Reading instrument

Claim 1

A reading instrument for magnifying certain, selected printed material on the upper surface of a sheet of paper and for visually isolating said certain material from other, adjacent printed material on said upper surface, the instrument comprising: a magnifying assembly including an elongated, plano-convex lens means formed from a half round rod of a lens quality substance, a flat, non-ferrous, opaque plate provided with an elongated slot, means for attaching said lens means to said plate in alignment with said slot so that any printed material seen through said slot is magnified by said lens means, and a permanent magnet spaced from said lens means and attached to said plate and serving as a handle for said plate; and a flat lamina of a ferrous material which is operationally disposed close enough to said magnifying assembly so as to be magnetically attracted to said magnet to a substantial degree; whereby when said lamina is positioned beneath a lower surface of said paper and said magnifying assembly is positioned against said upper surface, the assembly is inhibited from sliding by the frictional force between said assembly and said paper caused by the weight of said assembly and by the magnetic attraction between said assembly and said lamina, and where certain printed material on said upper surface may be magnified and isolated from other printed material on said upper surface by grasping said magnet and positioning said slot and said lens over said certain, selected material.