Patent ID: 6841726

Claim:
An arrangement for turning pages of a book, comprising: a) a support for holding the book open; b) a suction source, including a nozzle, for generating a suction force at the nozzle in an energized state, and for discontinuing the suction force at the nozzle in a deenergized state; c) a drive for moving the nozzle from a pickup position in which the nozzle engages a page to be turned in the energized state, in one circumferential direction about a turning axis along a turning path, to a release position in which the nozzle releases the page in the deenergized state, the nozzle overlying an outer peripheral margin of the page and being located within a boundary of the page in the pickup position, the drive being operative for jointly moving the nozzle and the page along the turning path, and for returning the nozzle from the release position in an opposite circumferential direction about the turning axis along a return path to the pickup position, the nozzle partially bending the page at the outer peripheral region during movement along the return path; d) an actuator operatively connected to the drive and the source, for initiating turning of the page; and e) a controller operatively connected to the source and the drive, the controller being operative for energizing the source in the pickup position and, after a first time delay, energizing the drive until the nozzle has been moved to the release position, and the controller being further operative for deenergizing the source in the release position and, after a second time delay, energizing the drive until the nozzle has been moved to the pickup position.