US2601489A - Fireplace screen - Google Patents

Description

J. H. BABRQS ET AL FIREPLACE SCREEN Filed Feb. 20, 1950 June 24, 1952 FEE JOSE/ h anaeas 4056 ,wM/mq 1 N V EN TORS ATIOEA/EVS eta. '5

Patented June 24, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIREPLACE SCREEN Joseph H. Babros and Joseph Komada, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application February 20, 1950, Serial No. 145,216

, 2 Claims. 7 i

This invention relates to improvements in screens adapted to be positioned in front of open fireplaces for the purpose of confining sparks therein.

An object of the inventionis to provide an improved fireplace screen consisting essentially of a rectangular frame adapted to be supported in upright position before a fireplace and which has metallic curtains slidably suspended therein that can be simultaneously opened or closed by means of a chain that is trained over a pulley mounted on the underside of the top of the frame. This chain has its free ends extending through one side of the frame so as to be accessible at the side thereof and on pulling one of the free ends of the chain both curtains may be simultaneously shifted to open or closed position depending upon which end of the chain is pulled.

More specifically an object of the invention is to provide a novel, simple and inexpensive means for rotatably supporting the pulley on the underside of thetop of the frame and over which th chain is trained.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and inexpensive means for supporting the reaches of the chain on the underside of the top adjacent the center of the top so that these reaches that extend from the pulley to the side of the frame through which the chain extends will not hang down from the top in an objectionable manner.

A furtherobject' of the inventionis to provide a simple and easily manufactured construction for supporting the inner ends of the rods that s'lidably support the curtains on the underside of the top of the frame so that these inner ends of the rods will beadequat'ely supported inmutually overlapping relation.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a simple mechanism for training the chain as it leads through the side of the frame and to provide a simple and inexpensive construction for connecting the sides and top of the frame to each other.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifestin the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the appended claims, reference is had to the accompanying drawings for an illustrative embodiment of the invention, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of the fireplace screen embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partial view in rear elevation of the upper portion of the fireplacescreen showing the internal construction of the top thereof. This 2 view is taken from. the reverse side of the screen as viewed in Fig. 1. r

Fig. 3 isa partialview illustrating details of construction of how the top and sides of the frame are connected to each other.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 4-4- upon Fig. 2 in the direction indicated.

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectiont'aken substantially upon the line 55 upon Fig. 2 in the direction indicated.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 6-6 upon Fig. 2' in the direction indicated.

Fig. '7 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 1--'| upon Fig: 2 in the direction indicated;

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout, the improved fireplace screen consists of a rectangular metal frame having a bottom I70, sides II and I2, and a top l3. Legs l4 and [5 are secured to the forward sides of the sides H and 12 and serve to support the frame in an upright position. Suitable feet (not shown) may be secured to the rear side of the bottom Ill so as to extend rearwardly therefrom and prevent the frame from being tiltedrear- Wardly.

The sides II and I2 and the top l3 are preferably formed of angle iron or brass which is angular in cross section similar to angle iron. One feature of the invention concerns the manner in which the top I3 is connected to the sides II and I2. As illustrated in Fig. 3, the upper end of the forward face of each of the sides is beveled off as indicated at It, and adjacent this bevel the metal is bent rearwardly as indicated at I! as shown in Fig. 7, thus forming a slight inclined shoulder adjacent the top of each of the sides I l and I2. The top I 3 has, its forward face beveled ofi complementary to such inclined shoulder except for a downwardly extending finger l8 which is receivable in a slot or opening 19 formed in the shoulder [1. The top face of the angle iron that forms the top I3 is extendedand bent downwardly as indicated at 20 so. as to overliethe outer side faces of thesides H and I2. These portions 28 have apertures therein indicated at 2| that are alignable with apertures 22 in the upper ends of the outer faces of the sides I l and 12 designed to receive the threaded ends 23 of shouldered supporting rods 24 and 2 5. The shoulders on these supporting rods are indicated at 26 and acorn nuts or the equivalent, indicated at 21, are applicable to the shanks 23 where they extend through the apertures 22 and 2|. It will thus be appreciated that, with the top I3 and the sides I and I2 formed in the manner illustrated, the top can be assembled with the sides H and I2 very readily be merely forcing the finger l8 at each end of the top down through the aperture I9 until the beveled edge at each end of the top I3 engages the shoulder formed at H. In this position the apertures 22 and'2| will align and on an insertion of the shanks 23 on the rods 24 and 25 and the application of the acorn nuts 21, the parts of the frame are effectively locked together. These parts, however, can be readily disassembled from each other for purposes of storage and shipment.

The joint between the top and the sides is normally concealed on the forward side of the frame by the application of an ornamental emblem 28. This emblem may have a stud integral therewith that extends through the joint and which is threaded for the application of a nut 29. In lieu thereof a bolt may be employed to bolt the emblem in position to overlie the joint.

The rods 24 and have their inner ends in mutually overlapping relation within the top I3 and serve to slidably support or suspend sections or curtains 3D and 3| from the top. These curtains are slidably suspended from their respective rods by means of rings 32, and a chain 33 which is trained over a rotatable pulley 34 has its reaches secured to one ring of each curtain as indicated at 35 and 33, respectively. The ends of the chain extend through the side I and hang downwardly adjacent the :outer side thereof. Thus, by pulling on one end of the chain the curtains may be simultaneously caused to slide on their respective rods 24 and 25 into open or closed position depending upon which end of the chain 33 is pulled. The connections 35 and 36 are usually made to rings 32 that are somewhat spaced from the inner edges of their respective curtains and wires 31 extend from such rings through rings at the edges and downwardly through the mesh of the metallic curtains. Consequently the inner edges of the curtains will be moved in advance of the connections 35 and 36 so that on closing the curtains across the frame the inner edges of the curtains will be capable of assuming mutually overlapping positions and thus effectively serve to confine any sparks from the fireplace.

One feature of the invention relates to the manner in which the pulley 34 is rotatably mounted on the underside of the top face of the top I3. This is accomplished by providing a small plate 40 and securing thereto such as by soldering or brazing a U-shaped bracket 4| the center of which is spaced from the plate a distance equal to the thickness of the pulley 34. A hole 42 is formed in the plate 40 by piercing the metal downwardly as shown in Fig. 4 and in a similar manner a hole 43 is formed in the bracket 4| by piercing the metal upwardly. The metal thus pierced enters the hole in the center of the pulley 34 and forms an adequate bearing to rotatably support the pulley. The plate and bracket 40 and 4|, after having been thus assembled together with the pulley 34, can be secured to the underside of the top I3 such as by soldering or brazing. This form of construction provides a very simple and inexpensive means for rotatably mounting the pulley 34 on the underside of the top.

It is desirable to support the reaches of the chain between the pulley 34 and the side H so that these reaches will not objectionably hang down below the bottom edge of the forward face of the top l3. Provision must also be made for supporting the inner ends of the rods 24 and 25. To this end channel-shaped stampings are provided, indicated at 44 and 45. These stampings have angular brackets 46 and 41 secured to their sides. The lower ends of these brackets are formed so as to provide a reverse curl, the curls being indicated at 48 and 49. These curls are designed to slidably receive the inner ends of the rods 24 and 25 respectively. The channels 44 and 45 have the brackets 46 and 41 assembled therewith prior to installation on the underside of the top and when the brackets have been assembled the channels may be secured to the underside of the top I3 such as by soldering or brazing. The channels 44 and 45 are located near but not ex-- actly on the center of the'top I3 so that their brackets 46 and41 will properly be positioned to engage and support the rods 24 and 25 which,v as above stated, are in mutually overlapping re-- lation to each other. As the channels 44 and 45 can be readily stamped out, this construc-- tion forms a simple and easily applied device for not only supporting the inner ends of the rods but slidably supporting the reaches of the chain between the pulley 34 and the side so that these reaches will not objectionably hang down below the top I3.

Near the side II an additional stamping, indicated at 50, is provided, this stamping provided two channels 5| and 52 for the chain reaches as they approach the side H. The ends of the channels are bent downwardly as indicated at 53 so as to lead to two apertures that are formed at the junction between the top It! and the side The reaches of the chain are thus trained across the smooth downwardly bent ends of the channels 5| and 52 so that when an end of the chain is pulled it may move with very little friction through the channels provided by the stamping 50 and the channels 44 and 45.

From the above described construction it will be appreciated that the parts of the improved fire screen can be very easily and economically manufactured and assembled. Although the plate 40, the bracket 4|; and pulley 34, the channels 44 and 45 and their brackets 45 and 41, and the stamping 50 are permanently assembled with the top I3, the top can be easily and quickly disassembled from the sides II and I2 by merely removing the acorn nuts 21 and sliding the rods 24 and 25 inwardly until their shanks 23 are withdrawn from the aligned apertures. In so doing the curtains 30 and 3| can be removed at any time desired for cleaning purposes and, if desired, the entire frame can be knocked down for storage or shipping purposes. When the screen is in use the curtains 3|! and 3| can be simultaneously open or closed by merely pulling on one end of the chain and when the curtains are in fully closed position their inner edges are disposed in overlapping relation to effectively confine sparks.

Various changes may be made in the details of the construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A fireplace screen comprising a frame having sides, and. a connecting top, one of said sides having apertures therein, channels secured to the under side of the top adjacent the center thereof in spaced parallel relationship to each other, rod supports secured to the channels and extending downwardly therebeneath, rods secured to the sides and extending towards each other beneath the top and having their inner ends disposed in overlapping relationship and supported by their respective rod supports, parallel channels secured to the under side of the top adjacent one end thereof leading toward the apertures in said one side, a pulley mounted for rotation on the under side of the top adjacent that end which is remote from the last-mentioned channels, a chain trained over the pulley and having reaches extending through the channels and through the mentioned apertures, and curtains slidably mounted on the rods and connected to the reaches respectively so as to be capable of being simultaneously opened or closed thereby.

2. A fireplace screen comprising a frame having sides and a connecting top, one of said sides having apertures therein, channels secured to the under side of the top adjacent the center thereof in spaced parallel relationship to each other, rod supports connected to the top and extending downwardly therefrom to points below the channels, rods secured to the sides and extending towards each other beneath the top and having their inner ends disposed in overlapping relationship and supported by their respective rod supports, parallel channels secured to the under side of the top adjacent one end thereof leading toward the apertures in said one side, a pulley mounted for rotation on the under side of the top adjacent that end which is remote from the last-mentioned channels, a chain trained over the pulley having reaches extending through the channels and through the mentioned apertures, and curtains slidably mounted on the rods and connected to the reaches respectively so as to be simultaneously opened or closed thereby.

JOSEPH H. BABROS. JOSEPH KOMADA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,860,566 Bertram May 31, 1932 2,001,681 Huff May 14, 1935 2,150,367 Eisele Mar. 14, 1939 2,152,474 Gromes Mar. 28, 1939 2,185,305 Marchand Jan. 2, 1940 2,512,480 Calmy June 20, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,221 Great Britain Jan. 17, 1910

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