EP0111926A2

EP0111926A2 - Apparatus for mounting hanging fabrics

Info

Publication number: EP0111926A2
Application number: EP83112837A
Authority: EP
Inventors: William Alan Becker; Richard A. Marlow
Original assignee: EVERLON Inc
Current assignee: EVERLON Inc
Priority date: 1982-12-20
Filing date: 1983-12-20
Publication date: 1984-06-27
Also published as: EP0111926A3

Abstract

A curtain mounting apparatus for attaching curtains including drapes or other hanging fabrics to a curtain rod (14) comprises a slide member (16) arranged to slide on the curtain rod (14) and support an extension member (18) extending below the slide member (16) and curtain rod (14) and carrying a curtain attachment member (20) of which one end (54) is rotatably and removably mounted on the extension member (18) and the other end (56) is arranged for attachment of a curtain by the insertion of a pin member (66) through the curtain and through a hole (64) in said other end (56) of the curtain attachment member (20).

Curtains may be removed from the apparatus by disengaging the pin members (66) from the curtain attachment member (20) and opening or closing of the curtain is facilitated by the ability of the curtain attachment members (20) to rotate freely in the extension members (18).

Description

This invention relates to a means for mounting curtains including drapes or other hanging fabrics, and particularly relates to a mounting apparatus to which curtains are attached and which slidably engages an open type hanging rod.
Generally, existing curtain mounting apparatus includes members that slidably engage rods which are mounted on a wall and the curtains are attached to the mounting members by hooks. For example, a typical type of light curtain mounting member has a slide member which is engaged in the channel of an open backed or "C" shaped curtain rod. The slide member extends below the curtain rod and has a hole therein for the insertion of a hook which is attached to the curtain.
This type of system is fairly popular, but it has certain disadvantages. For example, when the curtain is removed from the mounting or slide member, the hooks on the curtain tend to slip off and/or hook to each other. This makes it very difficult to straighten out the curtains and re-attach them. Also, the mounting or slide members only have linear movement along the axis of the curtain rod, i.e. to open and to close. This, however, may be unsatisfactory, as when a curtain is closed and it tends to fold upon itself. The constrained movement of the curtain slide member tends to prevent this folding-process causing, at times, an unnatural folded appearance and a catching of the curtain while closing. When heavier fabrics such as drapes are to be hung, the problems discussed above are augmented so as to render the simple, open backed "C" shaped mounting rods unsuitable. Instead, mounting apparatus for drapes are more complicated and cumbersome to enable the drapes to.operate easily and uniformly without hanging up during opening and closing.
The problem of restrained linear motions is even more important when attempting to hang heavy curtains or drapes having accordian pleats. In such cases it is critical that the mounting apparatus be capable of angular motion as well as linear motion so the various pleated segments can rotate along the vertical axis or length of the pleat as the drapes arp,,opened or closed.
It is an object of this invention to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which provides for the easy removal and mounting of curtains to a rod.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which provides for the easy removal and mounting of curtains on an open type "C" shaped curtain rod.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which is simple in design and which permits the curtain, especially pleated curtains such as vertical blinds, to rotate about the vertical axis.
It is still a further object of this invention to provide a curtain mounting apparatus for hanging heavy fabrics which can be used with relatively cheap and inexpensive hanging hardware.
It is another object of this invention to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which comprises two separate pieces to'facilitate assembly.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting member which has a separate member that can be easily connected to a curtain of light or heavy fabric and then easily mounted on a primary member slottedly fitted to a curtain rod or other hanging hardware.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which enables conversion of hardware normally used for mounting light curtains to hardware which can be used for mounting heavier curtains.such as-drapes.
Another object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which can be used to mount a wide variety of drapes and/or curtains as to both weight and style.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which enables the use of segmented hanging hardware, such as curtain rods, without causing interruptions in the travel path of the hardware.
A further object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which is relatively durable in operation.
Another object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which is relatively simple to use.
Still another object of this invention . is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which is flexible in application.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which can be easily installed.
Still another object of this invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which permits a curtain to freely slide along the length of a curtain rod while rotating in the vertical plane.
A further object of the invention is to provide a curtain mounting apparatus which permits rotation of the curtain material around its vertical axis whereby to permit the curtain to freely fold upon itself when being closed and unfold from such position when opened.
A curtain mounting apparatus for mounting a curtain on a curtain rod with a slide member adapted to>be slidably mounted on the curtain rod is characterized in that an extension member is mounted on the slide member and is adapted to extend below the slide member and curtain rod; and the apparatus includes a curtain attachment member, one end of which is arranged to be mounted rotatably and removably on the extension member and the other end is arranged to be attached to a curtain.
A practical embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the curtain mounting apparatus mounted on an open backed curtain rod, the mounting apparatus having a curtain attached thereto.
Fig. 2 is a detailed front view of the slide and extension member of the curtain mounting apparatus depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a detailed top view of the slide and extension member of the curtain mounting apparatus depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a detailed side view of the slide and extension member of the curtain mounting apparatus depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig. 5 is a front view of the curtain attachment member of the curtain mounting apparatus depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig.. 6 is a top view of the curtain attachment member of the curtain mounting apparatus depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig. 7 is a side view of the curtain attachment member of the curtain mounting apparatus depicted in Fig. 1.
Fig. 8 is a top view of a curtain rbd and heavy accordion curtain utilizing the mounting apparatus of this invention.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the curtain rod and curtain utilizing the mounting apparatus of this invention showing a means for decoratively covering the curtain rod and mounting apparatus.

Referring to Fig. 1, a curtain mounting apparatus, generally designated 10, is adapted to mount a curtain 12 on a curtain rod 14. The mounting apparatus comprises a slide member 16, an extension member 18 and.a detachable curtain attachment member 20. The slide member 16 is adapted to be slidably mounted on the curtain rod 14. The extension member 18 is mounted on the slide member 16 and is adapted to extend below the slide member 16 and curtain rod 14. The curtain attachment member 20 has one end 22 which is adapted to be mounted rotatably and removably on the extension member 18.and another end 24 adapted for attachment of a curtain 12.
More specifically, as depicted in Fig. 1, the curtain mounting apparatus 10 is adapted to mount on an open backed curtain rod 14. The open backed curtain rod 14 includes a face 26, two sides 28, am upper lip 30 and lower lip 32 which form an opening 33 into channel 34. Such a curtain rod 14 is well known in the art and means for mounting such a curtain rod on a wall are also well known.
Referring to Figs. 1-4, the slide member 16 includes an upper channel 36 and.a lower channel 38 formed by side pieces 40 and 42. These channels are adapted to slide in opening 33 between lips 30, 32 of the curtain rod 14. The lower portions of side pieces 40 and 42 slidably engage and rest upon lower lip 32, while upper portions of the side pieces engage upper lip 30 to maintain slide member 16 in a substantially vertical position.
Several slide members can be interconnected by means of a flexible connecting line 15 extending from each end of the slide member and connected to the adjacent slide member.
Referring to Figs. 2-4, channels 36 and 38 are formed by outer planar member 40 and inner planar member 42 connected by web 44. Thus the slide member is an "H" shaped member adapted to slide between the lips 30, 32 of the open backed curtain rod 14. The edges of the planar members 40,42 and the web 44.are chamfered to prevent binding of the slide member 16 as it slides along the curtain rod 14.
Still referring to Figs. 1-4, the extension member 18 comprises a first leg member 46 which is mounted at one end on outer planar member 40. In use, leg member 46 extends vertically downwardly to a point below the slide member 16 and curtain rod 14. At the lower end of leg member 46 a second leg member 48 is attached. The second leg member 48 extends inwardly toward the curtain rod 14 and is at substantially right angles to the first leg member 46.
The second leg member 48 has a slot 50 therein which ends in a circular hole 52. The hole 52 has its axis substantially aligned with the centre of channels 36,38 of slide member 16 so that the slide member 16 can freely slide between lips 30,32 when a curtain is attached to mounting member 10 without excessive frictional engagement caused by the tilting of the slide member 16. The hole 52 is of a diameter which is somewhat larger than slot 50. For structural economy and integrity, i.e. strength, it has been found that channel- shaped leg members 46,48 are preferred.
Referring to Figs. 1 and 5-7, the curtain attachment member 20 includes a rod member generally designated 54 and a planar member 56. The rod member 54 is adapted to engage the slot 50 and hole 52 to be mounted rotatably and removably therein. The rod member 54 includes a narrow neck 58 which is of a size so that it can slide through slot 50. The rod member further includes a head member 60 having attached thereto a shoulder member 62. Head member 60 is of a size sufficient to pass through hole 52 whereas shoulder member 62 is of a larger size than hole 52 and adapted to rest upon leg member 48 to retain the curtain attachment member 20 thereto. The planar member 56 comprises a rectangular flat member, preferably of a thickness equivalent to the diameter of neck member 58. The planar member 56 has a hole therein 64 which is adapted to retain frictionally a pin member 66 for the attachment of curtain 12 thereto (see Figure 1).
The mounting apparatus 10 of this invention may be made of any of a variety of materials although a polymeric material such as nylon or polypropylene is preferred in order to achieve free sliding of slide member 16 along lips-30,32, although a coated metallic slide member may also be used.
Referring to Figs. 1, 8 and 9, in order to mount the curtains 12 on curtain rod 14, several mounting apparatuses 10 are mounted on the curtain rod 14. This is accomplished by sliding the slide member 16 of each mounting apparatus 10 onto the lips 30, 32 of curtain rod 14 with the extension member 18 extending downwardly. The curtain attachment members 20 are attached to the curtains 12 by pin member 66 frictionally engaging hole 64. The curtains are then raised and each of the neck members 58 of the curtain attachment member 20 is slid through slot 50 until head 60 drops into hole 52 and is retained therein by shoulder member 62. A folded decorative panel 68 may be placed over the curtain rod 14 in order to prevent the curtain rod 14 and mounting members 10 from being viewed. The curtains may then be freely opened and closed by merely sliding the curtains along lips 30, 32 of the curtain rod 14. Means well known in the art may be used to open and close the curtains.
As depicted in Figs. 8 and 9, these curtain mounting apparatuses are particularly useful when the curtains 12 are vertical blinds. Particularly wherein the blinds are hingedly joined to each other. With such type curtain 12, the free rotation of the neck 58 and head 60 in hole 52 permits the vertical blinds 70 to close freely one upon the other.
Thus as one can see, the curtain mounting apparatus of this invention permits the easy mounting and removal of curtains an a curtain rod and the free closing and opening of the curtain and yet is simple and inexpensive to construct.

Claims

1. A curtain mounting apparatus for mounting a curtain on a curtain rod with a slide member (16) arranged to be slidably mounted on the curtain rod (14) characterized in that an extension member (18) is mounted on the slide member and is arranged to extend below the slide member (16) and curtain rod (14) and the apparatus includes a curtain attachment member (20), one end (22) of which is arranged to be mounted rotatably and removably on the extension member and the other end (24) is arranged to be attached to a curtain.

2. A curtain mounting apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the slide member (16) includes channel members (36,38)arranged. to slide between the lips (30,32) of an open backed curtain rod (14).

3. A curtain mounting apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the slide member (16) is an "H" shaped member arranged to slide between the lips (30,32) of an open backed curtain rod (14).

4. A curtain mounting apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the extension member (18) incorporates a first leg member (46) mounted on the slide member at one end, a second leg member (48) attached to the other end of the first leg member at substantially right angles thereto, the second leg member having a slot (50) therein; and the curtain attachment member (20) includes a rod member (54) which co-operatively engages the slot (50) so as to be rotatably and removably mounted in the slot (50).

5. A curtain mounting apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in-that the curtain attachment member (20) further includes a planar member (56) with a hole (64) therein adapted to retain by frictional grip a pin member (66) for attaching a curtain.

6. A curtain mounting apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that the "H" shaped member (16) has a first member (46) extending vertically downward from said "H" shaped member and a second member (48) extending horizontally from the end of said first member remote from said "H" shaped member, said second member (48) is formed with a slot (50) for receiving said curtain attachment member (20) and a substantially circular aperture (52) at the end of the slot.

7. A curtain mounting apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that the rod-like member (54) includes a shoulder member (.62) which can rest on the upper surface of said second member (48) when said rod-like member (54) is in said slot (50) whereby said rod-like member can freely rotate therein.