US2746541A - Hold-down bracket for window shades - Google Patents

Description

May 22, 1956 T. TASH HOLD-DOWN BRACKET FOR WINDOW SHADES 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 16, 1954 INVENTOR. fi Mfi Tfi i'i BY M I JRTTORNEY May 22, 1956 T. TASH 2,746,541

HOLD-DOWN BRACKET FOR WINDOW SHADES Filed Dec. 16, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FICSKS.

ATTORNEY 2,746,541 v HOLD-DOWN BRACKET or: wI Dow SHADES 1 Thomas Tash, St. Petersburg,'Fla.

' ApplicationDeceinber 16, 1954, Serial No. 475,745

7 Claims. (Cl; 160-349) The present invention'is an anchoring or hold-down bracket adapted to be releasably connected with the lower;

end corners of Venetian blinds-or like raisable and lowerabl'e window shades in order to prevent themfrom'swinging or flapping, when in a lowered or pendant position.

While several such brackets have beenproposed by the A prior art for the same general purpose asmy invention, they rely solely upon the tension or tautness of the blind to hold gudgeon pins (provided on the corner of the blind) in a slot or under a hook-like member to anchor the distal end of the blind. These prior art brackets are not satisfactory because, after, installation and a little use, the ladder straps or tapes of the blind either shrink or stretch. When the strap shrinks, it is difiicult, and often impos- V sible, to engage the gudgeon pins in the brackets and,

ner of a Venetian blind or the like, which will readily receive the usual gudgeon pins and, by deliberate manual movement of the lower edge or bottom rail of the blind,

'will automatically latch and maintain said pins in the bracket thus assuring the anchorage of the distal end of the blind under allconditions against swinging or flap- 1 ping, even when the blind or curtain is or is notdrawn =taut or when unusual strain is imposed upon the blind or curtain unless the distal edge or rail of the blind or curtainis deliberately released by a manual movement of said distal edge so as to traverse the gudgeon pins relative to the bracket in a direction opposite to their attachment to the bracket.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such a i United States Patent O 2,746,541 Patented May 22, 1956 pocket of the slot and be held therein by, the pressure of the detent thereagainst in contact with the walls of said pocket. The gudgeon pins may be released from their anchored position by a deliberate manual pressure on the bottom rail of the blind in a direction outwardly of said slot. The bracket body may have apertures therethrough to receive screws or other fasteners for securing it to the side surface of a'window opening or window frame or may have an angled extension or foot with openings therein for securing the bracket to a sill or to a side wall as a particular installation may require.

The above and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention as at present devised and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a fragmental-elevation of one corner of a window opening showing the presently preferred form of the invention applied thereto; t

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on'line 2-2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is aperspective view of the bracket shown in Figures 1 and 2;

the invention; and

blind by the pull-cord or by such other means as .are

Figure 7 is a plan view of Figure 6. g Y

Referring in detail to the drawings, in which like characters of reference refer to similar and like parts throughout the several views, C. denotes a window curtain or shade, which may be raised and lowered vertically, such as the presently used Venetian blind or roller-shade, having a rail, bar or rodr at its lower or distal end. When the curtain C is drawn down or lowered to cover, or sub stantially cover, a window opening W, it is frequently desired tofastenor anchor the distal end of the curtain to prevent it from swinging or flapping and to prevent it from being raised for reasonsof privacy; and, to this end,

hold-downfbracket of the type just defined which has a very simple and novel construction rendering it inconspicuous in appearance when in use and inexpensive to manufacture while being efficacious for its purpose.

The objects of the invention are accomplished generally by providing a bracket member to be used inpairs, one on each side of a window opening, and each formed with a guide slot therein having an open end adapted to receive therein a gudgeonpin, carried at the lower corners of a blind or the like, as the blind is lowered toward the bracket and having its other end closed and ofiset laterally relative to its open end to form a gudgeonjpin receiving pocket; and by providing a resilient detent with one end fixed to the bracket and normally biased 'to lie athwart the passage of said pin in said slot with its other end free and extending across the entrance to the offset pocket of said slot, whereby, upon entry of gudgeon pins the rail or rod r is provided at each of its ends with an outwardly projecting gudgeon pin p which engage with anchoring or hold-down brackets B suitably secured tothe buildingstructure adjacent each side of the window opening W. i l

With particular reference to Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, the brackets B of the present invention comprise a body member 10 which may be of a generally rectangular configuration andof much less thickness than its other dimension. While the body members 10 maybe of metal or wood, it is preferred to mold the same of plastic material with dimensions in the order of about one inch square and about of an inch in thickness. The body members 10 are to be colored to match the curtain or. blind C or the wall or trim surrounding the window opening to render proportioned to slidably receive and guide a gudgeon pin p transversely thereof when it is desired to anchor the lower end of such shade or blind .C to retain it from flapping or swinging or otherwise hold it in a taut depending position. One end of the slot 11 opens through an edge of the body member, hence providing an entry a for a gudgeon pin P, and extends into the body member fora distance from said entry a and then extend laterally of said direction of entry, as at b, terminating in a closed upwardly directed anchor pocket 6. The slot 11 may be also described as somewhat J-shaped with the walls of its upper end a diverging and opening through the upper edge of the body member 10 to form a relatively wide entry-mouth. As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the upper or entry end a of the slot may be located at an upper corner of the body member from which point it extends downwardly and obliquely so that the closed end of the slot will be positioned substantially under the open entry end a. i

A resilient detent member 12 is disposed in the slot 11 below its entry end a so as to normally lie athwart of said slot and of its anchor pocket 0, the arrangment being such that,.when gudgeon pin 1) is inserted into the entry end a, said pin engages the detent 12 which will yield under downward pressure to allow the pin to be moved through the lateral portion b of the slot 11 and around the rounded wall b' at which time, because of its bias, the detent moves the gudgeon pin, with a snap action, upwardly into the anchoring pocket 0 of slot, when said pressure has been relieved, and hold the pin confined between it and the wall of said pocket c.

The above is accomplished in the form of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 5, inclusive, by forming the detent 12 of an arcuate leaf spring having a width substantially that of the thickness of the body member and having one end formed with a lateral flange f embedded or otherwise secured in position on the body member 10. It is presently preferred to have the flange f tightly inserted edgewise into a transverse slit s in the back wall a of the slot 11 adjacent its entrance :1 so that it may be replaced, when desired. As best shown in Figure 2, the back'wall a of the slot extends over the slot 11 at its entrance a in front of the slit .9 and has a downwardly projecting portion a in from of and obstructing the slit s so as to provide a stopabutment that prevents any outward movement of the flange f of the detent 12 from the slit s.

The major portion of the spring 12 projects from its secured end, ats, across said passage into the throat portion b of said slot with its concaved surface facing the entry a and with its free end underlying the anchor pocket c. Said spring 12 is biased to normally engage the rounded wall 12, separating the stem from the hook of the J-formation of the slot 11, which acts as a limit stop abutment. The end of the spring 12 underlying the pocket 0 may be formed with a reverse curve in order to provide a raised portion g projecting in the pocket 0 to assure contact of a gudgeon pin with the walls of said pocket.

The back wall a of the entrance slot 11 maybe curved, as indicated, and terminates at its lower extremity with a reverse curve to conform with and complement the free end g of the detent 12 to provide a bottom limit stop for the detent should the detent be forced below the distance required for the passage of the pin p under the rounded wall b of slot 11. The lower part of the wall c, extending from the anchoring pocket c, curves downwardly toward and intersects with the lower extremity of the back wall a, thus providing an enclosing wall closely adjacent to the free end of the detent 12 in its travel from its highest to its lowest position preventing the pin p slipping under the detent.

The body member is provided with screw openings 13 therein which are counter-sunk at both ends, thus allowing the bracket to be applied and secured to either the right or left side of a window frame or side Wall of a window-opening W, as shown in Figures 1 and 2. One of the screw openings 13 should, and preferably is, located under and in alignment with the anchor pocket 0 in order to give support directly in line with the upward pull or tension exerted by the blind, when the blind is made taut. When the bracket B is to be secured to. a window sill S, its body member 10 is provided with a lateral foot 14 to rest on the sill and having screw receiving apertures 14 therein and, as shown in Figure 4, it is preferred to have the foot 14 carried on the free end of an extension leg I projecting from the underside of the body '10; and,

as shown in Figure 5, when it is desired to secure the bracket to the wall surface of a room or the like, the body'member 10 is formed with an extension leg I, similar to the leg I in Figure 4, projecting from the backside thereof and has a lateral foot 15 provided with sgrew receiving apertures 15 therein.

The bracket of the invention may be incorporated in other forms such, for instance, as shown in Figures 6 and 7 wherein body member 10* is of metal-stamping and the resilient detent 12 is of spring wire stock; In this form of the invention, the bracket is shown as made in rights and lefts. The body member 10 of the bracket resembles curtain shade brackets, in that a blank of relatively thin sheet metal is stamped to produce one end of the bracket with an upwardly inturned and downwardly directed hook-member h which, with the opposing parts of the body, forms the J-shaped slot 11 The opposing walls of said slot 11 at its upper end diverge to form a wide entrance moutha to guide the gudgeon pin 1 into itsthroat portion b. The other end portion of the body member 10 rearwardly of the slot 11 is formed with a lateral extension 16 from the vertical'edge of which projects an extension 17 substantially parallel with the body member 10 Both of the extensions 16 and'17 may be apertured with screw openings 18 so that the bracket may be selectively secured to an adjacent surface of the window opening W, by screws 18 as shown, or the extension 17 may be bent backward or clipped-off to permit the bracket to be secured to a surface normal thereto by means of screws extended through the apertures 18 in the extension 16.

The detent 12 is a strand of spring-steel wire having an end portion 12 wound with one or more convolutions about a stud 19 projecting from a side face of the body 10 rearwardly of the slot 11 with its extremity projecting into an anchoring hole 20 in the extension 16 and with its major length having, preferably, the same arcuate configuration as the detent 12 (in Figs. 1 to 5) and extending forwardly from the stud 19 in close proximity to the body 10 to a point beyond the anchor .pocket 0 of the slot 11 to be engaged by a gudgeon pin inserted in the slot 11*. A lug 21 is formed on the rounded wall b and projects laterally therefrom to overlie the path of movement of the detent 12 and, thus, provide a limit stop abutment for the biased movement of the detent 12.

With both forms of the hold-down bracket illustrated, it should be clear that the objects and aims of the invention are attained and that the lower end of a Venetian blind or other window shade may be positively, yet releasibly, anchored in pendant position by merely grasping the bottom rail of the blind and directing the gudgeon pins p at its end into the entry a of the slots in the bracket with a downwardly push, against the bias of the spring detent. This downward push together with the action of the detent directs the gudgeon pins into the closed pocket ends of the slots and are held in this anchored position against all movement of the blind under wind pressure or normal attempts to merely raise the lower end of the blind, unless deliberately released by a downward and rearward pressure on the bottom rail and bar of said blind. The operation is simple, easy and quick and an improvement over devices now available for the purpose or any that have been proposed of which I have knowledge.

Having thus described the invention and the manner in which it is to be performed, it will be manifest that certain variations or modifications may be made in the constructions herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of the invention and, therefore, it is to be understood the invention is not to be limited to the exact embodiments herein shown and described but only by the scope of the appended claims.

That which is claimed, as new and to be secured by Letters Patent, is:

, placed.

1. A hold-down bracket for window shades, blinds and the like of the draw-type equipped with gudgeon pins on the lower end of said blinds to engage a bracket, said bracket comprising a body member having means by which it may be secured to a fixed member at a window opening, an arcuate slot therein and positioned to extend transversely of the draw-movement of said blind when secured in position, one end of said slot extending through an edge of the body member to provide an entrance opening thereto directed toward the line of draw-movement of said blind to receive a gudgeon on said blind transversely of said slot, the other end of said slot terminating in a closed extremity Within the body member and forming a deep anchoring pocket with its closed end extending in the same general direction as its said open end, the defining walls of said slot being spaced and dimensioned to slidablyreceive and guide the gudgeon pin therein, a resilient finger secured at one end portion to said bodytmember and positioned and biased to lie across the path of movement of said gudgeon pin at said entrance opening and to close said pocket end of said slot with sufficient tension to obstruct and hold the gudgeon pin in said pocket except against deliberate manual pressure to traverse said slot toward its open end.

2. The subject-matter of claim 1 wherein said resilient finger is disposed within the confines of said slot and the end thereof secured to the body is formed with a lateral flange removably held in a slit in a wall of the slot, whereby said finger may be readily assembled and re- 3. The subject-matter of claim 2 characterized by the transverse dimension of said guide slot extending transversely through opposite faces of said body member, whereby said bracket may be employed either as a righthand or a left-hand bracket.

4. The subject-matter of claim 3 wherein said bracketsecuring means are screw openings extending transversely through said body member whereby the bracket may be employed either as a right-hand or left-hand bracket.

5. The subject-matter of claim 1 wherein the end of said resilient finger is disposed within the confines of said slot and has one end thereof formed with a lateral end flange held in a transverse slit in a wall of said slot adjacent its open end, at least one end of said slit extending through one side face of the body member; and wherein said wall of said slot is formed with a projection extending in spaced opposition to the open side edges of the slit on said wall and providing a stop-abutment to retain said flange in said slit, whereby said flange maybe inserted into and removed edgewise from said slit through a side face of the body member.

6. The subject-matter of claim 1 wherein said finger member is curved and disposed within said slot with its extremity formed with a reverse-curve; and wherein the wall of said slot opposite said pocket has a portion thereof complemental with the reverse-curve of said finger member to be contacted thereby and provide a limit-stop to the movement of said finger member against its bias; and wherein the wall of said slot, opposite the extremity of the free end of the finger member, defines a line described by said extremity in its movement and spaced slightly from said extremity, whereby to retain and guide said gudgeon pin in its movement into and out of said pocket and to prevent said pin from passing around said extremity of said finger.

7. A hold-down bracket for shades, blinds and the like and adapted for engagement with a gudgeon pin on the said blind, said bracket comprising a body member having a guide slot therethrough of substantially J-shape and dimensioned to slidably receive a gudgeon pin transversely thereof, the end of the longer leg of said slot opening through an edge of the body member to admit said pin thereinto, the other end of said slot terminating within the body member and extending out of a straight line with and in the same general direction as its open end to form an anchoring pocket for receiving and retaining said pin therein against pull and stresses imposed on the curtain in opposition to the walls of said pocket,

a yieldable detent secured to said body member and normally biased to obstruct and close egress of said gudgeon, pin fromsaid pocket portion of said slot except against deliberate manual movement to traverse said pin from said pocket to said entrance opening, said detent having a portion thereof normally positioned relative to said slot between its open end and its said pocket to be engaged by said pin, while moving through said slot towardsaid pocket, to move said detent to open position,

and means for securing said bracket in position for cooperation with a gudgeon pin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,122,390 Heater Dec. 29, 1914 2,181,412 Wood Nov. 28, 1939 2,322,612 Wright June 22, 1943

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