AU746111B2 - Curtain tensioner - Google Patents

Description

CURTAIN TENSIONER This invention relates to vehicle curtains of the kind used on vehicles such as trucks, trailers, railway carriages and the like.

Vehicle curtains, and in particular, side curtains are widely used to enclose a load and protect the load from moisture and road grim whilst providing fairly ready access to any part of the load. Vehicle curtains of this type are typically mounted by being wound around an elongate roller which is mounted with the vehicle. The elongate roller is usually mounted vertically at the front or rear comer of the vehicle. In use the roller provides means of storing the curtain when not in use and also provides for tensioning of the curtain when the opposite edge is secured. For this purpose a tensioning mechanism of any one of several known types is associated with the curtain roller to apply a toque and tension the curtain. A difficulty frequently encountered however, is that the curtain roller, which is supported only at its ends, bends during the tensioning so that an uneven tension is applied to the curtain.

This can result in movement or flapping of the curtain particularly at highway vehicle speeds.

The flapping of a curtain can reduce curtain life. Flapping movement also raises serious safety issues in relation to the rearview of the vehicle driver and the visibility past the vehicle for other road users. The flapping of a curtain also has an impact on aesthetic appeal which 20 can be important because vehicle curtains frequently carry advertising material.

.0 It is an object of this invention to provide a vehicle curtain assembly and a support roller assembly which overcomes, or at least ameliorates, the above disadvantage.

Accordingly, in one aspect of this invention provides a vehicle curtain assembly including a curtain; an elongate curtain roller about which the curtain can be wound; a selectively operable tensioning mechanism associated with the curtain roller to provide for tensioning of the curtain; and at least one support roller mounted adjacent said curtain romiler to bear against the curtain wound around the curtain roller and limit deflection of the curtain i~l P:\OPERAr1\80937-98 spe.doc-07)2A)2 -2roller during tensioning of the curtain wherein stop means are provided adjacent the support roller for selective engagement with the curtain wound around the curtain roller during deflection of the curtain roller under load to clamp the curtain.

In a second aspect of this invention provides a support roller assembly for a vehicle curtain roller, said assembly including a support bracket, a support roller mounted with said bracket for contact with the curtain roller, and stop means extending from said bracket adjacent said roller for selective engagement with a curtain wound around the curtain roller during deflection of the curtain roller under load to clamp the curtain.

Preferably, the curtain roller bears against the support roller on the side of the support roller axis remote from the curtain. Preferably, the stop means are provided adjacent the S• support roller on the curtain side and the curtain roller is resiliently deflected under a selected load corresponding to a desired curtain tension to move across the support roller and engage 0 15 the stop means clamping the curtain between the curtain roller and the stop means. The stop means is preferably formed by an extension of a bracket arm mounting the support roller.

00 Preferably, a number of support rollers are mounted along the length of the curtain go 0roller according to the length of the roller. In the preferred form of the invention the rollers are o S..0 20 mounted approximately 1,200 mm apart.

•o 00-0 The or each support is or are preferably of cylindrical form and mounted for rotation e. about an axis substantially parallel to the rotational axis of the curtain roller.

ooo04: The support rollers are preferably found by segments of individual narrower rollers portions separated by grooves. These can, for example, be conventional roller or ball bearings.

In one form of the invention two sets of nestingly arranged individual rollers are mounted on parallel axes of rotation.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

c r i__I ~1 Figure 1 is a schematic elevation of a vehicle curtain assembly fitted to a vehicle; Figure 2 is a schematic elevation of a support roller assembly; Figure 3 is a schematic perspective view of the support roller assembly shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a schematic sectional view of the assembly shown in Figure 2 and 3 also showing a curtain and curtain roller; Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of a support roller assembly; 15 Figure 6 is a schematic sectional elevation of the support roller assembly shown in Figure 7 is a schematic sectional end view of the support roller assembly shown in "ii2 'Figure 5 and 6 also showing a curtain and curtain roller.

Figure 1 shows a vehicle fitted with vehicle curtains of known type. The vehicle curtain assembly 10 comprises a curtain roller 11 about which a curtain 12 is wound in the usual manner. A tensioning mechanism 13 of conventional type is associated with the curtain roller 11. The operation of the tensioning mechanism to selectively tension the curtain 12 as required is well known to those skilled in the art and will not be described in detail.

Support rollers 14 are mounted for rotation about an axis parallel to the axis of rotation of curtain roller 11. As best seen in Figures 2 and 3 the support rollers 14 are mounted by means of a bracket 15. The bracket 15 is appropriately fixed, usually by bolting r: 7 .7 WO 99/01328 PCT/AU98/00501 -4or welding, to the vehicle frame on which the curtain assembly 10 is mounted. Bracket includes perpendicularly extending arms 16 which terminate in a smoothly curved extension 17 which acts as a stop as described below. Support roller 14 comprises a series of individual rollers 18 separated by grooves 19. A pin 20 passes. through the centre of the rollers 18 and through the-arms 16 to provide rotational mounting.

When-the curtain 12 is not under tension, the-curtain roller 11 is not deflected by the tensioning load and is spaced apart from-support roller-14-. As-the curtain 12 is wound onto curtain roller 11 by the operation of the tensioning mechanism 13, the.curtain roller 11 begins to deflect under the applied load. As a consequence, the curtain 12 wrapped around the roller contacts thesupport roller 14 as shown by solid line 12a in Figure 4. The support roller thus limits the deflection of the curtain roller 11 and provides for a more even tensioning of the curtain 12 along its-length.- As the tension is further increased the curtain roller 11 resiliently deflects and over centres on support roller 14 to move the curtain 12 wrapped around it to the position shown by broken line 12b in Figure 4. When this happens the curtain 12 is clamped between curtain roller 11 and stop 19a and no further tensioning is possible. The amount of deflection of the curtain roller 11 and relative position of stop 17 and support roller 14 are chosen so that clamping is effected at the required curtain tension. Reversing of the tensioning mechanism 13 allows curtain roller 11 to move out of engagement with stop 17 and return to its unloaded position spaced apart from support rollers 18.

Figures 5, 6 and 7 show a second embodiment of the support roller assembly forming part of the vehicle curtain assembly. In this configuration two interleaved or nestled support roller arrangements 14a, 14b, are shown mounted on parallel pins 20a, 20b. The support rollers 14a, 14b, are similarly formed by individualrollers 18a, 18b separated by grooves 19a, 19b. The rollers 18a, 18b and grooves 19a, 19b nestingly engage as best seen in Figure The bracket 15 is generally similar and includes smoothly curved stop 17a. The operation of the modified form of the invention is generally similar to that described above except that as seen in Figure 7, the curtain 12 around curtain roller 11 initially contacts both rollers 14a, 14b. This position is shown by the solid line 12a in Figure 7. When the tension reaches the desired level, the curtain roller 11 is deflected to the curtain 12 as shown by the broken line 12b-so that the curtain 12 is again clamped between the curtain roller 11 and stop 17.

It will be apparent that the nature of the support roller 14 provides a low friction contact with the curtain on the rotating curtain roller so as not to inhibit further tensioning once the roller is deflected into contact but before the curtain roller over centres to contact stop 17.

The curtain assembly of this invention provides significant advantages over existing curtain assemblies. In particular, it ensures that a more uniform tension is applied over the depth of the curtain and that once tensioned the curtain roller is locked into place. As a result the flapping or billowing of curtains on the sides of vehicles is considerably reduced thereby improving visibility for both the driver and other road users. Additionally, the curtain is 15 i maintained in a generally more flattened condition so that advertising material can be more effectively displayed.

•The foregoing describes only one embodiment of the invention, and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention.

20 The reference to any prior art in this specification is not, and should not be taken as, an acknowledgment or any form of suggestion that that prior art forms part of the common general knowledge in Australia.

*oo•

Claims (14)

1. A vehicle curtain assembly including a curtain; an elongate curtain roller about which the curtain can be wound; a selectively operable tensioning mechanism associated with the curtain roller to provide for tensioning of the curtain; and at least one support roller mounted adjacent said curtain roller to bear against the curtain wound around the curtain roller and limit deflection of the curtain roller during tensioning of the curtain wherein stop means are provided adjacent the support roller for selective engagement with the curtain wound around the curtain roller during deflection of the curtain roller under load to clamp the curtain.

2. A vehicle assembly as claimed in claim 1 wherein the or each support roller is mounted for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the curtain roller.

3. A vehicle curtain assembly as claimed in claim 2 wherein the curtain roller bears against the support roller on one side of the roller axis of rotation. i

4. A vehicle curtain roller assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein 20 the or each support roller is cylindrically elongate and is formed by segments or narrower roller portions separated by grooves.

A vehicle curtain roller assembly as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 including two closely adjacent cylindrically elongate support rollers are mounted on substantially parallel axes.

6. A vehicle curtain roller assembly as claimed in claim 5 wherein each of said two elongate rollers is formed by segments of narrower roller portions separated by grooves and arranged such that the narrower roller portions of each elongate roller extend into the grooves of the other elongate roller. r 7 P:\OPER\ArI\80937-98 spec.doc-07/)2A/2 -7-

7. A support roller assembly for a vehicle curtain roller, said assembly including a support bracket, a support roller mounted with said bracket for contact with the curtain roller, and stop means extending from said bracket adjacent said support roller for selective engagement with a curtain would around the curtain roller during deflection of the curtain roller under load to clamp the curtain.

8. A support roller assembly as claimed in claim 7 wherein the support roller is mounted for rotation about an axis substantially parallel to the axis of rotation of the curtain roller.

9. A support roller assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the curtain roller bears against the support roller on one side of the roller axis of rotation.

10. A support roller assembly as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 9, wherein said stop means is formed by an extension of a bracket arm mounting the support roller. •o

11. A support roller assembly as claimed in claims 7 to 10, wherein the support roller is cylindrically elongate and is formed by segments of narrower roller portions separated by o•• 20 grooves.

12. A support roller assembly as claimed in any one of claims 7 to 10, including two :•.closely adjacent cylindrically elongate support rollers are mounted on substantially parallel S* axes.

13. A support roller assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein each of said two elongate rollers is formed by segments of narrower roller portions separated by grooves and arranged such that the narrower roller portions of each elongate roller extend into the grooves of the other elongate roller.

14. A vehicle curtain assembly, substantially as described with reference to the drawings and/or examples. i I~Ci P \OPERXA/0937-98 spec do-I t/021)2 A support roller assembly, substantially as described with reference to the drawings and/or examples. DATED this 11Ith day of February, 2002 Roiltight Pty Ltd By DAVIES COLLISON CAVE Patent Attorneys for the Applicant 0* 9