US3659820A

US3659820A - Book holding bracket and rack

Info

Publication number: US3659820A
Application number: US3330A
Authority: US
Inventors: Robert D Slifstein; Bernard Blaker
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1970-01-16
Filing date: 1970-01-16
Publication date: 1972-05-02
Anticipated expiration: 1989-05-02

Abstract

A book holding bracket, adjustable to books of varying back lengths, for suspending books by their backs with their free page edges downward when not in use, and provided with means for swinging or rotating the books upwards about 180* in a vertical plane to permit opening the books and turning the pages sideways right to left in the usual manner, and also provided with means for rotating or swivelling the upturned books in a horizontal plane, for example about 90*, to permit opening and viewing of books required to be read or viewed with the free edge of the page closest to, and the bound edge of the page furthest from, the viewer, i.e. the printing, intelligence or other matter to be viewed is parallel to the bound edge of the page; and a rack, stationary or movable, for holding one or a plurality of such brackets.

Description

United States Patent Slifstein et al.

[4 1 May 2,1972

[54] BOOK HOLDING BRACKET AND RACK [22] Filed: Jan. 16, 1970 [21] Appl.No.: 3,330

Lyons ..312/233 Guinane et al ..248/447 Primary ExaminerWilliam H. Schultz Attorney-Samson B. Leavitt [57] ABSTRACT A book holding bracket, adjustable to books of varying back lengths, for suspending books by their backs with their free page edges downward when not in use, and provided with means for swinging or rotating the books upwards about 180 in a vertical plane to permit opening the books and turning the pages sideways right to left in the usual manner, and also provided with means for rotating or swivelling the upturned books in a horizontal plane, for example about 90, to permit opening and viewing of books required to be read or viewed with the free edge of the page closest to, and the bound edge of the page furthest from, the viewer, i.e. the printing, intelligence or other matter to be viewed is parallel to the bound edge of the page; and a rack, stationary or movable, for holding one or a plurality of such brackets.

l 1 Claims, 1 1 Drawing Figures Patented May 2, 1972 3,659,820

5 Sheets-Sheet l HIWIIIIIIIIIIIII INVENTORS Robert D. Slifstein 1 Bernard Bluker Patented May 2, 1972 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS Robert D. Slifstein Bernard Bloker Patented May 2, 1972 3 SheetsSheet I5 INVENTORS Robert D. Slifstein Bernard Bloker BOOK HOLDING BRACKET AND RACK This invention relates to bracket device for holding books of all types and sizes for readily available reference purposes, and to a rack or stand for supporting one or a plurality of such devices, and moreparticularly to a book holding bracket of the type described in the above Abstract of the Disclosure", and corresponding rack.

The need for reference book holding devices in ofiice, industrial, educational, library and other facilities has of course been well known and recognized for many years, such need in fact having of late been increasing at an accelerated rate due to the increasing complexity, progress, diversification, and/or specialization of the activities obtaining in such facilities. However, although a number of difierent types of such devices have been previously disclosed and even marketed, none have been entirely satisfactory. Thus, they have up to the present been subject to one or a number of such disadvantages and deficiencies as unduly high cost of manufacture, difficulty in use, non-adjustability to books or book material of different types, weights and sizes, non-adjustability of reading or viewing position or attitude, inadequate security means, unduly high rate of breakdown or down time, and the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a book holding bracket and rack which will not be subject to one or more of the above-mentioned disadvantages and deficiencies. Another object of this invention is the provision of an improved versatile, dependable, adjustable, protective, economical, easy to use book holding bracket and rack therefor. Other objects and advantages will appear as the description proceeds.

The attainment of the above objects and advantages is made possible by the present invention which encompasses a book holding bracket comprising a horizontal elongated frame having an upper and a lower surface, book end support means extending downwardly from said frame, book holding means carried by said end support means for hanging book material between said en support means with the free page edges downward, and frame hanging means mounted on the upper surface of said frame and comprising means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis through said hanging means, and bearing surface means having a horizontal axis permitting rotation of said frame in a vertical plane about a support coaxial with said horizontal axis. According to preferred embodiments of the invention, said bearing surface means permitting rotation of the frame in a vertical plane comprises a solid body with a cylindrical bore therethrough coaxial with said horizontal axis, and/or said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane comprises cylindrical bearing surface means coaxial with said vertical axis, and/or said horizontal elongated frame is C shaped in lateral cross-section with the open portion of C facing downwardly so that the portions of the frame on either side of the opening form the lower surface of the frame, and/or one book end support means is fixed in position and another book end support means is adjustable in position along the length of the frame in a track formed by the open portion of said C, and/or said frame hanging means is mounted eccentrically along the length of the said frame, and/or detent means are provided cooperating with said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane for temporarily stopping said rotation in any predetermined radial position in said horizontal plane, and/or said book holding means comprises at least one finger supported by each of said end support means and projecting horizontally towards the center of said hanging book material.

The books or book material which can be held and stored in the bracket device of this invention may be of any type, weight or size, hard or soft cover, and bound permanently or temporarily or removably such as looseleaf and the like. The bracket device and rack of this invention are highly useful and advantageous for holding such book reference material as catalogs, shop manuals, dictionaries, telephone, trade and other directories, stock records, corporation listings, legal records, plot maps, encyclopedias, scientific and other periodicals, and especially material required to be read or viewed with the free'edges of the pages closest to, and bound edges of the pages furthest from, the viewer as in many bookkeeping and accounting record books, continuous computer printout sheets and the like.

The accompanying drawings are only illustrative of this invention and are not to be regarded as limitative. In the drawings:

FIG. I is a side elevation, partly in section, of a preferred embodiment of a book holding bracket according to our invention.

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the device of FIG. I from the position 22 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an end view taken along the line 55 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a side elevation, partly in section, of another embodiment of a book holding bracket according to our invention.

FIG. 7 is a bottom plan view of the device of FIG. 6 from the position 77 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a section taken along the line 88 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a section taken along the line 9-9 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 10 is an end view taken along the line 10-10 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 11 is an isometric view of a book rack embodying our invention, utilizing the book holding bracket of either FIGS. 1 to 5 or FIGS. 6 to 10, showing one book swung into reading position and partially rotated.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 to 5 illustrating a preferred embodiment of our invention, reference numeral 1 indicates generally a book holding bracket which includes a horizontally elongated frame member 2 having a generally C shaped lateral cross section with the open portion of the C downward. The upper surface of the left-hand end of frame member 2 is provided with a bumper button 3 of rubber or similar material. At right-hand end 4 of frame member 2 an L shaped end piece 6 is secured on by spot welding at 8. End piece 6 forms a fixed book end support against which one end of the binding of a supported book, indicated by broken lines 10 in FIG. 1, may rest. Fingers 12 forming the aims of U shaped bracket with base 13 are secured (as by spot welding the base or otherwise) to book end support 6 and are intended to be inserted between the pages of book 10 so that such a book will hang therefrom while the bracket is in the position shown. Book holding fingers 12 are preferably tapered at their extremities (as shown in FIG. 1) and relatively narrow (as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5) for ease in inserting between the pages of a supported book.

Toward the other end of frame member 2 an adjustable book end support is provided, generally indicated by reference numeral 14. Book end support 14 is provided with book holding fingers 16 which perform in the same manner as book holding fingers 12 associated with book end support 6. However, fingers 16 are formed integrally with end support 14 while fingers 12 are formed separately from end support 6 and are subsequently secured thereto. End support 14 depends from the lower surface of C shaped frame member 2 by means of plate 18 which rides inside the frame member 2 and which is supported by tracks 17 formed by the portions of the C" on either side of the opening, as best seen in FIG. 3. Plate 18 has a threaded hole therein into which bolt 20 with wing nut 22 secured on one end is inserted. The main working element of book end support 14 is formed by generally C shaped piece 24. The portions of the C" on either side of the opening in piece 24 bear against tracks 17. Bolt 20 with wing nut 22 passes through a hole in the base of piece 24. Thus, when wing nut 22 is rotated clockwise, assuming the usual right-hand thread, piece 24 is forced against tracks 17 and is thereby held in place. Should wing nut 22 be rotated counterclockwise, piece 24 would not be held tightly against tracks 17 and the entire book end support 14 would be free to slide to the left or right along tracks 17.

Frame member 2 is supported by a frame hanging assembly generally indicated by reference numeral 26, and best seen in FIGS. 1 and 4. Frame hanging assembly 26 includes body 28 in the form of a block having a cylindrical horizontal bearing surface bore 30 therethrough. Body 28 is rotatably secured to frame member 2 by means of a pin 32 carrying a head 34 which is secured in a vertical hole in the underside of body 28. Pin 32 passes through a hole in the upper surface of frame member 2, which hole is offset to the left of center of the frame member 2 as viewed in FIG. 1 so that the center of gravity of frame member 2 and the elements supported therefrom lies to the right of the center of the frame hanging assembly 26. Rotation of frame member 2 in a horizontal plane relative to body 28 is permitted by means of a flanged bushing 36 made of material such as nylon which is inserted into the hole in frame member 2 with the flange riding on the upper surface of frame member 2. Washer 38, similarly made of a material such as nylon, rides against the underside of the upper surface of frame member and is held in place against the lower surface of flanged bushing 36 by head 34 of shaft 32. Thus, flanged bushing 36 and washer 38 are the only elements of frame hanging assembly 26 to come into contact with frame member 2, and since these elements are made of materials having a low coefficient of friction frame member 2 is permitted to rotate in a horizontal plane while being supported by frame hanging assembly 26.

In use it is intended that book holding bracket 1 be suspended from a rod passing through cylindrical horizontal bearing surface bore 30 in body 28 of frame hanging assembly 26. This suspension permits rotation of book holding bracket 1 in a vertical plane about the axis of the rod and the bore. Insertion of book into the book holding bracket 1 would usually be accomplished while the bracket 1 is rotated 180 about an axis through bore 30 from the position shown in FIG. 1. With bracket 1 in this rotated position, wing nut 22 is loosened and book end support 14 is slid a sufficient distance away from book end support 6 to allow insertion of the binding of the book between projecting

fingers

12 and 16. The bonding of the book is held against frame member 2 and the book is slid against end support 6, allowing fingers 12 to project between the pages of the book. Then book end support 14 is slid against the other end of the book with fingers 16 projecting between the pages of the book, End support 14 is then locked in position by tightening wing nut 22. When the book holding bracket 1 is now rotated back to its usual position as shown in FIG. 1 book 10 will be held firmly between the end supports 6 and 14 and will hang from

fingers

12 and 16 with the free page edges downward. It will be remembered that the center of gravity of frame member 2 and the elements supported therefrom is located to the right of the center of the frame hanging assembly 26 when bracket 1 is viewed as in FIG. 1. This causes bracket 1 to tend to rotate clockwise about the axis of bore 30. The purpose of such a location of the center of gravity is to cause the bracket 1 to maintain a predetermined horizontal position by the simple means of placing a stop immediately above bumper 3 on the left-hand end of frame member 2, as shown in FIG. 1 1.

FIG. 6 to 10 illustrate another embodiment of our invention, in which reference numeral 101 indicates generally a book holding bracket which includes a horizontally elongated frame member 102. Frame member 102 has a generally C shaped cross-section with the open portion downward, as best seen in FIG. 9. The portions of theC" on either side of the opening form tracks 117. At end 104 of frame member 102 end piece 106 is provided by bending downwardly on extension of the upper surface of frame member 102. Thus end piece 106 is formed integrally with frame member 102. End piece 106 forms a fixed book end support against which one end of the binding of book 110 may rest. Horizontal slots 108 are provided in book end support 106, which slots 108 are provided to support book holding staves 112 as will be move fully developed below.

Toward the other end of frame member 102 an adjustable book end support is provided, generally indicated by reference numeral 114. Book end support 114 includes three basic elements; generally T shaped body portion 124, stave retaining element 118, and threaded bolt with head 122. Body portion 124, as best seen in FIG. 8, has a generally 'I'" shaped cross-section with the top of the "T of such dimensions as to ride easily inside frame member 102 on tracks 117. The upright part of the T has a dimension at its top to permit it to pass between tracks 117 while the lower part of the upright spreads toward its bottom and attains a dimension sufficient to support book holding staves 1 12 the desired distance apart. Rectangularly cross-sectioned channels are provided in the bottom of body portion 124 to receive book holding staves 1 12. A threaded hole is also provided in the bottom of body portion 124 to receive bolt 120. Stave retaining element 118 is a generally rectangular block having rectangularly cross-sectioned channels 119 in its upper surface to receive staves 112. A vertical hole is provided in element 118 through which bolt 120 passes. The horizontal dimension of element 1118 as viewed in FIG. 6 is selected to be smaller than the desired distance between book holding staves 112 for reasons which will soon become apparent. When bolt 120 is tightened into the threaded hole in body portion 124, head 122 forces stave retaining element 118 toward body portion 124. Since the depths of

channels

119 and 125 are selected such that their combined depths are less than the vertical dimensions of staves 112, the tightening of bolt 120 forces body portion 124 and stave retaining element 118 into tight gripping contact with book holding staves 1 12.

Frame member 102 is supported by a frame hanging as: sembly generally indicated by reference numeral 126. Frame hanging assembly 126 includes body 128 in the form of a block having a cylindrical horizontal bearing surface bore 130 therethrough. Body 128 is rotatably secured to frame member 102 by means of pin 132, flanged ball-bearing assembly 136, and self-gripping retaining washer 138. Flanged ball-bearing assembly 136 and retaining washer 138 engage either side of a hole in the upper surface of frame member 102, the hole being offset in the same manner and for the same reasons as the hole in the upper surface of frame member 2 of FIGS. 1 to 5. Frame hanging assenbly 126 also includes ball 140 riding in sleeve 142, sleeve 142 being inserted into a short vertical bore in the underside of body 128. A spring, not shown, is contained inside the bore and forces ball 140 downwardly. Holes 144 in the upper surface of frame member 102 cooperate with ball 140 to form a detent assembly for temporarily stopping rotation of frame member 102 in any desired radial position in the horizontal plane. I-Ioles 144 are located in the desired radial positions and thereafter predeterrnine the stop positions of frame member 102.

Staves 1 12 are made from a material selected to have suffrcient strength to support the desired book material, such as sheet steel or the like. The length of staves 112 is determined by the length of the book material to be hung although maximum flexibility in use is achieved by making the staves as long as frame member 102, as shown in FIG. 6. The vertical dimension of staves 112, as viewed in FIG. 6, is selected on the basis of strength requirements while the thickness is as small as possible for easy insertion between pages of book. At the right-hand end of staves 112 a short length of the material is given a 90 twist, and then a portion of the twisted length is bent 90 downward to form end tabs 116.

Insertion of book 1 10 into book holding bracket 101 would usually be accomplished while the bracket 101 is rotated about an axis through bore 130 from the position shown in FIG. 6. With bracket 101 in this rotated position book end support 114 is slid a sufiicient distance away from book end support 106 to allow insertion of the binding of book 110 between the end supports. Book holding staves 112 are then inserted into slots 108 in book end support 106 and slid between the pages of book 110 toward book end support 1 14 until end tab 1 16 engage the outer surface of end support 106.

Bolt 120 is then loosened and stave retaining element 118 is rotated 90 about bolt 120 so as to lie between channels 125 in body portion 124. Staves 112 are placed in channels 125 and stave retaining element 118 is rotated another 90 about bolt 120 so that channels 1 19 are again parallel with channels 125. Bolt 120 is then tightened by means of head 122, thus forcing

channels

125 and 119 into tight gripping contact with staves 112. Staves 112 are thereby prevented from moving lengthwise in one direction by tabs 116 and in the other direction by the adjacent 90 twist, and book end support 1 14 is held in position by staves 1 12. When book holding bracket 101 is rotated back to its usual position as shown in FIG. 6 the book will be held firmly between end supports 106 and 114 and will hang from book holding staves 112 with the free page edges downward.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 200 indicates generally a mobile book holding rack according to the invention comprising basically a horizontal rod 202, rod end supports 204, bracket stop 206, and a plurality of book holding brackets 1 of the type described above and illustrated in FIGS. 1-5. Rod 202 is coaxial with the horizontal axis, and traverses, the cylindrical horizontal bearing surface bore 30 in each of the frame hanging assemblies in each of the said brackets which are thereby rotatably suspended from said rod. If desired, spacers may be inserted on the rod between each of the brackets, or body 28 of frame hanging assembly 26 may be made slightly longer than the width of frame member 2, to minimize frictional contact between the brackets as they are rotated in a vertical plane. Although not essential, an intermediate rod support 208 may be employed to avoid any tendency for the rod to be bent by the weight of the brackets and book material held between the rod end supports 204. Bracket stop 206 serves, in contact with bumpers 3, to hold the brackets in uniform, stable, suspended position during storage, and to support the brackets during use in viewing the book material in upright position. Adjacent hanging brackets also serve to support the book material being viewed. Increased stability and the like is obtained by the positioning of hanging assemblies 26 offcenter in the direction of bracket stop 206, the resulting leverage of the book material tending to hold bumpers 3 firmly against the underside of the bracket stop during storage and to hold the top or back surface of frame members 2 firmly against the top surface of the bracket stop during viewing.

Also illustrated in FIG. 11 is a book 210 rotated 180 in a vertical plane to the upright position, and then partially rotated in a horizontal plane to facilitate viewing of the book material regardless of the directional positioning of the intelligence or information contained therein. It will be understood that the rack could be made temporarily or permantly immobile, made as a permanent built-in cabinet or shelf and/or modified to support the rod ends in any other desired manner in accordance with this invention.

It will be readily understood that this invention is not limited to the specific components or structures described above and in the drawings and that many equivalent components and structures for accomplishing the purposes, objects, and functions of this invention which will be obvious to persons of ordinary skill in the art are to be included within the spirit and purview of this application and the scope of the appended claims.

For example, should security of the stored book material become a matter of concern, bolt and wing nut 22 or bolt 120 and head 122 could be replaced by tightening means which are more tamper-proof. A bolt with a one-way head, on a recess with a hexagonal bore for accepting an allen wrench, or even an ordinary hex-head bolt would provide, in decreasing degree, additional security.

Further by way of example, more than one adjustable book end support could be provided for each bracket so long as an equal number of tracks was also provided. Thus it would be possible to store more than one book per bracket even though the books were not of the same size, as would be advantageous if thin books were to be stored.

Although the frame hanging assemblies shown are blocks with cylindrical bores therethrough such is not critical. For instance, the block could be replaced by a U shaped element with the side walls of the U in the same positions as the end surfaces of the block and each having a bore therethrough. Or, the bore itself could be other than cylindrical although this would require additional bearing means.

Moreover, although tightening means are shown to hold the adjustable book end supports in position, other alternatives are obviously available. The adjustable support could be spring-biased toward the fixed book end support and thereby be held in position against the ends of a book. This alternative offers the advantage of ease in inserting and removing stored book material but suffers from decreased security.

It is likewise readily apparent that while two staves and two sets of opposed fingers have been shown as the book holding means, only one or more than two could be provided depending on specific applications. Further, other equivalent book holding means could be used, such as rods, slats, springs, elastic material (stretched from one book end support to the other), etc.

It is also readily apparent that equivalent elements of the two illustrated embodiments could be exchanged, such as substituting the tightening arrangement of the finger embodiment (FIGS. l-5) for the tightening arrangement of the stave embodiment (FIGS. 1l0).

It should be apparent that an added advantage offered by this invention is the security afforded for stored book material. The book holding bracket is securely held by the horizontal rod and if the ends of the rod are secured all the brackets held by the rod are secured. Thus the elements of the device itself are tamper-proof, as well as affording good security to the stored material as has been discussed above.

We claim:

1. A book holding bracket comprising:

a horizontal elongated frame having an upper and a lower surface,

book end support means extending downwardly from said frame,

book holding means carried by said end support means for hanging book material between said end support means with the free page edges downward, and

frame hanging means mounted on, between the ends and adjacent the center of the upper surface of said frame, said frame hanging means comprising:

means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis through said hanging means, and

bearing surface means having a horizontal axis permitting rotation of said frame in a vertical plane about a support coaxial with said horizontal axis.

2. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane comprises cylindrical bearing surface means coaxial with said vertical axis.

3. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein said bearing surface means permitting rotation in a vertical plane comprises a solid body with a cylindrical bore therethrough coaxial with said horizontal axis.

4. The book holding bracket of claim I wherein said frame hanging means further comprises detent means, cooperating with said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane, for temporarily stopping said rotation in discrete predetermined radial positions in said horizontal plane.

5. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein:

said horizontal elongated frame is C shaped in lateral cross-section with the open portion of the C facing downwardly so that the portions of the frame on either side of the opening form the lower surface of the frame, and wherein two book end support means are provided, one of said end support means being fixed in position and the other of said end support means being adjustable in position along the length of the frame in a track formed by the open portion of the C.

6. The book holding bracket of claim wherein said fixed book end support means covers one end of said frame.

7. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein said book holding means comprises at least one finger supported by each of said end support means and projecting horizontally towards the center of said hanging book material.

8. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein said book holding means comprises at least one stave extending between said end support means 9. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein:

said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane comprises cylindrical bearing surface means coaxial with said vertical axis,

said bearing surface means permitting rotation of said frame in a vertical plane comprises a solid body with a cylindrical bore therethrough coaxial with said horizontal axis,

said horizontal elongated frame is C shaped in lateral cross-section with the open portion of the C facing downwardly so that the portions of the frame on either side of the opening form the lower surface of the frame, and

two book end support means are provided, one of said end support means being fixed in position and the other of said end support means being adjustable in position along the length of the frame in a track formed by the open portion ofthe c.

10. The book holding bracket of claim 9 wherein said book holding means comprises at least one finger supported by each of said end support means and projecting horizontally towards the center of said hanging book material.

11. The book holding bracket of claim 9 wherein said book holding means comprises at least one stave extending between said end support means.

Claims

1. A book holding bracket comprising: a horizontal elongated frame having an upper and a lower surface, book end support means extending downwardly from said frame, book holding means carried by said end support means for hanging book material between said end support means with the free page edges downward, and frame hanging means mounted on, between the ends and adjacent the center of the upper surface of said frame, said frame hanging means comprising: means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis through said hanging means, and bearing surface means having a horizontal axis permitting rotation of said frame in a vertical plane about a support coaxial with said horizontal axis.

4. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein said frame hanging means further comprises detent means, cooperating with said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane, for temporarily stopping said rotation in discrete predetermined radial positions in said horizontal plane.

5. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein: said horizontal elongated frame is ''''C'''' shaped in lateral cross-section with the open portion of the ''''C'''' facing downwardly so that the portions of the frame on either side of the opening form the lower surface of the frame, and wherein two book end support means are provided, one of said end support means being fixed in position and the other of said end support means being adjustable in position along the length of the frame in a track formed by the open portion of the ''''C''''.

6. The book holding bracket of claim 5 wherein said fixed book end support means covers one end of said frame.

8. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein said book holding means comprises at least one stave extending between said end support means

9. The book holding bracket of claim 1 wherein: said means permitting rotation of said frame in a horizontal plane comprises cylindrical bearing surface means coaxial with said vertical axis, said bearing surface means permitting rotation of said frame in a vertical plane comprises a solid body with a cylindrical bore therethrough coaxial with said horizontal axis, said horizontal elongated frame is ''''C'''' shaped in lateral cross-section with the open portion of the ''''C'''' facing downwardly so that the portions of the frame on either side of the opening form the lower surface of the frame, and two book end support means are provided, one of said end support means being fixed in position and the other of said end support means being adjustable in position along the length of the frame in a track formed by the open portion of the ''''c''''.