GB2415887A

GB2415887A - Curtain rail assembly

Info

Publication number: GB2415887A
Application number: GB0415442A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Brian Edward Hyde Seymour
Original assignee: SEYMOUR Manufacturing INTERNAT Ltd
Current assignee: SEYMOUR Manufacturing INTERNAT Ltd
Priority date: 2004-07-09
Filing date: 2004-07-09
Publication date: 2006-01-11
Anticipated expiration: 2024-07-09
Also published as: GB2415887B; GB0415442D0

Abstract

A heavy duty curtain (4, Fig 1) and curtain rail 12 for separating cold rooms from regions at ambient temperature, the curtain including a plurality of vertical slat members (6, Fig 1) each slat being formed of a layered construction having outer protective plastics sheets and an inner thermally insulative filling with apertures 20 at the upper edges of each slat, the curtain rail having upper 40 and lower tracks 36. Hooks 18 are provided along the length of the curtain rail, each hook having an upper slide member 52 and a lower slide member 58 for respective engagement with said upper 40 and lower 36 tracks, and each hook being engageable in a vertically elongate aperture 20 of the curtain slats. The rail is provided with a flap 14 that covers the row of hooks. The rail is L-shaped and the lower track 36 may be offset rearwardly in relation to the upper track 40.

Description

241 5887

CURTAIN RAILS

The present invention relates to a curtain assembly and a curtain rail assembly, particularly though not exclusively for heavy duty curtains such as are employed in warehouses and stores, and especially for use with cold rooms.

It is common to employ heavy duty curtains in locations such as cold rooms, DIY stores, hypermarkets, for example to separate a customer area from a storage area. The curtains are commonly formed as heavy duty vertical strips or slats that permit the passage through the curtain without having to draw the curtain to one side of the opening. Heavy and bulky items of equipment are frequently required to be transported through such curtains by means of trolleys, forklift trucks, for example. This can create a great deal of stress and strain on the curtain and the curtain rail suspending the curtain, especially through misuse.

Vehicles in particular can exert excessive vertical and horizontal forces on the curtain and curtain rail, for which they were not designed.

It is an object of the invention to provide a curtain assembly and a curtain rail assembly suitable for heavy duty curtains and that can withstand high stresses and strains that arise in use.

In a first aspect, the invention provides a curtain assembly comprising a curtain rail assembly and a curtain, the curtain including a plurality of vertical slat members, with apertures at or adjacent the upper edges of each vertical slat, the curtain rail assembly comprising a curtain rail having upper and lower tracks, a plurality of hooks for positioning in a row on said curtain rail, each hook having an upper slide member and a lower slide member for respective engagement with said upper and lower tracks, and each hook being engageable in a respective aperture of the curtain slats, and a protective flap November aiTixed to the curtain rail and covering the row of hooks. - 2

In a second aspect, the invention provides a curtain rail assembly comprising a curtain rail having a lower track and an upper track, and a plurality of hook members, each hook member having an upper slide portion and a lower slide portion Nor engaging in the respective upper and lower runner tracks, and the hook members being adapted to be positioned within the curtain rail to form a row, wherein the lower track is offset relative to the upper track in a rearward direction, and wherein each hook member has its lower slide portion disposed to the rear of the hook and the hook portion of the hook member projects to the front of the hook member, whereby in use a balancing occurs of leverage forces and reaction forces exerted on the hook member by a curtain about a pivot point provided by the upper track.

In a third aspect, the invention provides a hook member for a curtain rail assembly, the hook member comprising a body portion having an upper edge for forming a slide portion for engaging in an upper track of a curtain rail, and the body member having a lower edge that is offset to the rear of the body member to engage in a lower track of a curtain rail, and a hook portion that projects from the lower part of the hook member towards the front of the hook member for receiving a curtain.

The curtain rail assembly of the present invention thus provides rigidity and strength such as to withstand excessive forces arising in use, but yet is of a construction which permits economic manufacture.

The curtain, in one preferred form, may comprise a row of vertical slats, each vertical slat being formed of a layered construction having outer protective plastics sheets and an inner thermally insulative filling, for example TEMPRO (registered trade mark). 'I'he present invention is particularly adapted for use with cold rooms to separate the cold room from a region at ambient temperature, in view of the superior qualities of thermal insulation provided by the invention.

Accordingly, in a further aspect, the invention provides a curtain assembly comprising a curtain rail assembly and a curtain, the curtain including a plurality of vertical slat members, with apertures at or adjacent the upper edges of each vertical slat, each vertical slat being formed of a layered construction having outer protective plastics sheets and an inner thermally insulative filling, the curtain rail assembly comprising, a curtain rail, a plurality of hooks for positioning in a row on said curtain rail, each hook being engageable in a respective aperture of the curtain slats.

l he outermost slats of the curtain may have the thermally insulative filling omitted, so as to enable the outermost slats to be fixed to pillars defining an entrance that is closed by the curtain. In addition steel fixing plates may be provided for use with the outermost slats.

The curtain rail is preferably a single integral member generally in the shape of an inverted L, with a rear vertical planar part that defines at its lower end a groove that provides a runner for the hooks. An upper runner is defined by a groove that is formed in a horizontal upper top planar part of the curtain rail that extends at right angles to the rear member. The upper runner is offset from the lower runner relative to the vertical.

The body part of each hook is preferably formed as a generally planar member with the upper edge of the planar member defining an upper slide member for engaging in the upper track. The lower part of the hook body member is offset in a rearward direction, and the lower edge of the body member defines a lower slide member that is offset from the planar body member and engages within the lower track. The hook projects towards the front of the body member, and as preferred, a root part of the hook and the lower edge of the body member define betwocn them a recess for engaging an edge part of the lower track of the curtain rail. This arrangement prevents movement and resists effectively pivotal forces that may arise in use about the upper track. - 4

A protective flap member is provided, forming a pelmet that covers the front of the curtain rail assembly. The cover member may be formed of a flexible plastic material and engages in a further groove at or adjacent the front edge of the top section of the curtain rail.

Brief Description of the Drawings

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described merely by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 is an illustrative view of the curtain and curtain rail assembly of a preferred embodiment of the invention fixed in position at a door entrance; Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure I but showing the component parts of the curtain rail assembly in an exploded configuration; Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the curtain rail assembly of Figure 1; Figures 4A and 4B are a front elevational view and a cross- sectional view respectively of the curtain rail of Figure 1; and Figures 5A to 5F are various views of a curtain hook of the curtain rail assembly, namely top, front, cross-sectional side, rear, front perspective, and rear perspective views respectively.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a curtain and curtain rail assembly according to the invention affixed to a doorway frame 2. The doorway frame is dimensioned to permit people to pass through. A curtain 4 comprises a series of vertical slats 6, The height and width of the slats may be adjusted to suit the entrance to be closed. The height may be variable between 1.8 m and 2.7 m, for example, each slat being 2.1 m high and 0.23m wide. Each slat has a transparent window portion 8 at head height. l he curtain is suspended on a curtain rail - s - assembly l O that is shown in more detail in Figure 2. In use' access is gained through the door entrance by pushing apart the curtain slats.

The material of the curtain slats is as preferred for cold storage applications, a composite construction of outer layers comprising a hard wearing plastic material containing strengthening fibres, and an inner layer of thermally insulating material such as TEMPRO (Registered Trade Mark). The outermost slats may have the filling removed so as just to comprise the outer layers. This enables each outermost slat, in cooperation with a steel fixing plate (not shown), to be sealed to the vertical pillars of the door frame. The outermost slats may be cut with scissors to avoid fixtures on the door frame.

In Figure 2, the curtain rail assembly 10 comprises a curtain rail 12, a front protective flap 14 that serves as a pelmet, and a row 16 of curtain hooks 18 that fit I S in the curtain rail l 2. Each curtain slat 6 has three elongate apertures 20 at its top fitted with brass eyelets. Each aperture 20 fits onto a respective hook 18. In a modification each slat has five apertures, and has a width of 0.47 m.

The hooks 18 as shown are positioned adjacent one another and in contact with one another. However, in a modification, the hooks are spaced from one another..

Referring to Figures 4A and 4B, the curtain rail 12 comprises a single integral moulding of aluminium or durable plastics material that is 3mm thick.

The rail is of an inverted L shape and comprises a rear planar vertical section 30 and a top planar horizontal section 32. The lowermost edge of rear section 30 is curled over as at 34 to form a groove 36 that functions as a lower track for the curtain hooks. The top section 32 on its lower face has two vertical ribs 38 disposed side by side and defining between them a groove 40 that serves as an upper track for the curtain hooks. At the free edge of the top section 32, the edge is curved over as at 42 and a further vertical rib 44 is provided adjacent the curved - 6 ovcr edge 42 in order to define a groove 46 for receiving the top edge of protective flap 14.

Referring to Figures SA to SF, each curtain hook 18 comprises a body S portion 50 that is essentially planar and in the shape of an 1. The vertical side edges 52 of body portion 50 provide abutment edges for adjacent hooks. The top edge 54 of the body forms an upper slide member. The lowermost region of body portion 50 is angled to provide a horizontal spacer portion 56 and a vertical lower edge portion 58 that is offset to the rear of body member 50. Edge portion 58 provides a lower slide member.

A hook portion 60 projects from the front of the body member at its base and has a lower horizontal portion 62 integral with the body member 50. The horizontal portion 62, at its root region 64, projects downwardly from horizontal space portion 56 so as to define a recess 66 with lower edge 58. The hook has a vertical portion 68. The free end of the hook is bent over as at 70. Hook portion is in the form of an 1-shaped beam with upper and lower horizontal portions 72 and an intervening vertical portion 74. This is for rigidity and strength. The body member 50 is thickened in a vertical region 76 adjacent the hook portion for extra strength.

The material of the hook 18 is preferably glass filled nylon, and the material of the curtain rail 12 is preferably aluminium. The material of the front flap 14 is of a flexible plastics.

Referring to Figure 3, this shows the curtain rail assembly in its assembled condition. It may be seen that front flap 14 has an upper rib portion 80 that makes a close fit within groove 46 of curtain rail 12. Flap 14 tapers in width downwardly and extends a considerable distance beyond the curtain hooks. Each curtain hook 18 as shown in Figure 3 has its lower slide member 58 seated within lower track 36 and its upper slide member 52 fitted within upper track 40. The - 7 recess 66 between the root of the hook and lower slide member 58 engages edge 34. The apertures 20 of the curtain slats fit over the free ends of the hook portions and their weight rests on the lower horizontal portions 62. It may be seen from Figure 3 that the disposition of the hooks within the curtain rail provide a very rigid and strong construction that is resistant to excessive or violent forces that may arise in use, for example when a forklift truck is driven through the door entrance. The construction of the hook portion 60 in the shape of an I beam is rigid and strong. The lower runner 58 offset to the rear of the hook balances the leverage force exerted by the weight of the curtain slats and any pulling force l O applied to the curtain slats. This balancing occurs about the pivot point of the upper curtain track 40. The curled over edge 34 of the curtain rail fits reasonably closely in recess 66 between the lower slide 58 and the root 64 of the horizontal hook part 62. This prevents any substantial pivotal movement of the curtain hook as a pivotal movement about upper runner 40.

The provision of upper and lower runners prevents any substantial bodily movement of each hook in a vertical direction or in a horizontal direction towards the front of the curtain rail. Thus, each hook is securely in position with only a limited amount of free play to enable assembly and disassembly of the curtain rail assembly but that this limited movement is not significant in terms of reducing the resistance of the hook to pulls, tugs, stresses and strains that may occur during use of the door entrance by personnel, motorised vehicles, etc. - 8

Claims

1. A curtain assembly comprising a curtain rail assembly and a curtain, the curtain including a plurality of vertical slat members, with apertures at or adjacent the upper edges of each vertical slat, the curtain rail assembly comprising a curtain rail having upper and lower tracks, a plurality of hooks for positioning in a row in the curtain rail, each hook having an upper slide member and a lower slide member for respective engagement with said upper and lower tracks, and each hook being engageable in a respective aperture of the curtain slats, and a protective flap member affixed to the curtain rail and covering the row of hooks.

2. A curtain assembly according to Claim 1, wherein each said aperture is elongate in the vertical direction and has a metal eyelet.

3. A curtain assembly according to Claim 1 or 2, wherein each vertical slat member is of layered construction, with outer layers of a protective material, and an inner filling of thermally insulative material.

4. A curtain assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein the curtain rail is formed as a single integral member of inverted L shape.

5. A curtain assembly according to any preceding claim, wherein each hook member has a generally planar body member with its upper and lower edges forming slide portions that engage in said upper and lower tracks, and a hook portion that projects to the front of the hook body member.

6. A curtain rail assembly comprising a curtain rail having a lower track and an upper track, and a plurality of hook members, each hook member having an upper slide portion and a lower slide portion for engaging in the respective upper and lower runner tracks, and the hook members being adapted to be positioned within the curtain rail side to form a row, wherein the lower track is offset relative to the upper track in a rearward direction, and wherein each hook member has its lower slide portion disposed to the rear of the hook and the hook portion of the hook member projects to the front of the hook member, whereby in use a balancing occurs of leverage forces and reaction forces exerted on the hook member by a curtain about a pivot point provided by the upper track.

7. A curtain rail assembly according to Claim 6, wherein the curtain rail is in the form of an inverted L shape with a rear vertical planar portion and an upper horizontal planar portion.

8. A curtain rail assembly according to Claim 7, wherein the lower edge region of the rear planar portion is formed to define a groove that provides said lower track.

9. A curtain rail assembly according to Claim 7 or 8, wherein the upper planar member has ribs formed on its lower surface for defining a groove that provides said upper track, and that is offset relative to the lower track.

10. A curtain rail assembly according to any of Claims 7 to 9, wherein the free end of the upper planar portion provides a groove for receiving a top edge of a protective cover member.

11. A curtain rail assembly according to Claim 6, including a protective cover member that extends in use in front of the curtain rail and row of hooks.

12. A curtain rail assembly according to any of Claims 7 to I I, wherein each hook member comprises a planar body portion having an upper edge for providing said upper slide portion, and a lower edge for providing said lower slide portion. - 10

13. A curtain rail assembly according to any of Claims 6 to l 2, wherein each hook member has its lower slide portion offset to the rear of the hook and the hook portion of the hook member pro jects to the front of the hook member, whereby in use a balancing occurs of leverage forces and reaction forces exerted S on the hook member by a curtain about a pivot point provided by the upper track.

14. A curtain rail assembly according to Claim 13, wherein the hook portion has a root portion projecting from the lower edge of the hook body portion, to define, with the lower slide portion, a recess for engaging in an edge portion of the lower track.

15. A curtain rail assembly according to Claim 13 or 14, wherein the hook portion has an I section.

16. A curtain rail assembly according to any of Claims 13 to 15, wherein the planar body portion of the hook member is reinforced in a region from which the hook portion projects.

17. A hook member for a curtain rail assembly, the hook member comprising a body portion having an upper edge for forming a slide portion for engaging in an upper track of a curtain rail, and the body member having a lower edge that is disposed to the rear of the body member to engage in a lower track of a curtain rail, and a hook portion that projects from the lower part of the hook member towards the front of the hook member for receiving a curtain.

18. A hook member according to Claim 17, wherein each hook member comprises a planar body portion having an upper edge for providing said upper slide portion, and a lower edge for providing said lower slide portion.

19. A hook member according to Claim 18, wherein each hook member has its lower slide portion offset to the rear of the hook and the hook portion of the hook - 11 member projects to the front of the hook member, whereby in use a balancing occurs of leverage forces and reaction forces exerted on the hook member by a curtain about a pivot point provided by the upper track.

20. A hook member according to any of Claims l 7 to 19, wherein the hook portion has a root portion projecting from the lower edge of the hook body portion, to define, with the lower slide portion, a recess for engaging in an edge portion of the lower track.

21. A hook member according to any of Claims 17 to 2O, wherein the hook portion has an I section.

22. A hook member according to Claim 17, wherein the planar body portion of the hook member is reinforced in a region from which the hook portion 1 5 projects.

23. A hook member according to Claim 17, wherein the planar body portion of the hook member is l-shaped.

24. A curtain assembly comprising a curtain rail assembly and a curtain, the curtain including a plurality of vertical slat members, with apertures at or adjacent the upper edges of each vertical slat, each vertical slat being formed of a layered construction having outer protective plastics sheets and an inner thermally insulative filing, the curtain rail assembly comprising a curtain rail, a plurality of hooks for positioning in a row on said curtain rail, each hook being engageable in a respective aperture of the curtain slats.

25. A curtain assembly according to claim 24, wherein the outermost vertical slats do not have a thermally insulative filling, for f xing to pillars defining an entrance. - 12

26. A curtain assembly according to claim 25, including a fixing plate associated with each outermost slat.

27. A curtain assembly as claimed in Claim I and substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

28. A curtain rail assembly as claimed in Claim 6 and substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

29. A hook member as claimed in Claim 17 and substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

30. A curtain assembly as claimed in Claim 24 and substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings.