US20050236119A1

US20050236119A1 - Curtain track assembly

Info

Publication number: US20050236119A1
Application number: US10/831,707
Authority: US
Inventors: Shih-Ming Lin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2004-04-23
Filing date: 2004-04-23
Publication date: 2005-10-27

Abstract

A curtain track assembly includes an elongated track body that defines au-shaped track groove extending in a longitudinal direction and having a front opening extending in the longitudinal direction, and that is formed with stoppers disposed frontwardly of the front opening of the track groove, and an elongated curtain holding member insertable into and slidable in the track groove. The curtain holding member is limited from moving out of the track groove through the front opening by the stoppers, and includes an elongated flexible hook-and-loop fastener that protrudes frontwardly and outwardly of the front opening of the track groove, and an elongated rigid backing batten secured to the hook-and-loop fastener to support the hook-and-loop fastener and prevent deformation of the hook-and-loop fastener.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a curtain track assembly, more particularly to a curtain track assembly having a backing batten attached with a hook-and-loop fastener for holding a curtain thereon.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a conventional curtain track assembly that includes a track body 1 defining a track grove 10, and a flexible first hook-and-loop fastener 13 (which is normally made from a fabric material) received in the track groove 10. A curtain 2 has a second hook-and-loop 21 that is engageable with the first hook-and-loop fastener 13 so as to attach the curtain 2 to the track body 1. The track body 1 is formed with two opposite clamping bars 12 which are disposed frontwardly of the track groove 10 and which are pressed and are permanently deformed so as to press tightly the hook-and-loop fastener 13 against the track body 1.
The conventional curtain track assembly is disadvantageous in that movement of the hook-and-loop fastener 13 in the track groove 10 is forbidden by the clamping bars 12 and that replacement of the hook-and-loop fastener 13 requires prying of the deformed clamping bars 12 to allow movement of the hook-and-loop fastener 13 in the track groove 10, which tends to damage the clamping bars 12 and which is relatively inconvenient to conduct.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the present invention is to provide a curtain track assembly with a rigid backing batten that is capable of overcoming the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art.
According to this invention, a curtain track assembly comprises: an elongated track body that defines a U-shaped track groove extending in a longitudinal direction and having two opposite ends and a front opening extending in the longitudinal direction from one of the opposite ends to the other of the opposite ends, the track body being formed with stoppers disposed frontwardly of the front opening of the track groove, at least one of the opposite ends of the track groove being opened for access into the track groove; and an elongated curtain holding member insertable into the track groove through said at least one of the opposite ends and slidable in the track groove. The curtain holding member is limited from moving out of the track groove through the front opening by the stoppers, and includes an elongated flexible hook-and-loop fastener that protrudes frontwardly and outwardly of the front opening of the track groove so as to be adapted to be coupled to a curtain when the curtain holding member is inserted into the track groove, and an elongated rigid backing batten secured to the hook-and-loop fastener to support the hook-and-loop fastener so as to prevent deformation and frontward movement of the hook-and-loop fastener by virtue of weight of the curtain attached thereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a conventional curtain track assembly;
FIG. 2 is an assembled perspective view of the curtain track assembly of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a fragmentary, exploded perspective view of the first preferred embodiment of a curtain track assembly according to this invention;
FIG. 4 is an assembled fragmentary perspective view of the first preferred embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken along lines V-Vin FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary, exploded perspective view of the second preferred embodiment of the curtain track assembly according to this invention;
FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a backing batten of the second preferred embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the second preferred embodiment; and
FIG. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view of the third preferred embodiment of the curtain track assembly according to this invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 3 to 5 illustrate the first preferred embodiment of a curtain track assembly according to this invention.
The curtain track assembly includes: an elongated track body 3 that defines a U-shaped track groove 32 extending in a longitudinal direction and having two opposite ends 321 and a front opening 320 extending in the longitudinal direction from one of the opposite ends 321 to the other of the opposite ends, the track body 3 being formed with stoppers 331 disposed frontwardly of the front opening 320 of the track groove 32, at least one of the opposite ends 321 of the track groove 32 being opened for access into the track groove 32; and an elongated curtain holding member 4 insertable into the track groove 32 through said at least one of the opposite ends 321 and slidable in the track groove 32. The curtain holding member 4 is limited from moving out of the track groove 32 through the front opening 320 by the stoppers 331, and includes an elongated flexible hook-and-loop fastener 42 (which is made from a fabric material) that protrudes frontwardly and outwardly of the front opening 320 of the track groove 32 so as to be adapted to be coupled to a curtain (not shown) when the curtain holding member 4 is inserted into the track groove 32, and an elongated rigid backing batten 41 secured to the hook-and-loop fastener 42 to support the hook-and-loop fastener 42 so as to prevent deformation and frontward movement of the hook-and-loop fastener 42 by virtue of weight of the curtain attached thereto. Optionally, a rear side of the track body 3 may define a rear track groove 32 opposite to the front track groove 32 for receiving another set of the curtain holding member 4. Preferably, the backing batten 41 is made from a plastic material or a metal.
In this embodiment, the hook-and-loop fastener 42 is secured to the backing batten 41 through upper and lower rows of staples 43 that extend through the backing batten 41 and the hook-and-loop fastener 42. In use, a curtain (not shown) with a hook-and-loop member can be attached to the hook-and-loop fastener 42 of the curtain holding member 4. Since the curtain holding member 4 is slidably mounted in the track groove 32, it can be slidably withdrawn out of the track groove 32 through said at least one of the opposite ends 321 without prying the stoppers 331 as required in the conventional curtain track assembly when replacement of the hook-and-loop fastener 42 is required.
FIGS. 6 to 8 illustrate the second preferred embodiment of the curtain track assembly according to this invention. The curtain track assembly of this embodiment differs from the previous embodiment in that the hook-and-loop fastener 42 is secured to the backing batten 41 through upper and lower rows of hooked protrusions 411 that are integrally formed on the backing batten 41 and that extend through the hook-and-loop fastener 42. Each of the hooked protrusions 411 has an arrow-shape free end that extends frontwardly through the hook-and-loop fastener 42, and is anchored at a front side of the hook-and-loop fastener 42. The hooked protrusions 411 are preferably formed by punching.
FIG. 9 illustrates the third embodiment of the curtain track assembly according to this invention. The curtain track assembly of this embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the hook-and-loop fastener 42 is secured to the backing batten 41 through an adhesive 44 which adhesively bonds the hook-and-loop fastener 42 and the backing batten 41 together.
With the inclusion of the backing batten 41 in the curtain track assembly of this invention, the curtain holding member 4 can be slidably mounted in the track groove 32 and can be slidably withdrawn threrefrom without prying the stoppers 331 as required in the conventional curtain track assembly, thereby eliminating the aforesaid drawbacks associated with the prior art.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiments, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretations and equivalent arrangements.

Claims

1. A curtain track assembly comprising:

an elongated track body that defines a U-shaped track groove extending in a longitudinal direction and having two opposite ends and a front opening extending in said longitudinal direction from one of said opposite ends to the other of said opposite ends, said track body being formed with stoppers disposed frontwardly of said front opening of said track groove, at least one of said opposite ends of said track groove being opened for access into said track groove; and

an elongated curtain holding member insertable into said track groove through said at least one of said opposite ends and slidable in said track groove, said curtain holding member being limited from moving out of said track groove through said front opening by said stoppers, and including

an elongated flexible hook-and-loop fastener that protrudes frontwardly and outwardly of said front opening of said track groove so as to be adapted to be coupled to a curtain when said curtain holding member is inserted into said track groove, and

an elongated rigid backing batten secured to said hook-and-loop fastener to support said hook-and-loop fastener so as to prevent deformation and frontward movement of said hook-and-loop fastener by virtue of weight of the curtain attached thereto.

2. The curtain track assembly of claim 1, wherein said curtain holding member further includes a plurality of staples that extend through said backing batten and said hook-and-loop fastener so as to secure said hook-and-loop fastener to said backing batten.

3. The curtain track assembly of claim 1, wherein said backing batten is formed with a plurality of hooked protrusions that extend through said hook-and-loop fastener so as to secure said hook-and-loop fastener to said backing batten, each of said hooked protrusions having an arrow-shape free end that extends frontwardly through said hook-and-loop fastener.

4. The curtain track assembly of claim 1, further comprising an adhesive that is adhered to said backing batten so as to bond said hook-and-loop fastener to said backing batten.