TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a protective cover for books, said cover being of the kind comprising two pockets adapted for the insertion of the front and back leaves of the book's own cover.

BACKGROUND ART

Protective covers for books are especially used on school books to protect them against the daily wear and tear when being carried in the school bag or satchel.

A common method of protecting books is to use a protective book cover made of paper, for which use especially hard-wearing paper types with plastic-treated or varnished surface have been put on the market.

The paper book cover is cut to size corresponding to the format of the book, and is then folded about the book's own cover, holding its own shape supported by the relatively stiff book cover. This method is suitable for being carried out by the pupils themselves, possibly with the help of their parents.

New books in a bound state are often offered for sale with a plain dust cover intended to make the book easier to sell, as it is provided with a more flashy title, possibly also with pictures suited to attract attention to the book.

A special protective book cover is known from the catalogue of the Hannover fair, said catalogue being in two volumes inserted in a cover of transparent plastic

welded to form two pockets, in which the front cover leaf of the first volume is inserted in the front pocket, whereas the back cover leaf of the second volume is inserted in the second pocket. This protective cover is only adapted for use with this single catalogue. Further, this protective cover is provided with two carrying straps, so that the catalogue may be carried in one hand.

Apart from what has been mentioned above, protective book covers of self-adhesive plastic are also known. This material is especially used by libraries having found reason to believe that the original binding of the book in question is sufficiently robust to withstand the wear and tear of being handled by the borrowers. The plastic material in question is hard-wearing and dirt- repellent.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION It is the object of the present invention to provide a protective cover for books of the kind referred to initially, with which it is possible to achieve protection for books in different formats without using material adhering to the book's own cover, and this object is achieved with a protective cover of the kind referred to above, which according to the present invention is characterized in that it consists of two parts joined by glueing or cementing the two pockets to each other in such a manner, that the protective cover is adapted to the width and thickness of the book.

By choosing pockets of suitable sizes, this arrangement makes it possible to make protective covers for all formats of books, ranging from hymn books to atlases. A special advantage with the protective book cover according to the present invention is that it can be

placed in position considerably more rapidly than covers being cut to size from paper, and that its protective effect must be regarded as being much greater.

The two pockets may be glued or cemented to each other by means of self-adhesive tape being placed across the outer leaves of the two pockets, or - even better - by means of a strip of double adhesive tape placed between the overlapping parts of the two pockets.

The two pockets may be joined at the back of the book or, preferably, outside the back leaf of book's own cover, so that the front leaf is folded around the back of the book, thus - in case the cover is transparent - allowing the title of the book to be read, both on the back of the book and on the first leaf of the book's own cover, through the transparent plastic film.

Since the majority of school books, in addition to the long-standing standardized formats, are also produced in intermediate and large formats, it is considered advantageous to produce protective book covers according to the present invention in a number of different widths corresponding to the height of the books, and with a length suitably adapted to the width of the books in such a manner, that the outer leaf of the front pocket will be able to reach around the back of the book to be joined to the back-side pocket having been placed on the back leaf of the book's own cover. According to a special version, the cover may comprise a pair of pockets of different length, so that only one layer of plastic is used in the cover outside the back of the book. Surplus plastic may be cut away before the joining. The book will be effectively protected, as the pocket, into which the book's own cover is inserted, is joined by forming a weld seam along the edges of the book's own

cover, the book resting on this seam.

In those places, where there is no pocket, i.e. at the back of the book and a part close to the back, the book is carried standing in the weld of pocket, in this manner being protected against wear.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following detailed portion of the present specification the present invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments of a protective book cover according to the invention shown in the drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a book cover prior to assembly, as viewed from the inside, Figure 2 shows how the book cover shown in Figure 1 is placed on a book, Figure 3 shows how the two parts of the book cover are made to adhere to each other, and

Figure 4 in the same manner as Figure 1 shows an embodi¬ ment of a protective book cover adaptable to books of large formats.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The protective book cover is constructed in the manner shown in Figure 1, this Figure showing a protective cover of welded plastic film as seen from the inside. The outer leaf 1 is connected to the inner leaf 2 to form a pocket by means of three seams 3,4 and 5. The seam 4 may be constituted by a fold in the outer leaf 1, this leaf also forming the inner leaf.

The outer leaf 1 is made sufficiently long to reach beyond the back of the book to be glued to the back-

side part 6.

The back-side part is, like the front-leaf cover, formed by means of a fold or a weld 7 as well as two welds 8 and 9, thus forming a pocket for the back leaf of the book's cover.

With a view to forming a joint, the protective cover can be provided with a strip of self-adhesive glue 10, up to the joining operation being protected by a cover strip 11 of non-adhering paper or plastic.

The protective book cover may have a pre-printed area 20 for showing the owner's name or the title of the book. Most suitably, the area 20 is placed on the front leaf 1.

Figure 2 shows a book, the book's own cover having been inserted into the two pockets forming the protective book cover. The front pocket 1 lies at the bottom, whereas the back-side pocket 6 is seated on the back leaf of the book's own cover.

Figure 3 illustrates the joining operation, during which the protective cover strip 11 is pulled free of the self-adhesive glue 10, while the outer leaf 1 is wrapped up around the back of the book as shown.

Figure 4 shows an alternative solution, especially intended for books of atlas format, based on using a cover corner 12 joined at the seams 16 and 17, and an opposite cover corner 13 joined at the seams 18 and 19, these two cover corners 12 and 13 being joined to form a pocket, the latter then being joined to cover corners 14 and 15 to form a protective cover, the latter having, however, a visible overlap horizontally across the book's

own cover. This solution makes it possible to adapt the height of the protective cover to the height of the book, the overlap between the cover corners 12,13 and 14,15 being varied according to the height of the book. Glue for joining the two parts can be applied at the areas 21.

A slip with the name and school form of the pupil can be placed in a suitable location in the front part of the protective cover, this slip remaining in the same place due to the electrostatic properties of the plastic film.

The protective book cover can in any known manner comprise pre-printed white areas, on which the pupil can write his/her name etc. with a permanent ink or paste suited to the colours of this area or - if the area is placed on the inside of the film - suited for use on the plastic film.

A further advantage with the transparent film is that the pupil can insert marks or cuttings behind the protective book cover in order to give the book a more personal character, or to highlight the contents of the book, as certain textbooks only appear with a uniform brown outside, being as they are intended to be protected in opaque paper.

LIST OF PARTS