US1565731A - Frame for stretching shade cloth - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 15, 1925 1,565,731

l.. B. GIRARD FRAME FOR STRETCHING SHADE CLOTH Filed April 28. 1925 A TTORNE Y.

Patented Dec. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES i PATENT OFFICE.

LOUIS B. GIRARD, 0F LOS ANGELES. CALIFOREA, ASSGNOR TO COLUMBA MILLS INCORORATED, OF'NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW' YORK.

FRAME FOR STRETGI'ING SHADE CLOTH.

To all whom t may concern.

Be it known that I, Leurs B. Glu/mn, a citizen ot' ther United States, residing at Los Angeles, county ot Los ngeles, State oil" California, have invented a new and uselul Improvement in` Frames ttor Stretching Shade Cloth, ot which the following is a specification. i

rlhis invention relates to trames for stretching shade cloth or other fabric or for holding it in place while it is being painted, sized, or dried, and particularly to frames lor this purpose in which the upper and lower rails are wholly ot metal. The frames used tor this purpose are ordinarily made in sections and it is necessary to pivotally secure one of the rails and pre'lu'ably the lower rail of each section to the corresponding rail of adjacent section or sections, so as to permit such rail to be spread away trom the other rail at such points ol.2 connection between adjacent sections so as to stretch the cloth. The main `object of the present invention is to provide a novel means for securing or connecting adjacent rail sections together so as to permit relative angular displacement of said sections' to stretch the cloth but to limit the amount of such angular displacement so that in the event of accidental release ot thevmfeans normally holding the lower rail in suspend ed position the extent to which the rail sec-y tions may `fall due to the pivotal connection between the same is limited so as to prevent tearing of the cloth or damaging of parts of the frame by striking one another as would be apt to occur otherwise as hereinafter described. lith this object in view the invention comprises in connection with a stretching frame of the above type, a rail tormedoif sections placed end toend, and means for non-rigidly connecting said sections together so as to permit the normal amount ot angular displacement between said sections as required in moving the same for stretching lthe cloth, but to limit the lnaxilnun'i angular displacement which may occur between the adjacent sections of the rail.

The accompanying drawings illustrate embodiments of my invention and referring thereto;

Fig. 1 is a front elet/ation ot a section of c1( th stretching traine whose lower rail Application. tiled April 2', 1925. Serial No. 26,424.

sections are provided with connecting means according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the upper and lower rails ot the trame on line 2HE in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial rear elevation oi adjacent lower rail sections and the connecting means therefor.

Fig. l is a sectional view of the connecting means on line 4;4 in Fig. 5. l

Fig. 5 is a section on line 5 5 in Fig. 3.

Theframe shown in Fig. 1 comprises upper rails and lower rails connected by suitable stretching bars as hereinafter described, said rails being' in general made in a series ot sections which are connected end to end so as to provide for holding and stretching a relatively long piece of vshade cloth orl other fabric. The construction of one section ot such a frame with a portion of the adjoining section is shown in Fig. 1,with parts broken'away as indicated and it will be understood that all the sections throughout the trame are of substantially the same construction. Such frame section comprises an upperrail 1 and a lower rail 2, said rails being ofv similar construction but in relatively inverted position as shown in Fig. 2. Each rail comprises a main rail member `formed as a flanged metal rail for example a channel iron as indicated at 3, and a fixed clamp member or'clamp plate member l 'formed for example of a strip of sheet metal so as to give the required rigidity, said clamp plate being permanently and rigidly secured to the rail member 3 by suitable means for example by rivets, indicated at 5, and projecting vertically from the rail member so as to provide a relatively thin member for attachment of the cloth. Each clamp plate l is provided at its outer or free edge, that is to say at the lower edge of the upper clamp plate and the upper edge of the lower clamp plate, with a flange or turned over portion 6 forming a groove 7 cooperating with movable clamp means as hereinafter described to secure the shade cloth on the clamp member t. Said movable clamp means is herein shown as being of the same construction as that shown in patent to L. B. Girard, No. 1,371,417, issued March 15, 1921, but it may be of any other suitable or well-known construction, the construction shown cinprsiug movable @lamp ged connections 'for arms or straps which are pivoted or hinged 1t 11 to plates 12, secured to the rail members 3, for example by rivets or bolts 13 extending` through said members 12, 11, and 3. The upper rails of adjacent sections may be secured together tor example by a lish plate or tic plate 19 and bolts 2 passing through said lish plate and said rail sections. The upper tixed clamp plate members it of the adjacent sections may also be secured together for example by means of straps and rivets. The manner ot securing the upper rail sections together is relatively unimplates S having hin 4portant however, and forms no part oi this invention, as any other suitable means `tor rigidly connecting the sections together may be employed.

The adjacent sections oft the lower rails, however,` are joined together according to my invention by non-rigid connecting means adapted to permit a limited amount ot angular displacement of said sections relative to one another. `For this puroose pair ot ish plates or tie plates 15 may be provided, extending across the joint between the sections as at 1G, and one in :front and one behind the rail members, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. vSaid [ish plates may be rigidly secured to one ot the rail-sections 3 for example by means of bolts 17 passing through holcsin said ish plates and in the rail seci' tion S and the hXed clamp platea and provided with nuts 21. The lish plates are pivot ally or non-rigidly secured to the other rail section tor example by means ol a bolt 1S passingtherethrough and preferably provided with a pair of lock-nuts or jam nuts 2L). to permit tightening ot said nuts on the boltI while leaving sutlicient play between the lish plates land the rail -section to permit turning or angular displacement thereo'l. Stop means or limit means are provided however, vfor limiting the maximum ai'igular displacement which may occur, such stop or limit means comprisingt'or example a bolt l-tl passing through holes in both lish plates and secured thereto j n'eterably by means ot locl; nuts or jam nuts '11,lv and also passing through a recess or notch 42 in rail section 2l. Said' recess is o" somewhat greaterwidth than bolt 10, so as to permit limited angular movement of rail member 3 about pivot bolt 1S, but the edges of the recess are adapted to engage said bolt when a certain angular displacement is reachedso as to prevent V'further angular' displacement, as hereinafter described.

Means are provided for 'forcing or spread- .ing the upper and lower rails; apartv at the joints of the lower rail after `the cloth is se `cured thereto soas to`stret`ch such cloth.

Such Vmeans may comprise, vfor example, spreading arms Q4, consisting for example .ot .angle 'Jronsfmd nvotaily mounted on the "tor example instead ot channel irons,

lower rails members adjacent cach joint, tor exan'iple, as shown, by means oil: one oit the bolts 17 aforesaid or it desired by means et one of the pivot bolts 1S, and a lever arm pivotally mounted on the upper rail, l'or example, by means ot U-shaped straps QG and bolts 27. In order to permit swinging movement ot spreading` arm Q-l. about bolt 1T and sullicient lateral movement thereoit to facilitate engagement thereolI with lever arm 25 as hereinafter described, I prefer to provide a spacing' washer surrounding said bolt and extending through and o'l' somewhat greater thickness than said spreading arm, so that nuts Q1 may be tightened up on said washer to hold the [ish plates rigidly to the rail section while permitting swinging ot arm 24. Each ot said lever arms is provided with a pin or stud 28 adapt d to engage in any one ot a plurality oit recesses or notches Q9 in the corresponding spreading arm Q41-, so that downward movement otlever arm 25, with said stud engaged in a suitable notch will cause spreading` arm Q-t `to Atorce the upper and lower rails apart at this point. 'The above described spreading means are such as are commonly used in the art any other suitable or well-known means may be used For this purpose.

The frame may be hung or supported in any suitable manner, for example, by means ot wire hangers ()l and 'eye-bolts ll, said hangers depending Vfor example, trom means travelling in suitable ways, to permit the assemblage ot a large number o'l the 'trames in parallel order and ot separation ol adjza'entframes 'or access thereto in inserting.y paint-ing` or removing the cloth.

The rail members ot the upper aud lower rails may be of any suitablcshape or crosssection, but are jn'eterably'tlanged in order to provide inaxinmni strength and righ .aid members may comprise angle irons or T- bars to which the fixed clamp plates -t are secured in any suitable manner, the remainder of the construction being substantially the'same as above described.

In the operation ot the stretching trame above described a strip or sheet et window shade cloth or othert'abric to be stretched, indicated at 33 is inserted at its upper and lower edges between themoving and lixed members 8 and Li; ol the respective clampingmeans, the movable clamping members S being moved tothe position indicated in dotted lines at S in Fig. 2 to permit insertion of the 'edges o1 the taln'icwvithiu groove 't' a'lter which said movable clamp members are pushed or snapped into the position indicated in full lines in said Fig. 2, so as to engage the edges et" the fabric as at 32 and hold the same tightly in place. It will be understood ,that during the insertion ot `the cloth within the clamping means in this manner the lower rail 2 may be supported at the proper height in any suitable manner, for example by causing the pin 28 on lever arm to engage in a suitable notch 29 in arm 24 and allowing said arms to rest in a vertical position as shown in dotted lines at 34 in Fig. 1. After the Afabric is thus clamped throughout the entire length of the stretching frame the spreading arms are released from engagement and swung to horizont-al position, suitable supporting clips indicated at 37 being provided at the back of the respective railsV for holding such arms in this position, and the sizing medium, 'for example'a suitable glue and water size,

is applied to one or both sides of the fabric I 'gage in a higher notch 29 than that with which it originally engaged, as indicated at in Fig. 1, and lever arm 25 is then moved downward so as to push the lower frame 2 downward and stretch the fabric. The arms 24 and 25 are therefore, commonly known as stretcher bars. In this operation it will be seen that a certain amount of angular displacement occurs between the two adjacent lower rail sections when the same are spread away from the upper rail. this displacement being provided for by the. pivotal connections of fish. plates 15 to one of the rail members as above described. This operation may be repeated if necessary until [he proper amount of stretching is obtained. 'lhe rails are then held in this position so :is to maintain the fabric in stretched condition by bringing the arms 24 and 25 to vertical position with the pin 2S engaged in a suitable notch 29 and the same stretching operation is then repeated at the next joint between the lower rail sections. The entire strip of fabric is thus stretched and kept in stretched condition by engagement of the stretcher bars until the sizing medium has dried, which may require for example from 8 to 12 hours or longer.

W'hen the entire strip `of fabric has been sized, stretched, and dried in this manner, the stretcher bars may again be released and allowed to rest on supports 37, as the sized cloth will then retain its stretched condition, assisted only by the weight of the lower rail. The paint to be used may then be applied to both sides thereof in the usual manner, for example by means of an ordinary brush. The paint is then allowed to dry upon the cloth, such drying requiring for example from 12 to 24 hours, depending upon the humidity of the surrounding air, and the sized and painted cloth is then removed from the frames. To permit such removal of the cloth the movable clamping members are again opened or moved to the position indicated at 8, such opening operation being easily performed for example by inserting a pointed tool or rod under the edges of the clamps 8 or the straps 19 or hinges 9 and prying the same outward past the dead center position. Or if desired the main strip of cloth may be removed by cutting along the edges next to the clamps, and the remaining edge portions of the cloth then removed from the clamps. l

It may occasionally occur that when the 'frame is empty, or when the cloth or fabric is being clamped thereto or removed therefrom, the engagement'between a pair of stretcher bars may accidentally be broken due to the pin 28 slipping out of the notch 29 in which it is engaged, or such engage ment may7 be intentionally broken for some purpose. The adjacent rail sections will therefore be unsupported at this point and will begin to :fa-ll. rlhe stop or limit means above described will then function, however, to arrest the falling motion of the rail sections, by engagement of bolt 40 with the upper edge of the recess 42, thus holding the parts in the position indicated in dotted lines at 48 in Fig.'4. It will be observed that when the parts are in this position the upper corners 44 of the two adjacent fixed clamp plates 4 have not yet bit each other, and an important advantage of the stop means is that they prevent such hitting of these corners, which would occur if the rail sections were allowed to fall freely, and which has been found in practice, without the use of stop means, to badly damage these 'corners and bend the relatively thin sheet metal of which the fixed clamps are formed. se that they must be straightened or repaired before using again in order to permit engagement of the hinged clamp means there with or to avoid tearing the cloth at this point. Furthermore` if the cloth is being inserted or removed from the frame, and the accidental or intentional release of the stretcher bars occurs at a joint between sections which is say, less than one section away from the nearest point at which the cloth is clamped to the frame, the dropping of the lower frame member for a great distance may cause tearing of the cloth adjacent the nearest point of attachment to the frame, and this is also prevent-ed by the above-described stop or limit means.

That I claim is:

1. In a cloth stretching frame a rail comprising a plurality of sections placed end to end, connecting means rigidly Secured to one of said sections adjacent the end thereof, means non-rigidly securing said connecting means to the adjacent section so as to permit rela-tive angular displacement between saidA sections and stop means on said connecting means and on the section to which it is nonrigidly connected adapted to cooperate to limit such relative angular' displacement. j

2. In a cloth stretching frame, a connecting means for adjacent rail sections, comprising means extending` across the joint between such rail sections and adapted to be secured thereto, means for rigidly securing said connecting means to one of said sections, means Jror nonrigidly securing` said connecting means to the adjacent section, and stop mea-ns secured to said connecting means and adapted to cooperate with means on the rail section to which it is non-rigidly secured to limit the relative angular displacement between such sections.

3. A cloth stretching iframe comprising an upper iframe and a lower frame, said lower frame comprising a plurality of sections, connecting means lor said sections of the lower rail. said connecting means being rigidly secured to one of said rail sections and being non-rigidly secured to an adjacent rail section so asto permit relative angular displacement between said sections, spreading means comprising a member hingedly secured to one of said sections adjacent said connecting means and a member hingedly secured to the upper rail and adapted to engage with said lirst-nan'ied spreading member to spread the rails at this point and thus cause relative angular displacement between said sections ot the lower rail, and stop means on said connecting means and on the rail section to which said connecting means are non-rigidly secured adaptedto cooperate to limit the relative angular displacement between such rail sections.

LI. In a cloth stretching frame a rail comprising a plurality of sections placed end to end, connecting means extending across V a jeint between adjacent 'sections7 means rigidly securing said connecting means to one of said sections,`n'1eans non-rigidly securing said connecting means to the adjacent section and a transverse member connected to said connecting means and passing through said recess, said recess being larger than said transverse member so as to permit relativ angular displacement between said rail sections but adapted to engage such LOUIS B. GIRARD.

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