Patent Application
20080303263
Not applicable.
The present invention relates generally to books, and more particularly to books that can be used to help children learn letters, numbers, and colors.
The applicant has developed a new form of book. Like prior known books, the new book has internal pages that are positioned between front and back covers. A single “fundamental element” to be learned by the child, such as a single letter of the alphabet, or a single number, or a single color, or a single geometric shape, appears on the front cover. The internal pages bear images associated with the element, such as words that are spelled with the letter, or images of products that have the color.
Unlike prior known books, magnetically attracting elements are included in both the spine of the book and a flap that is attached to a fore-edge side of one of the covers. These elements allow the books to be linked side-by-side. When each book bears a letter, the child can link the books together to spell words.
Many variations are possible. For example, one of the images in the book can be a pictorial image of an object whose name is spelled using a letter on the front cover. Alternatively, one of the images could be a word that is spelled using that letter, with the letter appearing in an emphasized form over other letters used in the printed word. When a letter is used on the front cover, a collection of books can be offered as a set, with a separate book for substantially each of the letters of the alphabet.
When the cover bears a number, the pages of the book can be filled with pictorial images of groups of that number of objects. A collection of books can be offered that includes a separate book for substantially each integer from 1 to 9.
The invention may be better understood by referring to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The book 10 that is seen in
The front cover 12 bears a single fundamental element 22. If the fundamental element is a letter, as it is in the illustration, the letter could appear in either upper-case or lower-case form. The element appears in prominent form. Other visual elements could also appear on the cover, such as shapes or pictures, so long as they do not significantly detract from the visual prominence of the fundamental element.
The internal pages 16 bear images that are associated with the fundamental element 22 that appears on the front cover 12. For example, as seen in
The pages 16 might also include pictorial images of an object whose name is spelled using the letter, such as an image 17 of a ball or a picture of a box when the cover bears the letter “b”. When an image is used, the image might be accompanied (either on the same page or on a facing page) by the written name 18 of the item, including the fundamental element that appears on the front cover of the book.
When the fundamental element is a number, the pages 16 can include pictorial images of groups of that number of objects. For example, if the fundamental element on the cover is the number “3”, then one page might include an image of a group of three marbles, while another page includes an image of a group of three crayons. The images might be photographs, electronic images, or drawings. In addition to the images, the pages might also bear the number itself.
When the fundamental element 22 is a color, the front cover 12 might bear either the color itself, the printed name of the color, or both. The pages 16 within that book might have pictorial images of objects that have that color. For example, if the fundamental element on the front cover is the color green, then one page inside the book might bear an image of a leaf, while another page bears the image of a grasshopper. The word “green” might also be printed on one or more of the pages.
When the fundamental element 22 is a shape, the pages 16 in the book might be objects that have that shape. For example, if the shape is a circle, the pages might include images of a pie, a clock, etc. If the shape is a triangle, the pages might bear images of a tent, a sailboat, etc.
While it is not essential that each of the pages 16 bear an image associated with the fundamental element, it is preferred that substantially all of the right-hand internal pages bear an image associated with that element. For example, if the pages are printed on one side only, then it might be preferred that substantially all of the printed pages bear an image associated with the element on the cover of the book.
The back cover 14 of the book can be plain. Alternatively, it could bear a fundamental element that is the same as or different than the fundamental element on the front cover. For example, if one cover of the book bears an upper-case “B”, then the opposite cover could bear a lower-case “b”. Alternatively, it could bear an entirely different fundamental element, and serve essentially as a front cover for a conceptually different “book” that uses the opposite sides of the pages that bear the images associated with the fundamental element on the opposite cover.
The flap 18 can be connected to either the front cover 12 or the back cover 14 of the book, and can sometimes be arranged so that it can be used to hold the book closed. For example, snaps or Velcro could be used. Preferably, the flap is at least long enough to cover the entire thickness of the fore-edge of the book. The flap need not extend the full height of the book, but could.
The flap 18 serves another more-important purpose. It contains one of two magnetically attracting elements 30, 32 indicated in
The ability of the magnetically attractive elements to hold the books together side-by-side can enable a child to arrange the books in sequence. If the front covers 12 of the books 10 bear letters, for example, the child might be able to arrange the books to spell a word. If the covers bear numbers, the child might be able to arrange the numbers in numerical order. If the covers bear colors, the child might be able to arrange the colors in a sequence such as the sequence of the colors in a rainbow.
To facilitate these kinds of arrangements, when a collection of books 10 includes books with letters on the front covers 12, a separate book might be provided for substantially each of the letters of the alphabet. Of course, some letters might be omitted, and some books might have a cover that bears a short letter combination, such as “th” or “qu.” Similarly, when a collection of books includes books with numbers on the front covers, a separate book might be provided for substantially each integer from 1 to 9. When a collection of books includes books with colors on the front covers, the collection might include a separate book for at least three different colors, such as the three primary colors.
This description of various embodiments of the invention has been provided for illustrative purposes. Revisions or modifications may be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the invention. The full scope of the invention is set forth in the following claims.
