WO2013083462A1

WO2013083462A1 - Curtain-supporting assembly including a curtain rod, and corresponding support element

Info

Publication number: WO2013083462A1
Application number: PCT/EP2012/073865
Authority: WO
Inventors: Patrice Richard
Original assignee: Patrice Richard
Priority date: 2011-12-08
Filing date: 2012-11-28
Publication date: 2013-06-13
Also published as: EP2787866A1; FR2983691A1; FR2983691B1

Abstract

The present invention relates to a curtain-supporting assembly including a curtain rod (1) and at least one support element which is to be attached to a wall and which is to support said curtain rod (1) in a substantially horizontal position such that at least one ring (4) can slide about the curtain rod (1), wherein said curtain rod (1) has a cross-section that includes at least one ridge (11), and said support element is shaped so as to maintain said curtain rod (1) in a position in which said ridge (11) is oriented upwards.

Description

A curtain support assembly comprising a curtain bar, and corresponding support member

1. The field of the invention

The present invention relates to the field of interior design, including homes. More specifically, the invention relates to the installation of curtains.

2. Prior Art

Curtains are commonly placed in front of windows or any other opening in homes or other buildings. The upper edge of these curtains, called curtain head, is generally slidably mounted along a horizontal bar, through sliding parts. According to known solutions, these sliding parts may be rings connected to the curtain head, or eyelets integrated in the curtain head and forming rings, which slide around the curtain bar. The present invention relates more particularly to such a curtain bar for sliding rings.

The most commonly used curtain rods are cylindrical in shape, on which rings generally have a toric shape. When the curtains have a high height, or weigh a significant weight, the sliding of the rings on the bar generates a significant friction. Indeed, the user opening or closing the curtains usually does so by pulling on the fabric thereof, which causes traction on the rings in a direction different from the sliding direction of the rings on the curtain bar.

This traction therefore generates a significant friction between the rings and the bar, which increases with the increase in the diameter of the bar. The handling of the curtains, for their opening or closing, therefore requires a relatively large pulling force on the part of the user. This greater pulling force can cause damage to the curtain or the sliding system, such as a curtain tear, a stall rings, or premature wear of the support points of the curtain bar that may cause a risk of loosening them.

3. Objectives of the invention

The present invention particularly aims to overcome these disadvantages of the prior art.

More specifically, the present invention aims to allow a sliding of a curtain head along a curtain bar that generates less friction than the solutions of the prior art, and therefore requires only one lower traction of the user for the opening and closing of the curtain.

Another object of the invention is to provide a curtain bar which provides greater sag resistance than prior art curtain rods.

A particular object of the invention is to provide such a curtain bar offering a significant resistance to sagging despite a section smaller than the section of curtain bars of the prior art having an identical resistance to bending, so as to save the material implemented in the manufacture of bars.

4. Presentation of the invention

These and other objects, which will become more clearly apparent later, are achieved with a curtain support assembly comprising a curtain bar and at least one support member for attachment to a wall and a wall. carrying said curtain bar in a substantially horizontal position to allow at least one ring to slide around the curtain bar, wherein, according to the invention, said curtain bar has a section which has at least one edge, and said support member is shaped to maintain said bar in a position in which said edge is upwardly oriented.

Such a curtain bar having a section with at least one edge minimizes the contact area with the ring bearing the curtain. The assembly thus generates less friction when moving this ring. Consequently, the user can move the curtain in one direction or another with less force than in the case where the bar has a circular section.

For this contact to be reduced, it is necessary that the bar is held with the edge held up. Indeed, it is the highest part of the section of the bar which is in contact with the ring and undergoes friction when moving the curtain.

According to a particular aspect of the invention, said edge is formed in a material with a low coefficient of friction.

Thus, the friction friction related to the movement of the ring on the bar when opening or closing the curtain is decreased.

Advantageously, said edge is formed by a wire-shaped element made of a low-friction material, assembled to said curtain rod.

Because the surface of a ridge is minimal, a wire-shaped member is sufficient to act as a low-friction material.

Preferably, said low-friction material is polytetrafluoroethylene.

Polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE is a fluoropolymer that has an extremely low coefficient of friction, between 0.05 and 0.2. This material is therefore suitable for this application.

According to a particular embodiment, said curtain bar has a section having the shape of a quarter round.

A quarter round has the advantage of having several edges. Depending on which one is up, the curtain bar may have a different aesthetic appearance.

According to another particular embodiment, said curtain bar has a section having the shape of a rhombus.

A diamond-shaped section has four ridges and gives additional freedom in choosing the edge to support the curtain, allowing different aspects. According to another particular embodiment, said curtain bar has a section having the shape of a triangle.

A triangle-shaped section has three edges while presenting an aesthetic appearance different from the other forms.

According to an advantageous aspect of some embodiments, said curtain bar has a quadratic moment section greater than the quadratic moment of a section of the same surface of a cylindrical bar.

Indeed, the resistance to deformation of the bar, biased in torsion or bending along an axis, increases with its quadratic moment along this axis with equivalent cross-sectional area. As a result, a section bar of a particular geometric shape and different from a disc may exhibit superior deformation resistance for the same amount of material or resistance to equal deformation for a lower amount of material.

Thus, the bars according to the invention may have a better resistance to deformation than the cylindrical bars of the prior art.

In another approach, said support member has a shaped support surface adapted to hold a curtain bar whose section has at least one edge in a position in which said edge is upwardly oriented.

The support member thus ensures both the support of the curtain bar, and the upward positioning of the edge for supporting the curtain. This is possible due to a shaped support surface adapted to a particular shape of the curtain bar.

According to an advantageous embodiment, said support member is shaped to maintain said curtain bar in one of at least two possible positions, wherein said curtain bar has an upwardly facing edge.

The support member may advantageously have a conformation to use the curtain bar in different positions. For example, a curtain bar with a quarter-round section can be installed from such that the rounded part faces the room where the curtain is or on the contrary that a ridge faces the room. In this way, the user has the choice of the desired aesthetic effect.

According to another possible embodiment of the invention, said support member is composed of a support member having a cylindrical opening, in which is inserted a wedge for maintaining a curtain bar having a section which comprises at least one edge in a position in which said edge is oriented upwards.

The insertion of a shim makes it possible, for example, to use a support initially intended for a cylindrical curtain bar. A shim can also allow the user to choose the side of the bar to be exposed to the room where the curtain is.

5. List of figures

The present invention will be better understood on reading the following description of preferred embodiments, given for illustrative and nonlimiting purposes and accompanied by figures among which:

- Figures 1A, 1B and 1C schematically illustrate curtain rods according to three possible embodiments of the invention, on which are placed rings or eyelets curtains;

- Figures 2A and 2B are sectional views of supports for carrying the curtain bar of Figure 1A;

- Figures 3A and 3B are two sectional views of another support for the curtain bar of Figure 1A, wherein the curtain bar is installed in two different positions;

- Figures 4A, 4B and 4C show in sectional view three supports for carrying the curtain bar of Figure 1B;

- Figure 5 shows in sectional view a support for carrying the curtain bar of Figure 1C;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a support intended to carry a cylindrical bar of curtains of the prior art, in which is placed the curtain bar of Figure 1B, held by an adapter piece.

6. Description of embodiments of the invention

According to the invention, the curtain bar provided to allow the sliding of rings or eyelets attached to the curtain head has a non-cylindrical section, having an upper edge forming an edge. Figures 1A, 1B and 1C show three possible solutions of such curtain bars.

6.1. Round curtain bar

Thus, Figure 1A shows an end of a curtain bar 1 having a section 10 having a quarter round shape. This curtain bar 10 is intended to be fixed in a position such that one of its edges 11 is placed at its highest point. Thus, a ring 4 placed on this curtain bar, which can be conventionally toric in shape, is in contact only with this edge 11. Its sliding along the sliding bar 1 then generates only a point contact with the edge 11, and causes only a slight friction.

6.2. Support elements for the quarter-round bar

In order for this friction to be reduced, the curtain bar 1 must be fixed to supports in a position such that its edge 11 constitutes its highest point and is the only point of contact with the ring 4. Several solutions of elements suitable supports can be implemented to maintain the curtain bar

1 in such a position.

Each of the support members shown in Figures 2A-6 has an end attached to a wall 9 by suitable means known to those skilled in the art. These means not constituting an essential element of the invention are not described in the following description.

FIG. 2A shows such a support member 51 specially adapted to hold the curtain bar 1 in a position in which one of its ridges 11 is at its highest point, and its rounded edge 12 is visible to the persons located in the room equipped with the curtain. Its end zone opposite the end fixed to the wall 9 has an inclined plane 510 intended to receive one of flat edges of the curtain bar 1 quarter round, and a retaining lug 520, attached to the end of the inclined plane 510 farthest from the wall 9, having a rounded shape complementary to the rounded edge 12 of the bar curtains 1.

The inclined plane 510 and the leg 520 forming substantially an upwardly open V shape, they can hold the curtain bar 1 under the effect of gravity. Furthermore, the shapes of the inclined plane 510 and the tab 520 being adapted to the shape of two of the three edges of the curtain bar 1, it blocks the curtain bar in rotation, and maintains its edge 11 directed upwards.

Figure 2B shows a support 52 according to another possible embodiment of the invention. Its end opposite the wall 9 has a rounded maintenance surface 521 having a shape coordinated with the shape of the rounded edge 12 of the curtain bar 1. A holding tab 522 is fixed to the lower end of this rounded maintenance surface 521. The rounded maintenance surface 521 and the holding lug 522 form substantially a V-shape for receiving by gravity the curtain bar 1.

Moreover, this rounded maintenance surface 521 and this retaining tab 522 have shapes that are coordinated with the shape of the curtain bar 1 and thus allow it to be held in a position in which one of its edges 11 is placed at its point the highest, and its rounded edge 12 is located opposite the wall 9. This support 52 thus provides a different visual appearance of the bar 1, people in the room equipped with curtains can see the flat surfaces and the edge 13 of this curtain bar and not its rounded edge 12.

FIGS. 3A and 3B show another support element 53 making it possible to carry the curtain bar 1. This support element 53 has, in its end zone opposite the wall 9, a rounded contact surface 531 of complementary shape to that of the rounded edge 12 of the bar 1. A retaining tab is attached to the lower end of this rounded contact surface 53 1. This retaining tab comprises a first portion substantially horizontal 532, which is extended by a rounded portion 533 having an inner shape symmetrical to that of the rounded contact surface 531.

As shown in FIG. 3a, the dimensions of the holding tab are such that the curtain bar 1 can be placed with part of its rounded edge 12 bearing against the rounded contact surface 531, one of its edges

11 being oriented upwards, the edge opposite this edge 11 being in abutment against the horizontal portion 532 of the holding lug, and the third edge 13 bearing against the rounded portion 533 of the holding lug. Advantageously, a shim 530 can be placed under the bar 1, in contact with the holding lug, to block the rotation of this bar 1 in the support 53.

If necessary, a locking screw 534 may be provided to secure the bar 1 to the support 53 according to a principle known to those skilled in the art. Such locking screw can of course be implemented for each embodiment of curtain bar support elements.

As shown in Figure 3B, the bar 1 can also be placed in the support 53 in another position, so that its rounded surface 12 is visible people in the room equipped with curtains. In this case, the rounded surface 12 bears against the rounded portion 533 of the holding lug, so that an edge 11 is located at the top of the bar 1. The edge opposite the edge 11 is in abutment against the horizontal portion 532 of the holding lug and the third edge 13 bears against the rounded contact surface 531. The shim 530 can be positioned in abutment against the rounded contact surface 531 and the horizontal portion 532 of the holding tab to block the rotation of the curtain bar 1.

6.3. Diamond curtain bar and support elements

According to other possible embodiments of the invention, the curtain bar may have different shapes, having an edge placed along the upper edge of the bar. Thus, Figure 1B shows a curtain bar 2 of diamond section. This curtain bar must be maintained so that one of its edges 21 is located along its highest edge, in order to constitute the point of friction of the ring 4. For this, it is possible to use supports such as represented by FIGS. 4A, 4B and 4C.

The support element 61 shown in FIG. 4A has, in its end zone opposite the wall 9, an inclined plane 610, designed to receive one of the surfaces of the curtain bar 2. Retaining lugs respectively 611 and

612 are provided at both ends of the inclined plane 610 and have inclinations adapted to come into contact with two of the surfaces of the curtain rod 2. This inclined plane 610 and its retaining lugs 611 and 612 make it possible to carry and to lock in rotation 2. If necessary, a locking screw 613 makes it possible to secure the curtain bar 2 to the support element 61.

FIG. 4B shows a support member 62 which is a variant of the support member 61. It has an inclined holding surface 620 and a holding tab 621 for completely surrounding the curtain bar 2.

FIG. 4C shows another variant constituted by a support element 63 having two inclined planes 630 and 631, as well as two holding tabs 632 and 633, enabling the curtain bar 2 to be completely surrounded.

6.4. Triangular curtain bar and support elements

Figure 1C shows a curtain bar 3 according to another possible embodiment of the invention, having a triangular section. This curtain bar 3 must be maintained in a position such that one of its edges forms the upper edge of the curtain bar. It can for this purpose be maintained by a support element 7 such as that represented by FIG. 5, which has an inclined holding surface 70 and two retaining tabs 71 and 72 joining to completely surround the curtain bar 3.

6.5. Adaptation shim for a support by a conventional support element

The curtain rods according to the invention can therefore be carried by dedicated support elements. However, it is also possible that these curtain rods are carried by a conventional support member for cylindrical curtain rods of the prior art. Thus, FIG. 6 shows a support member 8 intended to carry a cylindrical curtain bar, which therefore comprises a cylindrical internal holding surface 81. An adapter shim 82 having an outside diameter equivalent to the inside diameter of the surface 81 can it has an interior surface 820 whose shape corresponds to the shape of a curtain bar according to one of the embodiments of the invention. Suitable means, for example a locking screw, make it possible to block the rotation of the shim 82 with respect to the support element 8.

6.6. Other features and benefits

The curtain rods according to the invention can be manufactured in various materials known for the manufacture of curtain rods, such as steel, aluminum, wood, nickel, resin, PVC ... However, according to an advantageous embodiment, one or more edges of this draw bar, intended to form the upper edge of the curtain bar, may be constituted by a low friction material, for example by a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) yarn inserted in the material constituting the bar. The use of such a material to form the stop in contact with the rings makes it possible to further reduce the friction between the rings carrying the curtain and the curtain bar.

The use of the curtain bar according to the invention allows a wide variety of different sections. Some of these sections, such as that of the bar 1 shown in Figure 1A, allow installation of the bar in several different positions with different aesthetic rendering.

Most of these sections also allow the curtain bar to have a quadratic moment more advantageous than that of conventional cylindrical bars. As a result, such a bar has greater flexural strength than the prior art cylindrical curtain rods manufactured with the same amount of material. Accordingly, to achieve equivalent strength, such curtain rods according to the invention can be lighter and be made with a smaller amount of materials.

Claims

A curtain support assembly comprising a curtain bar (1, 2, 3) and at least one support member (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 7) for attachment to a wall (9). ) and carrying said curtain bar (1, 2, 3) in a substantially horizontal position to allow at least one ring (4) to slide around the curtain bar (1, 2, 3),

characterized in that said curtain bar (1, 2, 3) has a section which has at least one edge (11, 21), and that said support member is shaped to hold said curtain bar (1, 2 , 3) in a position in which said ridge (11, 21) faces upwards.

Curtain support assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said ridge (11, 21) is formed of a low friction material.

A curtain support assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that said ridge (11, 21) is formed by a wire-shaped element made of a low friction material, joined to said curtain bar (1, 2, 3).

Curtain support assembly according to any one of claims 2 and 3, characterized in that said low friction material is polytetrafluoroethylene.

5. curtain support assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said curtain bar (1) has a section having the shape of a quarter round.

Curtain support assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said curtain bar (2) has a section having the shape of a rhombus.

Curtain support assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that said curtain bar (3) has a section having the shape of a triangle.

8. Curtain support assembly according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said curtain bar (1, 2, 3) has a quadratic moment section greater than the quadratic moment of a section of the curtain. same surface of a cylindrical bar.

A curtain bar support member for attachment to a wall, characterized in that said support member (51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 63, 7) has a shaped support surface adapted for maintaining a curtain bar (1, 2, 3) whose section has at least one edge (11, 21) in a position in which said edge (11, 21) faces upwards.

10. support element (53) according to claim 9, characterized in that it is shaped to maintain said curtain bar (1, 2, 3) in a position among at least two possible position, wherein said curtain bar has a ridge (11, 21) facing upwards.

11. Support element according to claim 9, characterized in that it is composed of a support member (8) having a cylindrical opening, in which is inserted a wedge for holding a curtain rod (1, 2, 3) having a section which has at least one edge in a position in which said edge is upwardly oriented.