GB2252033A - A support member e.g. for curtains - Google Patents

Abstract

An elongate support member (11) for curtains or the like has a cross-sectional shape such that two like such members (12, 13) are mutually interengagable for longitudinal sliding movement but are laterally inseparable. One such described shape comprises an asymmetrical S-shape cross section the smaller arm of which is so shaped and dimensioned that it can fit within the larger arm so that, by inverting one element it can be cooperatively interengaged with a companion element of the same cross section permitting relative longitudinal sliding movement. <IMAGE>

Description

A SUPPORT MEMBER FOR CURTAINS AND THE LIKE The present invention relates to a support member for the support of curtains, awnings and the like.

It is customary to suspend net curtains by means of a rod or wire which is housed in a casing formed along one edge of the material. For this purpose, telescopic metal tubes are also available which can be adjusted, within limits, for suspension of curtains of different widths.

The object of the present invention is to provide a support member for such uses which can be made more conveniently and, if desired, more cheaply and/or in more aesthetically pleasing forms than the current tubular metal rods.

Accordingly, the invention provides a support member for curtains and the like, having a cross-sectional shape such that two like such members are mutually interengageable for longitudinal sliding movement but are laterally inseparable.

Two such members may be combined to provide a variable length curtain rod; this has the advantage over prior-art telescopic tubes that a member having a single cross section may be manufactured rather than two tubes of different diameters. Such a section can be produced conveniently by plastics extrusion techniques and, depending on the quality required for a particular use, may be made very cheaply. The external appearance of the rod may also be varied considerably to meet aesthetic requirements, particularly when it is intended that the rod should be visible in use.

The cross-section of the rod member may take various forms but in many cases can be considered as having two parts, a projecting part and a seat shaped to receive the projection. A rod may be formed by the interengagement of two members oriented in the same sense, the projection of one being received in the seat of the other and the other seat and projection being free. In preferred embodiments, however, two members are interengaged by the inversion of one relative to the other such that the projection of one fits into the seat of the other and vice versa, making a very compact arrangement. In all cases the projection should be surrounded by the seat through an angular extent of more than 180 to ensure that the members cannot be separated laterally.

In preferred embodiments of the invention, the member is formed with an essentially asymmetric S-shaped crosssection, one limb of the S-shape being larger than the other and capable of receiving the latter. In a simpler embodiment the member has a section shaped generally like a question mark, the stem of the section being receivable within the upper, part-annular portion. In alternative embodiments, the cross-section may have an essentially spiral form. In each of these cases, the external form of the rod may be rounded or have sharp edges, as desired.

A rod made from two members according to the invention is of particular use for supporting a curtain having a longitudinal casing or loops along one edge for receiving the rod but such a rod may be used to support any web of material, for whatever purpose, provided it has a suitable casing or loops. Alternative uses are, for example, for supporting awnings or instead of conventional tent poles, or for forming support structures for portable display equipment or garden enclosures such as greenhouses or cloches. For such uses, appropriate stops may be provided to ensure that the rod is maintained at a desired length, in use, to keep the awning or web of plastics or other material taut.

For use of the rod as a curtain rod, end support brackets are preferably provided for fixing to the wall or ceiling member from which the curtain is to be hung. Such a support bracket may be formed to receive an end of a rod member by co-operating male/female engagement.

Advantageously, for use with rod members which interengage by inversion of one relative to the other, a bracket may also be adapted for fixing to a wall or other member in one orientation or in an inverted orientation to support a respective co-operating end of a rod.

The invention also comprises a telescopic curtain rod composed of two interengaged members as defined above, and a support system for a curtain having a casing for receiving a curtain rod, comprising a curtain rod as defined above and end support brackets.

Several embodiments of the invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of one embodiment of a telescopic rod of the invention together with an end support, shown separately; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of an alternative end support for the rod of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a rod of the invention; Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of one member of the rod of Figure 4; and Figures 6 to 9 are cross-sectional views of alternative embodiments of the rod of the invention.

With reference to Figure 1 of the drawings, a telescopic rod for supporting a curtain is shown generally indicated 11. The rod 11 is formed from two telescopically-engaged members 12 and 13 of identical cross-section as seen in Figure 3. The members 12 and 13 may be cut from a single plastics extrusion and may be of any convenient length for sale and use in the home. The thickness of the extrusion and type of plastics may be chosen according to the rigidity and strength required of the rod 11 in use.

Before the embodiment of Figure 1 is described more fully, reference will be made to Figure 7 which shows a simpler variant of the cross-section of a curtain rod of the invention, generally indicated 71, formed from two members 72 and 73. The cross-section of the member 72 is referenced and comprises, essentially, an asymmetric, angular reversed S-shape with a central arm 74 from opposite ends of which project, in opposite directions, arms 75 and 76 of slightly differing lengths. Further arms 77 and 78 project from the free ends of the arms 75 and 76 respectively, while a projecting stop 79 is formed at the free end of the arm 77. The arms 74, 76 and 78 form three sides of a square while the arms 75 and 77 are longer than the sides 74, 76 and 78 by the thickness of the arms themselves.

The other member 73 of the rod 71 has exactly the same section as the member 72 but it has been inverted to enable the two members to be interengaged. In this inverted position, the shorter arms 74a, 76a, 78a of the member 72 are a close fit within the seat formed by the longer arms, indicated 75a and 77a, and the central arm 74 of the member 73 while the shorter arms, indicated 74a, 76a, 78a of the member 73 are a close fit within the seat formed by the longer arms 75, 77 of the member 72. The stops 79, 79a at the free ends of the arms 77, 77a respectively abut the free ends of the arms 78a, 78 respectively. These stops 79, 79a ensure that the two members 72, 73 constituting the rod 71 can be interengaged or released only by relative axial sliding and the two members cannot move laterally relative to each other.

The members 72 and 73 as shown are constituted by arms 7479, 74a-79a of the same thickness but the thicknesses could differ. In particular, it is envisaged that a much stronger, though more expensive rod would be produced by increasing the thickness of the central arms 74, 74a.

Returning now to Figure 3 of the drawings, the rod members 12 and 13 have a section organised on the same principle as that of the members 72 and 73 of Figure 7 but slightly elaborated. Here the shorter arm 18, corresponding to the arm 78, is extended by a further projection 20 forming part of the fourth side of the square constituted by the arms 14, 16 and 18. The projection 19, corresponding to the stop 79, is also lengthened and terminates in an additional projection 21 bent inwardly of the S-shape.

These extended arms and additional projections ensure that the two members 12 and 13 interengage more securely than the members 72 and 73 of the embodiment of Figure 7.

Returning to Figure 1, this also shows an end support bracket, generally indicated 24, for the rod 11. The bracket 24 includes a back plate 25 from which a support plate 26 projects at right angles. The back plate 25 has two screw holes 27 (only one shown), one on either side of the support plate 26, by which it can be screwed to a wall.

The support plate 26 has two support blocks 28, 29 on one face. The blocks 28, 29 are spaced from the back plate 25 and are spaced apart one above the other in the position of use. As shown in Figure 1, the blocks are so arranged and sized that they are a close fit in the rectangular and square-section seats defined by the end portions of the walls 15, 17, 19, 21 and 14, 16, 18, 20 respectively of the rod member 13. The bracket 24 may, however, be inverted so that the blocks 28 and 29 are the opposite way up and project in the opposite direction from the plate 26; they will then fit into the seats defined by end portions of the walls 15a, 17a, 19a, 21a and 14a, 16a, 18a, 20a respectively of the rod member 12, in the orientation shown in Figure 1. It will thus be understood that two identical brackets 24 may be used to support opposite ends of the telescopic rod 11.

With reference to Figure 2 of the drawings, this shows an alternative support bracket for the rod 11, generally indicated 124. The bracket 124 includes a back plate 125 and support plate 126 similar to the plates 25 and 26 but with screw holes 127 above and below the plate 126 rather than on either side of it. The major difference, however, is that the support blocks 28 and 29 are replaced by rectangular section seats 128 and 129 which are open towards each other and are each defined by three projecting walls. The end of the rod member 13 is a close fit within the seats 128 and 129, in the orientation shown, while a bracket similar to the bracket 124 can again be inverted to receive the free end of the rod member 12.

With reference to Figure 4 of the drawings, a variant curtain rod is shown generally indicated 41, formed from two interengaged members 42, 43, whereof the member 43 only is shown in Figure 5 for clarity. The sole difference between this variant and that of Figures 1 and 3 is that the corners of the section constituting the member 42 and 43 are rounded rather than being sharp right angles. This feature facilitates the insertion of the rod 41 in the casing along the edge of a curtain.

With reference to Figure 6, a further variant of a curtain rod, indicated 61, is formed from two members 62, 63.

The cross-section of the members 62, 63 differs from that of the members 12 and 13 in that the straight arms of the former embodiment have been subsumed into a fully-curved, asymmetric S-shape with two part-circular arms 65, 66 joined by a central arm 67 tangential to the two circles.

The radius of the larger circle is equal to the radius of the other circle plus the thickness of the arm itself to enable the two members 62 and 63 to interengage telescopically in their mutually inverted orientations.

The variant rod shown in Figure 8, generally indicated 81, comprises two interengaged members 82 and 83 of identical section, one inverted relative to the other. In this case the section is similar to a question mark, having an open loop 84 and a stem 85. The stem 85 of the member 82 seats closely within the aperture of the loop 84 of the member 83 and vice versa so that the two parts interlock for relative longitudinal sliding movement.

A further variant, indicated 91, is shown in Figure 9 and is constituted by two identical members 92 and 93. Each member 92, 93 has, effectively, an angular spiral section with four arms 94, 95, 96, 97 connected in series, and at right angles to each other, so as to spiral outwardly from the shortest central arm 94 to the outermost arm 97. The arrangement is such that the two members 92, 93 interengage so that the outer profile of the combined rod 91 is a rectangle but the outer profile could be varied, for example to a circle or oval. The number of arms forming the spiral or the angles between the arms could also be varied.

It will also be appreciated that the profile of the central arm 94 of this embodiment or the stem 85 of the embodiment of Figure 8 may be varied widely provided that it fulfils its keying function in its cooperating seat to ensure that two members 92 and 93 or 82 and 83 cannot be separated laterally. Also, although rod members have been shown with smooth surfaces which cooperate for relative longitudinal sliding movement, the members need not contact each other over the entirety of their facing surfaces; for example grooves may be formed in their surfaces or gaps may be left between them to reduce the sliding friction between two such members, in use, or simply to reduce the quantity of material used in their manufacture or for aesthetic reasons.

Claims (12)

1. An elongate support member for curtains and the like having a cross-sectional shape such that two like such members are mutually interengageable for longitudinal sliding movement but are laterally inseparable.

2. A support member as claimed in Claim 1, in which the cross-section includes a projecting portion and a seat so shaped that the projecting portion of either member is engageable in the seat of the other member, the seat extending through an angle of more than 1800 around the projection when so engaged to prevent lateral separation of the two members.

3. A support member as claimed in Claim 1 or Claim 2, having a cross-section such that two such members interengage by the inversion of one member relative to the other.

4. A support member as claimed in Claim 3, in which the cross-sectional shape is essentially an asymmetric-S shape, one limb of the S shape being larger than the other such that the smaller limb of one member can seat within the larger limb of another such member and vice versa.

5. A support member as claimed in any one of the preceding claims which is of plastics material.

6. A support member for curtains and the like substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

7. A telescopic rod for supporting a curtain or the like, comprising two elongate support members as defined in any one of Claims 1 to 6 of identical cross-section interengaged for relative longitudinal sliding movement.

8. A support system for a curtain or the like, the support system including a telescopic rod comprising two elongate support members of identical cross-section interengaged for longitudinal sliding movement, the cross-sectional shape of the members being such that they are laterally inseparable, and end support brackets adapted to be fixed to a supporting surface and each engageable with a free end portion of a respective support member to support it.

9. A support system as claimed in Claim 8, in which the support brackets engage the ends of the respective members by means of cooperating male and female parts.

10. A support system as claimed in Claim 8 or Claim 9, in which the support brackets are identical.

11. A support system as claimed in Claim 10, in which the support members constituting the telescopic rod are interengaged by the inversion of one member relative to the other and the support brackets are adapted for fixing to a supporting surface in one orientation and in an inverted orientation to support the respective ends of the mutually inverted support members.

12. A curtain support system substantially as herein described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.