US3626429A

US3626429A - Detachable drapery carrier

Info

Publication number: US3626429A
Application number: US872085A
Authority: US
Inventors: Ellis I Toder
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1969-10-29
Filing date: 1969-10-29
Publication date: 1971-12-07
Anticipated expiration: 1988-12-07

Abstract

A two part detachable drapery carrier and heading stiffener including a male member and a female member. The female member is made integrally with a drapery-heading stiffener and is formed to provide a cavity between movable latch elements having catches which snap over and lock the lower end of the male member when the latter is properly located within the cavity. The upper end of the male member is formed to be easily slidable in a track system, while the lower end of the male member is formed to cam open the latch elements of the female member. In addition the lower end of the male member has a double inclined surface over which the catches of the latch elements fit to couple the male member with the female member. The trunk of the male member is formed to enable the device to be rocked or moved in the plane of the drapery-heading stiffener without unlatching the male member from the female member, while at the same time it is formed to permit unlatching of the male member from the female member in response to relative movement therebetween in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the drapery-heading stiffener.

Description

United States Patent [72] lnventor Ellis 1. Toder 9225 Grace Lane, Philadelphia, Pa. 19115 [21 Appl. N 0. 872,085 [22] Filed Oct. 29, 1969 [45] Patented Dec. 7, 1971 [54] DETACHABLE DRAPERY CARRIER 4 Claims, 14 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl l6/87.2, 16/93 D, 24/230 SL [51] Int. Cl A47h 13/00 [50] Field of Search 16/87.2,

87.4, 87.6, 87.8. 93, 94, 95, 96; 160/344, 345; 24/201 S,230 SL, 217

Primary Examiner- Bobby R. Gay Assistant Examiner- Peter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney Edelson & Udell ABSTRACT: A two part detachable drapery carrier and heading stiffener including a male member and a female member. The female member is made integrally with a drapery-heading stiffener and is formed to provide a cavity between movable latch elements having catches which snap over and lock the lower end of the male member when the latter is properly located within the cavity. The upper end of the male member is formed to be easily slidable in a track system, while the lower end of the male member is formed to cam open the latch elements of the female member. In addition the lower end of the male member has a double inclined surface over which the catches of the latch elements fit to couple the male member with the female member. The trunk of the male member is formed to enable the device to be rocked or moved in the plane of the drapery-heading stiffener without unlatching the male member from the female member, while at the same time it is formed to permit unlatching of the male member from the female member in response to relative movement therebetween in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the drapery-heading stiffener.

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A TfO/P/VEYI.

PATENTEU DEC 7197i SHEET 3 OF 3 Wi l [IV TO I ELLIS I WWW DETACHABLE DRAPERY CARRIER BACKGROUND In the prior art movable draperies have been mounted on walls, over windows or doors, etc. by employing many devices, all of which include a plurality of slidable members to which the drapery is fastened, and an elongated member with which the slidable members are slidably engaged. Typically, the elongated member comprises a track having a slot therein and a plurality of slidable means each of which has a flangelike section and a depending trunk section. The flange provides the means which slides along the upper surface of the sides of the slot and the trunk protrudes through the slot to provide a means to whichthe drapery may be connected.

The formation of the trunk is varied with the various prior art devices. The commonest device has been one wherein the depending truck has an aperture and wherein the drapery is held by an 8" shaped wire member with a point at one end and a hook at the other end. The hook is disposed through the aperture in the trunk of the slidable carrier thereby mounting a portion of the drape on each slidable carrier. In another form, and to which the present invention is primarily directed, the drapery is sewed or secured to a drapery stiffener. Mounted on the drapery stiffener or formed integrally with the drapery stiffener is a split head having a plurality of resilient fingers. In this last described form the trunk of the slidable carrier has a socket formed therein with a somewhat narrowed neck being formed as part of the socket. When the draperyheading stiffener is coupled to the slidable carrier, the resilient fingers are radially compressed and forced, or inserted, into the socket wherein they spread because of their resilient nature to thereby lock thedrapery-heading stiffener with the carrier. Such a device is described in my US. Pat. No. 3,460,603.

While this last described arrangement, i.e., a carrier with a socket therein and a drapery-heading stiffener with a split head thereon, has been generally satisfactory, nevertheless it has been determined that the user prefers to have a detachable carrier which does not require the force necessary to compress the resilient fingers to effect both the insertion and the removal of the drapery-heading stiffener from the carrier. In addition it has been found that the above-described detachable carrier permits the drapery-heading stiffener to be disengaged from the socket if the drapery is subjected to a sharp downward pull.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide a detachable-mounting device for a drapery which enables the user to readily mount a drapery on or remove a drapery from, a track system and which at the same time provides a mounting arrangement which is capable of being pulled downward or rocked or moved in the plane of the drapery without any undesired disengagement of the drapery from the track system.

SUMMARY The present invention comprises male and female members in which the male member has an elongated trunk portion at the upper section of which there is formed a flange, which flange is beveled to provide a slidability in an associated drapery track. The lower portion of the male member has an aperture therein which if formed in an archlike configuration. At the base of the arch is a double inclined surface which fonns the base of an inverted triangle, or the bottom of an arrowhead structure in which the apex of the arrowhead is located very close to the bottom of the trunk of the male member. The upper part of the arch is beveled outwardly upward toward the upper portion of the trunk and as will become more meaningful hereinafter, the removal of the section of the trunk in order to effect the beveled portion enables the carrier to be rotated in the plane of the drapery without having any camming effect on the female member of the device which would cause the male member to be disengaged from the female member. In addition, the lower extremity of the trunk of the male member is beveled outwardly from the edge of the arrowhead in order to provide a structure which will abut the female member and effect a disengaging camming action when the male and female elements are relatively moved in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of the draperyheading stiffener.

In a preferred embodiment the female member of the present device comprises two cavity forming latches which are made of resilient material and which when separated by the arrowhead of the male member can be spread apart a sufficient distance to allow the arrowhead to be inserted into the cavity formed within the latches. When the arrowhead is penetratingly inserted so that the base of the arrowhead has reached the catch surfaces of the latches, the latches are returned because of their resiliency and the catches overlie the base of the arrowhead, thereby locking the arrowhead into the cavity of the female member. Because of the previously mentioned beveled portion ofthe arch the male member may be rocked or rotated a substantial distance in the plane of the heading stiffener without camming apart the latches of the female member. On the other hand as will become apparent hereinafter when there is necessity to disengage the male member from the female member, the male member need only be rocked in a plane perpendicular to the drapery-heading stiffener and the portion of the trunk which is beveled outward from the edges of the arrowhead cams against the side surfaces of the female member latches thereby causing the catches to spread apart so that the male member may be disengaged.

The objects and features of the present invention will be better understood from the following description and in accordance with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation view;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of the parts on an enlarged scale;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view along line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 66 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a jump sectional view along line 7-7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view which is similar to the view shown in FIG. 7, but wherein the parts are almost coupled;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to the view shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 wherein the male part has been fully inserted and latched;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view along line l0-- 10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 shows the male element after it has been rotated a substantially long distance in a clockwise direction and yet wherein the male part is still latched to the female section;

FIG. 12 is a view showing the first step of the unlocking procedure;

FIG. 13 is a jump sectional view along line l3-l3 of FIG. 12; and

FIG. 14 is an elevational view along line 14-14 of FIG. 12.

In the several figures, like elements are denoted by like reference characters.

Consider first FIG. 1 which shown the overall assembly of the male element 11 with the female element 13. It will be noted that while the female element 13 is illustrated as being made integral with the drapery-heading stiffener 15, it should be understood that the female element 13 need not be so integral but may be suitably mounted or secured to the draperyheading stiffener IS. The advantages of the drapery element 15 as shown in FIG. I are described in my US. Pat. No. 3,460,603. The drapery can be secured to the upper and lower strips 12 and I4 by stitching or other methods.

In the preferred embodiment, the female member 13 includes two latches 16 although one latch would suffice with the cavity formed with the wall of the stiffener. Each of the latches 16 is provided at its upper inner region with a downwardly inclined catch 17. It will be noted in FIG. I (and it will be more apparent in the later figures) that the upper surfaces I8 of the latches 16 are formed to lie minimally slightly below the surfaces 19 of the stiffener-l5. As will become apparent hereinafter when the latches 16 and catches 17 are separated for the purpose of enabling the male member 11 to be inserted in between and latched thereby, the latches 16 and catches 17 are rotated respectively laterally away from each other as seen in FIG. 8, and their outer edges therefore drop slightly below the adjacent surfaces of the heading stiffener in order to enable the latches to move against the cantilevered shelf portions 32 of the stiffener. The shelf portions 32 are thus moved slightly upward as these latches are rotated and exert a restoring bias on the latches.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary exploded perspective of the present device and in particular shows many of the features necessary to accomplish the coupling action of the male member with the female member. As shown in FIG. 4 the male member has a trunk portion 22, the top section of which is formed with a flange 23 having a beveled section 24 to makethe male member easily slidable in the track of the system which holds or mounts the draperies. In addition to the flange 23 there is fonned on the upper portion of the male element a second flange or shelf 25 which rides under the bottom portion of the slot in the associated track in order that spacer elements (not shown) which fit around the center section 26 of the trunk will be kept from moving up and locking into the track slot and thereby impeding the movement of the train of carriers. The use of such spacers has been described in my above-mentioned patent and need not be further described here.

The lower portion of the trunk 22 has an aperture 27 formed therein in the shape of an arch, the base of the arch is formed as a down-pointing arrowhead 28, with the base of the arch also forming the base of the arrowhead 28. The base of the arrowhead 28 is a substantially wide surface which serves as a base upon which the catches 17 of the latches 16 seat to effect a looking or coupling of the male member with the female member.

As can be seen in FIGS. 4, 5, and 7 to 9, the right-hand portion of the arch 27 which extends outwardly upward is beveled to form a cutaway 29, while the same type of cutaway 29a, as seen in FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, is formed on the left-hand side of the arch 27 so that the apex of the arch is defined by the arcuate lower edge of the two-cutaway sections. In addition, in FIG. 4 the outer sections of the trunk 22 which lie along the edges of the downwardly converging side surfaces of the arrowhead 28 are beveled from those arrowhead edges toward the outer sides of the trunk, such as is shown in the

areas

30, 31.

As will become move apparent hereinafter in connection with the showing of FIGS.'7 to 9, as the male member 11 is inserted into the femalemember 13, the latches 16 and catches 17 will separate and will ride under the shelf portions 32 of the heading stiffener thereby camming those portions upward. The latches 16 and catches 17 will be sufficiently separated to allow the arrowhead 28 to be inserted into the cavity 34. By having the shelf sections 32 thus arranged the latch sections 16 and catches 17 not only are restored by the resiliency of their own structure but also by the resiliency of the draperyheading stiffener.

FIG. shows an elevational view along the lines 5-5 of FIG. 4 from which it is noted that the beveled section 29 is only beveled in the upper portion of the trunk and not toward the outside sections of the truck as are the

areas

31 and 30. The desirability of this feature will become apparent when the description of the uncoupling procedure is set forth.

FIG. 7 is a view along the line 77 of FIG. 6. The male elemeat 11 is sectionalized to show the arrowhead 28 in section as well as the cutaway portions 29 and 290, the latter not being viewable in FIG. 6. FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, all of which are the same view but which show the male member in different stages of entry into the coupling position, should be considered together. It will be noted in FIG. 8 that as thearrowhead 28 is pushed between the latching elements 16 and catches 17 these latching elements are cammed outwardly against the shelf portions 32 thereby camming these latter portions up. Finally the latches are separated sufficiently wide apart to allow the arrowhead to be completely inserted into the cavity 34 as shown in FIG. 9. When the base 35 of the arrowhead 28 has moved downward beneath the catches 17 so that the arrowhead 28 is completely inserted into the cavity 34, the latches 16 and catches 17 return by the resiliency of their own material and by the further urging of the shelf elements 32 so that the angularly downwardly inclined undersurfaces 36 of the catches 17 overlie and seat upon the complementally angularly inclined upper surfaces 37 of the base 35 of the arrowhead 28, and thereby lock the arrowhead and thus the male member into coupling position.

FIG. 10 shows a sectional view of the arrowhead in the inserted position. The lead-in guide surface 39 as well as the vertical edge 40 of the left catch 17 and the surface 41 of the cavity 34 are shown in their respective positions so that the relationship of the sections as depicted in FIG. 9 can be better understood. FIG. 1 1 shows the movement of the male member in a clockwise rotation as can happen during movement of the drapery such as in a housecleaning operation or when the drapery is hand pulled. Because of the cutaway portion 29, the male member 1 1 may be rotated to the position shown in FIG. 1 l and yet not be cammed against either the latching element 17 or the drapery-heading stiffener 15. It will be noted that in this position one side surface of the arrowhead 28 abuts the surface 41 of one of the latches 16 and surface 40 of one catch 17, and any further rotation is very difficult. Also the clearance between the top of cutaway portion 29 and the top of the right-hand latch 16 can be seen. If the cutaway portion 29 were not provided in the male member then the motion depicted in FIG. 11 would result in the male member being cammed against the lead-in surface 38 of one catch 17, or if it were rotated in the opposite direction against the lead-in surface 39 of the other catch 17, to cam the arrowhead section 28 out of the latched position, thereby causing the drapery to fall off of the carrier 11. While it is observed that one of the arrowhead surfaces 37 has escaped from beneath its associated catch 17, the other surface 37 remains firmly caught by the remaining catch 17. In the preferred embodiment the vertical height of the arch is approximately 1% times the height of the catches from the tip of surface 36 to the surface 18.

FIGS. 12, 13 and 14 are views which illustrate the procedure of disengaging the male member from the female member. It will be noted in FIG. 12 that the male member is being rotated in a plane which is substantially perpendicular to the plane of the drapery-heading stiffener. When such action is taken it will be noted that the beveled surfaces 31 and 31a (not visible) are rotated against the outer surfaces 42 of the latches at the point 43. However, as will be noted, the lower section of the beveled areas 31 and 31a have entered into the cavity 34 and are thus acting to separate the latches 16 while the upper end of bevelled areas 30 and 30a (not shown) ride inward over the lead-in guide surfaces 38 and 39 of the catches 17 to cam the catches open so that the arrowhead 28 can pass therethrough in a lateral direction rather than in a vertical direction. FIG. 13 also shows the surfaces in their respective positions for decoupling. When the

latches

16 and 17 have been separated sufficiently to permit the arrowhead to pass therebetween the stiffener snaps outward and downward thereby decoupling the male and female members. FIG. 14 is a view along the lines 14-14 of FIG. 12 which shows that the lower beveled section 31 is well into the cavity 34 while the upper portion of the beveled section is serving as the fulcrum or the point of the rotating action to enable the bevel to separate the latches and permit the arrowhead to be freed therefrom.

What is claimed as new and useful is:

1. A drapery mounting device for supporting draperies which can be moved along a track system comprising in combination:

a. a drapery-heading stifi'ener including means adapted for securement to a drapery to be supported thereby, said stiffener having an upper edge and a lower edge with said upper edge being disposed toward the track system;

b. a female member carried by said drapery stiffener proximate to the upper edge thereof and including positionally self-restoring shiftable latch means, said latch means having at least one upper cam surface and a lower catch spaced downward therefrom with said cam surface facing upward toward the track system, said latch means being cammed laterally away from its at rest position in response to a downwardly directed force applied against said upper cam surface, said latch means including a cavity within its structure laterally of and below said at least one catch;

0. a male member having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section including means engageable with the track system to provide easy sliding movement therealong, said lower section including latch opening means effective to cam said upper cam surface of said female member latch means laterally outwardly in response to a downward movement of said lower section thereagainst, whereby said lower section can enter into said cavity and be locked therein by said catch; and

d. self-restoring cantilevered shelf means which protrude from said drapery stifiener means toward and in close proximity to said latch means, whereby when said latch means is cammed away from its at rest position it engages said shelf means and cams said shelf means away from the latters at rest position so that when the force which cams said latch means is no longer present said latch means is urged to its at rest position by the force of said self-restoring shelf means.

2. A drapery mounting device for supporting draperies which can be moved along a track system comprising in combination:

a. a drapery-heading stiffener including means adapted for securement to a drapery to be supported thereby, said stiffener having an upper edge and a lower edge with said upper edge being disposed toward the track system;

a male member having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section including means engageable with the track system to provide easy sliding movement therealong, said lower section including latch opening means and cam means, said latch opening means being ef fective to cam said upper cam surface of said female member latch means laterally outwardly in response to a downward movement of said lower section thereagainst whereby said lower section can enter into said cavity and be locked therein by said catch, and said cam means being operative to cam said latch means apart in response to rotation of said lower section in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of said drapery-heading stiffcner.

3. A drapery mounting device according to claim 2 wherein said male member lower section latch opening means comprises an arrowhead structure whose tip points downward away from said male member upper section, and wherein said cam means comprises bevelled surfaces extending divergingly from the side edges of said arrowhead structure toward the outside of said male member.

4. A drapery mounting device for supporting draperies which can be moved along a track system comprising in combination:

a. a drapery-heading stiffener including means adapted for securement to a drapery to be supported thereby said stiffener having an upper edge and a ower edge with said upper edge being disposed toward the track system;

c. a male member having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section including means engageable with the track system to provide easy sliding movement therealong, said lower section including latch opening means and an open arch and cam means, said latch opening means comprising an arrowhead structure whose base fonns the base of said arch and whose tip points downward away from said male member upper section and being effective to cam said upper cam surface of said female member latch means laterally outwardly in response to a downward movement of said lower section thereagainst whereby said lower section can enter into said cavity and be locked therein by said catch, said open arch having an upper surface which is bevelled upward from its center toward its outer edges and wherein the height of said bevelled arch is sufficient that when said male member is rotated in the plane of said stiffener means said arch does not engage said female member, and said cam means comprising bevelled surfaces extending divergingly from the side edges of said arrowhead toward the outside of said male member.

Claims

1. A drapery mounting device for supporting draperies which can be moved along a track system comprising in combination: a. a drapery-heading stiffener including means adapted for securement to a drapery to be supported thereby, said stiffener having an upper edge and a lower edge with said upper edge being disposed toward the track system; b. a female member carried by said drapery stiffener proximate to the upper edge thereof and including positionally selfrestoring shiftable latch means, said latch means having at least one upper cam surface and a lower catch spaced downward therefrom with said cam surface facing upward toward the track system, said latch means being cammed laterally away from its at rest position in response to a downwardly directed force applied against said upper cam surface, said latch means including a cavity within its structure laterally of and below said at least one catch; c. a male member having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section including means engageable with the track system to provide easy sliding movement therealong, said lower section including latch opening means effective to cam said upper cam surface of said female member latch means laterally outwardly in response to a downward movement of said lower section thereagainst, whereby said lower section can enter into said cavity and be locked therein by said catch; and d. self-restoring cantilevered shelf means which protrude from said drapery stiffener means toward and in close proximity to said latch means, whereby when said latch means is cammed away from its at rest position it engages said shelf means and cams said shelf means away from the latter''s at rest position so that when the force which cams said latch means is no longer present said latch means is urged to its at rest position by the force of said self-restoring shelf means.

2. A drapery mounting device for supporting draperIes which can be moved along a track system comprising in combination: a. a drapery-heading stiffener including means adapted for securement to a drapery to be supported thereby, said stiffener having an upper edge and a lower edge with said upper edge being disposed toward the track system; b. a female member carried by said drapery stiffener proximate to the upper edge thereof and including positionally self-restoring shiftable latch means, said latch means having at least one upper cam surface and a lower catch spaced downward therefrom with said cam surface facing upward toward the track system, said latch means being cammed laterally away from its at rest position in response to a downwardly directed force applied against said upper cam surface, said latch means including a cavity within its structure laterally of and below said at least one catch; c. a male member having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section including means engageable with the track system to provide easy sliding movement therealong, said lower section including latch opening means and cam means, said latch opening means being effective to cam said upper cam surface of said female member latch means laterally outwardly in response to a downward movement of said lower section thereagainst whereby said lower section can enter into said cavity and be locked therein by said catch, and said cam means being operative to cam said latch means apart in response to rotation of said lower section in a plane substantially perpendicular to the plane of said drapery-heading stiffener.

4. A drapery mounting device for supporting draperies which can be moved along a track system comprising in combination: a. a drapery-heading stiffener including means adapted for securement to a drapery to be supported thereby, said stiffener having an upper edge and a lower edge with said upper edge being disposed toward the track system; b. a female member carried by said drapery stiffener proximate to the upper edge thereof and including positionally self-restoring shiftable latch means, said latch means having at least one upper cam surface and a lower catch spaced downward therefrom with said cam surface facing upward toward the track system, said latch means being cammed laterally away from its at rest position in response to a downwardly directed force applied against said upper cam surface, said latch means including a cavity within its structure laterally of and below said at least one catch; c. a male member having an upper section and a lower section, said upper section including means engageable with the track system to provide easy sliding movement therealong, said lower section including latch opening means and an open arch and cam means, said latch opening means comprising an arrowhead structure whose base forms the base of said arch and whose tip points downward away from said male member upper section and being effective to cam said upper cam surface of said female member latch means laterally outwardly in response to a downward movement of said lower section thereagainst whereby said lower section can enter into said cavity and be locked therein by said catch, said open arch having an upper surface which is bevelled upward from its center toward its outer edges and wherein the height of said bevelled arch is sufficient that when said male member is rotated in the plane of said stiffener means said arch does not engage said female member, and said cam means comprising bevelled surfaces extending divergingly from the side edges of said arrowhead toward the outside of said male member.