GB2334201A

GB2334201A - Moveable curtain rail

Info

Publication number: GB2334201A
Application number: GB9802876A
Authority: GB
Inventors: John Ian Johnston
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-02-12
Filing date: 1998-02-12
Publication date: 1999-08-18
Also published as: GB9802876D0

Abstract

A curtain pole 8 or its support 7 is mounted to slide in channel rails 1 at the sides of the window whereby it may be lowered to give access to the pole. The sliders (8, Fig 2) may be integral with the support and operated by cords (not shown). The rails may be self-adhesive and/or screwed in place, and may be pivoted at their lower ends to swing away from the window (Fig 4). An angled pole/support may be used with multiple rails in a bay window.

Description

CURTAIN HANGING SYSTEM The present invention relates to a curtain hanging system and in particular to a selectively moveable curtain hanging system.

In surveys carried out by local Health Authorities it was found that approximately 20,000 people are admitted to hospital each year as the result of accidents in the home. Of that 20,000 people, at least 17% have been hospitalised as the result of falling off ladders or falling out of windows whilst changing or hanging curtains. Therefore approximately 3400 people every year have serious accidents whilst hanging curtains. Furthermore this does not include those people who are injured but not seriously enough to be actually hospitalised therefore the overall figure for people hurt during such chores is a lot higher.

Not only do people get injured whilst changing curtains but there are also those who are disabled or physically infirm who are unable to attempt to climb a ladder and change curtains and therefore have to ask a third party to assist them.

The object of the present invention is therefore to obviate and mitigate the aforementioned disadvantages by providing a curtain hanging system which overcomes the problems of the operator being incapable of operating prior art curtain hanging system.

According to the present invention there is provided a curtain hanging system comprising means for raising and lowering a curtain rail said means including guide means, selectively movable support means capable of supporting a curtain and adapted for engagement with the guide means, control means for adjusting engagement between the support means and said guide means whereby said support means may be moved from one position to another.

Preferably the support means is engaged with the guide means through slide members which are received within the guide means.

Alternatively the support means may be carried on a mounting member and engaged with the guide means through slide members provided on the mounting member.

Advantageously the slide members are integral with the mounting member.

Alternatively the slide members are fixably attached to the mounting member.

Preferably there is provided an anchoring means for maintaining the mounting or support means in a desired position.

Alternatively there is provided locking means for locking the mounting or support means in a desired position.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a kit for erecting a curtain hanging system comprising means for raising and lowering a curtain rail said means including guide means, selectively movable support means capable of supporting a curtain and adapted for engagement with the guide means, control means for adjusting engagement between the support means and said guide means whereby said support means may be moved from one position to another, anchor means and fixing means.

Advantageously the kit may further include locking means.

The invention will now be illustrated, by way of description of an examples in accordance with the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 shows a cross-sectional view of a guide rail for use with the present invention; Figure 2 shows a plan view of a mounting member for use with the present invention.

Figure 3 shows a schematic view of a first example of the present invention; Figure 4 shows a schematic view of a second example of the present invention; and Figure 5 shows a view of a third example of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings there is shown a guide rail 1 suitable for use with the present invention.

The guide rail 1 is formed from a light alloy material or aluminium and has a basic U-shaped configuration. The guide rail 1 has a base section 2, with two upstanding side sections 3 formed with retaining portions 4 at the end thereof remote from the base section 2.

The base section 2 of the guide rail 1 has a smooth surface 2a running along it's length to facilitate the movement of a slideable mounting member therealong. It is possible to provide a patterned surface on the base section of the guide rail 1 to enhance the properties of this section and meet the requirements of a particular system.

The guide rail 1 can also be provided with adhesive strips on the back surface thereof which have peelable covers to enable the strips to be affixed to a surface for the locating and securing of the rail for use. As an alternative, or possibly in addition, screw fixing holes may be provided spaced along the length of the guide rails 1 to enable the guide rail to be mechanically fixed to a surface.

Referring to Figure 2 there is shown an elongate mounting member 7 which enables a curtain rail or pole 8 to be mounted thereon is also provided. The mounting member 7 can be formed from any suitable material, such as a plastics material or wood, which will provide the mounting member 7 with sufficient strength to support the weight of the curtains and any extra loading that may be applied in the drawing of the curtains.

The mounting member 7 has two projections 8a, 8b extending from one side thereof in the form of blocks which provide slide members 9. Said slide members 9 are of substantially the same dimensions as the guide rail channel in order to allow the slide members 9 to be received within and slidable along the guide channel. Said slide members 9 are positioned so that there is one located adjacent each end of the mounting member 7. The slide members 9 are provided with laterally extending flanged portions 11, in the form of shoulders, which are adjacent the mounting means 7. Said slide members 9 are shown in the figure as being connected to the mounting member by means of a connecting finger 12. Furthermore, the flanges 11 of the slide members 9 are positioned adjacent to the internal surface 6 of the retaining portions 4 when the sliding members 9 are introduced into the guide rails 1 thereby allowing the mounting member 7 to be slidably retained within the guide rail channels whilst preventing the slide members 9 from being pulled out of the guide rails 1 with the weight of curtains.

Further a screw type plug member can be provided in the mounting member to enable the curtain pole 8 to be secured in position with respect to the mounting member 7.

The slide members 9 can either be integral with the mounting means 7 or they can be separate and are attached thereto by suitable fixing means.

It is also envisaged that a curtain rail may be adapted to have said slide members 9 attached thereto whereby the mounting means 7 is not required.

Means are provided for controlling the movement of the curtain rail or mounting means such as a pulley, draw strings, cords and push and pull rods.

Figure 3 of the drawings shows a basic installation of the invention. The installation is shown with respect to a simple rectangular flatly configured window W of the type found in a majority of homes in the United Kingdom.

With this type of installation two guide rails 1 are vertically deployed alongside and adjacent the window W. The guide rails 1 are affixed to the surround of the window by means of adhesive strips 5 provided on the rear surface of the guide rail 1.

Alternatively the guide rails 1 may be affixed by means of mechanical fixing means, such as screws, inserted through fixing holes spaced along the length of the guide rail 1.

A slide member (not shown) is located in each guide rail 1. The mounting member 7 or curtain rail 8 is fitted so that a slide member 9 is fitted in a respective guide rail 1 so that said slide member 9 fits between the portions 4 and the upstanding arms 3 of the guide rail 1.

The slide members 9 of the mounting member 7 are sized so that there is sufficient frictional holding forces to keep the mounting member 7 in position with respect to the guide rail 1. However when a force is applied to the mounting member 7 sufficient to overcome these frictional forces the slide members 9 will slide in a controlled fashion in the guide rail 1.

In addition a locking means (not shown) may also be provided which acts to retain the slide members 9 in position at the top of the guide rails 1 and so prevent any gradual slippage or creep of the slide members 9 in the guide rails 1. This locking means may be of similar construction to the locking means currently used on venetian blinds and therefore no detailed explanation will be given here.

Cords (not shown) in the form of a pulley system are attached to the mounting member 7 so that a force may be applied to move the slide members 9 in the guide rails 1. The cords when not in use are anchored at the side of the window by anchoring means (not shown) which is generally in the form of a hook.

In order to control the movement of the curtain rail it is desirable that the two slide members 9 are caused to move at substantially the same rate and so obviate any side slippage of the members in the guide rails 1 that may occur.

With this arrangement the mounting member 7/curtain rail 8 can be moved up and down the guide rails 1 to enable cleaning, removal of the curtains and/or curtain rails or poles, by the application of a simple force via cords (not shown) to move the slide members 9. In a basic arrangement of the system the force applied is simply applied by pulling on the cords, however in a more sophisticated arrangement the movement of the sliding members 9 is effected by a force applied by means of a motor (not shown). The motor may also be used to enable the drawing and opening of the curtains.

This type of arrangement is also suitable for use with French windows and doors.

Now referring to Figure 4 of the drawings there is shown a second embodiment of the invention. In this example whilst the basic system is of similar construction to that of Figure 3, and like numerals have been used for like components, the system is suitable for use with windows in which there is an obstruction intruding to impede the movement of the curtains. In this system the guide rails 1 are adapted to pivot away from the surround of the window by the provision of a hinge means la at a point immediately above the obstruction.

Whilst the guide rails 1 below the hinge means la are attached to the window surround the section of the guide rails 1 above the hinge means la are not, being secured at the top by means of cords 13. One cord 13 is attached to each guide rail 1 at its non-hinged end. Other cords may also be attached to the mounting member 7 or curtain rail 8. The other end of said cords 13 then pass through an eyelet (not shown) which is fixably attached to a surround.

The cords 13 are then passed round an anchoring means (not shown) which is generally a hook in order to stop the curtain rail 8 moving downwards when not in use. The arrangement is such that the curtains hang from rails or poles which are suspended in free space. The cords 13 with their angle and positioning take some of the loading applied to the guide rails 1 by the weight of the curtain rails and poles and curtains with this type of arrangement.

In all other aspects the operation of this system is as with the system of Figure 3.

Now referring to Figure 5 of the drawings there is a third embodiment of the invention. This embodiment is similar to that shown in Figure 1 of the drawings and like numerals have been used to indicate like components.

This embodiment differs only in that it is of more complex shape and configuration.

In this embodiment of the invention the arrangement is shown in use with a shaped or bay window B. The window B has three component windows W with structural supports S separating the individual windows W. Guide rails 1 are secured to the supports S as well as to the outer surrounds of the window B making a total of four guide rails in this particular application of the invention.

Mounting members 7 are secured into each of the respective guide rails 1 by means of their slide members 9 in the fashion described with respect to Figure 1 whereby the mounting member 7 or curtain rail 8 is strung across a window between two guide rails. In this case either one curtain rail or pole with a smooth curved profile is attached via each mounting member such as to fit into the bay window B and smooth the glide of the curtains as they are drawn or it can be three separate curtain rails attached to each mounting member. The operation of this embodiment of the invention is the same to that of the embodiment shown in Figure 1.

It will be understood that this invention is not restricted to use wholly with domestic curtains but can also be used in industrial situations. Where the curtains are either in use as partitions or window coverings.

The advantages of the present invention are that those people who are unable physically, for whatever reason, to climb up a ladder to change the curtains can now change the curtains easily themselves by lowering the curtain rail down towards them as described above. The curtain can then be changed, the new curtain attached to the rail and subsequent raising and anchoring of the system allows the curtain rail to be returned to its usual starting position above the window with the new or changed curtain attached without the operator having to climb or use great physical strength to accomplish the task.

Claims

Claims 1) A curtain hanging system comprising means for raising and lowering a curtain rail said means including guide means, selectively movable support means capable of supporting a curtain and adapted for engagement with the guide means, control means for adjusting engagement between the support means and said guide means whereby said support means may be moved from one position to another.
2) A curtain hanging system according to Claim I wherein the support means is engaged with the guide means through slide members which are received within the guide means.
3) A curtain hanging system according to Claim 1 wherein the support means is carried on a mounting member and engaged with the guide means through slide members provided on the mounting member.
4) A curtain hanging system according to Claim 3 wherein the slide members are integral with the mounting member.
5) A curtain hanging system according to Claims 3 wherein the slide members are fixably attached to the mounting member or curtain rail.
6) A curtain hanging system according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein there is further provided an anchoring means for maintaining the mounting or support means in a desired position.
7) A curtain hanging system according to any one of the preceding Claims wherein there is provided locking means for locking the mounting or support means in a desired position.
8) A kit for erecting a curtain hanging system comprising means for raising and lowering a curtain rail said means including guide means, selectively movable support means capable of supporting a curtain and adapted for engagement with the guide means, control means for adjusting engagement between the support means and said guide means whereby said support means may be moved from one position to another, anchor means and fixing means.
9) A kit for erecting a curtain hanging system according to Claim 8 wherein the kit includes locking means.