US3516113A - Projecting rail - Google Patents

Description

w. HACHTEL 3,516,113

PROJECTING RAIL Filed March 8, 1968 June 23, 1970 INVENTOR BY W HACHTEL MiG/um United States Patent 3,516,113 PROJECTING RAIL Wilhelm Hachtel, 6994 Niederstetten, Germany Filed Mar. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 711,700 Claims priority, applicfitigrzi 2Gsezrmany, Mar. 25, 1967,

Int. Cl. A4711 1/04, 15/00 US. C]. 16-94 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention relates to a projecting rail having on its frontface a guide groove with a rear wall formed by the rail body, a bottom, and a front wall.

Projecting rails have the advantage that curtains or the like can be suspended in their guide groove in such a manner that the top edge of the curtain or the like also covers the front face of the rail when the curtain is drawn. For this purpose, depending on the height of the projecting rail, the curtains or the like are fastened just below their top edge to gliders or runner rings, which are guided in the guide groove.

A disadvantage of known projecting rails is that they are of a special type which have to be manufactured specifically a projecting rails. This results in expense in stock-keeping, manufacture, the production of tools and the like. In addition, it is practically impossible for available curtain rails to be converted into projecting rails.

The aim of the invention is to provide a construction which avoids the abovementioned disadvantages.

According to the invention these objects are achieved by the rail body being formed by part of a per se known curtain rail, which on its front face i provided with guiding and/or connecting ledges, and a supplementary bar forming at least the front 'wall of the guide groove being attachable to one of the guiding and/or connecting ledges. In this manner it is possible for existing types of curtain rails to be used as originally intended as a base for a unit construction system and also to be used immediately or subsequently as projecting rails. Such supplementary bars are able to give a novel appearance to known curtain rails, particularly when their bottom portion projects below the curtain rail and/ or has a determined color.

It is advantageous for the supplementary bar to be attachable to a lower guiding and/or connecting ledge and optionally to be securable to the rail body by a material joint in the region of its attachment. A groove which is open at the top, and in which gliders or the like can easily be located, is thus formed in its customary position. In addition, the upper guiding and/or connecting ledge, which in any case is usually present, can then prevent the runners or the like from jumping upwardly out of the guide groove.

It is advantageous for the attachment to be in addition a locking connection. The supplementary bar can thereby be still better attached to the curtain rail, so that it can withstand greater loads. Here again it is naturally possible for the material joint to be made with the aid of adhesive, or solvents or the like applied thereto.

It is advantageous for the locking connection to comprise an approximately U-shaped profile on the rear side of the supplementary bar. The supplementary bar may then be made entirely plain at the front and the connection position to the curtain rail will remain invisible. In

Patented June 23, 1970 addition, a U-shaped profile is particularly suitable for clipping around the guiding and/or connecting ledges.

It is convenient to provide on the locking connection, preferably on the profile, a relatively large surface which is situated relatively far from the locking region and which bears against the body of the rail. When large forces occur, for example resulting from a curtain, the eifect can thereby be achieved that the forces which attempt to disconnect the curtain rail and the supplementary bar are reduced.

According to a further development of the invention, provision is made for one arm of the U-profile to engage by a flat surface beneath the ledge and optionally also beneath the body of the rail and for the other arm of the U-profile to have at its free end a thickened portion engaging in a groove. A connection of this type can withstand all forces occurring in practice.

Similarly, in the case of internal connecting ledges, the other arm of the U-profile may have at its free end a thickened portion engaging in another groove and a surface contacting the front face of the curtain rail.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a projecting rail which is not manufactured specifically as a projecting rail.

Another object of this invention is to convert a curtain rail into a projecting rail.

A further object of this invention is to give a novel appearance to known curtain rails.

These and other advantages, objects and features will be seen from the following description of two exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-section through a curtain rail together with a supplementary bar forming a projecting rail.

FIG. 2 is a similar section of the second exemplary embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 1, a curtain rail 10 with a body 11 has a top connecting ledge 12 and a bottom connecting ledge 14, both of which have grooves 16 and 18 respectively. In addition, they have lips 20 and 22 respectively. A supplementary bar 24 is by its approximately U-shaped profile fitted by a locking connection on the bottom connecting ledge 14. One arm 26 of the U-shaped profile has a flat surface 28 which is relatively large and which engages beneath the connecting ledge 14 and part of the body 11.

The other arm 30 of the U-profile has at its free end a thickened portion 32 which engages in the groove 18. The connection just described may also be made into a material connection by coating the regions of the joint with an adhesive or solvent before they are fitted together.

As can be seen from FIG. 1, the locking region is relatively far from the surface 28. Thus the active forces which attempt to disconnect the locking connection are reduced.

In the embodiment given as an example the top portion 34 of the supplementary bar 24 forms the front wall of a guide groove 36, while the front face 38 of the body 11 forms the rear wall of the groove. The bottom of the groove is formed by the arm 30, while the lip 20 can prevent a runner or the like introduced into the guide groove 36 from jumping out of the latter.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, the connecting ledges 12 and 14 of the FIG. 1 embodiment are replaced by differently shaped connecting ledges 40 and 42. The connecting ledges 12, 14 on the one hand and the connecting ledges 40, 42 on the other hand normally serve to connect curtains together by a shape-determined connection and/or by a material connection, the connecting ledges 40, 42 engaging in the grooves 16, 18.

In the second embodiment there is once again engaged 'once'again' has aJU-profile, the'bottoin'arm 44 ofwhi'ch" engages in a groove 46 and'also has a cooperating surface 48 which is adapted to bear against the front face 50 and thus takes forces which attempt to turn the supplementary bar 24 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 2, that is to say about a fulcrum lying approximately on the connecting ledge 42.

Although this invention has been described With reference to specific embodiments it should be understood that various modifications and changes may be made by one'skilled in the art without departing from'the spirit or teachings of this invention.

I claim: a

1. A curtain'rail of the kind having an upwardly opening guide groove on its front face for curtain runners, comprising a rail body providedwith a ledge project'- ing forwardly from its front face and a supplementary bar forming at least the front wall of the guide groove attached to said ledge, said supplementary bar'having a pair of spaced ribs for'engaging about said ledge.

2. A rail according to claim 1, wherein the supplementary bar is fitted to a lower guide ledge on the rail body.

3. A rail according to claim 1, wherein the supplementary bar is attached to said ledge through an interlocking connection.

4. A rail according to claim 3, wherein the interlocking connection is through clipping engagement of said pair of spaced ribs to said ledge.

5. A rail according to claim 1, wherein a surface is provided on the supplementary bar, which surface bears against the rail body to resist disconnection of the supplementary bar by downward forces on it.

6. A rail according to claim 1, wherein the ledge On said rail body has a groove thereon and is aligned with the lower edge of the rail body, wherein one of said ribs 4 has a flat surface which engages the underside of said ledge and the other rib has at its'fr'ee e'n'da; thickened portion engaging in said groove.

7. A rail according to claim 6, wherein said one rib extends beneath the rail body.: I

8. A rail according to claim 1, wherein said ledge has grooves on both its upper and lower side' and-is spaced from the lower'edge of said rail body, wherein both of said ribs have at their'free ends thickenedportio'ns -'engaging in respective grooves on the upper and lower sides of said ledge and the lower of the ribs has a surface mating with the front face of the rail body.

9. A curtain rail of the kind having an upwardly opening guide groove on itsfront face for, curtain runners, comprising a rail body which is one'of a pair of interconnecting curtain rail bodies which are designed to engage each other by corresponding pairs of interengaging ledges, and a supplementarybar which 'exten'd's along a substantial portion of the length'of said rail body to provide at' least the front wall of said guide groove and is attached at its rear side to one of'the ledges on said rail body.

10. A curtain rail according to claim- 9, wherein said supplementary bar has a pair of spaced ribs on its rear side for interlocking attachment with said ledge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1961 Young 16+ 96X CASMIR A. NUNBERG, Primary Examiner Us. 01. X..R.

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