Abstract:
An arrangement for turning pages successively picks up each page by suction applied to a bottom corner thereof, and turns the page over a turning axis. A wireless actuator initiates the turning. The arrangement is mountable at diverse locations and is quiet in operation.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention generally relates to an arrangement for controllably turning pages in a book and, more particularly, to a compact, portable and quiet unit for reliably turning pages, one at a time, in a hands-free manner. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   Many devices have been proposed in the art for turning the pages or leaves of a book, pamphlet, sheet music, magazine, newspaper and the like. Such devices are useful by musicians who need both hands to play their instruments, by persons permanently or temporarily suffering from a handicap affecting their arms, hands, or fingers, and by non-handicapped persons who simply wish, for work or leisure purposes, to periodically turn pages in order to read, consult or, in general, use them. 
   Such devices have used mechanical transmissions, including rotary cams, rotating cylinders, mobile skids, articulated arms, clamps and like linkages. Such devices have also included pivoted suction conduits for engaging and lifting pages by suction. However, as advantageous as these known devices have been, they are of complicated construction, noisy in operation, expensive to manufacture, difficult to maintain and irregular in operation. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
   Accordingly, one object of this invention is to provide a page turning arrangement which is efficient, regular and quiet in operation. 
   Another object of this invention is to provide a page turning arrangement that requires little maintenance and is inexpensive to manufacture. 
   Still another object of this invention is to provide a reliable, portable, quiet, convenient and adaptable page turning arrangement. 
   FEATURES OF THE INVENTION 
   In keeping with these objects and others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of this invention resides, briefly stated, in an arrangement for turning pages of a book, including a support for holding the book open. As used herein, the term “book” is intended to include a collection of pages, whether bound or unbound, whether blank, printed or manuscript, and incorporated as a booklet, pamphlet, sheet music, newspaper, magazine and like collection. 
   The arrangement includes a suction source, preferably a vacuum pump, including a nozzle, for generating a suction force at the nozzle in an energized state of the pump, and for discontinuing the suction force at the nozzle in a deenergized state of the pump. The arrangement further includes a drive, preferably including a reversible motor, for moving the nozzle between a pickup position and a release position. The drive and the source are under the control of a controller, preferably a microprocessor. 
   In the pickup position, the nozzle is positioned by the drive in an overlying relationship with an outer peripheral margin of the page and within a boundary of the page. Preferably, the outer margin is a corner of the page. The source is energized, and the nozzle engages a page to be turned by suction. After an adjustable time delay in accordance with one embodiment, the drive jointly moves the nozzle and the page in one circumferential direction about a turning axis along a turning path to the release position. 
   Alternatively, in conjunction with, or in lieu of, the adjustable time delay, a vacuum sensor is operative, in series with the vacuum source, for sensing that the nozzle has engaged the page. This avoids the possibility that the nozzle is moved without the page. 
   In the release position, the drive is halted, and the vacuum source is deenergized to release the page from the nozzle. A solenoid valve is activated to discontinue the suction and insure the total release of the page from the nozzle. A rear end of the nozzle in the release position affirmatively pushes any previous page that was turned toward the support. After another adjustable time delay, the drive returns the nozzle in an opposite circumferential direction about the turning axis along a return path to the pickup position. During the return movement, the nozzle partially bends the page at the outer margin. More particularly, the nozzle bends a lower corner of the page so as to bypass the page and leave the page at the release position. 
   An actuator is operatively connected to the drive and the vacuum source for initiating turning of the page. Preferably, the actuator is in wireless communication with the controller. The actuator includes a reader-operated switch, preferably actuated by the reader&#39;s foot, to initiate operation. Other actuators may include a blow switch, a finger-operated switch, or any motion-responsive switch that can control an electric circuit. 
   The drive and the source are contained in a housing in which a rechargeable battery pack is contained to constitute a self-contained unit to which the book support is connected. The batteries of the pack can be recharged by an external power supply, or the arrangement can be directly operated by an external power supply. A backup set of batteries may be included. A visual or auditory indicator may be used to alert a user to the current level or remaining level of electrical power remaining in the batteries. The unit is mountable on any generally planar support surface, or on a floor-mounted or table-mounted music stand. 
   A corner piece, preferably constituted of a nonporous plastic film, is adhered by a pressure sensitive adhesive to the page corner. The corner piece helps insure that only one page at a time is attracted to the nozzle in the pickup position, and that the released page is bypassed when the nozzle returns to the pickup position. The corner piece also helps to protect the page corner from wear due to repeated use. 
   It is preferred that the turning axis be aligned lengthwise with the spine or turning axis of the book. A visual indicator on the support helps insure the proper placement of the book thereon. The positioning of the nozzle at the page corner, preferably the lower corner, simulates the real-life page-turning action by a reader. In order to insure that the released page does not return with the nozzle, a pair of fibrous elements is mounted on the support, preferably on a bottom surface thereof, and has fibers that extend along the turning path and along the return path. These fibers frictionally engage bottom edges of the page and resist double sheets from being turned, and also prevent the released page from returning with the nozzle. 
   The arrangement is quiet in operation and is inaudible to a listener or the reader. An unlimited number of pages, one at a time, can be turned. The arrangement is portable and easily transportable from place to place. With slight adaptation, the pages can be turned from left to right. 
   The arrangement is operational with backup batteries, or an external power supply, even while rechargeable batteries are being charged. Although a wireless actuator is preferred, a wired actuator can be used, for example, if electronic interference is present. If multiple wireless actuators are employed, for example, in an orchestra, then each actuator can be assigned a separate frequency or channel. 
   A metronome for signaling a given tempo and/or a tuner for generating one or more tones at a given frequency may be included in the arrangement. 
   The novel features which are considered as characteristic of the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an arrangement for turning pages of a book according to this invention in one condition of use; 
       FIG. 2  is a sectional view taken on line  2 — 2  of  FIG. 1 , and depicts a page-turning motion in phantom lines; 
       FIG. 3  is a side elevational view of a self-contained unit of the arrangement of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a sectional view taken on line  4 — 4  of  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 5  is an enlarged sectional view taken on line  5 — 5  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged sectional view taken on line  6 — 6  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 7  is an enlarged sectional view taken on line  7 — 7  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 8  is an enlarged sectional view taken on line  8 — 8  of  FIG. 4 ; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the arrangement of  FIG. 1  in another condition of use; 
       FIG. 10  is a view analogous to  FIG. 7 , but of a modified nozzle prior to engagement with a page; and 
       FIG. 11  is a view analogous to  FIG. 10 , but of the modified nozzle after engagement with the page. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Reference numeral  10  in  FIG. 1  generally depicts an arrangement for turning pages of a book  12  according to this invention. Arrangement  10  includes an actuator  14  for initiating the turning of a page, and a portable unit  16  on which the book  12  is supported. As used herein, the term “book” includes a collection of pages, either bound or unbound, either blank, printed or manuscript, and collected in a book, pamphlet, newspaper, magazine, sheet music, and like collection. 
   The portable unit  16  includes a support  18  for supporting the book  12  in an open condition. The support  18  includes a planar backrest  20  and a planar base  22  perpendicular to the backrest. The outer sheets of the book or covers  24  (see  FIG. 2 ) rest on the backrest. The bottom edges  26  of the covers  24  and of the pages of the book are supported by the base  22 . The support  18  is tilted relative to a generally planar, horizontal support surface  28  so that the book  12  is held in a rearwardly inclined orientation. As described below, a pair of fibrous elements  30 ,  31  is mounted on the base  22  so that the bottom book edges  26  rest directly on the elements  30 ,  31 . 
   The support  18  is preferably constituted of a metallic material. A pair of magnets  32  is positioned on the covers  24  to hold the latter securely to the metallic backrest. Fasteners, other than magnets, could be used. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the backrest  20  may have a longitudinal channel  34  for receiving a longitudinal spine  36  of the book. The channel  34  serves as a visual indicator and as a mechanical guide for properly positioning the book on the support. Other indicators could include, for example, an arrow. Reference numeral  38  identifies the turning axis about which a selected page  40  is to be turned from its right-side position to its left-side position on the book. In an alternative embodiment, the page could be turned from the left-side position to the right-side position. 
   A housing  42  is connected to and below the support to form the portable unit  16 . As best seen in  FIG. 3 , a linkage  43  is connected behind the backrest  20  to support the unit in the inclined orientation. The linkage  43  includes a bracket  44  connected to the backrest. A first link  46  is pivotably connected to an upper pivot on the bracket. A second link  48  is pivotably connected to a lower pivot on the bracket. Link  48  has a slot in which a fastening post  50  is slidably received. A leg link  52  is pivoted outwardly until it forms an extension of the link  46  at which time, the fastening post  50  is at one end of the slot and is held there by friction, thereby locking the leg link in place. The leg link can be pushed and pivoted back to an initial position directly behind the backrest in an application where the leg support is not needed. Bracket  44  can also be unscrewed and removed in the event that the backrest is required to be laid flat. The entire linkage  43  can be removed if desired. For example, as shown in  FIG. 9 , the portable unit  16  with its folded-up or removed leg is mounted on a rest of a piano  54 , or can be mounted on a conventional floor or tabletop, music stand. 
   As shown in  FIG. 4 , a suction source, including a vacuum pump  56  is mounted within the housing  42  and is encased in a foam block  58  for absorbing mechanical shock and for damping vibrations and noise. A drive, including a reversible motor  60 , is also mounted within the housing  42  and is encased in another foam block  62 , again for shock absorption and noise reduction. The motor  60  has a drive shaft  64  aligned with the turning axis  38  of the book. A controller  66 , including a microprocessor, is electrically connected to the pump  56  and the motor  60  to control their operation, as described below. The controller  66  includes a radio frequency antenna  68  (see  FIG. 3 ) connected to the controller  66  and in wireless, radio frequency communication with the actuator  14 . 
   An eccentric cam  70  is fixedly mounted on the shaft  64  and rides on the armatures  72 ,  74  of two microswitches  76 ,  78  which are situated at opposite sides of the shaft. A detent  75  on the cam  70  is able to receive a respective roller on each armature  72 ,  74 . A circular disc  82  is also fixedly mounted on the shaft  64  and has an arm  80  mounted thereon for joint movement therewith. A drive clamp  84  (see  FIG. 5 ) is fixed to the disc  82  and helps push and pull the arm  80  because, in the preferred embodiment, the arm  80  is a flexible, hollow tubing. An inner end  86  of the arm  80  is connected by additional flexible tubing  88  through a vacuum sensor  85  and a solenoid valve  87  to the pump  56 . An outer end  92  of the arm is connected to a nozzle  90  having a flexible suction cup  94 . A pair of cutouts  96 ,  98  is formed in the base  22  to permit movement of the nozzle, as described below. 
   In use, a reader initiates the turning of page  40 , typically by stepping on a manual switch  100  on the actuator  14 . Of course, the reader could also depress the switch  100  by hand, or by any other means. This action causes a radio frequency command signal to bc sent to the controller  66  via the antenna  68 . Other wireless signals such as infrared or optical signals could also be used. Although not preferred, a hardwired connection could be made between the actuator and the controller. Other actuators for controlling an electrical circuit may be used. 
   Upon receipt of the command signal, the controller energizes the pump  56  which begins to draw a vacuum through the tubing  88  and the arm  80  and generate a suction force at the cup  94 . In the preferred embodiment, the suction force amounts to about 5 inches of mercury after about 3 seconds. 
   Initially, the nozzle is in a pickup position depicted in FIG.  1 . The length of the arm  80  is such that the nozzle  90  is received in slot  96 , overlies an outer peripheral margin  104  of the page, and is located within the boundary of the page. More particularly, the outer margin  104  is the lower, right corner of the page  40 . The cup  94  contacts the corner, and the suction force ensures a tight engagement between the cup and the corner as depicted in solid lines in FIG.  7 . At this time, the cam  70  depresses the armature  72  of the switch  76  so that the controller knows that the nozzle is in the pickup position. 
   Once a predetermined suction force has been generated and sensed by the vacuum sensor  85 , the motor is energized to drive the page  40 , the nozzle  90  and the arm  80  from the pickup position in one circumferential direction about the turning axis  38  along a turning path (see  FIG. 2 ) to a release position. The flexibility of the arm  80  insures that the reader will not be injured should the reader accidentally place part of his or her body in the turning path. Energization of the motor proceeds after an adjustable time delay customized to the reader&#39;s preference and/or because a sufficient vacuum has been sensed by the vacuum sensor  85 . Preferably, the movement along the turning path takes about 1-1½ seconds. 
   Upon reaching the release position, and traveling through an obtuse angle of about 180°, the cam  70  activates the armature  74  of the switch  78 , thereby advising the controller to deenergize the pump, activate the solenoid valve  87  to dissipate the vacuum, and release the page. The nozzle  90  has entered the slot  98 . The motor is halted. 
   Thereupon, after another customized adjustable time delay, the motor is energized to return the nozzle and the arm in an opposite circumferential direction, again for about 1-1{fraction ( 1 / 2 )} seconds, about the turning axis  38 . The drive clamp  84  helps drive the arm  80  back to the pickup position. The released page  40  does not participate in this return movement. Indeed, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the nozzle, which lies underneath the corner, pushes past the corner and at least partially bends the page at the corner. Upon reaching the about 180° position, a rear surface of the nozzle pushes any previous page to its most rearward position against the support. 
   An accessible rotary knob  106  is turned to adjust each time delay. Once the nozzle has reentered the slot  96 , and been repositioned on the next page corner, the cam  70  activates the armature  72  and resets the controller to await the next command signal from the actuator. 
   The fabric element  30  has a nap whose fibers lie in a direction toward the backrest. The fabric element  31  has a nap whose fibers also lie in a direction towards the backrest. The orientation of the fibers partially restricts the movement of the page along the turning path to prevent a possible second sheet from jointly turning with the first page, as well as frictionally resisting movement of the page along the return path. 
   Preferably, a corner piece  108  having a pressure sensitive adhesive coating is adhered over the page corner  104 . The corner piece is constituted of a nonporous, plastic film and has a triangular shape. The corner piece serves to resist the suction force from passing through the page  40  and resist one or more of the underlying pages to also be gripped by the nozzle in the pickup position. 
   The corner piece also has an inclined edge  110  about which the corner  104  is bent during the return movement of the nozzle. This aids in the bypassing of the page  40 . 
   A backup battery pack  112  is also contained in the housing  42  to power the electrical components. A rechargeable battery pack  114  is used to power the electrical components. A switch  116  can be switched on to select which battery pack is to be used. A main power switch  118  can be switched on to power the controller, the pump and the motor. The pack  1114  may be recharged during operation of the arrangement by being connected to an external power supply. 
     FIGS. 10-11  illustrate a modified nozzle  120  which is preferred over the nozzle  90  described above. Nozzle  120  has a flexible cup  122  mounted for joint movement on a piston  124  which is received in a cylinder  126 . The piston  124  has a head  128 . A spring  130  is captured between the cylinder and the head. The head  128  divides the interior of the cylinder into a first chamber  132  in which the spring is contained, and a second chamber  134  bounded between the head and an end cap  136 . 
   In the pickup position of  FIG. 7 , the nozzle  90  is positioned relative to the page corner  104  so that the cup  94  touches the corner piece  108 . By contrast, in the pickup position of  FIG. 10 , the nozzle  120  is positioned at a distance on the order of ⅛ inch away from the corner piece  108 . When the suction force is initially drawn within first chamber  132 , the head  128  and the cup  122  are abruptly moved in a sudden stroke toward the corner piece, and concurrently the spring  130  is compressed. This stroke provides an aggressive attack on the page, after which the page is held by the suction force (FIG.  11 ). The piston and the cup aggressively return to their original retracted position as a result of the reverse of the vacuum now apparent in the chamber  134  redirected as a result of the cup being blocked by the page. When the vacuum is terminated, the piston and the cup remain in their retracted position again due to the restoring force of the spring  130 . 
   As described, the nozzle  90  or  120  enters and exits the slots  96 ,  98  during the page turning operation. The radial distance from the slots to the turning axis  38  is fixed, thereby making the arrangement useful for a book having pages of a certain size. If different sized pages are to be used with the same arrangement, this invention proposes the formation of a plurality of slots at different radial distances from the turning axis. A corresponding set of arms  80  of different lengths can be matched to the different slots. 
   An accessory  140  (see  FIG. 4 ) actuatable by a control switch  142  (see FIG.  1 ), such as a metronome for signaling a given tempo and/or a tuner for generating one or more reference tones at a given frequency, may be incorporated in the housing. 
   It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, also may find a useful application in other types of constructions differing from the types described above. 
   While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a page turning arrangement, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention. 
   Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge, readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims. 
   What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is set forth in the appended claims.