Drapery cornice dual rod and hanger assembly

Jan. 19, 1965 _H. c. pfaff 3,166,286

DRAPERY CORNICE DUAL ROD AND HANGER ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 3, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1

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FIG. 3

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FIG. 2

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ATTORNEY

Jan. 19, 1965

Sheets-Sheet 2 in ω

3,166,286

AND HANGER ASSEMBLY

H. C. PFAFF

DRAPERY CORNICE DUAL ROD 'tied Oct. 3, 1963

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IM Φ

ATTORNEYS

CM in

NVENTOR

Jan. 19, 1965

H. C. PFAFF

3,166,286

DRAPERY CORNICE DUAL ROD AND HANGER ASSEMBLY

Filed Oct. 3, 1963

Sheets-Sheet 3

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ATT O R. N tYS

Jan. 19, 1965

η. c. PFAFF 3,166,286

DRAPERY CORNICE DUAL ROD AND HANGER ASSEMBLY

Filed Oct. 3, 1963

Sheets-Sheet 4

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INVENTOR.

Homer. C. Pfaff

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ATTORNEYS

United States Patent Office

3,160,286

Patented Jan. 19, 1965 ' J'' ·'' ' '

3,166,286

DRAPERY CORNICE DUAL ROD AND HANGER ASSEMBLY

Homer C. Pfaff, Toledo, Ohio, assignor io Up-Rite Hook Company, Toledo, Ohio, a partnership

Filed Oct. 3,1963, Ser. No. 313,543

Claims. (Cl. 248—263)

This invention generally relates to drapery hanger means and particularly pertains to a combined dual rod and bracket assembly easily hung and removed as a unit and which is particularly suitable for supporting tubular, sleeve, or channel type cornice elements. The present application is a continuation-in-part application of my copending application, Serial Number 175,585, filed on February 26,1962 now abandoned.

Drapery hangers and brackets have been employed heretofore, however, the several devices of the prior art have not proven entirely satisfactory inasmuch as they are complicated in design and construction, expensive to manufacture, difficult to use, and are not adaptable to assemble as a unit at floor level and hang as a unit at an elevated position.

With the foregoing in view, the primary object of the invention is to provide a dual rod and hanger assembly unit particularly suitable_: for cornices and cornice elements which is simple in design and construction, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use and easy to integrate as a unit at floor level and to hang as an assembled unit at an elevated position.

An object of the invention is to provide wall brackets having a top flange equipped with a hook receiving aperture and bottom side flanges for engaging and stabilizing the hangers.

An object of the invention is to provide hangers which have a hook portion hanging in the wall bracket top flange aperture and a portion for stabilizing engagement with the Wall bracket bottom flanges.

An object of the invention is to provide paired dual opposed rod insert prongs on each hanger lying within the channel of the dual rods.: :

An object of the invention . is to provide simplified, inexpensive end hangers which can be made completely out of wire.

An object of the invention is to provide a hanger having top and bottom legs with like hook ends wherein one acts as a hanging element and the other acts as a stabilizing element making each hanger usable in both the right and left-hand positions obviating the necessity of having right and left-hand hangers.

An object of the invention is to provide an adjustable center support bracket disposable between rod sections for coupling rod sections together and for supporting the coupled ends of the rod sections intermediate the end hangers.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent by reference to the following description of a drapery hanger assembly particularly suitable for cornices embodying the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a hanger and rod assembly showing a cornice element partially broken away;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the hanger seen in FIG. 1 from the left-hand side of FIG. 1 and additionally showing the wall bracket exploded therefrom;

FIG. 3 is an end view of a hanger as seen from the right of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a hanger and rod as- sembly showing modified end hangers and an interposed adjustable center support bracket;

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of another modification of the end hanger showing the like hook ends 5 and wall bracket construction in more detail;

FIG. 6 is a front view of another embodiment· of wall bracket constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the wall bracket shown in FIG. 6;

FIG· 8 is an isometric view of another embodiment of end hanger constructed according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of another embodiment of center brace for a dual rod assembly; and

FIG. 10 is a cross sectional view taken approximately 15 on the line 10—1® of FIG. 9.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like numerals refer to like and corresponding parts throughout the several views, the drapery hanger devices disclosed therein tb illustrate the invention comprise a pair of spaced wall 20 brackets 13, FIGS. 1-3, adapted to be fixed on the wall such as with screws or nails, a pair of opposed spaced· hangers 11 supported on the wall bracket 10, a pair of spaced rods 12 supported on the hangers 11, and a cornice or drapery sleeve element 13 on the rods 12.

More particularly, the'wall bracket 10 comprises a wall contacting portion '20 having a top flange 21 equipped with an aperture 22 and a pair of lower side flanges 23 forming a spring channel for receiving a portion of the hangers 11 therein.

The hangers 11, FIGS. 1-3, comprise a top leg 25 having a projecting outer end 2«, an inner end 27 terminating in a downwardly extending hook 28 for disposition in the wall bracket top flange aperture 22; a bottom leg 30 having an. inner end 31 abutting the wall bracket lower 35 flanges 23, an outer extending end 32 disposed below the top leg extending end 26; a cross leg 33 extending from the bottom leg inner end 31 upwardly-outwardly and connecting to the outer leg adjacent its outer end 26. It is to be noted at this point that the hanger 11 has a Z shape 40 confirmation as seen in FIG. 2.

The top leg ends 26 and the bottom leg ends 32 on each paired hanger 11 are equipped with a sidewise inwardly extending foot portion 40 doubling back in a U shaped loop portion 41 to a sidewise outwardly extending toe por45 tion 42, with the foot, U loop, and toe portion on all said legs constituting drapery rod channel insert prongs 45 disposed in the spaced opposed top and bottom drapery rods 12. The drapery rods 12 are paired, adjustably extensible, and equipped with receiving channels enclosing 5θ the prongs 45 of the hangers 11.

In the embodiment of FIG. 4 the top leg 50 and .the bottom leg 51 are similarly formed, oppositely’ disposed: and their prong portions 52 and 53 aligned in the same direction and the center interconnecting brace 54 is welded.· ⁵⁵ to the legs 50 and 51. The legs 50 and 51 have like opposed hook ends 56 and 57 which enable the same hanger to be used for both right and left-hand locations. Oh the right-hand side of FIG. 4 the hook 56 on the leg 50 lies in the aperture 22 of the wall bracket 10 while the ⁶⁰ hook end 57 on the leg 51 engages the flanges 23 of the wall bracket 19. Conversely, on the left-hand side of FIG. 4, the hook 57 oh the leg 51 lies in the aperture 22 of the wall bracket 10 and the hook 56 engages the flanges 23 of the wall bracket 10.

⁶⁵ An adjustable center support bracket 60, FIG. 4, has a wall attaching portion 61, a projecting leg 62, a horizontal extension 63 telescoping with the leg 62, a depending strap 64 on the extension 63, and paired, oppositely disposed

3,166,286 dual-prongs 65 on the strap 64 for connection with rods 66 intermediate the end hangers and wall brackets. The prongs 65 can be lengthened, if desired, to provide limited adjustability without the. use of telescoping rods 66, as shown.

Referring to the end hanger modified embodiment 68 of FIG. 5 it is to be noted that the one hanger is usable on both right and left-hand sides and that it is of one piece formed wire construction. Like legs 70 and 71 have like opposed hook ends 72 and 73 respectively, like paired parallel prongs 74 and 75 respectively, and a mutually interconnecting central -brace 76 leading between the prongs 74 and 75 holding the end hangers in assembled condition with all parts properly disposed.

The opposite sides of FIG. 5 graphically illustrate the reversible nature of the end hanger between the right and left-hand positions shown wherein the hook ends 72 and 73 change position and operation relative to the wall bracket aperture 22 and flanges 23.

. Wall bracket 77 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is made from a piece of strip material having its top end bent over at 90° to provide a ledge 78 against which the top leg of an end hanger may rest upon. The ledge 78 is provided with a vertical opening 79 therethrough which is adapted to receive the hook end of the top leg of the end hanger to thereby hold the end hanger in place. The bottom end of the wall bracket 77 is bent outwardly in a V-formation at 80 which V-formation has a vertical slot therethrough that is adapted to receive the lower hook of an end hanger. The slot 81 forms side abutment surfaces 82 and 83 which confine the bottom hook of the end: hanger against lateral movement.

The end hanger 84 shown in FIG. 8 is made from two generally L-shaped hangers 85 and 86 having outwardly extending leg portions 87 and 88, which generally overlie each other, as well as two laterally extending leg portions 89 and 90, which also overlie each other. The top and bottom L-shaped members 85 and 86 respectively are supported in vertically spaced apart relationship by means of a generally V-shaped spacer wire 91 which is welded to both of the L-shaped members 85 and 86 adjacent their inner ends. The inner end of the outwardly extending leg portions 87 and 88 are bent 90° toward each other, so as to form downwardly extending and upwardly extending hook portions 92 and 93 respectively. The ends of the laterally extending leg portions 89 and 90 are bent approximately 180° so as to form slightly diverging Ushaped portions 94 and 95 over which tubular members are adapted to be telescoped, as shown for example in FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 of the drawing shows another embodiment of center brace for the dual rods. The center brace 96 comprises a pair of C-shaped reinforcing members 97, one member of which is inserted in each of the rods 98 and 99. Each of the C-shaped reinforcing members is held in its respective rod by a machine screw 100 which extends through the longitudinal opening 101 in the back of the rod. The reinforcing members 97 are held in a spaced apart position by means of an X-frame made from two pieces of wire 102 and 103 which are welded together at their center, and the ends of which are hooked through properly spaced openings 104 in the reinforcing members 97.

In use, FIGS. 1-3, the user fixes the wall brackets 10 on the wall at the desired height and interspacing, positions the cornice member 13 or other drapery element on the rods 12, and then inserts the prongs 45 into the channels of the rods 12 and the cornice 13, rods 12, and hangers 11 are now assembled as a complete unit for hanging and it is obvious that this can very easily be done at a ground level. The unit is then elevated to the height of the wall bracket 10 and the hooks 28 on the upper legs 25 are inserted in the wall bracket flange aperture 22 whereupon the device is hung and upon a slight downward movement of the assembly the inner end 31 of the ^: bottom legs 30 contacts the wall -bracket 10 between the flanges 23 whereupon the flanges 23 grip the hanger holding it in position.

In using the end hangers of FIGS. 4 and 5, the end hangers, rods and cornice are similarly integrated, as hereinbefore set forth, and the assembly hung as a unit, and the end hangers of FIGS. 4 and 5 have the added advantage of being reversible between right and left-hand positions as the hook elements 56 and 57, FIG. 4, and the hook elements 72 and 73, FIG. 5, are alike and coact with either the wall bracket flange aperture 22 for support or with the wall bracket flanges 23 for bracing.

The adjustable center support -bracket of FIG. 4 is usable with any embodiment Of end hanger and hangable as a unit with the end hangers, rods and cornice elements and upon hanging the center support bracket horizontal extension 63 is telescoped over the projecting leg 62 in supported relationship.

The wall bracket 10 is easily made from flat stock and the flange and aperture inexpensively formed as desired. The hangers 12 are easily made of wire of any gauge depending upon the size of the elements and the weight to be supported and the joint between the center leg 33 and top leg 25 is easily induction welded so that to -all intents and purposes the hangers 11 are of one piece construction. The end hangers of FIG. 5 are of one piece wire construction and need only be formed on a wire forming machine and no welding is required.

The wall bracket 77 of FIGS. 6 and 7 is very simply made out of -a generally flat piece of bar stock by punching the opening 79 and the slot 81 in the bar before the bar is bent. Top ledge 78 is easily bent over, and the lower end of the -bar: is conveniently bent outwardly in the region of the vertical slot §1 so as to provide the abutment surfaces 82 and 83 -between which a hook portion 93 oi an end hanger can become wedged. The construction and use -of the end hanger 84 is generally similar to that shown in FIG. 4, and so will not be further elaborated upon, excepting to note that it also is capable of being used as. either a right or a left hand bracket.

The inventive drapery hanger assembly with these features constitutes a compact, durable, and neat appearing mechanism easily assembled and hung and removed, and. creates an attractive appearance as though much laborious time, effort, and expense had been consumed in manufacture and assembly.

Although the few embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail, it is obvious that many changes may be made in the size, shape, detail, and arrangement of the various elements of the invention within the scope of the appended claims.