limb 1 by virtue of the structure being formed from a resilient plastics material. The upper limb 1 is substantially straight and flat and is interconnected by a bridging portion 3 to the lower limb 2, thus giving the required spring-like or resilient structure. From the lower end of the bridging portion 3, the lower limb 2 is directed at a converging inclination relative to the upper limb 1, such that the two limbs 1 and 2 abut at a position 4 along the length of the upper limb 1 spaced from the bridging portion. Beyond this abutment location 4, the lower limb 2 is turned slightly downwards, section 5, to facilitate placement on a book.

Thus as shown in Figure 1, the clip has a biassed-closed disposition, from which the limbs 1 and 2 may be moved apart by user action, to engage the clip over the pages of a book.

Use of the clip is shown in Figure 2. A paperback book 11 is in an open condition, with lefthand 13 and righthand 14 pages folded down relative to the spine of the book 12. In order to maintain the book in this condition, the upper limb 1 of the clip is laid over the opened pages 13, 14, and the limbs 1 and 2 forced apart to a sufficient extent for the region between the two limbs 1, 2 to engage over the pages 14 on the righthand side of the book 11 in the representation of Figure 2. The resilient structure of the clip ensures that the righthand pages 14 are firmly engaged between the limbs 1, 2 or arms of the clip and that therefore the book can be read so far as the two pages opened are concerned using one hand only, without any fear of the book suddenly closing itself, as so frequently happens with paperbacks. While the righthand pages 14 are gripped, the elongate length of the upper limb 1 is such that it also overlies the lefthand pages 13 and thus holds them also open and available for reading.

The clip may be slid up and down the pages 13, 14 to give access to all of the written or pictorial material shown on them.

When moving on to the next pair of pages, the clip is simply removed - 6 and positioned with the next pair of pages under the longer arm 1, and again rearranged as shown in Figure 2.

Ci In the alternative embodiment of the invention shown in Figure 3, the general configuration of the clip is the same as that of Figure 1. An upper limb 21 is connected to a lower limb 22 by a bridging portion 23. However, as compared with the angular embodiment of Figure 1, the hinging or bridging portion 23 of the structure is formed in a substantially continuous curve extending from the end of the longer limb 21 to the end of the shorter limb 22. This generally U-shaped section, as seen in the side view of Figure 3, provides potentially enhanced strength and resilience of the unit. The section of the device in this region may also be defined as similar to a letter C.

A further minor difference from the embodiment of Figure 1 resides also in the region of the abutment position 24 of the unit, forward of which the downwards section 25 of the lower limb 22 diverges in a curved manner from the upper limb 21, thereby providing a more generously defined mouth or entry region for sheets of paper as compared with the arrangement of Figure 1, whether the sheets consist of the pages of a paperback or a multiplicity of independent sheets of paper to be held by the clip.

Claims (5)

1. A clip for gripping a multiplicity of sheets of paper, comprising two opposed limbs connected by a linking portion to define a resilient structure, one of the limbs being of substantially greater length than the other, and the clip having a rest disposition in which a portion of the shorter limb is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb, displacement of the limbs from said rest disposition in a direction away from one another being resiliently resisted so that the limbs are biassed towards said rest disposition in which the limbs are abutting or juxtaposed.

2. A clip according to Claim I, wherein said shorter limb extends from the end of said linking portion remote from said longer limb in a direction defining an acute enclosed angle with said longer limb, at least in said rest disposition of the clip, with the apex of said angle in the region of said portion of the shorter limb which is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb.

3. A clip according to Claim 1 or Claim 2, wherein said portion of the shorter limb which is in abutment against or positioned at a short spacing from the longer limb has a first section which is closest to said longer limb in said rest disposition of the clip, and from which the shorter limb extends as a second section of said portion in a diverging manner from the longer limb towards the free end of the shorter limb.

4. A clip according to any preceding claim for holding a paperback book in an open condition.

5. A clip substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.