Abstract:
A pillow book holder capable or allowing a reader to read a book without unnecessary hand muscle strain while at the same time the pillow book holder is capable of falling without damaging itself, the book, or losing the page place.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0001]    This invention relates generally to book holders and, more specifically, to a pillow book holder having a transparent, plastic-type material coupled to a pillow, thus allowing a book to be inserted between the pillow and the transparent, plastic-type material.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    People who read books, especially those people who read books while lying in bed, often find it difficult to hold their book open in a position that is both comfortable for their hand as well as for their eyes. Book readers are frequently forced to change their hand position in order to release the hand muscles that have become uncomfortably tensed from maintaining a book in an open position. This constant changing of position is not only annoying, but can also cause eyesight related problems as the eye muscles strain to focus on the words of a page as it is being moved.  
           [0003]    Various book holders have been devised to take pressure off of the hands, but they are generally not suitable for reading in bed. In the common event that the reader should fall asleep while reading in bed, prior art book holders are not designed to fall without damage to the book holder or the book. Even if no damage were to come to the book or book holder from a fall, the reader&#39;s page place in the book will very likely be lost.  
           [0004]    A need therefore existed for a pillow book holder capable of allowing a reader to read a book without unnecessary hand muscle strain while at the same time the pillow book holder is capable of falling without damaging itself, the book, or losing the page place of the book.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    An object of the present invention is to provide a pillow book holder capable of allowing a reader to read a book without the need to manually hold the pages open, thus limiting hand muscle strain.  
           [0006]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a pillow book holder capable of withstanding a fall without damage to the book holder, a book, or loss of page place.  
         BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
         [0007]    In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a pillow book holder is disclosed, comprising, in combination, a pillow having a front side and a back side, and a transparent plastic-type material coupled to a portion of the front side of the pillow and dimensioned to receive a book between the transparent plastic-type material and the front side of the pillow.  
           [0008]    In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a method for reading a book is disclosed, comprising, in combination, the steps of providing a pillow having a front side and a back side, providing a transparent plastic-type material coupled to a portion of the front side of the pillow and dimensioned to receive a book between the transparent plastic-type material and the front side of the pillow inserting an open book between the front side of the pillow and the transparent plastic-type member, and reading the book. 
       
    
    
       [0009]    The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following, more particular description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.  
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0010]    [0010]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the preferred embodiment of the pillow book holder of the present invention, showing a book inserted between the pillow and the transparent, plastic-type material.  
         [0011]    [0011]FIG. 2 is a back, perspective view of the pillow book holder of FIG. 1, showing two straps coupled to opposite ends of the back side of the pillow.  
         [0012]    [0012]FIG. 3 is a front view of the pillow book holder of the present invention, without a book.  
         [0013]    [0013]FIG. 4 is a back view of the pillow book holder of FIG. 1.  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 5 is a side, partially cross-sectional view of the pillow book holder of FIG. 1.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0015]    Referring to FIGS.  1 - 5  reference number  10  refers generally to the preferred embodiments of the pillow book holder of the present invention. The pillow book holder  10  comprises a pillow  12  having a front side  14  and a back side  16 . A transparent, plastic-type material  18  is coupled to a portion of the front side  14  of the pillow  12  and dimensioned to receive a book  20  (shown in FIG. 1) between the transparent, plastic-type material  18  and the front side  14  of the pillow  12 . Preferably, a closed end  19  (shown in FIG. 1, 3 and  5 ) of the transparent, plastic-type material  18  is coupled to a bottom end  15  of the front side  14  of the pillow  12 . Preferably, an open end  21  (shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and  5 ) of the transparent, plastic-type material  18  is coupled to an upper portion of the front side  14  of the pillow  12 . It should be clearly understood, however, that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative configuration of the pillow book holder  10  in which the closed end  19  and the open end  21  of the transparent, plastic-type material  18  are coupled to different areas of the front side  14  of the pillow  12 , so long as a book  20  can be inserted between the transparent, plastic-type material  18  and the front side  14  of the pillow  12 .  
         [0016]    Preferably, the pillow book holder  10  is dimensioned to hold a book  20  in an open position so that two pages can be read through the transparent plastic-type material  18 , however, it should be clearly understood that substantial benefit could be derived from an alternative configuration of the pillow book holder  10  in which only one page of a book  20  can be read through the transparent, plastic-type material  18 . Additionally, it should be understood that substantial utility could also be derived from an alternative configuration of the pillow book holder  10  in which the plastic-type material  18  holds a book  20  in a closed position.  
         [0017]    In the preferred embodiment, the pillow book holder  10  comprises at least one, and preferably two straps  22  (shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and  5 ). Each strap  22  has a first end  24  and a second end  26  with the first end  24  coupled to one side of the back side  16  of the pillow  12  and the second end  26  coupled to an opposite side of the back side  16  of the pillow  12 . The straps  22  are designed to provide a reader with the ability to grip the pillow book holder  10  without hand muscle strain.  
         [0018]    While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.