US3234997A

US3234997A - Structural device

Info

Publication number: US3234997A
Application number: US300541A
Authority: US
Inventors: James A Ford
Original assignee: Kirsch Co
Current assignee: Cooper Industries LLC
Priority date: 1963-08-07
Filing date: 1963-08-07
Publication date: 1966-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 1983-02-15

Description

Feb. 15, 1966 J FORD 3,234,997

STRUCTURAL DEVICE Filed Aug. '7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. JAMES A. FORD ATTOR ME YJ Feb. 15, 1966 FORD 3,234,997

S TRUG TURAL DEVI CE Filed Aug. '7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W PRIOR mar INVENTOR. JV/W65 14'. F090 United States Patent 3,234,997 STRUCTURAL DEVICE James A. Ford, Sturgis, Mich, assignor to Kirsch Company, Sturgis, Mich, a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 300,541 6 Claims. (Cl. 160345) This invention relates to a traverse rod construction and particularly to a traverse rod having several novel features by which said traverse rod has a better appearance, holds draperies in a more attractive position and provides savings in manufacturing costs over traverse rods previously known to the industry.

Traverse rods for supporting draperies have been known for upwards of thirty years and improvements in such traverse rods have been made from time to time during this period. Several of the previously known traverse rods have been reasonably acceptable and have met with a great deal of commercial success. However, in a constant effort to improve traverse rods, a great deal of further investigatory work has been carried out and a number of points have been discovered at which traverse rods can be substantially improved. Particularly, the rounded, somewhat C-shaped, appearance of prior rods was believed necessary to provide a smooth contour but a rod of such design has been relatively expensive to make. On the other hand, if a design could be found which incorporated sharp bends and which would still have an acceptable over-all appearance, it would provide much better control in the roll forming operation and, therefore, it would be a less costly product to make. Further, present traverse rod designs have usually been of such a shape that a drapery heading which extends to a point in front of or above the rod nearly always is forced to include outwardly, particularly where the drapery is bulky. This has been tolerated in most cases as being inevitable. However, a much improved product would be obtained if the rod could permit such headings to stand upright, particularly if the design permitting the headings to stand upright also requires the less expensive manufacturing techniques as above mentioned.

Accordingly, the objects of the invention include:

(1) To provide a traverse rod, which has a more attractive appearance, which holds the heading of a drapery supported by said rod in a more nearly vertical position, which is less costly to manufacture and, in general, which provides a rod improved in many respects over previously known traverse rods.

(2) To provide a traverse rod, as aforesaid, which is of a molded appearance having a plurality of line-generating angles by which the length and the cleanness of design thereof is accentuated.

(3) To provide a traverse rod, as aforesaid, which is of such shape that drapery headings can stand more nearly upright than in previously known designs, without the use of additional hooks, guides, fastenings or other special equipment.

(4) To provide a traverse rod, as aforesaid, which will be less costly to manufacture than previously known traverse rods but which will have an attractive appearance and a sturdy construction.

(5) To provide a traverse rod, as aforesaid, particularly of the oneway draw type, having novel pulley means at the single pulley end thereof, which pulley means will 3,234,997 Patented Feb. 15, 1966 ice be economical to manufacture, capable of rapid installation and entirely satisfactory in operation.

Other objects and purposes of the invention will become apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an oblique, fragmentary view of a traverse rod structure embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is an oblique, partially broken away and exploded, view of a pulley structure adaptable to the single pulley end of a one-way draw traverse rod according to the invention.

FIGURE 3 is a rear view of the pulley structure of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is an elevational view taken from the rightward end of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is an elevational view taken from the leftward end of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary, rear elevational view of the double pulley end of a one-way draw traverse rod, the same being equally illustrative of either end of a twoway draw traverse rod according to the invention.

FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary, rear elevational view of the single pulley end of a oneway draw traverse rod in which the pulley structure of FIGURE 2 has been utilized.

FIGURE 8 is an elevational view of a conventional traverse rod showing in broken lines the position of the drapery heading and the supporting hook therefor.

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 showing the draperies in a partially open position.

FIGURE 10 is a view like FIGURE 8 but showing the traverse rod embodying the invention and the position of the drapery and hook thereon.

FIGURE 11 is a view like FIGURE 9 but showing the traverse rod embodying the invention with the draperies in a partially open position.

In the following description, certain terminology will be used for illustrative purposes and it will be understood that this terminology is chosen solely for illustrative purposes and with no limited significance. For example, the terms upper and lower will refer to the device in its normal position of use which is also the position shown in the respective drawings. The terms forward and rearwar will refer to directions toward and away from the center of the room in or with respect to which the traverse rod is being used. Thus, the term forwardly means toward the observer (leftwatdly in FIGURE 1) and rearward means away from the observer (rightwardly in FIGURE 1). The terms inward and outward will refer to directions toward and away from the geometric center of the device. Said terminology wi l also include derivatives of the words above specifically mentioned as well as other words of similar import.

In meeting the objects and purposes above set forth, I have provided a traverse rod 1 of novel configuration as shown in the drawings. The rod 1 is in a broad sense C-shaped in that it is of a generally closed configuration and is provided with a slot 2 along its back side for reception of the drapery supporting slides. The rod ll, however, has immediately below said slot 2 a vertical planar portion 3 of small vertical extent and a slightly outwardly and downwardly angled planar portion 4 extending downwardly therefrom. The bottom wall 6 of said rod is substantially planar and is joined at a sharp edge 7 with an upwardly and outwardly angled planar portion 8 of the front wall of the rod 1. The upper edge of said planar portion 8 is joined at 9 with an inwardly and upwardly angled planar portion 11. The upper edge of portion 11 joins at 12 to an upwardly and outwardly angled planar portion 13. A substantially planar top wall 14 extends rearwardly from the upper edge 16 of the portion 13 and is reversely bent at 17 to provide a flange 18 which is joined with a downwardly extending vertical portion 21. The vertical portion 21 and the vertical portion 3 are coplanar and their opposing edges define the slot 2.

The top wall 14 and the bottom wall 6 may, if desired, each be provided with longtitudinally extending grooves 19 and 19a.

The planar portion 8 is positioned at an angle of approximately to degrees with respect to the vertical, that is, with respect to the portions 3 and 21 for purposes appearing further hereinafter. The edges 7 and 16 are set rearwardly slightly from and with respect to the edge 9 for purposes also appearing further hereinafter and, preferably, edge 7 is set rearwardly with respect to the edge 16. The planar portion 8 is preferably positioned in such a manner that an extension downwardly of the plane defining said portion will intersect, or at least come close to, the point at which the drapery hooks H are supported by the sliders S, namely, the point 20.

A pair of end fittings are secured to the ends of the rod 1 for mounting same upon a wall. Where the traverse rod is intended for two-way draw operation two pulley supporting end fittings are used which are mirror images of each other so that the pull cords can be reversed from one end of the rod to the other. One such pulley supporting end fitting 26 is shown in FIGURES 1 and 6 and it has a projecting portion 27 closely embracing suflicient of the traverse rod 1 to assure a solid connection therewith when same are telescoped together. Said end fitting 26 has a top panel 28 and a forward depending skirt 29. The top panel 28 is notched at its outer end for reception of a mounting bracket 32. Said end fitting has

pulleys

34 and 36 mounted therein by a plate 37 in a manner already conventional.

Where the traverse rod is intended for one-way draw operation, a pulley supporting end fitting 26 is used at one end of the rod and a different end fitting 38 is used at the other end. The end fitting 38 corresponds to the end fitting 26 except that it does not have pulleys or a pulley supporting plate mounted thereon. The pulley associated with the end fitting 38 is provided by mechanism to be described hereinbelow.

The rod 1 may be supported at longitudinally spaced points by a wall-mounted bracket 41 which may be any of many types, such as the one shown and described in detail in my application Serial No. 169,794. However, as shown in FIGURE 1 for illustrative purposes, the mounting bracket 41 has a flange 42 attachable to a wall and a forwardly extending top portion 43. The top portion 43 preferably is provided with means for adjusting same toward and away from the wall upon which the flange 42 is mounted. A bracket hook 44 is provided at the end of said top portion for engaging the wall portion 13. A seating or snugging plate 46 is mounted on the bracket 41 for engaging the traverse rod under the flange 18 and holding same solidly against the hook 44.

Turning now to the pulley mounting for the single pulley end of the one-way draw form of traverse rod, attention is directed to FIGURESZ-S.

The pulley mounting 51 is comprised of a pulley housing 52 and a mounting extension 53 which may advantageously be formed, as by plastic molding, in a single integral unit with a shoulder 55 being provided at the juncture thereof. The mounting extension 53 is shaped to fit snugly within the traverse rod 1 with the shoulder 55 abutting against the end of said rod. The mounting extension 53 may, if desired, have projections 54 for engaging strike-outs 56 in the top and bottom walls of the rod 1 for holding said pulley mounting extension 53 firmly in place. The front, top and bottom surfaces of the pulley housing 52 may, as shown, be of the same cross-sectional size and shape as the corresponding parts of the traverse rod 1. The rear wall 57 of the pulley housing 52 extends vertically and is offset rearwardly from the rear wall portions 3 and 21 of the rod 1.

A pair of laterally aligned internal slots 58 and 59 are provided on opposite vertical internal surfaces of the pulley housing 52. Slot 58 is provided in a boss 61 on the rear wall 57 of housing 52. Slot 59 is provided in the thickened portion of the front wall of housing 52. The slots 58 and 59 are blind channels ending at and 62, respectively. The pulley 63, may, if desired, be solid with axially projecting hubs or it may preferably, as in the illustrated embodiment, comprise a rotatable peripherally grooved exterior 64 mounted on and for rotation with respect to a relatively non-rotatable hub structure 65 having a pair of forwardly and rearwardly projecting stub shafts 67 and 68. Said projecting stub shafts 67 and 68 are positioned within the slots 58 and 59 and abut against the ends 60 and 62 thereof. There is a tight fit between the stub shafts and the slots 58 and 59 so that said stub shafts are held in position by friction and by the tension on the cord received around the exterior 64 of the pulley.

Operation To assemble the traverse rod 1 of the present invention as a two-way draw rod, two pulley supporting end fittings 26, which are mirror images, are fastened to the opposite ends of the traverse rod by telescoping their fastening portions 27 over the respective ends of the traverse rod, and then clamping same to said rod. The draw cord is mounted on the pulleys and attached to the master slides in conventional fashion. In assembling a one-Way draw rod, the drapery supporting slides and master slide are inserted from the end of the rod to be occupied by the single pulley, the cords are threaded therethrough and affixed to the master slide in the usual manner and then looped around the single pulley 63 prior to its insertion into the pulley housing 52. When said pulley is so inserted, the cords may be tightened and the pulley thereby seated solidly against the ends 60 and 62 of the slots 58 and 59. Thus, the assembly of said pulley 63 into position and its assembly with the draw cord of the traverse rod is extremely rapid. This greatly reduces the cost of assembling this portion of the traverse rod and thereby correspondingly reduces the cost of the final product.

Insofar as the operation of the draw cord, and its cooperation with the pulleys, is concerned, this is the same as in prior art constructions and, hence, needs no detailing.

The action of the cross-sectional shape of the traverse rod of the present invention in permitting the drapery to stand more nearly upright than in conventional traverse rod constructions is best illustrated by reference first to FIGURES 8 and 9 which illustrate the corresponding action of the present conventional designs. Referring to FIGURE 8, there is shown a drapery rod R of one present conventional and widely used design. The broken lines represent the drapery heading D in the closed condition of the draperies and a supporting hanger H therefor and it will be seen that said drapery heading angles forwardly as shown. This cannot be cured by extending the carrier forwardly inasmuch as this is already as far forward of the track as possible. In typical installations the heading D lies at an angle of about 8 degrees with respect to the vertical. FIGURE 9 shows the same construction when the draperies are opened. Here the drapery begins to wad together and roll into the face of the track. This not only moves the drapery heading still farther forwardly as shown (to an angle of about 15 degrees with respect to the vertical in a typical installation) but, worse, it draws the pendant of the slider S somewhat forward thus twisting the slider in the track so that the slider no longer slides smoothly. Because of the increased packing action of the draperies as same are opened, this action becomes more severe as the drapery is made wider and, thus, still further increases the resistance to opening thereof.

Turning now to FIGURES and 11 showing a rod,

made according to the invention, attention is directed first to FIGURE 10 which corresponds to FIGURE 8 and which shows the heading D of the drapery in a vertical position. The setback of the edge 16 with respect to the edge 9 permits the drapery heading D to stand upright and even with the slider S in place, the drapery will still stand upright. Further, with the projection of the edge 9 forwardly of the upper edge 16, there is no tendency for the drapery, and especially match-stick-type draperies, to catch on the bracket 41 as the drapery moves along the traverse rod and accordingly the smooth action of same is promoted.

As the draperies open and tend to pack as above mentioned, such is at least in part accommodated by the downwardly and rearwardly angling portion 8 as shown in FIGURE 11 so that the forward tilting thereof is much less than with the present conventional rods and is usually about 10 degrees. Thus, the appearance is not only enhanced but the forward angling of the sliders S and consequent binding thereof against the track is greatly re duced whereby a much longer track may be used without exceeding an acceptable requirement for traversing force.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been described above in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

l. A traverse rod for supporting flexible draperies comprising the combination:

an elongated, hollow traverse rod having a longitudinally extending, lateral slot in the rear wall thereof, said rod having a substantially planar front wall lower portion inclined upwardly and forwardly and a second, rearwardly and upwardly inclined portion above said lower portion whereby draperies supported upon said rod will be substantially fiat against said lower portion when said draperies are in a packed-back condition and can extend vertically adjacent the forwardmost point on the rod when the draperies are in a closed condition; and a third, upwardly and forwardly inclined portion extending upwardly from the upper end of said second portion, the forwardmost part of said third portion terminating rearwardly of the forwardmost part of both said lower and said second portions, whereby a rod supporting bracket may engage the forwardmost part of said third portion without projecting beyond the forwardmost part of said first and second portion.

2. In a traverse rod of generally C-shaped cross section for supporting flexible draperies and having a longitudinal slot in the rear side thereof with slidable hangers mounted in said slot and extending downwardly with respect to said track, the improvement in the crosssectional shape of said traverse rod comprising:

a substantially planar and horizontally oriented bottom wall;

a first front wall portion extending upwardly and inclined forwardly from the forward end of said bottom wall;

a second front wall portion extending upwardly and inclined rearwardly from the upper edge of said first portion;

a third front wall portion extending upwardly and inclined forwardly from the upper edge of said second portion, the upper edge of said third portion being positioned rearwardly from the upper edge of said first portion;

a substantially planar top Wall extending rearwardly and horizontally from the upper edge of said third portion, said top wall being substantially parallel with said bottom wall; and

wall means extending downwardly from the rearward edge of said top wall and upwardly from the rearward edge of said bottom wall toward each other for defining a slot for supporting said hangers.

3. In a traverse rod of generally C-shaped cross section for supporting flexible draperies and having a longitudinal slot in the rear side thereof with slidable hangers mounted in said slot and extending downwardly with respect to said track, the improvement comprising:

a pulley mounting having a mounting portion telescoped within said traverse rod and a hollow pulley housing rigidly afiixed with respect to said mounting portion and extending longitudinally away from said traverse rod, said pulley housing being open at the end thereof remote from said traverse rod, said pulley housing having a pair of parallel slots extending thereinto from the open end thereof, the lengthwise axes of said slots being parallel with the longitudinal axis of said traverse rod; and

a pulley received within said pulley housing and having hubs projecting into said slots.

4. The traverse rod defined in claim 3 wherein the central opening in said pulley housing has substantially parallel side walls, said slots being formed in said side walls, and wherein the exterior contour of the pulley housing is substantially similar to that of said traverse rod.

5. In a traverse rod of generally C-shaped cross section for supporting flexible draperies and having a longitudinal slot in one wall thereof with slideable hangers mounted in said slot and extending downwardly with respect to said track, the improvement comprising:

a pulley mounting having a mounting portion telescoped with respect to said traverse rod and a hollow pulley housing rigidly affixed with respect to said mounting portion and extending longitudinally away from said traverse rod, said pulley housing being open at the end thereof remote from said traverse rod, said pulley housing having a pair of parallel slots extending thereinto from the open end thereof, the lengthwise axes of said slots being parallel with the longitudinal axis of said traverse rod; and

6. A traverse rod construction, comprising:

a hollow, elongated traverse rod having a planar back wall, a front wall and substantially planar top and bottom walls which are parallel with each other, said back wall having two vertically spaced substantially vertically extending wall portions defining a longitudinally extending lateral slot, said front wall having an upwardly and outwardly inclined planar lower wall portion extending from the front edge of said bottom wall, an upwardly and inwardly inclined intermediate planar wall portion extending from the upper edge of said lower portion and an upwardly and outwardly inclined planar upper wall portion extending from the upper edge of said intermediate portion, said upper wall portion being joined with the forward edge of said top wall, said forward edge of said top wall being rearwardly offset from the upper edge of said lower wall portion, and a central opening within said rod similar in cross-sectional shape to the external cross-sectional shape thereof;

a pulley mounting mounted on one end of said rod, said pulley mounting having a mounting extension slidably received within the central opening of said traverse rod and having a hollow pulley housing extending longitudinally from said mounting exten sion and extending away from said traverse rod, the end of the central opening in said pulley housing remote from said mounting extension being open, said pulley housing having an external crosssectional shape similar to the cross-sectional shape of said central opening and the opposite vertical internal surfaces of said pulley housing having a pair of laterally aligned, blind end slots extending through the open end of the central opening thereof, the lengthwise axes of said slots being parallel with the longitudinal axis of said traverse rod; and

pulley received within the central opening of said pulley housing and having stub shafts projecting into References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Boye 160346 Bell 160345 McMurray 1694 Cameron 160345 Bell et a1. 16-94 Graber et al. 1694 said slots and abutting against the blind ends thereof. 10 HARRISON MOSELEY, Primary Emmi-"ch

Claims

6. A TRAVERSE ROD CONSTRUCTION, COMPRISING: A HOLLOW, ELONGATED TRAVERSE ROD HAVING A PLANAR BACK WALL, A FRONT WALL AND SUBSTANTIALLY PLANAR TOP AND BOTTOM WALLS WHICH ARE PARALLEL WITH EACH OTHER SAID BACK WALL HAVING TWO VERTICALLY SPACED SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY EXTENDING WALL PORTIONS DEFINING A LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING LATERAL SLOT, SAID FRONT WALL HAVING AN UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED PLANAR LOWER WALL PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE FRONT EDGE OF SAID BOTTOM WALL, AN UPWARDLY AND INWARDLY INCLINED INTERMEDIATE PLANAR WALL PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID LOWER PORTION AND AN UPWARDLY AND OUTWARDLY INCLINED PLANAR UPPER WALL PORTION EXTENDING FROM THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID INTERMEDIATE PORTION, SAID UPPER WALL PORTION BEING JOINED WITH THE FORWARD EDGE OF SAID TOP WALL, SAID FORWARD EDGE TO SAID TOP WALL BEING REARWARDLY OFFSET FROM THE UPPER EDGE OF SAID LOWER WALL PORTION, AND A CENTRAL OPENING WITHIN SAID ROD SIMILAR IN CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE TO THE EXTERNAL CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE THEREOF; A PULLEY MOUNTING MOUNTED ON ONE END OF SAID ROD SAID PULLEY MOUNTING HAVING A MOUNTING EXTENSION SLIDABLY RECEIVED WITHIN THE CENTRAL OPENING OF SAID TRAVERSE ROD AND HAVING A HOLLOW PULLEY HOUSING EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY FROM SAID MOUNTING EXTENSION AND EXTENDING AWAY FROM SAID TRAVERSE ROD, THE END OF THE CENTRAL OPENING IN SAID PULLEY HOUSING REMOTE FROM SAID MOUNTING EXTENSION BEING OPEN, SAID PULLEY HOUSING HAVING AN EXTERNAL CROSSSECTIONAL SHAPE SIMILAR TO THE CROSS-SECTIONAL SHAPE OF SAID CENTRAL OPENING AND THE OPPOSITE VERTICAL INTERNAL SURFACES OF SAID PULLEY HOUSING HAVING A PAIR OF LATERALLY ALIGNED, BLIND END SLOTS EXTENDING THROUGH THE OPEN END OF THE CENTRAL OPENING THEREOF, THE LENGTHWISE AXES OF SAID SLOTS BEING PARALLEL WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF SAID TRAVERSE ROD; AND A PULLEY RECEIVED WITHIN THE CENTRAL OPENING OF SAID PULLEY HOUSING AND HAVING STUB SHAFTS PROJECTING INTO SAID SLOTS AND ABUTTING AGAINST THE BLIND ENDS THEREOF.