GB2493773A

GB2493773A - Nestable curtain hook

Info

Publication number: GB2493773A
Application number: GB201114278A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Tony Colledge
Original assignee: Marlux Medical Ltd
Current assignee: Marlux Medical Ltd
Priority date: 2011-08-19
Filing date: 2011-08-19
Publication date: 2013-02-20
Anticipated expiration: 2031-08-19
Also published as: GB2493773B; GB201114278D0

Abstract

A curtain hook comprises first 1 and second 2 end portions joined by a body portion 3 (figure 2C, not shown), the first end portion being configured to sit within a groove in a curtain rail and having a recess configured to engage and nest with an adjacent similar curtain hook and the second end portion being attachable to a curtain. The first end portion is preferably substantially circular or disc-shaped and may be provided with a series of recesses on opposed faces configured to engage when two like hooks are nested together. An aperture 7 may be provided in the body or second end portion through which a pin 6 may be passed so as to retain a plurality of hooks in a bundle wherein the first end portions nestingly engage together. The second end portion may be attached to the curtain by welding. In use, the nestability of the hooks provides for easier transportation and simplified installation.

Description

CURTAIN HOOK

S The present invention is concerned with curtain hooks or gliders for mounting a curtain to a curtain rail.

Many forms and configurations of curtain hooks and curtain rails are known. The present invention is specifically concerned with hooks having one end attached or configured to be attached (directly or indirectly) to the curtain and the other end arranged to be slidably fitted into a grooved track.

The hooks have a widened head portion that sits within the groove of the curtain rail or track and a body portion that, in use, hangs down from the track providing a portion to which the curtain is attached.

Such hooks can be used, for example (and not exclusively), in surgical or hospital cubicle curtains as they allow curtains to be relatively easily mounted to the track and then removed allowing curtains to be replaced.

In known arrangements, apertures or eyelets are provided along the top of the curtain material. The portion of the hook to be attached to the curtain is provided with a protrusion or stud or the like that forms a press fit into the eyelet or cooperates with a mating part provided on the opposite side of the eyelet to fasten the hook in place within the eyelet.

The other end of the hook is provided with a bulbous or widened portion relative to the body of the hook, sized and configured to fit in a sliding arrangement in the groove provided along the curtain rail or track. The widened part of the hook is arranged such that it extends within the groove over the lips defining the groove so it does not fall out under the weight of the curtain, but can still slide along the groove.

The hooks can be provided already mounted on the tops of the curtains ready for mounting in the curtain track or, alternatively, can be provided separately and can be mounted onto the curtains by means of the eyelets or other fastening mechanisms e.g. mating parts, as described above.

Whether the hooks are provided on the curtains at manufacture or when installing S the curtain, the widened ends of the hooks need to be individually fitted into the curtain track.

Whilst the end of the hooks attached to the curtain can be fairly flat and stack together easily for storage or transportation or when the curtain is open and the hooks are all positioned close to each other, the other end of the hook, being widened or bulbous, results in a bulky arrangement in such situations.

The present invention aims to provide a curtain hook arrangement for hooks that can be mounted in and slidable along a grooved track, but which overcome the problems of the existing hooks, mentioned above.

Thus, in accordance with the present invention, there is provided a curtain hook having a first end portion configured to sit within a groove of a curtain rail, a second end portion arranged to be, directly or indirectly, attached to a curtain, and a body portion joining the first and second end portions. The first end portion extends radially outwards to form a widened portion with respect to the body portion to which it is attached. The first end portion is provided with at least one recess configured to nestingly engage with an adjacent hook arranged to be attached to the curtain track.

In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plurality of such curtain hooks, each hook provided with an aperture! and a pin configured to fit through the apertures of the plurality of hooks to retain the hooks in a bundle, whereby the first end portions of the hooks nestingly engage with each other.

Different types of nesting recess can be formed within the first end portion to provide the nesting engagement. The first end portion preferably has a circular or disk shape. In some less preferred embodiments, a semicircular or almost semicircular recess is formed in the first end portion on one side, and the other side of the first end portion forms a corresponding convex shape. Thus, when adjacent hooks are pushed together, the convex side of one hook will nest into the semicircular concave recess of the adjacent hook. In other arrangements, a notch-type recess is formed on one side of the end portion and a correspondingly shaped S protrusion is formed on the other side. Other possible designs involve cutting out a small concave curve on one side of the end portion, leaving the other side of the end portion having a corresponding convex shape.

Another design that was considered involved cutting out a triangular shape from one side and forming a corresponding triangular protrusion on the other side for nesting in the triangular notch of an adjacent hook. Several such recesses or notches can be formed.

Whilst these configurations would provide advantages because of the nesting arrangement, the most preferred arrangement is provided with a nesting feature that enables the hook to be twisted within the groove without falling out and to operate in both sliding directions. The preferred nesting feature, therefore, comprises a series of recesses formed on both sides of a circular end portion. In the most preferred embodiment, the amplitude of the depth of the notches gradually increases from the edge of the recessed section to the middle and then decreases back out to the other edge. The recesses are preferably rounded, but could be more angular and still provide the preferred advantages.

The other end of the hook can be arranged to be fitted into eyelets on the curtain or otherwise clipped to the curtain as known, as discussed above. Alternatively, in a most preferred embodiment, the second end portion of the hook can be configured to be welded directly to the curtain material and, in this way, can have a flatter configuration to add to the advantages of the nesting feature.

As an additional preferred feature, a pin arrangement can be provided whereby the hooks have, in the body portion or second end portion, an aperture, and a pin is provided that can be fitted through the apertures of several hooks, to hold the hooks together and allow several hooks to be mounted at the same time. Once the hooks have been mounted with their first end portions in the curtain rail, the pin can be removed to allow the hooks to be moved relative to each other for opening and closing the curtains.

Preferred embodiments will now be described by way of example only, with S reference to the drawings.

Figs 1 A to 1 C show examples of prior art curtain hooks or gliders for mounting in a grooved curtain rail.

Fig. 2A shows a perspective view of a curtain hook according to the present invention.

Fig. 2B shows a side view of the curtain hook of Fig. 2A.

Fig. 2C shows an alternative hook in accordance with the invention.

Figs. 3A to 3D show alternative nesting arrangements for hooks in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of the preferred nesting arrangement of a hook falling within the present invention.

Figs. 5A to 5G show various views of hooks, according to the present invention, in use, when attached to a curtain.

Figs. 6A and SB show embodiments similar to those shown in Figs. 5A to 50, mounted in a curtain rail.

As mentioned in the introduction, various hook designs are known for hanging a curtain to a grooved or slotted curtain rail. Some examples of these hooks are shown in Figs. lAto 10.

All of these arrangements include one end 1 for sliding attachment to the curtain rail by fitting into the groove 11 provided on the underside of the rail, an opposite end 2 for attachment to the curtain, and an intermediate body portion 3.

The first end portion is a widened portion in the form of a disc or the like or a bulbous portion sized and configured to fit within the groove and to be suspended from the edges of the groove such that the remainder of the hook hangs down S whilst the first end portion remains in the groove but is slidably movable along the groove.

The end portion for attachment to the curtain may take different configurations, depending on how the hook is to be attached.

The design shown in Fig. 1 A is also arranged to be clipped to the top of the curtain and a press-stud fitting may be provided on the other side of the curtain material to hold the hooks firmly in place.

The embodiment shown in Fig. 1 B comprises protrusions extending from the curtain attachment portion of the hook that pass through an eyelet provided on the curtain.

A press-stud fastener can be pushed over the ends of the protrusion on the other side of the curtain material or the ends of the protrusions can be formed such that once the hook is in place they lodge against the back of the curtain material. The arrangement shown in Fig. 1C comprises a clip-arrangement that fits through a slit in the curtain material and clips over the top of the curtain material.

As described above, however, a problem with these arrangements is that when the hooks are bundled together, e.g. for storage and packaging or transportation and when the curtain is opened, the widened end portions that fit in the curtain rail, whilst abutting against each other, still form a much bulkier structure than is desirable and much bulkier compared to the other end of the hooks.

The present invention, therefore, aims to overcome this problem by providing a nesting feature in the first end portion of the hooks to enable several hooks to nest within each other when in this closed configuration.

A preferred example of the hook according to the present invention is shown in Figs. 2A to 2C.

As with the prior art arrangements, the hooks of the present invention have a first end portion 1 defining a widened portion configured to fit within and to be held within the groove of a curtain rail, a second end portion 2 arranged to be attached to the curtain, and body portion 3 connecting the first and second end portions. The S first end portion is widened relative to the body portion and is preferably, but not necessarily, circular or disc-shaped or bulbous.

The second end portion can take any desirable shape according to how the hook is to be attached to the curtain. Figs. 2A and 2B show an arrangement where the second end portion is similar to that shown in Fig. 1A, where the hook is configured to be welded to the curtain material and this is the most preferred embodiment. Fig. 2C shows an alternative embodiment wherein the second end portion is provided with a protrusion 4 that passes through and engages behind an eyelet in the curtain material.

The present invention overcomes the problems of prior art arrangements by providing the first end portion with a nesting feature S comprising one or more recesses formed within the first end portion to nestingly engage with a complementary portion of an adjacent similar hook, in use.

Fig. 4 shows a top view of a preferred example of the nesting feature whereby recesses are formed on both sides of the first end portion, with the depth of the recesses increasing from the outer edge of the nesting arrangement to the middle and then decreasing back out to the other edge.

This particular design was found to be the most preferred option for the nesting feature because it provided a first end small enough to fit in the track groove and glide smoothly within the track but large enough not to fall out of the track slot, whilst at the same time being able to twist. Previous attempts, for example as shown in Figs. 3A to 3D (showing top views of the first end portions of four hooks), were found to be less than ideal in that the end portion, when rotated, was found to be too narrow to remain in the slot. It was also considered preferable for the nesting feature of the first portion to be effectively reversible to enable the nesting feature to work both ways round. In particular, this design makes production easier and prevents risk of errors in manufacturing.

The particular design chosen as the most preferred design (shown in Fig. 4) has a deep enough cut to get the most benefit from the nesting feature, whilst retaining the overall diameter of the head part to prevent the hook falling out of the rail if S twisted, and also retaining strength in the top of the hook to prevent breakage.

In use, the hooks can either be provided to the end user already mounted onto a curtain or separately from the curtain so that the end user can mount them onto the curtain before installation.

In a most preferred arrangement, a plurality of hooks are provided together, as a bundle, so that several hooks can be fitted into the curtain rail at the same time.

A preferred feature which simplifies this is shown in Figs. 5A to 50. Here, a number of hooks (in the example, five, but this can be any number of hooks) are held together by means of a pin 6 that passes through an aperture 7 in the body or second end portion of each of the hooks. The pin holds the hooks together for mounting in the curtain rail.

As shown in Figs. 6A and GB, the hooks, mounted on the curtain 12, can be fitted into the rail together and the pin then needs to be removed before use, to allow the curtain to be opened and closed -i.e. to allow the hooks to be slid along the curtain rail, relative to each other. This simplifies and speeds up loading and installation of the curtain and its removal.

The head portions of the hooks are nested together, at first, and also when the curtain is open, if desired. The widened head portion fits within the groove and is prevented from falling out by the edges of the groove that define a slot smaller than the diameter of the head portions. The body part of the hook hangs down from the rail and the curtain is attached to the hook, in any desired manner. The curtain is closed by pulling the curtain material or moving the hooks relative to the curtain rail, whereby the head portions of the hooks slide within the groove of the rail.

The hook, or at least the second end portion, is preferably made of the same material as the curtain or a chemically compatible material, to which it is to be attached, in embodiments where the hook is welded to the curtain. Surgical curtains, for example, are often made of polypropylene, so the hook material should be the same or compatible material.

S The nesting feature in the first end portions of the hooks allow several hooks to nest together, reducing the bulkiness of a bundie of hooks for attachment to, or attached to a curtain. The nesting feature also helps to keep all of the first end portions of several hooks in alignment, for ease of installation.

In the preferred design, the first end portions of several hooks will nest together but can still move freely on the curtain rail and can rotate without coming unseated from the groove of the curtain rail.

Claims

<claim-text>CLAIMS1. A curtain hook having a first end portion configured to sit within a groove of a curtain rail, a second end portion arranged to be attached to a curtain, and a body portIon joining the first and second end portions, wherein the first end portion extends radially outwards to form a widened portion with respect to the body portion to which it is attached; and the first end portion is provided with at least one recess configured to nestingly engage with an adjacent hook arranged to be attached to the curtain track.</claim-text> <claim-text>2. A hook according to claim 1, wherein the first end portion has a circular or disk shape defining opposing faces and a peripheral edge.C\J 15 3. A hook according to claIm 2, further comprising a series of recesses formed on two opposing sections of the peripheral edge of the first end portion.0 4. A hook according to claim 3, wherein the depth of the recesses gradually N-Increases from an edge of the recessed section of the first end portion to the middle of the first end portion and then decreases from the middle to an other edge of the recessed section of the first end portion.5. A hook according to claim I or 2, whereIn a substantially semicircular recess is formed in the first end portion on one side, and the other side of the first end portion forms a corresponding convex shape.6. A hook according to claim I or 2, whereIn a notch-type recess Is formed on one side of the first end portion and a correspondingly shaped protrusion is formed on the other side of the fist end portion.7. A hook according to any preceding claim wherein the second portion is configured to be welded directly to the curtain.8. A hook according to any preceding claim further comprising an aperture in the body portion or second end portion. iO9. A curtain hook set comprisng a plurality of hooks as daimed in claim 8, 10. A set as claimed in daim 9, further comprising a pin configured to fit through the apertures of the pluraity of hooks to retain the hooks in a bundle, whereby the first end portions of the hooks nestingly engage with each other.11. A curtain hook substantially as herein described with reference to Figures 2 to 6. C" CoN-</claim-text>