GB2263439A

GB2263439A - Rail assembly for supporting map or flipchart sheet.

Info

Publication number: GB2263439A
Application number: GB9301129A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Kevin Neville Hodges
Original assignee: Acco Rexel Ltd
Current assignee: Acco Rexel Ltd
Priority date: 1992-01-27
Filing date: 1993-01-21
Publication date: 1993-07-28
Anticipated expiration: 2013-01-21
Also published as: GB9301129D0; GB2263439B; GB9201703D0

Abstract

A rail assembly is disclosed having an elongate rail 1 for mounting to a wall and a strip 2 attached to the rail 1. The strip 2 includes a resilient tongue 10 for gripping the edge of a sheet of paper and also provides a decorative covering for the rail 1. The rail 1 may also include a U-shaped channel (6, Fig. 3) for supporting a display item such as a drawing board 5 connectable to the rail 1 by means of L-shaped arms 12. <IMAGE>

Description

IMPROVEMENTS IN AND RELATING TO RAIL ASSEMBLIES This invention relates to a rail assembly.

In conducting a presentation or business meeting there can be a need to support a piece of paper, such as a map or a torn-off flipchart sheet, on the wall of the room.

According to the invention there is provided a rail assembly for mounting against a generally vertical surface the assembly including resilient means for gripping the edge of a generally planar article to suspend the article from the rail assembly.

Preferably, the rail assembly comprises an elongate rail having a rear face for mounting against said vertical surface and a front face facing away from said rear face and an elongate strip for attachment to the rail, the elongate strip including said resilient means.

When the strip is attached to the rail said resilient means may co-operate with an adjacent gripping portion of the rail to form a gripping means for engaging the edge of the article.

Alternatively, when the strip is attached to the rail said resilient means may be arranged for cooperation with an adjacent portion of said generally vertical surface to define in combination a gripping means for engaging the edge of the article.

The resilient means may be biased into contact with said adjacent gripping portion.

The strip may at least partly cover the front face of the rail, or may cover the entire front face of the rail.

Advantageously, the rail may be provided with means for fixing it to the wall which are accessible only when the strip is removed from the rail.

The rail may include a first upwardly extending limb spaced away from the rear face of the rail and the face of the first limb facing away from said generally vertical surface may have an elongate rib thereon extending along the the ldngitudinal length of the limb. Preferably, the first limb may be formed as an integral part of the rail.

The rail may include a second upwardly extending limb forming in combination with the first limb an upwardly facing trough along the upper edge of the rail.

Preferably, the second limb may be formed as an integral part of the rail.

There may be a part cylindrical groove extending along the rear face of the rail which can be used to secure an end cap to the rail.

The surface of the first limb facing into the trough may have an elongate rib thereon and the surface of the second limb facing into the trough may have an elongate rib thereon.

The resilient means may be a tongue extending along the elongate extent of the strip.

Advantageously, said tongue is made from a material having less stiffness than the remaining material of said strip and may be made from a flexible plastics material.

Preferably, the tongue is formed as an integral part of said strip.

The tongue may extend along the lower edge of the strip and define in combination with said gripping portion an inverted V-shaped gripping means, in which case the included angle between said gripping portion 0 and said tongue may be less than 90 Preferably, the strip is made from an extruded resilient plastics material.

The strip may be attached to the rail by coupling means formed as an integral part of said strip and said rail, the coupling means may include a turned over lip extending along the upper edge of the strip for engagement with a portion of the rail and connected to said tongue by a resilient central portion of the strip.

Preferably, the coupling means may further include a latching means extending from said central portion for engagement with complementary latching means on the rail, the latching means may be a resiliently flexible portion of the strip adapted to engage the rail and to flex during attachment of the strip to the rail.

Preferably, upon assembly of the strip to the rail, a portion of the strip between the lip and the latching means abuts against a portion of the rail causing resilient bending of the strip.

The portion of the strip between the lip and the latching means which abuts against a portion of the rail causing resilient bending of the strip may be the rib on the front face of the first limb.

Advantageously, the bending of the strip acts so as to hold the latching means of the strip into engagement with the latching means on the rail.

Preferably, the tongue may be biased into contact with the gripping portion, said biasing action causing bending of the tongue.

Preferably, the rail includes means to suspend another article therefrom.

An additional object may be coupled to the rail by means of an L-shaped arm the end of which abuts the inner surface of the first limb.

Preferably, the additional object may be coupled to the rail by means of an L-shaped arm the end of which extends into the trough and abuts the inner surface of at least one of said first and second limbs.

Advantageously, the L-shaped arm has an enlarged end portion which is part-circular in crosssection, the end of the L-shaped arm may abut against ribs facing into the trough.

The additional object may be a presentation apparatus such as a flipchart, a drawing board, a projection screen or an audio visual display unit.

An embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a rail assembly in accordance with the present invention, shown fixed to a wall and with the strip removed; Fig. 2 is a similar perspective view to that of Fig. 1 showing the rail assembly in use, with the strip attached to the rail; Fig. 3 is a cross section along plane X-X through the rail of Fig. 2; The rail assembly comprises an elongate rail 1 and an elongate strip 2 removably attached to the rail 1. The rail 1 has a rear face 3 which, in use, is affixed to a generally vertical surface such as a wall 20 of a conference room and a front face 3a facing away from said generally vertical surface. An upwardly facing U-shaped trough 6 extends along the upper edge of the rail 1.

The trough 6 is formed by a first upwardly extending limb 21 spaced from the rear face 3 and a second upwardly extending limb 22 joined to the first limb at its lower end. The first and second limbs 21, 22 are formed integrally with the rail 1 by extrusion from an aluminium alloy material.

The trough 6 can be used to suspend another article from the rail such as presentation apparatus in the form of a writing board 5.

The rail 1 is attached to the wall or support surface by screws 4 or other suitable securing means.

Bearing surfaces in the form of elongate ribs 7 extending along the limbs 21, 22 project from the surface of the limbs 21, 22 facing into the trough 6 for use in the attachment of articles to the rail 1.

The strip 2 is extruded from a resilient plastics material such as a rigid PVC and is provided with coupling means 8, 14 for releasably attaching it to the rail. The coupling means 8, 14 are formed as an integral part of the strip 2 and take the form of a turned over hook-shaped lip 8 arranged to extend partially into the trough 6 and a latching means in the form of a resiliently flexible cantilever portion 14 provided at its free end with a projection 9 arranged, in use, to engage a complementary latching means in the form of a reversed projection 15 provided on the rail 1.

To allow for a generally planar article, such as for example a loose sheet of paper, to be directly suspended from the rail assembly, the strip 2 is provided with resiliently flexible means for gripping the edge of said generally planar article in the form of an integrally formed tongue 10.

The tongue 10 is formed of a plastics material having less stiffness than the rest of the strip 2. The tongue 10 is dimensioned such that, when the strip 2 is fixed to the rail 1, the tip of the tongue 10 is resiliently biased into contact with a downwardly depending flat surface gripping portion 11 of the front face 3a of the rail 1 causing bending of the tongue 10.

The tongue 10 forming in combination with the gripping portion 11 a gripping means. Tongue 10 extends along the lower edge of the strip 2 and defines in combination with the gripping portion 11 an inverted V-shaped gripping means. The tongue extends away from the position of contact with the gripping portion 11 to provide a tapering entry to the gripping means which assists with insertion of a sheet of paper into the gripping means. The included angle 'A' between the gripping portion 11 and the tongue 10 is preferably less than 900 which helps to prevent inserted articles from falling out from the gripping means 10, 11 once inserted.

The tongue 10 is connected to the lip 8 by a resilient central portion of the strip 2 from which extends outwardly the cantilever portion 14. The reduced stiffness of the tongue 10 allows planar articles of differing thicknesses, including single sheets of paper and sheets of card, to be more readily suspended directly from the rail assembly without generating excessive gripping forces. Similarly, the increase in gripping force produced by inserting an article of greater thickness will be less when a lower stiffness tongue 10 is used and thus the risk of an article becoming jammed or difficult to remove from the gripping means is reduced.

The strip 2 fully covers the front face 3a of the rail 1 and also hides from view the screws 4 used for fixing the rail to the wall. The front face of the strip may be provided with one of a variety of the surface finishes and shapes to suit the decor of the room in which the rail assembly is situated. To gain access to the screws 4 the strip 2 must be removed from the rail 1 but, once fixed to the wall 20, it is unlikely that the rail 1 will need to be relocated on a regular basis.

To affix the strip 2 to the rail 1, the lip 8 of the strip 2 is first hooked over the upper edge of the limb 21. The strip 2 is then pivoted slightly downwardly and rearwardly causing the inner surface of the central portion of the strip 2 to come into contact with a portion of the rail 1 in the form of a fulcrum rib 18 extending longitudinally along the front face of the limb 21. By applying slight pressure to the central portion of the strip 2 between the position of contact with the fulcrum rib 18 and the tongue 10, preferably in the region of its juncture with the curved cantilever portion 14, resilient bending of the central portion is produced allowing the projection 9 to come into contact with the reverse projection 15 on the rail 1.Further pivotal movement of the strip causes the cantilever portion 14 to be resiliently deformed thereby allowing the projection 9 to engage fully behind the reverse projection 15. The bending stress produced in the central portion of the strip provides a locking force acting to hold the projection 9 into engagement with the reverse projection 15.

The strip 2 can be readily detached from the rail 1 by pulling the bottom edge of the strip 2 near to the tongue 10 away from the rail 1 which causes the cantilever portion 14 to be deflected due to a change in the curvature thereof thereby allowing the projection 9 to become disengaged from the reversed projection 15.

To assist in removal of the strip 2 from the rail 1 a slight pressure can be applied to the central portion of the strip between its juncture with the cantilever portion 14 and the position of abutment with fulcrum rib 18 at the same time as applying the pulling force to the bottom edge of the strip 2. The application of this pressure will reduce the force holding the projection 9 into engagement with the reverse projection 15.

To allow the writing board 5, or an other item of presentation apparatus such as a flipchart, projection screen or audio visual display unit, to be suspended from the rail 1, the item may, as shown in Figure 2, be provided with L-shaped arms 12 for engagement in the trough 6.

The upper end of each of these arms 12 is provided with a bearing piece 13 whose general partcircular profile is arranged to contact the bearing surfaces 7 in the trough 6 of the rail 1. To steady the item, in use, the bearing pieces are arranged to contact the uppermost portion of the strip 2 by contact with the lip 8, as shown in Figure 2. To slide the board 5 along the rail 1 the base of the board 5 is lifted slightly away from the wall to pivot the bearing pieces 13 out of contact with the lip 8 of the strip 2 whereupon the board 5, arms 12 and bearing pieces 13 may easily be slid sideways without the need to lift the board 5 from the rail 1.

The bearing surfaces 7 in the groove 6 allow dust to collect in the trough 6 without substantially increasing the resistance of the bearing pieces 13 to lateral sliding along the rail 1. In addition, the provision of partially circular bearing pieces 13 on the end of the arms 12 for contact with the bearing surfaces 7 ensure that the contact area between the rail and the arms 12 is minimised during sliding motion of the board 5 along the rail.

Although as described herein the rail is provided with means, in the form of the trough 6 for suspending items of equipment from the rail, the provision of such means is not essential. It will be appreciated by the man skilled in the art that the provision of a single upwardly extending limb spaced from the rear face of the rail could be used in combination with an L-shaped arm member to provide a means for attaching an article to the rail.

Furthermore, although the two limbs that define the trough are described herein as being formed as an integral part of the rail they could be separate components connected to the rail.

It will be appreciated that the strip 2 in the embodiment disclosed herein serves a double purpose of acting as a decor strip and also being provided with integral resilient means for hanging papers from the rail assembly. In acting as a decor strip, the strip not only substantially hides the rail itself, but also covers the means, in this case the screws 4, used to fix the rail to the wall.

Although, as described herein, the tongue is formed as an integral part of the strip it could be a separate part connected to the strip. In addition, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the tongue could be arranged to contact directly against the wall itself. Furthermore, if only thicker objects are to be supported by the rail assembly there could be a small gap between the tongue and the gripping portion of the rail or the wall.

Claims

CLAIMS:

1. A rail assembly for mounting against a generally vertical surface the assembly including resilient means for gripping the edge of a generally planar article to suspend the article from the rail assembly.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1 in which the rail assembly comprises an elongate rail having a rear face for mounting against said vertical surface and a front face facing away from said rear face and an elongate strip for attachment to the rail, the elongate strip including said resilient means.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, in which, when the strip is attached to the rail, said resilient means co-operates with an adjacent gripping portion of the rail to form a gripping means for gripping the edge of the article.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim 2, in which, when the strip is attached to the rail, said resilient means is arranged for co-operation with an adjacent portion of said generally vertical surface to define in combination a gripping means for engaging the edge of the article.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 3 or in claim 4, in which said resilient means is biased into contact with said adjacent gripping portion.

6. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, in which the strip covers the entire front face of the rail.

7. An assembly as claimed in any preceding claim in which the rail includes means to suspend another article therefrom.

8. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 3 to 7 in which the rail includes a first upwardly extending limb spaced away from the rear face of the rail.

9. An assembly as claimed in claim 8 in which the face of the first limb facing away from said generally vertical surface has an elongate rib thereon extending along the the longitudinal length of the limb.

10. An assembly as claimed in claim 8 or in claim 9 in which the first limb is formed as an integral part of the rail.

11. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 8 to 10 in which the rail includes a second upwardly extending limb forming in combination with the first limb an upwardly facing trough along the upper edge of the rail.

12. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 in which the second limb is formed as an integral part of the rail.

13. An assembly as claimed in claim 11 or claim 12 in which the surface of the first limb facing into the trough has an elongate rib thereon.

14. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 11 to 13 in which the surface of the second limb facing into the trough has an elongate rib thereon.

15 An assembly as claimed in any of claims 3 to 14 in which said resilient means is a tongue extending along the elongate extent of the strip.

16. An assembly as claimed in claim 15 in which said tongue is made from a material having less stiffness than the remaining material of said strip.

17. An assembly as claimed in claim 16 in which the tongue is made from a flexible plastics material.

18. An assembly as claimed -in any of claims 15 to 17 in which the tongue is formed as an integral part of said strip.

19. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 15 to 18 in which the tongue is biased into contact with the gripping portion.

20. An assembly as claimed in claim 19 in which said biasing action causes bending of the tongue.

21. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 15 to 20 in which the tongue extends along the lower edge of the strip.

22. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 15 to 21, in which the tongue defines in combination with said gripping portion an inverted V-shaped gripping means.

23. An assembly as claimed in claim 22 in which, the included angle between said gripping portion and said tongue is less than 900.

24. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 2 to 23 in which the strip is made from an extruded resilient plastics material.

25. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 15 to 24 in which the strip is attached to the rail by coupling means formed as an integral part of said strip and said rail.

26. An assembly as claimed in claim 25 in which the coupling means includes a turned over lip extending along the upper edge of the strip for engagement with a portion of the rail. >

27. An assembly as claimed in claim 26 in which the coupling means further includes a latching means extending from a central portion of the strip for engagement with complementary latching means on the rail.

28. An assembly as claimed in claim 27, in which, upon assembly of the strip to the rail a portion of the strip between the lip and the latching means abuts against a portion of the rail causing resilient bending of the strip.

29. An assembly as claimed in claim 28 in which the bending of the strip acts so as to hold the latching means of the strip in engagement with the latching means on the rail.

30. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 8 to 29 in which an additional object is coupled to the rail by means of an L-shaped arm the end of which abuts the inner surface of the first limb.

31. An assembly as claimed in any of claims 11 to 14 in which an additional object is coupled to the rail by means of an L-shaped arm the end of which extends into the trough and abuts the inner surface of at least one of said first and second limbs.

32. An assembly as claimed in claim 31 in which the L-shaped arm has an enlarged end portion which is part-circular in cross-section.

33. An assembly as claimed in claim 31 or in claim 32 in which the end of the L-shaped arm abuts against ribs facing into the trough.

34. A rail assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.