Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Hanging or drape type – With bottom or intermediate holding – weighting – or draping...
Reexamination Certificate
1994-06-30
2001-04-10
Johnson, Blair M. (Department: 3634)
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Hanging or drape type
With bottom or intermediate holding, weighting, or draping...
C160S348000, C024S511000, C024S521000, C024S543000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213190
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a device for draping curtains, comprising a holder about which curtain fabric can be placed and which by means of a bracket can be mounted on a wall in spaced relation thereto such that the plane defined by the holder extends approximately parallel to said wall, and the invention is further directed to a method of draping curtains by using devices of the aforementioned kind.
For draping of a window or door curtain the curtain fabric is folded to form a bar-like bundle (concertina or meander fold) and is put over two holding rods mounted in horizontally spaced relationship above the window or the door. Then, to create a draped bow between the two holding rods, the lower portion of the curtain fabric is pulled down whereby circular segment-like folds are formed; here it is extremely difficult and requires great skill to keep the topmost fold or folds taut between the two holding rods. To this end U.S. Pat. No. 2,588,246 provides a separate holding pin on each holding rod between which pin and the holding rod the curtain fabric is to be firmly clamped. But such a simple clamping means does not offer any firm hold.
2. Description of the Background Art
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 2,244,129 to drape curtain fabric through rings which extend normal to the wall, the rings in this case being closed rings. Within said rings the curtain fabric is, however, held rather poorly; above all it is difficult permanently to maintain a predetermined folding of the curtain fabric.
According to the proposal of U.S. Pat. No. 2,431,934 the curtain is also draped through rings which, however, each extend parallel to the wall. In this embodiment it is likewise not ensured that a predetermined folding is maintained.
In order to avoid the above-mentioned problems the applicant's EP-B-265,759 has proposed a device which is characterized by at least one and especially two mutually horizontally spaced and approximately U-shaped holders over the upper leg or legs of which—in the mounted state—and between the upper and lower leg or legs of which a curtain fabric, which has been folded to a bar-like or board-like bundle, may be passed in such a way that the curtain fabric is firmly held while a predetermined draping is maintained. Alternatively, a device for draping curtains is proposed which is characterized by at least one and especially two mutually horizontally spaced holders bent to approximate U-shape or C-shape, which holder or holders are mounted on a wall at such a spacing therefrom that the plane defined by the two legs or tines of the holder extends approximately parallel to the wall surface. Preferentially, the two legs of each holder are adapted to be resiliently spread apart. The bracket for the holders is normally L-shaped.
OBJECT OF THE INVENTION
The instant invention is based on the object of further improving the last-mentioned device and the associated method of draping curtain fabric such that an alternative result of draping is obtained. In accordance with the invention it is also intended to provide more possible ways of draping or draping variations.
The specified object is achieved by a device according to claim
1
, alternatively by a device according to claim
11
and, respectively, by a method according to claim
9
, alternatively a method according to claim
16
.
The device according to claim
17
enhances the decorative effect.
As compared with the prior art, the device according to claim
1
permits forming of an alternative rosette of curtain material in the vicinity of the holder in an extremely simple way, as will be apparent from claim
9
according to which the curtain fabric is initially meander-folded to form a fabric bar or board. Thereafter, the fabric bar is drawn forwards—starting on one side of the holder—through a first upwardly open C-shaped, U-shaped or tulip-like holder profile and is then passed back through said profile to form a fabric loop. Thereafter, curtain fabric is drawn forwards through the next-following upwardly open holder profile and passed back in the same way as described above. This operation is repeated until all profiles of the holder are similarly filled with curtain fabric. Then, the fabric loops are fanned out towards the top and bottom and are turned back upon the respective legs which define the associated holder profiles, whereby puffs or rosettes of fabric are formed.
As an alternative, the curtain fabric may first be pulled intermittently through the first holder profile and turned back upon the legs defining said profile, and the same operation is then carried out with the second and the next-following holder profiles.
Preferred structural improvements of the above-mentioned device are described in claims
2
to
9
, in which the structures according to claims
7
and
8
offer additional variations in respect of the fabric rosette and draping to be created.
The alternative device according to claim
11
is defined by a holder which comprises a thin-walled disk of sheet metal, cardboard or synthetic plastic with an approximately star-shaped opening through which the curtain fabric is draped. Such a draping device is known in conjunction with a ring-like (closed annulus) holder. It is sold under the name “Kirsch Swag Holder”. With the known device, the rays of the star-shaped opening are defined by radial slots. Accordingly, the aforementioned disk is used only for fixing the curtain fabric draped through the ring-like holder within the ring so as to avoid the problems mentioned above in conjunction with U.S. Pats. No. 2,244,129 and 2,431,934. Curtain material can therefore not be draped through the slots of the star-like opening of the prior art.
This is to be possible with the invention due to the feature that the rays of the star-like opening have a width which corresponds to approximately {fraction (1/20)} to {fraction (3/20)}, especially approximately {fraction (2/20)} of the mean holder diameter.
The details set out in claims
12
to
15
permit the achievement of additional draping effects such as, for instance, a plurality of discrete rosettes in the front area of the holder.
REFERENCES:
patent: 1831169 (1931-11-01), Geraldine
patent: 1868944 (1932-07-01), Jones
patent: 1933691 (1933-11-01), Young
patent: 2365664 (1944-12-01), Troensegaard et al.
patent: 2498925 (1950-02-01), Lind
patent: 2563306 (1951-08-01), Burrage
patent: 2676377 (1954-04-01), Garcia
patent: 4559988 (1985-12-01), Nocerino
patent: 4912829 (1990-04-01), Hilkey
patent: 5144997 (1992-09-01), Marasco et al.
patent: 5179768 (1993-01-01), Jio
patent: 5343925 (1994-09-01), Hannerstig
patent: 0265759 (1987-12-01), None
patent: 2247827 (1992-03-01), None
patent: 598270 (1959-09-01), None
patent: 165200 (1958-11-01), None
AB A. Svensson & Co.
Birch & Stewart Kolasch & Birch, LLP
Johnson Blair M.
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