GB2337920A

GB2337920A - Flexible support bracket

Info

Publication number: GB2337920A
Application number: GB9910776A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Richard Hancock
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-05-15
Filing date: 1999-05-11
Publication date: 1999-12-08
Anticipated expiration: 2019-05-11
Also published as: GB9910776D0; GB9810303D0; GB2337920B

Abstract

A bracket for supporting a rail in a horizontal position which rail has location means (23,24) along opposite sides thereof. The bracket is moulded from a resilient material and has lugs (13, 15) directed inwardly of a channel (11) for supporting the rail. The bracket includes a portion with a generally circular bore (18) which is yieldable transversely of the channel (11) to allow disengagement of the lugs from the location means (23, 24).

Description

1 BRACKET 1 2337920 This invention relates to a bracket and more

particularly to a bracket for supporting in a horizontal attitude an elongate element such as the rail for a vertical blind.

Vertical blinds hang from a rail which is typically in the form of an inverted channel, providing a track along which the individual components of the blind can be moved to cover or uncover a window or doorway. The rail has location means in the form of longitudinal grooves in its sides whereby it may be gripped at intervals along its length by brackets which are in turn screwed to a wall or ceiling.

Currently the brackets engage the location means of the rail by means of a screw which the installer must turn in order to engage one of the location grooves. This can be a difficult as well as a time consuming operation especially when one has to insert a screwdriver into a confined space in an overhead location.

A principal object of the present invention is to dispense with such location screws and to make the location of the rail on a row of brackets a much simpler and less laborious operation. A further object is to provide such brackets economically by a moulding process as a unitary item requiring no additional component such as a screw.

In accordance with the invention there is provided a bracket for supporting in a generally horizontal attitude an elongated element which hs location means along opposite sides thereof, the bracket being moulded from a resilient material to have side walls connected by a web portion, each side wall having a lug directed inwardly of a channel for supporting the elongated element, the lugs being engageahle with a respective said location means, wherein at least one said side wall comprises a portion curved to form a generally circular bore which extends parallel with the channel and carrying the respective lug, said curved portion being yieldable transversely of the channel to allow disengagement of the lugs from the location means.

2 Preferably the bracket is injection moulded from a resilient plastics material.and the curved portion is in the form of an arcuate tongue presenting its convex side toward the opposite side wall of the channel. In one embodiment the side wall of the channel having said curved portion is constituted by a block in which the generally circular bore is formed. Preferably, the bore opens to the channel along a slit adjacent the web portion whereby the part of the bore wall nearer the channel constitutes an arcuate spring arm carrying the respective lug at the distal end thereof.

By this arrangement the brackets can be snap-engaged with the grooves in the rail, and can release the same, requiring no extraneous fastening means such as a screw and no special tool 10 such as a screwdriver.

The invention will now be described further by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vertical-fixing bracket in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, 15 Figure 2 is a perspective view of a horizontal-fixing bracket in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, Figure 3 is a cross-sectional elevation of a -rail of the type which the brackets of Figures 1 and 2 are adapted to support, and Fiaure 4 0 is a perspective view similar to that of Figure 2 of a horizontal-fixing bracket in accordance with a third embodiment of the invention.

Each of the brackets 10 and 11 of Figures 1 and 2 and 4 is injection moulded in one piece from a resilient plastics material to define an inverted channel 11 bounded on one side by a side wall 12 carrying a lug 13 directed inwardly of the channel and on its other side by a side 3 wall 14 carrying a similar lug 15 opposed to the lug 13.

The side wall 14 is in the form of an arcuate arm, convex toward the channel 11, which is separated from the web portion 16 of the channel by a slit 17. This slit 17 extends between the channel 11 on one side and a circular bore 18 parallel with the channel, the bore 18 being formed in a block 19 constituting the body of the bracket 10. Thus the arm 14 carrying lug 15, is readily deflectable inwardly of bore 18 to increase the separation of lugs 13 and 15.

The block or body 19 of the bracket 10 of Figure 1 is integral with a mounting flange 20 in which elongated holes 21 are provided for screwing the bracket to a wall. In the case of bracket 11 of Figure 2, on the other hand, circular screw hole 22 is provided in web portion 10 16 whereby the bracket may be fixed to a ceiling.

Figure 3 illustrates a typical rail for the suspension of a vertical blind (not shown). The rail has along opposite sides grooves 23 and 24 engageable by the lugs 13 and 15. To engage the rail to the brackets the rail may simply be pushed into the channel 11, thereby deflecting the arm 14 until lug 15 may snap-engage into one of the channels 23, 24, lug 13 already engaging the other one. To remove the rail from the brackets, the arm 14 of each bracket is pressed inwardly of bore 18 until lug 15 disengages the groove 23 or 24 of the rail.

It will be understood that the brackets of Figure 1 and 2 may be used to support rails other than the one illustrated as an example in Figure 3. Instead of grooves the rail may simply have flanges to engage behind lugs 13 and 15. Whether each location means of the rail is a groove or a flange this need not be co-extensive with the rail but might be provided by recesses or projections at spaced intervals.

Whereas in the described embodiment of the invention the bore is illustrated as being of circular cross section, it will be understood that it could have a hexagonal or octagonal section, for example, as may be convenient provided that the end of the arm carrying the lug 15 is capable of deflection transversely of the channel 11.

4 Referring now to Figure 4, the bracket illustrated is moulded in a single piece from a resilient material in the same way as the brackets of Figures 1 and 2. Similarly, the bracket body forms a bore 18 and cooperating lugs between which a rail can be mounted. The bracket is horizontally fixed by means of a screw or other securing device passing through the hole 22.

The essential difference between the embodiments of Figure 2 and Figure 4 is that the Figure 4 embodiment dispenses with the bulk of the body 19 thus extending the length of the side wall 14 and so imparting greater resiliency to the side wall to increase the amount by which the lug 15 can be moved.

Claims

CLAIMS 5.

1. A bracket for supporting in a generally horizontal attitude an elongated element (the rail) which has location means (23, 24) along opposite sides thereof, the bracket being moulded from a resilient material to have side walls (14, 16) connected by a web portion, characterised in that each side wall (14, 16) has a lug (13, 15) directed inwardly of a channel (11) for supporting the elongated element, (the rail) the lugs (13, 15) being engageable with a respective said location means (23, 24), wherein at least one said side wall comprises a portion curved to form a generally circular bore (18) which extends parallel with the channel (11) and carries the respective lug (15), said curved portion being yieldable transversely of the channel (11) to allow disengagement of the lugs from the location means (23, 24).

2. A bracket according to claim 1 which is injection moulded from a resilient plastics material.

A bracket according to claim 1 and 2 characterised in that the curved portion is in the form of an arcuate tongue presenting its convex side toward the opposite side wall of the channel.

4. A bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterised in that the side wall of the channel having said curved portion is constituted by a block (19) in which the generally circular bore (18) is formed.

A bracket according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterised in that the bore (18) opens to the channel (11) along a slit (17) adjacent the web portion whereby the part of the bore wall nearer the channel constitutes an arcuate spring arm carrying the respective lug (15) at the distal end thereof