Patent Grant
6948447
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
Not Applicable
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to bookmarks, specifically for identifying the location of the text on a page, the text on a page column, and the lines of text where reading is to recommence.
2. Prior Art
Often when a reader tires or runs out of time, the reader will not finish at the end of a chapter or an otherwise convenient stopping place in a book that is being read. Hence, when the reader returns, some method is needed for finding where reading was left off. Hopefully, the reader will not have to reread large portions of the text in order to commence at the proper spot in the book. For this purpose, many markers have been created in an attempt to solve the problem. These devices are generally referred to as bookmarks.
A goal for such bookmarks is that they be inexpensive, easy for the reader to use, and have dimensions suitable for both small paperbacks and the larger hard-cover books. Also, such bookmarks need to identify which page, which column, which section of text on the page or column, and which specific line or lines of text are being marked. It is also desirable that the bookmark retain its information, even if the bookmark is jostled or falls out of the opened book. Unfortunately, the design of the perfect bookmark has been approached but never attained.
Bookmarks of many designs have been invented over the years. However, even though many designs provide a degree of utility, individually they do not entirely solve the reader's perceived problem. They are often lacking in one thing or another, including the following:
a) They are not always easy to use, either because of their size or simplicity. Because of their simplicity they are often annotated with arrows, lines, numbers, letters, and instructions necessary to the reader. Oftentimes they require the use of both hands to complete the marking of the reader's spot in the book. Other times it is necessary to turn the bookmark over and upside down to get the proper orientation for insertion into the book. U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,804 KAMEN (2001) requires the reader to be aware of subtle differences in the notches or points on the bookmark in order to determine which page or column of a page is being marked. Letters and arrows are needed to determine what orientation the bookmark must be placed in order to mark the reader's spot. U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,947 DREW (2001) requires that the reader use one hand to hold the bookmark down while using the other hand to move the marking indicator up or down a flexible strap while adjusting an arrow indicator for pointing right or left.
b) Many bookmarks are limited in their capabilities to mark pages, columns of text, paragraphs, and lines of text. U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,612 CATALANOS (1995) marks only to a single page of a book. U.S. Pat. No. 5,577,459 ALDEN (1996) marks only to a single paragraph and additionally limits its marking to books that have numbered paragraphs. U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,948 WALSH (1992), U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,835 KNOWLES (1994), U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,225 KRASNER (1997), U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,947 DREW (2001), and U.S. Pat. No. 2,630,777 JOHNSON (1952) make no provision for marking a column in a book with two columns per page.
c) Few bookmarks make provisions for retaining the marking information if they are jostled out of place or if they fall out of the book when the book is opened. Attempts have been made to alleviate the problem with adhesives or some sort of clips attached to the leaves of the book. U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,665 CARLIN (1990), U.S. Pat. No. 5,081,948 WALSH (1992), U.S. Pat. No. 5,311,835 KNOWLES (1994), U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,240 MIROYAN (1995), U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,225 (KRASNER) (1997), U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,804 KAMEN (2001), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,550,417 HENDERSHOT (2003) all lose the marking information if they fall out when the book is opened.
d) It is desirable that a bookmark be of a convenient size and shape, not damage a book through its use, and also be inexpensive. A voracious reader, who often may have several books partially read, may need to have several bookmarks in use at one time. U.S. Pat. No. 3,266,456 O'REILLY (1965) does not appear to be inexpensive. Additionally, it is of a size and shape that is cumbersome for use in both paperback books and large hard-cover books. U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,809 Weinberg (1996) uses adhesive to mark a spot which introduces potential risk to fragile books
Accordingly, this bookmark provides a more encompassing solution to the desires of the reader. The objectives and advantages of this bookmark include, but are not limited to, the following:
Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.
In accordance with the present invention, the bookmark described herein has several novel attributes not normally found in a bookmark. They include, but are not limited to, the following:
1) An alterable icon, with a likeness of an open book, is used as the marker
One side of the bookmark has an alterable icon with a likeness of an open book with a single column of text on each page. The reverse side has a second alterable icon with a likeness of an open book with two columns of text on each page. Each page of text and each column of text in the icons have a plurality of apertures. The apertures can be selectively highlighted, one at a time, by the adjustable highlighter device, to indicate one quarter of a page of text or one quarter of a column of text. The use of the icon, with a likeness of the book being read, obviates the need for any arrow, numbers, lines or letters to aid the reader in using the bookmark. Therefore, this bookmark contains no such aids.
2) Four line-of-text markers instead of only one
Many bookmarks provide for marking a line-of-text utilizing only one arrow or marker. This causes a need to position such bookmarks over the whole range of the page, from the extreme top of the page to the extreme bottom of the page, in the marking of a single line. These extremes often cause the bookmark to not have a good anchor in the book. The bookmark will stick far above or far below the book leaving little in the book to retain or anchor it. The designer often resorts to making the bookmark longer than desirable or to adding marking arrows that must be rotatable or made movable on a sliding mechanism, increasing cost and complexity.
This bookmark has four pairs of line-of-text markers on each side of the bookmark of which only one is used at a time. The one marker out of the four pairs is selected by the reader by observing which aperture is highlighted in the open book icon. For example, if the open book icon shows that the reader is in the third quarter of the text, he will use the third quarter text line marker. This insures that the bookmark is positioned near the center of the page and never has to be moved vertically more than a quarter of a page to mark a line of text.
3) An alternative approach to marking a section of as few as five lines of text
For the reader who chooses, the open book icon may be used to mark a paragraph or a sentence or two of text consisting of as few as five lines of text.
4) Markings are retained if the bookmark falls from the book when it is opened
The bookmark retains the marking to a quarter page of text, a quarter column of text, a paragraph or any text of at least five lines should the bookmark fall from the book when opened.
5) One size is suitable for use in both soft-cover and hard-cover books
The bookmark is conveniently sized for small books such as paperback sizes. Provisions for marking a line of text in taller hard-cover books is provided by using the left and right edges of the bookmark as line-of-text markers. Since the hard-cover book may be tall, the reader positions the bookmark horizontally. The reader then positions the bookmark so that the selected edge lines up with the line-of-text to be marked. The edge selected is determined by the position of the highlighted aperture in the alterable open book icon. Because the bookmark is positioned horizontally, it will extend out from the right edge of the book, thereby providing good visibility when the book is closed.
Figures
Numerals
Detailed Description Overview
As illustrated in
Detailed Description Specifics
FIG. 1—Sheet A of Bookmark 40
The sheet 54 is rectangular in form and is of generally recognized conventional bookmark dimensions. For this embodiment, the height of vertical right edge 50 and vertical left edge 52 is chosen to be 165.0 mm, and the width of top horizontal edge 28 and bottom horizontal edge 58 is chosen to be 51.0 mm.
Illustrated at the top of
Icon 30 also has a representation of a left page 34 with a single column of text 33. Page 34 has a plurality of 3.0 mm diameter apertures 38. Apertures 38 each represent one quarter of text 33. Top aperture 38 represents the top one quarter of text 33. Second aperture 38 represents the second quarter of text 33. Third aperture 38 represents the third quarter of text 33. Bottom aperture 38 represents the fourth quarter of text 33. These apertures, when individually highlighted by device 24, show which quarter of a page a reader has marked to indicate the stopping point.
On edge 52 of sheet 54 are a plurality of half circle markers 56 equally spaced vertically between each other. A corresponding plurality of markers 56 are placed on edge 50. They are also equally spaced vertically between each other and are positioned such that they are directly across from the corresponding markers 56 on edge 52 of sheet 54. The top pair of markers 56, across the sheet from each other, are 1st quarter page text line markers. Next lower pair of markers 56 are 2nd quarter page text line markers. Next to the last pair of markers 56 are 3rd quarter page text line markers and the bottom pair of markers 56 are 4th quarter page text line markers.
FIG. 2—Sheet B of Bookmark 40
Sheet 82 is rectangular in form and is of generally recognized conventional bookmark dimensions. For this embodiment, the height of vertical right edge 84 and vertical left edge 86 is chosen to be 165.0 mm and the width of top horizontal edge 88 and bottom horizontal edge 87 is chosen to be 51.0 mm.
Illustrated at the top of
On edge 86 of sheet 82 there are a plurality of markers 56 equally spaced vertically between each other. A corresponding plurality of markers 56 are placed on edge 84. They are also equally spaced vertically between each other and are positioned such that they are directly across from the corresponding markers 56 on edge 86. The top pair of markers 56, across sheet 82 from each other, are 1st quarter page text line markers. Next lower pair of markers 56 are 2nd quarter page text line markers. Next to the last pair of markers 56 are 3rd quarter page text line markers, and the bottom pair of markers 56 are 4th quarter page text line markers.
FIG. 3—Sheet A and Sheet B.
FIG. 5—Section through Bookmark
Operation—General Description—FIG. 1 and
When the reader decides to stop reading, he can estimate at which quarter of a page of text he is stopping. If he is in the second quarter of a page of text, he may move device 24 until it produces a highlighted aperture on either icon 30 or icon 60. The reader will pick the second aperture down from the top consistent with his location in the real book that he is reading. He then places bookmark 40 in the book. When he returns later, he observes what bookmark 40 indicates and resumes his reading in the indicated quarter of the page. This is easily done because the open book icon exhibits a likeness of a book similar to the actual book that he is reading. Assuming that he is reading a book with single column of text pages, he will use icon 30 of bookmark 40. If he is reading a book with double columns of text, he will use icon 60 of bookmark 40. Thus, his decision as to which open book icon to use is unambiguous. At this point, the reader may choose to use only this quarter page or quarter column marking feature for his book marking. Not only is it simple to use but, additionally, he will benefit by the bookmark's retention of his marking spot should it fall out when the book is opened.
However, is he likes, he may choose to also mark his stopping point to some single line-of-text in the quarter page of text indicated by the aperture highlighted icon 30 or icon 60. He can do this by using one of the corresponding pair of markers 56 below the open book icon 30 or icon 60. He does this by placing bookmark 40 in the book positioned such that the selected line marker 56 is aligned with the text line in the book that he chooses to mark. If he wants to mark a line on the left page of the book, he will use the left most marker of the pair. Conversely, if he wants to mark a line on the right page of the book, he will use the right most marker of the pair. Bookmark 40 is then held vertically and thrust toward the spine of the book The pressure of the two pages that bookmark 40 is sandwiched between provides for its retention in the book.
Operation—Detailed Description—
In summary,
The alternative approach technique uses an uncommon highlighting of an aperture to divide a quarter section of text into three sections. The aperture is highlighted in three ways to accomplish this. The three are: a) upper half only highlighted aperture 156, b) fully highlighted aperture 158, and c) lower half only highlighted aperture 160. Each represents ⅓ of a ¼ of section of text equating to five lines in a book with sixty lines per page. Therefore, if the reader chooses, he may adjust the highlighting of 2nd quarter aperture 78 to only ½ coverage represented by aperture 156 as illustrated in FIG. 12. This would mark five lines of text in the upper third of the quarter page. If the reader adjusts the device 24 to completely highlight aperture 158, as illustrated in
Conclusion
Accordingly, the reader will see that the bookmark, with the adjustable highlighter device and the alterable open book icon, can easily be used to mark the spot in any book where reading may be resumed. The bookmark is easy to use since the primary marker element consists of a likeness of an open book. Since this marker appears very much like the actual book being read, it is easy to determine how the marker is to be set. The adjustable highlighter device provides a means for highlighting one of 8 marker apertures on the front sheet A icon and one of the 16 marker apertures on the back sheet B icon. This allows the reader to mark within a quarter page of text in a single-column text or to an eighth of a page in double-column texts. The bookmark can mark a single line of text in any page of text or any column of text. This marking is facilitated by the use of four pair of text markers per side, one pair each to use for each quarter section of text. Selecting the proper one of the four marker pairs on a side insures that the bookmark need not be moved vertically more than one quarter of a book's page when marking a single line of text.
Also, an alternate technique is provided for marking a sentence or a paragraph of five lines or more of text. The bookmark will preserve which page of text was marked, which column of text was marked and which five lines of text were marked, even if the bookmark was to fall out on opening the book. The reader, on picking up the bookmark, will know which icon to use, either icon 30 or icon 60, by observing how many columns are in the book that he has been reading.
The adjustable highlighter device allows the book marking to be done through the use of only one hand. The bookmark needs no arrows, no lines, no numbers or alphanumeric characters to be able to set the bookmark to a quarter page of text, a quarter column of text, a line of text, or a section of text of five lines indicating where to commence reading. This bookmark can be used for both paperback books and for larger hard-cover books. The bookmark is inexpensive to fabricate since it has only three parts and a rivet.
Ramifications and Scope
Although the descriptions given in this specification contains many specifics, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the preferred embodiments of this invention. Some other embodiments for consideration can include the following:
In summary, the scope should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalent, rather than the examples given.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 399768 | Mehrer | Mar 1889 | A |
| 650664 | Wireback | May 1900 | A |
| 670766 | Carleton | Mar 1901 | A |
| 759427 | Fairchild | May 1904 | A |
| 828353 | Walsh | Aug 1906 | A |
| 868470 | Orgain | Oct 1907 | A |
| 1018816 | Eilers | Feb 1912 | A |
| 1966340 | Forbring et al. | Jul 1934 | A |
| 2630777 | Johnson | Aug 1953 | A |
| 3266456 | O'Reilly | Aug 1966 | A |
| 4608772 | Gill | Sep 1986 | A |
| 4901665 | Carlin | Feb 1990 | A |
| D307442 | Cooper | Apr 1990 | S |
| 5081948 | Walsh | Jan 1992 | A |
| 5311835 | Knowles | May 1994 | A |
| D351192 | Klein | Oct 1994 | S |
| 5377612 | Catalanos | Jan 1995 | A |
| 5437240 | Miroyan | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5515809 | Weinberg | May 1996 | A |
| 5577459 | Alden | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5632225 | Krasner | May 1997 | A |
| 6109205 | Smith | Aug 2000 | A |
| 6205947 | Drew | Mar 2001 | B1 |
| 6298804 | Kamen | Oct 2001 | B1 |
| 6550417 | Hendershot | Apr 2003 | B2 |
| 6796266 | Castillo | Sep 2004 | B1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 2222387 | Mar 1990 | GB |
