GB2464708A

GB2464708A - Curtain track

Info

Publication number: GB2464708A
Application number: GB0819417A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Perry Day
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2008-10-23
Filing date: 2008-10-23
Publication date: 2010-04-28
Anticipated expiration: 2028-10-23
Also published as: GB2464708B; GB0819417D0

Abstract

The curtain track assembly includes an extruded rail 1 having a closed top and a channel 6 at the bottom for slidably receiving curtain hangers. The rail 1 has longitudinal grooves 9, 10 defining faces (11, Figure 1) to receive projections 24, 25 of bracket 20. The rail can be mounted below a suspended ceiling (40, Figure 4) by means of a standoff arm 30 having a mounting bracket 20 which slides over the rail. A screw threaded rod 31 is inserted through the bracket 20 via hole 28 and tightened against the rail 1. The rod 31 passes through a ceiling tile (40) and a backing plate (41, Figure 4) and is secured by a back nut 33 which clamps a compression tube 32 between the backing plate (41) and the mounting bracket 20. Sections of rail 1 may be joined together by a connector (50, Figure 5).

Description

CURTAIN TRACKS

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to curtain tracks, and particularly (but not exclusively) those which are mounted from a suspended ceiling round a hospital bed or around a shower area, for example.

BACKGROUND

A known form of curtain track has an extruded metal rail with a T-slot at the bottom and an inverted-T slot at the top. The bottom slot receives sliders with a rotatable eye into which a curtain hook can be inserted to suspend curtains from the rail. The rail can be bent into a curve, and is often mounted below a suspended ceiling by means of standoff arms engaged with the top slot. The arms are fixed to the ceiling tiles by wood screws which are inserted through a hole in the ceiling into a timber block.

Plastic closure strips may be used to close the slot in the regions between the standoff arms.

Such tracks have a number of drawbacks. With regard to hygiene, dirt can accumulate in the top slot, or in gaps between the rail and the closure strips, making the rails difficult to clean thoroughly. This is particularly important in an institution such as a hospital or care home. The curtain tracks can also become loose where the fixing screws are inserted through ceiling tiles since these are not very strong. Movement of the curtain track can cause rocking of the standoff arms which enlarges the holes in the tiles.

Another important consideration when fixing to suspended ceilings is that the choice of fixing points is often limited because of the need to avoid items such as light fittings, smoke alarms, sprinklers etc. Ideally, it should be possible to fix standoff arms at any desired point along the track, including curved sections which is not easy to achieve with existing tracks The present invention seeks to provide a new and inventive form of curtain track which is easy to clean thoroughly, easy to fix securely, and of neat appearance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention proposes a curtain track including an extruded metal rail of hollow section and a standoff arm for mounting the rail, in which the rail has a top wall and a pair of opposing side walls formed with opposing mounting grooves and the standoff arm is provided with a mounting bracket which can be engaged with the rail and slid to a mounting position, the mounting bracket having an upper wall and a pair of depending limbs having opposing inward projections for reception in the mounting grooves.

In a preferred arrangement the upper wall of the mounting bracket is provided with a screw-threaded aperture for receiving a threaded element which can preferably be screwed into engagement with the top wall of the rail.

The standoff arm preferably includes a compression tube which is received over the screw threaded element in contact with the mounting bracket with the screw threaded element projecting from the opposite end of the tube.

The projecting end of the screw threaded element can then be used for fixing the standoff arm to a ceiling tile. The screw threaded element is preferably inserted through a ceiling tile and a back plate and secured by a back nut. The compression tube is preferably inserted through the ceiling tile to bear against the back plate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The following description and the accompanying drawings referred to therein are included by way of non-limiting example in order to illustrate how the invention may be put into practice. In the drawings: Figure 1 is a general view of a curtain rail as used in a curtain track assembly in accordance with the invention; Figure 2 is a general view of a mounting bracket for use with the rail; Figure 3 is a partly-exploded view of the rail together with a standoff arm incorporating the mounting bracket; Ftgure 4 is a sectional detail through an upper end of the standoff arm secured to a suspended ceiling; Ficiure 5 is a general view of a connector for use with two sections of rail, one of which is shown; and FiQure 6 is a general view of a modified form of mounting bracket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present curtain track system uses an extruded metal curtain rail that is closed at the top so that it does not trap dirt or require time to fit plastic inserts. Referring firstly to Fig. 1, the curtain rail I is of hollow section with parallel side walls 2 and 3 closed by a top wall 4. The rail is of hollow section with a transverse bottom wall 5 which extends between the side walls 2 and 3 to form a slide channel 6 with opposing flanges 7 and 8 The internal profile of the channel 6 is curved to form a mushroom shaped 1-slot. A short distance below the top wall 4, the side walls 2 and 3 are provided with respective external grooves 9 and 10. In particular, it is noted that the grooves both have a top bearing face 11 which extends substantially parallel to the top wall. In addition, a further internal waIl 12 extends between the side walls 2 and 3 in the region of the grooves 9 and for strengthening purposes, dividing the interior of the rail into upper and lower spaces 13 and 14. If desired, the rail can be bent into a gently curved shape in a plane parallel to the top waIl 4.

In order to fix the rail below a suspended ceiling the rail is provided with standoff arms. Fig. 2 shows a mounting bracket 20 for use in such a standoff arm. The bracket may be formed by a short length of metal extrusion, having an upper wall 21 and a pair of depending limbs 22 and 23 having opposing inward projections 24 and 25. It will be noted that the projections both have upper bearing faces 26 which extend substantially perpendicular to the limbs 22 and 23 and parallel to the upper waIl 21. A turned spigot 27 is formed on the top face of the upper wall 21 containing an internally screw threaded hole 28 which extends through the wall 21.

In use, the bracket 20 can be slid onto the rail I as shown in Fig. 3, with the projections 24 and 25 slidably located in the grooves 9 and 10. The bracket can be slid along the rail, including any curved sections of the rail, in order to position the standoff arm below a suitable suspended ceiling tile which is not obstructed by other fixtures. In addition to the bracket 20, the standoff arm 30 includes a screw threaded rod 31 and a compression tube 32. In use, the rod 31 is screwed into the hole 28 in spigot 27 until the lower end of the rod presses against the top waIl 4 of the rail. The bracket 20 is thus urged upwards so that the opposing bearing faces 11 and 26 of the grooves 9, 10 and projections 24, 25 are drawn into tight frictional engagement, thus firmly clamping the standoff arm to the rail.

The compression tube 32 is slid over the rod and located about the spigot 27. The standoff arm is fixed to the ceiling by means of a back nut 33 and washer 34, as will now be described.

Referring to Fig. 4, The ceiling tile 40 is drilled in the required fixing position to receive the compression tube 32, and a metal backing plate 41 is placed behind the tile, drilled to receive the threaded rod 31. The nut 33 and washer 34 are then screwed onto the upper end of the rod and tightened against the plate 41 so that the compression tube 32 becomes firmly clamped between the plate 41 and the bracket 20. It will thus be appreciated that the rail I is rigidly secured to the plates 41, the weight of the entire curtain rail assembly being spread over the top faces of the associated ceiling tiles. Since the whole assembly becomes a rigid structure there is little chance that movement of the rail will cause damage to the individual tiles and the assembly is unlikely to become loose. If desired, the hole in the ceiling tile can be hidden by a cup-shaped cover 42 which is secured to the compression tube, e.g. by means of a grub screw.

The hangers inserted into the bottom slide channel 6 may be of conventional form having a necked head for reception in the channel and a depending eye to which a curtain hook can be secured. Where two sections of rail need to be joined together this is preferably achieved by means of the connector shown in Fig. 5. The connector 50 is dimensioned to be a close fit within the lower space 14 of rail 1, and accurate lateral location of the two rails is achieved by side ribs 51 which locate against the side walls 2 and 3. The connector contains grub screws inserted into threaded holes 52, which can be tightened through corresponding holes drilled in the bottom wall 5. When the grub screws are tightened against the internal walls 12 the connector is pushed down against the bottom wall 5 causing the bottom walls of the two rails to be held in accurate alignment. The connector thus ensures that the channels 6 are accurately aligned to ensure smooth passage of the hangers between rails.

Although firm fixing of the curtain rail is best achieved using the arrangement described above it would also be possible to fit a replacement curtain rail to standoff arms of known form, e.g. when replacing a rail which happens to have good fixings. This is best achieved using the modified mounting bracket 60 shown in Fig. 6, in which the top spigot has been replaced by a conventional inverted-T slot 61. The upper wall 62 of the bracket is provided with a screw-threaded hole 63 containing a grub screw which can be tightened against the top wall of the rail. The standoff arms can be fixed in the slot 61 instead of the top slot of a conventional rail.

Whilst the above description places emphasis on the areas which are believed to be new and addresses specific problems which have been identified, it is intended that the features disclosed herein may be used in any combination which is capable of providing a new and useful advance in the art.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A curtain track assembly including an extruded rail of hollow section and a standoff arm for mounting the rail, in which the rail has a top wall and a pair of opposing side walls formed with opposing mounting grooves and the standoff arm is provided with a mounting bracket which can be engaged with the rail and slid to a mounting position, the mounting bracket having an upper wall and a pair of depending limbs having opposing inward projections for reception in the mounting grooves.
2. A curtain track assembly according to Claim I in which the upper wall of the mounting bracket is provided with a screw-threaded aperture for receiving a threaded element.
3. A curtain track assembly according to Claim 2 in which the screw threaded element can be screwed into engagement with the top wall of the rail.
4. A curtain track assembly according to Claim 3 in which the grooves and projections have opposing bearing faces which are drawn into engagement when the threaded element is screwed into engagement with the top wall.
5, A curtain track assembly according to Claim 2, 3 or 4 in which the standoff arm includes a compression tube which is received over the screw threaded element in contact with the mounting bracket with the screw threaded element projecting from the opposite end of the tube.
6. A curtain track assembly according to any of Claims 2 to 5 in which the screw threaded element is inserted through a ceiling tile and a back plate secured by a back nut.
7. A curtain track assembly according to Claims 5 and 6 in which the compression tube is inserted through the ceiling tile to bear against the back plate.
8. A curtain track assembly according to any preceding claim in which the rail includes a bottom wall which bounds a slot for slidably receiving a curtain hanger.
9. A curtain track assembly according to Claim 8 including a connector bar inserted into the adjacent ends of two sections of the curtain rail, and the connector bar includes grub screws arranged to urge the connector bar into engagement with the bottom wall
10. A curtain track assembly according to Claim 9 in which the connector bar has side ribs which bear against the side walls of the rail.
11. A curtain track assembly according to any of Claims 1 to 4 in which the upper wall of the mounting bracket is formed with an inverted-T shaped slot.
12. A curtain track assembly substantially as described with reference to the drawings.