A device for holding reading materials for use by readers without arm mobility is presented. The device is adapted to hold the reading materials in position for reading with the pages displayed to enable turning by use of a rubber tipped stick that is held in the mouth and has a pair of rectangular frames. The frames are for holding and positioning the reading materials opened in reading posture with the pages displayed at a substantially unobstructed sighting position for reading. The pair of rectangular frames are connected to one another by a hinge so the angle between the frames may be varied thereby varying the inclination of the reading material. A pair of bent spring mounted wires for holding opposing pages of the reading material open for reading without substantial visual interference of the pages is mounted to the base. The wires are also adjustable to the thickness of the reading material and have a variable friction adjustment. This enables the force of the wires against the pages to be varied and permits the reader to manipulate the pages with the stick

Eklund, Wayne D.

Kerley, James J.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

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United States Patent 
USOO5149046A 
[113 Patent Number: 5,149,046 
Kerley et al. 1451 Date of Patent: Sep. 22, 1992 
1541 PAGE TURNING SYSTEM 
[75] Inventors: James J. Kerley, Greenbelt; Wayne 
D. Eklund, Edgewood, both of Md. 
[73] Assignee: The United States of America as 
represented by the Administrator, 
National Aeronautics & Space 
Administration, Washington, D.C. 
[21] Appl. NO.: 812,932 
1221 Filed: Dec. 24,1991 
1511 Int. ( 3 . 5  .............................................. A47B 97/04 
1521 U S .  Cl. .................................... 248/453; 248/455; 
248/463 
[58] Field of Search ............... 248/453, 454, 455, 456, 
248/459, 463,465; 281/445, 33 
1561 References Cited 
U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS 
462,122 10/1891 French ................................ 248/453 
706,228 8/1902 Fleming 
819,910 5/1906 Meyers . 
903,050 11/1908 Booth . 
1,197,233 9/1916 Plamon 
1,947.053 2/1934 Mason ......... 45/57 
2,244,773 6/1941 Hawk . 
2,373,617 4/1945 Tiryakian ........................ 248/463 X 
2,786,299 3/1957 Cosgrove ............................ 248/463 
3,017,148 1/1962 Wathen ....................... 248/459 U X 
3,603,554 9/1971 Dickins .. 248/453 
3,785,605 1/1974 Parekh 281/33 X 
3,889,914 6/1975 Tonne ................................. 248/445 
3,952,989 4/1976 Hatcher ............................... 248/453 
3,954,246 SA976 Sparkman ....................... 248/460 X 
4,496,126 1/1985 Melton et a]. .................... 24W447.2 
FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS 
54814 1/1935 Norway .............................. 248/453 
Primaly Examiner-J. Franklin Foss 
Attorney, Agent, or Firm-R. Dennis Marchant; Guy M. 
Miller; Paul S. Clohan, Jr. 
[571 ABSTRACT 
A device for holding reading materials for use by read- 
ers without arm mobility adapted to hold the reading 
materials in position for reading with the pages dis- 
played to enable turning by use of a rubber tipped stick 
held in the mouth having a pair of rectangular frames 
for holding and positioning the reading material opened 
in reading posture with the pages displayed at a substan- 
tially unobstructed sighting position for reading with 
the pair of rectangular frames connected to one another 
by a hinge so the angle between the frames may be 
varied thereby varying the inclination of the reading 
materials. A pair of bent spring mounted wires for hold- 
ing opposing pages of the reading material open for 
reading without substantial visual interference of the 
pages is mounted to the base and adjustable to the thick- 
ness of the reading material and having a variable fric- 
tion adjustment so as to enable the force of the wires 
against the pages to be varied and also permitting ma- 
nipulation of said pages by the stick employed by the 
reader. 
4 Claims, 5 Drawing Sheets 
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U.S. Patent Sep. 22, 1992 Sheet 4 of 5 5,149,046 
US. Patent Sep. 22, 1992 Sheet 5 of 5 5,149,046 
1 
PAGE TURNING SYSTEM 
Origin of the Invention 
The invention described herein was made in the per- 
formance of work under a NASA contract and by an 
employee of the United States Government and is sub- 
ject to the provisions of Section 305 of the National 
Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958, Public Law 85-568 
(72 Stat. 435; 43 U.S.C. $2457), and may be manufac- 
tured and used for governmental purposes without the 
payment of any royalties thereon or therefor. 
TECHNICAL FIELD 
This invention relates to book and newspaper holders 
for persons without arm mobility and more particularly 
it relates to an improved book holder for facilitating the 
turning of pages by such persons. 
BACKGROUNDART 
Various types of book holders exist in the prior art. 
Most of these holders, however, are not suitable for 
persons who have lost their arm mobility, e.g., quadri- 
plegics. Some types of book holders have been pro- 
posed, the most recent being a Table Mounted Univer- 
sally Positionable Book Holder Enabling Readers to 
Turn Pages Easily Without Hands, U.S. Pat. No. 
4,496,126 issued to R. Stanley Melton. In this device, 
Melton provides a (1) set of clamps for mounting on a 
table for positioning, (2) an open rectangular frame- 
work for displaying an open book with (3) cover clamps 
to hold the book covers and having (4) a set of monofil- 
ament plastic lines for keeping the book open to display 
5,149,046 
CI L 
These and other objects are achieved by providing a 
Page Turning System according to the present inven- 
tion. A Book holder is provided and comprised gener- 
ally of a flat upright back support upon which a book, 
5 magazine, or newspaper is placed, a flat base which can 
be placed on a table, lap, etc., a bracket, and a pair of 
bent wire page holders. The back support is connected 
to the base by a hinge which allows the book holder to 
pivot to various degrees of inclination, including com- 
10 pletely flat for storage. The bracket is mounted at the 
base of the back support and is used for mounting the 
two page holders, a wire, and a page turner holder. 
The back support is supported in an upright position 
by a brace, which is hinged to the base by a piano hinge, 
15 and supported at the upper end by a bent metal bracket. 
A plurality of brackets can be placed on the back sup- 
port to allow various angles of inclination to the back 
support. A spring, which can be a rubber band, bungee, 
etc., is connected between a bracket, fixed to the base, 
20 and another bracket, fixed to the back support, which 
keeps the brace fmnly in position against the bracket. 
The back support also has a pair of wings, which slide 
into and out of a bracket at the back of the back support, 
which allows the back support to widen at the top for 
25 newspapers and other large reading materials. A wire, 
which extends from the bracket to a top support, is 
useful in holding some types of reading materials; it is 
not necessary for other types of reading materials. 
Mounted to the front bracket are the two page hold- 
30 ers, which essentially are two pieces of bent wire. At 
the base of each page holder is a cylinder into which 
each page holder is fastened. The cylinders can be made 
from plastic, and each has a hole through the center (not 
shown) through which a rod is placed. The rod extends 
a Pair bfoPPosed Pages and to faditate the turning Of 35 from the left t& ofthe front bracket, through the center 
the Pages by the reader with a mouth rub- of the front bracket, to the right tab of the front bracket, 
ber tipped stick. The clamp mount clamps on an edge of and allows the page holders to rotate about their axis. 
a table to hold the framework substantially Vertically The rod has threaded portions as shown, and is fixed to 
for reading in sitting position with two Or three lines the two tabs by four nuts. The cylinders are not pre- 
disposed horizontally across the open Pages to hold 40 vented from lateral movement in this embodiment, ex- 
them open and Partially flattened for reading. When a cept by the tension provided by the two springs. TO 
conventional table moves over a hospital type bed, for capture the end of each spring is a cap, which can also 
example, and the framework is clamped to the edge of be made from plastic. The tension on each spring is 
the table, it holds the book horizontally with the opened adjusted by the nuts as shown. As the nuts adjacent the 
pages resting on the monofilamant lines. 45 caps are tightened, the spring tensions are increased and 
One drawback of the prior art is the ability to handle consequently the friction between innermost cylinders 
different sizes of reading materials, i.e., from small pa- and the center part of the front bracket is increased. 
perback books to large newspapers. Another drawback This allows for adjustment of the page holders against 
is the method used to turn the pages. Some devices used the back support. In other words, if the page holders 
automatic page turners, but they tended to be very 50 need to be held tightly against the back support, then 
expensive. (either devices, such as the one cited above, the tension on the springs is increased; if the page hold- 
used a rubber tipped stick held in the mouth, which is ers = be loose against the back support, then the ten- 
suitable for some individuals but not for others; e.g., as sion on the springs can be decreased. The adjustment of 
the handicapped get older they lose much of their facial the page holders is left up to the user allowing flexibility 
muscle power so if a rubber tipped stick is to be used it 55 in the use of the book holder. 
must be held by the jaws and not merely the mouth. FIG. 8 shows how a quadriplegic would use the book 
holder to hold a magazine and to turn its pages. The 
magazine lies flat against the back support and is sup- 
It is therefore an object of the present invention to ported in the middle by a wire. The two page holders 
provide a device that will hold various types and sizes 60 are positioned against the pages of the magazine so that 
of reading materials in a readable position for bedridden they lie flat. When the quadriplegic wishes to turn the 
persons. pages of the magazine, he uses a page turner, holding it 
It is another object of the present invention to pro- in his mouth. The page turner, shown in detail in FIG. 
vide a means for persons without arm mobility to turn 3, consists of a mouth piece, two tubes, and an endpiece. 
the pages of various types and sizes of reading materials. 65 One tube is larger that the other tube allowing one tube 
It is a further object of the present invention to pro- to slide into and out of the other tube enabling the user 
vide a page turner for older individuals who have lim- to adjust the length of the page turner. FIG. 4 shows a 
ited muscle ability. side view of the page turner, enabling one to see that the 
’ 
STATEMENT OF THE INVENTION 
5.149,046 
3 
mouth piece is wide and tapered enabling the quadri- 
plegic to grip the page turner with his or her teeth and 
use the muscles in his or her jaws to manipulate the page 
turner; this feature is especially important for older 
individuals who may have decreased ability in the 
tongue and other muscles found in the mouth. An alter- 
nate embodiment for the end piece of the page turner is 
shown in FIG. 5; in this embodiment, an eraser type end 
is provided o the end of one tube, this end is called an 
eraser end because it resembles the eraser of a standard 
pencil; in fact, the end can consist of a purchased pencil 
eraser end. 
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
FIG. 1 is a front view of the book holder portion of 
FIG. 2 is a side view of the book holder portion of the 
FIG. 3 is a top view of the page turner used in the 
FIG. 4 is a side view of the mouth piece used on the 
FIG. 5 is a view of an alternate end for the page 
FIG. 6 is a front view of the page turner holder used 
FIG. 7 is a side view of the page turner holder used in 
FIG. 8 is a view of the page turning system in use. 
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE 
INVENTION 
Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2, a book holder 10 is 
shown for use in the Page Turning System of the pres- 
ent invention. Book holder 10 is comprised generally of 
a flat upright back support 4, upon which a book, maga- 
zine, or newspaper is placed, a flat base 8 which can be 
placed on a table, lap, etc., a bracket 12, and a pair of 
bent wire page holders 6. Back support 4 is connected 
to base 8 by hinge 24 which allows book holder 10 to 
pivot to various degrees of inclination, including com- 
pletely flat for storage. Back support 4 also has con- 
nected a top support 2 which can be useful for larger 
reading items such as newspapers. Bracket 12 is 
mounted at the base of back support 4 and is used for 
mounting the two page holders 6, wire 26, and a page 
turner holder (not shown in FIG. 1). 
Back support 4 is supported in an upright position by 
brace 28, which is hinged to base 8 by piano hinge 32, 
and supported at the upper end by a bent metal bracket 
30. A plurality of brackets 30 can be placed on back 
support 4 to allow various angles of inclination to back 
support 4. A spring 34, which can be a rubber band, 
bungn, etc., is connected between bracket 38, fixed to 
base 8, and bracket 36, fixed to back support 4, which 
keeps brace 38 firmly in position against bracket 30. 
Back support 4 also has a pair of wings 5, which slide 
into and out of bracket 3 at the back of back support 4, 
which allows back support 4 to widen at the top for 
newspapers and other large reading materials. Wire 26, 
which extends from bracket 12 to top support 2, is use- 
ful in holding some types of reading materials; it is not 
necessary for other types of reading materials. 
Mounted to bracket 12 are the two page holders 6, 
which essentially are two pieces of bent wire. At the 
base of each page holder 6 is a cylinder 20 into which 
each page holder 6 is fastened. Cylinders 20 can be 
made from plastic, and each has a hole through the 
the Page Turning System. 
Page Turning System. 
Page Turning System. 
page turner. 
turner. 
in the Page Turning System. 
the Page Turning System. 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
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35 
40 
45 
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55 
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4 
center (not shown) through which rod 14 is placed. Rod 
14 extends from the left tab 23 of bracket 12, through 
the center 27 of bracket 12, to the right tab 25 of bracket 
12, and allows page holders 6 to rotate about its axis. 
Rod 14 has threaded portions as shown, and is fixed to 
tabs 23 and 25 by four nuts 22. Cylinders M are not 
prevented from lateral movement in this embodiment, 
except by the tension provided by springs 16. To cap- 
ture the end of each spring 16 is a cap 18, which can also 
be made from plastic. The tension on each spring 16 is 
adjusted by nuts 22 as shown. As nuts 22 adjacent caps 
18 are tightened, the spring 16 tensions are increased 
and consequently the friction between innermost cylin- 
ders 20 and center 27 is increased. This allows for ad- 
justment of page holders 6 against back support 4. In 
other words, if page holders 6 need to be held tightly 
against back support 4, then the tension on springs 16 is’ 
increased; if page holders 6 can be loosely against back 
support 4, then the tension on springs 16 can be de- 
creased. The adjustment of page holders 6 is left up to 
the user allowing flexibility in the use of book holder 10. 
FIG. 8 shows how a quadriplegic 80 will use book 
holder 10 to hold a magazine 80 and to turn its pages. 
The magazine 80 lies flat against back support 4 and is 
supported in the middle by wire 26. Page holders 6 are 
positioned against the pages of magazine 82 so that they 
lie flat. When quadriplegic 80 wishes to turn the pages 
of magazine 82, he uses page turner 40, holding it in his 
mouth. Page turner 40, shown in detail in FIG. 3, con- 
sists of a mouth piece 48, tubes 42 and 44, and endpiece 
46; in this embodiment endpiece 46 is a suction cup end. 
Tube 42 is larger that tube 44 allowing tube 44 to slide 
into and out of tube 42 enabling the user to adjust the 
length of page turner 40. FIG. 4 shows a side view of 
page turner 40, enabling one to see that mouth piece 48 
is wide and tapered enabling quadriplegic 80 to grip 
page turner 40 with his or her teeth and use the muscles 
in his or her jaws to manipulate page turner 40, this 
feature is especially important for older individuals who 
may have decreased ability in the tongue and other 
muscles found in the mouth. An alternate embodiment 
for the end piece of page turner 40 is shown in FIG. 5; 
in this embodiment, an eraser type end 50 is provided on 
the end of tube 44, end 50 is called an eraser end because 
it resembles the eraser of a standard pencil; in fact, end 
50 can consist of a purchased pencil eraser end. 
To store page turner 40 when not in use, a page turner 
holder 52, shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is provided. It con- 
sists of three telescoping tubes 54,56, and 58 and an end 
60. End 60, shown in side view in FIG. 7, is merely a 
bent metal bracket enabling the w r  80 to place page 
turner 40 in after he or she is finished turning the pages. 
It can be mounted on bracket 12 of book holder 10 or in 
another location if desired. 
To  those skilled in the art, many modifications and 
variations of the present invention are possible in light 
of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood 
that the present invention can be practiced otherwise 
than as specifically described herein and still will be 
within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 
I claim: 
1. A device for holding reading materials for use by 
readers without arm mobility adapted to hold the read- 
ing materials in position for reading with the pages 
displayed to enable turning by means of a rubber tipped 
stick held in the mouth comprising: 
a pair of rectangular frames for holding and position- 
ing said reading material opened in reading posture 
5 
5,149,046 
6 -
with said pages displayed at a substantially unob- to one said frame having a spring thereon to pro- 
structed sighting position for reading; vide a spring bias on said wire mounts, said spring 
said pair of rectangular frames connected to one an- bias adjustable by turning a nut threadably attached 
other by a hinge such that the angle between said to said rod; and 
frames may be varied thereby varying the inclina- 5 said rubber tipped stick employed by said reader 
tion of said reading materials; comprising at least one hollow tube having a 
an adjustable brace and a spring means affixed be- shaped tip and a mouthpiece shaped so as to be 
tween said pair of rectangular frames; gripped by the teeth of said reader. 
means for holding opposing pages of said reading 2. The device for holding reading materials for use by 
material open for reading without substantial visual 10 readers without arm mobility of claim 1 wherein said 
interference of said pages, said means adjustable to stick employed by said reader comprises at least two 
the page thickness of said reading material and said hollow tubes, one inside the other, so as to make the 
means having a variable friction adjustment so as to length of said stick adjustable. 
enable to force of said means against said pages to 3. The device for holding reading materials for use by 
be varied, said means also permitting manipulation 15 readers without arm mobility of claim 2 wherein said 
of said pages by said rubber tipped stick employed shaped tip of said stick employed by said reader com- 
by said reader; prises an eraser shape. 
said means for holding opposing pages of said reading 4. The device for holding reading materials for use by 
material open for reading without substantial visual readers without arm mobility of claim 2 wherein said 
interference of said pages comprises a pair of bent 20 shaped tip of said stick employed by said reader com- 
wires, each said bent wire mounted to a pair of wire prises a suction cup shape. 
mounts slideably mounted to a threaded rod affixed * * * * *  
25 
30 
35 
40 
45 
50 
55  
60 
65 


Page turning system

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