Abstract:
Apparatus for holding a book or the like with its pages in an open position to permit viewing the displayed pages. The page holding assemblies on right and left sides of the book have rotatable members which facilitate the turning of a page from one side to the other without disrupting the function of holding the other pages of the open book in place.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention generally relates to book holding apparatus and, more particularly, to such apparatus which incorporates assemblies for manually turning the pages of a book, when desired, and retaining the pages in position both before and after they are turned. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     The prior art is replete with examples of devices which serve to hold a book in a particular position so that a reader can read the exposed pages without having to hold the book himself. More elaborate apparatus may not only hold the book open but also turn the pages when desired or signaled by the reader. 
     The need for such apparatus has arisen for the handicapped as well as for those who need to read material contained in book form while using their hands for other things, such as pianists or other musicians who have resort to such apparatus while playing their instruments and reading music. It is also a matter of convenience for many people who do not consider it a necessity. 
     A number of such devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 896,480, 940,219, 1,059,901, 1,164,355, 1,215,262, 1,339,261, 1,397,885, 1,735,166, 2,755,580, 2,791,847, 2,885,806, 2,991,680, 4,463,651, 4,553,467, 4,685,374, 4,936,034, and 5,233,900. A brief reference to any of these patents will illustrate the general elaborateness and complexity of the disclosed apparatus, most of which are equipped with motors or other powered devices for activating the mechanisms which are provided for turning the pages. 
     Many of these devices were unreliable, inconvenient to use or simply not functional. Many of them are costly as well, cumbersome and difficult or inconvenient to attempt to use. Accordingly, they are generally not commonly marketed items. 
     Typical of these devices are the arrangements disclosed in the two Goldner U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,553,467 and 4,685,374, the latter being a continuation-in-part of the former. Both disclose a motor driven, rotating assembly having a plurality of spokes or arms extending from a central hub. In both, the rotating assembly comprises a first pair of opposed elongated arm members as page turners and a second pair of elongated arms, shorter in length than the arms of the first pair, to serve as hold-down members. While the present invention shares the objectives of page turning and page holding which are asserted for the Goldner devices, the structure disclosed herein is vastly different from the structures of Goldner. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In brief, particular arrangements in accordance with the present invention comprise a pair of like assemblies mounted on an easel which supports the book in which the pages are to be turned. The easel in turn is supported on an adjustable stand. A pair of straps serve to hold the book in a central position on the easel. 
     In this arrangement, the assembly on the right-hand side of the easel includes a pair of rods generally mounted orthogonally to each other. These rods are mounted on a pivot axis which is reciprocally rotatable. As the rods reciprocate about the pivot axis, they respectively alternate between holding the exposed page on the right-hand part of the book flat against the stand and releasing the exposed page so it can be turned manually to the other side of the book where the turned pages are collected. As the reciprocal rotation continues, the page-turning rod moves into position to hold the next page flat against the book while the other rod moves from the page-holding position to a position where it will turn the next page when the assembly is pivoted back toward the first position. 
     The rod assembly on the left-hand side of the easel is identical to the rod assembly on the right-hand side, merely being mounted in an inverted position relative to the right-hand side rod assembly. This results in its presenting a mirror image of the right-hand side rod assembly. Reciprocating rotation about the pivot axis of the rod assembly on the left-hand side results in a page which has been turned being added to the stack of pages already collected, while this stack is retained in position against the easel. 
     The mounting brackets for these assemblies are adjustable with respect to the easel along slots in the easel so that each assembly may be adjusted upward or downward in position. The mounting brackets also permit adjustment of the rod assemblies in directions which are orthogonal to the easel, thereby enabling them to compensate for variations in thickness of the portions of the book which are respectively held by these assemblies. 
     The easel itself, in a preferred embodiment of the invention, is mounted on a cylindrical horizontal member in a manner which permits the easel to be adjusted both as to the angle at which the book is supported, varying between vertical and horizontal, as well as being adjustable transversely between left and right. 
     The cylindrical support member is itself mounted on a vertical support member which may be adjusted to vary the height at which the easel is maintained. The base of the stand is provided with extended stabilizing feet which serve to maintain the stand stable and keep it from tipping over. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     A better understanding of the present invention may be realized from a consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: 
     FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of one particular arrangement in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the page turning/page holding device on the right-hand side in the arrangement of FIG. 1, shown in a first position; 
     FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the device of FIG. 2 in a second position; 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the device of FIGS. 2 and 3 showing further details of the construction; 
     FIG. 5 is a schematic view of the page turning/page holding device on the left-hand side of the arrangement of FIG. 1, shown in a first position; 
     FIGS. 6A-6D are a series of schematic views of the arrangement of FIG. 1 showing the motion of the device of FIGS. 2 and 3 in turning a page of a book while retaining the pages underneath it; 
     FIGS. 7A-7D are schematic views showing the motion of the device of FIGS. 2 and 3 in the reverse direction to turn the next page of the book while retaining the following pages; 
     FIGS. 8A-8D are a series of schematic views of the arrangement of FIG. 1 showing the positions of the device on the left-hand side of the easel in receiving a turned page from the right-hand side and adding it to the stack of retained pages on the left-hand side; and 
     FIGS. 9A-9D are schematic views showing the motion of the device on the left-hand side of the easel in the reverse direction to receive the next turned page and add it to the stack of pages already retained. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     As shown in the drawings, book holder/page turner apparatus  10  comprises an easel  12  on a supporting stand  13 . The stand  13  includes a cylindrical bar  14  mounted on a vertical support member  16  by means of a mount  15 . The mount  15  is a hollow cylindrical member which allows for adjustment of the bar both axially and rotationally. Thus the angle of the easel  12  can be adjusted by rotating the bar  14  within the mounting member  15 . The easel  12  is affixed to the bar  14  by a mounting member  19 , just visible behind the easel on the left-hand side. 
     The vertical support member  16  comprises a telescoping arrangement in which an upper support portion  17  slides vertically within a lower support portion  18  and is held at a selected position by a pin  17   a . The support  18  is affixed to feet  20  oriented in a tee configuration for stability. 
     The easel  12  is shown supporting a book  24  which is held in place by a pair of straps  21 , extending about the easel  12  and retained by suitable retention members  22 , which may be made of Velcro® or the like. These straps  21  engage the covers  26  of the book  24 . The right-side pages are designated  25 ; the left-side pages are designated  27 . 
     The easel  12  is equipped with a pair of assemblies  30 ,  30 ′ which hold the book open and facilitate the turning of the pages. The right-side assembly  30  comprises a pair of rods  36 ,  37  which are fixed at right angles to each other in a pivot member  34 . As will be explained hereinafter, the rods  36 ,  37  perform both the page turning and page holding functions when controlled manually by the user. The left-side assembly  30 ′ is the same as the right-side assembly  30 , mounted as a mirror image or, alternatively, it may be considered to be in an inverted position relative to the right-side assembly  30 . In the drawings, the same elements of the left-side assembly have been given the same reference numerals of the elements of the right-side assembly, with the addition of the prime symbol to clarify the description. Both assemblies  30  and  30 ′ are mounted on the easel  12  by means which extend through slots  44  to fasteners on the back side (not shown) so that these assemblies may be adjusted upwardly or downwardly with respect to the easel  12  in order to accommodate books of different sizes. 
     As best shown in FIG. 4, the right-side assembly  30  includes a bracket  32  with a base  40  and screws which extend through mounting holes  42  for mounting the bracket at the slot  44 . The bracket  32  has an outwardly extending limb  33  for adjustable mounting of the rods  36 ,  37 . The pivot member  34  is affixed to a clamp  35  which is slidable along the limb  33  toward or away from the easel  12 . A thumbscrew  38  permits locking the clamp  35  at the desired position along the bracket  32 . At the outer end of the limb  33  is a handle  46  to facilitate adjusting the bracket to the desired position. The element  46  also serves as a stop member, preventing the clamp  35  from sliding off the bracket  32 . 
     The above-description applies to the left-side assembly  30 ′ as well, simply priming each of the reference numerals to make the description fit. 
     FIGS. 6A-6D illustrate the way in which the assembly  30  may be manipulated to turn page  25   a  while retaining the remaining pages  25  on the right-hand side of the book  24  in position. In FIG. 6A, the first rod  36  is shown holding the pages  25  on the right-hand side while the upper corner  48   a  of the page  25   a  is lifted in preparation for pivoting of the first and second rods  36 ,  37 . 
     As seen in FIGS. 6B and 6C, as the rods  36 ,  37  are rotated in the counterclockwise direction about the pivot member  34 , the first rod  36  drops in behind the page  25   a  and takes over the page retaining function as that function is vacated by the second rod  37 . In FIG. 6D, the first rod  36  is shown holding the pages of the right-hand portion of the book in place on the easel  12  while the page  25   a  is freed to be moved to the left-hand side and engaged by the rod  37 ′ of the left-hand assembly  30 ′. 
     The right-hand assembly  30  is now ready to begin the next sequence which is shown in FIGS. 7A-7D. For the next page  25   b , the lower corner  48   b  is lifted while the pivot member is moved in a clockwise direction. The first rod  36  clears the page  25   b  as the second rod  37  moves into position to retain the succeeding pages underneath page  25   b . In FIG. 7D the page  25   b  is now clear of the first and second rods  36 ,  37  so that it may be turned to the left side to be slid under the rod  36 ′ of the left-hand assembly  30 ′. 
     The action of the left-hand assembly  30 ′ is shown in the schematic views of FIGS. 8A-8D and  9 A- 9 D. FIG. 8A shows the assembly  30 ′ in position ready to receive a page  25   a  as it has been turned to the left-hand side after release by the assembly  30  on the right-hand side. Clockwise rotation of the assembly  30 ′ begins with the upper left-hand corner of the page  25   a  being tucked underneath the rod  36 ′ (see FIG.  8 B). Clockwise rotation of the assembly  30 ′ continues through FIG. 8B and 8C until the page  25   a  is in place on the stack of pages on the left-hand side of the book, retained by the rod  36 ′, with the rod  37 ′ being moved to a position ready to receive the next turned page. 
     In the sequence of FIGS. 9A-9D, another page  25   b  has been turned for addition to the pages on the left-hand side of the book and, in FIG. 9B, the lower left-hand corner of the page  25   b  is placed underneath the rod  37 ′ as the assembly  30 ′ is now rotated counterclockwise. The rod  36 ′ is rotated out of position as the rod  37 ′ assumes the page retaining function (FIG. 9C) and the left-hand assembly  30 ′ in FIG. 9D is again in the position shown in FIG. 8A, in readiness for another cycle of page turning and page retention. 
     This procedure continues with alternate clockwise and counterclockwise rotation of the pivoted portions of the right-hand and left-hand assemblies  30  and  30 ′ as pages are successively turned from the right-hand side of the book to the left-hand side. This results in a simple manipulation of the page holder and page turner mechanism. The disclosed structural configuration of the present invention avoids the complexities of the prior art devices and is simple in both fabrication and operation. 
     It will be understood that the easel together with the related assemblies  30 ,  30 ′ may be removed from the horizontal support bar  14  and placed on a table or the like in instances where it may be desirable to dispense with use of the stand  13 . For languages in which the pages are turned successively, from left to right, the manipulation of the assemblies  30 ,  30 ′ is simply reversed from the order of the steps described above. 
     Although there have been described hereinabove various specific arrangements of a BOOK HOLDER WITH INTEGRAL PAGE HOLDER/PAGE TURNER APPARATUS in accordance with the invention for the purpose of illustrating the manner in which the invention may be used to advantage, it will be appreciated that the invention is not limited thereto. Accordingly, any and all modifications, variations or equivalent arrangements which may occur to those skilled in the art should be considered to be within the scope of the invention as defined in the annexed claims.