Abstract:
The present invention is generally directed to a device to selectively turn pages in a book, magazine, or other publication. The device includes a tapered projection covering a corner of a page with the tapered projection operable rotationally in a plane substantially parallel to the page. The page-lifting arm lifts the page from under the tapered projection such that the page is now on top of the tapered projection. The tapered projection then rotates and turns the page. The present invention also provides for a method of selectively turning pages in a book, magazine, or other publication.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     1. Field of the Invention  
         [0002]     The present invention is generally directed to page turning methods and devices.  
       BACKGROUND  
       [0003]     Numerous people have a need for page turning devices. Some of these people are disabled and possibly have limited or no movement of their limbs due to spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, or other physical conditions that create a difficulty in their ability to turn a page. Therefore, these people require assistance with turning pages in order to read a book, magazine, or other publication for either business or pleasure. Other people, such as musicians, may require assistance with turning pages in their sheet music or music books while playing instruments.  
         [0004]     Previous page turning devices have several disadvantages and drawbacks. Some page turning devices require the placement of a tab on each page to be turned in order to allow the device to manipulate the page. This means that either specially-prepared publications containing tabs must be used with the page turning device or that users must manually insert tabs onto the pages prior to using the page turning device. These preparations require additional costs and time to facilitate the turns of pages. Further, this may limit the types of publications that may be used with the page turning device. Other page turning devices require complex assortments of belts and rollers to operate. Yet other page turning devices, while operating properly in the middle of a book, have difficulty turning the pages at either the beginning or end of the book. Yet other page turning devices only operate with books, magazines, or publications of certain sizes or thickness.  
         [0005]     Therefore, it will be appreciated that there is a need for a page turning device requiring minimal preparation that works consistently throughout publications of various sizes and thickness.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The present invention is directed towards novel methods and devices for selectively turning pages in books or other publications. More specifically, methods and devices in accordance with the present invention allow for turning pages in variously-sized publications without the use of tabs or other such preparation measures. Further, methods and devices in accordance with the present invention operate consistently from the beginning to end of the publication and even in reverse.  
         [0007]     According to one embodiment of the invention, there is a disclosed apparatus for turning a page in a publication with a plurality of pages. The apparatus includes a tapered projection that has its bottom surface positioned over a corner of the page, and the tapered projection can rotate in a plane substantially parallel to the page. The apparatus also includes a page-lifting arm that can operate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the page, where the page-lifting arm lifts the corner of the page from the bottom surface of the tapered projection to a top surface of the tapered projection and the tapered projection subsequently rotates and turns the page.  
         [0008]     According to one aspect of the invention, the tapered projection is transparent and may reduce glare. According to another aspect of the invention, the tapered projection may be sized according to the length and width of the page. Similarly, according to another aspect of the invention, the page-lifting arm may be sized according to the length and width of the page. In other words, there may be different sizes of tapered projections and page-lifting arms for different sizes of books, magazines, or other publications. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the page-lifting arm includes an adhesive tip that can removably engage the corner of the page. This adhesive tip may also be replaceable with other adhesive tips.  
         [0009]     Furthermore, according to another aspect of the invention, the apparatus may further include a first drive motor for rotating the tapered projection and a second motor for moving an end of the apparatus&#39;s page-lifting arm. The second motor may be, for example, a solenoid. According to another aspect of the invention, the apparatus may also include at least one circuit for controlling the first drive motor and the second motor. The at least one circuit may be, for example, a programmable controller. The at least one control circuit can receive input from a user, including through either a blow tube or buttons. If buttons are used, there may be two buttons, a first for moving the end of the page-lifting arm and a second for rotating the tapered projection 180 degrees from an initial position. As a further aspect of the invention, either a third push button or a timer with a specified delay may be used to direct the tapered projection to return to the initial position.  
         [0010]     According to another embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed an apparatus for turning a page. The apparatus includes a support board and a page-lifting arm having first and second ends, where the page-lifting arm is coupled at the first end to the support board. The apparatus also includes a motor for pivoting the page-lifting arm such that the second end of the page-lifting arm moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the support board, a shaft coupled substantially perpendicular to the support board, and a drive for rotating the shaft. The apparatus further includes a plate substantially covering the page or opposing page with a portion of the plate positioned over the comer of the page. In addition, the plate is engaged to the shaft such that the plate is operative rotationally in a direction substantially parallel to the support board. During operation of the apparatus, the page-lifting arm lifts the comer of the page from underneath the portion of the plate to a position above the portion of the plate, and the plate subsequently rotates, thereby turning the page.  
         [0011]     According to an aspect of the invention, the plate is transparent and may reduce glare. According to another aspect of the invention, the plate is interchangeable with one of a plurality of plates of different sizes. Similarly, according to another aspect of the invention, the page-lifting arm is interchangeable with one of a plurality of page-lifting arms of various sizes. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the page-lifting arm includes an adhesive tip that can removably engage the corner of the page. The adhesive tip is also replaceable.  
         [0012]     Furthermore, according to an aspect of the invention, the apparatus further includes at least one circuit for controlling the drive and the motor. The at least one circuit may be, for example, a programmable controller. The at least one circuit can receive input from a user, including through either a blow tube or at least one button. If buttons are used, there may be two buttons, one for operating the second end of the page-lifting arm and a second for rotating the plate 180 degrees from an initial position. As a further aspect of the present invention, either a third push button or a timer with a specified delay may be used to direct the plate to return to the initial position.  
         [0013]     According to yet another aspect of the invention, the apparatus may further include a second page lifting arm and a taper projection possessing two sides, one on each side where a page lifting arm is located. Using a drive motor which rotates both in the clockwise and counter-clockwise directions, the page turning apparatus would allow the pages to be turned in reverse.  
         [0014]     According to yet another embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed a method for turning a page. The method includes the steps of placing a tapered projection over a corner of the page, lifting a corner of the page from under the tapered projection, thereby positioning the comer of the page on top of the tapered projection, and rotating the tapered projection and turning the page.  
         [0015]     According to an aspect of the invention, the step of placing a tapered projection over a corner of the page includes placing a transparent tapered projection over the corner of the page. According to another aspect of the invention, the step of placing a tapered projection over a corner of the page includes placing a tapered projection that is sized according to a length and width of the page. According to yet another aspect of the invention, the step of lifting a corner of the page from under the tapered projection includes utilizing an adhesive tip to removably engage the corner of the page.  
         [0016]     Furthermore, according to an aspect of the invention, the method further includes the step of utilizing at least one control circuit to coordinate lifting the corner of the page and rotating the tapered projection. The at least one control circuit can receive input, including either through a blow tube or at least one button. According to another aspect of the invention, the step of the at least one control circuit receiving input from at least one button includes receiving a first input from a first button, the first input directing the lifting of the comer of the page and receiving a second input from a second button, the second input directing the rotation at the tapered projection 180 degrees clockwise. Further, the step of the at least one control circuit receiving input from at least one button may include receiving a third input from a third button, the third input directing the rotation of the tapered projection 180 degrees counterclockwise. Alternatively, an automatic timer with a specified delay may be used instead of the third input from the third button. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0017]     Having thus described the invention in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:  
         [0018]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a support board, shaft, and page-lifting arm, according to an illustrative embodiment of a portion of the present invention.  
         [0019]      FIG. 2A  shows a first illustrative example of a sweeping plate.  
         [0020]      FIG. 2B  shows a second illustrative example of a sweeping plate.  
         [0021]      FIG. 3  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention prior to initiation of a page turn.  
         [0022]      FIG. 4  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention after the page-lifting operation is completed.  
         [0023]      FIG. 5  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention in mid-operation as the page is being turned.  
         [0024]      FIG. 6  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention after the page is turned.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0025]     The present inventions will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, these inventions may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0026]     A description of each and every use of a device in accordance with the present invention will be too voluminous to include herein, so the present disclosure is directed to those embodiments and uses that are believed to most clearly represent of the present invention. However, the present invention should not be limited merely to the embodiments and uses disclosed herein, but should be construed to include all of the concepts and teachings disclosed herein.  
         [0027]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a support board  102 , shaft  104 , and page-lifting arm  106 , according to an illustrative embodiment of a portion of the present invention. Support board  102  further includes fasteners  110 . As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , shaft  104  and page-lifting arm  106  are connected to support board  102 . In particular, shaft  104  is placed near the top center of support board  102  while page-lifting arm  106  is placed near the top right of support board  102 . It will be appreciated, however, that shaft  104  and page-lifting arm  106  may be placed on separate support boards or in different locations on support board  102 . It will also be appreciated that page-lifting arm  106  may be interchangeable with other page-lifting arms of different sizes to accommodate publications of various lengths and widths.  
         [0028]     According to one embodiment of the invention, shaft  104  is square-shaped around its circumference, such that the corresponding square hole (not illustrated) in sweeping plate  202  shown in  FIG. 2  couples with shaft  104 . In addition, shaft  104  is driven at one end by a motor (not illustrated), which may be powered by compressed air or electricity, such that shaft  104  is capable of rotating in either a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Such motors, including rotation motors and drive systems, are well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0029]     As shown in  FIG. 1 , according to one illustrative embodiment of the invention, page-lifting arm  106  includes an adhesive tip  108 . The adhesive tip  108  may be constructed with semi-sticky substances capable of intermittent contact, like the adhesive used in Post-it® notes. Adhesive tip  108  may also be replaceable and interchangeable because the adhesive tips may wear down over time or other adhesive tips of various sizes and stickiness may be required with different publication types. In addition, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention, page-lifting arm  106  is spring-loaded and driven by a solenoid (not illustrated), such that the adhesive tip  108  may be moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the page and support board  102 . When the solenoid is activated, the adhesive tip  108  on page-lifting arm  106  is lowered towards support board  102 . When the solenoid is deactivated, page-lifting arm  106  returns adhesive tip  108  to its original position. It is to appreciated that many variations to page-lifting arm  106 , including the use of a different type of motor instead of a solenoid, would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0030]      FIG. 1  also shows fasteners  110  located on support board  102 . In a preferred embodiment of the invention, fasteners  110  consist of a set of hinged clamps. The front and back cover of the book or other publication is held by the set of hinged clamps. After the book or other publication is placed in its desired position on support board  102 , the clamps are tightened. A variety of other fasteners such as hook-and-loop fasteners may also be used to hold the front and back covers of the book, magazine, or other publication in the desired stationary position.  
         [0031]      FIGS. 2A and 2B  show two examples of sweeping plates that may be used according to illustrative embodiments of the present invention. One of ordinary skill in the art would readily recognize many variations of these sweeping plates may be used in alternative embodiments of the invention. According to  FIG. 2A , sweeping plate  202  includes a tapered projection  204  protruding from aperture  206 . Notice that in  FIG. 2A , aperture  206  borders tapered projection  204  on both the top and bottom sides. The sweeping plate  202  shown in  FIG. 2A  may be used to advance pages both forwards and backwards. In  FIG. 2B , sweeping plate  202  also includes a tapered projection  204  protruding from aperture  206 . However, notice that in the example shown in  FIG. 2B , aperture  206  only borders the bottom side of tapered projection  204 . The sweeping plate  202  shown in  FIG. 2B  may be used to advance pages in a single direction. For purposes of illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the invention, the sweeping plate  202  shown in  FIG. 2A  will be used in the following examples. This selection of sweeping plate  202  in  FIG. 2A  is not intended to limit the invention to a particular sweeping plate, but is for illustrative purposes only.  
         [0032]     In addition, sweeping plate  202 , which includes tapered projection  204 , is constructed from a thin, disc-like, rigid, transparent material, such as glass, plastic, Plexiglas, and the like. Construction of sweeping plate  202  from a transparent material allows a user to view the page even though sweeping plate  202  may cover a substantial portion of the page. Thus, the transparent material may be specially formulated to reduce glare for a user that is viewing the page through sweeping plate  202 . The sweeping plate  202  may cover the entirety of the pages being turned in order to prevent an interruption of sight line while reading. In one embodiment of this invention, the interior edges of the aperture  206 , those edges which extend along the interior edge of the aperture  206  across from the tapered projection  204 , are curved away from the page being turned. This curved embodiment allows the pages to be turned without interference from the remainder of the sweeping plate  202 . In another embodiment of this invention, a raised structure or “dimple” may be positioned on the underside of the tapered projection  204 , abutting the page to be turned. This raised structure or “dimple” may be from 1/16 of an inch to ½ of an inch in height off of the underside of the tapered projection  204 , preferably ⅛ of an inch to ⅓ of an inch, and most preferably 3/16 of an inch to ¼ of an inch. The raised structure or “dimple” works to depress slightly the open pages of the material to prevent the undesired turning of pages behind the open pages.  
         [0033]      FIG. 3  shows a close-up view of an illustrative embodiment of the present invention prior to initiation of a page turn. Sweeping plate  202  has been connected through its square hole (not illustrated) to shaft  104  and is covering a substantial portion of the open book, thereby keeping the pages spread open. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, sweeping plate  202  is positioned such that the bottom surface of tapered projection  204  is covering page corner  308 .  
         [0034]      FIG. 4  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention after the page-lifting operation has been completed. Here, the solenoid had already activated page-lifting arm  106  to lower adhesive tip  108  to engage page corner  308 . The solenoid then deactivated page-lifting arm  106 , whereby the adhesive tip  108  lifted page corner  308  from under tapered projection  204  to position page corner  308  above tapered projection  204 . Page corner  308  now rests on top of tapered projection  204  as shown in  FIG. 4 .  
         [0035]      FIG. 5  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention in mid-operation as the page is being turned. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, sweeping plate  202 , which includes tapered projection  204 , rotates 180 degrees in a clockwise direction, advancing the page forward as shown in  FIG. 5 .  
         [0036]      FIG. 6  shows a close-up frontal view of the illustrative embodiment of the present invention after the page is turned. Here, sweeping plate  202  has finished rotating 180 degrees clockwise. In another embodiment of the invention, there may be a second page-lifting arm placed near the top left of support board  102 , operable to lift the top left comer of the page onto tapered projection  204 . If sweeping plate  202  is then rotated in the counter-clockwise direction, the page is then advanced backwards. However, according to the preferred embodiment, which only has a single page-lifting arm  106 , sweeping plate  202  would be directed to rotate 180 degrees counterclockwise in order to return to its original position, and await a request for advancement of the next page.  
         [0037]     In the above illustrative embodiments, no reference has yet been made to how the operations of the shaft  104 /sweeping plate  202  combination and page-lifting arm  106  are controlled. However, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, a circuit (not illustrated) controls the operation of the shaft  104 /sweeping plate  202  combination and page-lifting arm  106 . According to the preferred embodiment, the control circuit receives inputs through three buttons (e.g., pushbuttons or feet-activated pedals), each of which has a separate function. The first button activates the solenoid that operates page-lifting arm  106 , including adhesive tip  108 . Because page-lifting arm  106  may be spring-loaded, activating the solenoid would lower adhesive tip  108  on page-lifting arm  106 . The second button rotates sweeping plate  202  in a clockwise direction. The third button rotates sweeping plate  202  in a counterclockwise direction.  
         [0038]     Furthermore, the apparatus could be equipped with a second page-lifting arm, substantially similar to page-lifting arm  106 , and a sweeping plate  202  which has a tapered projection  204  and aperture  206  on both sides of the sweeping plate  202  where the page-lifting arms are located. The rotation of the sweeping plate  202  in both the clockwise and counterclockwise directions would allow the user to advance the pages as well as turn the pages back in the direction opposite the advancement through the material held by the apparatus.  
         [0039]     During normal operation of the illustrative embodiment, sweeping plate  202  would be placed in (or have returned to) the proper initial position. The user would start by depressing the first button. The solenoid would activate, lowering adhesive tip  108  to engage page corner  308 , which is located under tapered projection  204 . As the solenoid is deactivated, adhesive tip  108  on page-lifting arm  106  would lift upwards, raising page corner  308  to a position above tapered projection  204 . As page-lifting arm  106  finishes lifting adhesive tip  108  upwards, a first normally-open limit switch (not illustrated) is closed by the page-lifting arm returning to its upright position. The closure of the first normally-open limit switch is required before sweeping plate  202  can be rotated. This prevents page-lifting arm  106  from interfering with the rotation of sweeping plate  202 .  
         [0040]     The user would then depress the second button, which would rotate sweeping plate  202  (including tapered projection  204 ) approximately 180 degrees clockwise from its initial position until a second normally-open limit switch (not illustrated) is triggered (i.e. closed) by a portion of sweeping plate  202  hitting the limit switch. This normally-open limit switch may also be triggered by a cam fitted to a motor shaft moving the sweeping plate. The rotation of sweeping plate  202  turns the page in the process. When desired, the user would then depress the third button, which would rotate sweeping plate  202  approximately 180 degrees counterclockwise (until a third normally-open limit switch (not illustrated) is closed), returning sweeping plate  202  to its initial position. It should be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that many variations of the control circuit are available. For instance, in another embodiment of the present invention, a timer with a specified delay could replace the third button. In that case, when the second button is activated, sweeping plate  202  would rotate 180 degrees clockwise as directed, and then the timer would wait the specified delay time before returning sweeping plate  202 , 180 degrees counterclockwise to its initial position. In other embodiments, sweeping plate  202  may simply rotate an additional 180 degrees in the same direction in order to return sweeping plate  202  to its initial position. In other words, instead of first rotating 180 degrees clockwise and then 180 degrees counterclockwise to return to its initial position, sweeping plate  202  may simply rotate an additional 180 degrees clockwise to return to its initial position. Thus, there may only be 2 buttons required for this alternative embodiment. In alternative embodiments, there may only be one button, with programmable logic controllers coordinating the operations of the page-lifting arm  106  and sweeping plate  202 . In a further embodiment utilizing programmable logic controllers, depressing the single button operates the page-lifting arm  106  and sweeping plate  202  for as long as the button remains depressed until the cycle has run. If, however, the button is no longer depressed, the page-lifting arm  106  and sweeping plate  202  stop their movements and remain still or return to their respective positions prior to the button being depressed. Similarly, the single button embodiment may have its stop or reversing function engaged by redepressing the button after the cycle has begun. Alternatively, this stop or reversing function may be engaged by depressing another button. Further, this stop or reversing function may be achieved with an apparatus or any number of mechanisms for control, such as merely assigning the stop or reversing function a specific sequence recognized by the logic controller or the mechanism itself being independently capable of performing that task. In addition, the buttons that provide input into the control circuit could be replaced with other input options such as a blow tube device responsive to a puff of air or a sip of air. Further variations may include input through devices that recognize voice commands or eye movements. Additional variations would readily be known to one of ordinary skill in the art.  
         [0041]     Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which these inventions pertain having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Thus, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many forms and should not be limited to the embodiments described above. Therefore, it is to be understood that the inventions are not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.