WO1991002135A1

WO1991002135A1 - Supporting bracket and headrail for a window blind

Info

Publication number: WO1991002135A1
Application number: PCT/US1990/004179
Authority: WO
Inventors: John M. Dubeau; Anthony Torti; Paul E. Comeau
Original assignee: Kenney Manufacturing Company
Priority date: 1989-08-02
Filing date: 1990-07-25
Publication date: 1991-02-21
Also published as: CN1051121A; AU6292190A

Abstract

This invention relates to a headrail (10) and mounting bracket (20) for retractable window blinds. The bracket (20) has a top plate (25) and a rear plate (26) extending downwardly from the top plate (25). A hook (29) near one end of the top plate (25) engages with a lip (12) on a front wall (15) of the headrail (10). Means are provided to ensure that the hook (29) is securely and tightly engaged with the lip (12). A latch (22) associated with the rear plate (26) engages with the rear edge of the bottom wall (16) of the headrail (10) to secure the headrail (10) in the bracket (20). An end plate (30) may also be provided on the bracket (20).

Description

SUPPORTING BRACKET AND HEADRAIL FOR A WINDOW BLIND

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present headrails for retractable window blinds are generally U-shaped channels which are mounted in a window opening by attachment either to the face of the window frame, by an end mount to the inner walls of the window casing, or by an overhead mount to the upper wall of the casing or the ceiling adjacent to the window. In order to mount the head- rail in any one of these three ways, cup-shaped brackets have been generally provided which fit onto either end of the headrail. These brackets gener¬ ally have screw holes in them positioned for each of the three mounting configurations and are adapted also to fit around the headrail to support it from below -rd co prevent it from tilting.

Among the drawbacks of such conventional aeadrails and brackets are that the brackets present an unattractive enlarged portion at each end of the headrail and, in cases where the headrail is mounted on the face of the window frame, the ends of the brackets present a view of unsightly screw holes. In addition, the draw cords and slat adjusting mechanisms employed for such headrail _s are brought out at .an angle to the front of the headrail through the front face thereof. As a result, an extra valance strip must be attached along the front face of the headrail to present a smooth and clean appear¬ ance for the face of the headrail. This has required both additional material costs and the requirement of carrying extra inventory. One means of overcom- ing these deficiencies is disclosed in commonly-assigned, co-pending U.S. patent application Serial No. 07/170,936 filed on March 21, 1988.

It would be desirable to provide a sup¬ porting bracket and headrail for retractable window blinds in which the brackets are adapted for mount¬ ing in any one of the three conventional positions and which, at the same time, avoid presenting to view enlarged end brackets or screw holes.

It would also be desirable to provide a supporting bracket and headrail which provide a smooth, substantially uninterrupted surface for the face and ends of the headrail and thereby avoid the need for a valance strip providing a reduction of materials and inventory requirements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a supporting bracket and headrail for retractable window blinds in which the brackets are adapted for mounting in any one of the three conven- tional positions, and which, at the same time, avoid presenting to view enlarged end brackets or screw holes.

It is another object of the invention to provide a supporting bracket and headrail which pro- vide a smooth, substantially uninterrupted surface for the face and ends of the headrail.

In accordance with this invention, there is provided a bracket having a top plate and a rear plate extending downwardly from one end of the top plate. A hook means associated with the top plate engages a lip on the front wall of the headrail. Means for urging the hook into engagement with the lip is also provided. A latch means associated with the rear plate engages with the rear edge of the bottom wall of the headrail. The hook and latch means ensure that the headrail is releasably locked into position in the bracket without interfering with the mounting of the bracket to a surface. This structure avoids presenting unsightly bracket sur¬ faces and screw holes to view, and allows draw cords and slat adjusting mechanisms to be brought out through the bottom surface of the headrail at the position of the bracket. An end plate may also be provided on the bracket.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in con¬ junction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts through- out, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view of the headrail and bracket combination of the invention mounted on a window frame and supporting a Venetian blind; FIG. 2 is an end elevation view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of one embodi¬ ment of the headrail and bracket combination of the invention with the bracket mounted on a window frame and the headrail disengaged from the bracket;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation view of another embodiment of the headrail and bracket combination of the invention; and

FIG. 5 is an end elevation view of yet another embodiment of the headrail and bracket com¬ bination of the invention. DETAI ED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

^' The headrail 10 has a generally U-shaped configuration with a front wall 15, a bottom wall 16 and a rear wall 17. Front wall 15 has a rearwardly extending lip 12 adjacent to the upper surface thereof. The rear edge of bottom wall 16 may be provided with a downwardly extending ledge 19. Headrail 10 is preferably fabricated as a unitary extrusion of high resistance polyvinyl chloride, but other materials, such as cold rolled steel, are also suitable.

One or more brackets 20 may be used in conjunction with headrail 10 for mounting to a window opening and for supporting a covering, such as vene- tian blinds, for the window. Bracket 20 of this invention is adapted to support one or the other end of headrail 10 as well as any length of headrail 10. Bracket 20 comprises a top plate 25 having a front edge and a rear edge, and a rear plate 26 extending downwardly from the rear edge of top plate 25. An end plate (not shown) may also be provided on either side of bracket 20 depending upon which end of headrail 10 bracket 20 will support. Alter¬ natively, no end plate may be used if bracket 20 is used to support headrail 10 along its interior length, or in a installation where no end plate is needed at the end of the headrail. The end plate may be con¬ nected to rear plate 26 or top plate 25. Preferably, the end plate is connected to rear plate 26. The connection between the end plate and rear plate 26 has a relatively narrow cross-section as compared to the cross-section of rear plate 26 or is otherwise weakened to facilitate the removal of the end plate from rear plate 26. Bracket 20 is preferably made of frangible material, such as ABS ( crylonitrile butadiene" styrene), when it is desired to allow for the removal of the end plate. Alternatively, bracket 20 may be made of a stiff but flexible material such as polypropylene to allow the end plate to be bent out of sight or for mounting to a surface at an angle. Top plate 25 is provided with a hook means 29 adjacent to its front edge. Hook means 29 is adapted to engage lip 12 of front wall 15. Means for urging hook means 29 into tight and secure engagement with lip 12 is provided.

In one embodiment of this invention, leg means 28 extends downwardly from hook means 29 and against bottom wall 16 when headrail 10 is mounted in bracket 20. Leg means 28 urges top plate 25 up¬ wardly and ensures that hook means 29 is pushed into tight and secure engagement with lip 12. Leg means 28 may extend downwardly from anywhere along top plate 25 and be forced against headrail 10, prefer¬ ably bottom wall 16, thereby urging top plate 25 upwardly when headrail 10 is mounted in bracket 20 to ensure that hook means 29 is in tight and secure engagement with lip 12.

Alternatively, a raised edge on the top of rear wall 17 or a tab extending downwardly from top plate 25 so as to contact the top of rear wall 17 when headrail 10 is mounted in bracket 20 may be used to ensure tight and secure engagement between hook means 29 and lip 12. See Fig. 4. A raised edge on the top of front wall 15 or a tab extending downwardly from top plate 25 so as to contact the top of front wall 15 may also be used to ensure tight and secure engagement between hook means 29 and lip 12. The raised edge or tab ensures that top plate 25 is urged upwardly so that hook means 29 is pushed into tight and secure engagement with lip 12. Of course, this same effect may be achieved by extending rear wall 17 up sufficiently to ensure that when top plate 25 is placed on top of rear wall 17, hook means 29 is urged upwardly into engagement with lip 12.

In yet another embodiment, top plate 25 can rest on top of front wall 15 and rear wall 17 with lip 12 and hook means 29 properly dimensioned so that lip 12 fits tightly in hook means 29. See FIG 5. This embodiment also ensures that hook means 29 is in tight and secure engagement with lip 12. In each of these embodiments, the lower interior surface of hook means 29 preferably extends about 20° above the horizontal. This angle facili¬ tates the insertion of lip 12 into hook means 29 while simultaneously preventing easy removal of lip 12 from hook means 29. The forward, exterior surface of hook means 29 should also preferably inter¬ sect with the lower, interior surface at an angle of about 55°. This angle will ensure that the forward, exterior surface of hook means 29 does not interfere with front wall 15 of headrail 10 during insertion or removal.

Bracket 20 is also provided with a latch means 22. Latch means 22 may extend down from top plate 25 but is preferably associated with rear plate 26. Latch means 22 engages with the rear edge of bottom wall 16. When headrail 10 is rotated into bracket 20, hook means 29 is pushed into engagement with lip 12 and latch means 22 is pushed into engage¬ ment with the rear edge of bottom wall 16. Headrail 10 is locked into bracket 20 in this position. Head- rail 10 will remain in the locked position until latch means 22 is released out of engagement with the rear edge of bottom wall 16.

Preferably latch means 22 engages a ledge 19 extending along the rear surface of bottom wall 16. Ledge 19 thus interlocks with latch means 22 when headrail 10 is rotated into bracket 20. When ledge 19 is used, latch means 22 is preferably connected to rear plate 26 only along the upper portion of latch means 22 and is offset inwardly from the inner sur¬ face of rear plate 26. This configuration allows latch means 22 to rotate slightly facilitating the insertion and removal of headrail 10. Also, the lower interior surface of latch means 22 preferably extends at an angle above the horizontal to ensure that ledge 19 is locked in place. Alternatively, instead of using rear ledge 19, rear wall 17 may be configured to inter¬ lock with latch means 22 when headrail 10 is rotated into bracket 20.

Headrail 10 is supported on bracket 20 solely by hook means 29 and latch means 22. The end plate does not contribute to the support. Thus the end plate can be removed and the remaining components of bracket 20 can be used as a center support in cases where headrail 10 has a long main body portion. Each of the top, rear and end plates is provided with holes 40 to allow bracket 20 to be screwed, nailed or otherwise attached to a window opening. See Fig. 3.

In order to provide a smooth and decora- tively pleasing appearance for the end of headrail 10 when it is mounted on the face of the window frame or to an overhead surface, end caps 30 may be provided. End caps 30 are dimensioned to fit into an open end of headrail 10. In addition, front wall 15 may be given a rounded, beveled or other decora¬ tive contour. Furthermore, the pull cords for the blind and the slat adjusting element can be installed either in bottom wall 16 entirely or with only a small interruption of the continuous surface of front wall 15 along the lower forward edge of bottom wall 16. Thus it is seen that a headrail and bracket combination is provided which performs all of the necessary functions of a headrail and at the same time presents a sufficiently clean, smooth and uninterrupted surface to obviate the necessity for the application of a valance strip. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention can be practiced by other than the described embodi¬ ments, which are presented for purposes of illustra- tion and not of limitation, and the present inven¬ tion is limited only by the claims which follow.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A headrail and mounting bracket com¬ bination, comprising: a generally U-shaped member having a front wall, a bottom wall having a front edge and a rear edge, and a rear wall; said rear wall extending upwardly from said rear edge of said bottom wall; said front wall extending upwardly from said front edge of said bottom wall and having a lip portion extending toward said^" rear wall; bracket means for supporting said generally U-shaped member having a top plate and a rear plate connected to said top plate; hook means associated with said top plate for engagement with said lip portion of said front wall; means for urging said hook means into secure engagement with said lip portion; and latch means associated with said bracket means for engagement with said generally U-shaped member.

2. The headrail and mounting bracket combination of claim 1 wherein said means for urging said hook means into secure engagement with said lip portion is a leg means extending downwardly from said top plate against said headrail when said head- rail is mounted in said bracket.

3. The headrail and mounting bracket combination of claim 2 wherein said leg means extends downwardly from said hook means.

4. The headrail and mounting bracket of claim 2 wherein said leg means extends downwardly to said bottom wall when said headrail is mounted in said bracket for urging said hook means into engagement with said lip.

5. The headrail and mounting bracket of claim 4 wherein said leg means extends downwardly from said hook means.

6. The headrail and mounting bracket combination of claim 1 wherein said means for urging said hook means upwardly into secure engagement with said lip portion is a raised edge on top of said rear wall.

7. The headrail and mounting bracket combination of claim 1 wherein said means for urging said hook means upwardly into secure engagement with said lip portion is a raised edge on top of said front wall.

8. The headrail and mounting bracket combination of claim 1 wherein said means for urging said hook means upwardly into secure engagement with said lip portion is a tab extending downwardly from said top plate to engage said rear wall when said headrail is mounted in said bracket.

_* The headrail and mounting bracket of claim 1 wherein said means for urging said hook means upwardly into secure engagement with said lip portion is a tab extending downwardly from said top plate to engage said front wall when said headrail is mounted in said bracket.