Flexible or portable closure – partition – or panel – Hanging or drape type
Patent
1998-10-19
2000-05-30
Purol, David M.
Flexible or portable closure, partition, or panel
Hanging or drape type
160329, A47H 2310
Patent
active
060680423
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns an improvement to flexible walls of plastic canvas, which is fitted in particular to the bodies of vehicles, but which can also be utilized in temporary or other buildings.
These flexible walls or curtains are typically suspended from the top rails of the vehicle body, stretched at their lateral extremities in an appropriate manner, with their lower edge being fixed by straps to the edges of the vehicle floor.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
As in the case of the wall described in document GB-A-2 161 851, the invention can be used to improve the security of the transported goods, the latter being protected against harmful acts, vandalism and/or theft. In the case of the above-mentioned document, this protection results from what is a veritable double wall: the conventional wall.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
This invention proposes an improvement which, in addition to the protection which it affords, also improves the appearance of this type of curtain.
On one of its faces, preferably the inside face, the flexible wall according to the invention utilizes a trellis formed of ribbons which are glued or welded vertically and horizontally. These ribbons are made from material which is compatible with that of the curtain, of the PVC type, and have a continuous central core made of a material such as steel, which is highly resistant to shear and extension.
According to a variant of the invention, the trellis can also be pre-assembled, and there after fixed to the curtain by a heat-welded film.
According to the invention, the mesh of the trellis is approximately 10 cm wide and 10 to 20 cm high for example, so that a good degree of flexibility is retained by the curtain.
Again according to the invention, the material making up the central core of the PVC ribbons are in the form of a smooth or rough wire or micro-cable, or may be in the form of a tape.
When used on the bodies of vehicles, the flexible wall comes in the form of a curtain which slides at the top, running along the body of the vehicle. Such a curtain includes sliding devices attached to its upper parts, attachment devices at the sides for exerting a high degree of longitudinal tension to the curtain, and attachment devices placed at regular intervals at the bottom of the curtain, so as to stretch the curtain vertically as well as to secure it to the edge of the floor. These attachment devices utilize elastic straps interposed between an anchoring bracket attached to the bottom of the curtain and a hook fitting onto the edge of the floor.
According to another arrangement of the invention, the top bracket of the attachment devices includes a securing elements for securing it to the curtain, and these elements may be bolts which clamp the bracket to the curtain using a strengthening plate which is glued and/or welded to the inner face of the flexible wall.
Again according to the invention, the strengthening plate for anchoring the upper bracket of each attachment device to the flexible wall is preferably made of a metal plate with a PVC covering.
According to another arrangement of the invention, the attachment device has two identical parts at its bottom end, and these are fixed back to back to form on one side a hook which attaches to the edge of the floor, and on the other side a handle for manipulating the attachment device.
According to an alternative variant, the lower part of the attachment device includes a hook, and underneath this hook there is an operating handle.
Still again according to the invention, the hook includes a ring or tube which allows the passage of a locking device for sealing purposes.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
However the invention will be detailed still further by the following description and the attached diagrams provided here as a guide only, and in which:
FIG. 1 represents, in a schematic manner, the external face of a flexible wall comprising the body curtain of a vehicle;
FIG. 2 represents a portion of the trell
REFERENCES:
patent: 2281635 (1942-05-01), Strauss
patent: 2886481 (1959-05-01), Swan
patent: 5351739 (1994-10-01), Levy
patent: 5503211 (1996-04-01), Engi
patent: 5680893 (1997-10-01), Neer
patent: 5758704 (1998-06-01), Elrod
Fair International
Purol David M.
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