US3885145A — Combination book enclosure and reading lamp

Claim 1

Independent Claim 367 words

A combination book enclosure and reading lamp adapted to retain a book therein to provide protection for the book when not in use, and to provide illumination for reading the book, the combination including: a. a cover assembly to form the enclosure, the assembly being characterized by: first and second cover portions having respective inner and outer edges; a spine portion having spaced parallel first and second edges and spaced ends, space between the edges of the spine portion defining width of the spine portion, the first edge of the spine portion being adjacent the inner edge of the first cover portion so as to be essentially integral therewith, the spine portion being inclined at a fixed obtuse angle to the first cover portion; a hinge portion provided adjacent the second edge of the spine portion to hinge the second cover portion to the spine portion, the hinge having a hinge axis; a link attachment means provided adjacent each end of the spine portion, the attachment means being spaced sufficiently to accept a spine of a book therebetween; b. a lamp housing provided adjacent the outer edges of the cover portions, the housing being characterized by: a lower edge of the housing adjacent the outer edge of the first cover portion to hold the housing rigidly relative to the first cover portion; an upper edge of the housing spaced upwards from the lower edge of the housing; cooperating releaseable latch means adjacent the upper edge of the housing to accept and retain the outer edge of the second cover portion when the second cover portion is closed for protecting the book; an elongated reflector fitted within the housing and positioned facing the spine portion; an electrically powered lamp fitted within the reflector and positioned therein to direct light on to the pages for reading; c. a flexible link extending under tension between the link attachment means so as to be generally parallel to the hinge axis, the link passing between the pages of the book adjacent the spine of the book so that the spine of the book is urged against the spine portion of the assembly so as to retain the book firmly within the enclosure.

Claim 2

Dependent Claim 367 words

A combination book enclosure and reading lamp adapted to retain a book therein to provide protection for the book when not in use, and to provide illumination for reading the book, the combination including: a. a cover assembly to form the enclosure, the assembly being characterized by: first and second cover portions having respective inner and outer edges; a spine portion having spaced parallel first and second edges and spaced ends, space between the edges of the spine portion defining width of the spine portion, the first edge of the spine portion being adjacent the inner edge of the first cover portion so as to be essentially integral therewith, the spine portion being inclined at a fixed obtuse angle to the first cover portion; a hinge portion provided adjacent the second edge of the spine portion to hinge the second cover portion to the spine portion, the hinge having a hinge axis; a link attachment means provided adjacent each end of the spine portion, the attachment means being spaced sufficiently to accept a spine of a book therebetween; b. a lamp housing provided adjacent the outer edges of the cover portions, the housing being characterized by: a lower edge of the housing adjacent the outer edge of the first cover portion to hold the housing rigidly relative to the first cover portion; an upper edge of the housing spaced upwards from the lower edge of the housing; cooperating releaseable latch means adjacent the upper edge of the housing to accept and retain the outer edge of the second cover portion when the second cover portion is closed for protecting the book; an elongated reflector fitted within the housing and positioned facing the spine portion; an electrically powered lamp fitted within the reflector and positioned therein to direct light on to the pages for reading; c. a flexible link extending under tension between the link attachment means so as to be generally parallel to the hinge axis, the link passing between the pages of the book adjacent the spine of the book so that the spine of the book is urged against the spine portion of the assembly so as to retain the book firmly within the enclosure.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 72 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which: i. the link has two ends, at least one end of the link being releasably attached to one link attachment means so as to permit placing of the book between the attachment means and then to permit extension of the link across the open book for engagement with the remaining attachment means to retain the spine of the book against the spine portion.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 68 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which each attachment means has a plurality of projections spaced between the first and second edges of the spine portion so as to provide accommodation for a range of book thicknesses, so that when a book within the enclosure is closed an upper corner of the spine of the book can be positioned adjacent the hinge of the cover assembly.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 58 words

A combination as claimed in claim 3 in which the link is elastic and has a ring adjacent each outer end thereof, each ring having an opening adapted to engage a respective projection and each ring having a tab extending therefrom for gripping when engaging or disengaging the ring from the projection when removing or inserting a book.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 141 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the lamp has: i. a bulb having an axial center line and a filament disposed thereon, ii. the reflector has a partial, generally cylindrical reflecting surface having a central lamp axis coincident with the bulb axial center line and normal to the hinge axis; a curved inner portion disposed symmetrically about the bulb; an upper outer portion being plane and disposed approximately parallel to the bulb center line; and a lower outer portion disposed at an angle of between 15* and 60* to the bulb center line so as to diverge downwardly and outwardly from the bulb axial center line; the inner and outer portions of the reflector merging together to provide illumination of the pages such that glare and variations in brightness of the page are within acceptable limits for reading.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 66 words

A combination as claimed in claim 5 in which the reflector has opposed spaced end portions, the end portions being generally plane and disposed in planes generally normal to the first cover portion and disposed to the axial center line at an angle of between 20* and 60* so as to produce a fan-shaped beam of light of sufficient width to illuminate pages of the book.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 79 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the cooperating releasable latch means to retain the outer edge of the second cover portion includes: i. the housing having a groove extending along the upper edge thereof, ii. the outer edge of the second cover portion having a tongue complementary to the groove so as to be retained in the groove, flexibility in the cover portion and spine portion permitting insertion and retention of the tongue in the groove.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 33 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the spine portion has a convex inner face so as to be approximately complementary to concave curvature of the spine of an open book.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 27 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which the fixed obtuse angle between the first cover portion and the spine portion is between 110* and 140*.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 120 words

A combination as claimed in claim 9 in which: i. the link is elastic and has two ends, one end of the link having an opening to engage one of the link attachment means so as to be releaseably attached to one link attachment means, ii. the link attachment means is a projection to accept the opening of the link, so that the book can be placed between the attachment means and, upon extension of the link across the open book, the projection engages the opening of the link and the spine of the book is retained firmly against the spine portion by tension in the link and by positive location of ends of the link on the attachment means.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 79 words

A combination as claimed in claim 10 in which the cooperating releaseable latch means to retain the outer edge of the second cover portion includes: i. the housing having a groove extending along the upper edge thereof, ii. the outer edge of the second cover portion having a tongue complementary to the groove so as to be retained in the groove, flexibility in the cover portion and spine portion permitting insertion and retention of the tongue in the groove.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 39 words

A combination as claimed in claim 1 in which opening of the second cover portion is restricted by the hinge so that from closed to maximum opened condition the second cover portion swings through an angle of about 110*.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	1978-05-19	1978-11-18	1979-05-20	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	1982-05-19	1982-11-18	1983-05-20	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	1986-05-19	1986-11-18	1987-05-20	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Combination book enclosure and reading lamp

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