GB2385511A - Curtain hanger - Google Patents

Abstract

A curtain hanger comprises a glider head 5 for attachment to a glide rail 1 and a fixing part 9 for attaching to a curtain. The head 5 has two upwardly projecting arms 6 defining a recess 8 between them and having catches 7 formed on the outer sides of the arms. When the hanger is pushed into the slot (4, fig 1b) of a guide rail 1 the arms are resiliently deformed towards each other until the catches 7 pass above the edges 18 of the rail at which point the arms assume their normal position with the lower faces 7a of the catches engaging with the edges 18. Faces 7a are angled such that on sufficient downward force being applied to the hanger it will be released from the rail. The glider head may be disc-shaped 12. The hanger may itself separate into two parts when force is applied to the curtain leaving one part attached to the rail and another part attached to the curtain.

Description

238551 1

Curtain hanger The invention relates to a curtain hanger, particularly but not exclusively a curtain glider for rails having a longitudinal slot open at the bottom, with a glider head which can be inserted through the longitudinal slot into the rail and is lo glidingly supported by glider parts (preferably integrally formed on the glider head) against walls of the rail, a fixing element being provided on the underside of the glider head for a curtain.

15 Curtain gliders of the type outlined above are generally known.

They are also referred to as "click-in gliders" because they can be inserted in the curtain rail at any point by a latching action. Examples of such curtain gliders are known from patent specifications CH 6 75 960 As, DE 39 15 461 C2, DE 39 33 907 A1

20 and DE 37 07 133 A1. These gliders are designed to be capable of withstanding relatively high vertical traction (downward force) on the curtain. This can pose a safety problem in hospitals and where small children are about. In hospitals, curtain rails are fixed to the ceiling of the building in such 25 a way that they become detached from the building ceiling when subjected to a load above a certain point in order to prevent suicides. However, they are restricted to use with room dividing curtains. This type of fixing arrangement for curtain rails is not generally practical for hanging curtains at 30 windows.

The underlying objective of the invention is to propose a curtain glider of the type outlined above, or other curtain-

hanger system, which offers greater safety but is nevertheless

functionally reliable and can be manufactured cost-effectively.

In one aspect, the invention provides a curtain hanger for suspending a curtain from a rail, the hanger being configured 5 to deform elastically so as to release the curtain from the rail if it is subjected to an excessive downward load.

Preferably, the hanger engages the rail and releases the curtain from the rail by disengaging itself from the rail by 10 elastic deformation.

In the preferred embodiment the hanger comprises a glider head configured to be slidingly supported by the rail.

15 The hanger may be for use with a rail having a longitudinal slot open at the bottom, the glider head being configured to be inserted through the longitudinal slot into the rail and to be slidingly supported by means of glider parts integrally formed on the glider head against surfaces of the rail.

The hanger may have a fixing element integrally formed on the bottom face of the glider head for a curtain.

Thus in the preferred embodiments the aforesaid objective can 25 be achieved by a curtain hanger, in which the glider head is designed so that it elastically deforms and slips downwards out of the rail if the fixing element is placed under a downward load exceeding a specific magnitude. The curtain glider enables a rail to provide the safety feature described above 30 whilst being also securely fixed to the building ceiling. If the curtain is placed under load, for example with a force of 40 - 60 N. the curtain gliders are released from the rail. The curtain then falls down with the gliders and will not therefore pose any risk. Since the glider heads are elastically deformed 35 as they are released from the rail, they can then be latched

back into the rail. Since the rail can be securely attached to the building ceiling in the usual manner, as mentioned above, these curtain gliders are particularly suitable for window curtains and hence also for domestic use.

In one embodiment of the invention, the glider head is of a disc-shaped design. Such a glider head firstly enables the curtain glider to be easily latched in and secondly ensures that it will be reliably released under load. The curtain 10 glider is nevertheless inexpensive to manufacture as an integral injection-moulded part.

In another embodiment of the invention, the glider head has two upwardly directed arms, which can be elastically deflected 15 inwards. These curtain gliders can also be made inexpensively by an injection-moulding process and can be securely latched and released under a given load. In another embodiment of the invention, the degree of force that will cause the curtain glider to be released from the rail can be set in a 20 particularly simple manner if the arms each have a catch on the external face, which sits so as to glide against an edge of the longitudinal slot. The force under which the curtain glider will be released from the rail can be set by selecting the dimensions of the catches accordingly.

Other implementations of the invention are also possible. For example the hanger can be made in two portions, one or both of which deform elastically to separate under excessive downward load. Examples of embodiments of the invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the appended drawings. Of these:

Figures la to lc are schematic diagrams of a curtain rail and a glider, showing the individual phases involved in latching the glider into the curtain rail, Figures 2a to 2c are schematic diagrams showing the individual steps by which the curtain glider is released from the curtain rail, 10 Figures 3a to 3c are schematic diagrams illustrating how one variant of a curtain glider is released and Figures 4a to 4c are schematic diagrams illustrating how 15 one variant of the curtain glider is latched in.

The drawings illustrate a curtain rail 1, which, as illustrated in Fig. 2, is secured to a building wall 10 above a window, not 20 illustrated, and has a longitudinal track 3 with a longitudinal slot 4 open at the bottom. The rail 1 is preferably an aluminium section with a track 3 of substantially rectangular cross-section. 25 In the embodiment illustrated in Figures la to lc and 2a to 2c, curtain gliders 2 are provided, which are preferably made in a single piece from plastics and which are provided with a glider head 5 and a fixing part 9 with an eye or any other fixing means, not illustrated here. The gliders 2 are attached in the 30 usual manner to the top edge of a curtain, not illustrated here, for example stitched on. The glider head 5 has two integrally formed and upwardly projecting arms 5, between which a recess 8 is disposed. When the curtain is hung, the gliders 2 are respectively latched in from underneath, through the 35 longitudinal slot 4 into the track 3, in the direction of arrow

17, as illustrated in Fig. 1. In terms of its width, the head 5 is slightly wider than the longitudinal slot 4. In the position illustrated in Fig. lb, catches 7 integrally formed on the side of the arm 5 respectively push against an inwardly directed 5 edge 18 of the curtain rail 1. This being the case, the arms 5 are elastically deflected inwards, as illustrated in Fig. lb. As the head 5 becomes smaller, it can be latched through the longitudinal slot 4 into the track 3 and finally reaches the position illustrated in Fig. lc. The catches sit with a 10 relatively short bottom face 7a respectively on an edge 18 in a gliding arrangement. The curtain gliders 2 can be made to slide longitudinally in the track 3 by pulling on the curtain in the usual manner.

15 If a load is applied to the gliders 2 illustrated in Fig. 2 in the direction of arrow 19, a torque is exerted on the arms 6 via the side faces 7a, causing the arms 6 to be elastically pivoted into the position illustrated in Fig. 2b. As a result of this elastic pivoting action of the arms 6, the gliders 2 20 illustrated in Figures 2b and 2c slip downwards out of the longitudinal slot 4. The force under which a glider 2 will be released from the curtain rail 1 is selected so that a curtain is able to withstand a load of approximately 40 - 60 N. The releasing force for a glider 2 will then be approximately 2 N. 25 for example. The releasing force may be varied by dimensioning the arms 6 and the catches 7 accordingly. As the glider 2 slides out of the track 3, the arms 6 return to the original position illustrated in Fig. 2c due to their elasticity. The gliders 2 may therefore be snapped back into the track 3 again 30 as illustrated in Figures la to lc.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 3a - 3c and 4a - 4c, a glider 11 is provided which has a glider head 12 and a fixing part 14. The head 12 is joined to the fixing part 14 by means 35 of a cylindrical neck 16. The eye 14 has an opening 15, to

which a curtain, not illustrated here, can be attached, for example by stitching. As illustrated, the glider head 12 is of a disc-shaped design and extends at a right angle to the neck 16. As illustrated in Fig. 4c, it has a diameter D that is 5 several times bigger than the thickness d. In order to attach the glider 11 to the curtain rail 1, the glider head 12 is inserted into the track 3 at an angle as illustrated in Fig. 4a and moved upwards in the direction of arrow 19. As illustrated in Fig. 4b, the edge 13 of the glider head 12 is elastically 10 deformed and slides along the one edge 18 and then into the track 3. The position illustrated in Fig. 4c is finally reached, in which the glider 11 is latched into the track 3 and can be slid in the longitudinal direction. This being the case, the edge 13 of the glider head 12 is supported against the 15 edges 18.

If the load on the glider 11 exceeds a predetermined force, for example 2 N. the edge 13 is deformed as illustrated in Fig. 3b and the glider 11 is finally pulled through the longitudinal 20 slot 4 out of the track 3. Again, in the case of glider 11, the glider head 12 automatically returns to its original position again due to its elasticity and can therefore be inserted again as illustrated in Figures 4a to 4c. The glider 11 can also be made by an inexpensive injection-moulding process.

If it is preferred to leave part of the hanger engaged with the rail upon separation (eg. if the rail is of the type with a longitudinal slot in its rear surface), the hanger can be made in two pieces, at least one of which deforms elastically under 30 axial load. One piece is attached to the curtain, and the other is engaged with the rail. The two pieces may form two halves of a small plug and socket joint, the plug having deformable arms similar to those of figure 1, which together are of circular cross-section, and which engage notches or 35 detents in the socket.

Each feature disclosed in this specification (which term

includes the claims) and/or shown in the drawings may be incorporated in the invention independently of other 5 disclosed and/or illustrated features.

Statements in this specification of the "objects of the

invention" relate to preferred embodiments of the invention, but not necessarily to all embodiments of the invention 10 falling within the claims.

The description of the invention with reference to the

drawings is by way of example only.

15 The text of the abstract filed herewith is repeated here as part of the specification.

The invention relates to a curtain glider for rails 1 having a longitudinal slot 4 open at the bottom, with a glider head 5, 20 12 which can be inserted through the longitudinal slot 4 into the rail 1 and is slidingly supported by glider parts 7, 13 integrally formed on the glider head 5, 12 against walls 18 of the rail 1, with a fixing element 9, 14 integrally formed on the bottom face of the glider head 5, 12 for a curtain, and 25 before a downward load 19 applied to the fixing element 9, 14 reaches a specific magnitude, the glider head 5,12 is designed to slip down out of the rail 1 due to elastic deformation.

Claims (1)

1. Claims

   1. A curtain hanger for suspending a curtain from a rail, the hanger being configured to deform elastically so as to 5release the curtain from the rail if it is subjected to an excessive downward load.

   2.A curtain hanger as claimed in claim 1, being arranged to separate into two parts by elastic deformation when subject to losaid excessive downward load.

   3. A hanger as claimed in claim 1, wherein the hanger engages the rail and releases the curtain from the rail by disengaging itself from the rail by elastic deformation.

   4. A hanger as claimed in any preceding claim, comprising a glider head configured to be slidingly supported by the rail.

   5. A hanger as claimed in claim 4 for use with a rail having a 20longitudinal slot open at the bottom, the glider head being configured to be inserted through the longitudinal slot into the rail and to be slidingly supported by means of glider parts integrally formed on the glider head against surfaces of the rail.

   6. A hanger as claimed in claim 4 or 5, having a fixing element integrally formed on the bottom face of the glider head for a curtain. 307.A hanger as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the glider head is of disc-shaped design.

   8.A hanger as claimed in claim 4, 5 or 6, wherein the glider head has two upwardly directed arms, which can be elastically deflected. 5 9.A hanger as claimed in claim 8, wherein an external face of each arm has a catch which slides on an edge of the longitudinal slot.

   lO.A hanger as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that the 10 underside of each catch has an inclined, upwardly directed face respectively forming a slide surface.

   ll.A curtain hanger substantially as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

   12.A curtain hanger system comprising a rail and hangers as claimed in any preceding claim.