Abstract:
The invention relates to a protective cover arrangement comprising a front cover, a back cover and a connecting member for connecting said front cover to the back cover, the connecting member being arranged to adjust the distance between the front cover and the back cover. The present invention provides for a robust protection system of modular design which is expandable and thus able to cover paperback and hardback books, magazines, journals, periodicals and related bound reading, writing and study materials of various height, width and thickness. This kind of protection system is particularly well suited to covering field and travel guides, maintenance manuals, school textbooks and any book that is subjected to being frequently moved or roughly handled.

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to protective covers, such as book covers. It also relates to a method of covering book-shaped media by means of such protective covers. 
       STATE OF THE ART 
       [0002]    Numerous different kinds of covers are currently employed to protect books. Most are of a comparatively simple design and constructed from either paper or thin flexible plastics. Naturally, due to wear and tear, the lifespan of such protectors is extremely limited. Due to their simple construction such covers can typically be adjusted somewhat to fit larger or smaller books, however, their low cost makes it both impractical and undesirable to reuse a semi-worn cover to protect a different book. 
         [0003]    Other protectors made from more robust materials have also been constructed, however, these are only suitable to protect books of a predefined thickness. 
         [0004]    With the obvious susceptibility of paperback books to the formation of ‘dog eared’ pages and accidental damage, it is desirable to have the cover give the kind of protection to the pages that the cover-leaves of a hardback book provide. No cover/protector has yet been known which satisfies such a specification. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is a goal of the present invention to provide a cover of variable thickness. 
         [0006]    Therefore the invention relates to a protective cover arrangement, the arrangement comprising a front cover, a back cover and a connecting member for connecting said front cover to the back cover, the connecting member being arranged to adjust a distance between the front cover and the back cover. 
         [0007]    The present invention provides for a robust protection system of modular design which is expandable and thus able to cover paperback and hardback books, magazines, journals, periodicals and related bound reading, writing and study materials of various height, width and thickness. This kind of protection system is particularly well suited to covering field and travel guides, maintenance manuals, school textbooks and any book that is subjected to being frequently moved or roughly handled. 
         [0008]    In an embodiment the connecting member comprises one or more flexible elements, such as bands, threads, wires or strands. 
         [0009]    In an embodiment the protective cover arrangement comprises at least one substantially rigid adjustment member movably arranged alongside said front and/or back cover, wherein said flexible elements are connectable to said adjustment members and/or an opposing cover. 
         [0010]    According to a further embodiment the flexible elements and/or said adjustment member are connectable to said front cover and/or said back cover. In a particular embodiment Velcro tape is used to make the connection. Velcro tape is easy to fix and readjust. 
         [0011]    In an embodiment the protective cover arrangement comprises one or more fixing members for fixing the adjustment member into a fixed position alongside the front or back cover. The fixing members may comprise releasable connecting means, such as Velcro tape. Other types of releasable connecting means could be used such as poppers, buttons, or buckles. 
         [0012]    The front cover and back cover may comprise a relatively rigid material, such as rigid plastic, such as polypropylene. 
         [0013]    In a particular embodiment the front cover and back cover have rectangular shapes. However, the covers may be made of any suitable shape or size. A specific example is the A4-format, which can be used to cover stacks of A4 paper. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment the front cover or back cover or both comprise two panels. Between these panels, the adjustment member can be arranged. 
         [0015]    In an embodiment the front cover and/or back cover comprise one or more openings for attaching the connecting member. The protective cover arrangement may also comprise a replaceable outer cover. The outer cover can be selected and varied to give the cover an attractive appearance while also protecting the book more effectively. The outer cover is typically made from a textile of one kind or another, and is also referred to as the outer fabric. 
         [0016]    The invention also relates to a method of covering book-shaped media by means of an arrangement described above. The method comprises: 
         [0017]    placing a front cover at a first side of the book-shaped media; 
         [0018]    placing a back cover at a second side of the book-shaped media, opposite the first side; 
         [0019]    connecting the front cover to the back cover by means of the connecting member; 
         [0020]    adjusting the length of the connecting member. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         [0021]    Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which corresponding reference symbols indicate corresponding parts, and in which: 
           [0022]      FIG. 1  is an inside view (book side view) of the left and right panels of the unassembled inner most layer of the frame; 
           [0023]      FIG. 2  is an outside view of the left and right panels of the unassembled outer most layer of the frame; 
           [0024]      FIG. 3  is a view of a thickness adjuster according to an embodiment; 
           [0025]      FIG. 4  schematically shows a front (left side) and back (right side) book cover-leaf holder; 
           [0026]      FIG. 5  is a schematic representation of how the components of the frame, cover-leaf holders and spine support bands are assembled according to an embodiment; 
           [0027]      FIG. 6  is an inside view of the assembled inner frame, according to an embodiment, also showing six spine support bands; 
           [0028]      FIG. 7  is an outside view of the assembled outer frame; 
           [0029]      FIG. 8  schematically shows the placement of the cover-leaf holders on the inner frame; 
           [0030]      FIG. 9  schematically shows cover-leaf holders on the inner frame according to another embodiment; 
           [0031]      FIG. 10  schematically shows the possible movement of the thickness adjuster inside one of the covers; 
           [0032]      FIG. 11  shows the inside of a representative outer cover according to an embodiment; 
           [0033]      FIG. 12  shows the frame (i.e. the cover panels with the connecting member) and a representative replaceable outer cover prior to final assembly. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS 
       [0034]    According to an embodiment, a protective arrangement comprises a front cover and a back cover connected by a connecting member. The connecting member is arranged to adjust a distance between the front and back cover, and is also referred to as the thickness adjustment mechanism. In an embodiment, each of the front and back covers consists of two rectangular panels of a thin sheet of a comparatively rigid plastic, such as polypropylene. 
         [0035]      FIG. 1  shows two inner panels  1 , 2  comprising slits  3 , 4  made in the panels  1 , 2  respectively. 
         [0036]      FIG. 2  shows two outer panels  7 , 8 , which are very similar in design to the inner panels  1 , 2 . The outer panel  8  comprises, next to a plurality of slits  10 , an additional slit  11  and a Velcro-type attachment strip  12 , onto which an adjuster ribbon may be secured, as will be explained below. In the Figures, the Velcro-type strips are depicted using the character ‘V’. 
         [0037]    In an embodiment, the connecting member comprises a thickness adjuster between two panels of the front or back cover. It is noted that a second thickness adjuster can be present inside the other cover. 
         [0038]      FIG. 3  illustrates a thickness adjuster  13  comprising am adjustment member  14  made out of e.g. rigid polypropylene. The adjustment member  14  comprises slits  15  for passing through so-called ‘spine support bands’, not shown in  FIG. 3 . Furthermore, the thickness adjuster  13  comprises a ribbon  16 , typically of a thin dressmaker&#39;s ribbon, which will ultimately be secured to the attachment strip  12  at the outer panel  8 , see  FIG. 2 . It is noted that the invention is not limited to covers with two walls (panels). In case the covers are single-wall covers, a thickness adjuster can be arranged on any side of the cover. 
         [0039]      FIG. 4  illustrates a front and back cover-leaf holder  21 , 22 , for example made from a thin but strong transparent plastic film, which holds the book in place in the cover arrangement according to an embodiment. Both holders  21 , 22  are the same height as the inner and outer cover panels  1 , 2 , 7 , 8 , but are narrower, to allow for easy insertion of the book&#39;s cover-leaves. In this example, the back cover-leaf pocket also has a Velcro-type attachment point  23  which is used to attach an outer cover to the right side of the inner frame, as will be explained with reference to  FIG. 12 . 
         [0040]    The major components of the protective arrangement come together in  FIG. 5 , wherein the various panels described above are assembled around six flexible spine support bands  51 , of which only one is shown. In  FIG. 5 , the length of the band  51  is greatly exaggerated in order to illustrate how assembly is accomplished. 
         [0041]    For a typical book sized specification, with cover panels of height equal to 235 mm and width equal to 125 mm, the spine support bands  51  may be approximately 230 mm in length. The flat support bands  51  can be made from a woven synthetic ribbon (of typically 25 mm in width) in which the ends are stitched, welded, or otherwise joined together to complete a circle. It is however noted that all kinds of flexible materials can be used, and that the spine support bands do not need to be circular. In this embodiment of the invention the outer panels  7 , 8  effectively act as a protective cover for the adjustment mechanism, i.e. the thickness adjuster  13 . 
         [0042]      FIG. 6  illustrates the appearance of the inside of the cover arrangement once all six spine support bands  51  have been inserted and configured to hold a packet of paper, such as a book. In  FIG. 6 , the thickness adjuster  13  is not visible. The spine support bands  51  form a flexible bridge between the two rigid halves of the total arrangement. 
         [0043]      FIG. 7  illustrates the appearance of the outer side of the cover arrangement, with particular reference to the positioning of the thickness adjuster ribbon  16 . The ribbon  16  exits the right cover via the slit  11  where it is secured at the adjacent Velcro-type attachment  12 , thereby holding the thickness adjustment member inside the cover in place. In this way a specific thickness, i.e. a distance between the two covers, is defined. 
         [0044]      FIG. 8  serves to illustrate how the cover-leaf holders  21 , 22  are connected to the inner panels  1 , 2 , and how the arrangement itself is held together as a single unit. The bold lines  30 , 31 , correspond to the top, bottom and outer edges of the holders  21 , 22 , and indicate the points at which the cover-leaf holders  21 , 22  and both inner and outer cover panels are stitched, stapled or otherwise joined together. The inner edges of the cover-leaf holders  32 , 33  are naturally left open and unstitched. 
         [0045]      FIG. 9  shows an embodiment of the invention in which holes  40  are present in the cover panels  1 , 2 . Through the holes  40  flexible cords  41  are laced. The cords  41  function as cover-leaf holders. It will be clear to the skilled person that other configurations for the cover-leaf holder are possible depending on the specific nature of the contents to be held. 
         [0046]      FIG. 10  schematically shows the possible movement of the thickness adjuster alongside one of the covers. By pulling the ribbon  16 , a user can adjust the length of the bands  51  outside the cover, thereby varying the distance between the front and the back cover. It is noted that even in the situation in which the book or documents are already embraced by the cover arrangement, the user is still able to readjust the thickness. 
         [0047]      FIG. 11  shows the inside of a representative outer cover  50  according to an embodiment. The design encompasses a flexible rectangular sheet with a pocket  52  wherein the left edge of the frame is placed (see  FIG. 12 ). The pocket  52  is left open on the inner edge  53  and stitched to the outer cover on the other three sides  54 . The inside of the outer cover  50  also contains Velcro-type attachment points  55  for securing the right-hand side of the cover panels. The outer cover  50  may comprise a flap  58  which overlaps to fasten the outer cover closed by the Velcro attachment points  56 . 
         [0048]      FIG. 12  shows the frame (i.e. the cover panels with the connecting member) and the outer cover  50  prior to final assembly. The left-hand edge of the frame is inserted into the pocket  52  to complete the integrated system.  FIG. 12  also shows Velcro-type attachment points  60  on the inner cover panel  2  on to which the Velcro-type attachment points  55  of the outer cover  50  are fastened. 
         [0049]    For manufacturing the outer cover  50  (i.e. the outer fabric), vinyl may be used to produce robust outer covers, however lighter plastics and any number of other materials known to the skilled person may be used. 
         [0050]    In an embodiment, the cover arrangement comprises a ring binder arranged on a separate sheet or possibly on one of the covers. The separate sheet can have slits through which the spine support bands  51  can be laced. The ring binder can be used to bind e.g. paper sheets. 
         [0051]    It should be noted that the invention can be used to protect all kinds of media, including paper sheets and packets as well as books magazines and the like and many other types of essentially flat media including photos (thus creating a photo album), CDs and/or DVDs, personal organizers, agendas, a portfolio of artworks and potentially also ‘flat devices’ such as eBooks (electronic books), PDAs and even laptops. 
         [0052]    While specific embodiments of the invention have been described above, it will be appreciated that the invention may be practiced otherwise than as described. The descriptions above are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Thus, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may be made to the invention as described without departing from the scope of the claims set out below.