US3894441A

US3894441A - Support for pulley holddown

Info

Publication number: US3894441A
Application number: US475386A
Authority: US
Inventors: Douglass R Falkenberg
Original assignee: Douglas Manufacturing Co Inc
Current assignee: Douglas Manufacturing Co Inc
Priority date: 1974-06-08
Filing date: 1974-06-08
Publication date: 1975-07-15
Anticipated expiration: 1992-07-15

Abstract

A support for a pulley holddown for traverse rods providing support for the foot of the holddown enabling the foot to be positioned further from the traverse rod to take up an increase in length of traverse rod cord. The support is adapted to be attached to the wall or molding and has a track with adjustable positions for securing the holddown foot and holddown varying distances from the traverse rod.

Description

United States Patent m1 [4 1 July 15, 1975 3,l5l,857 10/1964 Falkenberg .,267/7l Primary Examiner-Leonard H. Gerin Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Alan N. McCartney [57] ABSTRACT A support for a pulley holddown for traverse rods providing support for the foot of the holddown enabling the foot to be positioned further from the traverse rod to take up an increase in length of traverse rod cord. The support is adapted to be attached to the wall or molding and has a track with adjustable positions for securing the holddown foot and holddown varying distances from the traverse rod.

6 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures SUPPORT FOR PULLEY HOLDDOWN BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Holddowns for pulleys for the operating cords for traverse rods of adjustable drapes or curtains have been in use for some time. An illustration of such a holddown is shown in US. Pat. No. 3,l 12,103. These holddowns have a main support section adapted to be secured to a wall or molding and a spring-biased pulley arrangement co-operating with the main support to place the drapery cord, which passes about the pulley, under tension to retain the cord in proper operating position, and the drapery or curtain in its proper decorative position. Through continuous use of opening and closing the drapes or curtains by operation of the traverse rods, the cord will become increased in length. The arrangement. as illustrated in US. Pat. Nov 3.1 12,103, is designed to not only place the cord under tension, but also to take up any slack in the cord occurring due to cord wear. The cords themselves are normally made out of cotton and braided to normally re tain their desired length. Recently, however, due to the lack of materials of adequate quality of length retention, the cords normally used increase in length to a greater extent than they have in the past. Further. the weight and length of drapery material covering a window has increased, placing the cord under greater tension, causing the cord to increase in length beyond that normally compensated for by the conventional holddowns.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is the object of this invention to provide a wallmounted support for receiving and supporting the base or foot of a pulley holddown. The wall mounted support contains a track for receiving the base or foot of the holddown with a track providing a plurality of adjustable positions for receiving the base or foot to move the holddown further away from the traverse rod to compensate for an increase in length of the drapery cord.

Further improvements and innovations of this inven tion become apparent upon reading the accompanying specifications and drawings which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a pulley holddown and support bracket of this invention;

FIG. 2 illustrates a top plan view of the holddown and support bracket illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a prospective view of the wall-mounted support of this invention; and,

FIG. 6 is a modification of the wall-mounted Support bracket of this invention.

Attention is now directed to FIG. 1 of the drawings, which illustrates a pulley holddown 10 having a fixed body portion 12 retaining a pulley rod 14 carrying a pulley 16. The pulley rod I4 is spring-biased within the body 12 to place the drapery cord 17 retained on the pulley 16 in tension to retain the cord in a proper operative position. The pulley 16 is mounted within a support 18 carried on pulley rod 14 and is mounted on a spindle 20 for free rotation within pulley support 18. The pulley support 18 comprises a side member 22 integral with pulley rod 14 and a removable side portion 24 permitting access to the pulley for insertion of the drapery cord. The details of the holddown 10 thus described are generally of the type illustrated in US. Pat. No. 3,] l2.l03.

The lower end of body 12 of the holddown 10 contains a foot or base member 26 pivotally carried on body 12 by pin 28. The foot 26 has a hub 30 through which pivot pin 28 passes permitting free positioning of the foot 26. The foot 26 carries a base 32 containing openings 34 for receipt of attaching screws 36.

In the holddown thus far described, the foot 26, and specifically the base 32 of the foot, are adapted to be attached to a wall surface by screws (36) with a holddown in a position with its pulley rod fully extended to place the cord 17 under tension and to take up as much slack in the cord as permitted by the extension of the pulley rod. In this use of the holddown, only 2 inches to 4 inches of cord extension can be taken up. depending upon the length of the pulley rod. Additional extension of the drapery cord could thereafter only be taken up by removal of the screws 36 from the wall and re placement of the entire holddown unit further from the traverse rod, leaving openings in the wall surface that must be repaired.

The support 38 of this invention used in combination with the holddown permits further extension of the holddown away from the traverse rod to take up slack in the cord developed after the pulley rod of the holddown is no longer effective. As illustrated in the drawings, the support 38 is secured to the wall surface by screws 40 and contains an elongated body 42 containing a track 44. The track 44 is designed to match the surface of the base 32 of the foot 26 and is retained on the track 44 by the screws 36, being secured in openings 46 in the face of the track 44. As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 5, the track 44 can be provided with track slides 50 along each side of the track 44, which ride against the sides of the base 32 of foot 26 to provide lateral stability between the connection of the holddown and the support. Additionally. the track can be provided with a top portion 52 to retain the foot by cooperation with the top of the base 32 of the foot.

The modification illustrated in FIG. 6 also discloses a support 54 containing openings 56 to secure the support to a wall surface. The support 54 also contains a track for receipt of the base 32 of the foot 26 with openings 60 for receipt of securing means 36 to secure the foot to the support. In the modification of FIG. 6, the track 58 is only provided with sides 62 which cooperate with the base 32 to provide lateral stability to the connection between the holddown and the support.

In the use of the holddown and support combination thus described, the support is attached to the wall surface and the foot 26 of the holddown is inserted in the

track

44 or 58 of the support with the pulley rod in its fully extended position with the foot being placed in the track at the uppermost end of the track, as illustrated in the full-line position of FIG. 1. Thereafter, as the drapery cord normally increases in length through use. and the pulley rod of the holddown no longer takes up slack in the drapery cord, the foot 26 of the holddown can be removed from the support and the entire holddown moved further away from the traverse rod to a position shown in dotted lines in FIG. I; the holddown then being re-attached to the support. In this manner. the holddown can be moved further away from the tra verse rod, and the pulley rod of the holddown again ex tended, taking up slack in the drapery cord and again placing the cord under tension.

l Claim:

1. In combination with a pulley holddown for retaining the operating cord of a traverse rod which carries drapery material adjacent a window or wall opening;

a. a support adapted to be attached to a wall surface and co-operate with the pulley holddown to place the pulley holddown pre-determined distances from the traverse rod to properly position the operating cord; and,

b. the support comprising an elongated member having a track portion with a plurality of positions for receipt of the pulley holddown and placement of the pulley holddown varying distances from the traverse rod to maintain proper positioning of the operating cord.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein the support track has means to retain the pulley holddown in a laterally stable position to assure proper positioning of the operating cord.

3. A combination pulley holddown and wall-mounted support for retaining the operating cord of traverse rods under tension and therefore proper positioning of the operating cord comprising:

a. a pulley holddown having a fixed body portion carrying an extendable pulley rod and pulley retaining a traverse rod operating cord;

b. said pulley holddown body portion having a pivotally mounted foot having side and top portions;

c. a support adapted to be mounted to a wall surface;

d. said support having a track adapted to receive said pulley holddown foot; and,

e said support track having means adapted to coact with said pulley holddown foot to retain said foot in varying positions on said track and thus place said holddown varying distances from the traverse rod to maintain proper operative positioning of the traverse rod cord.

4. The combination pulley holddown and wallmounted support of claim 3 wherein said support track has means coacting with said pulley holddown foot to provide lateral stability to the pulley holddown.

5. The combination pulley holddown and wallmounted support of claim 4 wherein said lateral stability means comprises an upward extension along each side of said support track adapted to retain the side portions of said pulley holddown foot.

6. The combination pulley holddown and wall mounted support of claim 5 wherein said upward extension of said support track has inward extensions along the length thereof adapted to retain the top portion of said pulley holddown foot.

Claims

1. In combination with a pulley holddown for retaining the operating cord of a traverse rod which carries drapery material adjacent a window or wall opening; a. a support adapted to be attached to a wall surface and cooperate with the pulley holddown to place the pulley holddown pre-determined distaNces from the traverse rod to properly position the operating cord; and, b. the support comprising an elongated member having a track portion with a plurality of positions for receipt of the pulley holddown and placement of the pulley holddown varying distances from the traverse rod to maintain proper positioning of the operating cord.

3. A combination pulley holddown and wall-mounted support for retaining the operating cord of traverse rods under tension and therefore proper positioning of the operating cord comprising: a. a pulley holddown having a fixed body portion carrying an extendable pulley rod and pulley retaining a traverse rod operating cord; b. said pulley holddown body portion having a pivotally mounted foot having side and top portions; c. a support adapted to be mounted to a wall surface; d. said support having a track adapted to receive said pulley holddown foot; and, e. said support track having means adapted to coact with said pulley holddown foot to retain said foot in varying positions on said track and thus place said holddown varying distances from the traverse rod to maintain proper operative positioning of the traverse rod cord.

4. The combination pulley holddown and wall-mounted support of claim 3 wherein said support track has means coacting with said pulley holddown foot to provide lateral stability to the pulley holddown.

5. The combination pulley holddown and wall-mounted support of claim 4 wherein said lateral stability means comprises an upward extension along each side of said support track adapted to retain the side portions of said pulley holddown foot.

6. The combination pulley holddown and wall-mounted support of claim 5 wherein said upward extension of said support track has inward extensions along the length thereof adapted to retain the top portion of said pulley holddown foot.