US3347306A

US3347306A - Drapery rail apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3347306A
Application number: US500974A
Authority: US
Inventors: John J Potye
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1965-10-22
Filing date: 1965-10-22
Publication date: 1967-10-17
Anticipated expiration: 1984-10-17

Description

Oct. 17, 1967 J. J. POTYE DRAPERY RAIL APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l I INVENTOR JOHN J POTYE BY/fim, dam $0 ATTORNEY Oct. 17, 1967 J. J. POTYE DRAPERY RAIL APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 NW E V m M m J w NOD H W J h Y B ATTORNEY Oct. 17, 1967 J. J. POTY E 3,347,306

DRAPERY RAIL APPARATUS Filed Oct. 22, 1965 4 Shets-Sheet s I: v \&Q N

6] 7 G5 FIGIG 66 INVENTOR.

JOHN J POTYE BYh wn,B4- FIG. l7

ATTORNEY Oct. 17, 1967 J. J. POTYE DRAPERY RAIL APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Oct. 22, 1965 INVENTO R JOHN J. POTYE BY hm, fl I 717a ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofiice 3,347,386 Patented Oct. 17, 1967 3,347,306 DRAPERY RAH. APPARATUS John J. Potye, 1245 Marengo, Forest Park, Ill. 60130 Filed Oct. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 500,974 18 Claims. (Cl. 160-344) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Drapery rail apparatus characterized by upper and lower rails, each of which is formed with upper and lower curvilinear portions. Drapery supporting rings are snapfitted over slide rings which are positioned on each of the curvilinear rail portions. A pull cord is arranged to operate the drapes through both the upper and lower rails.

This invention is directed to new and useful improvements in the art of drapery suspension systems.

This application is a continuation-in-part of applica tion No. 281,192, filed May 17, 1963, now US. Patent 3,222,710, granted Dec. 14, 1965.

The major purposes of the present invention are to create a new, improved and simplified system for attaching, suspending, and operating panels of drapery fabric, to so form a system as to minimize pull cord entanglements in the system, to provide a system that maintains the draperies in a neat upright order, and to provide a drapery rail and pull cord assembly together with hanging means for drapery panels which are capable of simple and convenient assembly, these and other purposes of the invention being more apparent in the course of the ensuing specification and claims, when taken with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of drapery panels which may be utilized with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevation of drapery rail apparatus embodying the principles of the present invention, with certain parts being omitted for purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 3 is a plan or top view of the apparatus illustrated in FIGURE 2, while illustrating certain additional mounting facilities for the apparatus, the cover plate for the upper rail assembly and a cord-locking element attached to the cord;

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of a rail assembly with attached cord-locking elements as illustrated in FIG- URES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a front view of a slip ring element illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4;

FIGURE 6 is an end view of the element illustrated in FIGURE 5 FIGURE 7 is a top view of the element illustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6;

FIGURE 8 is a front view of a cord-locking element illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 9 is an end view of the figure illustrated in FIGURE 8;

of the cord-locking element of FIGURE 9 to a drapery pull cord and a drapery suspending member;

FIGURE 12 is a cross-sectional view of the cover for the cut-out medial portion of a rail assembly as it is being snapped in place on the assembly;

FIGURE 13 is an end view of a rail mounting bracket having a drapery rail assembled thereon;

FIGURE 14 is a front view of the assembled bracket and rail of FIGURE 13 and illustrating the relation of pull cords thereto, with certain portions being shown in section for purposes of clarity;

FIGURE 15 .is a top or plan view of the mounting bracket illustrated in FIGURES 13 and 14;

FIGURE 16 is a side view of a drapery suspending hook which may be utilized in accordance with the principles of the invention; and

FIGURE 17 is a side view of another form of drapery suspending hook which may be utilized with the principles of the persent invention.

FIGURE 18 is a perspective view of a modified form of drapery rail which incorporates the principles of the present invention;

FIGURE 19 is a perspective view of a supporting bracket which may be utilized with the rail embodiment of FIGURE 18;

FIGURE 20 is a sectional view of the assembled rail and supporting bracket of FIGURES 18 and 19; and

FIGURE 21 is a plan view of a portion of the assembly illustrated in FIGURE 20.

Like elements are designated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

With particular reference now to the drawings and in the first instance to FIGURE 1, 20 and 21 designate drapery panels which, in accordance with conventional drapery practice, have pleated portions 22 at the upper edges thereof, which pleated portions may extend throughout the entire length or height of the panels, if desired. As illustrated in the drawings, drapery suspending members 23 are fixed to each group of pleated portions at the upper margins thereof and at the lower margins thereof. In the form of drapery panels illustrated in FIGURE 1, both upper and lower portions of the panels are adapted to be held by drapery rail and operating apparatus as is illustrated in FIGURE 2. Certain of the suspending members 23 may be formed with recesses 23b which are adapted to engage slip rings in a manner to be pointed out more fully hereinafter. These members 23 include lower surfaces 230 which are adapted for abutting relation with drapery rails, all as is in accordance with the principles set forth in my copending application, Serial No. 271,387, filed in the United States: Patent Office on April 8, 1963, now U.S. Patent No. 3,223,148, issued December 14, 1965. Certain other suspending and hold ing members 23a may include vertically spaced pairs of recesses 23d for attachment to plural rails as is illustrated in FIGURE 2.

It should be understood that, while the panels illustrated in FIGURE 1 are particularly adapted for use with drapery rail apparatus having both mounting and operating rail assemblies for the upper and lower portions of the panels, the principles of the invention can also be applied to drapery systems wherein the draperies are suspended and operated from their upper marginal portions only.

The drapery panels, as illustrated in FIGURE 1, are adapted to be fixed to upper and lower rail assemblies generally designated at 24 and 25. These rail assemblies, as seen in FIGURE 2, are adapted to extend generally horizontally across the upper and lower portions of a window or opening which is to be spanned by the drapery panels. The upper and lower rail assemblies are each fixed to a supporting wall structure through use of

brackets

26 and 26a which are adapted to support the opposite ends of the rails and which are fixed to a supporting wall structure such as generally designated at 27.

Each of the upper and lower rail ascsemblies is preferably identically tormed and is illustrated in detail in FIG- URES 4 and 12. Each rail is preferably defined from relatively thin sheet material, such as sheet steel, which is formed to define upper and

lower rail portions

28 and 29,

respectively. These upper and

lower portions

28 and 29 are formed with curvilinear cross sections, as is seen in FIGURE 4, and are connected by a medial portion of the strip 38. The upper and

lower portions

28 and 29 are spaced outwardly from the middle portion 30 so that the curvilinear surfaces theerof face outwardly and toward the drapery panels to be suspended thereon. The

curvilinear portions

28 and 29 are formed as a major portion of a circle while leaving inwardly facing

slots

31 and 32 for a purpose which will appear hereinafter.

The

rail supporting brackets

26 and 26a are similarly formed with flange portions 33 which are adapted to be fixed to the supporting wall surface. These brackets, as is best seen in FIGURES 13, 14 and 15, include arm portions 34 which are adapted to extend generally perpendicularly from the wall portions. Upper and lower

tubular projections

35 and 36 are formed at the outer ends of the arm portions and are spaced in accordance with the spacing of the upper and

lower portions

28 and 29 of the rails. These upper and

lower projections

35 and 36 are adapted to snugly receive the ends of the

tubular portions

23 and 29 of the rails. Spaced flanges 37 are formed on the ends of the arm portions 34 in alignment with the openings through the

projections

35 and 36. These flanges 37 serve to support

pulleys

38 and 39 as is seen best in FIGURE 14. Thus, lengths of

drapery pull cords

40 and 41 may be passed over

pulleys

33 and 39 and through the

tubular portions

23 and 29 and through the supporting brackets therefor. The upper and

lower projections

35 and 36 may have ridgelike projections 42 at the outer ends'thereof for the purpose of providing confinement for the drapery suspending member at the end of the drapery panel positioned adjacent to the mounting brackets.

It should be understood that both the upper rail assembly 24 and the lower rail assembly 25, as seen in FIG- URE 2, may be fixed to and supported from the wall surface by brackets of the type illustrated in FIGURES 13, 14 and 15. A medial section of each of the upper and lower tube-

like portions

28 and 29 of the rail assemblies may be cut away as at 43 to allow exposure of the drapery draw cords at these points. Suitable covers, as are illustrated in FIGURES 3 and 12, may be provided to fit with the cut-out sections of the rails. For example, covers 44 may have medial portions adapted to overlie and fit against the medial portions of the rails with

curvilinear end portions

46 and 47 adapted for a snap fitting overlying engagement with the rails.

Each of the upper and

lower portions

28 and 29 is adapted to receive a plurality of slip rings 48. Slip rings 48 are defined as essentially tubular members as is best seen in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7. These tubular members are formed with inner diameters corresponding generally to the diameters of the

rail portions

28 and 29. Each is formed so as to define the major portion of a circle while leaving an outwardly divergent opening or recess 49. This opening or recess 49 is for the purpose of allowing the

curvilinear portions

28 and 25 to be passed therethrough so that the rings are positioned over the rails. The material of these rings is slightly resilient so as to allow expansion thereof to receive the rail por.'ions. Each of these rings 48 includes spaced

flanges

50 and 51 which are positioned on the outer surface thereof so as to confine the

drapery suspending members

23 or 23a therebetween.

A cord-locking ring is also slidably mounted on each of the upper and

lower rail portions

28 and 29. The cordlocking rings 52 are illustrated in detail in FIGURES 8, 9 and 10 and are formed in a fashion similar to the slide rings 48 of FIGURES 5, 6 and 7. Each cord-locking ring, for example, has the characteristic flanges or

projections

53 and 54 so as to receive the drapery suspending

mem bers

23 or 23a therebetween. Cord-locking rings also have the characteristic recess 55 so as to allow the rings to be passed over the

rings

28 and 29. The cord-locking rings are provided with arms 56 which extend inwardly from the outer wall of the ring at one side of the recess. These arms 56 extend generally inwardly with respect to the rings. Arms 56 terminate at their inner extremities in curvilinear portions 57 which extend about the general center of the ring 52. These portions 57 are adapted to receive the drapery pull cord 40 in a removable snapfitting engagement.

Other forms of suspending members for the drapery panels may be utilized with the rail assemblies. For example, a form of hook is illustrated in FIGURE 16. In FIGURE 16 the hook is defined by a single piece of Wirelike stock 58 which is bent into the configuration illustrated so as to provide a curvilinear portion 59 at one end of the wire and at the upper end of the hook. This curvilinear portion 59 terminated in a rearwardly facing opening 60. Curvilinear portion 59 defines a major portion of a circle while the opening 60 is large enough, with respect to the resiliency of the wire, as to allow the curvilinear portion to be expanded and snap-fitted over the upper rail portion 28. The wire 53 is bent forwardly from the lower portion of the curvilinear portion 59 and then bent downwardly to provide a more or less straight portion 61 which is generally aligned with the outermost surface 62 of the curvilinear portion 59. The wire is then bent upwardly along a line extending generally in parallelism with the straight portion 61 and terminates at its other end in a point 63 which may be positioned generally alongside the curvilinear portion 55. With the form of suspending member illustrated in FIGURE 16, the curvilinear portion 59 is snapped over the upper rail 28 while the straight portion is adapted to bear against the lower rail 29. Thus, with either the form of suspending member 23 or that form illustrated in FIGURE 16, the draperies are held upright in view of the fact that the drapery panels are engaged at upper and lower spaced points with the rail assemblies.

Another form of suspending member is illustrated in FIGURE 17. In FIGURE 17, for example, a hook 64 is bent to provide an upper curvilinear portion 65 similar to the curvilinear portion 59 in FIGURE 16'. Another curvilinear portion 66 is defined below at curvilinear portion 65 so as to engage the lower curvilinear section 29 of the rail. The other end of the hook terminates at a point at its upper end. The point may be formed at the end of a section 67 which extends in general parallelism to a line between the centers of the

curvilinear portions

65 and 66.

Curvilinear portions

65 and 66, as is the case with the curvilinear portions of the other suspending members, are each formed as an are which comprises a major portion of a circle so that the curvilinear portions may be snap-fitted over the rings for a removable engagement therewith.

The drapery suspending apparatus as herein illustrated and described is easily assembled and operated. The upper and lower rail sections may, if desired, be formed as adjustable telescoping sections as is more or less customary in drapery rails. After installation of brackets 26 and 2612 the rail 24-is easily mounted thereon simply by inserting the opposite ends of the rail within the

tubular projections

35 and 36. The upper and lower

pull cord sections

40 and 41 may be inserted in the rails and through the brackets either before or after mounting of the rails on the brackets. In this regard installation of the pull cords requires only that they be passed through the relatively small openings in the brackets because thereafter the cord is easily fitted into the upper and

lower rail sections

28 and 29 simply by passing the cord through the slotted openings at the rears of the rail sections. The cord may be initially inserted only through the openings in the

brackets

26 and 26a prior to installation of the rails. In this event the rails may be inserted into the brackets in such Wise that the cord is received through the slots leading to the interiors of the rails.

After assembly of the rails on the brackets, the slip rings 48 and cord-locking rings 52 are positioned over the rails. A single cord-locking ring is provided on each of the upper and

lower portions

28 and 29 of the rails while any number of slip rings 48 may be provided in accordance with desires and experience with the over-all width of the opening to be spanned by the drapes. Both the slip rings 48 and cord-locking rings 52 are simply snap-fitted over their mating

curvilinear portions

28 and 29. The cord-locking rings are positioned on the rails in such wise that they are closest to the centers of the rails. Prior to fitting the cord-locking rings 52 over the rails they are engaged with the cord. For example, the cord may be pulled outwardly from the cutaway portion of the rails 43, as is illustrated in FIGURE 3, and the cord fitted within the curvilinear portion 57 of these rings. The ring is then snap-fitted over the upper and lower rail portion with which it is associated and the cover 44 is then snap-fitted over the rail section. After assembly of the slip rings and cord-locking rings, the drapery panels are snap-fitted over the flanges of the several rings. The outermost ends of the drapery panels may have suspending members 23 which are snap-fitted over the

tubular projections

35 and 36 of the brackets in such wise that the suspending members are confined between the flange 42 and the flanges 37 of the brackets.

By using both upper and lower

curvilinear rail portions

28 and 29, the drapery is suspended not only on the upper rail 28 but the drapery may also bear against the lower rail 29, thereby preventing swinging movement of the drapery inwardly with respect to the opening spanned by the drapery panels. By using the engagement between both upper and

lower rail portions

28 and 29, the upper section of the panels is held neatly in a Vertical position, and swinging movement of the panels either inwardly or outwardly is thus minimized. Use of the upper and

lower rail sections

28 and 29 also provides separate channels for the upper and lower sections of the cords 40' and 41, respectively, thus minimizing entanglement of the cords with one another. Such entanglement of the pull cords is further minimized by the fact that the slip rings for the panels engage the outer portions of the rails. Thus, the only obstruction to the passage of the cord within the rails is the single arm 56 to which the cord is fixed. In some cases the frictional binding engagement of the cord within the curvilinear portion 57 is suificient to prevent slippage of the cord. In other cases slippage may be prevented altogether by providing small abutments, such as knots on the cord on opposite sides of the arms 57.

The principles of the invention may be utilized with upper and

lower rail assemblies

24 and 25 as illustrated in FIGURE 2 so as to positively fix both upper and lower marginal portions of the panels to the operating cord. In this event the upper cord length 40 is passed through the bracket 26, makes a U-turn for passage through the lower rail portion 29 of this rail assembly to define the cord 41. Cord 41 then passes through the lower rail portion 29 of the lower assembly, makes a U- turn through the bracket 26 for the lower rail assembly to define the cord length 40* passing through the upper rail portion 28 of the lower assembly. When so arranged,

-the left-hand panel is fixed to a cord-locking ring 52 on the upper rail portion 28 of the upper rail assembly 24 and a cord-locking ring 52 on the lower rail portion 29 of the lower rail assembly 25. The right-hand panel is fixed to a cord-locking ring 52 on the lower rail portion 29 of the upper rail assembly 24 and a cord-locking ring 52 on the upper portion 28 of the lower assembly 25. Thus, pulling downwardly on one or the other of

cords

40 and 41 will cause the drapes to move toward and away from the closed and open positions.

The principles of the invention may also be used with assemblies wherein only the upper portions of the drapes are suspended. In this event a single rail assembly 24 is provided for the upper portion of the opening to be spanned by the drapes. One panel is fixed to a cord-locking ring on the upper rail portion 28 while the other 6 panel is fixed to the cord-locking ring on the lower portion 29 of the rail assembly. Pulling downwardly on one or the other of the

cords

40 or 41 will cause the panels to move toward and away from the open and closed positions.

FIGURES 18 through 21, inclusive, illustrate the principles of the invention with different supporting means for the drapery rails. In FIGURE 18 an upper rail 124 is illustrated. It should be understood that in FIGURES 18 through 21, inclusive, the support for the rail may be used with both upper and lower rails in place of the upper and

lower rails

24 and 25 in FIGURE 2. In FIGURE 18 the rail 124 is adapted to be fixed to a wall or ceiling as by means of the bracket 126 illustrated in FIGURES 19 and 20. Rail 124 has upper and

lower rail portions

128 and 129 which are connected by a medial portion 130. The upper and

lower rail portions

128 and 129 are medial portion 130 are formed in the manner of the upper and lower rail portions and

medial portions

28, 29 and 30 in FIGURE 4 with the exception that the medial portion of the rail has upper and lower

rectilinear flanges

131 and 132 formed thereon. These

flanges

131 and 132 extend for the full length of the rail and are positioned in spaced relationship to the rearwardly facing openings of the upper and

lower rail portions

128 and 129. These mounting

flanges

131 and 132 are adapted to be received within slots 133' and 134' defined between a lower flange 133 and an upper flange 134 of leg 1260 of mounting bracket 126.

Mounting bracket 126 is formed as an angle so that one leg 126a thereof may be fixed to a ceiling as by means of screws passed through mounting holes 1261). The other leg 126c of the angle has the flange 133 formed integrally therewith at the bottom thereof so as to provide a slot for the reception of lower flange 132 as shown in FIG- URE 18. The upper flange 134 is adjustably mounted on the leg 126a as by means of a screw passed through an adjusting slot 126d as appears in FIGURE 19. The adjustability of the upper flange 134 enables a clamping engagement of the mounting

flanges

131 and 132 with the

flanges

133 and 134 in the manner illustrated in FIG- URE 20.

FIGURE 20 illustrates use of the same mounting bracket as FIGURE 19 with an additional wall mounting bracket 126e which is fixed to a wall. In this case the mounting bracket 126 is held in the desired location by fixing it to the wall mounting bracket 126:: as by means of screws or the like 126 The end brackets for each drapery rail are similar to the end brakets illustrated in FIGURES 13, 14 and 15 with the exception that these brackets are not supported on a wall or ceiling structure. These brackets have

tubular portions

135 and 136 which make a frictional fit with the upper and

lower portions

128 and 129. Each bracket may have spaced flanges 137 at the outer sides thereof which flanges carry

cord supporting rollers

138 and 139 for the cord 40 which is passed through the tubular upper and

lower portions

128 and 129.

Each of the tubular portions or

projections

135 and 136 may have ridge-like projections 142 at the railreceiving ends thereof for the purpose of providing confinement for the drapery suspending member at the end of the drapery rail portion adjacent to the roller-supporting brackets.

The rail structure illustrated in FIGURES 18 through 21, inclusive, may be made according to the principles set forth with respect to FIGURES 1 through 17 and arranged in a similar manner so as to receive cord-locking rings and slip rings for the purpose of holding drapery and allowing manipulation of the same. Also, the rails may include cutout portions in a fashion similar to that illustrated at 43 in FIGURES l and 2 for the same purpose and with the cutout portions provided with covers similar to that illustrated at 44 in FIGURE 12.

While the rail sections may be defined from sheet metal stampings, they may also be defined from plastic sections of the configuration illustrated and described herein. The

brackets

26 and 26a for the rails may be formed from plastic material or metallic materials. The slip rings and cord-locking rings may be defined from either molded plastic materials or relatively thin sheet metal materials having resilient characteristics such that they may be expanded resiliently to enable the snap-filling engagement with the rails. Whereas I have shown and described an operative form of the invention, it should be understood that this showing and description thereof should be taken in an illustrative or diagrammatic sense only. There are many modifications in and to the invention which will fall within the scope and spirit thereof and which will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The scope of the invention should be limited only by the scope of the hereinafter appended claims.

I claim:

1. A drapery rail including an elongated member having spaced upper and lower portions, said upper and lower portions being separated by a medial portion connected thereto, said upper and lower portions having curvilinearly-formed cross sections throughout substantially the entire length thereof, said upper and lower portions having curvilinear outwardly facing surfaces, spaced outwardly from said medial portion, said rail having portions between said surfaces and said medial portion to thereby space said upper and lower portions laterally from said medial portion.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said upper and lower portions are hollow.

3. The structure of claim '1 wherein said upper and lower portions are hollow and have elongated slots defined therein, said slots providing access to the hollow interiors thereof, said slots being formed to face laterally in the direction of said medial portion.

4. A drapery rail assembly including spaced brackets formed and adapted for mounting on a wall, each bracket including a supporting arm portion and upper and lower projections extending laterally from said arm portion, an elongated rail having spaced hollow upper and lower portions, said upper and lower rail portions having the ends thereof engaged with the upper and lower projections of said brackets, drapery supporting slip rings slidably mounted on each of said upper and lower rail portions, and a drapery pull cord passed through one of said brackets, through said hollow "upper portion of said rail, reversed through said other bracket and returned through said hollow lower portion of said rail, at least one slip ring on said lower portion being fixed to the length of cord in the portion on which the ring is mounted.

5. The structure of claim 4 wherein said projections have cylindrically-formed surfaces and said rail portions are cylindrically formed for a sliding supporting engagement with said projections.

6. The structure of claim 4 wherein said upper and lower rail portions have openings formed medially thereof so as to allow access to the cord in said portions, and cover means are removably fitted over said openings.

7. A drapery support assembly including an upper rail formed and adapted to span the top of a wall area and a lower rail formed and adapted to extend across the bottom of the wall area, spaced brackets formed and adapted to support each of said rails away from said wall area, each rail being comprised of hollow upper and lower portions, drapery supporting slip rings slidably mounted on said upper and lower portions of each of said rails and a drapery pull cord passed through the hollow portions of said rails, said cord extending out of the upper portion of each rail into the lower portion of the same rail at one end of the rails and out of corresponding portions of the upper rail into corresponding portions of the lower rail at the other end of rails, at least one slip ring on each rail being fixed to the length of cord in the rail portion on which the ring is mounted.

8. The structure of claim 7 in which the hollow upper and lower portions of each rail are essentially circular in cross section and are spaced outwardly from said mounting wall.

9. The structure of claim 7 in which the hollow upper and lower portions of each rail are separated by a medial portion connected thereto.

10. The structure of claim 7 wherein said upper and lower portions of each of said rails have openings formed medially thereof so as to allow access to the cord in said portions, and cover means are removably fitted over said openings.

11. A drapery rail assembly including spaced brackets formed and adapted for mounting on a wall an elongated rail extending between the brackets and supported thereby, each bracket including a supporting arm portion, cord receiving and supporting means, and upper and lower hollow projections extending laterally therefrom, each projection having open ends with curvilinearly-formed interior walls, each projection having an opening formed and adapted to face said mounting wall and extending from the exterior into the interior of the projection, said elongated rail having spaced upper and lower portions separated by a medial portion connected thereto, said upper and lower portions having curvilinearly formed cross sections at the ends thereof, said upper and lower portions defining rail surfaces, said surfaces being spaced outwardly from said medial portion, said upper and lower portions being formed and adapted to receive and carry slidable drapery support means, the upper and lower end portions of said rail being insertable through the opening in a corresponding projection of a bracket to be slidably received by the projection.

12. The structure of claim 11 wherein the upper and lower portions of the rail are hollow and the cord receiving and supporting means of the brackets are aligned with the interiors of the rail portions.

13. The structure of claim 12 wherein the upper and lower portions of the rail have elongated slots defined therein, said slots providing access to the hollow interiors thereof.

14. A drapery rail assembly including spaced brackets formed and adapted for mounting on a wall and an elongated rail extending between the brackets and supported thereby, each bracket including a supporting arm portion, cord receiving and supporting means and a hollow projection extending laterally therefrom, said projection having open ends with curvilinearly formed interior walls, said projection having an opening adapted to face said mounting wall and extending from the exterior to the interior of the projection, said elongated rail formed and adapted to receive and carry slidable drapery support means, the rail having end portions of curvilinearly formed cross section which are insertable through said wall facing openings in said projections to be slidably received by the projections.

15. Drapery rail assembly including a rail comprised of hollow upper and lower elongated portions, means for supporting said rail on a building structure, a bracket mounted on said means at each end of said rail and having upper and lower portions engaged with the ends of said upper end and lower portions of said rail, drapery supporting slip rings slidably mounted on each of said upper and lower portions and a drapery pull cord passed through one of said brackets, through said hollow upper portion of said rail reversed through the other bracket and returned through said hollow lower portion of said rail, at least one slip ring on one rail portion bieng fixed to the length of cord in the portion on which the ring is mounted.

'16. The structure of claim 15 wherein said supporting means is formed as an extension of said bracket.

17. The structure of claim 15 wherein each bracket includes a flange clamped to the medial portion of said rail.

18. The structure of claim 15 wherein a second simi- 9 larly formed rail is adapted to be supported on said building structure in vertically spaced relation to said first rail and said cord is passed through the hollow portions of each of said rails, each of said rails having drapery supporting slip rings slidably mounted on the upper and lower portions thereof.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,493,057 5/1924 Van Patten 16-87.2

Kurtz 211-1052 Dover et a1 211-105.2 Rosenbaum 160347 Potye 160348 Potye 1687.2

ROY D. FRAZIER, Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

W. D. LOULAN, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,347,306 October 17, 1967 John J. Potye It is hereby certified that error appears in the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 8, line 14, for "wall an" read wall and an line 61, for "portions" read projections line 62, strike out "end"; same column 8, line 68, for "bieng" read being Signed and sealed this 12th day of November 1968.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD J. BRENNER Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Commissioner of Patents Attesting Officer

Claims

4. A DRAPERY RAIL ASSEMBLY INCLUDING SPACED BRACKETS FORMED AND ADAPTED FOR MOUNTING ON A WALL, EACH BRACKET INCLUDING A SUPPORTING ARM PORTION AND UPPER AND LOWER PROJECTIONS EXTENDING LATERALLY FROM SAID ARM PORTION, AN ELONGATED RAIL HAVING SPACED HOLLOW UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS, SAID UPPER AND LOWER RAIL PORTIONS HAVING THE ENDS THEREOF ENGAGED WITH THE UPPER AND LOWER PROJECTOINS OF SAID BRACKETS, DRAPERY SUPPORTING SLIP RINGS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON EACH OF SAID UPPER AND LOWER RAILS PORTIONS, AND A DRAPERY PULL CORD PASSED THROUGH ONE OF SAID BRACKETS, THROUGH SAID HOLLOW UPPER PORTION OF SAID RAIL, REVERSED THROUGH SAID OTHER BRACKET AND RETURNED THROUGH SAID HOLLOW LOWER PORTION OF SAID RAIL, AT LEAST ONE SLIP RING ON SAID LOWER PORTION BEING FIXED TO THE LENGTH OF CORD IN THE PORTION ON WHICH THE RINGS IS MOUNTED.