WO1999047032A1

WO1999047032A1 - Two-part clip

Info

Publication number: WO1999047032A1
Application number: PCT/AU1999/000160
Authority: WO
Inventors: Brian Chester
Original assignee: Trychest Pty. Ltd.
Priority date: 1998-03-19
Filing date: 1999-03-16
Publication date: 1999-09-23
Also published as: AUPP243898A0

Abstract

A curtain (30) is suspended beneath an inverted channel rail by a plastics clip (1) having two interconnected parts (2, 3). The upper part (2) of the clip has outwardly divergent flexible portions shaped at their upper ends to engage the sides of the channel (5) and to slide along it. The lower part (3) of the clip has two legs (18) which respectively engage opposite faces of the curtain (30) which is formed with vertically spaced holes (22) to receive respective studs (21) formed on one of the legs (3) and shaped to positively locate in recesses in the other leg. The curtain is able to pass smoothly around bends in the channel (5) by the provision of a swivel joint (4) connecting the two parts (2, 3) together, the swivel joint providing a vertical axis of rotation between the two parts (2, 3) of the clip (1).

Description

TWO-PART CLIP

Field of the Invention

THIS INVENTION relates to a plastics clip attachable at its upper end in a track and having its lower end adapted to suspend a sheet or curtain. A set of such clips can be fitted to the track at their upper ends and can be used to suspend the upper end of a curtain or sheet of material which is required to be moved between a folded condition beneath one end of the track and a horizontally-extended condition at which the sheet or curtain is extended horizontally beneath the track.

State of the Art Australian Patent No. 650,372 (hereafter referred to as "the Parent Patent") covers an invention of clip for serving the above purpose. The clip described in the Parent Patent can be cheaply manufactured and can be inserted from beneath into a slot defining an entry to the track. The clip is made in one piece by a plastics moulding technique, and is formed with springy, upwardly-extending arms which can be flexed towards a common vertical plane to allow bulbous portions of the arms to enter the slot leading into the track. The bulbous portions of the arms revert to their former positions at which they diverge upwardly from the plane, when they have passed upwardly through the slot, to provide sliders which engage sliding surfaces flanking upper sides of the slot. Such a design of clip has the advantage that it does not have to be inserted into the track from one end. It may also be removed from the track by pulling it forcibly downwards.

Whereas the clip of the Parent Patent can be mass-produced cheaply and is ideally suited to attaching the upper end of a curtain to a linear track from which it is suspended, it has been found that the curtain will sometimes form unattractive vertical folds or creases if it is required to follow a sharp bend in the track. This detracts from the "clean" appearance of the curtain.

Object of the Invention An object of this invention is to provide an improved suspension clip.

The Invention

In accordance with a broadest aspect of this invention a curtain suspension clip has an upper portion for fitting to a support track, a lower portion for supporting the upper marginal edge of the curtain, and a load-supporting swivel joint interconnecting the upper and lower portions and allowing the lower portion to turn about a vertical axis with respect to the upper portion.

In accordance with a narrower aspect of this invention, a clip for suspending the upper end of a curtain or sheet of material from a curtain track, has an upper portion formed with a flattened neck portion movable in its own plane during movement of the clip along the track, divergent spaced arms extending upwardly beside one another from the neck portion of the clip and which can be manually flexed into the plane of the neck portion to allow upper portions of the arms to enter and pass upwardly through the slot of the track without the arms obstructing one another, lateral bulges formed at the upper portions of the arms and projecting respectively in opposite directions to provide sliders for engaging sliding surfaces at opposite sides of the upper end of the slot entry to the track, ramp surfaces provided above and beneath the bulges for flexing the arms towards the plane of the neck portion when the upper portion of the clip is forced vertically through the slot to engage or disengage the clip from the track; a lower portion of the clip provided with means for attaching it to the upper end of a curtain or sheet of material which is to be suspended from the track by the clip, and a swivel joint connecting the upper and lower portions of the clip and having a vertical swivel axis to allow the clip lower portion to turn about the axis with respect to the upper portion.

Preferred features of the Invention

The two portions of the clip are preferably made from a plastics material which is stiffly resilient to allow the swivel joint to be assembled by snap fitting a stud, formed on one clip portion, into a bore formed in the other clip portion. Preferably the stud is formed on the upper portion of the clip and the bore is formed on the lower portion of the clip.

Advantage pf the invention

A curtain suspended from a track by clips of the invention has the advantage that the upper ends of the clips can move smoothly around sharp curves in the track without the rotational twists provided to the upper end of the clips during its movement around a sharp bend, being transferred to the curtain or strip suspended beneath.

Introduction to the Drawings

The invention will now be described in more detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

In the Drawings

FIGURE 1 is a side view of a clip suspended from a track shown in broken outline and along which the clip is slidable; FIGURE 2 is an end view of figure 1 ;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of an upper portion of the clip;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are respectively views from opposite sides of figure 3;

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view of a lower portion of the clip of figure 1 showing legs of the clip splayed apart; and,

FIGURE 7 is a plan view of the figure 6.

Description of Preferred Embodiment

Figure 1 shows a clip 1 having an upper portion 2 and a lower portion 3 connected to the upper portion by a swivel joint 4. The upper portion 2 of the clip is suspended from a track 5, shown in broken outline, so that an intermediate part 6 of the upper portion projects down through a slot 7 extending along the underside of the track 5.

As shown in figures 3, 4 and 5 the upper portion 2 of the clip 1 is formed with three, spaced, upwardly-divergent arms 8 having respective outwardly-bulging portions 10 towards their upper ends and their lower portions merging into a flattened neck 1 2. The upper portion 2 is made of stiffly resilient plastics material which is sufficiently flexible for the insertion of the arms upwardly through the slot 7 of the track. The bulging portions 10 provide ramp surfaces which engage the opposite sides of the slot during upward and downward movement of the clip through the slot 7, and flex their respective arms towards the vertical plane of the neck so as to allow the upward movement of the upper portion of the clip through the slot 7. Once the bulging portions 10 have passed through the slot 7 in either direction, the natural resilience of the plastics material springs the bulging portions 10 outwardly to the positions shown in figure 2, to hold the clip in the track. The clip may, however, be withdrawn from the track by tugging it sharply downwardly. This causes the lower portions of the bulging portions 10 to provide further ramp surfaces which flex their associated arms towards the vertical plane of the neck portion so that the arms can pass downwardly through the slot 7 and release the clip 1 from the track 5.

The upper portion 2 of the clip is provided beneath the neck 1 2 with a central domed enlargement 14 having a headed stud 1 5 projecting centrally downwards from its underside. The stud 15 has a head 19 provided with a bevelled rim which provides an inner part of the swivel joint 4.

The lower portion 3 of the clip 2 is shown in detail in figures 6 and 7 and has a central sleeve 1 6 formed with an internally-stepped bore 17 at its upper end and which forms the outer part of the swivel joint 4. The clip portion 3 is integrally moulded from the same stiffly-resilient plastics material as the upper portion 2 and is provided with a pair of legs 18 connected by thin plastics webs 9, providing hinges, to the sleeve 16. One of the legs 18 is provided with a pair of vertically-spaced, moulded studs 21 capable of being snap-fitted into flared apertures 22 formed in the other leg when the two legs are pressed firmly together as shown in figure 1.

Operation of the Preferred Embodiment

The above-described clip is assembled as follows. The two portions 2 and 3 of the clip are first fitted together by snap-fitting the stud 1 5 of the upper portion 2 into the stepped bore 17 of the sleeve 1 6 of the lower portion. The deformable resilience of the plastics sleeve 1 6 is sufficient to allow this to occur. The bevelled head 19 is then located within the larger-diameter portion of the hole 17. The head 19 is thus trapped in position and the stud 1 5 allows the lower portion 3 to swivel about a vertical axis with respect to the upper portion 2.

The assembled clip is then thrust upwardly through the slot 7 of the track 5, as has already been explained, so that the bulging portions 10 of the arms 8 engage the marginal surfaces of the track flanking the upper side of the slot 7 as shown in figure 2. The clip can then slide freely along the track 5.

A sheet of flexible material 30 shown in figure 1 , such as a modesty curtain, is provided with horizontally-spaced pairs of vertically-spaced holes along its upper marginal edge. The spacing between the holes corresponds to the spacing between the studs 21. The studs 1 of each clip are then passed through a corresponding pair of vertically spaced holes and the two legs 18 of the clip are snapped together. The modesty curtain is thus held by its upper marginal edge being gripped between the two legs which are held together by the snap-fit of the studs 21 into the flared holes 22.

The neat way of suspending a modesty or other curtain by the construction of clips described, has the advantage that the track can be curved quite sharply without spoiling the fall-line of the curtain. This results from the presence of the swivel joint in the clip which allows the path followed by the curtain to vary from the precise path followed by the suspension clips during their movement along the track. Movement of the clips along curved portions of the track can then take place without resistance from the stiffness of the curtain as the rotation of the lower portion of the clip with respect to the upper portion avoids stress occurring between the two clip portions and which would otherwise be induced by the turning of the upper portion of the clips when following a bend in the track.

5 Advantageous features of the Preferred Embodiment

A significant feature of the above-described clip and which should not be overlooked, is the way in which the upper marginal edge of the curtain is gripped. The opposed faces of the two legs gripping the curtain edge are flat so that a vertical section of the curtain edge is clamped between the two flat surfaces. This reduces the vertical loading on the

, Q upper borders of the vertically spaced holes through which the studs 21 pass, and also reduces the risk of the upper marginal edge of the curtain being deformed or frayed by the weight of the curtain hanging beneath it.

A further advantage of the above-described clip is that it can be sent with the curtain for dry-cleaning. It is easily detached from the track by a sharp downward tug, and 15 can be left attached to the curtain during a normal dry-cleaning process as it will not impose damaging strains on the curtain during normal handling. Should one of the clips, or a portion of it be lost or damaged as a result of handling, it is easily replaced with a fresh portion.

The invention of the above-described clip is well-suited to providing a patent-of- 2o addition to the invention of the Parent Patent.

Claims

1 . A curtain suspension clip has an upper portion for fitting to a support track, a lower portion for supporting the upper marginal edge of the curtain, and a load-supporting swivel joint interconnecting the upper and lower portions and allowing the lower portion to turn about a vertical axis with respect to the upper portion.

2. A clip for suspending the upper end of a curtain or sheet of material from a curtain track, has an upper portion formed with a flattened neck portion movable in its own plane during movement of the clip along the track, divergent spaced arms extending upwardly beside one another from the neck portion of the clip and which can be manually flexed into the plane of the neck portion to allow upper portions of the arms to enter and pass upwardly through the slot of the track without the arms obstructing one another, lateral bulges formed at the upper portions of the arms and projecting respectively in opposite direction to provide sliders for engaging sliding surfaces at opposite sides of the upper end of the slot entry to the track, ramp surfaces provided above and beneath the bulges for flexing the arms towards the plane of the neck portion when the upper portion of the clip is forced vertically through the slot to engage or disengage the clip from the track; a lower portion of the clip having means for attaching it to the upper end of a curtain or sheet of material which is to be suspended from the track by the clip, and a swivel joint connecting the upper and lower portions of the clip and having a vertical swivel axis to allow the clip lower portion to turn about the axis with respect to the upper portion.

3. A clip as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the two portions of the clip are each made from a stiffly-resilient material which allows the swivel joint to be assembled by forcing a stud on one portion of the clip into a stepped-hole in the other portion of the clip.

4. A clip as claimed in claim 3, in which the stud is formed on the upper portion of the clip and the stepped hole is formed in the lower portion of the clip.

5. A clip as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, in which each clip portion is integrally moulded from plastics material.