US3399713A

US3399713A - Drapery hanger

Info

Publication number: US3399713A
Application number: US560283A
Authority: US
Inventors: Reginald D Wilson
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1966-06-24
Filing date: 1966-06-24
Publication date: 1968-09-03
Anticipated expiration: 1985-09-03

Description

R. D. wlLsoN 3,399,713

DRAPERY HANGER Sept.3,1968

Filed June 24, 1966 INVENTOR. f6/,mm h//Z 5M BY l ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent O Ff'ice 3,399,713 DRAPERY HANGER Reginald D. Wilson, 5025 Baltimore National Pike, Baltimore, Md. 21229 Filed June 24, 1966, Ser. No. 560,283 7 Claims. (Cl. 160-348) ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A curtain structure is provided having pleat formers at the .upper and lower ends mounted on a support from the uppermost pleat former.

The curtain structure of the invention comprises pleat formers at the upper and lower ends thereof characterized by a plurality of nestable hinged plates having a concave side and a convex side. The mounting means of the invention comprises a trackway, a plurality of supports movably mounted on the trackway and a continuous fabric support characterized by a plurality of nestable hinged plates having a concave side and a convex side.

The instant invention relates to supports or hangers for curtains or draperies, and more particularly to a hanger which acts to create artistic folds or pleats in the curtain regardless of whether the curtain is fully extended to close the window or whether it is drawn to one side thereof.

It is a primary object of the instant invention to provide a curtain structure in which an articulated strap is received by the curtain at both the upper and lower ends thereof forming a series of artistically shaped folds.

Another object of the instant invention is to provide a curtain support including an articulated strap secured to the upper end of the curtain and connected to a series of movable supports for carrying the curtain in a predetermined path, the articulated strap insuring the formation of artistic folds throughout the extent of movement of the curtain.

A further object of the instant invention is to provide an articulated strap for Iuse as a fold forming device for curtains, drapes and the like, comprised of a series of concavo-convex sections hingeably secured to adjacent substantially identical sections for relative pivotal movement from an expanded condition havin-g a sinusoidal configuration to a nested position in which each of the sections is substantially received by the next adjacent section.

A still further object of the instant invention is to provide an articulatable strap of the character described, which, when it is in a partially expanded position, forms a substantially W-shaped structure having curved legs to produce artistically shaped folds in a curtain.

Other objects and advantages of the instant invention reside in the combinations of elements, `arrangements of parts, and features of construction and operation, all as will be pointed out more fully hereinafter and disclosed in the accompanying drawing wherein there is shown a preferred embodiment of this inventive concept.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a curtain suspended from a wall by the curtain hanger of the instant invention, the lower right portion of the curtain being broken away to illustrate one of the articulatable straps;

FIGURE 2 is a partial front elevational view of the curtain hanger of the instant invention illustrating the trackway, the movable supports, the drawstring for the movable supports and the curtain supporting plates;

FIGURE 3 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the curtain hanger of FIGURE 2 taken substantially along line 3 3 thereof as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

3,399,733 Patented Sept. 3, 1968 FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the curtain supporting plates of the curtain hanger illustrated in FIG- URES 2 and 3;

FIGURE 5 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the curtain supporting plates of FIGURE 4 taken substantially along line 5-5 thereof as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of the drawstring connected to each of the movable supports shown in FIG- URE 2;

FIGURE 7 is a vertical enlarged cross-sectional view of the curtain `and support therefor shown in FIGURE l, taken substantially along line 7-7 thereof as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

FIGURE 8 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the hanger of FIGURE 2 taken substantially along line 8-8 thereof `as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows illustrating the concave-convex nature of the curtain supporting plates.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, wherein like reference characters designate like elements throughout the several views thereof, the curtain assembly of the instant invention is shown generally at 10 having as its major components a trackway designated generally at 12, a plurality of movable supports illustrated generally at 14 mounted for movement in trackway 12, a drawstring shown generally at 16 for moving supports 14 through trackway 12, and an articulatable strap designated generally at 18 supporting a curtain or drapery segment illustrated generally at 20. As will be explained more fully hereinafter, strap 18 acts to form a plurality of folds 22 extending throughout at least a portion of curtain 20. Drawstring 16 may be manipulated in a conventional -manner to separate movable supports 14 thereby drawing curtain 20 over an adjacent window.

Trackway 12 is comprised of a C-shaped bar 24 secured by suitable brackets (not shown) to a Wall immediately to the left of the device shown in FIGURE 3. Bar 24 forms ya longitudinal slot 26 providing access to the interior of trackway 12 in which is positioned a slidable or rollable member 28 secured by a post 30 to the main body portion 32 of movable support 14. It will be readily apparent that each of supports 14 is supported by bar 24 and is movable along the longitudinal dimension of trackway 12.

As shown best in FIGURE 3, the lower end of support 14 is diagonally angled to extend substantially beneath member 28 and post 30. The end of each movable support forms an opening 34 receiving one end of an S-shaped hook 36 therethrough, the other end of which supports articulated strap 18 as will be more fully explained hereinafter.

Drawstring 16 includes a strip of material 38, preferably a long-wearing fabric, forming a plurality of slots 40 each of which receives ibody 32 of movable support 14 adjacent the angled end thereof. Since each of movable supports 14 is interconnected by `drawstring 16, it will be seen that curtain 20 may be pulled over the area desired to be covered in a conventional manner.

Articulated strap 18 is comprised of `a plurality of Curtain supporting plates 42 each of which forms an aperture 44 at the mid-point thereof adjacent the upper edge of strap 18 as may be seen in FIGURES 4, 5 and 7. The pivotal or articulated connection between each plate 42 and the next adjacent plate is provided by a fabric cover 46 extending between each plate 42 and the next adjacent plate. As illustrated in FIGURE 4, this fabric covering is substantially continuous along the entire extent of strap 18 and forms openings 48 coaxial with apertures 44 in plate 42 to receive the lower end of S-shaped hook 36. It is preferred that cover 46 be adhesively backed to facilitate the attachment thereof to plates 42.

A particularly important feature of articulated strap 18 is shown best in FIGURE 8 where each segment, composed of plate 42 and its associated covering 46, is concavo-convex and having a radius of curvature substantially equal to each adjacent segment. It will be apparent that the segments of strap 18 will be substantially nested together when supports 14 are drawn close together. When supports 14 are spaced apart at their maximum distance, the segments of strap 18 form a series of flattened W-shaped structures similar to that shown in FIGURE 8. If strap 18 lwere to 'be stretched out its entire length, it would form a sinusoidal curve having a rather small amplitude.

Another important feature of the device of the instant invention is that slots 40 in drawstring 16 are spaced substantially closer together than apertures 44 in plates 42. It will tbe seen that this structural feature insures the provision of permanent folds 22 even when drawstring 16 is taut and extended to its full length. Another measure of this same feature is that the expanded length of strap 18 is considerably greater than that of drawstring 16.

It has been found that the concavo-convex nature of plates 42 readily enhances the artistic effect of folds 22 when compared with the folds produced by straight sections or ogee sections.

Referring now to FIGURE 7, articulated strap 18 is received in a pocket 50 of curtain 20 formed by layers 52, 54 thereof being stitched as at 56 and 58. Layer 54 forms an opening 60 coaxial with

openings

44, 46 to receive the lower end of hook 36 to support strap 18 in curtain 20. If preferred, the terminal end of hook 36 may reside between layer 52 and strap 18, although layer S2 may be apertured coaxial with opening 60 with hook 36 being received completely through the upper portion of curtain 20.

Another important feature of the instant invention resides in the use of an identical articulated strap positioned in a hem at the lower edge of curtain 20 formed by a stitching line 62 as shown in FIGURE 1. In the positioning of strap 1S at the lower edge of curtain 20, care should be taken to determine that the strip is inserted such that the concavity of lowermost strap '18 is identical with the concavity of uppermost strap 18 to insure the formation of the desired folds. For example, the concavity of plates 42 in FIGURE 8 is to the right and the concavity of the lower articulated strap should also be to the right.

It will be readily apparent that uppermost strap 18 maintains the folds adjacent the upper edge of curtain 20 while the lowermost strap insures the continuation of the folds.

It is now seen that there is herein provided an improved curtain support which accomplishes all of the objects and advantages of the instant invention and others, including many advantages of great practical utility and commercial importance.

Since many embodiments may be made of the instant inventive concept, and since many modifications may be made in the embodiment hereinfbefore shown and `described, it is to be understood that the foregoing is to be interpreted merely as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. A curtain structure comprising:

a sheet of fabric material forming substantially parallel pockets at the upper and lower ends thereof;

an articulated strap in the upper pocket forming folds Cit 4 y in the material extending substantially perpendicularly between the pockets;

means connected to the upper strap for engagement with a trackway for supporting the curtain thereon; and

an articulated strap in the lower pocket;

the upper and lower articulated straps each comprising a plurality of plates each having one convex side and one concave side, the convex side of each plate being substantially nestable with the concave side of the next adjacent plate; and

means hingedly connecting each plate to the next adjacent plate for expansion into a sinusoidal structure and for collapse into the nested structure.

2. The curtain structure of claim 1 wherein the plates of the upper and lower straps are substantially equal in length for producing folds of uniform dimensions.

31. The curtain structure of claim 2 wherein the plates of the upper and lower straps are faced in the same direction.

4. Mounting means for fabric curtains, draperies and the like comprising:

a trackway adapted to be secured to a support;

a plurality of supports mounted on the trackway for movement therealong; and

a continuous support for a fabric including a plurality of substantially rigid plates having a convex side and a concave side, the convex side being substantially nestable with the concave side of the next adjacent plate, each of the plates lbeing carried by at least one of the movable supports, the length of the plates determining the spacing between the folds in the fabric and the height of the plates being less than the length thereof; and

lmeans hingedly connecting each plate to the next adjacent plate for expansion into a sinusoidal structure and for collapse into the nested structure.

5. The hanger of claim 4 wherein the plates are at least partially covered with fabric material extending from each plate to the next adjacent plate, the fabric is adhesively secured to each plate, the fabric interconnection between the plates constituting the connecting means.

6. The hanger of claim 5 further including means interconnecting each of the supports for expanding and collapsing the plates.

7. The hanger of claim 6 wherein the distance between the successive movable supports is substantially less than the length of the articulated strap between the successive supports.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 359,896 3/1887 Shinn et al. 160-348 X 661,608 11/1900 Holtzclaw 160-3418 X 2,474,552 6/1949 Steinmeyer 160-348 2,754,901 7/1956 Madsen 160-84 2,802,522 8/ 1957 Collet 160-84 2,891,612 6/1959 Johnson et al 160-84 2,911,037 11/1959 Wilson 160-229 X 3,090,431 5/ 1963 Stubblefield 160--348 X 3,196,931 7/1965 Toti 160-183 3,312,273 4/ 1967 Adam et al. 160-84 X DAVID I. WILLIAMOWSKY, Primary Examiner.

P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner,