There are various conventional ways of holding a book. Some people hold a book open with two hands or use one hand and retain pages back with their thumb and small finger. Others hold a book open with their hands on their lap or a table for supporting the weight. Unfortunately, none of these conventional ways are completely comfortable after a given period of time.

Many book holders have been designed in an attempt to alleviate this problem.

Most of them are in the form of stands that sit on a desk, table or other piece of furniture. These book holders are useful if the reader is sitting in front of such a piece of furniture but not if the reader is, for instance, lying in bed, sitting down in a chair or in a bath. Other book holders are too bulky or cumbersome to be useful and practical.

The present invention is concerned with a handheld foldable book holder which has several advantages over conventional methods and previous systems for holding books.

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a handheld foldable book holder for holding a book in an open position, the book holder being characterized in that it comprises: a frame having a central part and two opposite foldable side parts hingely connected to the central part, the frame defining an upper book support when the two foldable side parts are aligned with the central part, each foldable side part having a front edge and a rear upwardly projecting flange ; a handle connected to the frame;

two page pressing elements, each being connected to the front edge of a respective foldable side part; and a spine support assembly hingely connected to the central part of the frame and extending opposite the handle.

This book holder is described in the following detailed description which is made in conjunction with the accompanying figures, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the book holder in an unfolded position; FIG. 2 is a side view of the book holder shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is an upper view of the book holder shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the book holder shown in FIG. 1, the book holder being shown in a folded position; FIG. 5 is a front view of the book holder shown in FIG. 1, the book holder being shown while holding a book at the beginning thereof; FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5, showing the relative position of the handle when the book is open near the middle thereof; FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIGS. 5 and 6, showing the relative position of the handle when the book is near the end thereof; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a book holder in accordance with another possible embodiment, the book holder being shown in an unfolded position; FIG. 9 is a side view of the book holder shown in FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a upper view of the book holder shown in FIG. 8 ; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the book holder shown in FIG. 8, the book holder being illustrated in a folded position;

FIG. 12 is a schematic bottom view of a book holder, illustrating an embodiment where the position of the handle is set by selectively inserting a top part of the handle into one of the positioning holes ; FIG. 13 is a bottom view of an example of a handle capable of being opened as a tripod stand; and FIG. 14 is a front view showing a page pressing element made using a bended wire.

A handheld foldable book holder (10) according to two possible embodiments are described hereafter and illustrated in the appended figures. The first and preferred embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 to 7. The second embodiment is shown in FIGS. 8 to 11. FIGS. 12 to 14 show possible variants applicable to both embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments and variants are given as examples only. The invention is not limited to the described embodiments and encompasses any alternative embodiments within the limits defined by the claims.

As best shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the book holder (10) is somewhat similar to a music stand but is provided with a small comfortable grip handle (12) instead of the long stem, as in a conventional music stand. Advantageously, the handle (12) is ergonomically designed and shaped as a cone. The dimensions of the handle (12) should correspond to the average width of an adult fist when in a grip. Other shapes and dimensions can be used as well. The handle (12) is preferably made of a plastic material or a lightweight rubber style material that is comfortable to hold.

A lightweight frame (20) supports a book (14) and the reader only has to hold the handle (12), which handle (12) is connected to the frame (20). This way, the reader can use only one hand while reading the book (14). This provides a more comfortable and natural position that does not require the reader to use fingers to spread open the pages. The frame (20) is preferably in the form of a small hinged

shelf in three parts (30,40, 50), namely a fixed central part (30) and two opposite foldable side parts (40,50), one being on each side of the book holder (10).

Together, the central part (30) and the foldable side parts (40,50), while in an unfolded position, define an upper book support against which the bottom edge of the book (14) will rest. The hinges (32,34) between each foldable side part (40, 50) and the fixed central part (30) are preferably self-locking or otherwise provided with a locking mechanism. The specific details of the construction will be obvious to a person skilled in the art. The self-locking hinges (32,34) must be designed with sufficient retention force to support a book while at the same time, allowing both parts to be easily folded.

The front edge of each foldable side part (40,50) comprises a page pressing element (60) which is provided to hold the pages of the book open. As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the page pressing elements (60) are preferably slightly"S"- shaped and their free end is slightly outwardly curved to facilitate the insertion of the pages. The slight S-shaped curve allows the page pressing elements (60) to accommodate more easily books of various thicknesses. It should be noted that other shapes and configurations of the page pressing elements (60) are possible as well. It should be also noted that the page pressing elements (60) can be provided as rigid strips with a hinged connection to the foldable side part (40,50) and with a spring that creates the bias towards the pages of the book (14).

The page pressing elements (60) are preferably made of a transparent and resilient polymeric material such as PERSPEX@. The transparency allows the reader to read text or to see pictures at the bottom of the pages without being obstructed by the page pressing elements (60). Alternatively, the page pressing elements (60) may be formed by a thin bended wire, as shown in FIG. 14. The wire is either made of metal or plastic and provided with a suitable level of resiliency.

The page pressing elements (60) are preferably mounted on a corresponding pivot (62) provided on each foldable part (40,50). When folding the book holder (10), the page pressing elements (60) can then be pivoted until they rest parallel to the

front edge of the respective foldable side parts (40,50). Many other embodiments are possible as well. For instance, the page pressing elements (60) can be connected to the front edge of the frame (20) without being pivotable.

A hinged support spine assembly (70) is connected to the central part (30) of the frame (20). In the preferred embodiment, shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, the support spine assembly (70) comprises a front stem (72) and a back strip (74), both being spaced-apart and allowing the insertion of the book (14) between them. When the book (14) is set on the book holder (10), the back strip (74) supports the back spine of the book (14) and the stem (72) rests between pages of the book (14). At that point, the book (14) rests on an upper book support defined when the various parts of the frame (20) are unfolded. The back of lower edge of the book (14) is pressed against upwardly projecting flanges (42,52) while the page pressing elements (60) apply a pressure on the opposite side to keep the book open. The book (14) will only need to be reposition from time to time with respect to the stem (72) as pages are read. It should be noted that the flanges (42,52) may have a different aspect than what is shown in the appended figures.

FIGS. 8 to 11 show another embodiment for the book holder (10). In this embodiment, the spine support assembly (70) includes a spine engaging strip (75) which is telescopic or otherwise adjustable. It comprises a small hook (76) at its top. The hook (76) is configured and shaped to slip unobtrusively into the center of the binder of the book (14) in order to secure the book (14) at the top and prevent it from falling. A knob (78) allows to adjust the relative position of both parts of the spine engaging strip (75), thus adjusts the height of the hook (76).

In both embodiments, the spine support assembly (70) includes a self-lockable hinge (71) or a hinge incorporating an otherwise lockable mechanism capable of retaining the spine engaging strip (74,75) in an unfolded position while a book is being read. It should be noted that in the preferred embodiment, the stem (72) may be part of the pivotable components of the spine support assembly (70) or not. FIG. 4 shows the stem (72) not being pivotable.

Another interesting feature of the present invention is that the book holder (10) can be designed so that the handle (12) be offset with reference to the center of the book holder (10). This is preferably achieved using a slot (80) in which a lockable and slidable follower (82) is engaged. The follower (82) is preferably locked by rotating the handle (12) at the end of which a screw is located. The follower (82) preferably slides in a recess (84) provided around the slot (80). FIGS. 5 to 7 illustrate various relative positions of the handle (12) of the book holder (10) in accordance with the preferred embodiment. In FIG. 5, the book (14) is at the beginning. Consequently, almost all pages are on the same side. The center of gravity is thus located more at the right hand side of the book holder (10). As the reader progresses into reading the book (14), the handle (12) can be moved towards the center. In FIG. 6, the book is at the middle page and the handle (12) is therefore at the center. Near the end of the book (14), as shown in FIG. 7, the handle (12) will be located near the left hand side of the book holder (10).

In another possible embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, there is provided a plurality of holes (86) in which a screw or peg at the end of the handle (12) can be selectively inserted.

When not in use, the book holder (10) can be folded down around its handle (12), as shown in FIGS. 4 and 11. Each page pressing element (60) is pivoted by 90° and positioned so as to rest against the frame (20). The two foldable side parts (40,50) are swiveled downwards until they run parallel to the handle (12). The spine support assembly (70) is also swiveled downwards until it is parallel to the handle (12). At this point, the book holder (10) should preferably be about three to four inches long by two inches wide, thus small enough to be easily transported or stored away in a bag or the like.

Optionally, as shown in FIG. 13, the handle (12) can be designed to open up into a tripod stand so that the book holder (10) could rest on a table or any other such surface, in addition of being a handheld device.

As can be appreciated, the present invention provides a very suitable handheld foldable book holder which has several advantages over conventional methods and previous systems for holding books. This book holder can work with books of various thicknesses and regardless whether they have a conventional binder or being in a paperback format.